The Stranger's week-in-review podcast, in which Eli Sanders, Dan Savage and a group of "experts" explain what just happened in the news, and what it all means. A wide-ranging discussion of everything you need to know in order to pose as an informed, productive member of society!
Amber Cortes is back to talk with Rich Smith and Eli Sanders about this week’s explosive Russia-Trump news: apparently Donald Trump Jr. was not just ready to collude with Russia, he also e-mailed about it! Also: as delicious as Baby Don’s new scandal is, we do need to keep our eye on sneaky Republican health care repeal efforts, which continue. Rich Smith tells you what to watch for as a new Senate vote looms. Then, Charles Mudede on some really good resistance news out of California. It involves a retreat by the Trump administration and a victory—for now—for the entire planet. Finally, Chase Burns helps us navigate a controversy over Chance the Rapper, MTV, and how one should respond to negative reviews (with an assist from the wisdom of Ru Paul). Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo.
Eli Sanders, Dan Savage, and Rich Smith tackle a question that’s gained even more urgency in the last week: What is wrong with Donald Trump? His tweets and actions over the last seven days were extraordinarily vile and odd, even for him. After that, the glory of Chris Christie getting caught on camera sunning himself on a public beach that Christie himself ordered closed to the public over Fourth of July weekend! Then, an update on what the Fourth of July was like for Republican Senators who hold the fate of Obamacare in their hands—and what to watch for this week. Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo.
The Republican healthcare plan is in trouble, but it's not dead yet. Dan Savage, Rich Smith, and Eli Sanders talk about how to keep pushing back against Trumpcare over the Fourth of July recess, when your Senators will be back home. After that: how to survive in a conservative alt-reality that's getting a little too real. And finally, two controversies that involve the gay pride flag. In Philadelphia, the iconic symbol of gay liberation has been revised to include black and brown stripes. And in Chicago recently, a number of Jewish lesbians were asked to leave a dyke march because their pride flags had Jewish stars on them. Organizers said the Jewish lesbians' pride flags were too triggering. Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo.
Al Franken is on Blabbermouth this week, talking with Eli Sanders about his journey from Saturday Night Live to the US Senate. The Senator also shares the best tactics for getting a member of congress to do what you want (like, say, not repeal Obamacare) and answers both an urgent “millennial” question from Rich Smith and a future-focused, “barely-a-boomer” question from Dan Savage. Also: Dan, Rich, and Eli talk about the sad defeat of Jon Ossoff in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District and what it means for Democratic strategery going forward. Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo.
Rich Smith, Amber Cortes, and Eli Sanders sat down to record this week’s episode just a few hours after news broke of a shooting at a baseball practice for Congressional Republicans in Washington, DC. The entire Blabbermouth crew hoped for strong recoveries for all the people wounded in this tragedy. They also dove right into some issues that are connected, at least politically speaking, to what is now the 153rd mass shooting in America this year: gun control, Republican efforts to repeal Obamacare, and the question of what incites political violence. On that last question, Rich, Amber, and Eli looked directly at conservative criticisms of a New York City production of Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” that features a staged assassination of a Trump-like figure. Did the production go too far, or are critics missing the play’s point? Finally, The Stranger’s Heidi Groover stops by to talk about why Senator Bernie Sanders recently tweeted and Facebooked a blog post of hers. Spoiler: Groover’s post highlighted an important, outrageous, and demoralizing truth about how unaffordable life in America has become for low-wage earners. Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo.
This week, Dan Savage, Eli Sanders, and Rich Smith talk about the Comey hearing and then dissect a notable new poll finding: more Americans now want Donald Trump impeached than support his job performance! After that, a battle royale over the recent unrest at The Evergreen State College, which is being held up nationally as the latest example of liberal campus intolerance and the rise of mob “discourse.” Finally, last week’s episode was apparently a triumphant one for Rich Smith: one caller believes Rich was, “for the first time,” correct about something last week, and another caller confesses to a “voice crush” on Rich and asks Rich to read him a poem. Will Rich comply? Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo.
The long Memorial Day weekend brought tragic news from Portland, Oregon, where two good-hearted citizens were murdered as they tried to stop a man from allegedly committing a hate crime on public transit. Dan Savage, Eli Sanders, and Rich Smith talk about the Portland murders, whether we can directly connect them to Donald Trump’s rhetoric, whether Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler's attempt to shut down two upcoming “alt-right” rallies is the right response, and whether Kathy Griffin staging a mock beheading of Trump was a good use of her own free speech rights.
After that, Dan, Eli, and Rich sift through the news about Jared Kushner’s newly revealed role in Russia-gate (and process Rich’s attraction to Kushner’s shiny visage). Finally, because Rich was gone last week, a focus on a few “millennial issues” he wants to “bring to Dan and Eli's attention": drugs, climate change, and student loan debt. Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo.
Episode 102: Trump’s Fantastic Voyage
Dan Savage is back this week, and he talks with Amber Cortes and Eli Sanders about Donald Trump’s hypocrisy-drenched trip through the Middle East and Europe. Also: that hand slap! What does it MEAN, Melania?
After that, a look at this week’s special election in Montana and a dive into the right-wing conspiracy theory that actually caused FOX News to issue a rare retraction this week. If Sean Hannity and Newt Gingrich spread a false story on FOX News, but then FOX News retracts the story later, does it matter?
Finally, Dan and Eli are not afraid to ask: Who was Chris Cornell? Amber explains.
(Oh, and then a vacationing Rich Smith drunk dials in with some news from the millennial mind!)
Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo.Episode 102: Trump’s Fantastic Voyage
Dan Savage is back this week, and he talks with Amber Cortes and Eli Sanders about Donald Trump’s hypocrisy-drenched trip through the Middle East and Europe. Also: that hand slap! What does it MEAN, Melania?
After that, a look at this week’s special election in Montana and a dive into the right-wing conspiracy theory that actually caused FOX News to issue a rare retraction this week. If Sean Hannity and Newt Gingrich spread a false story on FOX News, but then FOX News retracts the story later, does it matter?
Finally, Dan and Eli are not afraid to ask: Who was Chris Cornell? Amber explains.
(Oh, and then a vacationing Rich Smith drunk dials in with some news from the millennial mind!)
Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo.Episode 102: Trump’s Fantastic Voyage
Dan Savage is back this week, and he talks with Amber Cortes and Eli Sanders about Donald Trump’s hypocrisy-drenched trip through the Middle East and Europe. Also: that hand slap! What does it MEAN, Melania?
After that, a look at this week’s special election in Montana and a dive into the right-wing conspiracy theory that actually caused FOX News to issue a rare retraction this week. If Sean Hannity and Newt Gingrich spread a false story on FOX News, but then FOX News retracts the story later, does it matter?
Finally, Dan and Eli are not afraid to ask: Who was Chris Cornell? Amber explains.
(Oh, and then a vacationing Rich Smith drunk dials in with some news from the millennial mind!)
Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo.Episode 102: Trump’s Fantastic Voyage
Dan Savage is back this week, and he talks with Amber Cortes and Eli Sanders about Donald Trump’s hypocrisy-drenched trip through the Middle East and Europe. Also: that hand slap! What does it MEAN, Melania?
After that, a look at this week’s special election in Montana and a dive into the right-wing conspiracy theory that actually caused FOX News to issue a rare retraction this week. If Sean Hannity and Newt Gingrich spread a false story on FOX News, but then FOX News retracts the story later, does it matter?
Finally, Dan and Eli are not afraid to ask: Who was Chris Cornell? Amber explains.
(Oh, and then a vacationing Rich Smith drunk dials in with some news from the millennial mind!)
Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo.Episode 102: Trump’s Fantastic Voyage
With Dan Savage away, Amber Cortes takes over his chair and talks with Rich Smith and Eli Sanders about this week of DC-shaking developments involving Russia, Trump, and the memos of former FBI Director James Comey. The current shitstorm of trouble for Trump raises a question: Should liberals really be pushing so hard for immediate impeachment, or would it be more strategic for the left to let all this Republican pain drag out until, say, the conclusion of the 2018 midterm elections?
After that: Amber takes Rich and Eli on a tour of important news items that are getting buried beneath the riveting spectacle of Trump’s “downward spiral.” Things like, oh, a worldwide cycber-attack that might be traced to North Korean “sleeper cells,” torch-weidling Nazi’s marching in Virginia, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions telling US prosecutors to seek the harshest-possible sentences whenever possible.
Finally: Did the world really need an in-depth look at the heroic journey of rock group The Strokes? And a call about abortion politics and that mayor’s race in Omaha that Dan, Eli, and Rich debated last week. Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo.
Dan Savage, Rich Smith, and Eli Sanders talk about the firing of FBI Director James Comey. This whole thing feels a lot like the “Saturday Night Massacre” of 1973. (Which, by the way, only Boomer Dan was alive for.) It also feels like a brewing constitutional crisis. (Good thing we explained the constitution to Rich last episode.) What should Democrats do now? Dan, Rich, and Eli have some ideas. After that, three purity tests. First: Was it wrong and homophobic for Stephen Colbert to make a joke about Donald Trump being Vladimir Putin’s “cockholster”? Second: Should liberals have supported a Democratic mayoral candidate in Omaha even though he wasn’t ideologically perfect on abortion? Third: Should you cancel your New York Times subscription because the paper ran a climate-change-questioning column? And after all that: House Republicans are back home for recess following their vote to repeal Obamacare, and Rich tells you how to find them at town hall meetings—and how to shame them if they’re not holding town hall meetings. Plus, as always, the music of Ahamefule J. Oluo.
