The Times Need A Changing

There’s a massive funding package making its way through Congress this week. It includes funding for the Department of Homeland Security, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol, and must pass by Friday for the government to remain fully open. But that’s looking less and less likely. After the killing of Alex Pretti, Senate Democrats and their allies are saying that they are willing to risk a government shutdown to get policy changes. To talk more about Homeland Security, a potential shutdown, and what Democrats in Congress can do to stop ICE, we spoke with Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin. Later in the show, we talk to Monica Byron, president of Education Minnesota, about how educators are dealing with the surge in ICE activity. And in headlines, U.S. warships arrived in the Middle East on Monday and Iran is warning of all-out war, Israel recovers the remains of the last hostage in Gaza, and Goodwill stores are breaking revenue records. Show Notes: Call Congress – 202-224-3121Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

27 Tammi 28min

On Saturday, Alex Pretti – a 37-year-old registered nurse at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Minneapolis – was shot and killed by Border Patrol agents. It’s the third shooting in three weeks by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis. And as violence from federal law enforcement becomes increasingly more common, it begs the question – who is joining these agencies? A few months ago, freelance journalist Laura Jedeed applied for a job with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. And she got a final offer, despite not doing the required paperwork and undergoing what she put as “minimal” vetting. We spoke to Laura before the shooting of Pretti about her background, the ICE recruitment process, and what questions she still has.And in headlines, a partial government shutdown looms as Senate Democrats vow to oppose a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security, Trump threatens a new tariff on Canada if the country makes a free trade deal with China, and California steps up after President Trump pulls the U.S. out of the World Health Organization. Show Notes: Check out Laura's Substack – www.firewalledmedia.com/Call Congress – 202-224-3121Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

26 Tammi 25min

Former special counsel Jack Smith testified before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday about the steps President Donald Trump and his allies took to overturn the 2020 election and to foment the January 6th insurrection. Smith did this knowing that he is already at the top of Trump’s enemies list — which the President is increasingly using the Department of Justice to prosecute. For more on the Trump administration’s latest investigations, we spoke with Ken White. He’s a former federal prosecutor and criminal defense attorney who hosts the legal podcast, “Serious Trouble.”And in headlines, Vice President JD Vance arrives in Minnesota to “tone down the temperature a little bit,” Trump establishes the Gaza ‘Board of Peace’ as an official international organization, and the White House Twitter account gets caught being dishonest.Show Notes: Check out Serious Trouble – https://www.serioustrouble.show/Call Congress – 202-224-3121Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

23 Tammi 23min

After meeting with NATO allies in Davos, Switzerland, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to announce “the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region.” He also said he would not be imposing the tariffs he threatened against eight European countries less than a week ago — which is probably good, because Americans did not want him to mess with Greenland. But that’s not the President’s only unpopular stance. We're one year into Trump’s second term in the White House, and his polling numbers are subterranean across the board. To talk more about Trump’s numbers, we spoke to Dan Pfeiffer. He’s the host of Crooked Media’s Pollercoaster podcast and co-host of Pod Save America.And in headlines, the Supreme Court casts doubt on Trump’s efforts to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, the Department of Homeland Security announces a new ICE operation in Maine, and Former Special Counsel Jack Smith is expected to testify in front of the House Judiciary Committee today.Show Notes:Check out Pollercoaster –https://crooked.com/podcast-series/pollercoaster/Call Congress – 202-224-3121Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

22 Tammi 22min

President Donald Trump’s obsession with Greenland isn’t new. Back in 2019, he made an offer to buy the island, but was told by Denmark and Greenland that it was not for sale. It still isn’t – as Denmark, France, the United Kingdom, and the good people of Greenland itself keep making incredibly clear. But Trump is not the first U.S. President to express interest in the island. So how did we get here? For more on our long, weird relationship with Greenland, we spoke to Ronald Doel. He’s a professor at Florida State University and co-editor of “Exploring Greenland: Cold War Science and Technology on Ice.”And in headlines, Congress releases the text of a new funding package to keep the government open, President Trump gives a very weird press briefing, and the measles is having a record resurgence in the U.S.Show Notes:Check out Exploring Greenland: Cold War Science and Technology on IceCall Congress – 202-224-3121Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

21 Tammi 23min

Today marks a year since President Donald Trump took office for a second time, and a lot has happened. Amidst all the threats to take over Greenland, the Liberation Day tariffs, and the crackdown on education, artificial intelligence development has continued to accelerate — and it's only getting faster. Over the last few months, you may have heard about Claude Code – a product of Anthropic – that makes coding incredibly easy. But the thing about Claude Code that's really cool is that it might be learning how to improve itself. So to talk more about Claude Code, what it does, and what it could do in the future, we spoke to Lila Shroff. She's an assistant editor at The Atlantic, with a focus on AI.And in headlines, President Donald Trump exchanges some heated texts with the Prime Minister of Norway, new research finds Americans are footing the bill for Trump's tariffs, and Americans in all 50 states are staging a walkout to protest the Trump administration's "escalating fascist threat."Show Notes: Check out Lila's piece – https://tinyurl.com/mr39butwCall Congress – 202-224-3121Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

20 Tammi 25min

Immigration and Customs Enforcement isn't some storied government agency from the 19th century. ICE was invented back in 2003 — but now it has a multi-billion-dollar budget and many officers who are undertrained at best. So, how did we get here? To find out, we spoke to Garrett Graff. He's a historian and journalist who has covered federal law enforcement for 20 years.And in headlines, President Donald Trump threatens fresh tariffs on America's NATO allies over Greenland, the Pentagon ordered 1,500 National Guard troops to prepare for possible deployment to Minnesota, and a seat on Trump's Board of Peace reportedly has a $1 billion price tag.Show Notes: Check out Garrett's work – https://www.garrettgraff.com/Call Congress – 202-224-3121Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

19 Tammi 23min

President Trump is declining in popularity with voters, but his rhetoric and that of the Trump Administration is only growing more extreme. But to understand how we got here, in this place, we have to go back to the 1980s — when right-wing academics and thinkers worked together to create a counter-revolution to mainstream conservative institutions. For more, we spoke to writer and political theorist Laura K. Field. She wrote a book on the modern conservative movement titled “Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right.”And in headlines, the President reveals his “Great Healthcare Plan,” Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado gives her medal to Trump, and billions of dollars for mental health and addiction organizations are restored just 24 hours after the Trump administration initially pulled them.Show Notes:Check out Furious Minds – https://tinyurl.com/276s5uj6Call Congress – 202-224-3121Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

16 Tammi 26min