The Nicole Sandler Show

I adore Kelly Carlin. She is an amazing woman who has lived a fascinating life filled with unique challenges and experiences and uses it all to help others on our journeys. Yes. She is the only child of the legendary comedian and voice of a generation, George Carlin. She's got a Masters in Jungian psychology, though she is not a therapist. Regardless, she has helped (and continues to help) lots of us who face our own unique sets of problems, challenges and experiences. Kelly has guested on this show a few times over the years. I called on her to lead us in a guided meditation the first time D'ump somehow took up residence in the White House. That one is still one of my favorite episodes of this show. When my mind started rebelling a few weeks before November's election and did a number on me after the results were known, I reached out to Kelly for help. And she did! I'm doing quite a bit better now, though still struggling, as are so many of my listeners/viewers. I know because I've heard from so many of you. So I invited Kelly back on to help us all find a way to deal with the next four years. I know you'll find her refreshing, helpful, and funny too. And our timing is perfect, as she's got a few events/workshops coming up that you might want to take advantage of (and/or give as a gift to the people you know who could also use some help right about now. Listen, and check out humansontheverge.com and thekellycarlinsite.com. We can do this...

Rachel Bitecofer does have that "Dr" title, and we could all use some healing right now. The best doctors are those who give you the information, the tools and the strategies to heal, so that's what we're talking about today. Bitecofer, author of the book HIT 'EM WHERE IT HURTS gave us the tools, strategies and info we needed, but too many didn't follow the directions. Now Rachel is back with a podcast and blog at THECYCLE.SUBSTACK.COM so pay attention! She's a political scientist and strategist, and if we (Americans) would listen to her and learn what she's teaching us, we can succeed. It's too late for 2024, but while we still have some semblance of a democracy, let's embrace the challenge and save the future for our children and the future.

Like death and taxes, Mondays are inevitable. As so many of us have tuned out of the nonstop news coverage, we're happy to fill you on what's happening in the world as we start the new week with Jonathan Larsen of TheFuckingNews.substack.com. Why? The news goes down easier with a bit of snark. Today, a "strong person of interest" in the UHC CEO killing is in custody in PA thanks to a McDonalds employee. TFN has uncovered some interesting details about 26-year old Luigi Mangione, including his high school valedictory speech. Welcome to a new week...

We're back. Marcy Wheeler again joins us from her home in Ireland for our end-of-the-week look back on what went down over the past few days. As usual, lots of shit thrown against the wall where, inevitably, some of it sticks. Today we talk about what's left of the D'ump indictments and prosecutions (not much), his nominations (lots of them), pardons and preemptive pardons (just listen) and more... We have a lot of work to do. Let's get to it. In the meantime, I'm compiling a list of credible, accurate, good journalists who we can trust to report the truth. Those are the ones we need to get our information from and support as much as we can. Please start with emptywheel. net and nicolesandler.com (and email me your picks too!).

I've been hosting this show exclusively online since January 21, 2010. Prior to that, we were on Air America Radio weeknights. But on that day, Air America went dark... coincidentally, that was the day that the Supreme Court handed down its democracy-killing decision in Citizens United, basically equating money with speech and upending one of the legs of democracy. Howie Klein has been a regular guest on this show since the Air America days. So, for more than 15 years now, Howie and I have spoken on the show almost weekly about our democracy and how to best keep or move the nation to be a bit more progressive. In addition to his blog at DownWithTyranny.com, Howie also oversees the Blue America PAC (joined by Heather 'Digby' Parton and Crooks & Liars' John Amato0, who actively raise money for the best progressive candidates running. I'm doing this 're-set' as it's been a few weeks since Howie has been here (all on me and my health issues), and because of a bit of a media realignment that I believe is just beginning, we have some newcomers checking out the show. Since we haven't spoken since the election, one of the things we'll discuss today is the disconnect between the narrative pushed by the legacy/corporate media pushing and the truth regarding the election results and, frankly, just about everything else...

If you're a regular listener of the show then you're familiar with today's guest, Lisa Graves. In addition to being one of my favorite people, she's also one of the most brilliant. She's currently Director of TrueNorthResearch.org. but appears on this show in her personal capacity offering facts and opinions based on her unimpeachable experience working in the DoJ under AGs Janet Reno and John Ashcroft, in the Senate Judiciary Committee as lead counsel for nominations and so much more. True North Research published a primer on what is now likely the playbook for the D'ump 2.0 administration, better known to us all as Project 2025. It's at Project2025Admin.com and includes a profile of Kash Patel, who D'ump has suggested he'll appoint to lead the FBI. OMG. And the EXTreme Court hear a case this morning -- US vs Skrmetti - about whether Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming medical care for minors violates the US Constitution. (Watch out, this slide is already horribly slippery.)

I feel that I owe you more of an explanation.As you well know by now, I've been having a rough time for the past couple of months, but because I've been such a wreck, I haven't been able to give you the details about how and why I got to such a dark place.It's been a while since my husband David Sloane joined me on the show. But he will be here today. Yes, the election took and continues to take a toll on our collective psyche, but there's much more than that doing on right now, and I believe it's my responsibility to let you know just what has me in this dark place. So I've enlisted David to come in and help me explain. I know that THIS isn't what most people tune into this show for. But I also know, based on your emails and messages from the past few days, that many of you do care. Today's show will hopefully be cathartic for more than a few of us. And for everyone else, the show will continue the rest of the week with Lisa Graves, Howie Klein and emptywheel on Wed, Thu and Fri respectively. As always, thank you for bearing with me... If you are in a position financially to support my work and help me out, there are lots of ways to do so via my donate page. Or the PO Box to do it old school is PO Box 7942, Chandler AZ 85286. xoxo Nicole

Another week, a new month. I'm still not quite right, but I'm back today. It's Monday, so Jonathan Larsen also returns from thefuckingnews.substack.com. Thankfully he can fill us in on what's been going on since I, along with millions of Americans, have tried to tune out as much of the news as possible. He joins in at the 30 minute mark... I know you come here for information, but I hope you also watch/listen/participate in the show for truth, as painful as it sometimes is. If you've wondered about my uncharacteristic absences of late, I've been sick. I've been going through a mental health crisis. To be completely honest, I'm still in the midst of it, but I must make every effort to keep putting one foot in front of the other, so I'm back today to do just that. I'll explain as much as I can on the show, and want to thank you for being patient and for your support as I try to get back on track...

We're back! We did take a break last week because, well, I needed a break. But we're back. A bit of rest and mental diversions away from news and politics helped me a bit. Marcy Wheeler suggested taking some time out to go look at the ocean. Whatever form it takes, please carve out time for some self care. The next few years will not be easy. Let's all make sure we and our friends and families are ok. As for the news, it's important to stay informed-- and that means insuring that the sources your turn to are those you can trust. To that end, we'll start putting together capable, informed, and credible journalists and organizations to trust and support, and steering clear of those who don't meet the criteria. At the top of my list of trusted journalists is Marcy Wheeler who writes at emptywheel.net and helps me unpack the week each Friday. As for this past week? Just hit the play button!

One of our favorite guests here on the Nicole Sandler Show is Lisa Graves. Not just because she's one of the better angels among us, but she's also wicked smart and has the CV to back up her beliefs. These days Lisa Graves works as a governmental watchdog of sorts in her role as Director of True North Research, whose work you should follow at truenorthresearch.org. But she usually appears on my show in her personal capacity as a private citizen with great expertise on all matters pertaining to our Justice system and Dept of Justice, the Senate nominations and confirmation proceedings, and how things are supposed to work in and around Washington DC. Today, we'll get Lisa's take on some late-breaking news that Matt Gaetz has pulled his name from consideration to be the next US Attorney General, though 180's like that are often cause for even more alarm. What other rules has the dictator-elect broken and how many more norms has he shattered? Does she have any advice for those of us who feel as if we're hanging on for dear life by a frayed thread? Lisa Graves is one of the smartest people I know and she doesn't sound an alarm without real justification. Perhaps a group hug is what we need today. We'll do that, virtually anyway...