The Smerconish Podcast

Today's Poll Question: How many of these Trump nominees—Robert Kennedy, Tulsi Gabbard, and Pete Hegseth—will be confirmed? Listen here to Michael's take! The Daily Poll Question is a thought-provoking query each day at Smerconish.com on a political, social, or other human interest issue. Entirely non-scientific, it always begins a great conversation. Michael talks about it in this podcast each wee...

Michael is thoroughly enjoying the new "Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action" series on Netflix. It brings back the memory of a great conversation he had with the late daytime TV talk show host in 2009. Original air date 10 January 2025, and September 2009. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for adve...

Today's Poll Question: Do you support Sen. John Fetterman's decision to meet with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago? Listen here to Michael's take! The Daily Poll Question is a thought-provoking query each day at Smerconish.com on a political, social, or other human interest issue. Entirely non-scientific, it always begins a great conversation. Michael talks about it in this podcast each weekday. Listen,...

Michael and TC take a run through today's hand-picked headlines that you'll find in the Smerconish.com Daily Newsletter. This is a podcast exclusive - Headlines didn't make it to air today as we aired the State Funeral of President Jimmy Carter on the SiriusXM radio program. 9 January 2024. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection a...

Today's Poll Question: Are insurance companies better positioned than politicians to drive meaningful action on climate change? Listen here to Michael's take! The Daily Poll Question is a thought-provoking query each day at Smerconish.com on a political, social, or other human interest issue. Entirely non-scientific, it always begins a great conversation. Michael talks about it in this podcast eac...

Before Chris Matthews became known as the host of MSNBC's Hardball for 25 years, he was a speechwriter for former President Jimmy Carter. One day before Carter's State Funeral, Matthews joins Michael to reflect on his time working with the 39th President. Original air date 8 January 2025. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and...

2WAY Editor-in-Chief and Wide World of News political analyst Mark Halperin makes his first appearance of 2025 on the podcast, focusing on the Trump transition, with 12 days to go until Inauguration Day. Will the US acquire Greenland? How about the Panama Canal, and will the Gulf of Mexico be renamed? All things that President Trump has hinted at in recent days. Michael and Mark break it all down....

Today's Poll Question: Should Meta focus more on protecting free expression or on combating misinformation? Listen here to Michael's take! The Daily Poll Question is a thought-provoking query each day at Smerconish.com on a political, social, or other human interest issue. Entirely non-scientific, it always begins a great conversation. Michael talks about it in this podcast each weekday. Listen, t...

A new Congestion Pricing System began in New York City this week, where it now costs a minimum of $9 to enter midtown Manhattan, depending when and where you are coming from. Michael gets the scoop from WABC "The Other Side of Midnight" host Frank Morano, who also tells us about some wild ways people are modifying their license plates to try and avoid the toll. Will this help ease congestion in th...

Today's Poll Question: After the passage of a few years, should the media delete past coverage of minor crimes? Listen here to Michael's take! The Daily Poll Question is a thought-provoking query each day at Smerconish.com on a political, social, or other human interest issue. Entirely non-scientific, it always begins a great conversation. Michael talks about it in this podcast each weekday. Liste...

Michael welcomes attorneys William J. Brennan and Michael van der Veen in studio on the 4th anniversary of the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. They represented President Trump in his second impeachment trial, and are currently representing several J-6 defendants. The conversation centers around Michael's poll question today on whether the Department of Justice should st...

Today's Poll Question: Given Trump's pardon promises, should the DOJ still prosecute non-violent January 6 participants? Listen here to Michael's take! The Daily Poll Question is a thought-provoking query each day at Smerconish.com on a political, social, or other human interest issue. Entirely non-scientific, it always begins a great conversation. Michael talks about it in this podcast each weekd...

Michael is very taken by a guest essay in the New York Times written by longtime democratic strategist James Carville titled "I Was Wrong About the 2024 Election. Here’s Why." Listen and see if you agree with Carville's take, and what the audience says as to why Kamala Harris lost the 2024 election. Carville loudly predicted ahead of Election Day that Harris would win. Original air date 3 January...

Today's Poll Question: Should the Philadelphia Eagles rest Saquon Barkley for the playoffs or let him chase Eric Dickerson’s rushing record on Sunday? Listen here to Michael's take! The Daily Poll Question is a thought-provoking query each day at Smerconish.com on a political, social, or other human interest issue. Entirely non-scientific, it always begins a great conversation. Michael talks about...

Bruce Hoffman is a tenured professor in Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service where from 2010 to 2017 he was the Director of both the Center for Security Studies and of the Security Studies Program and from 2020-2023 the director of the Center for Jewish Civilization. In addition, Professor Hoffman is Professor Emeritus of Terrorism Studies at St Andrews University, Sco...

Today's Poll Question: Are the New Orleans attack and Las Vegas cybertruck explosion connected? Listen here to Michael's take! The Daily Poll Question is a thought-provoking query each day at Smerconish.com on a political, social, or other human interest issue. Entirely non-scientific, it always begins a great conversation. Michael talks about it in this podcast each weekday. Listen, then vote at...

Aaron Brown, who's first day on-air as an anchor at CNN was on September 11th 2001, where he took live breaking news reporting to a new level, died Sunday at 76. Michael remembers the journalist, and shares a conversation he had with him in 2012 about his work on 9/11, which taught us many lessons. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our coll...

When you are searching for the perfect fragrance....EBay might just be the place to get it. Michael tells this hilarious story of his online shopping trip for some new cologne. Original air date 18 December 2024 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today's Poll Question: Was Jimmy Carter one of America's better presidents? Listen here to Michael's take! The Daily Poll Question is a thought-provoking query each day at Smerconish.com on a political, social, or other human interest issue. Entirely non-scientific, it always begins a great conversation. Michael talks about it in this podcast each weekday. Listen, then vote at Smerconish.com, and...

There are some fascinating links between people's names and their political affiliations. Michael talks to Lenny Bronner, Principal Data Scientist for Elections at The Washington Post about his piece, "How Republican or Democratic is your name?" Original air date 18 September 2024. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of...

Today's Poll Question: Could Joe Biden have defeated Donald Trump? Listen here to Michael's take! The Daily Poll Question is a thought-provoking query each day at Smerconish.com on a political, social, or other human interest issue. Entirely non-scientific, it always begins a great conversation. Michael talks about it in this podcast each weekday. Listen, then vote at Smerconish.com, and please le...

Michael welcomes Annie Linskey, White House Reporter for The Wall Street Journal, to talk about the big front-page story that she wrote along with Rebecca Ballhaus, Emily Glazer, Siobhan Hughes, "How the White House Functioned With a Diminished Biden in Charge." Linskey writes, "Aides kept meetings short and controlled access, top advisers acted as go-betweens and public interactions became more s...

Today's Poll Question: What best explains the timing of recent reports on President Biden’s diminished capacity? New information, or coverup? Listen here to Michael's take! The Daily Poll Question is a thought-provoking query each day at Smerconish.com on a political, social, or other human interest issue. Entirely non-scientific, it always begins a great conversation. Michael talks about it in th...

David Wasserman, Senior Editor & Elections Editor at The Cook Political Report With Amy Walter, is an expert on voter self-sorting and data. Michael talks to him about a new app that allows users to see the political leanings of communities they might move to, just as they might consider taxes, crime, and school quality. Original air date 19 December 2024. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company....

Today's Poll Question: When choosing a place to live, would you consider a community's political leanings as seriously as you do taxes, safety, and school quality? Listen here to Michael's take! The Daily Poll Question is a thought-provoking query each day at Smerconish.com, on a political, social, or other human interest issue. Entirely non-scientific, it always begins a great conversation. Micha...