The Middle - UNPLUGGED with Anthony Weiner

The Middle - UNPLUGGED with Anthony Weiner

After years in the middle of the action and too often in the middle of controversy, now former Congressman Anthony Weiner is the host of a provocative podcast that explores the news of the day and the politics of the moment from a perspective that pushes away from the extremes. Modeled after his popular radio show on 77 WABC in New York City, The Middle - Unplugged doesn't leave ideology behind, but it does center ideas and voices that don’t find themselves in focus enough. With new episodes in the middle of each week - Wednesdays - expect insights, interviews and some surprises that Anthony can't get away with on the radio. Episode ideas? Questions? Complaints? Reach us at WeinerWABC@Gmail.com or on Twitter @repweiner.

Episodes

Episode 121: Is it Time to Panic? Yup!

February 12, 2025 • 29 mins
Anthony has been in the “pick our spots” camp about the madcap beginning of Trump II.  Some things are worth the fight and others maybe not.  We will know an authoritarian overthrow of our nation when we see it.  Well, you don’t need to squint much to see it coming.  Courts are ordering the administration to do things and team Trump is saying no.  Now what?  It’s a good time to go back to 1803 and Marbury v Madison.  It's an emerge...
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Episode 120: Chaos as Feature not Bug

February 5, 2025 • 27 mins
Did that whole trade war we had this week work out ok?  It depends.  Some people like reading what monkeys at typewriters produce. It ain’t Shakespeare. Anthony looks at the meta behind the chaos and finds there may be less than meets the eye.  Like a 9 year-old banging on a pan, the attention itself may be the end goal. Also this week in Ask Anthony Anything, when political gamesmanship is totally ok. Learn more about your ad choi...
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Episode 119: Trump vs. The Republican Congress?

January 29, 2025 • 30 mins
The new Trump team has thrown a whole cookbook of spaghetti against the wall of the American political system in its first weeks.  Anthony offers his grudging respect for their sheer chutzpah.  But when it comes to deciding not to do spending that Congress authorized or changing immigration laws without permission, it is the Republicans in the House and Senate that have to stand up or roll over.  Trump is stress testing his own par...
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Episode 118: Pardoning Cop Beaters is The New GOP Brand

January 22, 2025 • 27 mins
The first days of Trump 2.0 had a lot of trolling but also some legitimately outrageous. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Episode 117: Special Counsel Special Edition

January 15, 2025 • 30 mins
We hire special investigators/prosecutors when we want to get to the bottom of politically sensitive cases. So how did we do? This week, not one, but two Special Counsels dropped their long awaited reports on what they did and didn’t do and why. A bit of an anti climax in both cases but still Anthony looks at the what and the why of the things. In Ask Anthony Anything, a visit to the JD Vance hall of rhetorical mirrors on immigrati...
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Episode 116: Now the Hard Part for the GOP…Passing Stuff

January 8, 2025 • 27 mins
If there is one thing that the Republicans seem to know how to do, its tax cuts.  If giant, deficit-exploding giveaways to the rich are your thing, they have delivered.  But this year, Donald Trump, Mike Johnson and the GOP faithful are going to have their hands full even doing the “easy” thing - renewing the 2017 tax cuts.  Anthony gets a little wonky this week explaining why it's easier to talk about cuts than to do them.  And in...
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Episode 115: Party Like It’s 2017

January 1, 2025 • 30 mins
Maybe predicting the future in Washington is not that hard.  We’ve seen a version of this movie before.  Anthony looks at the parallels and differences between the beginning of Trump I and Trump II.  Call it a prediction show or call it a deja vu.  In Ask Anthony Anything, an explainer on “Detainer Requests” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Episode 114: The Twelve Principles of Good Politics

December 24, 2024 • 30 mins
It's a joyous and - hopefully - meaningful time of year.  Anthony departs this week from his usual unpacking and repacking of the issue of the moment to look at what he thinks should be the principles of the vocation of politics.  Heck, if we can’t get a bit spiritual this time of year, when can we? In Ask Anthony Anything, which new idea is proving to be least popular? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Episode 113: A Big Apple Primer

December 18, 2024 • 31 mins
What's going on with New York?  Anthony has the answer.  Some history, some trends and some predictions about the city we love.  We measure the vibes.  In Ask Anthony Anything, the other ABC bends at the knee.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Episode 112: America Remembers We Hate Insurance Companies

December 11, 2024 • 30 mins
A serious conversation was reignited this week by a cold blooded assassination.  The crime was inexcusable but the conversation after was inevitable : why do we even have health insurance companies?  Anthony explains the odd way we pay for and distribute health care in America and suggests that the populist rage this week is both well founded and not difficult to address.  Also this week in Ask Anthony Anything, Anthony is the one ...
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Episode 111: The Last Ever Hunter Podcast

December 4, 2024 • 27 mins
Anthony staked his claim on conservative radio by being the left’s truth teller about the long and winding road of Hunter Biden.  The pardon of the first son is the last - loud - chapter in a story that began with an abandoned laptop documenting a life in addiction and ending with two guilty verdicts.  The summary isn’t tidy.  That's for sure.  Democrats are as upset as Republicans.  It's time for a post mortem and a post script an...
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Episode 110: A Complex World Awaits Trump

November 27, 2024 • 27 mins
It it may take a while for Donald Trump to mess things up at home, but he can really light the rest of the world on fire on day one.  Anthony takes a tour of the world's hot spots this week and looks at what Trump's promise is to bring the “Art of the Deal to the international stage again.  Hawkish appointments and dovish public statements make it hard to figure what will happen next, but unlike domestic affairs, Trump's ability to...
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Episode 109: Keeping our Powder Dry

November 20, 2024 • 32 mins
It's a red alert!  A crisis!  DefCon5!  Democrats are losing their cool even as Americans have stopped paying attention.  Anthony suggests adopting the British model : let the majority govern and then pounce when they fail.  In Ask Anything Anything, a look at the signature Trump catch phrase - mass deportation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Episode 108: Much Ado About Not Much

November 13, 2024 • 27 mins
You can choose your own ending.  Epic upheaval or a shrug emoji?  Appropriate for a podcast with middle in its name, Anthony has some from column A and a bit from column B.  Maybe Democrats are from Mars and Republicans are from Venus.  In Ask Anthony Anything, bad Biden takes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Episode 107: A Gloomy Recap.

November 6, 2024 • 22 mins
Well that didn't go as planned.  Anthony sits down with Frank Morano and tries to unpack what we just watched.  It's one of the stages of grief - record a podcast.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Episode 106: A Rosy Scenario for Election Night

October 30, 2024 • 35 mins
Sure it's close.  And yeah, lots of people may be rooting for the spectacle, but perhaps the most likely scenario for next Tuesday is that we have another smooth election where we know the winner pretty fast.  Anthony knows we expect chaos, but elections are actually usually not controversial affairs and now we have a lot more experience dealing with the new(ish) development - early voting.  He runs though a Rosy scenario.  In Ask ...
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Episode 105: A Viewer's Guide to The Final Fortnight

October 23, 2024 • 34 mins
Americans are ready for election day. Somewhere between a scream and a shrug, we are all sort of over it. So what’s going to happen? Anthony has an insider’s take on how to look at what we are seeing. The polls are tied, so don’t look there.  Perhaps the way to view the closing arguments is what the TV ads are saying. In Ask Anthony Anything, Donald’s visit to McDonalds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoice...
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Episode 104: The Vance Dance

October 16, 2024 • 31 mins
Can we please stop asking JD Vance if Trump lost?  Anthony looks at his prediction that the junior Senator from Ohio would be a very capable candidate.  He also wonders why reporters seem to miss the opportunity to not just ask the same questions over and over.  Of course he would ignore the constitution at the whim of his boss!  Otherwise he would not have been chosen.  Duh!   But perhaps push him a bit on the tent posts of his no...
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Episode 103: October 7th A Year Later

October 9, 2024 • 28 mins
The wounds still are raw and Israelis are far from ready to move on.  Hostages remain in captivity and rockets still fall from the sky on a nation about the size of New Jersey.  Palestinians - both those responsible for the atrocities and those simply trying to survive the reign of Hamas - are suffering.  But the leadership and capabilities of the terror groups that have tormented Israel and prevented peace for generations have bee...
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Episode 102: A Big Apple Corruption Explainer

October 2, 2024 • 34 mins
While Donald Trump’s whole campaign seems to be about shouting insults about made up things, Anthony takes a break from the day-to-day of the 2024 campaign and breaks down the news of the New York City mayor being indicted.  While Anthony isn't impressed by the case, it's still a big deal.  In Ask Anthony Anything, which presidential candidate is the bigger spender?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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