Episode 57 of Ben Kissel Politics welcomes 2026 with new laws across the country as well as delving into the sticky world of regime change and the outright jacking of international resources.

In the final episode of 2025, RFK Jr. sells the public on the emotional and physical power of “god-given breastmilk,” Trump falsely claims Rob Reiner died of Trump Derangement Syndrome, and Nicolás Maduro sings “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” as his country’s assets are seized: it's giving Jonestown vibes.

In episode 55, Ben Kissel Politics covers a scam of epic proportions-- the Dollar General mislabeling prices in an effort to squeeze the most financially vulnerable among us, Donal Trump's wax statue in Texas had to be taken down after residents could not stop attacking it, and Australia implements it's first youth social media ban.

Trump wins the first FIFA Peace Prize and says America should rename football, Kristi Noem releases a self-deportation hype video set to “Celebrate,” and data centers keep pulling in hundreds of billions in taxpayer funding despite voters rejecting them.

Trump warns Venezuela and Nigeria that war is coming if they don’t comply, Pete Hegseth and Admiral Bradley admit they ordered second strikes to kill narco-terrorist targets overseas, and we run through the rest of the week’s most unsettling headlines.

Trump praises Browns QB Sanders’ “good genes,” the ShamWow guy runs for office in Texas, a Boston suburb cuts trash pickup to twice a month to save the planet, and a Campbell’s executive confesses their food is for poor people and the meat is 3D-printed.

Episode 51 breaks down one of the most unintentionally hilarious political stunts of the decade: MAGA activists declaring a “Patriots at the Park” day at Disneyland in February 2026, proving once again that nothing says “take down a liberal corporation” like giving it hundreds of thousands of dollars in ticket and churro sales.

We also cover the surprisingly warm meeting between Zohran Mamdani and Donald Trump, where the two praised each other after months of a very public feud — turning political enemies into temporary soulmates.

And we look at the increasingly absurd spectacle surrounding the Epstein file release, which has devolved into a full-blown circus of leaks, rumors, infighting, and grandstanding.

Episode 50 covers the U.S. dropping programs that helped travelers during holiday flight delays, the border turning away immigrants with medical issues to avoid “taxpayer burden,” and Bob Ross’ corporate handlers selling off his artwork to support media companies hit hard after Trump's financial policies.

Rep. Grijalva gets sworn in and becomes the tie-breaking vote to release the Epstein files, Kristi Noem denies Americans are being detained and then abruptly bails on her own press conference, and Donald Trump claims groceries are down 25% under his watch. We break down the vote, the denial, and the math that doesn’t exist.

In this episode of Ben Kissel Politics we discuss the longest government shutdown in history coming to an end while Donald Trump gets booed at an NFL regular season game in Landover, Maryland.