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Crooked Media

If you’re looking for hype, fake outrage, and groupthink, kindly keep moving. Our mission at What a Day is simple: to be your guide to what truly matters each morning (and the fun stuff you might have missed) in just 20 minutes. Host Jane Coaston brings you in-depth reporting and substantive analysis on the big stories shaping today and the creeping trends shaping tomorrow—and when she doesn’t know the answers, she asks someone even smarter to fill us all in. Radical, right? New episodes at 5:00 a.m. EST, Monday–Friday in your favorite podcast app and on YouTube. Being informed was never this easy.

What A Day

From $400 million planes to $300 million ballrooms, from cryptocurrency to just plain… currency, President Donald Trump and his family have profited massively from his return to the White House. According to the Center for American Progress, the Trump family has received nearly $2 billion in cash and gifts since President Trump won the 2024 presidential election. This week, during Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit to the White House, the president downplayed his family's dealings in Saudi Arabia, but the reality is that those business ties have grown significantly during his second term. For more on just how much money Trump and his family are making from his return to the Oval Office, we spoke to Andrea Bernstein, podcast host and author of "American Oligarchs: The Kushners, the Trumps, and the Marriage of Money and Power."

And in headlines, President Trump threatens Congressional Democrats with violent rhetoric, Customs and Border Patrol prepares more immigration crackdowns in Louisiana and Mississippi, and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is set to meet with President Trump at the White House.

Show Notes:

 • Check out Andrea's book – 
wwnorton.com/books/american-oligarchs • Call Congress – 
202-224-3121 • Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – 
https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8 • What A Day – YouTube – 
https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast • Follow us on Instagram – 
https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/ • For a transcript of this episode, please visit 
crooked.com/whataday
 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Trump's Grift Goes Global

For the last two weeks, a critically important climate conference has been taking place in Belem, Brazil. For the first time in 30 years, the United States did not send a delegation to the conference. Outside of the event, massive groups of Indigenous people have gathered to demand that world leaders do something to curtail the effects of climate change, which their communities are already feeling. Somini Sengupta, international climate reporter for the New York Times, joins the show to recap the conference.

And in headlines, Elon Musk predicts a work-less utopia at the Saudi Investment Forum, the Trump Administration comes up with concepts of a plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war, and a federal judge restarts criminal contempt proceedings against the Trump Administration over potentially illegal deportation flights to El Salvador.

Show Notes:

 • Check out Somini's reporting – 
www.nytimes.com/by/somini-sengupta • Call Congress – 
202-224-3121 • Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – 
https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8 • What A Day – YouTube – 
https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast • Follow us on Instagram – 
https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/ • For a transcript of this episode, please visit 
crooked.com/whataday
 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

US Absent From Global Climate Conference

President Donald Trump joyously welcomed Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, also known as MBS, to the White House on Tuesday. That's despite the fact that, according to US intelligence, MBS allegedly ordered the 2018 murder of Saudi dissident and journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The meeting was supposed to center on Saudi investments in the United States in exchange for military equipment and possible access to nuclear technology – as the US and Saudi Arabia become closer partners than ever before. So for more on what MBS's very friendly visit means for U.S.-Saudi relations, we spoke with Pod Save the World co-host Tommy Vietor.

And in headlines, Education Secretary Linda McMahon works to "break up federal bureaucracy", the US takes one step closer to maybe possibly finally seeing the Epstein files, and Texas Governor Greg Abbott says he'll take the state's redistricting fight to the Supreme Court.

Show Notes:

 • Check out Pod Save The World – 
tinyurl.com/4n6y99mu • Call Congress – 
202-224-3121 • Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – 
https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8 • What A Day – YouTube – 
https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast • Follow us on Instagram – 
https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/ • For a transcript of this episode, please visit 
crooked.com/whataday
 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

"Things Happen": Trump Goes All In On MBS

This week, President Donald Trump told reporters that he would be willing to hold talks with Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro. His statements came as the Navy’s largest aircraft carrier arrived in the Caribbean Sea. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has conducted weeks of attacks on alleged drug boats off the coast of the South American country. But these drug trafficking allegations might just be a distraction from the real focus of Trump’s Venezuela ire. Over the weekend, Politico published a piece alleging that White House officials have begun planning for a “post-Maduro” Venezuela, including different options for countries to exile him to. To talk more about Venezuela, regime change, and the perils of war in South America, we spoke with Juan Sebastian Gonzalez, former National Security Council Senior Director for the Western Hemisphere under President Joe Biden.

And in headlines, President Trump is meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince at the White House, the United Nations Security Council approves Trump’s plan for the future of Gaza, and the criminal case against former FBI Director James Comey may be faltering.

Show Notes:

 • Call Congress – 
202-224-3121 • Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – 
https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8 • What A Day – YouTube – 
https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast • Follow us on Instagram – 
https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/ • For a transcript of this episode, please visit 
crooked.com/whataday
 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The U.S. Takes Aim At Venezuela

The longest government shutdown in American history ended last week, thanks to 8 Senate Democrats giving up the fight to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies. The infighting between Democrats hasn't stopped since. But what if Democrats' caving was actually a good thing? Tim Miller of the Bulwark joins the show to discuss how the Democrats may be in a prime strategic position as Republicans deal with scandals, skyrocketing costs of living and healthcare, and several MAGA faithful turning on Trump.

And in headlines: President Trump sends federal agents to Charlotte, North Carolina, as part of his ongoing immigration crackdown, Marjorie Taylor Greene continues feuding with Trump, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announces a new gas deal with Greece.

Show Notes:

 • Check out The Bulwark – 
www.thebulwark.com/ • Call Congress – 
202-224-3121 • Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – 
https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8 • What A Day – YouTube – 
https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast • Follow us on Instagram – 
https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/ • For a transcript of this episode, please visit 
crooked.com/whataday
 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Were There Any Winners In The Government Shutdown?

Good policy is good politics, or so the saying goes. 

So, uh, how do we agree on what that is? Jane Coaston talks with three of the left’s most prominent policy thinkers: Democratic strategist Waleed Shahid, Neera Tanden of the Center for American Progress, and writer Matthew Yglesias of Slow Boring.

 
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Make America What Again? Policy Priorities For A Progressive Future

This week, a court filing showed that the Trump Administration has declared the current funding structure for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to be illegal. The agency was created in the wake of the global financial crisis to protect consumers and collect consumer complaints. Project 2025 architect Russell Vought is currently acting director of the CFPB. He has said repeatedly that he wants to see the CFPB close its doors, and back in February, he ordered employees of the agency to stop working. To talk more about the Trump Administration taking yet another axe to the CFPB and what happens next, we spoke to David Dayen, executive editor of The American Prospect.

And in headlines, the Justice Department sues to block new Congressional district boundaries approved by California voters, the State Department makes it harder for people with conditions including cancer and diabetes to obtain visas, and Kristi Noem gives out $10,000 bonus checks to some TSA agents who worked through the shutdown.

Show Notes:
 

 • Check out The American Prospect – 
https://prospect.org/ • Call Congress – 
202-224-3121 • Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – 
https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8 • What A Day – YouTube – 
https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast • Follow us on Instagram – 
https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/ • For a transcript of this episode, please visit 
crooked.com/whataday
 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Scam Calls Are Getting Worse: Here's Why

The House returned on Wednesday and ended the longest shutdown in government history. House Republicans were joined by six democrats to fund the government through January 30th. Two Republicans voted against the bill. The final vote was 222-209. Earlier in the day, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released three emails from and to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein that appear to indicate that President Donald Trump knew more about Epstein's activities than he had previously suggested. So for more on Epstein, Trump, and what Congress might do next, we spoke to Hailey Fuchs, a congressional reporter for Politico.

And in headlines, Planned Parenthood struggles to keep clinics open after absorbing the cost of Medicaid patients who were cut off by the Trump administration's funding ban, the Make America Healthy Again movement summit takes place in Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Mint ceases the production of pennies after more than 200 years.

Show Notes:
 

 • Check out Hayley's reporting – 
www.politico.com/staff/hailey-fuchs • Call Congress – 
202-224-3121 • Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – 
https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8 • What A Day – YouTube – 
https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast • Follow us on Instagram – 
https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/ • For a transcript of this episode, please visit 
crooked.com/whataday
 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Government Reopens — To More Epstein Chaos

The government shutdown is inching closer to an end as members of the House of Representatives return to Washington today. They are expected to vote on a bill to end the shutdown this week, after eight Senate Democrats voted with Republicans to advance a budget package on Monday night. The package includes funding for the government until January and would also reinstate federal employees who were laid off during the shutdown. But, and there’s a big but, the budget package does not include an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies that make health insurance more affordable for millions of people. To discuss the potential end to the shutdown further, with no answers on healthcare, we spoke with Delaware Democratic Congresswoman Sarah McBride on Tuesday afternoon.

And in headlines, CNN reports the United Kingdom is no longer sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean, a judge ruled West Virginia National Guard troops can stay in DC, and President Donald Trump is pushing a 50-year-mortgage plan for prospective homebuyers.

Show Notes:
 

 • Call Congress – 
202-224-3121 • Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – 
https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8 • What A Day – YouTube – 
https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast • Follow us on Instagram – 
https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/ • For a transcript of this episode, please visit 
crooked.com/whataday
 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Misread the Moment: Rep. McBride On Senate Democrats

Monday night, the Senate passed legislation to reopen the government, sending it to the House. The eight Senate Democrats who reached a deal with Republicans over the weekend defended their compromise ahead of the vote Monday. But many Democrats publicly criticized them for caving to the GOP without guaranteeing an extension to Affordable Care Act subsidies. Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders has been one of the toughest critics of the Democrats who caved. We spoke with the senator ahead of Monday night’s vote about the shutdown, healthcare, and why he thinks the fight is nowhere near over.

And in headlines, the Supreme Court rejects a long-shot ask to consider overturning its landmark 2015 decision that legalized same-sex marriage, President Donald Trump hands out early Thanksgiving pardons to a whole flock of 2020 election conspirators, and the shutdown continues to impact flights across the country.

Show Notes:
 

 • Call Congress – 
202-224-3121 • Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – 
https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8 • What A Day – YouTube – 
https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast • Follow us on Instagram – 
https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/ • For a transcript of this episode, please visit 
crooked.com/whataday
 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Sen. Sanders Slams The Surrender Dems

Minneapolis City Council members have said they intend to disband the Minneapolis Police Department and replace it with a community-based public safety model. On the federal level, Democrats will introduce reform legislation today that, among other things, will change the standard for use of force.

We interview Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who recently took the lead in the prosecuting cases related to George Floyd’s killing by police. We ask him why it's so difficult to prosecute officers, and what he makes of moves to disband police departments.

And in headlines: India experiences its highest day of cases, unemployment numbers are better but still terrible, and former VP Joe Biden has enough delegates to win the nomination. Plus, Erin Ryan fills in for Akilah Hughes.

 

 
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MPD Unplugged

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