Here's the Scoop

The parents of a 16-year-old boy who died by suicide are suing OpenAI, claiming its ChatGPT chatbot helped their son research suicide methods. The suit also names CEO Sam Altman and marks the first wrongful-death case filed directly against the company. Host Yasmin Vossoughian speaks with NBC News senior legal correspondent Laura Jarrett about the claims, the legal stakes, and what it could mean for AI accountability. Meanwhile, President Trump is escalating his battle with the Federal Reserve, abruptly saying he was firing Fed Governor Lisa Cook via a post on Truth Social, but does he even have the authority to do that? Cook’s lawyer says no, calling the move “illegal” and pledging to fight it in court. NBC News senior business correspondent Christine Romans joins us to break it down. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Trump administration's crackdown on crime and illegal immigration is escalating. National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., are now carrying firearms, and President Trump is threatening to send them to other cities like Chicago and Baltimore. In immigration news, a case that has gripped national attention takes another twist. Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man the Justice Department admitted they mistakenly deported to El Salvador, was briefly released from federal custody on Friday, only to land back in ICE custody this morning after a routine check-in. NBC News Legal Affairs Reporter Gary Grumbach joins host Yasmin Vossoughian to break it all down. And, baby, we were born to run. We're celebrating 50 years of Bruce Springsteen's legendary album Born to Run. Music journalist Peter Ames Carlin joins the pod to talk about the record that held the power to make or break the Boss’ career. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

After Erik Menendez was denied parole in a nearly 10-hour hearing Thursday, it’s his older brother Lyle’s day in court. NBC News national correspondent Liz Kreutz joins host Morgan Chesky from outside the prison where the brothers are being held. And as the FBI conducts raids on the home and office of ex-national security adviser John Bolton, Senior Executive Editor for National Security & Law for NBC News David Rohde brings us up to speed on the long-running beef between Bolton and President Trump. CORRECTION (Aug. 23, 2025, 04:35 p.m. ET): This episode misstates where Ghislaine Maxwell is currently serving her prison sentence. She is currently in a minimum-security prison in Texas, not the facility in Florida from which she was recently transferred. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today on the pod: the GOAT. That’s right, tennis great Serena Williams joins host Yasmin Vossoughian and reveals that she's on a GLP-1 and working with provider Ro and shares why she's starting a podcast of her own with her sister Venus. Also, NBC News correspondent Ryan Chandler joins to discuss the next steps in the Texas redistricting fight now that Democrats are back in the state. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It’s been just over a week since President Trump took control of D.C.’s law enforcement, deploying the National Guard, FBI, Homeland Security, and ICE to crack down on crime. Now, six Republican governors are sending over a thousand more guardsmen to help. But has it worked? Is crime actually down? Host Yasmin Vossoughian talks with NBC 4 Washington’s investigative reporter Ted Oberg. Plus, are prop bets on their way out? The NBA already restricted them, could MLB be next? NBC News Sports Reporter Andrew Greif breaks down what you need to know before placing that bet. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

President Trump says he wants to pull the plug on voting by mail. In the Oval Office yesterday, he called mail-in ballots “corrupt.” It might sound like it came out of nowhere, but this idea’s been bubbling for a while. And it just got a boost from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who at that high-stakes summit in Alaska on Friday echoed Trump’s unproven claim that mail ballots “rigged” the 2020 election. Host Yasmin Vossoughian talks with our senior politics reporter, Matt Dixon, who breaks down what this could mean for the 2026 midterms. And is the government really controlling the weather? Some Republican lawmakers seem to think so, and they’re introducing a bill to ban so-called “weather modification.” NBC News Political Reporter Allan Smith is with us to explain. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

President Trump welcomed Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and European leaders to the White House with the goal of charting a path toward ending the war in Ukraine. NBC News Senior White House Correspondent Gabe Gutierrez is on the scene and shares his reporting. And NBC News Chief International Correspondent Keir Simmons, who’s been covering this story extensively from Moscow, joins us to explain the Russian perspective of this meeting. Then, TODAY producer Leah Nagy breaks down what we’re learning from a newly released trove of police documents about the 2022 murder of four University of Idaho students. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today, President Donald Trump sat down with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska for their high-stakes talks on the war in Ukraine. Behind them, a banner read “Pursuing Peace” but noticeably missing from the table? Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose country is the one under Russian attack. Host Yasmin Vossoughian is joined by former U.S. Ambassador to Russia and NBC News International Affairs Analyst Michael McFaul to unpack what we might expect from this meeting and what he thinks Putin is like behind closed doors. NBC News Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel is also with us from Ukraine, with reaction from Ukrainians who feel shut out of a meeting that could decide the fate of their country. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

So an NBC News correspondent and a Fed president walk into a donut factory… Co-host Brian Cheung takes a tour of a Springfield, Illinois donut factory with Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee. The visit will help Goolsbee decide his vote when the Federal Reserve meets to set interest rates next month. And: a massive new detention center is set to open in Texas this week, but it’s running into roadblocks. NBC News Senior Homeland Security Correspondent Julia Ainsley joins to explain why it presents a problem for President Trump’s deportation goals. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Tensions rise as Trump and Putin prepare for their pivotal meeting in Alaska, sparking fears over Ukraine's security. The podcast reveals disturbing footage of violence by corrections officers in New York prisons, bringing systemic issues to light. In addition to these serious topics, the conversation touches on the intriguing decline of alcohol consumption and a jellyfish-related incident affecting a nuclear plant in France. Urgent calls for reform in the prison system echo throughout the discussion, highlighting the need for change.