Vanity Fair drops two bombshell stories based on months of interviews with the White House Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles.

Wiles says Trump has an "alcoholic's personality," that JD Vance is a "conspiracy theorist," and that Pam Bondi "whiffed" on the Epstein files. She also admits to knowing about Elon Musk using drugs while working in the White House and that she's ok with retribution.

But maybe the most important thing is that the interviews show an administration in chaos and a president who seems to be pretty checked out when it comes to doing the job.

LINK:

VANITY FAIR

MAKE IT MAKE SENSE SUBSCRIPTION DRIVE!

For the next two weeks, Make It Make Sense is running its Substack subscription drive! Become a paid member and get access to original reporting, the MIMS community chat, and the brand new newsletter Thing You Forgot From Civics Class.

Subscriptions start at $5 a month, annual subscriptions are 20% off and founder or Making The Most Sense subscribers get their rate locked in. Support MIMS and independent journalism by subscribing at the link below!

https://mimsnewspod.substack.com/

SPONSOR PROMO CODE:

This episode is brought to you by Cozy Earth. Wrap the ones you love in warmth and luxury this holiday season with the exclusive Make It Make Sense discount code: MIMS25 to get 40% off your entire order.

Support the show

Follow along on social media

X: @mimsnewspod
Instagram: @mimsnewspod
TikTok: @mimsnewspod
Substack: mimsnewspod.substack.com
YouTube: youtube.com/@MIMSnewspod
Bluesky: Granthermes.bsky.social

Follow Grant:
X: @GrantHermes
Insta/TikTok: GrantHermesTV

SPONSORS AND ADS:
Our listeners are smart, loyal, and tuned in — and your brand could be too.
Let’s work together. For sponsorships and custom ad spots, reach out to ads@matchbookmediapod.com

Grant sits down with the CEO of the Zero Abuse Project, Jeff Dion, to talk about the Department of Education's new policy to downgrade degrees for jobs required to report child abuse, neglect, and maltreatment.

Jeff talks about the worries that abuse prevention experts are having right now, why mandated reporters need more training right now, and what might happen next if the Department is at odds with bipartisan efforts to curb abuse.

LINKS:

Zero Abuse Project

MAKE IT MAKE SENSE SUBSCRIPTION DRIVE!

For the next two weeks, Make It Make Sense is running its Substack subscription drive! Become a paid member and get access to original reporting, the MIMS community chat, and the brand new newsletter Thing You Forgot From Civics Class.

Subscriptions start at $5 a month, annual subscriptions are 20% off and founder or Making The Most Sense subscribers get their rate locked in. Support MIMS and independent journalism by subscribing at the link below!

https://mimsnewspod.substack.com/

PROMO CODES:

This episode is brought to you by Cozy Earth. Wrap the ones you love in warmth and luxury this holiday season with the exclusive Make It Make Sense discount code: MIMS25 to get 40% off your entire order.

Support the show

Follow along on social media

X: @mimsnewspod
Instagram: @mimsnewspod
TikTok: @mimsnewspod
Substack: mimsnewspod.substack.com
YouTube: youtube.com/@MIMSnewspod
Bluesky: Granthermes.bsky.social

Follow Grant:
X: @GrantHermes
Insta/TikTok: GrantHermesTV

SPONSORS AND ADS:
Our listeners are smart, loyal, and tuned in — and your brand could be too.
Let’s work together. For sponsorships and custom ad spots, reach out to ads@matchbookmediapod.com

After weeks of fighting over what will happen to Affordable Care Act subsidies that help millions of Americans afford their health insurance, Republicans in the Senate shrugged and voted to let prices spike.

Not just for people on the ACA but for everyone.

Grant explains what's happening with Obamacare (the ACA), why this is happening without a plan to stop it and what happens next.

MAKE IT MAKE SENSE SUBSCRIPTION DRIVE!

For the next two weeks, Make It Make Sense is running its Substack subscription drive! Become a paid member and get access to original reporting, the MIMS community chat, and the brand new newsletter Thing You Forgot From Civics Class.

Subscriptions start at $5 a month, annual subscriptions are 20% off and founder or Making The Most Sense subscribers get their rate locked in. Support MIMS and independent journalism by subscribing at the link below!

https://mimsnewspod.substack.com/

PROMO CODES:

This episode is brought to you by Cozy Earth. Wrap the ones you love in warmth and luxury this holiday season with the exclusive Make It Make Sense discount code: MIMS25 to get 40% off your entire order.

Support the show

Follow along on social media

X: @mimsnewspod
Instagram: @mimsnewspod
TikTok: @mimsnewspod
Substack: mimsnewspod.substack.com
YouTube: youtube.com/@MIMSnewspod
Bluesky: Granthermes.bsky.social

Follow Grant:
X: @GrantHermes
Insta/TikTok: GrantHermesTV

SPONSORS AND ADS:
Our listeners are smart, loyal, and tuned in — and your brand could be too.
Let’s work together. For sponsorships and custom ad spots, reach out to ads@matchbookmediapod.com

There's been a lot of talk about Trump getting fed up with certain members of his administration. Pete Hegseth, Kristi Noem, Kash Patel, and Pam Bondi have all made the wrong kind of headlines.

Grant breaks down what those headlines are, who might replace those people, and what the odds are that they actually get fired despite Trump talking behind their backs.

MAKE IT MAKE SENSE SUBSCRIPTION DRIVE!

For the next two weeks, Make It Make Sense is running its Substack subscription drive! Become a paid member and get access to original reporting, the MIMS community chat, and the brand new newsletter Thing You Forgot From Civics Class.

Subscriptions start at $5 a month, annual subscriptions are 20% off and founder or Making The Most Sense subscribers get their rate locked in. Support MIMS and independent journalism by subscribing at the link below!

https://mimsnewspod.substack.com/

PROMO CODES:

This episode is brought to you by Cozy Earth. Wrap the ones you love in warmth and luxury this holiday season with the exclusive Make It Make Sense discount code: MIMS25 to get 40% off your entire order.

Support the show

Follow along on social media

X: @mimsnewspod
Instagram: @mimsnewspod
TikTok: @mimsnewspod
Substack: mimsnewspod.substack.com
YouTube: youtube.com/@MIMSnewspod
Bluesky: Granthermes.bsky.social

Follow Grant:
X: @GrantHermes
Insta/TikTok: GrantHermesTV

SPONSORS AND ADS:
Our listeners are smart, loyal, and tuned in — and your brand could be too.
Let’s work together. For sponsorships and custom ad spots, reach out to ads@matchbookmediapod.com

Grant welcomes Amanda Litman from Run For Something and author of the book When We're In Charge (link below) back on the show to talk about the tipping point in American politics that was this last fall.

They talk about the big elections that took place around the country, including Zohran Mamdani's win in NYC. But they also talk about the shift from older politicians and leaders to Millennial and Gen Z candidates, how that's reordering our political landscape and our lives at the national and local levels.

Plus, they look ahead to what might be happening as it looks like the Democratic Party is on the edge of leaning into its younger leaders and what that could mean in a post-Trump world.

MAKE IT MAKE SENSE SUBSCRIPTION DRIVE!

For the next two weeks, Make It Make Sense is running its Substack subscription drive! Become a paid member and get access to original reporting, the MIMS community chat, and the brand new newsletter Thing You Forgot From Civics Class.

Subscriptions start at $5 a month, annual subscriptions are 20% off and founder or Making The Most Sense subscribers get their rate locked in. Support MIMS and independent journalism by subscribing at the link below!

https://mimsnewspod.substack.com/

PROMO CODES:

This episode is brought to you by Cozy Earth. Wrap the ones you love in warmth and luxury this holiday season with the exclusive Make It Make Sense discount code: MIMS25 to get 40% off your entire order.

LINKS

Run For Something

When We're In Charge

FOLLOW ON SOCIAL MEDIA
X: @mimsnewspod
Instagram: @mimsnewspod
TikTok: @mimsnewspod
Substack: mimsnewspod.substack.com
YouTube: youtube.com/@MIMSnewspod
Bluesky: Granthermes.bsky.social

Follow Grant:
X: @GrantHermes
Insta/TikTok: Grant__Hermes

SPONSORS AND ADS:
Our listeners are smart, loyal, and tuned in — and your brand could be too.
Let’s work together. For sponsorships and custom ad spots, reach out to ads@matchbookmediapod.com

Support the show

Follow along on social media

X: @mimsnewspod
Instagram: @mimsnewspod
TikTok: @mimsnewspod
Substack: mimsnewspod.substack.com
YouTube: youtube.com/@MIMSnewspod
Bluesky: Granthermes.bsky.social

Follow Grant:
X: @GrantHermes
Insta/TikTok: GrantHermesTV

SPONSORS AND ADS:
Our listeners are smart, loyal, and tuned in — and your brand could be too.
Let’s work together. For sponsorships and custom ad spots, reach out to ads@matchbookmediapod.com

It has been a week for the books for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

First, there was new, corroborated reporting that he might have ordered a war crime in the Caribbean.

Second, the Admiral that Hegseth has been blaming testified in classified briefings to members of Congress, who came out and said it was a disturbing ordeal.

Third, more new reporting about how Pete ousted a 4-star Admiral over the legality of the Caribbean strikes and DEI.

Fourth, a new Department of Defense investigation says Hegseth may have jeopardized US lives by sending sensitive information over Signal back in March.

It's a lot to get through, and Grant breaks it all down.

MAKE IT MAKE SENSE SUBSCRIPTION DRIVE!

For the next two weeks, Make It Make Sense is running its Substack subscription drive! Become a paid member and get access to original reporting, the MIMS community chat, and the brand new newsletter Thing You Forgot From Civics Class.

Subscriptions start at $5 a month, annual subscriptions are 20% off and founder or Making The Most Sense subscribers get their rate locked in. Support MIMS and independent journalism by subscribing at the link below!

https://mimsnewspod.substack.com/

PROMO CODES:

This episode is brought to you by Cozy Earth. Wrap the ones you love in warmth and luxury this holiday season with the exclusive Make It Make Sense discount code: MIMS25 to get 40% off your entire order.

Support the show

Follow along on social media

X: @mimsnewspod
Instagram: @mimsnewspod
TikTok: @mimsnewspod
Substack: mimsnewspod.substack.com
YouTube: youtube.com/@MIMSnewspod
Bluesky: Granthermes.bsky.social

Follow Grant:
X: @GrantHermes
Insta/TikTok: GrantHermesTV

SPONSORS AND ADS:
Our listeners are smart, loyal, and tuned in — and your brand could be too.
Let’s work together. For sponsorships and custom ad spots, reach out to ads@matchbookmediapod.com

A growing scandal rocked the White House over the Thanksgiving holiday. The Washington Post reported that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth gave an order to kill two people who had survived an initial strike on their alleged drug boat.

If true, it would clearly violate the language of the laws of war and treaties the US has signed.

Grant breaks down what Hegseth and the White House are saying, the fact that they haven't been able to get their story straight and a new revelation from the Pentagon that the strike orders may have come from the Oval Office.

MAKE IT MAKE SENSE SUBSCRIPTION DRIVE!

For the next two weeks, Make It Make Sense is running its Substack subscription drive! Become a paid member and get access to original reporting, the MIMS community chat, and the brand new newsletter Thing You Forgot From Civics Class.

Subscriptions start at $5 a month, annual subscriptions are 20% off and founder or Making The Most Sense subscribers get their rate locked in. Support MIMS and independent journalism by subscribing at the link below!

https://mimsnewspod.substack.com/

PROMO CODES:

This episode is brought to you by Cozy Earth. Wrap the ones you love in warmth and luxury this holiday season with the exclusive Make It Make Sense discount code: MIMS25 to get 40% off your entire order.

Support the show

Follow along on social media

X: @mimsnewspod
Instagram: @mimsnewspod
TikTok: @mimsnewspod
Substack: mimsnewspod.substack.com
YouTube: youtube.com/@MIMSnewspod
Bluesky: Granthermes.bsky.social

Follow Grant:
X: @GrantHermes
Insta/TikTok: GrantHermesTV

SPONSORS AND ADS:
Our listeners are smart, loyal, and tuned in — and your brand could be too.
Let’s work together. For sponsorships and custom ad spots, reach out to ads@matchbookmediapod.com

This week’s interview is with Junelle Cavero, a State Representative from Arizona and head of political at the multicultural-focused media company My Code.

She joined Grant to talk about the brand new polling that My Code just released about how multicultural Americans view the president, his administration and the state of the nation. Spoilers, it’s not good for Trump with some real buyer’s remorse showing as dissatisfaction with his major policies rises.

But one of the most surprising findings was about how multicultural voters are pulling back from public political discussions out of fear of political violence and what that means for the country as a whole.

LINKS:

My Code

PROMO CODES:

Today's episode is sponsored by Molly Bz’s Gourmet cookies! Unforgettable artisan-crafted cookies

just in time for your next holiday party

Get 15% off your next order with the exclusive code: MIMS25

Mollybz.com

Support the show

Follow along on social media

X: @mimsnewspod
Instagram: @mimsnewspod
TikTok: @mimsnewspod
Substack: mimsnewspod.substack.com
YouTube: youtube.com/@MIMSnewspod
Bluesky: Granthermes.bsky.social

Follow Grant:
X: @GrantHermes
Insta/TikTok: GrantHermesTV

SPONSORS AND ADS:
Our listeners are smart, loyal, and tuned in — and your brand could be too.
Let’s work together. For sponsorships and custom ad spots, reach out to ads@matchbookmediapod.com