The DSR Network

Original Air Date: 6/9/25

Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to California is not just about immigration and Los Angeles - it is a damning step in his long-lasting effort to to exploit and deploy the U.S. military to act as his own personal police force. Miles Taylor, former DHS Chief of Staff who endured persecution for his criticisms of the Trump administration, joins Norm Ornstein and David Rothkopf to discuss the disastrous implications of Los Angeles and explain why “people should be more worried about this than anything they’ve seen so far in the second Trump administration.” Tune in here.

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Original air date: November 17, 2025

Anxiety is rising among President Trump’s staunchest allies that he’s politically lost his way. The New York Times ⁠reports⁠ that his advisers fear he’s alienating key voters in his own coalition. And CNN ⁠reports⁠ that some Republicans are openly warning the White  House that the GOP is in trouble in the midterm elections. Meanwhile, Trump just erupted in a ⁠furious new tirade⁠ about the Jeffrey Epstein fiasco. In it, he ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Epstein’s ties to Democrats. Bondi immediately ⁠did his bidding⁠. That Trump has now formally turned the Justice Department loose in this way shows his anger over Epstein has hit new highs. Some Republicans ⁠say all these things⁠ are related: Trump is so consumed with Epstein that he’s letting everything else go to hell. So we talked to analyst Michael Cohen, who has a ⁠good new piece⁠ on Trump’s doldrums on his ⁠Truth and Consequences Substack⁠. He explains why Epstein is undoing Trump, how the MAGA coalition is fracturing, how deeper structural factors are working against him, and how it will all impact the midterms. 

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Original Air Date: 3/26/25

Signalgate is an intelligence travesty. But the problems extend beyond the masterclass in how not to handle sensitive government secrets. Former CIA officer Marc Polymeropoulos joins David Rothkopf and Riley Fessler to break down this stunning mistake from our most senior government officials and why the cascading effects will be even worse. 

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Original air date: November 14, 2025

President Trump is ⁠angrily urging⁠ Republicans not to join Democrats in pushing for release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. But all of a sudden, with the discharge petition set to force a House vote, things are rapidly going in the wrong direction for Trump. In a surprise, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene ⁠now predicts that the number⁠ of Republicans who will vote to release the files will be “a lot higher” than anyone expects. If the GOP defectors hit truly sizable numbers, as suddenly looks likely, it will be a bombshell with terrible implications for Trump, ramping up the pressure across the board in any number of ways. But the process that’s about to unfold is complex. So we talked to Democratic Representative Yassamin Ansari of Arizona, a high profile voice throughout this saga. She explains what it’s like to talk personally with Epstein’s victims, why Republicans are finding it harder to resist pressure, what Democrats will do next to keep the story alive, and why this will keep getting worse for Trump until the truth comes out in the end.

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Original Air Date: 3/5/25

Trump is in a very generous mood, at least if you’re Vladimir Putin. Between the public dragging of President Zelensky culminating in Tuesday night’s address to congress, it’s clear that Trump favors his man in Moscow. Mission Implausible host John Sipher joins Rosa Brooks and David Rothkopf to break down why the US is getting a raw deal. 

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Original air date: August 28, 2025

This week, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker ⁠delivered an extraordinary takedown⁠ of President Trump over his deployment of the military in U.S. cities. Trump then ⁠exploded⁠ about Pritzker’s impudence, calling the governor names and instructing him to bow down and beg for his “HELP” in fighting crime. Trump has ⁠threatened⁠ ⁠twice⁠ to occupy Chicago no matter what the city’s residents and their elected representatives think about it, another window into his seething anger. In this standoff, Pritzker did something unusual: He communicated with his constituents from the heart, vowing to use all his power to protect them from Trump’s authoritarian takeover. Rather than let Trump pretend he cares about crime, Pritzker cast Trump as the primary threat to his state’s people. We talked to Brian Beutler, who has a ⁠great new piece⁠ on his substack, ⁠Off Message⁠, taking stock of Pritzker’s response. We discuss how Pritzker is shrewdly reading the moment in a way many Democrats are not, why Trump is vulnerable on crime, and what the punditry is getting so wrong about all of it. 

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Original Air Date: 3/3/25

What happens when the United States effectively switches sides on the global stage? When allying with Russia upends decades of foreign policy around the world? And what dangers does the Trump-Hegseth administration pose for global nuclear security? Joe Cirincione and Jon Wolfsthal join David Rothkopf for a tough conversation about the future of the established international order and the significant nuclear security risks posed by the Trump Administration. 

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Original air date: July 29, 2025

President Trump just offered some ⁠bizarre new ramblings⁠ about the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. But he undermined himself: He claimed to know about elite Democrats and liberals who had visited Epstein. But that just raises the question that won’t go away: If this is what the Epstein files would reveal, then why isn’t Trump ordering their release? Every time Trump says such things, he wrecks his own Big Lie: That the Epstein scandal is a Democratic hoax that actually implicates Democrats even as he won’t release the files. Meanwhile, Elon Musk ⁠just endorsed the idea⁠ that Trump might try to pardon Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell in exchange for exoneration. Musk knows Trump’s machinations here are a major point of weakness. We talked to Jennifer Rubin, editor-in-chief of ⁠The Contrarian⁠, who has ⁠a good new piece laying out⁠ why Trump should be panicking over this scandal. We discuss the absurdity of Trump’s biggest Epstein deceptions, why they’re unsustainable for Trump, and why it all underscores the urgency of a Democratic victory in 2026.

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Original Air Date: 6/22/25

The moment has finally arrived: America has bombed Iran. As the dust settles, we’re left with more questions than answers about what the attack achieved and what comes next. Thankfully, Jon Wolfsthal, Gen. Mark Hertling, and Steven Cook join David Rothkopf to provide clarity on what this unprecedented moment means. 

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Let’s face the facts: we’re in a period of sheer insanity. Far-right politics is becoming increasingly normalized by our radical administration. Corporations are cozying up to the far-right and consolidating around Trump. Our president is in clear cognitive decline. But we can end the madness. Author of The Left Hook Substack Wajahat Ali joins David Rothkopf to explore the turmoil of this moment and look for the lights at the end of the tunnel.

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Original Air Date: 2/28/25

There’s no way to sugarcoat it — the Trump/Zelensky meeting was a disaster. The betrayal of Ukraine is confirmed, and the administration is past the point of no return. Doug Lute, Rosa Brooks, and Marc Polymeropoulos join David Rothkopf to break down this train wreck of a meeting and what it means for the future of US foreign policy.

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Public perception of the US-Israel relationship has swung wildly in recent years. With a growing number of Americans more critical of the Israeli government than ever, it’s high time for Democrats to have an open and honest debate about the future of US policy in the region. Amb. Daniel Shapiro joins David Rothkopf to break down this thorny issue and what difficult choices lie ahead. 

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It’s been a disastrous year in American politics. Donald Trump is going around naming everything after himself and proclaiming everything is great while the economic realities for millions of Americans continue to sour. Is there anything to be optimistic about as we approach 2026? David Rothkopf and Norm Ornstein take stock of our current situation and look forward to the new year.

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On the DSR Daily for Tuesday, we cover Trump’s announcement of a new fleet of battleships, turmoil at CBS news, a bold new move from Mike Pence, and more. 

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From U.S. military operations in Venezuela to the erosion of trust in NATO, the Trump administration’s foreign policy leaves us in a precarious gepolitical position going into 2026. What can we expect from the fallout of these choices heading into the new year? Former Lieutenant Generals David Lute and Mark Hertling join David Rothkopf and Rosa Brooks to take stock of U.S. foreign policy as we close out 2025.

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On the DSR Daily for Monday, we discuss the appointment of a special envoy to Greenland, a potential ObamaCare subsidies extension, a combative Turning Point USA convention, and more. 

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On the DSR Weekly Wrap-up for December 19th, we discover the new name for the Kennedy Center, the EU committing to a huge loan to Ukraine, TikTok signing a deal to avoid a US ban, and more. 

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The Trump administration’s executive order targeting state regulations on artificial intelligence is a gift to big tech. They say it eliminates a tangle of regulations that stifle innovations, while critics say gives companies freedom to do whatever they please. So what’s the truth? Adam Conner of the Center for American Progress joins David Rothkopf to explore the relationship between federal and state regulations, the economic impacts of AI, and the importance of steering AI development towards a positive future for all of us. 

This material is distributed by TRG Advisory Services, LLC on behalf of the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in the U.S.. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, DC.

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On Thursday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the world that the Kennedy Center has now been renamed after President Donald Trump. Her announcement of this great honor was bizarrely obsequious, mimicking phrases Trump himself uses and slathering him with great flattery. We think it’s no accident that this comes as Trump’s decline is worsening both physically and politically: On Friday, he seemed to nod off amid his escalating physical deterioration. And a brutal Fox News poll finds his approval on the economy cratering, huge majorities saying economic conditions are bad, and even majority opposition to his mighty boat bombings. We talked to Moira Donegan, a columnist for The Guardian, who has a great new piece on Trump’s decline. We discuss how Trump’s minions are compensating for his deterioration with increasing cult worship, why his physical and political decline are connected, and what it means that the world is now looking beyond Trump.

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Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle were tragically murdered. Their son, who has history of struggles with addition and mental health, is currently the lead suspect. Across the country, mental health issues have and continue be poorly treated and often stigmatized, when we desperately need compassionate policy reform. On this week’s episode of Words Matter, Norm Ornstein and David Rothkopf discuss Rob Reiner’s artistic and social justice legacy, the inadequacies of our nation’s mental health policies, and how we can address political reform.

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On the DSR Daily for Thursday, we discuss Trump’s prime-time address, the House passing a healthcare bill without ACA subsidies, an $11bn weapons sale to Taiwan, and more. 

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In a blow to House Speaker Mike Johnson, four House Republicans joined Democrats to force a vote next year on an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies. Anger is spiking in both directions: Representative Mike Lawler, one of those four, ripped Johnson’s effort to block that vote as “absolute bullshit!” But more MAGA-fied allies of President Trump like Representative Eric Burlison excoriated those rebels for “stabbing the rest of the party in the back.” This is the worst of both worlds for Republicans: They are mired in infighting, yet despite this push by centrists, the subsidies will still expire, bringing political trouble next year. Indeed, Johnson seemed unnerved as he gamely insisted he has “not lost control.” We talked to Grace Segers, who writes well about Congress and policy as a staff writer for The New Republic. We discuss the deeper roots of intra-GOP tensions, how this all might play in the midterms, and the deeper human toll that the expiring subsidies will unleash.

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Trump’s promise of a blockade on Venezuela is an unprecedented escalation. But behind all the bluster and rattled sabres, is there more to the story? Rosa Brooks, Ed Luce, and David Sanger join David Rothkopf to explore the root of the Trump administration’s hate-hate relationship with Nicolas Maduro, the likelihood of a boots on the ground war, and why they just can’t seem to stop bombing boats. 

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On the DSR Daily for Wednesday, we discuss Trump’s order of a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers, an expanded travel ban, a telling Vanity Fair shoot of the administration, and more. 

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White House chief of staff Susie Wiles gave numerous interviews to Vanity Fair that were way too candid about, well, everything. That prompted press secretary Karoline Leavitt to offer some rancid spin: She went full cult in praise of Trump. She dissembled lamely about “fake news.” And she raged at the publication for not including enough of Trump advisers’ praise for him—as if it’s obliged to do that! We think Wiles’ most interesting revelation was her open admission that Trump’s prosecutions are indeed about “retribution.” Zeteo reporter Asawin Suebsaeng has a piece out today reporting on a new turn in this saga: That confession will complicate Trump’s prosecution of enemies, because it gives them ammo to show that his targeting of them is vindictive. We talked to Suebsaeng about the damage this will do to Trump’s corrupt prosecutions, why Leavitt and others praise Trump so obsequiously at difficult moments, and what all this says about our slide into authoritarianism.

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On the DSR Daily for Tuesday, we cover the President’s vile comments on Rob Reiner, attacks on more supposed drug boats, Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the BBC, and more. 

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President Trump offered a disgusting response to the horrific death of Rob Reiner and his wife, narcissistically insisting they’d died of “Trump Derangement Syndrome” while delusionally claiming world-historical successes for himself. What surprised us was MAGA’s retort to this. Marjorie Taylor Greene offered a remarkably heartfelt reply to Trump, and the contrast between her measured tone and his unhinged, megalomaniacal cruelty had the effect of quietly humiliating him. Other MAGA figures piled on as well. We think this captures a deeper set of divisions inside MAGA, and indeed, it comes as other MAGA figures are now warning that the base is drifting away from Trump. Even Trump’s own pollster is sounding the alarm. We talked to New Republic senior editor Alex Shephard, who’s been writing well about Greene and MAGA. We discuss why Trump’s hold is weakening over his base and MAGA influencers alike, what Greene recognizes about Trump’s weakness that other Republicans don’t, and how this will likely get worse for Trump, to the benefit of Democrats. 

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On the DSR Daily for Monday, we break down the tragic shooting at a Hanukkah event in Sydney, the election of far-right Kast in Chile, the conviction of a pro-democracy advocate in Hong Kong, and more. 

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President Donald Trump keeps ranting furiously that “affordability” is a Democratic scam. But suddenly he’s now promoting video of himself talking about how devoted he is—really, truly—to doing something about costs (while angrily blaming Democrats for it). And that admits costs are a problem on his watch. Republicans want him to stabilize his message on affordability, but by lurching wildly back-and-forth, he’s sabotaging it. And even the very MAGA chair of the Republican National Committee is admitting the GOP faces a “looming disaster” in the midterms. Other MAGA figures are also sounding the alarm. There’s a reason Trump can’t escape this conundrum: His policies actually are making things a lot worse. We talked to economist Rob Shapiro, who has a good piece at Washington Monthly spelling this out. We discuss the true nature of the Tump-GOP conundrum, the deeper reasons Trump is so vulnerable on the economy, and why it’s all likely to get worse right through 2026.

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On the DSR Weekly Wrap-Up for December 12, we cover Indiana Republicans rejecting Trump’s gerrymandered map, the House overturning Trump’s executive order on bargaining rights, the Justice Department failing again to indict Letitia James, and more. 

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It’s (almost) been one year of the Trump administration. Aside from, well everything else, how has US artificial intelligence policy evolved? Former Deputy National Cyber Director Camille Stewart Gloster joins David Rothkopf to grade the administration’s 2025 on AI, the state of public-private collaboration, the talent drain in the US, and more.

This material is distributed by TRG Advisory Services, LLC on behalf of the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in the U.S.. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, DC.

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President Trump erupted Thursday in a wild rage on Truth Social in which he appeared to blame pollsters for failing to register his world-historical success. “When will Polls reflect the Greatness of America at this point in time?” he fumed. Notably, this comes just after Democrats scored big wins in the Miami mayoral race and elsewhere, which analysts see as a sign that the Latino vote is shifting hard away from Trump. Not coincidentally, a new poll has Trump’s approval on immigration plunging below 40 percent. We talked to William Saletan, staff writer at The Bulwark, about his great new piece on Trump’s open agenda of ethnic persecution. We discuss the relationship between Trump’s racism and his unpopularity, what the latest GOP losses show about the collapse of the MAGA coalition, what to make of the GOP’s open embrace of full-bore ethnonationalism, and why it’s (somewhat) heartening that the public is rejecting it so decisively.

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The Republican Senate just voted against extending the Affordable Care Act. Twenty million people could lose their healthcare coverage soon, and the Republicans have yet to present a viable healthcare plan. Norm Ornstein and David Rothkopf discuss this MAGApocalypse, the GOP implosion, and the dangerous consequences of a lame-duck Trump.

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AI’s huge energy needs are getting enormous media attention. AI’s potential to make energy more secure, clean and affordable is getting less attention. What would it take for AI’s impact on the energy system to be net-positive? What would that mean exactly? What examples help show the potential for AI to make positive contributions to the energy system? Join host David Sandalow as he discusses these topics and a new report called From Paradox to Progress: A Net-Positive AI Energy Framework with one of the report’s lead authors -- Ginelle Greene-Dewasmes, AI and Energy Lead at the World Economic Forum.

https://www.weforum.org/publications/from-paradox-to-progress-a-net-positive-ai-energy-framework/

https://icef.go.jp/wp-content/themes/icef_new/pdf/roadmap/icef2025_roadmap.pdf

https://icef.go.jp/wp-content/themes/icef_new/pdf/roadmap/icef2024_roadmap_AI-Climate-Second-Edition.pdf

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On the DSR Daily for Thursday, we discuss the US seizing an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, Trump’s new $1m immigration visa scheme, Kristi Noem’s impending House hearing, and more. 

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Donald Trump’s National Security Strategy is another nail in the coffin for U.S. foreign policy. Sadly, and unsurprisingly, it furthers MAGA’s anti-European ideology and only serves to benefit Russia, China, and other illiberal governments around the world. Ivo Daalder, President of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and former U.S. Ambassador to NATO, joins David Rothkopf and Rosa Brooks to discuss the concerning anti-European sentiment in Washington and the implications of this “strategy.”

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On the DSR Daily for Wednesday, we discuss huge Democratic victories in Miami and Georgia, dystopian social media disclosure rules for foreign tourists, Brad Lander launching a congressional bid, and more. 

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In today’s episode, we talk to Representative Jamie Raskin about President Trump’s corrupt scheme to gerrymander the 2026 midterms—and about Raskin’s new ranked-choice-voting plan. Trump’s rage is growing as Indiana Republicans keep resisting his pressure to gerrymander their state, and he exploded in a wild Truth Social rant over the weekend. Yet for now, state Senate Republicans appear dug in. Worse for Trump, other Republicans are now beginning to argue that his scheme is backfiring. Why? Because Trump is hurting Republicans so badly that those whose seats are made somewhat less safe by gerrymandering might now be at risk. Raskin sees an opening to offer another way: Today he’s introducing a new bill that would require ranked choice voting in congressional races across the country. He tells us about the proposal, discusses how Trump’s gerrymandering chaos shows why ranked-choice is a better alternative, and urges Democrats to fight GOP tactics with hardball of their own. 

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On the DSR Daily for Tuesday, we discuss the administration’s huge bailout for farmers, the Supreme Court considering an end to limits on party spending, the first social media ban for minors in the world, and more. 

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Pete Hegseth’s defense of the killing of two men clinging to an incapacitated boat is falling apart on multiple fronts. Lawmakers who saw video of this horror are letting it be known that the two men were waving before their execution, suggesting they were either surrendering or beckoning for rescue. And other leaks confirm that the boat very well might not have been bound for the United States to begin with. Meanwhile, some Republicans are abandoning him or acquiescing to legislative language that denies Hegseth funding until video is made more widely available to lawmakers, suggesting his position is weakening. We talked to Tess Bridgeman, co-editor-in-chief of the Just Security website and former national security lawyer in the Obama administration. She explains why Hegseth’s position is untenable, why the entire bombing campaign is illegal, why it’s critical that oversight pin down President Trump’s role, and what the prospects are for true accountability later. 

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On the DSR Daily for Monday, we discuss the case before the Supreme Court on federal firings, China’s incredible trade surplus, a fiery interview with Marjorie Taylor Greene, and more. 

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Under persistent questioning about President Trump’s unfitness for office at his latest cabinet meeting, White House press secretary offered one of the ugliest defenses we’ve ever seen. She singled out Trump’s vile racist attack on Somalis, and praised it as an “epic moment” that put an “exclamation point” on that meeting “for the whole world to see.” Never mind that Trump appeared to fall asleep there, and in that rant about Somalis, called them “garbage” who “contribute nothing” and suggested he wants them all out of our country, even though many are American citizens. We talked to Vedant Patel, a former State Department and White House official. We discuss what it means that Leavitt went full cult in giving White House sanction to his ugly bigotry, why the targeting of Somalis is so ghoulish, and what Trump really intends when he threatens denaturalization and “remigration,” as he is now doing.

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On the DSR Weekly Wrap-Up for December 5, we cover the administration’s newly released National Security Strategy, the Supreme Court allowing the use of Texas’s gerrymandered map, the fallout from Signalgate, and more. 

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Would you use an AI as your stockbroker? Maybe not. Yet more and more individuals and firms are using AI tools to aid in investing. But will AI-powered investment democratize the practice, or ensure that wealth disparity grows as wealthier individuals use better models? MIT professor Andrew Lo joins David Rothkopf to explore the relationship between artificial intelligence and investment and why a cautious approach could yield incredible results. 

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Tuesday was a surprisingly difficult victory for the Republicans in red Tennessee. The speical election’s electoral results have a lot to tell us about the increasing tensions and discontent within the Republican party. Norm Ornstein and David Rothkopf are back to discuss the fragile state of GOP leadership, the absurd levels of political corruption within MAGA, and the implications Tuesday’s results could have for 2026 and beyond.

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Democrats have signaled that they’re running in the 2026 midterms on “affordability.” This week, Trump unleashed several angry, wild-eyed rants about their “affordability” message. In one, he raged that this message is a “con job.” In  another, he seethed that it’s a “Democrat scam.” He’s angry because these attacks are working, and because he knows it means the GOP’s midterm woes are getting much worse. And right on cue, in this week’s special election in Tennessee that Republicans won, the vote shifted 13 points to the left relative to 2024. That shocked Republicans into a panic: Representative Elise Stefanik openly fretted that Republicans are “underperforming.” Senator Ted Cruz urged Republicans to sound the “alarm.” And a senior GOP strategist called the result a “flashing red warning.” We talked to Amanda Litman, the president of Run for Something, which is recruiting candidates across the country. She digs into the special election results to explain why they’re good news, details how Democrats can keep the momentum going through 2026, and reflects on what could still go wrong.

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Are we really going to war with Venezuela? Just how bad is Hegseth’s war criminal ethos? Can Europe pull itself together to save Ukraine and itself? These are the questions that keep us up at night, but our friends Ed Luce and Rosa Brooks join David Rothkopf to try and give us answers. Will their answers help us rest easy? Tune in to find out!

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On the DSR Daily for Wednesday, we discuss a new pause on immigration applications for 19 countries, a new immigration crackdown in New Orleans, a Democrat loss in the Tennessee special election, and more. 

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Suddenly, on many fronts at once, President Trump and his allies are demonstrating how central sheer sadism is to his agenda—and to how MAGA conducts politics. Trump just unleashed a hateful rant to the media about Somali immigrants to set the stage for a coming campaign to arrest them en masse. Meanwhile, MAGA excitement over the Caribbean Sea bombings is spiking: Pete Hegseth tweeted out a deeply sadistic cartoon celebrating these extrajudicial killings. A prominent MAGA personality just declared her desire to see bombing victims “bleed out.” And MAGA figures are raging at reporters who broke the story of the follow-up strike killing two men in the water. We talked to Paul Waldman, who has a good piece on his Cross Section Substack about all of this. We discuss the centrality of hate and bloodlust to Trump-MAGA politics, how the administration’s social media strategy utilizes sadistic imagery, and why the public backlash to all these depravities is heartening. 

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How dead is old media? As more and more traditional outlets are swallowed by powerful individuals and corporations, it’s hard to determine what’s worth reading anymore. Are the New York Times and Washington Posts of the world still worth paying attention to? Jeff Jarvis and Dan Froomkin join David Rothkopf to explore these questions and determine who you can really trust in the era of new media. 

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