Extreme Mortman

Earlier this month, President Trump addressed the deepening political and economic crises in Venezuela stating that the U.S. may consider "military options" if the situation gets worse. This week we spoke to Francisco Toro, a Venezuelan journalist and the Executive Editor of English-language blog Caracas Chronicles, about the current state of affairs in Venezuela and the rapidly deteriorating quality of life for those who remain in the country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Earlier this month, the 15-member U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to impose strict new sanctions on North Korea in response to that country's ongoing testing of nuclear weapons. This week, we spoke to Robert Kahn, a senior fellow for international economics at the Council on Foreign Relations, about how sanctions are enforced and why China will be critical in determining the effectiveness of any new sanctions against Pyongyang. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Businessman and author Bill Browder was once one of Russia's top foreign investors, but in 2005 he was kicked out of the country and labeled a national security threat by President Vladimir Putin. Mr. Browder discusses Putin's Russia and the Magnitsky Act, which was named for his late lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, who was imprisoned for 11 months before dying in prison. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

50 years ago this week, the 1967 Detroit Riots began. They lasted over five days in July, ignited by long-simmering racial tensions. podcast we look back at the riots with Joseph Califano Jr. He who served as a principal domestic aide to President Lyndon B. Johnson and was with him during that tumultuous time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we look at President Reagan's efforts to reform the tax code in the 1980's with Henry Olse, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and the author of "The Working Class Republican: Ronald Reagan and the Return of Blue-Collar Conservatism" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our guest this week is Jeffrey Rosen, President & CEO of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. The Declaration of Independence is part of the framework of America's democracy. He offers his perspective on the document that shapes our country 240 years later. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our guest this week is David Daley author of "Ratf**ked: Why Your Vote Doesn't Count." We talked with him about Republican efforts to carve out districts that have helped the GOP since 2010. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

June 17th marks the 45th Anniversary of the Watergate break-in. This week we revisit the first months of the scandal with Nixon-era White House General Counsel John Dean. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we examine the history of congressional investigations with Ray Smock, the director of the Robert C. Byrd Center for Legislative Studies at Shepherd University and a former Historian of the House of Representatives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Fabrice Pothier, former Director of Policy Planning for NATO, discusses the organization's history, mission, and budget. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week's guest is Washington Post reporter Max Ehrenfreund. We spoke with him about a new report examining declining American wages and the shrinking middle class. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week's guest is Robert Danin, a senior fellow for Middle East Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and former Deputy Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs during the George W. Bush administration. We spoke with him about the history of the Arab-Israeli peace process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With President Trump's dismissal of now-former FBI Director James Comey dominating the news we spoke to Pulitzer Prize winner Tim Weiner, author of Enemies: A History of the FBI. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With both parties recruiting candidates to run for office during the 2018 midterm elections, our guest this week is LuAnn Bennett, who lost in 2016 to Republican Rep. Barbara Comstock in the race to represent Virginia's 10th District. We talked with her about her experience running for office. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our guest this week is presidential historian and author Richard Norton Smith. We talked with him about using a president's first 100 days in office as a measurement of success and why FDR set a standard that may not be matched. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our guest this week is Nile Gardiner, a former aid to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and the Director of the Heritage Foundation's Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom. We talked with him about Brexit and the upcoming general election in the U.K. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our guest this week is the Maya MacGuineas, She is the president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and the head of the Campaign to Fix the Debt. We talked with her about the differences between the $20 trillion debt and the year-to-year deficit and why failing to raise the debt ceiling could be catastrophic for the U.S. and global economies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our guest this week is the former Governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson. As a diplomat and Special Envoy, Gov. Richardson has received four Nobel Peace Prize nominations, and has successfully won the release of hostages and American servicemen in North Korea, Cuba, Iraq and Sudan. We talked with him the current state of tension between North Korea and the U.S. and why he thinks the U.S. needs to change its approach to engaging with what many describe as "the Hermit Kingdom." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the Senate set to vote on the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to serve on the Supreme Court, our guest this week is Don Ritchie. He is the Historian Emeritus of the U.S. Senate. We talked with him about the Senate filibuster rules and how the threat of the so-called nuclear option has been used by both parties. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our guest this week is Steve Bell, a senior advisor at the Bipartisan Policy Center. He's a veteran of the Senate Budget Committee, working in various roles – including Staff Director – from the early 1980's until 2009. We talked with him about the process of creating the federal budget and why the President's budget proposal is important. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our guest this week is Jeffrey Rosen, President and CEO of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. We talked with him about the evolution and significance of the Supreme Court confirmation process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our guest this week is former ABC News White House Correspondent and co-host of "This Week," Sam Donaldson. He gave us his assessment of how this White House press corps is covering President Trump and the job of Press Secretary Sean Spicer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our guest this week is Jose Antonio Vargas, journalist, filmmaker, immigration rights activist, and founder of the non-profit group Define American. We talked with him about how the media covers the immigration issue, the rapidly changing look of immigration in the United States, President Trump's immigration policy, and why he went public with his undocumented status in 2011. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our guest this week is Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank. We talked with him the resignation of Gen. Michael Flynn just 24 days into his tenure as National Security Adviser. We also discussed what he calls the "chaotic" Trump White House, how Congressional Republicans are dealing with a new type of President in the White House, and how the Washington Post is approaching its coverage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our guest this week is former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott. We talked with him about how the Senate has changed since he left in 2007, what he thinks needs to be done to get both parties to work together, and lessons from Watergate, the Clinton impeachment trial, and some of the grand political bargains of the 1980's and 1990's. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our guest this week is Stephen Wermiel, a Professor of Constitutional Law and Associate Director of the Summer Institute of Law and Government at American University's Washington College of Law. He's also a contributor to the SCOTUS Blog and spent a decade covering the Supreme Court for The Wall Street Journal for over a decade. We discussed what to expect during the confirmation process for President Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court, Judge Neil Gorsuch. We also talked about the legacy and lessons of the confirmation processes from Nixon to George W Bush, including Judge Robert Bork, who was rejected by the Senate in 1987. We also talked about what he thinks potentially could happen if there is another vacancy to the high court during the Trump Presidency. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our guest this week is former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta. We discussed his time as CIA Director during the first term of the Obama Administration and the process of transitioning the agency from one presidency to another. We also spoke about his advice for new Secretary of Defense, retired General James Mattis, the changes he's seen during the nearly 40 years he's spent in politics, and the importance of the President getting honest - often unvarnished - advice from his cabinet members and his White House staff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our guest this week is historian and author Michael Beschloss. We discuss the history and tradition of presidential inaugurations, as well as notable inaugural addresses from the past. We also talked about how former presidents approached writing their addresses, and the importance these remarks have on Inauguration Day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices