American Friction
American Friction is a UK podcast about US politics, produced by Podmasters. It aims to explain the latest news and big issues in American politics without causing frustration. Hosted by Jacob Jarvis, Chris Jones, and Nikki McCann Ramirez, the show features interviews with experts and commentators. New episodes are released every Friday and Monday.
Episodes
Trump and Sweaty Pete need more war money!
Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth are desperate for more money for the Iran war. The defence secretary has been sweating away as he’s grilled in Congress – does anything they stay stand up to scrutiny? Nikki, Chris and Jarv discuss.
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Celebrities vs. Trump – with special guest Molly Jong-Fast
The host of Fast Politics Molly Jong-Fast joins Jarv for a discussion on why celebrities need to speak out more politically. Plus, they discuss some of the broader issues for America, and what matters to voters in the US right now.
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ICE killings: A new normal in Trump’s America
ICE has carried out yet more public killings in America. Donald Trump, true to form, has stood by his not so secret police force. When will enough be enough and is the Democratic Party doing enough to bring about change? Nikki joins Chris to get into that and more!
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How the GOP and the Dems got so weird
The Republicans and the Democrats are both in a weird place right now. How did they get to where they are? What were they like when they first started? And did they really “switch”? Paul Heideman, the author of Rogue Elephant: How Republicans Went from the Party of Business to the Party of Chaos, joins Jarv to discuss.
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Donald Trump vs. Everyone
Trump’s been at NATO losing his head and lashing out at Iran in a spectacle which was mostly shocking because of how unsurprising it was. Nikki, Chris and Jarv discuss another bumpy week.
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America 250: What would the Founding Fathers make of Trump?
Donald Trump’s America has often been accused of laying siege to American freedoms and institutions - because, well it has. But more broadly, is America today a reflection of the nation the founding fathers sought to create? Prof Robert Parkinson has studied the Declaration of Independence for 25 years and has authored a new book: Tyrants and Rogues: Understanding the Declaration of Independence.
Trump: America’s Liberty Bellend
Happy Birthday America! The US turns 250 this weekend and it’s been quite the ride. But has Donald Trump 2.0 turned that ride into a nightmare? Chris and Nikki discuss the American freedoms and institutions this administration has diminished over the past 2 years and loads more!
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American Nightmare – How chaos and division took over Trump's United States
America has been a tumultuous place in recent years. Justin Glawe has been at the frontline of much of that chaos, covering carnage and unrest across the United States. He joins Chris to discuss what he’s learned from reporting on turmoil across America, as outlined in his book If I Am Coming to Your Town, Something Terrible Has Happened: The Life and Times of a Domestic War Correspondent,
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Trump vs. The Senate – This time it’s personal
Trump is at odds with the Senate and tearing apart members of his own party. How will this temper tantrum play out? Nikki and Jarv discuss.
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How Dana White became Trump’s best friend
The UFC spectacle at the White House showed a new level of trashy corruption from Trump. Why did he do it and why does he love the man behind the UFC, Dana White, so much? Jack Crosbie, senior writer at Rolling Stone, joins Chris and Jarv to discuss.
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Donald Trump and the deal that never was!
Trump has signed a deal agreeing to get a deal to end the war in Iran. He’s claiming a major victory, but it’s clearly a capitulation. Nikki, Chris and Jarv discuss.
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Is Russell Vought the most powerful man in America?
Donald Trump says he alone can fix Washington — but is one unelected official actually running the show? Chris and Jarv are joined by journalist Andy Kroll to discuss the rise of Russell Vought, the budget chief using the Office of Management and Budget to quietly expand Trump’s power from inside the White House.
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Trump’s alternate reality – No, more wars! And no more boos!
Donald Trump insists he never said he would end any wars and denies being booed at a recent Knicks game — despite footage suggesting otherwise. Nikki, Chris and Jarv discuss whether the president is becoming increasingly detached from reality, or simply doubling down on his own version of events.
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What Trump’s Truth Social posts tell us about him
Donald Trump has posted thousands of times on his social media platform Truth Social in just a few months, usually cranking out double figures of posts a day. Danielle Kurtzleben from NPR has analysed a massive stack of these to see what Trump’s obsessions are.
Read Danielle’s piece on NPR: https://www.npr.org/2026/05/08/nx-s1-5749358/trump-truth-social-online-posts-iran-white-house-ballroom
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Trump: I’m mad as hell and I don’t care anymore!
Donald Trump keeps insisting he “doesn’t care” — about Iran, Americans’ finances, or even the midterms. Nikki, Chris and Jarv discuss whether the president is growing tired of the job he fought so hard to win, and why Trump is suddenly talking up potential successors…
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Fixing America – Why the world shouldn't give up on the United States
America is in a crisis, but that doesn’t mean it’s beyond saving. Reverend Professor Keith Magee, chair of The Guardian Foundation, joins Jarv to discuss how empathy could help to reset the United States.
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Trump’s dodgy health – Will we ever know the truth?
Trump says he’s perfectly healthy — but does anyone believe him? And will we ever know the truth? Chris and Jarv are joined by podcast favourite Casey Burgat to unpack Trump’s latest medical report, the details it left out, and the growing obsession in Washington over the President’s health.
Check out Casey’s work: https://www.caseyburgat.com/
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Trumpy no mates – The destruction of America’s reputation
Donald Trump has diminished America on the world stage and the nation seems to have fewer and fewer allies. Adam Serwer of the Atlantic joins Chris and Jarv to discuss why the US needs friends even if Trump doesn’t think so.
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Trump’s slush fund – The wildest cash grab of all time!
Donald Trump’s IRS settlement permanently blocks audits into his past tax returns and creates a controversial $1.7bn “Anti-Weaponization Fund”. Nikki, Chris and Jarv discuss why critics are calling it a “slush fund” and who could end up cashing in.
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What's the deal with Kash Patel?!
Kash Patel has been a controversial figure for a long time and now he’s a controversial FBI director – great! Eric Garcia, Washington bureau chief at The Independent, joins Jarv to discuss how he got there.
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Is Trump in love with Xi Jinping?!
Trump is in China and can’t seem to tell they’re getting one over him. Is it because he’s naive or because he actually wishes his government worked a bit more like the CCP? Nikki and Jarv discuss.
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Trump vs. God! – Who's going to win that argument?!
For a President who CLAIMS he’s religious, there's a whooooole lot of blasphemy going on under Trump’s second term. Not only has he compared himself to Jesus, but he’s also been picking fights with the Pope. Is that losing him support, or are his supporters still following him blindly? Chris and Jarv speak with returning guest Peter Wehner, a senior fellow at the Trinity Forum, writer for The Atla
Is Trump finally facing oblivion?
Trump is hurtling towards catastrophe as his presidency goes from worse to worse. With the midterms less than six months away, what are the key issues to look out for? Our podcast best pal Casey Burgat joins Jarv and Chris to discuss.
Check out Casey’s work: https://www.caseyburgat.com/
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Trump's secret scandal? – Insider trading explained with Kate Knibbs from Wired
Could insider trading be the next big scandal to seize America? We don’t know how widespread it is, but it seems, allegedly and reportedly, to be pretty bad. Kate Knibbs from Wired joins us to discuss.
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Trump: Never let an assassination attempt go to waste!
Donald Trump and MAGA are using the latest assassination attempt to push forward all sorts of demands and narratives. Nikki, Chris and Jarv discuss the fallout and whether it really means Trump has to get a new ballroom he wants.
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American Friction does Hot Take Time Machine – Crossover special from The Bunker!
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In a special crossover with The Bunker, Jacob Jarvis, Chris Jones and Nikki McCann Ramirez wade knee-deep into this month’s weirdest columns for Hot Take Time Machine.
On the menu: resurfaced Donald Trump conspiracies, the Wegovy essay that broke the internet, Adrian Chiles' thoughts on, er, dog poo… and much
‘Trump is the most stupid leader in history’ – with Revolutions host Mike Duncan
Mike Duncan, host of the Revolutions podcast and expert on the Roman empire, joins Nikki and Jarv to discuss the decline of the American empire and how Trump is bringing on its downfall.
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Is the pressure getting to Trump and his minions?!
Trump has had a baffling week, with cabinet chaos and another backtrack on Iran. Nikki, Chris and Jarv unpack the madness and do a latest deep dive on RFK Jr.’s wild behaviour…
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Inside the downfall of a president – From Biden to Trump
How will the history books look back on Joe Biden’s time as President? Will he be remembered for leading the US out of a global pandemic, or has that disastrous TV debate against Donald Trump destroyed much of his reputation? Prof. Julian E. Zelizer’s new book, The Presidency of Joseph R. Biden: A First Historical Assessment, delves into what lessons can be learned from the Biden era.
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Has Trump finally gone too far for everyone?!
Donald Trump can’t decide if he’s Jesus or a doctor - oh wait, he’s not Jesus, but Jesus is his friend, we think, it’s all a bit confusing. What on Earth is going on in the President's head, and has he now gone too far for even the strongest MAGA supporters? Nikk, Jarv and Chris try to work it all out!
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How Fox News became Trump’s state media channel
Fox News has never exactly been objective or accurate but it at least used to pretend. So why has it morphed into Trump TV? Juliet Jeske from Decoding Fox News joins Jarv and Chris to explain.
See more of Juliet’s work: https://decodingfoxnews.substack.com/
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Trump vs. Himself – Is anyone more confused than the president right now?
Trump’s flip flopping, fake victories and consistent lies have left us all baffled. But is he even more confused than the rest of us? Nikki, Chris and Jarv discuss.
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Is Tucker Carlson the next president?
Tucker Carlson is still going, gaining traction in unexpected places with his controversial opinions while appealing to the left with his stance on Israel. What’s going on? What does he want? And who is he, really? Jason Zengerle, author of Hated by All the Right People: Tucker Carlson and the Unravelling of the Conservative Mind, joins Jarv and Nikki to discuss.
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Will Donald Trump get impeached again?!
Yeah, we don’t know what to tell you – the news keeps on getting weirder. We discuss Trump’s war crime threats, the chance of him being impeached and what it means, and of course Nikki explains bimbofication in light of the Bryon Noem story… You know what you’re in for these days, gang. Casey Burgat joins us again this week and Nikki is away but she drops by for a section that she couldn’t resist…
How Trump and the Epstein Files broke conspiracy world
Trumpworld and the conspiracy cranks within it are splintering. What does it mean for MAGA? Conspiracy theory expert Mike Rothschild joins us to discuss.
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Trump vs. Pete Hegseth – Battle of the Warmongers!
Trump has been trying to pass the buck for his disastrous war but his poll ratings are still tanking no matter what he does. Jarv and Nikki discuss the latest fallout.
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Has Trump changed what 'America' means?
Trump loves talking about being American and saying other people or things aren’t. What does he even mean? And what should America mean, if we can be positive about it? Nikki and Jarv are joined by Beth and Sarah from Pantsuit Politics to discuss.
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Why it's all going wrong for Donald Trump!
Trump is trying to backtrack on Iran as he realises he’s created a level of chaos he can’t handle or control. Nikki, Chris and Jarv discuss this and more in our latest episode and also answer the question of who is their “evil crush”.
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From Ken Paxton to 'The AK Guy' – The wild state of Texas explained
Texas has been Republican for a long time. But with the emergence of a shiny new Democratic Party candidate in James Talarico and the GOP undecided on who should face him, could things be about to change? Christopher Hooks is a real-life Texan and journalist whose work has appeared in publications like Texas Monthly and The New York Times, and joins Chris and Nikki to talk Texan politics.
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Donald Trump and the dumbest war ever!
Trump is wrecking the world in the stupidest way possible. Nikki, Jarv and Chris unpack his posturing and his Iran flip-flopping. Plus they discuss UFC fighters training the FBI, the new Marjorie Taylor Greene and problematic musical ideas…
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A Democratic Tea Party? – James Talarico and the anti-establishment future
The Democratic Party has a new breed of candidates coming through who could be a new counter force in the party similar to the Republican’s Tea Party movement. Will they take over from the establishment figureheads? Eric Garcia, Washington bureau chief of The Independent, joins us to discuss.
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The end of MAGA as we know it?!
The MAGA alliance is splitting apart – could it be the end of Trump’s gang? Plus, Kristi Noem aka Dog Killer in Chief has been fired! What happens now? Nikki, Chris and Jarv discuss.
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Trump’s warped war logic – If you start more, you can end more!
Trump loves ending wars so much that he just keeps starting more that he can then eventually end. Or something like that… The latest began with strikes on Iran – why is he doing this? And why now? Politico's senior foreign affairs correspondent Nahal Toosi joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss.
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QAnon’s Epstein conundrum, Looksmaxxing and Mogging explained!
The weird world of right-wing conspiracy theories and subcultures is stranger than ever. Jarv is joined by Annie Kelly, host of Truly, Tradly Deeply and the UK correspondent for the QAA podcast to get into it all.
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Trump's violent, weird and lie-filled State of the Union
Trump’s State of the Union was not normal. It was longer than ever, more weird and more hate-filled than any before it, and most reports aren’t nailing that. Nikki, Jarv and Chris discuss.
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The Mafia and America – How made men made the United States
The Mafia’s place in American culture can be seen as a cultural phenomenon. But how did the real mob, who inspired The Sopranos and The Godfather, come to be? And what influence have they had in shaping the United States? Ryan Gingeras, author of The Mafia: A Global History, joins Chris and Jarv to discuss.
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Donald Trump destroys American elections forever
Trump is meddling where he can and pushing to make it harder for people to vote. Will Trump ever allow free votes in America under his watch? Nikki, Jarv and Chris discuss in our latest episode.
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Why US athletes are turning on Trump – "We're in a pick a side moment"
Trump’s despicable shenanigans have seen more and more US athletes speak out against him. The Winter Olympics have thrown this into sharp focus, and Chris is joined by Jules Boykoff, author of What are the olympics for? and Power Games: A Political History of the Olympics to discuss this backlash and the history of protest at the games.
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Donald Trump vs. The Culture War
Trump and his MAGA goons are trying to pretend Kid Rock is good. Why are they so set on embarrassing themselves and denying themselves from enjoying proper culture? Nikki, Jarv and Chris discuss the Bad Bunny Superbowl fallout and ask why Trump is losing the culture war.
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Is Joe Rogan kind of left wing? – The confusing world of podcast bros
Joe Rogan and the world of bro podcasts was a big deal in the run up to the election. Do they still matter? We unpack the impact and politics of the dude podcast world with Melina Much, a postdoctoral fellow for NYU’s Center for Social Media and Politics and a Siegel Research Fellow for the Siegel Family Endowment.
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Trump, Epstein and the Clintons: So weird, so confusing
Trump says the Epstein files are actually fine for him but we should all ignore them anyway. Oh, and we should leave Bill Clinton alone! What is going on? Nobody knows, but we’ll try get into it anyway.
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Trump’s destruction of America – Why Congress isn’t holding him back
Congress technically should be a check on the presidency, and holding back Trump’s worst ages. It isn’t though. Eric Garcia, Washington bureau chief at The Independent, joins Jarv to discuss how Trump has wreaked havoc upon what should be an equal branch of government.
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Trump, ICE and murder – Will this ever end?
Trump’s tyrannous ICE crackdown continues unabated despite token changes in personnel. Is anything going to change? Nikki, Chris and Jarv discuss a dark moment in America.
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Trump and dirty money – Make America Grift Again!
Donald Trump loves to bend the law and make money. So we’re looking at how he’s been doing both with legal scholar Jennifer Taub, author of Big Dirty Money, who’s a major expert in white collar crime (tracking it, not committing it that is…).
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Trump's wild week – The end of America as we know it?
Well, it’s hard to know how to react to that. What a week, and one it feels like we might never come back from. Nikki and Jarv unpack Trump’s latest wild and weird and ultimately tyrannical actions.
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Trump’s nonsense foreign policy – The dumb bro doctrine
Donald Trump’s foreign policy has been described as the ‘Donroe doctrine’ – but it’s a stretch to say it’s that cohesive. To discuss how damaging he is to the world right now, as he puts American security and everyone else’s at risk, Nikki and Jarv are joined by Brian Finucane, senior adviser at International Crisis Group and editor at Just Security.
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Donald Trump's hunt for revenge!
Trump is obsessed with revenge. Against anyone who’s ever crossed him and anyone who simply didn’t vote for him. Nikki, Chris and Jarv talk you through the latest victims of Trump’s bitterness and what it means for America.
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America vs. China and the key A.I. battles to watch with guest Jeff Jarvis
Trump is desperate to make money from AI and the US economy is dependent on the industry, so what are the things we need to pay attention to? Friend of the podcast Jeff Jarvis, media commentator, author and co-host of AI Inside, talks us through the key battles to watch, the characters to know and their weird, weird philosophies. Oh and he puts the boot in on the US media too which is always good
Project 2026: Will Trump make this year even worse?
It’s been a long year already, hasn’t it? We discuss Trump’s new conflicts, ICE killing people and how this is all just the start. Plus we look ahead at key issues and we name who we think will be the key characters in US politics this year.
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Trump and Venezuela: He doesn't have a clue!
Trump’s actions around Venezuela have been dramatic. He wants to act like he’s got it under control, but does he have a plan? Nikki and Jarv discuss the aftermath of capturing Maduro, how this might roll on and what known unknowns there are to consider.
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Donald Trump’s nightmare before Christmas
Vanity Fair’s profiling of the Trump administration has caused a real headache for the President. Amongst the drama, electoral mastermind Susie Wiles really let loose, saying Trump had an “alcoholic’s personality” and Vance a “conspiracy theorist”. What has this look behind the curtain taught us? Chris and Nikki dive into all of that, plus the BBC lawsuit and more!
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Watergate: The real truth behind America's biggest ever scandal!
The Watergate scandal might be one of the biggest political scandals of all time - but do we really know the full truth of it? Garrett M. Graff is a Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of Watergate: A New History and joins Chris and Nikki to discuss exactly what led to the epic downfall of President Richard Nixon.
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Trump's war with Venezuela – The background
Donald Trump has ramped up the pressure on his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolas Maduro. Not only did he issue him an ultimatum to leave the country, but on Wednesday, US forces seized a Venezuelan oil tanker, raising oil prices and tension within the region. Could all-out war be on the horizon? Plus, Miami now has its first Democratic mayor in 30 years. Is a blue wave in the midterm election lookin
American History Special! – What if the Cuban Missile Crisis happened today?
The Cuban Missile Crisis is the closest we’ve been to nuclear war. What are the lessons we should learn from it being averted? Who were the key characters? And could Trump handle such a situation in the present day? Mark J. White, professor of history at QMUL and author of The Cuban Missile Crisis, joins Jarv to discuss.
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Donald Trump: The world’s sleepiest war criminal!
Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth appear to have at least allowed a war crime to happen on their watch – will they face any punishment? Plus, Trump is ranting in a new, weirder way and he can’t keep his eyes open during high-profile meetings anymore. This is fine. Casey Burgat, author of We Hold These Truths, joins Jarv and Chris to discuss this and much more.
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American History Special! – Why Trump 2.0 is just like the Wild West
The Wild West continues to fascinate people to this day – and still shapes America’s society. The video game Red Dead Redemption depicts the frontier era, and our guest today Tore Olsson has written extensively about the era in his book Red Dead's History: A Video Game, an Obsession, and America's Violent Past. He joins Jarv and Chris to discuss the Wild West.
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Trump, MAGA and Moscow – What's going on with the President and Russia?
Trump and his admin are once again showing their weird love for Russia. Why are they all so keen on Moscow? We discuss this, Trump’s latest outbursts, his weird love for Mamdani and more!
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American History Special! – Has the United States always been crazy?!
The United States of America is strange. It’s easy to blame it on Trump, but has it ever been normal? Author and journalist Kurt Andersen wrote How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History to track how the nation became so weird.
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How Epstein is driving Trump mad and breaking MAGA
Trump has been forced into letting the Epstein files be released and of course he’s totally chill about it. We’re due to get them in less than 30 days, though what we get is still unclear – and the fallout they’ll cause even less so. Chris, Nikki and Jarv discuss another very weird week.
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Do the Democrats just hate winning?
The Democratic Party is totally rudderless and once again handed Trump whatever he wants to end the shutdown. What the hell are they doing? Jarv and Chris ask Politico’s national politics reporter Elena Schneider.
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Epstein and Trump – What did they know?
Trump’s links to Jeffrey Epstein are back in the spotlight. What did Epstein know about Trump? What did Trump know about Epstein? And how much does Russia know?! It’s all kinds of weird, worrying and gross… Nikki and Jarv discuss the latest.
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Everything Trump has broken in his second term!
It’s a year since Trump won the election so we thought we’d recap a big old list of things he’s screwed up. There’s more than what we discussed, but we tried! Casey Burgat, author of We Hold These "Truths": How to Spot the Myths that are Holding America Back and director of the Legislative Affairs program at the Graduate School of Political Management at George Washington University,
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Mamdani vs. Trump – How New York sent MAGA more insane
Zohran Mamdani’s election victory has got the left wing excited but made MAGA really scared about the made up rise of communism. To discuss his victory and the reaction to it, Chris and Jarv are joined by Brigid Bergin, senior politics reporter at WNYC.
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Trump and the cartels —Is he at war or is he just bombing fishermen?
Trump has been blowing up boats in the Pacific, killing all of those on board and insisting it’s because they’re cartel members – even though they could be fishermen. Why is he doing this? What real problems do cartels pose? Dr. Will Freeman a fellow for Latin America studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, joins us Chris and Jarv to discuss.
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Will Trump run in 2028? – Don't trust whatever he says!
Trump is doing the hokey cokey when it comes to running in 2028. Is he in, is he out, does it matter what he says? We discuss the latest madness and round up the other stories you might have missed.
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Trump vs. the Manosphere
The manosphere is a term used to describe a wide range of male-focussed influencers obsessed with money, status or physique. A lot of them are unfortunately right leaning and plenty supported Trump. So, what do they want, want impact do they have on politics – and where are they headed? Sam Eagan, who works for New Yorker Magazine, Vice and Wired joins Nikki and Jarv to discuss.
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Trump vs. the White House – with special guest Molly Jong-Fast
Trump is imagining himself pouring faeces on Americans and he’s literally ripping down part of the White House. Why is he so obsessed with destruction? Chris and Jarv are joined by Molly Jong-Fast of Fast Politics to talk through the latest chaos then they round up some other news you might have missed.
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Trump and Guantanamo Bay – His source of inspiration?
The notorious Guantanamo Bay has long been a source of controversy for the United States. Yet, it remains open. How does this facility set up in the war of terror keep going? And how has it inspired the way Trump wants to treat prisoners today? Attorney Joshua Colangelo-Bryan has written about detainees he’s represented and his experience at Gitmo in his new book Through the Gates of Hell: America
Trump vs. 'America First' – Is he changing his mind?
Trump has been posturing on the world stage after securing a deal between Israel and Hamas. But, does he really care? And should he get any credit? Or is this just all part of his attention seeking grift? Chris, Jarv and Nikki discuss.
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Donald Trump: America’s last president?
Trump is dragging America’s democracy towards oblivion – could this be it for the US as we know it? Chris and Jarv discuss with Thom Hartmann, author of The Last American President: A Broken Man, a Corrupt Party, and a World on the Brink.
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