First, the Vatican chose a Bulwark pope, not an AR-15 loving, immigrant-hating pope. Then, in a major blow to Steve Bannon, Trump pulled his nominee for U.S. attorney in D.C.—forcing the avid TV watcher in the Oval Office to turn to Fox News for the 23rd time to help fill his administration—this time with Jeanine Pirro. And in the North Carolina Supreme Court race, the Stop the Steal candidate finally conceded to his Democratic opponent seven months late. Plus, Trump is acting like a Soviet central planner, the reconciliation bill fight is starting to look ugly, and the economy proves yet again that it does not lie.
Amanda Carpenter joins Tim Miller for the weekend pod.
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show notes
Tim's and JVL's 'Bulwark Take' on the new pope
JVL's Triad on Pope Leo XIV
Damon Linker's tweet about the elderly Fox viewer
Linda McMahon's letter to Harvard
Poster in Josh Hawley's dorm room
Tim and Sam on Trump's fake trade deal with the UK
Tim's playlist
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59:29
S2 Ep1038: Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin: The Power of 'No'
Protest is the new brunch again. We're witnessing historic levels of pro-democracy grassroots engagement across a broad-based movement of everyday people. The leaders of Indivisible join Tim to discuss how the movement needs to stay focused on what it agrees on— no kings—and to save ideological disputes for another day. Plus, it also needs to get more young people involved. But it definitely should keep ignoring political consultants who tell Dems not to talk about immigration— because it turns out that the federal government kidnapping people off the street is not popular.
Ezra Levin and Leah Greenberg join Tim Miller.
show notes
Indivisible's "No Kings" protest day
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51:02
S2 Ep1037: Katie Phang and Greg Casar: Trump & Co Are the Real Flag Burners
The Supreme Court is working hard to tend to Mr. Presidential Immunity's wounds because he just can't abide lower federal court judges telling him he can't kick trans people out of the military, or that the 14th Amendment is a real thing. Meanwhile, Kristi Noem is defiling her own birthright citizenship by kidnapping people and sending them to a foreign gulag. Plus, how the Dems should fight the party that only wants to break things—and craft a better economic message that appeals to both moderates and progressives.
Rep. Greg Casar of Texas and Katie Phang join Tim Miller.
show notes
Katie's Substack
NYT profile of Rep. Casar
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57:34
S2 Ep1036: Jonathan V. Last: An Economic Tsunami Is Coming
Because Donald Trump's stupid trade embargo has us reading shipping charts, we now know that 40% of containership traffic between Asia and the U.S. has been canceled. That means a shortage of consumer goods, which will push prices higher. At the same time, the business environment is too unpredictable for companies to plan. Meanwhile, Trump is reorienting the American economy to a corrupt oligarchy—as he rakes in billions in bribes off his crypto. Plus, Hegseth wants to clear out a chunk of the top brass, U.S. attorney nominee Ed Martin forgot to say he's been on Russian-state media outlets more than 150 times, and the DNC absolutely should not be posting about Kamala at the Met Gala.
JVL joins Tim Miller.
show notes
HuffPost on the trucking company buying Trump's crypto coin
The NYT on Trump family business deals
JVL on the Ashli Babbitt payout
NPR story on Trump voters in Emmitsburg, MD
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1:11:50
S2 Ep1035: Bill Kristol: A Reckless, Tin-Pot President
Trump 2.0 is showing so little concern for his political standing that even Fox made primetime room for Karl Rove to vent about how he's failing at the fundamentals. Our aspiring Gaddafi doesn't care that tariffs aren't popular or that he sounds like Mr. Scrooge when he says kids should have fewer toys. And while belt-tightening is good enough for average Americans, he's throwing himself a giant, ostentatious military parade that will cost tens of millions of dollars. Plus, conservatives in the Anglosphere take another hit, this time down under—and thumbs-up for Maine Gov. Janet Mills, thumbs-down for Gretchen Whitmer.
Bill Kristol joins Tim Miller.
show notes
Today's "Morning Shots"
Jonathan's recent newsletter on Gretchen Whitmer
The Atlantic's recent interview with Trump (gifted)
Tim Miller and guests discuss the latest political news for the flagship podcast of the Never Trump movement and the reality-based community. Every weekday we provide insightful analysis, political hot-takes, an unabashed defense of liberal democracy and long-form interviews that cut through the "both-sides" BS. Plus a few laughs to help you wash down the crazy.
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