The Atlantic's George Packer joins us to discuss his recent piece titled The End of Democratic Delusions. Packer discusses the new era that Donald Trump has ushered in and what that means to politics moving forward. Trump won a close election, but it's a moment for the Democratic establishment to take a look at their shortcomings and redevelop their messaging and platform in the years ahead.

Read George Packer's piece in The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2025/01/trump-reelection-voter-demographic-change/680752/

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We're joined by two of our favorite foreign policy writers to examine what the end of Bashar al-Assad’s region means to Syria and the region. Frank Foer and Anne Applebaum from The Atlantic also look toward the incoming Trump administration and what lies ahead. Can Trump be a steady hand to stop escalating war around the world? How will Israel react? And what happens to our support of Ukraine in their efforts against the tyrant Putin?

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As we move closer to the second Trump administration, we are learning more about his incoming Cabinet. Aaron Blake, senior political reporter and author/host of The Campaign Moment newsletter and podcast for the Washington Post joins us to discuss some of Trump's Cabinet picks and their struggles to be confirmed. Also, the American people seem to overwhelmingly want a check on Trump's power. What will that look like with an administration that believes it has a mandate? Plus, we break down Hunter Biden's pardon and how that might impact Joe Biden's legacy.

Read Aaron's work in the Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/aaron-blake/

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In this Thanksgiving Best Of, we revisit our conversation with our friend Anne Applebaum! We aired this a few months ago when Anne's newest book, Autocracy Inc., had been released. She chronicles the rise of authoritarianism around the world and how those autocracies work together to keep themselves in power. With Donald Trump elected President once again, could we be heading for a similar fate? Other countries thwarted authoritarian candidates over the last year, but America decided that another round of Trumpism was the way to go. We can only hope that the country can survive it.

Read Anne's work in The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/author/anne-applebaum/

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Cuddly as a cactus and charming as an eel, Whoville's favorite talk show host is back on the mic! The Grinch may hate the holidays, but he loves his new celebrity status as a chart-topping podcaster. With Cindy Lou and Max by his side, join The Grinch each week as he stubbornly refuses the joys of the season, cozies up to his celebrity guests — and investigates a brand-new mystery that puts him right at the center of another dastardly Christmas caper. All the children of Whoville's letters to Santa have gone missing, and Grinch is Suspect No. 1. Follow along at the end of each episode to help Grinch and his crew solve this WHO-dunnit in time for Christmas! Plus, tune into Wondery+ as Cindy Lou and Max take the case into their own hands! Starring SNL's James Austin Johnson as the iconic green grump, and featuring famous faces the whole family will love, 'Tis The Grinch Holiday Podcast might just grow your heart three sizes this winter season.

For even more cheer, subscribe to Wondery+ to join Cindy Lou and Max the Dog as they take the case of the missing letters into their own hands!

Follow 'Tis The Grinch Holiday Podcast on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Unlock Cindy Lou and Max’s exclusive Christmas mystery investigation and listen to every episode ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Spotify, Apple Podcasts or by visiting Wondery.fm/Grinch.

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Donald Trump's Cabinet selection is about as chaotic as we expected it to be. Matt Gaetz withdrew his name for Attorney General after a number of Republican Senators expressed concern with the pick. We're joined by David Axelrod, who says that Republicans in the Senate have more power than you might expect. David also examines how Democrats, the party of working people, lost so many working class voters in the Presidential election.

Listen to David's podcast, The Axe Files: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-axe-files-with-david-axelrod/id1043593599

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The incoming Trump administration has started announcing some of the picks for the incoming Cabinet. Somehow, they're worse than you could have imagined. We break down some of the unsavory characters who might be making policy in Trump's second term with political reporter for Semafor, David Weigel.

Weigel also explains how the right wing media ecosystem has moved away from TV and onto the internet. Right wing and right wing-adjacent programming is dominating YouTube and podcasts. How did they build such a network? And how do Democrats counterprogram those voices?

Read Weigel's latest for Semafor: https://www.semafor.com/author/david-weigel

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The nightmare we all feared came true last week. Donald Trump has been elected for a second term as President of the United States. We're joined by our friend Norm Ornstein to make sense of it all. If we take Trump at his word, we should expect mass deportations, economic instability, further deterioration of women’s rights, attacks on public education, constant fights with the media and his critics and much worse. Norm discusses the long road ahead that could include devastation especially for the states that supported him the most. There's not a lot to be hopeful about right now, but Norm manages to share some good news for the years ahead...If we're willing to fight for it.

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