The Daily Beast Podcast

Joanna Coles and Daily Beast executive editor Hugh Dougherty dissect what they call the most chaotic and politically damaging week yet for Donald Trump’s second administration—an unraveling marked by a humiliating Supreme Court showdown over birthright citizenship and a presidency increasingly defined by spectacle over strategy. From a stunned courtroom exit and a judge halting Trump’s vanity White House ballroom, to the abrupt firing of Pam Bondi, Coles and Dougherty trace a pattern of erratic decision-making and institutional strain. Layered on top: a bizarre Homeland Security scandal with national security implications, allies behaving like caricatures, and a White House struggling to project control as oil prices spike and global tensions rise. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles react to the shock firing of Pam Bondi, signaling a new purge cycle inside Donald Trump’s unraveling inner circle—with one high-profile name already on the chopping block next. As Trump endures a brutal week marked by a faltering Iran narrative, a visibly strained Oval Office address, and a humiliating Supreme Court appearance that ended in a storm-out, the hosts trace a presidency slipping into chaos mode. Behind the scenes, weakened guardrails and rising paranoia are fueling a familiar pattern: blame, purge, repeat. Layered on top is the surreal and damaging Byron Noem scandal, adding fresh questions about judgment, vulnerability, and dysfunction at the highest levels. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joanna Coles sits down with leadership expert Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and co-author Steven Tian as their book, Trump’s Ten Commandments, dissects Donald Trump not as a politician, but as a pattern—revealing the repeatable tactics behind his rise, survival, and power plays. From a jaw-dropping personal story that begins with a brutal critique of The Apprentice and ends with Trump offering Sonnenfeld the presidency of Trump University, to a breakdown of how he flips enemies into loyalists, weaponizes lawsuits, and thrives on chaos, this conversation pulls back the curtain on the mechanics of influence. The authors map out Trump’s central tenets of leadership—from divide-and-conquer tactics to relentless distraction campaigns—arguing that his real power lies in instinct, not ideology. As tensions escalate globally and questions swirl around strategy, alliances, and control, the episode delivers a blunt, insider blueprint for understanding—and countering—the most unconventional leadership style in modern politics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles dissect the glossy Trump Presidential Library video that looks more like a luxury theme park than a legacy project. Wolff recounts a revealing private dinner with Trump, where even mentioning a “library” triggered visible discomfort—until Wolff floated the idea of a Trump theme park, a moment he now suspects helped shape the spectacle Eric Trump is promoting. They then zero in on a single, volatile question: what happens when Donald Trump declares victory in Iran while leaving a critical global oil chokepoint effectively in enemy hands. As the war drags into uncertainty, Wolff argues Trump is cornered between escalation and retreat, with neither offering a clean outcome, while Coles tracks the ripple effects inside a MAGA movement beginning to fracture under pressure. The episode exposes a White House operating in bursts of instinct rather than strategy, with key figures disappearing from view and others maneuvering for what comes next. It then pivots to Wolff’s latest Jeffrey Epstein installment, revealing a ruthless competition between Epstein and Trump for proximity to power involving Bill Clinton, and a deeper look at how media, money, and ego fueled Epstein’s rise. The result is a portrait of influence colliding with consequence at a moment when the stakes are no longer abstract. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

David Rothkopf and Joanna Coles unpack a week of escalating global tension and political chaos, from mass protests at home to the very real prospect of U.S. troops on the ground in Iran, as insiders warn the situation could spiral fast. Rothkopf delivers a blistering assessment of Trump’s leadership style—driven by perception over strategy—while Coles presses on the risks of surrounding power with inexperience and ego. Together, they connect the dots between history, military reality, and the dangerous decisions unfolding in real time, exposing why threats alone rarely work and how this moment could reshape America’s role on the world stage. It’s a sharp, darkly funny, and deeply sobering conversation that builds toward a chilling conclusion about what may come next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Daily Beast Political Reporter Sarah Ewall-Wice speaks with Alex Bores, a tech insider turned rising star of the Democratic Party, for a deeply pointed conversation on the collision between Big Tech, Trump’s inner circle, and the future of American democracy. Bores, a former tech insider turned candidate for New York's 12th congressional disctrict, sounds the alarm on what he sees as a billionaire-driven AI agenda shaping policy inside Trump’s White House—while also detailing his break with Palantir over its work with ICE. He then zeroes in on what he calls the most urgent threat: the expanding role of ICE under Trump, including warnings of agents being used to intimidate voters at polling places and a parallel push to undermine mail-in voting ahead of the midterms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles dive into a chaotic stretch where Donald Trump’s impulses collide with global consequences, revealing a president driven less by strategy than by instinct, ego, and narrative control. From openly contradicting his own stance on mail-in voting to stamping his name on the dollar, Wolff and Coles track a pattern of behavior that prioritizes dominance and attention over consistency. As the Iran war enters a volatile phase with no clear objective, Wolff argues there was never a real plan—only improvisation now spiraling into risk—while Coles probes whether there’s hidden logic behind the scenes or just confusion layered with bravado. The conversation sharpens around Trump’s reliance on storytelling to survive political damage, his fixation on grievance as midterms loom, and the growing cracks inside his inner circle, from RFK Jr.’s instability to rising doubts about key figures tasked with executing policy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Carville tells Daily Beast Political Reporter Sarah Ewall-Wice that Trump is in much bigger trouble than even the terrible polls are predicting. He says the Democrats are on track for sweeping midterm victories—pointing to double-digit overperformance in special elections, even in Donald Trump’s own backyard, and predicting a potential 55-seat Senate majority. Carville also warns that Trump could trigger chaos if he realizes the election is slipping away by undermining election legitimacy or escalating the Iran conflict. He dismantles Republican strategy, questions Trump’s grip on his own party, and argues that fear, defiance, and voter mobilization will define the months ahead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial today at https://shopify.com/dailybeast with promo code dailybeast. #ad Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles dive deep into the most unsettling question at the center of Donald Trump’s presidency: what’s really going on inside his mind. Sparked by a revealing clip and Wolff’s firsthand time in Trump’s White House, the conversation traces a chilling throughline—from early confusion among insiders to the blunt assessment that unlocked everything, reshaping how those closest to power understood his behavior. They unpack Trump’s resistance to information, his aversion to reading, and the coping mechanisms that may have fueled both his rise and his governing style, while exploring how performance, repetition, and instinct can override logic on the world stage. Along the way, they reveal how allies, critics, and even longtime confidants struggled to reconcile the contradictions, and how those very traits may have become his greatest political asset, driving a presidency that defies traditional measures of intelligence and leadership in ways that continue to reverberate far beyond Washington. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

George Rush joins Joanna Coles to revisit the moment he began digging into Jeffrey Epstein after the financier’s Palm Beach sweetheart deal, uncovering testimony from Virginia Giuffre, allegations involving Ghislaine Maxwell, and mounting fears Epstein was still recruiting girls. Rush, the famed New York gossip columnist, describes how his reporting triggered pressure from the newspaper’s owner after Epstein intervened—before landing a rare phone interview in which Epstein blamed victims, minimized the charges, and tried to steer coverage toward their lawyer. With hindsight, Rush reflects on Epstein’s manipulation tactics, his push to keep Maxwell out of print, and the explosive tape that nearly sent the reporter to jail when attorneys fought to obtain it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get 15% off Saily data plans at https://saily.com with promo code Michael Wolff joins Joanna Coles to root inside Donald Trump’s mind in real time, as the president wrestles with the Iran war, the spectre of Epstein, and the looming midterms. From bomb threats that evaporate into last-minute negotiations, to backchannel chaos no one can follow, Wolff dissects the whiplash of Trump’s decision-making and the relentless fantasy world he inhabits—where he alone knows more than generals, elections are perpetually stolen, and every problem has a Trump-branded solution. Along the way, the conversation touches on Trump’s obsession with image and the intricate theater of power he stages, showing how drama, delusion, and ambition collide in the mind of a man still convinced only he can save America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get 15% off OneSkin with the code beast at https://www.oneskin.co/beast #oneskinpod Kurt Andersen joins Joanna Coles to trace Donald Trump’s rise from Spy magazine punchline to the ultimate show-business president, arguing that Trump didn’t invent the con so much as perfect a distinctly American tradition stretching back to P.T. Barnum’s “clever humbug,” where attention matters more than truth and audiences happily play along. Andersen dissects Trump’s maximalist language—everything the “greatest,” the “best,” the “like nobody’s ever seen”—and warns that the same improvisational instincts that fueled his celebrity now shape foreign policy, including claims of negotiations with Iran that didn’t exist and a presidency run like an endless next episode. They close on Epstein, conspiracies, and the blurry line between con and belief—asking whether Trump the salesman now believes his own pitch, and what it means when politics becomes a spectacle with global stakes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

David Rothkopf returns to the podcast to deliver a chilling behind-the-scenes account of a war spiraling far beyond public spin, revealing that while officials defend the Iran conflict on TV, insiders across Washington are privately terrified by how badly it’s unfolding. Drawing on deep sources inside the military, intelligence, and diplomatic worlds, Rothkopf exposes a stunning lack of strategy, mounting fears of global economic shock, and a rapidly escalating conflict that experts warned would happen—and now can’t control. From skyrocketing energy prices and the risk of a wider regional war to the unnerving reality that key decisions are being driven by instinct rather than planning, Rothkopf details of a crisis that is not only failing abroad but threatening to destabilize alliances, markets, and America’s standing in the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles unpack a chaotic week inside the White House, from the Iran war’s growing political danger and fears of a midterm wipeout to the bizarre rise of “competitive Christianity” as rival factions weaponize faith for power. Wolff reveals how Trump’s erratic grip on reality is shaping the conflict abroad while aides scramble to contain fallout at home, even as tensions over Israel split his base and immigration crackdowns backfire. Meanwhile, in a surreal twist, Trump’s obsession with building a grand White House ballroom emerges as a defining fixation amid the crisis, and Wolff teases his explosive new Epstein series drawn from firsthand encounters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles dive deep into the unraveling chaos inside Trumpworld as the Iran war exposes a full-blown MAGA civil war, with Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly and Nick Fuentes clashing against Ben Shapiro, Laura Loomer and Mark Levin in a bitter fight over Israel, antisemitism, and the future of the movement. Wolff reveals shocking behind-the-scenes insights into the conspiratorial currents driving Trump’s base, the growing belief that shadowy forces are steering U.S. foreign policy and how figures like Jared Kushner are being recast in dark, dangerous narratives. As Trump stumbles through a conflict he never planned through, sidelining his own America First allies while embracing traditional hawks, the episode paints a portrait of a movement fracturing in real time—where ideology, opportunism, and resentment collide, and where the battle for control of MAGA may reshape American politics in ways few saw coming. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our listeners get the Flamingo Starter Set for just $7 at https://www.shopflamingo.com/beast #ad Joanna Coles speaks with legal analyst Glenn Kirschner about the legal chaos surrounding Donald Trump, as Chief Justice John Roberts issues a pointed but likely ineffective warning about attacks on the courts, underscoring a Supreme Court struggling to assert its authority. Meanwhile, Kristi Noem faces mounting scrutiny over potentially false testimony and a spiraling credibility crisis that could make leave her legally exposed, while Pam Bondi’s Justice Department is cast as an extension of Trump’s inner circle—accused of shielding allies, dodging accountability, and rewriting the rules of prosecution in real time. As legal norms erode and pressure builds across multiple fronts, Kirschner lays out how these converging flashpoints could determine whether the rule of law bends—or finally snaps under the weight of power. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this debut episode of The Royalist, host Tom Sykes dives straight into the biggest royal scandals of the moment with a blockbuster interview featuring royal biographer Andrew Lownie, who explains why the fallout from Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein revelations could pose an unprecedented crisis for King Charles III and the monarchy—and gives his extraordinary solution. Iconic fashion editor Plum Sykes reports after the Cheltenham Festival with behind-the-scenes royal fashion and society gossip, while journalist Paula Froelich spills the latest tea on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Finally, Australian commentator Shauna Kay joins Tom for a fiery “Royal Roast” breaking down the backlash to Meghan and Harry’s controversial Australia plans. It’s a jam-packed first episode full of scoops, sharp commentary, and the royal drama everyone is talking about. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

To get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan, go to https://incogni.com/beast Michael Wolff joins Joanna Coles just as the sudden resignation from a top counterterrorism official over the war in Iran exposes cracks inside Trump’s own coalition. With MAGA figures turning on the conflict even as Trump insists he’s “obliterating” Iran’s military capacity, Wolff explains the blunt logic driving Trump’s thinking: If the generals said obliteration was possible, then the mission must be working—even as oil prices threaten to spike, Iran’s regime appears more entrenched, and the president finds himself trapped in the classic dilemma of a war he can neither win nor easily leave. They also unpack Trump’s bizarre insistence that a former U.S. president privately praised his Iran strategy, the quiet power struggles between Marco Rubio and J.D. Vance, Jared Kushner’s expanding influence over Middle East policy, and why the next phase of Trump’s presidency may look familiar: the search for someone—anyone—to blame. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get 15% off OneSkin with the code beast at https://www.oneskin.co/beast #oneskinpod Anand Giridharadas joins Joanna Coles to unpack what the Epstein files actually tell us, not just about one disgraced financier, but about the elite network that worked with him. The bestselling author explains why so many of what he calls the Epstein class stayed in his orbit even after Epstein’s crimes were widely known. Coles and Giridharadas dig into the strange rituals of this rarefied class and examine emails involving figures like Larry Summers and former Obama White House counsel Kathy Ruemmler. They also confront the darker question at the center of the scandal: How a network built on access, status, and mutual advantage created a culture where no one ever seemed to break ranks—even when they knew the crimes Jeffrey Epstein committed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joanna Coles speaks with Steve Schmidt about the mounting panic spreading through Republican circles as Donald Trump’s political and foreign policy instincts collide with a party increasingly worried about where it’s headed. From the growing anxiety inside the GOP about Trump’s escalating confrontation with Iran to the bizarre internal dramas of Trump World, Schmidt breaks down a series of moments that have Republicans whispering behind closed doors. The conversation dives into the stunning downfall of Kristi Noem after her controversial ad campaign helped push Trump to fire one of his own loyalists, the surreal optics of Marco Rubio awkwardly navigating Trump’s orbit, and the broader sense that the party’s leadership is trapped between loyalty to Trump and fear of the political consequences. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles take us inside the mysterious world of Susie Wiles—the quiet, rarely seen chief of staff who may be the most powerful person in Donald Trump’s orbit. While Trump famously trusts no one and burns through aides at lightning speed, Wiles has not only survived but brought an unexpected level of discipline to the chaos of Trump World. Wolff reveals how the Florida political operative who Trump once dismissed as “a refrigerator” quietly outmaneuvered rivals, crushed Ron DeSantis, and built a White House operation designed around one simple rule: never try to control Donald Trump. From her unusual strategy of staying out of the spotlight to the psychological tactics she uses to handle a president who refuses bad news, the episode uncovers the secrets behind the grandmother who may be the most important—and least visible—figure in the Trump administration. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles unpack another dizzying week inside Donald Trump’s orbit, from the strange logic behind his Iran strike to the growing MAGA backlash that’s rattling the White House. As Trump pushes a controversial voting law he believes could secure victory in November, Wolff explains the “reality distortion” at the center of Trump’s decision-making—and why the former president still assumes he’ll get exactly what he wants. Meanwhile, tensions explode inside Trump’s own coalition over war, immigration crackdowns spark political panic among Republicans, and an unexpected primary battle becomes a test of Trump’s grip on the MAGA base. Plus, a rare Melania sighting, Wolff’s unfolding lawsuit drama, and the theory that Trump’s latest moves may be about distracting from the Epstein files. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Go to https://zbiotics.com/DAILYBEAST and use DAILYBEAST at checkout for 15% off any first time orders of ZBiotics probiotics. Joanna Coles sits down with The View co-host Ana Navarro for a blisteringly candid conversation about the chaos surrounding Donald Trump’s presidency—from a war abroad and a Pentagon obsessed with flattering photos of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, to the growing power of what Navarro calls a party of “cowardly Republicans” unwilling to challenge a deranged Trump. Navarro pulls back the curtain on how figures like Marco Rubio and Lindsey Graham transformed from fierce critics to loyal allies, explaining the political fear, ambition, and seduction of power driving the GOP’s dramatic shift. The conversation also dives into the fallout from Kristi Noem’s scandals, the lingering failures around the Epstein case across multiple administrations, and the uncomfortable questions about Trump’s health and America’s democratic guardrails. It’s an unfiltered, behind-the-scenes look at the personalities, betrayals, and power plays shaping Washington right now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles discuss Trump’s war with Iran as it unfolds in real time—revealing a commander-in-chief who appears to be running a war the same way he runs a rally: by ad-libbing moment to moment. From the bizarre return of Trump’s old “fire and fury” threat to wildly shifting claims about victory, surrender, and bombing Iran “back into the Stone Age,” Wolff explains why insiders say there is no plan—only improvisation. Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth struggles to explain a strategy that may not exist, Republicans panic over rising gas prices ahead of the midterms, and Trump himself seems thrilled by the spectacle of it all. As the rhetoric escalates and the goals of the war remain undefined, Wolff and Coles expose the chaos, contradictions, and political risks behind a conflict that could end tomorrow—or spiral somewhere no one in Washington can predict. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Congressman Jake Auchincloss joins Joanna Coles to take on the chaos surrounding Donald Trump’s strikes in Iran—warning that the president may be waging a war without a clear strategy and without Congress’s approval. The former Marine questions Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's leadership, calls for the firing of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over alleged conflicts of interest, and explains why Democrats are already preparing for the possibility that Trump could try to undermine the 2026 midterm elections. The conversation ranges from the Democratic Party’s struggle to reclaim patriotism and define its economic message to the political power of tech titans like Elon Musk and the national security threat posed by TikTok—before ending with lingering questions about the Epstein Files. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joanna Coles speaks with Andrew Lownie, author of Entitled, about the explosive new revelations tying Prince Andrew to the widening scandal surrounding Jeffrey Epstein—from disturbing details in the Epstein files to allegations that could shake the foundations of the British monarchy. Lownie lays out how Andrew’s relationships with Epstein’s network allegedly stretched from secret apartments in London to a web of wealthy associates and foreign contacts, raising questions not just about sexual misconduct but about national security and the royal family’s long effort to contain the damage. With police questioning, mysterious deaths connected to the saga, and pressure mounting inside Britain’s political establishment, the conversation explores how the scandal could reach all the way to King Charles III and the future of the House of Windsor—and why the story may be far from over. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

INCOGNI Deal: To get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan, go to https://incogni.com/beast Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles dive back inside Donald Trump’s head as the Iran war enters its second week—and the president’s rhetoric grows stranger by the hour. From Trump’s bizarre Truth Social posts declaring Iran the “loser of the Middle East” to his cinematic demand for “unconditional surrender,” the pair unpack why Trump seems to be narrating the war as if he’s the hero in his own movie rather than a commander in chief navigating a global crisis. They also reveal the frantic reassurance Trump is reportedly seeking from journalists, the fear and aggression driving his language, and why allies around the world are struggling to interpret what any of it actually means. Meanwhile, chaos spreads closer to home: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is abruptly fired after a staggering $200 million self-promotional ad campaign blows up in her face, raising questions about who might be the next domino in Trump’s cabinet. And with bad economic news, rising oil prices from the war, and brutal polling ahead of the midterms, Wolff argues Trump may be approaching a rare political inflection point—one that could determine whether the second Trump era tightens its grip or begins to crack. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Go to https://zbiotics.com/BEAST and use BEAST at checkout for 15% off any first time orders of ZBiotics probiotics #ad Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles break down the chaos surrounding Trump’s war with Iran, a conflict where even top officials, allies, and the media seem unable to explain what the strategy actually is. They unpack Trump’s obsession with “winning,” the backlash building inside MAGA world, and why rising gas prices could quickly turn the political tide at home. Wolff argues the real key to understanding Trump may not be in the Pentagon or the intelligence briefings—but inside the mind of Jared Kushner, the one person he believes truly understands Trump’s thinking and the potential Gulf money and postwar deals at stake. They also dive into the uneasy body language of figures like Marco Rubio and JD Vance, the confusion among world leaders, and the political stakes back home—from the Texas Senate battle to a stunning Kristi Noem hearing that may have been the final straw for Trump to fire her as DHS Secretary. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

John Bolton joins Joanna Coles to help us understand what it’s like working with Donald Trump during moments of maximum peril, when generals and intelligence chiefs are trying to brief a president who, Bolton says, often prefers talking to listening. Drawing on his time as national security advisor during Trump’s first term, he describes a commander in chief uncomfortable in the Situation Room, dismissive of the structured National Security Council process created under the National Security Act of 1947, and prone to reversing decisions—even after operations were underway. As Trump weighs a potentially prolonged confrontation with Iran, Bolton assesses whether he has the patience to sustain it, why Benjamin Netanyahu has proved especially effective at influencing him, and how mixed messaging to Congress and allies weakens America’s hand when American lives are at stake in the Gulf. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles go deep inside Donald Trump’s thinking at the precise moment war breaks out, unpacking his fixation on “winning,” his belief that declaring victory matters more than consequences, and why he sees global conflict the way a producer sees a TV series. As markets fall, allies fracture, and Iran escalates, they trace how Trump frames war as optics, distraction, and personal score-settling, revealing why the end of the story matters more to him than what comes after. Along the way, they connect MAGA loyalty, media spectacle, and Trump’s obsession with control into a single throughline that explains not just this moment, but how he has navigated power for more than a decade. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

David Rothkopf joins Joanna Coles to argue that Donald Trump’s Iran war reveals a president who believes he governs like a king, not a constitutional commander in chief. Rothkopf, The Daily Beast’s unmissable columnist and Founder of the DSR Network, lays out the case that this is an illegal war launched without congressional approval, with just 21 percent public support, no coherent National Security Council process, and early casualties already compounding the chaos. He connects Trump’s impulsive strike to Benjamin Netanyahu’s political incentives, the risk of regional escalation, oil shocks ahead of the midterms, and the dangerous fantasy that regime change will somehow yield democracy in Tehran. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

David Rothkopf joins Joanna Coles to argue that the Epstein scandal is Donald Trump’s defining crisis, connecting global power, income inequality, corruption, and impunity. Rothkopf, The Daily Beast’s unmissable columnist and Founder of the DSR Network, explains how Epstein ensnared a network of elites like Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, Peter Mandelson, and Wall Street titans, while raising deeper questions about obstruction, missing evidence, and intelligence entanglements. They also discuss how key players actively covered up wrongdoing to protect themselves and their allies, showing a world where privilege shields crime and the full truth may never see the light of day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For a limited time, get 50% off for life, free shipping, and 3 free gifts at Mars Men at MenGoToMars.com. #ad Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles go deep inside the black hole of Trump’s sudden pivot to attack Iran, dissecting the airstrikes, the regime-change rhetoric, and the president’s instinctive need to declare victory fast. From the surreal whiplash of launching a Board of Peace days before bombs fall, to the gamble of shock-and-awe without boots on the ground, they trace how foreign policy becomes personal survival strategy in a “government of one.” Is this a calculated move, a headline reset, or simply Trump following his gut in the fog of war? Along the way, they unravel the politics of his speech to Iranians, the MAGA base’s unease with another Middle East conflict, and the looming midterms that may be shaping every decision. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Michael Wolff joins Joanna Coles to dissect the now tangible proof that Trump has lost touch with political reality. Beginning with a marathon State of the Union that was less a governing document than a 1-hour-and-47-minute exercise in self-mythology, aimed at his fan base, where reality was declared perfect even as polls told a different story. That disconnect between performance and public mood becomes sharper in Minneapolis, where a legitimate COVID-era fraud case that led to dozens of convictions was transformed by the ICE killings, tragedies so unpopular that it could cost Trump an easy political win. Now, JD Vance is dispatched to sell the punishment and absorb the blowback. Abroad, the stakes escalate: brinkmanship with Iran risks blowback Trump once vowed to avoid, while the grinding war in Ukraine—which he promised to end in a day—remains unresolved and increasingly perilous. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joanna Coles sits down with Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey for a bracing conversation that moves from Trump’s State of the Union theatrics to what she calls a calculated effort to normalize chaos ahead of 2026. Gov. Healey unloads on the DOJ’s handling of the Epstein files, slams RFK Jr.’s vaccine rollbacks, and details how she’s battling ICE crackdowns, slashed federal funding, and what she warns could be attempts to “federalize” elections and intimidate voters with troops and manufactured fraud claims. As Democrats wrestle with generational change, leadership, and how to win back voters battered by affordability crises, Healey argues the real fight isn’t 2028—it’s protecting the ballot and delivering tangible results right now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Michael Wolff joins Joanna Coles with a new window into the volatility inside the West Wing, describing what he says was a secret Situation Room tantrum by Donald Trump, a moment when military briefers could not give him the absolute guarantees he demanded, and the meeting spiraled. Wolff connects that flash of anger to the broader pattern he’s reported for years: a president who hates paper trails, avoids email, and warns aides never to “leave a record,” an instinct that now looms large as the Epstein Files fallout engulfs figures like Prince Andrew and Peter Mandelson. Why, Wolff asks, do so many powerful men have receipts—while Trump seems not to? From the chaos-as-cover strategy to the Iran briefings where strength is performative, and doubt is intolerable, this is a portrait of a leader who equates uncertainty with humiliation and reacts accordingly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Liz Oyer joins Joanna Coles to expose what she calls Donald Trump’s “pardon economy”—a system that has transformed presidential mercy into something transactional and lucrative. Oyer, the former pardon attorney under Joe Biden, walks through the eye-popping cases: reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley freed after serving just 18 months; crypto titan Changpeng “CZ” Zhao pardoned after brokering billions into the Trump family’s crypto venture; electric truck founder Trevor Milton absolved before paying back investors; and even former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández released despite a 45-year sentence for massive cocaine trafficking. Along the way, they examine the erased restitution—over a billion dollars owed to victims—golf-course clemency pitches, surprise NFL pardons, and the political fallout inside Trump’s own Justice Department. If pardons are, as one scholar puts it, an X-ray into a president’s soul, what does this one reveal about Trump’s second term—and who benefits next? Sign up for Joanna's new Substack here: https://beast.pub/scream Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. John Gartner joins Joanna Coles for a bracing deep dive into what he argues are the accelerating signs of cognitive and behavioral decline in Donald Trump—from garbled words and meandering stories to grandiosity, paranoia, and the spectacle of falling asleep at his newly formed Board of Peace. As they dissect Trump’s escalator conspiracy tale, obsession with looks, fixation on naming landmarks after himself, and late-night social media tirades, the conversation widens to the real stakes: nuclear codes, Middle East brinkmanship, the midterms, and what Dr. Gartner calls the dangerous mix of narcissistic injury and unchecked power. With references to Greenland, Gaza, Iran, the Justice Department, and even the shadow of the Epstein files, Coles presses on whether any institutional guardrails still hold—or whether impulse now drives policy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles climb back inside Donald Trump’s mind at the very moment the Supreme Court humiliates him on tariffs—and he responds not with retreat, but with theatrical fury. From calling his own justices “fools” to turning a legal defeat into prime-time spectacle, they unpack how Trump transforms setbacks into legend, why the State of the Union could become a live-wire showdown with Chief Justice John Roberts, and what those colossal presidential banners draped across Washington really signal about dominance and power. Along the way, they dive into the bro-coded videos of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Pete Hegseth, the strange silence from Kash Patel on Epstein, and the unsettling mystery of a disappearance gripping the country—asking whether Trump governs as a president, a performer, or something closer to a monarch. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles untangle a week where chaos seems to be the point, including the stunning arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in the widening Jeffrey Epstein fallout. Meanwhile in Washington, Trump gathers his Board of Peace to bankroll his grand vision for Gaza while facing a far more combustible reality: a potential military showdown with Iran that he may neither want nor be able to control. As European partners keep their distance and troop buildups raise the stakes, Wolff and Coles probe whether Trump is orchestrating strategic distraction—or simply caught between looking weak and starting a war. With scandals colliding and global order wobbling, is this all part of a master play, or are we watching events slip beyond Trump’s grasp? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

David Rothkopf joins Joanna Coles to break down the Trump administration’s strategy to protect itself ahead of the midterms. From the surreal RFK Jr. and Kid Rock government video spectacle to Donald Trump’s grip on evangelicals, Rothkopf, The Daily Beast’s unmissable columnist, explains why Trump’s obsession with election legitimacy is less about confidence and more about self-preservation. With foreign allies unsettled and domestic chaos mounting, he lays out how both parties are quietly planning for life after Trump—and what the fallout could mean for American politics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

INCOGNI Deal: To get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan, go to https://incogni.com/beast Michael Wolff joins Joanna Coles to examine why Donald Trump’s very public irritation may reveal more than any document dump. As the Epstein files unleash a rolling wave of headlines, Wolff argues the real story is not what’s newly uncovered but how the sprawling release has diffused attention away from Trump and onto a widening cast of peripheral figures—a dynamic he says Trump has repeatedly relied on to survive past crises. Drawing on Wolff’s firsthand encounters with Jeffrey Epstein and his introduction of Steve Bannon into Epstein’s orbit after Bannon’s White House exit, the conversation traces how resentment, rivalry, and obsession with Trump bound those men together, even as Trump now casts himself as the victim of a conspiracy involving journalists and old adversaries. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tom Sykes, The Daily Beast’s unmissable Royals columnist, joins Executive Editor Hugh Dougherty to examine how the fallout from Jeffrey Epstein has reignited a crisis around Prince Andrew that now threatens to engulf the wider monarchy. As new scrutiny revisits Andrew’s relationship with Virginia Giuffre and raises questions about what the Palace knew, Sykes argues that King Charles III is confronting a scandal no longer containable by tradition or silence—one already straining relations with heir Prince William and forcing a reckoning over accountability, reputation, and whether the royal family can still rely on deference in an era demanding transparency. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tina Brown tells all about her shocking experience being named in the newly unsealed Jeffrey Epstein case files, revealing how Jeffrey Epstein and his allies frantically tried to “neutralize” her and shut down The Daily Beast after her explosive reporting with Conchita Sarnoff blew open his web of abuse. In a gripping conversation with Daily Beast executive editor Hugh Dougherty, Brown recounts the panic inside Epstein’s circle, the chilling legal threats from powerhouse firms, the duplicity of social fixer Peggy Siegal, and the moral rot of an elite “club” that protected its own even after the truth was in plain sight. She reflects on the pre-#MeToo culture that dismissed victims, the powerful names orbiting Epstein—from Bill Clinton to Ehud Barak—and the industrial scale of exploitation enabled by Ghislaine Maxwell and recruiter Jean-Luc Brunel. It’s a bracing defense of investigative journalism, a warning about the corrosive power of extreme wealth, and a behind-the-scenes look at how close this story came to being buried—so what else is still hidden in the millions of unreleased files? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles unpack the spiraling fallout from the Epstein files, Ghislaine Maxwell’s calculated silence, and the widening circle of elites caught in the “Epstein class,” before turning to something even more alarming: the Trump administration’s brazen willingness to lie in plain sight. From the El Paso airspace shutdown and the balloon-versus-drone fiasco to Fox News alumni now running Cabinet departments at odds with one another, they examine whether the chaos is incompetence—or a deliberate governing strategy built on fear, loyalty tests, and all-or-nothing stakes. As prosecutions stall, investigations fizzle, and reality itself seems negotiable, Wolff argues that the disorder may be the point—and that the risks are existential. Is this simply dysfunction, or is there a dangerous method behind the madness that we’re only just beginning to see? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Michael Wolff steps inside the chaos swirling around Trump World—from Wolff’s bombshell federal lawsuit against Melania Trump, which he says could finally force sworn answers about the Trump–Epstein relationship, to the extraordinary legal fight over where the First Lady actually lives. As Wolff argues that anti-SLAPP laws may become a frontline weapon against what he calls the White House’s assault on free speech, he and Daily Beast executive editor Hugh Dougherty dissect the implications of Melania’s alleged full-time life in New York, her separate Trump Tower apartment, and the branding empire she’s quietly building. The conversation then widens to what Wolff portrays as a second administration defined by loyalty over competence: election denier Kurt Olsen rising to oversee election security, Pam Bondi’s combative Hill performance, and the bizarre El Paso airspace shutdown involving secret lasers, drone claims, and bureaucratic bedlam. Is this a White House tightening its grip—or a government spinning into incompetence so profound it can no longer explain itself? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Daily Beast’s Executive Editor Hugh Dougherty speaks with Professor Scott Galloway about his provocative new campaign, “Resist and Unsubscribe,” a call for consumers to hit what he calls the “soft tissue” of the Trump era—Big Tech’s revenue growth. Galloway argues that the only force Trump truly listens to is the market, and that even small acts—canceling Amazon Prime, downgrading ChatGPT, ditching Uber—can send outsized signals to CEOs and shareholders if done collectively. In a wide-ranging, fiery conversation, he explains why he’s selling his Apple stock, confronting corporate leaders he says privately agree with him, and betting that 10 companies controlling 40 percent of the S&P represent an Achilles’ heel for political power. From ICE protests to crypto grift, AI-fueled layoffs to the “manosphere” wobbling on Trump, Galloway lays out a theory of economic activism designed to rattle boardrooms before it rattles Washington—so can unsubscribing from a few tech platforms really shake the most powerful men in America? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Michael Wolff joins Joanna Coles to focus on one of Donald Trump’s most revealing tools: the telephone. Drawing on decades of firsthand experience—from Trump’s landline calls to New York Magazine in the 1990s to rambling, unsolicited calls as president—Wolff explains why Trump is almost never off the phone, why he hates email and paper trails, and how calling isn’t about exchanging information so much as asserting dominance, rehearsing grievances, and never being alone. It’s a portrait of a man who governs, leaks, vents, and connects almost entirely by voice—using the phone as both comfort object and command center—and a revealing look at how Trump’s constant talking shapes his politics, his relationships, and his presidency. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joanna Coles speaks with Rep. Maxwell Frost about the hate crime assault he was a victim of at the Sundance Film Festival—and why he says it’s part of a much darker national pattern tied to political rhetoric, emboldened extremists, and a collapse of accountability in Washington. Rep. Frost describes how GOP lawmakers acquiesce to Trump and remain silent out of terror of primaries, retaliation, or being singled out by the president. He argues that this spinelessness has real-world consequences, linking escalating political violence, authoritarian instincts, and a system increasingly warped by greed and profiteering. As Frost warns that democracy itself is under threat, the question lingers: will Republicans ever find the backbone to stand up to Trump—and what happens if they don’t? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Steve Schmidt (political strategist and founder of The Warning) joins Joanna Coles and dives into Donald Trump’s monomaniacal urge to name the nation after himself, and pin down the long reckoning Schmidt says is coming for Trump’s cabinet, enablers, and allies. Schmidt, political strategist and co-founder of the Save America Movement, argues Trumpism will be scraped from the walls of American life, predicts collapsing approval numbers, and warns that the real danger isn’t Trump’s lies but the media and political class selling helplessness as destiny. From the Epstein files metastasizing across multiple countries to Tulsi Gabbard’s alleged election meddling to a startling ultimatum aimed at King Charles to legitimize Trump, Schmidt frames this moment as a constitutional emergency—and an awakening. Is Trump’s grip already slipping, or is the bill for a decade of depravity only just coming due? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices