Pod Save America

With less than 30 days until the midterms, Trump hits the campaign trail, promising Republican voters that they're going to "win big" and "shove it up their ass." (Whose? He didn't specify.) Meanwhile, the polls tell a different story, showing Democratic Senate candidates leading in five Republican states: Texas, Alaska, Ohio, Iowa, and Kansas. Jon, Tommy, and Lovett discuss whether the Democratic momentum is too big to be true, Republican super PACs reallocating money to typically red states, and Trump doxxing Sen. Tom Cotton over daylight saving time dispute. Then the guys check in on the latest in the Michigan, Texas, and Florida Senate races, Kristi Noem's half-billion-dollar purchase of five jets on her way out the door at Homeland Security, and Vivek Ramaswamy's latest athletic passion: weightlifting. Finally, Gina Hinojosa, the Democratic nominee for governor in Texas, stops by the studio to talk to Tommy about opening up a lead on three-term Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

Hate listening to ads? Become a Friends of the Pod subscriber for ad-free episodes of Pod Save America, Pod Save the World, Lovett or Leave It, Runaway Country, Offline with Jon Favreau, and more—plus exclusive content, including bonus episodes of Pod Save America. Subscribe now at crooked.com/friends, on Apple Podcasts, or through the Pod Save America YouTube channel.

You can request a transcript by emailing [email protected]. Include the podcast name, episode title, and air date. Please allow 48 hours for delivery.

Michael Lewis, the New York Times bestselling author of "Moneyball" and "The Big Short," stops by the studio to talk to Lovett about "Blockers: Rebels in the Deep State," his latest book on the government employees who stood up to Elon Musk and Donald Trump during the heyday of DOGE. 

Lovett and Lewis revisit the story of Colin O'Brien, the security chief who locked DOGE out of the U.S. Institute of Peace, and break down how Howard Lutnick's takeover of the Commerce Department reveals the inner workings of Trump's government. 

Then, Lewis shares what essential government employees told him about working under DOGE, why he thinks DOGE may have been created in the first place, and how the next Democratic candidate should make rebuilding the government a top message following DOGE's damage.

Hate listening to ads? Become a Friends of the Pod subscriber for ad-free episodes of Pod Save America, Pod Save the World, Lovett or Leave It, Runaway Country, Offline with Jon Favreau, and more—plus exclusive content, including bonus episodes of Pod Save America. Subscribe now at crooked.com/friends, on Apple Podcasts, or through the Pod Save America YouTube channel.

You can request a transcript by emailing [email protected]. Include the podcast name, episode title, and air date. Please allow 48 hours for delivery.

Pete Hegseth, in an unconventional speech, announces that beardos, weirdos, and wimps are no longer welcome at the Department of War as his boss officially hit the road to campaign for Senate Republicans — whether they want him to or not. Jon and Dan react to Trump's event with Ken Paxton in Texas, Trump proclaiming his love for data centers in a wide-ranging interview with TIME, and Missouri Senator Eric Schmitt's embarrassing mix-up in a Judiciary Committee hearing with former Special Counsel Jack Smith. 

Then, Rev. Adam Hamilton, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Kansas, talks to Dan about what it'll take to elect the state's first Democratic senator in nearly 100 years, and why he considers himself both a liberal and a conservative.

Get your tickets to Crooked Con 2026 at crookedcon.com!

Hate listening to ads? Become a Friends of the Pod subscriber for ad-free episodes of Pod Save America, Pod Save the World, Lovett or Leave It, Runaway Country, Offline with Jon Favreau, and more—plus exclusive content, including bonus episodes of Pod Save America. Subscribe now at crooked.com/friends, on Apple Podcasts, or through the Pod Save America YouTube channel.

You can request a transcript by emailing [email protected]. Include the podcast name, episode title, and air date. Please allow 48 hours for delivery.

Senate Democrats signal they may be open to impeaching Pete Hegseth after the election if the House has the votes for it. 

Jon, Tommy, and Lovett discuss why that trial would be a great use of a new Democratic Senate majority, Trump saying that the American economy is "the best in the world" despite record-setting diesel prices and stunningly low consumer sentiment, and Mike Johnson's new claim that opposition to new data centers is "a Chinese psy-op." 

Plus, AI labs pause development of their most advanced models (over the president's objections), Ambassador to China David Perdue admits that Trump tried to sell weapons to Xi Jinping, the White House keeps running political ads with taxpayer money, and Fox News's Greg Gutfeld sounds off — on overweight sex workers.

Hate listening to ads? Become a Friends of the Pod subscriber for ad-free episodes of Pod Save America, Pod Save the World, Lovett or Leave It, Runaway Country, Offline with Jon Favreau, and more—plus exclusive content, including bonus episodes of Pod Save America. Subscribe now at crooked.com/friends, on Apple Podcasts, or through the Pod Save America YouTube channel.

To watch this episode with subtitles, click here and turn on closed captions (CC).

You can request a transcript by emailing [email protected]. Include the podcast name, episode title, and air date. Please allow 48 hours for delivery.

Live from the Texas Tribune Festival, Jon, Tommy, Lovett, and Dan discuss the dream of a blue Texas and how the campaigns there are doing, from James Talarico's debate challenge to Ken Paxton, to Gina Hinojosa's momentum in the governor's race, to Donald Trump's decision to stay away entirely. 

Then they discuss Trump's special welcome — and ballroom tour — for Chinese President Xi Jinping and an assorted cast of tech oligarchs, and the Republican Party's growing frustration with their underperformance in typically purple states like North Carolina and Georgia. 

Then, award-winning Tejano artist Bobby Pulido, the Democratic nominee in Texas's must-win 15th district, stops by to talk about his race to unseat Trump-backed Rep. Monica De La Cruz.

Hate listening to ads? Become a Friends of the Pod subscriber for ad-free episodes of Pod Save America, Pod Save the World, Lovett or Leave It, Runaway Country, Offline with Jon Favreau, and more—plus exclusive content, including bonus episodes of Pod Save America. Subscribe now at crooked.com/friends, on Apple Podcasts, or through the Pod Save America YouTube channel.

You can request a transcript by emailing [email protected]. Include the podcast name, episode title, and air date. Please allow 48 hours for delivery.

The news is full of encouraging signs for Democrats. Is it all too good to be true? 

Dan and Jon react to Republican candidates running away from Trump on Iran, then break down the latest polls — including a surprising Times/Siena result from Maine — to take a sober look at the range of outcomes (all of them good!) that are reasonable to expect. 

Plus, a big win for freedom of the press and an eye-opening new warning about furries in the cockpit. Then, Tommy talks to activist and athlete Colin Kaepernick about life after the NFL, and his new book "The Perilous Fight."

Hate listening to ads? Become a Friends of the Pod subscriber for ad-free episodes of Pod Save America, Pod Save the World, Lovett or Leave It, Runaway Country, Offline with Jon Favreau, and more—plus exclusive content, including bonus episodes of Pod Save America. Subscribe now at crooked.com/friends, on Apple Podcasts, or through the Pod Save America YouTube channel.

You can request a transcript by emailing [email protected]. Include the podcast name, episode title, and air date. Please allow 48 hours for delivery.

Major television networks halt White House pool coverage after Trump announces that he's banning journalists from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico. 

Jon and Tommy react to Trump and JD Vance's justifications for the decision, before breaking down the details of the Ellisons' deal with the California attorney general that will allow the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger to proceed. 

They then discuss the Iran war expanding to other countries, the president's call for an "AI Force" as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent negotiates with China, the Republican Party's growing cash advantage in the midterms, and Trump's announcement that his triumphal arch will now also serve as a military installation. 

Then, Cait Conley, the Democratic nominee in New York's 17th District, stops by the studio to talk to Dan about her race to unseat Republican Rep. Mike Lawler.

Hate listening to ads? Become a Friends of the Pod subscriber for ad-free episodes of Pod Save America, Pod Save the World, Lovett or Leave It, Runaway Country, Offline with Jon Favreau, and more—plus exclusive content, including bonus episodes of Pod Save America. Subscribe now at crooked.com/friends, on Apple Podcasts, or through the Pod Save America YouTube channel.

You can request a transcript by emailing [email protected]. Include the podcast name, episode title, and air date. Please allow 48 hours for delivery.

Fox News host Jessica Tarlov, the lone liberal voice on "The Five," stops by the studio to talk to Tommy about her new book "I Disagree: Winning Arguments without Losing Friends." Tarlov offers Tommy a behind the scenes look into the making of Fox's most combative show and her relationships off-screen with her conservative colleagues. 

She also talks about how she handles criticism from Fox News's most infamous viewer, what it's like watching her former colleagues serve in the President's cabinet, and why she thinks Democrats need to spend more time on Fox News in 2028.

Hate listening to ads? Become a Friends of the Pod subscriber for ad-free episodes of Pod Save America, Pod Save the World, Lovett or Leave It, Runaway Country, Offline with Jon Favreau, and more—plus exclusive content, including bonus episodes of Pod Save America. Subscribe now at crooked.com/friends, on Apple Podcasts, or through the Pod Save America YouTube channel.

You can request a transcript by emailing [email protected]. Include the podcast name, episode title, and air date. Please allow 48 hours for delivery.

JD Vance begs voters to give the White House "another chance" as a series of new polls show a political environment even more favorable to Democrats than the one that propelled the blue wave in 2018. 

Jon, Dan, and Alex break down how much "hopium" we should be huffing, a new ad from a Florida Republican breaking with Trump on immigration, and whether unexpectedly close Senate races in Minnesota and New Hampshire should have Democrats worried. They dive into JD Vance's advice to AI companies to simply stop "building Frankenstein" and unpack Trump's fixation on demolishing the Kennedy Center if he's not allowed to name it after himself. 

Alex talks about her new book, "The Steal: Four Right-Wing Hard-Liners, One Republican Presidency, and the Raid on America's Courts," which follows the conservative movement's deliberate takeover of the American judicial system. Then, Dan Osborn, the independent candidate for Senate in Nebraska, stops by the studio to talk to Jon about his campaign against Pete Ricketts.

Hate listening to ads? Become a Friends of the Pod subscriber for ad-free episodes of Pod Save America, Pod Save the World, Lovett or Leave It, Runaway Country, Offline with Jon Favreau, and more—plus exclusive content, including bonus episodes of Pod Save America. Subscribe now at crooked.com/friends, on Apple Podcasts, or through the Pod Save America YouTube channel.

You can request a transcript by emailing [email protected]. Include the podcast name, episode title, and air date. Please allow 48 hours for delivery.

Trump dismisses the AI CEOs at Anthropic, OpenAI, and xAI who are calling for a "global slowdown" of AI development, saying the only government regulation the industry needs is a "high IQ" president. 

Jon, Tommy, and Lovett break down the "sick conspiracy" claim the administration and tech investors have leveled at AI makers, the recent developments that united Dario Amodei, Sam Altman, and Elon Musk, and the chances that meaningful AI regulation could pass before the election or in a lame-duck Congress. 

Then they turn to AI's impact on the 2028 presidential election, a Russian oligarch's unusual involvement in Donald Trump Jr.'s wedding festivities, and the worst Republicans on and off the ballot in Texas. Then, Sarah Longwell, publisher of The Bulwark, stops by the studio to talk to Jon about her new book, "How to Eat an Elephant."

Hate listening to ads? Become a Friends of the Pod subscriber for ad-free episodes of Pod Save America, Pod Save the World, Lovett or Leave It, Runaway Country, Offline with Jon Favreau, and more—plus exclusive content, including bonus episodes of Pod Save America. Subscribe now at crooked.com/friends, on Apple Podcasts, or through the Pod Save America YouTube channel.

You can request a transcript by emailing [email protected]. Include the podcast name, episode title, and air date. Please allow 48 hours for delivery.