The Daily Beast Podcast

Latest Episodes:

I Know Why Trump Keeps Getting It Wrong: Rothkopf Mar 31, 2026

Show notes

David Rothkopf and Joanna Coles unpack a week of escalating global tension and political chaos, from mass protests at home to the very real prospect of U.S. troops on the ground in Iran, as insiders warn the situation could spiral fast. Rothkopf delivers a blistering assessment of Trump’s leadership style—driven by perception over strategy—while Coles presses on the risks of surrounding power with inexperience and ego. Together, they connect the dots between history, military reality, and the dangerous decisions unfolding in real time, exposing why threats alone rarely work and how this moment could reshape America’s role on the world stage. It’s a sharp, darkly funny, and deeply sobering conversation that builds toward a chilling conclusion about what may come next.

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I Know Trump’s Secret Plan to Scare Voters Mar 30, 2026

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Daily Beast Political Reporter Sarah Ewall-Wice speaks with Alex Bores, a tech insider turned rising star of the Democratic Party, for a deeply pointed conversation on the collision between Big Tech, Trump’s inner circle, and the future of American democracy. Bores, a former tech insider turned candidate for New York's 12th congressional disctrict, sounds the alarm on what he sees as a billionaire-driven AI agenda shaping policy inside Trump’s White House—while also detailing his break with Palantir over its work with ICE. He then zeroes in on what he calls the most urgent threat: the expanding role of ICE under Trump, including warnings of agents being used to intimidate voters at polling places and a parallel push to undermine mail-in voting ahead of the midterms.

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Trump Secretly Admits Top Goon ‘Is Crazy’ Mar 29, 2026

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Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles dive into a chaotic stretch where Donald Trump’s impulses collide with global consequences, revealing a president driven less by strategy than by instinct, ego, and narrative control. From openly contradicting his own stance on mail-in voting to stamping his name on the dollar, Wolff and Coles track a pattern of behavior that prioritizes dominance and attention over consistency. As the Iran war enters a volatile phase with no clear objective, Wolff argues there was never a real plan—only improvisation now spiraling into risk—while Coles probes whether there’s hidden logic behind the scenes or just confusion layered with bravado. The conversation sharpens around Trump’s reliance on storytelling to survive political damage, his fixation on grievance as midterms loom, and the growing cracks inside his inner circle, from RFK Jr.’s instability to rising doubts about key figures tasked with executing policy.

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Carville’s Shock Prediction Will Terrify Trump Mar 28, 2026

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James Carville tells Daily Beast Political Reporter Sarah Ewall-Wice that Trump is in much bigger trouble than even the terrible polls are predicting. He says the Democrats are on track for sweeping midterm victories—pointing to double-digit overperformance in special elections, even in Donald Trump’s own backyard, and predicting a potential 55-seat Senate majority. Carville also warns that Trump could trigger chaos if he realizes the election is slipping away by undermining election legitimacy or escalating the Iran conflict. He dismantles Republican strategy, questions Trump’s grip on his own party, and argues that fear, defiance, and voter mobilization will define the months ahead.

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Why Even Trump Insiders Admit He’s 'An Idiot' Mar 27, 2026

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Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles dive deep into the most unsettling question at the center of Donald Trump’s presidency: what’s really going on inside his mind. Sparked by a revealing clip and Wolff’s firsthand time in Trump’s White House, the conversation traces a chilling throughline—from early confusion among insiders to the blunt assessment that unlocked everything, reshaping how those closest to power understood his behavior. They unpack Trump’s resistance to information, his aversion to reading, and the coping mechanisms that may have fueled both his rise and his governing style, while exploring how performance, repetition, and instinct can override logic on the world stage. Along the way, they reveal how allies, critics, and even longtime confidants struggled to reconcile the contradictions, and how those very traits may have become his greatest political asset, driving a presidency that defies traditional measures of intelligence and leadership in ways that continue to reverberate far beyond Washington.

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The Sinister Truth About My Interview With Epstein Mar 26, 2026

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George Rush joins Joanna Coles to revisit the moment he began digging into Jeffrey Epstein after the financier’s Palm Beach sweetheart deal, uncovering testimony from Virginia Giuffre, allegations involving Ghislaine Maxwell, and mounting fears Epstein was still recruiting girls. Rush, the famed New York gossip columnist, describes how his reporting triggered pressure from the newspaper’s owner after Epstein intervened—before landing a rare phone interview in which Epstein blamed victims, minimized the charges, and tried to steer coverage toward their lawyer. With hindsight, Rush reflects on Epstein’s manipulation tactics, his push to keep Maxwell out of print, and the explosive tape that nearly sent the reporter to jail when attorneys fought to obtain it.

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I Know What Chaos Trump Is Plotting Next: Wolff Mar 25, 2026

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Michael Wolff joins Joanna Coles to root inside Donald Trump’s mind in real time, as the president wrestles with the Iran war, the spectre of Epstein, and the looming midterms. From bomb threats that evaporate into last-minute negotiations, to backchannel chaos no one can follow, Wolff dissects the whiplash of Trump’s decision-making and the relentless fantasy world he inhabits—where he alone knows more than generals, elections are perpetually stolen, and every problem has a Trump-branded solution. Along the way, the conversation touches on Trump’s obsession with image and the intricate theater of power he stages, showing how drama, delusion, and ambition collide in the mind of a man still convinced only he can save America.

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The Real Reason Trump Talks Like an Idiot: Author Mar 24, 2026

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Kurt Andersen joins Joanna Coles to trace Donald Trump’s rise from Spy magazine punchline to the ultimate show-business president, arguing that Trump didn’t invent the con so much as perfect a distinctly American tradition stretching back to P.T. Barnum’s “clever humbug,” where attention matters more than truth and audiences happily play along. Andersen dissects Trump’s maximalist language—everything the “greatest,” the “best,” the “like nobody’s ever seen”—and warns that the same improvisational instincts that fueled his celebrity now shape foreign policy, including claims of negotiations with Iran that didn’t exist and a presidency run like an endless next episode. They close on Epstein, conspiracies, and the blurry line between con and belief—asking whether Trump the salesman now believes his own pitch, and what it means when politics becomes a spectacle with global stakes.

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Why Trump’s ‘Psychosis’ Has Insiders Terrified Mar 23, 2026

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David Rothkopf returns to the podcast to deliver a chilling behind-the-scenes account of a war spiraling far beyond public spin, revealing that while officials defend the Iran conflict on TV, insiders across Washington are privately terrified by how badly it’s unfolding. Drawing on deep sources inside the military, intelligence, and diplomatic worlds, Rothkopf exposes a stunning lack of strategy, mounting fears of global economic shock, and a rapidly escalating conflict that experts warned would happen—and now can’t control. From skyrocketing energy prices and the risk of a wider regional war to the unnerving reality that key decisions are being driven by instinct rather than planning, Rothkopf details of a crisis that is not only failing abroad but threatening to destabilize alliances, markets, and America’s standing in the world.

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Why Desperate Trump Is Scrambling to Save His Base Mar 22, 2026

Show notes

Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles unpack a chaotic week inside the White House, from the Iran war’s growing political danger and fears of a midterm wipeout to the bizarre rise of “competitive Christianity” as rival factions weaponize faith for power. Wolff reveals how Trump’s erratic grip on reality is shaping the conflict abroad while aides scramble to contain fallout at home, even as tensions over Israel split his base and immigration crackdowns backfire. Meanwhile, in a surreal twist, Trump’s obsession with building a grand White House ballroom emerges as a defining fixation amid the crisis, and Wolff teases his explosive new Epstein series drawn from firsthand encounters.

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