We're celebrating the 50th anniversary of Saturday Night Live this week! This special episode changes things up a bit as Executive Producer Peter Ogburn asks Al about his history with the show. We pull the curtain back on what a typical week looks like building up to the live show on Saturday and learn about how Al and his writing partner, Tom Davis, found themselves writing on the first season of the show. We also chat about some iconic sketches and the birth of Al's legendary Stuart Smalley character.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Donald Trump ran on a platform of mass deportations. Now that he's back in the White House, what does that look like? We're joined by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Molly O'Toole, whose upcoming book “The Route” details global migration through the Americas. Molly has spoken to hundreds of migrants making their way from war-torn countries to be in the U.S. and sheds some light on the VERY difficult American immigration process. We discuss Trump's rhetoric versus what is ACTUALLY happening with deportations and why creating an environment of fear isn't helping the problem.

Learn more about Molly's upcoming book here: https://www.mollyotoolejournalist.com/book

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

With a confusing ceasefire deal underway in Gaza, we take a look at the path forward with Peter Beinart. Beinart serves as editor-at-large for Jewish Currents, is a frequent analyst on MSNBC, and has authored a new book, "Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning." The book examines the history of Israel and how Jews have responded to the events of October 7th and its horrifying aftermath. Beinart discusses Israeli power and his hopes for its "moral reconstruction." We also discuss both Joe Biden's role in the conflict and how the region moves forward with the questionable leadership of Donald Trump. 

Learn more about Peter's book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/775348/being-jewish-after-the-destruction-of-gaza-by-peter-beinart/

Check out Peter's work in Jewish Currents: https://jewishcurrents.org/author/peter-beinart

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

President Donald Trump was sworn in (again) this week. Who better than Molly Jong-Fast from the Fast Politics podcast to join us to discuss his first week in office? We relive some quotable moments from his inaugural address and look at his most damaging executive orders. We also rundown some of the Cabinet nominees. Is anyone going to be stopped? Or are the Republican Senators too afraid of Trump?

Plus, Molly shares her roadmap of things to be hopeful for. Maybe it's not all bad!

Listen to Molly's podcast, Fast Politics, here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fast-politics-with-molly-jong-fast/id1645614328

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Donald Trump's unprecedented second term is upon us. As we prepare to endure another (at least) 4 years of this, we are joined by Ian Bassin, the co-founder and Executive Director of Protect Democracy. Trump has already promised to undermine democracy in America. How can we fight back? And how can we mount a defense to the coming onslaught? We also discuss where Democrats went wrong trying to counter Trump's message during the election and, more importantly, how to address it moving forward.

Learn more about Protect Democracy at https://protectdemocracy.org/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dana Milbank, Washington Post Opinion columnist joins us this week! His latest book, "Fools on the Hill: The Hooligans, Saboteurs, Conspiracy Theories and Dunces who Burned Down the House", chronicles the ineffectiveness of the members of the U.S House. He makes the case that the MAGA members in the House have turned it into a dysfunctional nightmare with no interest in making policy. From Lauren Boebert to Marjorie Taylor Greene, they have turned the "conservative" party into a party that exists solely to carry out the wishes of Donald Trump. 

We also discuss the latest Trump press conference in which he floats the idea of changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to The Gulf of America and doesn't rule out military force to acquire Greenland. Anyone ready for another 4 years of this??

Read Dana's column in the Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/dana-milbank/

Check out Dana's book Fools on the Hill: The Hooligans, Saboteurs, Conspiracy Theories and Dunces who Burned Down the House: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/dana-milbank/fools-on-the-hill/9780316570923/?lens=little-brown

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Professor Scott Galloway is our guest in this New Year's Best Of. Galloway has thoughts on the current political climate and how extreme most of the Republican agenda is these days. He also speaks about how modern politics and policies have left our young people disaffected and feeling left out of the political process. From minimum wage to college admissions, Galloway shares policies and solutions that can help ease his declared "war on young people".

Listen to Scott's podcast, The Prof G Pod: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-prof-g-pod-with-scott-galloway/id1498802610

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this Best Of episode, we revisit the conversation from earlier this year with SNL writer and producer Jim Downey. Al and Jim worked on several iconic sketches and remember some of their favorite political bits from the history of the show. They also discuss the importance of rewarding audiences for knowing stuff but not punishing them for not knowing stuff. Plus, Jim answers to Al's allegation that he helped George W Bush win the 2000 election!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Atlantic's George Packer joins us to discuss his recent piece titled The End of Democratic Delusions. Packer discusses the new era that Donald Trump has ushered in and what that means to politics moving forward. Trump won a close election, but it's a moment for the Democratic establishment to take a look at their shortcomings and redevelop their messaging and platform in the years ahead. 

Read George Packer's piece in The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2025/01/trump-reelection-voter-demographic-change/680752/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We're joined by two of our favorite foreign policy writers to examine what the end of Bashar al-Assad’s regime means to Syria and the region. Frank Foer and Anne Applebaum from The Atlantic also look toward the incoming Trump administration and what lies ahead. Can Trump be a steady hand to stop escalating war around the world? How will Israel react? And what happens to our support of Ukraine in their efforts against the tyrant Putin?

Read Anne's book Autocracy, Inc: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/725302/autocracy-inc-by-anne-applebaum/ 

Read Frank's work in The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/author/franklin-foer/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.