The DSR Network

Donald Trump and his allies have been pushing Nebraska’s GOP-controlled State legislature to change how the state’s electoral votes are allotted, to prevent Kamala Harris from winning the election with just the blue wall states. But Nebraska’s GOP governor just announced that he will not hold a special session to change the rules, dashing Trump’s hopes. How did this happen? We talked to Joe Pertic...

Norm and Kavita are back to discuss the past week of events in each presidential campaign. Kamala Harris continues to outpace the GOP and previous Democratic candidates in fundraising, while the Trump campaign continues to make outrageous statements about women and abortion rights. What are the polls telling us about the state of these campaigns as we inch closer to Election Day? And, in the membe...

On the DSR daily for Tuesday, we cover the latest deadly strikes in Lebanon, the new funding bill in the House, a CrowdStrike hearing in Congress, and more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The scandals are getting worse for Mark Robinson, the GOP candidate for governor in North Carolina. After CNN broke the news of his incendiary comments on a pornography message board—including describing himself as a “black Nazi”—much of his staff quit. Now the national GOP has stopped funding his ads. You’ve heard talk about how Robinson’s collapse could help doom Trump in must-win North Carolina...

On today’s episode of Above Average Intelligence, David Gioe @GioeINT, former CIA officer and current British Academy Global Professor of Intelligence and International Security at King’s College London, joins Marc to discuss the field of intelligence studies and the importance of passing the torch to the next generation. Additionally, David and Marc dive into the growing Russian spy hub in Mexico...

On the DSR Daily for Monday, we discuss the resignations of several key Mark Robinson campaign staffers, the DeSantis administration’s efforts to curb abortion access, Trump stating that he would not run again in 2028, and more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In two bizarre rants over the weekend, Donald Trump openly fumed about female voters, lecturing them about why they should be supporting him and dismissing concerns about GOP abortion bans and all they’ve wrought. Meanwhile, a new NBC News poll shows Kamala Harris leading Trump by 21 points among women. Is Trump even trying to speak to them effectively anymore? We talked to Joan Walsh, national af...

Original air date: September 25, 2023 As technology rapidly evolves, America’s intelligence community needs to get smarter. David and Marc are joined by the former deputy director of the CIA Michael Morell to break down the shortcomings of our intelligence services and what must be done to meet the security challenges of both today and tomorrow. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm...

Original air date: October 13, 2023 The escalation in Israel’s war with Hamas would have profound effects on the region and the global community. Kim Ghattas joins Jon and David to predict what could come next in the conflict, what role the rest of the region will play, and how the rest of the world will feel the effects. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Madelyn Creedon joins Jon to talk about the global nuclear landscape and her role as chairperson of the 2023 the Strategic Posture Commission. How will America’s security be affected in this new age of nuclear uncertainty and global competition. What steps and systems are China and Russia building and what are they trying to do. And most importantly, what combination of capabilities and national p...

On the Friday edition of the DSR daily, we discuss the bonkers Mark Robinson story, Zelensky’s upcoming meeting with Biden and Harris, Trump’s bizarre statements about Jews, and more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump is a crummy candidate, but he’s certainly not the only example of rot in the Republican Party. With so much of the Trump campaign focused on hate and division, we have to ask: how low can the Republican Party really go? The Washington Post’s Jen Rubin and Words Matter host Norm Ornstein join David Rothkopf for an examination of how far the Republican Party has fallen. Learn more about...

If Donald Trump loses Pennsylvania, he almost certainly will lose the presidential election. Now, all of a sudden, we have four new high-quality polls showing Kamala Harris ahead, though some others show it tied. Why the heck is Pennsylvania so close? What is really going on there? Should we believe the polls? Or not? We chatted with Democratic strategist Rebecca Katz, who is from Pennsylvania her...

As Israel conducts one of the most impressive kinetic intelligence operations of our time, former DoD official Alex Plitsas joins Marc to discuss the technical aspects of the operation, and what may come next as Israel “escalate to de-escalate." Also, Alex and Marc review a recent CT conference that discussed the threat landscape, both from external and internal groups. And great bonus content on...

On the DSR daily for Thursday, we cover the latest developments from Lebanon, the uncovering of a Chinese-run tech spying network, House Republicans killing their own funding bill, and more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At a rally in Michigan this week, Donald Trump unleashed a strange monologue about how we should only build gas-powered cars in the future, because we have lots of gasoline and China doesn’t. Translation: China has a huge lead in electric vehicles, so we shouldn’t even try to compete. Why isn’t all this more central in the presidential race? We chatted with Princeton professor Jesse Jenkins, a sha...

The pager explosions throughout Lebanon shocked the region and the world. As more details come to light, it’s clear that the attack was the result of an extensive and unprecedented Israeli intelligence operation. So how did they do it, and what comes next? Former CIA officer Marc Polymeropoulos and regional expert Kim Ghattas join Kori Schake, Ed Luce, and David Rothkopf to answer these questions...

On the DSR daily for Wednesday, we cover Israel’s pager attack in Lebanon, suspicious packages being sent to election workers across the country, the Federal Reserve preparing to cut interest rates, and more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the first time, Kamala Harris’ favorability rating has crossed into positive territory in FiveThirtyEight’s latest polling averages. That’s a crucial threshold, as Harris is introducing herself to votes within a highly compressed timetable. But there’s still work to do: Harris has not yet fully rebuilt the coalition that ousted Donald Trump in 2020. We talked to Nick Ahamed, deputy executive d...

The core ideals of America are in peril, and the problem goes beyond just this election cycle. Despite all the doom and gloom, there is a path forward to get the country back on track. PoliticsGirl Leigh McGowan joins David Rothkopf to discuss her new book, A Return to Common Sense, and outline the ways to fix America before we really blow it.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/...

From Charlottesville to Springfield, Donald Trump has been spewing language and misinformation that has incited real world violence. How have the candidates been using or abusing language in their campaigns? Norm and Kavita are back to break down this flurry of language in the media and show that words really do matter. Bonus content for members also includes a conversation on the recent assassina...

On the DSR daily for Tuesday, we cover a Russian order to expand the military, a potential major shift in the Israeli government, the unfolding humanitarian disaster in Sudan, and more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a reference to the apparent assassination attempt against Donald Trump over the weekend, the former president unleashed a long rant on social media blaming it all on Democrats. He insisted that because of Democratic rhetoric about Trump, the “bullets are flying, and it will only get worse.” Trump is systematically recasting any and all criticism of his attacks on democracy as incitement to viol...

On the DSR daily for September 16, we cover the FBI’s investigation into a possible assassination attempt on Donald Trump and threats in Springfield, a key Biden adviser’s trip to Israel, TikTok’s upcoming court defense, and more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the weekend, Donald Trump’s rage over his debate fiasco appeared to get darker. In one splenetic social media post after another, he fumed he actually won the debate, while erupting repeatedly at ABC News’ moderation of it. All this comes as a whole bunch of new polling shows that Kamala Harris has made some surprising post-debate gains against Trump. We talked to veteran Democratic pollster...