Mika Defends Mar-a-Lago Visit, Musk-Trump Road Trip

Attention political history buffs: This episode of The New Abnormal podcast takes us back in time, to the ’50s and ’60s to be exact, as Beverly Gage, author of “G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century,” tells co-host Andy Levy all about the background of the first-ever FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. Andy learns that racist Hoover, infamous for going after Martin Luther King Jr. and committing multiple abuses of power across the board, particularly under the protection of the surveillance program COINTELPRO, didn’t like the Klan and had an interesting relationship with former President Richard Nixon. Author Kal Raustiala also joins the show to tell Andy about his book “The Absolutely Indispensable Man: Ralph Bunche, the United Nations, and the Fight to End Empire” and everything we didn’t know about the famous Black United Nations mediator—including the fact that Nixon told him his son was going to be drafted, and the reason he didn’t stop it from happening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

25 Marras 202259min

Merrick Garland is wasting our time. That’s the sentiment of New Abnormal co-host Andy Levy and the show’s brand new permanent co-host, Danielle Moodie. This is Danielle’s first show as official host and she wasted absolutely no time going in on Republicans, Trump, and even Merrick Garland. The two also talk about Garland’s new appointment and their frustrations with the lack of action on gun control on the heels of another shooting, this time against more LGBTQ people in Colorado. Then Maxwell Frost, who will be the first Gen Z member of Congress, joined the podcast and shares his “morbid” but real take on gun violence in this country, what almost made his quit his campaign, and how he truly feels about his state’s governor “dictator” Ron DeSantis. Plus! Ryan Cooper, the managing editor of the American Prospect, tells Andy why Trump running for president again is the “worst case scenario” for Republicans. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

22 Marras 202255min

In this bonus episode of The New Abnormal podcast, co-host Andy Levy talks to Modern Family producer Danny Zucker, who weighs in on the Dave Chapelle SNL monologue that used the same anti-semitic tropes as Kanye West. They also discuss the time that he harassed Donald Trump on Twitter, why he wants to “rage” at Dems, and why the writer’s made Luke’s character “weirdly libertarian.” Plus! A touching story about how the show made a conservative dad less of a bigot. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

20 Marras 202232min

Donald Trump’s 2024 announcement may have felt like a flop, but dig deeper and you’ll find the most interesting part. Jose Pagliery, political investigations reporter at The Daily Beast, tells The New Abnormal host Andy Levy that there is no way to look at this announcement “as anything other than an attempt to mar any prosecution as a political persecution of him.” It “could be viewed as him trying to seek further cover so that if he does get indicted for one of the many things that he’s being investigated for right now, he could just say, ‘oh, look at this, they just indicted me because I announced, they were just trying to stop me from winning for you in 2024.’” Speaking of Trump, also on the podcast, former Missouri Secretary of State and the host of the podcast Majority 54, Jason Kander, explains that Trump could be his worst enemy, becoming overexposed in American culture. Also on the podcast, Kat Abughazaleh, who covers Tucker Carlson for Media Matters for America, describes how Carlson has been relatively quiet since Trump’s announcement. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

18 Marras 202250min

No one really likes New York State Democratic Party Chair Jay Jacobs, Lindsey Boylan tells host Andy Levy on this episode of The New Abnormal podcast. Boylan was one of the first people to publicly accuse former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment. Now, she feels equally emboldened to call out Jacobs, a remnant of the Cuomo administration, first on TikTok, and now to Andy. According to Boylan, Jacobs is to blame for solidly Democratic parts of New York turning red. Mainly because of his hatred for progressives. Plus! Andy chats midterm fallout with columnist Jeb Lund and both clock all of the lies, sad and hilarious, that Elon Musk has Tweeted (and deleted) on the app. And David Weigel, who covers politics at news site Semafor, explains how Fox News essentially screwed over midterm Republicans and the LGBTQ issue Republicans won’t touch these days. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

15 Marras 20221h 5min

Actor and comedian Andy Richter’s take on cancel culture can be summed up in three words: Bring it on. On this bonus episode of The New Abnormal, he tells host Andy Levy why “it’s about time” cancel culture is a thing and shares experiences of seeing it play out in real life. The two Andys also discuss why Richter didn’t vote for Democratic Socialist Bernie Sanders, if he regrets that decision now, and why he’s O.K. being referred to as Conan O’Brien’s “sidekick.” Plus! His affection for the Twitter porn bots that spam his account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

13 Marras 202227min

If former President Donald Trump were to go against popular Florida Governor Ron DeSantis today in the race for 2024, Trump would still knock DeSantis out despite the far-right Gov.’s rise in popularity in important states over the last year. That’s according to CNN political commentator and New York Daily News columnist S.E. Cupp, who joins host Andy Levy on this week’s episode of political podcast, The New Abnormal. Elsewhere on this-post election-themed podcast, guest host Sam Brodey, the Daily Beast’s congressional correspondent, reflects on how we underestimated what Democrats were working with regarding what really resonated with voters. Elsewhere on this-post election-themed podcast, guest host Sam Brodey, the Daily Beast’s congressional correspondent, reflects on how we underestimated what Democrats were working with regarding what really resonated with voters. Ari Berman, Mother Jones National Voting Rights correspondent and author of Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America, echoes those thoughts, reminding us that “this was the first time in US history that a constitutional right had been given and taken away.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11 Marras 202257min

Daily Beast columnist David Rothkopf interviewed over 100 people involved with the Trump White House for his book American Resistance: The Inside Story of How The Deep State Saved the Nation, and according to his sources, it took almost no time for Trump’s staffers to realize what kind of boss he was. He tells New Abnormal host Andy Levy about the ways these staffers had to adapt to Trump’s ineptness as well as obliterating the argument that Republicans are better for the economy (spoiler alert: they’re not and he has proof.) Also on this episode, Defector Media co-owner David Roth joins Andy as co-host and compares Elon Musk (aka Twitter’s new obliterator, er, owner) to a substitute teacher who has lost control of his class and Michael Edison Hayden, investigative reporter at spokesman at the Southern Poverty Law Center, gives the inside scoop on the “hard-right, neo-fascist” billionaire takeover of the publication Newsweek. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8 Marras 20221h