What A Day

Former U.S. deputy national security advisor Ben Rhodes discusses Netanyahu dissolving Israel's war cabinet and the stalemate in Ukraine. Surgeon General Murthy calls for social media warning labels. Biden's executive order and Maryland pardons low-level marijuana convictions.

Former President Trump plans to appeal his criminal conviction on 34 counts, legal experts discuss potential issues. Ukraine and Western leaders reject Putin's ceasefire plan. Wildfire in LA burns 12,000 acres. Kate Middleton makes public appearance post cancer diagnosis.

Guest host Josie Duffy Rice and Max delve into the rise of the German far-right AfD party and the broader far-right movement in Europe. They discuss the party's extreme beliefs, ties to Putin, impact of terrorism, and factors driving bigotry. The narrative explores societal shifts, economic turmoil, and anti-immigration sentiments as key contributors to the rise of far-right ideologies in Europe.

In a unanimous decision on Thursday, the Supreme Court preserved broad access to the abortion drug mifepristone — at least for now. The justices dismissed the case on a technicality, ruling that the anti-abortion groups and doctors who brought it didn't have a legal right to sue. But the court's decision isn't a solid win for abortion access. The justices didn't weigh in on the substance of the case, meaning it could end up back in front of the court. Already, three Republican-led states are trying to make that happen. Julia Kaye, senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union's Reproductive Freedom Project, explains the ruling and what's next.And in headlines: President Joe Biden and other G7 leaders agreed to finance a $50 billion loan to Ukraine to help pay for its war against Russia and rebuild the country's infrastructure, former president Donald Trump schmoozed with House and Senate Republicans during his first visit to Capitol Hill since the Jan. 6 insurrection, and the ACLU and immigrant rights groups sued the Biden administration over the president's executive order severely limiting asylum claims at the southern border. Show Notes:What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

Rep. Jamie Raskin discusses countering the right-wing Project 2025 agenda in a second Trump term. Topics include G7 summit, Southern Baptist Convention, and potential commutation of Hunter Biden's sentence.

A Delaware jury on Tuesday convicted Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden’s son, on three federal felony gun charges. The verdict makes Biden the first member of a sitting president’s immediate family to be convicted of a crime. A sentencing date hasn’t been set yet, but the president’s son is facing up to 25 years in prison. Alex Thompson, national political correspondent for Axios, was in the courtroom during the trial. He breaks down the verdict and the reactions in Washington.And in headlines: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was back in the Middle East to put pressure on Hamas to formally agree to a ceasefire deal with Israel, embattled Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is in hot water again after a secret recording caught him agreeing with Christian conservative viewpoints, and a federal judge struck down Florida’s ban on gender-affirming care.Show Notes:What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court asked the Justice Department to weigh in on two cases that deal with whether cities and states can hold fossil fuel companies responsible for the effects of climate change. While we wait to see what happens, one thing is abundantly clear: climate change is already affecting our health. Vox Media, Grist and The 19th News teamed up for a series on how our changing climate is reshaping the reproductive cycle from menstruation to menopause. Lead reporter Zoya Teirstein joins us to talk about the series, “Expecting worse: Giving birth on a planet in crisis.”And in headlines: Voters in the key swing state of Nevada head to the polls today to vote in the state’s primary election, the United Nations Security Council approved a U.S.-sponsored ceasefire resolution for the war in Gaza, and researchers say wild African elephants call each other by unique names when communicating.Show Notes:Read the series- Expecting worse: Giving birth on a planet in crisisWhat A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

Benny Gantz, a key member of Israel’s war cabinet, resigned from his post on Sunday. His announcement came one day after Israeli forces rescued four hostages held by Hamas in an operation that killed scores of Palestinians. Gantz, who’s also Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s chief political rival, said Netanyahu is “preventing us from reaching real victory” and called for new elections.President Joe Biden wrapped up a five-day visit to France on Sunday. While the trip was nominally about commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day, Biden also used it to defend the idea of democracy itself, drawing parallels between World War II and the war in Ukraine. Behind the scenes, European leaders are privately panicking over the prospect of a second Trump term. McKay Coppins, senior staff writer at The Atlantic, says he encountered “an undercurrent of dread” in almost every conversation he had with European officials while traveling across this continent this spring.And in headlines: A New York probation official is set to interview former president Donald Trump today following his conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records, Conspiracy theorist and Info Wars founder Alex Jones asked a bankruptcy court for permission to liquidate his personal assets to pay the families of the Sandy Hook shooting victims, and the head of the United Nations’ World Food Programme says Sudan could become the “world’s largest humanitarian crisis.”Show Notes:What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

Until recently, many people—and colleges—rejected the SAT as a racist and classist metric that perpetuated social divides. But now it’s being championed as a tool for closing some of those same gaps! This week on How We Got Here: why does public opinion on the SAT keep flip-flopping? Who does the test privilege? And is it really the best metric we’ve got for college admissions? With Erin on maternity leave, “What A Day” all-star Priyanka Aribindi joins Max to assess the racist roots of the SAT, how it’s evolved since, and how its history reflects attitudes towards access to higher education.  SOURCES:Major Changes Adopted in SAT College Exam - Los Angeles TimesThe Misguided War on the SAT - The New York TimesColleges Dropped the SAT and ACT. Here’s Why Many High Schools Didn’t. - WSJThe SATs are: a) dying; b) already dead; c) alive and well; d) here forever - VoxSecrets of the SAT : Michael Chandler, Cam Bay Productions., WGBH Educational Foundation., PBS Video. : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet ArchiveInterviews - Henry Chauncey | Secrets Of The Sat | FRONTLINE | PBSWhy US Colleges Are Reviving Standardized Tests - BloombergStandardized Test Scores and Academic Performance at Ivy-Plus CollegesThe Rainbow Project: Enhancing the SAT through assessments of analytical, practical, and creative skills​​The Test | Anya KamenetzThe Big Test | Macmillan

Thursday was a bit of a letdown for Supreme Court watchers. The justices issued opinions in three smaller cases, but we’re still waiting for decisions in more than two dozen others with just a few weeks left of the term. Some of those cases could be hugely consequential, touching on everything from reproductive rights and presidential immunity to social media and guns. Melissa Murray, co-host of Crooked’s legal podcast ‘Strict Scrutiny,’ says we should brace ourselves for a wild June.And in headlines: An Israeli strike killed dozens of Palestinians who were sheltering at a U.N. school complex, prosecutors called Beau Biden’s widow to the stand to testify in Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial, and Pat Sajak hosts his final episode of Wheel of Fortune today.Show Notes:What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday