Fiasco
Episodes
Introducing: American Prestige
04 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Here's a preview of another podcast, American Prestige. American Prestige (americanprestigepod.com) is a podcast that offers listeners a critical pers...
How to Experience the Joy of Giving Right Now: A Giving Tuesday Special from The Happiness Lab
02 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
According to the science, it really is better to give than receive. Donating a dollar; sharing a kind word or lending someone a hand changes lives, bu...
The Big Short Companion from Against the Rules: How the Financial Crisis Broke Politics
25 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I'm sharing another podcast we think you’ll enjoy, The Big Short Companion from Against the Rules, hosted by fellow Pushkin podcast host Michael...
Benghazi: Episode 6 - Radicals
06 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Tea Party takes over the search for the truth about Benghazi, while the FBI pursues a Libyan militia leader suspected of planning the attack.For a...
Benghazi: Episode 5 - Greatest Hits
29 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As the political world looks toward the 2016 Presidential election, Benghazi becomes a Clinton scandal. For a list of books, documentaries and resourc...
Benghazi: Episode 4 - Feckless
22 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How the attack in Benghazi collided with an American election, and how the seeds of a scandal were planted.For a list of books, documentaries and reso...
Benghazi: Episode 3 - Barefoot
15 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
An anti-Islamic video sparks protests in the Middle East, and the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi comes under attack.For a list of books, doc...
Benghazi: Episode 2 - We Will Stay Here
08 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Libya is swept up in a wave of revolution, and an American diplomat makes his mark on Benghazi. For a list of books, documentaries and resources we us...
Benghazi: Episode 1 - The Dictator
08 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How a prison massacre carried out under Libya’s long-time dictator, Muammar Gaddafi, set the stage for the Benghazi attack. For a list of books,...
Introducing Fiasco: Benghazi
25 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Fiasco: Benghazi unpacks the 2012 attack in Libya that left four Americans dead, including Ambassador Chris Stevens—and the ensuing political st...
Iran Contra: Episode 8 - Pardon Me
26 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How George H.W. Bush ended Iran-Contra. For a list of books, documentaries and resources we used to research this episode visit: bit.ly/fiascopol...
Iran Contra: Episode 7 - Olliewood
19 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How Hollywood tried to capitalize on Iran-Contra -- and why the story didn’t take. For a list of books, documentaries and resources we used to r...
Iran Contra: Episode 6 - Fault Lines
12 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How the Iran-Contra hearings made Oliver North an icon, and got Ronald Reagan off the hook.For a list of books, documentaries and resources we used to...
Iran Contra: Episode 5 - All Out
05 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How the Reagan administration tried to prevent the Iran scandal from becoming a second Watergate.For a list of books, documentaries and resources we u...
Iran Contra: Bonus - Bombs, Drugs, and the Contra War
28 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A bonus interview with journalists Martha Honey and Tony Avirgan. Honey and Avirgan tell Leon about their time reporting on the Contra war from the so...
Iran Contra: Episode 4 - Diverted
21 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How Oliver North decided to do a little multitasking -- and ended up on a plane to Tehran.For a list of books, documentaries and resources we used to ...
Iran Contra: Episode 3 - Contra Dance
14 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How the United States got involved in a not-so-secret secret war in Nicaragua.For a list of books, documentaries and resources we used to research thi...
Iran Contra: Episode 2 - Trade Secrets
07 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How the Reagan administration landed in a hostage crisis…and extended a hand to one of America’s sworn enemies.For a list of books, docum...
Iran Contra: Episode 1 - Get Me Kevin Kattke
07 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How a crew of amateur spies from Long Island helped the Reagan administration set the stage for Iran-Contra.For a list of books, documentaries and res...
Iran Contra: A New Introduction from Leon Neyfakh
07 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Host Leon Neyfakh transports listeners into the day-to-day reality of our country’s most pivotal historical events, bringing to life the forgott...
Introducing Fiasco: Iran-Contra
03 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Host Leon Neyfakh transports listeners into the day-to-day reality of our country’s most pivotal historical events, bringing to life the forgott...
Bush v. Gore: Bonus - Legacy.
23 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The late Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens talks about his memories of Bush v. Gore, and why the ruling’s legacy, years after the fact, looks ...
Bush v. Gore: Bonus - Lawfare
16 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Attorneys David Boies and Ted Olsen, who represented the Gore and Bush sides, respectively, talk about the unique challenges that came with representi...
Bush v. Gore: Bonus - What If…
09 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
An interview with Ralph Nader on his role as a “spoiler” in the 2000 election, and historian Mary Frances Berry, who led the 2001 commission looki...
Bush v. Gore: Bonus - Information Wars
02 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A conversation with Craig Waters, spokesman for the Florida Supreme Court, about becoming the face of an embattled, apolitical institution during a pa...
Bush v. Gore: Bonus - Inside the Florida Secretary of State’s Office During the 2000 Recount
25 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Conversations with Florida’s former Secretary of State Katherine Harris, the Bush supporter who presided over the 2000 recount, and self-described R...
Bush v. Gore: Bonus - A Mile In Their Shoes
18 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
An interview with Brian Noyes, who worked on the Bush 2000 presidential campaign, and what it was like to feel like an election is being stolen. Noyes...
Bush v. Gore: Episode 6 – No Precedent
13 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the season finale: How the 2000 presidential election was distilled and decided in a case called Bush v. Gore. For a full list of sources, check ou...
Bush v. Gore: Episode 5 – Contingencies
06 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Democrats and Republicans hope for the best and plan for the worst. For a full list of sources, check out the Fiasco website.See omnystudio.com/listen...
Bush v. Gore: Episode 4 – Spin-Off
30 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How public relations battles yielded big legal wins for the Bush team. For a full list of sources, check out the Fiasco website.See omnystudio.com/lis...
Bush v. Gore: Episode 3 – Ballot With Butterfly Wings
23 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What happened in Palm Beach County when a bitterly-contested national election came to town–and who paid the price? For a full list of sources, chec...
Bush v. Gore: Episode 2 – Real Numbers
16 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On election night 2000 an ad hoc network of statisticians, news producers, TV anchors, and political operatives tried to figure out what the hell was ...
Bush v. Gore: Episode 1 – Homestead
16 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How the largely forgotten race between Al Gore and George W. Bush roiled Florida long before anyone had ever heard of a hanging chad. For a full list ...
Trailer: Bush v. Gore
15 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Bush v. Gore recounts what happened during the contested 2000 election between Al Gore and George W. Bush, and the extraordinary legal battle that unf...
The AIDS Crisis: Episode 8 - No Harm
09 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Clinton administration promises a new approach to the AIDS epidemic — but gets bogged down in the politics of sex, drugs, and morality. You can ...
The AIDS Crisis: Episode 7 - Lazarus
09 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After years of frustration and despair, scientists finally make a breakthrough. You can find a list of books, articles, and documentaries we used in o...
The AIDS Crisis: Episode 6 - Drugs into Bodies
09 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A new coalition of AIDS activists takes on the American medical establishment, pushing for access to clinical trials and experimental drugs. You can...
The AIDS Crisis: Episode 5 - Leading Men
09 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
One of the most famous actors in Hollywood tries to keep his diagnosis under wraps - and ends up becoming the face of AIDS in America. You can find a...
The AIDS Crisis: Episode 4 - Blood
09 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
AIDS spreads through the country's blood supply, endangering people with hemophilia and leading to a breakthrough about the cause of the disease. You ...
The AIDS Crisis: Episode 3 - The Baths
09 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A debate rages in San Francisco over whether or not to close the city’s famous bathhouses, as government officials and gay rights advocates weigh th...
The AIDS Crisis: Episode 2 - How to Have Sex in an Epidemic
09 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As the AIDS crisis worsens, gay men in New York City improvise a response, forming alliances and drawing battle lines. You can find a list of books, a...
The AIDS Crisis: Episode 1 - Gay Plague
09 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
How doctors and scientists responded to the arrival of a strange and terrifying new disease. You can find a list of books, articles, and documentaries...
Introducing Fiasco: The AIDS Crisis
09 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
From the co-creators of Slow Burn, Fiasco is a narrative podcast that transports listeners into the day-to-day reality of America’s m...