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PODCAST

The Al Franken Podcast

The Al Franken Podcast

A five-time Emmy winning SNL comedy writer/producer, joins a four-time #1 NYT bestselling author, a three-time highest-rated national progressive radio host, a two-time Grammy winning artist, and a former US Senator. So, it gets a little crowded in the booth when Al talks public policy and sometimes political comedy with notable guests. Think “The Daily” without the resources of the NYTimes.

news politics

All Episodes

47:10

Political Reporter David Weigel on The Shutdown

The Al Franken Podcast ·

2025/11/02

We are approaching the longest government shutdown in American history with no end in sight. But it seems like this is exactly what the Trump administration wants. How much longer can this go on? We are joined by David Weigel from Semafor to discuss the damage of the shutdown and how the White House believes it's winning this fight.Weigel examines how the Trump administration seems to be disconnected from reality over the state of the economy despite concerns over tariffs, the cost of living,

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50:10

Harry Litman on Important Legal Stuff.

The Al Franken Podcast ·

2025/10/26

Every day brings a new constitutional crisis. Donald Trump isn't just breaking norms... he's weaponizing the entire justice system against anyone who dare cross him. We're joined by former U.S. Attorney Harry Litman to cut through the chaos and explain what the hell is happening.Trump promised that he would bring "retribution" to his second term - turns he wasn’t lying. So far he’s gone after James Comey, Letitia James, John Bolton. Harry breaks down why these prosecutions represent "rock bottom,

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45:11

John Fugelsang on Jesus’s ACTUAL Politics

The Al Franken Podcast ·

2025/10/19

Donald Trump and the Republican Party have the backing of Evangelicals and fundamentalist Christians. But if you read the Bible or listen to the teachings of Jesus Christ, it would be clear that their policies are anything but Christ-like. We're joined by comedian, radio host, and NYT bestselling author John Fugelsang to discuss his new book, “Separation of Church and Hate.” Fugelsang shares his unique perspective as a Christian who was raised by a former nun and a Franciscan Brother. He shows the

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48:46

David Hogg on Electing Young Progressive Dems

The Al Franken Podcast ·

2025/10/12

We're thrilled to welcome David Hogg to the podcast. Hogg is a co-founder of March For Our Lives and his PAC, Leaders We Deserve. He shares about how the tragedy in Parkland, FL launched him into the political fray.Hogg notoriously served as a Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee for a brief time. He tells us about some of the inner workings of the DNC and then what happened when shit hit the fan. He argues that too many long-serving Democrats in Congress are "asleep at the wheel" and

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50:51

Norm Ornstein on Another Chaotic Week in DC

The Al Franken Podcast ·

2025/10/05

Chaos has ensued across the federal government as we face another shutdown. We're joined by political scientist, an emeritus scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, and friend of the show, Norm Ornstein, to make sense of it all.What is this shutdown all about? Healthcare. With Republicans in charge of the House, the Senate, the Presidency, AND the Supreme Court, can they dodge the blame? Meanwhile, Trump and OMB Director (and Project 2025 author) Russell Vought will use this moment to

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45:55

Dr. Tom Frieden and Brandy Zadrozny on RFK Jr. and...

The Al Franken Podcast ·

2025/09/28

Trump picked RFK Jr. to take over the Department of Health and Human Services, and chaos has ensued. So far, RFK Jr. is ignoring the advice of experts and bringing along his cronies to push vaccine skepticism. It could have a devastating impact on the health of Americans for years to come.We're joined by Former CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden, who currently heads global health organization Resolve to Save Lives, and MSNBC senior enterprise reporter Brandy Zadrozny, who has covered RFK Jr. for over a

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6:16

BBC's The Global Story

The Al Franken Podcast ·

2025/09/23

Hear a teaser for The Global Story, the daily BBC news podcast that covers the intersection where the world and America meet. Find The Global Story on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

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44:30

Randi Weingarten on Defending Our Public Education

The Al Franken Podcast ·

2025/09/21

We are joined by Randi Weingarten, the President of the American Federation of Teachers, to discuss her new book, “Why Fascists Fear Teachers: Public Education and the Future of Democracy.” In the book, Weingarten details how there has been a systematic demonization of teachers and public education in America. She argues that one of the pillars of public education is critical thinking, which prevents fascism from flourishing in society - so fascists (and wannabe fascists) hate it.We explore a

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41:31

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott on Reducing Violent Crime

The Al Franken Podcast ·

2025/09/14

Baltimore, Maryland is one of Donald Trump's most frequent targets when talking about crime in America. As the President continues to threaten to send troops into American cities, we wanted to hear from Baltimore's mayor, Brandon Scott. Since Mayor Scott took office, the city has seen a dramatic drop in violent crime. He explains his policies and how investing in the community has helped calm the violence in Baltimore. So it's no surprise that he does NOT want Trump sending troops to his

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46:13

War Correspondent Tim Mak on the War in Ukraine

The Al Franken Podcast ·

2025/09/07

Donald Trump rolled out the red carpet for Vladimir Putin in Alaska last month and came up empty handed... No ceasefire, no concessions, nothing. So what does the future of the war in Ukraine look like? We turn to journalist Tim Mak who has been based in Kiev since the start of the war. Tim is the founder of The Counteroffensive, a Substack that chronicles life in Ukraine and the agony of this war. Tim breaks down the current state of the war, and he’s not too optimistic about the possibility of

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53:46

BEST OF: Bob Odenkirk on Comedy (and Drama)!

The Al Franken Podcast ·

2025/08/31

In this Best Of episode, we revisit our 2022 conversation with comedian and actor Bob Odenkirk! We got to hear from him about his memoir “Comedy, Comedy, Comedy, Drama” and his early beginnings writing comedy in grade school. We reminisce about our days together at Saturday Night Live and discuss some of our favorite sketches. We also talk about his sketch series, “Mr. Show with Bob and David.” Bob also shares about his 13 years playing Saul Goodman on Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul and how he

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54:53

Barbara McQuade and Daniel Richman on Trump’s...

The Al Franken Podcast ·

2025/08/24

In his second term, Donald Trump has upended many American institutions, but perhaps none more than the Department of Justice. He's filled the DOJ with lackeys, like AG Pam Bondi, who are corrupting our system of justice in ways never seen before. We're joined by two veterans of the DOJ: Barbara McQuade, professor at University of Michigan Law School, and Daniel Richman, professor at Columbia Law School. We discuss the disturbing tendencies of Trump's Justice Department: from emphasizing

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49:20

Ari Berman on the GOP’s Gerrymandering Plot

The Al Franken Podcast ·

2025/08/17

With Donald Trump and the Republican Party low in the polls, Texas is resorting to one of their favorite ways to win voters: cheating. They’ve drawn new maps to implement unprecedented gerrymandering, taking away five Democratic-held seats - all done at Trump’s insistence, of course.We're joined by Ari Berman, national voting rights correspondent for Mother Jones, to walk us through Texas Governor Abbott’s scheme. Democrats are attempting to fight back in Texas and across the country… even if it

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50:15

Franklin Foer on the Famine in Gaza

The Al Franken Podcast ·

2025/08/10

Gaza faces mass starvation as Israel blocks critical food and aid to the region. We're joined by The Atlantic's Franklin Foer to discuss his recent piece, “Israel's Last Chance,” and how the only answer to this atrocity is for Israel to flood Gaza with food. Foer also discusses the legitimate criticism of Benjamin Netanyahu, while acknowledging that some of the protests can veer into antisemitism, especially on college campuses. Columbia and Harvard are the most prominent universities being

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47:49

Jonathan Alter on Trump’s Authoritarian Police State

The Al Franken Podcast ·

2025/08/03

We're joined by journalist and best-selling author, Jonathan Alter, to dig deeper into the latest in Trump’s America. Jonathan’s most recent piece in Washington Monthly explains how the BBB’s enormous funding for ICE will turn America into a police state. With over 75 billion dollars, ICE will now be bigger than all American law enforcement agencies combined. We discuss Trump's authoritarianism, including the ongoing shake down of American universities and law firms. Plus, Texas Republicans are

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63:02

Kevin Nealon on His Career in Comedy!

The Al Franken Podcast ·

2025/07/27

We're thrilled to welcome an old friend from Al’s SNL days, comedian Kevin Nealon! Kevin and Al trade stories from working together on Saturday Night Live and discuss how the show has changed over the years. Kevin shares how he created several trademark bits, including Mr. Subliminal and Hans and Franz. Plus, we get backstories on some sketches that Al and Kevin worked on together. We also get into Kevin's post-SNL life, including his role on the hit TV show “Weeds,” his standup, and his hiking

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39:49

Catherine Rampell on Trump’s Economic Policies

The Al Franken Podcast ·

2025/07/20

We’re joined by Washington Post columnist and co-host of MSNBC's The Weekend, Catherine Rampell!Catherine breaks down what the Big, Beautiful Bill means for Americans and why it's been so important for Trump and the Republicans to get it done. It will balloon our deficit and gut the social safety net. And for what? Tax breaks for the richest Americans. We also discuss immigration and why immigrants are so important to the economy. Catherine delves into how Trump is rounding up immigrants with NO

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48:54

Dahlia Lithwick on The Godawful SCOTUS Term

The Al Franken Podcast ·

2025/07/13

Another devastating term of Trump's Supreme Court has come to a close. There's a lot to be angry about, so we're joined by Dahlia Lithwick, our authority on all things SCOTUS and host of Slate’s podcast, Amicus.Dahlia explains how this Supreme Court is using the "shadow docket" to advance bad policy without full briefings or arguments and how the results of these decisions can lead to judicial chaos. We also discuss many of the awful decisions handed down by The Court, including those on

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46:24

Marc Elias on Trump’s Authoritarian Second Term

The Al Franken Podcast ·

2025/07/06

One of Donald Trump's priorities when he returned to the White House was to target law firms that he felt had wronged him. While some immediately caved to his demands, others fought back... and won. We're joined by Marc Elias, preeminent election lawyer and founder of Democracy Docket, to discuss Trump using his second term to settle personal scores, abuse his power, and put a strain on the judicial system in America. Marc and Al discuss the growing authoritarianism and how the recent Supreme Court

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50:48

CNN’s Kasie Hunt on Her Career & Trump II

The Al Franken Podcast ·

2025/06/29

We are joined by CNN Anchor and Chief National Affairs Analyst Kasie Hunt for her first time on the podcast! It's a very fun conversation covering her work and what inspired her to follow her passion for journalism.She discusses the early days of her career covering Obama, Congress, and the passage of the Affordable Care Act. We also talk about how much Congress and the information ecosystem has changed over the years. And Kasie shares her thoughts about watching Donald Trump pardon the rioters

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