This week, the GOP met in Colorado for their third debate, and once again we were struck by how many of them there are! So many candidates, plus Jim Gilmore, the human asterisk. Will this be the debate that finally begins the winnowing? Meanwhile, Congress has actually agreed to a budget deal. At least in principle. Will there be no crises? Will Paul Ryan's sweet Speaker deal get a LOT sweeter? Or will Rand Paul unleash the power of the filibuster to defeat comity? Finally, Elizabeth Warren just embarrassed Wall Street AGAIN, this time with a new report detailing the extent to which bad financial advisors get lavish vacations as a reward for steering clients into terrible investments. At the rate she's going, America may not have a grifter-sector of the economy left for anyone to make money.

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This week, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that they were going to reanimate a zombie deregulation plan from the pre-financial crisis Bush administration, that could tip the balance of power away from Main Street. Meanwhile, imagine a place where a liberal party could declare forthrightly that they were going to run temporary deficits to facilitate infrastructure upgrades, and have the entire country reward this radical honesty with a landslide vote. That nation is Canada, they've just had an election, and it took less than three months to boot! Finally, it's been a week of upheaval in American politics as Joe Biden opts to not run for President, and Paul Ryan offers to serve as the Speaker of the House, provided he gets some free stuff from the Federal Government first.

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This week, the Intercept published new information on our drone assassination program, gleaned from a trove of secret documents, which include new details on how targets are selected, and how well we do at hitting those targets. Also, the Democratic candidates for president have had their first primary debate of the season. Now that we've had time to reflect on it, we're going to confront our own conventional wisdom and see if what we said that night still stands up. Who won the debate? It may have been someone that never appeared on the stage—it’s not Joe Biden. Finally, the manufacturers of Miller and the makers of Budweiser have agreed to a merger that would create the biggest beer company in the world. But is bigger best, or even better? Rep. Pete DeFazio (D-OR) joins us to roll out the barrel on behalf of America's small brewers.

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This week, we bombed some folks. Specifically, a Doctors Without Border hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan. President Barack Obama finally came out with an apology, but why the hell did this happen in the first place? Meanwhile, you've heard of the Benghazi Committee, you might know about the Planned Parenthood Committee, but what if we had a Congressional committee focused on reducing gun violence in America? Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA) joins us and explains. Finally, if you've watched any televised sports or televised anything -- you may be aware of the existence of Draft Kings and Fan Duel. Is the sudden ubiquity of big money fantasy sports making you question reality as well?

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This week, Donald Trump provided us with some evidence that he might really be a serious candidate by doing something that a serious candidate would do -- release a tax plan claiming to benefit some people when it really benefits others. Meanwhile, this week, the House Oversight Committee erupted into furor over Planned Parenthood, staging an all-day marathon of angry blather. Are we headed for a government shutdown over this? We'll talk to Rep. Reed Ribble (R- Wisc.) who wants to defund the organization but doesn't want to shut down the government over it. Also, Elizabeth Warren is not running for president, but she's still putting fools on blast on your behalf and her latest takedown really illuminates how this entire town is basically built on a foundation of cheap, chummy corruption.

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This week, Pope Francis comes to the United States, driving around in his Fiat, paying President Obama a visit, and taking his act to a joint session of Congress for a round of grand-master level thought leadering. Much of the focus in the lead up to his DC visit concerned what he's had to say on the environment and immigration. We'll talk about what he said to lawmakers, and the extent to which he might change people's minds on those issues.Meanwhile, politicians just want to rock! But what happens when the artists that write and perform their favorite songs find out that their work is being played at political rallies? In the case of some Republican presidential hopefuls, it has not been ending well. Joining us to offer his perspective is musician and songwriter Ted Leo. Finally, one person who won't have to worry about the songs being played at his political rallies anymore is Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) who this week announced that he was quitting the presidential race after 70 days. We ask what...

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This week, the 278 candidates vying for the Republican nomination gathered in the seamiest of valleys to debate one another. Or, sorry, deal with Donald Trump. New York Times magazine's Ana Marie Cox joins us for some debate post-game analysis. Meanwhile, Washington DC is bracing for a visit from Pope Francis, coming to America at a time in which his message about income inequality is resonating -- especially among liberals. The Washington Examiner's Tim Carney helps us get jesuitical. Finally, speaking of odd intersections of politics and religion, presidential aspirant Sen. Bernie Sanders (I - Vt) brought his very liberal campaign the evangelical college Liberty University. Was Sanders preaching to the unconvertible, or was there an real opportunity for connection? Fusion's news director Kevin Roose helps explain the significance of this event.

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This week Congress is set to return from Labor Day weekend, and once again we find ourselves staring down the prospect of government shutdown. Connecticut Representative Rosa DeLauro joins us to explain the next coming chapter of political dysfunction. Meanwhile, it's starting to look more and more as if the Iran deal is here to stay. But just because the deal is nearly done, that doesn't mean opponents have any plan to retreat. We discuss the shape of Iran hawkery to come. Finally, if you listen to some of the public pronouncements of several Democratic presidential candidates, you'll hear many talk a good game about criminal justice reform. What you won't hear is any reckoning of the ghosts of votes pasts and the actions that have spurred the need for reform in the first place. We say: Not so fast you guys.

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This week we examine the legacy of President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran, which has just secured its political survival in the Senate. Also Congress is coming back after August recess which means the government is probably going to shut down. We also talk to Sec. Tom Vilsack about problems facing the national school lunch program. Meanwhile, in 2016 land, Donald Trump is still running for president and Hillary Clinton has an incredibly stupid e-mail scandal on her hands.

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This week, the shocking murder of two television journalists in Virginia forced us to confront the fact that America only seems to be good at producing mass shooting tragedies. Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy joins us to see whether Congress has finally reached the point of attempting to solve this problem. Meanwhile, Donald Trump is doing everything he can to alienate every last Latino voter. Will his flamboyant hostility accrue to the eventual GOP nominee? Joining us is NPR's Latino USA digital media director Julio Ricardo Varela to answer just that. Finally, as Joe Biden mulls getting into the 2016 race, he's taking meetings with Sen. Elizabeth Warren. We’ll take a trip down memory lane to 2005 when Biden and Warren sat on opposite sides of a bankruptcy bill that would change the game for Main Street. Plus we about stock market swings and the battle to defend ancient culture from ISIS!

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