The small-business owner suing Trump over tariffs

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is in a moment of reckoning. In January 2023, after his election loss, thousands of his supporters attacked the presidential palace, the Supreme Court and the Congress as they protested an electoral defeat that Bolsonaro had baselessly attributed to electoral fraud. Now Bolsonaro is awaiting a criminal trial before the country’s Supreme Court for allegedly plotting to kill his rivals and stay in power. Bolsonaro is barred from running for office until 2030, and he could very well go to prison for decades. Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump weighed in on Bolsonaro’s situation. He called the trial a “WITCH HUNT” on social media and in a letter to Brazilian leaders when announcing a 50 percent tariff on Brazilian goods.Reporters Terrence McCoy and Marina Dias, who are based in Brazil, got a rare window into Bolsonaro’s thinking and his desire for a Trump intervention during a visit to his office this past spring. Today on the podcast, host Elahe Izadi sits down with McCoy and Dias, to learn what their visit revealed about Bolsonaro, about Latin America’s largest democracy and about the United States. Today’s episode was produced by Elana Gordon with help from Sabby Robinson. It was edited by Peter Bresnan and Reena Flores. It was mixed by Sean Carter. Thanks to Jesse Mesner-Hage.

14 Juli 39min

One year ago in Butler, Pennsylvania, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks was able to get onto a nearby roof and take shots at Donald Trump. In the aftermath many wondered — who was this man who shot the presidential candidate, and how was he allowed to get so close to killing him? Host Colby Itkowitz speaks with investigative reporter Carol Leonnig about the mystifying search for a motive and what she and others have concluded about what went wrong that day, one year later. Today’s show was produced by Sabby Robinson. It was edited by Maggie Penman and mixed by Rennie Svirnovsky.If you want to learn more about how the shooting in Butler changed Trump, our colleague Isaac Arnsdorf was on “Post Reports” on Friday to talk about that. His new book is “2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America.”Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

13 Juli 23min

President Donald Trump left the White House in 2021 with a historically low approval rating. After the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, his attempt to overthrow the 2020 presidential election, and his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, Republicans, and much of the nation, appeared ready to move on from his presidency. Three years later, Trump returned to the White House with a decisive victory. But his return wasn’t predestined. In “2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America,” Post senior White House reporter Isaac Arnsdorf and former Post reporters Josh Dawsey and Tyler Pager reveal how Trump used his public criminal trials to dominate headlines and amass support. Meanwhile, critical missteps by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaigns hampered their ability to counter a Trump comeback. Host Colby Itkowitz speaks with Arnsdorf about the book and discusses exclusive reporting about the Biden, Harris and Trump campaigns. Today’s show was produced by Arjun Singh. It was edited by Laura Benshoff and mixed by Sean Carter. Thanks to Katy Burnell Evans. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

11 Juli 30min

Artificial intelligence can help you draft better emails, summarize long documents and now it could even be your online dating coach. Dating app companies say generative AI is a great way for people who might be shy or awkward to present themselves better. But others are worried this could make it harder to know who is on the other side of the screen. Host Elahe Izadi speaks with internet culture reporter Tatum Hunter about the ever-changing dating app landscape and how artificial intelligence could change the way we view romance. Today’s show was produced by Tadeo Ruiz Sandoval. It was edited by Reena Flores and mixed by Sam Bair. Thanks to Yun-Hee Kim.Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

10 Juli 23min

On Tuesday the Supreme Court lifted an order by a lower court that prevented the Trump administration from laying off thousands of federal workers. While the order was unsigned – meaning that the justices have not yet ruled on its legality – this is one of several recent decisions in which the court has sided with President Donald Trump in his effort to upend the government by firing federal workers and regulators. Host Colby Itkowitz speaks with Supreme Court correspondent Ann Marimow about how the court came to this decision and what the rulings could mean for Trump’s agenda in the future. Today’s show was produced by Arjun Singh, with help from Elana Gordon and Tadeo Ruiz Sandoval. It was edited by Ariel Plotnick and mixed by Sean Carter. Thanks to Debbi Wilgoren.Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

9 Juli 18min

Donald Trump has spent the past decade waging war on the media. That has included filing frequent lawsuits against media organizations whose coverage he views as unfavorable. Those lawsuits have been largely unsuccessful, until recently. Last week, Paramount announced it was settling a lawsuit brought by Trump against CBS News over the news program “60 Minutes.” Although many legal experts believed the case was unlikely to succeed at trial, Paramount chose to settle for $16 million. Elahe Izadi talks to reporter Sarah Ellison about the origins of the case, why Paramount would choose to settle, and what implications the settlement has for the wider media landscape.Today’s show was produced by Peter Bresnan. It was mixed by Sam Bair. And edited by Reena Flores. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

8 Juli 29min

In just three hours, water levels in Central Texas rose over 30 feet, surprising local communities that say they had little time to prepare and no warning. What ensued was one of the most destructive floods the region has seen in decades.Colby Itkowitz speaks with extreme weather reporter Brianna Sacks about what made the floods in Texas so catastrophic, why local communities were caught off guard, and how these floods have impacted the summer camp culture in Central Texas.Today’s show was produced by Arjun Singh, with help from Tadeo Ruiz Sandoval. It was edited by Ariel Plotnick, with help from Laura Benshoff. It was mixed by Sean Carter. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

7 Juli 24min

As an American farmer, JJ Ficken, 37, was perpetually subject to weather, labor, loans, overhead, markets, health, politics. None of it was predictable, and all of it was a threat. The industry’s survival has long depended on the deals made between millions of Americans willing to brave all that uncertainty and a federal government willing to sustain them, through grants, subsidies, insurance, financing, payouts and disaster relief.But then President Donald Trump, in the earliest days of his second term, threatened to break tens of thousands of those deals, suspending billions in agricultural funding and decimating the staffs that managed it. Swept up in the freeze was JJ and the $50 million grant program he’d signed up for along with 140 other farmers across the country. All of them had agreed to hire and, in many cases, house domestic workers or lawful immigrants willing to take jobs that Americans would not, but with the reimbursements in doubt, farmers worried they’d miss payrolls, default on loans or face bankruptcy.This story follows JJ and Otto Vargas, 24, as JJ recruits, meets and starts working with Otto – all while JJ wonders whether the government will ever pay him back. John Woodrow Cox reported, wrote and read the piece. Sarah Blaskey co-wrote the story. David Ovalle contributed to the report. Bishop Sand composed music and produced audio for the piece.Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

5 Juli 40min