Runaway Country with Alex Wagner

The Maine Senate race has been thrown into complete disarray after serious allegations of sexual assault emerged against Graham Platner. This week Alex speaks to Dan Kleban, U.S. Senate candidate and co-founder of the Maine Beer Company, about how Democratic voters in Maine are feeling in the wake of Platner’s campaign implosion, and why they don’t want Washington meddling in their elections. Then...

This week we bring you an episode from Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams . Stacey Abrams has committed her career to bold political advocacy and voting rights. In this episode, Stacey opens the show by answering audience questions about the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on the Voting Rights Act, and what it means for our democracy. Then she’s joined by Jane Fonda, who explains why she’s revived...

Take one poll with a grain of salt, but what about a TON of polls? From white middle class voters, to rural Americans, and even Evangelicals, the numbers show that Trump is losing his most ardent supporters. This week Alex speaks to “The Clean Clothing Chick” Hannah Dunning, who explains why MAHA is disappointed with the president. Then she’s joined by the Bulwark’s Jonathan V. Last to find out wh...

Is there anything that Vice President JD Vance hasn’t messed up? From political messaging, to lecturing the Pope about theology, Vance’s public appearances are often cringe inducing. But this week, Alex digs into the pernicious actions he’s taking behind the scenes. First she’s joined by California Attorney General Rob Bonta who reveals how much damage Vance’s anti-fraud task force is doing to leg...

The levels of corruption Americans are witnessing are both historic and astounding. This week, Alex speaks to ProPublica reporter Robert Faturechi, who broke the story that the Department of Defense gave a $620,000,000 loan to a company affiliated with Donald Trump Jr. Then she’s joined by Pod Save the World host Ben Rhodes to talk about how everything from the UFC cage match on the White House la...

A new chapter of ICE terror has begun, but instead of taking place on the street—where agents are held accountable by protesters and their phones—mistreatment and coercion is now happening behind the closed doors of ICE detention facilities. These private prisons are operated by a company with close ties to the Trump administration, and have such abominable conditions that detainees at several fac...

Could reality TV star Spencer Pratt become Mayor of Los Angeles? And could Trump’s endorsement of Ken Paxton cause Texas to go blue? This week, Alex dives into all things primaries to see if we can read the tea leaves for what awaits both Republicans and Democrats in the future. She’s joined by Nikki Laurenzo, anchor and political reporter for FOX40 in Sacramento, to break down the chaotic and sti...

This week, Alex digs into the nearly unfathomable corruption of President Trump’s settlement with the Department of Justice, including the $1.776 billion “Anti-weaponization Fund”. She speaks to Michael Fanone, a former DC Metropolitan police officer who was at the Capitol on January 6th to see how he feels about his taxpayer money potentially going to the insurrectionists who attacked him. Then A...

Redistricting battles are spreading like wildfire in both red and blue states, and increasingly the fate of America’s electoral system is at the mercy of the courts. This week, Alex speaks to Virginia Representative Suhas Subramanyam about how Democrats in the state are planning to fight fire with fire after a major setback for their efforts to redraw voting lines, and she hears from New York Stat...

Has Trump corrupted our justice system beyond repair? The latest indictment of former FBI Director James Comey is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of damage that this administration has done. This week, Alex speaks to former US Attorney Mike Gordon about the purging of staff who investigated Trump or January 6th and the appointment of unqualified attorneys at every level. Then she speaks to St...

This week, the President AND the press came under attack. After an attempted shooting at the White House Correspondents Dinner, the Trump administration was quick to blame the media and threaten ABC over a joke that hurt their feelings. On this episode, Alex speaks to Brian Stelter, CNN’s Chief Media Analyst, about the chaos in the Washington Hilton and the FCC’s unprecedented threats against netw...

Instead of pumping the brakes on the Iran war, President Trump is breaking the pumps. This week Alex looks at how high gas prices are impacting Americans, and why they’ve long been considered an existential political threat. First, she speaks to an Uber driver and a gas station owner to get first hand accounts of the financial toll of the war. Then Alex is joined by Derek Thompson, writer and host...

President Trump has a God problem. After criticizing the Pope and posting an image of himself as Jesus online, Trump has caused an uproar among his Christian base. This week, Alex speaks to Pastor Doug Pegitt about the crisis of conscience many faith leaders and parishioners are facing as their political leanings and moral beliefs collide. Then, she’s joined by Jennifer Palmieri, former White Hous...

The President of the United States has officially gone mad. That can be the only conclusion after Trump’s genocidal threats this week to destroy the entire country of Iran, before announcing a two week ceasefire. This week Alex looks at the consequences of the mad king’s actions both abroad and at home. First, she speaks to Mohamed Arrachedi, the Arab world and Iran network coordinator for the Int...

How can we make sense of America’s senseless war with Iran? This week, Alex asks if President Trump’s web of corruption extends to his foreign policy. First she speaks to Sarah Leah Whitson, the former Executive Director of DAWN (Democracy for the Arab World Now), to see how much sway Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman holds over Trump. Then, PSA co-host Jon Lovett joins the pod to talk about...

Leave it to travel delays during Spring Break to turn America’s focus to immigration again. This week, as Congress debates over funding and reforms to ICE, and Markwayne Mullin is sworn in as new Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Alex brings our attention back to the ongoing tactics the Trump administration is using to target immigrants and tear families apart. First she speaks to...

With the war against Iran now in its third week, it has become devastatingly clear that President Trump and his administration have no strategy for the conflict. This week, Alex speaks to Retired Master Sgt. Wes Bryant, a former senior advisor in the Pentagon’s Civilian Protection Center of Excellence, about how Secretary of War Pete Hegseth gutted the team responsible for limiting civilian deaths...

Over a week into the war with Iran, the casualties, global economic fallout, and incoherence of the Trump administration are all growing. This week Alex speaks to Senator Adam Schiff about Democrats’ attempts to put Congress back into the decision maker’s seat and how to bring transparency to a conflict costing American lives. Then, she speaks to Rachel Maddow, NYT Bestselling author and host at M...

While the Trump administration wages war against Iran and broadens their military scope in the northern hemisphere, there are more subtle campaigns being pushed here at home – like the one to convince women to do nothing more than have babies and stay at home. This week, Alex speaks to former trad wife and host of “The Wake Her Up Podcast”, Sharon Johnson, about her upbringing in the Mormon Church...

Rightwing billionaire takeovers, journalists getting arrested, and endless misinformation. Welcome to the current state of American journalism. This week, Alex speaks to former CNN correspondent Jim Acosta about how legacy news organizations caved to President Trump and the critical role of independent media. She’s also joined by Jason Zengerle, author of “Hated By All the Right People: Tucker Car...

President Trump has torn down the East Wing of the White House, re-named the Kennedy Center, and proposed an “Independence Arch”. This week, Alex speaks to architect Neil Flanagan about the damage being done to Washington’s historic buildings, as well as the feasibility of his future projects. Then, she’s joined by Heather Cox Richardson, historian and author of the Substack, “Letters from an Amer...

The latest release of more than three million Epstein files has exposed the vast network of powerful and ultra-rich elites who were part of Jeffrey Epstein’s social and business circle. This week, Alex speaks to journalist Kurt Andersen about the way people at the highest echelons of politics, business, academia, and beyond co-mingle. Then, she’s joined by The Bulwark’s Sarah Longwell to discuss w...

From a raid on an election office in Fulton County, Georgia, to a call to nationalize federal elections…President Trump is making it clear that his next target is our Democracy itself. This week, Alex speaks to Fulton County Commissioner Marvin Arrington about why he’s challenging the FBI’s seizure of voting records. Then, she’s joined by Faiz Shakir, founder of More Perfect Union, to break down t...

This week Alex travels to Minneapolis to see first hand how the community is responding to the terrorizing presence of ICE and the killing of ICU nurse Alex Pretti. She shines a light on the grassroots efforts of mothers mobilizing to help both students and teachers who fear being targeted, and speaks to Reverend Dan Johnson about how his congregation has been impacted as well the very un-Christia...

Even police chiefs in Minnesota are calling out ICE tactics as race-based and out of line. This week, Alex focuses on what comes next — from conditions at ICE detention centers, to the long-term impacts this lawless use of force will have on communities. First Alex speaks to David Wilson, an immigration attorney in Minneapolis about the horrible treatment and lack of medical care his clients are f...