Ken Burns is America’s documentarian: From the Civil War to Vietnam, baseball to the Brooklyn Bridge, his films are gospel for generations of Americans curious about the world and our history. This November, in a new six part, 12-hour documentary series Burns turns his attention to the American Revolution – and the counterintuitive revelation that democracy was *not* on the table when the fighting first broke out. Burns says what this film showed him is that the tension we feel today in 2025 arcs back to and mirrors the tension that gave birth to our nation. And Burns believes the American story boils down to a simple choice – a question posed in the timeless Frank Capra classic “It’s a Wonderful Life”: Do you want to live in Pottersville or Bedford Falls? (HINT: Ken Burns only wants to live in Bedford Falls)

Tickets are still available for MSNBC Live – our second live community event featuring more than a dozen MSNBC hosts. The day-long event will be held on October 11th at Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan. To buy tickets visit msnbc.com/live25.

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Life can take some pretty unexpected turns. Just ask Phil Rosenthal. The man who brought us “Everybody Loves Raymond” is now a global star in his own right thanks to “Somebody Feed Phil” – Netflix’s longest running unscripted original series, a show Phil says boils down to one simple sentence: “I’m just like Anthony Bourdain if Bourdain was afraid of everything”. The result is a profound, at times goofy, and utterly relatable exploration of humanity through food. Phil tells Nicolle about his “hero’s journey” as a kid from Queens who didn’t taste garlic until he was 17 to a world traveler who’s trying to get everybody out of their comfort zones one dish at a time. And Phil shares what he’s learned along the way: that most people are nice, it’s time to replace the manosphere with the “lady-sphere”, and diners might just save the world.

A note to listeners: Tickets are still available for MSNBC Live – our second live community event featuring more than a dozen MSNBC hosts. The day-long event will be held on October 11th at Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan. To buy tickets visit msnbc.com/live25.

Want to listen to this show early and without ads? Sign up for MSNBC Premium on Apple Podcasts. 

Pod Save America and Crooked Media founding member Jon Lovett isn’t just a podcasting legend or Barack Obama’s speechwriting secret weapon. He's a quick study of our political discourse and a cultural vanguard. Now he’s spilling the tea on everything from the “vandalism” Trump is unleashing on American institutions, the Hollywood heavy-hitter who had a hand in THAT Trump joke at the White House Correspondents' Dinner and what it was really like working with Hillary Clinton. Lovett also offers some hard truths Democrats need to face if they hold any hope of getting back into power. Plus: his hot take on the Epstein scandal and whether it could deliver a knock-out blow to Trump’s support with the MAGA faithful.

A note to listeners: Tickets are on sale now for MSNBC Live – our second live community event featuring more than a dozen MSNBC hosts. The day-long event will be held on October 11th at Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan. To buy tickets visit msnbc.com/live25.

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When systems are failing, what do you triage first? That's a question that keeps constitutional law superstar Melissa Murray awake at night. As a law professor at New York University, a former clerk for Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and co-host of the “Strict Scrutiny” podcast, Melissa is well-versed in examining our legal system at the intersection of the social and political, and she knows that what is being broken will take a long time to rebuild. In this episode, Melissa joins Nicolle to talk about why Justice Sotomayor's dissents from the bench send a message about protest amid a conservative supermajority on the High Court, the power of Black women voters, and how to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.

A note: Tickets are on sale now for MSNBC Live – our second live community event featuring more than a dozen MSNBC hosts. The day-long event will be held on October 11th at Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan. To buy tickets visit msnbc.com/live25.

Want to listen to this show without ads? Sign up for MSNBC Premium on Apple Podcasts.  

From the war in Ukraine to the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, Jacob Soboroff is no stranger to covering tragedy. His first-hand account of family separations along the Southern border during Trump’s first term became a bestselling book and later the critically acclaimed documentary “Separated” by Academy Award winning director Errol Morris. Now, Soboroff is back chronicling the human toll and devastating impact of Trump’s new immigration crackdown, including an exclusive interview for “The Best People”: with Narciso Barranco, the gardener and father of three whose violent detention by masked ICE agents in California this June went viral. 

Plus: tickets are on sale now for MSNBC Live – our second live community event featuring more than a dozen MSNBC hosts. The day-long event will be held on October 11th at Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan. To buy tickets visit msnbc.com/live25.

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There is no pre-political Tim Miller. From a fifth-grade bet on Bill Clinton, to becoming a Republican strategist for Jeb Bush, to finally saying “Goodbye to All That” and leaving the party in 2020, and now hosting the Bulwark podcast as a ‘Never Trumper,’ Miller has been immersed in politics his whole life. In this episode, Tim joins Nicolle to discuss finding (and losing) community within the Republican party, the manosphere, and what he’s learned about breaking down the Trump coalition as a long-term anti-Trump advocate.

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Very few actors have the range to pull off “Dumb and Dumber’s” slack jawed Harry Dunne, while mastering the arc of moral giants like Atticus Finch on stage or Ronald Reagan in the upcoming film “Reykjavík.” Jeff Daniels is that actor. He’s played iconic character driven roles like “The Newsroom’s” Will McAvoy and delivered countless monologues that embrace the better angels of our nature. And now, he’s playing guitar and writing songs that hold up a mirror to the human experience. He joins Nicolle in this episode to talk about the trajectory of his career, choosing a life in Michigan over Hollywood, and the lack of a national moral compass in the Trump era. Plus: a special acoustic guitar performance.

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BONUS: In his two decades of coaching youth baseball, Youman Wilder never expected ICE agents to show up at his practice. But recently, that's exactly what happened. On New York's Upper West Side, Coach Wilder claims to have witnessed armed ICE agents questioning his players—and that’s when he knew he had to step in. On “Deadline White House” Nicolle interviewed Wilder on the experience and what is asked of all of us in this moment. Listen to the conversation here.

Editors’ Note: since the interview aired on MSNBC on July 14th, an ICE spokesperson has refuted this account, saying “ICE has not conducted any recent enforcement activity in the vicinity of Riverside Park.”

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Five-time Grammy Award winner, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, and more Billboard No. 1 hits than any other production team in history – these are just a handful of the accolades amassed by Jimmy Jam. The mastermind behind a seemingly endless list of iconic songs like “Control” and “Rhythm Nation” and the legendary producer has long been a venerated fixture of the music industry, alongside his partner Terry Lewis. From serving as the Chairman of the Grammys, to songwriting for Janet Jackson, to growing up alongside Prince, his infectious passion for music and belief in its unifying properties seeps into everything he does. In this episode, he joins Nicolle to share memories and lessons from his storied career.

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Sarah Jessica Parker is the ultimate New Yorker. Andy Cohen says walking around with her is like “walking around with the Empire State Building.” SJP, as Parker is affectionately known to her fans, is best known for playing the iconic Carrie Bradshaw on HBO’s “Sex and The City” and its revival “And Just Like That,” currently in its third season. But more than men or fashion, the show is about friendship, community, and what it means to show up for one another. And in this interview with “The Best People,” she tells Nicolle Wallace that this spirit of care is one we could use a little more of in today’s political climate.

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