The New Abnormal

The New Abnormal hosts Andy Levy and Danielle Moodie are not surprised at Trump’s war of words with an American ally just one week into his presidency. Then, Trevor Timm, co-founder and the executive director of Freedom of the Press Foundation, joins the show to talk about Joe Biden's press freedom legacy and the threats to those freedoms we face under a second Trump administration. Plus! Journalist and author Jacob Silverman explores the growing influence of Saudi investments in U.S. tech and their ties to the likes of Donald Trump and Elon Musk.

Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde rattles President Donald Trump during his big inauguration week by asking for “mercy.” During an inaugural prayer service on Wednesday at Washington National Cathedral, Budde addressed Trump in her sermon. “Mr. President, millions have put their trust in you, and as you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God in the name of our God. I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country. We're scared.” The New Abnormal co-host Danielle Moodie called the address to the president Trump an “absolute profile in courage.” She added, “I know that MAGA loves to feed off people's fear and that's what gets them excited, but it is people like her that are modeling how you stand up to these people.” Plus! Political scientist Jules Boykoff, author of What Are the Olympics For?, explores the intersection between sports and politics.

Labor reporter Hamilton Nolan joins the latest episode of The New Abnormal to discuss Trump’s cryptocurrency venture—and what it portends for the future of his presidency. Plus! A conversation with New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin, whose office filed a challenge to Trump’s executive order that would get rid of birthright citizenship in the United States.

The New Abnormal hosts Andy Levy and Danielle Moodie look back on Donald’s Trump’s inauguration and the long list of executive orders he signed hours later. Then, Melissa Gira Grant, journalist, author, and senior editor at The New Republic, joins us to discuss the Laken Riley Act, a harsh immigration bill that could jail undocumented immigrants for minor arrests, even without charges.

Billionaire CEO, DOGE co-director and “first buddy” Elon Musk’s surprise visit to California’s Pacific Palisades neighborhood didn’t seem to go as planned. Musk attempted to affirm an incendiary rumor about the area’s wildfires spreading because the city had a shortage of water, but a fire commander threw cold water on the claim. “You hear him go from his normal, ‘Oh, I’m so bright. I’m asking questions.’ To timid and realizing that he is a fucking jack—,” said The New Abnormal co-host Andy Levy. Plus! Author Bennett Parten joins the podcast to discuss his new book, Somewhere Toward Freedom: Sherman's March and the Story of America's Largest Emancipation.

Hawaii Senator Brian Schatz, vice chair of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee and Chief Deputy Whip, joins The New Abnormal to talk about Trump’s controversial cabinet picks, including who he thinks won’t make the cut. Then, New York Times bestselling author Adrienne Maree Brown talks about Octavia Butler's prophetic book, “Parable of the Sower” and how its themes eerily resonate today.

Donald Trump is secretly excited at the emergence of a civil war among his supporters and allies, according to The New Abnormal co-hosts Danielle Moodie and Andy Levy. Then, MSNBC political analyst Juanita Tolliver joins the program to talk about her new book, “A More Perfect Party: The Night Shirley Lee Chisholm and Diahann Carroll Reshaped Politics.” Plus! Cara Kelly, editor at large for The Barbed Wire, discusses her recent piece titled “The True Cost of Texas’ Abortion Ban: Rising Deaths, Abandoned Babies, Fewer Doctors.”

Multibillionaire Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg met with President-elect Donald Trump the day before he announced his company’s big fact check flip-flop, revealed Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma—further revealing how Silicon Valley’s tech elite is moving to align itself with the incoming Republican administration. “I really think we do need to really clock how bad this tech Republican collusion is,” said The New Abnormal co-host Andy Levy. Plus! Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, and also chair of the Senate Finance Committee, joins to talk about his new book, It Takes Chutzpah: How to Fight Fearlessly for Progressive Change.

Republicans have jumped on the opportunity to weaponize coverage of the devastating greater Los Angeles wildfires into political divisiveness, says The New Abnormal co-hosts Danielle Moodie and Andy Levy. “We have seen many people on the right, including Donald Trump Jr. Blaming this somehow on the fact that we've given money to Ukraine,” said Levy. Plus, New York Times technology correspondent Mike Isaac discusses Mark Zuckerberg’s overhaul of Meta's fact-checking system, and author Adrian Carrasquillo discusses how the media might cover the incoming presidential administration’s promised mass deportations.