Why is JD Vance so Annoying?

It can feel like all is lost under Trump 2.0, but America has faced extremely dark chapters before and come out on the other side. Heather Cox Richardson—professor, historian and author of the most-read newsletter on Substack, Letters from an American—joins the show to share her long-view approach for this shortsighted era. She walks Dan through the biggest challenges to American democracy throughout history, how she believes we got to this MAGA moment, and what fuels her optimism about the future of the country.For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast. Get tickets to CROOKED CON November 6-7 in Washington, D.C at http://crookedcon.com

7 Sep 1h 13min

The internet enjoys a brief freakout about the possibility that Trump might be dead. (He isn't.) Senators from both parties press RFK Jr. on his dismantling of the CDC and his accelerating war on vaccines. Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein hold a press conference on Capitol Hill to announce that they plan to release a list of Epstein's clients. Jon and Dan discuss the latest news and trace the through-line of Trump's authoritarian impulse from his attack on a Venezuelan speedboat to his renewed threats to strip Rosie O'Donnell of her citizenship. Then, Strict Scrutiny's Leah Litman joins Jon to talk about how the Trump administration might respond to a recent string of defeats in federal court.For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast. Get tickets to CROOKED CON November 6-7 in Washington, D.C at http://crookedcon.com

5 Sep 1h 20min

Donald Trump and RFK Jr. team up to fire the CDC director after she voices concerns over Kennedy's dangerous policies—including his announcement that the FDA will limit access to this year's COVID vaccines and his promise to release a report on the "causes" of autism. Dan and Jon sort through the dismantling of America's gold-standard research apparatus and check in on the craziest comments from Trump's three-hour cabinet meeting. Then they discuss the latest polling on Trump's D.C. deployment, what happened at the DNC's summer meeting, and Charlie Kirk's unsolicited advice for Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast. Get tickets to CROOKED CON November 6-7 in Washington, D.C at http://crookedcon.com

29 Aug 1h 20min

Trump's FBI raids the home of John Bolton—the former first-term Trump advisor turned vocal critic—as the President escalates his use of state power to target and threaten anyone who's criticized him, most recently Chris Christie, Wes Moore, ABC News, and NBC News. Jon, Lovett, and Tommy react to those threats and all of this week's fascist horrors, including the arming of the National Guard in D.C., the administration's pending deployment of troops to Chicago, and ICE's plan to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man they wrongly sent to CECOT, to Uganda unless he pleads guilty to a set of dubious charges brought against him in Tennessee. Then, economic writer James Surowiecki sits down with Lovett to talk about the Trump administration's unprecedented acquisition of Intel stock—and what it signals to other major companies.For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.  Get tickets to CROOKED CON November 6-7 in Washington, D.C at http://crookedcon.com

26 Aug 1h 33min

Marc Maron, comedian and podcast trailblazer, sits down with Lovett to discuss why the left always has to be such a buzzkill, whether Americans voted for Trump purely out of annoyance, and why the armies of online trolls love to do the president's bidding. Then they discuss whether we're living in an Age of Mania, if Democrats can shut down anti-woke comedy by simply being funnier, and whether Lovett can learn to stop catastrophizing every time his calls drop.For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.  Get tickets to CROOKED CON November 6-7 in Washington, D.C at http://crookedcon.com

24 Aug 1h 21min

Donald Trump heads out on "patrol" in Washington, JD Vance hosts a photo op with the National Guard at the Union Station Shake Shack, and Stephen Miller—taking a moment away from terrorizing immigrants—excoriates "communists" and "elderly white hippies" for daring to protest. Dan and Jon break down the latest news coming out of occupied Washington, including Trump's new history-erasing reforms at the Smithsonian, his new ideological screening program from green card applicants, and MAGA goon Bill Pulte's weaponization of the Federal Housing Finance Authority. Then, Congressman Jake Auchincloss stops by the studio to talk to Jon about why Democrats need to embrace big ideas again.For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.  Get tickets to CROOKED CON November 6-7 in Washington, D.C at http://crookedcon.com

22 Aug 1h 44min

Following an unproductive day of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders to discuss a potential deal to end Russia's war in Ukraine. Favreau, Lovett, and Tommy discuss the meetings, the MAGA press corp's bizarre questions for Zelensky, and Trump's latest Putin-inspired fixation—eliminating mail in ballots. Then, they react to Republican governors sending armed troops to DC, ICE saying the quiet part out loud, and Governor Newsom's new social media strategy. To close the show, Bridget Brink, the former United States Ambassador to Ukraine, joins Tommy to talk about Ukraine's reaction to Trump's unusual approach to peace talks.For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast. Get tickets to CROOKED CON November 6-7 in Washington, D.C at http://crookedcon.com

19 Aug 1h 27min