MAGA Revolts Over Epstein List Reversal

Right-wing influencers and conspiracy theorists lose it over a Justice Department memo that says there’s no evidence Jeffrey Epstein had a “client list” or blackmailed his associates. Criticism of DOGE’s cuts to the National Weather Service resurface after catastrophic floods hit central Texas. In a Fourth of July ceremony, President Trump signs his disastrous economic plan into law. Jon and Tommy break down the Medicaid cuts, ICE funding, and the highly unusual tax breaks that made it into the final “Big Beautiful Bill.” Then they check in on Elon Musk’s growing threat to launch a new political party, and they discuss Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s allegation that he was tortured in El Salvador’s CECOT megaprison.

House Republicans deliver on Trump's Independence Day deadline, passing the Senate's version of the so-called Big Beautiful Bill, which will cut taxes for the rich, gut Medicaid for the poor, and explode the deficit beyond all recognition. Jen Psaki, host of The Briefing with Jen Psaki on MSNBC, joins Dan to discuss how Mike Johnson and Trump won over the bill's GOP holdouts, what happens now that it's passed, and how it changes the story of the 2026 midterm elections. Jen and Dan discuss Trump's threat to deport Zohran Mamdani and Paramount's $16 million settlement with Trump. Then, Congressman Ro Khanna stops by to talk about what's next for Democrats now that the most unpopular bill in history is set to become law.For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast. 

Senate Republicans jam through a final vote on the so-called "Big, Beautiful Bill." Senator Chris Murphy steps away from the Senate floor to join Tommy and Lovett to talk about Republican Senator Tom Thillis's unexpected opposition to the bill, the Medicaid cuts that sparked it, and what the bill's passage would mean for Americans' wallets (you guessed it: more money for the rich, less for the poor). Then, Tommy and Lovett discuss Trump's trip to "Alligator Alcatraz," a new migrant detention facility in the middle of the Everglades, the Supreme Court's 6-3 decision ending the practice of nationwide injunctions, and the White House doubling down on their claim that airstrikes "totally obliterated" Iran's nuclear program, despite mounting evidence to the contrary.For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast. 

Health Secretary RFK Jr. has gutted the CDC's vaccine advisory committee, replacing its members with a mix of anti-vaxxers, COVID contrarians, and medical non-professionals. What do these sweeping changes to our vaccine infrastructure—and the rise of the ironically named MAHA movement, short for Make America Healthy Again—mean for the health and well-being of everyday Americans? Dan sits down with epidemiologist and data scientist Katelyn Jetelina to unpack the implications of Kennedy's policies on flu season, COVID, and a broad range of preventable diseases. Katelyn also explains how the politicization of seed oils, food dyes, and fluoride distracts from the public health issues that actually matter—and shares what she learned from grassroots MAHA organizers about their uneasy alliance with MAGA.For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast. 

As New York City celebrates Zohran Mamdani's primary win, MAGA, Wall Street, and a handful of Democrats succumb to socialist paranoia. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth lashes out at the press after CNN reports that last weekend's airstrikes barely set back Iran's nuclear program. President Trump pressures Congress to pass his Big Bullshit Bill by July 4th, despite a new ruling from the Senate Parliamentarian that could sink it altogether. Jon and Dan react to Senator Mitch McConnell's claim that "people back home" will "get over" Medicaid cuts, the administration's desperate attempt to make their Iran strikes look like a success, and offer Zohran-skeptical Democrats some honest advice about what their voters want. Then, Jon talks to Congressman Robert Garcia, the new top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, about investigating ICE and why he thinks Stephen Miller is the "biggest piece of shit in the country."For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast. 

Donald Trump, without consulting Congress or United States allies, orders the military to bomb Iran, and then claims that Iran and Israel have reached a ceasefire. Military and intelligence services push back on Trump's claims that Iran's three nuclear sites have been "completely and totally obliterated." MAGA isolationists change their tone to avoid Trump's ire. Jon, Lovett, Tommy, and Dan react to all the latest, including reports that nuclear material may have been removed before the attacks, Iran's retaliatory strikes on an American military installation in Qatar, and Trump's new posts indicating he may be open to regime change. Then, the guys walk through Democrats' response to the attacks, the latest from Trump's ongoing National Guard deployment in Los Angeles, and a New York City mayoral primary that's both frustrating and exciting.For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast. 

Trump says he'll decide whether to strike Iran sometime in the next two weeks; while some of the biggest names in MAGA, like Tucker Carlson and Ted Cruz try to sway his choice. Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard are reportedly on the outs at the White House, Trump flip-flops on immigration enforcement at farms, federal agents handcuff more Democrats, and the Senate version of the Big, Beautiful Bill is even worse than we expected. Then, Jon and Dan discuss the growing mess at the DNC and what that could mean for next year's midterms. Later, Tommy sits down with Congressman Eric Swalwell to discuss ICE raids, Iran, fears lawmakers have for their safety, and more. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.

Trump's long-planned birthday parade gets overshadowed by massive "No Kings" protests around the country and the cold-blooded murder of a prominent Minnesota lawmaker and her husband. Meanwhile, Israel launches a preemptive war against Iran—a war that Trump hasn't quite ruled out joining. Jon, Lovett, and Tommy discuss the weekend's competing optics, the deeply troubling rise of political violence in America, and the latest offering from the Trump family hucksters: a shiny gold smartphone from the newly founded Trump Mobile. Then, Jon talks with Maryland Governor Wes Moore about his political future, why he vetoed a reparations bill, and the role that governors can play in this dangerous moment. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.

How much of America would we need to mobilize to stop Trump's power grab? According to political scientist Erica Chenoweth, it takes 3.5 percent—the threshold after which every protest movement, across the world, has been successful. Against the backdrop of the anti-ICE and No Kings protests, the national guard deployment, and Donald Trump's birthday pageant, Chenoweth joins the show to break down the math of the 3.5 percent rule, explain why nonviolence is the key to meeting it, and to share the lessons the civil rights movement can teach us about staying unified, organized, and disciplined in the fight against authoritarianism.For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.

Federal agents tackle and handcuff Senator Alex Padilla after he shouts a question at Kristi Noem at a public press conference. Trump continues to politicize the military, attacking his political enemies in a speech to troops at Fort Bragg and preparing for his North Korea-style birthday party. New polling shows that Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" is wildly unpopular—and increasingly vulnerable to Democratic attacks. Favreau and Nicolle Wallace, host of MSNBC's Deadline: White House and the new podcast series The Best People, discuss the latest from occupied LA, check in on the short-lived Trump-Elon feud, and try not to panic over RFK Jr.'s recent firings at the CDC. Then Lovett sits down with Zohran Mamdani to discuss his surging campaign for mayor of New York City.For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.