The Daily Beast Podcast

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

Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles unravel a week in Trumpworld that veers from grotesque to outright dangerous, starting with Donald Trump’s late-night Truth Social spiral and the racist meme depicting the Obamas that even members of his own party scrambled to disown. They dig into what aides privately describe as Trump “going over the edge,” why the media still struggles to describe these moments honestly, and how this behavior is no longer an exception but the operating system. From there, the conversation turns to Trump’s jaw-dropping demand to rename Penn Station after himself—holding billions in federal infrastructure funding hostage in exchange for another monument to his name—and what that reveals about power, domination, and his obsession with owning physical and psychological space. The episode also explores the next weaponized phase of the Epstein files, Ghislaine Maxwell’s looming testimony, and how conspiracy, grievance, and raw racism are colliding at the center of Trump’s presidency—so is this just another scandal to scroll past, or a warning sign of something far more unstable still to come? 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 as Trump aids declare the White House an “Epstein-free zone” where his name cannot be spoken. Wolff reveals how Trump’s go-to tactic of personal attacks and distraction still works just enough to avoid answering the one question he can’t touch, why the Epstein revelations are quietly reshuffling internal crises, and how figures from Deepak Chopra to Peter Mandelson to Silicon Valley’s self-styled gurus keep orbiting the same corrupt universe. Then comes Trump’s most compulsive, self-destructive obsession yet: his push to rebrand the Kennedy Center, justified by his own near-assassination fantasy and driven by a need to overwrite history with his name—even as artists flee, audiences vanish, and the politics make no sense. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joanna Coles speaks with Jason Zengerle, author of "Hated By All the Right People," about how Tucker Carlson went from dodging Donald Trump’s phone calls to becoming one of the most powerful forces shaping Trumpworld. Drawing from Zengerle’s new book, they unpack Tucker’s unusual method of influencing Trump through television, his spectacular fallout with Fox News, and why being fired may have supercharged his relevance. The conversation traces Tucker’s early skepticism of Trump, his carefully managed realignment to Trump, his role in boosting JD Vance, and how he helped mainstream Viktor Orbán’s authoritarian playbook while flirting with Putin apologism. Coles and Zengerle also explore the deeply personal roots of Tucker’s worldview, including his fraught relationship with his mother, who left when he was a child and later cut him out of her fortune—an abandonment that may help explain his hunger for control, audience, and power. Is Tucker a cynical opportunist, a true believer, or something more unsettling—a movement leader with ambitions that stretch well beyond media? 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 as Trump predictably lashes out in the fallout from the Epstein files—targeting Wolff as his latest nemesis, threatening lawsuits he can’t afford to file, and insisting the real conspiracy is against him. They unpack Trump’s rambling, defensive response to questions about Epstein flights, island denials, and the newly resurfaced claim—now echoed in official documents—that Epstein introduced Melania to Trump, a detail Trump world once tried to bury with billion-dollar legal threats. From Bill Gates and elite denial to Epstein’s role as an information broker, the conversation widens to Trump’s current obsession: federalizing elections, re-litigating 2020, and quietly laying the groundwork to undermine the 2026 midterms. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

David Rothkopf joins Joanna Coles for a blistering, wide-ranging conversation about a presidency defined by vulgarity, fear, and damage—starting with Rothkopf’s searing argument that Donald Trump is the ugliest expression of American power yet. From the White House’s gilded excesses and the planned hollowing-out of the Kennedy Center, to the Melania “bribe-umentary,” its Epstein-adjacent fallout, and the mounting contradictions exposed in the Epstein files themselves, the episode tracks how taste, corruption, and impunity collide. Rothkopf, The Daily Beast’s unmissable columnist and found of the DSR Network, dig into the murkier questions Trump can’t outrun—from Howard Lutnick’s shifting Epstein story to why so many powerful figures are suddenly caught in bald-faced lies—while also unpacking the strange Tulsi Gabbard whistleblower saga, Trump’s renewed fixation on “stolen” elections, and the quiet groundwork being laid to destabilize 2026. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jennifer Welch of the hit podcast ‘I’ve Had It’ joins Joanna Coles as the news cycle spins completely out of control—from Don Lemon’s arrest and what Welch calls a chilling test case for silencing independent journalists, to the sudden flood of Epstein files, DOJ lawfare, and Trump’s deep, decades-long vendetta against the press. Welch dissects the masculinity myth at the heart of MAGA, the submissive strongman worship that props it up, and the evangelical culture that looks away from abuse while preaching moral authority. Along the way, Welch connects grift, grievance, and repression into a single operating system powering Trumpism—and asks the question hanging over all of it: If this is Trump’s authoritarian testing phase, what comes next when the guardrails finally give? 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 step inside Donald Trump’s head at a moment when spectacle, grievance, and power collide. They unpack what Melania’s glossy new documentary really reveals about her marriage, money, and leverage. Wolff explains why the newly released Epstein files are reopening uncomfortable truths inside Trump World. They then discuss how the federal response in Minneapolis offers a stark window into how Trump understands authority and force. As these threads converge, Wolff and Coles wonder: is Trump tightening his grip on power—or revealing the fractures that could define what comes next? 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 unpack Melania’s high-profile movie premiere flop and Trump’s crumbling White House operations. As Minneapolis reels under paramilitary forces and DHS overreach, Wolff reveals how Trump’s aides point to the president’s “cabinet of morons” as the root of the administration's flailing incompetence as they scramble to keep him happy and dodge accountability. Meanwhile, the First Lady leverages her office to secure a $40 million documentary deal, sparking questions of corporate bribery. With resignations, lawsuits, and the looming midterms, Wolff and Coles map the power plays, personal agendas, and unraveling strategy behind the headlines. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Talarico, running for a Texas U.S. Senate seat, joins Joanna Coles to argue that America has hit a dangerous inflection point—one defined by government overreach, corruption, and the collapse of public trust. From ICE shootings in Minneapolis to Donald Trump’s broken promises, Talarico says extremism and billionaire greed have left even Republican voters feeling conned, while Democrats remain stranded in the political wilderness. A man of faith as well as a lawmaker, he takes on Christian nationalism, explains what Jesus might say to Trump, and makes the case that nonviolent protest—and a new generation of leadership—is the only way out of the crisis now gripping American democracy. 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 unpack the Minneapolis ICE shootings that have sent the Oval Office into a frenzy—and exposed the real tripwire in Trumpworld. As Susie Wiles, Stephen Miller, Kristi Noem, and Corey Lewandowski turn on each other in a furious blame game, Wolff reveals why the president is suddenly “wobbling” on immigration, how ICE quotas and untrained agents led to disaster, and why Miller is now dangerously exposed with no bureaucratic buffer left. Looming over it all is a furious First Lady, whose long-planned Melania movie rollout has been eclipsed by bloodshed and scandal—and whose displeasure, Wolff argues, matters more to Trump than polls, politics, or public outrage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mary Trump describes a nation at a breaking point, as the killing of a Veterans Association ICU nurse Alex Pretti by ICE agents and the administration’s response expose what she sees as the Trump playbook in its most dangerous form. Speaking with The Daily Beast’s political reporter Sarah Ewall-Wice, Mary Trump argues that her uncle’s instinct has always been to deny responsibility, attack victims, and escalate rather than restrain violence—and that this pattern is intensifying as his cognitive decline, rage posting, and detachment from reality become harder to disguise. Mary Trump traces how decades of family enabling, transactional loyalty, and unchecked power have led to a presidency she believes no longer fears consequences at home or abroad. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Bruce Davidson joins Joanna Coles to explain why a single, easily overlooked detail — President Trump’s reported daily dose of 325 milligrams of aspirin — convinced him the president likely suffered a prior stroke. Drawing on decades of clinical experience, Davidson walks through why that dosage is prescribed, what it signals medically, and how it aligns with Trump’s public symptoms, from shuffling and garbled speech to sleep disruption, bruising, and what he describes as post-stroke “agitated depression.” As Coles presses on judgment, decision-making, and transparency, the conversation becomes a stark examination of presidential health, medical secrecy, and what it means for the country when warning signs appear in plain sight. 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 as a winter blizzard barrels toward Washington and a political storm gathers inside the White House, where Trump’s second term is no longer defined by dominance but by drift, bad polls, and creeping loss of control. From a Davos appearance that Trump insists was triumphant—but clearly wasn’t—to a rare and dangerous moment of international pushback led by Canada’s Mark Carney and echoed across Europe, Wolff argues the strongman illusion is cracking. The question hanging over it all: Is this just another chaotic chapter—or are we witnessing the first chapter of the end of Trump’s reign? 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 unpack why Trump’s latest global theatrics—from the Greenland takeover threat to the billion-dollar “peace board”—were never meant to happen at all. Drawing on Davos, disastrous polling, Minneapolis blowback, and Trump’s endless talent for distraction, Wolff explains how bluster without cost is the core of Trumpism: set fires, bask in the sirens, then walk away before consequences arrive. The question lingering after Greenland fades: Is this the moment the world finally stops chasing the fire engines, or is Trump already lighting the next match? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

David Rothkopf, The Daily Beast’s unmissable columnist, joins Joanna Coles to unpack Donald Trump’s disastrous return to Davos and why it may mark a genuine rupture in the world order. What was once a gathering fueled by prestige and pretense becomes, this year, a summit driven by fear—of Trump’s bullying, his ignorance, his threats on trade, NATO, Greenland, and allies who once trusted the United States. Rothkopf explains why European leaders walked out, why markets rattled, why the EU froze trade talks, and why figures like Mark Carney are now openly warning that this is not a transition but a break. 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 take apart the most durable myth of Trump’s presidency: the idea that there is some master strategist at work. As Ukraine remains unresolved, the economy wobbles, and Trump’s promised “day one” deals evaporate, Wolff argues that what actually sustains Trump is not strategy but performance — a relentless projection of dominance learned on reality television and refined in politics. They trace how Trump’s refusal to retreat, apologize, or show weakness keeps him squeaking through moments that logic says should break him, from Greenland to Epstein to Minneapolis, each distraction layered atop the last. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Graham Platner joins Joanna Coles for a blunt conversation about Donald Trump, power, and accountability, arguing that Trump’s abuses must be investigated and punished—not waved away. The insurgent Democratic Senate candidate from Maine takes on the Epstein files, the weaponization of ICE, tariff fallout, and why even Trump voters feel betrayed, while explaining why he’s challenging Susan Collins and defying the Democratic establishment in a race that’s become a test of whether the rule of law still applies at the top. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett joins Joanna Coles to discuss the high-stakes chaos gripping Washington and the threats facing members of Congress. From MAGA loyalty and the Epstein files to redistricting battles in Texas, Crockett lays out the unprecedented pressures on lawmakers navigating a government where fear, intimidation, and partisanship are the new normal. She also opens up about her Senate bid, the strategies behind expanding the electorate, and the mentors guiding her path, offering a rare, candid look at power, courage, and conscience in a fraught political moment. 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 unpack Trump’s latest high-stakes drama: the Insurrection Act and his escalating presence in American cities. From Minneapolis as ground zero to ICE agents wielding “absolute immunity,” Wolff breaks down how conflict and chaos have become Trump’s strategy, not his mistake. Joanna and Wolff explore the administration’s doubling down, the Democratic Party’s faltering response, and the curious absence of figures like Barack Obama and George W. Bush—two leaders with the authority to counter Trump’s moves. They also trace Trump’s foreign entanglements, from Venezuela to Iran, and the surprising ways reality continues to diverge from his proclamations. With Trump’s threats backfiring at home and abroad, the conversation exposes a presidency ruled by drama, distraction, and the relentless pursuit of power. 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 trace how a president cornered by Epstein, ICE violence, collapsing polls, and mounting legal exposure responds the only way he knows how: by grabbing territory, media, and attention at scale. From the Foxification of CBS News and the quiet corporate bargain behind it, to Trump’s fixation on Greenland, Venezuela, Iran, and elite cities he loves to demonize, this episode maps a presidency fueled by distraction, intimidation, and an audience of one. Wolff unpacks why Trump’s pressure-point politics now extend from network newsrooms to foreign policy theater, why even loyal institutions are bending under threat, and why the nightmare Trump is trying to outrun—Epstein. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jeffrey Toobin joins Joanna Coles to explain how Donald Trump has tightened his grip on the Justice Department, why Republicans in Congress have fallen into line, and how a Supreme Court that once checked presidential power has largely enabled it. Toobin, author and New York Times Op-Ed contributor, breaks down the looming tariff case—and why even a loss at the Court wouldn’t stop Trump, who would simply rewrite the policy and dare the legal system to catch up—alongside what’s at stake in birthright citizenship and the broader expansion of executive authority. 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 trace the oddly revealing logic now driving Donald Trump’s presidency: a man who knows the midterms are coming, knows the numbers are bad, knows Epstein, jobs, ICE videos, and his own health chatter are bleeding into the public consciousness—and who believes the only solution is something that “plays.” From Pam Bondi’s visible strain as Trump treats the Justice Department like his personal law firm, to his lifelong conviction that nothing is ever his fault, Wolff explains why loyalty always curdles into blame. The conversation moves outward to the foreign-policy theatrics he sees as risk-free wins: Venezuela as a headline-grabbing show of force, Greenland as a performative threat designed to make Europe bend, and war as branding. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

David Rothkopf joins Joanna Coles for a blistering, darkly funny tour through what they argue is the accelerating late stage of Donald Trump: a president who can’t hold a thought, wanders off mid-meeting, and yet is being weaponized by Stephen Miller, Marco Rubio, JD Vance, and others to push extreme agendas at breakneck speed. Along the way, they unpack Democratic paralysis, early signs of Republican and corporate peeling away, the politics of immigration as it tips from winning issue to liability, and why the real fight now is about stopping the madness before the midterms—plus, because it’s 2026, a detour into Doritos, Hollywood finally finding its voice again, and the Melania movie as protest art. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anthony Scaramucci joins Joanna Coles for a frank conversation about what Donald Trump is really doing in Venezuela—and why the chaos is the point. Scaramucci argues that the Venezuela move is driven less by democracy or security than by oil, money, and self-enrichment, and is shaped by conspiracy thinking and political pressure. He also breaks down Trump’s appetite for cruelty and spectacle, the warning signs in ICE’s escalating violence, the quiet sidelining of allies like Marco Rubio and JD Vance, and why Republicans who know better still fall in line. The takeaway: Trump isn’t unraveling—he’s focused, transactional, and increasingly willing to burn institutions to stay powerful. 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 unpack the central illusion of Trump’s presidency: that someone, somewhere knows what is going on—when in fact nobody does, least of all Trump himself. From Iran’s uprising to Venezuela’s phantom “invasion,” Wolff explains how Trump exploits uncertainty by announcing conflicts he has no intention of prosecuting, using noise, grandiosity, and endless talking to stay at the center of attention while avoiding real risk or consequence. The conversation ranges from ICE and Minneapolis to Greenland, shoes, height, and the limits of loyalty, before landing on the most dangerous question of all: What happens when Trump’s talent for manufactured crises collides with a real one—Russia, Iran, or a nuclear threat he cannot simply talk his way out of? 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 unpack one of the most confounding political inversions of the Trump era: the moment when lying stopped being a liability and became a source of power. Wolff argues that while past presidents were undone by exposed falsehoods, Trump’s credibility has never been weaker—and yet it has only strengthened him. Together, they examine how shamelessness, repetition, and brute insistence on an alternate reality have replaced truth as a governing tool, leaving institutions, media, and public protest strangely inert. From the collapse of shared reality to the media’s inability to name what’s happening in plain language, this episode digs into why transparent lies no longer undermine authority—and what it means when reality itself stops working as a check on power. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Congressman Seth Moulton joins Joanna Coles for a no frills, clear account of the Venezuela crisis — and why he believes the administration is lying to Congress at every turn. From chaotic briefings where officials dodge questions, to Republican colleagues privately admitting they would be outraged if a Democrat did the same, Moulton argues the United States has no real plan, only escalation. He connects the timing to distractions over healthcare premiums and the Epstein files, criticizes Democratic leaders for failing to level with voters, and makes the case for generational change, age limits, and his own Senate run — while warning that a weakened Congress and normalized “crazy” are far more dangerous than most Americans realize. 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 examine how Nicolás Maduro’s dance mocking Trump became a genuine trigger for the president — and why humiliation lands harder than policy. Wolff explains how Trump turns foreign affairs into personal vendettas, and when Maduro refuses the deals, dances, and laughs, it pierces Trump at the level of ego, not ideology. Also, the conversation widens to Trump’s fixation on the MOCA test as proof of competence, the way distraction becomes a governing tactic, and how figures like Mark Kelly are pulled into the narrative to shift attention, rewrite the stakes, and keep the spotlight where Trump needs it most, namely away from Epstein. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

David Rothkopf joins Joanna Coles to explain why Trump’s move in Venezuela looks less like foreign policy and more like a heist. Rothkopf walks through the rushed effort to topple Maduro, the boastful talk about “running” Venezuela, and the alarming reality that there was no plan for what came next — who governs, who controls the oil, or how any of it ends. Together, they examine what Rothkopf calls Trump’s “mafia doctrine”: kidnap the leader, seize the resources, ignore the law, and dare the world to respond. It’s chaotic, risky, and deeply consequential — for Venezuela, for America, and for everyone watching what comes next. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. John Gartner joins Joanna Coles to explain why Donald Trump’s worsening paranoia, erratic behavior, and visible health problems point to a dangerous mix of malignant narcissism and possible frontotemporal dementia. Drawing on clinical practice and the shift toward observable diagnostic criteria, Gartner argues that Trump’s public performances reveal more than enough: the “25th time” fixation, the aspirin theories, the right-side weakness, and the drifting, rambling speeches. The conversation ends with a stark question: What happens when a country is governed by a man whose greatest vulnerability is his own deteriorating mind? 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 probe the growing mystery around Melania Trump — the first lady who rarely appears, rarely speaks, and yet increasingly shapes the atmosphere around Donald Trump. Wolff explores why Melania’s absence feels deliberate, how lawsuits and the threat of depositions have sharpened attention on her, and why Trump’s team appears determined to keep her out of reach of process servers and cameras alike. Wolff examines why discovery terrifies Trumpworld more than accusation, why Melania’s distance reads like leverage, and how one reluctant witness can destabilize a carefully managed narrative. If the quietest person in Trump’s orbit may also be the one who knows the most, what happens when the courts — not the campaign — decide who gets to ask the questions? 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 for part two, continuing their forensic account of Donald Trump’s long, combustible friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. Drawing on years of interviews and firsthand reporting, Wolff argues that Trump and Epstein were not casual acquaintances but intimate allies, bonded by money, sex, models, and a shared outsider resentment of New York’s elite. The episode traces how that alliance curdled into rivalry and fear—through real estate betrayals, private planes, kompromat, and the moment Epstein believed Trump turned the authorities on him. Wolff details why Epstein obsessed over Trump even after their rupture, why other powerful men fell while Trump survived, and how Epstein’s arrest and death intersected with Trump’s presidency. If Epstein was the man who knew Trump best, what does it mean that this is the one story that still visibly unnerves him? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joanna Coles looks back at her sit downs with Andrew Lownie to uncover the full scope of Prince Andrew’s scandals, from secret deals and Epstein entanglements to whispers of a royal escape. Lownie lays bare a monarchy in crisis, revealing corruption, systemic failures, and a family blindsided by decades of unexamined behavior. This episode traces Andrew’s personal downfall as the spine of a much larger story about power, privilege, and protection. With shocking claims of assassination plots and palace cover-ups, nothing about this saga is as simple as it seems. The only certainty: the story is far from over. 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 trace the unsettling origins of Donald Trump’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, long before public scandal or denial. Wolff begins with their bond in the late-1980s New York, where Trump was chasing Manhattan legitimacy and Epstein was emerging as a fixer fluent in money, women, and leverage. From Trump introducing Epstein as “my associate—Jeffy,” a pattern forms of shared ambition, cruelty, and secrecy. Wolff links those early dynamics to Trump’s financial near-collapse in the 1990s and Epstein’s claim that he helped Trump survive bankruptcy while keeping his tax returns hidden. If Epstein helped shape Trump’s instincts before power, what does that say about the secrets that still follow him now? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joanna Coles dives into Trump’s troubled relationship with the U.S. military, unpacking disastrous parades, loyalty tests, and pep rallies that left generals cringing. With insights from Michael Wolff, David Rothkopf, and top retired brass, we reveal how strategy was sidelined for spectacle—and what it means for the country. Retired generals and lawmakers weigh in on the risks Trump’s style posed to U.S. readiness. We also get an inside look at Pete Hegseth and the chaos behind the scenes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joanna Coles revisits her most eye-opening conversations with Dr. John Gartner, a leading expert who says the media has ignored the most urgent question about Donald Trump: his mental and physical health. From alarming changes in Trump’s language, gait, and impulse control to warnings about paranoia, narcissism, and cognitive decline, the doctor lays out why these signs matter far beyond one man. As Trump’s influence endures, this episode asks whether the real danger lies in what he can no longer hide—and what the country is still refusing to confront. 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 peel back what Christmas looks like inside Donald Trump’s carefully staged world at Mar-a-Lago — a holiday less about family and warmth than performance, attention, and control. From the bored, rope-off table at the center of the patio to Trump’s late-night torrent of Truth Social posts, Wolff maps how even Christmas becomes another arena for validation. They examine Melania’s rare flash of animation beside her father, the eerie surge of hyper-religious messaging from Trump-world, and the rituals that feel rehearsed rather than heartfelt. As the conversation widens, they trace how sagging TV ratings, Hollywood power plays, and proximity to Trump himself still dictate the action around him. 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 unpack the one thing that drives Donald Trump more than policy, ideology, or even power: television. From The Apprentice to Fox News, Trump has always understood that fame is a currency, and the White House is just the ultimate reality show set. Wolff details how Trump doesn’t read briefings, rarely listens, and instead crafts his world based on ratings, Nielsen scores, and cable news cues. The former president treats lawyers like scripted TV characters, his cabinet as central casting, and the nation as an audience to captivate. From Roger Ailes and Rupert Murdoch to Sean Hannity and Bill Shine, Trump has manipulated media insiders to shape both his narrative and his presidency. This episode reveals why politics, for Trump, has never been about governance—it’s about performance, spectacle, and keeping the cameras rolling. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices