The Nicole Sandler Show

Sorry for my absence yesterday... still feeling the effects of a nasty infection from a few weeks ago, and trying to listen to my body and take better care of myself. Getting old sucks, but it beats the alternative! Anyway, I'm back today (with a follow up appointment with my doctor scheduled for tomorrow afternoon). It's Thursday, so Howie Klein is usually here... but I got a message from him a few minutes before showtime apologizing that he hadn't let me know that he had a doctor's appointment and wouldn't be able to be here today. Obviously I know how that goes... so hopefully, Howie will be back next week. In the meantime, there's lots to talk about today, from Liz Cheney formally endorsing Kamala Harris for President, Trump's trials back on track (at least in Judge Chutkin's court), Merrick Garland is alive and filing charges to fend off Russian interference in the 2024 election, Tim Walz's weird brother surfaces, Trump's "town hall meeting" with no audience questions, MAGAts Nazi bromances,.... you get the idea...

Both the Democratic and Republican conventions are in the rear view mirror, and we made it through Labor Day, so we're now officially in the home stretch of the 2024 presidential election cycle. In two months and two days Nov 5 arrives, whether or not we're ready. Today, we'll take a look at some of the news made over the Labor Day holiday weekend. Then we'll speak with Will Bunch who attended and covered both conventions in his column at the Philadelphia Inquirer, the media's horse race approach to the campaigns, and the shit the media is allowing the Trump campaign to get away with.... This is going to be a long couple of months ahead!

We wrap up each week with Marcy Wheeler of emptywheel.net and a review of all that happened that week. Today it's Jack Smith's superseding indictment (predicted by Marcy last week), plus the big boring CNN interview, the Arlington Cemetery photo op debacle, RFk Jr & Tusli Gabbard and lots more...

For the past dozen or so years, I've had a weekly conversation with my old friend Howie Klein who blogs at DownWithTyranny.com and runs the Blue America PAC, identifying and supporting progressive candidates up and down the ballot all over the country. Howie returns today and brings with him a young candidate running for the Florida state senate, Ben Braver. He's @BenBraverFL on social media, and his website is BenBraver.org. A quick online search tells me that Ben Braver is something of a super hero. We'll get to the bottom of that today. Plus the some news, magat character flaws and, hopefully, a few laughs along the way.

I've been looking forward to this interview for a long time. In fact, Steve Benen was scheduled on this show two weeks ago, the day MINISTRY OF TRUTH: DEMOCRACY, REALITY, AND THE REPUBLICANS' WAR ON THE RECENT PAST was published, but I got sick and had to reschedule. I promise you, it was worth the wait. If you're like me, you've been shouting at the TV every time the former guy shows up spouting more lies which, for the most part, the mainstream corporate media just lets slide. It's this practice of propaganda on such a massive and in-your-face scale that made the term "Gaslighting" part of our regular lexicon and likely the cause of thousands of broken TV screens across the nations. Today, we'll talk about the fact that we're not the crazy ones...

Today is a catch up day, of sorts. We'll talk about the latest news - there's never a lack of crazy stuff to discuss while TFG is trying to remain relevant. Just before we hit the air, a breaking news alert came in-- Jack Smith filed a superseding indictment in the J6 Obstruction case against Trump. We'll open the phone lines should you have a comment or question about the campaigns, conventions or anything else. And we did hear from a special guest. Dave, though you know him better as the worm (still) living in RFK, Jr's brain....

I'm finally feeling almost normal after an awful infection that led me to two separate Emergency Room visits in one week. So today, it's back to the grind.Somehow, the fact that today is Monday is not quite as awful as the last few hundred (or so it seems) Mondays have been... So, we'll chat about all that's happening in the news today, and then bring on Jonathan Larsen who reports on all of that at thefuckingnews.substack.com every day....

Well, that was a convention for the history books! I apologize for the lack of an Emptywheel Friday show last week. I got really sick from a UTI that spawned an e Coli infection, something you do not ever want. Thankfully I was doing well enough this week to be able to share some highlights of the 2024 Democratic National Convention for the past few days, and today, was joined by Marcy Wheeler (emptywheel.net) for a complete postscript to the most entertaining and inspiring political convention I've ever watched. Strap in... we're not going back!

This was supposed to run on Monday,but I obviously uploaded the wrong episode, Here's the correct show: -------- When I decided to put together some actual best of shows to run while I'm in transit, I asked for requests…. Almost immediately someone asked if I had ever interviewed Tom Petty. I did! IT was the one and only time I ever met him… It was April 30, 1999…. We had just signed a new radio station on the air in Los Angeles, Channel 103.1 a few months earlier. Tom had just released a new album called Echo, and joined me in the studio. He didn't perform that day, but hung out and talked for a while… I decided to play this today, as it marks the sixth anniversary of his sudden and untimely death on oct 2, 2017. We follow that with an interview with Jon Scott, the man TP credits for ever getting his records played on the radio. Jon wrote the book, "Tom Petty & Me"

I can't remember ever smiling so much while watching a political convention. I predict the top three names for baby girls born this year will be Hope, Joy and Kamala!! Night 3 of the party of the decade featured some real surprises: Stevie Wonder delivering heartfelt words and a rousing "Higher Ground." Sheila E was joined by John Legend to play Minnesota favorite son Prince's "Let's Go Crazy" before we officially met MN Gov Coach Tim Walz, the next Vice President of the United States. Speakers from Oprah Winfrey to Amanda Gorman to Hakeem Jefferies wowed the crowd... and we heard from rising Dem Party stars PA Gov Josh Shapiro and Sec of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. And the crowd was even courteous and welcoming to two figures that many would have preferred not have prime time speaking slots, former President Bill Clinton and Speaker emeritus Nancy Pelosi. There was mostly that inescapable Joy in the room, but I was heartened by the warn response and love shown toward Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin, the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Poln, one of 8 Americans still being held captive by Hamas terrorists in Gaza since he was abducted on Oct 7 of last year. Another night that was excellent in both substance and style... Today on the show, we'll do as we've been doing all week... we'll hear some highlights and a few full speeches from last night... Do Something!