Rising from the Ashes

32 days to go before Donald Trump takes over as President of the United States ... although considering how the last couple of days have gone, one would be forgiven thinking he's already moved into the White House!

Thanks for counting down with us ... on today's Countdown 2025: We'll examine the chaos unfolding in Congress ... where the government is set to close down tomorrow night and Republicans can't decide if it's Donald Trump, Mike Johnson or Elon Musk in charge. We'll be talking with a Republican member of Congress to ask what comes next. Speaking of Musk ... we'll also take a closer look at the tech billionaires who once despised Trump, but have decided to butter him up this second time around.

33 days to go before Joe Biden departs the White House ... and Donald Trump moves in for a second run at America's top job. Thank you for counting down the days with us.

On today's Countdown 2024: Donald Trump and his allies have perfected the art of intimidation through lawsuits ... and even before his second term has begun, the president-elect is already seeing the results of defamation threats. We'll ask whether journalists and critics will be forced to cower.

And, even though it's technically guaranteed in the constitution ... should the Postal Service be handed over to private ownership?

34 days to go in the Trump transition ... thank you for counting down the days with us.

On today's Countdown 2024: Lincoln Project co-founder Rick Wilson is with us to preview the strategy for resisting Donald Trump ... a second time around. And we get a preview into the Trump administration's immigration policy playbook from the people who helped to write it at the Heritage Foundation.

35 days to go before Donald Trump is sworn back into the office of the presidency ... thank you for counting down these transition days with us.

On today's show: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would bring all kinds of baggage with him to Health and Human Services, if he's confirmed as the department's next secretary ... but the biggest worry with Kennedy is his history of anti-vaccine advocacy. So we'll hear from an FDA advisor who is hoping that Kennedy doesn't come anywhere close to vaccine policy. And ... can the Trump administration derail California's controversial high speed rail project for good?

38 days to go in the Trump transition ... thank you for counting down the days with us.

On today's show: we're getting the other side of the passionate debate over gender-affirming care for transgender youth, an issue that will likely be front-and-center during the next four years. And ... ? why is the Trump administration seriously considering axing several of the nation's banking regulatory agencies?

39 days to go before Donald Trump takes the oath of office and moves back into the White House. Thank you for counting down the transition with us. Mike Simpson pulling double duty today, sitting in for BOTH Margaret Carrero and Charles Feldman.

On today's Countdown 2024: Current FBI director Christopher Wray made it easy on Donald Trump, announcing his retirement at the end of Joe Biden's term and saving the president-elect from the chore of firing him when he takes office next month. Is this the start of a dangerous politicization of the nation's top law enforcement agency? We're going to hear from a former FBI special agent who now covers the agency for CNN, Josh Campbell ... and we're talking with a former Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Trey Gowdy.

It's an even 40-days left in the Trump transition .... thank you for counting down the days to inauguration with us.

On today's Countdown 2024: According to President-elect Donald Trump, Congresswoman Zoe [Z-OH] Lofgren and the rest of her January 6th committee members belong in jail ... so we're asking the Congresswoman herself if she's feeling worried or intimidated about the threat of imprisonment. Then ... the president-elect put forward a national investment policy, of sorts: spend 1-billion-dollars in the U.S. to open a new business or manufacturing plant and Trump will wave those pesky regulations ... we'll make some sense of that.

41 more days to go until Donald Trump reoccupies the White House ... thank you for counting down the transition with us.

On today's Countdown 2024: the American media is heading into a second Trump administration in a state of transition and uncertainty. With legacy outlets losing their audience and advertisers ... and nontraditional media, like podcasts and TikToks, gaining new prominence ... the ability, and willingness, to investigate the president-elect and hold him to account could be waning. We're dedicating today's show to journalism in the age of Trump.

42 more days to go until the Trump transition becomes the second Trump administration ... thank you for counting down the days with us.

On today's Countdown 2024: Elon Musk spent nearly a quarter-BILLION-dollars of his own money to help Donald Trump get elected to the presidency ... so now what does he want in return for his investment? We'll look at Trump's cabinet stuffed with billionaires. And the president-elect said in an interview over the weekend that he will get rid of birthright citizenship on day one of his administration ... but can a president do away with a constitutional amendment by way of an executive order?

President-elect Trump has promised mass deportations of undocumented immigrants once he gets back into the White House. But how realistic is this? And how will this impact certain immigrants protected by a special program? While Trump talks tough, the action might not be as strong as he says. We get into the realities of the situation and talk to a person who could be sent to a country she doesn't even really know.