The Nicole Sandler Show

Happy Friday, everyone! I got my YouTube channel back, so we are officially back in business.

Today's Emptywheel Friday with Marcy Wheeler of emptywheel.net is a big one. We're 11 days from Election Day, and Marcy breaks down what DOJ is up to in Alaska and California, a week of indictments and complaints landing right before the vote, and what she's seeing in the races that are moving toward Democrats, from Georgia to Mississippi to Texas.

We also talk about the Ohio ad that even some Republicans are running from, Elon Musk's money, Starlink and Ukraine, and what could happen between Election Day and January.

Before you go: if you haven't voted yet, make a plan. Then go a step further and knock doors, make calls, or give someone a ride to the polls. Marcy and I both said it, and I mean it.

No show next Friday because I'm moving, but we'll be back the Friday after the election. Watch the full conversation on YouTube, or catch it wherever you get the podcast.

And please share this with a friend who needs a reality check and a little hope this week.

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Elizabeth Lee, the Democratic nominee in Arizona's 5th Congressional District, is back on the show 12 days before Election Day. A year ago she was an underdog nobody gave a chance in an R+10 district. Today, she says, her opponent has lost 19 points of ground even while outspending her 10 to 1, and the race is a toss-up.

We talk about what she hears when she knocks on doors across all 173 precincts: not scandal, but grocery prices, gas, housing, healthcare, and water. We dig into her opponent Mark Lamb's absence from the district and the debates, the reporting that's followed him, and why she says the "extreme" label he pins on her doesn't fit someone who shows up for everybody.

I vent about renting in a market where rents are up about 50% in a year, and Elizabeth explains how corporate landlords and private equity are turning tenants over for profit. She shares the story of how decades of being dismissed by doctors led her to become a nurse, and why she believes a healthier society starts with paying the people who actually deliver care. She also lays out what she sees as the real cost of the war in Iran, why she thinks every House seat matters, and the simple ask she's making of listeners: find three people who haven't voted yet and talk to them!

Tomorrow, it's another Emptywheel Friday with Marcy Wheeler, and we might just be back on YouTube, finally!

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Happy Wednesday! Driftglass and I did our weekly hour today, and it's my most enjoyable of the week. We talked about No Kings, the Arizona and Illinois races, and the Republicans who've suddenly decided they were "independent" all along (spoiler: we aren't letting them off the hook). Also, we finally found a house. So, I'll be out next week -- packing, moving, and rebuilding my studio. I promise some good shows to run while I'm out. Charlie has yet to be convinced about the new pool.

The YouTube situation is still a mess, as the damn hackers seem to have gotten back in to my channel again today! So in the meantime, you can catch me on Twitch and LinkedIn for video and at nicolesandler.com for audio. If you haven't voted yet, please do. It's the best feeling to get that "your ballot has been counted" email.

I should be back tomorrow, hopefully with the next Congressional Representative from AZ05, Elizabeth Lee. 💙

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It's Monday, October 19th, and I'm still locked out of my YouTube channel, so this week the show lives on Twitch, Vimeo, and the audio stream at NicoleSandler.com and NicoleSandlerStream.com.And, of course, the podcast can always be found here. On today's show, I update you on the hack, the move, and the logistics of doing this with no producer.

Then I'm joined by clinical psychologist Dr. Vincent Greenwood, author of Puppet on a String: Trump Is Ruled by an Ominous Psychological Condition. Dr. Greenwood explains why he says the right term is clinical psychopathy rather than narcissism, walks through the three core trait clusters (impulsivity, remorselessness, and a drive to dominate), and addresses the Goldwater rule and whether anyone can assess a public figure from a distance. We also play Trump's Bullhead City riff about the "five words" test and ask what that cognitive screening exam really is, and what it isn't.Things we already knew but somehow, the self-described "genius" occupying the White House doesn't.

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It's Friday, so national security journalist Marcy Wheeler of emptywheel.net is back to connect the dots on anoother week that felt like a year. We start with the White House's new press secretary and her rocky debut, (the news broke about 30 minutes before air time that she's OUT!) then dig into the raid on Rep. Ilhan Omar's home less than 60 days before an election. Marcy explains why the timing, the speech-and-debate issues, and the track record of the agents behind the affidavits all raise serious questions.

We also cover DOJ's escalating fight with California over voter records and ballots, the smear campaign against James Talarico in Texas and why Texas may be the most consequential state of the cycle, and a stunning pile of corruption stories surrounding Trump's circle, from Kimberly Guilfoyle to a cement contract to the White House chief of staff's job security. Then it's Ukraine, Starlink, Putin's diesel claims, and Iran.

I also share a little good news: my ballot was verified and counted, and the Fort Hood execution won't be livestreamed. And we found a house and got the keys yesterday! And we talk about Saturday's No Kings events and why turnout is the whole point.

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I apologize for being MIA for the past two days, but I do have a good excuse.. Actually, a few! Hackers took my YouTube channel and my main Google account and my house hunt is down to the wire, but the show must go on, and Driftglass is here to help. Of course, I got the audio stream back up on my website and working again, except it didn't today.

I started the show with the Marsh Family's song about Ukraine, then dig into the reports that Starlink went dark on Ukrainian drones just before Russia hit the power plants in Kyiv (and all indications point to Musk doing it on purpose!). We talk about Trump's self-declared ceasefire, the Russian diesel deal, the war with Iran, and why the 25th Amendment and impeachment are a long shot, which leaves voting as the real lever. Driftglass lays out the four ingredients of the lifeboat Republicans will build once Trump's power fades, and we both push back on the tone police.

I tell the hack story start to finish, we try to get DirecTV's AI agent to hear me (she can't), and we get into the Trump tiger-video posts, the Illinois governor debate, and Trump's rally today in Arizona.

Find Driftglass at driftglass.blogspot.com and the Professional Left Podcast at proleftpod.com.

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Marcy Wheeler of emptywheel.net joins me after landing back from Vilnius, Lithuania, where she attended the Disinfo conference. She explains how two panels naming the United States, one on U.S. disinformation and one on attacks on researchers, drew the State Department's attention, and why she sees the whole effort as part of a plan to export fascism through big tech.

We also cover four oil-related scandals from the past two days, Hegseth's plan to livestream an execution, the Bronx shooting involving a DHS agent, the Supreme Court's new term, and the latest on the Broadview 6 case and DOJ's look at Cassidy Hutchinson. Plus election resources, a Wisconsin book recommendation, and a reminder that No Kings Day is next Saturday, October 17.

Marcy's work has no paywall, so if you value it, throw her some support at emptywheel.net.

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Lisa Graves is back on the show, and so much has happened while she was away. Lisa is my go-to legal expert and the author of Without Precedent: How Chief Justice Roberts and His Accomplices Rewrote the Constitution and Dismantled Our Rights. In her day job she leads a watchdog group, but on her own time she appears here as a private citizen, speaking for herself.

We start with the Roberts Court and how its immunity ruling and shadow docket decisions have emboldened Trump, then go back to Florida in 2000. Lisa walks through what Bush v. Gore really did, why Clarence Thomas should have recused himself, and how three of today's justices were involved in the recount fight. From there we follow the thread to today: the long-running voter fraud myth, error-prone databases, DHS data-sharing, a postal service under scrutiny, and the U.S. refusing foreign election observers.

We also talk about what to do right now: if you vote by mail, fill out your ballot the day it arrives and get it back as soon as you can. Don't wait.

Plus a new Mangy Fetlocks song, Trump's remarks in Nebraska, and an honest review of my freshly baked avocado bread (spoiler: it's not good). We're also still hunting for a house, so if you know a place in the Phoenix area with a pool, call me.

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It's Wednesday and Driftglass is in the house. We start with a satirical "betting app" ad about Ken Paxton that made both of us laugh out loud, then dig into the Texas Senate race and James Talarico's campaign.

Then: the bribes. Trump is promising $5,000 checks if Republicans win, $500 for some ACA exchange enrollees in red states, and $90 for Medicare beneficiaries who meet a long list of conditions. Driftglass explains how he sees the fear-and-greed playbook, and why he thinks fear has stopped working. We also play rally audio of Trump basically suggesting that Iran take out Los Angeles and San Diego, and that it would be "a small price to pay! The Lincoln Project made a great ad out off it

From there, Dr. Strangelove, Fail Safe, and a conversation about AI agents acting without permission. On the third anniversary of October 7th, I talk about the attack, my frustration with how some on the left are responding, and the question I still can't answer: what should Israel's response be? Driftglass shares where he lands, and we talk about what ordinary people can actually do in a world like this one.

Plus Illinois politics, my Denny Hastert mix-up (corrected!), Edgar Allan Poe, the Alan Parsons Project, and what it's like to look at rental houses when rents have jumped about $500 a month in a year.

Coming up: Lisa Graves returns tomorrow for the first week of the Supreme Court term, and Marcy Wheeler is here Friday.

Find Driftglass at driftglass.blogspot.com and on The Professional Left Podcast (proleftpod.com).

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Alex Lawson, executive director of Social Security Works, flew to Dallas to confront a House Budget Committee field hearing, and what he found was something else entirely. The public was kept out (three people got in), seniors and people with disabilities waited in 103-degree heat, and the hearing took place on billionaire Harlan Crow's property, in a replica of the U.S. Capitol. (That's truly frightening!)

Alex breaks down what the proposed commission is, why backers want to vote on it in the lame duck, and why he calls it a commission to cut Social Security. Then he tells us what to do: vote early, show up for No Kings on October 17, and sign the petition at socialsecurityworks.org.

Also in this episode: a new song from the Marsh Family, a look ahead to tomorrow's conversation about AI, the death of the Epstein whistleblower who exposed Howard Lutnick's ties, and TikTok's warning labels on Aaron Parnas.

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