The DSR Network

Original air date: July 30, 2025

You’ve probably heard that President Trump and the European Union have reached a ⁠big trade deal⁠. This is being widely portrayed as a “win” for Trump and a big humiliation for the EU. But it’s not at all clear what we gain as a country from this deal. Surely the phrase “Trump won” has to mean more than, “Trump gets to claim a personal victory and the media is required to play along,” right? We talked to economist Paul Krugman, who has a ⁠great new piece⁠ on ⁠his Substack⁠ casting a lot of much-needed skepticism on the deal. Krugman explains in extensive detail what a sham it is: He argues that Europe’s concessions are fake, that the deal won’t spur a lot more manufacturing in the U.S., and that its burden will fall heavily on MAGA, making it a “scam on his voters.” Krugman also discusses why the media seems incapable of reporting clearly and accurately on the magnitude of Trump’s incompetence and delusions. 

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Original Air Date: 6/25/25

When it comes to foreign policy news this week, our cup runneth over. Between the confusing narratives surround the US strikes on Iran and a strangely successful NATO summit in The Hague, the administration has had its hands full. Thankfully, David Rothkopf is joined by Gen. Doug Lute, Marc Polymeropoulos, Kori Schake, and Rosa Brooks to make sense of the news and help us understand what comes next. 

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Original air date: September 17, 2025

President Trump seems even more angry at the media than usual. His lawyers ⁠just filed a lawsuit⁠ against The New York Times that First Amendment lawyers are ⁠dismissing⁠ as a total joke. The suit, however, is also chock full of angry rants that appeared dictated by Trump himself. And he announced it with a ⁠Truth Social tirade⁠ that boiled with fury. Meanwhile, Trump himself snapped directly at reporters in strange ways, ⁠hitting one with a bizarre threat⁠ and engaging in a ⁠bizarre dominance display⁠ over the other. This comes as a ⁠new poll⁠ from the Economist reveals shockingly low support for Trump among independents, a key metric for gauging political strength—or weakness. We talked to Paul Waldman, who ⁠recently argued⁠ on his Substack, ⁠The Cross Section⁠, that Trump’s powers of persuasion are failing him. We discuss how Trump both despises and relies on the media, the real reasons for his mounting anger, and how it’s all revealing big cracks in his authoritarian project. 

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Original Air Date 4/2/25

It’s Liberation Day in America according to the administration, but what exactly are we being liberated from? The police state is growing, democratic institutions are being eroded, and we’re about to enter a destructive era of tariffs. What’s not to love? Rosa Brooks and Ed Luce join David Rothkopf to break down the latest. 

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Original air date: October 14, 2025

President Trump’s allies are suddenly raging over the October 18th “No Kings” protests. MAGA Mike Johnson and ⁠MAGA-fied⁠ Representative Steve Scalise are ⁠angrily sliming expected attendees⁠ as ⁠America-haters⁠, antifa, Marxists, and terrorists. Other GOP figures have ⁠done the same⁠, with ⁠one hinting⁠ that the National Guard should crack down on them. This unanimity of messaging about terrorists means it’s all almost certainly being coordinated by Stephen Miller. Yet it’s backfiring: Democrats and rally organizers are ⁠using it to galvanize attendance⁠, which will likely succeed. Robert De Niro ⁠amplified⁠ the call to turn out, inspiring ⁠more anger⁠ on Fox News. Indeed, the GOP demonization of legitimate protests itself ratifies the “No Kings” message. We talked to Jill Lawrence, who ⁠writes well for The Bulwark⁠ on Trump’s hatred of blue America. We discuss why large legitimate protests infuriate Trump-MAGA, why the correct response to their smears is to turn out in force, and why that’s likely to happen. 

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Original Air Date: 10/1/25

Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth held a part-pep rally, part-declaration of war on the U.S. Constitution in Quantico on Tuesday. Former Lieutenant Generals Doug Lute and Mark Hertling join David Rothkopf and Ed Luce to discuss Trump’s speech in Quantico, America’s security posture under this administration, and more.

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Original air date: September 5, 2025

At a Senate hearing on Thursday, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. got massacred by harsh questioning from Democrats and Republicans. They ⁠called out⁠ his anti-vax views and ⁠condemned⁠ his decapitation of our public health system. But Matt Gertz of Media Matters ⁠noticed something funny⁠: Fox News’ coverage bent over backward to portray him as pro-vaccine, as someone working to make vaccines available to Americans, not trying to restrict them. We think that reveals just how shaky President Trump’s political position has become amid RFK’s reign of destruction. Fox accidentally demonstrated just how deeply split Republicans are over this ongoing anti-vax fiasco—and how desperate Trump’s propagandists are to cover up the truth about it. In this segment, Gertz relates more of the evasions he saw on Fox, explains how Fox is struggling to navigate many conflicting currents inside MAGA, and predicts RFK’s lunacy is hurtling us toward a much bigger reckoning.

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Original Air Date: 6/9/25

Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to California is not just about immigration and Los Angeles - it is a damning step in his long-lasting effort to to exploit and deploy the U.S. military to act as his own personal police force. Miles Taylor, former DHS Chief of Staff who endured persecution for his criticisms of the Trump administration, joins Norm Ornstein and David Rothkopf to discuss the disastrous implications of Los Angeles and explain why “people should be more worried about this than anything they’ve seen so far in the second Trump administration.” Tune in here.

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Original air date: November 17, 2025

Anxiety is rising among President Trump’s staunchest allies that he’s politically lost his way. The New York Times ⁠reports⁠ that his advisers fear he’s alienating key voters in his own coalition. And CNN ⁠reports⁠ that some Republicans are openly warning the White  House that the GOP is in trouble in the midterm elections. Meanwhile, Trump just erupted in a ⁠furious new tirade⁠ about the Jeffrey Epstein fiasco. In it, he ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Epstein’s ties to Democrats. Bondi immediately ⁠did his bidding⁠. That Trump has now formally turned the Justice Department loose in this way shows his anger over Epstein has hit new highs. Some Republicans ⁠say all these things⁠ are related: Trump is so consumed with Epstein that he’s letting everything else go to hell. So we talked to analyst Michael Cohen, who has a ⁠good new piece⁠ on Trump’s doldrums on his ⁠Truth and Consequences Substack⁠. He explains why Epstein is undoing Trump, how the MAGA coalition is fracturing, how deeper structural factors are working against him, and how it will all impact the midterms. 

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Original Air Date: 3/26/25

Signalgate is an intelligence travesty. But the problems extend beyond the masterclass in how not to handle sensitive government secrets. Former CIA officer Marc Polymeropoulos joins David Rothkopf and Riley Fessler to break down this stunning mistake from our most senior government officials and why the cascading effects will be even worse. 

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