The Al Franken Podcast
377 episodes — Page 5 of 8
Ep 6464: MARTIN SHORT!!!
MARTIN SHORT!!! Plus Al Commentary on SCOTUS & Jan. 6.
Ep 6363: Daniel Goldman, Legal Analyst, on the Jan. 6th Hearings
Chief Counsel for the House Managers in (the 1st) Trump Impeachment Weighs In.
Ep 6262: Author Anne Nelson on the 60-year history of the vast right-wing shadow network
Nelson lays out how this all brought us to January 6th.
Ep 6161: Ali Noorani on Immigration
Former director of the National Immigration Forum on The Border, DACA, Great Replacement Theory, Ukraine and Afghan Refugees
Ep 6060: Carol Leonnig of WaPo and Ryan Reilly of NBC Preview this Week’s January 6th Hearings
Leonnig and Reilly on what to expect and possible gamechangers
Ep 5858: Patton Oswalt!
On Comedy – Seriously – But More Funnily
Ep 5757: Steve Schmidt Sounds the Alarm!
The Former GOP Operative & Lincoln Project Founder Warns of Coming Fascism
Ep 5656: Dahlia Lithwick and Joyce Vance on the Alito Draft
Why we should all be alarmed!
Ep 5555: The Atlantic Monthly’s Anne Applebaum and Arms Expert Joe Cirincione on Ukraine
What We Know and What We Don’t Know
Ep 5454: Former Firearms Exec & NRA Member, Ryan Busse, Exposes the Dark Underbelly of the Gun Industry
This Best-Of Repeat is Chilling
Ep 5353: Michael Lewis on why U.S. COVID response was so…CRAPPY. (My word)
His latest book, Premonition - a riveting story of genius & dedication against a backdrop of institutional dysfunction.
Ep 5252: Bob Odenkirk talks about Comedy, Comedy, Comedy, and Drama
My old SNL colleague talks about his weird, amazing career arc!
Ep 5151: Amy Klobuchar on Anti-Trust
A Repeat Episode (It was That Good!) with the Chair of the Anti-Trust Subcommittee
Ep 5050: Bill Walton on Basketball, The Grateful Dead, and Life
The NBA Hall of Famer & Emmy-winning broadcaster has opinions
Ep 4949: Dahlia Lithwick on the Insane Republican Awfulness in the Jackson SCOTUS Hearings
Wow, They’re Awful!
Ep 4848: Marc Lamont Hill, Anchor of Black News Tonight, Explains Basic Concepts Like Race as a Social Construct
America is built on bias. And why we care more about Ukraine than we did about Syria.
Ep 4747: Atlantic Monthly’s Franklin Foer Covers Lots of Ground on Ukraine
From Manafort to Zelensky, Foer has been covering Ukraine for years
Ep 4646: Journalist/Author Michael Weiss on Putin's Grave Miscalculation
How Biden, Western Unity, and Zelensky Have Isolated Putin
Ep 4545: The NYT’s Jeremy Peters on How the GOP Went Batshit Crazy
HINT: They Always Were
Ep 4444: Economist Austan Goolsbee on Guess What? The Economy
Historic Growth, High Inflation, & Strained Supply Chains. Oh, My!
Ep 4343: Heather McGhee on Critical Race Theory & Other Stuff
My favorite guest - (sorry, other guests)
Ep 4242: Jamie Raskin
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) talks about his son Tommy; being lead manager in the impeachment trial & the Jan. 6th Select Committee
Ep 4141: Max Bergmann Covers Europe, Ukraine, and Russia for The Center for American Progress
Guess why we have him on.
Ep 4040: Marc Elias & Ari Berman on the GOP’s Assault on Democracy
From voter suppression to the capture of the electoral administration & certification.
Ep 4040: Former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance Discusses Trump's Myriad Civil & Criminal Vulnerabilities
Federal Pridon? Rikers? NY State Prison? Georgia State Prison? Perjury?
Ep 3939: Andy Slavitt and Laurie Garrett Discuss Disturbing New COVID Realities
Turns Out This is Harder Than We Thought!
Ep 3939: Michael Harriot, Acerbic (Funny, Biting, and Funny) Black Writer Talks About (Yikes!) Race
We’re repeating this one because you should hear what Michael has to say
Ep 9393: David Letterman! Top Ten Reasons We’re Repeating This One: #1 – WE CAN!!!
Dave and Al discuss everything!
Ep 9292: Jim Gaffigan and Al Discuss Stand-up & Netflix’s Release of his 9th Hour Special, Comedy Monster
The comic, who makes Trumpers AND Liberals laugh, discusses his decision to speak out in 2020
Ep 9191: Dahlia Lithwick & Sarah Stoesz, CEO of Planned Parenthood in the Upper Midwest, on Abortion.
Dahlia on SCOTUS – Sarah on the reality on the ground. And the Future. Not pretty.
Ep 9090: David Cay Johnston on His New Book – The Big Cheat. Who’s it about? Take a guess!
A one-stop romp through the crimes of Trump and his grifter family.
Ep 8989: Sen. Tammy Duckworth and Al Laugh About Her Getting Blowed Up!
We only repeat the best ones!
Ep 8888: Atlantic Monthly Writer Frank Foer Tears Facebook a New One
A friggin’ brilliant excoriation of Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg
Ep 8787: Norm and Al look Past Build Back Better to Saving Our Democracy
Infrastructure & Build Back Better Will Transform our Nation. Can The Freedom to Vote Act Save It?
Ep 8686: Our Climate Guy – Nobel Prize Recipient Michael Mann on COP-26
What to look for coming out of COP -26
Ep 8585: Ryan Busse, Once an NRA Hero, Gives us the Dirt
Former gun exec & author of Gunfight on how the NRA turned from teaching gun safety into a pernicious threat to public safety & democracy.
Ep 8484: Adam Schiff on The Curious Case of Donald Trump and His Goons
Ripping Yarns of Collusion, Mendacity, and Treason from the Chairman’s New Bestseller: Midnight in Washington.
Ep 8383: Economist Austan Goolsbee on Build Back Better
Goolsbee breaks down BBB into its incredibly popular provisions.
Ep 8282: Author Jackie Calmes Did the Investigation on Brett Kavanaugh the FBI Should Have Done
The FBI sent the tips from the Kavanaugh Tip Line to White House Counsel Don McGahn, who tossed them in the waste basket. Calmes tracked them down. Not pretty!
Ep 8181: The Brilliant Dahlia Lithwick – Slate’s (and Al’s) Expert on SCOTUS
Lithwick brings her depth and breadth of knowledge, plus her wit.
Ep 8080: Lead Dem Election Lawyer Marc Elias on the Epic Battle for Our Democracy
Democrats have a limited time to prevent America from becoming an authoritarian state.
Ep 7979: Alex Gibney Talks Opioids & His Doc “The Crime of the Century”
Gibney traces the opioid epidemic & the criminal culpability of bad actors like Purdue Pharma, federal regulators, & doctors. It’s ugly.
Ep 7878: R.I. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse on the Corporate Capture of the Courts
A great discussion on how the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence isn’t conservative. It’s corporatist.
Ep 7777: Author Michael Wolff Discusses Trump’s Disastrous Last Year as POTUS
The chilling, yet hilarious saga of a deeply insane President
Ep 7676: Ben Rhodes, Obama’s Deputy National Security Advisor, on Afghanistan & Our Foreign Policy Reset
How our 20 Year War on Terror Distracted Us from Climate, China, Social Media, and Democracy
Ep 7575: Laurie Garrett and Andy Slavitt – Where We Are NOW on COVID-19
The Pulitzer-Winner (Garrett) and Biden Covid Advisor (Slavitt) take a deep dive.
Ep 7474: Atlantic Monthly’s Adam Serwer on his book about the Trump Administration: The Cruelty is the Point
Separating kids from their parents at the border? Mocking a disabled journalist? Cutting food stamps? The Cruelty is the Point!
Ep 7373: Bryan Fogel, Producer of The Dissident, on the Brutal Murder of Jamal Khashoggi
Mohammed bin Salman made the Washington Post columnist pay in the worst way possible for his dedication to reform in his home country.
Ep 7272: Atlantic Monthly Journalist Edward-Isaac Dovere's Fascinating New Book, 'Battle For The Soul’, Chronicles the Democrats Fight for the 2020 Nomination.
This one is pure candy. If you're at all a political junkie - do not miss this one!
Ep 7171: Norman Lear Discusses His 99-Years on the Planet
The legendary creator of groundbreaking TV sit coms - All in the Family, Maude, Sanford and Sons, The Jeffersons, et al, on flying 50 bombing missions in WWII, the joy of comedy and, dare I say, satire.