What A Day
Episodes
Donald Trump’s Pot Shot
19 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On Thursday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I substance...
Why Is Trump So Obsessed With Rep. Ilhan Omar
18 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
President Trump has made multiple xenophobic comments about Somali immigrants over the past few weeks, following the findings of an investigation into...
Quantifying Happiness In 2026
17 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Unemployment is up. Two-thirds of Americans have recently struggled with the rising cost of groceries. And the President of the United States has occu...
Trump Can't Stop Saying Biden
16 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Trump has been president for 11 months, and during that time, former President Joe Biden has basically left the public eye. Yet as Trump's own preside...
If Tariffs Are So Great, Why Are There So Many Exemptions?
15 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
President Donald Trump loves tariffs. But according to a new analysis from Politico, more than half of US imports right now are not subjected to them....
ICE Polices The American Dream
12 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Trump Administration has put billions of dollars into building an immigration superstructure meant to punish those who have done nothing wrong and...
The GOP’s Plan For Your Healthcare
11 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Monday is your deadline to pick an insurance plan on the Affordable Care Act marketplace – and there is still zero plan to ensure that the enhanced ...
Billionaires Brawl Over Warner Bros.
10 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We’ve been talking about the Paramount Skydance/Warner Brothers Discovery/Netflix Billionaire Boys Club Spectacular for a few days now. But it’s r...
The Vax Wars Are Here
09 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is likely to reverse its long-standing recommendation that all newborns be immunized against Hepatitis ...
Why Trump’s Got A Big AI Problem
08 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Trump Administration has gone all in on artificial intelligence. It doesn’t hurt that AI’s biggest backers also happen to run the biggest comp...
Rep. Jim Clyburn Offers A Historical Warning
05 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, released a new survey this week in an attempt to figure out who, exactly, is a Republican these da...
Hegseth Takes His “Secretary of War” Title Too Seriously
04 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been under fire for his continually evolving explanations and blame-shifting regarding a September attack on an all...
President Trump Is Disconnected From His Beloved Base
03 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
President Trump is old, and it shows. But in his second term in the White House, he's not just old – he's cloistered. After building his political c...
With Next Phase Of Ceasefire Unclear, Gazans Brace For Winter
02 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It's been nearly two months since the fragile ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas went into effect. The ceasefire is intended to be the first...
Trump Capitalizes On The National Guard Shooting
01 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Two members of the West Virginia National Guard were shot just a few blocks away from the White House, on Wednesday. One of the two shooting victims, ...
Protecting The Franchise: How Can We Secure Our Elections?
26 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Fear is mounting about the integrity of next year’s elections and all the tricks MAGA World might be able to pull. How valid are those concerns? Wha...
The Tennessee Democrat Fighting The MAGA Machine
25 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Congress is not exactly a barrel of fun at the best of times. Still, after the unexpected exit of Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene last ...
MAGA Threats Made Him Leave The Country
24 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A lot happened while we were off this weekend, from President Donald Trump's overly friendly meeting with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani to ...
Trump's Grift Goes Global
21 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
From $400 million planes to $300 million ballrooms, from cryptocurrency to just plain… currency, President Donald Trump and his family have profited...
US Absent From Global Climate Conference
20 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For the last two weeks, a critically important climate conference has been taking place in Belem, Brazil. For the first time in 30 years, the United S...
"Things Happen": Trump Goes All In On MBS
19 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
President Donald Trump joyously welcomed Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, also known as MBS, to the White House on Tuesday. That's des...
The U.S. Takes Aim At Venezuela
18 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, President Donald Trump told reporters that he would be willing to hold talks with Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro. His statements came...
Were There Any Winners In The Government Shutdown?
17 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The longest government shutdown in American history ended last week, thanks to 8 Senate Democrats giving up the fight to extend Affordable Care Act su...
Make America What Again? Policy Priorities For A Progressive Future
15 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Good policy is good politics, or so the saying goes. So, uh, how do we agree on what that is? Jane Coaston talks with three of the left’s most prom...
Scam Calls Are Getting Worse: Here's Why
14 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, a court filing showed that the Trump Administration has declared the current funding structure for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau...
The Government Reopens — To More Epstein Chaos
13 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The House returned on Wednesday and ended the longest shutdown in government history. House Republicans were joined by six democrats to fund the gover...
Misread the Moment: Rep. McBride On Senate Democrats
12 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The government shutdown is inching closer to an end as members of the House of Representatives return to Washington today. They are expected to vote o...
Sen. Sanders Slams The Surrender Dems
11 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Monday night, the Senate passed legislation to reopen the government, sending it to the House. The eight Senate Democrats who reached a deal with Repu...
Inside the Deal to End the Shutdown
10 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On Sunday evening, senators from both parties reached a deal that could bring an end to the government shutdown, which has lasted well over a month. T...
If Not A Recession, Why Does It Feel Like One?
07 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
After Tuesday’s election results, everyone seems to have gotten the message that affordability is king. Democrats, Republicans, and even President D...
Is Trump About To Lose His Trade War?
06 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It was a big day for President Donald Trump as the Supreme Court heard arguments on his power to impose tariffs unilaterally. And the justices seemed…...
Dems Win Big: A Midterm Preview?
05 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Tuesday was Election Day and Democrats won big! Voters in New York City elected Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani as their next mayor. In Georgia, D...
Chicago Fights Back
04 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A federal judge once again blocked the Trump Administration from sending the National Guard to Portland over the weekend — but if Trump is successfu...
The GOP's Anti-Semitic Turn
03 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Last week, former Fox News host and conservative pundit Tucker Carlson invited white supremacist and antisemite Nick Fuentes onto his highly-ranked po...
Will Trump's Trade Truce With China Last?
31 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
President Donald Trump announced a trade truce with Chinese President Xi Jinping after a 90-minute meeting in Busan, South Korea, on Thursday. But wha...
The Redistricting Game
30 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A Virginia judge allowed the state’s Democrats to pursue a redistricting plan on Wednesday that would permit them to amend the state’s constitutio...
Is This Mamdani's Moment
29 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Highly anticipated elections are happening across the country on Tuesday. In states from California to Virginia, Americans will head to the polls in b...
The Price of Care: Fixing The ACA
28 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The main issue keeping the government closed is healthcare — specifically, the enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies that have been in place since ...
The Reality of Being An American Farmer Right Now
27 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Chinese and American negotiators announced on Sunday that they had agreed to a “framework of a deal” on tariffs ahead of President Donald Trump’...
FBI Takes Down NBA-Mafia Gambling Ring
24 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On Thursday, FBI Director Kash Patel announced over 30 indictments as part of a massive investigation into a criminal gambling ring. Those indicted in...
The Key to Unlocking the Epstein Files
23 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
With the government shutdown in its third week, the House of Representatives is still out of session – and votes aren’t getting scheduled. That in...
Trump’s Deadly Attacks in the Caribbean Sea
22 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Since the start of September, President Donald Trump has ordered a series of lethal strikes on boats in the Caribbean Sea, killing dozens of people. H...
This Supreme Court Could Change The Future of Elections
21 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In two weeks, millions of Americans will be voting — but a Supreme Court case could change elections as we know them. Last week, the court heard arg...
Over 7 Million Americans Protested Against Trump
20 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Millions of Americans were in the streets over the weekend, rallying against President Donald Trump and his administration's latest authoritarian esca...
America Has No Kings
17 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This weekend, people across the country are taking to the streets for the second iteration of the “No Kings” protests. Organizers say they anticip...
Rural Healthcare Is At Stake In The Shutdown Fight
16 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A federal judge halted the Trump administration’s efforts to get rid of roughly 4,000 federal workers during the shutdown on Wednesday. And yet whil...
Why Marjorie Taylor Greene Sounds Like A Democrat Lately
15 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As the government shutdown chugs along, cracks form within the GOP. The biggest crack? Georgia Republican Congresswoman Majorie Taylor Greene. She's s...
Your Shutdown Outrage Won’t Change The Next Election
14 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Week two of the government shutdown isn't proving to be any more successful than week one. In fact, on Monday, House Speaker Mike Johnson said this sh...
Trump Is Prosecuting His Enemies
13 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Things have been moving fast since President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social last month QUOTE: "Pam: I have reviewed over 30 statements and posts ...
What A Week!
10 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week has been… a lot. On Thursday, Israel’s cabinet approved the first phase of a peace agreement between Hamas and Israel, which would end t...
Trump's War And Peace Plans
09 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In September, after the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum you may not have heard v...
Will SCOTUS Greenlight Trump’s Worst Ideas?
08 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The new Supreme Court term started on Monday, and the justices have a lot on their plates. They’ll be deciding a host of big issues in the coming mo...
Fed Versus Blue
07 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For the past four months, President Donald Trump has been sending the National Guard into cities that protest his policies. First, it was Los Angeles....
The Politics Of 'AI Slop'
06 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Even if you don’t know what “AI slop” is, there’s a good chance you’ve encountered it basically everywhere you spend time online. Maybe it w...
What Happens When We Can’t Rely On Federal Data
03 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Because of the government shutdown, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will not release its monthly unemployment and jobs survey today. But that’s proba...
Trump's Shutdown, Your Problem
02 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It's Day 2 of the government shutdown. And we'd like to note that despite the government closing shop, House Republicans have been on vacation since l...
How Trump Wants To Wield The Shutdown
01 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Well, the Government has shut down and, as of Tuesday afternoon, President Donald Trump didn’t sound to worried about it. “A lot of good can come ...
Dems Throw Down For Health Care
30 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is the government about to shut down? Congressional leaders and the White House appear to be at an impasse, even after President Donald Trump gave in ...
How To Survive Online Speech Wars Without Self-Censorship
29 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, a wave of everyday people have been punished, getting doxxed and even losing their ...
Dems Are Primed For Shutdown Fight
26 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We’ve been on quite the journey with our First Amendment-guaranteed right to free speech, haven’t we? This week, we had the reinstatement of ABC’...
Trump Takes Down US Immigration System
25 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The machinery of mass deportations has been operating both in plain sight and out of view since President Donald Trump took office back in January. As...
Trump Dumps Putin?
24 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the brutal war has cost millions of lives. But President Donald Trump has consistently said that he could easily...
Dr. Trump’s Bad Medicine
23 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., noted anti-vaxxer and, apparently, part-time detective, announced back in April that he was...
The Big Business Behind The Kimmel Suspension
22 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On Friday we learned that according to President Donald Trump, when coverage is negative, "It's no longer free speech." And it seems he's not alone....
Trump’s War On Free Speech
19 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Democrats on the Hill are hitting back after ABC suspended "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" indefinitely. They’ve introduced the No Political Enemies (or NOPE) ...
How NOT To Run The FBI
18 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The investigation into the assassination of Charlie Kirk has raised a lot of questions – not just about the alleged shooter, but about the investiga...
What The FBI Doesn’t Understand About Online Extremism
17 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
FBI Director Kash Patel spoke on Tuesday about a massive rise in the number of investigations into so-called NVEs, which stands for “nihilistic viol...
What Did Trump’s DC Police Takeover Accomplish?
16 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Memphis, Tennessee, is the latest city in President Donald Trump's Crime Takeover-A-Go-Go. On Monday, Trump signed a presidential memorandum establish...
Shutdown Showdown, Part [We've Lost Count]
15 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The clock is ticking until the federal government runs out of money and potentially shuts down—again. Now you might be thinking, "Didn't we do this?...
Political Violence In America
12 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The search for a suspect in Charlie Kirk's death continues. The FBI released some grainy photos of a person of interest wearing sunglasses and a baseb...
Conservative Activist Charlie Kirk Killed In Utah
11 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On Wednesday, 31-year-old conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed during an on-campus event near Salt Lake City, Utah. He was there as ...
Chicago Teachers Fight To Keep ICE Out Of Schools
10 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Millions of kids have started school over the past few weeks – that includes students in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C, and now Chicago, all cities t...
Laura Loomer's Rise To The Top
09 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Say what you will about President Donald Trump’s first administration, but at least some of the people given top jobs had a morsel of experience doi...
Georgia To Vote On Energy Costs
08 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A crucial race for Georgia's Public Service Commission is coming up in November. And though the name sounds boring, it's a race that really matters. T...
How Trump's Hatred For Windmills Is Hurting All Of Us
05 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
President Donald Trump really, really, really hates wind and solar power. He made sure to make that point very clear during a Cabinet meeting last wee...
Senator Van Hollen On Epstein: Release The Damn Files!
04 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Congress is back. It’s back and it has a lot of work to do. If Congress doesn’t fund the government by the end of September, the government will c...
Putin Cozies Up To Modi And Xi
03 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and held hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Beijing this weekend. T...
Chicago Caught In The Trump Administration's Crosshairs
02 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Trump administration is preparing a major Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in Chicago, and it may come as soon as this week. The deta...
Introducing Shadow Kingdom: Coal Survivor
01 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The What A Day team is off. But we’re excited to bring you the first episode of Season 2 of Crooked’s award-winning limited series, Shadow Kingdom...
Cash Bail Keeps People In Jail
29 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at ending cash bail in Washington D.C. and other jurisdictions around the country. H...
Why Conservatism Is Dead In The Trump Era
28 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
President Donald Trump’s administration is full of sycophants. That was made quite apparent this week (if it wasn't already) during a three-hour-lon...
Three Signs Of The Trumpification Of The Economy
27 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the federal government’s latest excursion into the private sector, the US announced last week that it took a 10% stake in Intel. The move comes a...
Trump's Trolling Weakens Polling
26 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A lot has happened so far since President Donald Trump took office for a second term, but one thing is certain- he's indisputably unpopular. According...
What Do Liberals Actually Believe?
25 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Third Way, a center-left think tank, released a list of words it thinks Democrats should stop using on Friday. The list included words like “interse...
Why We’re In A Redistricting Race To The Bottom
22 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On Thursday, California lawmakers passed a redistricting plan aimed at winning Democrats up to five more U.S. House seats in the 2026 elections. It wa...
The Smithsonian Gets The Trump Edit
21 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The White House announced it's leading a "comprehensive internal review of selected Smithsonian museums and exhibitions" to ensure that the museums "c...
Does Washington, D.C. Need Federal Intervention?
20 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On Tuesday, the Department of Justice announced it's launching a much-needed and super important investigation into Washington D.C.'s crime statistics...
The AI Chatbot Childhood Is Officially Here
19 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The conversation surrounding artificial intelligence in the US is hard to avoid right now. Powerful companies like Nvidia are making AI chips, doctors...
What It’s Like To Have Trump Hold Your Science Research Hostage
18 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Trump administration’s crackdown on universities across the country for alleged antisemitism has made its way from the East Coast to the West Co...
The White House's Mob Boss Approach To AI Chips
15 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Nvidia, a U.S.-based chip manufacturer that's now the richest company on earth, has agreed to pay the federal government 15 percent of its profits fro...
Can Trump Broker Peace With Putin?
14 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday in Anchorage, Alaska, to discuss the future of the war in ...
Baltimore Mayor Responds To Trump Bashing His City
13 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
National Guard troops began showing up on the streets of the nation's capital overnight, a little more than a day after President Donald Trump announc...
Netanyahu's War Expansion Plan
12 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing massive backlash — both domestic and international — over his government's decision late last week to ...
80 Years After Hiroshima and Nagasaki, New Nuclear Threats Emerge
11 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
President Donald Trump is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska this week to discuss a potential end to the war in Ukraine (whic...
RFK Jr. Is Putting American Lives At Risk
08 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If you got a COVID-19 vaccine made by Moderna or Pfizer, congratulations, you got a vaccine that uses mRNA to teach your cells how to fight the diseas...
The Truth About El Salvador's Mega Prison
07 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We’re starting to hear the horror stories from some of the Venezuelan men who the Trump Administration deported to the Salvadoran super-max prison k...
The Voting Rights Act Is Again Under Attack
06 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Voting Rights Act turns 60 today. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the peak of the Civil Rights Movement, with the goa...
Amid Bad Jobs Report, Trump White House Leans Into Politics
05 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The fallout from President Donald Trump’s decision last week to fire the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics over what he called a ‘rigged’ j...
How The Israeli Far Right And Netanyahu Embolden Each Other
04 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff traveled to Gaza Friday to tour an Israeli-backed aid site, amid growing g...
Why Red And Blue States Are Waging A Redistricting War
01 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Republicans in the Texas State House released their plans to redraw the state’s congressional map this week. It’s a nakedly partisan gambit to max...