The Daily Beast Podcast

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Julie K. Brown joins Joanna Coles to unpack the latest twist in the Epstein saga—why Trump’s former personal lawyer, Todd Blanch, now number two at the Justice Department, personally visited Ghislaine Maxwell in prison. What did she tell him, and who is on the rumored list of 100 names possibly connected to Jeffrey Epstein’s sex crime activities? As Epstein’s victims speak out in anger and fear, Brown reveals why Maxwell could now be in danger too—and why the Epstein cover-up still haunts the White House. Coles and Brown also dig into Florida’s ex-AG Pam Bondi, the deleted Elon Musk tweet, and why Epstein may have believed he’d never done anything wrong. With new subpoenas looming and Congress demanding answers, the question remains: what’s in the Epstein files—and who doesn’t want them released?Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Julie K. Brown joins Joanna Coles to unpack the latest twist in the Epstein saga—why Trump’s former personal lawyer, Todd Blanch, now number two at the Justice Department, personally visited Ghislaine Maxwell in prison. What did she tell him, and who is on the rumored list of 100 names possibly connected to Jeffrey Epstein’s sex crime activities? As Epstein’s victims speak out in anger and fear, Brown reveals why Maxwell could now be in danger too—and why the Epstein cover-up still haunts the White House. Coles and Brown also dig into Florida’s ex-AG Pam Bondi, the deleted Elon Musk tweet, and why Epstein may have believed he’d never done anything wrong. With new subpoenas looming and Congress demanding answers, the question remains: what’s in the Epstein files—and who doesn’t want them released?

Michael Wolff joins Joanna Coles to reveal the rising panic inside Trump’s inner circle as the Epstein scandal metastasizes. With Ghislaine Maxwell serving 20 years in prison, Wolff outlines how a meeting between her and Trump’s former lawyer—now the No. 2 at the DOJ—Todd Blanche, is raising serious questions about a possible deal. Wolff details Trump’s decade-long friendship with Epstein, the infamous 50th birthday letter, and how they shared a girlfriend who moved between the two men. He describes a White House gripped by fear as “Epstein intelligence” emerges—emails, photos, and files that could expose just how “bad” Trump’s “bad boy years” really were. MAGA world, Wolff warns, may not survive what Maxwell has to say.

Investigative reporter Tara Palmeri joins Joanna Coles to dig into the twisted saga of Ghislaine Maxwell—her crimes, her secrets, and why the Trump's Justice Department is knocking at her door. As Maxwell serves 20 years in a Florida prison, new signs point to a potential deal with Trump-era officials. Why now—and what does she know? Palmeri shares chilling victim accounts, unsealed evidence Maxwell wants buried, and fresh questions about whether or not she could still reveal long held details to authorities. From Prince Andrew to Alan Dershowitz, the web of powerful men around Maxwell remains tangled. And around MAGA world, a shocking new chant is gaining steam: “Free Ghislaine.”

David Frum joins Joanna Coles to unpack the jaw-dropping scale of Donald Trump’s presidential profiteering—from the $400 million Qatari plane to his so-called ‘presidential library’ money funnel. Frum, Senior Editor of The Atlantic and host of the new podcast The David Frum Show, explains how Trump turned the presidential office into a personal ATM—and why the Republican party let him. He breaks down why Trump’s grift dwarfs anything in U.S. history, how social media fuels both the scam and the silence, and why the real question isn’t what Trump will do next, but what we’ll tolerate.

Michael Wolff joins Joanna Coles to unpack Donald Trump’s ever-expanding harem of lookalike aides, surrogates, and “comfort blanket” women inside the presidential bubble. With Melania absent, Trump has surrounded himself with younger clones — from Natalie Harp, the so-called “human printer,” to bikini-clad attorney Alina Habba, to Melania doppelgänger Margo Martin. Wolff, an accomplished Trump biographer who has observed this dynamic firsthand in the West Wing and beyond, explains how Trump’s obsession with appearance, loyalty, and media control manifests in the women around him — many of whom are fighting viciously for his attention. Wolff also reveals how one of these Melania clones controls most of the information that reaches the president and why jurors in Trump’s criminal trial were “creeped out” by his Stepford-like entourage. Wolff explains how Trump’s fixation on TV-ready staff masks a deeper insecurity and clear isolation.

Michael Wolff joins Daily Beast Executive Editor Hugh Dougherty to unpack a new Wall Street Journal report that could spell real trouble for Donald Trump: a 2003 birthday note to Jeffrey Epstein alongside a nude sketch. Wolff clarifies Trump's deep and well documented relationship with Jeffrey Epstein—and why MAGA media, led by Bannon and Tucker Carlson, won’t let it go. As Trump scrambles to distract with bizarre stunts and conspiracy bait, even his allies are rattled. This time, Wolff warns, denial might not save him. Wolff, who’s chronicled Trump’s rise in four bestsellers, describes a man entering his “lame duck phase,” besieged by rivals and a serious newly revealed medical condition.

Tina Brown joins Daily Beast Executive Editor Hugh Dougherty to revisit the scandal she helped break wide open—Jeffrey Epstein—and how it now threatens to fracture MAGA from within. Brown, co-founder of The Daily Beast and former editor of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker, reflects on commissioning the explosive 2010 Epstein exposé that first named names like Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, and Larry Summers. She recalls Epstein’s chilling intimidation tactics—including showing up uninvited to her office—and explains how he leveraged social status, political donations, and kompromat to shield himself for decades. Brown also reveals that Ghislaine Maxwell was more socially visible than Epstein in the 1990s and how her husband exposed Robert Maxwell as a crooked businessman years earlier. As new revelations emerge—including that an FBI source warned Epstein “would never make it to trial”—Brown unpacks why this scandal still haunts Trump, whose bond with Epstein spanned 15 years. She describes how Trump’s recent meltdown on Truth Social, dismissing his base as “weak” and “stupid,” signals a dangerous rupture. And with MAGA obsessed with pedophilia conspiracies, Brown warns: this may be the one scandal Trump can’t shake—because for once, his base might not let him.

Michael Wolff joins Daily Beast Executive Editor Hugh Dougherty to unpack the chaos of what may be the first lasting MAGA civil war—and why it centers on Jeffrey Epstein. Wolff, who's authored 4 biographies on Trump, was present when Steve Bannon met Epstein. Wolff exposes the bizarre triangle between Trump, Bannon, and Epstein, including how Bannon became a key promoter of the very conspiracy he’s entangled in. Wolff describes how MAGA influencers are now caught between defending Trump and pursuing the elite-exposing narrative they helped create. He also reveals that Trump once considered pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell and had known her since the early days of his deep friendship with Epstein. As Trump lashes out on Truth Social and desperately struggles to change the subject, Wolff suggests this scandal might finally stick—or at least rattle him more than most.

Obama White House veteran David Litt joins Joanna Coles to talk about his new book about surviving the age of Trump—and what America's rivals really think about the current president. He explains what is going through Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping's head as they watch Trump from afar and what Trump saw in America that powered him to victory twice. Litt talks about his new book "It's Only Drowning" which he wrote after turning to surfing when the first Trump presidency plunged him into depression. He became hooked on the sport with his Joe Rogan-listening, Trump-voting, brother-in-law, finding a bond with someone he admits he has "nothing in common with." But it led to him realizing what had gone wrong for Democrats and why his party needs to engage with, not retreat from, platforms like Rogan’s. Litt explains how the MAGA coalition’s anti-authority ethos—rooted not just in politics but in personal psychology—has outpaced the left’s ability to tell its story.