The Mark Thompson Show

Trump says he’s releasing an unredated 80,000 pages that will bring information to light about the murder of President John F. Kennedy. For Trump, declassifying the JFK assassination file is a campaign promise. We welcome journalist and author David Dayen. Much of his work shines a light on corporate greed, certainly relevant in Trump’s so called Golden Age. Pulitzer Prize winning author and investigative reporter David Cay Johnston stops by to talk politics. The Mark Thompson Show 3/18/25Patreon subscribers are the backbone of the show! If you’d like to help, here’s our Patreon Link:https://www.patreon.com/themarkthompsonshowMaybe you’re more into PayPal.  https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=PVBS3R7KJXV24And you’ll find everything on our website: https://www.themarkthompsonshow.com

In a middle of the night Truth Social blast, Trump declared pardons made by President Biden void and vacant. Trump claims former President Biden used an auto-pen and accused some of the people pardoned of being behind the move, indicating they will be “fully investigated.” He’s said it before and now Elon Musk is doubling down on calls to impeach judges who don’t go along with his and Trump’s line of thinking. Over the weekend, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg got in the way of Trump's revival of the Alien Enemies Act and ordered five men to be returned to the U.S. That led Texas Republican Congressman Brandon Gill to announce he’d file articles of impeachment against the judge to which Musk posted on X in response, “Necessary.”When did it become necessary to oust judges for their opinions?We welcome Richard Greene the Civics Dean to talk about it.In the second hour, David Pakman joins to talk politics and tell us about his new book: The Echo Machine: How Right-Wing Extremism Created a Post-Truth America. The Mark Thompson Show 3/17/25Patreon subscribers are the backbone of the show! If you’d like to help, here’s our Patreon Link:https://www.patreon.com/themarkthompsonshowMaybe you’re more into PayPal.  https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=PVBS3R7KJXV24And you’ll find everything on our website: https://www.themarkthompsonshow.com

Hammered by lower court rulings against him, Donald Trump is looking for ways to move his contested executive orders forward faster. Trump is asking the Supreme Court to clear his path and if they do, it will be a game changer. JD Vance got booed big time at the Kennedy Center. He was at a symphony performance with his wife when the crowd let him have it. Jim Avila returns to The Mark Thompson Show. The former network correspondent will talk politics with political journalist Michael Shure. Add that to Friday Fabulous Florida and the movie and streaming reviews of the Culture Blaster, Michael Snyder, and you’ve got an awesome Friday show!

Canada's Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly is offering a warning to the members of the G7, “If the U.S. can do this to us, their closest friend, then nobody is safe.” Canada has been at the mercy of Trump's erratic tariff threats for months. As Canada prepares to host the G7 foreign ministers, Joly says she plans to raise the issue with the European and British members, while advising them that “Canada is the canary in the coal mine." A judge says probationary federal workers will have to be reinstated. It's one of may lawsuits pending against the Trump administration. We welcome Constitutional Law Professor Corey Brettschneider to the show to discuss it. Former federal prosecutor David Katz joins the show to talk about the law and politics.

Since Donald Trump took office and Elon Musk made himself the face of Doge, Tesla stock has dropped 48%. In a show of loyalty, Trump cheapened the front of the White House by turning it into something of a Tesla showroom yesterday. Musk had a Cybertruck and a couple sedans brought over. Then, Musk and Trump posed for pictures as the owner of Tesla sold the non-driving president an electric car. The move brought Tesla stock up 4%. Tesla has also been the target of protestors who have burned charging stations and vandalized vehicles. To them, Trump says he is directing those acts to be considered “domestic terrorism.” Our resident presidential historian, John Rothmann, will have a lot to say about using the Whitehouse as a backdrop to sell cars. Our favorite Britisher Anthony Davis stops by to talk politics. He is the host of “5 Minute News” on YouTube and brings his deep knowledge of world politics to the conversation. Potential Social Security changes are concerning many people. We’ll talk about it with Branko Marcetic. He is a journalist, investigative reporter and author. *Programming Note: Belinda Waymouth is off today

Trump could have used his appearance on Fox over the weekend to calm and reassure nervous investors but instead he ratcheted up the anxiety. After a back-and-forth - now he will, now he won’t - tariff policy with Canada and Mexico and financial markets across the world reacting badly, economists tell The Guardian, the risk of a Trumpsession is getting bigger.Branco Marcetic will stop by the show. He is a journalist, investigative reporter and author. Pulitzer Prize winning author and investigative journalist David Cay Johnston joins us to talk politics. Tech Tuesdsay brings Jefferson Graham to The Mark Thompson with a look at Apple’s latest and the best gadgets The Mark Thompson Show 3/11/25Patreon subscribers are the backbone of the show! If you’d like to help, here’s our Patreon Link:https://www.patreon.com/themarkthompsonshowMaybe you’re more into PayPal.  https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=PVBS3R7KJXV24And you’ll find everything on our website: https://www.themarkthompsonshow.com

When asked on Fox about the possibility of a recession, Trump said he hates to predict things like that, but would not rule out a 2025 recession. His was a message of it may get worse before it gets better. He said:“There is a period of transition, because what we’re doing is very big. We’re bringing wealth back to America. That’s a big thing.”Meanwhile, the back and forth over firing federal workers and cutting federal programs continues. We welcome Alex Lawson to the show. If you’re worried about the future of Social Security and Medicare, you won’t want to miss this conversation. Alex leads a coalition of more than 340 organizations that support Social Security and Medicare and brings a knowledable perspective. We will talk politics with CBS iHeart Television & Radio Political Analyst Gary Dietrich. Gil Duran will stop by the show. He’s a former opinion editor for the Sacramento and the San Francisco Examiner. He also worked with both Governor Jerry Brown and the late Senator Diane Feinstein. The Mark Thompson Show 3/10/25Patreon subscribers are the backbone of the show! If you’d like to help, here’s our Patreon Link:https://www.patreon.com/themarkthompsonshowMaybe you’re more into PayPal.  https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=PVBS3R7KJXV24And you’ll find everything on our website: https://www.themarkthompsonshow.com

It’s a cat and mouse game of will there or won’t there be tariffs. Today’s answer is wildly different from yesterday's and last week’s. Now, carmakers are getting a pause on 25% import levies until early April. Other items covered by the North America's free trade pact are also exempt including televisions, air conditioners, avocados and beef. What will tomorrow bring? Likely more uncertainty as markets continue to be volatile. How did America get to this place and how can we get out of it? Author Karherine Stewart sits down with Mark to explore the themes of her new book, “Money, Lies and God.” Journalist and political reporter Michael Shure stops by to wrap up this week in politics. We’ll visit our wild Florida friends to see what kind of trouble meth, booze and gators brought this week. Then, the Culture Blaster, Michael Snyder, will slide in to talk movies, streaming options and more!The Mark Thompson Show 3/7/25Patreon subscribers are the backbone of the show! If you’d like to help, here’s our Patreon Link: https://www.patreon.com/themarkthompsonshowMaybe you’re more into PayPal. https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=PVBS3R7KJXV24And you’ll find everything on our website: https://www.themarkthompsonshow.com

Elon Musk, who clearly holds sway over the president, wants the US government privatize as much as possible. That includes the US Postal Service, Amtrak and more. Musk made the comments at a Morgan Stanley tech conference. It’s not clear who would take over services currently managed by the government, but It could be a money making opportunity for the wealthy tech bros.We welcome Patrick Lovell to the show. After suffering personal losses in the 2008 Financial Crisis, Lovell created a TV Series called The Con and continues to fight for truth and justice.A mixture of court rulings are coming back. One yesterday from the Supreme Court went against Trump‘s bid to freeze USAID money. We’ll check in with former federal prosecutor and now defense attorney David Katz for help untangling the latest decisions.The Mark Thompson Show 3/6/25Patreon subscribers are the backbone of the show! If you’d like to help, here’s our Patreon Link:https://www.patreon.com/themarkthompsonshowMaybe you’re more into PayPal.  https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=PVBS3R7KJXV24And you’ll find everything on our website: https://www.themarkthompsonshow.com

People who rely on Social Security checks may be feeling a little iffy about President Trump’s intentions. Trump spoke to a joint session of Congress last night and once again, raised the issue of possible fraud within the Social Security system. He’s convinced dead people are getting checks The Social Security administration addressed the matter recently saying the numbers are part of a known problem with the government’s data with millions of people over age 100 in the Social Security Administration’s database, but the vast majority aren’t receiving benefits. Why Trump keeps raising the issue when it’s been explained is unclear, but both Trump and Elon Musk have been exaggerating figures and misrepresenting Social Security data as part of the Doge cost cutting agenda We will check in with presidential historian John Rothmann for his perspective on Trump’s address. The measles outbreak continues to spread.We will check in with emergency medicine specialist Dr. Michael Daignault. If you have questions for him, we will try to get at least a few on. Find us at themarkthompsonshow@gmail.comProgramming Note: Belinda Waymouth is off today.The Mark Thompson Show 3/5/25Patreon subscribers are the backbone of the show! If you’d like to help, here’s our Patreon Link:https://www.patreon.com/themarkthompsonshowMaybe you’re more into PayPal.  https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=PVBS3R7KJXV24And you’ll find everything on our website: https://www.themarkthompsonshow.com