The Department of Justice investigates one of the president's favorite political punching bags. This time it's the head of the Federal Reserve. While the president says he doesn't have any involvement, he's been targeting 

Grant explains what the Fed actually is, what the investigation is about, and what Trump's fight with the Fed is about...and why it matters for you. 

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Grant talks to Mike Madrid, the former GOP operative, consultant, and now the mind behind The Great Transformation Substack, about the bombing and capture mission in Venezuela, what it means for Latin America, Latino voters in the US, and the US's new position on the global stage. 

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An ICE officer shot and killed a 37-year-old US Citizen, wife, and mother named Renee Good on a neighborhood street in Minneapolis, MN. All of it was caught on video from multiple angles. 

Grant explains what the videos actually show, how the Trump Administration is attempting to protect the officer, defame the victim, turn up the heat on anti-ICE protesters, and why it's part of a predictable pattern of ICE's aggressive tactics. 

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It's been a whirlwind start to 2026. The United States is actively working to run Venezuela after bombing the country and capturing its leader, Nicolas Maduro. 

But we didn't do it for democracy or drugs or security. We did it for oil, at least according to the president. 

Grant explains how the strike in Venezuela happened, what the White House is saying happens next, and the plan to remake the world the president is has that's right out of a playbook we haven't seen since the 1800s. 

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President Donald Trump made a surprise announcement the week of Christmas; the US had attacked a Venezuelan port with a drone strike. But no one has been able to prove it definitively, leaving Americans wondering, are we at war or not?

Grant explains what we might know about the alleged airstrike, what we definitely know about the 30th strike on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean Sea, and why this military campaign from the Trump Administration is setting off Iraq War alarm bells. 

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The first of what might be a new tradition here at Make It Make Sense. Grant reads you some of his favorite Christmas and holiday stories! 

First, The Polar Express. The Caldecott Medal-winning classic from 1985 by Chris Van Allsburg 

Second, A Letter From Santa Claus by Mark Twain. 

Third,  A Visit From St. Nicholas by Clement-Clarke Moore

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The Department of Justice missed its deadline to release all the Epstein files to the public and is now actively saying it's going to continue to break the law by continuing to withhold documents without justification. 

Grant explains what happened with the release, what's being redacted, what's not, who is and isn't being protected in the files and what consequences there could be for the top people at the DOJ in 2026. 

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With the Epstein files set to be released on Friday, Grant talks to Alex Hinton. Alex is a Rutgers Professor of Anthropology, Director of the Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights, and UNESCO Chair on Genocide Prevention.

He talks to Grant about looking at MAGA as a cultural movement, what the release of the Epstein files may (or may not) mean for Trump's most die-hard supporters and what happens to MAGA after Trump. 

LINKS: 

Alex Hinton @ Rutgers

It Can Happen Here

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Vanity Fair drops two bombshell stories based on months of interviews with the White House Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles.

Wiles says Trump has an "alcoholic's personality," that JD Vance is a "conspiracy theorist," and that Pam Bondi "whiffed" on the Epstein files. She also admits to knowing about Elon Musk using drugs while working in the White House and that she's ok with retribution. 

But maybe the most important thing is that the interviews show an administration in chaos and a president who seems to be pretty checked out when it comes to doing the job. 

LINK: 

VANITY FAIR

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Grant sits down with the CEO of the Zero Abuse Project, Jeff Dion, to talk about the Department of Education's new policy to downgrade degrees for jobs required to report child abuse, neglect, and maltreatment. 

Jeff talks about the worries that abuse prevention experts are having right now, why mandated reporters need more training right now, and what might happen next if the Department is at odds with bipartisan efforts to curb abuse. 

LINKS: 

"Children Will Die": Anti-Abuse Leaders Warn About Dept. of Ed Degree Changes

Zero Abuse Project

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