Prevail with Greg Olear

David Daley is the author of the national best-seller “Ratf**ked: Why Your Vote Doesn’t Count” and “Unrigged: How Americans Are Battling Back to Save Democracy.” His journalism on democracy and voting rights appears regularly in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Slate, The New Republic and many other publications. He is the former editor in chief of Salon, and...

Anthony Comstock (1844-1915) would be nothing more than a footnote from an ugly, retrograde, and bygone period of American history, except that Dobbs made the laws that bear his name suddenly relevant again. But who was Comstock? What made him such a woman-hating weirdo? Why did he hold sway for so long, and how was Comstockery defeated? Amy Sohn, the author of  “ The Man Who Hated Women: Sex, Cen...

Greg Olear talks to Stephanie Baker about her superb new book, “Punishing Putin: Inside the Global Economic War to Bring Down Russia,” on the West’s financial warfare against Putin after the invasion of Ukraine. They discuss the oligarchs and their complex relationships with Putin, the challenges of implementing economic sanctions on an economy as big as Russia’s, Boris Johnson’s role in the push...

In this far-ranging discussion, Greg Olear talks to the actress, director, podcast host, and activist Rosanna Arquette about: Kamala Harris, the DNC, and the new hope around U.S. politics; what to expect at the presidential debate; the deal with RFK Jr.; the time she met Trump; the time she met Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; the Alexis Project and the fundraiser happening in LA this week; Me Too and...

Robbie Harris is a strategic communications and behavior change subject matter expert with over 25 years’ experience working with local influencers, activists, civil society organizations, journalists, and senior stakeholders in Iraq, Syria, Africa, and Central America. She has designed and implemented successful programs for US DoD, DoS and USAID, and UK FCDO and MoD. She’s the co-founder of a sm...

Greg talks with the historian Manisha Sinha and discusses her book “The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic: Reconstruction, 1860-1920.” The book explores the period between the Civil War and World War I, highlighting the importance of Reconstruction in shaping the country. Sinha explains her motivation for writing the book and the significance of the Second American Republic. She also d...

For 26 years, Rone Tempest was the national and foreign correspondent for the LA Times, based in Paris, New Delhi, Beijing, and Hong Kong, as well as the craziest capital city, Sacramento. After his retirement, he worked for Pro Publica and was the co-founder of the Wyoming nonprofit public policy news site, Wyofile. He’s taught journalism at Berkeley, his alma mater, and has won numerous awards....

Francine Prose is the author of over 30 books. Her 12 novels include My New American Life, A Changed Man and Blue Angel , a finalist for the National Book Award. Her nonfiction works include the indispensable Reading Like a Writer ; Caravaggio: Painter of Miracles ; and The Lives of the Muses: Nine Women and the Artists They Inspired, a New York Times Notable Book for 2002. She’s a contributing ed...

In this, the penultimate episode of Season 7 of the PREVAIL podcast, Greg Olear discusses (for a solid 20 minutes, which is probably too long, if we’re being honest) the events of the week: Donald’s earsay, Joe’s departure, Kamala’s ascension. Then, he welcomes Jessica Cale, the host of the DIRTY SEXY HISTORY podcast, to talk about her background as a novelist and historian, the castles of Wales,...

Tom McGrath was the editor-in-chief of Philadelphia magazine, as well as chief content officer of Metro Corp., the parent company of Philadelphia and Boston between 2010 and 2020. Under his leadership, the magazines won more than fifty awards for editorial excellence. In 2022, he was named Writer of the Year at the National City and Regional Magazine Awards. He’s written two previous books: “MTV:...

Greg Olear opens with his thoughts on Project 2025, Trump’s odd fascination with Hannibal Lecter and his bromance with Jeffrey Epstein, and the Democratic palace coup, led by Danny Ocean. Then, Greg welcomes the Ukrainian journalist Illia Ponomarenko for a discussion about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Putin, Zelensky, and his new book, “I Will Show You How It Was: Yhe Story of Wartime Kyiv.” l...

In this, the first episode of PREVAIL in three weeks, Greg Olear opens with his thoughts on the debate, the immunity ruling, the Kamala option, and the politically suicidal push to replace Biden at the top of the ticket. Then, Greg welcomes “Bad” Brad Berkwitt, a veteran who served for more than 20 years in the U.S. Navy, including 16 and a half in Naval Intelligence. After retiring from the milit...

Billy Ray is a screenwriter and director. His writing credits include Color of Night, Captain Phillips, Richard Jewell, and The Hunger Games. He wrote and directed Shattered Glass, Breach, The Last Tycoon, and The Comey Rule. Since 2016, he’s been the messaging consigliere for the Democratic Party, helping scores of politicians and candidates with issue framing, speechwriting, debate prep, and rap...

This week, Greg Olear shares 34 thoughts on 34 felony counts. Then, there is a reprise of the May 31 episode of “The Five 8,” in which Greg and LB try, and fail, to remember all of Donald’s crimes. Plus: blowing! Subscribe to The Five 8: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0BRnRwe7yDZXIaF-QZfvhA   Make America Great Gatsby Again! https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-great-gatsby-four-sticks-press-centen...

Jason Pack is the Founder of Libya-Analysis LLC , and the co-host of Disorder , a geopolitics podcast co-produced with Goalhanger Podcasts. He is a Senior Analyst for Emerging Challenges at the NATO Defence College Foundation in Rome. In partnership with NDCF, Jason leads a project entitled NATO and the Global Enduring Disorder , which produces a range of content (including the Disorder podcast an...

In this special “Rough Beast” book launch episode, the PREVAIL podcast is turned upside-down: Greg Olear is the guest, and the host is his wife, Stephanie St. John Olear. They talk about the new book, confirmation bias, and Biden’s chances of winning in November. Plus: Scar-Jo!   Make America Great Gatsby Again! https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-great-gatsby-four-sticks-press-centennial-edition/e70...

Alessandra is an Italian journalist and political commentator who goes by the pen name Alias Vaughn. She’s been helping me understand the global political landscape—including what’s happening right here in the US—for going on eight years now. In this conversation, Greg Olear interviews Alessandra about her background and her interest in US politics. They discuss JFK’s policy towards South America,...

Jenny Cohn is an attorney, election integrity advocate, and political writer whose articles have appeared in the New York Review of Books, Who What Why, The Independent, Salon, and the Bucks County Beacon. She now covers the Christian right at her Substack, the Christian Right Observer Weekly, or CROW. Cohn talks to Greg Olear about her work on election integrity and the Christian right; her new p...

Before launching START ME UP, the political interview podcast, Kimberley Johnson—that’s Kimberley with an “e-y”—wrote several books, including “The Virgin Diaries”; maintained a popular blog; and, for ten years, had a recurring role—as a cop!—on a soap opera. She’s an activist and a champion of women’s rights. Her podcast premiered in 2016. In this discussion, Greg Olear and Kimberley Johnson disc...

Ethan Bearman is a multifaceted talent spanning law, technology, politics, and media. He has his own law firm, he has 25 years of business experience and 10 years of media experience. He had his own radio show, and he’s been on networks like CNN, DW, France24, HLN, i24 News, NewsNation, Fox Business, and Fox News, where he’s sparred with the likes of Jenna Ellis. Ethan is a member of the Los Angel...

Gal Suburban is an open source researcher who has spent the last six years deep-diving on fifth generation warfare, psyops, corrupt creatures of the Florida swamp, and traitors to our democracy. In this conversation, Greg Olear and Gal Suburban discuss various topics including Gal's focus on understanding anti-democratic influencers, the concept of fifth-generation warfare, and the potential dange...

Robbie Harris is a strategic communications and behavior change subject matter expert with over 25 years’ experience working with local influencers, activists, civil society organizations, journalists, and senior stakeholders in Iraq, Syria, Africa, and Central America. She has designed and implemented successful programs for US DoD, DoS and USAID, and UK FCDO and MoD. She’s the co-founder of a sm...

In this discussion with Greg Olear, the historian Manisha Sinha discusses her book “The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic: Reconstruction, 1860-1920.” The book explores the period between the Civil War and World War I, highlighting the importance of Reconstruction in shaping the country. Sinha explains her motivation for writing the book and the significance of the Second American Repu...

Lisa Graves is the founder and Executive Director of True North Research, a national investigative watchdog group that exposes the shadowy machinations of dark money funders like Leonard Leo, Barre Seid, Harlan Crow, Charles Koch, Dick Uihlein, and Rob Arkley, and their front groups. She served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Policy Development/Legal Policy at the U.S. Depart...

For 26 years, Rone Tempest was the national and foreign correspondent for the LA Times, based in Paris, New Delhi, Beijing, and Hong Kong, as well as the craziest capital city, Sacramento. After his retirement, he worked for Pro Publica and was the co-founder of the Wyoming nonprofit public policy news site, Wyofile. He’s taught journalism at Berkeley, his alma mater, and has won numerous awards....