Pod Save America

Don Lemon, the former CNN anchor turned independent journalist, talks to Alex Wagner about the charges the Department of Justice brought against him for covering an ICE protest inside a Minnesota church. Don shares new details about the days leading up to his arrest and the administration's war against a free and independent press. Then, they talk about the differences between independent and mainstream journalism, how MAGA media differs from the media on the left, and what's next for Lemon and the "Lemon Heads." Could it be a run for president?

Donald Trump's approval rating hits historic lows as voters react to soaring gas prices caused by his war of choice with Iran. Dan and Jon discuss what those new figures mean for the upcoming midterms and react to Florida Democrats flipping the state legislative seat that includes the president's home at Mar-a-Lago. Plus: the new report that Trump is tiring of the war even as he plans a ground invastion, his likely illegal attempt to pay TSA workers by executive order, and the election crisis facing Democrats in California.

Donald Trump backtracks on his threat to obliterate Iran's power plants, saying the administration has begun talks with Iran to end the war, despite Iran's insistence that no talks are underway. Jon, Tommy, and Lovett react to the reversal and debate its validity, discuss the White House's decision to lift sanctions on 140 million barrels of Iranian oil, and check in on the Pentagon's request for an additional $200 billion to wage this war. Then, they react to Trump's plan to send ICE agents into airports to assist the TSA, a Wall Street Journal report about a revolt brewing inside the Democratic Party over Chuck Schumer's leadership, and the president's disgusting comment on the death of Robert Mueller. Finally, Strict Scrutiny's Leah Litman stops by to talk to Lovett about the major mail-in voting case before the Supreme Court and the drama inside the New Jersey US Attorney's office.

Jen Psaki, Joe Biden's former White House Press Secretary and host of MS NOW's The Briefing with Jen Psaki, talks to Dan about the ways the Trump administration is trying — and failing — to sell its war with Iran to the American people. The two discuss the White House's meme-forward messaging campaign, MAGA media's break with the president over the war, and how Trump's cell phone interview habit is shaping media coverage. Then, Dan and Jen discuss how a series of contentious Senate primaries are reshaping the Democratic Party and whether "fuck Trump" is a strong enough message heading into the midterms.For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

The Pentagon requests an additional $200 billion in funding for Trump's war in Iran. Jon and Dan discuss how Democrats in Congress should respond to the request, the administration's insistence that rising gas prices are nothing to worry about, and the resignation of a high-ranking intelligence official, Joe Kent, over the administration's decision to go to war with Iran. Then, they talk about Tulsi Gabbard's and Markwayne Mullin's explosive hearings on the Hill, AIPAC's impact on Tuesday's Democratic primaries in Illinois, and Trump's latest money-making venture — putting himself on a commemorative gold coin. Then, Juliana Stratton, the new Democratic nominee for Senate in Illinois, talks to Dan about her simple, effective anti-Trump message.For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

President Trump calls on U.S. allies to send warships to the Middle East to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but no one seems interested in answering his call. Jon, Tommy, and Lovett discuss the United States' decreasing global standing, the deployment of an additional 2,500 Marines to the region, and Trump's interesting word selection at a Kennedy Center turned Iran war press conference on Monday morning. Then, the guys discuss Trump and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr's threats against the media over its Iran war coverage, the vicious fight happening on the right over the war, and check in on corruption coming out of the administration, including a shocking Trump fundraising email, Jared Kushner's investment fund, and Sen. Markwayne Mullin's suspicious stock trading. Finally: the guys jump in on the latest trend taking over the political media — cold-calling President Trump.For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro stops by the studio to talk to Jon Lovett about Trump's war in Iran, growing antisemitism and Islamophobia in America, and what it'll take for Democrats to learn how to do big things again. The two then unpack what it takes for a politician to honestly change their mind, ask the Governor's sister — who was sitting in the studio — to fact-check his claims about growing up as a troublemaker, and debate whether a calm, collected approach to politics can also be cool in our current political moment.For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

President Trump suggests that the high price of oil—surging upward because of his war in Iran—is a good thing, because the United States makes "a lot of money." Jon and Dan discuss the President's unique affordability message, his claim that the war has already been won, and what Joe Rogan, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Gen Z men are saying about Iran. Then, they check in on the GOP, including the party's mass deportation messaging "hiccup," the lengths some on the right are going to in order to pass the SAVE Act, and MAGA's full embrace of Islamophobia. Finally, they react to former DOGE staffers trying to explain DEI under oath, and to Marco Rubio allegedly lying about his shoe size to the President of the United States.

The war in Iran enters its second week and Donald Trump declares that it's about to end — and also that it's going to last a very long time. Jon, Tommy, and Lovett react to the president's conflicting statements, the cascading global energy crisis he created, and the way Republicans — especially warmonger Lindsey Graham — are reacting to the war. Then, they discuss why some Democrats are hesitant to cut off funding for the strikes, the administration's arrests of American citizens protesting its deportation campaign, and the Trump sons' new business venture: drone warfare. Then, Tommy talks to Congressman Pat Ryan, an Iraq War veteran, about our new war and what Democrats can do to oppose it.For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

California Governor Gavin Newsom sits down with Jon and Tommy before a live audience in Los Angeles to discuss Trump's war on Iran, the crowded California gubernatorial primary, and his new book Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery. The governor talks about his close childhood friendship with the Getty family, issuing the first same-sex marriage licenses nationwide as San Francisco Mayor, and his surprising childhood pet, Potter the otter.For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

Trump abruptly fires Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Dan and Jon discuss the Congressional hearings that led to her dismissal, Trump's announcement that Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin will replace her, and the future of DHS. Then they react to the administration's ever-shifting justifications for their war with Iran, Republicans voting with Democrats to subpoena Attorney General Pam Bondi over her handling of the Epstein files, how MAGA is already attacking James Talarico, and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy's new target: Dunkin' Donuts. Then, Dan talks to Politico senior political columnist Jonathan Martin about Tuesday night's results, the tense Republican runoff in Texas, and Jmart’s forthcoming podcast series, On the Road with Jonathan Martin.For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

The Trump administration struggles to justify its new war with Iran, while Democrats struggle to effectively explain why Americans should oppose it. Jon, Tommy, and Lovett react to Trump's first live remarks following the killing of six American soldiers and dissect the administration's conflicting comments about the war's rationale, objectives, and timeline. Then, they discuss how Democrats are talking about it, why not even all of MAGA is on board, the Department of War declaring Anthropic a "supply chain risk," and the Ellison family's impending takeover of CNN. Then, Lovett talks to Senator Ruben Gallego about Iran and the Democratic Party's Senate primaries in Maine and Texas.For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

Graham Platner, a Democratic candidate running for Senate in Maine, stops by the studio to talk with Jon about Trump’s impending conflict with Iran, the future of Medicare for All, and what community organizing in rural Maine taught him about building political power in our polarized era. The two discuss new polls showing Platner leading Janet Mills in the Democratic Senate primary, how his tattoo controversy has resonated with Maine voters, and what he wants to change about the Democratic Party to rebuild a winning, working-class coalition.For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

The White House debates going to extreme lengths to get the American public to stomach a war with Iran, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth tries to force Anthropic into letting him use their AI model to operate autonomous murder drones. Jon and Dan react with horror and then discuss the rest of the news, including the administration's new fraud-focused message, the draft executive order that the administration may use to declare a national emergency before the midterms, and a new report that Trump's Justice Department removed some documents from the Epstein files that accused the President of sexually abusing a minor. Then, Tommy talks to an organizer in Arizona about Vote Save America's effort to recruit people like you to run in down-ballot races in the Grand Canyon State and all over the country.For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

Donald Trump breaks his own record for longest State of the Union in history, delivering a meandering, angry, tone-deaf speech that utterly fails at its single most important goal: laying out a clear plan for lowering prices. Jon, Lovett, Dan, and Tommy react to Trump's stunts—including bringing on the members of the USA Hockey men's team—what he said about his plans for Iran, the fights he tried to pick with Democrats, and the official Democratic response from Gov. Abigail Spanberger.

The State of the Union has arrived. Will war with Iran come with it? Jon, Tommy, and Lovett react to reports that Trump is considering launching air strikes against Iran in the coming days and then jump into the rest of the news, including the President's decision to impose a new fifteen percent global tariff—after the Supreme Court ruled his existing ones were illegal—Kash Patel's taxpayer-funded trip to party with the U.S. men's hockey team, and the various ways Congressional Democrats are planning to respond to tonight's State of the Union address. Then, Lovett chats with MS NOW's Symone Sanders-Townsend and Eugene Daniels about the Democratic Party's 2028 frontrunners, the Crockett-Talarico Texas primary, and their new podcast, "MS NOW Presents: Clock It."For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

The Supreme Court tanks Donald Trump's tariff program in a 6-3 ruling supported by two of his hand-picked justices. Lovett talks to Jerusalem Demsas, economics writer and editor-in-chief of The Argument, about the epic presidential tantrum that followed and what Trump might do now. Then they discuss the findings from a new Argument poll about the backlash to trans rights, why Congress won't assert itself as a coequal branch, the way forward for housing policy, and why all the commentary about the anti-Trump resistance being "cringe" is missing the point.For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

Trump's economic messaging tour takes him to Georgia, where he claims "I've won affordability"—as White House advisors concede in a high-level meeting that he "will do what he wants to do, say what he wants to say." No surprise then that Republican strategists are beginning to go public with their fears about the midterms. Jon and Dan react to all the latest, including Trump's plans for war in Iran, the saga of Texas Senate candidate James Talarico's cancelled interview with Stephen Colbert, and the rumored departure of spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, the face of DHS's worst lies.For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

Live from Sydney, Jon, Lovett, Tommy, and Dan discuss the lurid details of The Wall Street Journal exposé on Kristi Noem and Corey Lewandowski's eye-opening behavior at (and high above) the Department of Homeland Security. Then, they look at the latest with Republicans' efforts to steal the midterms, including Noem's promise to make sure "we have the right people voting, electing the right leaders," RFK Jr.'s new war on donuts, and Barack Obama's advice for Democrats on resolving their differences. Then, they stage their own debate about which Democratic presidential hopeful would be the strongest candidate, drawing names from the 2028 Sorting Hat.For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

What can we learn from other countries that have lived through dictatorships? How can artists fight authoritarianism? How should an Oscar nominee react to an encounter with ICE on the way to the Academy Awards? Alex Wagner is joined by actor and filmmaker Wagner Moura, star of the Oscar-nominated The Secret Agent — a thrilling, beautiful film set during Brazil’s military dictatorship. You may also remember Moura as Pablo Escobar from Narcos. Wagner and Wagner discuss the political parallels between Brazil and the United States, what Alex Pretti’s killing teaches us about masculinity, and the Trump administration’s distorted response to violence in the streets. They also talk about the importance of cultural memory, what the Epstein Files say about power, Trump’s reaction to Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance, and the gutting of The Washington Post. Jon, Tommy, and Lovett will be back in your feeds this week.For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.