The Daily Beast Podcast

Joanna Coles and Michael Wolff dig into Ghislaine Maxwell’s prison interviews with Trump’s DOJ, Epstein’s lingering influence on Trump, and Trump’s presidential culture of copious pardons for nefarious American characters. They examine how rich criminals and political allies maneuvered for Trump's favor, and how loyalty, leverage, and money shaped decisions inside the Oval Office. From secret phone calls to private doubts, Wolff unpacks what drives Trump's unusual sympathy Trump reportedly felt for Maxwell and the political pressures he's facing in deciding whether to pardon her. And Wolff highlights how Epstein’s social connections, including Fergie and Prince Andrew, intersected with Trump, showing the unexpected ways their worlds became connected.

MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle joins Joanna Coles to unpack Donald Trump’s power moves against the Federal Reserve's governors. From his campaign against Fed chairman Jerome Powell to saying he has fired Black governor Lisa Cook, the conversation reveals a president at war with the independent central bank. The two explore how Trump leans on Wall Street CEOs, demands loyalty over judgment, and pulls business leaders like Jeff Bezos and Tim Cook into his orbit as props in his economic battles. And Ruhle spells out why Wall Street's hair is on fire about New York socialist Zohran Mamdami but it should be ablaze about Trump.

Joanna Coles and Michael Wolff dig into the explosive Trump DOJ transcripts of Ghislaine Maxwell’s meeting with Todd Blanche and what they reveal about Jeffrey Epstein’s finances, Donald Trump’s anxieties, and more. From the talk in the White House of Trump “keeling over” and the President’s obsession with Ghislaine Maxwell, the conversation unpacks Trump’s paranoia, monied moves, and lingering ties to Epstein’s world. They also examine the mounting worries over Trump’s physical decline, from swollen ankles to his unsteady gait, that fueled private panic among his aides. With fresh Epstein details overlooked by the mainstream media found within Maxwell’s proffer, Wolff explains how Trump’s past scandals keep colliding with his present.

Jonathan Mahler, author of 'The Gods of New York', joins Joanna Coles to explore Donald Trump’s tabloid-fueled rise in the 1980s. From his feud with the Koch brothers over Wollman Rink to the Marla Maples scandal in Aspen and his explosive Central Park Five ad, Mahler reveals how Trump mastered gossip and scandal to build a myth that would carry him into politics. They trace how Trump’s obsession with media attention turned Page Six into his personal stage. And they uncover how the tabloid era’s culture wars laid the foundation for Trump’s future in the White House.

Michael Wolff, author of four bestselling books on Donald Trump, joins the Daily Beast’s executive editor, Hugh Doherty, to dissect the former president’s expanding enemies list. From the FBI raid on John Bolton’s home to Trump’s fixation on Black female prosecutors and judges, Wolff lays bare how Trump’s hostility toward Black women has become a defining and pathological theme of his politics. They also dig into the newly released Jeffrey Epstein files—what’s inside, what’s missing, and why Trump’s allies are scrambling to contain the fallout.

Donald Trump doesn’t listen. He doesn’t read. He just talks. On ‘Inside Trump’s Head’, Joanna Coles and Michael Wolff explore why Trump embarks on endless monologues, his Oval Office turned into a bus station, and the “wall of sound” that keeps people out. Wolff shares surreal White House moments, from generals with PowerPoints Trump ignored to phone calls that lasted for hours. The episode also delves into Trump’s unusual routines, Melania’s cryptic note to Putin, and why the mainstream media still struggles to cover the 47th President of the United States competently. What emerges is a portrait of a man stuck in 1965 Rat Pack Vegas, yet still dominating the digital age in 2025.

Monica Lewinsky joins Joanna Coles for an unflinching look at the new Hulu limited series 'The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox'—and why the story we think we know is nothing like the truth. From Knox’s wrongful conviction and years in an Italian prison, to the media’s obsession with “Foxy Knoxy” and the anatomy of bias that fueled it, Lewinsky reveals how her own experience being dissected by the press helped her connect with Knox and bring her story to the screen. With behind-the-scenes details on persuading Amanda to say yes, building a powerhouse creative team, and the haunting parallels between two women thrust into the global spotlight, this episode uncovers how narratives are twisted, who benefits, and what gets lost along the way. 

What really happened when Donald Trump met Vladimir Putin behind closed doors? In this episode of 'Inside Trump’s Head', cohosts Joanna Coles and Trump biographer Michael Wolff unravel Trump’s odd displays of loyalty to Putin and the secretive negotiations over Ukraine that alarmed U.S. allies. They examine Trump’s fixation on flattery, his pursuit of a Nobel Peace Prize, and the way Putin’s KGB-honed tactics played against Trump’s insecurities. From the bizarre secrecy surrounding their one-on-one sessions to the global risks of Trump’s concessions, this is a revealing look at how the Trump–Putin relationship reshaped world politics and exposed the vulnerabilities inside Trump’s head. And Wolff drops an extraordinary new revelation about a meeting Jeffrey Epstein had with Vladimir Putin.

John Bolton, Donald Trump's National Security Advisor who witnessed up close why he is so bad at making deals, joins Joanna Coles for an inside look at what it’s really like being in the room with Donald Trump. Looking at Trump's first term Putin meeting in Helsinki, where briefing papers went unread as soccer played in the background, Bolton reveals a portrait of a president who prizes optics over substance, public relations over policy. With Vladimir Putin exploiting every opening, Xi Jinping taking notes, and Trump’s envoy stumbling into Russian disinformation, Bolton exposes the dangerous mix of ego, improvisation, and manipulation at the heart of America’s foreign policy.