From Epstein Emails To Diaper Tax, With Congressional Candidate John Cavanaugh

Support the show by signing up to our Patreon and get access to the full Weekender episode each Friday as well as special Live Shows and access to our community discord: ⁠http://patreon.com/muckrakepodcast⁠ On this Black Friday Weekender, Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman pour a post-Thanksgiving drink and dive headfirst into Paul Thomas Anderson’s new film One Battle After Another, a loose adaptation of Pynchon’s Vineland that somehow nails our political moment a little too well. The two break down the French 75 as a failed revolutionary underground, Sean Penn’s Lockjaw as a walking case study in self-loathing authoritarian masculinity, and the Christmas Adventurers Club as a country club for Nazis who also run everything. They get into how the movie stitches together 60s and 70s radicalism, modern fascism, secret societies, ICE raids, false flags, and Benicio del Toro’s quietly perfect sensei, then ask what it all says about living through America’s own near future right now. If you care about politics and movies, this one is basically a Muckrake text. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Co-hosts Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman break down Donald Trump’s demanded “Thanksgiving peace plan” for Ukraine, a proposal that hands Vladimir Putin everything he wants while threatening to cut off all U.S. aid if Zelensky refuses. They dig into the geopolitical fallout, the long history of American foreign policy blunders that led here, and why this deal rewards invasion, kidnapping, and aggression. From there, the guys unpack Marjorie Taylor Greene’s surprise resignation, what her dramatic letter really reveals about the state of MAGA, and why the movement is fracturing just as Trump’s grip tightens. Then it is on to Zahra Mamdani’s surreal visit to the White House, where Trump immediately melted under flattery and exposed just how easily he can be manipulated. Finally, they examine the collapse of DOGE, the catastrophic damage done to federal agencies, global aid, and U.S. data systems, and why the fallout will haunt the country for years. Support the show by signing up to our Patreon and get access to the full Weekender episode each Friday as well as special Live Shows and access to our community discord: http://patreon.com/muckrakepodcast Thanksgiving Politics & Family Minefields 00:00:01 – 00:03:30 Trump’s “Peace Plan” And Ukraine’s Betrayal 00:03:30 – 00:17:20 Marjorie Taylor Greene Quits… And What It Really Means 00:17:20 – 00:27:08 Mamdani Rolls Trump In The Oval Office 00:27:08 – 00:43:06 The Fall of DOGE And The Damage It Leaves Behind 00:43:06 – End Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Support the show by signing up to our Patreon and get access to the full Weekender episode each Friday as well as special Live Shows and access to our community discord: ⁠http://patreon.com/muckrakepodcast⁠ Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman dig into the so-called “Epstein files” vote, why Trump suddenly wants everything released, and why everyone should expect a Mueller-style scrub instead of real accountability. They talk Larry Summers slinking off “from public life,” the national security state’s role in hiding the full story, and why this scandal is really about a ruling class that treats organized crime like a business model. From there, they break down a new Democratic video urging the military and intel community to refuse illegal orders, Trump’s response calling it “seditious” and punishable by death, and what that says about a cornered fascist who openly envies the power of Mohammed bin Salman. Then it is on to Nvidia, Peter Thiel dumping stock, the AI bubble sitting under the entire economy, and the familiar feeling of a roaring market heading toward a crash. They close with some cultural brain bleach, from the new Running Man to Hallmark Christmas movies and Robert Johnson on repeat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Co-hosts Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman dive into the new Epstein email tranche, from Trump’s scramble to sic “his” DOJ on Clinton and Summers to the media’s polite amnesia about who looked the other way. They connect the dots on fixers, blackmail, and a culture of impunity, then pivot to what the fallout means for MAGA’s coalition and why shame no longer moves the needle. Plus, Marjorie Taylor Greene’s sudden “civility” turn, Jamie Raskin’s ridiculous big-tent pitch, and Ted Cruz telegraphing a 2028 run. Support the show by signing up to our Patreon and get access to the full Weekender episode each Friday as well as special Live Shows and access to our community discord: http://patreon.com/muckrakepodcast The Epstein Tranche Blows Open 02:00 – 06:00 Why This Story Has Real Legs 06:00 – 12:30 Power Protects Power 12:30 – 18:45 MTG’s Sudden Pivot 18:45 – 26:30 Cruz 2028 and the Post-Trump GOP 26:30 – End Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Support the show on Patreon and unlock special content like our Weekender show every Friday. As a bonus, today's show is released in full in order to hear co-hosts Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman's analysis on the newly released Epstein emails and what they might, and we stress might, mean for Trump. Then, Nick interviews John Cavanaugh, who is running for Congress in Nebraska. Topics include banning congressional stock trades, repealing the diaper tax, ICE raids hitting Nebraska’s meatpacking towns, the costs of tariff chaos, redistricting reform, judicial term ideas, cannabis access, and how to actually rebuild public trust. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nick Hauselman hosts while Jared Yates Sexton joins from the road to break down a “deal” that looks a lot like capitulation, the promised-but-pointless ACA vote, and a wave of fake-elector pardons that clears the board for the authoritarian project. They talk weaponized investigations into Adam Schiff, the media’s selective silence on Trump’s health, and a Gilded Age cosplay at Mar-a-Lago while SNAP recipients twist in the wind. Also on the docket: 50-year mortgages that turn homeownership into a lifetime sentence and the trillion-dollar vibes coming from Musk’s payday. It’s shutdown brinkmanship, reality distortion, and class-war optics, all wrapped in one grim spectacle. Support the show by signing up to our Patreon and get access to the full Weekender episode each Friday as well as special Live Shows and access to our community discord: http://patreon.com/muckrakepodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a preview of our full Weekender. Support the show by signing up to our Patreon and get access to the full Weekender episode each Friday as well as special Live Shows and access to our community discord: http://patreon.com/muckrakepodcast In a live Weekender taping, Jared Yates Sexton holds down the fort while Nick Hauselman battles the “Socialist Republic of New York,” then tags in for a fast, sharp Q&A. The guys break down what Zoran Mamdani’s win actually signals, whether AOC just gained real 2028 juice, and why Gavin Newsom looks like yesterday’s model in a changing market. They torch the Heritage crowd’s flirtation with Nick Fuentes, talk shutdown brinkmanship and mutual-aid politics, and lay out practical protest security in a surveillance state. There’s a quick detour through JFK/FDR alt-history, a brutal review of that Springsteen movie, and a courtside reality check on a foul-fest Lakers–Spurs game featuring a very mortal Wemby. It’s smart, a little spicy, and deeply unsentimental—just how Muckrake listeners like it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman kick things off by announcing a live Patreon Q&A this Thursday, November 6 at 5 p.m. ET, then dive into New York City’s mayoral shockwave. They break down Zoran Mamdani’s surge, Andrew Cuomo’s Trump-backed Islamophobic ad blitz, and why the Democratic establishment looks allergic to enthusiasm. From there, they game out what a Mamdani win could mean for AOC, party power brokers, and a whole lot of donor panic. Plus, Trump’s itchy trigger finger toward Nigeria, Venezuela, and Mexico gets the full reality check, and the guys unpack reports of ICE showing up near polling places alongside talk of bounty-style enforcement that sounds less like policy and more like state racketeering. Come for the outrage therapy, stay for the receipts. Support the show by signing up to our Patreon and get access to the full Weekender episode each Friday as well as special Live Shows and access to our community discord: http://patreon.com/muckrakepodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Support the show by signing up to our Patreon and get access to the full Weekender episode each Friday as well as special Live Shows and access to our community discord: http://patreon.com/muckrakepodcast It’s a Halloween Weekender so co-hosts Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman start with candy talk, then dive into the Pentagon’s plan for a 23,500-troop National Guard “reaction force” slated to spin up Jan 1 and be fully operational by Apr 1, and what that signals about ballot boxes, civil unrest, and creeping authoritarianism. They hit Trump’s chest-thumping about reviving nuclear testing, the tech-military money pipeline, and why eugenics-flavored rhetoric keeps popping up. Then it’s SNAP benefits triage, emergency funds that won’t cover the full need, and the cruelty baked into the politics. For dessert, Nick’s West Wing binge meets Jared’s analog-horror picks, plus a quick Nightmare on Elm Street rewatch pitch. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump just demolished the entire East Wing of the White House so he can build a $300 million gilded “Presidential Ballroom,” even after promising there would be “no structural damage.” At the exact same time, because of the shutdown, the USDA says SNAP will stop paying out on November 1 and more than 40 million Americans (about 1 in 8 people in this country) are about to lose their food benefits while states scramble to set up emergency food banks. This is what “Eat The Rich” actually looks like in real time. Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman break down how this ballroom stunt became the perfect symbol of American rot: looting the state, starving the public, daring anyone to stop it. They connect it to the shutdown, the coming food crisis, and the GOP strategy of holding basic survival hostage while blaming “Democrats who won’t negotiate.” They also get into what happens next — desperation, crime, crackdown, and why the right actually wants that cycle. Plus: what’s really happening in Venezuela. The administration is openly talking about oil, U.S.-backed operators are getting grabbed on the ground, and we’re moving assets toward Caracas like it’s 1983 all over again. Why regime change never went away, it just stopped pretending to be subtle. And yeah, we talk about rage, mutual aid, and what it looks like when people finally decide they’re done letting billionaires build palaces while kids don’t eat. Support the show by signing up to our Patreon and get access to the full Weekender episode each Friday as well as special Live Shows and access to our community discord: http://patreon.com/muckrakepodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices