How Favre We've Fallen
Outrage continues in Iran over the death of a woman detained by that country's "morality police," and at least nine people have been killed in clashes with security forces. Former N.F.L. quarterback Brett Favre has emerged as a key figure in one of the largest welfare fraud cases in Mississippi's history, after text messages revealed his connections to state officials involved in the scandal. ...
21m Sep 23, 2022
21m
A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Fraud
New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a $250 million lawsuit against former President Donald Trump and his three adult children, accusing them of "persistent and repeated" business fraud. Rolling Stone politics reporter Nikki McCann Ramirez joins us to discuss the case and what's at stake for the Trumps. Russian president Vladimir Putin declared a “partial” military mobilization to sho...
23m Sep 22, 2022
23m
You Can't Always Declassify What You Want
The legal battle over sensitive government documents seized from Mar-a-Lago continued on Tuesday, as lawyers for Donald Trump and the Justice Department met for the first hearing overseen by the special master appointed to review the materials. The midterm elections are fast approaching and a lot of candidates and organizations are vying for financial support. Shaniqua McClendon, Crooked’s pol...
19m Sep 21, 2022
19m
Nobody Puts COVID In A Corner
Queen Elizabeth II was laid to rest Monday, marking the end of the ten days of public mourning since her death on September 8th. President Biden said in an interview that the pandemic is "over,” prompting swift criticism from public health officials. Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, host of Crooked’s “America Dissected,” tells us, there's still work to be done. And in headlines: Hurricane Fiona left more ...
15m Sep 20, 2022
15m
Fiona Leaves Puerto Rico In The Dark
The entire island of Puerto Rico is without power after Hurricane Fiona made landfall on Sunday. More than 3 million people are in the dark, nearly five years to the day that Hurricane Maria struck. State officials in Alabama said they are not ready to use “nitrogen hypoxia” to execute people on death row – for now. They had planned to execute an inmate this week using the new and untested met...
18m Sep 19, 2022
18m
Red-State Governors Use People As Props
The White House announced a tentative agreement with freight rail companies and the unions representing 100,000 workers on Thursday, averting a strike that would have had huge economic consequences. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said he paid to fly about 50 migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard – escalating a tactic used by other Republican governors to protest the Biden administration’s im...
24m Sep 16, 2022
24m
A Freight Knot
Tens of thousands of railroad workers could go on strike Friday, even as top-level negotiators and Labor Department officials met in Washington yesterday to try to reach a deal to avert it. Max Alvarez, editor-in-chief of the non-profit Real News Network, joins us to discuss what's at stake, and why the dispute has reached this point. And in headlines: soldiers clashed at the border between Ar...
18m Sep 15, 2022
18m
No Vacation From Inflation
The latest Consumer Price Index report caught investors off-guard Tuesday, after it showed that inflation in August didn't cool off as much as economists had hoped. The disappointing news plunged the stock market to its worst day since June 2020. The midterm elections are coming up, and we're here to help you WAD The Vote. Crooked's Jon Favreau joins us to discuss what’s at stake in November. ...
24m Sep 14, 2022
24m
Not Everybody Loves Royalty
Mourners are paying their respects to Queen Elizabeth II as her remains make the journey to London ahead of her funeral, but protesters are also turning out to hold the royal family accountable for the misdeeds of its past. The Department of Justice filed papers on Monday signaling that it would accept one of the candidates that former President Donald Trump’s legal team recommended as a "spec...
17m Sep 13, 2022
17m
Ukraine On The Offensive
Yesterday marked 21 years since the September 11th attacks, which claimed nearly 3,000 lives and remains the deadliest act of terror on U.S. soil. Ukraine’s military says it has made significant gains in recent days after taking back some of its territory from Russia in a major counteroffensive. And in headlines: thousands of railroad workers could walk off the job by the end of the week, th...
16m Sep 12, 2022
16m
Britain Mourns Queen Elizabeth II
Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch in British history, passed away on Thursday. She was 96 years old. Kristen Meinzer, the cohost of Newsweek’s Royal Report podcast, joins us to discuss what made the queen such an important figure on the world stage. And in headlines: Nevada police arrested a county official in the fatal stabbing of a Las Vegas reporter, the U.S. announced a new ...
19m Sep 09, 2022
19m
Welcome To The Hot Hell California
As millions of Californians were trying to stay cool amid a scorching heat wave on Tuesday, overwhelming demand for electricity nearly forced the state to impose rolling blackouts. Katherine Blunt, who covers renewable energy and utilities for the Wall Street Journal, explains why California was so close to the brink. And in headlines: Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey secured the De...
17m Sep 08, 2022
17m
The Delayed Side Of The Moon
NASA was forced to scrub the test launch for its Artemis I moon mission for the second time on Saturday. Miriam Kramer, a space reporter for Axios, joins us to explain why Artemis has yet to take off. And in headlines: Liz Truss was appointed to replace Boris Johnson as the U.K. 's prime minister, Chileans rejected a new progressive constitution, and e-cigarette maker Juul agreed to a nearly ...
16m Sep 07, 2022
16m
Going Into Labor Day
Labor Day weekend is coming up, and it's a great time to celebrate American workers. We check in with Labor Secretary Marty Walsh about unions, the state of the job market, and why so many people are “quiet quitting” their jobs. And in headlines: a U.N. report accused China of committing human rights violations against Uyghur Muslims, actress Lea Michele addressed rumors about her behind-the-...
21m Sep 02, 2022
21m
Boosting Makes Me Feel Good
The FDA authorized the first new versions of the Covid-19 vaccines since they were introduced in late 2020, and the updated formulations target the newest Omicron subvariants. Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, epidemiologist and host of Crooked’s “America Dissected,” tells us what we need to know about the new shots. And in headlines: U.N. nuclear inspectors arrived in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, NASA announced ...
21m Sep 01, 2022
21m
Mississippi’s Crisis Over Troubled Water
The city of Jackson, Mississippi is under a state of emergency because of ongoing problems with its troubled water system, leaving residents without safe drinking water. Officials in Pakistan say one-third of that country has been submerged by catastrophic flooding, which has left at least 1,100 people dead. And experts warn the worst of the disaster has yet to come. And in headlines: the Bid...
18m Aug 31, 2022
18m
Understanding Trump's Request For A "Special Master"
A federal judge has indicated that she may appoint a “special master” to review the documents that the FBI seized from Mar-A-Lago earlier this month. We go over what that means, and what it means for the Justice Department's investigation into former President Donald Trump. NASA was set to blast off the debut flight of its Artemis I mission to the moon on Monday, but engineers were forced to d...
17m Aug 30, 2022
17m
Kaiser Mental Health Care Workers Strike For Change
The Justice Department released the affidavit that led to the FBI search on former President Donald Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago. Although the document was heavily redacted, it does indicate that Trump had highly classified information about sensitive intelligence gathering, and that the FBI had reason to believe he was trying to obstruct the investigation into those records. Over 2,000 Kaiser P...
20m Aug 29, 2022
20m
Day Of The Affidavit
A redacted version of the affidavit that justified the FBI’s search of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate is expected to be released to the public today. We recap how we got here, and what could come from the unsealed document. It’s been two months since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, and at least a dozen states have enacted near-total abortion bans, with “trigger laws” taking effect ...
21m Aug 26, 2022
21m
Student Debt, You’re Cancelled
President Biden announced on Wednesday a plan that would cancel $10,000 in student loan debt for millions of Americans, and $20,000 for Pell grant recipients. That will allow millions of borrowers to become debt-free, but critics say it won’t benefit those with larger balances nearly as much as full forgiveness – a goal that progressives have pursued for years. Braxton Brewington with the Debt ...
22m Aug 25, 2022
22m
Ukraine Celebrates A Somber Independence Day
Today is Ukraine’s Independence Day, marking 31 years since it broke from the Soviet Union. It also comes six months since Russia launched its full-scale invasion, and Ukrainian officials are concerned that new strikes could come on the symbolic date. California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed legislation on Monday that would have allowed three California cities to open overdose prevention sites ...
25m Aug 24, 2022
25m
Protecting Your Data In A Post-Roe World
A teenager and her mother are facing criminal charges for allegedly violating Nebraska's abortion ban, and police used their Facebook direct messages as evidence to charge them. Sara Morrison, senior reporter for Vox's Recode, tells us how easy it is for law enforcement to obtain your personal data from the internet and use it against you — even when it comes to making a health care decision li...
20m Aug 23, 2022
20m
Now That's What I Call Climate Chaos
Extreme weather is taking a toll around the globe, with intense storms battering parts of Europe, and historic drought revealing long-submerged relics in other regions. China is also wrestling with one of its hottest, driest summers on record. A bitter recall campaign forced Chesa Boudin, San Francisco's progressive district attorney, out of office in June. But critics of his replacement, Broo...
19m Aug 22, 2022
19m
Tip Of The Weisselberg
A federal judge in Florida announced Thursday he is "inclined" to release parts of the affidavit that led to the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago earlier this month. That means it could be made public, giving the Justice Department a week to submit its redactions. Meanwhile, Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, pleaded guilty to tax evasion – and agreed to te...
21m Aug 19, 2022
21m
Better COVID Messaging? We'll CDC About That
CDC director Rochelle Walensky announced Wednesday the agency is making big structural and cultural changes, following widespread criticism over its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, host of Crooked’s America Dissected, joins us to discuss what that overhaul will look like, and why it matters. And in headlines: a deadly explosion erupted at a mosque in Kabul, Liz Cheney hi...
20m Aug 18, 2022
20m
A Gay Doctor Talks Monkeypox
The CDC recently reported that new monkeypox cases in New York City appear to be slowing down, though new cases are slowly rising nationwide. Dr. Carlton Thomas, an advocate for queer health and sex positivity, joins us to talk about the stigma surrounding the disease, and safer sex practices for people who are at higher risk for exposure. And in headlines: President Biden signed the Inflation...
19m Aug 17, 2022
19m
Georgia Grand Jury On My Mind
More allies of former President Donald Trump will have to appear before a special grand jury in Georgia in the coming weeks, as part of the criminal investigation over possible attempts to interfere in the 2020 election. Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal attorney, is now a target of that probe. And as millions of people across the country face the effects of extreme weather, a new poll finds tha...
23m Aug 16, 2022
23m
Caught In The Espionage Act
The Justice Department is investigating former President Donald Trump for potentially violating three federal laws related to handling government documents, including the Espionage Act. That's according to the unsealed search warrant executed at his Mar-a-Lago residence last week. Leah Litman, co-host of Crooked’s Strict Scrutiny, joins us to discuss Trump's mounting legal problems. Meanwhile,...
25m Aug 15, 2022
25m
Trump Gets Merrick-Rolled
Attorney General Merrick Garland made an unexpected announcement yesterday to address the FBI search for confidential documents at Donald Trump’s home at Mar-A-Lago. The Washington Post reports some of those documents involve nuclear weapons. Because of increasing online and in-person threats to FBI officials, Garland went to great lengths to emphasize that the search was in the public interest...
18m Aug 12, 2022
18m
The 45th Pleads The 5th
Former President Donald Trump pleaded the Fifth Amendment during depositions for the civil case against him by New York state. The strategy could be advantageous for him since anything revealed could be used in the criminal case against Trump by Manhattan’s District Attorney. Jury selection began Wednesday in Vanessa Bryant’s lawsuit against Los Angeles County. Vanessa Bryant is the widow of K...
18m Aug 11, 2022
18m
Winter White House Down
The FBI raided Donald Trump’s Florida property Mar-A-Lago on Monday. A New York Times source says agents were searching for classified documents the former President might’ve taken with him after he left the White House. But the event was just one of several developments in the past few days involving Trump records kept from the various teams investigating him. Ilya Marritz, co-host of the podc...
25m Aug 10, 2022
25m
Ahmaud Arbery's Killers Sentenced In Federal Court
Three men were sentenced in federal court for their role in the February 2020 murder of Ahmaud Arbery. The man who shot Arbery, Travis McMichael, and his father Gregory McMichael were sentenced to life in prison. William Bryan, who was with the McMichaels that day, got 35 years. A new study published in the Nature Climate Change journal found that climate change can worsen the spread of infect...
20m Aug 09, 2022
20m
Highs And Lows of the Climate Bill
Hot Take’s Mary Annaïse Heglar joins us to talk about the Senate passing the Inflation Reduction Act on Sunday. It now heads to the House this week where it’s expected to pass. One of the main pieces of the legislation addresses the climate crisis, but the bill ultimately falls short of many activists’ demands. And in headlines: Indiana’s banned nearly all abortions, President Biden is now neg...
21m Aug 08, 2022
21m
Monkeypox Is Now A Federal Health Emergency
The U.S. declared a federal public health emergency over the monkeypox outbreak on Thursday after the states of New York, California and Illinois did the same recently. A Russian court convicted WNBA star Brittney Griner of smuggling illegal drugs into the country and sentenced her to nine years in prison — all because she had less than one gram of cannabis oil in her luggage. And in headline...
17m Aug 05, 2022
17m
Keeping Up With The Alex Joneses
Far-right talk show host Alex Jones took the stand on Wednesday in one of his many defamation cases. Jones has spent the last decade lying repeatedly about the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting and claiming that it was a hoax. In headlines: Republican Congresswoman Jackie Walorski died in a car accident, the Justice Department is investigating over 100 cases of threats made against election workers, an...
23m Aug 04, 2022
23m
Yes We Kansas
Abortion access in Kansas will be preserved because yesterday the state overwhelmingly voted against a referendum designed to open the door to abortion bans. Meanwhile, the Justice Department sued Idaho on Tuesday over that state’s abortion law — the first lawsuit filed against a state’s anti-abortion law by the Biden administration since the Supreme Court overturned Roe. California declared a...
23m Aug 03, 2022
23m
Kansas Votes Today To Protect Abortion Access
Kansas votes today on whether the state’s constitution should still explicitly protect the right to an abortion. Ashley All, a spokesperson for Kansans for Constitutional Freedom, joins us to discuss how she’s been organizing ahead of the vote. And in headlines: the U.S. killed Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri, Cleveland Browns quarterback DeShaun Watson was temporarily suspended, and Capitol ...
21m Aug 02, 2022
21m
Biden's Rebound Relationship With COVID
Indiana state lawmakers on Saturday moved one step closer to banning nearly all abortions. The vote puts the state on track to be one of the first in the nation to enact new abortion restrictions after Roe V. Wade was overturned. President Biden tested positive for COVID again over the weekend. He had one of the uncommon “rebound” cases after taking Paxlovid. And in headlines: Ukraine’s Presi...
17m Aug 01, 2022
17m
One Small Step For Manchin, One Giant Leap For Mankind
Senate Democrats reached a deal on a historic climate spending package – thanks to a surprise reversal from West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, who previously rejected the measure. Judges in North Dakota and Wyoming both put temporary holds on abortion bans that would have taken effect in those states this week. And in headlines: the U.S. economy shrank again, torrential rains triggered devast...
19m Jul 29, 2022
19m
Biden’s Plan To Get Brittney Griner Home
The U.S. announced Wednesday that it has officially proposed a deal to Russia for the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner as well as former Marine Paul Whelan. Griner also got the chance to speak for herself in court during her trial. The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 0.75% on Wednesday, continuing its efforts to bring down inflation without causing a recession. This is the fourth ...
13m Jul 28, 2022
13m
Brittney Griner’s Defense
WNBA star Brittney Griner is set to testify in Russian court today for the first time since being detained back in February at a Moscow airport. Her defense team hopes that her guilty plea will be taken into account by the court as a mitigating factor in its sentencing. Russia said on Tuesday that it will pull out of the International Space Station after 2024. This would end decades of partner...
15m Jul 27, 2022
15m
Indigenous Reactions To The Pope's Apology
Pope Francis apologized on Monday to a crowd of survivors, advocates and others in Alberta, Canada, for the Catholic Church’s historic role in the mistreatment, abuse and even death of Indigenous children throughout the country. We wanted to put the spotlight on Indigenous people and how they reacted to the Pope’s apologies after decades of working for this moment. And in headlines: a sixth, l...
13m Jul 26, 2022
13m
Tour De Francis
About 71 million Americans live in places that were dangerously hot on Sunday. Temperatures from Texas to Arkansas, from Washington DC to Massachusetts faced temperatures that were so high that they were a public health risk. Pope Francis arrived in Canada on Sunday for what he has called a “pilgrimage of penance” to acknowledge and apologize for the wrongdoing done to Canada’s Indigenous peop...
20m Jul 25, 2022
20m
Hot Insurrection Hearings Summer
President Biden tested positive for COVID. He’s fine, but remember — everyone 6 months and over is eligible for vaccination, so get yours today. The January 6th Committee met in prime time last night for its final hearing of the summer. They went moment-by-moment over the 187 minutes where former President Donald Trump failed to stop the mob. Brian Beutler, Crooked’s own Editor-in-Chief and ho...
23m Jul 22, 2022
23m
Pox News
A bipartisan group of senators announced a new bill on Wednesday that aims to protect election integrity. The legislation would make it clear that former President Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election was not okay. Monkeypox cases are spreading throughout the U.S. and the vaccine rollout has hit some bumps. Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, host of Crooked’s “America Dissected,” tells us wha...
20m Jul 21, 2022
20m
The Haunted Manchin
The House passed the Respect for Marriage Act on Tuesday with bipartisan support. The law would mandate that all states recognize same-sex marriage and formally repeal the Clinton-era Defense of Marriage Act, which federally outlawed same-sex marriage. Meanwhile the White House is hoping to pass a “slimmed down” version of Biden’s domestic policy bill through Congress soon. But to do it, they ...
20m Jul 20, 2022
20m
Location Sharing With Homeland Security
Heat waves are devastating people in Europe and North America this summer. In the U.K. it’s hotter than the Sahara Desert, and in the U.S. 35 million Americans are currently living in places with excessive heat warnings this week. The ACLU published “thousands of pages of previously unreleased records” on Monday about the government surreptitiously collecting people’s private information witho...
22m Jul 19, 2022
22m
Nearly 400 Cops Failed At Uvalde
None of the 400 law enforcement officials on location at the Uvalde mass school shooting in May did anything for over an hour to stop the gunman who eventually killed 21 people, mostly children. That’s according to a new report released by Texas officials on Sunday. Patients around the country are reportedly having medical care delayed or denied over concerns from doctors and hospitals. Those ...
19m Jul 18, 2022
19m
The Very Uphill Battle To Protect Abortion In Congress
The House will vote on the Women’s Health Protection Act today in an effort to codify abortion rights — but without a Democratic majority in the Senate as well, it probably won’t go anywhere. Congresswoman Barbara Lee joins us to discuss what Democrats can actually do on a federal level to protect access to abortion right now. A 10-year-old rape victim in Ohio had to cross state lines to India...
21m Jul 15, 2022
21m
Lost In Inflation
Consumer prices are up 9.1% over this time last year, according to new inflation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s the highest inflation rate in 40 years. President Biden landed in the Middle East on Wednesday and will be there until the end of the week. His administration is focused on building support among Israeli leadership for the Iran Nuclear Deal. And in headlines: Schoo...
14m Jul 14, 2022
14m