Guests: Will Sommer, Mark Mazzetti, Betsy Woodruff

A recent New York Times report revealed that the FBI Russia investigation may have all started when a drunken George Papadopoulos, former Trump foreign policy advisor, bragged to an Australian diplomat that Russia had dirt on Hillary Clinton. With new pieces of information on the Russia probe coming out daily, this hour we thought we’d get caught up on special counsel Mueller’s inquiry and Republican efforts to derail it with The New York Times MARK MAZZETTI and The Daily Beast’s BETSY WOODRUFF. But first, we’ll talk about the new feud between President Trump and his former advisor Steve Bannon, sparked by a story in New York Magazine Wednesday. WILL SOMMER, who follows conservative media for The Hill, fills us in on how the Breitbart publisher’s remarks are being received by the right and the White House.

Guests: Trudy Rubin, Rosa Brooks

2018 has just begun but there are already a number of foreign policy challenges facing the Trump administration. Anti-regime protests have swept across Iran this past week, sparking violent and deadly confrontations between police and demonstrators in a nation at odds with the Trump administration. North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un broke surprised the world on Monday declaring his intention to meet with the president of rival South Korea, which some see as an attempt to fray South Korea’s newly fraught relationship with the U.S. Also, President Trump tweeted his frustrations about Pakistan’s role in their regional fight against terrorism, accusing the Pakistani government of lying. We’ll talk about all of this with our two guests, ROSA BROOKS, professor of Law at Georgetown University, and TRUDY RUBIN, who writes the “Worldview” column for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Guests: Joe Hoeffel, Joe Watkins

In a time of intense partisanship, who is going to stand up for the moderate middle? On today’s show former Democratic congressman from Pennsylvania JOE HOEFFEL and Republican political strategist, Joe Watkins make their case for civility and finding common ground. Hoeffel’s new book is Fighting for the Progressive Center and MSNBC political commentator JOE WATKINS’ new essay is titled, The New PC: Practical Consideration.

Guests: Nikki Giovanni, Adam Valen Levinson

We begin today’s show listening to Marty’s conversation with poet NIKKI GIOVANNI.  In her newest book, A Good Cry: What We Learn from Tears and Laughter, Giovanni recalls the violence she saw growing up, describes the joy of aging and celebrates her friendship with Maya Angelou. Giovanni has spent over 30 years as a poet, activist, and educator with a focus on  race, class and gender. Then, we’ll hear Marty’s interview with ADAM VALEN LEVINSON. The writer is on a mission to bridge the world’s cultural and ideological divisions through humor. His new travel memoir, The Abu Dhabi Bar Mitzvah Levinson writes about his decision to travel throughout the Middle East as a Jew in order to counter the fear that 9/11 provoked in so many Americans. Levinson joins us on the show today to talk about his laugh filled adventures and why Americans shouldn’t be scared of the world.

The Miss America pageant has been a tradition in American culture for 96 years. The annual competition has evolved into a scholarship program for women between the ages 17 and 24. Last week, leaked emails show several executives of Miss America making disparaging comments about current and former contestants. The fallout has been huge. The television producing partner Dick Clark Productions cut ties, Atlantic City’s mayor-elect plans to terminate its contract with the pageant, former Miss America winners are speaking out and three CEOs have resigned. In this hour, we talk with New York Times opinion writer, JENNIFER WEINER, HILARY LEVEY FRIEDMAN of Brown University and MALLORY HAGAN, Miss America 2013, about the controversy, the future of Miss America and pageant culture in America. But first, COUNCILMAN MARK SQUILLA talks to us about the end of the Philadelphia Carriage Company and where its horses will end up at the end of the year.

Guests: Neil Oxman, Gary Thompson

It’s our annual look at the year-in-film, so we’ll welcome back Radio Times’ resident movie nerd NIEL OXMAN, and Philadelphia Inquirer film critic GARY THOMPSON to talk about their favorite movies of 2017. We’ll have a lot to go over, from quieter fare like Ladybird and The Florida Project, to adventures like Wonder Woman and Star Wars, to comedies like The Big Sick and The Disaster Artist. And, we’ll get some listener favorites as well!

Guests: Sonia Saraiya, Sam Adams

Every year, the landscape of modern-day television is growing increasingly vast and complex. There are so many platforms and genres, and the rise of Netflix and Amazon Prime has attracted Hollywood’s top talents to do long-form fare for the small screen. So to help us figure out what shows are most worth your time, we’ve invited TV critics SONIA SARAIYA of Variety and SAM ADAMS of Slate to give us their picks of the best television series’ of 2017.

Guest: Nir Eyal

How often do you look at your smartphone during the day – checking Facebook or Twitter, or posting on Instagram?  The fact that technology is addictive, and is being deliberately designed to be, probably doesn’t surprise you. But how can we protect ourselves from being too distracted by digital games, apps and social media?  NIR EYAL knows all about the irresistible pull of our devices. In fact, he consults with businesses on ways to hook consumers and wrote a popular book about it a few years ago, Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products. This hour, we’ll talk with Eyal about the best ways to resist digital distraction and about whether companies have an obligation to design less addictive tech.

Guests: Doogie Horner, Julia Ioffe, David Corn

Today we’ll meet comedian and Philadelphia-native DOOGIE HORNER. He’s just released a new illustrated book version of Die Hard – part of the ongoing nerd-centric debate as to whether the film qualifies as a canonical Christmas movie. We’ll talk about Die Hard, his viral appearance on “America’s Got Talent” and his comedy album, A Delicate Man. Then, with some observers predicting that the President will fire Special Prosecutor Mueller despite official denials from the White House, we’ll talk about the ongoing investigation, as well as Russia and President Putin’s interest in disrupting American politics. JULIA IOFFE of The Atlantic and DAVID CORN of Mother Jones join us.

Guests: Allan Zarembski, Robert Puentes

The AmTrak derailment in Washington highlights the need to repair and update our country’s infrastructure. President Trump promised a big infrastructure initiative during his campaign, and is soon announcing his plan to fix the nation’s roads, bridges, rails, grids, and plumbing.  Today on the show, we’re going to look at the issues surrounding the train crash, the current state of our infrastructure, what needs to be repaired, and what an infrastructure bill should include. We’re joined by ALLAN ZAREMBSKI, professor and director of the Railroad Engineering and Safety Program at the University of Delaware, and by ROBERT PUENTES, President and CEO of Eno Center for Transportation, a policy consulting group.