Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes Podcast

A good amount of institutions have capitulated and complied in recent months with many of the Trump administration’s actions that far overstep executive authority. At the same time, we’ve seen a few places where there has been opposition and resistance to tactics employed by the Trump 2.0 regime. Some of the most pushback has come from democratically elected attorneys general. Our guest this week points out that Trump “can’t overri...

The United States is pretty intertwined with Latin America. So why has it historically been seen as more of a European outpost as opposed to a nation in the Western hemisphere that is part of the broader Americas? Our guest this week points out that there are other ways to understand the history and identity of the U.S., aside from the narrative that is so often a part of contemporary discourse. Greg Grandin is the C. Vann Woodard ...

We’re now a year and a half into the war in Gaza. Our guest this week has spent a lot of time thinking and writing about all that has unfolded. Peter Beinart is the author of numerous books including his latest, “Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning” and writes “The Beinart Notebook” on Substack. He’s also an MSNBC analyst and the editor-at-large of “Jewish Currents.” He joins WITHpod to discuss what the war in G...

Why has America's 20th century vision of innovation and opportunity transformed into a stagnant and stunted dystopian reality? Our guest this week claims that “the crisis that’s clicking into focus now has been building for decades” and it’s all because we haven’t been following building enough. Ezra Klein is host of The Ezra Klein Show podcast, a columnist for New York Times Opinion and the author of “Abundance,” which he co-wrote...

Tuberculosis is the deadliest infectious disease in the world. Why does something that’s curable still kill millions every year? And what does this illustrate about global health disparities? John Green is the author of “Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection.” Green is also the co-creator of Vlog brothers, which he co-hosts with his brother Hank Green. He joins WITHpod to discuss why tub...

J. Edgar Hoover is one of the most polarizing figures in U.S. history. And the seeds he planted as the decades long founding director of the FBI continue to shape much of today’s conservative political landscape. Kash Patel, who now leads the FBI, has openly vowed to find ways to punish Trump’s political enemies. While that’s appalling, it’s not the first time an FBI director has used abused institutional power. There’s a lot of hi...

Public streets play a big role in our day-to-day lives.  And if you’ve visited any large metropolitan city, you’ve seen just how much traffic can fill up roadways. New York City became the first city in America to implement congestion pricing, a program aimed at generating revenue and making streets less crowded. But the initiative hasn’t been immune to opposition, including from the Trump administration, which has ordered the city...

The Democratic Party has its work cut out. Meanwhile, there’s a fundamental issue: the party doesn’t currently have formal power. It doesn't have a majority in either House of Congress, it doesn't control the executive branch, and the Supreme Court has a 6-3 Trump majority. And all of this is creating a kind of impotent rage, frustration and feeling that Democratic leadership hasn’t really risen to the moment. But how might Democra...

Trolls have basically taken possession of the U.S. government. How have trolls been able to go from being mostly cordoned off in dark parts of the internet to gaining so much influence in American culture and politics? Our guest this week has spent years researching and reporting on-the-ground to learn more about how the battle online between the right and the left has moved into the real world. Elle Reeve is a correspondent at CNN...

A defining feature of America from its inception has been physical mobility. And that physical mobility has been the engine of social mobility. But we’ve seen a great deal of economic and social sclerosis over the past few decades. Our guest this week has how, for many people, America has ceased to be the land of opportunity. Yoni Appelbaum is a deputy executive editor of The Atlantic, author of “Stuck: How the Privileged and the P...

So much has happened in the past few weeks. And we’ve seen a speed game of sorts being played by the Trump administration to try to act as rapidly as possible to rework the administrative state of the government. One example of that is the attempts to end the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The letters have even been taken off of the building. But is any of this even legal and what are the implications of gutting...

A lot of things are changing. And there’s a lot of things that the new White House administration wants to do differently. One of the areas where we’ve seen a lot of attention is cryptocurrency. Some of the latest developments are pretty confounding, to say the least. Lucky for us, our guest this week has spent years following crypto. Zeke Faux is a reporter for Bloomberg News and the author of “Number Go Up: Inside Crypto's Wild R...

On a new podcast series, “The Blueprint with Jen Psaki,” host Jen Psaki dives into two crucial questions: where do Democrats stand in this moment? And how can they win again?

Listen to the full first episode here, as Jen sits down with Governor Wes Moore of Maryland. They reflect on the meaning of patriotism, where the party can be bolder, and authenticity as a winning factor.

Follow “The Blueprint with Jen Psaki” to catch new episod...

It’s no surprise that immigration policy is an area that we’ve seen so much focus on recently. The Trump administration has moved with lightning speed to roll out its immigration agenda. With everything that’s going on, we thought it would be good to have a conversation about some of the deep roots and complexities in history that have brought us to this moment. Jonathan Blitzer is a staff writer at The New Yorker and the author of...

Hi, WITHpod listeners! It’s an exciting day and we have a special treat for you. Today, we’re sharing the first chapter of Chris’ new book, “The Sirens’ Call: How Attention How Attention Became the World's Most Endangered Resource." From the book description:

We all feel it—the distraction, the loss of focus, the addictive focus on the wrong things for too long. We bump into the zombies on their phones in the street, and sometimes t...

Introducing “Trumpland with Alex Wagner.” 

On “Trumpland,” MSNBC’s Alex Wagner takes a break from the anchor chair to get out into the field and speak with the people on the frontlines of Trump’s policies—and promises.  

Listen to the full first episode here, as Alex travels to DC—but not for the inauguration. 

Hours after President Trump was in sworn into office for the second time, he began issuing a series of presidential pardons f...

We’ve never had a situation where the world’s richest man has essentially joined the White House as a co-president of sorts. What might this mean, especially when we consider Elon Musk’s history of unchecked power? Kate Conger is a New York Times reporter based in San Francisco, covering X and other technology companies. She’s also a co-author, along with Ryan Mac, of “Character Limit: How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter” Conger joins ...

The amount of overdose deaths in the U.S. is staggering. And while addiction is a disease, there’s no specific medical treatment or cure for it. Our guest this week points out that weight loss drugs and GLP-1s, or glucagon-like peptide-1s, which are used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity, can be effective for helping people reduce cravings and consumption of drugs, alcohol and compulsive behaviors like gambling. Nick Reville is ...

Well, here we are. The second inauguration of Donald Trump is quickly approaching. And there’s no doubt that progressives have a lot of work to do in the months and years ahead. Our guest this week co-founded one of the biggest groups that initially came about in response to Trump 1.0. Leah Greenberg is co-founder and co-executive director of Indivisible, an organization with a mission to organize thousands of local groups to resis...