The Takeout with Major Garrett

Gene Sperling has served multiple presidents - real and ficticious. He was an economic advisor to Presidents Clinton and Obama and currently serves as a senior advisor to President Biden and coordinator of the American Rescue Plan. In between White House stints, Sperling served President Jed Bartlet as a consultant on the hit TV show "The West Wing." In this episode, Major presses Sperling on the causes of and solutions for inflation, economic perceptions versus reality and whether President Biden's age and health are in decline. Join us for ice cream at Thomas Sweet in Georgetown. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What can the lead up to the war in Iraq teach us about America's foreign policy today? Journalist and author Steve Coll joins Major to discuss his new book "The Achilles Trap," which chronicles the rise and reign of Saddam Hussein and the miscalculations that led to war in the Middle East. Join us. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Turn on certain cable news channels and you’ll hear how immigrants pose a threat to the nation. Listen to this episode (or read our guest Zeke Hernandez’s book, “The Truth About Immigration”), and you’ll hear just the opposite. Hernandez, a UPenn business school professor and immigrant himself, lays out a data-driven argument that immigrants are essential to economic prosperity in the U.S. Join us for lunch and a great conversation at Chef Geoff’s in Washington’s West End. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The presidential debates, as currently contemplated, will look and feel different in 2024. President Biden and former President Trump are scheduled to meet twice at events sponsored by CNN and ABC. That leaves the Commission on Presidential Debates, the organization that has produced presidential and vice presidential debates for 35+ years, out in the wilderness. Major sits down with Frank Fahrenkopf, the commission's co-chair, to find out whether his organization has a future without debates in 2024. Join us at Unconventional Diner in downtown D.C.! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Major sits down with authors Brody and Luke Mullins to talk about Washington’s favorite pastime - and it’s not baseball. Their new book, “The Wolves of K Street,” argues that the last few decades of lobbying members of congress and policymakers has only benefited corporations and the lobbyists themselves, leaving behind the general public. Join us at The Dubliner on Capitol Hill (where lawmakers and lobbyists have been meeting for 50 years!). To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When the U.S. Navy needed something in the South Pacific or Asia, Leonard Francis seemed to be able to provide just about anything. Nicknamed "Fat Leonard," Francis showered senior officers with bribes - lavish dinners, prostitutes and gifts. In exchange, the officers kept lucrative contracts flowing to Francis's companies, which often overcharged the government for services and supplies. Francis was also able to extract something even more valuable than Navy contracts: classified information. Join us for a conversation with author and Washington Post reporter Craig Whitlock whose scintillating new book "Fat Leonard" dives into one of the wildest scandals in U.S military history. We're at Ris in Washington, D.C.'s West End neighborhood. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, a freshman Democrat from the Dallas area, joins Major in the Longworth House Office Building for a lively chat about the speakership, Democrats' congressional prospects in 2024, Israel and Gaza and much more. Crockett weighs in on Donald Trump's appeal to voters, how abortion will play as an issue this cycle and President Biden's re-election chances. Join us! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bestselling author and New York Times reporter David Sanger joins Major at Macintyre's Pub in D.C.'s Woodley Park neighborhood. Sanger's new book, "New Cold Wars: China's Rise, Russia's Invasion, and America's Struggle to Defend the West," looks at some of the knottiest foreign policy challenges facing the Biden White House and how previous administrations have dealt with them. Join us for a trip around the world. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’re at Daru, a bustling Indian restaurant in D.C.’s H St. corridor, with Ali Zaidi, the National climate advisor to President Biden. How does the government decide where to build electric vehicle charging stations? Why has this administration approved more oil and gas drilling permits on federal land than President Trump’s administration? Will the president declare a national climate emergency? Do Americans know what climate-related actions President Biden has taken? Answers to those questions - and some delicious scallops - on this week’s show. Join us. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Join us at Carmine's in Washington D.C.'s Penn Quarter for epic quantities of rigatoni, calamari and garlic bread - and an equally delicious conversation with California Congressman Ro Khanna. Khanna, a progressive Democrat and ally of President Biden, says it's time for the U.S. to halt offensive weapons transfers to Israel. He weighs in on Mr. Biden's electoral prospects in key states and explains his very public critique of Robert F. Kennedy's runningmate. Join us! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices