Impolitic with John Heilemann

John welcomes celebrated photojournalist Christopher Anderson to discuss the controversy over his portraits of Donald Trump’s inner circle in Vanity Fair. Anderson explains his trepidation over taking the assignment and his approach to it once he did; why the outrage over his pictures in some quarters is a result of a growing confusion between political figures and celebrities, the proliferation of photo filters and A.I. image distortion on social media, and a lack of comprehension that photojournalism is, in fact, journalism; and why no one should be shocked that he didn’t conceal signs of Karoline Leavitt's cosmetic enhancements or shoot Stephen Miller as if he were Brad Pitt (beyond the obvious, that is). See all the ways bp is investing in America at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠bp.com/InvestingInAmerica⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ . To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

John welcomes The Daily Show’s Jordan Klepper back to the show for a fond remembrance of the lives and legendary film and television careers of Rob and Michele Singer Reiner. Klepper also discusses his latest Daily Show special, which took him from Mississippi to Norway to Portland, Oregon, where he took part in a naked anti-ICE protest and got pepper-sprayed in the process; the challenges of finding the funny amid the fear and loathing that have typified the Trump 2.0 era; and the sword of Damocles that hung over late night comedy in the year of Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension and Stephen Colbert’s cancellation. See all the ways bp is investing in America at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠bp.com/InvestingInAmerica⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ . To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

John welcomes lapsed Republican strategist and Lincoln Project cofounder Rick Wilson back to the show to discuss the mounting signs that, less than one full year into his second term in office, Donald Trump has reached his sell-by date – and the implications of Trump's political decline for the MAGA-fied Republican Party. See all the ways bp is investing in America at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠bp.com/InvestingInAmerica⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ . To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

John welcomes retired four-star U.S. Army General Barry McCaffrey to discuss the rapidly escalating conflict between America and Venezuela. McAffrey argues that Donald Trump appears to be hellbent on regime change in Venezuela; that his stated motivations related to narco-terrorism make virtually no sense at all; and that his primary motivations instead revolve primarily around seizing the South American country’s oil reserves. McCaffrey also assesses the recently unveiled official U.S. National Security Strategy, the elements of which he regards as ranging from incoherent to farcical to flat out “horrifying.” See all the ways bp is investing in America at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠bp.com/InvestingInAmerica⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ . To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

John welcomes retired Major General Steven Lepper, a former Deputy Judge Advocate General of the U.S. Air Force, to discuss the legal dimensions of the Trump administration’s Venezuelan boat strikes. Lepper contends that there is no basis in domestic or international law for any of the 23 boat strikes and 87 related fatalities that have taken place so far; that the now infamous second strike on September 2 is more likely to have been straight up murder than a war crime on the part of Pete Hegseth (and others in the chain of command); that the firing of the top Army, Air Force, and acting Navy JAGs early in Trump’s second term was the first sign of an concerted and ongoing effort remove the rule of law from the armed forces; and that the boat-strike scandal portends more (and worse) lawless military orders to come. See all the ways bp is investing in America at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠bp.com/InvestingInAmerica⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ . To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices