
America This Week
Welcome to America This Week, with Matt Taibbi and Walter Kirn, the national news wrap-up so true, we recommend you stow all sharp objects before reading. www.racket.news
Latest episodes

Feb 28, 2025 • 31min
America This Week, Feb 28, 2025: "America Breaks from Europe"
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.racket.newsFaced with collapse, the Luftreich - the international elite consensus - fights back. Also, "The Main Death,' by Dashiell Hammett

Feb 21, 2025 • 30min
America This Week, Feb 21, 2025: "Looking Back on Trump's First Month"
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.racket.newsWith video appearances by Jon Stewart, Jen Psaki, an EPA official caught on tape, and a 990 form or two. Which set of lawbreakers is ahead? Plus, "The Fatalist," by Mikhail Lermontov

Feb 14, 2025 • 30min
America This Week, Feb 14, 2025: "The Government is a Giant Pile of Dung"
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.racket.newsTulsi Gabbard confirmed. Plus, "Angel Fire," by our own Walter Kirn

Jan 31, 2025 • 30min
America This Week, Jan 31, 2025: "The Apostate Hearings: RFK, Warren, and Democrat-on-Democrat Crime"
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.racket.newsWalter attends the Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. hearings. We discuss highlights and (mostly) lowlights. Also, "Dark-Brown Dog," by Stephen Crane

Jan 24, 2025 • 31min
America This Week, Jan 24, 2025: Walter and Matt Review Donald Trump’s Executive Orders
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.racket.newsUndoing the Great American Cluster$&%k? Also, “Alyosha the Pot” by Lev Tolstoy

Jan 17, 2025 • 31min
America This Week, Jan 17, 2025: "The Annotated Final Speech of Joe Biden"
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.racket.newsA historically peculiar presidency ends on an oddly half-assed note. Plus, the chilling "Tall Tales from the Mekong Delta," by Kate Braverman

Jan 10, 2025 • 30min
America This Week, Jan 10, 2025: "California Fires and America's Competency Crisis"
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.racket.newsLos Angeles is in flames, and California's leaders seem helpless, unmasking a generation of public investment in non-essential services. Also, "On Guard," by Evelyn Waugh

Dec 20, 2024 • 31min
America This Week, Dec. 20, 2024: "Damn! Defamation Suits Return, and the Killer Folk Legend Ascends"
The discussion kicks off with a personal reflection on holiday stress amid ecological concerns. A significant $15 million defamation settlement involving ABC News and Donald Trump sparks conversations on journalistic ethics. The tension between media freedom and misinformation becomes a focal point, alongside landmark legal cases that shape defamation law. Lastly, the impact of financial pressures on ethical reporting is explored, revealing the complex relationship between sensationalism and accountability in today’s journalism.

Dec 13, 2024 • 31min
America This Week, Dec. 13, 2024: "Assassination Tales and Rubber Elephants"
A high-profile murder case sparks debate over the fusion of media and public perception. The suspect becomes an unlikely folk hero, raising questions about the glorification of violence. The impact of a controversial manifesto on the healthcare system is scrutinized, alongside the absurdity of its potential implications for FBI investigations. Humor and skepticism color discussions on the sensationalist media frenzy, ultimately reflecting on accountability in journalism and the strange emergence of vigilante sentiments.

Dec 6, 2024 • 30min
America This Week, December 06, 2024: "The Immaculate Pardon"
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.racket.newsA trial balloon floats presidential pardons no one asked for, no one knows anything about, and no one needs, but will be done anyway. Plus, the "Masque of the Red Death," by Edgar Allan Poe
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