The Latest

Stuart shares a bit of skepticism about Trump's defense in his FIRST criminal trial.

Yes, Rick, Stuart, and Joe covered a lot in 30 minutes and you don't want to have missed a second of it. Donald is having a truly singular moment for a former American president: the only one to ever be the defendant in a criminal trial. Donald might nap through it, but the rest of America needs to wake up and smell the fascism. Catch up now!

What's behind the MAGA movement? On a special guest episode, Isaac Arnsdorf joins Joe and Alex to discuss his new book "Finish What We Started - The MAGA Movement's Ground War to End Democracy." Why Steve Bannon's rhetoric isn't just bluster. The depth of the psychological underpinnings of MAGA go way beyond any one issue. And how do we fight back? Hear why Isaac thinks turning Bannon's model around on MAGA may be our way out of this mess. Read the book now: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/isaac-arnsdorf/finish-what-we-started/9780316497510/

Stuart Steven's writes, "Can enough voters base their vote on age to cost Biden re-election? Sure, it could happen. But is there any reason it must happen? Of course not. That's why we have campaigns."

Conservatives in America are not typically known as lovers of environmental advocacy. Well, our guest bucks that trend. Benji Backer, an environmental advocate and author of "The Conservative Environmentalist" joins Rick to discuss the urgent need for practical and innovative solutions to environmental challenges, critiquing both extreme denial and radical approaches currently dividing the political landscape. Backer emphasizes a historical bipartisan approach to environmental issues and proposes a balanced pathway that leverages American ingenuity and respects local knowledge.

Brian Daitzman writes, "Amidst a global health crisis, Fox News, under the leadership of Suzanne Scott, demonstrated a marked indifference to the human toll caused by its dissemination of misleading information."

One spoiler down, another to go. No Labels is out of the Presidential fight - but Joe gets into why Trumpland is feeling good about RFK Jr. - including funneling $20m from a top donor his way. How is the media still missing the point about all these spoilers? Plus - can Trump actually talk his way out of his big abortion problem? Joe explains why the problem runs much, much deeper than most realize. And why the GOP is all in, sledgehammer or not.

Julia Child? Jeffrey Dahmer? Yes, Stuart went there.

Rick Wilson explains that no, America is not much more normal that we think. Not even close.

Teri Kanefield writes about the fallout from the Ronna McDaniel hiring on MSNBC, highlighting the potential clash between McDaniel's persona and the network's audience.

David Pepper found out this week that the bizarro reaction from "blue checks" on Twitter doesn't mean sea levels aren't rising, but does confirm that the swamp of right-wing disinformation and conspiracies on the social media platform is rising even faster. And yes, we know His Imperial Weirdness changed the name to X, but we're not calling it that because even wackadoodle-billionaire-fascist-huggers can't always get what they want.

Brian Daitzman writes of FOX, "The network’s consistent propagation of divisive narratives and misinformation, particularly concerning election integrity and public health guidelines, exemplifies a business model that prioritizes profit margins over accurate reporting and ethical journalism."

The Founders left it to states to decide whether Black people should be free or enslaved, so Trump appears to advocate letting them decide whether Women should be free or enslaved.

It feels like all anyone wants to talk about these days is how AI is taking over. Well, we thought it time to have an expert on to break it all down. In this episode Rick speaks with AI expert Daniel Faggella in a comprehensive discussion on the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence. They speak to the implications of AI on the workforce, economy, and society, examining both the current state and future possibilities. Faggella brings insights from his experience in market research, discussing how AI is reshaping industries from legal to entertainment. They explore the concept of artificial general intelligence (AGI), its accelerated timeline, and potential societal impacts. The conversation also touches on the role of AI in politics, the concept of a political singularity, and the ethical considerations of AI development.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson said he wouldn't endorse Biden in 2024. He also didn't endorse or praise Trump. Fox News tried to make a lot out of random celebrities complaining about things. Kid Rock praised Trump while failing to disclose that Budweiser is sponsoring his latest music tour. The Five blamed an earthquake on Democrats. There was a lot of bigotry against transgender people. Matt Whitaker misrepresented Bill Clinton's sock drawer scandal along with the Presidential Records Act.

There is no new normal in politics. Rick, Stuart, and Joe explain why it's essential that we push back on media narratives that give equal weight to lies, conspiracies, and autocracy (MAGA GOP) and truth, facts, and democracy (The Dems). Also - What it means that the GOP has managed to put two swing states in play in two weeks by ensuring abortion rights will be on the ballot in Florida and now Arizona? The guys go all-in on strategies to capitalize on Republicans' November nightmare scenario.

A deep-dive into John Della Volpe's recent polling on an issue that could go a long way in deciding the outcome of the election.

From Rick Wilson: "We aren’t in a nation where the sensible center will survive if Donald Trump wins. Only one side of the political argument wants their president to govern like a dictator. Only one side believes that the President is above the law — if his name is Donald Trump."

Stuart Stevens writes, "A child could see that a presidential candidate paying a porn star $130,000 twelve days before the election was a campaign-related expenditure and should have been reported on FEC filings. That it wasn’t reported was a clear FEC violation – if the FEC was even a quasi-serious enforcement agency. Trump's denials of any sexual relationship with Daniels would make him the first man ever to pay a porn star $130,000 not to have sex."