Episodes

  • S2 Ep1035: Bill Kristol: A Reckless, Tin-Pot President

    S2 Ep1035: Bill Kristol: A Reckless, Tin-Pot President
    May 5 2025
    Trump 2.0 is showing so little concern for his political standing that even Fox made primetime room for Karl Rove to vent about how he's failing at the fundamentals. Our aspiring Gaddafi doesn't care that tariffs aren't popular or that he sounds like Mr. Scrooge when he says kids should have fewer toys. And while belt-tightening is good enough for average Americans, he's throwing himself a giant, ostentatious military parade that will cost tens of millions of dollars. Plus, conservatives in the Anglosphere take another hit, this time down under—and thumbs-up for Maine Gov. Janet Mills, thumbs-down for Gretchen Whitmer.

    Bill Kristol joins Tim Miller.
    show notes

    • Today's "Morning Shots"

    • Jonathan's recent newsletter on Gretchen Whitmer

    • The Atlantic's recent interview with Trump (gifted)
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    49 mins
  • S2 Ep1034: Derek Thompson: Trump's War on Dolls

    S2 Ep1034: Derek Thompson: Trump's War on Dolls
    May 2 2025
    Just imagine Fox's histrionics if a President AOC had said that American kids have too many dolls and that she's raising the price on them. Now the supposedly pro-family administration is doubling down on 'just pay more’ for toys, while it waits for China to blink on tariffs—an unlikely event given that it makes a lot of the things the world needs and wants. Meanwhile, AI's economic threat may be here for recent college grads, Marc Andreessen has deep thoughts on VC, and the NIH (and future American Nobel Prizes) are being burned to own the libs. Plus, the Dems should zero in on how Trump is making America less affordable—and very much like 2020 again.

    show notes

    • Derek's piece on the job market for recent college grads
    • Derek's podcast, "Plain English"
    • The book, "Abundance," by Derek and Ezra Klein
    • Tim's playlist
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    1 hr and 5 mins
  • S2 Ep1033: Tom Nichols: The Hollow Opportunists

    S2 Ep1033: Tom Nichols: The Hollow Opportunists
    May 1 2025
    Marco Rubio was supposed to be one of the only adults in the room, and now he's become a shell of himself executing Trump's unwinding of the US role in the world. Meanwhile, Pam Bondi just can't keep her blubbering sycophancy under wraps. Plus, Mike Waltz's ouster at NSA, our shakedown of Ukraine with a minerals deal, Trump's pettiness is getting lost in the firehose of his revenge, and even the president of El Salvador doubts the criminality of the people ICE is sending to CECOT.

    Tom Nichols join Tim Miller.
    show notes

    • Tim's interview with Rep. Chris Van Hollen

    • NYT's recent story on the deportations to El Salvador (gift)

    • The link for tonight's AMA at 8pm ET
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    50 mins
  • S2 Ep1032: Tony Blinken: America Alone

    S2 Ep1032: Tony Blinken: America Alone
    Apr 30 2025
    For 80 years, the United States built strong economic, military, and political alliances around the world. But in just 100 days, that trust has been dismantled, and our friends are now working without us to forge new relationships. Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken joins Tim to discuss how hard it will be to rebuild after what Trump has done—plus the Biden administration's response to the Gaza protests, and the continuing questions over why Biden did not step aside earlier. And, Alex Wagner joins from Hungary to discuss the mass protests there.

    Tony Blinken and Alex Wagner join Tim Miller.
    show notes

    • Alex's "Trumpland" podcast
    • Tim on Trump's ABC News interview
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    1 hr and 1 min
  • S2 Ep1031: Joe Weisenthal: Everything Screams Recession

    S2 Ep1031: Joe Weisenthal: Everything Screams Recession
    Apr 29 2025
    The markets may be hanging in there but they also held strong in early 2020—right up until Covid hit New York. Meanwhile, tariffs are driving consumer confidence down, firms are talking about cutting back on hiring and investments, and Goldman Sachs is predicting that the U.S. will have the highest inflation and lowest growth of any developed economy this year. Plus, Scott Bessent is not a calming influence, and Trump has a real 'War on Christmas' in the works.

    The Stalwart Joe Weisenthal joins Tim Miller.
    show notes

    • Joe and Tracy Alloway's newsletter on how the markets can get things wrong (gift)

    • Recent 'Odd Lots' pod on the coming empty shelves & the War on Christmas

    • Joe's Bluesky post on the War on Christmas
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    53 mins
  • S2 Ep1030: Bill Kristol: Creepy and Wrong

    S2 Ep1030: Bill Kristol: Creepy and Wrong
    Apr 28 2025
    The Trump administration keeps showing it's sooo tough on immigration that it deported three U.S. citizen children, arrested the wife of a member of the Coast Guard because her visa expired, and perp-walked an allegedly immigrant-concealing Wisconsin judge in handcuffs—instead of showing her the kind of deference Trump received over the course of his four indictments. Plus, the wildly wealthy jackasses behind Trump, the missing cargo ships at the ports, and Scott Pelley at 60 Minutes shows how it's done

    Bill Kristol joins Tim Miller.
    show notes

    • Tim on Trump's bad polling numbers for his first 100 days
    • Adrian on a focus group of Latino men in Arizona who are disappoined in Trump
    • Bill's 'Bulwark on Sunday' interview with Ryan Goodman
    • Semafor's piece, "The Group Chats that Changed America"
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    50 mins
  • S2 Ep1029: Beto O'Rourke: Never Lose Hope

    S2 Ep1029: Beto O'Rourke: Never Lose Hope
    Apr 25 2025
    Since this country's founding, we have been tested. And the Americans before us somehow stood up and fought the good fight. We can't be the generation that loses it all 249 years into this experiment. But that doesn't mean we can't laugh about the stupid clowns—like Trump showing once again that he has no idea how tariffs work. Plus, RFK's dangerous proposed autism registry is selling a cruel fantasy. And Democrats need to lock down what they're selling and listen to what voters want from the government.

    Beto O'Rourke joins Tim Miller for the weekend pod.
    show notes

    • Beto's Substack

    • Beto's "Powered by People"

    • NY Post story on the Venezualan stylist, Andry, imprisoned in El Salvador

    • Tim's interview with David Pakman about not traveling abroad

    • Tim’s book recommendation, "Diary of a Man in Despair"

    • Tim's playlist
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    1 hr
  • S2 Ep1028: Cory Booker: A National Crisis and a Global Crisis

    S2 Ep1028: Cory Booker: A National Crisis and a Global Crisis
    Apr 24 2025
    Donald Trump is trying to foist the worst peace deal in the last 100 years on Ukraine, as he gets repeatedly played by foreign leaders on the world stage. At home, he's turned JFK's "Ask not" upside down to 'Ask what you can do for Donald Trump.' But when will the cowardly law firms or CEOs groveling for a tariff exemption stand up for patriotism, our core constitutional values—and America's better vision of itself? Plus, Tim challenges an 11-year-old block from Twitter's golden era, and Booker shares diet & exercise tips.

    Sen. Cory Booker joins Tim Miller.
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    53 mins