Deep State Radio

On Tuesday night, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump will face off in their first debate. It goes without saying that the stakes are very high, as polls now show the two of them effectively tied, with perhaps a slight edge to Harris. Yet some analysts out there have made good arguments holding that the pieces really are in place for her to win this thing. We talked to Lakshya Jain of the data firm Split Ticket, who digs into what Harris has to accomplish at the debate—and why he’s cautiously optimistic that she will ultimately prevail. Listen to this episode here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former Counterintelligence czar William Evanina joins Marc to discuss our nation’s greatest CI challenges, to include the staggering threat from an aggressive Chinese communist party, what motivates Americans to betray their country and how to defend against traitors in our midst, and his leadership growth, from SWAT team member, the JTTF post 9/11, a unique rotation to CIA, and then leading the USG’s entire CI efforts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the Friday edition of the DSR Daily, we cover what Republican endorsements mean for the Harris campaign, gun violence in America, growing support for Harris among certain demographics, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In an unhinged weekend rant on social media, Donald Trump made his most expansive threats yet to prosecute his enemies if he wins. He also flatly threatened at a rally to unleash “bloody” mass removals of migrants. Meanwhile, new polls show a very tight race. So why isn’t Trump paying a political price for running on explicit threats of authoritarian rule? We talked to A.B. Stoddard—a columnist for The Bulwark and a clear-eyed Trump critic—who explains how he is priming his supporters for violence after the election, and why the Trump threat is so hard to communicate to voters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original air date: January 27, 2023 On this week's episode, Norm and Kavita talk about the never ending cycle of gun violence in the United States and what communities should do since the government is incapable of making progress on this issue. Members get a bonus conversation about the continuing kerfuffle about classified documents. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original air date: September 7, 2023 It's hard to separate what is important from what is spin and posturing in the many legal cases involving the disgraced former president of the United States. Fortunately, we sat down with commentator Kimberly Atkins Stohr of the Boston Globe and the Sisters-in-Law Podcast to help make sense of the latest developments. Don't miss our conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Heather and Jon talked to Sarah Mineiro, one of the world's leading experts on space, military operations and nuclear command and control. The former Republican staff Director for the House Armed Services Subcommittee on strategic affairs let us have it with both barrels as we discuss the United States' vulnerabilities and what we should be doing about it to ensure the security of the United States and its allies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the advent of AI and advanced data collection technology, we’re in uncharted waters of data privacy. How can we protect our own data, and what role should companies and governments play in regulating data collection? Data privacy expert Dr. Micah Altman joins David Rothkopf to discuss this pressing issue.  This material is distributed by TRG Advisory Services, LLC on behalf of the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in the U.S.. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, DC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the Friday edition of the DSR Daily, we cover the father of Georgia school shooter being arrested, Hunter Biden's guilty plea, a high job report, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During an event billed as a speech about the economy, Donald Trump was addled and confused, rambled incoherently, and launched into strange non sequiturs. Yet The New York Times’s initial news story made the event sound far more normal than it was. Is the press doing an adequate job of analyzing Trump’s deteriorating mental state? We think the answer is an emphatic “no.” We talked to former reporter Meredith Shiner—author of a recent piece for The New Republic about the successes of GOP media ref-working—who explained why the press largely fails to scrutinize Trump’s mental unfitness for the presidency. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the wake of another horrific school shooting, we have to ask ourselves — When will we finally do more to stop gun violence? Gun control advocate David Hogg and writer Nell Scovell join David Rothkopf to discuss the gun violence epidemic in America and why it’s past time for a real cure.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the Thursday edition of the DSR Daily, we cover Russian interference in US elections, a recent mass shooting in Georgia, Trump's town hall, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a rant on Sean Hannity’s radio show, Donald Trump floated a new absurdity about his campaign’s use of Arlington National Cemetery as a political setting. He declared that there had been no conflict whatsoever there, even though the Army flatly confirmed that an employee had been shoved aside by Trump’s campaign goons. We think this turn in the story exposes something dark about MAGA. So we talked to David Kurtz, the executive editor of Talking Points memo and author of several good pieces on the scandal, who explains what it reveals about the role of bullying and violence in MAGA politics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To put it plainly, the Biden administration’s Israel policy hasn’t been bold. As we near the anniversary of the October 7th attacks, Israel continues to pound Gaza with little pushback from the administration. Alon Pinkas, Kori Schake, and Rosa Brooks join David Rothkopf for a discussion on how the administration can take a stronger stance with Israel — and why it’s necessary.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the Wednesday edition of the DSR Daily, we cover the Democrats and their investments in down-ballot candidates, Judicial reform in Mexico, an arrest of a critical journalist in Iran, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a striking piece, Politico reports that many GOP operatives are alarmed about a new dynamic in the presidential race. It’s that the surge in enthusiasm among Democrats for Kamala Harris’s candidacy is driving a big disparity in fundraising between the parties, leaving GOP Senate and House candidates underfunded and in danger. As Politico puts it: “Panic is starting to set in.” To gauge how serious this is, we talked to veteran organizer Leah Greenberg, co-founder of the progressive group Indivisible, about whether on-the-ground enthusiasm and organizing strength constitute a hidden advantage for Democrats that the media is missing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why does our democracy work the way it does? While each founding father was critical to the story of American democracy, John Adams was fundamental to establishing many of the precedents we think of as law today. Presidential historian Lindsay Chervinsky joins David Rothkopf to discuss her new book, “Making the Presidency,” and how we’ve overcome challenges to democracy before. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ben Macintyre, bestselling author of non-fiction intelligence classics such as Rogue Heroes and The Spy and The Traitor, joins Marc to discuss his new book The Siege: A Six-Day Hostage Crisis and the Daring Special-Forces Operation That Shocked the World. Ben discusses his experiences researching the work, the timeline of the 1980 London Hostage Crisis, why it mattered in geo-politics, and the often remarkable personal stories of bravery and heroism among the participants. Plus bonus content why the intelligence business still matters, particularly in Ukraine. Listen to all this and more here: Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the Tuesday edition of the DSR Daily, we cover Harris and Biden campaigning in battleground states, Venezuela issuing an arrest warrant for opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez, Putin visiting Mongolia, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the weekend, Donald Trump did a long, bizarre Fox News interview, flatly declaring he had a “right” to interfere in the last presidential election. He also mused that “God” may have chosen Trump to fix our “sick” country,” and seethed about an “enemy within” that’s out to get him. It’s unhinged stuff that gets at a bigger story: Trump’s feeding of his MAGA audience’s various pathologies has been getting darker and uglier. We talked to writer Anne Lutz Fernandez—author of a good new piece at The Unpopulist website about MAGA—who helps us decode how Trump is communicating to the increasingly radicalized elements of the MAGA movement these days. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices