Blabbermouth

Dan Savage is back and talks with Eli Sanders and Katie Herzog about a couple of uplifting political stories for a change! Then it’s right back into our nation’s Trump-directed tailspin, which this week features new lows from kakistocrats Ben Carson and Ken Cuccinelli. After that, Rich Smith checks in on how Nancy Pelosi’s go-slow strategy on impeachment is looking this week, now that Trump’s throwing tantrums and holding America’s infrastructure hostage until she stops all House investigations. And we listen to a demand for a correction from a Boomer who has a bone to pick with the expert on Old People Power we had on last week’s show. Finally, Jasmyne Keimig and Chase Burns talk about the Yeehaw Agenda, Orville Peck, and Lavender Country. Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo.

With Dan Savage away, Eli Sanders and Katie Herzog talk about old people. HuffPost writer Michael Hobbes joins in to explain why, as he wrote earlier this year, “America’s defining divide isn’t right vs. left. It’s young vs. old.” After that, Rich Smith looks at the new abortion ban in Alabama and what it means for Roe v. Wade, then ponders the wisdom of Trump’s trade war and Elizabeth Warren’s refusal to appear in a Fox News town hall. Finally, Jasmyne Keimig and Charles Mudede discuss Chernobyl, the new HBO series that, according to Charles, just might save the world. Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo.

Dan Savage, Eli Sanders, and Rich Smith look into new revelations about Trump’s massive business losses and then ponder Mitch McConnell’s claim that it’s “case closed” on the Russia investigation. As Trump’s efforts to obstruct Congressional investigations continue, they also consider whether Nancy Pelosi is being too cautious on impeachment. And then they talk strategy: Should the Democrats vying to unseat Trump focus on winning over white working class voters or on growing turnout among non-white voters? After that, Katie Herzog on the alarming new UN climate report and whether the Impossible Burger might just save humanity. Finally, Jasmyne Keimig and Chase Burns explain why the online world seemed to stop for Monday's Met Gala, what the gala’s “camp” theme was all about, and who wore “camp” best. Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo.

Dan Savage, Eli Sanders, and Katie Herzog discuss Attorney General William Barr’s problematic Congressional testimony and then try to figure out what’s so exciting about the presidential candidacy of Joe Biden. Because according to polls—which can be wrong!—there’s actually a lot of Biden enthusiasm out there. After that, Rich Smith jumps in to consider the apparently false sexual assault smear against Pete Buttigieg and fresh outrages from the Trump administration’s war on immigrants. Finally, Jasmyne Keimig and Chase Burns talk about three things you need to watch that are *not* Game of Thrones or the new Avengers movie. They are: Barry, Now Apocalypse, and the re-tooled Apocalypse Now. Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo.

Dan Savage, Eli Sanders, and Rich Smith discuss the Mueller report and then consider whether Democrats in Congress should impeach Trump right now or, per Nancy Pelosi’s suggestion, go slow and wait for more facts to come out. After that, Katie Herzog talks about how the US Supreme Court appears to be getting ready to green-light Trump’s plan to put a citizenship question on the census and then, at the urging of a Blabbermouth caller, she dives into Elizabeth Warren’s actual policy positions. Finally, Lizzo: she overtook Beyonce on the pop charts recently but a) Who is Lizzo? and b) Why is Lizzo feuding on Twitter with a critic who calls her music “empowerment-core”? Jasmyne Keimig and Chase Burns explain Lizzo’s appeal and argue about whether she’s been unfairly maligned. Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo.

The public version of the Mueller Report is being released this week and Dan Savage, Eli Sanders, and Rich Smith talk about what they’ll be looking for in the roughly 400 pages of redacted material. After that, Bernie Sanders waded into the FOX house recently and came away with the highest-rated “town hall” of the campaign season. Why is Bernie surging right now? Are “establishment” Democrats right to be freaking out about his success? Does it matter that Bernie’s now a member of the one percent? Will Dan and Rich be able to agree on the answers to any of these questions? We find out. After, that: Pete Buttigieg. He’s a gay man who's talking religion back to the radical right, and it’s thrilling to watch. But should lefty atheists who’ve fought to make religion less central to our politics really be cheering this? And is America really ready to elect a gay man as president? Finally, Charles Mudede is not crying over the burning of the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, and he’ll tell you why. Plus, as always,

Eli Sanders, Katie Herzog, and Rich Smith consider the “Creepy Joe” situation. There are now four public accusations against likely Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden from women who say he touched them inappropriately at political events. And, as we already know, there’s no shortage of handsy Biden photos and videos out there from his long period in the public eye. Should Biden drop his plans to run? Should he stay out of the already crowded Democratic presidential primary for solid reasons that are totally separate from the “Creepy Joe” situation? Should he be held to “The Franken Standard,” or “The Trump Standard”? All is discussed. After that, Mitch McConnell’s is going to use the “nuclear option” (again) to help Trump pack the federal courts and Trump, after promising (yet again) to repeal Obamacare, now says he has a secret plan to replace it with something better—but will only reveal his secret plan after he’s reelected. Finally, Jasmyne Keimig and Charles Mudede talk about Jordan Peele’s provo

In this Blabbermouth extra, recorded live at Seattle’s Neptune Theatre on March 27, Eli Sanders sits down Preet Bharara. He’s the former federal prosecutor for Manhattan who was mysteriously fired by President Trump not long after Trump first took office. Bharara is also the author of a new, best-selling book called “Doing Justice.” No surprise, he had a lot to say about Trump, the end of the Mueller investigation, the Barr memo, and more!

Dan Savage, Eli Sanders, and Rich Smith wade through the confusing arrival of “The Mueller Report.” The report is finally in, but only Attorney General William Barr and a small handful of people at the Justice Department know exactly what it says. All we have is a very short “Barr Report” that summarizes Mueller's findings, plus President Trump's take on Barr’s report: “No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION.” Um, not exactly. After that, Katie Herzog assesses the Republicans’ latest attempt to dismantle Obamacare and the wild turn in the Jussie Smollett case. Finally, Jasmyne Keimig has an issue with how cooking for one forces you to eat the same thing all the time, The Atlantic has an article on the weirdos who actually love to eat the same thing all the time, and oh, look, Rich is one of them! He offers his rules for repetitive eating. Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo.

Dan Savage, Eli Sanders, and Katie Herzog admit that every once in a long while, they find a thing or two to agree with in Trump’s tweets—of which there were 28 this past Sunday. Also, Dan continues his war on the electoral college and Katie wonders what Beto O’Rourke has ever really accomplished. After that, Chase Burns talks about the Andrew Yang phenomenon. Yang is running for president as a Democrat, wants to give every American a thousand bucks a month, and has enough support that he’ll be in the first Democratic presidential debate. Finally, Jasmyne Keimig on HBO’s new documentary about Elizabeth Holmes and the Theranos scandal. Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo.

Nancy Pelosi says President Trump is “just not worth” impeaching. What does Dan “Impeach the Motherfucker Already” Savage have to say about that? A lot. Also, Rich Smith on the massive college cheating scandal, Chase Burns on Elizabeth Warren’s plan to break up Big Tech, and Jasmyne Keimig on the profoundly upsetting revelations about Michael Jackson in “Leaving Neverland.” Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo.

Well, President Trump went and gave another bonkers speech, this one extra long and super odd. Dan Savage, Eli Sanders, and Rich Smith talk about why this isn’t even news anymore. Then they look toward the future, which is filled with subpoenas flying out of the Democrat-controlled House and new Democratic presidential candidates announcing themselves every week—including, just last week, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee. Rich explains why he’s all in for Team Inslee. After that, Katie Herzog considers an explosive article in The New Yorker about FOX News’s unprecedented collusion with Trump and Jasmyne Keimig talks Hannibal Buress, Broad City, and Solange. Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo.

President Trump’s former “fixer” Michael Cohen delivered hours of public testimony to the House Oversight Committee this week, and in doing so he clearly implicated the president in at least one crime. Eli Sanders, Rich Smith, and Katie Herzog consider what it all means—and whether it’ll be enough to start an impeachment process. After that, Chase Burns dives into a fascinating and rather upsetting report in The Verge about “The Secret Lives of Facebook Moderators.” The lives in question are pretty dark, and they raise a lot of urgent issues about Facebook and digital platforms in general. Finally, Jasmyne Keimig processes The Oscars and all the ongoing anger at Green Book winning Best Picture. Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo.

Fresh off announcing his repeat presidential candidacy, Bernie Sanders drops by the Blabbermouth studios for an interview with Eli Sanders and Katie Herzog! Rich Smith is mysteriously absent during the conversation but shows up afterward to explain exactly where he is, and is not, feeling the Bern. After that, actor Jussie Smollett says he was the victim of a terrible hate crime in Chicago, but his claim has yet to be confirmed by investigators—and actually seems to be unraveling. Katie talks about what this awful episode has to teach us. Finally, Jasmyne Keimig explains why she loves the HBO show “High Maintenance” and Katie, who also loves the show, tells us what “High Maintenance” signals for national marijuana law reform. Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo.

After taking a quick look at President Trump’s latest border wall bullshit, Eli Sanders, Katie Herzog, and Rich Smith talk about the “Insect Apocalypse” and a plan from certain Democrats to prevent insect die-off, food chain collapse, and other dire effects of climate change. It’s called the Green New Deal, and it’s being pushed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez among others. Is it realistic? Does that even matter? Next, the allegedly anti-Semitic tweet from a Democratic member of Congress from Minnesota, Ilhan Omar. She’s since apologized, but was what she said about Israel really anti-Semitic? Finally, Dan Savage has an immodest proposal for Jeff Bezos: “Release your nude selfies!” Why won’t Dan go first? Katie and Eli ask him. Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo.

Dan Savage returns to help Eli Sanders and Katie Herzog deal with Trump’s very weird and upsetting State of the Union address. Also discussed: Nancy Pelosi’s epic clap-back and Stacey Abrams’s delivery of the official Democratic response to Trump’s speech. After that, WTF is going in Virginia? Rich Smith tells Eli and Katie what he thinks should be done about a Democratic governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general who are all suddenly in very big trouble over pasts that appear to include either blackface or alleged sexual assault, depending on the politician. Finally, Chase Burns, Jasmyne Keimig, and Nathalie Graham discuss The Velvet Buzzsaw, new filmic treatments of Ted Bundy, and Netflix’s potential use of Big Data to shape its content. Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo.

Eli Sanders, Rich Smith, and Katie Herzog consider the potential presidential candidacy of Howard Schultz, the former Starbucks CEO who may run in 2020 as an independent. Does America really want another billionaire businessman to replace our current billionaire (or “billionaire”) president? Also, does Schultz understand what pulling a Ross Perot could do to the chances of a Democrat winning the White House? After that, some reflections on Nancy Pelosi’s win in the shutdown standoff, some eager anticipation of Stacey Abrams’s State of the Union rebuttal next week, and a dive into “deep fake” technology. You need to know what it is before you watch any more political videos in the run-up to the 2020 elections. Finally: your tweets, calls, and Facebook reactions to last week’s show, which was a liiiiiiitle controversial. Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo.

Eli Sanders, Rich Smith, and Katie Herzog talk about the State of the Union standoff, whether Kamala Harris is really a “cop” in progressive clothing, and a horrifying new report on global inequality.  After that, they go where many Americans have gone over the last few days—to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, where they try to figure out what happened in a viral stare-down that has infuriated pretty much everyone, led to endless online and offline recriminations, and called into question the very idea of observable, “Saw it with my own eyes," truth. As seems to happening to a lot of people who wade into the Lincoln Memorial MAGA hat kids controversy, this discussion went looooong—so if you’re sick of the whole thing already, skip ahead! In the third segment, Jasmyne Keimig and Chase Burns run through the list of Oscar nominees and talk about who was wrongly snubbed, who should win, and why. Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo.

The president is maybe a Russian agent? Whose standing fast-food order, according to The New Yorker, is “two Big Macs, two Filet-o-Fishes, and a chocolate milkshake”? Oh. It must be Wednesday. And Eli Sanders, Rich Smith, and Katie Herzog are here to pick through the political mayhem, which also includes the ascension of William Barr, the racism of Rep. Steve King, and the record-breaking Trump shutdown. Then Nathalie Graham fills us in on the delicious drama surrounding two dueling Fyre Festival documentaries and Jasmyne Keimig talks about You. Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo.

Was Stormy Daniels’ prime-time address on Tuesday more informative than President Trump’s? Eli Sanders, Rich Smith, and Katie Herzog consider this question and then parse the propaganda that spewed from the Oval Office as Trump, backed into a corner of his own making, offered the nation some heavy breathing and a re-run of a very old campaign speech. After that, Representative Rashida Talib’s ITMFA moment and Elizabeth Warren’s all-but-official run for president. Finally, Jasmyne Keimig talks with Eli and Katie about Kevin Hart, the comedian who was going to host the Oscars until his old, homophobic tweets of resurfaced. This led to a big, still-going drama that’s drawn in Ellen DeGeneres and Don Lemon, elevated the question of what it really means to make amends for past wrongs, and left the Oscars without a host (for now). This one is complicated! And the Oscars are only a month and a half away! Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo.