The Stakes

Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalist David Cay Johnston joins Tara this week in an explosive conversation about the tangled financial improprieties of Donald Trump and people he's associated with over the last three decades. Is Trump a tax cheat? Who is Felix Sater? How entangled are Trump's business's with Russian money? David reveals what he's uncovered over the years covering Trump. He also discusses his latest multi-part report on "The Koch Papers" focusing on questionable financial dealings of William Koch, brother of billionaires Charles and David Koch. David founded the online journal DCReport.org and is the author of seven books including "The Making of Donald Trump" and "It's Worse Than You Think; What the Trump Administration is Doing to America."Tara takes on the latest political hot topics.

This week, Jim Acosta-CNN Chief White House Correspondent and author of, "Enemy of the People, A Dangerous Time to Tell The Truth in America," joins Tara to discuss his new book and what inspired him to write it. Acosta shares anecdotes about his reporting experiences fighting for the truth in the era of Trump from his thoughts on the White House Press Secretary to threats against the media to the time the White House revoked his press credentials and much more. Tara breaks down Trump's recent alarming interview with ABC News, Kellyanne Conway's Hatch Act violations, Sarah Sanders departure and other political hot topics of the week.

This week, Daily Beast Political Reporter, Betsy Woodruff joins Tara to discuss the latest turmoil unfolding within the NRA. Lawsuits, accusations of financial impropriety and alleged "coup" attempts have embroiled the nations largest gun rights organization.What role have the Russians played within the organization? Woodruff details what's happening with the NRA and how it all started. Tara breaks down the Mexican tariff deal, Biden's flip flop on the Hyde Amendment, the John Dean hearing and more political news of the week.

True to form, President Trump created controversy before he even stepped foot in the U.K this week for his official state visit with the Royal family. From insulting the Mayor of London to disrespecting Princess Meghan to accusing Britain of "spying" on his campaign, is Trump jeopardizing our "special relationship" with our oldest and most important ally? Former Obama National Security Council Senior Staffer, Biden Institute Senior Advisor and CNN National Security Analyst, Sam Vinograd joins Tara to discuss the implications of Trump's visit to the U.K. and France for the upcoming 75th Anniversary of D-Day. As the daughter of a holocaust survivor, Sam shares her perspective on the importance of D-Day and breaks down the significance of the rise of European nationalism eerily reminiscent of the forces we fought against in WWII. Sam also shares her thoughts on why Jared Kushner's disastrous Axios interview is further proof he isn't qualified to have a security clearance or a job in the White House.Tara recaps big political stories from the last two weeks including Robert Mueller's surprise press conference and discusses her recent appearance as a guest host on The View alongside the legendary Whoopi Goldberg.

As the legal battles over congressional oversight and subpoenas heat up, President Trump is becoming increasingly more defiant as he pushes constitutional boundaries daily. In this week's double episode, Tara brings on two legal experts to discuss the current state of play. First up, Tara welcomes back CNN Legal Analyst and former federal prosecutor Elie Honig to explain why he now thinks Attorney General Bill Barr has disgraced himself, how the Democrats are mishandling the Mueller Report , what Congress can do to enforce their subpoenas and much more.With the recent news of Trump considering pardons for servicemen accused of war crimes, Tara talks to Glenn Kirschner, a former 30 year federal prosecutor, former Army JAG Officer and NBC/MSNBC Legal Analyst. He passionately explains why Trump's actions would be an insult to every man and woman who have served our country with honor and the seriousness of charging a fellow soldier. They also discuss the latest report on Deutsche Bank's alleged suppression of suspicious financial transactions involving Trump's companies, Jared Kushner and Russians.Tara gives her take on Republican Rep. Justin Amash breaking ranks after fully reading the Mueller Report and supporting a case for impeachment. And with Memorial Day upon us, Tara honors her late grandfather, a WWII Veteran, and explains the significance and origin of red poppies honoring the fallen.

As the trade war with China heats up, President Trump is trying to convince Americans that it's actually a good thing. It's not. This week, Tara discusses the consequences of Trump's tariff increases, his recent twitter rants and the latest in the ongoing Mueller Report saga. She also talks about her recent appearance as a guest host of The View.This week, Greg Sargent, writer of the Washington Post's The Plum Line blog, joins Tara to talk the dangers of Trump's disinformation campaign surrounding his economic policies, his attempts to manipulate the Mueller Report, the 2020 Democrats and more. Are Trump's lies working? Does Elizabeth Warren stand a chance? What did George Conway recently discuss with Greg? Listen and find out!Greg is also the author of "Uncivil War: Democracy In an Age of Trumpian Disinformation and Thunderdome Politics."

This week, Tara discusses the continued fallout from AG Bill Barr's Senate testimony, his continued misrepresentation of the Mueller Report and the rebuke of Barr's interpretations by over 370 former federal prosecutors who say Trump would be indicted hands down, if not for the OLC policy protecting him as president. Despite President Trump's insistence on "No Collusion" with Russia, Vol 1 of the Mueller Report outlines a very damning picture of Russian election interference and the Trump campaign's willingness to benefit from it. National Security Analyst, Russian expert and author of "The Death of Expertise," Professor Tom Nichols joins Tara to explain the implications of Russia's meddling, Trump's recent call with Vladimir Putin and why this all poses a threat to our republic.Fun Fact, Tom is a 5x Jeopardy champ! He talks behind the scenes tid bits and weighs in on current Jeopardy champ phenom, James Holzhauer and whether his high stakes play is good for the show.

Former Vice President Joe Biden has officially entered the 2020 presidential race. Tara gives her thoughts on Biden, his announcement, Trump rehashing the Charlottesville incident, and more. This week's episode then switches gears a bit to pop culture with special guest, the talented comedic actress Yvette Nicole Brown. She's best known for her role as Shirley Bennett on NBC's cult classic sitcom Community and currently guest stars on the hit CBS show Mom. Over her 20 year career in Hollywood, Yvette has appeared in numerous commercials and TV sitcoms like The Office, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Mayor, Drake & Josh and guest appearances in movies like Dreamgirls, Tropic Thunder and most recently, Avengers: Endgame, to name a few. Yvette discusses the ups and downs during her journey as a black actress in Hollywood to what it's like to work with legendary actors in the business to her prolific twitter feed and hilarious nickname for President Trump. Her wit, wisdom and inspirational story are a must listen!

The Mueller Report is finally here! Trump World is claiming No Collusion, No Obstruction! But that's NOT what the Mueller Report revealed. The report specifically says Trump was not exonerated of obstruction and "collusion" isn't a legal term. Did Mueller actually lay out a roadmap for impeachment? Tara discusses damning details in the Mueller Report along with the extent of the Russian election meddling and coziness between the Russians and the Trump Campaign that should alarm every every American. Former FBI Counterintelligence Special Agent, Yale Law School Lecturer and CNN National Security Analyst, Asha Rangappa joins the podcast to break it all down.

It's the report the world has been waiting for! With the redacted Mueller Report being released this week, Tara talks to MSNBC Contributor and Politico national security correspondent, Natasha Bertrand about the questions she hopes are answered by the report, the toll Trump's attacks on the intel community have taken, interesting insider tidbits about Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein's reaction after the Comey firing and more! Remember the Russian agent who infiltrated the NRA, Maria Butina? We talk about her too. Before joining Politico, Natasha covered the Trump-Russia investigation and foreign intelligence issues for The Atlantic.Tara also discusses the controversy over Trump's tax returns, his rage tweeting and the latest border controversy.

With more chaos ensuing along the southern border, President Trump has threatened to shut it all down and deny foreign aid to Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Is that the answer? This week Tara explores the implications of Trump's latest border threats with Dr. Ryan Berg, an American Enterprise Institute scholar and expert in Latin American Affairs, narco trafficking, transnational organized crime and security.

Tara talks with two legal experts about the Barr summary of the Mueller Report, whether it fully exonerates Trump, what we still need to find out and the importance of releasing the Mueller Report in its entirety to the public. Elie Honig, is a former prosecutor for the Southern District of New York, Rutgers Univerity Scholar & CNN Legal Analyst. Mimi Rocah is currently Pace Law's Distinguished Fellow in Criminal Justice, an MSNBC Legal Analyst also worked as a federal prosecutor with the storied SDNY for 16 years. 

Tara talks about the horrific mosque massacres in Christchurch, New Zealand and asks what role, if any, did Trump’s rhetoric play. Her guest this week is Ian Bremmer,a renowned political scientist, entrepreneur and bestselling author. He’s currently president and founder of Eurasia Group, the leading global political risk research and consulting firm and GZero Media. Ian has published ten books including his most recent best seller, “Us vs. Them—The Failure of Globalism.” 

Tara talks about the end of Winter, the explosive R. Kelly interview, the Tucker Carlson scandals, and the battle that's shaping up between the Democratic contenders for president. Plus, Tara talks with someone who’s actually seen Trump’s taxes—Tim O'Brien is an award-winning journalist, Executive Editor of Bloomberg Opinion, MSNBC Political Analyst and the author of Trump Nation: The Art of Being the Donald.

Tara talks about Trump's longest speech yet, Republicans' attack on Michael Cohen, Jared Kushner's security clearance scandal and more. Former CIA Operative, 2016 independent conservative presidential candidate and Co-Founder of Stand Up Republic, Evan McMullin joins Tara to discuss the importance of the Never Trump movement and protecting the Constitutional order.  Switching gears to foreign policy, political economist & AEI scholar Nicholas Eberstadt break sdown the North Korean summit. He holds the Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Istitute and is a member of the Global Leadership Council at the World Economic Forum.

Tara talks the Oscars, which resorts to avoid in Orlando, Trump's lies about the border and North Korea and more. CNN Legal Analyst Joey Jackson joins Tara to the explain the latest legal ramifications for Michael Cohen, R. Kelly, and Jussie Smollett. Jackson is criminal defense attorney and partner at New York City-based Watford Jackson, PLLC.

Tara talks about Trump's fake national emergency and end run around the constitution to get his border wall, the Andrew McCabe's revelations about Trump on 60 Minutes, and the possible Jussie Smollett hate crime hoax with Jawn Murray, TV pop-culture commentator. Michael Steele joins Tara to talk about the origins of Trumpism in the GOP. Michael is the former Chairman of the RNC, former Lt. Governor or Maryland, an MSNBC contributor, and the host of The Michael Steele Podcast.

Tara takes on the countdown towards a second government shutdown over Trump's border wall and his disingenuous fight on immigration. The leadership of the state of Virginia continues to wallow in chaos after Governor Ralph Northam's blackface scandal. And the world's richest man, Jeff Bezos is caught up in a blackmail scandal with the owner of the National Enquirer. Switching gears, Tara’s guest this week is former astronaut and Marine fighter pilot, Maj Gen Charles Bolden. A true trailblazer, Gen. Bolden flew four space shuttle missions and served as the first African American administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) from 2009 to 2017.

Tara gives her take on the Superbowl, reviews the movie Green Book, digs into the Ralph Northam yearbook controversy and more with April Ryan. April Ryan is a veteran White House correspondent and is the Washington, D.C., bureau chief for American Urban Radio Networks. She's a CNN as a political analyst and the author of Under Fire: Reporting from the Front Lines of the Trump White House.

Tara conducts a post-mortem on the shutdown, gets personal about the CNN documentary Three Identical Strangers, and delves into the latest on the role of Roger Stone and Wikileaks in the campaign collusion effort and Stone’s controversial arrest. Asha Rangappa returns to the show - she's is a former FBI Special Agent, Senior Lecturer at the Yale University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, a former Associate Dean at Yale Law School, and a legal and national security analyst for CNN.

Tara is on the road from North Dakota and talks about the latest in the ongoing Mueller investigation and the possible misdeeds of Donald Trump. She's joined by Josh Campbell, CNN Law Enforcement Analyst. Tara also speaks Dr. Jason Johnson on this MLK Jr. Day about where America stands today on civil rights. Dr. Johnson is a professor of Journalism & Communication at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland, political analyst, author of the book “Political Consultants and Campaigns: One Day to Sell”, and Politics Editor at TheRoot.com. 

Is President Trump and his family compromised by the Russians? Will we ever know what was discussed between Trump & Putin? Is the Shutdown hurting our national security? This week Tara discuss those issues and more with her guest, CNN National Security Analyst, former DHS official, Harvard professor and author of Security Moms, Juliette Kayyem.

Tara is back! And already 2019 has a new Democratic House of Representatives, a continuing government shutdown, and a renewed scandal over accusations against R. Kelly over the sexual abuse of young women and underage girls. Tara gives her take and talks with music journalist Touré, TV pop-culture commentator Jawn Murray, and CNN commentator and author of Shadow President, Michael D'Antonio.

Tara talks Christmas parties, Karaoke songs, holiday movies, and the staff changes in the Trump Administration. David Corn, author of Russian Roulette joins Tara to talk Trump's relationship with Putin. CNN commentator Van Jones joins the show to talk criminal justice reform, one of the few positives coming out of Washington these days. Tara will be back with a new episode on January 8th.

Tara returns from her trip to Israel and recaps the week in insanity, courtesy of the Trump White House.

Tara is in Israel this week, but before she left, spoke with Max Boot about the insanity of the Trump administration. Boot is a historian, best-selling author, foreign-policy analyst, and columnist for the Washington Post. His latest book is The Corrosion of Conservatism: Why I Left the Right .

Tara talks about the Senate runoff election in Mississippi and the refugee confrontation at the border with Mexico. Her guest is Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC), the exclusive labor representative of approximately 16,000 Border Patrol agents.

Tara calls out Trump for his cowardly attack on the military, his ignorance about the California fires, and talks with David Priess about the history of removing presidents. Priess' new book is How To Get Rid of a President: History’s Guide to Removing Unpopular, Unable, or Unfit Chief Executives.

Who is Matt Whitaker, out new acting Attorney General? What's the state of our veterans? And how's the recount in Florida going? Tara talks about it all and chats with Lt. General Mark Hertling. Hertling retired after serving almost four decades in the US Army and now serves as a military analyst for CNN.

Tara discusses the midterm results and talks about Trump's firing of Jeff Sessions and his crazy post-midterm press conference with A.B. Stoddard. A.B. is an associate editor and columnist at RealClearPolitics. She appears regularly on FOX's "Special Report With Bret Baier," as well as other shows on FOX News Channel, FOX Business Network, and CNN.

Tara talks terrorism in Pittsburgh and the political environment that might have lead up it and the mailbombs last week. CNN political contributor and Counselor to the President in the Clinton White House Paul Begala joins the show to discuss the midterms.

Tara is in Los Angeles this week at Politicon 2018 and discusses the Democratic and Republican infighting at the event. Guests are Henry Winkler - The Fonz - who stops by briefly, CNN commentator Amanda Carpenter, author of Gaslighting America, and Sally Kohn, author of The Opposite Of Hate.

Tara talks about the fallout from her comments on Kanye West's visit to the White House and discusses the controversy over Saudi Arabia and the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi with Ambassador Norm Eisen. Eisen served as US ambassador to the Czech Republic from 2011 to 2014, and as President Obama’s ethics czar from 2009 to 2011. His new book is The Last Palace.

Tara talks about the tough week that saw Brett Kavanaugh elevated to the Supreme Court. Her guest is Tom Nichols, professor at the Naval War College and Harvard Extension. His most recent book is The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why it Matters.

Tara talks about the emotionally exhausting Kavanaugh/Ford testimony, the aftermath, and this week's FBI investigation and discusses what the investigation might look like with Asha Rangappa. Asha is a Senior Lecturer at the Yale University, served as an FBI Special Agent, and is a legal and national security analyst for CNN.

The Kavanaugh accusers continue to appear. What will Christine Blasey Ford say when she testifies this week? Tara dives into the topic and interviews Phil Mudd about his days at the CIA, his thoughts about the Trump administration, and the deep-breathing techniques he uses after cable TV news confrontations. Mudd is a CNN counterterrorism analyst. Mudd joined the Central Intelligence Agency in 1985 as an analyst specializing in South Asia and then the Middle East.

Tara kicks off Honestly Speaking with news of Bob Woodward's new White House book, Donald Trump's falling poll numbers, the NFL controversy over the national anthem, and an interview with former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, who was in office on September 11th, 2001. His new book is The Grave Above the Grave.