The DSR Network

When we think of intelligence, we most often think of state organizations like the CIA. Yet the private sector has a robust intelligence community that keeps on growing. Lewis Sage-Passant joins Marc to shine a light on the overlooked world of private intelligence, and why it has become more critical than ever.

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On the Monday edition of the DSR daily, we discuss the Israeli military ordering an evacuation of Rafah, meetings between Emmanuel Macron and Xi Jinping in Paris, severe flooding in Kenya, and more.

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In his much-discussed Time interview, Donald Trump threatened to use the military to carry out mass deportations in a second term. The proposals he offered are appalling on their face. But beyond that, by regularly using vicious tropes about undocumented immigrants and other domestic enemies within, Trump is trying to acclimate voters to the ugliest forms of authoritarian, dehumanizing language. We talked to Maria Teresa Kumar, the president of Voto Latino, about a new effort she’s launching with other Hispanic leaders to alert voters to the grave threat Trump poses—before it’s too late.

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Original Air Date: May 19, 2023

In a special two part series of pods, we turn to some of our favorite observers and analysts of America today to ask why we have ended up where we are, divided, with corrupted institutions, half the country seemingly committed to a path of ignorance and hate. On this, the second in the series, we discuss these issues with one of the country's wisest and often wryest commentators, author and host of the Democracy-ish podcast, Wajahat Ali. It's a great, incisive, and vitally important discussion. Don't miss it.

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Original Air Date: May 18, 2023

In a special two part series of pods, we turn to some of our favorite observers and analysts of America today to ask why we have ended up where we are, divided, with corrupted institutions, half the country seemingly committed to a path of ignorance and hate. On the first part, we discuss these issues with two of the most distinguished columnists in America, EJ Dionne and Jennifer Rubin, both of the Washington Post. It's a great, incisive, and vitally important discussion. Don't miss it.

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On the Friday edition of the DSR Daily, we discuss Turkey halting trade with Israel, UK Conservatives suffering a big defeat in local elections, China’s new lunar probe, and more.

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Unexpectedly, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been making a huge number of appearances all over right wing media of late. Trump advisers are loudly warning that this threatens to take voters from him, helping President Biden. But we’re skeptical: It’s still more likely that in the end RFK hurts Biden more than Trump. And there are cynical reasons why right wing media sources might be boosting RFK Jr. right now. We chatted with Matt Bennett, a co-founder of the Democratic group Third Way and a shrewd observer of U.S. party politics, about the true RFK effect, how RFK is functioning as a stalking horse for Trump, and what MAGA media might be doing to help along the scam.

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Campus protesters have been vilified, accused of being terrorists, and attacked. But why has there been such a strong and polarized reaction to current demonstrations taking place at universities across the country? Emily Tamkin and Wajahat Ali join David Rothkopf to consider what makes this issue so divisive, and why campus protests have been a cornerstone of US politics for decades. 

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On the Thursday edition of the DSR Daily, we cover US allegations that Russia is using chemical weapons in Ukraine, the Arizona Senate striking down the 1864 abortion law, giant pandas returning to the San Diego Zoo, and more.

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A new consensus is settling in among political analysts: Donald Trump’s poll numbers look unexpectedly formidable in states like Arizona and Georgia, which means President Biden’s most likely path to victory requires winning Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. And yet Trump will almost certainly lose if he can’t win one of those three. That’s why Democrats can stop Trump if they beat him in Wisconsin. We talked to Ben Wikler, the chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party, who explains how years of painstaking organizing is laying the groundwork to defeat Trump by thwarting his designs, first and foremost, in the Badger State.

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