Trumpcast
A quasi-daily podcast from Slate chronicling Donald Trump's rise to the presidency and his current administration. Journalists Virginia Heffernan and León Krauze talk to reporters, historians, psychiatrists, and other experts to help explain who this man is and why this is happening, right now, in the United States of America.
301
Concern Trolling Jared
Virginia Heffernan talks to Politico's Josh Dawsey about Jared's private email use in the White House and the strange story behind how that story leaked.
23 min
302
The Fine Points of Impeachment
Jacob Weisberg talks to Cass Sunstein of Harvard Law School about his new book, Impeachment: A Citizens Guide, and the complexities involved in removing a President from office.
31 min
303
Trumpcast Live From the Texas Tribune Festival
Jacob Weisberg, Virginia Heffernan, and Jamelle Bouie are joined by Congressman Joaquin Castro (D-TX) and former executive editor of The New York Times, Jill Abramson, to discuss white supremacy, Democrats in Texas, and the 2016 election coverage.
78 min
304
Strangers in Their Own Land
Jacob Weisberg, Phillip Gourevitch, and Katie Roiphe are back for the Trumpcast Book Club to discuss Arlie Russell Hochschild's Strangers in Their Own Land.
42 min
305
The Last Person Standing
Virginia Heffernan talks to Vanity Fair's Sarah Ellison about Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, and just what life in the administration has been like for the First Daughter.
29 min
306
Cornering Manafort
Virginia Heffernan talks to former FBI special agent & current CNN Legal and National Security analyst, Asha Rangappa, about the Manafort wiretap & the more detailed account of the raid on his home earlier this summer.
19 min
307
Becoming the Opposition
Josh King talks to Philippe Reines, longtime spokesman and adviser to Hillary Clinton, about playing Donald Trump in debate prep and his former boss' book What Happened.
31 min
308
If You're Concerned and You Know It, Just Impeach
Virginia Heffernan talks to Matt Miller, formerly of the DoJ and currently an MSNBC Justice and Security Analyst, about the latest surrounding the Trump-Russia investigations.
24 min
309
The Party That Can't Govern
Jamelle Bouie talks to Julia Azari, a professor of political science at Marquette, about Trump's relationship with the GOP and why the Republicans can't govern.
22 min
310
How to Read L’Affaire Russe
Jacob Weisberg talks to Lawfare's Benjamin Wittes about who's saying what in the Trump-Russia investigation and why it's important to know the difference.
25 min
311
Facebook's Russia Problem
Virginia Heffernan talks to WIRED's Issie Lapowsky about the news from this week that Russian-linked accounts bought political ads on Facebook during the 2016 election.
32 min
312
The Big Debt
Jacob Weisberg talks to Bloomberg's Caleb Melby about Jared Kushner, the Kushner Company, and the mounting debt at their building – 666 Fifth Ave.
25 min
313
800,000 Hostages
Jacob Weisberg talks to Julia Preston of The Marshall Project about the end of DACA, its political motivations, and what this all means for the dreamers.
21 min
314
A New Breed of Lobbyists
Josh King talks to Nicholas Confessore of The New York Times about the new breed of lobbyists getting rich in Trump's Washington.
24 min
315
Lessons For a Recovery
Jamelle Bouie talks to Gary Rivlin, author of Katrina: After the Flood, about the lessons of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and how they can be used going forward in Houston's recovery.
19 min
316
The Key to a Thousand Doors
Virginia Heffernan talks to Andrew Rice, a contributing editor at New York Magazine, about Felix Sater and why his name may come up more and more as Mueller's investigation unravels.
22 min
317
The "Revolting" Administration
Jacob Weisberg talks to The Atlantic's McKay Coppins about the Trump cabinet appointees who over the weekend showed their lack of confidence in the President.
23 min
318
The Pardon That Sets a Dangerous Precedent
Virginia Heffernan talks to Antonia Noori Farzan of the Phoenix New Times to get a background on the now pardoned ex-sheriff Joe Arpaio and just what the sentiment is in Phoenix and Maricopa County about the events of the last week.
30 min
319
The Complainer-in-Chief
Jamelle Bouie talks to FiveThirtyEight's Clare Malone about Trump's week of complaining and just how vulnerable Republicans are to attacks by the President.
22 min
320
A Taxonomy of the Alt-Right, Alt-Light, and Alt...
Virginia Heffernan talks to Andrew Marantz, a writer at The New Yorker, about the many warring factions within the alt-right.
29 min
321
The Corruption of Carl Icahn
Jacob Weisberg talks to The New Yorker staff writer, Patrick Radden Keefe, about his latest piece "Carl Icahn's Failed Raid on Washington."
23 min
322
The Anti-Fascists AKA The Antifa
Virginia Heffernan chats with Mark Bray, the author of Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook to figure just who the antifa are and where they come from.
22 min
323
The Press Conference That Did Him In?
Jacob Weisberg is joined by fellow Trumpcast cohosts Virginia Heffernan and Jamelle Bouie to talk about Donald Trump's press conference yesterday and why this is a significant turning point in his presidency.
23 min
324
"There's Nothing New Under the Sun..."
Virginia Heffernan talks to Jamelle Bouie about the tragic events of this weekend in Charlottesville, VA and how this can no longer allow Americans to put their heads in the sand about what really got Trump elected.
21 min
325
The Last Newspaper War (Pt. 2)
This the 2nd part of Josh King's chat with Chief Media Writer at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, Jim Warren, about the competition between the Washington Post and The New York Times.
15 min
326
The Last Newspaper War (Pt. 1)
Josh King talks to Chief Media Writer at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, Jim Warren, about the competition between the Washington Post and The New York Times.
29 min
327
A Separate Narrative
Jamelle Bouie talks to Osita Nwanevu, a writer at Slate covering conservative media, about what is happening over at Fox News and Sinclair Broadcasting and why Trump is just making right wing media more of what they already were.
18 min
328
30 Days at Trump International, D.C.
Slate's Seth Stevenson talks to Washington Post reporter Jonathan O'Connell about how the Trump International Hotel in Washington D.C. is changing the way people do business and politics in the city.
19 min
329
The Problem Solvers
Josh King talks to Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ 5th District) about the Problem Solvers – a group of 43 members of the House of Representatives split between both parties offerings solutions to stabilize the individual health care market.
25 min
330
The Short History of Generals as Chiefs of Staff
Seth Stevenson guest hosts today's show and talks with Joshua Zeitz, a historian and contributing editor at Politico, about General John Kelly and whether his tenure as Chief of Staff will resemble that of Al Haig during the Nixon administration.
23 min
331
Aggressive on Immigration
Jacob Weisberg talks to Julia Preston of The Marshall Project about Donald Trump's immigration policies and how the system is failing immigrants and those seeking asylum from Central American gang violence.
22 min
332
Holy Hell to Pay
Virginia Heffernan talks to Slate's Dahlia Lithwick about her working theory – nobody really knows what a constitutional crisis is.
30 min
333
Fascist Curious
Jacob Weisberg chats with Bloomberg's Joshua Green about his new book Devil's Bargain: Steve Bannon, Donald Trump, and the Storming of the Presidency.
29 min
334
Pardon Me, Mr. President.
Jacob Weisberg talks to Bloomberg columnist and professor of law at Harvard, Noah Feldman, about just who the President can and cannot pardon...including himself.
25 min
335
The Deregulation Invasion
Josh King talks to ProPublica's Robert Faturechi about the Trump administration's secretive deregulation teams and just what you can do to help ProPublica unmask more information on the deregulation front.
26 min
336
Lies, Pardons, and Bringing Trump to Heel
Virginia Heffernan talks to Brendan Nyhan, Professor of Government at Dartmouth, about the President's many lies including his most recent ones featured in The New York Times interview with Maggie Haberman, Peter Baker, and Michael S. Schmidt.
26 min
337
The Many Missteps of Mitch McConnell
Jamelle Bouie talks to ProPublica's Alec MacGillis, author of The Cynic: The Political Education of Mitch McConnell, about how the majority leader is failing to deliver for the Republicans.
22 min
338
On the 25th Floor
Jacob Weisberg goes in-depth with Bill Browder about Donald Trump Jr's meeting with the Russians in Trump Tower.
32 min
339
Lawyer Up, Bro
Virginia Heffernan talks to ProPublica's Justin Elliott about his reporting surrounding Trump's lawyer, Marc Kasowitz.
31 min
340
It's Bad. It's Unpopular. It's The Return of th...
Jamelle Bouie talks to Patrick Caldwell, a health care reporter at Mother Jones, about the latest iteration of the Senate health bill and the politics surrounding it.
17 min
341
Intent, Motive, and Legal Implications
Virginia Heffernan talks to Bob Bauer, former White House Counsel under Barack Obama, about the potential legal implications of Donald Trump Jr's story.
24 min
342
Questioning the Trump-Russia Conspiracy
Jacob Weisberg talks to Masha Gessen about why she thinks the latest developments in the Donald Trump Jr. story aren't as revelatory as people are making it out to be.
21 min
343
The Story That Sticks?
Jacob Weisberg talks to Anne Applebaum, columnist at the Washington Post, about Donald Trump Jr's meeting with the Kremlin linked lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya.
30 min
344
G-20 Speed Dating and a Lifeless Foggy Bottom
Josh King talks to Max Bergmann, a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, about President Trump's trip to the G20.
32 min
345
Tensions Rising
Jamelle Bouie welcomes back Daniel Drezner, Professor of International Politics at Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, to chat about all the player's in the North Korea game.
20 min
346
The Pence Shake Up and Republican Sentiments
Virginia Heffernan talks to Ashley Parker, a White House reporter at the Washington Post, about Mike Pence shaking up his staff and why Republicans in the Senate and the House are becoming less and less afraid of Trump.
22 min
347
How Does a Presidency End?
Josh King guest hosts a weekend edition of Trumpcast. He talks to Frank Rich of New York Magazine about his latest feature, “Nixon, Trump, and How a Presidency Ends.”
30 min
348
The Health Care Fight is A Civil Rights Fight
Jamelle Bouie talks to The Atlantic's Vann Newkirk about how the repeal of Obamacare and the rolling back of Medicaid in the Senate health bill strikes a significant blow to racial equality.
20 min
349
All the President’s Lies
Jacob Weisberg talks to New York Times columnist David Leonhardt about "Trump Lies."
24 min
350
The Bill That Gets Worse and Worse
Jamelle Bouie talks to Slate's Jordan Weissmann about the latest version of the healthcare bill and how, in many ways, it's worse than the bill proposed last month by the House.
20 min
351
Senate Backrooms and a Defense for Mitch McConnell
Virginia Heffernan talks to Marc Ross, a Republican operative who worked for the McCain/Palin campaign, about Senate backrooms and why he thinks Mitch McConnell is playing his cards right with the healthcare bill.
21 min
352
The Trump Brand and The Conversation Not Happen...
Jacob Weisberg talks to the writer Naomi Klein about how the "Trump brand" is the driving force behind the presidency.
29 min
353
Through the Lens with Doug Mills
Josh King guest hosts a weekend edition of Trumpcast.
21 min
354
Too Close for Comfort
Jamelle Bouie talks to Carolyn Fiddler, Political Editor at Daily Kos, about the Virginia gubernatorial race and why things on the Republican side were too close for comfort (to say the least).
20 min
355
The Testimony of Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III
Virginia Heffernan talks to Matthew Miller, formerly of the Department of Justice, about the Jeff Sessions hearing and just what Bob Mueller could be up to behind the scenes.
28 min
356
Our President’s Cognitive Decline
Jacob Weisberg talks to Sharon Begley of STAT News about Donald Trump's cognitive decline and whether it's just a matter of age or something else.
24 min
357
The Loneliness of Donald Trump
Rebecca Solnit reads her story The Loneliness of Donald Trump.
18 min
358
Oh Lordy Jim Comey!
Jamelle Bouie talks to Greg Sargent of the Washington Post about James Comey's testimony and whether or not this will change the Republicans' approach to Donald Trump.
21 min
359
Habing on the Trumps With Maggie Haberman
Virginia Heffernan talks to Maggie Haberman of The New York Times about who's being groomed for greatness in the Trump family and how they are or are not dealing with different conflicts of interest.
14 min
360
The Ship of State and Watch Where You Step
Virginia Heffernan talks to Steve Vladek, a professor of law at the University of Texas, about Reality Leigh Winner and what might be the most normal national security story in the history of the Trump administration.
29 min
361
No Consequences?
Jacob Weisberg talks to Andrew Revkin, Senior Reporter climate reporter at ProPublica, about the consequences (or lack thereof) of Trump's withdrawl from The Paris Climate Accords.
22 min
362
Criminal or Stupid or Criminally Stupid?
Jacob Weisberg talks to Tim O'Brien, Executive Editor at Bloomberg View, about the many webs Jared Kushner is tangled up in around the White House and in the Russia investigation.
25 min
363
Will The Real "Covfefe" Please Stand Up!
Virginia Heffernan talks to Jared Yates Sexton, author of the upcoming book The People Are Going to Rise Like the Waters Upon Your Shore: A Story of American Rage, about last night's tweet and what it means for reality...just in general.
24 min
364
Rep. Ted Lieu Talks Trump Abroad
Jamelle Bouie talks to Congressman Ted Lieu (D-CA 33rd District) about the President's trip abroad and what he can expect when he makes his return stateside.
16 min
365
The Blabbing President
Virginia Heffernan speaks with Daniel Drezner about the effects of Trump's blabbing tendencies.
29 min
366
The Fake News Bubble For Liberals
Jacob Weisberg speaks with Zack Beauchamp of Vox.
23 min
367
The Thing With These Investigations
Jacob Weisberg speaks with Jeffrey Toobin about the special prosecutor in the Russian investigation.
21 min
368
The Purest Boy Scout
Jacob Weisberg talks to WIRED Magazine writer Garrett Graff about Bob Mueller and Jim Comey.
22 min
369
Searching for Higher Ground
Virginia Heffernan talks to Politico's Josh Dawsey about the reactions within the White House to the last 36 hours.
18 min
370
The Confidence Man
Jacob Weisberg, Katie Roiphe, and Philip Gourevitch discuss Herman Melville's The Confidence Man and just what the book can tell us about President Trump.
39 min
371
Trump's Anger
Jamelle Bouie talks to Slate's Katy Waldman about why the President's "uncontrollable rage powers his ruthlessness – and his ineptitude."
18 min
372
The Firing of James Comey (UPDATED)
Jacob Weisberg chats with Lawfare's Editor-in-Chief (and friend of James Comey's), Benjamin Wittes about how the Russia investigation proceeds from here.
50 min
373
The Wall St. Love Affair?
Jacob Weisberg talks to the New York Times' columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin about how businesses are modulating their reaction towards the Trump administration's varying policy positions and the President's Twitter feed.
20 min
374
The Meaner Bill
Jacob Weisberg talks to the surgeon and writer Atul Gawande about the AHCA and why its passing would be a catastrophe for the very people that voted for him.
32 min
375
Melania's Tower
Virginia Heffernan talks to Kate Imbach about the photos Melania Trump has taken over the years and what we can takeaway from them to learn more about our First Lady.
23 min
376
Trumpcast Live From The Tribeca Film Festival
Jacob Weisberg, Virginia Heffernan, and Jamelle Bouie discuss whether or not the Trump threat has receded.
65 min
377
The End of Values Voters
Virginia Heffernan talks to Reza Aslan about Christianity and religion as a whole in the age of Trump.
30 min
378
Caesar Non Supra Grammaticos
Virginia Heffernan talks to Peter Sokolowski, Editor at Large at Merriam Webster, about the way language has evolved, splintered, and changed in the Trump era.
25 min
379
The French Election Connection
Jacob Weisberg talks to European historian David Bell about the French elections and whether or not Americans should be buoyed by this weekend's results.
24 min
380
Opaque, Conflicted, and a Lawsuit
Jacob Weisberg talks to the former chief ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush, Richard Painter, about the Trump administration's lack of transparency and continuing conflicts of interest.
22 min
381
Identity Politics in the Trump Era
Virginia Heffernan is joined by Upworthy's Parker Molloy to talk about the dreaded phrase, "identity politics," and why the Trump definition of working class leaves out a very particular group of workers.
21 min
382
Lessons from Georgia's 6th
Jamelle Bouie talks to the Minority Leader in the Georgia House of Representatives, Stacey Abrams, about the big takeaways from the special election on Tuesday night in Georgia's 6th congressional district.
20 min
383
North Korea's Missile Testing Season
Jacob Weisberg talks to Victor Cha, the former Director for Asian Affairs at the White House National Security Council under George W. Bush, about why there are no good options when it comes to North Korea.
19 min
384
Many Men, Many Many Many Men
Virginia Heffernan talks to Frank Bruni of the New York Times about his column, "Manhood in the Age of Trump."
25 min
385
Articles of Impeachment
Jacob Weisberg and Harvard Law Professor, Noah Feldman, discuss the three most pressing categories from which the articles of impeachment against Donald Trump may be drawn – corruption, abuse of power, and the violation of democratic norms.
45 min
386
Defining the Mission in Syria
Jacob Weisberg talks to Max Boot, Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, about the missile attack carried out by the United States in Syria and what this means for President Trump's foreign policy going forward.
17 min
387
China. China? China!
Jacob Weisberg talks to Gideon Rachman, of the Financial Times about Trump's meeting with Xi Jinping at Mar-a-Lago.
25 min
388
Gorka, Bannon, and the View from Hungary
Virginia Heffernan talks to Lili Bayer, a journalist in Central Europe for Politico and The Forward, about the story of Sebastian Gorka (Trump's Chief Counter-Terrorism Adviser) and his far right wing roots.
25 min
389
The Senate Standoff
Jacob Weisberg talks to Emily Bazelon about the Democrats plan to filibuster Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch.
25 min
390
The Prelude to a Massive Intraparty Battle
Jamelle Bouie talks to FiveThirtyEight's Clare Malone about infighting in the Republican party.
24 min
391
666 5th Ave.
Virginia Heffernan talks to Bloomberg News reporter Caleb Melby about the Kushner family history and the building on 666 5th Ave. hemorrhaging money from the Kushner's.
31 min
392
The Healthcare Vote That Wasn't
Jamelle Bouie talks to Abby Phillip of the Washington Post about today's no-vote on the AHCA and where things go from here.
17 min
393
The State of the State Department
Virginia Heffernan talks to Steve Coll, the dean of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and a writer at the New Yorker, about where things stand at the State Department.
24 min
394
What the Hell is Going on at Fox News?
Jacob Weisberg talks to Gabriel Sherman about the space Fox News is occupying in the media as the go-to network for President Trump.
23 min
395
A Master Class in Bad Legislation
Jacob Weisberg and Jamelle Bouie are joined by Vox's Ezra Klein to talk about how Donald Trump screwed himself on healthcare and why he isn't the "deal maker" he makes himself out to be.
26 min
396
Much Ado About Nothing or Something?
Virginia Heffernan talks to Lily Batchelder, NYU professor and former Chief Tax Counsel for the Senate Finance Committee, about what we can take away from Donald Trump's revealed 2005 tax returns.
16 min
397
The Plot Against America
Jacob Weisberg is joined by Katie Roiphe and Philip Gourevitch to discuss Philip Roth's novel The Plot Against America and what the book can tell us about the current state of affairs in America.
50 min
398
A History of Racist Ideas
Jamelle Bouie talks to Professor Ibram Kendi about the racial components of Trump's policies and the history of these racist ideas.
20 min
399
A Safe House for Refugees
Virginia Heffernan talks to the journalist Jake Halpern about his latest piece in this week's New Yorker, "The Underground Railroad for Refugees."
36 min
400
Undone By Scandal
Jacob Weisberg talks to John Dean, a key figure in the Watergate scandal, about the Trump/Nixon parallels and differences. Plus, will anybody in the Trump administration step up to play the role of "John Dean?"
28 min