The New Abnormal

This week on The New Abnormal, co-hosts Andy Levy and Danielle Moodie take a deep dive into the first week of Trump’s historic trial in New York. Plus! Former White House Social Secretary Deesha Dyer is here to talk about her new book and reflect on her time in the West Wing. Then, Mother Jones’ national voting rights correspondent, Ari Berman, joins the show to discuss his new book—and how the 1787 Constitutional Convention still affects us today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The New Abnormal team give their picks for the most fashionable former president and first lady—and it is not Donald and Melania Trump. Plus! Mexican historian Ana Raquel Minian talks to Andy Levy about her new book In the Shadow of Liberty: The Invisible History of Immigrant Detention in the United States. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The New Abnormal co-hosts Danielle Moodie and Andy Levy have some advice for the judge handling former President Donald Trump’s New York City hush-money trial: Treat it exactly the same as a high-profile mob case. Then, a conversation with Medhi Hasan about his new media venture, Zeteo, which launched on Monday. Plus! Jonathan V. Last, an editor at The Bulwark, joins the program to talk about his recent presidential rankings. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on The New Abnormal, co-hosts Danielle Moodie talks to Andrea Miller, the founding board member of the Center for Common Ground, about the importance of the black vote in the South for Democrats in this election. Plus! The Washington Post tech reporter Drew Harwell gives us the details on the people still investing in Trump Media & Technology Group despite its rapidly plummeting stock price. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For all of Donald Trump’s incessant fear-mongering about migrants fueling crime in the United States, he has yet to ask one very important question: What is driving the violence that is making so many on the other side of the border desperate to flee in the first place? That’s the question The New Abnormal team posed to Ieva Jusionyte, author of Exit Wounds: How America's Guns Fuel Violence across the Border, on this Sunday’s episode—and his answer might not sit well with team MAGA. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, The New Abnormalintroduces you to a relatively new face in the pantheon of Trumpworld toadies:Steven Cheung, Trump’s principal spokesperson and de facto enforcer. Plus, a conversation with New Republic staff writer Melissa Gira Grant about a largely forgotten 1873 law, called the Comstock Act, that could be used to outlaw virtually all abortions across America.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on The New Abnormal, co-hosts Danielle Moodie and Andy Levy discuss why we should take Donald Trump’s latest statement on abortion with a grain of salt. Plus! Deputy Director of the ACLU Immigrants Rights Project Cody Wofsy fills us in on an immigration law in Texas that even those supporting it have said may have gone too far. Then, journalist Jeb Lund is here to talk about his recent piece covering Florida’s “War on Woke.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The New Abnormal team has picked who they believe Donald Trump will select as his running mate. Plus! Andy Levy talks to CBS News correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti about his new book Before It's Gone: Stories From the Front Lines of Climate Change in Small-Town America. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's episode, hosts Danielle Moodie and Andy Levy don’t see any major publications or politicians taking Trump’s threats of retaliation seriously. Then, Mark Joseph Stern, a senior writer at Slate Magazine, joins the program to discuss an upcoming abortion ballot referendum in Florida—and the “giant threat” lurking behind it. Plus! A conversation with Brian Beutler, the author of the Substack “Off Message,” on Democrats’ messaging issues as the 2024 race inches closer to the finish line. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on The New Abnormal, University of Louisville Associate Professor in the Departments of Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies and Pan-African Studies Dr. Kaila Story joins us to talk about the new acronym conservatives are flinging about, and why it’s taken flight. Plus! Editor of The National Interest, Jacob Heilbrunn, joins us to talk about his new book, “America Last: The Right’s Century-Long Romance with Foreign Dictators.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From the site where George Floyd was killed to places where Black people were lynched, “Ghosts of Segregation” illustrates a history of racism in the U.S. that can’t be ignored. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The New Yorker’s Adam Gopnik joins The New Abnormal to talk about his new essay on how Hitler was able to take control of Germany and what’s at stake in the coming U.S. election. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on The New Abnormal, co-hosts Andy Levy and Danielle Moodie discuss Chudd Todd’s searing criticism of NBC. Then, Sarah Kate Ellis, the president and CEO of GLAAD, joins us to talk about her organization’s efforts to counter the anti-LGBTQ+ messaging many right-wing politicians have leaned into. Plus! The former editor at the Chicago Tribune and The Chicago Sun-Times, Mark Jacob, will tell us all about a piece he recently wrote about how journalists in the media in general seem bored covering the upcoming election. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matt Gertz from Media Matters for America tells The New Abnormal that Fox News’ handling of its exclusive Mike Pence story shows how it's become a “Trumpian propaganda outlet.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“The Washington Post” reporter Devlin Barrett joins The New Abnormal to discuss what happens next in the former president’s contentious classified documents case. Plus, a conversation with Cornell Belcher, the founder of Brilliant Corners Research & Strategies, about all the reasons to ignore recent polling which shows Black and Hispanic voters may be moving to the right. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on The New Abnormal, co-hosts Andy Levy and Danielle Moodiediscuss a recent interview in which Donald Trump discusses cutting social security. Then, Justin Baragona, senior media reporter for The Daily Beast, spills the tea on a weekend full of Trump mishaps. Plus! Shannon Vavra, national security reporter for The Daily Beast, explains both the laughable and alarming world of Russian disinformation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Donald Trump’s unfounded new claim that Hillary Clinton used acid to delete her emails shows the former president doesn’t quite grasp how the BleachBit software program works. Plus! Tom Schaller and Paul Waldman join The New Abnormal to talk about their New York Times best-selling book, White Rural Rage: The Threat to American Democracy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NewsNation contributor Kurt Bardella joins The New Abnormal to discuss the state of the 2024 presidential election—and the complete failure of American journalism to adapt to Republicans’ strategy of spewing falsehoods. Plus, a conversation with Josh Kovensky, an investigative reporter at Talking Points Memo, about the Society for American Civic Renewal—a men’s only secret society of prominent far-right Christians. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on The New Abnormal, co-hosts Andy Levy and Danielle Moodie discuss Donald Trump’s Jimmy Kimmel Oscars diss. Then, Bill Clinton's Secretary of Labor and substacker Robert Reich is here to talk about the State of the Union, economic populism and the rise of Trumpism. Plus! Host of the Undistracted podcast, Brittany Packnett Cunningham, tells us more about Senator Katie Britt's rebuttal to Joe Biden’s State of the Union address. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The New Abnormal breaks down Sen. Katie Britt’s disastrous State of the Union reply and why she should have spoken to Bobby Jindal and Blake Masters before agreeing to do it. Plus! CNN’s Chief National Security Analyst Jim Sciutto joins Andy Levy to talk about his new book The Return of Great Powers: Russia, China, and the Next World War, which is out on March 12. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

MSNBC legal analyst Glenn Kirschner tells The New Abnormal that the former president could soon see his assets seized. Plus! Andy Levy speaks with Steven Monacelli, the Texas Observer’s Special Investigative Correspondent, about a new social network built on a vision of Christian supremacy in America that’s gaining traction with GOP politicians. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jose Pagliery, a political investigations reporter at The Daily Beast, joins the program to discuss Trump’s jam-packed court calendar. Plus, a conversation with journalist and author Radley Balko about the sinister attempt to “retcon” the death of George Floyd and exonerate the cop who killed him, Derek Chauvin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Journalist Hamilton Nolan tells The New Abnormal why declining union membership has strengthened the Republican Party. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

First on this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, a conversation with civil rights leader Bishop William Barber about the Poor People’s Campaign and the urgent need to craft public policy to correct the root causes of poverty. Plus! CNN commentator and New York Daily News columnist S.E. Cupp joins the program to discuss her thesis that the Republican Party has gone from being the champion of small government to the avatar of no government. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on The New Abnormal, co-hosts Andy Levy and Danielle Moodie discuss the positive news of Trump’s South Carolina presidential primary win. Then, Monica Simpson, executive director of Team Sister Song, joins the show to discuss the fight for reproductive rights in America. Plus! Chris Geidner points to the three biggest stories of the week, and how they are directly related to Supreme Court Justice Sam Alito. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The New Abnormal breaks down the latest controversial idea from the Turning Point CEO. Plus! Danielle Moodie talks to Barbara Collura, the president and CEO of Resolve: The National Infertility Association, about the Alabama Supreme Court’s decision to give embryos “personhood” and ban IVF in the state. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A recent ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court basically halted IVF treatments—and a new bill currently making the rounds in Oklahoma may be even worse, The New Abnormal hosts argue. Plus, chats with former GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger about the current state of the Republican Party and Gillian Branstetter of the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project and LGBTQ & HIV Project about the tragic death of a non-binary high school student in Oklahoma. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on The New Abnormal, co-hosts Andy Levy and Danielle Moodie discuss why the $364 million fine in the fraud suit against Donald Trump is not enough. Then, political scientist Dr. Christina Greer joins the show to discuss the differences between Democratic and Republican messaging—and what President Biden needs to do to not fall behind. We then talk to The Daily Beast political reporter, Riley Rogerson, about the problems with GOPs campaign talking points. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brandon Wolf, national press secretary of the Human Rights Campaign, tells The New Abnormal that MAGA Republicans are making LGBTQ students political pawns. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Did Trump and his team ever really believe the 2020 election was stolen? That’s the wrong question to ask, Talking Points Memo reporter Josh Kovensky says on The New Abnormal. Plus, an interview with Dell Cameron, an investigative reporter for Wired magazine, about the recent Congressional wrangling over proposed changes to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Daily Beast political reporter Jake Lahut joins this week’s The New Abnormal podcast to discuss Nikki Haley’s dwindling shot at the 2024 Republican nomination. Plus! Media Matters senior fellow Matt Gertz joins the podcast to discuss Special Counsel Robert Hur’s incendiary attacks on President Joe Biden’s memory. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Guardian Angels have been meting out vigilante justice on New York City streets since 1979. Last week the red-bereted crime fighters appeared on Fox News when their leader, Curtis Sliwa, a recent GOP mayoral candidate, was interviewed by Sean Hannity about the “migrant crisis” in New York. While the interview was in progress, the Angels violently detained a man in Times Square that Sliwa told Hannity was a migrant shoplifter. Later Levy talks to Laurie Kilmartin, a stand-up comedian who wrote for Conan O'Brien for 11 years, has written two books, and now has a new comedy special Cis Woke Grief Slut available for purchase online. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on The New Abnormal, co-hosts Andy Levy and Danielle Moodie discuss the horrifying Supreme Court hearing today that weighed whether Donald Trump will be allowed on the ballot in Colorado. Then, Jay Willis, the editor-in-chief of Balls & Strikes, joins us to weigh in on the case. Plus! Katherine Stewart, author of “The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism,” talks to us about how the role faith is playing in the 2024 election. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on The New Abnormal, co-hosts Andy Levy and Danielle Moodie discuss the Senate’s proposed immigration border bill that has sparked widespread criticism from Republicans. Then, Where's Your Ed At newsletter writer Ed Zitron stops by to talk to us about Elon Musk's latest tantrum. Plus! Jessica Garrison and Ken Besinger, the host of true crime podcast, Chameleon: the Michigan Plot, gives us the inside scoop on the attempted kidnapping of Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and all the strange details surrounding it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Donald Trump keeps using his relation to a famed MIT professor as proof of his intelligence. But as The New Abnormal team points out—smart people often have dumb relatives. Plus! Danielle Moodie has a thought provoking chat with DEI expert Denise Hamilton on her new book Indivisible: How to Forge Our Differences into a Stronger Future. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on The New Abnormal, Samuel Dickman, the medical director at Planned Parenthood Montana, joins us to unpack a jarring new study showing the dramatic increase in pregnancies related to rape after the banning of Roe v Wade. Plus! Author Andrew C. McKevitt talks about his new book, “Gun Country: Gun Capitalism, Culture, and Control in Cold War America.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on The New Abnormal, hosts Danielle Moodie and Andy Levy discuss the week of horror that could flip the game for Donald Trump. Then, Rolling Stonereporter and former The Daily Beast journalist Adam Rawnsley walks us through his recent report looking into Trump’s secret presidential immunity plans. Plus! Author Jeff Sharlet is here to talk about Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s battle against Biden at the border. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Reason Magazine’s senior editor, Elizabeth Nolan Brown, tells The New Abnormal why a bill by Oklahoma Senator Dusty Deevers that would make it illegal to sext anyone other than your spouse is far from a fringe position in the GOP. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

 If Greg Abbott is going to use his National Guard troops to flout the U.S. Constitution, the president should do as Dwight D. Eisenhower once did and nationalize the state agency entirely, The New Abnormal hosts argue. Plus! A conversation with Josh from the Substack political newsletter called Ettingermentum, who joins the podcast to discuss Biden’s bad poll numbers and his path to victory in 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on The New Abnormal, hosts Danielle Moodie and Andy Levy discuss the end of Ron DeSantis’ 2024 dreams. Then, Protect Democracy Editor Amanda Carpenter walks us through a report she co authored about what we can expect from another Trump presidency. Plus! Author Ben Herold is here to tell us all about his new book,\ “Disillusioned Five Families and the Unraveling of American Suburbs.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The former president’s latest rant about “debanking” and electric cars has left The New Abnormal team scratching their heads.  Plus! Danielle Moodie talks to Keith Boykin, the political commentator, film producer and Bill Clinton’s former White House aide, about his new book Why Does Everything Have to Be About Race? 25 Arguments That Won’t Go Away.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The former president has been ramping up the “spiritual” language he uses on the campaign trail, according to author and this week’s guest on The New Abnormal, Sarah Posner. Plus! A talk with professor and author Jason Stanley about his book “How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On The New Abnormal, hosts Danielle Moodie and Andy Levydiscuss the problem with Trump’s newest slogan. Then, Frankie Miranda, the president andCEO of the Hispanic Federation, tells us about the importance of the Latinx vote. Plus! We talkto the New Republic’s Timothy Noah, who explains the wild ride that started with billionaire BillAckman’s vicious Twitter campaign against then-Harvard President Claudine Gay, and thensnowballed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Journalist Tina Nguyen tells The New Abnormal how her time inside America’s political right-wing showed her how it captures young hearts and minds. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Bulwark editor Jonathan Last tells The New Abnormal that if Chris Christie really believes that Donald Trump must be stopped at all costs, then he has one card left to play. Plus! Anat Shenker-Osorio, host of the Words to Win By podcast, tells The New Abnormal co-host Danielle Moodie, how Joe Biden’s 2024 campaign messaging is landing with voters. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Daily Beast media reporter Justin Baragona joins The New Abnormal to discuss how the news media is dealing with the former president’s repeated threats to upend American democracy. Plus! Daily Beast political reporter Riley Rogerson joins the podcast to share her experience reporting on Rep. Lauren Boebert’s falling political fortunes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Constitutional law professor Michael Gerhardt tells The New Abnormal that a plain reading of the 14th Amendment would deny Donald Trump’s bid to be president again. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Daily Beast’s senior political reporter Roger Sollenberger tells The New Abnormal why Trump’s lead in the polls compared with Biden is set to narrow as the election nears. Plus! Danielle Moodie talks to psychiatrist Jonathan Metzl about his new book What We’ve Become: Living and Dying in a Country of Arms. Moodie will also host Metzl at the Greenlight Bookstore in Brooklyn on Feb. 5 where they will further explore how our collective failure to stop mass shootings is betraying the democracy envisaged by the framers of the Constitution. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The coming year is set to be a trying time for America, at least according to Bruce Hoffman and Jacob Ware, whose new book God, Guns and Sedition: Far-Right Terrorism in America traces the history of right-wing terrorism in the U.S. Then, former NYPD officer—and the highest-ranking whistleblower in department history—Edwin Raymond joins The New Abnormal to discuss his recent memoir, An Inconcenient Cop: My Fight to Change Policing in America. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zander Moricz confronted the Moms for Liberty co-founder at a Sarasota town meeting who he said had once retweeted a hate article about him when he was a high school student. Plus! Foreign Affairs magazine’s executive editor Stuart Reid joins The New Abnormal to speak about his new book The Lumumba Plot: The Secret History of the CIA and a Cold War Assassination. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Media Matters’ Rapid Response Director Andrew Lawrence joins The New Abnormal to rank the most brain-dead right-wing “controversies” of the year. Then, filmmaker Anike Tourse stops by to discuss her latest project, “American Family.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's episode host Danielle Moodie talks to Patrick Gaspard, the CEO of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, discusses the challenges and threats facing democracy, highlighting the rise of Donald Trump and the Republican Party's shift towards extremism. Then Andy Levy sits down with The Guardian US' Martin Pengelly, to talk about his new book "Brotherhood when West Point Rugby Went to War," and discusses the genesis of his book exploring the lives of the 2002 West Point rugby players, their experiences during the 9/11 attacks, and their post-graduation journeys. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The New Abnormal team says comments by white supremacist Nick Fuentes that Jewish people need to be given the death penalty is another good reason to vote in the 2024 election. Plus! ! Rashad Robinson, president of Color of Change, the largest online civil rights organization in the country, explains why he feels hopeful even at a time when democracy and civil rights are under attack in America. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s crossover episode between The New Abnormal and The Last Laugh, we break down how Hasan Minhaj’s “emotional truths” upended The Daily Show’s seemingly eternal search for a new host (or hosts), the downfall of TikTok-favorite standup Matt Rife, and the emergence of Nick Bargatze as a bonafide star of the industry. Plus, a conversation with author Raquel Willis about her new book, The Risk It Takes to Bloom, a memoir exploring her experiences as a Black transgender activist from the American South. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Moms for Liberty may have lost a few battles, but they’re still winning the culture war, Tamara Gilkes Borr, a U.S. policy correspondent at The Economist, says on this week’s episode of The New Abnormal. Daily Beast political reporter Jake Lahut also joins the podcast to discuss his latest piece, “Donald Trump Is Blowing Up the Myth of the New Hampshire Primary.”  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The former president claims to be ridiculously wealthy but The New Abnormal team says his move to sell parts of the suit he wore in his Georgia mugshot wreaks of desperation. Plus! Danielle Moodie also talks with Hein de Haas on his book How Migration Really Works: A Factful Guide to the Most Divisive Issue in Politics which provides a clear and rigorous corrective on our distorted ideas around migration. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John Burn-Murdoch, a columnist and the chief data reporter for the Financial Times, joins The New Abnormal this week to unpack why people feel so bad about what is an objectively strong economy. Then, the newly appointed president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, Heather Williams, talks about the party’s plan to win down-ballot races. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The hosts talk with Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) about his new bill, “End Hedge Fund Control of American Homes Act of 2023”—and why America needs a paradigm shift in the way it thinks about housing. Plus! A conversation with senior Rolling Stone political reporter Asawin Suebsaeng about his recent investigation titled, “Inside Trump’s Plot to Corrupt the 2024 Election With ‘Garbage’ Data.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ed Zitron, CEO of media and public relations group EZPR, tells The New Abnormal’s Andy Levy that Elon Musk is driving the platform formally known as Twitter into the ground and is one step away from it going completely under. Plus! The New Abnormal team lampoons new House Speaker, and “wee little psychopath” Mike Johnson, who believes that God told him to be Speaker. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on The New Abnormal, hosts Danielle Moodie and Andy Levy reflect on the downward spiral of Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House. Plus! The Nation’s Elie Mystal stops by for a scary prediction if Trump returns to the White House in 2024. Then we talk to The Intercept’s Ryan Grim about his new book. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Political strategist Michael Podhorzer stops by the podcast to “redirect some anxiety” about recent polls showing Donald Trump in a strong position for next year’s election. Plus! A conversation with writer Jonathan Katz about his most recent piece for “The Atlantic” titled: “Substack has a Nazi problem.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

t was meant to be a debate showcasing the new faces of the major parties. But as The New Abnormal team points out, Gavin Newsom came armed with something Ron DeSantis wasn’t prepared for. Plus! Danielle Moodie talks to ProPublica’s national reporter, Kavitha Surana, to talk about her deep dive into 12 of the nation’s strictest abortion bans. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on The New Abnormal, MSNBC political analyst and pollster Cornell Belcher talks the science of polls before we all start pulling our hair out. Then we talk to Radley Balko, publisher of Substack page The Watch, about his latest piece discussing how medical examiners shield violent cops from scrutiny. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New York Times technology reporter Mike Isaac joins The New Abnormal to unpack the civil war currently roiling OpenAI. Plus! A conversation with Democratic strategist Kurt Bardella about Joe Biden's chances in the 2024 election. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Former Capitol Police Officer Sgt. Aquilino Gonell tells The New Abnormal that democracy is on the ballot in the next election and that America must be protected from a second Trump presidency. Plus former Daily Beast journalist turned communications consultant, Timothy Burke, talks about the FBI raid at his home following the leak of embarrassing videos of Tucker Carlson that ended up in the hands of Vice News and Media Matters for America. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David Roth and Jeb Lund play the Thanksgiving edition of “America 20 Questions,” including answering how thankful they think Donald Trump is for each of his kids. Plus! Danielle Moodie talks to Amelia Nagoski about the book she co-authored with her sister, Emily Nagoski, Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle, which examines the scientific factors that determine the different ways men and women deal with stress. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Media Matters President Angelo Carusone joins The New Abnormal to talk through his organization’s recent sparring with Elon Musk and his social media platform, X. Plus! A conversation with award-winning author Nnedi Okorafor about her transformational africanfuturism and the importance of inclusive visions of science fiction. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bethann Hardison broke barriers in the 1970s by appearing in the top fashion magazines. Her new documentary Invisible Beauty shows how she championed diversity for a new generation of Black models. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Veteran Jason Kander tells The New Abnormal there are two main reasons why Republicans are afraid to take on Senator Tommy Tuberville’s military blockade. Plus, Andy Norma, founder of CIRCE, or the Cognitive Immunology Research Collaborative, talks about the Mental Immunity Project and how it is trying to combat the crisis of disinformation and people’s susceptibility to it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Spencer Ackerman stops by the program to talk about Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act—and why Congress should consider scrapping it entirely. Deepa Iyer of the Building Movement Project stops by the podcast to share her unique way of visualizing social movements as entire ecosystems—with each person playing a distinct role in various movements and communities. Plus! Guest host Maura Quint who serves as campaign and communications work for Americans For Tax Fairness. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tech columnist Brian Merchant tells The New Abnormal the Luddites got a bad rap following the Industrial Revolution but all they were trying to do was hold big tech to account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi tells The New Abnormal that Joe Biden’s sit down with the Chinese President next week will be the first in almost a year and the best chance to ease increased Chinese aggression. Plus, The Daily Beast’s Deputy Politics Editor Sam Brodey breaks down the “Idiot Symposium” otherwise known as this week’s Republican presidential debate. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brian Kaylor, the president and editor-in-chief of Word&Way, joins The New Abnormal to discuss new House Speaker Mike Johnson—and why he thinks the longtime religious activist should be classified as a Christian nationalist. Plus! A conversation with reporter Anat Rubin about her recent story in ProPublica about Louisiana’s Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marine combat photographer Miles Lagoze tells The New Abnormal why Americans were more concerned about the optics of exiting Afghanistan than the mission itself. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Michael Edison Hayden tells The New Abnormal why Chaya Raichik, the woman behind Libs of TikTok, is so dangerous and why the Anti-Defamation League needs to stand up against her. Plus, The Daily Beast’s political reporter Jake Lahut discusses Congressman Dean Phillips' not so great start to his presidential campaign. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The U.S. justice system is handling former President Donald Trump with kid gloves, The New Abnormal host Danielle Moodie says. Plus! A discussion about the disconnect between an increasingly technology-reliant world and the aging lawmakers who do not seem to understand the systems that make society tick. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matt Bennett, co-founder of national think-tank Third Way, tells The New Abnormal why a second Trump presidency would be a “catastrophe” and leave America “unrecognizable.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on The New Abnormal, Semafor’s Washington Bureau Chief BenjySarlin tells us the who, what, and why that is the Republican Speaker of the House, Rep. MikeJohnson. Then, MSNBC legal analyst Glenn Kirschner breaks down all the latest developmentsin the many legal troubles of Donald Trump. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on The New Abnormal, Democratic strategist Kurt Bardella makes sense of the clown show that has become the Republican Party—which he used to be a part of—and its attempt to find a new Speaker of the House. Then, The Intercept’s Natasha Lennard tells us about how Scholastic has caved to the far right and made it easier for schools to ban diverse books at their book fairs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

 Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Walter Hickey explains how movies and TV affect everything from our biology to our beliefs and what happens when governments get involved. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

CNN commentator S.E. Cupp joins The New Abnormal to discuss her recent article about how the right is broken–and nothing is being done to fix it. Then, psychiatrist and author Dr. Jonathan Metzl talks about the connection between the rise in hate crimes in the country and the amount of misinformation made readily available via social media at certain news channels. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Trump’s legal team seems more concerned with leaving landmines in the court record than winning his New York fraud trial, The Daily Beast’s Jose Pagliery says on this week’s The New Abnormal. Plus! A frank talk about the current state of local politics with Nebraska state Sen. Megan Hunt. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal co-hosts Danielle Moodie and Andy Levy call out the former president for his latest rallying cry to white supremacists. Plus, Katherine Stewart details her observations since publishing The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, Republicans have been scrambling to figure out who they could dredge up as House Speaker. Plus! U.S. Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY) adds her thoughts on GOP efforts to replace Kevin McCarthy. Then, Dannagal Young, an associate professor of communications at the University of Delaware, describes the “three Cs” behind the social nature of human knowledge. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, extremism and violent terrorism researcher Alexander Ritzman describes the new, male only movement infiltrating America–and their thoughts on Jan. 6. Plus! NBC News Justice reporter Ryan Reilly provides an in-depth look into the civilian sleuths who have been invaluable in identifying many of the culprits of Jan. 6. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Author Jonathan Taplin tells The New Abnormal how Peter Thiel, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and Marc Andreessen, are providing the tools to let fascism flourish. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, professor and author Jennifer Taub gives us all the details on Trump's fraud case happening right now in New York. Plus! Journalists and podcasters Jeb Lund and David J. Roth talk to us about Kevin McCarthy's, ouster, Ron DeSantis’ floundering campaign and which fictional character Matt Gaetz looks like the most. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Don’t cry for Kevin—he knew what he was getting into when he took the job as House Speaker, The New Abnormal hosts argue. Then, an interview about dystopian police technology with WIRED staff writer Dhruv Mehrotra. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aaron Kleinman, Director of Research for The States Project, tells The New Abnormal that if Republicans are able to win both houses in November’s state election, prepare to see a radical raft of policies by Gov. Glenn Youngkin as he sets his sights on the White House. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, California Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell talks to us about Colorado congresswoman Lauren Boebert’s latest shocking rant and how he contends with some of the louder members of the Republican Party on the House Judiciary Committee. Plus! The Bulwark’s Jonathan V. Last tells us about the contrast in Democratic and Republican responses to Sen. Bob Menendez’s recent indictment for corruption. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of The New Abnormal: Why Joe Biden is right to let Republicans shoot themselves in the foot during yet another idiotic shutdown fight. Plus! A look at Trump’s weekend of manic posting on Truth Social. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Run For Something has just pumped $10 million into electing left-leaning school board members. Co-founder Amanda Litman tells The New Abnormal the basic credentials you need. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, MSNBC legal analyst Glenn Kirschner talks about Donald Trump’s latest legal challenges. Then a talk with Freedom of the Press Foundation executive director Trevor Timm about how the U.S. trying Julian Assange under the Espionage Act may prove to be a regrettable decision if Trump is elected president again.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr. Peter Hotez joins The New Abnormal this week to discuss his new book, “The Deadly Rise of Anti-Science”—and why anti-vaccine conspiracies are so dangerous. Plus! An interview with labor reporter and author Kim Kelly about the United Auto Workers strike. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s episode of The New Abnormal highlights how Republicans are tying themselves up in knots while attempting to explain why we need an impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, hosts Andy Levy and Danielle Moodie delve deep into the lack of class shown by Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) this week. Then, author Mike Rothschild is here to tell us all about his new book. Plus! Jeffrey Lewis, a scholar at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies on the Non-Proliferation and Terrorism Studies, joins us to share the reason we’re all still here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, a reminder that the enemy of your enemy isn’t always your friend. Plus! A status check on the various groups protesting Atlanta’s “Cop City” project and a chat with Meagan Burrows of the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project about Alabama’s attempts to criminalize those who help young women seeking abortions.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Daily Beast columnist David Rothkopf tells The New Abnormal’s Danielle Moodie that U.S. politicians should rethink their support of Elon Musk after his intervention to help Russia. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, hosts Andy Levy and Danielle Moodie are shocked by just how much control billionaire Elon Musk has over the world. Plus! Executive Director of reproductive justice group the Yellowhammer Fund, Jenice Fountain, joins the show to talk about what’s going on in Alabama. Author Marc Tyler Nobleman also talks about his experience on a speaking tour of Georgia schools where school leaders found an issue with him saying the word “gay.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of The New Abnormal, hosts Andy Levy and Danielle Moodie discuss how crazy it is that Donald Trump keeps talking about jailing his political opponents and everyone has just accepted it as normal. Dare we say, the new abnormal. Plus! Blowback Podcast hosts Brendan James and Noah Kulwin pop in to talk about their newest season covering the ins, outs, and random stars of the crisis in Afghanistan and the US' involvement after 9/11. Then, Author, historian, and culture critic Ruth Ben Ghiat is here to answer the question Danielle Moodie thinks nobody is asking, what stage of the facist takeover are we in right now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Comedian Jesse Joyce tells The New Abnormal how his fascination with “the guy who cut his own balls off with a pair of scissors and then killed John Wilkes Booth” forced him into writing his new book. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, hosts Andy and Levy and Danielle Moodie discuss the ramifications of Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s latest freeze. Plus! National opinion columnist for the “Philadelphia Enquirer,” Will Bunch, talks to us about his recent article surrounding the state of journalism. Then, The Daily Beast’s politics reporter Zachary Petrizzo stops by to let us in on what’s happening with G O P fundraising.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, why Trump’s mugshot does nothing to endear him to the Black community—despite the insistence of a number of Fox News hosts. Plus, Ari Cohn, the free speech counsel at TechFreedom, joins the podcast to discuss a new bill that tries, and fails, to prevent kids from seeing harmful content online. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Professor Ted Parson tells The New Abnormal how we already have the technology to help cool the Earth by 1 degree within years and why lawmakers are fearful of embracing it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, hosts Andy and Levy and Danielle Moodie discuss the fallout from the first Republican primary debate of the 2024 election season. Plus! Author Dr. Steven Hassan stops by to talk to us about what he’s seeing change in the cult of Trump, and Amanda Moore, who infiltrated the MAGA movement—and wrote about it—shares her experience. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of The New Abnormal, Law Dork newsletter’s Chris Geidner tells co-host Andy Levy about a Constitutional amendment that could prevent Trump from running again, and what it would take for that clause to actually be enacted against him. Also on this episode: Kate Briquelet, senior reporter at The Daily Beast, explains the connections between bank J.P. Morgan and Jeffrey Epstein as laid out in a recent piece she reported. Plus, she tells co-host Danielle Moodie who she thinks will be held accountable next in this saga. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of The New Abnormal, Daily Beast editor Andrew Kirell gives an inside look at one of the right’s biggest grifts: inflating conservatives’ crappy book sales, specifically to get on the New York Times’ bestseller lists, and breaks down why the biography of expelled Fox News star Tucker Carlson’s biography didn’t get it (plus other reasons the book’s sales are so bad.) Also on the show: hosts Andy Levy and Danielle Moodie react to Republican clips, and this week that includes the Republican reaction to Hillary Clinton going on MSNBC to talk Trump, Marjorie Taylor Greene saying that Georgia’s Fani Willis should go after rapists instead of Trump (Anyone want to tell her?), and Matt Gaetz getting his ass handed to him by MSNBC’s Ari Melber. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, Mary Trump joins us to talk all about her uncle’s latest legal woes and her future predictions for both the Republican and Democratic parties. Plus! CNN legal analyst Elie Honig walks us through another round of Trump indictments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Slate senior editor Dahlia Lithwick is noticing a tone change when it comes to how people are reacting to Donald Trump’s indictments. She describes this change on this latest episode of The New Abnormal podcast along with a huge decision that Trump’s Jan. 6 judge is going to have to make. Also on this episode: Hosts Andy Levy and Danielle Moodie discuss Trump’s looming Georgia indictment, the one (and possibly only) thing that’ll shut him up, and the clash of his and Gov. Ron DeSantis’ fans at the Iowa State Fair when one of Trump’s followers called DeSantis “Florida Pudding Fingers.” Plus! Dr. Nicholas Mitchell, assistant professor of Curriculum Studies at the University of Kansas, explains what it means now that a propaganda organization called PragerU was just approved to have its “educational” videos be used in Florida schools (and a few examples of its videos that show how bizarre they really are.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of The New Abnormal podcast, hosts Andy Levy and Danielle Moodie listen to some clips, which includes a right-winger who has a drug-related suggestion to make Ron DeSantis more human, Matt Gaetz speaking nonsense to get Trump out of his indictments, and Jesse Watters saying a possible stalking fantasy of his out loud. Plus, wildfire expert Matthew R. Auer of the University of Georgia has a warning: Get ready for more fires in unexpected places. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, how the latest Ohio election should be a wake-up call to Republicans. David Pepper, the former chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party, joins to discuss. Plus! Nick Suplina, senior Vice President of Law and Policy at Everytown for Gun Safety, describes how ghost guns are more terrifying than you can imagine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The New Abnormal is back from vacation! And what a week to recap. A certain orange person named Donald Trump has been charged for alleged criming again and hosts Andy Levy and Danielle Moodie unpack it all. They also discuss how they think Trump is handling the pressure and Andy shares one of Ron DeSantis’ biggest failings in his presidential campaign. Plus, on this right-wing themed show: Madeline Peltz, Deputy Director of Rapid Response, shares the full arc of the right’s response to the ‘Barbie’ movie hate, including an unexpected twist: Female right-wingers are sticking up for the film. Plus, a brief history of the right-wing’s hatred of the USWNT. Then HuffPost Senior Reporter Christopher Mathias reveals to Andy how he was able to expose famed writer Richard Hanania’s secret right-wing and very hateful past, which includes incredibly dark eugenic ideas like forcing sterilization on low IQ people and opposing race mixing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alex Winter has a warning about YouTube that he makes loud and clear in this episode of The New Abnormal politics podcast. He breaks down for Andy how easy it is for users to see right-wing propaganda on the site, especially from the right, as well as one of his biggest fears as a consequence of it: People getting killed. Winter also shares whether we will be having this conversation about TikTok soon and why Google, YouTube’s parent company, isn’t doing anything about it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New Abnormal hosts Danielle Moodie and Andy Levy do another round of Q&A to kick off this episode, which includes who they think will be the biggest winners and losers of the 2024 Republican presidential debates. Then later in the show, it’s all about climate change. First up David Lipsky, author of ‘The Parrot and the Igloo,’ gives a historical overview of when chemists first realized climate change was happening, and how people and pop culture felt about the topic back then, even after one scientist said in the ’50s that its effect would be “violent.” And Richard Lazarus, professor of environmental law at Harvard University, talks about the time Nancy Pelosi and the late John McCain actually agreed on climate change, and what messed everything up.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Would novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand have loathed Elon Musk? Philosopher and writer Wolfram Eilenberger, author of The Visionaries: Arendt, Beauvoir, Rand, Weil, and the Power of Philosophy in Dark Times, comes on The New Abnormal to answer that question and another question with an answer that he can’t seem to full grasp: How libertarians can support Donald Trump. Also on this episode: Danielle Campoamor, reporter for TODAY Parents, shares the story of Celeste Burgess, a 19-year-old who is serving a prison sentence for taking abortion pills when she was 17. Plus, co-hosts Andy Levy and Danielle Moodie use the intro of this episode to share some of their favorite things—and which social media platform (Threads, the site formally known as Twitter, and Bluesky) they’d fuck, marry, or kill. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Country singer Jason Aldean’s song and video “Try That in a Small Town” has created backlash, with critics claiming the song promotes violence and anti-Black rhetoric. Still, Aldean is just the tip of the racist iceberg for the country music business says historian Amanda Marie Martinez, who came on this bonus episode of The New Abnormal to discuss the Aldean controversy with Danielle. She shares insight into the genre’s racist history and why we shouldn’t expect them to change their tune anytime soon.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, why Mitch McConnell’s concerning press conference this week should be a wake up call to both sides of the political spectrum. Plus! The Nation’s Elie Mystal joins us to talk about the Supreme Court's Alabama decision. Then, The Bulwark’s Tim Miller talks all about the latest in Republican party madness. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ron DeSantis thought he could win over the MAGA base and secure the 2024 nomination by being the smart, indictment-free version of Donald Trump, but judging by his less than robust campaign performance, he thought wrong. Rolling Stone reporter, Adam Rawnsley, joins this episode of TNA to talk about what it’ll take for Trump’s base to finally be broken of his spell as well as the ways DeSantis’ campaign went wrong. Also on this episode: Capital B rural issues reporter Aallyah Wright tells co-host Andy Levy a story she reported on from a small town in the south that is so horrendously racist it left him nearly speechless. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bullshitting is an art, and according to hosts Andy Levy and Danielle Moodie, Donald Trump proved he’s mastered it after they listened to a clip of him totally spewing nonsense in response to an Iowa voter’s question at an event early July. Andy shares a funny analogy and the two have strong reactions to the other wacky audio clips they listen to on this bonus episode. Then Colin Dickey, author of the upcoming book ‘Under the Eye of Power’, walks Andy through the political impact of the country’s earliest conspiracy theories and secret societies. Plus! He shares how Americans became so enthralled and scared of the Illuminati that it literally influenced a presidential election. Even George Washington was involved. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Donald Trump recently posted a video to his Truth Social account that hosts of The New Abnormal politics podcast, Andy Levy and Danielle Moodie, say is a preview of what another MAGA presidency will look like. They discuss in this episode of the show along with Marjorie Taylor Greene’s display of Hunter Biden’s nudes. Also on this episode: Melissa Murray, professor of law at NYU, MSNBC talking head and legal analyst, and co-host of Strict Scrutiny, breaks down the possible indictments that could come down against Trump, including other charges that could stem from bigger allegations. Plus! Sarah McLaughlin, Senior Scholar, Global Expression at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Expression (FIRE), spars (kindly!) with Andy about religious freedom of speech and explains why the UN Human Rights Council’s resolution that supports the prosecution of blasphemy won’t be so “pretty” in practice. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Things aren’t going so well for Meatball Ron [DeSantis], says Andy Levy in this episode of The New Abnormal. He and co-host Danielle Moodie unpack the ways that DeSantis seems to be flubbing his presidential campaign with the Florida governor’s personality, and general robotic weirdness, taking the top spot as a reason why. Then Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) joins the show and makes it very clear how he feels about this Supreme Court and Andy chats with David Slack, a veteran writer and producer who’s worked on shows such as ‘Law and Order’ and ‘Person of Interest’ and was a member of the WGA West’s Board of Directors from 2018 to 2022, about the differences in demands of the people on strike and those in power, and what it was like to be in a negotiating room with them. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nick Fuentes knows the ideal age he’d like his future wife to be and, disgustingly, it’s sixteen. On this episode of The New Abnormal politics podcast, hosts Andy Levy and Danielle Moodie listen to clips of Republicans and right-wing figures saying stupid things, but this Sunday’s clip of Fuentes, a white supremacist and right-wing extremist, takes the cake. Also on this episode: Marc Garlasco, a military advisor at PAX Protection of Civilians and the co-host of The Civilian Protection Podcast, shares a dire prediction for what’s to come now that the White House plans to send cluster bombs over to Ukrainian forces. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, former federal prosecutor and host of “Justice Matters” Glenn Kirschner talks about all the legal turmoil involving Donald Trump, Jack Smith, and Judge Aileen Cannon. Then, Washington Post national columnist Philip Bump joins us to tell us who exactly is House Oversight Committee chair James Comer’s star informant, Gal Luft.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Daily Beast politics reporter Ursula Perano shares more details about the anti-vax rhetoric she saw in RFK Jr.’s campaign-run Slack, including wild comparisons of vaccines to household cleaners from the 1900s. Plus, Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel talks what’s next for new social media site Threads and the feature that could change platforms forever—if Mark Zuckerberg enables it in Europe. And of course, hosts Andy Levy and Danielle Moodie unpack Elon Musk’s dick measuring comments they for sure thought were fake and the latest lawsuit hitting Fox News. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Daily Beast reporter Zach Petrizzo talks with co-host Andy Levy Marjorie Taylor Greene’s VP moves, her drama with fellow Rep. Lauren Boebert, and why Team Trump is anti-Kari Lake. Plus, Andy and co-host Danielle are forced to listen to clips of Trump and DeSantis saying weird things. Or in Trump’s case, making odd noises. And Andy makes a bold claim: Trump would be better than DeSantis on LGBTQ issues. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s The New Abnormal, extremism expert Jared Holt recounts his trip to a Moms for Liberty conference—and why DeSantis just can’t get the MAGA faithful to defect. Plus! A talk with political researcher Anat Shenker-Osorio about Democrats’ messaging woes.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s Independence Day but hosts of The New Abnormal are not in a patriotic mood. Hosts Andy Levy and Danielle Moodie discuss last week’s “grifting ass” Supreme Court decisions, including the student debt, anti-LGBTQ same-sex website, and affirmative action rulings—and Danielle makes the case for students of color filing a lawsuit against universities for their legacy student practices. Also on this episode: Andy plays a game of American “20 questions” with David Roth, editor at and co-owner of Defector and co-host of the Distraction Podcast, and Jeb Lund, a journalist whose writing has appeared in such places as The Guardian Vice Rolling Stone, Gawker, and The New Republic, each whom answer questions like ‘what was the best year in American history?’ ‘who is the most annoying president in American history?’ and ‘how is Donald Trump celebrating the July 4th holiday?’ Then, on a serious note: Alí R. Bustamante, deputy director of the Worker Power and Economic Security program at The Roosevelt Institute, reveals a hard truth: The American economy isn’t functioning “in any Democratic way.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wesley Lowery, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and author of American Whitelash: A Changing Nation and the Cost of Progress, joins co-host Danielle Moodie in this bonus episode of The New Abnormal podcast to talk about the origins of this so-called “whitelash” happening in America today, and how Black Americans saw it coming long before anyone else. He touches on the Obama presidency’s role in this scary trend as well as the media’s role in it all, starting with how it covered Trump’s nativist “Ground Zero Mosque” fear-mongering he espoused in 2010. And as always, Danielle and Andy Levy kick off the episode by responding to clips of Republicans saying dumb things. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, hosts Andy Levy and Danielle Moodie react to the Supreme Court’s latest ruling on Affirmative Action. Joining the show to discuss is Jessica Levinson, a law professor at Loyola University. Plus! Delaware State Senator Sarah McBride talks about her recently announced candidacy for Congress, as well as being the first openly trans person to work at the White House. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andy Levy, co-host of TNA, suspects there’s more to the 2024 presidential hopeful’s workout vids than just stupidity. He discusses his theory with co-host Danielle Moodie, along with what he thinks is happening in Russia. Then, Kelly Weill, reporter at The Daily Beast who covers far-right groups and trends, tells Danielle what we should know about “Moms for Liberty,” a mom group that operates like Proud Boys and are just as dangerous. Plus! Law Dork newsletter’s Chris Geidner breaks down a recent Supreme Court case ruling, Jones v Hendrix, which essentially prevents some legally innocent people from challenging their conviction. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, Mini Timmaraju, president of  NARAL Pro-Choice America, talks about where we stand one year after the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Then, Vice’s Anna Merlan weighs in on RFK Jr. and all the misinformation he’s spreading. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, Texas Observer’s Special Investigative correspondent Steven Monacelli talks Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment problems. Then, climate tech investor Molly Wood joins the show to discuss the impact of the Canadian wildfires. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Author David Daley tells The New Abnormal that while the Supreme Court’s Alabama decision is a win for democracy it may be a PR move by conservative justices. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, CNN Legal Analyst Elie Hoig joins the show to talk about Donald Trump's recent legal jeopardy and just how much trouble he is in. Then, Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick discusses the legal maneuvers we may see around the former president’s indictment. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, MSNBC Legal Analyst Glenn Kirschner joins us to talk about what’s next in Trump’s bombshell indictment. Plus! Princeton University historian Kevin Kruse debunks the theories being spouted by the former president’s supporters. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this bonus episode of The New Abnormal, Mo Ryan, author of ‘Burn It Down: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Hollywood’, talks to co-host Andy Levy about ’Lost’s vindictive showrunners, and Hollywood’s horrific treatment of writers and actors of color behind the scenes, pegged to a recent piece she wrote for Vanity Fair. Plus, Andy and co-host Danielle Moodie respond to a clip of Gov. Kristi Noem complaining that she can’t shop at Target and another clip of Nikki Haley proving she’s a racist bigot, again. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The orange skies must have been a premonition for the news that former President Donald Trump has been indicted on federal charges. Hosts Danielle Moodie and Andy Levy tackle this breaking news at the top of the episode, along with a SCOTUS semi-win, and the one good thing Chris Christie has done lately (and it’s not running for president.) Then, Congressman Ruben Gallego, who’s trying to become Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego, tells Andy why people should vote for him and not Kyrsten Sinema and Dr. Melissa Gonzales, a Professor and the Chair of the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, tells Danielle what caused this “tinderbox” of wildfires, what is really happening when you’re standing outside directly in that air, and the likelihood of this happening again. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Washington Post reporter Ben Terris, author of The Big Break The Gamblers, Party Animals, and True Believers Trying to Win in Washington While America Loses Its Mind, joins this episode of The New Abnormal podcast to share some highlights from his book, which includes wacky, inside moments and scandals he witnessed in D.C. after Trump left office—like the fashion faux pas Matt Gaetz didn’t want people to know about and the sad story of Trump circle member and CPAC Chairman Matt Schlapp’s right-hand man. Plus, Andy and Danielle take on the latest politics news and Stacey Stevenson, CEO of Family Equality, an LGBTQ organization directed at creating safe, happy, healthy, environments for LGBTQ people and their families, joins as guest to chat about how Florida’s anti-LGBT legislation is leading the community to “becoming refugees in their own country.”  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eli Merritt, a political historian at Vanderbilt University and author of a book entitled Disunion Among Ourselves: The Perilous Politics of the American Revolution, joins this episode of The New Abnormal to share what would cause a civil war today, and no spoilers but it relates to Marjorie Taylor Greene’s succession wish. Merritt also tells TNA podcast co-host Danielle Moodie three reasons why the Founding Fathers were supportive of slavery when they could have phased out the practice much earlier (besides racism) and how their reasons for keeping it ties back to what’s going on today. Plus! Like usual, the hosts reacting to clips opens up the show. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, hosts Danielle Moodie and Andy Levy wonder what’s taking special counsel Jack Smith so long. Plus! The Daily Beast politics reporter Jake Lahut talks about the self-help guru who won't get help: Marianne Williamson. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Things are pretty bleak for the LGBTQ+ community in Florida thanks to Ron DeSantis’ blitz of hate legislation. Pride celebrations being cancelled just part of the fallout. The President and CEO of Lake County Pride, Danielle Olivani, joins TNA co-host Danielle Moodie on this episode of The New Abnormal to share why the group is moving ahead with their celebrations anyway, the pushback its gotten in spite of it, and the impact these bans have had on the community’s youth, in particular. Olivani also notes what they see as a “mass migration” out of the state because of it. Plus: Part 2 of author James Risen’s interview with TNA co-host Andy Levy, where he shares more about Senator Frank Church, the man who lead the Church Hearings against the CIA and FBI (and who Jimmy Carter called a jerk in his diaries). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Risen, author of The Last Honest Man: The CIA, the FBI, the Mafia, and the Kennedys―and One Senator’s Fight to Save Democracy, joins this episode of The New Abnormal politics podcast to talk about Senator Frank Church, who led what is known as the Church Committee, a group that held Senate hearings in order to hold the intelligence community accountable for its expansive abuses. He shares one particular story with co-host Andy Levy that explains how a few whip-smart journalists, and President Gerald Ford opening his big mouth, finally exposed the CIA and set the hearings against them in motion. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, we’re joined by Jeb Lund and David Roth of the It's Christmas Town Podcast who talk all about Ron DeSantis entering the presidential race. Plus! Representative Jasmine Crockett talks about the clown show that Reps. Kevin McCarthy and Marjorie Taylor Green have turned the Congress into. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Daily Beast congressional reporter Sam Brodey came on The New Abnormal politics podcast to talk through the ways that Trump’s default talk could screw Republicans, and also to share how this stance of Trump’s could possibly benefit him (or not.) Then, Jonathan Last, editor of The Bulwark, joins the show to talk through a DeSantis election theory and break down his rankings for the possible 2024 Republican presidential nominees most likely to win the election, including a very crass argument for putting Chris Christie dead last. Plus, co-hosts Andy and Danielle can’t believe that Florida is turning into one big “sundown” town. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Historian Joshua Zeitz, author of Lincoln’s God: How Faith Transformed a President and a Nation, joins this episode of The New Abnormal to walk co-host Danielle Moodie through Abraham Lincoln’s spiritual journey and how his Christianity looked much different than what other presidents believed. He also shares with her the connection that Lincoln’s religion had to his decision to emancipate the enslaved, what others thought of him at the time, and what people get wrong about him today. Plus, Danielle and her TNA co-host Andy Levy dub Marjorie Taylor Greene “MAGA Karen” and point out comparisons between her and the woman that got Emmett Till unjustly killed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Long Island native Zak Malamed is tired of Rep. George Santos’ shit. So tired of it that he decided to run against the accused serial liar for his House seat. He shares with co-host Andy Levy why he thinks Santos won in the district to begin with, how he thinks he stands a chance to win, and his thoughts on Santos’ lies about being Jewish, something that Malamed took personally. Also on this episode: TNA co-cost Danielle Moodie talks to State Sen. Margie Bright Matthews, one of the “Sister Senators” in the South Carolina Senate—made up of three Republicans, one Democrat, and one Independent— who banded together to block an abortion ban in their state. Sen. Matthews shares how her relationship with one of her Sister Senators on the other side of the aisle, Republican Katrina Shealy, began, and what it’s like to be a woman and a Black person, in such a sexist, racist state legislature. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chasten Buttigieg is no stranger to hate. He joins this episode of The New Abnormal to share with Danielle more about his upcoming memoir, “I Have Something to Tell You―For Young Adults,” and reveal his secret to handling anti-LGBT hatred and attacks, from conservatives like Ron DeSantis and Tucker Carlson to right-wing trolls on Twitter. Later on this episode: Andy interviews Maggie Tokuda-Hall, the children’s book author who refused to let Scholastic censor her book, “Love in the Library,” which tells the story of how her grandparents fell in love in a Japanese internment camp during World War II. Plus! The hosts address the right’s latest attempt to defame President Joe Biden and point out a big loophole in DeSantis’ latest anti-trans healthcare bill. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of The New Abnormal podcast, hosts Andy Levy and Danielle Moodie respond to an interview clip where George Santos calls himself “regular guy” and explains the real reason why he thinks people don’t like him. And Danielle makes an astute comparison of Santos to the main character of the show “Inventing Anna,” a serial grifter. Plus, they unpack the 2018 recording of Ron DeSantis doing debate prep with Matt Gaetz who says he’s “aggressive” like Donald Trump. Then Andy chats with Marcus Flowers, who ran against Marjorie Taylor Greene in the 2022 election on what sets his new Mission: Democracy PAC apart from the Lincoln Project and why he thinks it can help candidates win in super MAGA-influenced districts.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, Alyssa Farah Griffin, co-host of “The View” and former Trump White House director of Strategic Communication, talks about her experience firsthand in the orb of Trump sexual harassment. Plus! The Daily Beast reporter Kelly Weill joins the podcast to talk about the Texas Allen Mall shooter and how the right wing is trying to whitewash his reputation.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of The New Abnormal podcast, Florida state Rep. Anna Eskamani shares what it’s like to be a Democrat in Florida’s Republican-led House, which is somehow more “disgusting” behind the scenes. Eskamani also shares her response when she heard her colleague, Webster Barnaby, call trans people mutants and demons and what her party is doing to combat bad bills that just keep on coming in the Sunshine State. Plus! TNA hosts Andy Levy and Danielle Moodie talk through Clarence Thomas’ ongoing grift and whether or not the general public should be exposed to graphic photography depicting carnage from mass shootings. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The New Abnormal zeroes in on the former Fox News host’s plan to save right-wing politics and unite warring factions of the Republican Party. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, hosts Andly Levy and Danielle Moodie react to Tucker Carlson’s racist texts. Plus! AI expert stops by to talk about the future AI holds. Then, Techdirt editor Mike Masnick discusses the showdown between PornHub and Utah. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Almost-expelled Tennessee House Representative Gloria Johnson joins this episode of The New Abnormal politics podcast to talk about what the last few weeks have been like, a heartbreaking interaction she had with a third grade Girl Scout about gun control, and if she believes that racism played a role in sparing her from the fates of her Black colleagues, Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson (spoiler: yes). She also has a major rebuttal to one of the biggest pro-gun “arguments” there is. Then, CNN’s S.E. Cupp joins co-host Andy Levy to explain why Tucker Carlson’s exit from Fox News has zero chance of changing the insidious ways of the media company. The two also make educated predictions on who Carlson’s replacement is likely to be. Plus! Andy and Danielle discuss Trump’s vile new low with a COVID lie as well as what Supreme Court Justice Alito is whining about now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Texas woman Amanda Zurawski ripped into Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, her state Senators, and other Republicans at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last Wednesday, verbally holding them to account for their role in the abortion policies in the state that almost killed her. Hosts of The New Abnormal politics podcast, Andy Levy and Danielle Moodie, got to unpack her testimony in this bonus episode of the show, and they had a lot to say, too. The hosts also listen to more clips and make fun of other Republicans, including Sen. Ron Johnson who they listen to making the most idiotic case for climate change that they’ve ever heard. Plus! Cindy Cohn, the Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, chats with Andy about whether or not individual states can really ban TikTok, if a ban would actually protect against China getting Americans’ information, and one particular piece of legislation that could turn the private conversations you have online into not-so-private ones. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, Erin Reed joins us to talk about the extreme measures taken by states targeting the trans community. Then, Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood discusses the rise of anti-Semitism and radicalization in the county after his recent troubles. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It was a culmination of things that ultimately led to Tucker Carlson’s departure from Fox News, but according to Daily Beast senior media editor Andrew Kirell, the latest guest on this episode of The New Abnormal podcast, one mistake made by Carlson stands out the most. Plus! Hosts Andy Levy and Danielle Moodie make hilarious guesses at Tucker and former CNN anchor Don Lemon’s futures, like, say a Freaky Friday switcheroo? Then, Andy talks to Chris Geidner, Deputy Legal Affairs Editor at Grid News, who gives background on how Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas became “the bomb throwers, fire throwers on the right,” shares his take on the absence of Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and predicts how the Fifth Circuit will rule on abortion drug Mifepristone. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For a party who likes to accuse Democrats and the LGBT community of corrupting children, the right has a few creeps in their own closet, including accused underage sexter and MAGA hero Ali Alexander. Will Sommer, Daily Beast reporter and host of the Fever Dreams podcast, has been reporting on the accusations against this right-wing figure, and joined this bonus episode of The New Abnormal podcast to explain what Alexander is accused of, how a guy like him became so prominent in the alt-right movement, despite claims of pedophilia, something they so adamantly accuse the left of, and how he was “exposed” to begin with. Also on this episode, hosts Danielle Moodie and Andy Levy listen to clips of Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) badly rip off a Winston Churchill quote to tear down wokeism and a mind-numbing (but hilarious) clip of Marjorie Taylor Greene finally being put in her place by one of her fellow Republicans.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, NPR media reporter David Folkenflik talks about Fox News' settlement with Dominion. Plus! Moms Demand Action Founder Shannon Watts discusses the latest escalations in America’s ongoing gun crisis. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Clarence Thomas’s “grifting” faucet just won’t turn off, says an exasperated Danielle Moodie on this episode of The New Abnormal politics podcast. It was recently revealed that the Supreme Court Justice reported income from a firm that doesn’t exist, and hasn’t for a while, and Moodie, and her co-host of the show Andy Levy, are over this man’s antics. They discuss a lot of them on this show in particular given the recent news. Later, Spencer Ackerman, columnist for The Nation and writer of the Forever Wars newsletter, breaks down the case ofJack Teixeira, the 21-year-old Air National Guardsman accused of leaking classified documents and why it’s different than the whistleblowing cases of Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden. Then, George M. Johnson, author of All Boys Aren’t Blue, one of the now-many banned books in America, shares with co-host Danielle what it’s like to be the author of a banned book and the most “fascinating” and mind-boggling thing about Republican behavior. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Far-right creeps say the darndest things and their soundbites played on this week’s bonus episode of The New Abnormal politics podcast for hosts Danielle Moodie and Andy Levy are some of the most absurd yet, from a clip of a Missouri State Senator backing marriage for 12-year-olds to one of a far-right Trump supporter calling to make women dog ownership illegal. Plus! Comedian Josh Gondelman joins this episode to talk about what it was like to be a writer for political comedy shows like ‘Last Week Tonight with John Oliver’ and ‘Desus and Mero.’  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, Tucker Carlson’s humiliating Trump turnaround,. Plus! Rolling Stone culture writer Miles Klee talks to us about the myth that when corporations go woke, they go broke and Daily Beast politics reporter Ursula Perano talks to us about Montana Republicans' big plan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Daily Beast contributing editor Diana Falzone walks co-host Andy Levy through a piece she published this week which uncovers who actually caused a Donald Trump phone call with a religious group to be hacked. The former president blamed the troll-takeover of the call on the “radical left,” but as Falzone recounts, it was because Michael Flynn did something dumb. She also gives Andy, fellow Fox News alum, insight into the life of Fox News staffers trying to get the hell out and find another job. Plus! Dr. Céline Gounder, a clinician, epidemiologist and editor at large for public health at KFF Health News, breaks down the ruling in Texas to withdraw FDA-approved abortion drug Mifepristone. She tells co-host Danielle Moodie how this move has much scarier, and more far-reaching, implications than we think, especially for cancer patients or someone with a chronic illness who relies on FDA-approved meds. And the top cause of gun deaths for kids these days is not what you’d expect. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Timothy Egan, author of A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan’s Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them, joins Danielle on this bonus episode of The New Abnormal to talk about his work and research on the KKK, how the group was able to maintain power, and all the ways that Trump mirrors one of the group’s most grotesque members Grand Dragon D.C. Stephenson. He also shares the most Trumpian thing about the convicted rapist and murderer and the reason he believes that everyone stood behind this person, despite knowing he was a monster. Plus, Danielle and co-host Andy Levy watch react to this week’s Sunday clips. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Elie Honig joins this episode of The New Abnormal politics podcast to explain how the 2024 election could impact the timeline for a Trump trial more than we think. There are a few different ways things can go, and neither is that great if you want to see Trump held accountable. Plus! WSJ’s Robbie Whelan, who covers all things Walt Disney Co., shares with co-host @DeeTwoCents a reason that DeSantis is hellbent on controlling the Mouse, and how Disney’s old board quietly stuck it to him—for now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

No one knows what the future holds for Donald Trump and this indictment, but The Bulwark’s Amanda Carpenter has a few ideas and came on the latest episode of The New Abnormal politics podcast—along with MSNBC legal analyst Glenn Kirschner—to share them. And there’s good and bad news. Kirschner takes the opportunity to go in on the Department of Justice for its failure to hold Trump accountable for, well, everything, and leaving it up to the states instead. And in true lawyer fashion, he pinpoints the moment that Trump revealed his motive for keeping those classified documents on Sean Hannity. Plus! TNA hosts Andy Levy and Danielle Moodie issue a warning about MAGA Trump defense money scams. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Betsy DeVos is no longer wreaking havoc as former President Donald Trump’s Secretary of Education, but even without the title, the Republican donor is still actively making moves to “destroy” the public school system. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, came on this bonus episode of The New Abnormal podcast to share exactly how DeVos, “one of Michigan’s least popular people,” is doing so as well as her take on mass shootings in schools (“They’ll ban a book before they’ll even talk about what to do with assault weapons.“) and the state of teaching in America because of it all. Plus! Hosts Danielle Moodie and Andy Levy listen to clips of Lauren Boebert getting owned over “public urination” and Trump saying truly dumb things, including that he may not love his children. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, hosts Andy Levy and Danielle Moodie discuss the latest in Donald Trump’s New York indictment. Plus! The Atlantic’s Adam Serwer stops by to talk about what Republicans really mean when they say the word woke and Hunter College’s Basil Smikle talks all about gun violence in America and what it’ll take for something to change. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Will Ron DeSantis be as popular among the rest of the country as he is in Florida? Charlie Sykes, editor at large at The Bulwark, thinks not. But that isn’t stopping the governor for going for it anyway, it being the 2024 presidency. He tells New Abnormal co-host Andy Levy why in this episode, including a few things that he believes DeSantis is banking on to win. (And why this won’t work). Also in this episode: Jared Yates Sexton, host of The Muckrake Podcast and author of The Midnight Kingdom, has proof that Trump’s religious pandering will lead to violence and tells co-host Danielle Moodie why liberal white Democrats in media are embarrassed of Trump, but just won’t quit him. Plus! Andy and Danielle reflect on Trump’s rally in Waco, and how Trump has gone full “vengeful” old testament. They also discuss the state state of the country after the latest school shooting in Nashville and reminisce on the very recent time Republicans swapped the American flag pins for ones of AR-15s. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The world of pro wrestling used to be sold as real. Viewers were told that the fights, the rivalries, and the storylines were all real-life, otherwise known as a phenomenon called kayfabe. Then, former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Vince McMahon turned that on its head. In this episode, author Abraham Josephine Riesman, who recently wrote a biography on McMahon titled Ringmaster: Vince McMahon and the Unmaking of America, tells The New Abnormal co-host Andy Levy how a manipulation strategy McMahon used made WWE what it is today (and help to deregulate it) and how Trump came to use that same technique to keep his fanbase coming back. Also in this episode: Riesman goes deeper into how McMahon’s strategy was able to leak into the world of politics, the history of McMahon and Trump’s friendship, and if there’s truth behind one of the biggest quote from her book: “Vince McMahon is the closest thing to a friend Trump has.” Plus! Andy and co-host Danielle Moodie talk about the Republican war on oat and almond milk and make the case that if TikTok goes down, Meta and Twitter should go with it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, hosts Andy Levy and Danielle Moddie discuss the latest in Donald Trump’s possible indictment. Plus! The Daily Beast’s Senior Media Reporter, Justin Baragona, joins the show along with Jade Magnus Ogunnaike, the Vice President of Corporate Power at Color of Change. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

MSNBC legal analyst Katie Phang joins the show and gives co-host Danielle Moodie insight into why Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s indictment against Trump for a Stormy Daniels case, and not Jan. 6, is the first one to catch up to him. She also shares why this indictment is the “beginning of the fall” and her prediction for what’s next, or in her words, the indictment that will really “break the dam.” Also on this episode, co-host Andy Levy predicts whether or not Trump will have a perp walk and surmises whether House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in love with Trump, or afraid of him. Plus! Jeff Sharlet, author of The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War, tells Andy what he learned while writing about the post-Trump world—like how right-wing grandmas have nasty things to say about Hillary Clinton—and why he doesn’t actually care about Trump like other Trump-era writers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The right and the left seemed to have gotten super worked up about the classified documents found in the private homes of both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, but NSA and surveillance writer Kerry Howley, also the author of Bottoms Up and the Devil Laughs: A Journey Through the Deep State, saw the findings differently. She joins Andy Levy on this bonus episode of The New Abnormal to talk about what classified docs really mean—the bad and the-not-so-bad but still bad. Plus! She shares with Andy what whistleblowers like Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning have in common and shares the story of a whistleblower named “Reality Winner,” a woman not a horse, whose story will infuriate you. And, as always, Danielle Moodie and Andy listen and make fun of clips of “racist” and really dumb Republicans. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, MSNBC's Mehdi Hasan talk to us about this week’s viral moment surrounding conservative “woke” critic, Bethany Mandel. Plus, New York Times bestselling author and policy advocate Heather McGee talks about the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and how we got here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), a congressman representing New York’s 10th district and former lead counsel during Trump impeachment hearings, spells out the link between Trump and the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank—and what frustrates him the most when it comes to the GOP attacks on Hunter Biden. Also on the podcast: Dan Primack, business editor at Axios, breaks down the Silicon Valley bank collapse from a logistical standpoint, including the biggest difference between this SVB situation and the 2008 bank bailout. Plus! Primark shares a Taylor Swift analogy that’ll help you understand what makes bank runs unavoidable. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Just add Kimberly Guilfoyle to the long list of MAGA Republican grifters. Donald Trump Jr.’s fiance has a grift so bizarre that it’s funny, and hosts of The New Abnormal podcast, Danielle Moodie and Andy Levy, had the pleasure of listening to her pitch the gift in this new episode and they have a lot to say about it. Plus! Don Jr. makes an astronomically hypocritical comment and then, later, things get serious later in this episode when Danielle Campoamor, reporter for Today Parents, tells co-host Danielle how Texas anti-abortion laws are driving women close to death—literally. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of The New Abnormal, Senior Fellow at Media Matters for America, Matt Gertz talks about Tucker Carlson and the latest leaks in the Dominion versus Fox News lawsuit. Plus, columnist Kurt Bardella talks about Kevin McCarthy’s role in all this drama. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It might take a little while longer (it’s already taking a while), but, according to Daily Beast investigations reporter Jose Pagliery on this episode of The New Abnormal podcast, we may be moving closer to former President Trump being held accountable for inciting the Jan. 6 riots. He tells co-host Danielle Moodie why he thinks so along with an explanation of the civil suits against the former president that may also get him indicted. Plus! The Bulwark’s Tim Miller tells co-host Andy Levy what it was like to attend CPAC, in person, what he thought was the most “chilling” part of Trump’s “deranged” speech during the event, and theorizes the likely reason Ron DeSantis avoided Trump and CPAC altogether. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Former President Jimmy Carter wasn’t the most bubbly member of the government, a bit “prickly,” says Jonathan Alter, author of His Very Best Jimmy Carter, a Life, on this bonus episode of The New Abnormal politics podcast. And while this I-do-what-I-want attitude didn’t make him the most loved at the time, it did allow him to follow his morals—and troll the hell out of white supremacists. Alter joins the show to tell TNA co-host Andy Levy this story along with more of Carter’s most under-appreciated accomplishments. Plus, Andy and co-host Danielle Moodie expose what they think is Ron DeSantis’ biggest kink. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik talks about Rupert Murdoch's recent deposition and the possible repercussions it could have for Fox News going forward. Plus, MSNBC’s Ayman Mohyeldin talks about the recent happenings in Tunisia. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fox News’ Tucker Carlson hinted at a new conspiracy theory to explain the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and Andy Levy and Danielle Moodie, co-hosts of The New Abnormal politics podcast, poke as many holes in it as they can (and with humor to boot). Plus, Shay Khatiri, Senior Policy Analyst at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, and Danielle debate whether the attacks on Nikki Haley’s name are valid based on Shay’s recent opinion piece for The Daily Beast “Stop Being a Jerk About Nikki Haley’s Name”—one of the first TNA debates. And Jennifer Wright, author of the book Madame Restell: The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Old New York’s Most Fabulous, Fearless, and Infamous Abortionist, tells Andy all about the badass woman from the 1800s who got rich—and infamous—helping women have abortions without killing them in the process. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

TNA hosts Danielle Moodie and Andy Levy listen to a clip of Sean Hannity interviewing with Marjorie Taylor Greene on this Sunday’s episode of the show and have questions. And not just because Greene says that our American forefathers would have wanted a “national divorce,” but because Hannity, a New Yorker, supports it. “Does Sean not realize that he lives and works in New York” asks Andy Levy. “All of Fox News would have to relocate….” The two dissect this clip, and others like it, in this episode, along with comments Trump made while visiting an East Palestine, Ohio McDonald’s that he knows the menu better than anyone. Plus! Writer Bryn Nelson, PhD, and author of Flush: The Remarkable Science of an Unlikely Treasure, explains the underrated source of future cancer cases in East Palestine, Ohio. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

 On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, Adam Frisch, who lost to Lauren Boebert in the 2022 midterms, explains how he will beat her next time. Plus, Balls and strikes editor Jay Willis talks about the Supreme Court's latest case. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, Mini Timmaraju, who is the president of  NARAL Pro-Choice America talks about a court case that has implications for the nation. Plus, The Lever’s Julia Rock gives us some less discussed details of the Ohio train derailment. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Daily Beast’s Will Sommer takes Andy Levy from The New Abnormal through how QAnon has managed to evolve from a fringe group to now being more popular than many major religions in the U.S. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, MSNBC legal analyst Glenn Kirschner talks about Trump's latest legal jeopardy. Plus, The Lever’s Julia Rock gives us some less discussed details of the Ohio train derailment. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, Daniel Lippman, a reporter at Politico, tells us all about the ‘CEO of Anti Woke Inc.’, who has his eyes on the presidency. Plus, Dr. Peter Hotez, co-director of the Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, talks to us about the triple threat of illness, anti-science, and anti-Semitism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Republicans on Capitol Hill last week were keen to score points against Democrats by pushing the narrative that the federal government was working with Twitter to censor a New York Post story about Hunter Biden’s laptop. Techdirt’s Mike Masnick tells Andy Levy why they conceded a spectacular own goal. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, CNN Analyst and New York Daily News columnist S. E. Cupp describes what she saw at the State of the Union. Plus! The Daily Beast Political Investigations reporter Jose Pagliery talks all of Trump’s latest legal jeopardies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, David Rothkopf, CEO of the Rothkopf Group and the host of the podcast Deep State Radio talks Trump and Putin. Then, a look at China’s spy balloon and the ensuing hysteria with Spencer Ackerman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When former federal and state prosecutor Elie Honig says Donald Trump acts just like a mob boss, he’s not using hyperbole. Honig just released his new book Untouchable: How Powerful People Get Away With It and came out the show to talk to co-host Andy Levy all about it, including the one trick bosses use on those closely involved in their crimes that makes it “harder for those people to flip” and another tactic that has helped the former president avoid charges, at least it did back when Michael Cohen flipped. Plus! He and Andy also talk about the rule that has saved Trump from indictment “over and over” as well as the prosecutor who gave the Trump children, and Harvey Weinstein, a free pass. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, The Daily Beast politics editor Matt Fuller talks to us about what could bring down George Santos, then Judd Legum, who writes the Popular Information Newsletter, tells us what’s going on with Ron DeSantis in the schools. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Donald Trump and his former Attorney General Bill Barr were, and still are, out for blood, literally. In this episode of The New Abnormal podcast Rolling Stone reporter Asawin “Swin” Suebsaeng talks with co-host Andy Levy about what a bloodlusty Bill Barr told him and his co-writer about his and Trump’s record-setting death row killing spree in his final months in office, and what we can expect from Trump on capital punishment should he become president again in 2024. Also on this episode: Khalil Gibran Muhammad, professor of history, race and public policy at Harvard Kennedy School and co-host of the Pushkin podcast Some of My Best Friends Are…, tells co-host Danielle Moodie the one thing that needs to happen to stop police brutality, and murder, happening once and for all, and it comes down to this group of people. For better or worse. Plus! Andy and Danielle share their thoughts on Fox News’ “disgusting” coverage of the Tyre Nichols murder and Danielle explains why the race of murderous cops really doesn’t matter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can you imagine a Vice President Marjorie Taylor Greene? Hosts of The New Abnormal politics podcast Danielle Moodie and Andy Levy don’t want to, but they give it a shot on the latest episode of the show, addressing hearsay that the Republican may be vying for the position on a President Trump ticket. The two also react to a clip of MTG calling for President Biden’s impeachment over the mishandling of classified documents as well as a clip of Kentucky Republican Rep. James Comer and Fox News’ Sean Hannity totally re-writing the history of Trump’s quid pro quo with Ukraine. Then, The Nation’s Elie Mystal tells Danielle two big reasons that Merrick Garland is a failure, one of which being timing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, Gloria Pan, the Senior Vice President at Mom's Rising, talks about the recent mass shootings and what comes next. Then Radley Balko, an expert on police militarization in America, talks about the danger of no knock warrants. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The New Abnormal co-host Danielle Moodie laughed and then cried when she heard about Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy putting Rep. George Santos on the Science Committee. But Andy has a theory for why that happened in the first place. Somehow Mean Girls is mentioned. Also on this episode: Daily Beast politics reporter and Fever Dreams podcast host Will Sommer joins to talk about the latest weird yet highly entertaining infighting going on between conservatives and this time it involves right wing child actor Steven Crowder’s war on The Daily Wire—and the latest on what Silk is saying about Diamond’s cause of death. Plus! Entertainment Critic Nick Schager also joins the show to talk about the new documentary “Justice” which debuted last-minute at the Sundance Film Festival and is about the sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. According to Schager, there is one big bombshell to come out of the film involving a witness to one of Kavanaugh’s alleged assaults on a female peer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this bonus episode of The New Abnormal, hosts Andy Levy and Danielle Moodie take jabs at Kyrsten Sinema and Ron DeSantis this week after listening to pretty infuriating clips of them talking. Plus! Daily Beast correspondent Anna Nemstova, who reported on Miss Ukraine’s harrowing experience while competing in the Miss Universe pageant, gives Danielle a behind-the-scenes look at what Miss Ukraine experienced during the contest, including a “shocking” interaction with Miss Russia. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, Robert Zimmerman, who lost in the general election to George Santos, describes exactly what happened. Then, Frederick Ingram, secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of Teachers, talks about why Rhon DeSantis is trying to get African studies out of AP classes. Then, Frederick Ingram, secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of Teachers, the nation's second-largest teachers' union, discusses Florida’s ban on an AP African American Studies class. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pretty much everyone begged Pete Buttigieg to alleviate airline issues and better regulate the airlines like Southwest. He didn’t. David Sirota, founder and editor-in-chief of The Lever news site, joins this episode of The New Abnormal to share his take on the Department of Transportation Secretary’s inaction, everything he could have done to stop the chaos, and all of the ways he could regulate airlines like Southwest if he wanted to. Also in this episode! Jared Yates Sexton, co-host of the Muckrake podcast and author of The Midnight Kingdom: A History of Power Paranoia and The Coming Crisis, joins the podcast to break down how the right became so powerful, and why we need to get angrier about so-called “normal” Kevin McCarthy and Ron DeSantis—or else.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Abraham Riesman, author of Ringmaster: Vince McMahon and the Unmaking of America, finds it totally bonkers that reinstated WWE board member Vince McMahon is so well connected that his business was arguably a national security risk, yet here we are. In this bonus episode of The New Abnormal, Riesman walks show co-host, and wrestling newbie, Andy Levy, through some historical context for WWE and McMahon, along with a look back at his relationship with Trump, his own daughter Stephanie, and what can be said regarding a potential deal to sell the business to Saudi Arabia. Plus! Andy and co-host Danielle Moodie listen to clips of more Republicans and right-wingers talking themselves in circles, including Tucker Carlson on his favorite topic: sexy M&Ms. And this time, one might be a (*whispers*) lesbian. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As 91-year-old Fox News mogul Rupert Murdoch carves his final deals before heading to the big newsroom in the sky, the world’s focus is beginning to turn to his son and heir apparent, Lachlan. And according to The Daily Beast’s Editor At Large Lachlan Cartwright, there’s more to Murdoch junior than meets the eye. He explains on this week’s episode of The New Abnormal: “It's important to note that Lachlan’s politics are far more conservative than his father’s.” Then, Dr. Peter Hotez, co-director of Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development and Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, tells podcast co-host Andy Levy his worries about the future of the House GOP and its “anti-science aggression” while “trying to create a witch hunt—not only against science, but against the scientists.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Despite Jair Bolsonaro https://www.thedailybeast.com/jair-bolsonaro-flees-brazil-to-hide-out-in-home-of-mma-fighter-in-florida, the former Brazilian president is not there on vacation or to protest his election loss to the country’s new President Luiz Inácio Lula de Silva, says Ruth Ben-Ghiat, author of Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present. Ruth joined this episode of The New Abnormal podcast to talk to show co-host Danielle Moodie about the Brazilian insurrection, what makes people choose fascism instead of a healthy democracy, and why she is sure Bolsonaro’s trip to the States is nothing but a ploy to avoid legal consequences. Plus! Co-host Andy Levy is back and chats with journalist Jeb Lund, who tells him all about his alma mater New College of Florida and all the ways Gov. Ron DeSantis is trying to “destroy” it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The more Daily Beast politics reporter Roger Sollenberger uncovers about “liar” George Santos—the latest being that his employed sister Tiffany Santos is being evicted from her Queens apartment that Santos recently moved into—the more questions he has. Sollenberger joined The New Abnormal co-host Danielle Moodie on this bonus episode of the show to talk about everything he knows so far about Santos and all the things that don’t add up, including his and Tiffany’s sketchy living situation—and why he is calling this saga surrounding the Congressman “an endless story.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kevin McCarthy is being held hostage. Sorta. Kurt Bardella, a Los Angeles Times columnist and former House Oversights Committee staffer on the Republican side, joins this episode of TNA to chat with Danielle Moodie all about the GOP Speaker of the House shit show happening right now, starting with a big question from Danielle: How the hell did we get here? Bardella has some ideas, including very colorful language to describe the “bunch of ass clowns” leading this charge. Plus, Rep. Mondaire Jones also joins the pod to discuss the so-called “Never Kevin-ers” like Matt Gaetz and Lauren Boebert—and the real reason he thinks that Republicans are embarrassed by George Santos. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, The New Abnormal is joined by Mary Trump, the author and podcast host who, yes, also happens to be a family member of the twice-impeached ex-commander-in-chief. She’s been sounding the alarm on the dangers of Donald Trump’s actions for years now—and cautions close watchers of the former president’s legal troubles to not get ahead of themselves when it comes to the cases currently brewing. “Although there is some sense of poetic justice that we seem to have reached, you could call it a tipping point—and I said this a long time ago—it's going to be, and I mean this figuratively of course, death by a thousand lashes,’ Mary Trump said. “So even though it looks bad on paper and isn't really having much of an impact—well, I'm sure it's having a lot of an impact on his mood—but it's not having any impact on his ability to roam free in the world.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There are so many examples of revisionist history happening these days, particularly among conservatives, that historian and University of Princeton professor Kevin M. Kruse joins this episode of The New Abnormal politics podcast to set the record straight. He tells co-host Andy Levy about his book Myth America: Historians Take On the Biggest Legends and Lies About Our Past, which is a complication of historians crushing those myths, and shares proof that contrary to Republicans’ denials, the party actively engages in the racist “Southern Strategy.” Plus, Nixon’s role in it all. Also in this episode: TNA co-host Danielle Moodie interviews Jim Freeman, a civil rights lawyer and author of the book, Rich Thanks to Racism: How the Ultra-Wealthy Profit from Racial Injustice, to talk about the Defund the Police movement and the role police unions are playing in stopping it from happening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Should Supreme Court justices hang out with extremely partisan figures? Such as a holiday party for instance? That’s what The New Abnormal political podcast host Andy Levy and Jay Willis, Editor-in-Chief of Balls & Strikes, explore after Andy heard “noise” that Justice Kavanaugh attending a Christmas party thrown by big conservative operatives Matt and Mercedes Schlapp. Willis also explains to Andy if there’s something that can be done to stop this behavior, if there should be, and whether or not Justice Amy Coney Barrett is going to forever vote as awfully as the left thinks she will. Plus, TNA Co-host Danielle Moodie interviews Dahlia Lithwick, senior editor at Slate and author of Lady Justice: Women, the Law, and the Battle to Save America, who speaks to Democrats’ biggest blind spot when it comes to white women and abortion. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Conservatives get angry over the darnedest things. From Lizzo playing a Founding Father’s flute to a gay PDA in a Disney movie, 2022 was a year full of right-wing outrage that was so dumb, The New Abnormal politics podcast host Andy Levy and Media Matters’ deputy director of Rapid Response Andrew Lawrence decided to round up the most “offensive” instances in the show’s latest episode. Plus! TNA co-host Danielle Moodie interviews Treva Lindsey, professor at The Ohio State University and author of America, Goddamn: Violence, Black Women, And The Struggle For Justice, to talk about just that, and Brittney Griner specifically: “Obviously she is worth something and worth so much more than even one arms dealer for these individuals…” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you’re an avid listener of The New Abnormal, you might have heard co-host Andy Levy ask his comedian guests a question: What do you think of when you hear the term “cancel culture?” Turns out, they all had a lot to say on the subject and as our holiday gift to you, we compiled all of their answers in this bonus episode. Patton Oswalt talks about political violence, Conan sidekick Andy Richter shares why he loves cancel culture, and Modern Family’s Danny Zuker puts Dave Chappelle on blast. Plus! Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali from the National Wildlife Fund joins show co-host Danielle Moodie at the end of the show to talk about how the climate crisis is impacting communities of color, and by impacting we mean killing, and the one thing that can be done to solve it all. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to a special year-end crossover episode between The Daily Beast’s The New Abnormal and The Last Laugh. On this show: Elon Musk is being greeted by crowds with a chorus of boos, and Dave Chappelle seems to have overstayed his welcome. Plus, the latest on Marjorie Taylor Greene and her onetime friend Lauren Boebert ‘s beef. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There were two moments that stood out to The New Abnormal host Andy Levy the most while watching the last Jan. 6 committee hearing on December 19, which made four scathing criminal referrals against former President Donald Trump for his alleged involvement in what happened that day. He and co-host Danielle Moodie also discuss other evidence presented during the hearings, the smartest thing the Jan. 6 committee ever did (Shonda Rhimes is brought up in this part of the conversation), and Merrick Garland. Also on this episode: Techdirt founder and CEO of The Copia Institute Mike Masnick tries to answer Andy Levy’s burning Elon Musk questions, such as whether or not the Twitter CEO will step down after a “very scientific” poll on the platform. Last, Brooking Institute’s Angela Stent, author of Putin’s World: Russia Against the West and with the Rest, breaks down the weird infatuation Trump’s Republicans have with Russia, why she thinks former marine Paul Whelan is still in Russian custody and the ways the country was mocking the U.S. for the Brittney Griner trade. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Josh Bivens, director of research at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), joined as a guest on the latest episode of political podcast, The New Abnormal, to give us an answer to the question that is on a lot of people’s minds: Is a recession on the horizon? There’s good news and not-so-good news. Bivens also explains to TNA co-host Danielle Moodie how we got to this point in the first place and why the American worker is the usual scapegoat for when the economy is turning south. Also in this episode: Danielle and co-host Andy Levy talk about Republicans’ obsession with drag queens, the latest obsessor being Kellyanne Conway. Plus, they name who they think is the most “all-right” Trump kid, if such a kid existed in this family. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The investigative reporter sifting through the unbelievable treasure trove of texts that the January 6th committee obtained from former White House chief of staff Mark Meadow’s phone has detailed what he found inside the 2,319 messages. “There’s just a ton of different people in there,” Hunter Walker, reporter for Talking Points Memo, told host Andy Levy on this week’s episode of political podcast, The New Abnormal. Next up on the podcast, Layshia Clarendon, who is the first openly non-binary player in the WNBA, describes what was going through her mind when she heard that Brittney Griner (BG) was arrested in Russia and taken into custody. “It was like the ground underneath me just fell,” Clarendon tells podcast co-host Danielle Moodie. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kyrsten Sinema is no stranger to burning bridges. She’s in the process of doing just that with her former Democratic colleagues now that she officially switched her party to Independent, and according to David Shapira, a former Arizona politician and ex-friend to Sinema, she burned a bridge with him, too. Shapira wrote a now-viral Twitter thread about the ordeal but came on this episode of The New Abnormal to break down exactly what happened—and the half-assed apology she allegedly gave him after—as well as some reasons he believes his “calculated” former pal cares more about “notoriety” than her role as a servant of the public. Also Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Spencer Ackerman, and author of the Forever Wars newsletter, joins the pod to share what he thinks will happen with the Yemen-Saudi ceasefire resolution Bernie Sanders recently proposed, which calls for the United States to stop the residual aid that it’s giving to Saudi Arabia. Plus! Danielle and Andy make an extremely strong case for why Marjorie Taylor Greene needs a mute button after her latest comments on trans kids and Jan. 6, and ponder the idea of Kevin McCarthy retiring. Hey, co-hosts can dream! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Laura Ingraham is mad. The Fox News host is mad about shadow banning and, in a recent news clip, she disclosed she’s mad about Herschel Walker’s loss and mad at everyone involved but Walker himself. In this bonus episode of The New Abnormal podcast, co-hosts Andy Levy and Danielle Moodie hilariously break down (read: tear apart) her grievances (along with other wild GOP arguments made by conservative darlings John Kennedy and Tucker Carlson). MSNBC columnist and law journalist Chris Geidner also joins this episode to walk Andy through a few important Supreme Court cases, including the one involving a wedding website creator who wants the right to refuse same-sex couples her services. There’s two big problems with her argument from the get-go, says Geidner.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ron DeSantis’ war on public education is going national. At least that’s the fear of Jennifer Jenkins, a member of the Brevard County School Board, one of several Florida school boards that have undergone a rightward shift. The county’s highly accomplished superintendent, Mark Mullins, was essentially pushed out this month after candidates backed by the conservative group Moms for Liberty won election. Also in his episode, Daniel Nichanian, editor-in-chief of Bolts magazine, which focuses on local government and local elections, reveals just how good this past election was for Democrats. And co-host Danielle Moodie breaks down Sen. Raphael Warnock’s victory over scandal-scarred Herschel Walker in the Georgia Senate election. You can listen for yourself, but let’s just say she thinks “the force” was with him. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kanye West’s 2024 presidential campaign is extremely unofficial (he hasn’t even filed to run, New Abnormal podcast co-host Danielle Moodie reminds listeners on this episode), but that hasn’t stopped right-wingers from clamoring to be part of his team, and it’s a shit show. Daily Beast reporter Zach Petrizzo, who exclusively reported that right-wing figure Milo Yiannopoulos left Ye’s campaign after infighting, joined the show to tell Danielle all about the drama. Also in this episode: Daily Beast senior editor Andrew Kirell (a former Fox News staffer many lifetimes ago) chats with TNA co-host and fellow former Fox News staffer Andy Levy about how the right-wing media is handling anti-semitic Kanye, including which figures are changing their tune on the rapper. Plus! Danielle and Andy discuss an obvious truth: Conservatives really want to see Hunter Biden’s dick pics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

 Six years ago Brandon Wolf made a promise after his best friend was shot dead. He tells The New Abnormal’s Danielle Moodie how we can all make that promise a reality Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A group of senators with unlimited sick leave voted down a measure on Thursday which would have given rail workers just seven paid days of sick leave—, a fair rise considering where they currently stand: at zero. It’s a “horrific” decision, according to host Andy Levy on this week’s episode of political podcast, The New Abnormal. “My feeling is this is not a win,” said podcast co-host Danielle Moodie. “I don’t know who this is a win for. We all just went through the heights of a global health pandemic. People lost their jobs, people needed to take off because guess what? We needed to quarantine. So the fact that even after going through this for over three years, that members of Congress could vote to deny people access to sick days, it’s draconian, it’s disgusting.” Also on the podcast, Latosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter and is founder of Southern Black Girls Consortium tells Moodie about the Georgia runoff race as it finally nears an end. Then, Daily Beast political reporter, Roger Sollenberger, talks to Levy about his story surrounding Republican megadonors Dick and Elizabeth Uihlein. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stave Bannon calling out Donald Trump for hosting white nationalist Nick Fuentes at Mar-a-Lago reads as jealousy, according to host Andy Levy on this week’s episode of The New Abnormal. Podcast co-host Danielle Moddy also can’t believe she’s agreeing with Bannon: “Do these people not do any type of Google search on who the fuck is coming into Mar-a-Lago? Is there no background check? Also on the podcast, Jared Holt, senior research manager on U.S. Hate and Extremism for the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, who has a newsletter and podcast called Posting Through It, explains Trump’s intentions for not condemning Fuentes after the meeting. Then, Sarah Kendzior, author of They Knew: How a Culture of Conspiracy Keeps America Complacent and co-host of the podcast, Gaslit Nation, says Elon Musk’s motives for changing Twitter are part of a bigger strategy: control and “possibly the destruction of the public sphere.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today's episode we get to know hosts Danielle Moodie & Andy Levy a bit better by hearing about some of their first political memories and some of their favorite things. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Attention political history buffs: This episode of The New Abnormal podcast takes us back in time, to the ’50s and ’60s to be exact, as Beverly Gage, author of “G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century,” tells co-host Andy Levy all about the background of the first-ever FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. Andy learns that racist Hoover, infamous for going after Martin Luther King Jr. and committing multiple abuses of power across the board, particularly under the protection of the surveillance program COINTELPRO, didn’t like the Klan and had an interesting relationship with former President Richard Nixon. Author Kal Raustiala also joins the show to tell Andy about his book “The Absolutely Indispensable Man: Ralph Bunche, the United Nations, and the Fight to End Empire” and everything we didn’t know about the famous Black United Nations mediator—including the fact that Nixon told him his son was going to be drafted, and the reason he didn’t stop it from happening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Merrick Garland is wasting our time. That’s the sentiment of New Abnormal co-host Andy Levy and the show’s brand new permanent co-host, Danielle Moodie. This is Danielle’s first show as official host and she wasted absolutely no time going in on Republicans, Trump, and even Merrick Garland. The two also talk about Garland’s new appointment and their frustrations with the lack of action on gun control on the heels of another shooting, this time against more LGBTQ people in Colorado. Then Maxwell Frost, who will be the first Gen Z member of Congress, joined the podcast and shares his “morbid” but real take on gun violence in this country, what almost made his quit his campaign, and how he truly feels about his state’s governor “dictator” Ron DeSantis. Plus! Ryan Cooper, the managing editor of the American Prospect, tells Andy why Trump running for president again is the “worst case scenario” for Republicans. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this bonus episode of The New Abnormal podcast, co-host Andy Levy talks to Modern Family producer Danny Zucker, who weighs in on the Dave Chapelle SNL monologue that used the same anti-semitic tropes as Kanye West. They also discuss the time that he harassed Donald Trump on Twitter, why he wants to “rage” at Dems, and why the writer’s made Luke’s character “weirdly libertarian.” Plus! A touching story about how the show made a conservative dad less of a bigot. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Donald Trump’s 2024 announcement may have felt like a flop, but dig deeper and you’ll find the most interesting part. Jose Pagliery, political investigations reporter at The Daily Beast, tells The New Abnormal host Andy Levy that there is no way to look at this announcement “as anything other than an attempt to mar any prosecution as a political persecution of him.” It “could be viewed as him trying to seek further cover so that if he does get indicted for one of the many things that he’s being investigated for right now, he could just say, ‘oh, look at this, they just indicted me because I announced, they were just trying to stop me from winning for you in 2024.’” Speaking of Trump, also on the podcast, former Missouri Secretary of State and the host of the podcast Majority 54, Jason Kander, explains that Trump could be his worst enemy, becoming overexposed in American culture. Also on the podcast, Kat Abughazaleh, who covers Tucker Carlson for Media Matters for America, describes how Carlson has been relatively quiet since Trump’s announcement. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

No one really likes New York State Democratic Party Chair Jay Jacobs, Lindsey Boylan tells host Andy Levy on this episode of The New Abnormal podcast. Boylan was one of the first people to publicly accuse former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment. Now, she feels equally emboldened to call out Jacobs, a remnant of the Cuomo administration, first on TikTok, and now to Andy. According to Boylan, Jacobs is to blame for solidly Democratic parts of New York turning red. Mainly because of his hatred for progressives. Plus! Andy chats midterm fallout with columnist Jeb Lund and both clock all of the lies, sad and hilarious, that Elon Musk has Tweeted (and deleted) on the app. And David Weigel, who covers politics at news site Semafor, explains how Fox News essentially screwed over midterm Republicans and the LGBTQ issue Republicans won’t touch these days. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Actor and comedian Andy Richter’s take on cancel culture can be summed up in three words: Bring it on. On this bonus episode of The New Abnormal, he tells host Andy Levy why “it’s about time” cancel culture is a thing and shares experiences of seeing it play out in real life. The two Andys also discuss why Richter didn’t vote for Democratic Socialist Bernie Sanders, if he regrets that decision now, and why he’s O.K. being referred to as Conan O’Brien’s “sidekick.” Plus! His affection for the Twitter porn bots that spam his account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If former President Donald Trump were to go against popular Florida Governor Ron DeSantis today in the race for 2024, Trump would still knock DeSantis out despite the far-right Gov.’s rise in popularity in important states over the last year. That’s according to CNN political commentator and New York Daily News columnist S.E. Cupp, who joins host Andy Levy on this week’s episode of political podcast, The New Abnormal. Elsewhere on this-post election-themed podcast, guest host Sam Brodey, the Daily Beast’s congressional correspondent, reflects on how we underestimated what Democrats were working with regarding what really resonated with voters. Elsewhere on this-post election-themed podcast, guest host Sam Brodey, the Daily Beast’s congressional correspondent, reflects on how we underestimated what Democrats were working with regarding what really resonated with voters. Ari Berman, Mother Jones National Voting Rights correspondent and author of Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America, echoes those thoughts, reminding us that “this was the first time in US history that a constitutional right had been given and taken away.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Daily Beast columnist David Rothkopf interviewed over 100 people involved with the Trump White House for his book American Resistance: The Inside Story of How The Deep State Saved the Nation, and according to his sources, it took almost no time for Trump’s staffers to realize what kind of boss he was. He tells New Abnormal host Andy Levy about the ways these staffers had to adapt to Trump’s ineptness as well as obliterating the argument that Republicans are better for the economy (spoiler alert: they’re not and he has proof.) Also on this episode, Defector Media co-owner David Roth joins Andy as co-host and compares Elon Musk (aka Twitter’s new obliterator, er, owner) to a substitute teacher who has lost control of his class and Michael Edison Hayden, investigative reporter at spokesman at the Southern Poverty Law Center, gives the inside scoop on the “hard-right, neo-fascist” billionaire takeover of the publication Newsweek. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Patton Oswalt has a sneaking suspicion that things are going to get ugly in America and people, like Republicans for example, are pretending otherwise. On this bonus episode of The New Abnormal, he tells host Andy Levy where these feelings are coming from and how he really feels about the comedians crying cancel culture, including that they’re “failed open mic-ers.” Plus! Oswalt unpacks the one issue that he thinks scare Evangelical conservatives the most and gives us a peak inside the life of his middle school-aged child. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

President Biden’s Wednesday speech at Union Station in D.C. where he warned of the perils facing US democracy ahead of next week’s Midterms just wasn’t forceful enough, according to host Andy Levy on this week’s episode of political podcast, The New Abnormal. In his speech, Biden made reference to the hammer attack on Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul last week, warning the country faces escalating threats of political violence. He also criticized ​​Donald Trump over the former president’s refusal “to accept the results of the 2020 election.” But it wasn’t enough, according to Levy and guest host Josie Duffy Rice, who writes about prisons and prosecution at The Unnamed. Also on the podcast, Mike Isaac, a technology correspondent for The New York Times discusses whether Twitter can survive under Elon Musk’s ownership. Then, Matt Gertz, a senior fellow at Media Matters, discusses how Republicans twisted the story of Paul Pelosi’s hammer attack from a crime story to a national conspiracy; that the violent assault was the result of some sort of gay lover’s spat or falling out.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Young Turks’ Cenk Uygur can’t stand Republicans and can’t stand Democrats. So who can he possibly see as a viable progressive presidential option for 2024? asks host Andy Levy in this episode of The New Abnormal podcast. Uygur’s top pick: Jon Stewart. The two chat what that would look like, then Vox’s senior politics correspondent Andrew Prokop shares everything we need to know about far right political blogger Curtis Yarvin. The guy not only wants to replace American democracy with a monarchy, but also has ideas on how to make Jan. 6 better “next time.” Plus! Andy and guest co-host Beast opinion editor Anthony Fisher review the biggest political news of the week: the attack on Paul Pelosi and Don Jr’s “gross” response to it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Comedian and On Cinema actor Tim Heidecker wants to make one thing clear: He does not want Joe Rogan canceled. But that doesn’t stop Heidecker from airing his displeasure with the podcaster and his show, which he does without pause on this bonus episode of The New Abnormal. Plus! He and host Andy Levy talk about the event that made Heidecker even more socialist (Betsy DeVos is involved) and what he thinks about the Kanye West elephant in the room: “You can be mentally ill and an idiot, too, right? You can have both of those things going on.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Donald Trump will not run for president in 2024, according to his former fixer. Michael Cohen tells host Andy Levy on this week’s episode of The New Abnormal that while Trump’s popularity has plummeted since 2016 and he can’t risk the idea of losing, there are also serious financial implications that could stop Trump from his return to the White House. Also on the podcast, Kali Holloway, a columnist at The Daily Beast and the Nation, who guest hosts with Levy, says that part of the reason why Herschel Walker was hand-picked to run in Georgia by the Republican Party was because “they wanted a Black candidate to run against Warnock. Then, Judd Legum, a journalist who founded and writes an independent newsletter dedicated to accountability journalism, Popular Information, discusses a recent article surrounding Amazon and its statement days after the Jan. 6 Capitol riots where it claimed the company would no longer give money to any member of Congress who had voted to overturn the election. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There’s GOP in-fighting among Trumpy Republicans when it comes to future House leadership positioning and Fox News host Tucker Carlson made it a whole lot worse. What is going on? New Abnormal podcast co-host Andy Levy and Daily Beast politics editor and guest host Matt Fuller try to figure it out and answer the questions they have about it, in the latest episode. Plus! Dr. Peter Hotez, co-director of Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, warns Andy about the holiday COVID wave that’s coming and the scary twist that will make it unlike past waves. And Daily Beast politics reporter Will Sommer, also co-host of the podcast Fever Dreams about the shenanigans of the far right, joins to tell Andy all about the racist, sexist alt-right homophobe who raised $1 million for an alt-right superhero movie and promptly lost it in the most hilariously dumb way. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The excuses that the oppressive Islamic regime has given to explain the violence (and deaths) against protesters—sparked by the death of 22-year-old woman Mahsa Amini in morality police custody—are so “appalling” that it’s “laughable,” says British-Iranian-American journalist Caroline Modarressy-Tehrani. In this week’s bonus episode, host Andy Levy interviews Modarressy-Tehrani on what’s happening with the protests in Iran, including the violence from the Islamic regime and resistence from citizens who are fighting back, especially among Gen Z. Plus! She shares what Iranians actually want from the United States (hint: not intervention.)  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marjorie Taylor Greene “came out of nowhere” to become one of the Republican Party’s most influential powerhouses, journalist and author Robert Draper, who writes for the New York Times Magazine, tells host Andy Levy in this week’s episode of The New Abnormal. “Republicans kind of wanted to kick her to the curb immediately,” Draper, author of the new book Weapons of Mass Delusion: When the Republican Party Lost its Mind, said. Then, professor at the University of Florida Michael McDonald, who specializes in American elections and is the author of a new book, From Pandemic to Insurrection: Voting in the 2020 US Presidential Election, says Trump’s refusal to accept that he lost the 2020 election has dramatically altered American politics. Also on the podcast, guest co-host Maura Quint, Tax March co-founder and member of Americans for Tax Fairness, reveals what America could learn from Liz Truss. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s hateful rhetoric isn’t a joke; she wants to start a war, proclaims podcaster Danielle Moodie on the latest episode of The New abnormal podcast. Moodie, who joined the show again as guest co-host alongside host Andy Levy, tore into Greene after she and Andy listened to a recent clip of the Republican Congresswoman making Democrats out to be child predators. Also on this episode: The Intercept investigative reporter Ken Klippenstein explains where the United States currently stands with the Trump and Putin-friendly Saudis and the Crown Prince, including that they’re gearing up to screw President Joe Biden over, big time. And for good measure, Klippenstein shares all the ways we could fuck over the Saudi Crown Prince without war, if we wanted to. Plus! Daily Beast media editor and editor of the media newsletter Confider, Andrew Kirell, joins to give Andy the inside scoop on how Fox News is handling the deranged Kayne West clips that were cut from his segment on Tucker Carlson’s show and then subsequently leaked. Kirell thinks he has an idea of who the leaker could be and him and Andy talk theories. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Comedian Andy Kindler has very strong opinions on cancel culture, specifically regarding Louis C.K.’s so-called “cancellation” and comeback after sexual misconduct allegations. Lucky for New Abnormal podcast listeners, the “Bobs Burgers” and “Everybody Loves Raymond” actor decided to share all of them with host Andy Levy on this bonus episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The odds of Donald Trump actually showing up to testify under oath at the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attacks are not great, according to Andy Levy on this week’s episode of political podcast The New Abnormal. “Less than zero,” says cohost Kali Holloway, a columnist at The Daily Beast and The Nation. “I think that the panel’s probably aware that he’s not gonna show up, but I think this is the kind of thing that they have to do just to sort of, for lack of a better phrase, show they mean business.” Matt Fuller, senior politics editor at The Daily Beast echoes concerns Trump won’t show up.“He probably won’t do anything with [the subpoena], and I can’t imagine he’s going to sit down for the January 6th committee,” he said. “It could be a court fight, but more likely than not, it’ll just be a nothing burger.” Also on the podcast, Justin Baragona, media reporter at The Daily Beast, reveals how Fox News management and Tucker Carlson are very interested in finding out who leaked the deleted Kanye West interview footage to Vice. “They definitely want to know who it is and, and there will be repercussions, is what I would assume,” Baragona said. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amie Parnes, senior correspondent for The Hill newspaper, covering the Biden White House and national politics, joined The New Abnormal podcast to talk with host Andy Levy through the list of Democratic contenders who could become the next Bernie Sanders—why they would or wouldn’t be fit for the job, and why New York Congresswoman AOC made the list, with a grain of salt. We're also joined by freelance journalist, Eve Peyser who weighs in on the latest with Ye & Donald Trump's poor decision-making. Then, filmmaker Andy Ostroy, who hosts the podcast The Back Room, joins the pod and plays a little game of Sophie’s Choice with Andy Levy: Would people rather see Trump in jail for the rest of his life or see Fox News shut down forever? Plus, he shares what it felt like to interview the killer of his deceased wife, actress Adrienne Shelly, who was murdered in her apartment in 2006, as well as his take on said killer being an undocumented immigrant. It’s not what you expect. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Writer and trans activist Parker Molloy joins host Andy Levy on this bonus episode of The New Abnormal pod to talk about Tucker Carlson’s awful obsession with making trans people look absolutely batshit—and the serious implications of that which are already happening around us. Plus! Molloy and Andy discuss the GOP’s hypocrisy when it comes to anti-trans legislation, why the right’s outrage with pronouns is “fake,” and the latest in the Elon Musk Twitter saga. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Daily Beast reporter who broke the story of Herschel Walker paying for a girlfriend’s abortion has provided behind-the-scenes details and thoughts on the case. Politics reporter Roger Sollenberger pointed to the key detail in the cobweb of Walker stories to host Andy Levy on this week’s episode of political podcast The New Abnormal: the woman behind the allegations. Speaking of the potential political ramifications for Walker, guest podcast host Josie Duffy Rice, who writes about prisons and prosecution at The Unnamed, told Levy that while the abortion bombshell could swing the vote, it is unlikely to make Republicans switch. Then, Mark Joseph Stern, senior writer at Slate Magazine who covers court and law, describes how the Supreme Court is blowing up Law School too. “The court has become, in many ways, corrupted by the political process and so just delivers these decisions that fall perfectly in line with the platform,” he says. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Trump can hold a grudge, Daily Beast reporter Corbin Bolies tells Andy Levy on this episode of The New Abnormal podcast, and he’s not wrong. “Donald Trump knows how to hold a grudge and he will, and we've seen that continue throughout the last year and a half, because Donald Trump has consistently attacked Mitch McConnell,” Bolies says, discussing the most recent verbal harassment levied at the former Majority Leader’s wife, Elaine Chao, in the form of blatantly racist name-calling on his Truth Social platform. Also on this episode: Hannah Gais, a senior research analyst at the Southern Poverty Law Center, joins this episode to co-host with Andy, touching upon the intense violent threats against Dems and Marjorie Taylor Green’s try-hard effort to get Republicans to think the threats are for them. Plus! Daily Beast far-right reporter and Fever Dreams podcast co-host Kelly Weill breaks down a huge schism happening within the libertarian party, including how the old Libertarians totally over these new Libertarians’ toxicity. Like, beyond Trumpy toxic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

HuffPost reporter Andy Campbell and author of the brand new book on the group called We Are Proud Boys joins New Abnormal host Andy Levy for a riveting interview about what the far-right group is up to these days after many members have been charged with sedition for Jan. 6, how Trump and GOP officials came to know about the group, and back them, and what we have to fear about these guys the most. Plus! In this episode, actor Paul F. Tompkins explains why he stays away from politics in comedy and that the MAGA-aligned actors who complain about being blackmailed aren’t being shut out, they just suck. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is Tucker Carlson really a true believer in the MAGA world? Has he taken a dive too deep in the Republican rabbit hole? Or is this all just a performance for the ratings? For the money? For the clout? It’s a vexing question, according to host Andy Levy on this week’s episode of political podcast The New Abnormal. “We’ve had many conversations about the performative aspect of this and trying to figure out who we think are true believers,” Levy says to guest, the author and CNN political commentator S.E. Cupp. Also on the podcast, Levy talks to guest podcast host Maura Quint, co-founder of Tax March and the campaign director for Americans for Tax Fairness, about a recent Gallup poll finding that trust in the Supreme Court is at a record low. Then Levy tells Daily Beast politics reporter Zachary Petrizzo that the only surprising part of that New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman’s new Trump book was that Trump aides were apparently taken aback by his crude, transphobic behavior. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s a new era for The New Abnormal! But things are still pretty abnormal. Co-host Andy Levy is back with guest co-host Danielle Moodie, co-host the Democrayish podcast, to hilariously unpack the last few days’ worth of politics news, including the “terrifying” and fascist woman who won Italy’s election and what that means for us here in the United States. Hint: Nothing good. Also, their joint hope that New York AG Leticia James will finally be able to “burst” Trump’s billionaire bubble. Then! Mississippi Today reporter Anna Wolfe breaks down for Andy the Brett Favre Mississippi welfare scheme, in which Favre and other state officials are accused of funneling $77 million worth of welfare funds to their own personal projects—none of which had anything to do with where the funds needed to go. But a former WWE wrestler is now getting in the mix with major allegations that Wolfe shares with Andy. Plus, Daily Beast reporter Jake Lahut, who focuses on Republican campaigns, joins to talk what he’s seeing in the field, and the time he cornered J.D. Vance with a question about abortion. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan. 6 may not be the last time people get violent over an election. Election experts CBS Chief Washington Correspondent Major Garrett and David Becker, co-authors of the new book The Big Truth: Upholding Democracy and the Age of the Big Lie, came on this bonus episode of The New Abnormal to share their biggest fear when it comes to the upcoming midterm elections: political violence. They also share what poll workers have been dealing with since 2020—spoiler alert: a whole lot—and what, if anything, we can do about it. Plus! Hosts Andy Levy and Molly Jong-Fast mark Molly’s last ever TNA episode as host with a round of Tucker Carlson and Trump clips. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

 New Abnormal hosts Molly Jong-Fast and Andy Levy reveal who is really taking on Trump and talk to politics reporter Asawin Suebsaeng for the scoop on Dr. Oz’s latest fight. Despite continued allegations of fraud and obstruction of justice claims against Donald Trump, somehow, there are still only two people continuing to call the former president out—and neither on is a man. Also on the podcast, Matt Fuller, senior politics editor at The Daily Beast, explains how Democrats have something to push voters to the polls: abortion. “That’s the big animating factor for Democrats,” Fuller says.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell was going through a Hardee’s drive-thru after ordering a burger and chocolate shake when he was approached by the FBI. That’s according to Daily Beast politics reporter Zachary Petrizzo, who has more details of the FBI’s seizure of Lindell’s phone while he was at a Hardee’s restaurant last week. “I had heard from Mike that he ended up ordering a Swiss burger with a chocolate shake,” Petrizzo tells hosts Molly Jong-Fast and Andy Levy on this episode of political podcast The New Abnormal. Also on the podcast, Iuliia Mendel, former press secretary to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and author of the new book The Fight of Our Lives, discusses what it was like meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the ‘80s Justine Bateman was one of TVs most recognizable faces thanks to her role on Family Ties. Now, she tells The New Abnormal’s Molly Jong-Fast how online chatter about her looks left her reeling. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As his legal woes pile up, it’s no secret that former President Donald Trump has employed more than a handful of lawyers in his time. David Enrich, a business investigations editor at The New York Times and author of the new book, Servants of the Damned: Giant Law Firms, Donald Trump, and the Corruption of Justice, tells hosts Molly Jong-Fast and Andy Levy on this episode of The New Abnormal that it’s certainly a pattern. Also on the podcast, G. Elliot Morris, data-driven journalist and author of the book, Strength in Numbers: How Polls Work and Why We Need Them, describes the “pretty complex” world of polling and sampling. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Just when you thought Donald Trump couldn’t get any worse, new revelations prove Trump was even worse than we thought, according to hosts Molly Jong-Fast and Andy Levy on this episode of The New Abnormal. Also on the podcast, Michael Tomasky, editor of The New Republic as well as Democracy Journal and author of the new book, The Middle Out: The Rise of Progressive Economics and a Return to Shared Prosperity, talks about how the Democrats can shape their message around progressive politics to win. (Tomasky is also a former special correspondent and editor at the Daily Beast.) Then, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) talks about her reelection bid and her wacky opponent, Adam Laxalt. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Donald Trump often gets credit for his Rumpelstiltskin-like ability to spin the most demented parts of the American psyche into political gold. But in his new book, American Psychosis: A Historical Investigation of How The Republican Party Went Crazy, David Corn traces the lineage of the GOP’s love of lunatics all the way back to the 1950s and says Trump is just the latest in a long line of morally bankrupt politicians willing to use the chaotic crazy generated by the darkest parts of society to fuel their ambitions. “Far Right extremism, including paranoia, racism, tribalism, conspiracy theories, … what we’ve seen under Donald Trump is nothing new. It might be the culmination, it’s not an aberration,” Corn said. Corn, a veteran journalist, author and Washington bureau chief of Mother Jones, joined the political podcast The New Abnormal to explain just how American brains became so broken. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Queen Elizabeth is an important cultural mascot in a way that Americans can’t understand and her death will have more implications for Great Britain and the world than simply who will take over the monarchy.That’s according to Ian Dunt, columnist at the ‘i’ newspaper and host of the podcasts, Oh God, What Now? and Origin Story, who tells hosts Molly Jong-Fast and Andy Levy on this episode of political podcast The New Abnormal that the country faces multiple crises as it deals with the queen’s death. Also on the podcast Douglas Rushkoff, author of the new book, Survival of the Richest: Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires, describes his experience talking to some very rich people about the “event.”  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani’s buddy-buddy, and complicated, relationship goes way back according to writer Andrew Kirtzman. Kirtzman covered Giuliani’s political career for over 30 years and is also the author of Giuliani: The Rise and Tragic Fall of America’s Mayor. He came on this episode of The New Abnormal to give us an insight into New York’s fallen angel and his pal Trump—from anecdotes that one of his ex-wives told him to why Trump felt he was too much of a “liability” to be his Secretary of State. Plus! Fever Dreams podcast host Will Sommer, who is the expert on all things far-right, joins this podcast episode to talk about the up-and-coming ultra-conservative, QAnon-type candidates a la Marjorie Taylor Green and Lauren Boebert running in the midterms. And also, what the Proud Boys think of their founder Gavin McInnes and his fake arrest prank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Donald Trump’s way of speaking is hard to mistake for anyone else’s. On this bonus episode of The New Abnormal, video essayist Evan Puschak, owner of the 3M subscriber YouTube channel Nerdwriter1 and author of “Escape Into Meaning”, joins Molly Jong-Fast to break down how the former president and reality show star came to speak how he does, and the one thing that he doesn’t do while speaking that makes the way he talks so effective. Plus! Molly and Evan discuss whether or not Trump is intentionally speaking this way to manipulate. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

 In this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, hosts Molly Jong-Fast and Andy Levy discuss Trump’s legal jeopardy with George Conway and whether he will ever be sent to prison, and then check in to discuss the infamous Mar-a-Lago carpet documents. The ultimate question remains, according to Jong-Fast; will Trump ever go to jail? “I can’t guarantee it, but there’s a reasonable likelihood of it,” Washington Post contributing columnist George Conway told Jong-Fast. Then, Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) , who represents Virginia's seventh congressional district and who is a former CIA case officer, delves into the image of Mar-a-Lago carpet documents. “I can’t make predictions on what comes next, but certainly as a former Intel officer, I can say that if anyone I ever worked with had a collection of documents like this at their home, there’s no question of what would've happened to them.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lindsay Graham said on Sunday that if former President Trump is prosecuted there will be “riots in the streets.” Some call it a prediction. New Abnormal podcast host Andy Levy is calling it a threat. In this latest TNA episode, Andy uses some more descriptive language to describe how he really feels to co-host Molly Jong-Fast who has her own theory for diehard Trump apologists, which includes a spaghetti reference. Then Maxwell Alejandro Frost, the 25-year–old running for Florida’s 10th Congressional District, joins the show. He fills Molly in on why age is nothing but an asset to him—“I went through more mass shooting drills than fire drills. That perspective is important in Congress”—and why you should not ever compare him to Madison Cawthorn. Plus! Rhode Island Congressman David Cicilline, author of House on Fire: Fighting for Democracy in the Age of Political Arson, gets real with Molly on the reason that rich white guys have gotten away with criming for so long—and the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg-sized elephant in the room. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Florida Governor went full on Donald Trump during his “Keep Florida Free Tour” last week after saying he wants to “chuck” the “little elf” Dr. Anthony Fauci across the Potomac. Will it help him gain traction ahead for a 2024 presidential run? The New Abnormal co-host Andy Levy shares his hot take on how well this is gonna work for DeSantis on this episode. And this conversation is before he and MollyJong-Fast listen to a clip of DeSantis talking about the woke crowd. Plus! NBC’s Capitol Hill Correspondent Ali Vitali joins to share some of the reporting she writes about in her new book, Electable: Why America Hasn’t Put a Woman in the White House . . . Yet, including why Everyone Hates Kamala.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The upcoming midterms will depend on the voices and votes of those in the suburbs, according to hosts Molly Jong-Fast and Andy Levy on this episode of The New Abnormal. After a key win for Democrats in New York’s 19th Congressional District, where Pat Ryan defeated Republican Marc Molinaro in Tuesday’s special election, Levy says that despite the bad news for the party, the Dems still need the suburban vote to get them across the line. Then, Dahlia Lithwick, who writes about the courts and the law for Slate and hosts the podcast Amicus, talks former President Donald Trump’s little dust-up with the National Archives. This week, Politico revealed that the Archives had recovered more than 700 pages of classified documents from Mar-a-Lago in January and that federal investigators were concerned “by Trump’s resistance to sharing them with the FBI.” Also, Max Fisher, who writes The Interpreter column for The New York Times and is the author of The Chaos Machine: The Inside Story of How Social Media Rewired Our Minds and Our World, discusses how social media “is distorting you in ways that you are probably not quite aware of.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr. Oz is failing the unofficial Twitter war against PA Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, the loss coming after Fetterman dunked on Oz for using the term crudite in an April video. But his campaign has a problem that goes deeper than veggie platters and NBC’s Jonathan Allen joins the pod to explain why (and tells host Molly Jong-Fast about his encounter with Dennis Rodman in a cigar lounge.) Plus! Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), frequent flyer on the pod, joins this episode to talk midterm candidates he’s excited about in California and holds no punches when it comes to calling out MAGA Republicans. Of course, hosts Andy Levy and Molly also discuss a very interesting (and bad, in Molly’s opinion) take that involves some sort of bargain where President Biden pardons Trump with the caveat he never runs for president again. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Author and war veteran Elliot Ackerman holds a very unpopular opinion about the draft: he supports it, but only because he thinks it could be a good thing for Americans. He joins this bonus episode of The New Abnormal to explain why he holds this take and how he sees it ultimately helping create more peace and less war. Plus, he shares his experience trying to evacuate people, including the Afghan girls’ robotics team, out of Afghanistan and what his new book The Fifth Act: America’s End in Afghanistan is all about. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the polls closed in Wyoming, the focus over Rep. Liz Cheney became not if she would win the Republican primary for Wyoming’s sole congressional seat, but by how much she would lose. And that loss was colossal. On this episode of The New Abnormal, hosts Molly Jong-Fast and Andy Levy discuss whether the left loves Cheney and why she has no chance at becoming president. Then, Jeet Heer, a national affairs correspondent for The Nation magazine and host of the Time of Monsters podcast, joins the discussion to explain why he thinks we need more Republicans like Cheney. Also, Cristina Tzintzun Ramirez, executive director of NextGen America, the country’s largest organization mobilizing young voters, discusses how she’s inspiring the next generation to get involved. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Democratic strategist James Carville has a message for people who are doubting Merrick Garland: Just wait. On this episode of The New Abnormal, he explains why Dems should have more faith in Merrick Garland—and also shares the long list of GOP candidates across the country that makes Molly Jong-Fast crack up. Then, Matt Castelli, a former CIA officer and Director for Counterterrorism at the National Security Council who is currently running for Congress against Trumpy Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), joins the pod to share his plan for taking Stefanik down and calls her an opportunist. Plus! Hosts Andy Levy and Molly dissect Trump’s latest Truth Social admissions, including that he has multiple passports. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The seed of cruelty that the GOP has fully adopted, and nurtured, had been planted long before Trump took office, says Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank. Instead, he says on this bonus episode of The New Abnormal, someone else is to blame: Newt Gringrich. He explains why to co-host Molly Jong-Fast, along with more reporting on the GOP’s evolution that’s included in his new book, The Destructionists: The Twenty-Five Year Crack-Up of the Republican Party. Plus! Co-hosts Andy Levy and Molly listen to more clips of politicians saying dumb things, this time starring Fox News’ Jesse Watters and sad son Eric Trump. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As former President Donald Trump endured one of his worst weeks yet, Republicans have been on our TV screens taking aim at everyone else—but themselves. On this episode of The New Abnormal, hosts Molly Jong-Fast and Andy Levy talk Trump and the sentence Republicans need to stop repeating. Then, Tim O’Brien, senior executive editor of opinion at Bloomberg, joins the show and reveals what he finds most compelling in the “ridiculous sideshow” that’s emerged in the wake of the search: “which is that he’s being unfairly targeted and that this is political. Also, Dr. Iman Alsaden, chief medical officer for Planned Parenthood Great Plains, talks about what it’s like in post-Roe America. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer got fellow Senator Joe Manchin to do something few have done before: convinced him to vote along Democratic party lines. Some are calling it The Manchin-Schumer bill, and even Schumer wasn’t sure it would happen until the end. Chuck tells Molly how he made it happen on the latest episode of The New Abnormal as well as why his flip phone is his secret weapon, how he is the opposite of Sen. Mitch McConnell, and his plans to bring back an insulin cap bill in September. Plus! Daily Beast Politics Editor Matt Fuller also breaks down the new “Dark Brandon” meme about Joe Biden that the White House has even embraced. Plus! Molly and co-host Andy Levy go after Republicans like Marjorie Taylor Greene for crying about Alex Jones being a victim and why the current behavior of former President Donald Trump is actually pretty scary. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Actor and former White House adviser Kal Penn recalls the moment he spectacularly failed to outsmart the former president and how he was humiliated in front of the first lady. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, Levy, along with host Molly Jong-Fast, discuss the conservative state’s rejection of the anti-abortion measure after nearly 60 per cent of voters dismissed the move. Then, Angelo Carusone, president and CEO of Media Matters, debunks a study by Nielsen media research claiming that the top rated news show among Democrats between 25 and 54 is Tucker Carlson. The study says that in total debut viewership, Fox news grabs 42% of Democrats. Also, The Daily Beast’s congressional reporter Sam Brodey discusses how the Senate and Congressional map is changing to a more optimistic map for Dems. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Missouri Senate candidate Lucas Kunce is not going to knock on a voter’s door and ask them to vote for him because he will lower the cost of prescription drugs. But the former Marine tells co-host Molly Jong-Fast what he will do in this episode of The New Abnormal—including being completely blunt when it comes to calling BS on Republicans. Speaking of which, Rep. Eric Swalwell also joins the pod and talks about the major wins Democrats have had lately and why he thinks the GOP “clowns” don’t stand a chance in taking the House in the midterms. Plus! Molly and co-host Andy Levy talk more about that burn pit bill and pose a major Jan 6 question: Where in the world are those missing text messages? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The New Yorker’s Ken Auletta tells Molly Jong-Fast about the conversation he had with Ronan Farrow ahead of his bombshell piece and shares stories about Harvey Weinstein’s enablers that are in his new book, Hollywood Ending: Harvey Weinstein and the Culture of Silence, which paints an even more detailed picture of Weinstein, and the enablers around him. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you’ve surfed the internet over the course of the last few years, there’s no doubt you may have stumbled across at least one viral clip of U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg on Fox News. For Buttigieg, going on Fox News is “a no-brainer", Lis Smith, author of Any Given Tuesday: A Political Love Story, and senior advisor for Buttigieg's 2020 presidential campaign, told Molly Jong-Fast on this week’s episode of The New Abnormal. Then, Olivia Julianna, a 19-year-old activist and strategist for Gen Z For Change, reflects on her work as a fundraising powerhouse and her reaction to Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz’s attempts to humiliate her after arguing that overweight and unattractive women don't need to worry about getting pregnant or needing abortions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is Ron DeSantis going to run for president in 2024? If he is, New Abnormal co-hosts Andy Levy and Molly Jong-Fast are of the opinion that he’ll be a scarier candidate than Donald Trump if the former president chooses to run again. Then, New York Governor Kathy Hochul talks to Molly about what she and her administration are doing to prevent ugly fallout from the Supreme Court ruling on guns in the state and her opinion on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg not prosecuting Trump. Plus! James Obergefell, the plaintiff in the historic Obergefell v Hodges Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage, shares the events that led to his case and why he’s “disgusted” today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aftershock directors Tonya Lewis Lee and Paula Eiselt talk to Molly Jong-Fast about why Black women are more likely to die than their white counterparts after giving birth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The news from Thursday night’s Jan. 6 committee hearing that really struck Molly Jong-Fast was that instead of trying to stop the violence, Trump wanted to call senators and pressure them to throw out the election results or delay the certification. And of course he talked to Rudy Giuliani.“Rudy's always the first call you make because you gotta get the bad ideas from someone,” says co-host Andy Levy.“I would not let Rudy Giuliani pick a pair of shoelaces for me. And this, the president of the United States, is turning to him for advice on elections.” Also on the show NBC's senior reporter Jon Allen & Mark Lobovitch on his new book Thank You For Your Servitude: Donald Trump's Washington and the Price of Submission. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After four years of Donald Trump and the ultimate hangover that ensued, has the Republican Party learned from its mistakes? Far from it, Molly Jong-Fast says on this episode of The New Abnormal podcast. “Trump definitely did something in the Republican Party. Right?” Molly asks. “They were always bad. They would do terrible things, but they would pretend not to be terrible. And now there’s like an incentive to be terrible. Like the people who are terrible actually raise the most money.” Still, Democratic Rep. Mondaire Jones, who represents New York’s 17th District, says that while he faces an uphill battle against the Republicans and despite the disappointments of recent events, including the repeal of Roe v. Wade, there is hope on the horizon. Then, Tim Miller, MSNBC analyst and the author of Why We Did It: A Travelogue from the Republican Road to Hell, reflects on what he learned about the Republican Party. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Filmmakers behind the new documentary “Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down,” Julie Cohen and Betsy West, tell New Abnormal co-host Molly Jong-Fast in this bonus episode about the former Congresswoman’s RBG socks, music she loves, and what she’s up to now—including some of the things Gabby has taken up recently, like playing the French horn, as well as the adorable scenes in the documentary that show Gabby support her husband, Mark Kelly, and how she has worked to overcome her aphasia to give nearly flawless speeches. Plus! Molly and Andy Levy listen to clips of more dumb Republicans like “walking Facebook post” Sarah Palin and John Bolton, who recently told on himself in a CNN clip. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's been a big week in politics with revelations galore from the Jan. 6 House committee. Former President Donald Trump's attempts at stopping the peaceful transfer of power has been the talk of the town and this week's admissions at the committee are a "pretty big deal", notes Molly Jong-Fast on this episode of The New Abnormal podcast. But it's not all bad news. Speaking with Jong-Fast, former presidential candidate and independent candidate for the Utah Senate, Evan McMullin, reveals that he is seeing "a weakening in Trump support across the country". Then, Mary Trump, host of the Mary Trump show and the author of Too Much and Never Enough, revealed she found the revelations surrounding the "vast web of people" covering for her Uncle...."at times difficult to process". Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Things are going super over in the United Kingdom, jokes Molly Jong-Fast to British journalist Ian Dunt on this episode of The New Abnormal podcast. Dunt broke down the events that led to the U.K. Prime Minister’s resignation as well as whether or not he thinks Boris Johnson will still hold the title by the fall and the state of U.K. politics—and whether there’s a chance to actually reverse Brexit. Then, CNBC Fast Money contributor Dan Nathan explains why a recession might actually be a good thing, and that it’s what the federal government likely wants. “Sadly they need the economy almost to go in a recession for inflation to come down meaningfully,” he says. Plus! Molly and co-host Andy Levy shoot the shit about Elon Musk hurting Trump’s feelings, Biden’s dumb move to swing “left,” and the one thing that’ll actually maybe get Steve Bannon to testify in front of the Jan. 6 committee. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Former Secretary of State of Missouri Jason Kander, and author of Invisible Storm: A Soldier’s Memoir of Politics and PTSD, talks to TNA co-host Andy Levy about living with PTSD, his post-traumatic growth phase when it comes to trauma and how others can get there, too—and a VA tale to beat all VA tales. Plus! Molly Jong-Fast and Andy Levy discuss McCarthy’s huge Jan. 6 mistake, which they’re so thankful for. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gretchen Carlson joins The New Abnormal along with her Lift Our Voices co-founder Julie Roginsky to talk about her lawsuit against former Fox CEO and Chairman Roger Ailes and the work she’s doing to fix predatory NDAs. Then Mike Collier, the Democrat running for Lieutenant Governor of Texas against Dan Patrick, breaks down the true issues with the Texas power grid, including that it was designed by Enron, and the other ticking time bomb in the state: water. Plus! Hosts Molly Jong-Fast and Andy Levy do a Q&A speed round, sharing who they think are the best and worst accounts on Twitter, what the next QAnon level conspiracy is, and a definitive ranking of the Supreme Court judges from the worst to mildly idiotic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the Supreme Court limits the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, David Roberts, author of climate newsletter, Volts, tells Molly Jong-Fast why America is about to see a rise in “green fascism.” Also on this episode: Climate change writer and author Kate Aronoff explores why politicians are unwilling to act on global warming despite a majority of Americans being in favor of action. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Author Jerry Stahl didn’t know what his experience visiting Auschwitz would be like, but taking selfies with teenage strangers who had mistaken him for actor Michael Richards, who played Cosmo ‘Kramer’ on Seinfeld, was definitely not on the list. On this bonus episode of The New Abnormal, the writer tells Molly Jong-Fast about the trip, and his conflicting thoughts while there, which are also part of his new book “Nein, Nein, Nein: One Man’s Tale of Depression, Psychic Torment and a Bus Tour of the Holocaust.” Plus! The one person Stahl has spent his life trying not to become. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The time for being squeamish about abortion is over. That’s what pro-choice advocate and author Ilyse Hogue tells The New Abnormal’s intrepid co-hosts Molly Jong-Fast and Andy Levy: “Roe is actually a fire-alarm fire,” and it’s time to “talk loudly and proudly about what we stand for.” (That goes for you, too, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland—Levy knows you’re listening, and he dares you to prosecute someone based on the explosive testimony coming out of the Jan. 6 hearings.) Speaking of which: what does the testimony of Cassidy Hutchinson, who for the current moment has “brought Trumpworld to its knees,” as Jong-Fast puts it, mean for where the Jan. 6 Committee is heading? What’s left to prove? That assessment comes courtesy of the Daily Beast’s hometown hero, politics editor Matt Fuller. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of The New Abnormal, Leah Litman, an assistant professor at Michigan law school, breaks down one of AOC post-Roe ideas and co-host Andy Levy tears into Nancy Pelosi and her poem. Plus, Robin Marty, director of operations for West Alabama Women’s Center, tells co-host Molly Jong-Fast what she’s already seeing in her state, including reports that hospitals are already refusing to treat women whose lives are in danger, and are bleeding out, because they admitted they had an abortion. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this bonus episode of The New Abnormal, actor David Duchovny talks about his book, The Reservoir, what it was like playing a jerk version of himself alongside Sandra Oh in Netflix’s ‘The Chair’, and discloses a solid theory on aliens. Plus! Co-hosts Molly Jong-Fast and Andy Levy listen to more bizarre clips of GOP politicians, including “single biggest asshole’ in America, Ted Cruz, and everyone’s favorite Fox News host, Tucker Carlson, who is still obsessed with testicles. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday, June 24, 2024, eliminating the decades-long protected right to an abortion. New Abnormal co-host Molly Jong-Fast could not wait until the next episode to address this far-reaching decision, so she recorded an “emergency” episode and interviewed Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold. Secretary Griswold explains to Molly and listeners what it would take to impeach a Supreme Court Justice, why she believes the conservative justices lied under oath and what states can do ASAP to protect the women there. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Former President Donald Trump was not lacking in pardon requests in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 riots, according to new information revealed during the hearings on Thursday. Among those who asked for pardons: Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Mo Brooks (R-AL). That in itself proves that Brooks knew Trump’s “Big Lie” was a load of BS, says New Abnormal co-host Andy Levy on the latest post-hearing episode. Also in this episode, Jay Willis, editor in chief of Balls & Strikes, breaks down two Supreme Court rulings, including the rejection of gun control legislation in New York, loudly proclaimed in an opinion by Justice Clarence Thomas. “Thomas’ opinion basically freezes firearm regulation as it existed [in the Constitution],” Willis says of Thomas’ mind-boggling explanation. Last but not least, Greg Sargent, author of The Washington Post’s The Plum Line blog, makes the case that the Jan. 6 hearings are absolutely making an impact. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Princeton University Professor of African American studies Eddie Glaude tells The New Abnormal’s Molly Jong-Fast why he warned the U.S. President that democracy could die unless he is willing to “go big”. Also on this episode: Journalist Francisco Alvarado takes us inside his reporting on how Nebraska’s voter ID proposal has become mired amid claims of fraud and big money coming from someone very close to the state’s governor. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Haters love to attribute Katy Tur’s success to her former partner, commentator Keith Olbermann. But she’s over it. In this bonus episode of The New Abnormal podcast, Tur tells co-host Molly Jong-Fast how that early connection to the broadcaster has impacted her life since and recounts some anecdotes about her “violent” childhood from her new memoir, Rough Draft. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The New Abnormal hosts recorded late, after the Jan. 6 committee's latest blockbuster hearing, where, co-host Andy Levy says, “We found out today that the mob in the capital came within 40 feet of [Vice President Pence] at one point while they were transporting him to the secure location. That sounds pretty terrifying considering, we have to remember, this is the mob that was chanting “Hang Mike Pence.’”Later, co-host Molly Jong Fast says,”I feel like the top line is when did the president know and what did he know it? He knew it, and he still tried to do it.” Indeed, says senior NBC News politics reporter and co-author of Lucky: How Joe Biden Barely Won the Presidency, “I think that it may be a mistake to look at anything that happened as particularly accidental. I'm always sort of torn a little bit when I talk to voters who are kind of like Jan. 6 deniers, because I think most of them aren't denying that Trump was trying to hold power. I think they're denying that it was bad.”Plus, Daily Beast and New York Magazine contributing writer Jay Michaelson breaks down the Ginni Thomas-John Eastman mess: “If this is not an impeachable offense for a Supreme court justice if what we've come out in evidence is true” then what would be? “This is the most impeachable offense I've ever seen in my entire life. I mean, this is not a gray area case. This is unbelievable.… John Eastman, one of the somewhat more crazy lawyers who tried to overturn the 2020 election said at one point that there seems to be a heated fight underway among the justices. And that's interesting. I don't know how he actually knew that, but now it seems that he knew that from actually being in touch with Ginni Thomas, the wife of one of the justices,” Clarence Thomas, “who is also a well-known conservative activist.” And, “if true, disclosing secret, confidential, and to put it mildly, highly sensitive deliberations of the Supreme Court justices to somebody who he knows—his wife—is closely involved with the effort to overturn the election. And it's fine that they have separate careers and they have separate lives. That's fine. But you know, Molly, if I disclose this to you, we don't have to be married for me to realize that that would probably be a problem, right? That disclosing to somebody with a close degree of not just interest but actual active participation in this effort, which is overturning an election, right, which is trying to mount some sort of a coup. So even if this was some boring insurance transaction that we were involved in, this would be a massive violation of judicial ethics. And the fact that it took place in the context of Jan. 6 is beyond shocking.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of The New Abnormal, Molly Jong-Fast and Andy Levy debate which Republicans testifying at the Jan. 6 hearings can be considered ‘good guys.’ Spoiler alert, not Bill Barr according to Andy. Molly also breaks down the ‘psychology’ of Jared Kushner based on his performance testifying. Plus! The Nation columnist Jeet Heer explains to Molly why Democrats shouldn’t trust Liz Cheney and CNN national security reporter Zachary Cohen points out one of big question marks on the Jan. 6 timeline that the committee is trying to piece together: What happened when Donald Trump was in the dining room? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Author James Patterson joins this bonus episode of The New Abnormal to tell co-host Molly Jong-Fast about his new biography titled James Patterson by James Patterson: The Story of My Life. He also tells stories about some old friends, including the Clintons and Dolly Parton. Also in this episode: Molly and co-host Andy Levy listen to some funny clips of Republicans saying “dumb” things, including Jesse Watters, who Molly dubs the “stupidest anchor on Fox News.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Jan. 6 hearing was everything it had to be, The New Abnormal co-hosts Molly Jong-Fast and Andy Levy agreed—and Republicans knew it. Liz Cheney, said Molly, in a conversation recorded just after the prime-time hearing ended, “is an extremely good speaker you can tell will follow Donald J. Trump to the gates of Hell.” So as the damning case was laid out, the MAGA set did their best to pretend it simply wasn’t happening. Plus: Pod Save America co-host Dan Pfeiffer talks about “why Democrats keep losing the messaging war,” his new book Battling the Big Lie: How Fox, Facebook and the MAGA Media Are Destroying America and the “decades-long billionaire funded plan to build up an alternate information bubble,” and Ian Bremmer, author of The Power of Crisis: How Three Threats – and Our Response – Will Change the World explains that there are four now: the pandemic, global climate change, “the proliferation of disruptive and dangerous technologies, and now you have the Russians invading Ukraine and a war in Europe.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is Donald J. Trump losing his impenetrable grip on the Republican party? Co-host of The New Abnormal podcast Molly Jong-Fast thinks so. She shares her theory with co-host Andy Levy on today’s episode. Also, the two attempt to answer this question: Who is a scarier Republican candidate? Ron DeSantis or Donald Trump? Plus! Daily Beast politics editor Matt Fuller gives Molly the cold-hard truth on gun legislation that’s bubbling up in the House and Senate and who—and who won’t—vote for it. Plus! British columnist & host of The OriginIanory Podcast, Dunt explains why Brits will have “an absolute psychological breakdown” when the Queen is no longer the Queen. He also shares why England Prime Minister Boris Johnson isn’t very secure in his position. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Parkland dad Fred Guttenberg details the day his daughter Jaime was killed at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School as well as what he thinks needs to change to get solid gun reform policy. Plus, co-hosts Molly Jong-Fast and Andy Levy unpack GOP clips, including one of Lauren Boebert calling Trump a ‘family man’ because he shared popcorn with her son. Plus! Andy shares a very interesting metaphor in which he compares Hunter Biden’s name to cat nip. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“The problem is there are so many mass shootings that they are now pushing other mass shootings out of the news” and Republicans just want to change the subject each time, co-host Molly Jong-Fast says to kick off the latest episode of The New Abnormal. But the cold comfort is that “there are so many shootings that we're going to be talking about it, even though Republicans want to run out the clock, they're never gonna be able to run out.” Plus, We’re Not Broken author and MSNBC columnist Eric Garcia joins the pod to tell Molly about his reporting on autism in America while having autism, and Strict Scrutiny co-host and ABC Supreme Court contributor Katie Shaw explains how politicians hide behind the Supreme Court’s 2008 gun decision to pretend they’re powerless now, and about what’s looming when the Court issues it’s first big gun decision since then any day now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is former President Donald Trump’s hold on his Republican base waning? Vice’s Senior Political Reporter Cameron Joseph thinks so. “Trump is slipping. [He] doesn’t have the grip over the GOP that he once did,” Joseph tells Molly Jong-Fast in this episode of The New Abnormal. Later on this episode, historian Jon Meacham, who is host of the new “Reflections of History” podcast gives Molly a preview of some of the juicy tid-bits from history he covers on his show, like how NATO was an unpopular opinion when it began and that New York Times’ Sunday magazine passed on publishing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter from Birmingham jail. Oh, yeah, Meacham also happens to be an unofficial adviser of President Biden and Molly does not let the interview end without pressing him on that. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kelly Carlin, daughter of the late comedian George Carlin, is mystified that Donald Trump followers and right-wingers have tried to claim her dad as one of their own. She came on the pod with comedian and director Judd Apatow to talk to hosts Andy Levy and Molly Jong-Fast about her dad, how they think he’d feel about Republicans today and about Apatow’s upcoming George Carlin documentary on HBO, which Apatow says “terrified” him at first. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of The New Abnormal, hosts Molly Jong-Fast and Andy Levy call out Republicans for avoiding the gun conversation at all costs, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for his insane mental health hypocrisy. Plus! New York mag correspondent Gabriel Debenedetti tackles the Biden elephant in room: What happens if Joe Biden can’t run for reelection? There are a few people that may be backups for the party, he says. And last up, Pennsylvania Rep. Chrissy Houlahan shares what she thinks are the root causes of the gun violence epidemic—and that the entire Republican party “needs to be cured and cleansed.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kellyanne Conway’s new book makes very clear the people she has a grudge against, and the ones she doesn’t, according to Daily Beast media reporter Zach Petrizzo. He read the former Trump aide’s book and tells The New Abnormal podcast host Molly Jong-Fast that there are two people she goes after the most—Jared Kushner and her husband, George Conway III. Plus, Washington Post political enterprise reporter Robert Samuels talks about his new book with co-author Toluse Olorunnipa, ‘His Name is George Floyd’ and Molly and co-host Andy Levy analyze the right-wingers who attended CPAC in Hungary and why they (jokingly) think the Twitter user retweeted by Trump, ‘MAGA King Thanos’, will lead the next civil war. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nazi Billionaires author David de Jong joins this bonus episode The New Abnormal to discuss the findings from his book, including the ugly, anti-semitic history of German oligarchs, including the family who owns the German car brand BMW. Plus, co-hosts Molly Jong-Fast and Andy Levy discuss Kevin McCarthy’s latest witch hunt that somehow involves Nancy Pelosi and Peloton and roast George W. Bush and Justice Clarence Thomas for being really bad at telling jokes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s another week chock full of Republican fuckery, and The New Abnormal is all over it, including a tough interview with Bryan Jones the Republican trying to take down creepy Matt Gaetz in Florida’s first Congressional District, and starting with a conversation between co-hosts Molly Jong Fast and Andy Levy about how Republicans seem more interested in capitalizing on the baby formula shortage to score points against Biden than they are in fixing it and, you know, making sure babies can get fed. Then Jay Willis, the editor in chief of Balls and Strikes warns Molly that the looming Roe reversal its just the start, and that “a lot of the backlash to this opinion has also dealt with not only the disastrous consequences for women, folks who may become pregnant but also for its really unnerving hints about where the Court could go in the future. Roe is not enough for Samuel Alito, who’s got all kinds of accumulated culture war grievances to air.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Congresswoman Elise Stefanik has the “worst luck in American retail politics ever,” declares host Molly Jong-Fast on this episode of The New Abnormal. Stefanik’s past “replacement theory” rhetoric has resurfaced after the “screed” of the Topps shooter Payton Gendron had been reported to contain the same kind of views. Somehow she thinks she’s the victim—and Molly and Andy Levy dive into that on this episode. Plus! Democratic strategist Adrienne Elrod gives Molly the low-down on the Pennsylvania candidates running in Tuesday’s election, including Dr. Oz and Kathy Barnette, who is “even too Trumpy for Trump.” And Shannon Watts, founder of anti-gun violence group Mom’s Demand Action, explains the loophole that allowed the Topps shooter to get his gun, and how the NRA is linked to what drove him to kill. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosts Andy Levy and Molly Jong-Fast listen to audio clips of unhinged Republicans, including one of Donald Trump crapping on Mitch McConnell’s popularity, and they agreed with him, sorta. Plus! Molly and Andy ask important questions about Dinesh D’Souza’s election-fraud conspiracy film, “2000 Mules,” and Karen Elson, model and fashion activist, tells Molly about her work to unionize models in the fashion industry and the hazards they do face at work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Despite being the richest man in the world,” Elon Musk doesn’t have enough cash to buy Twitter for $43 billion, podcaster and CNBC contributor Dan Nathan tells co-host Molly Jong-Fast, so he’s selling Tesla stock to get some of that cash in hand and then bringing in private equity and venture capital to cover the difference. Plus, Molly and co-host Andy Levy go in on another week full of conservative fuckery, and Daily Beast senior editor Matt Fuller explains how “the abortion landscape really has changed” after the leak of the draft opinion doing away with Roe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Media Matters president and CEO Angelo Carusone came on The New Abnormal to talk Elon Musk’s questionable desire to buy and become CEO of Twitter, Tucker Carlson’s reaction to the New York Times’ pieces on him and what’s next for Fox News (it doesn’t look good.) Plus! Co-host Andy Levy has his own theory for why Tucker is horrible. And Robin Marty, Communications Director for the West Alabama Women’s Center, makes predictions on what’s next when it comes to abortion bans in the U.S. (Hint: lots of felony charges). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A new book by New York Times journalists Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns has gotten lots of attention for its revelations about Donald Trump and the Republican Party. And they get into that on this bonus episode of The New Abnormal, but they also tell Molly juicy nuggets about Democratic dysfunction, including texts calling Nancy Pelosi “terrible” and Biden’s struggle with Manchin and Sinema. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that the podcaster is fated to release an episode right as the news cycle renders them hopelessly out-of-date. That’s the worst thing to come from the revelation that the Supreme Court is essentially set to overturn Roe v. Wade, obviously. Aghast and mind-blown, co-hosts Molly Jong-Fast and Andy Levy attempt to break down this “new, new, new abnormal” we all find ourselves in as the country teeters on the edge of becoming a post-Roe democracy. How did we get here—and, more importantly, what happens now? That, plus: Daily Beast legal affairs columnist and former Supreme Court clerk Jay Michaelson discusses how Justice Samuel Alito cultivates his Scalia-esque brand on the bench and how the abortion’s writing has been on the wall for “years, if not decades.” And Valerie Biden Owens, the president’s sister and former campaign manager, talks about running the 1972 “children’s crusade” that catapulted her brother into elected office for the first time—and why she now lovingly refers to him as “the ass.” Finally: don’t believe the Christian right used to trumpet that life began at birth? Read this, and get back to us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

According to New Abnormal podcast host Andy Levy, literally, nobody cares about what Jared Kushner has to say. On this episode, Andy and co-host Molly Jong-Fast break down the latest GOP book announcements, Jared’s included, and The Nation columnist Jeet Heer tells Molly why he thinks the White House Correspondents’ Dinner is a bad idea. For one, this dinner was the start of Trump’s villain origin story, he jokes. Plus! If you’ve ever wondered how a person like Trump was elected in the first place, University of Minnesota’s Dr. Larry Jacobs has an answer and explains why primary elections will be the ruin of us all. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Michigan State Senator Mallory McMorrow’s scathing speech on the floor in response to being called a “groomer” by a conservative colleague went viral. She joins as special guest on this bonus episode of The New Abnormal to tell co-host Molly Jong-Fast how it all went down and what she wants people who are non-marginalized to know. Plus Molly and co-host Andy Levy listen to Fox News proclaim that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is a liberal puppet and Ben Shapiro gets skewered for his “Twitter” advice to Elon Musk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

nathan Kott, who worked for Joe Manchin for seven-and-a-half years, joins The New Abnormal, and co-host Molly Jong-Fast gets right to the point: "Are you surprised by what you're seeing right now" from the West Virginia Senator?"No," says Kott. "He's the exact same person he's always been. It's just he's getting more attention in the last year than I think he had before." Plus, Molly and co-host Andy Levy run through even more Republican fuckery, starting with Trump's fear of fruit. "If you're that worried about tomatoes, I guess you just assume that everything is very dangerous and you might as well give everyone guns' jokes Molly.Finally, Marc Caputo of NBC explains what's happening in the great state of Florida, where "conservatives are a lot more Trumpy "now. "In 2016 when Donald Trump won people thought it was a fluke. And then in 2018, when Ron DeSantis won by less than half a point, they're like, 'okay, Andrew Gillum, his gubernatorial opponent was a flawed opponent. And then in 2020, Donald Trump won so big here by a bigger margin than Obama did in 2008 and that kind of got conservatives or Republicans to realize, 'there is nothing to fear from Democrats anymore in Florida, let's keep pushing the envelope.' And so that's where we are. We're in some serious envelope pushing." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There’s only text sent by former First Daughter Ivanka Trump among the 2,319 CNN-obtained text messages between Trump’s inner circle from the days after the 2020 election and something about that feels peculiar to The New Abnormal podcast co-host Andy Levy. He and co-host Molly Jong-Fast tackle those in this episode along with special guests Congressman Ro Khanna (D-CA), who shares his thoughts on Elon Musk buying Twitter, and Amanda Litman, Co-Founder & Co-Executive Director of Run for Something. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hawaii senator Sen. Brian Schatz joins the show to explain why he let Josh Hawley have it on the Senate floor this month and what he thinks his colleague Joe Manchin will do, or not do, about climate change. Plus, Molly and co-host Andy discuss Dr. Oz, listen to clips of Tucker Carlson saying that the “Libs of TikTok” account is real journalism and break down Fox News star Jesse Watters’ creepy meet-cute with his wife. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In another jam-packed week of GOP fuckery, The New Abnormal co-hosts Molly Jong-Fast and Andy Levy looks at look at the party’s profiles in cowardice, starting with the new revelations about House Minority “Leader” Kevin McCarthy cozying back up to Donald Trump and then shifting to Ron DeSantis’ anti-Disney jihad and what Molly calls the party’s new brand of “unpopular populism.”No one is crying for Disney or its special tax status, says Andy, but it’s still nuts that “the government of Florida is now basically telling businesses, ‘just shut up and don't take any, you know, even the most milquetoast of stands” or we’re going to punish you even if you’re a company that brings the state billions in revenue a year. Then the Daily Beast’s Roger Sollenberger comes in to break down his recent reporting on the Maga Goon Squad’s new money woes, as Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, Madison Cawthorn, and Matt Gaetz collectively spent $275,000 more than they took in the first quarter of 2022. Plus, Gisele Barreto Fetterman, the second lady of Pennsylvania whose husband, John, is now running for the Senate, and the founder of the Free Story in Braddock, “actually the first free store in the country,” tells Molly how that came from “this idea that some of us have so much and some have so little and there's so much excess, and how can we bring all those worlds together to do good. I really believe in mutual aid and having people connect who maybe would otherwise think they don't have anything in common and the free store was a place where all of that could happen.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tucker Carlson’s constant pushing of junk science on his Fox News show reached an apex this week when he discussed “testicle tanning” with Kid Rock. Of course, The New Abnormal hosts Molly Jong-Fast and Andy Levy had to break down that video immediately. Also on the show: Democratic strategist James Carville, co-host of the Politics War Room podcast, holds no punches blaming the Democrats for Biden’s approval rating and Ruy Teixeira, a senior fellow at American Progress, explains why a handful of Hispanic voters voted for Trump last election despite the awful things he’s said about them. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

‘Freezing Order’ author Bill Browder, one of Moscow’s most wanted, joins this bonus episode of The New Abnormal to talk about “evil” Putin and why the former American banker still chooses to speak out against the Russian president despite being targeted and followed for it. Plus, co-hosts Molly Jong-Fast and Andy Levy react to a few very bizarre clips of Republicans and a rap about Matt Gaetz. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

the focus on The New Abnormal this week is on Donald Trump Junior, as CNN reporter Zachary Cohen breaks down his reporting on the namesake’s post-election text messages to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows scheming on how to steal the election: “We either have a vote WE control and WE win OR it gets kicked to Congress 6 January 2021.” Plus University of California Law professor Rick Hasen, the co-director of the university’s Fair Elections and Free Speech Center and the author of Cheap Speech: How Disinformation Poisons Our Politics—and How to Cure It, explains how “if we had the same polarized politics of today, but the technology of the 1950s, we likely wouldn't have had Jan.  6 and the insurrection and millions of people believing the false claim that the 2020 election was stolen.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rep. Eric Swalwell joins this episode of The New Abnormal to weigh in on the Don Jr. texts and explain what he calls the Costco Effect—and how it relates to the Trumps. Plus, Jodi Hicks, Planned Parenthood California’s President and CEO, explains what happened with the Texas woman who was held on $500K bail for having an abortion. Naturally, co-hosts Andy Levy and Molly Jong-Fast have a lot to say about all of the above, and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

J. David McSwane, author of Pandemic, Inc. shares his reporting on some of the fraudsters who got their hands on PPE contracts during the pandemic. Plus, a fun segment in which co-hosts Andy Levy and Molly Jong-Fast listen and respond to the wildest GOP clips from this week—including one in which Josh Mandel tells MLK Jr’s daughter she needs a history lesson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s “a sea of performative moronics” ahead of the mid-terms, says New Abnormal Molly Jong-Fast, and we’re all drowning in it. Just look at “the cruelty, the stupidity and the racism” coming out of Texas right now, where Gov. Greg Abbott seems more interested in getting booked on Fox News than getting anything done. Then Jan. 6 committee member Jamie Raskin joins the pod to explain how Republicans transitioned from the party of Lincoln to the party of Trump, “a minority party, a shrinking minority party” that nonetheless “wants to get rid of Liz Cheney, who represents pretty big parts of the conservative Republican establishment. They want to get rid of Adam Kinzinger and Mitt Romney and so on because they don't follow the leader in the way that they're supposed to.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You know who’s telling on themselves? The American conservatives cheering about Putin pal and proto-fascist Viktor Orban’s big re-election win in Hungary.  “It’s a pretty good litmus test,” says The New Abnormal co-host Molly Jong. “If you are celebrating that, you're probably a bad guy, like the people who are still support Putin.” Speaking of people telling on themselves, Washington Post investigative reporter Michael Kranish joins the pod to run down his reporting on MAGA mutts Madison Cawthorn, Mo Brooks and the inimitably awful Ted Cruz, who somehow managed to escape much scrutiny for months into his pivotal role in pushing Trump’s big lie, and doing everything he could to stop Joe Biden from taking office. Plus, Press Run founder and editor Eric Boehlert explains to Molly why “the coverage of the Biden economy is unlike anything I’ve ever seen” as the press coverage “reeks of both sides.”   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this bonus episode of The New Abnormal, Majority Minority author Justin Guest, a George Mason University professor, breaks down a sociological experiment he conducted to see if Hannity could make his viewers liberal with surprising results. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Madison Cawthorn has Republican leaders like Kevin McCarthy deathly afraid that people in his district will start asking him questions using words like “orgy” and “key bump.” Molly Jong-Fast and Andy Levy, The New Abnormal’s unflappable (seriously—they’re being forced to picture a debaucherous Louie Gohmert and Newt Gingrich) hosts, are ready to parse whether it’s better or worse for him if Cawthorn’s telling the truth. Also on this episode: George Conway, a lawyer and Washington Post contributor, explains why the 7-hour gap in Trump’s White House phone logs may not be so much a conspiracy as good old-fashioned incompetence; and Jena Griswold, Colorado’s secretary of state, breaks down the legislation she’s pushing to keep election security tight—and why it’s so “frightening” when the call, when it comes to voter fraud, comes from inside the house. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Charles Bethea of the New Yorker joins to break down his reporting on all that, and to break down his recent scoop about the very unlikely ballot cast in 2020 by former Trump Chief of Staff and still Big Lie enthusiast Mark Meadows: “He had recently sold in 2020 his and his wife’s house in the state, and as the election neared I think he wanted to vote in North Carolina, partly because he was thinking about and talking about running for Senate and you want to have a record of voting in the state where you run and he didn't own a property. So it looks like he did something that's still sort of inexplicable, but, and he hasn't given us a reason–” Plus New Lines Magazine editor and Daily Beast contributing editor rejoins the pod to explain what’s happening in Ukraine now, and why this refugee crisis has electrified the West in a way that the Syrian refugee crisis never quite did — including when Putin militarily intervened there. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

 Kid Rock of all damn people is boasting about how Donald Trump would call him up after Sarah Palin introduced him and Ted Nugest to the president, and ask things like “What do you think we could do about North Korea?” “I’m like, What? I don't think I'm qualified to answer this.” Then again, it could always be worse with this set. As Molly asks, “Do you think Kid Rock is stupider than Junior?” And, notes Andy, at least Kid Rock “was self-aware enough to know that he shouldn't be talking, giving advice about North Korea.” Plus, Florida Agriculture Commissioner and gubernatorial candidate Nikki Fried — who went to high school with Judge Jackson — joins to explain how she won office in a red state and her bid to become its first female governor. She says the party needs to “follow my lead” to win again in the Sunshine State: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s the 200th episode of The New Abnormal, starting with a wild “flashback” to the very “first” episode in the summer of 1998, when co-host Molly Jong-Fast foresaw a future of “racist babies,” with Molly wishing “if only there was a senator with a ridiculous mustache” to being the issue to light. Jump ahead to 2022, and co-host Andy Levy says Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson “really missed a chance there” when that senator with the ‘stache, Ted Cruz, asked her to define what a woman is. Jackson could have said, joked Levy: “Yes, senator, I define a woman as someone you marry and then defend them when someone else calls them ugly,” like Trump did to Cruz’s wife—who didn’t think that, or Trump saying his dad had killed JFK, was reason enough to stop sucking up to The Donald. Later in the episode, the Beast’s Matthew Fuller joins the party to break down the fuckery of the Jackson hearing and its “straight racism, just the full-flavored version." Plus, Buzzfeed’s Christopher Miller, who’s been reporting from the Ukraine for years, considers the first month of the Russian invasion—“When Putin announced his invasion, I was in the Eastern city of Kramatorsk, near the front lines of the longer simmering war in Eastern Ukraine and (was) awoken by an airstrike on an airfield that was about 2000 feet away from me, which is definitely 2000 feet too close—and the history that led to this moment.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Josh Hawley is attacking Biden’s Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson and is using the word “pedophilia” to do it. Naturally, The New Abnormal hosts Molly Jong-Fast and Andy Levy have choice words, and a new title, for him. Also on this episode: NBC News political analyst Susan Del Percio has a very scary midterm prediction involving Jim Jordan and Danielle Carnival, head of Biden’s White House Cancer Moonshot program, breaks down how exactly her team plans to meet the president’s goal of decreasing cancer by 50% in 25 years. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The war in Ukraine has made Vladimir Putin one of the most hated figures in the world. But any attempt to remove him from office could unleash more violence inside Russia. Moisés Naím, author of The Revenge of Power: How Autocrats Are Reinventing Politics for the 21st Century, tells Molly what that could look like in this bonus episode of The New Abnormal. Plus, Molly and co-host Andy Levy listen to a clip of Trump trying to “teach” Joe Biden about nuclear weapons, and they break down Sean Hannity’s “hard-on” for Ronald Reagan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Author Francis Fukayama thinks Zelensky’s communication-style, and his creative team, will be one of the main factors in overcoming Russian forces. Both he and former ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch joined this episode The New Abnormal to talk about the Ukrainian president’s transformation from comedian to hero and what they each think will be the outcome of the war (hint: it doesn’t look good for Russia.) Yovanovitch also details what she was told the night Trump ordered her to be removed from her position. Plus, co-hosts Molly Jong-Fast and Andy Levy discuss the Russian social media influencers who are very mad at Putin because of his Instagram ban and attempt to answer a vital question: Does Kyrsten Sinema understand Daylight Savings Time? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Putin may not realize how poorly the war is going for him, but his troops do. Ukrainian diplomat Olexander Scherba joins the pod to explain what he’s hearing from soldiers on the ground, including stories of them refusing to fight. Plus, The Nation’s Elie Mystal pleads with Biden to say the word “abortion” and hosts Molly Jong-Fast and Andy Levy discuss whether Tucker Carlson can feel embarrassment and Molly actually sorta defends Mitt Romney when it comes to Tulsi Gabbard. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Retired NYPD sergeant Valarie Carey joins today’s bonus episode along with Adell Coleman, co-host and executive producer of the podcast Say Their Name, to talk about her sister Miriam Carey, who was shot by law enforcement 26 times when she drove into a restricted zone outside of the U.S. Capitol. Plus, co-hosts Molly Jong-Fast and Andy Levy talk about why Ted Cruz is full of crap about vaccines—no one is hugging him as much as he says they are—and listen to clips of Don Jr. defending his dad, whom he weirdly calls “Trump.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a jam-packed new episode of The New Abormal, co-host Molly Jong-Fast rips into the “contingent of very stupid Republican Congresspeople” who don’t want the U.S. aiding Ukraine before building a border wall here, which makes sense since “the country of Mexico is shelling, Texas and they're using cluster bombs and stud missiles—Oh wait… There is no war at our Southern border, but no one has told Rep. Doug Collins.” Plus, Melissa Moss of the 65 Project explains how that was “set up to protect democracy; by holding accountable lawyers who bring bogus lawsuits to overturn legitimate election results” to account, and breaks down the three sorts of lawyers her group is going after. And the Atlantic’s Tom Nichols considers Putin: "This guy is not a good strategist. He blunders into things… and bluffs his way out, or tries to murder his way out. I don't know how this ends, if he were the strategist that everybody thinks he is, he would find an off-ramp.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nearly two weeks into Russia’s invasion, News Lines news director and Daily Beast editor at large Michael Weiss joins the pod to explain how and why the Ukranians have defied everyone’s expectations except their own. Plus, Steven Brill of NewsGuard looks back at his group’s conversations with Facebook. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this bonus episode of the New Abnormal, Kyiv-based film producer Egor Olesov— an executive producer at FilmUA, one of the largest film studios in Ukraine, where we worked extensively with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his acting career — calls in from Lviv. Olesov—in a conversation also joined by John Wynn, a Vietnamese-American filmmaker who worked with Egor on the film The Rising Hawk, which was shot in Ukraine in 2019 and 2019—tells host Molly Jong-Fast that “We came back and right now we are doing what we can do as much as possible to support our people, to defend our country and to show to the world the truth about this crazy Russian invasion in Ukraine. It’s like horror dream. It's a really crazy situation. It's a big war in the center of the Europe.” Plus Andrew Rice, New York Magazine Contributing Editor and the author of the Year That Broke America, explains how “I came to the conclusion that the seeds of the future were sewn in 2000 in the election between Bush and Gore (as) all the things that we now see coming to fruition in distressing form in our society were sort of just starting to come into being at that time and in one place, in Florida. which I call the unlikely crucible of the future” — one where “at the time the recount was going on, the 9/11 pilots were training in Florida, sort of serenely flying above it”—just after Trump ran for the reform party nomination that year in his first presidential campaign and “all these stories I sort of brought together in the book tell this sort of ribald, picaresque and ultimately sort of tragic story of how America took a wrong turn.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has become an icon around the world for his bravery and leadership since the Russian invasion began—and New Abnormal co-host Molly Jong-Fast herself has a special place in her heart for him. Zelensky “is my age and a Jewish comedian, so I feel very connected to him,” she says on the latest episode of The New Abnormal. “My generation, we’ve had a tough time of it. We’ve never really had our moment. So this may be as close as we ever get to our moment.” Later on the episode, Face the Nation moderator and CBS News chief foreign affairs correspondent Margaret Brennan joins to talk about the conflict in Ukraine and the exodus of a million Ukrainians. Finally, former presidential candidate Evan McMullin, who’s now running as an independent to unseat Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), comes on talk about his race and the Russia-Ukraine war. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The attack on Ukraine isn’t going how Russian President Vladimir Putin thought it would, co-host Molly Jong-Fast posits in today’s episode of The New Abnormal. Vladimir Ashurkov, a colleague of anti-Putin opposition leader Alexei Navalny, joins the pod to explain what’s next for Putin—whether he wins or loses the war. Then, NBC News’ Jonathan Allen talks about what he saw at CPAC (the The Conservative Political Action Conference), including a screaming match at a bar where two men argued about Ukraine and one called the other a “shrill for the Queen.” Plus, co-host Andy Levy has a message for Marjorie Taylor Greene: “It’s OK to cancel Nazis.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Barbara McQuade, a former Michigan prosecutor, joins the first unlocked bonus episode of The New Abnormal to explain how Trump’s big lie is a provable crime. Plus, Andy Levy makes his Sunday episode debut, just in time to listen to clips of Josh Mandel sounding stupid and to unpack Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott’s criminalization of trans kids. It’s a move Andy calls “full-on fascist.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Biden is not doing much with Russian sanctions as they now stand, says PBS NewsHour Special Correspondent and documentary filmmaker Simon Ostrovsky, who is also Russian-American. He came on this episode to share what he thinks Biden really needs to bring to the negotiating table with Putin. Speaking of Putin, co-hosts Andy Levy and Molly Jong-Fast discuss all the ways they’re sure the dictator turns on right-wingers like Tucker Carlson and Ben Shapiro. Plus, Charlie Sykes, editor-at-large at The Bulwark, tries to understand what broke Sen. Ron Johnson’s brain and made it…Trumpy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse is not pleased with Mitch McConnell’s handling of dark money. He came on the pod to explain why he’s pinning the lack of dark money legislation on McConnell as well as what’s happening with climate change legislation. Plus, author Wes Moore tells TNA co-host Molly-Jong-Fast why he’s running for Governor of Maryland and what he wants to change. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gal Beckerman, editor at The Atlantic, explains why places like Twitter are no longer cutting it when it comes to social movements and makes the case with a story from the Black Lives Matter movement. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.