Who Is?

By iHeartRadio + NowThisNews Politics

Who Is? episodes

January 28, 2020Who is Jared Kushner?
Jared Kushner, husband of Ivanka Trump, is probably the most powerful person in the United States who we know the least about. The grandchild of immigrants who escaped the Holocaust, Kushner is the beneficiary of his family’s meteoric rise, and the quintessential rich kid: before his donation-based admission to Harvard, Kushner hobnobbed with politicians and managed segments of his family’s vast real estate holdings. In graduate school, he bought a newspaper--and ran it into the ground--and a billion-dollar Manhattan office tower--which, until the election of President Donald Trump, nearly bankrupted the family business. But once his father-in-law is elected president, Kushner finds himself--or maneuvers his way into--the middle of everything, whether it’s building the wall, devising a solution to the Israel-Palestine imbroglio, or negotiating a trade deal with China. Featuring Andrea Bernstein, author of the newly released book American Oligarchs: The Kushners, the Trumps, and the Marriage of Money and Power.
Andrea Bernstein, co-host of the Trump Inc. podcast from WNYC and ProPublica, and author of American Oligarchs: The Kushners, the Trumps, and the Marriage of Money and Power
Daniel Golden, Senior Editor at ProPublica and author of The Price of Admission: How America's Ruling Class Buys Its Way into Elite Colleges—and Who Gets Left Outside the Gates
Vanessa Grigoriadis, host of Tabloid: The Making of Ivanka Trump and author of Blurred Lines: Rethinking Sex, Power and Consent on Campus

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40 min
January 21, 2020Who is Mohammad bin Salman?
How did Saudi Arabia get away with the brutal murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the kidnapping and alleged torture of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, and even 9/11? How does it get away with war in Yemen and human rights violations at home? Oil, and the wealth that oil has brought about. On the first international episode of Who Is, Sean Morrow explores the 34-year-old trillionaire in charge of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin Salman, and the story of a monarchy that is using its wealth to secure its global legitimacy--and expand its influence--through investments in Silicon Valley notables like Twitter, Uber, and Slack. Featuring Agnès Callamard, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extra-Judicial Executions, who investigated Khashoggi’s 2018 killing.
Hala Aldosari, Robert E. Wilhelm Fellow at the MIT Center for International Studies
Agnès Callamard, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extra-Judicial Executions and Director, Global Freedom of Expression, Columbia University
Steven A. Cook, Eni Enrico Mattei Senior Fellow for Middle East and Africa Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. His latest book is False Dawn: Protest, Democracy, and Violence in the New Middle East

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35 min
January 14, 2020Who is Mark Esper?
In the United States, war is big business. The Department of Defense, led by Secretary Mark Esper since 2019, has a budget of $738 billion this year. And while many of those dollars pay for those who serve in the armed forces and the maintenance of a nuclear arsenal, a significant portion of that budget will go to the military-industrial complex, which President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned Americans about in his farewell address in 1961, and which, prior to his appointment, Secretary Esper represented in Washington as a lobbyist. With the question of war in the air after the United States--in a targeted drone strike on Iraqi soil approved by President Donald Trump--assassinated the second most powerful man in Iran, Qasem Soleimani, who stands to profit? On this episode of Who Is, Sean Morrow dives deep into Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and the military-industrial complex.
Kate Brannen, Editorial Director of Just Security
Jack Detsch, Pentagon Correspondent of Al-Monitor
Aaron Mehta, Deputy Editor and Senior Pentagon Correspondent of Defense News

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41 min
January 07, 2020Who is Nancy Pelosi?
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is the most powerful woman in the United States. The first woman to lead the House of Representatives--and third in line to the presidency--she’s passed landmark legislation like the Affordable Care Act; has been the legislative partner, or adversary, of three presidents; and is playing a decisive role in the impeachment of President Trump. All that, and she didn’t even hold elected office until she was 47, after she had raised five children. Whatever your politics, this is Nancy Pelosi’s moment. Join Sean Morrow for this not-to-be-missed look at the woman who is, arguably, the leader of the democratic party.
John Lawrence, former Pelosi Chief of Staff; Visiting Professor at the University of California's Washington Center; author of The Class of '74: Congress after Watergate and the Roots of Partisanship
Paul Kane, Senior Congressional Correspondent and Columnist at the Washington Post
Stephanie L. Young, former White House Senior Public Engagement Advisor in the Office of Public Engagement

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44 min
December 17, 2019Who Is Fox News?
On this episode of Who Is, host Sean Morrow explores the backstory of Fox News and its founders: media savant Roger Ailes and Australian billionaire Rupert Murdoch. A sophisticated mix of media and politics, what we know as Fox News is the result of a decades-long conservative effort, and has become a defining force in American politics and presidential elections. Featuring scholars who study conservative media and movements--A.J. Bauer, Reece Peck, and Khadijah White--as well as Caroline Heldman, who appeared on the network hundreds of times, and whose harrowing recollections of the behavior of major personalities echo in contemporary dramatizations like Bombshell and The Loudest Voice, among others.
GUESTS:
A.J. Bauer, Assistant Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication at New York University
Reece Peck, Assistant Professor at the City University of New York, Staten Island
Khadijah White, Assistant Professor of Journalism and Media Studies at Rutgers University
Caroline Heldman, Professor of Politics at Occidental College

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43 min
December 10, 2019Who Is Bernie Sanders?
Sen. Bernie Sanders is America’s most prominent self-described democratic socialist, and he’s running for president--as a democrat. Born in Brooklyn, Sanders arrived in Vermont via Chicago, where he was first elected Mayor of Burlington in 1981 by a margin of 10 votes. And from the climate crisis to income inequality to his Medicare For All plan, Sanders has been a consistent progressive voice ever since, as mayor, congressman, and finally, senator. But has Sanders had a measurable impact on our democracy? Does he know how to ‘play the game’? On this episode, host of Who Is, Sean Morrow, talks to the Vermonters who know “Bernie” best, including another former candidate for president: former Vermont governor Howard Dean.
GUESTS:
Howard Dean, 2004 Democratic Candidate for President; former Chairman of the Democratic National Committee (2005-2009); Governor of Vermont (1991-2003)
Alan Abbey, Director of Internet and Media at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, Israel
Bob Kinzel, of Vermont Public Radio
Dave Levinthal, editor-at-large at the Center for Public Integrity

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44 min
December 03, 2019Who Is Joe Biden?
Former Vice President Joe Biden has been in politics for like, ever. Elected to the Senate nearly fifty years ago in 1973, Biden was Obama’s Vice President and is now running for president himself (and not for the first time). He’s been praised for his public service, criticized for his record on race, and noticed for his sunglass selection. On this episode, host of Who Is Sean Morrow unpacks Biden’s long career, for the stories you need to know about Uncle Joe.

GUESTS:
Ryan Grim, The Intercept
Natasha Korecki, Politico

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38 min
November 26, 2019Who is Elizabeth Warren?
Sen. Elizabeth Warren is running for president. A mother who had her first child at 22, Warren vaulted from Oklahoma to the halls of Harvard and on to the Senate. On this episode of Who Is, host Sean Morrow takes you beyond the 2020 hype for the stories that you need to know about the woman who wants to take on President Trump.

GUESTS:
Sheelah Kolhatkar, of The New Yorker
James Pindell, of the Boston Globe
Alex Thompson, of Politico

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38 min
November 19, 2019Who Is John Roberts?
Who Is the most powerful person in America? Perhaps Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Roberts. Appointed for life, Justice Roberts could cast the decisive vote—defining the law of the land—when it comes to issues like abortion, gun control, LGBTQ rights, and things you don’t even realize touch your everyday life. Presidents and Senate power breakers might get the press, but for the power behind the throne, look for the man in the black robe.
GUESTS:
Amy Howe, of Howe on the Court and host of podcast SCOTUSTalk. Co-founder of SCOTUSblog
Dahlia Lithwick, of Slate, she hosts the Amicus podcast.
Mark Joseph Stern, of Slate, and author of “American Justice 2019: The Roberts Court Arrives”

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38 min
November 12, 2019 Who Is Betsy DeVos?/Who Is Erik Prince?
Billionaire and Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and Erik Prince, founder of Blackwater are siblings whose decisions have shaped America’s youth and defense systems. Are they genius strategists like the Lannisters, or bungling buffoons like the Bluths? On this episode of Who Is, find out how these powerful siblings obtained the positions they have (hint: money), and what the privatization of public education and the privatization of the military have in common. This episode features Katherine Gallagher, an attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, who represented Iraqis wounded and families of Iraqis killed by Blackwater in Baghdad.

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39 min

About Who Is?

From the publisher's feed

“Who Is?,” an original podcast from NowThis, explores the biographies of influential people in the United States and beyond. Now in a third season, “Who Is?” presents deep…