Half the Answer

Why has Bari Weiss, a liberal-presenting Trump sycophant, been handed the reins to CBS News, one of our most prestigious news organizations? What does her time running the Free Press, a website that publishes commentary, tell us about how she thinks about "doing the f--king news," which is to say, journalism? Radley Balko joins Trent and Caitlin to explain what he found when he dug into the work o...

What was the first American Reconstruction after the Civil War? Why are some historians suggesting we just left a second sort of Reconstruction Era? Join Caitlin and Trent as they got into it all with Historian Thomas Zimmer, going from the first period of reconstruction, across the late 19th and early 20th centuries, before pressing through this second reconstruction, which Thomas considers as be...

What was Andrew Jackson's favorite gelatin-based meal? Why did Hilary Clinton feel a deep and urgent need to tell everyone about her fantastic chocolate chip cookie recipe? Did Ronald Reagan really eat that many jelly beans? We answer these questions and more with Bennett Rea, creator and host of Cookin' With Congress. Plus a little taste test! Resources https://www.cookinwithcongress.com/...

Is this chatbot sentient? Is AI my friend? Is isolation hackable? Trent and Caitlin discuss recent AI news, Sam Altman's troubles legal and otherwise, labor organizing as a strategy against the worst fears of AI experts, and whether Richard Dawkins is conscious, in this news digest episode with linguist and AI researcher Hagen Blix. Resources https://bookshop.org/p/books/why-we-fear-ai-on-the-...

In a time when the ruling party seems to be totally fine with breaking every law, every rule, and every norm that was holding our country in the general shape and consistency of a democracy, what should the opposition party be willing to do? Are there times when retaliation that goes against one of our principles might serve a greater purpose? Are there times when it would only further erode our v...

Progressive messaging is so hot, the cynical opportunists are appropriating it for mass appeal. A combat surgeon returned from Gaza has found financial support in a pro-Palestine super PAC. Public pressure may prevent new ICE facilities. Journalist Whitney Curry Wimbish walks us through these and other recent stories she has worked on for The American Prospect. Resources https://am-quickie.ghost.i...

Apartheid and incursions into Palestinian territory are accomplished by a specific set of tactics. Oren Ziv, an Israeli photojournalist, joins Trent and Caitlin to describe some examples of the strategies he has seen in person and learned of in his reporting. Resources https://www.activestills.org/ https://www.972mag.com/writer/orenziv/ https://www.972mag.com/israeli-settler-violence-condemnations...

You can't say anything these days! Especially not on a college campus, and especially not if you're a white man. For evidence, please enjoy this loose assemblage of sixth-hand anecdotes with no detail or reporting to back it up. This is the discursive form that Caitlin and Trent brought Stanford professor Adrian Daub on to discuss, described in his 2024 book, The Cancel Culture Panic: How...

Look at my Iran negotiator, dawg, we’re never getting through the Strait of Hormuz. Friend of the program Y. L. Al-Sheikh helps us understand the unfolding diplomatic and military nightmare that is the Middle East, and how the United States plays a role in each.

Goodbye to Viktor Orban! Don't let the door hit you! Trent and Caitlin bring you a discussion with resident Europe expert Hunter CG (also known as @roterote). Resources https://bsky.app/profile/roterote.bsky.social https://www.tiktok.com/@roterotemedia https://linktr.ee/roterotemedia https://19thnews.org/2026/04/voting-citizenship-proof-laws-trump-save-america-act/ https://www.newsweek.com/vik...

A bloodthirsty, homicidal maniac is in charge of our nation's military for some reason, and he just can't stop saying stuff that confirms that he deeply believes that extreme violence is awesome and God likes it a lot. Trent and Caitlin ask Greg Sargent of the New Republic what he learned from experts about the ideology that underpins Pete Hegseth's attitude toward violence. Resources: https://new...

Delta Airlines brought Liam Ramos back from the child prison in Texas, but they don't seem to want to talk about how they took him there in the first place. Trent and Caitlin debrief with Gillian Brockell about the current status of ICE flights, the fate of the boy in the bunny hat, and the way journalists credit each other (and also sometimes don't) when they rely on each other's reporting. Resou...

What the hell is going on in Texas? Trent and Caitlin welcome Houston culture reporter Gwen Howerton about the Texas senate primaries, censorship in prisons, and the state of LGBTQ+ rights in the Lone Star State. Resources: https://bsky.app/profile/kissphoria.bsky.social https://www.chron.com/culture/article/cornyn-paxton-texas-senate-ai-22082110.php https://www.chron.com/culture/article/texas-pri...

What's happened in New York City since Zohran Mamdani became mayor in January? Has it become a Marxist-Islamic bastion, ruled by a soviet in the succeeding three months? Trent and Caitlin discuss the Sharia Socialism of NYC Mayor Mamdani, the naked vice signalling and stove-touching of the GOP with author Ryan Cooper. Resources https://bsky.app/profile/ryanlcooper.com https://prospect.org/ https:/...

Trent and Caitlin achieve the coveted threepeat guest appearance with journalist Marisa Kabas of the Handbasket, fresh off her incredible legal win obtaining the body cam footage from the DC cops who assisted the DOGE boys in breaking into the USIP office in March 2025. They discuss the total disregard for life, law, and locked doors that was on display that day, as well as the frustrating events...

Trent and Caitlin catch up with employment litigator Joshua Erlich about the difficulties of holding immigration and border patrol agents to account when they break the law. What happens when you can't be sure which individual attacked you? How can their actions be restricted, and what should Democrats do given their level of power in the government right now? Resources Joshua's bluesky: https://b...

Caitlin and Trent talk with Aurelien Mondon about his recent political science paper outlining the limitations of considering all politics through the lens of "polarization." They discuss the pitfalls of the term and the ways "polarizing" events and speech can be drastically different and sometimes even positive. Resources https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41296-025-00779-4 https://www.se...

Trent and Caitlin reconnect with journalist Walker Bragman to hash out the current state of the NIH and HHS, the ideologies that drive people to promote eugenics and science denial, and the childish nature of fascism. Resources: https://www.importantcontext.news/ https://www.accountabilityjournalism.org/ https://bsky.app/profile/walkerbragman.bsky.social https://publichealth.jhu.edu/ivac/resources...

Happy days are not here again, but at least Trent and Caitlin have Jeff Waldorf, the Logical Leftist, to hang out with while they process it all. The United States has dropped bombs on Iran, killing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several of his top-ranking officials, civilians, and the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls' school, in which more than 160 little girls were killed. They talk through the conflicting,...

Trent and Caitlin check in with journalist Gillian Brockell after the release of her article on ICE air. They discuss the recent mass layoffs at the Washington Post, the abhorrent treatment of deportees, the justifications used to mistreat humans, and the importance of empathy and being a human. Resources: https://gillianbrockell.ghost.io/ https://bsky.app/profile/gbrockell.bsky.social https://www...

Trent and Caitlin talk with author and journalist Andrea Pitzer about the modern concentration camp model, its history and public perception, and the concentration camps the United States government is operating and hopes to open in the near future. Resources https://andreapitzer.com/ Andrea's newsletter: https://degenerateart.beehiiv.com/ Andrea's book on camps: https://bookshop.org/p/books/one-l...

Trent and Caitlin chatted with Hunter CG of RoteRote Media and Democrats Abroad, looking at the GOP's latest assault on voting rights, the SAVE America Act. This act has passed the House of Representatives and will be addressed by the Senate in the next couple of days. They talk about all the different ways this piece of legislation disenfranchises voters in the US and abroad, and they exhort...

Caitlin and Trent talk with journalist Amanda Moore about her work tracking the DHS "surges" all over the United States, her efforts to get close to former commander at large Gregory Bovino, and her experience trying to form conclusions about the broader patterns of immigration forces' violence over time. Resources:https://substack.com/@noturtlesoup17https://www.instagram.com/noturtl...

Trent and Caitlin boogie with friend-of-the-program, journalist Jonathan M. Katz of The Racket. They talk Super Bowl, Bad Bunny, the TPUSA halftime safe space show, and immigration detention. Resources: theracket.newshttps://bsky.app/profile/katz.theracket.news https://www.tiktok.com/@katzonearth?lang=enSchools Closed in Puerto Rico: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/09/12/magazine/puerto-r...

Trent and Caitlin catch up with political science assistant professor Matt McManus. They discuss the narratives surrounding resistance in the twin cities, the loud and ugly voices on the right describing an ideology of cruelty and dehumanization, and the power of regular people to puncture false claims from the government. Resources: https://www.factcheck.org/2026/01/as-ice-arrests-increased-a-hig...