Happy Thursday Strange Days listeners! This week, we take a bird’s eye view of foreign policy, corruption, and conflict in the Middle East with the brilliant Rula Jebreal, a Middle East Policy analyst, journalist, screenwriter, and university professor. Then we have “Thanks Obama” author David Litt share what it was like working at his dream job as a speechwriter in The White House during the Obama years. And finally, as part of our “Flip that Seat” series, we interview veteran and West Virginia State Senator Richard Ojeda, who once survived a brutal beating two days before his primary, and recovered to become a Democratic State Senator in the heart of Trump country and is now on the warpath to represent his district in Washington. Enjoy!
The Snake
Strange Days have found us again my friends. This week made our heads spin, so we tried to break it all down with the help of the brilliant Allan Lichtman, author of The Case for Impeachment. Then we speak to Frank Sharry, founder of America’s Voice, to discuss immigration under the Trump administration and the future of DACA along with our intern, Dreamer Maryajosé Zubillaga Sanchez. And of course, we had to bring in a Strange Days favorite, POLITICO’s Michael Grunwald, to talk typical Trumplandia and why he’s the next John Muir. Enjoy!
A World Without Mind
Newly-minted PBS News Hour White House Correspondent Yamiche Alcindor explains why the Stoneman Douglas students are revolutionizing the gun reform debate, the lovely Chenell tackles the existential threat of sea-level rise and global climate change with authors Ashley Dawson and Jeff Goodell, and not to be missed, a must-listen discussion with The Atlantic’s Franklin Foer who warns us about how our insidious reliance on big technology is creating a World Without Mind.
An American Myth
Welcome back Strange Days podcasters, today Phillip Mudd joins us again this week to share reactions to yet another heartbreaking school shooting. Former Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala also weighs in as we discuss what gun violence means for the future on public health in our country. We debut a new segment, “Flip This Seat: A Swing District Spotlight” with Congressional candidate Pam Keith. Finally, we close today with our Mueller experts, Garrett Graff and Phillip Mudd. Enjoy!
Nothing to Fear but Fear
Welcome back loyal Strange Day listeners, you’re about to hear a whopper of an episode. We begin with filmmaker Jen Senko as she breaks down how the right-wing media brainwashed her father in her 2016 film, “The Brainwashing of My Dad”. Next, we got GOP strategist and ‘Never Trumper’ Rick Wilson on the line, joined by former Congressman Patrick Murphy, and stranger to the podcast, Marc Caputo of POLITICO Florida, to talk Democratic Party strategy, memo wars, and Trumplandia. Finally, we wrap with a fuego round of rapid-fire.
Proud Shitholers
The FBI has “grave concerns” about the release of the now infamous Nunes memo and who better to explain the implications of what its release might mean than the ex-Deputy Director of the CIA’s Counterterrorism Center, former Mueller deputy, CNN contributor and ‘proud shitholer,’ Philip Mudd, and former chief White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush, Richard Painter, to discuss the most recent updates in the Mueller investigation. In light of Super Bowl Sunday, we just had to have on former NFL-star and renaissance man Donté Stallworth to further our discussion from last week regarding the intersection of sports and politics. Oh, and half of M&M Politico Florida’s Marc Caputo dropped in to raise a little hell – Caputo style. Enjoy!
The Real Secret Society: Cabal Edition
Sorry I’m late! I barely made it back in time for my own show, and what a strange week it’s been. Remember when Donald Trump declared war on the NFL? “Son’s of b**ches” if I recall correctly. Well, we get a player’s perspective of that debacle from none other than Super Bowl Champ Jonathan Vilma, joined by fellow UM alumni and 30-for-30 documentary filmmaker Billy Corben. Unfortunately, those pesky M&M boys (Marc Caputo and Michael Grunwald) crashed the party and joined us for quite a round of political football.
