On Brand with Donny Deutsch

This week Donny Deutsch and Lou Pellegrino run through who's up and who's down in American culture. They start with a CDC report finding that most U.S. adults are running on empty, then compare notes on five o'clock naps and why sleep has become a $100 billion industry. From there it's senior TikTok creators talking openly about sex and intimacy, the University of Chicago banning AI and laptops from its core courses, and the dictionary's newest additions, including "parasocial," "cuffing season," and "Sunday scaries."

A new Gallup finding that adults under 35 are now the loneliest Americans leads into one of the week's most surprising brand ups: the comeback of the American mall. Donny and Lou trade Queens Center and Roosevelt Field memories along the way. They also check in on Taco Bell's new branded hotel in Palm Springs, question some of Ad Age's picks for 2026's hottest brands, and look at pickleball's fourth straight year as America's fastest-growing sport. Rounding out the list are the fitness shift from weight loss to strength and longevity, "DivorceTok" as a content category, social saunas as Gen Z's new third place, and the milestone of fewer than half of married women taking their husband's name.

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Anthony Scaramucci joins Donny Deutsch to break down his new book, All the Wrong Moves: How Three Catastrophic Decisions Led to the Rise of Trump, a sharp and surprisingly self-critical look at how America got here. The SkyBridge founder and co-host of The Rest Is Politics: US walks through the three turning points he believes set the stage for MAGA: letting China into the WTO without checking its rise, the post-9/11 wars funded by tax cuts that blew up the deficit, and a 2008 bailout that rescued the banks but left Main Street behind. As Scaramucci puts it, Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party "had a baby, and they named it baby MAGA."

Donny and Anthony also get into the fixes: restoring pay-as-you-go budgeting, ending Citizens United, and open primaries to break the two-party duopoly. They discuss Trump's fight with Canada and why Scaramucci predicts a deal is coming, the odds of a blue wave in the midterms, whether the Democrats can win back the center, and the Shapiro vs. Ossoff vs. Newsom debate. Plus, what happens to the Republican Party after Trump, why MAGA may not survive him, and whether "The Mooch" would ever run for office himself.

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CNN's Dana Bash joins Donny to talk about her new bestseller, The Elections That Changed the World: 15 Pivotal Moments That Shaped How We Live — from Hitler's rise through a democratic vote to the small-town election that launched Martin Luther King Jr. into the civil rights movement.

Dana shares her own sixth-grade run for school president and how it shaped her instinct for fairness and truth-telling. Then she and Donny dig into the moment we're in now: the midterms, gerrymandering and the vanishing swing district, whether the Democratic Party's future runs through its left flank, if MAGA can survive without Trump, dark-horse 2028 contenders on both sides, and the unsettling question of AI outpacing human control.

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Disclaimer: This episode was recorded on September 10, 2026.

Donny sits down with Jessica Tarlov — co-host of Fox News's The Five and Scott Galloway's Raging Moderates — for her first-ever appearance on the show. They dig into her new book, I Disagree: Winning Arguments Without Losing Friends, and what it actually takes to debate someone without torching the relationship.

Jessica opens up about the real dynamic behind her on-air chemistry with Greg Gutfeld and Scott Galloway, why conservatives are often more willing to move past politics than liberals are, and how she uses polling and data to hold her own in front of a hostile audience. She and Donny also get into her cheesesteak-fueled college thesis on Philly culture, the pop-culture characters (Tracy Flick, Elle Woods) who shaped how she thinks about being underestimated, and advice from Roger Ailes that changed how she sees her own voice.

The conversation turns personal and political as they discuss the widening rift between the Democratic Party and Israel, Donny's on-air clash with Joe Scarborough, and — a day before the 25th anniversary of 9/11 — Jessica's reflection on losing her father to complications from the attacks, and what she hopes the anniversary will mean under a new mayor.

Plus: a Thanksgiving-table survival guide, straight from the book.

Be sure to check out the ⁠⁠On Brand with Donny Deutsch YouTube page⁠⁠.

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This week's brands up and down: Judge Judy hands the gavel to her son after 30 years, Howard Stern moves to a once-a-week HBO slot, and Dyson launches a $499 toothbrush with a built-in camera. Plus: the NFL's CTE crisis, Gen Z "dropping in and out" of college, out-of-control youth sports costs, Costco's new Medicare plans, quilts making a comeback, the case for baby-talking your pets, why hangover cures don't work, and Travis Kelce's new gig as Tommy Hilfiger's global brand ambassador.

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Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10) joins the show for a candid conversation about the price of being a pro-Israel Democrat in 2025. Goldman shares the surreal story of being publicly banned from a coffee shop hours after a kind, anonymous interaction with the barista — once the owner realized who he was. He breaks down why he believes the discourse around Israel, Zionism, and "genocide" has become unmoored from history and nuance, defends his record of opposing both Netanyahu's government and the DSA's more radical planks, and explains why he thinks the Democratic Party's path back to power runs through unity, not litmus tests. The conversation also covers his legislative wins — from 9/11 health funding to his "Robin Hood Act" targeting billionaire tax avoidance — and his blunt scorecard for Mayor Mamdani's first eight months in office.

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Donny sits down with Maryland Governor Wes Moore — reelection candidate, National Governors Association chairman, and one of the most closely watched figures in the Democratic Party — for a wide-ranging conversation. Moore breaks down how Maryland cut violent crime by nearly 60%, why he's pushing back on the current ICE approach while still working with federal partners, and the $10 million anti-hate initiative he launched to protect Jewish communities and other targeted groups. He gets candid on the state of the Democratic Party, the DSA, and what it takes to win back independents like Donny himself. As a veteran, he doesn't hold back on the USS Lincoln situation, Secretary Hegseth, and the muddled rationale behind escalating tensions with Iran. He also reflects on being only the third Black governor in U.S. history — and closes with his answer (or non-answer) on 2028.

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On this episode we go back to September 23rd, 2021 as Donny sits down with the one and only, Rosie O'Donnell. They jump right into the challenge of having many sides: Rosie the funny, loving, best friend, and Rosie the outspoken commentator on politics. She openly shares about how losing her mother at a young age drove the pursuit of her dreams—first as a comedian, then actress and talk show host—and why she chose to leave the limelight to focus on her parenting. Together they discuss what it's like to be multifaceted in an industry that wants to keep you one-dimensional.

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NYT Bestselling author and former Mueller prosecutor Andrew Weissman joins Donny to break down his explosive new book Liar's Kingdom: How to Stop Trump's Deceit and Save America — and the bold legal reforms he says could protect American democracy for generations.

Andrew Weissman — former lead prosecutor on the Mueller Special Counsel investigation, ex-General Counsel of the FBI, and 15-year federal prosecutor — pulls no punches on the weaponization of the Justice Department, political lies, and what real structural reform looks like.

In this episode:

Whether you're a political junkie, legal nerd, or just a concerned American, this conversation is essential listening.

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📖 Liar's Kingdom is available now wherever books are sold.

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Donny Deutsch and Lou Pellegrino break down the brands, trends, and cultural moments defining the zeitgeist this week on Brands of the Week. Ted Lasso's Apple TV+ season four premiere is fueling a real-world youth soccer boom, JIF is reformulating its peanut butter for the first time in 30 years, and Krispy Kreme is teaming up with Pokémon for a 30th-anniversary donut collab. Plus: Frankie Valli retires at 92, a new survey shows nearly half of Americans doubt they'll ever retire, saunas vs. cold plunge science gets a reality check, Merriam-Webster adds "fridge cigarette" to the dictionary, sorority rush coaches and dorm decor spending hit new extremes, pickle-flavored snacks are exploding 70%, and why basal cell carcinoma is more common than you think. It's the fast-paced weekly rundown of what's up, what's down, and what's shaping culture right now.

Subscribe to On Brand with Donny Deutsch for new episodes every week — Thursdays for in-depth interviews and Brands of the Week breakdowns on trending brands, pop culture, marketing, and consumer behavior.

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