The DSR Network

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: a Pentagon program is over budget. The Sentinel ICBM program is envisioned as a keystone of the US nuclear triad, but why do we need 400 new missiles? Slate columnist Fred Kaplan and Mackenzie Knight from the Federation of American Scientists join Jon Wolfsthal and Heather Williams to shine a light on the program and why it may, or may not, be necessary.  L...

The Supreme Court is finally hearing Trump’s appeal of the Colorado ruling removing him from the ballot. The decision will be massive, but it is not the only legal challenge on Donald Trump’s plate. Norm and Kavita break down the case before the Court, and the state of Trump’s numerous legal battles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On our Friday edition of the DSR Daily, we cover Tucker Carlson’s interview of Putin, the Special Counsel’s report on Biden’s handling of classified documents, the Supreme Court’s Colorado hearing, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With Nikki Haley set to make a last stand of sorts in the South Carolina primary later this month, there’s a hidden reason that Donald Trump has been so dominant throughout the GOP nomination process: White evangelicals. Their support for Trump has held through impeachments, scandals, revelations about sexual assault, multiple serious criminal prosecutions, and even an insurrection attempt. We tal...

Democrats need to get serious about winning in 2024, and they need to hit the Republicans hard. Rachel Bitecofer joins David Rothkopf to talk about her new book, “Hit ‘Em Where It Hurts”, and why Democrats need to embrace their status as the standard bearers of democracy and freedom to mobilize voters and beat Republicans at their own game. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adch...

On the Thursday edition of the DSR Daily, we cover Trump’s impending hearing at the Supreme Court, Brazilian police investigating close Bolsonaro allies in a coup probe, Ukrainian solider shortages, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In an extraordinary spectacle, virtually all Senate Republicans joined together Wednesday to block a bipartisan bill that would have given Republicans much of what they wanted on border security. Why? Because Donald Trump told them to. We talked to Democratic Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado, who conferred with Republicans throughout this process. He opened up about what Republicans said behind...

Congressional Republicans are sacrificing Ukraine for the sake of sticking it to Biden. But failing to provide aid to a key ally would do more than just harm the Biden administration. Kori Schake, Ed Luce, and Rosa Brooks join David Rothkopf for a look at the cost of failure in Ukraine for US global leadership. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the Wednesday edition of the DSR Daily, we cover the 135 ceasefire proposed by Hamas, Nikki Haley losing to ‘none of these candidates’ in Nevada, the House Republicans’ failure to impeach Mayorkas, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Tuesday, a federal appeals court ruled that Donald Trump is not immune from criminal charges stemming from his effort to steal the 2020 election. With Trump expected to take this to the Supreme Court, how will the timeline of his insurrection-related trial dovetail with the presidential election? We talked to former federal prosecutor Barbara McQuade about all the possible scenarios—including o...

On the Tuesday edition of the DSR Daily, we cover the imperiled Ukraine and Border deal, Orban’s Fidesz party boycotting a parliamentary session, Antony Blinken’s Middle East visit, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio declared in an on-air rant that if he had been Trump’s vice president in the run-up to Jan. 6, 2021, he would have told states to send Congress multiple slates of electors so lawmakers could “debate” the election’s supposed improprieties. That may sound like typical MAGA bluster, but it has deadly serious ramifications, confirming that Republicans still think...

The Israel-Hamas conflict has wreaked havoc on civilians in Gaza, but the worst may be yet to come. As international watchdogs warn of potential famine and disease outbreaks, what can the US do to prevent disaster? Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East Mick Mulroy joins Marc Polymeropoulos and David Rothkopf to share insight from his recent trip to Israel and more. Learn...

On our Monday edition of the DSR Daily, we cover the US Senate’s deal on Ukraine aid and border control, President Zelensky confirming his intention to replace a top general, election news in El Salvador and Senegal, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s one of the strangest disconnects in our politics today: By many metrics, the economy is doing extremely well, yet President Biden’s approval numbers on the economy are in the toilet. With the latest jobs report showing an extraordinary 353,000 jobs created in January, we talked to New York Times columnist Paul Krugman about what the boom means, why Trump and MAGA Republicans are in denial abo...

Original Air Date: January 13, 2023 On this week's episode, Norm and Kavita talk about the start of a divided and performative Congress. Members of The DSR Network get a bonus conversation about Biden's classified documents and the Republicans investigations efforts across the government. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Air Date - March 29, 2023 Celebrating democracy seems like a good idea. Further, President Biden and his team have been actively supporting democracy worldwide since they took office. But that doesn't mean hosting a democracy summit is a great idea. Because a lot of difficult questions are raised. Like who thinks they're a democracy but really isn't? What do you do with wannabe authoritar...

Are tensions between Iran and the US the highest they’ve ever been? The conflict between Israel and Gaza is only the latest in a long line of events that have put both countries at odds. Foreign policy experts Robin Wright and Barbara Slavin join David Rothkopf and hosts Heather Williams and Jon Wolfsthal to untangle the complicated history of the US and Iran, and forecast future crises in the reg...

On the Friday edition of the DSR Daily, we cover a letter from over 800 western officials protesting Israel-Gaza policies, the US approving a plan to strike Iranian targets in Syria and Iraq, and Russia refusing to turn over the bodies of Ukrainian POWs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we learned that Donald Trump’s fundraising committees channeled an extraordinary $50 million toward bankrolling his myriad legal defenses throughout 2023. Such sordid trickery has a long history on the right: For decades, shrewd fundraising gurus have raked in cash from conservative voters with hallucinatory alarmism about leftist villains and other apocalyptic threats. We talked to Geo...

In this election, the most important campaigners are coming from outside of the political establishment. Democratic strategists Tara McGowan and Simon Rosenberg join David Rothkopf to share why now is the time for everyone to use their platform to push for victory in 2024, and why the Taylor Swift factor may be even bigger than you think. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoi...

On the Thursday edition of the DSR Daily, we cover the EU agreement on a 50 billion euro package for Ukraine, Zuckerberg apologizing to families in a Senate hearing, the escalating farmer protests in Europe, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A frightening new batch of polls this week showed President Biden trailing Donald Trump in all the key battleground states. And yet, as bleak as the polling has looked, Democrats racked up an impressive winning streak in special elections all throughout 2023. This disconnect is why political pros are closely watching an election for state House in the Philadelphia suburbs that’s set for Feb. 13th....

The world’s largest democracy is in danger. Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist movement continues to erode the rights of Indian Muslims and the country’s democratic systems. Indian journalist Rana Ayyub joins Ed Luce and David Rothkopf to shine a light on the peril India faces as elections loom.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the Wednesday edition of the DSR Daily, we cover reports that Zelensky will oust a top general, Iran’s threats to ‘decisively respond’ to any US strikes, an Argentinian court striking down Milei’s labor policies, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices