Images from the James Webb Space Telescope have taken the internet by storm, and Declan is here with two guests who worked on it for a fascinating conversation about its long journey into reality. Dr. John Mather, a Nobel Prize-winning astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and the senior project scientist for the JWST, and Dr. Scott Acton, a physicist at Ball Aerospace and JWST’s Wavefront Sensing and Controls scientist, relay their exploits in achieving the most incredible and ambitious space images ever taken of thousands of galaxies, black holes, and dust clouds. And we have to ask: Are we alone in the universe, really?

Show Notes:

-First Images from the James Webb Space Telescope

-Dr. John Mather

-TMD: This Is Something That’s Going to ‘Change Our Understanding of the Universe’

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sarah, David, and Jonah reflect on the problem of inflation, which surged to 9.1 percent this week and look ahead to the presidential race in 2024. Will there be a showdown between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump to win the Republican nomination? Our hosts wrap up with a discussion of shifting coalitions within the political parties.

Show Notes:

-TMD: June’s Very Bad, No Good Inflation Report

-New York Times: Most Democrats Don’t Want Biden in 2024, New Poll Shows

-Axios: The great realignment

-The Dispatch: How Joe Biden Set Himself Up for Failure

-Pew Research Center: Religiously, nonwhite Democrats are more similar to Republicans than to white Democrats

-First Images from the James Webb Space Telescope

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Robert O’Brien, former U.S. ambassador and national security advisor to President Donald Trump, joins Klon Kitchen for a discussion of international politics from a bird’s-eye view. They discuss his time working for the former president, and the job of national security advisor. Plus: How can the United States protect itself from Chinese economic espionage? China’s threat to Taiwan? And what is the future of the war in Ukraine?

Show Notes:

-Uphill: The Showdown Over the China Competition Bill

-The Current: Ban TikTok Now

-The Current: Getting Smart on Intelligence

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sarah, Steve, Jonah, and David discuss two major events from the last week, including the chaos across the pond with the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s resignation on Thursday morning. Near Chicago, at least seven are dead and dozens injured after the July Fourth shooting at Highland Park, prompting questions about whether red flag laws really work. An update on Ukraine is also in order, as well as 2022 midterm implications for the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Show Notes:

-TMD: Boris Johnson to Resign

-Stirewaltisms: Boris Johnson and the Survival of the Silliest

-TMD: Tragedy in Highland Park

-Harvard Center for American Political Studies/Harris poll on Roe v. Wade

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tim Miller, writer-at-large at The Bulwark, joins Steve to talk about his new book: Why We Did It: A Travelogue from the Republican Road to Hell. Miller gives listeners a breakdown of the Washington, D.C. political culture and how it’s not what you might think. Plus: the book sparks a lively debate about the divides within the Republican Party, and whether there’s a way forward in the midst of the murk. Is there a place for center-right journalism to thrive?

Show Notes:

-Why We Did It: A Travelogue from the Republican Road to Hell

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonah and Chris Stirewalt join Sarah to talk about the political aftermath of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization as states begin to grapple legislatively with the post-Roe era. Will we reach a consensus on what life means in the womb? Our hosts also discuss the nature of Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony during the surprise January 6 select committee hearing and the risks with the Democrats’ 2022 election strategy.

Show Notes:

-TMD: Surprise Witness Blows January 6 Investigation Right Open

-The Dispatch: Donald Trump’s Fractured Inner Circle

-The G-File: Democrats Have a Funny Way of Expressing Concern About ‘Our Democracy’

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the audio version of the story documenting the creation and passage of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. The story is based on more than 21 hours of interviews with more than two dozen people involved, including lawmakers, staff, and human rights advocates.

Show Notes:

-PDF: How the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Became Law

-Introduction and Part 1

-Parts 2 and 3

-Parts 4 and 5

-Parts 6 and 7

-Parts 8 and 9

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sarah, Steve, and Jonah dive into a delightful political potpourri, tackling everything from the Biden administration’s possible gas tax holiday to immigration and the Georgia congressional runoffs. They also discuss the House Select Committee’s January 6 hearing on Tuesday, which produced some interesting testimonies.

Show Notes:

-TMD: “Biden’s Mixed Messages on Oil”

-Karl Rove in the Wall Street Journal: “Biden Got the Energy Market He Wanted”

-Capitolism: “Fueling Uncertainty”

-TMD: “How Trump and His Aides Pressured State Officials”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Remember when filling up your gas tank didn’t cost the same amount as your weekly grocery bill? Leslie Beyer, CEO of the Energy Workforce & Technology Council, and Skanda Amarnath, the Executive Director at Employ America, join Declan to discuss the oil and gas supply issues America faces. The Biden administration’s current approach to the sector doesn’t inspire much confidence prices will come down any time soon, but there are levers policymakers could pull to ease the pain at the pump.

Show Notes:

-Capitolism: “Fueling Uncertainty”

-Employ America Research Report

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s been another week of interesting primary elections, and Sarah, David, Jonah, and Andrew discuss what we learned from Texas and South Carolina. Then our hosts dive into the details of the framework for a possible Senate gun bill and whether the House will learn to settle for compromise, not perfection. Finally, what are the key takeaways from the January 6 House Select Committee so far?

Show Notes:

-The Sweep: The Value of a Trump Endorsement

-The Dispatch: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the January 6 Committee

-The Sweep: The Politics of the January 6 Hearings

-Uphill: The Way Forward for the Senate’s Gun Violence Bill

-The Dispatch: Can We Make Red Flag Laws Work?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices