Ellie Leonard’s interest in the Jeffrey Epstein story started last year on a trip to Montana (where she has deep roots), and she wanted to better understand the story’s connection to Donald Trump. Fast forward to the passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, Leonard has been downloading and meticulously sifting through the DOJ releases page by page.

Leonard joins Grounded's first episode of Season 2 to describe how she first started piecing things together, ways she uncovers redacted information in the DOJ document dumps, and the now massive community that has coalesced around (and adds to) her work. Come for the Epstein discussion, stay for the nerdy chatter about north central Montana.

Jon Tester set a new record for the number of phone calls that interrupted our live stream today—but that’s part of the deal when you work with a farmer who still has a landline. Alas, no calls from sitting senators today.

We wanted to hop on for a quick(ish) chat about a few of the headlines from this week in politics. We start with Attorney General Pam Bondi’s performance on Capitol Hill. How would Jon Tester have reacted if he were on the receiving end of her “burn book” insults? We also go over the House’s passage of the SAVE Act, the announced end of ICE’s Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis-St. Paul, and conditions in ICE detention facilities. Plus, two big legal wins this week for Democratic lawmakers who made a video that urged military members to refuse illegal orders.

It fortuitously lined up on the calendar to have Rachel Maddow as our guest to mark one year of Grounded. We talked seriously about the moment we’re in and what keeps her up at night. We also discussed what’s working, including the pushback that’s been a theme of Maddow’s show for many years. Maddow discusses how she hardens herself against threats, the future of news consumption, and how to beat the uncertainty that lies ahead. What would she ask Donald Trump if she interviewed him? What’s the scariest interview she’s ever done? What do Democrats need to do to win again? Plus, she gives us a sneak peak at her new book project she’s been working on all year. It’s a wide ranging conversation that will leave you with a lot to think about. 

Maybe you’ve been here from the start, and maybe you’re new to Grounded. We want to thank all of you. The truth is, we have the same questions, frustrations, and concerns as so many of you. We started this to try to make sense of the chaos. To stay grounded: in facts, in reason, in community. Let’s keep going. There’s more work to do.

2026 has already been a long year, which means we didn’t get to a fraction of the questions we had for former Rep. Adam Kinzinger. He tells us why he’s not immediately losing sleep over proposals to nationalize elections, but also what voters can do to ease concerns. Kinzinger has long been the focus of Donald Trump’s ire, especially since he was one of only two Republicans who served on the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attacks on the U.S. Capitol. With news that Trump is going to start holding daily meetings to focus on prosecuting his political enemies, Kinzinger has said he’s not worried, scared or intimidated. Kinzinger talks about putting country over party—calling out lies, defending democratic norms, and accepting the political fallout that came with it. Plus, don’t miss his answer when asked about running for president.

We’ve reached the point in the timeline when the federal government starts arrested journalists. We didn’t plan to release an episode tonight, but we’re thankful Dave Aronberg, former state attorney of Palm Beach County, was able to jump on with us at the last minute to unpack some legal headlines, including the arrests of independent journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort and the latest release of Epstein files. Some of those documents include shocking (and unsubstantiated) allegations against President Trump. We also tackle the FBI raid at the Fulton County election hub in Georgia, and the partial government shutdown that begins at midnight, despite the Senate passing a government funding bill.

We apologize for the gap in audio episodes this week—Maritsa went to Minneapolis to cover the DHS operations and did live reports, which you can find on the Grounded Substack page.

Legal questions continue to swirl over the current surge of ICE agents in Minneapolis—reportedly enough agents to equate to FIVE TIMES the manpower of the Minneapolis Police Department. We asked former DOJ pardon attorney Liz Oyer to join us for a discussion about what’s happening on the ground and inside the Dept. of Justice. We dissect questions emerging as ICE agents and leaders spread misconceptions about what is and isn’t legal. Is it illegal to film a federal officer on a public street? Do ICE officers have absolute immunity as the Vice President stated? Can ICE officers order you out of your car? Do you have to show proof of legal status on request? Plus, what can concerned citizens do without giving the administration excuses to send in more troops? What would it look like if President Trump invokes the Insurrection Act? We cover it all.

PBS News White House correspondent Liz Landers joins Grounded to discuss her latest reporting that ties official administration language to extremist groups and white nationalist circles. We talk about how these messages are being used to recruit new ICE officers, the administration’s response and why experts have expressed concern. Plus, how to support public journalism oulets like PBS at a time when it matters more than ever.

t’s hard to believe all of the major news that happened in 2026—and we’re only nine days in. The capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was not even one week ago. We’ve seen reporting that the U.S. government is considering sending individual checks of up to $100,000 to Greenlanders, and of course the protests happening all across the country after the killing of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis.

Since JT made the trip to Maritsa’s side of the Continental Divide, we decided we should host a show about all of it with Miles Taylor, a national security expert who actually worked as chief of staff for the Department of Homeland Security during the first Trump administration. You might also know him as “Anonymous,” after he wrote an op-ed about resistance efforts inside Trump 1.0.

Minnesota again finds itself at the center of a political firestorm with the ICE killing of Renee Good, 37. Bystander footage contradicts the message from the Trump administration. The mayor of Minneapolis has told ICE to “get the fuck out,” while Gov. Tim Walz has alerted the National Guard. It’s a pivotal moment that we discuss in depth with Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) and longtime political journalist Mary Lahammer.