It’s hard to find a better example of seizing the means of production than our government seizing an equity stake in a company—which Trump keeps doing over and over again. And what do the diehard Republican capitalists have to say about all this socializing of the private sector? Nothing, of course. But they definitely were up in arms over Bill Kristol saying he’d probably vote for Mamdani if he still lived in NYC, and that voting for Cuomo was ridiculous. Plus, the crypto-based bribery of Trump and his family is flourishing, SNAP cuts and Head Start closures will have a big impact on rural areas, businesses have been trying to find ways to lower their tariff burden since Trump won last November, and the potential ties between recent layoffs and the AI arms race.
The Bulwark’s Catherine Rampell joins Tim Miller for the Halloween weekend pod.
show notes
Tim's playlist
Tim's Halloween playlist
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59:38
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59:38
Heidi Heitkamp: How Trump’s Trade Chaos Hurts Farmers
President Trump meets with Xi Jinping and agrees to an embarrassingly one-sided trade deal, as the “China Hawks” in the administration cower. Meantime, the government shutdown moves to a more painful phase, with funding for SNAP expiring on Nov. 1. Former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp joins Tim to discuss how the chaos from Trump’s trade wars has already hurt farmers, how Democrats should play their next moves on the shutdown, and her surprising support for Mamdani/Platner style candidates.
show notes:
The One Country Project’s Hot Dish Podcast
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55:34
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55:34
Abby Phillip: Governing by Troll
From the jump, the administration has been all about the memes, owning the libs, and pissing people off. But Abby says she wants Trump’s supporters to have a chance to share their points of view on her show—and be challenged in real time. Meanwhile, during the weirdest shutdown ever, Republicans are at risk on SNAP and Obamacare subsidies. And policing the Caribbean and the Pacific to commit summary executions is not America First. Plus, the roots of Bernie Sanders’s populist campaigns were planted by Jesse Jackson’s runs for the presidency in ‘84 and ‘88. But Trump too also echoes Jackson as a political figure—through their use of celebrity, personality, and similar outsider populist messaging.
Abby Phillip joins Tim Miller.
show notes
Abby's book, "A Dream Deferred: Jesse Jackson and the Fight for Black Political Power"
CNN's NewsNight with Abby Phillip
Tim and Bill on Trump creepiest propaganda yet
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53:50
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53:50
Sam Stein and Francis Fukuyama: A Coming Deportation Blitz?
While the inhumane and aggressive tactics unfolding in Chicago are repelling many Americans, they are having the opposite effect among Trump's top aides. The Kristi Noem clique wants more— much more— of the Border Patrol's "Midway Blitz" around the country, and they're busy purging local ICE leadership in a number of cities in an attempt to dramatically ramp up the pace of deportations. Meanwhile, Trump keeps talking like he's all for regime change in Venezuela. Plus, how conspiracy and our phones helped fuel the rise of global populism, why the left and right yearn for a struggle in an age of peace and prosperity, and the modern effort to reclaim the word 'liberal.'
Frank Fukuyama and Sam Stein join Tim Miller.
show notes:
Adrian's recent reporting from Chicago
Isaac Chotiner's interview with Karine Jean-Pierre
Frank on Substack
Frank's "Liberalism and Its Discontents" and his "The End of History and the Last Man"
"Termination Shock," referenced by Frank
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1:22:31
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1:22:31
Bill Kristol: Diaper Tantrum
Trump was so embarrassed by Canada using Reagan’s warnings about tariffs that he had a little hissy fit and decided to punish Americans for buying Canadian goods. And by the way, stuffed shirt Scott Bessent: Real American soybean farmers are being hurt by tariffs while you bail out Argentina and pretend that your dainty hands are tilling the soil on the farmland you bought as an investment. Meanwhile, the White House isn’t even pretending that it’s going after corrupt moneyed interests, as the Trump family rolls in dough from the most entrenched swampy types in DC. Plus, Dems get pressure on the shutdown and Trump weighs in on the VP gimmick for 2028.
Bill Kristol joins Tim Miller.
show notes
Scott Bessent saying he's a soybean farmer
Monday's "Morning Shots"
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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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