The Nicole Sandler Show

We wrap up each week with Marcy Wheeler of emptywheel.net and a review of all that happened that week. Today it's Jack Smith's superseding indictment (predicted by Marcy last week), plus the big boring CNN interview, the Arlington Cemetery photo op debacle, RFk Jr & Tusli Gabbard and lots more...

For the past dozen or so years, I've had a weekly conversation with my old friend Howie Klein who blogs at DownWithTyranny.com and runs the Blue America PAC, identifying and supporting progressive candidates up and down the ballot all over the country. Howie returns today and brings with him a young candidate running for the Florida state senate, Ben Braver. He's @BenBraverFL on social media, and his website is BenBraver.org. A quick online search tells me that Ben Braver is something of a super hero. We'll get to the bottom of that today. Plus the some news, magat character flaws and, hopefully, a few laughs along the way.

I've been looking forward to this interview for a long time. In fact, Steve Benen was scheduled on this show two weeks ago, the day MINISTRY OF TRUTH: DEMOCRACY, REALITY, AND THE REPUBLICANS' WAR ON THE RECENT PAST was published, but I got sick and had to reschedule. I promise you, it was worth the wait. If you're like me, you've been shouting at the TV every time the former guy shows up spouting more lies which, for the most part, the mainstream corporate media just lets slide. It's this practice of propaganda on such a massive and in-your-face scale that made the term "Gaslighting" part of our regular lexicon and likely the cause of thousands of broken TV screens across the nations. Today, we'll talk about the fact that we're not the crazy ones...

Today is a catch up day, of sorts. We'll talk about the latest news - there's never a lack of crazy stuff to discuss while TFG is trying to remain relevant. Just before we hit the air, a breaking news alert came in-- Jack Smith filed a superseding indictment in the J6 Obstruction case against Trump. We'll open the phone lines should you have a comment or question about the campaigns, conventions or anything else. And we did hear from a special guest. Dave, though you know him better as the worm (still) living in RFK, Jr's brain....

I'm finally feeling almost normal after an awful infection that led me to two separate Emergency Room visits in one week. So today, it's back to the grind.Somehow, the fact that today is Monday is not quite as awful as the last few hundred (or so it seems) Mondays have been... So, we'll chat about all that's happening in the news today, and then bring on Jonathan Larsen who reports on all of that at thefuckingnews.substack.com every day....

Well, that was a convention for the history books! I apologize for the lack of an Emptywheel Friday show last week. I got really sick from a UTI that spawned an e Coli infection, something you do not ever want. Thankfully I was doing well enough this week to be able to share some highlights of the 2024 Democratic National Convention for the past few days, and today, was joined by Marcy Wheeler (emptywheel.net) for a complete postscript to the most entertaining and inspiring political convention I've ever watched. Strap in... we're not going back!

I can't remember ever smiling so much while watching a political convention. I predict the top three names for baby girls born this year will be Hope, Joy and Kamala!! Night 3 of the party of the decade featured some real surprises: Stevie Wonder delivering heartfelt words and a rousing "Higher Ground." Sheila E was joined by John Legend to play Minnesota favorite son Prince's "Let's Go Crazy" before we officially met MN Gov Coach Tim Walz, the next Vice President of the United States. Speakers from Oprah Winfrey to Amanda Gorman to Hakeem Jefferies wowed the crowd... and we heard from rising Dem Party stars PA Gov Josh Shapiro and Sec of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. And the crowd was even courteous and welcoming to two figures that many would have preferred not have prime time speaking slots, former President Bill Clinton and Speaker emeritus Nancy Pelosi. There was mostly that inescapable Joy in the room, but I was heartened by the warn response and love shown toward Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin, the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Poln, one of 8 Americans still being held captive by Hamas terrorists in Gaza since he was abducted on Oct 7 of last year. Another night that was excellent in both substance and style... Today on the show, we'll do as we've been doing all week... we'll hear some highlights and a few full speeches from last night... Do Something!

If I had to chose a week to be sick this would have been the one. That's because as lousy as I feel, watching the festivities out of Chicago for the DNC is making me feel so much better. Although the first night was a difficult act to follow, the Harris/Walz team did just that. With a number of moving and motivational speeches -- as expected from former President Barack Obama and the man who could have been one Bernie Sanders, the two that floored me were from the first Second Gentleman - and soon-to-be first First Gentleman Doug Emhoff and the knockout speech delivered by Michelle Obama. By the way, Doug Emhoff chose for his entrance and exit music one of my favorite songs, "You Get What You Give" by New Radicals. New Radicals released their one and only album in the late 90s, Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too.  It quickly rose to the top of my favorites of that year. I was Music Director and later Program Director of the radio station I worked for at the time, Los Angeles' Channel 103.1. And I was fortunate enough to interview Gregg Alexander, the man who was New Radicals. He didn't do many interviews, and never recorded another album, though he continued writing and producing for other artists, preferring to remain out of the spotlight. To honor our first Second Gentleman, and the man who will be our first First Gentleman, here's my interview with Gregg Alexander, recorded May 3, 1999 ( the day that my daughter was likely being born on the other side of the world in Kazakhstan... a story for another day)... Enjoy! I am still recuperating so will share with you a couple of full speeches from last night (can you guess which ones?) as well as some clips and observations as my still-on-the-mend psyche can conjure up. Either way, the chat room is open during the live show and we're partying like it's 2024!!!

Talk about good medicine! As you may know, I've been pretty sick for the past week or so. But the best medicine possible came last night in the form of Night 1 of the 2024 Democratic National Convention!It just kept getting better as the night went on, and I cried tears of joy as President Joe Biden received the love and adoration of a grateful nation. Tonight's program will begin a little earlier than last nights to allow for the extended periods of unbridled appreciation! But the big guns won't come on until after we're done with this program for the day. So, today, we'll talk about some of what happened last night and watch and listen to some of it together. We'll hear the full speeches from Congressmembers AOC, Jasmine Crockett,  first daughter Ashley Biden and a bit from Rep Jamie Raskin, Sen Raphael Warnock and whatever else time permits... We're not going back!!

I spent the weekend resting and recuperating, slowly regaining my strength and planning to be back on the air today. But E Coli seems to have other plans. I am feeling much better, but far from normal (even for me, which is also far from normal).So it's lucky for me that the Democratic Convention gets underway today in Chicago. Unfortunately, the festivities and streaming don't begin until the show ends... Good thing I recorded an interview a couple of weeks ago with Jessica Goudeau who just released a new book, WE WERE ILLEGAL. She has a fascinating story to share, and the story is certainly timely as the MAGAt presidential candidate is threatening mass deportations should we screw up and allow him anywhere hear the oval office again. So, we'll hear that interview, I'll update you on my ordeal (minus the tears today, I hope), and somehow make it through the hour. A programming note... for the rest of the week, I'll share highlights from the previous nights' convention happenings. And I WILL be back to host Marcy Wheeler on Friday. I'm going through emptywheel withdrawals too!

I'm sorry I've been MIA all week, but I've been really sick. I'll give a brief update today, but I'm still not well enough to come back. And it pains me (sorry for the pun) to say there's no Emptywheel Friday episode today. I really had hoped to feel good enough enough to do the show, but I need the rest. So we'll go back to August 7 of 2020. The Meidas Touch was just starting out with some really creative videos that caught my eye. So I figured today would be a good day to re-live those early moments of the now media empire (that really should put this show on their network... just a thought!)

What a weekend this was! On Friday, I was at the Glendale AZ Kamala Harris/Tim Walz record-breaking rally. On Saturday night, I saw the Pretenders in concert (Chrissie Hynde is still amazing!), and I spent Sunday sick in bed... But today is Monday and there's lots of fucking news to get to, so the show must go on.As we do most Mondays, we're joined by Jonathan Larsen of thefuckingnews.substack.com to talk about what's happening in our fucking world...

We made it to the end of another eventful week. The best news of the week is that Kamala Harris named her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz! He almost seems too good to be true! So, Marcy Wheeler of emptywheel.net and I  discuss our VP nominee, the so-called press conference Trump held yesterday at Mar a Lago, and the latest on the Jan 6 case which is back in Judge Tanya Chutkin's hands again...    I'm heading out to the Phoenix  rally with Kamala Harris & Tim Walz... I'll try to post on Xitter, Facebook, Threads and Bluesky if possible...

It's Thursday, so Howie Klein is here from Down with Tyranny and the Blue America PAC. Today, one of the congressional candidates they've endorsed -- Eric Wilson from Wisconsin! First, some of the news of the day, including that spectacle the former guy called a press conference, and VP/ soon to be POTUS Kamala Harris shows how you deal with hecklers...

We witnessed history yesterday, and it streamed live right here. As our regular hour together was just finishing up yesterday, VP Kamala Harris and MN Gov Tim Walz took the stage at a massive rally in Philadelphia PA in their new roles as Democratic nominee for President introducing for the first time her running mate. It was magical. And we're just getting started. We'll begin the show by reflecting on this amazing moment! At the bottom of the hour we'll be joined by my old friend Jason Leopold, the FOIA Master! He needs our help in decoding some of the newest documents he got thanks to one of hundreds of his FOIA requests. And I have a few questions for him too about the plea deal with KSM and two other 9-11 terrorists still being held at Guantanamo Bay... and the sudden and very quick revoking of the deal by Sec of Defense Lloyd Austin...