The DSR Network

To say it’s been a busy week in American politics would be an understatement. Thankfully, Kavita and Norm are here to discuss the unfolding dynamics of the primaries and Senate races, the state of the Supreme Court and upcoming decisions, and why voters’ economic perception isn’t matching the reality.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the Tuesday edition of the DSR daily, we cover the updated situation in Haiti, the conclusion of the prosecutors’ case against Donald Trump, the German foreign minister’s visit to Kyiv, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Monday, the prosecution rested its case in Donald Trump’s hush money trial in Manhattan. This comes after Trump’s defense team concluded their efforts to destroy former Trump fixer Michael Cohen’s credibility as one of the chief witnesses against Trump. So has the prosecution proven its case? We talked to New York Law School professor Rebecca Roiphe, who has prosecuted cases like these in New Y...

Emerging from the shadows after a 24 year career at CIA, former senior case officer Ed Bogan joins Marc to share his insights on serving everywhere from South Asia to Ukraine, including the critical importance of people at CIA, the need to form enduring liaison partnerships and building a resilient workforce. A lively tour d’horizon of an amazing agency life, that includes Ed’s journey from skateb...

On the Monday edition of the DSR daily, we cover the death of Iranian President Raisi in a helicopter crash, the ICC prosecutor requesting warrants for Hamas and Israeli leadership, Trump’s potential testimony on Monday, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The GOP’s embrace of Donald Trump’s authoritarianism is growing more blatant. Republicans have joined him in attacking his criminal trials as illegitimate. Those angling to be his running mate say they wouldn’t have certified his 2020 loss. And many Republicans are echoing his refusal to say he’ll respect the 2024 outcome. We talked to Tom Nichols, a leading Never Trump conservative and staff writ...

Original Air Date: May 30, 2023 Michael’s guest this week is Jennifer Cafarella, the Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). Jennifer and her team of analysts have been providing detailed reports and interactive maps each day since the war began on both Russian and Ukrainian positions. If you’re interested in what’s really happening in Ukraine, don’t miss thi...

Original Air Date: April 13, 2023 It is bad enough the Supreme Court has been transformed from the central pillar of our justice system into a mood ring reflective the shifting views of the extreme right. But the damage that has been done to our legal system and our democracy at large now is visible at every level of the courts, state legislatures and in our Congress. We don't often connect the do...

We’re getting worried about the things that go boom in the night. Between talk about removing one of the legs of the US nuclear triad and Russia’s ever-present saber-rattling, there’s no shortage of things that give us insomnia. Heather and Jon are back to talk about the many foolhardy ideas being floated in the world of nuclear arms and defense both in the US and abroad. Learn more about your ad...

On the Friday edition of the DSR daily, we discuss the first food trucks arriving via the US pier in Gaza, a new report on Trump’s plans for the FBI in a second term, unrest in New Caledonia, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s running mate, Nicole Shanahan, dropped a bomb: She announced a donation of another $8 million to his campaign. That’s substantially more than her initial $2 million, and suggests much more is coming. Which is a reminder: It’s still very plausible that RFK Jr. will get on the ballot in many of the swing states that will decide the election. We talked to veteran De...

Should we be panicking about the election yet? While there’s been chatter about recent negative polls for Biden and fears over the campaign’s strategy, there are still many reasons to stay positive. Tara McGowan and Simon Rosenberg join David Rothkopf to break down the good, the bad, and the ugly for the Biden camp and forecast what’s next at the long road ahead. Learn more about your ad choices....

On the Thursday edition of the DSR daily, we cover the completion of the aid pier in Gaza, Putin arriving in Beijing for a meeting with Xi, an assassination attempt on the Prime Minister of Slovakia, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Earlier this month, Donald Trump refused to commit to accepting the outcome of the 2024 election, shamelessly declaring he’d only do so “if everything’s honest.” Translation: He’ll only treat the outcome as valid if he wins. Infuriatingly, Trump has crucial backing for this project: Fox News and other MAGA propaganda outlets are already laying the groundwork to treat the outcome as illegitimate, s...

There is certainly no shortage of news to make us stressed, anxious, and depressed. Thankfully Rosa Brooks joins David Rothkopf for an episode that is sure to make us all feel better, right? Rosa and David break down the ever-looming threat posed by Trump, the current status of Ukraine, the Israel-Gaza conundrum, and more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the Wednesday edition of the DSR daily, we cover the key takeaways from Tuesday’s primaries, the advancement of $1 billion in arms for Israel, new tariffs on Chinese goods, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Tuesday, when Michael Cohen testified against Donald Trump, the former president’s lawyers reminded jurors that Cohen was once slavishly devoted to Trump and used to lie relentlessly on his behalf—before Cohen turned on him. Cohen responded by admitting it: Yes, he was once a member of the Trump “cult.” Which is apt: Again and again, Trump’s own lawyers have seemingly designed their strategy ar...

As Donald Trump deals with a gag order in his hush money trial, his various cronies have come out of the woodwork to do his dirty work. JD Vance, Tommy Tuberville, and more have come out to criticize the trial and jockey for a vice presidential nomination. Norm and Kavita break down this MAGA race to the bottom and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the Tuesday edition of the DSR daily, we cover Cohen’s testimony in Trump’s hush money trial, the US and Taiwan holding drills in the Pacific, the 76th anniversary of the Nakba, and more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, The New York Times released new polls that sent shock waves through the Democratic establishment, finding Donald Trump leading in all six key swing states, in some cases by startling margins. While President Biden has fared better in other recent polls, the bottom line is that he is trailing in all the swing-state polling averages. So we talked to Jefrey Pollack, a top pollster for the...

It’s been 7 months since the devastating Hamas attack in Israel. Doug London joins Marc to assess the region after 10/7, including the ferocious Israeli reaction, how Hamas can be "strategically defeated,” the importance of the US as an ally to provide wise counsel, and the prospects of Israel-Saudi normalization. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the Monday edition of the DSR daily, we cover the ouster of Sergei Shoigu as Russia’s Defense Minister, Michael Cohen’s impending testimony, a recent poll showing discontent among young voters, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump constantly claims that crime is out of control. In reality, it’s substantially down under Biden, after soaring during the pandemic that Trump catastrophically botched as president. Now the Democratic group Third Way is releasing a new study finding that this year, congressional Democrats secured substantially more funding for public safety projects across the country than Republicans...

Original Air Date: September 2, 2022 On this week's episode, we do a deep dive on the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. In the bonus segment, Norm talks about the latest Trump crime news and Biden's most recent speech. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Air Date: April 28, 2023 The Democrats should not be trying to eke out a narrow win in 2024. Given recent results in statewide elections, the Republicans active desire to embrace policies that are opposed by a supermajority of Americans, their seeming impulse to hitch their wagon to a star that is in deep legal trouble and the great record of the Biden Administration, a bigger win is poss...