What A Day

What A Day

If you’re looking for hype, fake outrage, and groupthink, kindly keep moving. Our mission at What a Day is simple: to be your guide to what truly matters each morning (and the fun stuff you might have missed) in just 20 minutes. Host Jane Coaston brings you in-depth reporting and substantive analysis on the big stories shaping today and the creeping trends shaping tomorrow—and when she doesn’t know the answers, she asks someone even smarter to fill us all in. Radical, right? New episodes at 5:00 a.m. EST, Monday–Friday in your favorite podcast app and on YouTube. Being informed was never this easy.

Episodes

October 9, 2025 26 mins

In September, after the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum you may not have heard very much about – an action that could put your right to hold your political perspectives at risk. National Security Presidential Memorandum 7, or N-S-P-M 7, is a memorandum that redirects the full force of the country’s national security establishment to pursue what White House Deputy...

Mark as Played

The new Supreme Court term started on Monday, and the justices have a lot on their plates. They’ll be deciding a host of big issues in the coming months – including if Trump can fire board members of the Federal Reserve and whether his tariff policy is overstepping presidential authority. But first, on Tuesday, the court heard arguments in Chiles v. Salazar, a case focused on whether conversion talk-therapy for minors is protected ...

Mark as Played
October 7, 2025 27 mins

For the past four months, President Donald Trump has been sending the National Guard into cities that protest his policies. First, it was Los Angeles. Then, it was Washington D.C. And now, it’s Portland, Oregon and Chicago. An Oregon federal judge blocked Trump’s deployment of the state’s National Guard on Saturday — and then also stopped the Trump administration from sending California’s National Guard troops to Portland on Sunday...

Mark as Played
October 6, 2025 25 mins

Even if you don’t know what “AI slop” is, there’s a good chance you’ve encountered it basically everywhere you spend time online. Maybe it was those Facebook photos of an LA firefighter rescuing a baby and a bear cub during the wildfires earlier this year. Or it’s in emails from your MAGA aunt with an inspirational story she found online about a group of bikers with a suspicious number of fingers visiting a World War Two veteran in...

Mark as Played

Because of the government shutdown, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will not release its monthly unemployment and jobs survey today. But that’s probably not a big deal to President Donald Trump, who has apparently decided that the best statistics are the ones that either say what he wants to hear, or are simply never heard at all.  The most expensive extreme weather events, which facilities are creating the most pollution, quarterly...

Mark as Played
October 2, 2025 22 mins

It's Day 2 of the government shutdown. And we'd like to note that despite the government closing shop, House Republicans have been on vacation since last week, while House Democrats have been showing up to work. Vice President JD Vance told members of the press Wednesday that the real bad guys in the shutdown fight are Democrats, specifically Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Because, according to Vance, it's Schumer standing i...

Mark as Played
October 1, 2025 23 mins

Well, the Government has shut down and, as of Tuesday afternoon, President Donald Trump didn’t sound to worried about it. “A lot of good can come down from shutdowns," he said. "We can get rid of a lot of things that we didn't want, and they'd be Democrat things, but they want open borders. They want men playing in women's sports. They want transgender for everybody.” That statement is a lot of nonsense, as always. But the way Trum...

Mark as Played
September 30, 2025 22 mins

Is the government about to shut down? Congressional leaders and the White House appear to be at an impasse, even after President Donald Trump gave in and scheduled a meeting for Monday to try and get a deal done (though that meeting did not go well). The core of the issue is subsidies connected with the Affordable Care Act, financial assistance that is due to expire at the end of the year. Without it, millions of Americans could se...

Mark as Played

Following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, a wave of everyday people have been punished, getting doxxed and even losing their jobs because of statements they made online regarding Kirk and his death. Even the Vice President of the United States, JD Vance, encouraged Americans to call the employers of anyone they feel is “celebrating Charlie’s murder.” Free speech matters now, more than ever. But what can we ...

Mark as Played
September 26, 2025 22 mins

We’ve been on quite the journey with our First Amendment-guaranteed right to free speech, haven’t we? This week, we had the reinstatement of ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” after Kimmel was suspended – thanks to the FCC threatening to take action against networks that chose to carry his show. And President Trump is still threatening to sue ABC in response to Kimmel’s return. You know, the President of the United States sure does have a ...

Mark as Played
September 25, 2025 21 mins

The machinery of mass deportations has been operating both in plain sight and out of view since President Donald Trump took office back in January. As millions of people are being deported, thousands more are stuck in detention facilities across the country. In fact, the exact number of people in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention right now is 58,766, according to ICE data. The vast majority have no criminal record, but ...

Mark as Played
September 24, 2025 22 mins

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the brutal war has cost millions of lives. But President Donald Trump has consistently said that he could easily end the war. We think by that he probably meant charm Russian President Vladimir Putin into making a deal. Weirdly enough, efforts to cozy up to Russia have not actually stopped Putin from doing anything. Not only has Russia continued to bomb Ukraine, but it is now sending drones int...

Mark as Played
September 23, 2025 20 mins

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., noted anti-vaxxer and, apparently, part-time detective, announced back in April that he was on the hunt for the real cause of autism. A hunt that would take no prisoners, ask big questions, and find the one true answer to a medical question that's been researched for decades... by September. Well, on Monday, the Trump administration announced that the hunt was over. Sort of...

Mark as Played
September 22, 2025 22 mins

On Friday we learned that according to President Donald Trump, when coverage is negative, "It's no longer free speech."  And it seems he's not alone. There's a growing sentiment within the Republican Party, which currently controls the White House and both Chambers of Congress, that actually, free speech doesn’t apply if you say mean things about Republicans. This is all in regards to ABC pulling “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” from its usual...

Mark as Played
September 19, 2025 26 mins

Democrats on the Hill are hitting back after ABC suspended "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" indefinitely. They’ve introduced the No Political Enemies (or NOPE) Act, a bill that would protect people targeted for political speech, and called for the resignation of Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr, whose comments targeting Kimmel came just hours before ABC pulled the show. To learn more about what Democrats are doing to protec...

Mark as Played
September 18, 2025 27 mins

The investigation into the assassination of Charlie Kirk has raised a lot of questions – not just about the alleged shooter, but about the investigation itself. And especially about the person at the head of the bureau tasked with helping to find and capture suspects in acts of violence not just in the Kirk case, but across the country: FBI Director Kash Patel. His performance thus far has been, well, questionable. And he's tusslin...

Mark as Played

FBI Director Kash Patel spoke on Tuesday about a massive rise in the number of investigations into so-called NVEs, which stands for “nihilistic violent extremists.” He defined them as people who “engage in violent acts motivated by a deep hatred of society.” Some experts would use that term to describe the suspect in the Charlie Kirk shooting. Utah prosecutors said Tuesday that the suspect allegedly wrote video game references and ...

Mark as Played

Memphis, Tennessee, is the latest city in President Donald Trump's Crime Takeover-A-Go-Go. On Monday, Trump signed a presidential memorandum establishing a "Memphis Safe Task Force" and announced that he would send the National Guard to the city.
During a press conference detailing the decision, Trump said that he wanted to accomplish in Memphis – and everywhere else – what federal authorities did in Washington, D.C. But the questio...

Mark as Played
September 15, 2025 21 mins

The clock is ticking until the federal government runs out of money and potentially shuts down—again. Now you might be thinking, "Didn't we do this? Like, a few months ago?" And yeah, we did. In March, the Senate approved a short-term spending bill with the support of 10 Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. And if Republicans want to keep the government open, they'll need a lifeline from Democrats. But Democra...

Mark as Played
September 12, 2025 24 mins

The search for a suspect in Charlie Kirk's death continues. The FBI released some grainy photos of a person of interest wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap — all in black — in the hope it might trigger tips or other information from the public. The FBI also said it recovered a bolt-action rifle that may have been used in the shooting. With no suspect in custody, no motive has been established either. And let's be incredibly clear...

Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

    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

    Stuff You Should Know

    If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

    My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

    My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.

    The Joe Rogan Experience

    The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.

    The Breakfast Club

    The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!

Advertise With Us
Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.