Lovett Or Leave It

Rod Rosenstein reportedly raised invoking the 25th amendment. Republicans plow ahead with Brett Kavanaugh's nomination despite sexual assault allegations even as Kavanaugh's allies offer bizarre theories to exonerate their pal. We look back at the Anita Hill hearings and elections decided by just a handful of votes. Plus rants on spiders, Bert and Ernie, women's sleeves, and Ted Cruz's shitty campaign tactics. VERY special thanks to the all-star, tournament-of-champion guests Emily Heller, Ira Madison III, and Erin Ryan for joining us in studio for a last-minute, first-ever studio recording of Lovett or Leave It. WHAT A WEEK.

Disturbing allegations emerge against Brett Kavanaugh, CBS ousts Les Moonves and confronts a misogynist workplace culture, Serena Williams deals with a bunch of bullshit, Tucker Carlson goes full fascist, and in honor of the high holidays, we atone for how our culture mistreated Monica Lewinsky, Marcia Clark, and Britney Spears. Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii joins Jon to talk about the Supreme Court and being the best senator on Twitter, and Erin Ryan and comedian Janelle James join to break down a big week of news. Also, it's fine that Ronan doesn't listen to the podcast. He's busy.

Anonymous Trump officials write op-eds for the Times and tell Bob Woodward everything. Kavanaugh perjures himself before the Senate. Cory Booker and Kamala Harris go hard in the hearings. And huge shocker: Fox & Friends doesn't like Colin Kaepernick's Nike ads. Plus Trump officials sound a lot like Real Housewives, Republicans scare voters about socialism, and a lovely, innovative woman dips her chicken fingers in Diet Coke. We are joined by an all-star panel with Kara Brown, Josh Barro, and Emily Yoshida to break down a ton of huge news. WHAT A WEEK. 

Mandy Moore and Dawes's Taylor Goldsmith join for a very special dramatic reading of Kellyanne and George Conway's public disagreements. Plus we break down the results of Democratic primaries, the GOP's list of Trump scandals, the racist message of Florida's GOP gubernatorial candidate, Louis CK's attempted return, the rise of electric scooters, and more with comedian Tawny Newsome, writer Dana Schwartz, and Cristobal Alex of the Latino Victory Fund. What a week. What an episode.

Paul Manafort is convicted and Michael Cohen pleads guilty while implicating the president. So we invited Andy Richter and Max Silvestri to help us imagine what it would be like for Paul and Mike to share a cell. Plus Trump sounds like a mob boss who lost a step, prisoners nationwide are striking for better working conditions, millennials are killing Hooters, and one-size-fits-all stores are evil. Alice Wetterlund, Jess Morales Rocketto, and Kirby Howell-Baptiste join Jon to break down one of the most consequential weeks of the Trump “presidency.”

Trump's White House is in turmoil over Omarosa's recordings. So we asked Lauren Mayberry of Chvrches to perform a dramatic reading of Omarosa's dramatic prologue. Plus, a year after Charlottesville, white nationalism has found a home on Fox News. The EPA is rolling back fuel standards with the help of spin from Sinclair. Black athletes have always been told to "shut up and dribble." And Mark Burnett should not be treated as a respectable figure while he engages in a coverup on behalf of Donald Trump. Also, Stephen Miller's uncle is done with his nephew's bullshit. And possible 2020 contenders should stop being coy. Christine Mai-Duc of the LA Times, Gonzalo Cordova, and Emily Axford join Jon to break down the week's news as we wait on the edge of our seats for more tapes.

Mar-a-Lago members are illegally running the VA, a congressman allegedly committed insider trading on the White House lawn, and Commerce Secretary Wilber Ross may have grifted millions. What a week. Ira Madison III, Emily Heller, and Awkwafina join Jon to break down the week's news. Plus we look at Omarosa's new book, Fox News' reaction to Facebook banning Alex Jones, and the new Oscar for "popular" movies.

Facebook is still a target for election interference. Giuliani is not making much sense. And even the “feel good” segments on local news are secretly sad now. Plus we talk about wildfires and climate change, Manafort’s expansive wardrobe, Tom Cruise dangling from a helicopter, and more. Lucia Aniello, Fatima Asghar, and Andrew Ti join Jon to break down the week’s news and the dedication of certain movie stars who are the perfect height. And thanks to KCRW’s Steve Chiotakis who stopped by to lead a game.

Trump’s ex-lawyer drops the first single off his album and claims Trump was fully briefed on the whole collusion thing. Plus Fox News struggles to spin Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Kavanaugh threatens Roe, Sean Spicer’s book faces the critics, and Frasier may finally get the reboot of our dreams. Naomi Ekperigin, Guy Branum and Planned Parenthood’s Dawn Leguens join Jon to break down the week’s news and Corporate’s Matt Ingebretson joins for a delightful dramatic reading. Also, hey No Man’s Sky: Now you’re a good game? Now?

Well it’s all out in the open now, huh? Trump walks back his Helsinki walk back. ICE is younger than Monster Energy Drink. Joe Lieberman is terrible. Republicans meekly criticize a disloyal President. And Air Force One is going to be insanely ugly unless Boeing steps up. Jon is joined by comedians Kiran Deol, Dani Fernandez, Ben Sawyer and Mitra Jouhari to break down the week’s news and enter the national debate over double negatives.

Jon joins Jon Favreau and Dan Pfieffer in-studio to talk through the latest developments on immigration, SCOTUS, and the growing outrage of Democratic voters. Then Jon is joined by Tawny Newsome, Jose Antonio Vargas, and Molly Lambert to commiserate and discuss pre-existing conditions, "farm to fork" restaurants, the Olympics, and so much more. Happy 4th of July!

Kennedy gets out. Ocasio-Cortez gets votes. Nazis get retweets. And we all get sick of bad surprises. Guy Branum, Taz Ahmed, and Adam Lustick join Jon to discuss the week’s news, Marco Rubio’s twitter, Pepsi cinema, and the hearty genes of Ashkenazi jurists.

Recorded live at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Jon is joined by Symone Sanders, Liliana Segura, and Benjamin Sawyer to break down the week's news. Trump shifts, but families are still separated. Fox & Friends gets a little too honest about who deserves compassion. Kellyanne Conway faces an unlikely critic. And sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between a Trump stooge and a villain from X-Men. Anyway, awful week, but a great show at an amazing place.

Hollywood, baby! Home of rich celebrities, infuriating traffic and the systemic suppression of marginalized voices. We'll discuss Tinseltown's history of government censorship, the secret motivations of Candace Owens, and we'll even meet an audience member who hasn’t seen Ghostbusters or The Dark Knight. Nicole Byer, Hannah Hart, and Tre’Vell Anderson join Lovett to figure out whether L.A. really is a liberal La La Land, or if there might be some conservatism hidden deep under the La Brea Tar Pits. City Of Staaaaaaaaars!

DOJ refuses to defend Obamacare. Trump floats a self-pardon. Dems perform well in the California primaries. Lou Dobbs is not well. And poor JR Smith, said Lovett who just found out what happened. Erin Gibson, Bryan Safi, Brenda Gonzalez, and Professor Kimberly West-Faulcon join Jon to break down the week’s news. Plus Bryan and Jon develop some very exciting straight-guy characters. What a week.

Recorded live in Philadelphia, Jon is joined by the city's new district attorney Larry Krasner, Ezra Miller and his band Sons of an Illustrious Father, the Roosevelt Institute's Mike Konczal, comedian Franchesca Ramsey, and writer Dylan Marron for a special action-packed episode focused on economic inequality and what we can do about it. Yes, we cover all the hits. Corporate power and consolidation! Inequities in the justice system! Trump's racism and economic populism! Republican policies that make things worse and Democratic policies that don't go far enough! Plus, we yell about Paul Ryan, teachers being underpaid, and how we need to stop blaming globalization and robots for everything. It was a really fun show about an important issue and you will like it.

The big Korea summit is off. The NFL stands for nothing. Trump invents fake scandals and goes after women’s health and reproductive freedom. Plus how slow are American trains? And how fast is the Millennium Falcon? Lots of big questions to answer. Live from Boston Calling, Jon is joined by Alyssa Mastromonaco, Erin Ryan, and Blair Imani to break down the week’s news and make fun of Harvard.

A bunch of corruption and collusion stories break and it’s very bad for the crime gang! Trump calls people animals and we debate how nuanced it was. The Peace Prize hits a snag on the Korean peninsula. And yes there’s a royal wedding but we stopped caring about that AT YORKTOWN IN 1781. Anyway, great show. Paul Scheer (check out his new podcast! https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/unspooled/id1381507437?mt=2), Amanda Seales, and labor activist Saru Jayaraman join Jon to break down the week’s news. Plus we do like 30 seconds on Laurel/Yanni tops.

Facebook and Twitter are transforming our politics. Marginalized voices can find an audience, but so can extremists. We've given up privacy while also taking down barriers that divide people and protect the powerful. This week, in a special episode that combines the best moments from our live shows in Baltimore and Columbus, Jon is joined by experts, activists, journalists, and comedians to talk about social media and how it is totally perfect and making everything better, no exceptions. Special guests: Dr. Jennifer Golbeck, Ashley Feinberg, and Deray Mckesson in Baltimore and Dr. Robert Bond, Ana Marie Cox, and Ziwe Fumudoh in Columbus. Like, fave, rate, poke, survive.