During his first term, President Trump and Jeff Bezos openly sparred with each other. During this second administration, though, it seems like Bezos is trying to endear himself - and his companies - to the White House. So what changed?

Guest: Dana Mattioli, reporter for the Wall Street Journal and the author of The Everything War: Amazon’s Ruthless Quest to Own the World and Remake Corporate Power.

Special thanks to David Maraniss.

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The National Institutes of Health is the primary engine of biomedical research around the world, which makes the Trump administration's dramatic cuts to its grant program both confusing and potentially incredibly harmful.

Guest: Katherine J. Wu, staff writer for the Atlantic.

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The economy that Donald Trump inherited from Joe Biden had low unemployment, slowing inflation, and a growing GDP. So what is he trying to achieve by imposing heavy tariffs on our allies and trading partners? 

Guest: Stephanie Ruhle, NBC business analyst and the host of MSNBC's The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle.

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Ethan Oberman, and Rob Gunther.

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Mass deportations were a big part of Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and now in office, he’s making good on the wide-sweeping aspects of his policy, though the numbers aren’t yet massive. Most recently, he’s justified these actions through the 1798 Alien Enemies Act which only applies during wartime. When a judge attempted to halt the deportations to evaluate this use of the rarely-utilized law, Trump called for him to be impeached. 

Guest: Michelle Hackman, U.S. immigration policy reporter in The Wall Street Journal's Washington bureau. 

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Ethan Oberman, and Rob Gunther.

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Educational, entertaining, and about as universally beloved as any part of American life, how did Sesame Street find itself cutting staff and searching for a new broadcasting home?

Guest: David Kamp, author of Sunny Days: The Children's Television Revolution That Changed America

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Ethan Oberman, and Rob Gunther.

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Last week, Democrats averted a government shutdown—by voting for a MAGA-friendly Continuing Resolution, which may have just handed even greater power to Trump. Why?

Guest: Josh Marshall, editor-in-chief of Talking Points Memo

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Ethan Oberman, and Rob Gunther.

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With a Trump-friendly Supreme Court and a contentious relationship with the press, could Donald Trump follow through on his 2016 campaign goal of making it easier to sue media companies for libel—and imperil America’s free press?

Guest: David Enrich, business investigations editor at the New York Times and author of “Murder The Truth.”

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From television, to a royal wedding…and back to TV, Meghan Markle is carving out her own niche.

Guest: Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay, cohosts of Slate’s ICYMI.

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme and Rob Gunther.

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The public’s anger towards Elon Musk and DOGE has found an outlet in the form of Musk’s car company Tesla. How long can the company put up with a sinking reputation and stock price? 

Guest: Pranshu Verma, tech reporter for the Washington Post. 

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Podcast production by Evan Campbell and Patrick Fort.

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DOGE cuts have already hit Social Security, with offices closing and employees fired. With Elon Musk calling the program a “Ponzi scheme” and saying entitlements are “the big one to eliminate,” this may be just the beginning of the unraveling of the trusted safety net that millions of Americans rely on. 

Guest: Joe Perticone, political reporter at The Bulwark.

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Ethan Oberman, and Rob Gunther.

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