The Muckrake Political Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Trick-or-Treat, Reaction Force At Your Door Oct 31, 2025

Show notes

It’s a Halloween Weekender so co-hosts Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman start with candy talk, then dive into the Pentagon’s plan for a 23,500-troop National Guard “reaction force” slated to spin up Jan 1 and be fully operational by Apr 1, and what that signals about ballot boxes, civil unrest, and creeping authoritarianism. They hit Trump’s chest-thumping about reviving nuclear testing, the tech-military money pipeline, and why eugenics-flavored rhetoric keeps popping up. Then it’s SNAP benefits triage, emergency funds that won’t cover the full need, and the cruelty baked into the politics. For dessert, Nick’s West Wing binge meets Jared’s analog-horror picks, plus a quick Nightmare on Elm Street rewatch pitch.

Why The East Wing Means Everything Oct 28, 2025

Show notes

Donald Trump just demolished the entire East Wing of the White House so he can build a $300 million gilded “Presidential Ballroom,” even after promising there would be “no structural damage.” At the exact same time, because of the shutdown, the USDA says SNAP will stop paying out on November 1 and more than 40 million Americans (about 1 in 8 people in this country) are about to lose their food benefits while states scramble to set up emergency food banks. This is what “Eat The Rich” actually looks like in real time.

Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman break down how this ballroom stunt became the perfect symbol of American rot: looting the state, starving the public, daring anyone to stop it. They connect it to the shutdown, the coming food crisis, and the GOP strategy of holding basic survival hostage while blaming “Democrats who won’t negotiate.” They also get into what happens next — desperation, crime, crackdown, and why the right actually wants that cycle.

Plus: what’s really happening in Venezuela. The administration is openly talking about oil, U.S.-backed operators are getting grabbed on the ground, and we’re moving assets toward Caracas like it’s 1983 all over again. Why regime change never went away, it just stopped pretending to be subtle.

And yeah, we talk about rage, mutual aid, and what it looks like when people finally decide they’re done letting billionaires build palaces while kids don’t eat.

Troops in the Streets, No Balance on the Sheets Oct 24, 2025

Show notes

With Jared Yates Sexton out, Coach Nick hosts a two-guest Weekender unpacking how “absolute immunity” is morphing into absolute impunity. Criminal defense attorney Greg Rosenfeld joins from Palm Beach County to break down Ninth Circuit skirmishes, shadow-docket shenanigans, and why judicial deference is gutting real checks on an increasingly imperial presidency. Then Professor Jason Niedleman (University of La Verne) digs into the political strategy behind National Guard deployments, the shutdown blame game, and the long war over rules, filibusters, and gerrymanders. Along the way: DC crime stats spin, immigration theatrics, a Santos commutation sidebar, and why expanding the electorate is the actual endgame.

No Kings And I Think This Time We Mean It Oct 21, 2025

Show notes

Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman unpack a wild weekend where millions protested authoritarianism under the banner of “No Kings,” and Trump responded by posting an AI video of himself as a crowned fighter pilot literally defecating on Americans. They break down what that grotesque image says about power, humiliation, and a party that calls it “satire.” Plus: the GOP’s shutdown strategy, live artillery fired over I-5, and how all this adds up to a monarchy in everything but name.

Can I Get a Nazi in Da Chat? Oct 17, 2025

Show notes

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

On this Weekender, hosts Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman break down the leaked Telegram messages from young GOP leaders that read less like edgy jokes and more like a neo-Nazi starter kit,followed by JD Vance’s “they’re just kids” defense. The guys connect the dots to the broader fascist pipeline (hi, Stephen Miller), preview the nationwide No Kings protests with a sober look at what real next steps require, and side-eye the missile-flyover spectacle in California while assessing reports of CIA black ops ramping up in Venezuela. Plus: what they’re watching, from gritty hospital drama to gleefully unhinged sketch comedy, and one very gnarly horror pick for the sickos in the Discord.

What The Cease Fire In Gaza Really Means Oct 14, 2025

Show notes

Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman divie straight into the week’s whiplash: the Israel/Hamas ceasefire and prisoner exchanges, Netanyahu’s corruption baggage, and Donald Trump’s jaw-dropper about “pardoning” Bibi. From there, the hosts trace the politics behind the pause, Biden’s misreads and missed leverage, and the grim playbook for Gaza’s future dressed up as “reeducation." Then it’s on to the stateside corruption: semantic games over a Qatari facility at Mountain Home AFB, JD Vance’s TV gaslighting, and the brazen crypto windfall that hit minutes before Trump's Taco Tariffs.

Insurrection Or Dementia? Oct 10, 2025

Show notes

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.
It’s a Birthday Boys Weekender as Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman go from sugar highs to authoritarian lows, unpacking reports that Trump world is gaming out the Insurrection Act, the normalization of troops on American streets, and why the guardrails failed from Cheney’s unitary executive to the Supreme Court’s immunity blessing. They break down Gov. JB Pritzker’s blunt talk about Trump’s cognitive decline, the Senate’s oversight-as-reality-TV spectacle starring Pam Bondi, and the long arc of American strongman temptations from Adams to Nixon. Plus a quick detour into PTA’s latest thriller, spooky-season horror logic, and Nick’s looming travel apocalypse.

They Came From The Sky and Crossed The Line Oct 07, 2025

Show notes

In this searing episode, Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman break down the shocking ICE raids in Chicago, complete with Blackhawks, power cutoffs, and mass detentions. They explore how these actions reveal the rise of a domestic military force and the breakdown between state and federal power. The hosts also examine Stephen Miller’s latest propaganda, GOP claims about Jack Smith’s “surveillance,” and the disturbing corporate capture of media as Barry Weiss takes over CBS News.

When The Commander In Chief Loses The Military Oct 03, 2025

Show notes

Hear the full Weekender every Friday, plus Live Shows and our community Discord. Support us at http://patreon.com/muckrakepodcast.

Co-hosts Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman break down the bizarre Trump–Hegseth meeting with America’s top generals. Instead of commanding respect, Trump rambled through grievances and half-baked ideas while Hegseth postured and pandered, leaving serious military leaders unimpressed. We explore the dangerous implications of a president alienating his own brass, how authoritarian rhetoric collides with sheer incompetence, and why this moment opens up a host of unsettling outcomes. Along the way we look at the government shutdown, a self-defeating Argentina bailout, and the larger picture of American decline before closing with some culture picks.

Yeah, This Ain’t Workin’: Dems Keep Folding to Authoritarians Sep 30, 2025

Show notes

Co-hosts Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman unpack a jaw-dropping Trump admission—governing off TV images and staff spin—and how that fantasy politics becomes policy: talk of sending “full force” into blue cities, a rebranding of domestic terror to target dissent, and an FBI focus that ignores the deadliest threats. They contrast right-wing violence with the media’s left-is-rising narrative, dig into how grifters launder fear into power, and roast Democratic leadership for meeting authoritarian tactics with mushy pressers as a shutdown looms. Plus: Portland reality vs. propaganda, why “security” is the fig leaf for crackdowns, and what real pushback should look like.