The Daily Beast Podcast

Michael Wolff joins Joanna Coles to unpack the one thing that drives Donald Trump more than policy, ideology, or even power: television. From The Apprentice to Fox News, Trump has always understood that fame is a currency, and the White House is just the ultimate reality show set. Wolff details how Trump doesn’t read briefings, rarely listens, and instead crafts his world based on ratings, Nielsen scores, and cable news cues. The former president treats lawyers like scripted TV characters, his cabinet as central casting, and the nation as an audience to captivate. From Roger Ailes and Rupert Murdoch to Sean Hannity and Bill Shine, Trump has manipulated media insiders to shape both his narrative and his presidency. This episode reveals why politics, for Trump, has never been about governance—it’s about performance, spectacle, and keeping the cameras rolling. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joanna Coles revisits some of The Daily Beast’s most disturbing and revealing conversations about Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein. Michael Wolff explains why Epstein’s shadow still looms over Trump, while Stacey Williams and Cleo Glyde recount encounters that expose the brazen culture of power and silence surrounding them. Tina Brown reflects on the scandal she helped uncover and why its consequences continue to fracture Trump’s world. Together, these voices reveal how wealth and influence conceal dark truths—and why the reckoning is far from over. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Michael Wolff joins Joanna Coles to unpack why the release of the Epstein files has backfired on Donald Trump, obscuring key facts while amplifying the one question that won’t go away: what Trump knew, and when. Wolff explains how the chaotic document dump fits Trump’s flood-the-zone instincts, while Coles probes how branding, spectacle, and confusion remain his core political defenses. They also examine the risks of sidelining institutions—from Ukraine diplomacy to ICE-as-content—and ask whether Trump’s belief that chaos protects him is finally working against him. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mary Trump joins Joanna Coles to explain how Donald Trump’s accelerating cognitive and psychological decline is rooted in a childhood defined by cruelty, fear, and the absolute ban on showing weakness. Drawing on her training as a clinical psychologist and her firsthand experience inside the Trump family, Mary argues that Trump’s belligerence is routinely mistaken for strength, even as his physical health, cognitive deterioration, and untreated pathology collide. The conversation ends with a stark question: What happens when a country is governed by a man trying to fill a void that can never be filled? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Psychologist Dr. John Gartner joins Joanna Coles to dissect Donald Trump’s latest White House speech and explain why its manic pace, rigid teleprompter discipline, and sheer velocity alarm mental health professionals. Drawing on decades of clinical experience, Gartner argues that Trump’s hypomania, malignant narcissism, and advancing dementia are no longer abstract theories but visible patterns—accelerating, measurable, and increasingly unmanaged. They examine why repeated cognitive tests suggest monitoring decline rather than routine screening, and how sleepless nights, impulsive decisions, and compulsive posting point to a leader edging toward a cognitive cliff. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.