American education is in crisis. Test scores are dropping. Whole classrooms are falling through the cracks. The federal Department of Education is being dismantled. 

But what does that mean for our local schools, and where should they go next? 

Grant talks with Jorge Elorza, former Providence, RI mayor and current CEO of Democrats for Education Reform. Elorza wants to embrace an idea that normally comes from Republicans: School Choice. 

They talk all about the failing state of education in the US, can Democrats really make a difference by changing course on decades of policies, and whether education is our way back to a united United States. 

LINKS: 

Democrats for Education Reform 

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The federal government shuts down in less than a week, and it seems like neither side wants the blame but might stand to gain from it. Democrats want a chance to stand up to Trump while promising to fight for healthcare. 

Republicans want to keep things the way they are, while also maybe hoping they can fire thousands of federal workers and keep the Epstein Files from seeing the light of day for a little while longer. 

Grant breaks it all down as the clock ticks closer to a shutdown...again.

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After the death of Charlie Kirk, the Trump administration is trying to amp up the pressure on political opponents. The FCC made explicit threats and gave explicit instructions to media companies to suspend Jimmy Kimmel. Trump got caught publishing a private message to AG Pam Bondi to go after his political enemies. He's trying to establish a new catchall domestic terror organization. All of it is happening as his poll numbers sink ahead of a major fight over funding the government. 

Grant makes sense of it all. 

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There are clearer and clearer signs that the Trump Administration is pulling the US into what scholars call "competative authoritarianism." 

Grant it joined by Colorado State Professor of political communication Karrin Anderson to talk about who these governments work, how journalists should be approaching our current administration, and how we can all work together to pull ourselves out of the anti-democracy nose dive. 

LINKS:

Professor Karrin Anderson

Woman President

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Vocal leaders on the right, members of the Trump Administration and even the President himself are calling for the government to target not just violent political opponents, but people who share their views without acting on them. 

Grant breaks down how the admin is using Charlie Kirk's death to go after people they don't like, starting with trying to go after free speech. 

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With the next Supreme Court term just around the corner, it's time to talk about the Court's "shadow docket" of emergency rulings that have been happening over the summer. 

Grant is joined again by Liz Dye from Law and Chaos and Legal Eagle (links below) to talk about how the administration has been using the shadow docket to go around the law and normal legal process, what lower courts have been doing to hold the line, and just how long they can hold out. 

LINKS: 

Law And Chaos

Legal Eagle

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The right-wing commentator, youth leader, and political power broker Charlie Kirk was shot and killed during an event in Utah on Wednesday. It's an event that is going to rock the political world and by extension, the country.

In the hours after he was shot, far-right voices, Republican leaders, and the President have been blaming "the left" and Democrats with some calling to make just being a Democrat illegal. 

Grant talks about what happened in Utah and how the FBI manhunt has gotten off to a botched start. Then he dives into what those conservative leaders are saying, why the facts prove them wrong about the left being a violent movement, and where we go from here. 

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House Oversight Democrats release THAT birthday book with Trump's message to Jeffrey Epstein, and it sends the White House scrambling to try and tamp down the story that Trump hasn't been able to shake. 

Grant breaks down what's in the book, what we expect more of, how Trump and the GOP are reacting, and what it could mean for what Trump's administration does next to divert attention away from the Epstein files. 

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Today's episode is something different. Grant is the one being interviewed on the Let's Pod This podcast, discussing how Make It Make Sense is created, his news-reading process, and which stories he thinks are overhyped or underreported in today's news. 

LINKS:

Let's Fix This 

Let's Pod This

National Association of Nonpartisan Reformers

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Dozens of survivors of Jeffrey Epstein, their families, lawyers, and a bipartisan trio of lawmakers came to the Capitol to demand that leaders sign off on just voting to release the Epstein Files. While that's been happening, House Republicans tried to pull a bait and switch with the files, Trump called the women a hoax and "irrelevant," and has started attacking people who think about releasing the files. 

Grant breaks it all down. What we learned from survivors, what they want, where Congress is, and why what happens next might be up to voters. 

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