European leaders met for an emergency summit in London Sunday to shore up support for Ukraine and wrest control of ceasefire talks with Russia. The rushed gathering came on the heels of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s disastrous Oval Office meeting Friday, where he was publicly berated by President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance for being ‘disrespectful’ and ‘gambling with World War III.' While the Oval Office blowup shocked the Western world, Kremlin officials praised Trump for his 'commonsense' approach to ending the war. Michael McFaul, the former U.S. ambassador to Russia under President Obama, talks about how Trump’s actions benefit Russia and leave the U.S. weaker.

And in headlines: Israel halted all aid to Gaza as the first phase of the ceasefire expires, Elon Musk and the DOGE bros sent federal workers another email asking them to justify their jobs, and Trump signed an executive order making English the official language of the U.S.

Show Notes:

• Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8
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WAD is taking a break from the daily horror show that is political news to talk about the scandals plaguing another American institution: Hollywood. Specifically, the swirling controversies around this year’s Oscars race, which culminates Sunday at the annual Academy Awards ceremony. From ‘Emilia Perez’ going from a sure-fire Best Picture winner to cinematic albatross, to the use of AI in ‘The Brutalist,’ there’s been something for everyone to get mad at this year. Sam Sanders, host of KCRW’s ‘The Sam Sanders Show’ and ‘Vibe Check,’ explains why the Oscars are bad for America.

And in headlines: Pro-misogyny influencers the Tate brothers headed to Florida after Romania lifted their travel ban, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited the White House to keep up the European pressure campaign on President Trump over Ukraine, and Defense Department leaders were given a deadline to identify transgender service members for removal from the force.

Show Notes:

• Check out Sam's Oscars episode – https://tinyurl.com/38x8c595
• Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8
• Support victims of the fire – votesaveamerica.com/relief
• What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
• Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/
• For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

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Tax season is upon us, with millions of Americans preparing to file lots of complicated paperwork with the Internal Revenue Service to figure out how much they owe the federal government. Potentially complicating things this year, though, is the Trump administration's decision to fire thousands of IRS workers, just as all that complicated paperwork starts rolling in. Economist Lindsay Owens, executive director of the economic policy think tank Groundwork Collaborative, explains what tax cuts we can expect from Republicans' forthcoming legislation.

And in headlines: A pair of federal agencies directed government departments to prepare for mass layoffs, the U.S. records its first death from measles in a decade, and Jeff Bezos says The Washington Post's op-ed page will focus on 'personal liberties and free markets.'

Show Notes:

• Check out the Groundwork Collaborative work –groundworkcollaborative.org/
• Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8
• Support victims of the fire – votesaveamerica.com/relief
• What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
• Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/
• For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

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Right now, it feels like President Donald Trump and billionaire ‘first buddy’ Elon Musk are holding all the political cards. While we’re out here just trying to figure out if our local library will still carry books about the Civil Rights Movement, Musk is busy trying to fire every government worker he can find while Trump pitches a golden pathway to citizenship for millionaires. It’s… a lot. And Democrats are understandably upset about it. But what can they actually do about it? Journalist Matt Yglesias, who writes the ‘Slow Boring’ newsletter on Substack, talks about steps we can all take to expand the Democratic Party’s tent.

And in headlines: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy plans a trip to the White House, the Trump administration has a bad day in court, and new data shows U.S. consumer confidence is plummeting.

Show Notes:

• Check out Matt's work – https://www.slowboring.com/
• Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8
• Support victims of the fire – votesaveamerica.com/relief
• What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
• Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/
• For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

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As House Republicans prepare to begin voting on their big policy blueprint this week, one of the programs they're targeting for major cuts is Medicaid. The federal healthcare program covers around 80 million Americans, mostly people living near or below the poverty line. While President Donald Trump has endorsed the House's budget plan, he has also said that Medicaid is 'not going to be touched.' Sarah Kliff, investigative health care reporter for The New York Times, explains what the proposed Medicaid cuts would mean for actual people.

And in headlines: Trump had an awkward meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron over Ukraine, Trump officials continued to sow confusion over an email demanding federal workers justify their jobs, and the president picked right-wing podcaster Dan Bongino as the next FBI deputy director.

Show Notes:

• Check out Sarah's work – https://www.nytimes.com/by/sarah-kliff
• Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8
• Support victims of the fire – votesaveamerica.com/relief
• What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
• Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/
• For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

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The Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, wrapped up Saturday. While billionaire Elon Musk ate up a lot of the attention by wielding an actual chainsaw on stage to symbolize his attacks on government waste (and subtlety), the annual conservative conference featured a host of other speakers with far-right ties. That included people like Jack Posobiec, a right-wing influencer who was recently invited to travel with members of President Donald Trump’s cabinet. Elle Reeve, CNN reporter and author of the book ‘Black Pill: How I Witnessed the Darkest Corners of the Internet Come to Life, Poison Society, and Capture American Politics,’ talks about how the far-right got a foothold in the U.S. government.

And in headlines: Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he’ll step down as president of Ukraine if it means his country can join NATO, President Donald Trump ousted the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Musk issued another ultimatum to federal workers.

Show Notes:

• Check out Elle’s Article – https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2025/02/trump-musk-alt-right-fascism-psychological-war.html
• Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8
• Support victims of the fire – votesaveamerica.com/relief
• What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
• Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/
• For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

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Thursday marked one month since President Donald Trump officially took office. Since then, he’s signed dozens of executive orders. And the fallout from all his unilateral actions is starting to become clear. The administration’s funding cuts for foreign assistance have already hit millions of people receiving aid around the world through USAID, as well as many American businesses and nonprofits who do business with the agency. Mackenzie Knowles-Coursin, who resigned in protest as deputy head of communications in East Africa for USAID this month, describes the toll Trump’s cuts are taking on vulnerable people in Kenya.

And in headlines: The Senate confirmed Kash Patel as the new head of the FBI, former Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell announced he won’t run for re-election, and the administration slashes deportation protections for around 500,000 Haitian migrants.

Show Notes:

• Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8
• Support victims of the fire – votesaveamerica.com/relief
• What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
• Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/
• For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

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President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traded public barbs on Wednesday, one day after top White House and Russian officials met in Saudi Arabia to discuss ways to end the war in Ukraine. Zelenskyy said Trump is living in a 'web of disinformation,' while Trump falsely accused Zelenskyy of being a 'dictator without elections.' With the three-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of its neighbor coming up next week, the Trump administration's decision to sideline Ukraine and Europe in favor of direct talks with Russia underscores the ways the president is throwing traditional U.S. alliances out the window. Julia Ioffe, Washington correspondent at Puck News and a long-time observer of Russian politics, explains what the U.S. selling out Ukraine could mean for the world order.

And in headlines: A top DOJ officials defended the decision to drop corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams in court, Trump signed an executive order to expand his control over independent regulatory agencies, and Civil Rights groups sues the Trump Administration over its anti-DEI and anti-trans actions.

Show Notes:

• Check out Julia's work – puck.news/author/julia-ioffe/
• Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8
• Support victims of the fire – votesaveamerica.com/relief
• What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
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• For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

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President Donald Trump has a problem with journalists, particularly those who do or say things he doesn’t like. His latest fight is with the Associated Press, which refuses to go along with the president’s decision to unilaterally rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. But he’s also going after CBS’s “60 Minutes” for how it edited an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris and the Des Moines Register over a late-election poll it published showing Trump losing Iowa in November (he didn’t). Katherine Jacobsen, the Committee to Protect Journalists’ program coordinator in the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean, talks about the risks to press freedom under the Trump administration.

Also in headlines: Trump officials continued to move closer to Russia during peace talks in Saudi Arabia over ending its invasion of Ukraine, the White House says billionaire Elon Musk is not running the Department of Government Efficiency, and another top federal prosecutor in D.C. resigned.

Show Notes:

• Learn more about The Committee to Protect Journalists – cpj.org
• Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8
• Support victims of the fire – votesaveamerica.com/relief
• What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
• Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/
• For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

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President Donald Trump said on the campaign trail that he wants to end the Department of Education and return teaching “to the states.” And now that he’s in office, he’s making good on that promise. The administration recently sent billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency bros to Education Department headquarters to cut contracts, staff and grants. Trump has also said he hopes his pick to head the department, Linda McMahon, ultimately puts herself out of a job. Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Teachers Federation, talks about what destroying the Department of Education could mean for kids.

And in headlines: DOGE eyes the Internal Revenue Service as its next target, Mexico’s President says she could sue Google for using ‘Gulf of America’ on its maps, and European leaders meet to discuss their options around the war in Ukraine.

Show Notes:

• Learn more about American Federation of Teachers – www.aft.org
• Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8
• Support victims of the fire – votesaveamerica.com/relief
• What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
• Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/
• For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

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