Democratic Strategist Max Burns guest hosts for John while he is on stage in Chicago for the Separation of Church and Hate tour. Max discusses the absurd Republican excuses for continuing the government shutdown and for not swearing in Adelita Grijalva, who won a special election to the House of Representatives in Arizona's 7th Congressional District on Sept. 23rd. Then, he interviews writer, director, actor, and producer - Tim Blake Nelson. They talk about his new play "And Then There Were No More". Next, he jokes with investigative reporter Brian Karem about his new book: "Free the Press: The Death of American Journalism and How to Revive It" and his latest podcast "Hard Pass" where Brian is joined by two university journalism professors, and they analyze whether news medias are holding the White House accountable in their coverage. And finally, he speaks with Democratic Columnist Jared Yates Sexton about his latest piece on Substak "A Crisis of Meaning and Purpose: Our Identities Have No Bodies".

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