There are so many investigators looking into Russian involvement in the 2016 campaign and the Trump Administration that it’s hard to keep track. That’s where friend of the show Victoria Bassetti of the Brennan Center comes in. She’s put togethe

198: Your tweets can and will be used against you

Jun 15th, 2017 25m 38s

President Trump says he uses Twitter so he can get an "honest and unfiltered message out”to the American people. But investigators and even foreign governments are poring over his Tweets. Politico’s Darren Samuelsohn explains why.See omnystudio

160: Trump and Clinton charities and the NY AG

Sep 15th, 2016 26m 56s

A recent Scripps investigation found that the New York Attorney General has the power to force the Clinton Foundation and the Clinton Health Access Initiative to publicly disclose the names of foreign governments and the millions they donate ea

Episode 50: The Political Ad That Changed Everything

Sep 5th, 2014 24m 53s

It aired only once. A one-minute spot during “The NBC Monday Night Movie.” But it changed every political ad that came after -- as well as the entire field of advertising.The Daisy ad aired during the height of Lyndon B. Johnson’s re-election c

Repost Episode 16: Belly of the Beast

Apr 17th, 2014 21m 23s

Last week we re-posted an episode featuring former Congressman Lee Hamilton reading his essay on how politics has changed. As promised, we’re now reposting our follow-up conversation with Hamilton from July of 2013 about the biggest problem he

225: Where's the line between religious freedom and civil rights?

Dec 28th, 2017 27m 18s

The clash of two American values -- religious freedom and freedom from discrimination –- didn’t seem so huge when a broad coalition of religious and civil rights representatives got together in a room in 1993. While starting from different ends

224: The 2017 Lie of the Year

Dec 21st, 2017 26m 8s

Our friends at PolitiFact have sorted through a year of lies, fibs, exaggerations, fabrications and outright falsehoods to find the worst of the worst. PolitiFact’s Editor Angie Drobnic Holan joins us to reveal the 2017 lie of the year.See omny

223: This is what happens when Congress polices itself

Dec 14th, 2017 29m 51s

Congress is considering changes to the way it handles sexual harassment complaints after its current rules have been called onerous by critics. We take stock of what might change with Patrick Terpstra of the Scripps Washington Bureau, and we sp

222: The Changing Race of Immigration in America

Dec 7th, 2017 34m 29s

America has long sold itself as "the nation of immigrants." But when you look at our history -- even the halcyon Ellis Island days -- that branding has always come with an asterisk. Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses... especial

221: What happens when the DOJ defies the courts?

Nov 30th, 2017 22m 54s

Judges in a legal stand-off. A power struggle between two branches of the federal government has left potentially thousands of undocumented immigrants stuck in detention centers with no idea how long they'll be there. Are some immigration judg

Revisiting how tax reform really works

Nov 21st, 2017 20m

With Republicans pushing ahead on their plan to overhaul taxes for the first time in 30 years, we revisit an episode of DeocdeDC that explained how that reform 30 years ago actually came together. Jimmy speaks with two major players in that eff

220: A Republican has some advice for the GOP

Nov 16th, 2017 20m 36s

Phyllis Henderson is a state representative in South Carolina, and she is worn out by the state of political discourse. We spoke with her right after the 2016 election, and she had some reservations. Now we check back in with her to see how she

219: Fact checking the link between mental illness and mass shootings

Nov 9th, 2017 23m 20s

Last Sunday, a gunman walked into a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas and opened fire on the congregation -- killing more than two dozen people. The next day, President Donald Trump told reporters the mass shooting wasn't a "guns situation,"

218: Don’t touch my tax loophole!

Nov 2nd, 2017 29m 42s

It seems like for every winner in tax reform, there’s a loser. As the House beings its push for huge changes to how American people and companies pay their taxes, we explain the basics and dig into the intended and unintended consequences of it

217: When politicians scream "bailout," what do they really mean?

Oct 30th, 2017 25m 7s

From the beginning of American politics, politicians have been using the term "bailout" as a political cudgel. In this week's podcast, Jimmy speaks with two experts who explain the what, when, why, where, and how of government bailouts.See omny

216: A coal community divided

Oct 19th, 2017 28m 33s

Residents of coal country are getting sick, but not everyone is convinced of the cause. Our Newsy colleague Zach Toombs explains what the science says and what the government is — or is not — doing about it.See omnystudio.com/listener for priva

215: No one knows how big the opioid epidemic really is

Oct 12th, 2017 20m 33s

Local law enforcement and national politicians are struggling to deal with the opioid epidemic gripping American communities, in large part because no one can figure out just how big the problem is. We speak with Angela Hill, who led a Scripps

214: Why can’t Congress get anything done on guns?

Oct 5th, 2017 30m 16s

Americans are once again mourning after another mass shooting. We explain why elected leaders fail — despite broad public support — to pass measures like additional background checks on firearm purchases. We speak with filmmaker Michael Kirk, w

213: Got milk subsidies?

Sep 28th, 2017 25m 42s

What does the government have to do with the price of milk? Turns out – everything. For decades, government subsidies have tried to balance supply and demand for a commodity that is produced every day, at least twice day, everywhere – and has o

212: What if the government gave everyone free money?

Sep 21st, 2017 24m 40s

A universal basic income isn't a new idea, but it's getting traction in politics today. It's a different type of safety net: free cash from the government, with absolutely no strings attached. It's never been tried in the US in a pure form, but

211: The problem with FEMA's flood maps

Sep 14th, 2017 30m 19s

The Federal Emergency Management Agency maps flood plains across the country. The maps are intended to show which areas are likely to flood so that local governments can better plan for disasters. They also determine who must buy flood insuranc

Bonus: Jeff Sessions spins the facts on DACA

Sep 8th, 2017 14m 55s

Attorney General Jeff Sessions made some questionable statements to justify ending, DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that shielded 800,000 people who were brought to the US illegally as children. In this bonus episode, w

210: Why Washington isn’t ready for the next hurricane

Sep 7th, 2017 29m 34s

Hurricane Harvey caused billions of dollars of damage, and Hurricane Irma will likely cost even more. But how will the federal government pay for all of it, and is it possible that Washington had a hand in making the destruction worse? This wee

209: The Texas town with no drinking water

Aug 31st, 2017 22m 7s

Contaminated drinking water is coming into the homes of tens of millions of Americans, especially in smaller, lower income communities, from aging, under-funded water treatment plant and distribution systems, poorly maintained private wells, an

208: The military's toxic water problem

Aug 24th, 2017 28m 9s

The military spent decades contaminating the drinking and ground water at bases across the country and has spent billions to contain the mess.But the veterans and families who lived on those bases are still struggling with the long legacy of th