The Muckrake Political Podcast

Support the show by signing up to our Patreon and get access to the full Weekender episode each Friday as well as special Live Shows and access to our community discord: http://patreon.com/muckrakepodcast. It’s a full mailbag Weekender and it starts with Jared Yates Sexton hitting the wall after another long day on the road and Nick Hauselman catching heat for being too friendly with the devil machines. A listener asks whether the Democratic Party can be rebuilt or if it has to be replaced and the answer is not comforting. Another wants to know what it looks like when elections stop being free and fair, and they talk through the warning signs and why the “somebody will step in” instinct isn't realistic. Then a higher ed administrator writes in about the AI push inside colleges and why the people selling efficiency are really selling layoffs and hollowed out institutions. The questions keep coming on surveillance tech, local wins that feel too small, and what happens when public pressure stops working. They get into burnout, dissociation, and which Star Wars prequel we’re living through right now. They also hit the California governor race and why Jared treats every billionaire like a crime scene. It wraps with a question about where their politics came from and why the neoliberal era is decaying into something meaner. Happy Valentine’s Day, to all you lovers out there.

Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman rip into Ring's Super Bowl ad, which manipulates the raw emotion of reuniting with a lost dog to sell a feature that quietly turns neighborhood doorbell cameras into a shared surveillance network. They move on to the Super Bowl's cultural divide: Bad Bunny's triumphant halftime show that sparked racist outrage, contrasted with the joyless Turning Point USA alternative that exposed the right's inability to create real energy or fun. The discussion hits Epstein file revelations linking back to Trump, Massie's bold public feud with him, the slim prospects for meaningful unredacted leaks through Congress, and the building tension around possible strikes on Iran as oligarchs push their agenda forward. Support the show on Patreon for the full episode, the Weekender every Friday, Live Shows, and our Discord community: http://patreon.com/muckrakepodcast Submit your questions for Friday's mailbag at muckrakepodcast@gmail.com

It is Super Bowl weekend and neither the co-hosts Jared Yates Sexton or Nick Hauselman can pretend to care about the game. Jared is in full "They Live" mode and he is not being polite about it. The conversation quickly turns to the Washington Post gutting itself under Jeff Bezos, and what it means when a billionaire can buy a load bearing newsroom with pocket change. They argue that this is not a business mistake, it is the point, and they connect it to the bigger pattern of institutions being neutralized on purpose. Then they jump to the bitcoin slide, and how gambling keeps getting sold as hope in a collapsing economy. From there they hit Kamala’s new “Headquarters” relaunch and why it reads like brand management in the middle of an emergency. They close with France raiding X’s offices over sexual abuse material and deepfakes, and why Europe still has levers the US refuses to pull. The Weekender ends with what they’re watching and what they’re reading, including a rough movie recommendation and a couple books that actually land. Support the show by signing up to our Patreon and get access to the full Weekender episode each Friday as well as special Live Shows and access to our community discord: http://patreon.com/muckrakepodcast

Co-hosts Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman kick off by diving into the latest drop of Epstein Files. They break down how Trump's name is mentioned 38,000+ times, with some really nasty tips the feds posted for a hot second before redacting everything and pulling it once screenshots started circulating. Epstein appears to be a straight-up intelligence asset as he received obvious legal protection due to his ties to the CIA, Mossad, and Russian money. They hit the crazy new angle of Epstein linking up with 4chan founder Christopher Poole right around the time the site became a launchpad for extreme online movements. Jared and Nick explain how that ecosystem fed the alt-right surge into 2016 and created QAnon, which flipped the script and pinned the same crimes these files keep exposing on everyone else. Blackmail to get in the door, rituals to keep people tied, elite power running on straight abuse. They close out on the bigger mess: Democrats folding on the budget again, just delaying the funding of ICE, who is continues to spend on concentration camps with basically no real resistance to the fascism building. The corruption cuts across both parties. Trust in the whole system is dead. Something's going to snap. Support the show by signing up for our Patreon to unlock our Weekender Show every Friday, plus access to the Discord discussion and special live shows.

The Weekender, our weekly show for Patreon members, opens with fallout from Alex Pretti’s murder and the sudden sidelining of Bovino, with Tom Homan stepping in and the administration pretending this is accountability instead of damage control. Co-hosts Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman break down why this shakeup changes nothing, why ICE is still operating like a lawless occupying force, and why Democrats are offering cosmetic fixes while people are being abducted in the streets. They dig into the broader picture, from Kristi Noem’s political trouble to the FBI raid on Georgia election offices, and why the renewed obsession with 2020 looks a lot like groundwork for controlling future elections. The conversation circles back to the same question: if institutions won’t stop this, where does real resistance come from. They cool things down at the end with what they’re reading and watching, including Oscar contenders, a brutal takedown of The Rip, and why some messy, ambitious movies stick in your head long after the credits roll. Support the show by signing up to our Patreon and get access to the full Weekender episode each Friday as well as special Live Shows and access to our community discord: http://patreon.com/muckrakepodcast

Co-hosts Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman are furious, and they’re not trying to hide it. They dig into the killing of Alex Preti, a VA nurse who rushed in to help someone who’d been pepper sprayed, got tackled, disarmed, and ended up shot to death while the cameras rolled. Then came the part that makes it feel even darker: the immediate scramble to flip the story, smear the victim, and sell the public an alternate version of reality. They talk about what “they heard ‘gun’” is turning into, a magic word that apparently wipes out training, restraint, and consequences. And they get into the bigger trap people are stuck in right now: waiting for guardrails, waiting for Democrats, waiting for a system that keeps proving it won’t protect anyone. If this is “law enforcement,” why does it keep looking like an occupying force, and why is everyone being told to just accept it? Support the show by signing up to our Patreon and get access to the full Weekender episode each Friday as well as special Live Shows and access to our community discord: http://patreon.com/muckrakepodcast

Nick Hauselman is flying solo while Jared Yates Sexton is out, so he grabs his buddy Brian Kaplan for a relaxed Weekender that starts as a casual lunch in LA and somehow turns into a full-blown political autopsy. Between salad-fork confessions and talk of suspicious bruises, they dig into: whether Trump needs full time care, why congressional hearings are basically soundbite factories, and how “we all saw it happen” doesn’t matter when a party’s committed to an alternate reality. From Matt Gaetz and the ethics report mess to the Supreme Court’s consequence-free zone, the conversation keeps circling the same ugly theme: power, money, and the cruelty-as-strength brand that keeps getting rewarded. They also kick around the idea that America isn’t “going back” to anything, it’s stumbling into a new Gilded Age, and the only real rebuild might come from a generation that’s sick of watching the same fossilized leadership cling to the wheel. And because it’s the Weekender, they close it out with something actually pleasant: what they’re watching when the news gets too dark. Support the show by signing up to our Patreon and get access to the full Weekender episode each Friday as well as special Live Shows and access to our community discord: http://patreon.com/muckrakepodcast

Jared Yates Sexton is on the road without the studio setup, but he and Nick Hauselman still sound sharper than the people allegedly running the country. Nick reads a wildly unhinged letter Trump reportedly sent to Norway, a Nobel Peace Prize grievance tour that somehow swerves into Denmark, Greenland, and demands for “complete and total control.” From there, they dig into what it means when the U.S. starts treating allies like enemies, using tariffs like a cudgel, and drifting toward a real crisis over Greenland. They talk intelligence sharing, Five Eyes, why allies would start going dark, and how all of it connects back to the domestic crackdown, Minnesota, and the surveillance state getting upgraded right in front of everyone.

You’re hearing a preview of the Weekender. Get the full episode, bonus shows, and access to our community by subscribing here: http://patreon.com/muckrakepodcast. Co-hosts Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman dig into Trump’s latest authoritarian talk, from musing about skipping elections to floating Insurrection Act crackdowns. They break down reports of ICE ramp-ups in places like Maine, the expanding surveillance network tied to it, and why Democratic leaders keep blinking. Then it’s the Greenland talk, NATO fallout, and why chaos, outages, and “testing the fence” all feel like the point. They close with what they’re reading and watching, and a frank check-in on how to keep your bearings when the news cycle is a blender.

Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman take on the Department of Justice opening an investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, a move they argue has nothing to do with accountability and everything to do with pressure and punishment. They break down how Trump’s long campaign against the Fed fits into a larger effort to control interest rates, bend institutions to his will, and reshape the economy around the needs of himself and his allies, regardless of the consequences for everyone else. From there, they connect it to what’s happening in the streets, the expanding role of ICE, the escalation following the killing of René Nicole Good, and the way intimidation, propaganda, and selective enforcement are becoming standard operating procedure. It’s a conversation about power, fear, and what happens when the people at the top decide that stability, norms, and even basic rights are expendable. Support the show by signing up to our Patreon and get access to the full Weekender episode each Friday as well as special Live Shows and access to our community discord: http://patreon.com/muckrakepodcast

Support the show and get the full Weekender episode by subscribing to our Patreon at http://patreon.com/muckrakepodcast. This is not an easy episode to record, and it is not an easy one to hear. Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman sit down early Thursday to talk about what happened in Minneapolis, where Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother and legal observer, was shot and killed by an ICE agent while sitting in her car, in front of her wife. They walk through what the video shows, how the official story formed almost immediately, and why the rush to justify what happened matters just as much as the act itself. This is a conversation about a life taken, about how institutions protect themselves, and about what it means when something so plainly tragic is treated like a political problem instead of a human one.

On this episode of the Muckrake Podcast, Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman confront what may be one of the most audacious and disturbing moments of the Trump era, which is saying something. The United States uses special forces to abduct Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro while bombing Caracas, then casually announces it will run Venezuela and seize its oil. No congressional authorization. No real pushback. No consequences. They break down how this operation could have happened, why it almost certainly required months of planning, and what it means when the most powerful military in human history is fully under the control of an authoritarian regime. The conversation explores the legality, or lack thereof, of the abduction, the hollow narco trafficking charges, and the chilling precedent being set for global politics. Jared and Nick also examine the implications for international law, NATO, and the postwar liberal order, drawing lines from the war on terror to Ukraine, Venezuela, and the emerging world of authoritarian spheres of influence. They discuss Mark Kelly’s warning to the military, the targeting of dissent, the role of oil companies, and why this feels fundamentally different from Trump’s first term. This is a bleak, furious, and deeply unsettling conversation about state power, fascism, and the collapse of norms that once pretended to restrain empire. If you are asking how far this can go, the answer may already be unfolding. Support the show by signing up to our Patreon and get access to the full Weekender episode each Friday as well as special Live Shows and access to our community discord: ⁠http://patreon.com/muckrakepodcast⁠

This is a preview of our regular Weekender show released in full every Friday on our Patreon at patreon.com/muckrakepodcast Please support the show by subscribing and unlocking special content as well as access to our discord and live shows. Co-hosts Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman ring in 2026 with resolutions, sugar hangovers, and a hard look at how a viral YouTube stunt and JD Vance’s megaphone spiraled into a federal freeze on Minnesota child-care funds. They break down the racist scapegoating of Somali communities, which plays right into the right’s conspiracy theories, and why this is political retribution dressed up as oversight. Then it’s the latest Epstein revelations implicating Mar-a-Lago’s spa pipeline and how it connects to Trump even more deeply before focuing on the Supreme Court's refusal to bless federal troop deployments that might turn into a roadmap for even more law-breaking. "What We're Watching" looks at the Stranger Things finale and why nostalgia is starting to feel like content slurry.

Co-hots Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman return for the final Muckrake episode of 2025, and the vibes are… kinda emotionally stable. They look back on a year that somehow felt darker than 2020, then pivot straight into the current circus: Trump raging at the media, posturing about the Epstein files, hosting Zelensky at Mar-a-Lago, and then parroting Putin’s lines like the Oval Office has a Kremlin teleprompter. From there, the conversation goes where 2025 always seems to go: Into the flashing dashboard lights of institutional collapse, Trump’s visible decline, and the unnerving signals that J.D. Vance is already laying 2028 groundwork with Turning Point backing. And if that wasn’t bleak enough, they close with an absolutely cursed focus group of Gen Z Republicans that reads like a “content brain” case study, complete with casual extremism, conspiracy marination, and the kind of political illiteracy that would be funny if it wasn’t actively setting things on fire. Support the show by signing up to our Patreon and get access to the full Weekender episode each Friday as well as special Live Shows and access to our community discord: http://patreon.com/muckrakepodcast

Co-hosts Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman open with brisket talk, then carve into a darker holiday menu. First up, CBS pulls a reported 60 Minutes segment on El Salvador’s CECOT prison after Barry Weiss rides in to “center” the narrative. Then it’s over to TPUSA’s AmericaFest, where Vice President J.D. Vance serves up a white grievance stocking stuffer as conservative influencers snipe at each other for clicks and control. Finally, they wade through the latest Epstein document dump, where the redactions are doing more heavy lifting than the DOJ, and close on why Democratic incumbents already fear 2026 primaries. No Weekender this Friday for the holiday, the year-end show returns next week. Support the show by signing up to our Patreon and get access to the full Weekender episode each Friday as well as special Live Shows and access to our community discord: http://patreon.com/muckrakepodcast

Support the show by signing up to our Patreon and get access to the full Weekender episode each Friday as well as special Live Shows and access to our community discord: ⁠http://patreon.com/muckrakepodcast⁠ Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman break down Donald Trump’s primetime White House address, a rambling, xenophobic meltdown delivered with approval ratings stuck in the mid-30s and no plan to fix anything. They unpack the familiar routine, blame immigrants, lie about affordability, pretend a war crime is leadership, and hope yelling louder somehow changes reality. From the $1,776 military stunt and growing unrest inside the ranks, to Susie Wiles torching her own boss in Vanity Fair, Bongino bailing on the FBI, Democrats burying their 2024 autopsy, and CBS debasing itself for Bari Weiss, it’s a portrait of institutions collapsing in real time while everyone involved pretends this is normal.

A brutal weekend, and a brutal reminder of how broken this moment is. Co-hosts Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman unpack the shocking killing of Rob Reiner and Michelle Reiner, then get into Trump’s grotesque response and what it reveals about the rot at the top. They also hit the GOP cracks in Indiana redistricting, another U.S. campus shooting, and the grim drumbeat of violence and paranoia that never seems to stop. Support the show by signing up to our Patreon and get access to the full Weekender episode each Friday as well as special Live Shows and access to our community discord: http://patreon.com/muckrakepodcast

Support the show by signing up to our Patreon and get access to the full Weekender episode each Friday as well as special Live Shows and access to our community discord: http://patreon.com/muckrakepodcast Co-hosts Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman kick off the Weekender talking about the bad vibes in the air, which somehow leads to aliens because, honestly, it makes as much sense as anything else right now. From there they dive straight into the Venezuela mess: the US seizing an oil tanker, Pam Bondi’s incoherent spin, Trump rattling sabers at half the hemisphere, and a political class treating potential war like content creation. They break down why nobody in power seems serious, why the Supreme Court is rubber-stamping authoritarianism, why measles is suddenly back, and why visitors to the United States may soon have to hand over five years of social media posts. It is all connected by the same theme: these people have no idea what they’re doing, and we’re the ones living with the consequences.

Co-hosts Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman dig into Trump’s 2025 National Security Strategy, a 33 page blueprint that reads less like a sober policy document and more like a crypto fascist love letter to white nationalist demographics, spheres of influence, and an American retreat from the postwar liberal order. They break down what it means for NATO, Europe, Russia, China, and why no one in their right mind should ever again trust the United States as a “steady partner” when policy swings on whatever enriches one deeply corrupt old man and his oligarch friends. From there, the guys wade into the Netflix grab for Warner Bros and the rival Ellison–Kushner–Saudi play, talking about how tech money, oil money, and propaganda ambitions are fusing into one giant content machine that cares a lot about control and very little about art. Then it is on to FIFA inventing a fake “Peace Prize” to flatter Trump, the Queller pardon that turned into an open air quid pro quo tantrum, and Marjorie Taylor Greene’s sad little image rehab tour on 60 Minutes. Support the show by signing up to our Patreon and get access to the full Weekender episode each Friday as well as special Live Shows and access to our community discord: http://patreon.com/muckrakepodcast

Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman break down the rapidly spiraling Pete Hegseth scandal, the September strike on Venezuelan fishermen, and why the second “rescue” mission amounts to a tacit admission of wrongdoing. They dig into how a non-war became a war crime, the crumbling veneer of U.S. legitimacy, and the political panic now radiating through Trump’s cabinet. From there, the guys turn to the FBI’s suddenly convenient arrest in the January 6th pipe-bomb case, the paper-thin evidence behind it, and why incompetence has become the defining feature of every institution now claiming to restore order. Then it’s on to the right wing’s newest manufactured martyr, a Bible-citing psychology student whose zero-point assignment has been weaponized into yet another grift about free speech. They wrap with a dive into Stranger Things, trauma allegories, Ken Burns’s America, and what it means to watch childhood, democracy, and reality all get bent out of shape by the same forces. Support the show by signing up to our Patreon and get access to the full Weekender episode each Friday as well as special Live Shows and access to our community discord: http://patreon.com/muckrakepodcast