Shaky Iran Agreement. Vance Attacks Israel.

Worse Deal Than Obama’s. The Politics of War.

Where is Rubio? Jon Ossoff Rising.

Obama’s Shade Trump. Reflecting Pool Fail.

With Olivier Knox, Senior national political correspondent, US News & World Report, Maya King, Politics Reporter at The New York Times andand Erika Filter, National Campaign Correspondent for The National Journal Hotline. 

Today's Bill Press Pod is supported by The United Food and Commercial Workers Union. More information at UFCW.org.

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Bill talks with legal scholar and former U.S. attorney Barbara McQuade about her book, "The Fix: Saving America from the Corruption of a Mob-Style Government," arguing that core democratic principles—rule of law and equality before the law—are eroding under Donald Trump. McQuade describes Trump’s tactics as extortionate and mob-like, pressuring institutions such as law firms, media, universities, and allies, and warns that Congress has failed to check executive overreach while the Supreme Court’s shadow docket and unitary-executive approach can enable it. She says DOJ independence has been damaged by political payback efforts and cites examples of alleged lawbreaking and self-dealing, including tariffs, Iran action, emoluments-style profiteering, and a proposed tax-related settlement. McQuade outlines “fixes” including restoring DOJ norms, extending ethics rules, and structural reforms like ranked-choice voting, independent redistricting, and overturning Citizens United, emphasizing elections and accountability, including reviving the election-interference case after Trump leaves office.

You can get McQuade’s great new book at Bookshop.org.

 Today Bill directs listeners to ACTBlue.com, your one stop shop for donating to the causes and candidates you support.  

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Iran War Over? Its Political Impact.

“I Love the Inflation.” Pain at the Pump.

UFC at the White House. GOP and Masculinity.

Platner vs. Collins in Maine. Sleeping Trump. 

With Jason Dick, Editor-in-chief at CQ-Roll Call, Amanda Becker, National Reporter for 19th News and Philip Bump, senior editor and columnist at Hearst Connecticut. 

Today's Bill Press Pod is supported by The Laborers" International Union of North America. More information at LIUNA.org

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Guest host Joe Cirincione interviews nuclear historian Alex Wellerstein about his book The Most Awful Responsibility: Truman and the Secret Struggle for Control of the Atomic Age, revisiting the run-up to Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the postwar fight between nuclear hawks and doves over who should control nuclear weapons. Wellerstein argues there was no single “decision” to use the bomb—plans were already underway under military control, Truman was largely excluded and poorly briefed, and he may not have known a second bomb was coming. After Nagasaki, Truman asserted presidential control to halt further use, motivated by horror at civilian casualties. They discuss debates over whether the bombings ended the war and Truman’s moral framing of nuclear weapons. The events of the past have clear echoes in today’s nuclear policy debates, and the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program and who is telling the truth about Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

You can check out his Nuke Map at nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/.

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GOP Begins to Try to Oppose Trump:

Ballroom. Weaponization Fund. War Powers. Pulte.

Resonating With Voters? California Governors’ Race.

Could Iowa Turn Blue? Maine Platner Troubles.

Democrats Narrow Path to Senate Majority.

The Politics of AI and Data Centers in the Midterms.

60 Minutes Under Attack.  

With Shirish Date, Senior White House Correspondent for Huff Post, Allan Smith, Politics Reporter for NBC News and Jessica Taylor, Senators and Governors Editor for The Cook Political Report.

Today's Bill Press Pod is supported by The United Food and Commercial Workers Union. More information at UFCW.org.

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Guest host Joe Cirincione interviews David Rothkopf. Rothkopf is the host of the Deep State Radio podcast. He is also Chief Global Affairs Columnist at the Daily Beast and was formerly the editor-in-chief of Foreign Policy magazine. He has taught at Columbia, Georgetown and Johns Hopkins universities. He was the Deputy Undersecretary of Commerce in the Clinton Administration and is the author of ten books including, most recently, Traitor: A History of Betraying America from Benedict Arnold to Donald Trump. His newsletter "Need to Know" is available at davidrothkopf.substack.com. Cirincione talks with Rothkopf about what he calls the unfolding catastrophe of Trump’s war on Iran, arguing the U.S. has repeatedly failed in Southwest Asia and that this conflict has achieved neither tactical nor strategic objectives, while causing greater-than-reported damage to U.S. bases and eroding trust in military and government accounts. Rothkopf says the war has weakened U.S. alliances, empowered Iran, Russia, and China, and further damaged America’s global standing, while also tying U.S. policy to an increasingly destabilizing Israeli government. The conversation then shifts to domestic consequences, with Rothkopf alleging Trump has monetized the presidency through pervasive corruption, including favors, pardons, and an IRS-related settlement he calls theft from the Treasury. Rothkopf remains hopeful but warns against complacency, argues accountability and progress are linked, and urges resistance ahead of 2026 elections.

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Paxton Crushes Cornyn in Texas. Can Talarico Turn Texas Blue?

Can Democrats Stay Focused? Will Cornyn Cross Trump Now?

Does Trump Care About the Midterms? House Vote on Iran Next Week.

Who’s Ahead in CA Governor Race? Trump’s DOJ Pursues His Critics.  

With Ginger Gibson, former Senior Washington Editor for NBC News and Cameron Joseph, Politics Editor at Politico, Ledge King, Managing Editor of The National Journal Daily and Maeve Sheehey, Congressional Reporter for Bloomberg Government.

Today's Bill Press Pod is supported by The American Federation of Government Employees. More information at AFGE.org.

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Bill interviews former Tennessee Republican Senator Lamar Alexander about his memoir, The Education of a Senator: From JFK to Trump, and the Senate’s decline from bipartisan, amendment-driven lawmaking to today’s gridlock. Alexander criticizes Republican senators for failing to check abuses of presidential authority, argues Trump’s purges of GOP incumbents risk costing him a Senate majority, and calls a DOJ compensation fund for January 6 participants “Trump suing Trump” and an outrage, given assaults on Capitol Police. He contrasts Senate pushback in Trump’s first term with silence in the second, including cuts affecting USAID/PEPFAR and NIH research. Alexander says January 6 undermined the Constitution, praises public service as the best way to help people, prefers being governor to senator, and expresses confidence in America’s resilience.

You can buy his book from Bookshop.org here.

Today Bill reminds us that one great way to support the Democratic candidate(s) is through ACTBLUE.org

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Bill talks with three top political journalists about the week's news.

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Bill Press interviews USA Today Washington bureau chief Susan Page about her book, "The Queen and Her Presidents," exploring how Queen Elizabeth II helped sustain the U.S.-U.K. “special relationship” through soft power over her 70-year reign. Page recounts the Queen’s meetings with 13 sitting U.S. presidents (plus Herbert Hoover and pre-presidency LBJ), including Truman steadying a nervous young Princess Elizabeth; her reverence for Eisenhower; a complicated early dynamic with the Kennedys; LBJ’s refusal to visit amid Vietnam tensions; Nixon’s fascination with royal pageantry and his thwarted desire for a state dinner during Watergate; Reagan’s bond with her over horses and later knighthood; the “talking hat” mishap with George H.W. Bush; Clinton-era distrust over British file searches; George W. Bush’s teasing cowboy-boot moment; the Obama-Michelle protocol “touch” incident; and Trump pressing her about her favorite president. Page argues the Queen, highly briefed and shrewd, quietly smoothed crises (Suez, Ghana, Falklands) and preserved long-term ties.

Get "The Queen and Her Presidents" book here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-queen-and-her-presidents-the-hidden-hand-that-shaped-history-susan-page/065fc3604a68c142?ean=9780063397392&next=t

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