Deep State Radio

On the DSR Daily for Wednesday, we break down President Trump’s speech to the UN General Assembly, Trump’s extraordinary shift on Ukraine, Brendan Carr’s plans to go after media, and more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Trump gave a speech to the United Nations on Tuesday that was a geopolitical and psychological dumpster fire. In addition to signaling absolute contempt for our allies and for global institutions, he slipped into angry and solipsistic grievance. He boasted about his polling, seethed that he deserves a Nobel Peace Prize, threatened to unshackle the U.S. military from international law, sent convoluted signals about NATO, lied endlessly about his domestic achievements, and bizarrely commanded other nations to cease combatting climate change. Many observers expressed alarm. We got to thinking: What if the self-obsessed craziness is itself the message the world receives about the United States? So we talked to international relations professor Nicholas Grossman, one of our favorite commentators on global affairs. He suggests other nations will conclude that Trump is “really crazy” and that the U.S. is an unreliable actor for the foreseeable future, explores why this could be so damaging, and explains wh

On the DSR Daily for Tuesday, we cover Jimmy Kimmel’s return to ABC, US plans to hit the entire ICC with sanctions, Trump’s impending speech in front of the UN, and more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the weekend, President Trump explicitly commanded Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute his political enemies in a crazed Truth Social tirade. He named the Democrats he wants prosecuted, and even openly boasted that he’d pushed out a veteran career prosecutor for refusing to carry out this mission. Now Rolling Stone reports that Trump’s open demand of his attorney general was so corrupt that it surprised even some of his own advisers. They apparently couldn’t fathom that he’d knowingly make it public! But we think Trump wants it to be publicly understood that he’s making this threat, and that grasping this dynamic is essential to understanding our moment. So we talked to Rolling Stone’s Asawin Suebsaeng, the reporter on that story. He explains how Trump’s threat was viewed inside Trumpworld, why even some of his most MAGA-fied advisers are not necessarily on board with this abuse of power, and what that all says about our ongoing slide into authoritarianism. Looking for More from the DSR Network? Clic

On the DSR Daily for Monday, we discuss the summit for a two-state solution, Trump urging Pam Bondi to go after political rivals, clarification on the White House’s confusing H-1B visa revisions, and more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Several weeks after President Trump ordered a military strike on a small boat in the Caribbean Sea, killing 11 people supposedly suspected of drug smuggling, this saga has gotten much worst. Last Monday, Trump bombed another vessel, killing three. Again his administration released zero evidence supporting the decision, and the specifics in this case make this campaign look increasingly lawless. And we just learned that the White House is quietly circulating a draft bill that would vastly expand Trump’s authority for these bombings. Its details offer a damning glimpse into how unrestrained he aims to be going forward. We talked to Brian Finucane, who’s been writing great analysis of the situation as an editor at Just Security. He explains why the specifics of that draft bill are so alarming, why the bombings appear to constitute serious abuses of power, and why all this may be hurtling us toward darker lawlessness to come. (Since we recorded, Trump bombed a third vessel in similarly lawless fashion. Looking

On the DSR Weekly Wrap-Up for September 19th,  we discuss the rule changes in the Senate, the takeaways from Trump’s UK visit, the fallout of Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension, and more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In four years time, how might a theoretical Dem administration grapple with the expanding energy consumption and demand for AI? This is the question the second half of TRG Media and MIT Technology Review’s AI and Energy Scenario Exercises seeks to explore. Leading experts come together to role play as key actors in government, private industry, and more to simulate how public policy might take shape in the coming years. This episode contains the second and final phase of the game and a brief wrap-up from the editor in chief of MIT Technology Review Mat Honan and game designer Ed McGrady.  The Players: US Federal POTUS - Merici Vinton, Former Senior Advisor to IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel Security (DoD, DHS, DOS) - Mark Dalton, Senior director of technology and innovation at R Street Energy (DOE, EPA, Interior) - Wayne Brough, Former President of the Innovation Defense Foundation and senior fellow on R Street’s Technology and Innovation team Red State Leadership- Soren Dayton, Director of Gov

The Trump administration is blatantly and disturbingly waging a war against free speech in this country. With the most recent news that late-night show host Jimmy Kimmel was canceled following jokes discussing the Charlie Kirk assassination, it is clear that the government is setting a new precedent towards the First Amendment. What happens next? How is the government taking aim at our constitutional rights? Tune in as David Rothkopf is joined by Rosa Brooks and Miles Taylor to discuss all this and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, ABC suspended comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s show under pressure from the Trump administration. The ostensible reason: Kimmel supposedly spread disinformation about Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin. But then President Trump ranted to reporters on Air Force One about the ouster, and he basically confirmed that he’s sending a message to networks that they can’t criticize him too much. “They’re not allowed to do that,” Trump said. Actually, they are, and in this, Trump made the ouster look even more corrupt. Trump also rambled angrily about how many of the people he sees on TV are crazy or on drugs, and he reiterated his threat to unleash the state on the leftist enemy within. All this confirmed that Trump is both increasingly unhinged and emboldened to carry out his autocratic takeover right out in the open. We talked to Jennifer Rubin, editor-in-chief of The Contrarian, who has a good new piece on Trump’s abuses. We discussed how Trump’s consolidation of power works, why many institutions are capitulating t

On the DSR Daily for Thursday, we discuss ABC indefinitely suspending Jimmy Kimmel, a Senate testimony from former CDC Director Susan Minaret, Trump’s intentions to designate Antifa as a terrorist organization, and more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the Jeffrey Epstein scandal has worsened, President Trump’s story has been that it’s all Democratic “hoax,” and that his signature on that lewd drawing in Epstein’s birthday book is a “forgery.” But at a congressional hearing Wednesday, FBI director Kash Patel faltered under intense questioning from Democrats. Patel filibustered when asked whether Trump’s name is in the Epstein files. He seemed to accidentally reveal that he does know how many times Trump’s name appears. And he agreed to investigate whether Trump’s birthday note to Epstein is indeed forged, which seems ill-advised. Patel badly undermined Trump’s whole stance. So how much longer can Trumpworld keep the lid on this? We talked to Nicole Hemmer, a historian who has written books about the right and its media apparatus. She explains the schism Epstein has opened inside MAGA, how Patel exposed Trump’s position as untenable, and how it all fits into the last half-century of right-wing deceptions and conspiracy theories.  Looking for More from th

“This is a 10,000-meter race to a full-blown police state, and they’re picking up speed.” The Trump administration is using the Charlie Kirk assassination as a tool to attack free speech at an alarming rate. Under the guise of “hate speech,” Trump and his cronies are taking aim at everyone from ABC reporters to Democratic organizations and NGOs. What comes next for free speech in America? Tune in as Norm Ornstein and David Rothkopf discuss all this and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the DSR Daily for Wednesday, we cover Kash Patel’s contentious Senate hearing, Trump’s state visit in the UK, a Republican midterm election next year, and more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Trump seems even more angry at the media than usual. His lawyers just filed a lawsuit against The New York Times that First Amendment lawyers are dismissing as a total joke. The suit, however, is also chock full of angry rants that appeared dictated by Trump himself. And he announced it with a Truth Social tirade that boiled with fury. Meanwhile, Trump himself snapped directly at reporters in strange ways, hitting one with a bizarre threat and engaging in a bizarre dominance display over the other. This comes as a new poll from the Economist reveals shockingly low support for Trump among independents, a key metric for gauging political strength—or weakness. We talked to Paul Waldman, who recently argued on his Substack, The Cross Section, that Trump’s powers of persuasion are failing him. We discuss how Trump both despises and relies on the media, the real reasons for his mounting anger, and how it’s all revealing big cracks in his authoritarian project.  Looking for More from the DSR Network? Clic

The Supreme Court has officially ruled that Donald Trump’s stormtroopers could stop anybody based on their race, accent, or whatever they damn well please and force them to prove their citizenship. They also recently ruled that the President can fire anybody on the Federal Trade Commission, upending all legal precedent. What is the Supreme Court doing? Where is the Democratic response? The New Republic editor Michael Tomasky joins David Rothkopf to discuss all this and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amory Lovins has been a leading thinker on energy policy for more than 50 years. Several months ago he wrote an article with the provocative title "Artificial Intelligence Meets Natural Stupidity." As the title suggests, Lovins is skeptical about AI in a number of respects – in particular about the electricity it will require. Listen as host David Sandalow talks with Lovins about AI power demand forecasts, the role of natural gas and renewables, AI in education, a proposal to require all payments to electric utilities by new large loads such as data centers to be bonded or insured, and more.\ Amory Lovins, Artificial Intelligence Meets Natural Stupidity (May 2025), https://integrative-design-for-radical-energy-efficiency.stanford.edu/sites/extreme_energy_efficiency/files/media/file/data-centersaiel-dr-16-10-may-2025.pdf Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the DSR Daily for Tuesday, we break down Israel’s assault on Gaza City, Trump suing the New York Times, VP Vance condemning those celebrating Charlie Kirk’s death, and more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a surprise, Fox News is reporting that the knives are out for FBI director Kash Patel due to many recent missteps, including the botching of key facts about the hunt for Charlie Kirk’s assassin. That this is being featured by Fox News may be a sign of how dire Patel’s internal standing has truly become. Yet we’re in the middle of a complicated moment. Even as Patel’s tenure is beset with follies, Stephen Miller just unleashed a vile rant making it clear that Trump is about to turn federal law enforcement loose on the liberal-left in a big way, all fake-justified by Charlie Kirk’s assassination. So we talked to Asha Rangappa, a former FBI special agent who now writes a good Substack called “The Freedom Academy.” She explains why Patel compares so woefully to his predecessors, what the coming mass repression campaign could look like, how the FBI might figure into that, and how we’ll know things are getting really bad.  Looking for More from the DSR Network? Click Here: https://linktr.ee/deepstateradio L

On the DSR Daily for Monday, we discuss Trump vowing to declare a national emergency in DC, Governor Hochul endorsing Mamdani for mayor, Brian Kilmeade’s unbelievable comments on Fox News, and more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices