The Moment LIVE! Politics & Culture, Explained

Trump picked a fight with Pope Leo — and Meredith Lynch is on the ground in Boston, (possibly) the Catholic capital of America, to break it down. Plus: Trump posted an AI photo of himself as Jesus, Iran talks collapsed, JD Vance helped lose Hungary's election, and is anyone supervising Trump now that Susie Wiles has breast cancer? Rebecca Sananès has inside knowledge on the Alex Cooper vs Alix Ear...

Melania Trump made an unannounced surprise statement about Jeffrey Epstein — and nobody asked her to. Meredith Lynch and Rebecca Sananès bring in crisis PR expert Molly McPherson to break down why Melania did it, why the timing matters, and what big story might be about to drop. Plus: Pam Bondi's deposition, the Michael Wolff case, and why Molly thinks Melania is only ever looking out for Melania....

Trump Truth-Socialed a threat to bomb Iranian civilian infrastructure on Easter Sunday, and Meredith Lynch and Rebecca Sananès are calling it what it is: a potential war crime. They break down what the 25th Amendment actually is, whether Trump will follow through, and the Easter egg roll auto pen clip that says everything about where we are right now. Then Epstein survivor, TEDx speaker and advoca...

Trump fired Pam Bondi — and Meredith Lynch and Rebecca Sananès are noticing a pattern. Kristi Noem, Elise Stefanik, Pam Bondi: the women who go hardest for Trump are always the first ones out. Sound familiar? Go Touch Grass podcast host Milly Tamarez joins to break down the Summer House scandal everyone is talking about — and why Amanda Batula, Ciara, and West is basically the same story playing o...

The Moment LIVE celebrates Trans Day of Visibility with guest co-hosts Billie Lee (Vanderpump Rules, Why Are You So Sensitive?) and Jeffrey Jay (comedian, Riverdale writer) — plus Scott Turner Schofield (Emmy nominated actor, Becoming a Man in 127 Easy Steps) for one of the most joyful, honest, and necessary conversations about trans life in 2026. TSA agents are finally getting back pay — and Lind...

Meredith Lynch and Rebecca Sananès break down the DHS partial deal, Trump's Iran deadline drama & the surprise Florida house seat flip with Amanda Litman, co-founder of Run for Something, on how progressives are building power from the ground up. Breaking this morning: Democrats and Republicans have reached a partial DHS deal. TSA gets funded, no additional ICE funding, Save America Act droppe...

Private equity in healthcare, ICE in airports & Justin Timberlake's DWI arrest video — Meredith Lynch and Rebecca Sananès break it all down on The Moment LIVE, featuring Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) on his new legislation to ban private equity from hospitals and nursing homes. Senator Murphy explains how the One Big Beautiful Bill softens up your local hospital for a private equity takeover, wh...

The New York Times just dropped a years-long investigation into sexual assault allegations against Cesar Chavez — and Dolores Huerta, his co-founder and a 96-year-old civil rights icon, is among those who came forward. Meredith Lynch and Rebecca Sananès break down the investigation, what it means for leftist movements, and why institutional journalism still matters. Then: ABC canceled The Bachelor...

Meredith Lynch and Rebecca Sananès are joined by V Spehar of Under the Desk News for a full Iran war update — NATO refused to escort oil ships, Trump asked China for help (China and Iran are allies), TSA agents are quitting mid-shutdown, and an Afghan asylum seeker who aided US Special Forces died in ICE custody less than 24 hours after being detained. Keep your eyes on ICE while the Iran war domi...

Is social media actually designed to hook us? And who's legally responsible if it is? Journalist and author Fortesa Latifi joins to break down the landmark Section 230 trial, the dark reality of family vlogger culture, and what influencers told her on the record about monetizing their kids' worst moments. Her book Like, Follow Subscribe: Influencer Kids and the Cost of a Childhood Online is out Ap...

Is the Iran war over, or just beginning? Meredith Lynch and Rebecca Sananès are joined by actress Ashlie Atkinson (The Gilded Age, BlacKkKlansman) and Arkansas congressional candidate Dr. Chris Jones for a wide-ranging conversation on draft talk, the Save America Act, and why the House majority could hinge on a state most people fly over. Plus: why Timothée Chalamet declaring opera dead reveals so...

The news keeps rolling and so does The Moment! Comedian Carolina Montisqueieu is taking the NYC comedy scene by storm, but this morning, she is here to break down everything from Bad Bunny to Bill Clinton. Then Gen-Z icon and Fox News favorite, Hope Walz joins the chat to school our millennial asses on the next generation of the Democratic party and where she stands on matching friendship tattoos,...

Should you show your kids online? What rules should you have in place if your child wants to start a YouTube? What have we learned so far about this mostly uncharted world of child influencing? Fan favorite journalist Fortesa Latifi (Rolling Stone, The Cut, etc) is back on the pod to break it all down. We get into the recent doc Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kid Influencing to discuss what can g...

Our friends from the Private Equity Stakeholder Project are back to help us unpack what's at stake with the sale of Walgreens to private equity firm Sycamore Partners. Jim Baker, Executive Director of PESP joins us to get into Sycamore's track record and why that brings up concerns for their involvement in Walgreens. We also get into how Trump 2.0 has been responding to private equity and a few wi...

First things first, BOSTON we hope you have your tickets to come see us Wednesday, June 25th at Laugh Boston. Tix here ! This week on the pod the King of Kansas City is here to discuss all the wild historical things that happened on the day we recorded this. Brace yourselves because it goes from Anne Frank to OJ Simpson FAST. We discuss some of our earliest attempts at being funny (don't cancel us...

My cousin in Christ Molly McAleer is in the house to talk about the Revolutionary War, Karen Read, and if anyone is switching cell phone providers in 2025. We get into Turtle Boy, what happened when I discovered the fifth wave of Beatles fans, and I invite Molly to be a city planner.  Come see us June 25th and June 26th in Boston! Tix here !  Get this full conversation on Pateron . See the playgro...

Road trips, cannibalism, and coming to terms with the stories we tell—this week on the pod, I welcome journalist and author E.A. Hanks to talk about her memoir The 10, a powerful deep dive into family, loss, and the messy contradictions of America. We covered everything from growing up with famous parents (yes, those Hanks) to the truths she uncovered while driving the full stretch of Interstate 1...

Unions are on the line with the Trump Administration and we need to chat. This week on the pod I welcome Teacher Pay with K, a high school math teacher and president of her local union to discuss all the ways in which these structures support teachers, students, and well everyone. Digressions include my storied high school math career, phones in school, and Pete Davidson, union kid at heart?    Co...

Once upon a time you would toggle between MTV and VH1 they way we toggle between TikTok and Instagram. While much is said about the impact of MTV there is considerably less about her cool, older cousin VH1. This week on Oddly Specific my friends Emilie Begin and Margaux Poupard from the Old Millennials podcast stop by to talk about their new series that covers everything from Behind the Music to B...

With tariffs on the rise and the stock market plummeting it's a precarious time for wallets. Most Americans are looking for deal but are dollar stores the solution or do they cause more pain then they are worth? This week on Oddly Specific Meredith welcomes Kennedy Smith, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance whose work on the impact of dollar stores on communities will blow y...

Subscribe to the Patreon  Come see us live in LA or Boston Follow my pal Mary Mahoney on Substack and IG The incomparable historian Mary Mahoney (Dolls of Our Lives) is on the pod today to talk all things American Girl, Titanic, and using books as medicine (not in a MAHA way). We unpack how we reflect on national tragedies, the impact of spending your childhood with Greatest Gen grandparents, and...

Mia Chard, a TikTok content creator and mental health advocate joins me for an honest conversation about loneliness, dating, and the impact of social media on relationships. Together we chat about the cultural influences that make us who we are, personal growth, and the importance of authenticity in connecting with others. Mia's story resonates with many who have experienced similar feelings of lo...

Show Notes: When wildfires, hurricanes, and other billion-dollar disasters strike, private equity firms aren’t just watching—they’re cashing in. From buying up disaster recovery companies to profiting off the fossil fuel investments that fuel climate change, these firms have turned catastrophe into a business model. But how does private equity work, and what exactly do private equity firms do? In...

Mads Mitch knows a thing or two about going viral on the internet. Her "How hard can it be boys do it" gained a life of its own during the 2024 election season catching the attention of the Harris campaign and spinning off a successful merch line. But there is SO much more that happens behind the scenes of content creation and together we break down what inspires Mads to create, how she navigates...

I have got my friend and NYT bestseller Stefanie Wilder-Taylor is in the house for a FUN bonus episode. We talk about our bad ex-boyfriends, Stefanie's career in tv including working in reality tv, quitting drinking, and how this bad b changed my life before I even met her. PLUS we spill on an opportunity to work with us later this month.    Follow Stefanie!  Take our workshop, sign up here ! Subs...