The DSR Network

Congress is broken. Justice is gone. Corruption runs rampant in our government, and our most vile politicians get off scot-free. Meanwhile, many still view the Democrats negatively, and this perception is going to present significant hurdles for the midterms this year and beyond. What is missing within the Democratic party? What is the most effective strategy here to save our democracy? Tune in as David Rothkopf and Norm Ornstein discuss why we need scorched earth Democrats and where we go from here.

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President Trump and the GOP are in a growing panic over ICE. Trump’s advisers are sinking into recriminations. Republican officials are publicly admitting that his immigration agenda “seems to be not working” and that the GOP is “losing” the political battle over it. Others are suggesting that Alex Pretti’s killing was “murder” and that it’s time to “recalibrate.” Yet MAGA figures are pulling in the other direction. Media Matters has a good roundup: Many are urging Trump to escalate, with white supremacist Nick Fuentes labeling Pretti a “race traitor.” MAGA doesn’t want to let the GOP even appear to moderate. We talked to Jennifer Rubin, editor-in-chief of The Contrarian, who has a new piece urging Democrats to seize this moment. We discuss how MAGA’s white nationalism has landed “moderate” Republicans in a trap, why this provides an opening to divide the Trump coalition, and what Democrats can do to demonstrate that they side with the American people against Trump-MAGA’s violent lawlessness. 

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Original air date: March 4, 2026

In case you haven’t heard, Trump decided we need to go to war with Iran. What is the strategy here? Does our President even have one, or are we at the mercy of an idiot guided solely by ridiculous impulses? Joe Cirincione, Jon Wolfsthal and Ed Luce join David Rothkopf to discuss the current situation in Iran, what this means for the US, and why we’re even there in the first place.

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Original air date: April 17, 2026

In today’s episode, George Conway argues that as improbable as it might seem right now, congressional Republicans will ultimately decide they have no choice but to remove Donald Trump from office before his term ends. Conway, the former GOP lawyer-turned-Trump-critic, is running for Congress as a Democrat. One of his ads is a montage of all the horrors that Trump has unleashed, followed by Conway’s promise to be a different kind of Congressman in response. In our conversation, Conway explains why he thinks Republicans will eventually decide Trump has to go and talks about how he’ll push for impeachment immediately if elected. Conway also lays out an accountability agenda that includes impeaching many cabinet officials, criminal referrals for high-level Trump administration officials, and extensive other reforms designed to prevent anything like this from ever happening again. 

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Original air date: March 20, 2026

The war in Iran is off to a terrible start — and it looks like it’s going to get even worse. The only person that really seems to be happy about all this is Benjamin Netanyahu, who was finally achieved the regional conflagration he’s been dreaming of. Alon Pinkas joins David Rothkopf to examine what got us to this point, why Netanyahu has wanted this for so long, and what could be coming next. 

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Original air date: April 29, 2026

In today’s episode, economist Paul Krugman lays out an expansive case that Donald Trump holds a losing hand in the war with Iran. Krugman argues that Trump can’t seem to admit that the Strait of Hormuz problem has cornered him. Krugman also details why the situation could get worse, if Iran continues holding out and constraints on oil supply drive the global economy into recession. As Krugman puts it, this will keep getting uglier for Trump until he “swallows his pride” and accepts that he doesn’t hold the cards. This builds on the ⁠piece Krugman posted on his Substack⁠ arguing that time is on Iran’s side. Gas prices just ⁠hit a new high⁠, and Republicans ⁠quietly fear⁠ their midterm prospects are darkening due to what Trump has unleashed. Krugman takes us through these dynamics, notes that Trump is obsessing over his ballroom in search of a win, and explains why this all could tailspin further for the GOP.

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Original air date: March 6, 2026

Donald Trump is clearly declining – mentally, physically, and at the polls – and he knows it. What does this mean for the rest of Trump 2.0? What does the dismissal of Kristi Noem and appointment of Markwayne Mullin tell us about loyalty and competence within the administration? Mary Trump joins David Rothkopf and Norm Ornstein to discuss our sunsetting president’s personal and political downfall.

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Original air date: August 13, 2026

By now you’ve heard that when Donald Trump left the NATO summit in Turkey last month, he was clandestinely transferred from Air Force One to an alternative plane to avert a credible Iranian threat. It appears many of his cabinet members were left on Air Force One. Now new leaks make the story look darker: It turns out Trump brought several of the aides who are personally closest to him on the safe alternative flight. This, even as he left numerous journalists on the original plane, which effectively turned them into a decoy that might have been targeted. None were informed of the operation. It all perfectly captures Trump’s contempt for the media, so we talked to Margaret Sullivan, author of the excellent press-critiquing Substack “American Crisis.” She explains why this saga is so irregular, why the media faces a moment of uncommon challenges, and why journalists often won’t directly confront authoritarianism, even when it gravely threatens their own institution.

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On the DSR Daily Live for August 28, Jen Welch of I've Had It podcast joins us to discuss the lies coming out of the White House, the DeSantis administration misappropriating funds, Trump renaming Lake Ontario "Lake America," and more

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This week, Donald Trump aggressively highlighted a long screed from a MAGA influencer that sharply criticized the GOP for failing in all kinds of ways. This is aimed like a laser at depressing the Trump base. Making this matter more, Trump keeps saying stuff like this himself: He recently declared that his voters are not angry at him, they are angry at Republicans. Translation: Trump voters should hold the GOP accountable for failing him. This directly undercuts the GOP midterm strategy of campaigning on...the achievements of the GOP Congress. Note that Mike Johnson keeps attempting that strategy, only to see Trump undercut it again and again. We think this could actually matter, and to parse out why, we talked to Jennifer Rubin, editor-in-chief of The Contrarian. We discuss why Trump’s attacks on the GOP really could make a huge difference in hard demographic terms, why Trump’s political project requires him to keep doing this, and what Democrats must do now to avoid overconfidence and close out strong. 

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