The Daily Beast Podcast

Former Obama chief of staff and Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel joins Joanna Coles to unpack the stunning news that Donald Trump bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities—against the judgment of his own intelligence agencies. Emanuel, whose two sons serve in the U.S. Navy, lays out a sobering, real-world framework for how a president should handle such a volatile decision, and why Trump’s impulsive, “instinct-driven” approach endangers global stability. He warns that Tulsi Gabbard and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth represent a dangerous, unserious national security apparatus—and says plainly that the current commander-in-chief lacks the discipline, curiosity, or character for the job. Emanuel, who's also a CNN contributor, opens up about sleepless nights, military service, and his own possible 2028 run for president—and what it would take to make the American Dream affordable again.

Trump biographer Michael Wolff joins Joanna Coles to pull back the curtain on a White House in disarray. The author reveals how the president’s impromptu, last-minute decision-making around Iran—epitomized by a series of frantic Friday phone calls and a dismissive “fuck Tucker”—turned what insiders claimed was a long-planned operation into a mad scramble. Wolff explains that while official narratives try to dress up the moment as a flawless, strategic maneuver, in reality the president dithered until the very end, leaving everyone guessing and scrambling for their next move. Coles and Wolff dissect the chaos behind the rhetoric—how rival factions from the MAGA base to neocon advisors vied for his attention—and expose a leader who shifts his course with every call, embodying a breathtaking blend of uncertainty and dangerous improvisation.

Author Evan Osnos joins Joanna Coles to parse the twisted games the world's wealthiest play with and aboard their crazy expensive yachts. As tech billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg snap up megayachts, Osnos, author of 'The Haves and Have-Yachts,' unpacks what these floating palaces reveal about a seismic shift in American wealth and power. He explains why Donald Trump shut down the KleptoCapture task force, how oligarch envy shapes Trump's worldview, and what it means that he once owned a Saudi arms dealer's yacht—but hated being on it. From Adnan Khashoggi to Elon Musk, Osnos traces the rise of ostentatious wealth, the decline of discretion, and why the modern billionaire isn't satisfied with private jets—they also want political control. Plus, how Musk crossed a line even Andrew Carnegie didn't, and why Americans may finally be waking up to a new, gilded threat.

James Carville joins Joanna Coles for a bracing tour through the foreign policy civil war inside MAGA—and why it could tear the coalition. As Israel and Iran square off, so do Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon, and Tulsi Gabbard versus Trump, Pete Hegseth, and Mark Levin. Carville breaks down the long-simmering ideological rift now boiling over, and why Trump’s strategic confusion—especially in the Middle East—is dangerous not just for Republicans, but for global stability. He explains why Trump “couldn’t find Iran on a globe,” how Tucker’s pro-Russia leanings go back decades, and why Americans aren't nearly scared enough about what’s coming. Plus: what Carville says is the real cost of Republican loyalty to Trump, and how Democrats can seize this moment—if they’re smart.

Trump biographer Michael Wolff joins Joanna Coles to discuss how the president's $45 million attempt at creating a "menacing" military parade backfired into a yawning, low-budget cosplay. The author of 'All or Nothing' reveals the real reason Trump was furious at the troops, what Pete Hegseth got wrong, and why the U.S. military has moved on while Trump is still stuck in 1965. Coles and Wolff explore how Israel's strike on Iran played out while Trump sat bored on a D.C. bleacher—and why the war made him look weak, used, and irrelevant. 

The Daily Beast’s David Rothkopf joins Joanna Coles to unpack the chaos behind Israel’s strike on Iran—and the confusion inside the the Trump administration's response. From Marco Rubio claiming America had nothing to do with Israel's attack, to Trump scrambling to take credit, Rothkopf lays out why nobody seems to know who approved what, or when. He explains why Trump’s “deal guy” approach to foreign policy has failed everywhere from Gaza to Ukraine, and why Trump’s inner circle of golf buddies and yes-men leaves America weaker and more isolated than ever. Rothkopf calls Trump “the most impotent president in living memory”—and warns that our enemies are laughing.

Joanna Coles unpacks global chaos colliding with American absurdity: a California senator thrown to the ground, Israel striking Iran, and the man in charge of U.S. diplomacy? Trump’s golf buddy Steve Witkoff. Who else to make sense of this than Michael Wolff, the chronicler of Trump’s chaos. Wolff dives into Trump’s racist tirade after the arrest of Senator Padilla, and how Gavin Newsom accidentally became the face of Democratic leadership—thanks to Trump himself. Plus, Wolff paints a jaw-dropping picture of Trump’s “phone monologues,” Witkoff’s terrifying Middle East power grab, and why American politics now runs on height, hair, and real estate credentials.

Joanna Coles is joined by Russian and American Journalist M. Gessen, whose reporting from both Putin’s Russia and Trump’s America has made them a singular voice on creeping autocracy. Gessen explains why Americans' faith in endless progress is misplaced—and how Trump, like Putin before him, overwhelms the system by attacking everything, everywhere, all at once: courts, media, universities, even law firms. They argue that the biggest danger isn’t sudden collapse, but slow adaptation—that Americans are already getting used to living in a crumbling democracy.

California governor Gavin Newsom tells Joanna Coles how he is going head-to-head with Donald Trump and Stephen Miller's cruelty and chaos—and why the country has never faced such a crisis before. He goes scorched earth on the "carny bulls**t artist" president and say what he thinks about being nicknamed "Gavin Newscum." Newsom has harsh words for Speaker Mike Johnson and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, warning their loyalty to Trump's authoritarianism shows how weak they are. And he spells out what is next in his fight against Trump and why he doesn't regret hosting MAGA stars like Steve Bannon on his podcast.