The Daily Beast Podcast

Symone Sanders Townsend joins Joanna Coles to break down the moment Donald Trump struggled to stay awake for twenty minutes in the Oval Office, and why the fact that no one around him reacted is the real story. Sanders, co-host of “The Weeknight,” on MSNBC soon to be MS NOW starting on November 15th, outlines the mystery of who’s really running the White House to the gold “Oval Office” signage, th...

The Daily Beast’s must-read columnist David Rothkopf joins Joanna Coles to dissect Trump’s mounting political peril. As dissent grows within his own party—over foreign aid, tariffs, and radical Senate moves—Rothkopf warns that Trump is “staring death,” with his political survival hanging by a thread. This episode explores the stakes of a president confronting resistance from his base and the chill...

Michael Wolff joins Joanna Coles to examine the looming legal battlefield of Trump’s 2026 strategy, where every move is filtered through lawyers and litigation. As the White House braces for the possibility of losing both the House and Senate, Wolff reveals the unraveling logic guiding a president who cannot course-correct, while aides scramble to protect their careers. From redistricting schemes...

Michael Wolff joins Joanna Coles to examine the one thing Trump can’t spin: a morning of losses he instantly tries to recast as wins. Wolff brings the voices inside the West Wing, describing Trump pacing between TVs, hunting for a villain, mangling the numbers, and turning Mamdani into his next made-to-order enemy. They cut through the chaos—shutdown brinkmanship, Prop 50 conspiracies, the Cuomo c...

Dr. Bandy X. Lee, forensic and social psychiatrist, joins Joanna Coles to sound the alarm regarding President Donald Trump’s dire mental health problems. She explains how Trump’s paranoia, fear of exposure, and relentless need for power drive his behavior—from deploying guards to manipulating supporters—and how these patterns spread through society, creating true mental health contagion. Dr. Lee a...

Michael Wolff joins Joanna Coles to dissect the latest unraveling in Trumpworld: the controversial CBS News settlement, followed by their soft-ball sit‑down with Donald Trump. They question: Is this real journalism or a pay‑for‑play fluff piece? Later, they turn to JD Vance’s weekend spectacle—the public message to his Hindu wife, the viral hug with Erica Kirk, and what it reveals about Vance’s na...

Andrew Lownie returns to break down the latest fallout for Prince Andrew. Lownie, the author of the book 'Untitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York,' breaks down Andrew’s exile to Sandringham and whispers of his Middle East escape to avoid legal scrutiny. Lownie parses how the Epstein scandal and financial allegations have dramatically reshaped the royal landscape. He explains the palace’s...

Dr. Steven Hassan, world-renowned cult expert and author of The Cult of Trump, joins the Beast’s Hugh Dougherty to unravel how Trump’s movement mirrors the classic architecture of a political cult, from manufactured grievances to the online ecosystems that keep followers locked in. Then, with recent Epstein materials resurfacing, they explore the contradictions, alliances, and unexplored vulnerabi...

Michael Wolff joins Joanna Coles to reveal how White House insiders are now dubbing the East Wing the “Epstein Ballroom.” From the persistent shadow of Jeffrey Epstein over Trump and Prince Andrew’s dramatic fall from royal privilege, to the explosive crypto pardons benefiting the Trump family, Wolff’s latest thorns to burrow into Trump’s side. They discuss Rupert Murdoch’s role, the birthday lett...

Michael Wolff joins Joanna Coles to posit the president’s next astonishing move: Donald Trump’s plan to demolish the West Wing of the White House. They trace how that impulse connects with the East Wing teardown, a $300 million ballroom project, and the greater ambition of remaking the presidency in his image. Along the way, they explore how Trump’s real estate instincts are emerging as his most e...

John Della Volpe, Polling Director at the Harvard Kennedy School, joins Joanna Coles to break down the dramatic shift in young male voters, once Trump’s strongest base. From Charlie Kirk’s legacy to the collapse of Trump’s net favorable rating among young men, Della Volpe explains how inflation, chaos, and the unmet promise to release the Epstein files are reshaping politics. They also weigh in on...

Michael Wolff joins Joanna Coles to reveal Trump’s hasty plan to demolish the East Wing and build a massive Trump Ballroom, his push to bypass political limits, and his obsession with control. They break down Steve Bannon’s wild Trump third-term schemes and Melania’s conspicuous absence on the president's Japan trip. Wolff explains how Trump’s real estate instincts shape his decisions in Washingto...

Writer E. Jean Carroll, who triumphed over Donald Trump with an $83 million defamation verdict after accusing him of rape in the mid-1990s, is joined by her attorney Roberta Kaplan and Joanna Coles to unpack their historic courtroom victories. From tense depositions to a landmark judgment, they reveal how strategy, resolve, and fearlessness dismantled Trump’s aura of invincibility. Carroll discuss...

Don Lemon joins Joanna Coles to assess how Donald Trump’s hasty East Wing tear-down, building a tacky McMansion-style ballroom while the country stalls, mixing supposed opulence with power, and blurring public duty with private ego. Lemon, a veteran reporter and anchor, brings his sharp and uncompromising voice to the conversation. Together with Coles, he examines Trump’s architecture of excess —t...

Stephen Miller is the ultimate suck-up, a master of shameless flattery whose influence keeps him at the center of Trump’s orbit. Michael Wolff joins Joanna Coles to unpack how Miller’s relentless devotion to Trump reflects the chaos and destruction in the East Wing. The two also touch on how Wolff’s countersuit against Melania has spurred a bizarre AI-generated TMZ story that falsely claimed he wa...

Michael Wolff joins Joanna Coles to tackle his startling new announcement: a billion-dollar countersuit against Melania Trump. The two dissect Jeffrey Epstein’s well-documented friendship with Donald Trump and connect the dots to Trump’s East Wing demolition, showcasing the president’s strategy for destruction. Wolff and Coles also unpack Stephen Miller’s hardline crusades, exposing the strange ps...

Dr. John Gartner joins the Beast's Joanna Coles to assess the unraveling of Donald Trump’s mind. The clinical psychologist and former Johns Hopkins professor, who warned early about Trump’s “malignant narcissism,” now says the president shows clear signs of cognitive decline, comparing his confusion and grandiosity to dictators in their final stages. Coles presses Gartner on whether Trump’s dement...

Michael Wolff joins Joanna Coles to dig into the one fear that continues to dog Donald Trump, the lingering specter of Jeffrey Epstein. As new oversight leaks reveal redacted names and unreleased evidence, Wolff explains why the Epstein files continue to rattle Trump and shape his thinking. They explore how this aversion affects his decisions, fuels his late-night rants, and exposes cracks in Trum...

Harry Sisson joins the Beast's Joanna Coles to discuss being the target in an AI viral video by President Trump, complete with a crown, a jet, and a very messy payload. He shares his disbelief, how he sees the attack as proof of Trump’s obsession with online feuds, and why he welcomes the attention. Sisson also explains how Democrats can use social media effectively without stooping to the same ta...

Sam Mangel, a former Federal prison inmate and current prison consultant, takes the Beast’s Joanna Coles inside Ghislaine Maxwell’s unusual life in a Texas prison camp. Sentenced to 20 years for sex trafficking, Maxwell is receiving unprecedented privileges and security. Mangel explains how other inmates react, the strict lockdowns during secret visits, and why her celebrity inmate treatment is fr...

Michael Wolff joins Joanna Coles to dissect Trump’s euphoric “victory tour” of the Middle East, where he cast himself as a global peacemaker while ignoring protests and chaos at home. Wolff unpacks Trump’s boastful talk of “Tomahawks for peace,” and the widening rift between Trump and his MAGA base. Both wonder why the “no kings” protests aren’t aimed at Epstein and the powerful men who enabled hi...

Michael Wolff shocks Joanna Coles by abruptly changing his view on Donald Trump’s desire to run for a third term. The veteran Trump biographer now believes that the president has been radicalized by his growing authoritarianism and is now likely to consider running again in 2028. Drawing on insights from inside the White House, they discuss how the Supreme Court’s recent decisions could pave the w...

The Daily Beast’s David Gardner and Sarah Ewall-Wice join Joanna Coles to unpack Trump’s latest obsession, a $200 million Arc de Trump slated to lord over the Potomac. Is it legacy-building or pure delusion? From secret Oval Office blueprints and questions over who’s really bankrolling Trump’s $200 million ballroom to Pete Hegseth’s war on the press fallout, Coles and company expose a capital cons...

Trump Chronicler Michael Wolff joins the Beast’s Joanna Coles to unpack the Time magazine cover that ignited Trump’s fury and how the slow-walked political prosecutions of his perceived enemies, including James Comey, Adam Schiff, and Chris Christie, spurred Trump to install Lindsey Halligan. Meanwhile, Melania reemerges with her documentary hustle, prompting questions about her new visibility and...

Kurt Andersen joins the Beast’s Joanna to unpack the surprising Jekyll and Hyde nature of Donald Trump, from his once fawning desperation to be covered warmly by Andersen to his snide takedown once Andersen was no longer useful. Drawing on insights, Andersen and Joanna Coles explore what Trump’s split personality reveals about his nature, his calculated self-presentation, and his ascent to the Whi...