Congress is not exactly a barrel of fun at the best of times. Still, after the unexpected exit of Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene last week, the vibes have reportedly never been worse. According to the Congressional Record, the 119th Congress has spent fewer days in session, held fewer votes, and done less procedurally than any Congress in years. And in the meantime, many Representatives are spending their time trying to censure one another. But some people, for whatever reason, still want to join the party like Aftyn Behn, who's running for the U.S. House of Representatives in a special election next Tuesday. She's hoping to flip a Tennessee district that hasn't elected a Democrat since Ronald Reagan's first term. We spoke to her about why she's running for office and who she wants to see vote for her.And in headlines, a federal judge throws out the criminal cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, the Pentagon announces an investigation into Arizona Democratic Senator Mark Kelly, and the Trump administration continues to play games with Americans' health insurance.Show Notes:Check out Aftyn's campaign – aftynforcongress.com/Call Congress – 202-224-3121Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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21:35
MAGA Threats Made Him Leave The Country
A lot happened while we were off this weekend, from President Donald Trump's overly friendly meeting with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani to Georgia Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene's resignation announcement. That was a doozy. In a 10-minute-long video on Friday, Greene announced that she's leaving Congress, and explained that she felt betrayed by the party – and the President – she'd spent years fighting for. MTG has detailed the numerous death threats she and her family have received because of her recent opposition to Trump's policies. But she is hardly the first to face threats of violence for saying or doing something that MAGA decides it doesn't like. On today's show, we speak with Mark Bray, a college professor who wrote a book about Antifa. And after the murder of conservative pundit Charlie Kirk earlier this year, Bray became the subject of a conservative media storm, fomented in part by the organization Kirk founded, Turning Point USA. So Bray decided to leave the United States to protect himself and his family. He explains what Antifa even is and how writing a book eight years ago cost him his American home.And in headlines, the U.S. Coast Guard makes clear swastikas and nooses are still considered hate symbols, the U.S. continues to work with Ukraine and Russia on an end to the war, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posts anti-vaccine language to its site.Show Notes:Check out Mark's book – https://tinyurl.com/mw9ys4jkCall Congress – 202-224-3121Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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24:50
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24:50
Trump's Grift Goes Global
From $400 million planes to $300 million ballrooms, from cryptocurrency to just plain… currency, President Donald Trump and his family have profited massively from his return to the White House. According to the Center for American Progress, the Trump family has received nearly $2 billion in cash and gifts since President Trump won the 2024 presidential election. This week, during Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit to the White House, the president downplayed his family's dealings in Saudi Arabia, but the reality is that those business ties have grown significantly during his second term. For more on just how much money Trump and his family are making from his return to the Oval Office, we spoke to Andrea Bernstein, podcast host and author of "American Oligarchs: The Kushners, the Trumps, and the Marriage of Money and Power."And in headlines, President Trump threatens Congressional Democrats with violent rhetoric, Customs and Border Patrol prepares more immigration crackdowns in Louisiana and Mississippi, and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is set to meet with President Trump at the White House.Show Notes:Check out Andrea's book – wwnorton.com/books/american-oligarchsCall Congress – 202-224-3121Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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26:46
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26:46
US Absent From Global Climate Conference
For the last two weeks, a critically important climate conference has been taking place in Belem, Brazil. For the first time in 30 years, the United States did not send a delegation to the conference. Outside of the event, massive groups of Indigenous people have gathered to demand that world leaders do something to curtail the effects of climate change, which their communities are already feeling. Somini Sengupta, international climate reporter for the New York Times, joins the show to recap the conference.And in headlines, Elon Musk predicts a work-less utopia at the Saudi Investment Forum, the Trump Administration comes up with concepts of a plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war, and a federal judge restarts criminal contempt proceedings against the Trump Administration over potentially illegal deportation flights to El Salvador.Show Notes:Check out Somini's reporting – www.nytimes.com/by/somini-senguptaCall Congress – 202-224-3121Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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21:57
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21:57
"Things Happen": Trump Goes All In On MBS
President Donald Trump joyously welcomed Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, also known as MBS, to the White House on Tuesday. That's despite the fact that, according to US intelligence, MBS allegedly ordered the 2018 murder of Saudi dissident and journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The meeting was supposed to center on Saudi investments in the United States in exchange for military equipment and possible access to nuclear technology – as the US and Saudi Arabia become closer partners than ever before. So for more on what MBS's very friendly visit means for U.S.-Saudi relations, we spoke with Pod Save the World co-host Tommy Vietor.And in headlines, Education Secretary Linda McMahon works to "break up federal bureaucracy", the US takes one step closer to maybe possibly finally seeing the Epstein files, and Texas Governor Greg Abbott says he'll take the state's redistricting fight to the Supreme Court.Show Notes:Check out Pod Save The World – tinyurl.com/4n6y99muCall Congress – 202-224-3121Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
If you’re looking for hype, fake outrage, and groupthink, kindly keep moving. Our mission at What a Day is simple: to be your guide to what truly matters each morning (and the fun stuff you might have missed) in just 20 minutes. Host Jane Coaston brings you in-depth reporting and substantive analysis on the big stories shaping today and the creeping trends shaping tomorrow—and when she doesn’t know the answers, she asks someone even smarter to fill us all in. Radical, right? New episodes at 5:00 a.m. EST, Monday–Friday in your favorite podcast app and on YouTube. Being informed was never this easy.
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