Swing State Report Card: North Carolina

Politics doesn't stop for the holidays. Hear about the latest headlines from D.C. ahead of the pre-Christmas weekend. On Today's Show:Jonathan Lemire, co-host of Morning Joe on MSNOW; writer for MSNOW and contributing writer to The Atlantic talks about the national political news of the week, including Vanity Fair's extensive piece about President Trump's closest aides, the administration's blockade on Venezuela and more.

Recently, Nancy Pelosi sat down for an interview with her biographer, veteran journalist Susan Page, ahead of the upcoming 2026 congressional term.On Today's Show:Susan Page, USA Today Washington bureau chief and the author of the forthcoming book The Queen and Her Presidents (Harper/Collins April 2026), talks about the latest national political news, including President Trump's primetime address, the ongoing fight over ACA subsidies, and Nancy Pelosi's assessment of congressional politics, heading into her final term before she's planning to retire. 

With the reported rise in anti-Semitic speech and the recent shooting at a Hanukah celebration in Australia, our guest explores the contours of prejudiced mindsets against Jews.On Today's Show:Yair Rosenberg, staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of its newsletter Deep Shtetl, about the intersection of politics, culture, and religion, offers analysis of anecdotal and survey data that show a generational divide in antisemitism.

A deadline approaches to deal with healthcare costs and Obamacare subsidies. On Today's Show:Julie Rovner, chief Washington correspondent, KFF Health News and host of the What the Health? podcast, discusses the latest over the battle in Congress over the fate of the Affordable Care Act.

On Today's Show:Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation and the author of The Seven Rules of Trust: A Blueprint for Building Things That Last (Crown Currency, 2025), talks about how Wikipedia was able to rely on the "wisdom of the crowd" even as distrust climbed in the larger culture.

The conservative Supreme Court majority seems poised to allow President Trump to fire the top official on the Federal Trade Commission, expanding presidential power. On Today's Show:Elie Mystal, justice correspondent and columnist for The Nation magazine and host of the podcast, Contempt of Court with Elie Mystal, and author of Bad Law: Ten Popular Laws That Are Ruining America (The New Press, 2025), discusses this and other legal news.

Paramount and Netflix are vying to buy up parts of Warner Bros. Discovery.On Today's Show:Rohan Goswami, business reporter at Semafor and Katie Campione, senior TV & labor reporter at Deadline, discuss the recent merger talks, including the politics at play, and what it means for consumers.

According to DHS, almost three-quarters of people detained by ICE since October do not have any criminal convictions.On Today's Show:David Bier, director of immigration studies and the Selz Foundation chair in immigration policy at the Cato Institute, explains the data, and claims from the Trump Administration that they are prioritizing detaining people with violent criminal histories.

Some recent health headlines surround the federal government's changes to SNAP benefit programs, vaccine guidance for infants and others, and Obamacare.On Today's Show:Julie Rovner, chief Washington correspondent, KFF Health News and host of the What the Health? podcast, and Jude Joffe-Block, reporter at NPR, discuss the latest in health-related news.

An education advocate, who formerly supported school vouchers and charter schools, is now speaking in support of public education.On Today's Show:Diane Ravitch, education historian, former research professor of education at New York University, blogger at dianeravitch.net and author of the recent book An Education: How I Changed My Mind About Schools and Almost Everything Else (Columbia University Press, 2025), talks about the changes that led her to become a promoter of public schools.