The Middle - UNPLUGGED with Anthony Weiner

Anthony has been in the “pick our spots” camp about the madcap beginning of Trump II.  Some things are worth the fight and others maybe not.  We will know an authoritarian overthrow of our nation when we see it.  Well, you don’t need to squint much to see it coming.  Courts are ordering the administration to do things and team Trump is saying no.  Now what?  It’s a good time to go back to 1803 and...

Did that whole trade war we had this week work out ok?  It depends.  Some people like reading what monkeys at typewriters produce. It ain’t Shakespeare. Anthony looks at the meta behind the chaos and finds there may be less than meets the eye.  Like a 9 year-old banging on a pan, the attention itself may be the end goal. Also this week in Ask Anthony Anything, when political gamesmanship is totall...

The new Trump team has thrown a whole cookbook of spaghetti against the wall of the American political system in its first weeks.  Anthony offers his grudging respect for their sheer chutzpah.  But when it comes to deciding not to do spending that Congress authorized or changing immigration laws without permission, it is the Republicans in the House and Senate that have to stand up or roll over. ...

The first days of Trump 2.0 had a lot of trolling but also some legitimately outrageous. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We hire special investigators/prosecutors when we want to get to the bottom of politically sensitive cases. So how did we do? This week, not one, but two Special Counsels dropped their long awaited reports on what they did and didn’t do and why. A bit of an anti climax in both cases but still Anthony looks at the what and the why of the things. In Ask Anthony Anything, a visit to the JD Vance hall...

If there is one thing that the Republicans seem to know how to do, its tax cuts.  If giant, deficit-exploding giveaways to the rich are your thing, they have delivered.  But this year, Donald Trump, Mike Johnson and the GOP faithful are going to have their hands full even doing the “easy” thing - renewing the 2017 tax cuts.  Anthony gets a little wonky this week explaining why it's easier to talk...

Maybe predicting the future in Washington is not that hard.  We’ve seen a version of this movie before.  Anthony looks at the parallels and differences between the beginning of Trump I and Trump II.  Call it a prediction show or call it a deja vu.  In Ask Anthony Anything, an explainer on “Detainer Requests” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's a joyous and - hopefully - meaningful time of year.  Anthony departs this week from his usual unpacking and repacking of the issue of the moment to look at what he thinks should be the principles of the vocation of politics.  Heck, if we can’t get a bit spiritual this time of year, when can we? In Ask Anthony Anything, which new idea is proving to be least popular? Learn more about your ad ch...

What's going on with New York?  Anthony has the answer.  Some history, some trends and some predictions about the city we love.  We measure the vibes.  In Ask Anthony Anything, the other ABC bends at the knee.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A serious conversation was reignited this week by a cold blooded assassination.  The crime was inexcusable but the conversation after was inevitable : why do we even have health insurance companies?  Anthony explains the odd way we pay for and distribute health care in America and suggests that the populist rage this week is both well founded and not difficult to address.  Also this week in Ask An...

Anthony staked his claim on conservative radio by being the left’s truth teller about the long and winding road of Hunter Biden.  The pardon of the first son is the last - loud - chapter in a story that began with an abandoned laptop documenting a life in addiction and ending with two guilty verdicts.  The summary isn’t tidy.  That's for sure.  Democrats are as upset as Republicans.  It's time for...

It it may take a while for Donald Trump to mess things up at home, but he can really light the rest of the world on fire on day one.  Anthony takes a tour of the world's hot spots this week and looks at what Trump's promise is to bring the “Art of the Deal to the international stage again.  Hawkish appointments and dovish public statements make it hard to figure what will happen next, but unlike d...

It's a red alert!  A crisis!  DefCon5!  Democrats are losing their cool even as Americans have stopped paying attention.  Anthony suggests adopting the British model : let the majority govern and then pounce when they fail.  In Ask Anything Anything, a look at the signature Trump catch phrase - mass deportation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You can choose your own ending.  Epic upheaval or a shrug emoji?  Appropriate for a podcast with middle in its name, Anthony has some from column A and a bit from column B.  Maybe Democrats are from Mars and Republicans are from Venus.  In Ask Anthony Anything, bad Biden takes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Well that didn't go as planned.  Anthony sits down with Frank Morano and tries to unpack what we just watched.  It's one of the stages of grief - record a podcast.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sure it's close.  And yeah, lots of people may be rooting for the spectacle, but perhaps the most likely scenario for next Tuesday is that we have another smooth election where we know the winner pretty fast.  Anthony knows we expect chaos, but elections are actually usually not controversial affairs and now we have a lot more experience dealing with the new(ish) development - early voting.  He ru...

Americans are ready for election day. Somewhere between a scream and a shrug, we are all sort of over it. So what’s going to happen? Anthony has an insider’s take on how to look at what we are seeing. The polls are tied, so don’t look there.  Perhaps the way to view the closing arguments is what the TV ads are saying. In Ask Anthony Anything, Donald’s visit to McDonalds. Learn more about your ad c...

Can we please stop asking JD Vance if Trump lost?  Anthony looks at his prediction that the junior Senator from Ohio would be a very capable candidate.  He also wonders why reporters seem to miss the opportunity to not just ask the same questions over and over.  Of course he would ignore the constitution at the whim of his boss!  Otherwise he would not have been chosen.  Duh!   But perhaps push hi...

The wounds still are raw and Israelis are far from ready to move on.  Hostages remain in captivity and rockets still fall from the sky on a nation about the size of New Jersey.  Palestinians - both those responsible for the atrocities and those simply trying to survive the reign of Hamas - are suffering.  But the leadership and capabilities of the terror groups that have tormented Israel and preve...

While Donald Trump’s whole campaign seems to be about shouting insults about made up things, Anthony takes a break from the day-to-day of the 2024 campaign and breaks down the news of the New York City mayor being indicted.  While Anthony isn't impressed by the case, it's still a big deal.  In Ask Anthony Anything, which presidential candidate is the bigger spender?  Learn more about your ad choic...

Back in January, Anthony shared the Democratic despair in how tough a year this would be for the fate of control of the United States Senate.  Things looked grim.  So with 40 days to go, do the Democrats have a prayer?  Maybe the prayers are helping.  In Ask Anthony Anything, Senator Vance invites Anthony to talk about one of his favorite subjects - Obamacare. Learn more about your ad choices. Vis...

In honor of the 100th edition of the show, Anthony goes meta and looks at the arc of the podcast and what has and hasn't worked since it launched nearly two years ago.  We take a break from the news of the week to gaze at the state of the format and the attempt to find “the middle".   In Ask Anthony Anything, what's it like to be Weiner? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoic...

Ok, it's official.  Kamala kicked ass.  But that's just my opinion.  Hear some other voices from 77WABC Radio.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Photo ops on hallowed grounds are in the news, but maybe Vice President Harris would rather not talk about the traumatic and deadly withdrawal from America’s longest war.  But if Donald Trump wants to point fingers about the deaths of 13 Marines and over 170 civilians at the hands of the Taliban in Afghanistan, then Anthony wants to introduce some facts to the conversation that Trump wants us to f...

We got caught by surprise a lot in recent weeks as the campaign has taken some epic twists.  But Anthony tries to lay out some of the key dates coming next. It's less than 10 weeks until election day.  Plenty of time for debates, court dates and election law rulings. In Ask Anthony Anything, another take on RFK Jr. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices