Half the Answer

Michael Marshall and Cecil Cicirello from the Know Rogan Experience Podcast are here to share their hard-won expertise on the subject of just what the hell Joe Rogan is always going on about. We know he's got a lot of listeners, but what are those listeners hearing? What is his role in American culture and politics? And why do we keep getting headlines every time he says something that sounds...

The 2026 Midterm results are still being tabulated but the one thing that's for sure is that Democrats did way better than anyone expected, even in their wildest dreams. What were the most exciting moments of the blue wave? What does it say about America's mindset after two years of Trump 2.0? What do we hope will happen next? Trent and Caitlin sat down with Greg Sargent from the New Republic to d...

This election cycle feels messy. It also feels completely unpredictable. What will the Trump administration try? What will they get away with? How will or won't states be able to protect their voters and officials from interference? We talked with historian Adam Hochschild about historical precedents and predictions of election interference, integrity, and outcomes. Resources: "American M...

The 2026 midterm elections are an opportunity for voters to assess Donald Trump's second presidency, and they seem poised to turn some historically red states purple and blue. We've assembled a crack team of political analysts—Ryan Cooper of the American Prospect, Marisa Kabas from the Handbasket, and Jonathan M. Katz from the Racket—and asked them how several key Senate and gubernatorial...

Trent and Caitlin are joining the war on cars! Doug Gordon, cohost of "The War On Cars" and coauthor of "Life After Cars," joins us to explain why we should work toward a world that isn't defined by nigh-compulsory car ownership. Where could we go? What could we do? Who could we meet? The possibilities are endless! Resources https://www.lifeaftercars.com "Life After Ca...

Two years ago, a Cornell student reported to the police that she had been the victim of sexual assault by a group of fraternity brothers from Chi Phi. Now known as "Jane Doe," her case was mishandled, her words mangled, and her attackers protected from consequences. Sociologist Nicole Bedera speaks to us about how institutions of higher education regularly prevent survivors from accessin...

Donald Trump made more than two billion dollars in the first year of his second term. Much of it was from cryptocurrency, which he used to refer to as "based on thin air" until he started selling it. Zach Everson from Public Citizen explains how Trump ramped up his corruption and grifting after getting away with smaller stuff in his first term. Resources: https://www.citizen.org/about/pe...

ICE has been transporting people in inhumane conditions to countries to which they have no affiliation or connection. What do the courts think about this? It's…confusing. Reporter Gillian Brockell is here to get the word out, sharing stories not only about ICE's awful actions and our ridiculous Supreme Court but also about how Democrats on Chicago's city council have fought back. Resou...

Donald Trump is changing the landscape of Washington—literally. From East Potomac Park to the Kennedy Center to the 'Arc de Trump,' everything he touches turns to plaster and adhesive gold-colored filigree. And all the while, D.C. is still under occupation by National Guard out-of-towners. Stephanie Mencimer, a senior reporter with Mother Jones and resident of the city under siege, joins u...

Donald Trump appears to be deteriorating…in every way possible. Physically, mentally, internationally, grammatically—somehow, orange man worsening, while word salads, IVs, and naps are great again. Ryan Cooper of the American Prospect helps us think through what it means for 2026, 2028, and beyond. Resources https://prospect.org https://www.leftanchor.com https://wlos.com/news/local/joke-trump-fem...

When those at the very top echelon of influence in Silicon Valley think about, talk about, and interact with government, what does that look like? Can we come up with a legible, understandable picture of the tech elites' idea of what governing is and how they relate to it? Adrian Daub says yes, and he says it in his new book "What Tech Calls Governing." Resources "What Tech Call...

What is the current state of affairs in Israel, Palestine, and the surrounding nations? We ask Y. L. Al-Sheikh for her help summarizing and contextualizing recent developments. Resources ⁠https://bsky.app/profile/diplomatofnight.com⁠ ⁠https://www.liberalcurrents.com/author/ylalsheikh/⁠ ⁠https://foreignpolicy.com/author/yaseen-al-sheikh/⁠ ⁠https://internationalpolicy.org/resource-author/y-l-al-shei...

Donald Trump's unprovoked trade war with Canada and his chaotic attacks on Iran have him hemorrhaging support in states he won in 2024. Why doesn't he seem to care? What is he thinking? We can't read minds, but we can talk to Greg Sargent from the New Republic about Trump's statements, posts, and actions over the last month or so. Resources https://newrepublic.com https://bsky.app/...

Who are the women supporting the rise of the far right in the United States? Are they brainwashed? Confused? Under coercive control? Dr. Katie Gaddini presents her findings after interviewing politically active right-wing women across the country and explains that there can be several distinct classifications of such women, who all are different, complex, and active participants in their political...

Vaccination rates are falling across the country, vaccine deniers are occupying positions of power in the United States government, and previously eradicated diseases are reappearing. Tracking all of this is Caitlin Gilbert and her colleagues at the Washington Post health, science, and wellness desk. We asked her to fill us in on the state of the nation when it comes to vaccination, inoculation, a...

It's an unhinged political ad round-up, featuring racist memes from Donald Trump himself and Ken Paxton's rancid, deep-fried AI slop rip-off of one of the most famous ads from history. Author Jonathan M. Katz helps us make sense of the hideous soup of extremism, slander, bad art, and dirty dealings that we're all floating in. Resources: https://www.theracket.news https://www.forever-wa...

Why does the right keep talking about a handful of critical theorists from the 1960s? Why are they hellbent on rooting out discussion of progressive ideas from the public sphere? What did Theodor Adorno have to do with the release of "I Wanna Hold Your Hand"? And does the notion of "Cultural Marxism" imply the existence of seminal thinker Cultural Marx? We talk to A. J. A. Wood...

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham has somehow jumped the queue, passing Mitch McConnell on the way to the place where Republican senators go at the end of a life full of compromises, betrayals, and cruelty. With the help of author, election strategist, and social justice advocate Maya Rupert, we explore the life and works of the man who occupied the most racist seat in American history. Resour...

Ken Paxton isn't the only Looney Toon running for a position in the United States Congress this November. An extremist gun YouTuber is the Republican nominee for a House seat in the district that contains Uvalde, Texas. How did this happen? How is Katy Stout, his Democratic opponent, feeling about suddenly facing a boneheaded boogaloo bro instead of the moderate who was supposed to be there? J...

Graham Platner is a parade of red flags stuffed into a pair of yellow rubber waders, and yet so many let those things slide with a tsk tsk at best. For others, he was a bad man with bad views who unfortunately represented the only possible way to reverse the GOP majority in the senate. Improperly vetted, he relied on his "everyman" image to skate through the primaries despite several rounds of dam...

ICE flights are still happening and they are still horrifying. Gillian Brockell brings us updates on some of the major players in the game of torturing innocent people in the sky, their victims, and the regular people who do not want this abusive pack of monsters to continue using their resources. Resources https://gillianbrockell.com/ Send tips to: gbrockell.44 on signal https://bsky.app/profile/...

Why won't Gregory Bovino stay gone? Why can't Trump keep his pool clean? And how many fireworks is too many fireworks? We asked our friend and yours Amanda Moore to help us get to the bottom of these questions and more. Resources: https://www.instagram.com/noturtlesoup17/?hl=en   https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/an-ice-chaser-bovino/ https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/02/gregory-b...

Why is Albania having anti-Jared Kushner protests? What did he do to them? And what on Earth is going on in the UK? We asked our resident Europe expert to explain it all to us. Resources https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/how-uks-keir-starmer-went-from-election-landslide-to-downfall https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/06/jared-kushner-ivanka-trump-albania-luxury-resort-protest-movement-overt...

How did sports betting burst onto the scene so violently in the last half-decade? Danny Funt, author of Everybody Loses: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling explains the legal, regulatory and business changes that have led us here. For immediate help with problem gambling, please call 1-800-MY-RESET (800-522-4700) or visit https://www.ncpgambling.org/help-treatment/ Resources https://b...

What does the Callais decision mean for voting rights and other anti-discrimination protections in the United States? How is anybody supposed to defend their rights against race-based discrimination if they're not allowed to use disparate impact as proof? Catch the discriminators confessing on a voice recording carrot pen, "Zootopia"-style? Bust out the mind-reading machine? We ask Madiba Dennie,...