Deep State Radio

Original Air Date: February 4, 2019 This week our leader will, as the Constitution mandates, let us know the state of our union. We won't believe a word he says. And we already know the answer. Just look at the week's other events from political chaos in Virginia to brewing wars overseas to upcoming testimony from the president's lawyer that probably won't be good for the occupant of the Oval Office. (Who's not really orange, he just has "good genes." Join us for a discussion with attorney Katie Phang, law professor Rosa Brooks and law-abiding columnist, Ed Luce as we prepare you for the week ahead.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How many nukes does Putin have, and what are they for? This is just one of the questions that Hans Kristensen and Matt Korda’s team at the Federation of American Scientists tries to answer in their Nuclear Notebook. Hans and Matt join Jon Wolfsthal this week to discuss their report and the challenges of collecting intel on the largest nuclear arsenals in the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On a special episode of the DSR Daily, David Rothkopf, Chris Cotnoir, and Riley Fessler share their thoughts on the State of the Union and why President Biden was in peak form, sending the Republicans into a tailspin.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. triggered an online explosion with a very weird defense of himself for spending time with Jeffrey Epstein. Everyone laughed, but we think this saga is revealing: It opens a window on his underappreciated appeal to disaffected young men. So we chatted with Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, a New School professor who specializes in politics and culture and has dissected the Kennedy phenomenon in surprising ways. Petrzela helped us uncover the darker undercurrents driving Kennedy’s popularity and the ugly truths it reveals about our politics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joe Biden’s State of the Union address has been a source of speculation, anticipation, and a little bit of dread. The address presents Biden with an opportunity to shape the narrative around the election now that he and Trump have officially secured their nominations. The Washington Post’s Jen Rubin joins David Rothkopf on the day of the address to forecast the President’s message and, crucially, what to look for to make the Oscars less disappointing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the Thursday edition of the DSR Daily, we cover the first civilian deaths from a Houthi attack on a ship in the Read sea, the rapidly deteriorating situation in Haiti, reports of Israel blocking aid into Gaza, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Texas is a state that keeps breaking the hearts of Democrats everywhere. But hopes are rising again this week, after Representative Colin Allred, a former NFL player and civil rights lawyer, captured the Democratic nomination to unseat Senator Ted Cruz. Six years after Beto O’Rourke fell three points short of beating Cruz, what will be different this time? We chatted with Allred about his path forward, how Democrats can compete in rural America, and why Republicans have turned the border into a fantasy zone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While the state of the union is ordinarily focused on domestic policy, nothing about this year has been ordinary. On the eve of the State of the Union address, Kori Schake, Ed Luce, and Alon Pinkas join David Rothkopf to predict how large of a role that foreign policy will play in President Biden’s speech.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the Wednesday edition of the DSR Daily, we cover the big results from Super Tuesday, faltering ceasefire talks in Cairo, the hunger crisis in Sudan, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Earlier this week, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico signed a handful of gun control bills in the face of a terrible spate of gun violence in her state that has drawn national attention. Lujan Grisham is smack in the middle of some big trends in our politics right now: The transformation of the southwest, the success of Democrats in border states, and the rise of the female Democratic governor in the era of Donald Trump. We chatted with Lujan Grisham about all these things—and a whole lot more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the Tuesday edition of the DSR Daily, we cover the continuing Gaza ceasefire talks in Cairo, the Supreme Court’s decision to keep Trump on the ballot, Germany’s response to an intelligence leak, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled 9 to zero that Donald Trump will not be disqualified from appearing on the ballot in Colorado, despite having engaged in insurrection. Coupled with the court’s willingness to hear Trump’s demand for full immunity from prosecution for insurrection-related crimes, all this raises serious questions about whether it is functionally placing Trump beyond accountability. We chatted with New Republic writer Matt Ford, author of a new piece eviscerating the court’s latest ruling, about the deeper falsehoods about Trump and the MAGA movement that the court is advancing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New York Times award winning journalist Adam Entous joins Marc Polymeropoulos to discuss Adam’s latest NY Times article chronicling the extraordinary evolution between 2014 until today of the partnership between US and Ukrainian intelligence. From initial efforts by the US to “put in the plumbing,” building personal ties and basic intelligence exchanges, to the CIA remaining on the ground during the Russian invasion and an admission from Ukrainian intelligence that without CIA’s targeting help, Kyiv would have fallen, it is an intelligence success story for the ages.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the Monday edition of the DSR daily, we cover Kamala Harris’s scheduled meeting with Benny Gantz, the US airdropping food into Gaza, France preparing to enshrine abortion rights in the constitution, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With Donald Trump set to host Viktor Orban at his Mar-a-Lago retreat this week, it's time to get serious about the rise of the global far right and why its worldview poses such a dire threat. This week, Donald Trump will host Hungarian leader Viktor Orban at his Mar-a-Lago resort.  Meanwhile, Congress is on the verge of abandoning Ukraine to Vladimir Putin. Trump’s romance with Orban—and the opposition of MAGA Republicans to helping Ukraine—are part of the same story, in which the American right has grown besotted with international strongmen. We chatted with Jacob Heilbrunn, author of “America Last: The Right’s Century-Long Romance with Foreign Dictators,” about the rise of the global far right and the deeper threats posed by this perilous moment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Air Date: March 24, 2023 Trump might finally be indicted but what impact will that have on the political landscape? Kavita and Norm seek to answer that question during this engaging conversation. Members get a bonus conversation about COVID and the recent UN Climate Report. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Air Date: January 18, 2023 Davos may attract some of the world's wealthiest people but DSR continues to attract the best foreign policy and national security thinkers and analysis. David Rothkopf talks with David Sanger of the New York Times and Rosa Brooks of Georgetown University about Kissinger's remarks at Davos and other foreign policy issues cropping up around the world. Should Ukraine join NATO? Will Sweden and Finland actually join NATO? How should the U.S. handle the new (old) government in Israel? Find out in this wide-ranging conversation. Don't miss it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Climate change is scary enough on its own. But what about the effect of climate change on our nuclear weapons? Expert Jamie Kwong joins Jon Wolfsthal and Heather Williams to break down the recent incident at Pantex, and the increasing risk that effects of climate change poses to our nuclear installations. This episode is best enjoyed with a cocktail in hand. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump is the healthiest, most successful, and most innocent man in America — according to Donald Trump. The grifts and lies show no signs of slowing even as the walls close in around the former president. Norm and Kavita go over the many machinations of the former president, including the New York criminal trial, his efforts to turn the RNC into his personal piggy bank, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the Friday edition of the DSR Daily, we cover the Senate approving a stopgap funding bill, Joe Biden and Donald Trump visiting the border, Alabama passing legislation to protect IVF, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices