Pod Save the People

A federal appeals court revives a lawsuit against DeRay McKesson, prompting warnings that the decision could threaten First Amendment protections. In Los Angeles, a former police commander wins a $5.7 million judgment after alleging she was held to a different standard than her male colleagues. And in culture, Telfar announces it will donate 100% of net profits to global liberation efforts. DeRay...

Kash Patel announces that UFC fighters will help train FBI agents, the Washington Post experiments with subscription prices set by algorithms using readers’ personal data, and after years helping run one of morning TV’s biggest shows, a CBS News producer Shawna Thomas steps away with a simple message: “I’m tired”. DeRay interviews former Washington State Representative for the 30th Legislative Dis...

A growing “pardon industry” helps wealthy offenders hire lobbyists to secure clemency from the White House, Chinese billionaires use surrogacy to produce dozens of U.S.-born heirs to inherit their empires, and Jill Scott tops the R&B charts with “Pressha,” a reminder that while the powerful build dynasties, the culture does too. News Pardon Industry Offers Rich Offenders a Path to Trump Chines...

A tech billionaire makes a $108 billion push to continue the conservative takeover of traditional media, Kansas orders trans residents to surrender their driver’s licenses on one day’s notice, and at the BAFTAs, a racial slur interrupts a celebration of Black artistry. News A Father, a Son and Their $108 Billion Push for Media Moguldom Kansas Orders Trans Drivers to Surrender Licenses With One Day...

Middle-class Americans are increasingly selling their own plasma to keep pace with an economy that keeps taking more than it gives, election officials in Georgia find fraudulent ballot applications tied to a PAC backed by Elon Musk, and international travelers are skipping the United States as ICE and aggressive border enforcement make visiting America feel less like a vacation and more like a ris...

Advocates outline a concrete roadmap to dismantling ICE, new data shows Black defendants in San Diego are increasingly steered toward life-without-parole charges, and a reminder that being bougie and Black isn’t a trend but a legacy. News A clear roadmap to ending ICE starts with what we can demand today. In San Diego, the racial divide in charges that can lead to life without parole has grown Bei...

Republicans unveil the most extreme federal voting restrictions proposed in modern history, Tennessee officials are accused of quietly propping up a payday lender’s failed sports betting operation, and scholars warn the U.S. may be entering the early stages of genocide against trans Americans. News New GOP anti-voting bill may be the most dangerous attack on voting rights ever  How a Tennessee Off...

Trump signs a “Board of Peace” charter as allies push back on his Gaza plan, Illinois investigates allegations that a landlord tipped off ICE to target Black and Hispanic tenants in a Chicago building, and Ryan Coogler’s Sinners makes Oscar history with a record 16 nominations.   News Trump signs Board of Peace charter at Davos as allies split on Gaza plan Illinois Investigates Claim That Landlord...

The Justice Department moves to block the release of Epstein files, SpaceX rockets explode over active flight paths with little consequence, and a prominent gospel singer faces sexual abuse allegations—another reminder of how power shields itself across institutions and industries.   News Justice Department urges a judge to reject a request from US Reps on the release of Epstein files “We’re Too C...

Utah lets artificial intelligence start prescribing medication, Elon Musk’s Grok AI violates privacy by “undressing” non-consenting users, and a death inside a Mississippi jail raises familiar questions about brutality, cover-ups, and accountability. DeRay interviews Brooke Butler , Political Director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, about Our Power, Our Country —the party’s ear...

Prediction markets turn global politics into profit as traders cash in on Nicolás Maduro’s capture, the federal government faces constitutional backlash for labeling ICE observers “domestic terrorists,” and Black women survivalists prepare for another Trump era by building systems of self-reliance where the state has failed.   News The Government Unconstitutionally Labels ICE Observers as Domestic...

The U.S. threatens new sanctions on the International Criminal Court—so long as it agrees not to prosecute Donald Trump—while American service members quietly worry they’ll be left holding the legal bag for overseas military strikes. Plus, a reminder of what accountability and care can look like, as the Redd Family Collection of Black Art anchors community, history, and cultural power at the Tubma...

Dollar stores are caught quietly overcharging the very communities they claim to serve, a failed psychology essay at the University of Oklahoma ignites a national debate over religious discrimination, and CNN’s new partnership with a prediction market raises fresh questions about where journalism ends and gambling begins.   News How the dollar-store industry overcharges cash-strapped customers whi...

Death row prisoners granted clemency under Biden now brace as the Trump administration rolls out retaliatory prison policies. Podcast influencers who made millions glamorizing “wild births” are now tied to infant deaths across the globe, as investigations reveal a deadly pipeline of anti-medical radicalization. And Gen Z’s viral “quarter-zip movement” signals a generation rewriting the rules of pr...

Trump grows increasingly agitated as Epstein files inch toward public release, Marjorie Taylor Greene becomes the latest Republican to wobble on loyalty, and new visa data shows some foreigners being denied entry to the U.S. for… being obese?? Meanwhile, a new AI study finds large language models occasionally breaking bad, Democrats gear up for insurgent primaries over the shutdown betrayal, and N...

Government shutdown chaos deepens as hosts debate the fate of the 'Blue Wave', the DOJ targets judges with immigrant defense backgrounds, LAPD ignores City budget hiring more officers than it can afford, and Outkast finally gets their flowers at the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. DeRay interviews journalist Brian Goldstone about his new book There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in Am...

A wave of layoffs hit Corporate America as the federal shutdown drags on, a drug bribery sting in Mississippi exposes 14 police officers among the 20 arrested, Trump’s White House denounces a Drexciya-inspired Smithsonian exhibit, and new research shows foodborne UTIs disproportionately impact low-income communities. DeRay interviews the team behind the new HBO Max documentary  The Alabama Solutio...

Millions brace for food stamp losses as the federal shutdown drags on, Steve Bannon pushes Trump’s fantasy of a 2028 presidency, Eric Adams calls Andrew Cuomo 'snake and a liar' then endorses him for NYC Mayor, George Santos pens jailhouse blog ahead of pardon, the NBA faces a Mafia-backed betting scandal, and Angela Rye/Joe Budden conflict sparks debate over “elitism” in Black media.   News Santo...

Candace Owens barred from entry into several countries, Gavin Newsom caught slipping by Van Lathan and reparations leaders, while videos of Charlie Kirk’s murder remain online by design. PSTP hosts debate on mass movements in America and honor the life and legacy of Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, a Stonewall veteran and legendary trans activist.   News Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, Stonewall Veteran and Le...

It’s chaos, capitalism, and counterprogramming this week: Katie Porter’s office implodes, Turning Point USA takes its culture wars to the Super Bowl, a billion-dollar political betting platform blurs the line between democracy and data, and a Philly creative turns her home into resistance art. DeRay interviews LaShawn Harris, author of Tell Her Story : Eleanor Bumpurs & the Police Killing That...

From ICE terrorizing Chicago to Apple deleting ICE-tracking apps under Trump pressure, the saga continues. The Root boasts new Black ownership, Ezra Klein and Ta-Nehisi Coates debate Charlie Kirk’s legacy, Georgia’s Supreme Court sides with Black landowners, and Bari Weiss brings “free speech” to CBS News.   News Bari Weiss named editor-in-chief of CBS News as Paramount acquires The Free Press Afr...

U.S. officials cover up a “secret cemetery” of 230 Black boys, Trump to attend a gathering of top generals, Solange Knowles launches a free radical library, and the legacy of Assata Shakur takes center stage while Kamala Harris hits the book-tour circuit to mixed reviews.   News 230 dead Black boys. A 'secret cemetery. Officials knew, and didn't act. Assata Shakur, a fugitive Black militant sought...

Jimmy Kimmel’s show gets the axe then reinstated, AOC eyes her next big political move, Trump’s Education Department pushes white-washed civics lessons, the U.S. strikes an alleged Venezuelan drug vessel, and Kansas City community fights to rescue a Black book archive.    News Trump Ed Dept. Partners With Right-Groups to Spread White-Washed Civics Lessons in ‘Schools Across the Nation’ Trump says...

Trump ally Charlie Kirk shot dead on a Utah campus, Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro gets 27 years for his coup dreams, and Utah makes headlines again with the launch of a new Black-owned bank. Kaya Henderson interviews Dr. John B. King, Jr. , Chancellor of the State University of New York and former U.S. Secretary of Education (Obama Administration), about his new book Teacher by Teacher : The People Who...

Miami elections move forward as the state moves to end all vaccine mandates, Europe bans the use of gel nail polish, a Texas court-appointed lawyer faces white nationalist allegations, and a legendary Southern cookbook celebrates 50 years with a new cover.   News Florida plans to end all state vaccine mandates, including for schools Is This Court Appointed Lawyer in Texas a White Nationalist? This...