The DSR Network - The DSR Network

Latest Episodes:

The Daily Blast: Trump Press Sec Goes Full Cult as Brutal Fox News Poll Hits Him Hard Dec 19, 2025

Show notes

On Thursday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the world that the Kennedy Center has now been renamed after President Donald Trump. Her announcement of this great honor was bizarrely obsequious, mimicking phrases Trump himself uses and slathering him with great flattery. We think it’s no accident that this comes as Trump’s decline is worsening both physically and politically: On Friday, he seemed to nod off amid his escalating physical deterioration. And a brutal Fox News poll finds his approval on the economy cratering, huge majorities saying economic conditions are bad, and even majority opposition to his mighty boat bombings. We talked to Moira Donegan, a columnist for The Guardian, who has a great new piece on Trump’s decline. We discuss how Trump’s minions are compensating for his deterioration with increasing cult worship, why his physical and political decline are connected, and what it means that the world is now looking beyond Trump.

Looking for More from the DSR Network? Click Here: https://linktr.ee/deepstateradio

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Words Matter: Reflecting on Rob Reiner and his Legacy Dec 18, 2025

Show notes

Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle were tragically murdered. Their son, who has history of struggles with addition and mental health, is currently the lead suspect. Across the country, mental health issues have and continue be poorly treated and often stigmatized, when we desperately need compassionate policy reform. On this week’s episode of Words Matter, Norm Ornstein and David Rothkopf discuss Rob Reiner’s artistic and social justice legacy, the inadequacies of our nation’s mental health policies, and how we can address political reform.

Looking for More from the DSR Network? Click Here: https://linktr.ee/deepstateradio

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

DSR Daily December 18: Trump’s Unhinged Prime-time Address Dec 18, 2025

Show notes

On the DSR Daily for Thursday, we discuss Trump’s prime-time address, the House passing a healthcare bill without ACA subsidies, an $11bn weapons sale to Taiwan, and more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Daily Blast: Mike Johnson Rattled by New Revolt as MAGA-GOP Fury Boils: “Bullshit!” Dec 18, 2025

Show notes

In a blow to House Speaker Mike Johnson, four House Republicans joined Democrats to force a vote next year on an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies. Anger is spiking in both directions: Representative Mike Lawler, one of those four, ripped Johnson’s effort to block that vote as “absolute bullshit!” But more MAGA-fied allies of President Trump like Representative Eric Burlison excoriated those rebels for “stabbing the rest of the party in the back.” This is the worst of both worlds for Republicans: They are mired in infighting, yet despite this push by centrists, the subsidies will still expire, bringing political trouble next year. Indeed, Johnson seemed unnerved as he gamely insisted he has “not lost control.” We talked to Grace Segers, who writes well about Congress and policy as a staff writer for The New Republic. We discuss the deeper roots of intra-GOP tensions, how this all might play in the midterms, and the deeper human toll that the expiring subsidies will unleash.

Looking for More from the DSR Network? Click Here: https://linktr.ee/deepstateradio

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trump Wags a Venezuelan Dog. Or Is Something Else Going On Here? Dec 17, 2025

Show notes

Trump’s promise of a blockade on Venezuela is an unprecedented escalation. But behind all the bluster and rattled sabres, is there more to the story? Rosa Brooks, Ed Luce, and David Sanger join David Rothkopf to explore the root of the Trump administration’s hate-hate relationship with Nicolas Maduro, the likelihood of a boots on the ground war, and why they just can’t seem to stop bombing boats.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

DSR Daily December 17: Trump’s Blockade of Sanctioned Oil Tankers Dec 17, 2025

Show notes

On the DSR Daily for Wednesday, we discuss Trump’s order of a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers, an expanded travel ban, a telling Vanity Fair shoot of the administration, and more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Daily Blast: Trump Press Sec Goes Off Rails as Susie Wiles Fiasco Takes Worse Turn Dec 17, 2025

Show notes

White House chief of staff Susie Wiles gave numerous interviews to Vanity Fair that were way too candid about, well, everything. That prompted press secretary Karoline Leavitt to offer some rancid spin: She went full cult in praise of Trump. She dissembled lamely about “fake news.” And she raged at the publication for not including enough of Trump advisers’ praise for him—as if it’s obliged to do that! We think Wiles’ most interesting revelation was her open admission that Trump’s prosecutions are indeed about “retribution.” Zeteo reporter Asawin Suebsaeng has a piece out today reporting on a new turn in this saga: That confession will complicate Trump’s prosecution of enemies, because it gives them ammo to show that his targeting of them is vindictive. We talked to Suebsaeng about the damage this will do to Trump’s corrupt prosecutions, why Leavitt and others praise Trump so obsequiously at difficult moments, and what all this says about our slide into authoritarianism.

Looking for More from the DSR Network? Click Here: https://linktr.ee/deepstateradio

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

DSR Daily December 16: More Vile Comments from Trump Dec 16, 2025

Show notes

On the DSR Daily for Tuesday, we cover the President’s vile comments on Rob Reiner, attacks on more supposed drug boats, Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the BBC, and more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Daily Blast: Marjorie Taylor Greene Humiliates Trump over Reiner as MAGA Cracks Up Dec 16, 2025

Show notes

President Trump offered a disgusting response to the horrific death of Rob Reiner and his wife, narcissistically insisting they’d died of “Trump Derangement Syndrome” while delusionally claiming world-historical successes for himself. What surprised us was MAGA’s retort to this. Marjorie Taylor Greene offered a remarkably heartfelt reply to Trump, and the contrast between her measured tone and his unhinged, megalomaniacal cruelty had the effect of quietly humiliating him. Other MAGA figures piled on as well. We think this captures a deeper set of divisions inside MAGA, and indeed, it comes as other MAGA figures are now warning that the base is drifting away from Trump. Even Trump’s own pollster is sounding the alarm. We talked to New Republic senior editor Alex Shephard, who’s been writing well about Greene and MAGA. We discuss why Trump’s hold is weakening over his base and MAGA influencers alike, what Greene recognizes about Trump’s weakness that other Republicans don’t, and how this will likely get worse for Trump, to the benefit of Democrats.

Looking for More from the DSR Network? Click Here: https://linktr.ee/deepstateradio

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

DSR Daily December 15: Tragic Shooting in Sydney Dec 15, 2025

Show notes

On the DSR Daily for Monday, we break down the tragic shooting at a Hanukkah event in Sydney, the election of far-right Kast in Chile, the conviction of a pro-democracy advocate in Hong Kong, and more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices