Deep State Radio

Relax. Keep your champagne on ice. Donald Trump is still president of the United States. And his foreign policy--which is a crudely mixed cocktail of racism and greed with a twist of incompetence--is still what America is serving up to the world. But that won't always be the case. In fact a New Democratic House of Representatives may start changing some of it pretty soon. Which begs the question, where do we go from here? What about the tariffs and the transactionalism and the attacks on international institutions and the distrust of our allies and alliances is going to outlast Trump and what will change the day he leave the White House? We discuss in a great and wide-ranging conversation with one of the Democratic Party's foremost foreign policy thought-leaders, former National Security Advisor to V.P. Joe Biden and chief advisor to the Hillary Clinton Campaign, Jake Sullivan. You won't want to miss it.

Tony liked ducks. He was introspective enough to enter therapy. He loved his family. He had a code of ethics. He even drank every so often. He had a soul. He was likable. In short, he was everything our president is not. But would you really prefer him as president to the current Gangster-in-Chief who tampers with witnesses in the open, praises the guts of lying co-conspirators and, well, has his own considerable history with the mob? Edward Luce of the FT, attorney Katie Phang and host of Deep State Radio's "Washington for Beautiful People" Emily Brandwin discuss. (And spoiler alert: They all prefer Tony.) Tune in!

When Josh Campbell joined the FBI, he was told one thing: FBI doesn’t lie. Josh worked for Comey, he worked for Mueller and learned that integrity is the backbone of the Bureau. So when faced with a President who couldn’t find “truth” with a map, Waze and the resurrected ghosts of Rand & McNally, he decided to leave the career he loved and joined CNN. On the premiere episode of "Washington for Beautiful People", the L.A.-based CNN Commentator shares insights into his work with Mueller and Comey, why he wrote his now famous NYT Oped, where he thinks the investigations are going and most importantly we talk about his ridiculously adorable corgi.

Responding to the reports of Michael Cohen's Trump Tower Moscow lies and guilty plea, the rising star Congressman from California, Rep. Eric Swalwell, reveals where the new Congress is likely to take investigations into Trump's business ties and their consequences when it assumes office in January. He asserts the Congress will examine Trump Organization money laundering that his colleagues have reason to believe took place and that Mueller may not be exploring as closely. He says instances of suspected lying to the Congress suppressed by Rep. Devin Nunes will be immediately forwarded to Mueller. He suggests the president and his family's financial ties to Saudi Arabia are comparable to those with Russia and will get similar investigative treatment. He does not hesitate to say collusion took place. And he says he believes the word that best describes the president's actions is "betrayal"--selling out the American people to serve his own financial and political interests. It is a news-making interview you won't want to miss--available exclusively on Deep State Radio.

New from the Deep State Radio Network, National Security Magazine will be a regular podcast series featuring long-form interviews with important national security newsmakers. In this week's episode we feature a conversation with Wendy Sherman, the first woman to hold the post of Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs and author of the new book, "Not for the Faint of Heart", a memoir of her extraordinary life. We discuss with her experiences negotiating the Iran nuclear deal, facing off with North Korea's leaders and coping with the challenges of dealing with Washington's bureaucracy. She also shares her candid views on the current administration and where we are headed on the critical issues of our time. Tune in!

When Donald Trump was presented with the overwhelming evidence of Russian interference in the US elections (of which he was Exhibit A) he said, "I don't believe it." When presented with proof of the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman's role in ordering the murder of Jamal Khashoggi he said, "I don't believe it." When presented with his own government's assessment of the catastrophic costs of climate change he said, you guessed it, "I don't believe it." Who needs rose-colored glasses when you have your head that far up your own narcissism? Is this a canny strategy or is Trump our Maroon-in-Chief? Kori Schake offers Henry the IVth, Part 1 as one of her Tiara-of-Optimism worthy examples. Mieke Eoyang and Emily Brandwin are not quite so sanguine but all discuss this phenomenon as well as Russia & Ukraine, Brexit, our self-inflicted border crisis and more! Tune in!

Trump has forged an indelible bond not with our allies nor with the American people (a majority of whom can't stand him) but with a group of really bad men worldwide who are not just evil, they're creeps. Vlad. Bibi. Duterte. And of course, now topping that list Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. Trump's defense of MBS and his indefensible crimes--from murder to torture--and his and MBS's strategy has counted on the rest of the world not caring for long about those crimes. But in Europe, governments are standing up to the Saudis and against the US position. And soon this going gap, between most of the nations of the west and Trump and his Axis of Assholes, may be on display at the upcoming G20 meeting. Kori Schake, Mieke Eoyang, Rula Jebreal and Emily Brandwin discuss what to expect from Trump, MBS and their not-so-nice friends.

It's Thanksgiving weekend in the USA. It's a warm, friendly, family holiday provided that a.) your family does not discuss politics, b.) your unhinged uncle does not drink too much and c.) the indoor deep-fryer does not burn the whole house down. Maybe you'll go to a class reunion. Those are always...terrible. Or, alternatively, maybe you'll do what you did on prom night...stay home alone. Except this time you'll have Rosa Brooks, Emily Brandwin and Maggie Feldman-Piltch to join you and they'll be talking about what's right with the world and what they're thankful for. They will, that is, just as soon as they get their own awful high school experiences off their chests. Join us!

Who needs relatives? Join your Deep State family for a cheerful holiday discussion of the Turkeys of the Year, the losers, jerks, criminals, and large orange embarrassments that made the past year as unappetizing as an under-cooked Butterball. Our own Rosa Brooks, former undercover CIA operative and improv comedian Emily Brandwin and Maggie Feldman-Piltch of NatSecGirlSquad offer their views and...we not-so-subtly tease several new podcasts soon to be released by Deep State Radio. Tune in!

Yemen has become a humanitarian catastrophe on a scale of few others in the recent history of the planet. 14 million people live on the verge of famine. Tens of thousands are dead. And despite gestures in the direction of bringing the conflict to a close precious little progress has been made. Who is culpable? What is America's role? Obama's during the early stages of the conflict? Trump's now? Our panel including former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Dafna Rand, Yahoo DC Bureau Chief Sharon Weinberger and Georgetown University Law School's Rosa Brooks discuss and consider what may happen next for the suffering people of Yemen.

Trump's Europe trip was a rare multi-tiered fiasco, a kind of mille feuille of fiascos, at which the disasters operated on many levels--his alienation of our allies, his insults to our troops, his vanity, his cozying up to villains, his fear of getting wet, his complete lack of understanding of how the world works. In fact, it may be the worst overseas trip by any president ever...since Trump's Helsinki Summit. Meanwhile, North Korea seems to be building more missile bases and everything else on the planet is worse off than it was two years ago. So...that's bad. David Sanger, Rosa Brooks, and Evelyn Farkas discuss and, to the extent possible, make sense of it all. Tune in!

There are constitutional reasons why Mathew Whitaker should not succeed Jeff Sessions as even the Acting Attorney General of the US. There are legal reasons. There are ethical reasons. But none of these stopped Donald Trump from beginning the latest chapter in his effort to obstruct justice and contain the threats he feel Robert Mueller's investigation poses for him. On this special episode Florida-based attorney and former prosecutor Katie Phang and Georgetown Law's Rosa Brooks join us to discuss this disturbing and dangerous if not quite shocking turn of events.

It is one week after the shootings in Pittsburgh and 80 years after Kristallnacht. How deep do the rivers of hate in America today run? How much culpability do our political leaders have for channeling that hate into our daily discourse? Who is put at risk? On this 1-on-1 we have a conversation with one of America's leaders in combatting these forces that are tearing our society apart, Jonathan Greenblatt, National Director and CEO of the Anti-Defamation League. Join us for a timely and special conversation.

Donald Trump said the mid-terms were a huge success (they weren't), that he did better than other presidents during their first mid-term elections (he didn't), that he had the touch of gold and only those who ran away from him suffered (not true). On the other hand, he still has a job today and Jeff Sessions doesn't. That's right, within hours of the election results coming in, the president flipped the script and started to put the squeeze on the Mueller investigation. What does that mean for the immediate future, the rule of law in America, our general level of nausea and anxiety. David Sanger of the NY Times, Mike Tomasky of the Daily Beast and Laura Rosenberger, former top campaign aide to Hillary Clinton join us to discuss. You should join too!

Americans will finally get to express themselves at the ballot box after two years of division, turmoil, lies and lurid headlines. Election Day is here. Our Rosa Brooks, Kori Schake and Ed Luce get together to help you all prepare for the election. Do you drink before you vote or vote before you drink? How much of each is appropriate? Legal? And what have we learned from the campaign about America and Americans? Tune in for the last 2018 election discussion you'll ever need to hear!