Deep State Radio

This week, Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio declared in an on-air rant that if he had been Trump’s vice president in the run-up to Jan. 6, 2021, he would have told states to send Congress multiple slates of electors so lawmakers could “debate” the election’s supposed improprieties. That may sound like typical MAGA bluster, but it has deadly serious ramifications, confirming that Republicans still think Trump’s effort to overturn the election was in some ways a good thing. So what might they attempt next fall? We talked to legal scholar Matthew Seligman, co-author of “How to Steal a Presidential Election,” who road-mapped all the sordid possibilities ahead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Israel-Hamas conflict has wreaked havoc on civilians in Gaza, but the worst may be yet to come. As international watchdogs warn of potential famine and disease outbreaks, what can the US do to prevent disaster? Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East Mick Mulroy joins Marc Polymeropoulos and David Rothkopf to share insight from his recent trip to Israel and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On our Monday edition of the DSR Daily, we cover the US Senate’s deal on Ukraine aid and border control, President Zelensky confirming his intention to replace a top general, election news in El Salvador and Senegal, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s one of the strangest disconnects in our politics today: By many metrics, the economy is doing extremely well, yet President Biden’s approval numbers on the economy are in the toilet. With the latest jobs report showing an extraordinary 353,000 jobs created in January, we talked to New York Times columnist Paul Krugman about what the boom means, why Trump and MAGA Republicans are in denial about it, and how President Biden should respond. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Air Date: January 13, 2023 On this week's episode, Norm and Kavita talk about the start of a divided and performative Congress. Members of The DSR Network get a bonus conversation about Biden's classified documents and the Republicans investigations efforts across the government. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Air Date - March 29, 2023 Celebrating democracy seems like a good idea. Further, President Biden and his team have been actively supporting democracy worldwide since they took office. But that doesn't mean hosting a democracy summit is a great idea. Because a lot of difficult questions are raised. Like who thinks they're a democracy but really isn't? What do you do with wannabe authoritarians like Netanyahu, Modi & Lopez Obrador? And what long term results can come from these summits. We discuss with Kori Schake, Rosa Brooks and Ed Luce. Join us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are tensions between Iran and the US the highest they’ve ever been? The conflict between Israel and Gaza is only the latest in a long line of events that have put both countries at odds. Foreign policy experts Robin Wright and Barbara Slavin join David Rothkopf and hosts Heather Williams and Jon Wolfsthal to untangle the complicated history of the US and Iran, and forecast future crises in the region. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the Friday edition of the DSR Daily, we cover a letter from over 800 western officials protesting Israel-Gaza policies, the US approving a plan to strike Iranian targets in Syria and Iraq, and Russia refusing to turn over the bodies of Ukrainian POWs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we learned that Donald Trump’s fundraising committees channeled an extraordinary $50 million toward bankrolling his myriad legal defenses throughout 2023. Such sordid trickery has a long history on the right: For decades, shrewd fundraising gurus have raked in cash from conservative voters with hallucinatory alarmism about leftist villains and other apocalyptic threats. We talked to Geoff Kabaservice, the author of a “Rule and Ruin,” a history of the GOP, to situate Trump in this hallowed tradition of grifters. It turns out Trump may have outdone them all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this election, the most important campaigners are coming from outside of the political establishment. Democratic strategists Tara McGowan and Simon Rosenberg join David Rothkopf to share why now is the time for everyone to use their platform to push for victory in 2024, and why the Taylor Swift factor may be even bigger than you think. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the Thursday edition of the DSR Daily, we cover the EU agreement on a 50 billion euro package for Ukraine, Zuckerberg apologizing to families in a Senate hearing, the escalating farmer protests in Europe, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A frightening new batch of polls this week showed President Biden trailing Donald Trump in all the key battleground states. And yet, as bleak as the polling has looked, Democrats racked up an impressive winning streak in special elections all throughout 2023. This disconnect is why political pros are closely watching an election for state House in the Philadelphia suburbs that’s set for Feb. 13th. We talked to Democratic candidate Jim Prokopiak to gauge what he’s seeing on the ground in swing territory, why Biden is struggling on the economy, and how Trump can still looks strong despite his descent into derangement and severe criminal jeopardy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The world’s largest democracy is in danger. Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist movement continues to erode the rights of Indian Muslims and the country’s democratic systems. Indian journalist Rana Ayyub joins Ed Luce and David Rothkopf to shine a light on the peril India faces as elections loom.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the Wednesday edition of the DSR Daily, we cover reports that Zelensky will oust a top general, Iran’s threats to ‘decisively respond’ to any US strikes, an Argentinian court striking down Milei’s labor policies, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Far-right personalities are fantasizing about “civil war” again, amid a standoff between Texas Governor Greg Abbott and the feds over border enforcement. That may seem silly, but unbridgeable differences over immigration truly are driving many big stories of the moment, from that Texas battle to Senate negotiations over a border bill to the House GOP impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. If you want to understand what’s really going on with all these complex issues, few voices bring more clarity than Aaron Reichlin-Melnick of the American Immigration Council. We chatted with him about the deeper conflicts and tensions animating this crisis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Greg Abbott and the House Republicans are using the border as a political poker chip, with disastrous implications for immigrants. As Abbott continues to defy the Supreme Court and the House refuses to pass immigration reform, what does the Biden administration need to do? Norm and Kavita discuss the answers and more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the Tuesday edition of the DSR Daily, we cover statements from Secretary Blinken on the US response to attacks on service members, House Republicans moving to impeach Alejandro Mayorkas, and the latest from Israel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Three former Republican governors—Marc Racicot of Montana, Christine Todd Whitman of New Jersey, and Bill Weld of Massachusetts—have signed on to a legal brief to the Supreme Court arguing that Donald Trump is disqualified from running for president under Section 3 of the 14th amendment to the Constitution. Greg Sargent talks to Racicot about what he hopes this will achieve, whether the GOP is to blame for the rise of Trump and the MAGA movement, and why principled anti-Trump Republican elites are a disappearing species. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Spy movies have been a staple of Hollywood for decades, but how many of them actually get it right? Spycraft Entertainment’s John Sipher joins Marc Polymeropoulos to talk about what makes for a good spy story, and why more accurate depictions of the intelligence community make for great entertainment. John and Marc also discuss the generational divide between the old guard and Gen Z at the CIA and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the Monday edition of the DSR daily, we cover the mounting pressure to retaliate over the deaths of US troops in Jordan, the upcoming meeting between US and Chinese officials to curb the production of Fentanyl, UN workers accused of aiding Hamas, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices