The Contrarian Pod

Who could speak to Nancy Pelosi better than her own Chief of Staff? Jen spoke with Terri McCullough, the former Chief of Staff to the Speaker Emerita, who shared the inside story of working side by side with the legislative powerhouse.The pair talked about McCullough’s own career, how the former Speaker was so successful in the modern political era, and Pelosi’s lasting legacy as Speaker.The Contrarian is owned by nobody. Your paid subscription helps us bring you the brightest voices in politics & culture and fight every day against the Trump chaos machine. Join us on Substack. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit contrarian.substack.com/subscribe

Representative Jason Crow from Colorado, a veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and former Army Ranger, knows a lot about the rules of engagement.When he appeared in a video with five Democratic colleagues warning our troops that they needed to reject illegal orders, Trump labeled him a seditious traitor.Jen had a chance to talk with Rep. Crow about Pete Hegseth’s failures at the Defense Department, Hegseth’s role in that infamous September 2nd strike, the illegality or legality of the entire operation, and the morally untenable position our troops are in now.And, Jen and Norm Eisen speak with Senator Andy Kim [19:33] from New Jersey. Drawing on his background in the Obama administration and time spent in the State Department and with USAID, the trio discuss the operation in the Caribbean, and Sen. Kim’s anti-corruption effort back home in New Jersey.The Contrarian is owned by nobody. Your paid subscription helps us bring you the brightest voices in politics & culture and fight every day against the Trump chaos machine. Join us on Substack. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit contrarian.substack.com/subscribe

Although it seems impossible to combat the overwhelming flood of harmful material young adults and children exposed to online, not all hope is lost! Seth Limmer, the Director of Public Affairs at the Polarization & Extremism Research & Innovation Lab (PERIL), and Jen talked about how hateful ideology is spreading online, but also, how we can build infrastructure to fight back and support each other against extremism.And, Jared Bernstein [23:33] is here with his weekly Let’s do Lunch series! This week, he talks with Neil Mahoney, who runs the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, to answer questions on affordability, health care, and more. Let’s Do Lunch is live every other Tuesday at Noon Eastern on The Contrarian substack.The Contrarian is owned by nobody. Your paid subscription helps us bring you the brightest voices in politics & culture and fight every day against the Trump chaos machine. Join us on Substack. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit contrarian.substack.com/subscribe

Michigan State Senator Mallory McMorrow is running for U.S. Senate, joining the competitive race against other big, established Democrat names.Mallory and Jen discuss how her platform differs from those she’s up against —including the importance of turning legal norms into enforceable laws, the growing concern over lacking regulations on cryptocurrency, the housing affordability crisis, and Trump’s incredibly poor handling of foreign affairs.And, you might be asking yourself how she got her start? She got the help from “Run for Something,” which Amanda Litman [25:30] co-founded and now serves as President.As multiple electoral victories in November showed, people are tired of old-guard candidates and their policies.Amanda and Jen talked about how anyone — even you, especially you, contrarians — can be empowered to run for office if they feel inspired to create a change for good in their community. No matter your age, political experience, or fundraising skills, Run For Something can help!The Contrarian is owned by nobody. Your paid subscription helps us bring you the brightest voices in politics & culture and fight every day against the Trump chaos machine. Join us on Substack. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit contrarian.substack.com/subscribe

Traditionally, it’s authoritarian dictators — not democratically elected presidents — who call for the execution of their perceived political enemies. Yet, President Trump claimed six Democratic senators are seditionists and added “DEATH!” to the end of a recent Truth Social post.Senator Chris Coons from Delaware and Jen Rubin talked about why Trump’s escalating rhetoric is a danger, not only to the senators named, but also to the country as a whole. They also discussed why he keeps cozying up to autocrats like Saudi crown prince MBS, the unauthorized conflict with Venezuela, and the need for Americans to rediscover shared moral ground.And, you might have seen the Trump administration is being held in contempt after allegedly misleading a federal district court in Washington and defying orders via secret deportations. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island [22:10] and Jen talked about the ongoing court circus that follows Trump’s Justice Department, his legislation to restore civil remedies for those harmed by federal officers.The Contrarian is owned by nobody. Your paid subscription helps us bring you the brightest voices in politics & culture and fight every day against the Trump chaos machine. Join us on Substack. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit contrarian.substack.com/subscribe

We are just about one year away from the 2026 midterms, a pivotal election for re-installing authoritarian guardrails and protecting our democracy.Yasmin Radjy is the Executive Director of Swing Left, and they recently launched their initiative called Ground Truth. It’s a deep-canvassing strategy, aimed at not only meeting voters face-to-face, but implementing their feedback directly into policy proposals.Jen and Yasmin talked about how a true grassroots campaign for voters is needed to take back the House in 2026.And, you might have seen last Thursday, Trump called Tennessee State Representative Aftyn Behn [19:34] a “left-wing lunatic” ahead of Tennessee’s upcoming Dec. 2nd special election.Rep. Behn and Jen discussed why she chose to run for a seat in a very red district, her experience as a community organizer, and what gives her hope for victory.The Contrarian is owned by nobody. Your paid subscription helps us bring you the brightest voices in politics & culture and fight every day against the Trump chaos machine. Join us on Substack. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit contrarian.substack.com/subscribe

Over 6 nights and 2 hours each, filmmakers Ken Burns and Sarah Botstein tell the magnificent, surprising, inspiring, and untold story of the American Revolution in their new PBS series, The American Revolution. Ken, Sarah, and Jen discuss the the creation of the series, the human complexity surrounding Americans fighting for freedom from the British while still enslaving groups of people stateside, the decision to cast re-enactment actors, and why our perspective on the Revolution is much more benevolent than what it really should be.The Contrarian is owned by nobody. Your paid subscription helps us bring you the brightest voices in politics & culture and fight every day against the Trump chaos machine. Join us on Substack. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit contrarian.substack.com/subscribe

There was a lot of news to follow this week, but we are still laser focused on rising health care costs that will impact millions of Americans. Rural hospitals, the middle-class, vulnerable groups, and even those with insurance through work are all at risk.Larry Levitt, Executive Vice President of KFF, and Jen Rubin talked about how so many of us could lose their healthcare as ACA subsidies expire, and why the current health care crisis put us right back to the healthcare battles waged over a decade ago.And, you might have seen that New Jersey congresswoman Mikie Sherrill won the race to become New Jersey’s next governor. But who will take her place in Congress? Friend of the Contrarian, Tom Malinowski, who previously represented New Jersey in 2019, is officially throwing his hat in the ring.He talked about why he’s heading back on to the campaign trail (spoiler: checks and balances), the Epstein emails and a provision in the government shutdown deal that could give Senators hundreds of thousands of dollars.The Contrarian is owned by nobody. Your paid subscription helps us bring you the brightest voices in politics & culture and fight every day against the Trump chaos machine. Join us on Substack. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit contrarian.substack.com/subscribe

More files related to Jeffrey Epstein were released today. Three emails from the Epstein estate suggest Donald Trump knew much more about the pedophile scandal than he has previously let on.Contrarian contributor Tim Dickinson sat down with Rep. Elect Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ) to discuss everything from speaker Mike Johnson deliberately delaying swearing her into office to the lack of transparency around the Epstein files.And, Jen Rubin got the chance to sit down with Rep. Maxwell Frost [19:48] from Florida. He’s the youngest member of Congress, and shared what he learned from today’s release of Epstein emails.“One of them specifically is from Jeffrey Epstein himself, between him and Ghislaine Maxwell, and Jeffrey Epstein himself is commenting on kind of everything going on, and he’s saying that he’s a bit surprised that Donald Trump’s name hasn’t really come up much, or if at all, during the initial investigations and everything being in the press. He says that the reason it surprises him the most is because he spent hours alone with one of the victims.”The Contrarian is owned by nobody. Your paid subscription helps us bring you the brightest voices in politics & culture and fight every day against the Trump chaos machine. Join us on Substack. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit contrarian.substack.com/subscribe

Sunday’s vote to re-open the government, without the Democrats winning anything tangible, was in a word, shockingAfter a stellar performance at the polling booths on November 4th, eight Senate Democrats made the decision to abandon their party’s core shutdown demands and squander momentum.Ezra Levin, the co-founder of Indivisible, and Jen talked about Indivisible’s plans to launch the largest primary program ever in 2026, and how else to channel outrage into action.Then, Colin Seeberger [19:57], Senior Adviser for Communications at CAP, to pick apart what’s in the current compromise. Democrats do not have a formal, written agreement from Senate Majority Leader John Thune that the Senate will vote on ACA subsidies in mid-December.The Contrarian is owned by nobody. Your paid subscription helps us bring you the brightest voices in politics & culture and fight every day against the Trump chaos machine. Join us on Substack. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit contrarian.substack.com/subscribe

Nancy Pelosi announced this week she would not seek re-election. After 39 years in Congress, she leaves behind a powerful legacy—most remarkably as the first and only woman elected to serve as Speaker of the House.How do you properly summarize a giant in politics like Nancy Pelosi? You speak to those who knew her best.Ashley Etienne, former comms director and senior advisor to Nancy Pelosi, joined Jen to reflect on Pelosi’s legislative legacy.Jen then spoke with journalist and author Susan Page [23:50], who published Pelosi’s biography Madam Speaker: Nancy Pelosi and the Lessons of Power, to take a look back through her career, getting the Affordable Care Act through Congress, and what it was like to rise to political power as a woman in the ‘80s.The Contrarian is owned by nobody. Your paid subscription helps us bring you the brightest voices in politics & culture and fight every day against the Trump chaos machine. Join us on Substack. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit contrarian.substack.com/subscribe

We all know that inflation is on everyone’s mind, and while inflation looks to be lowering from pandemic-era highs, there’s a difference between the inflation rate and price level.That’s one of the things Let’s Do Lunch host Jared Bernstein dove into this week with Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman.They also talked about the future of tariffs, why the job market feels particularly dire, and why AI is different than the 2008-era housing bubble, but is just as concerning.You can watch Let’s Do Lunch with Jared Bernstein and submit your questions about the economy every other Tuesday on The Contrarian substack.The Contrarian is owned by nobody. Your paid subscription helps us bring you the brightest voices in politics & culture and fight every day against the Trump chaos machine. Join us on Substack. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit contrarian.substack.com/subscribe

We all know that inflation is on everyone’s mind, and while inflation looks to be lowering from pandemic-era highs, there’s a difference between the inflation rate and price level.That’s one of the things Let’s Do Lunch host Jared Bernstein dove into this week with Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman.They also talked about the future of tariffs, why the job market feels particularly dire, and why AI is different than the 2008-era housing bubble, but is just as concerning.You can watch Let’s Do Lunch with Jared Bernstein and submit your questions about the economy every other Tuesday on The Contrarian substack.The Contrarian is owned by nobody. Your paid subscription helps us bring you the brightest voices in politics & culture and fight every day against the Trump chaos machine. Join us on Substack. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit contrarian.substack.com/subscribe

Ahead of a November 1 deadline, recent court rulings seem to have forced the federal government to distribute some money owed to recipients of SNAP. But, it is unclear if the administration will appeal or when the money will flow. Why are they targeting food for seniors, disabled people, children, and so many other folks in need?Representative Chellie Pingree from Maine and I talked about Republicans’ refusal to pass a stand-alone, clean bill to feed Americans, pay federal employees, and how she’s still working to provide these vital resources to her constituents.And, 24 state attorney generals plus three governors have recently sued the Trump administration because this is illegal. Senator Jacky Rosen [13:25] and I got the chance to chat about how this lack of federal support is affecting her state of Nevada, which has so many people who in one form or another get food relief.Though her constituents in Nevada will be inordinately impacted by the cuts, this is not just a regional problem, it’ll cause widespread damage.The Contrarian is owned by nobody. Your paid subscription helps us bring you the brightest voices in politics & culture and fight every day against the Trump chaos machine. Join us on Substack. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit contrarian.substack.com/subscribe

The legitimacy of our court system hangs by a thread. If the Voting Rights Act is axed by the Supreme Court, it will set off a wave of destruction within American society — particularly for Black Americans.Janai Nelson recently argued in front of the Supreme Court to protect these voting rights. She’s the President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and April Ryan recently spoke with her for a special edition of The Tea to discuss gerrymandering and what’s at stake in the case.And, Americans are out of work, missing paychecks, deprived of essential social services, and relying on the capacity of food banks to get by while the government stays closed. And yet, during all of this strife, Republicans spend their time on a crusade against equal representation and for unfair, rigged elections.In North Carolina, state Republicans approved yet another pro-Republican, pro-white, anti-equality redistricting map as children starve and farmers suffer.Anderson Clayton [24:10], the North Carolina Democratic Party Chair, and Jen Rubin talked about the state’s map, and why the upcoming high-stakes senate and state supreme court races are so pivotal.The Contrarian is owned by nobody. Your paid subscription helps us bring you the brightest voices in politics & culture and fight every day against the Trump chaos machine. Join us on Substack. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit contrarian.substack.com/subscribe

One thing Republicans don’t want you to know is that The Big Beautiful Bill’s severe cuts to Medicaid and the expiration of ACA subsidies would shake the entire healthcare system. Even the economy would be significantly hurt by these cuts.Jen spoke about what’s at stake in the fight over healthcare with Dr. Avenel Joseph, she’s the Vice President for Policy at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.And, while Trump likes to tell you he’s an America-first, swamp draining President, his actions speak louder than his very loud words. He’s pardoned his Bitcoin investor, he’s demanded $230 million from the DOJ, and he’s in the middle of destroying the East Wing of the White House after saying he wouldn’t.The administration’s blatant corruption is so rapid and expansive, it can be hard to keep up with all of the scams.Thankfully, American Progress has unveiled the Trump Take Tracker, a “real-time financial tracker documenting the cash and gifts that President Donald Trump and his family have received by selling the presidency.”Will Ragland, [19:35] VP of Research for the Advocacy and Outreach Department at American Progress, walked Jen through the tracker and why honest recording is a step towards accountability.The tracker can be found on the American Progress website.The Contrarian is owned by nobody. Your paid subscription helps us bring you the brightest voices in politics & culture and fight every day against the Trump chaos machine. Join us on Substack. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit contrarian.substack.com/subscribe

The Public Religion Research Institute released its annual American Values Survey today, an enormous poll of over 5,000 Americans that tracks everything from views on immigration to gender roles, to defining the essence of what makes an American.It is absolutely central reading for anyone trying to understand our contemporary politics. Robby P. Jones, the CEO of PRRI, joins Jen to discuss the most interesting findings, including where Americans stand on culture vs. economic anxiety issues, why and where Democrats can make gains in public opinion.The Contrarian is owned by nobody. Your paid subscription helps us bring you the brightest voices in politics & culture and fight every day against the Trump chaos machine. Join us on Substack. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit contrarian.substack.com/subscribe

Today is the 17th day of the Republicans’ government shutdown, and there is seemingly no end in sight.Jen speaks about the shutdown with Neera Tanden. She’s the Center for American Progress President, and reminds us that the central issue of the shutdown is Republicans refusing to provide healthcare for millions of Americans.For only a small fraction of the money given to billionaires from the tax cuts awarded to them in the Big Beautiful Bill, America would be able to fund the healthcare of millions of Americans.Also, Bishop Mariann Budde [15:47] joins Jen to discuss her her new book, “We Can Be Brave,” which addresses teens and young adults and examines the important life lessons we learn when faced with difficult choices.The Contrarian is owned by nobody. Your paid subscription helps us bring you the brightest voices in politics & culture and fight every day against the Trump chaos machine. Join us on Substack. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit contrarian.substack.com/subscribe

With Trump’s blackout of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and generally attacking any statistic that might make him look bad, economist Justin Wolfers explains the numbers he pays attention to in the economy and why they matter.Justin is a professor of public policy and economics at the University of Michigan, and one of our favorite guests to break down the chaos that’s taking over the economy.Wolfers presents a digestible explanation on our economic status—despite Trump’s labor statistics blackout—while weighing how net zero, or net negative, migration can tank our global standing.The Contrarian is owned by nobody. Your paid subscription helps us bring you the brightest voices in politics & culture and fight every day against the Trump chaos machine. Join us on Substack. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit contrarian.substack.com/subscribe

This week, former FBI Director James Comey pled not guilty to two charges brought against him by Trump’s DOJ. What happens next?Former General Counsel to the FBI, Andrew Weissmann, and Jen discuss what Comey’s defense team may be planning, and how the DOJ’s case may be destined to fail. Not only does this seem to be a textbook case of vindictive persecution (which could result in the whole case being thrown out), but the evidence presented thus far is shockingly weak.Plus, the pair break down Pam Bondi’s bizarre performance before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. Not only did Bondi refuse to answer straightforward questions, but she continuously demeaned and attacked the legislators probing her. Congressional oversight is a key component of our democracy’s checks and balances system. As Trump’s appointees refuse to cooperate, we witness the erosion of the system before our eyes.The Contrarian is owned by nobody. Your paid subscription helps us bring you the brightest voices in politics & culture and fight every day against the Trump chaos machine. Join us on Substack. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit contrarian.substack.com/subscribe