Blabbermouth

No, it’s not the Trump tape we’ve all been waiting for. But the secret Trump recording released by Michael Cohen this week is pretty damn interesting, and Eli Sanders, Rich Smith, and Katie Herzog talk about all the weirdest details. (“Get me a Coke!” included.) After that, Charles Mudede and Katie debate how the left should respond to real-life trolls, like the MAGA-hat wearing guy who turned up in Seattle recently and, after recording himself being accosted, became a right-wing hero. Finally, a new book by Alice Bolin called “Dead Girls.” It’s a provocative exploration of a big question: Why are Americans so endlessly fascinated by the murder of young women? Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo.   This episode of Blabbermouth is brought to you by Away. Away makes first-class luggage at coach prices that allow you to charge your phone on the go.  For $20 off a suitcase, go to Awaytravel.com/blabbermouth and use the promo code blabbermouth.    This episode is also sponsored by Everlane. Check out o

Amazingly, President Trump reached a new level of awful, bonkers behavior this week. Dan Savage, Rich Smith, and Eli Sanders are here to talk about all that went down before—and after—the #TreasonSummit. Then, “Who Is America?” Katie Herzog talks about Sacha Baron Cohen’s new show and whether it’s good for a country that’s already drenched in high-powered lies, elaborate cons, and shameless manipulations. Finally, Sean Nelson brings the antidote to the endless “Prime Day” ads that recently bombarded every internet-shopping American. It’s a new anti-capitalist movie by Boots Riley, and it’s excellent. The title: Sorry to Bother You. Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo.   This episode is brought to you by Boll and Branch: Luxury, affordable, 100% PURE cotton sheets. Get $50 off your first set of sheets, by going to BollandBranch.com, and enter the promo code BLABBERMOUTH. We also want to thank Postmates: the app that adds a delivery option to your favorite restaurants. For a limited time, Postmates

Dan Savage, Rich Smith, and Eli Sanders talk about Judge Brett Kavanaugh, who President Trump nominated to the US Supreme Court this week. If Kavanaugh makes it onto the high court, Roe v. Wade seems likely to be repealed, along with important environmental protections, voting rights protections, and more. How did we arrive in this nightmare scenario, again? Who, exactly, is this guy? And what can be done? After that, Rich has a few words for Elon Musk and his mini-submarine, as well as a book recommendation with a super calming title: My Year of Rest and Relaxation. Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo.

How can the left fight back against a sure-to-be-terrible Supreme Court pick? Dan Savage, Rich Smith, and Eli Sanders count the ways. Then Katie Herzog celebrates the supposedly patriotic gift that Michael Cohen’s giving America this Fourth of July. She also helps Dan and Eli ponder the question: Is chanting “Abolish ICE!” a wise strategy for Democrats when it comes to winning back the US House? Finally, an official quiz from the US government, taken by Dan and Rich, in honor of the Fourth of July. Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo.

It’s been a week of historic Supreme Court decisions, continued hostility toward immigrants, and raging debates over what it means to be “civil.” Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal comes back on the show to help us make sense of it all—and to remind people to turn out on June 30 for the nationwide “Families Belong Together” protests. After that, noted civility experts Dan Savage and Rich Smith offer their takes on whether it’s wrong to shun Trump administration apparatchiks at restaurants. They also talk about what it means that 28-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, just won a huge upset victory against Congressman Joseph Crowley, a major Democratic Party establishment figure, in a New York City primary election. Rich, of course, takes a bow for seeing this millennial victory coming from a long way out. And Dan reveals the shocking truth about his longtime support for the DSA. Finally, Chase Burns talks about one beautiful thing that’ll make you stop cowering under

Dan Savage, Rich Smith, and Eli Sanders dissect the latest lies and evasions from the Trump administration as it tries to justify separating mothers from their children along the southern border. Also: Should Democrats have been shouting about the family separation policy sooner? After that, Katie Herzog talks about a controversial cover story in the current issue of The Atlantic. It’s about children who identify as trans, and the backlash over the Atlantic story reminds Katie of the online pushback she received for a piece she wrote last summer on “detransitioners." Finally, something about borders and migration that’ll set your mind right—courtesy of Rich. Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo!

This week, amid all the usual falsehoods and buffoonery, President Donald Trump struck a blow against US militarism and upended the proceedings of the “Group of Seven” industrialized countries. Take Trump out of it and… aren’t these outcomes that the left has long wanted? Can Trump occasionally be right for all the wrong reasons? And what’s a lefty to do when this happens? Charles Mudede, Rich Smith, and Eli Sanders try to figure it out. After that, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal talks about what she saw inside an ICE detention center where migrant mothers seeking asylum in the US have been separated from their children. Jayapal shares these women’s stories and talks about what listeners can do to end this inhumane practice. Finally, another primary night! Charles talks about Wisconsin, Rich talks about Virginia, and Eli talks about South Carolina. Then Rich offers a quick take on the new, very funny Michelle Wolf series on Netflix. It’s called “The Break.” Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo!   Bl

California’s “jungle” primary may be over, but the arguing over what it means is not! Dan Savage, Eli Sanders, and Rich Smith bicker about whether the generally good results for Democrats in California on Tuesday could—gasp—be a sign that the national party, which sunk $8 million into shaping the outcome, might have, maybe, been onto something. After that, Trump’s pardon bonanza, Katie Herzog’s internal wrestling with whether to be nice to Melania Trump, and Dan’s take on the US Supreme Court cake case. Finally, Chase Burns and Eli talk again about their personal odysseys in a world that’s been eaten by Facebook. This week Eli’s reporting about Facebook and political ads led to a major lawsuit against the company, while Chase’s job promoting posts with “political content” got a lot harder. Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo!

Well, that’s the end of Roseanne! (The re-boot, anyway.) Charles Mudede, Dan Savage, and Eli Sanders talk about the racist outburst that finally crossed the line, their own personal Roseanne-watching limits, the strong similarities between Roseanne and Trump, and the inevitable right-wing complaint that cancelling Roseanne equals stifling free speech. After that, Katie Herzog breaks down a recent US Supreme Court decision on abortion that you need to be tracking and then considers the renewed talk of a Bernie Sanders presidential run re-boot. Is Bernie just too fucking old for this shit? Finally, Rich Smith digests new, anger-fanning news from Puerto Rico and the US southern border—and then considers Jeff Bezos’s easy, one-step answer to all the world’s problems. Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo.

Stacey Abrams wins in Georgia! (Becoming the first black woman in history to be a major party’s choice for governor.) And former fighter pilot Amy McGrath wins in Kentucky! (Becoming the latest badass to defy the Democratic establishment's hopes.) Dan Savage, Rich Smith, and Eli Sanders talk about what it all means. Plus: Is the Bernie Sanders army really imploding? After that, Katie Herzog joins to talk about the Republicans’ latest effort to help big banks—by rolling back Dodd-Frank. Will the Republican voters who chanted “Drain! The! Swamp!” ever catch on? And then: Who was right during last week’s argument between Rich and Katie over how to actually persuade hard-core Trumpers? Listeners weigh in. Finally, Philip Roth is dead at 85. What do we make of this man, who the New York Times calls “the last of the great white males”? Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo!

Did the wrong Democrats win some of Tuesday’s primaries in Nebraska, Idaho, and Pennsylvania? The Washington Post suggests yes, but Rich Smith isn’t having it and Eli Sanders and Katie Herzog hear him out. Then: Are liberals dumb to call Trump voters stupid? A big argument over an argument that won’t stop until at least 2020. Finally, twinks. According to The New York Times, we have just recently entered “The Age of the Twink.” Not everyone agrees, including Chase Burns, self-described “lead twink” at The Stranger. There is a lot to consider here, including whether "straight twinks" are a welcome answer to the “crisis in masculinity.” Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo!

We just went through another big round of pre-midterm primaries, and Dan Savage, Eli Sanders, and Rich Smith talk about what the results mean. In West Virginia, a convicted criminal coal baron failed to make it through the Republican Senate primary, which… is a good thing? In Ohio, Dennis Kucinich lost in the Democratic gubernatorial primary to a wonk who used to run the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which… means the fever is breaking and voters are back to wanting effective moderates? (Or does it actually mean the fever is still spiking and voters now really, really hate anyone who, like Kucinich, has “Congressman” connected to their name?) After all that, Katie Herzog joins in to talk about Melania Trump’s “Be Best” campaign and a grim story from New York: the downfall of Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who’s been a prominent foe of accused sexual predators like Harvey Weinstein but  is now himself accused of violence against women. Schneiderman resigned this week, but says he didn’t assault any

Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal is back on the show this week with her recipe for Democratic success in the upcoming midterm elections. She also answers Rich Smith’s burning questions about whether the national Democratic Party is interfering too much in local primary races. But before all that, Dan Savage, Katie Herzog, and Eli Sanders trip through another crazy week—including the “raid” on Trump’s old doctor, Trump’s Nobel nomination, and Mueller’s long list of questions for the president. They also tackle Michelle Wolf’s “controversial” comedy set at the White House Correspondents Dinner and an important, hard-to-answer question: What do we do with the #MeToo-felled men who now want to make a comeback? And after Jayapal’s take on the midterms, Katie Herzog encourages listeners to check out the new Rachel Dolezal documentary, The Rachel Divide, which was recently released on Netxflix. There’s more to it than you might imagine. Plus a Rich Smith reading of a Lucille Clifton poem and, as always, the music of Ah

The Democrat didn’t win in Arizona’s 8th Congressional district this week, but the results of that race were still very, very encouraging. Dan Savage, Eli Sanders, and Rich Smith talk about why this particular loss is actually a kind of win, and then they examine a new, shade-throwing slogan that Democrats are considering for the midterms. The Republicans, this slogan goes, are the party of “corruption, cronyism, and incompetence.” Who could argue with that one? But, also: Will it work? After that, will anything work when it comes to the staggering number of Americans who just don’t vote? Katie Herzog joins Dan and Eli to look at the results of a new poll that asked this country's nonvoters what the hell they’re thinking. The answers are a trip, but they also represent an opportunity for the right politician. (Who, the poll reveals, is a certain lovable lefty authoritarian.) Finally, Rich returns to deal with the pressing issue of Professor Jordan Peterson, the Canadian psychologist whose hot take on the so-c

Eli Sanders, Rich Smith, and Katie Herzog try to process all their feelings about James Comey. Because, you know, it's complicated. Yes, it's nice to see Comey speaking truth to Trump power. But, also, Comey kinda cost Hillary Clinton the election. And no, it's not yet time to get over that one. After that, a Congressional race you should be watching in Arizona and an issue that's not getting enough attention: the shuttering on Backpage.com. Katie explains why the disappearance of Backpage is bad for sex worker safety, explores the dilemma of how best to combat human trafficking online, and explains what Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act has to do with all this. Finally, Tax Day has come and gone but a recent column from Sarah Vowell is still with us. Pointing to Henry David Thoreau—who went to jail rather than pay taxes in support of a government that embraced slavery and made war on Mexico—Vowell suggests we all think about where we draw the line. So Eli, Rich, and Katie (not the biggest contrib

Paul Ryan is leaving Congress, President Trump says missiles will soon be headed toward Syria, and the FBI just raided the office of Trump attorney Michael Cohen. Quite a lot to talk about this week, and Rich Smith, Katie Herzog, and Eli Sanders dive right in with a list of new lows that Ryan sunk to this year before bailing out. After that, Chase Burns is back to pore over Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony before Congress this week. How’d Zuck do? For that matter, how did our esteemed, and often elderly members of Congress do investigating social media? Will any of this make Facebook cool again? Finally, three things we’re loving this week. Chase talks about why The Queen of Versailles is still a must-watch (or re-watch) for this moment. Rich says you need to see the serious-podcast-mocking American Vandal. And Katie talks up the disturbing glories of Mommy Dead and Dearest. Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo!

First, an election result from Wisconsin that you need to hear about: Rebecca Dallet, the candidate backed by Democrats, just won a way-down-ballot race for state supreme court—by 11 points! Republicans like Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker are freaking out about the “blue wave” that’s coming to that state, which Trump narrowly won in 2016, and Dan Savage, Rich Smith, and Eli Sanders are here to talk about why that’s just great. (And what you can do to make the coming blue wave even greater.) After that, Trump’s fact-free rage about migrant caravans. The president says he’s now sending the US military to guard the border with Mexico. Okay… But really, what does one even do with bluster this incoherent? Then, Katie Herzog talks about Sinclair Broadcast Group (aka “Trump TV”) and the Orwellian video that’s been going around of Sinclair anchors at local TV stations around the country all reading from the same “fake news” script. What to do? Boycott Sinclair? Encourage its reporters to quit en masse? Vote for peop

“Bulletproof, slow, and full of wine” is how The New York Times describes a very special train that Kim Jong Un likes to ride around in, and Dan Savage, Rich Smith, and Eli Sanders all admit—it sounds kinda nice. But more importantly: there’s the Stormy Daniels interview on 60 Minutes to discuss, the new US Census citizenship requirement to freak out about, and a very important question to ponder: Should we just flat-out repeal the Second Amendment? A former US Supreme Court Justice says we should, but is his argument just a gift to Trump and the frothing, paranoid right ahead of the midterms? After all that, Chase Burns is back to discuss what we all found when we downloaded our own Facebook data. When was the last time Eli got “poked”? What debt-related ad did Rich get caught clicking on? Whose contact information was given to PediaSure? And how do we feel about all this??? All is revealed. (Along with an update on the latest Facebook data scandal developments.) Finally, Katie Herzog watched this week’s ins

So, wait a minute: If Stormy Daniels wins her fight against Trump’s lawyers, and she releases Trump sexts and (gasp) dick pics to the world, does that constitute… revenge porn? Dan Savage, Rich Smith, and Eli Sanders consider this urgent question, and then they dive into the lessons of the recent primary elections in Illinois and hear from a pro-life Democrat in Pennsylvania who wants to be accepted by the party’s pro-choice members. Plus, Rich Smith asks: Why, amid all the many Trump outrages, are we not more outraged by the Trump administration’s flagrant corruption? After that, social media expert Chase Burns is back to help Dan and Eli think about the scandal involving Facebook data and the Trump campaign’s data firm, Cambridge Analytica. Should we #DeleteFacebook? Finally, Katie Herzog addresses the furor over her rant on last week’s show about Emotional Support Animals in general, and dogs on planes in particular. Katie reads an excerpt from one of many comments posted in our Blabbermouth Podcast Facebo

Conor Lamb, a super-moderate Democrat, appears to have won a previously safe Republican House seat in Pennsylvania by just a few hundred votes. Dan Savage, Rich Smith, and Eli Sanders wade into this big political news and talk about whether Lamb—who’s not at all what you’d call “progressive”—is actually the kind of candidate Democrats need in order to win control of Congress. After that, high school student Scout Smissen explains why she helped organize one of this week’s impressive student walkouts against gun violence, and then Dan, Rich, and Eli review how few policy changes have actually been enacted since the recent Florida high school shooting (and how long this problem has been going on without Congress passing serious, common sense gun safety laws). Finally, at the urging of a Blabbermouth listener, Rich and Eli talk about the Netflix series Flint Town, and then Katie Herzog, turning toward a very different cultural phenomenon, talks about the plague of “emotional support animals.” Plus, as always, th