Daily Kos' The Brief

It is primary season, and Donald Trump seems pretty low energy these days. Kerry and Markos talk about the chances of Trump stumbling through the election season and the need to press our advantage and make gains in the House and Senate. Meanwhile, the right-wing media world is losing its collective minds about Taylor Swift registering younger Americans to vote!

The Iowa primary took place Monday, and while traditional media outlets would like you to believe Trump won big the reality was anything but. Kerry and Markos talk about what the numbers really show and the possible ramifications for the rest of the primary season as well as the national election.

Trump is going to win Iowa, but what does that mean for Haley and DeSantis—and for whomever else is still (barely) in the running? Kerry and Markos talk about what to expect and what weird and wild stuff could happen this coming Monday.

Jennifer Fernandez Ancona from Way to Win joins "The Brief" to talk about how bad Republican messaging has been and what Democrats need to say in 2024 to win.

This episode originally went out on Dec. 13, 2023.

It's our last episode of the year and we wanted to talk about what we are thankful for. It turns out that Republican disarray and ineptitude topped our list. Join us to count the ways!

Markos and Kerry give their thoughts on what the country is facing in 2024. The Republican Party is running on losing issues like abortion and repealing the ACA—with no explanation of what they plan on replacing it with. Trump has a lot of criming to atone for, and the Republican platform remains set on destroying democracy.

This interview first aired in May 2023. Back with new episodes next week!

We speak with Anderson Clayton, the 25-year-old chair of North Carolina’s Democratic Party. Clayton has a big-picture plan for 2024, and explains the granular changes needed to get out the vote on college campuses and in the rural communities of the Tar Heel State.

This episode originally aired December 8, 2021. Happy Listening!

As we all prepare for the holidays, today, we’re going to talk to Monica Guzman, journalist and author of the upcoming book I Never Thought of it That Way, (now available for pre-order). There are clear challenges reconciling our partisanship with Guzman's desire to “be curious” when talking to our political foes, but the advice is wise and applies far beyond politics to business and our personal relationships. This podcast could very well save your holiday gatherings if you must deal with … difficult relatives.

Republicans are challenging labor leaders to fights and allegedly physically assaulting one another. Donald Trump says he will abolish reproductive rights entirely and is openly calling for the extermination of his detractors, referring to them as “vermin” on Veterans Day. The Republican Party has emerged from its corruption cocoon as a full-blown fascist movement.

The band is back together, and it is a glorious day as Markos and Kerry’s hot takes over the past year came true—again! Republicans continue to lose at the ballot box and we are here for it!