The Mother Jones Podcast

The midterms aren't over. Travel with Mother Jones to the battleground states where votes are still being counted.

It happened: The Attorney General of the United States has been fired. This news came with a giant Trumpian thump Wednesday morning—while votes are still being counted in an election that handed the House back to Democrats for the first time in eight years. The implications of Jeff Sessions' ouster could be enormous. President Donald Trump is now installing a loyalist, Matthew Whitaker, and serious questions now hang over the future of the Russia Investigation. D.C. bureau chief David Corn joins Dan Friedman, MoJo's foreign influence and national security reporter, to tackle these questions and give us the very latest on Russia, Robert Mueller, and more. 

On this late-breaking episode: How to understand this historic night as the political makeup of the country is being written in real-time—like, as we record. Despite some big losses and reports of long lines at the polls, the Democrats had a huge night. D.C. Bureau chief David Corn and reporter Pema Levy join us from Washington to discuss some of the midterm's highest highs and lowest lows. Ari Berman, our resident voting rights expert, and senior reporter Tim Murphy discuss voter suppression, which politicians to watch, and what's next for America. Settle in as host Jamilah King guides you through one of the most exciting political events since that fated night in 2016.

On today's show, our Washington D.C. bureau chief David Corn offers his assessment of how the president and his party are mining the worst of America's ancient grievances—on race, religion, and nationalism—for new electoral advantages. Also on the show: A few weeks ago, Mother Jones asked you if you’re voting for the first time in the midterm elections. Dozens of readers shared their stories with our team, about your frustration and inspiration at this crazy-important time, and what casting your vote in 2018 means. On today's show, a sampling of those stories, including from a new candidate, a new activist, and a new citizen.

On this week’s show: After 2016, can we really trust the polls? With just two weeks until the midterm elections on November 6, we gather some of the biggest brains in the business to round up everything you need to know about numbers, numbers, numbers. Our all-star cast includes MSNBC's National Political Correspondent, Steve Kornacki; FiveThirtyEight's managing editor, Micah Cohen, and HuffPost's polling editor, Ariel Edwards-Levy. We fill you in on what you need to watch for during the minute-by-minute coverage on election night—and the biggest issues driving voters to the ballot box.

On this week's show: Buckle up for a Mother Jones road trip to three of the most contentious battleground states in the upcoming November elections—and they’re all in the Southwest. First, Senior Reporter Tim Murphy travels to Arizona to meet activists fighting to mobilize one tribal nation, the Tohono OíOdham, at a time when Native American voting rights are under relentless assault across the country. Next, we head to Nevada where casino workers, cooks, and housekeepers are reinventing the Democratic Party, one sweaty voter registration drive at a time. If successful, can what happens in Vegas be replicated nationwide? And finally, we land in Texas to see if Beto O'Rourke really has what it takes to win. For Democrats, these are all make-or-break races if they want any chance at taking back America on election day.

This week: We’re in the home stretch—only 27 days to go until the midterms. As Brett Kavanaugh gets to work, rockstar feminist writer Rebecca Traister joins MoJo’s Becca Andrews to discuss the political power of women’s rage and how it is reshaping America. And we hear from you, our listeners, about how you reacted to the historic Supreme Court appointment. We also take a look inside Florida’s long-awaited movement to restore voting rights to 1.4 million people, featuring senior reporter Ari Berman.

On this week's episode, Mother Jones DC Bureau Chief David Corn chats with Max Boot, the lauded conservative stalwart who now believes the GOP must be destroyed—for good. Boot says that the Trumpian poison cannot be leeched. And with the stakes so high in November, Boot is making a case for Republicans to vote for every Democrat, in every race, for every position. This epiphany is a message for the politically marooned, in the time of Trump.

A special episode of the Mother Jones Podcast: All the breaking news from the Kavanaugh hearings, explained. First, the gut-wrenching testimony from Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, a California professor who accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were teens—told in gripping and personal detail. Then: Tears and outrage from Kavanaugh, who unequivocally denied the allegations in a fiery performance. Jamilah King hosts a breaking news panel with Supreme Court reporter Stephanie Mencimer and Washington DC Bureau Chief David Corn to tell you everything you need to know about this historic day on the Hill—and what comes next.

On this week's episode, inside the fight for Medicaid expansion at the polls in November. The fate of Obamacare is on the ballot—and now up to voters in Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, and Utah. Meet one campaigner in this Red State Resistance trying to expand coverage to those who need it the most. We give you the state-by-state nitty gritty. Also on the show: chaos reigns in Washington D.C. Everything you need to know about the dueling news stories of Kavanaugh and Rosenstein, and more importantly, how to understand them, with our Supreme Court expert Stephanie Mencimer, and Russia guru, David Corn. And finally: we asked, and you told us. Stories about a year in limbo awaiting a final decision about DACA—the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

On this week’s show: Everything you need to know about the fierce, multi-pronged attack on your vote in November—and how to fight back. Spoiler alert: it’s urgent, with glimmers of hope. Mother Jones voting rights reporter Ari Berman tells you which races to keep an eye on. Also on the show: An interview with Washington Governor, Jay Inslee, perpetual thorn in Trump’s side. We ask him to describe his playbook for forcefully taking on the President of the United States—in court and in person. (And what former president Barack Obama’s basketball game is really like.) All that, and a bunch of brainy environmental experts join us on stage for a live event about how to turn climate despair into hope.

On this week's show, a love story wrapped in a medical mystery—with a Cold War twist. Tom Patterson, a psychologist, was dying from a seemingly unstoppable superbug infection. For months, world-class doctors threw everything at him but nothing worked. That's when his wife, Steffanie Strathdee, an epidemiologist, began considering an unconventional treatment: phage therapy. Science journalist Maryn McKenna joins host Jamilah King, along with Tom and Steffanie, to recount Tom's incredible journey to the brink of death and back, and this fascinating field of medical science we're only just beginning to understand. Also on the show, Mother Jones DC bureau chief David Corn follows Trump's money: what's the deal with that failed Russian hotel bid during the 2016 election? 

On this week's episode, Mother Jones senior reporter Shane Bauer reports on the surging profits of the private prison industry thanks to Trump. More than two-thirds of all immigration detainees are held by private prison companies, and nine of the 10 largest immigrant detention centers in the United States are privately operated. Bauer traces the history of the second-largest for-profit prison company in the country, CoreCivic, to its surprising roots. Also on the show, MoJo staff writer Stephanie Mencimer brings you the latest from Day One of the raucous Senate confirmation hearings for conservative Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

On this week’s show: How the nation’s flagship loan forgiveness program is failing the very people it’s supposed to help. You'll hear the disturbing firsthand account of how the mismanaged Public Service Loan Forgiveness has left one participant swimming in debt (even though she’s kept up with payments) and what you can do to protect yourself. Plus, DC Bureau Chief David Corn tries to make sense of that bizarre Roger Stone video on Instagram.

Two top Trump-world figures in disgrace. This week, twin legal developments rocked the presidency: Trump's former campaign boss Paul Manafort was found guilty of tax and bank fraud, and his longtime lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations while implicating the president in a crime. MoJo’s DC bureau chief David Corn tells you what happens next. Also on the show: Kansas City mayoral candidate Jason Kander talks to Mother Jones Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery about his new memoir, "Outside the Wire"—and one of the best Twitter comebacks we’ve ever seen. And finally, MoJo’s Ben Dreyfuss chats with the author of another new book, “Obama: An Oral History,” Brian Abrams, about how to judge the Obama years, now that we know what comes next. Three fascinating conversations about where America has been, and where it's going.