Political Junkie Podcast

We began this episode with Graham Platner’s announcement on Wednesday that he will step down as the Democratic nominee for Senate in Maine. Our theme music this week is Born Again , written and sung by Jelly Roll, copyrighted music licensed from Lickd . Former president of the Maine Senate Troy Jackson and Senate primary candidate Graham Platner at a Portland Hearts of Pine match on September 27,...

We began this episode with a June 30 clip of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis responding to the United States Supreme Court decision to uphold birthright citizenship. In a feat of MAGA cognitive dissonance, DeSantis was at The Villages, an age-restricted adult community in Central Florida, to unveil a statue of President Abraham Lincoln. Our theme music this week is Redemption Song , written by Bob M...

We begin with a June 22 press conference , in which Donald Trump blames faceless, nameless enemies for the failed renovation of the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool. Our theme music this week is Dirty Water, written by Ed Cobb and performed live by the Standells ; copyrighted music licensed from Lickd. The Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool on the National Mall as it appeared on June 16, 2026, choke...

We begin with a clip from the June 14 2026 UFC event on the White House Lawn, in which MMA fighter Josh Hokit declares that Jesus Christ is greater than Hulk Hogan and Michelle Obama is a man. Our theme music this week is Kung Fu Fighting by Carl Douglas , copyrighted music licensed from Lickd. President Donald J. Trump and Dana White, President and CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship at the...

We begin with a clip from an ad circulated by Lone Star PAC that asserts Democratic candidate for Senate James Talarico is “too weak and weird for Texas.” Today’s theme music is “ Lola ” (2020 Stereo Remaster) by The Kinks; copyrighted music licensed from Lickd . On February 12, 2026, New Yorkers rallied at the Stonewall National Monument to protest the “de-gaying” of the federal site bu the Trump...

Thank you to everyone who tuned into this video live! In this bonus episode, recorded yesterday as a Substack Live, Princeton sociologist Paul Starr and I discuss his new article in The American Prospect, “ Stephen Miller’s Impossible America: The ethnonationalist strategy for white replenishment won’t work” (May 26, 2026). Starr shows how multiple policy threads—pronatalism, deportation, and so-c...

We begin with a clip from Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus’s 2013 press conference, where he presented the autopsy on Senator Mitt Romney’s failed presidential campaign. Today’s theme is Luck Be a Lady written and performed by Frank Loesser . Copyrighted music licensed from Lickd . DNC Chair Ken Martin speaking at a Minneapolis, MN campaign event in November, 2020, when he was...

We begin with a clip from an interview with the content creator and looksmaxxer Clavicular, a.k.a. Braden Peters broadcast on CBS Australia last month . Clavicular ended the session early when he was asked about his relationship with Andrew Tate, an indicted felon and MAGA influencer. Copyrighted music licensed by Likd : Le Freak (Original Mix) by Diego Forsinetti and Suki Soul. Braden Eric Peters...

Here’s a shout out to new subscribers Richard Russell, Josha Crabtree, Jen Aleric, Romano Scaturro, mlc257 (rest of email redacted), Hope Munro, Michael Koenig, and mondojohnson. Thanks for hanging out with us! Today’s theme is Home Life by Avocado Junkie , and we begin our episode with this clip , in which Barney Frank recalls coming out to Speaker of the House Tip O’ Neil in 1987. Representative...

This week, I want to welcome new premium subscribers Elwood Watson and Kate Ma, as well as free subscribers Vivek Asija, Marc Tretin, Roberta Smith, Kay Pashos, Peter Philbrook, Renato Rojas, Richard Wattanbarger, Alejandro Echeverry, Laurie Novo, Shelly Reusser, Robby Yakk, Kay Pashos, Kathi Kern, and William Weitzer. Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg and her son Jack Schlossberg, August 3, 2023. Phot...

We begin with FBI Director Kash Patel’s response to a reporter on April 21, 2026, asking if the allegations that he has been AWOL from his role at the Bureau, and repeatedly intoxicated, are true. This week’s theme is King Tide from Tiger Gang . Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and FBI Director Kash Patel pose with a Formula 1 driver at the Las Vegas Grand Prix in Las Vegas, Nevada, Nov....

Thank you to everyone who tuned into the live video! This slightly edited version of show begins with Peter Magyar’s Tisza party, which won a resounding victory in Sunday’s national elections in Hungary, and will become Prime Minister with a more than 2/3 majority—enough to allow him to return that nation to liberal democratic governance. I brought in my friend and New School for Social Research c...

We begin with a 2020 clip , in which Paula White-Caine, President Donald Trump’s spiritual advisor and current Director of the White House Faith Office, explains how the Holy Spirit works through her. Today’s theme is Joyful Morning by Cast of Characters . Pastor Paula White-Cain speaks at the Young Women’s Leadership Summit hosted by Turning Point USA in Grapevine, Texas, June 11, 2021. Photo cre...

We begin with a clip from November 27, 2025 , in which a reporter on Air Force asks President Donald J. Trump who—other than himself—would be a good Republican nominee in 2028. Vice President JD Vance (left) and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, February 28, 2025. Image credit: The White House/ Wikimedia Commons In the News: * Last weekend w...

Today’s episode begins with a February 6, 2026 press gaggle on Air Force One, in which Donald Trump discusses the lawsuit he filed against the Internal Revenue Service. It is unclear what he means when he says that the United States government gives $40 billion a year to charity: we can’t document that. Our theme for this episode is LFG by Divisioner --you can find their work, and all the talented...

Last week, The New York Times published an investigation into legendary labor organizer Cesar Chavez (1927-1993) and his decades of alleged criminal conduct. Women, including Dolores Huerta, a key ally, have revealed what was rumored, and well-known in the movement’s inner circle: that he was a serial sexual abuser. Chavez, along with Huerta and other allies, co-founded the National Farm Workers A...

We begin with a deposition from Nathan Cavanaugh , a twenty-something DOGE staffer on a team tasked with reviewing NEH grants awarded by the Biden administration in 2024 and to be paid in 2025. Cavanaugh and others cancelled grants based on whether, in their judgement, they violated Donald Trump’s executive order prohibiting any initiative that forwarded diversity, equity, and inclusion. Today’s t...

We begin with a clip from the 2016 campaign trail in which presidential candidate Donald Trump discusses a Black supporter and invites rally-goers to “look at my African American.” At this point in MAGA history, influencer Candace Owens still identified as a liberal. By late 2017, she had transitioned to a conservative identity and become a leading voice in the MAGA movement. And you will want to...

We begin this episode with a clip from a four-hour segment of testimony by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. She appeared before the House Oversight Committee on February 26, 2026; former President Bill Clinton testified the following day. As Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton testifies before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Dec. 3, 2009. Image credit: Chad J. McNe...

Thank you Theresa Smalec , John Stoehr , and many others for tuning into my live video with Ryan James Girdusky ! At the end of last week, I had a chance to do a Substack live with Ryan Girdusky, a conservative political junkie who has many balls in the air at any given time. Ryan’s book with Harlan Hill, They’re Not Listening: How the Elites Created the National Populist Revolution (Bombardier Bo...

We had a little trouble with the video upload on today’s podcast: it is inconsistent, so if you will find that annoying, please just listen! We began our episode with a clip from this video , made by NBC journalist Savannah Guthrie, offering $1 million for the return of her mother. Eighty-four-year-old Nancy Guthrie was reported missing from her Tucson, Arizona home on February 1, 2026, and is bel...

Last week, the federal Health and Human Services Administration website posted a video of HHS Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. working out with Trump-aligned musician Kid Rock. Titled “Rock Out Work Out,” it featured head-banging music and two retirement-age men goofing around, getting in hot tubs, saunas and cold plunges, playing paddle ball, eating healthy food (we think—they were promoting raw...

Some of you may have read last week’s post about how I ended up in the Epstein Files —and what I learned about the sex offenders world when I took a deeper dive into why I was there. Berlin-based journalist Luke Johnson did the same thing, and he invited me into a Substack Live to talk about what we found when we peeked into this strange and ugly world. Our topics? Why universities held a special...

The show begins with a clip from right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson’s November interview with Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem after the NFL announced that Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny would perform at the Super Bowl halftime show. Our theme this week is Ride It Like You Mean It by Kristian Leo. Image credit: AtlasStudio/ Shutterstock In the News: * “Melania” opened last weekend to m...

Our show begins with Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), chair of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, as he disputes the Trump administration’s account of Renée Good and Alex Petti’s murders in the Twin Cities and promises a thorough investigation. ICE and Border Patrol agents on Nicollet Avenue following the shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, MN on January 24, 2026. Photo credit: Chad Davis/ Wikim...