The World Unraveled with Brandon Kenig

On Part 2, career coach Diana Alt and I break down the timeline in the Missouri redistricting saga and analyze the key rulings and legal jeopardy for the Missouri Secretary of State. We also highlight our favorite U.S. Senate races this fall as we speculate on the outcome of the midterm elections.

Twenty-five years after the 9/11 terror attacks, Diana Alt joins Brandon Kenig to revisit the events of that defining day and explore how they continue to shape American life, foreign policy, and public memory. From the immediate aftermath to the decades of war, surveillance, and cultural shifts that followed, this episode reflects on where we've been and where we're still going as a nation. A thoughtful, wide-ranging conversation on a tragedy that changed everything.

This week, I discuss the impact and historical significance of the center-left wins in Canada and Australia's national elections as direct repudiations of Trump's hostile foreign policy and aggressive tariff actions as Trump creates a coalition of allies opposed and willing to fight back. As Trump's approval ratings nosedive to the lowest point recorded by a president at this point in his term in more than 80 years, I analyze how the chaos and backlash will only grow with Moody's announcement that they are downgrading the U.S. credit rating from the AAA rating our nation has held for more than 100 years.

I dissect the impact of the Democrats' blowout victory against Elon Musk in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election the reducing the margins of solid red Republican Florida congressional districts by half in this past Tuesday's election and what it means for energy and momentum heading into the 2026 midterms. Also: why Sen. Cory Booker's record-breaking, marathon, 25-hour filibuster speech matters, and how the absurdity of the Trump Tariff rates will cause severe economic harm downstream on prices for vehicles and other products.

The fallout continues from this week's Signalgate revelations as the administration gets tied up in semantics and contradictions as polling shows Americans view this as a greater security lapse than any involving politicians in the past decade. Brandon speculates on how many classified conversations were convened over Signal, whether other individuals were mistakenly included, and who may have compromised these officials. Canadian elections are scheduled for April 28th, and Brandon highlights how Trump's threats and tariff war have given new political life to the Liberals. Lastly, Brandon summarizes the impact of the special congressional elections in Florida and the Wisconsin state supreme court race next Tuesday.

This week, Brandon highlights the Trump administration's shameless audacity in pausing intelligence sharing with Ukraine and cutting off weapons and equipment. Brandon also reads the powerful statements by former Polish President and freedom fighter Lech Walesa and current French Senator Claude Malhuret as they call out Trump and America for turning its back on the world order it helped create and abandoning allies in favor of despots like Putin. Lastly, Brandon points to Trump's alarming, attempted deportations of permanent residents and visa holders and a disregard for due process and the rule of law as a sign of broader action to detain and deport those the government considers political enemies. Brandon ends on a note of optimism by relaying some inspirational words from government public servant Leslie Knope from PARKS AND REC.

Brandon records live from the Principles First Summit in Washington, D.C. and speaks to the bomb threat from the Proud Boys and disruption by one of their leaders before lambasting the Trump Administration changing sides in the war on Ukraine: embracing Russia and sidelining Ukraine and our European allies. Brandon discusses the Munich Security Conference, the American bilateral talks with Russia, and the only option to stop Trump from completely capitulating to Putin and abandoning support of Zelensky.

This week, Brandon zeroes in on Musk's breach of critical database systems at federal agencies, his unilateral (and illegal) dismantling of those agencies, and who will blink first - congress or the courts - in curtailing his unchecked power. Brandon also dives into Musk's motivations as well as those of Trump's and the administrations - not the same, but all converging to the same outcome.

After a four month break, we're back! Brandon explains how he took several months off to join the 2024 campaign effort against Trump and took time to recharge and relax before taking on the Trump era, Part 2. Brandon starts by analyzing the recent constitutional crisis in South Korea as an example of how one nation protected democracy when under attack and held its leader accountable, while the U.S. failed in the same mission. Additionally, Brandon dissects three actions Trump took in his first 10 days that set the tone for executive and constitutional overreach (birthright citizenship repeal, federal funding freeze, and DOJ purge). Additionally, Brandon previews his focus, including themes and topics for the next 60-90 days.

After a vacation hiatus, Brandon returns to discuss the impact and fallout of what may be the only debate between Harris and Trump, the impact of Trump and Vance's untrue racial panic on a small town in Ohio, the indictment against Russia Today (RT) for election interference with prominent MAGA influencers, and the first installment of a new segment, "Around the World in 60 Seconds," where Brandon quickly recaps key events from all corners of the globe.