The Muckrake Political Podcast

Support the show and get the full Weekender episode by subscribing to our Patreon at http://patreon.com/muckrakepodcast. This is not an easy episode to record, and it is not an easy one to hear. Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman sit down early Thursday to talk about what happened in Minneapolis, where Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother and legal observer, was shot and killed by an ICE agent while sitting in her car, in front of her wife. They walk through what the video shows, how the official story formed almost immediately, and why the rush to justify what happened matters just as much as the act itself. This is a conversation about a life taken, about how institutions protect themselves, and about what it means when something so plainly tragic is treated like a political problem instead of a human one.

The podcast dives into the shocking U.S. operation that led to the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. It raises urgent concerns about military actions without congressional approval and the implications of an authoritarian-controlled military. The hosts explore the motivations behind reclaiming Venezuela’s oil and examine the erosion of international law. They connect this operation to a broader trend of authoritarianism and discuss risks for other countries, warning about the dark future of global politics.

This is a preview of our regular Weekender show released in full every Friday on our Patreon at patreon.com/muckrakepodcast Please support the show by subscribing and unlocking special content as well as access to our discord and live shows. Co-hosts Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman ring in 2026 with resolutions, sugar hangovers, and a hard look at how a viral YouTube stunt and JD Vance’s megaphone spiraled into a federal freeze on Minnesota child-care funds. They break down the racist scapegoating of Somali communities, which plays right into the right’s conspiracy theories, and why this is political retribution dressed up as oversight. Then it’s the latest Epstein revelations implicating Mar-a-Lago’s spa pipeline and how it connects to Trump even more deeply before focuing on the Supreme Court's refusal to bless federal troop deployments that might turn into a roadmap for even more law-breaking. "What We're Watching" looks at the Stranger Things finale and why nostalgia is starting to feel like content slurry.

Co-hots Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman return for the final Muckrake episode of 2025, and the vibes are… kinda emotionally stable. They look back on a year that somehow felt darker than 2020, then pivot straight into the current circus: Trump raging at the media, posturing about the Epstein files, hosting Zelensky at Mar-a-Lago, and then parroting Putin’s lines like the Oval Office has a Kremlin teleprompter. From there, the conversation goes where 2025 always seems to go: Into the flashing dashboard lights of institutional collapse, Trump’s visible decline, and the unnerving signals that J.D. Vance is already laying 2028 groundwork with Turning Point backing. And if that wasn’t bleak enough, they close with an absolutely cursed focus group of Gen Z Republicans that reads like a “content brain” case study, complete with casual extremism, conspiracy marination, and the kind of political illiteracy that would be funny if it wasn’t actively setting things on fire. Support the show by signing up to our Patreon and get access to the full Weekender episode each Friday as well as special Live Shows and access to our community discord: http://patreon.com/muckrakepodcast

Co-hosts Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman open with brisket talk, then carve into a darker holiday menu. First up, CBS pulls a reported 60 Minutes segment on El Salvador’s CECOT prison after Barry Weiss rides in to “center” the narrative. Then it’s over to TPUSA’s AmericaFest, where Vice President J.D. Vance serves up a white grievance stocking stuffer as conservative influencers snipe at each other for clicks and control. Finally, they wade through the latest Epstein document dump, where the redactions are doing more heavy lifting than the DOJ, and close on why Democratic incumbents already fear 2026 primaries. No Weekender this Friday for the holiday, the year-end show returns next week. Support the show by signing up to our Patreon and get access to the full Weekender episode each Friday as well as special Live Shows and access to our community discord: http://patreon.com/muckrakepodcast

Support the show by signing up to our Patreon and get access to the full Weekender episode each Friday as well as special Live Shows and access to our community discord: ⁠http://patreon.com/muckrakepodcast⁠ Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman break down Donald Trump’s primetime White House address, a rambling, xenophobic meltdown delivered with approval ratings stuck in the mid-30s and no plan to fix anything. They unpack the familiar routine, blame immigrants, lie about affordability, pretend a war crime is leadership, and hope yelling louder somehow changes reality. From the $1,776 military stunt and growing unrest inside the ranks, to Susie Wiles torching her own boss in Vanity Fair, Bongino bailing on the FBI, Democrats burying their 2024 autopsy, and CBS debasing itself for Bari Weiss, it’s a portrait of institutions collapsing in real time while everyone involved pretends this is normal.

A brutal weekend, and a brutal reminder of how broken this moment is. Co-hosts Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman unpack the shocking killing of Rob Reiner and Michelle Reiner, then get into Trump’s grotesque response and what it reveals about the rot at the top. They also hit the GOP cracks in Indiana redistricting, another U.S. campus shooting, and the grim drumbeat of violence and paranoia that never seems to stop. Support the show by signing up to our Patreon and get access to the full Weekender episode each Friday as well as special Live Shows and access to our community discord: http://patreon.com/muckrakepodcast

The hosts explore a tense climate, with humor that veers into alien theories. They dive into the chaotic situation in Venezuela, discussing the US seizing an oil tanker and the problematic rhetoric from officials. Critiques fly at Pam Bondi's misleading statements and the troubling trend of treating military actions like entertainment. The conversation links the resurgence of measles to broader societal issues, highlighting a political class seemingly out of touch with reality.

Co-hosts delve into Trump's controversial 2025 National Security Strategy, labeling it a crypto-fascist manifesto. They discuss the ramifications for NATO and the shifting balance of power with Russia and China. The conversation touches on Netflix's aggressive expansion and the monopolistic dangers to creativity. They criticize FIFA's disingenuous peace prize for Trump and explore the implications of the Queller pardon as a symbol of political corruption. Finally, they analyze Marjorie Taylor Greene's attempt at image rehabilitation.

Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman break down the rapidly spiraling Pete Hegseth scandal, the September strike on Venezuelan fishermen, and why the second “rescue” mission amounts to a tacit admission of wrongdoing. They dig into how a non-war became a war crime, the crumbling veneer of U.S. legitimacy, and the political panic now radiating through Trump’s cabinet. From there, the guys turn to the FBI’s suddenly convenient arrest in the January 6th pipe-bomb case, the paper-thin evidence behind it, and why incompetence has become the defining feature of every institution now claiming to restore order. Then it’s on to the right wing’s newest manufactured martyr, a Bible-citing psychology student whose zero-point assignment has been weaponized into yet another grift about free speech. They wrap with a dive into Stranger Things, trauma allegories, Ken Burns’s America, and what it means to watch childhood, democracy, and reality all get bent out of shape by the same forces. Support the show by signing up to our Patreon and get access to the full Weekender episode each Friday as well as special Live Shows and access to our community discord: http://patreon.com/muckrakepodcast