Friday, August 15th, 2025
Today, Governor Gavin Newsom announces a special election in California to fight back against Republican gerrymandering in Texas; a DC man who threw a sandwich at law enforcement was a Department of Justice employee; an inspector general report finds severe shortages at VA hospitals; Kari Lake defends her Voice of America cuts as lawmakers warn her she overstepped; the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals sides with Black Louisianians by striking down their racists state legislative map; Trump announces his Kennedy Center Honorees and says he might include himself among them; and Allison and Dana read your Good News.
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Guest: John Fugelsang
Tell Me Everything - John Fugelsang, The John Fugelsang Podcast
John Fugelsang - Substack
@johnfugelsang.bsky.social - Bluesky, @JohnFugelsang -Twitter
Separation of Church and Hate by John Fugelsang - Pre-order
Stories
California will move forward with redistricting vote to counter Texas, Newsom says | ABC News
Trump leaves his mark on the Kennedy Center Honors | POLITICO
Kari Lake defends VOA cuts in court after warnings from Capitol Hill | The Washington Post
Fired DOJ employee could face prison for throwing sandwich at officers | The Washington Post
Good Trouble
“I just received an email from the Center for Reproductive Rights saying that Trump’s GSA cut off the connection that let visitors to their website send comments to regulations.gov. The CCR has been asking people to use that link to voice their opposition to the Trump administration’s attempt to ban abortion care for veterans and their families, even in cases of rape, incest or medical emergencies. Wouldn’t it be great if Beans listeners made up for the lost comments by sending thousands today?” Go to regulations.gov and search for Reproductive Health Services or use this link: regulations.gov/commenton/VA-2025-VHA-0073-0002
From The Good News
regulations.gov/commenton/VA-2025-VHA-0073-0002
Lessons from Cats for Surviving Fascism by Stewart Reynolds | Hachette Book Group
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D
New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce
Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!