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We talk about the systemic issues that lead to right wing radicalization, and about some of the personal factors that contributed to an influential insurrectionist's life trajectory. On Today's Show:Anna Sale, creator and host of the WNYC podcast Death, Sex & Money, and Micah Loewinger, correspondent for WNYC's On the Media, discuss their interview with the ex-wife of Oath Keepers founder, Stewart Rhodes, who was just sentenced to 18 years in prison in his seditious conspiracy case.

The US government's 'debt ceiling' negotiations continue, but the complexities of the national debt and the global economy obfuscate what the real impact might be if we surpass it. On Today's Show:Jeff Stein, White House economics reporter for The Washington Post, explains what will actually happen in the U.S. if the government hits the debt ceiling, and shares his analysis of how the negotiations to prevent that are going.

A number of whales have recently beached themselves on NY and NJ's shorelines. On Today's Show:Andy Read, professor of marine biology and the director of the Duke University Marine Laboratory, talks about why so many beached whales are turning up on the New York and New Jersey coastlines, and why claims from some groups that surveying for wind farms is causing the deaths are untrue.

With a deadline looming, Congress and President Biden appear to remain at a stalemate when it comes to extending the US's debt ceiling. On Today's Show:Catie Edmondson, congressional correspondent for The New York Times, discusses the "tricky politics" of the negotiations, where Republicans are holding out for steep spending cuts and changes to social safety net programs in exchange for raising the limit, which some Democrats won't accept.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a slate of bills this week targeting what teachers can—or cannot—teach in school. On today's show: Sommer Brugal, K-12 education reporter for the Miami Herald, reports on the new legislation—and the investigation of a Florida teacher who showed her class a Disney film that features two gay characters.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas knows that often, his legal philosophies put him at odds with wide swaths of Black political thought.  On Today's Show:Julia Longoria, host of WNYC's More Perfect, talks about the new season of More Perfect, which examines history to help us understand how the Supreme Court of today came to be, including this week's episode on Clarence Thomas.

In a new memoir, the longtime host of NPR's daily news show talks about journalism, public radio and work-life balance. On Today's Show:Mary Louise Kelly, a host of NPR's All Things Considered discusses her new book It. Goes. So. Fast.: The Year of No Do-Overs (Henry Holt and Co., 2023), about the trade-offs between work and family.

One of entertainment's celebrated political satirists talks about what it means to poke fun at today's serious news. On Today's Show:Comedian and "Daily Show" correspondent Roy Wood Jr. talks about hosting the White House Correspondents' Dinner, his family connection to journalism and working on "The Daily Show."

As border states continue to send asylum-seekers to urban metro-areas, NYC and its suburbs are at odds about how to address the needs of these newcomers. On Today's Show:Murad Awawdeh, executive director at the New York Immigration Coalition, discusses how the city is responding to migrants making their way here, the dispute with the northern suburbs over housing them and what NYIC believes can be done by both federal and local governments to handle the new arrivals.

The Manhattan D.A. is charging Daniel Penny with manslaughter in the second degree for the chokehold killing of Jordan Neely on the subway earlier this month. On Today's Show:Catherine Christian, former assistant district attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney's office, explains the legal reasoning behind the charge and why it took as long as it did.

A task force in California that had been exploring possibilities for racial justice reparations recently released its recommendations. On Today's Show:Emmanuel Felton, race and ethnicity reporter on the America desk at The Washington Post, breaks down the latest on a new bill that aims to provide reparations for Black residents of California.

A legal analyst unpacks the outcome of E. Jean Carroll's case against former President Trump. On Today's Show:Jane Manning, director, Women's Equal Justice Project and former sex crimes prosecutor, talks about the verdict, and why the jury found the former president liable for sexual abuse and defamation but not rape.

As COVID-era border restrictions are set to expire, a look at what it means for asylum seekers, immigration rhetoric in the US, and the politics on both sides of the border. On Today's Show:Camilo Montoya-Galvez, CBS News immigration reporter, talks about the surge of migrants border officials are expecting, and other ways the end of Title 42 might affect immigration patterns and our civic discourse.

A local journalist weighs in on what the law says about the subway killing of Jordan Neely by a fellow rider. On Today's Show:Errol Louis, political anchor of Spectrum NY1 News, host of Inside City Hall, New York Magazine columnist and host of the podcast You Decide, offers analysis of the legal aspects of Jordan Neely's killing.

As originally designed, the number of seats in the House of Representatives is supposed to grow along with the US population. Why hasn't it, and what are the consequences for democracy? On Today's Show:Danielle Allen, Washington Post contributing columnist, a political theorist at Harvard University, where she is James Bryant Conant University Professor and director of the Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Ethics and the author of Justice by Means of Democracy (University of Chicago Press, 2023), proposes expanding the number of members of the House of Representatives, currently capped at 435.

A legal expert's take on the social climate that led to one subway rider fatally strangling another in the midst of a mental health episode, and other legal headlines. On Today's Show:Elie Mystal, justice correspondent for The Nation, and the author of Allow Me to Retort: A Black Guy’s Guide to the Constitution (The New Press, 2022), discusses the death of Jordan Neely, and discusses the responses from the legal system and the public. Plus, his analysis of E. Jean Carroll's rape suit against Donald Trump, and the news (which broke during the live show) that four of the five Proud Boys defendants charged with 'seditious conspiracy' have been convicted. 

An update on the trial of several Proud Boy leaders who have been charged with 'seditious conspiracy' over their roles in the Jan. 6 insurrection. On Today's Show:Marcy Wheeler, independent journalist writing about national security and civil liberties for her site, Empty Wheel, talks about the latest from the trial, and why this attempt at accountability is different from the previous ones that focused on participants.

After Lorenzo Charles was deported in 2003, he fought to overturn his deportation, and won, allowing him to return to his life in Brooklyn. On Today's Show:Matt Katz, WNYC Public Safety correspondent, and Lindsay Nash, associate professor of law and co-director of the Immigration Justice Clinic at Cardozo Law School, discuss Charles's case, what it means for other deportees, and for the US's immigration policy.

After the gathering of the White House Press Corps for its annual, jovial dinner party, we look at some of the weekend's political news, and some of the event's funnier moments. On Today's Show:Susan Page, USA Today Washington bureau chief and the author of Madam Speaker: Nancy Pelosi and the Lessons of Power (Twelve, 2021) and a forthcoming biography of Barbara Walters, rounds up the latest news from Washington, including the House debt ceiling bill, plus news from Saturday's White House Correspondents Dinner.

While former President Trump and Florida governor Ron DeSantis seem to be the early front-runners for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, several others have announced their candidacies, or are "exploring" the option.   On Today's Show: Amanda Carpenter, columnist at The Bulwark and the author of Gaslighting America: Why We Love It When Trump Lies to Us (Broadside Books, 2018), reviews the ideas animating the campaigns of Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, Asa Hutchinson, and Vivek Ramaswamy.