The Briefing with Jen Psaki cover art

The Briefing with Jen Psaki

The Briefing with Jen Psaki

By: MS NOW Jen Psaki
Listen for free

Jen Psaki tackles the biggest issues of the week and features one-on-one interviews with newsmakers.MS NOW Political Science Politics & Government
Episodes
  • Trump abandons ship: GOP left to sink under the burden of a profoundly unpopular president
    Aug 8 2026

    Donald Trump appears to be distancing himself from his own Republican Party, perhaps hoping to avoid association with expected midterm losses, despite being responsible for the unpopularity Republicans are suffering for their association with him. Ben Wikler, former DNC chair, joins to discuss.

    How did a long-standing plan by the Department of the Interior to refurbish the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool turn into the mess that would become Donald Trump's highest profile public humiliation (so far)? David Fahrenthold, investigative reporter for the New York Times, talks about his reporting on how the project spun out of control in the most Trumpian ways.

    Donald Trump appears not to understand that the resources of the presidency are not his personal property, as his vanity projects are taking an ever-increasing amount of his attention. Now a federal appeals court has shut down construction on his White House ballroom with a reminder that he is not a king. Rep. Jamie Rasking joins to discuss.

    Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II talks about how Michigan Democrats are uniting after their contentious primary in which Abul El-Sayed emerged victorious.

    To listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads, sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts.


    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    Show More Show Less
    42 mins
  • Blame game clown show: Trump looks for Iran fiasco scapegoats
    Aug 7 2026

    Donald Trump and his former cable news weekend co-host defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, are reportedly fighting over who is to blame for wasting U.S. military resources and depleting the U.S. weapons stockpile on Trump's inexplicable war on Iran. Hegseth reportedly blamed his deputy. Rep. Pat Ryan, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, joins to discuss Trump's foolhardy prosecution of the war.

    Donald Trump's brazen corruption is so much a part of his political identity that it has become an election issue unto itself. And when Senator Tim Scott tries to gaslight the American public into believing Trump is a model of ethics, or when JD Vance tries to pretend prosecuting fraud is an important priority of his, Trump's corruption only makes them look ridiculous. Rep. Ro Khanna joins to discuss.

    Mitch Landrieu and Jennifer Palmieri discuss the shifting politics in the American South.

    Stacey Abrams joins to talk about resurrecting the protections of the Voting Rights Act.

    To listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads, sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts.


    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    Show More Show Less
    42 mins
  • With nothing to run on, Republicans return to low road 'gutter' politics
    Aug 6 2026

    Donald Trump's disastrous time in office has left campaigning Republicans with very little to boast about to constituents back home. What they are left with instead is their familiar playbook of culture war scare tactics and divisive distortions to try to scare voters into supporting them. Senator Ted Cruz wasted no time to resort to absurd smears when asked about Democratic Senate candidate from Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed.

    One of Donald Trump's endorsed Republican candidates lost the primary election to a guy who was so disfavored to win that news organizations didn't even bother to prepare his photo. But at least that candidate didn't have to drop out of the race in disgrace, which is more than can be said for other Republicans.

    Mother Jones has published body camera and interview footage from a child abuse investigation involving Rep. Max Miller. The footage was obtained via a public records request from the City of Bay Village in Ohio, where the investigation took place.

    Miller continues to deny the abuse allegations made by his ex-wife, Emily Moreno. The investigation ended with the allegations "unsubstantiated" by police.

    Michael Steele plays part of the clip obtained by Mother Jones, where a child protective specialist describes an injury his 2-year-old daughter sustained while in his care.

    To listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads, sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts.


    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    Show More Show Less
    43 mins
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
All stars
Most relevant
Informative, service very passionate. Good feel going into 2024 Election campaign. Looking forward to it.

Kool

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.