The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich

Friends, To say Trump’s trip to China was underwhelming is to give it even more credit than it deserves. In fact, Trump’s main purpose for making the trip probably wasn’t to accomplish anything important but to deflect attention, even for a few days, from his failing war in Iran (the strait is still closed, and Iran is more determined than ever to build a nuclear bomb) and his failing economy (the...

Friends, This morning, Michael and I (Heather is out today) delve into the redistricting wars — including the decision by the Virginia Supreme Court to cancel that state’s redistricting — and examine strategies still open to Democrats before the midterms. We also try to decipher what’s really happening in the Persian Gulf. And we take a close look at Trump’s sycophants Kash Patel at the FBI, Todd...

Friends, Today, Heather and I ask: Why is Trump so obsessed with his ballroom? What is actually going on in Iran? Is this the worst Supreme Court of all time? We look ahead to the midterm elections in six months and make some predictions. We’re also joined by Ben McKenzie to discuss Trump’s crypto corruption. So please pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, and join in the discussion. This is a public epi...

Joyce Vance was U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama. I’m grateful to her for sharing her views on today’s shameful and dishonest Supreme Court decision kneecapping Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, in which Samuel Alito pretends he’s not nullifying Section 2 while doing exactly that. It’s a bad day for American democracy. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this wit...

Friends, Today, Heather and I try to make sense out of this week’s riddles: What is Trump’s strategy for reopening the Strait of Hormuz? What’s he doing to stop his base from unraveling over his failed war? How can he avoid a “blue wave” in the midterm elections? And, by the way, why are jobs so hard to come by these days, anyway? We answer these and other riddles of the week. Please pull up a cha...

Friends, Today Heather and I are joined by our colleague Michael, who helps us dissect a wild week. What’s the truth about the Strait of Hormuz? Why did Trump and Vance pick a fight with Pope Leo? Who or what’s behind the booming stock market? We grapple with these and much more on today’s Klatch. Please pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, and join in the conversation. This is a public episode. If you'...

Friends, Today, Heather and I examine this wildly horrendous week and tackle a basic question: Did the United States win its war with Iran, or lose it? We also take a deep dive into whether Trump is a war criminal for having threatened to cause the death of an entire civilization. And we talk with our friend journalist Amy Goodman, who’s out with a new movie about her life speaking truth to power....

Friends, Today Heather and I venture to the far corners of Trump’s galaxy. First, to the planet from which he’s viewing his war in Iran. He says he’s eliminated Iran’s capacities to threaten U.S. air power, but on Friday Iran shot down an American F-15E bomber. Next we travel to planet Bondi, whom Trump has sacked. We ask why, and whether this is good news or bad — I think it’s bad. Then on to Tru...

Friends, Today is the third (and hopefully the largest) No Kings Day demonstration across the nation — and Heather and Michael and I focus today’s Klatch on how Trump has managed to exert near-regal powers in America. We also give you an update on his calamitous war in Iran and how average Americans are paying for it. But — good news — we focus on how public opinion has shifted against him, as ill...

Friends, That quote comes from someone who voted for Trump three times and now feels betrayed by his war in Iran and its consequential price increases for gas, food, and much else. Today, Heather and I delve into why Trump is losing his MAGA base, why he’s losing his war in Iran, why he’s losing the economy — and why he’s losing his mind. We look at Iran’s strategy for outlasting Trump and Israel,...

Friends, Today Heather and I are joined by E. Jean Carroll — journalist, author, advice columnist (her “Ask E. Jean” column appeared in Elle magazine from 1993 through 2019) … and target of Trump’s sexual assault. Her book Not My Type , subtitled One Woman Against a President, chronicled what happened, and the court cases she initiated against Trump — and won . It’s a fabulous, frightening, but al...

Friends, Heather is traveling. I’m delighted that our friend Kamau Bell has stepped into the breach. Today, Kamau and I take a deep dive into Trump’s War — his shifting rationales for it, his changing goals, his ambiguous endgame, the human costs of the war so far, the American public’s unhappiness with it, and what Trump is trying to deflect attention from (spoiler: Trump’s shitty economy and his...

Friends, Today, Heather and I ask and try to answer: Why is Trump attacking Iran? Also: Why is he so gracious to Mayor Mamdani? Why does ICE continue to be so out of control? Why did the Republican House Oversight Committee want Hillary Clinton to testify about Jeffrey Epstein? Are the Epstein files finally closing in on Trump? Why worry that CBS, CNN, HBO, and Comedy Central are all coming under...

Friends, A big week, including the arrest of Prince Andrew, the best of the Supreme Court, and the stress of the sociopath in the Oval Office. We get into all of this, along with our special guest David Hogg, on today’s Klatch. Please pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, and join in the conversation. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus ep...

Friends, Happy Valentine’s Day. Thanks for joining us. Today, Heather and I delve into the extremely un-Valentine-like world of Trump, Jeffrey Epstein, and America’s ruling class. What do they have in common, and what does this tell us about America? Along the way we examine Pam Bondi’s belligerence, Steve Bannon’s complicity, and the Trump economy’s woes. We’ll also look into the real economy — y...

Friends, Today Heather and I examine the unchecked power that now pervades our political system — starting with the Justice Department’s (and Trump’s) unwillingness to turn over more than 3 million of the more than 6 million Epstein files in its possession (in which Trump is already mentioned 5,300 times). We then examine the continued lawlessness of ICE and Border Patrol, despite the public’s (in...

Friends, Today I had the pleasure of speaking with Julie Su, former Secretary of Labor and current Deputy Mayor of Economic Justice in New York City. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit robertreich.substack.com/subscribe

Friends, Today, Heather and I try to unravel some tricky questions: Will Democrats rein in ICE? What’s behind the sham arrests of Don Lemon and other journalists? Will Minneapolis be the tipping point that brings Trump down? Or will it be the latest Epstein files? We discuss all this and more. Please pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, and join the conversation. This is a public episode. If you'd like...

Today I’m traveling. Heather and Michael make sense of a memorable week. My thanks to both of them. See you next Saturday. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit robertreich.substack.com/subscribe

Friends, Today Heather and I grapple with the inescapable reality that Trump has turned America into a fascist state. From the streets of Minneapolis to the shores of Greenland, violence and the threat of violence prevail. By contrast, we talk with Lina Khan, former chair of the Federal Trade Commission and co-chair of Mayor Mamdani’s transition team, about how Mayor Mamdani has launched his socia...

Friends, Today, Heather and our friend Kamau Bell join me to examine this horrific week in which Trump took control of Venezuela and its oil and unleashed his ICE and Border Patrol agents on Americans. Trump’s deadly forces here and abroad — unconstrained by law or oversight — seem to have shifted the nation from being endangered by a pending dictatorship to becoming a dictatorship. What do you th...

Friends, Today, Heather and I look into our crystal balls and attempt to predict what’s going to happen in 2026. First, what do we hope for? What are the major positive things we anticipate? Second, what do we fear? What are our biggest worries about the upcoming year? Please pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, and join in the conversation. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with o...

Friends, What do we make of 2025, other than that it was a horrible and cruel year? On today’s Klatch, Heather and I sift through your questions about what we’ve been through, what it means, what are the big lessons from 2025, and who are the real heroes. Please pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, and join in the conversation. Happy New Year! You look great! This is a public episode. If you'd like to d...

Friends, I recently had the delight of conversing with acclaimed author Michael Lewis ( The Big Short , Liar’s Poker , Moneyball , Flash Boys , Going Infinite , The Fifth Risk , The Premonition , The Blind Side , The Undoing Project , Boomerang , and, most recently, Who Is Government? ). I asked him to join me to discuss our recent books. Our subject was Trump, but our conversation ranged from the...

Friends, Today, Heather and I take a deep dive into Trump’s increasingly addled brain — seeking to understand how quickly he’s losing his capacities and the dangers this poses for the rest of us. We begin with his bizarre response to the killings of Rob and Michele Reiner earlier this week, followed by his lie-filled speech to the nation and his chief-of-staff’s description of him as having the pe...