Trump’s Fight to Control the 2026 Midterms w/ Cisco Aguilar | Shane Smith Has Questions

Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar just won a major Supreme Court fight against the Trump administration over its attempt to impose new federal restrictions on mail-in voting ahead of the midterms. Aguilar joins Shane Smith to explain what Trump was trying to do, why Nevada fought it, and why he believes the battle over who controls American elections is far from over. They get into mail-in ballots and voter fraud, voter ID, the DOJ’s demands for private voter data, seven federal subpoenas concerning Nevada voters, cybersecurity and foreign interference, and why Aguilar believes the fight over the 2026 midterms is really about control of the 2028 presidential election. Aguilar also explains why he thinks Trump’s ultimate goal is “choosing the voters rather than the voters choosing the electeds” — and why, after multiple court battles with the federal government, he says he’s not backing down. Subscribe to Shane Smith Has Questions for candid conversations about politics, media, misinformation and the forces reshaping the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

At 23, Adam Mockler has become one of the most prominent young voices in liberal political media, building an audience of millions through rapid-response videos, debates and viral clips. Adam joins Shane Smith to explain why Republicans dominated the online attention economy—and why Democrats are still struggling to catch up. They discuss the failures of the 2024 Democratic campaign, Kamala Harris’s risk-averse media strategy, the growing appeal of anti-establishment candidates and what the party must do differently before the midterms. Adam also takes Shane behind the scenes of his viral confrontation with Scott Jennings, explains why he believes the Iran war has failed to achieve its stated objectives and examines the role independent media plays in challenging wartime narratives. The conversation moves from young men’s isolation and political radicalization to housing, AI, money in politics and a generation that no longer feels the economic system is working for them. Adam also explains his plans to build a new, youth-driven media organization combining debates, political commentary and gonzo-style reporting. Topics include: Why “clipping is the new canvassing” How Republicans captured the online attention economy Why Democrats have become too scripted and risk-averse Young men, social isolation and online radicalization Adam’s viral clash with Scott Jennings The Iran war and the Strait of Hormuz Biden, Harris and the Democrats’ loss of public trust Housing, cost of living and young people’s lack of capital Political corruption, lobbying and campaign money AI, disappearing jobs and the case for universal basic income The future of Mockler Media Subscribe to Shane Smith Has Questions for candid conversations about politics, media, misinformation and the forces reshaping the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Most people know Ben McKenzie from The O.C. Over the past several years, however, he has made an unlikely transformation into a serious crypto investigator—and, as Shane puts it, a hell of a journalist and filmmaker. McKenzie joins Shane to discuss his documentary, Everyone Is Lying to You for Money, and the journey that took him from casual crypto skeptic to interviewing major industry figures, anticipating the collapse of companies like Celsius and FTX, and testifying before the Senate Banking Committee. Together, they examine the machinery behind the crypto boom: celebrity endorsements, insider control, market manipulation, Trump’s crypto ventures and the absence of meaningful enforcement. They also explore the human cost of an economy that increasingly encourages ordinary people to gamble their way toward financial security. The conversation eventually moves beyond crypto to prediction markets, legalized gambling, artificial intelligence and the opportunists who migrate from one technological gold rush to the next. It’s a sharp, funny and deeply human conversation about money, power—and who is left holding the bag when the hype collapses. For a limited time only, join audiences around the world for a special global streaming event celebrating Everyone Is Lying to You for Money followed by a live Q&A with director Ben McKenzie, actress Morena Baccarin, and special celebrity guests. Only available August 22nd through September 6th, 2026 -Get 20% off your first order at ⁠⁠https://www.mood.com⁠⁠ with promo code SHANESMITH -Save 20% on your first online Lucy order at ⁠⁠https://www.lucy.co/ QUESTIONS⁠⁠ with promo code QUESTIONS! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Can one lawsuit change the future of American elections? Why almost everyone misunderstands Citizens United The legal mistake Lessig says created Super PACs Elon Musk's reported $270 million in political donations—and why it matters to this case  Whether billionaires are effectively buying political influence Why this case is likely headed to the U.S. Supreme Court if the current ruling stands  What American elections could look like if Super PACs were fundamentally changed Harvard Law professor Lawrence Lessig believes it can.Most Americans blame Citizens United for the rise of Super PACs—but Lessig argues that's not actually what happened. Now, after years of litigation, a new court case could finally give the Supreme Court a chance to decide whether unlimited donations to Super PACs are constitutional at all. If the courts rule in his favor, the decision could dramatically reshape campaign finance before the 2028 presidential election by allowing limits on massive contributions to Super PACs once again. In this conversation, Shane Smith and Lawrence Lessig discuss:Whether you agree or disagree with the current campaign finance system, this is one of the most consequential legal challenges to election law. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When did politics stop being about solving problems and start becoming a team sport? Former Republican strategist and The Bulwark host Tim Miller joins Shane Smith for a conversation about the forces that reshaped American politics—from the collapse of the Republican establishment to Donald Trump's takeover, the rise of partisan media, and why our information ecosystem rewards outrage over understanding. Rather than asking who is winning, Shane and Tim explore why politics increasingly feels like entertainment, why Washington failed to understand its own voters, and whether America's institutions can still solve modern problems. Topics include: Why the Republican establishment misread Trump The rise of partisan media and algorithm-driven news Why politics now feels like sports Can America ever become less polarized? Is the political center disappearing? What's actually broken in Washington? Could another political outsider change everything? If you enjoy long-form conversations about politics, media, culture and the future of democracy, subscribe for new episodes every week. Try Quo for free plus get 20% off your first 6 months at ⁠https://www.quo.com/shane⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean Penn has spent much of his life going places most people only experience through headlines — wartime Kyiv with Zelenskyy, Chávez's Venezuela, Castro's Cuba, Iran before the Green Movement, and deep inside cartel country in Mexico with El Chapo. In this conversation with Shane Smith, Penn reflects on meeting Volodymyr Zelenskyy in wartime Kyiv, traveling through Iran before the Ahmadinejad era, spending time with Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro, and the infamous journey that led to his meeting with El Chapo while the cartel leader was still on the run. Along the way, they talk about propaganda, journalism, war, political mythmaking, and why the story almost always changes when you go there yourself. Penn explains why he skipped the Oscars after winning his third Academy Award, what Americans misunderstand about Ukraine, why he was drawn to Chávez and Cuba, and what decades spent around power and conflict have taught him about human nature. This isn't a conversation about politics as much as it is about proximity — to history, to power, and to the people we are told to fear. -Get 20% off your first order at ⁠https://www.mood.com⁠ with promo code SHANESMITH -Save 20% on your first online Lucy order at ⁠https://www.lucy.co/ QUESTIONS⁠ with promo code QUESTIONS! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For more than a decade, Gelareh Kiazand reported from some of the world's most complicated and misunderstood places. From covering life under the Taliban in Afghanistan to documenting everyday life inside Iran, her work focused on telling stories from the ground — often in places where politics, war, and international headlines rarely capture the full picture. In this conversation, Shane Smith sits down with Gelareh to reflect on years of reporting across Iran and Afghanistan, the realities of covering conflict, and what journalists can learn by spending time with the people who actually live through these events. Featuring archival VICE reporting and footage from recent reporting in Tehran, they discuss war, sanctions, media narratives, daily life, and the challenge of understanding countries that are often reduced to headlines and geopolitics. After decades covering the region, one thing remains true:Showing up still matters. In this episode: • Reporting from Afghanistan during the war • Life under the Taliban and what changed after the withdrawal • What everyday life in Iran looks like beyond the headlines • The challenges of reporting from conflict zones • Journalism, propaganda, and competing narratives • Sanctions, politics, and ordinary people • How VICE reported from places few Western outlets could access • Why being there still matters Subscribe to Shane Smith Has Questions for new conversations with the people shaping politics, culture, technology, and the world around us. -Get 20% off your first order at https://www.mood.com with promo code SHANESMITH -Try Quo for free plus get 20% off your first 6 months at https://www.quo.com/shane  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ken Burns has spent more than five decades telling America's story. From The Civil War and The Vietnam War to Baseball, Jazz, and The U.S. and the Holocaust, his films have shaped how generations of Americans understand their country. In this conversation, Shane Smith sits down with the legendary filmmaker to talk about much more than documentaries. Together they explore why America feels so divided, whether we're living through another turning point in history, the collapse of shared facts, the changing media landscape, and why Burns believes understanding our past is essential to navigating our future. Burns also reflects on his early films Brooklyn Bridge and The Statue of Liberty, the making of The Civil War and The Vietnam War, the importance of PBS, and why documentary filmmaking still matters in an age of algorithms, clips, and social media. After a lifetime studying America's greatest triumphs and deepest failures, Ken Burns keeps coming back to one simple idea: "There's only us.” Get 20% off your entire purchase for first-time buyers with code SHANE at https://www.mood.com In this episode: • The story behind Brooklyn Bridge and Burns' first documentary • Why The Civil War became a cultural phenomenon • The making of The Vietnam War • Why PBS has been essential to documentary filmmaking • Journalism vs. history • The collapse of shared reality • Social media, AI, and the future of truth • Political polarization and America's recurring cycles • What history says about our future • Why Ken Burns still believes there's reason for hope Subscribe to Shane Smith Has Questions for new conversations with the people shaping politics, culture, technology, and the world around us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Who actually controls the biggest secret in modern history? For decades, UFOs were treated as conspiracy theories, fringe science, or tabloid fodder. Today, senators, intelligence officials, military officers, and even presidents are publicly discussing unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs). What changed? This week, Shane sits down with filmmaker Dan Farah, director of The Age of Disclosure to discuss the growing push for government transparency around UAPs, the role of defense contractors, congressional investigations, declassified documents, and the battle currently unfolding inside Washington over what the public should know. The conversation goes far beyond aliens. Shane and Dan explore the idea of a decades-long "legacy program," whether critical information has migrated from government agencies into private contractors, why recent disclosures may be happening now, the role of China and a potential technological arms race, and whether the real story is less about extraterrestrials and more about power, secrecy, and accountability. They also discuss Steven Spielberg's influence on Farah's work, the making of The Age of Disclosure, media stigma, FOIA requests, whistleblowers, and what full disclosure could mean for science, technology, and society.Topics include: • The making of The Age of Disclosure • Steven Spielberg and Ready Player One • Government transparency and secrecy • Congress vs. the intelligence community • The "legacy program" • Defense contractors and oversight • China and the UAP technology race • FOIA and declassified records • Media stigma around UFOs • What disclosure could actually look like Save 20% on your first online Lucy order at https://www.lucy.co/ QUESTIONS with promo code QUESTIONS! Before the interview, Shane reviewed hundreds of pages of UAP documents in our custom PDF Space. Explore the files yourself here: https://adobe.ly/ViceUAPFilesYT Subscribe to VICE News here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://bit.ly/Subscribe-to-VICE-News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Check out VICE News for more: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://vicenews.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shane Smith and Andrew Callaghan sit down with the anonymous creator behind Explosive Media, the Iranian team whose AI-generated LEGO videos became one of the most viewed and controversial media phenomena of the recent Iran-Israel conflict. With a team of fewer than ten people, their videos reached hundreds of millions of viewers and sparked debate about propaganda, AI, meme culture, and the future of information warfareIn this rare interview, the creators explain why they chose LEGO animation to depict war, how a team of fewer than ten people reached hundreds of millions of viewers, and why they believe modern conflicts are increasingly fought through algorithms, social media, and information warfare rather than traditional media alone.The conversation explores propaganda, AI-generated content, meme culture, Jean Baudrillard's theory of hyperreality, President Trump's social media strategy, and the future of political storytelling in an age where billions of people experience world events through their phones.The group also responds to questions about their relationship with the Iranian government, whether their work should be considered propaganda, and why they describe themselves as "guerrilla soldiers in the propaganda war.”As AI tools become more powerful and media becomes increasingly decentralized, this conversation offers a glimpse into what the future of information warfare may look like.Subscribe to VICE News for more reporting from around the world. Subscribe to VICE News here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠http://bit.ly/Subscribe-to-VICE-News⁠⁠⁠⁠ Check out VICE News for more: ⁠⁠⁠⁠http://vicenews.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices