Podcast
Politics Chat
Hosted by Heather Cox Richardson · EN
20episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Politics Chat, May 21, 2026
Yesterday00:53:20Tap to summarizeTrump's $10 billion IRS lawsuit withdrawal, the $1.776 billion DOJ settlement fund, Stanley Woodward's signature on the first document, Acting AG Todd Blanch's tax immunity agreement, the SAVE Act push in budget reconciliation, Senate parliamentarian's rejection of the White House ballroom funding, Trump allies election wins, Epstein files, U.S. posture toward Cuba, the Strait of Hormuz closure, and Congress departing for recess without a reconciliation vote.Politics Chat is recorded live on YouTube and Facebook every Tuesday and Thursday at 6 pm Maine time (3 PM PT / 6 PM ET).Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dax6fD475M8Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
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Politics Chat, May 20, 2026
2d ago00:43:16Tap to summarizeExecutive orders and their reversibility, Republican budget cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, Trump's $10 billion IRS lawsuit and its withdrawal, the Department of Justice settlement agreement, a $1.776 billion fund for January 6th pardoned rioters, the acting attorney general's tax audit immunity agreement, Capitol officers file lawsuit challenging the fund, Jamie Raskin's proposed legislation, Trump's White House ballroom expansion and security claims, the Kentucky House primary and Thomas Massie's defeat, calls to eliminate the Senate parliamentarian and the filibuster, and Trump's personal stock trading.Politics Chat is recorded live on YouTube and Facebook every Tuesday and Thursday at 6 pm Maine time (3 PM PT / 6 PM ET).Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/QUlZjp_1fag?si=CCS39wb5kS7yDjAuGet full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
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Politics Chat, May 14, 2026
1w ago00:32:39Tap to summarizeJD Vance's Maine visit to talk about fraud, accusations used by the guilty party, Rick Scott's $1.7 billion Medicare and Medicaid fraud settlement, Trump pardons for fraud-convicted donors and allies, Trump family wealth gains since January 2025, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff’s negotiations, World Liberty Financial and untraceable crypto revenue, no-bid contracts and cost inflation on DC vanity projects, Trump's China trip with billionaire delegation, Crédit Mobilier scandal, Teapot Dome scandal, Viktor Orbán corruption precedent, and Republican fraud accusations as political counter-messaging ahead of the midterms.Politics Chat is recorded live on YouTube and Facebook every Tuesday and Thursday at 6 pm Maine time (3 PM PT / 6 PM ET).Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/BlUY_46CrU0Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
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Politics Chat, May 12, 2026
1w ago00:42:24Tap to summarizeTopics covered in today’s Politics Chat: Trump's wild late-night social media postings, Russia's scaled-down Victory Day parade and Putin's weakening position, gerrymandering, Virginia Supreme Court redistricting reversal, Alabama's unconstitutional map reinstatement, dummy-mander risk in Texas, Fannie Lou Hamer, voter registration and ballot preparation, the One Big Beautiful Bill, post-midterm cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, and the $1 billion White House ballroom security request.Politics Chat is recorded live on YouTube and Facebook every Tuesday and Thursday at 6 pm Maine time (3 PM PT / 6 PM ET).Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/e9qatSWt2xQ?si=LyFi6jceXPGqnqn4Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
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Politics Chat, May 7, 2026
2w ago00:55:10Tap to summarizeTennessee congressional redistricting, the Supreme Court's Louisiana v. Callais ruling and the Voting Rights Act, mid-decade Republican remapping in Ohio, Missouri, North Carolina, Florida, and South Carolina, Operation REDMAP and one-party state concerns, CIA assessment contradicting administration claims on Iran, War Powers Act and the 60-day deadline, Project Freedom and Saudi Arabia airspace denial, U.S.-Iran renewed hostilities, Shell profits and national gas prices, Whirlpool recession warning, Tom Homan immigration raid escalation, ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ detention costs, Trump-Pope conflict and Rubio's Vatican meeting, Fulton County grand jury transcripts, state Supreme Court elections in Georgia and North Carolina, and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act cuts.Politics Chat is recorded live on YouTube and Facebook every Tuesday and Thursday at 6 pm Maine time (3 PM PT / 6 PM ET).Watch today's recording here: https://youtube.com/live/KBHJ_stng3I?feature=shareGet full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
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Politics Chat, May 5, 2026
2w ago00:40:31Tap to summarizeSenate Republicans' budget reconciliation proposal, $1 billion White House security and ballroom appropriation, supply-side economics and the Reagan-era tax-cut legacy, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, rural hospital closures and ACA enrollment losses, SNAP cuts and food assistance enrollment declines, ICE and Customs and Border Protection funding through 2029, the 1973 War Powers Act and the Iran deadline, Operation Epic Fury and Project Freedom, the Strait of Hormuz blockade, and Marco Rubio's cease-fire framing.Politics Chat is recorded live on YouTube and Facebook every Tuesday and Thursday at 6 pm Maine time (3 PM PT / 6 PM ET).Watch today's recording here: https://youtube.com/live/7x94FifmV-o Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
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Politics Chat, April 30, 2026
3w ago01:02:33Tap to summarizeWatch out for AI-generated impersonation scams, Trump approval ratings at post-January 6th lows, war with Iran and the Strait of Hormuz closure, oil futures above $110 a barrel, the 60-day War Powers Act deadline, Pete Hegseth's Senate and House testimony, Republican rejection of Democratic war authorization proposals, Trump sons' no-bid drone contracts, Jerome Powell's refusal to vacate the Fed, Louisiana v. Callais and the Supreme Court's majority-minority district ruling, Republican gerrymandering from Operation REDMAP to the present, and the Democratic push for retaliatory redistricting.Politics Chat is recorded live on YouTube and Facebook every Tuesday and Thursday at 6 pm Maine time (3 PM PT / 6 PM ET).Watch today's recording here: https://youtube.com/live/dz1HCGWDLe8?feature=shareGet full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
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Politics Chat, April 28, 2026
3w ago00:46:47Tap to summarizeWhite House Correspondents' Dinner security incident and the conspiracy theories that have followed, DOJ indictment of James Comey over ‘8647’ social media post, Trump passports bearing his image, Department of Defense rename request to Congress, Mike Johnson's legislative deadlock, War Powers Act 60-day deadline on Iran, Strait of Hormuz closure and oil supply pressure, Lloyd's of London refusal to insure strait shipping, Iran nuclear negotiations breakdown, King Charles III address to Congress, UAE withdrawal from OPEC+, Orban's exit from Hungary, and midterm election organizing.Politics Chat is recorded live on YouTube and Facebook every Tuesday and Thursday at 6 pm Maine time (3 PM PT / 6 PM ET).Watch today's recording here: https://youtube.com/live/dz1HCGWDLe8?feature=shareGet full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
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Politics Chat, April 23, 2026
4w ago00:42:35Tap to summarizeSecretary of the Navy John Phelan's firing, Pete Hegseth's consolidation of power within the Pentagon, House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer's shift from sworn hearings to roundtables, the Epstein Files Transparency Act and DOJ's partial release, Pam Bondi's contempt proceedings, Todd Blanch in as Acting Attorney General, the Strait of Hormuz closure and stalled Iran negotiations, UAE request for U.S. Treasury backstop, Trump family cryptocurrency dealings, the Southern Poverty Law Center indictment, DOJ settlements with Michael Flynn and Carter Page, Senate votes on ICE funding and FISA Section 702 reauthorization.Politics Chat is recorded live on YouTube and Facebook every Tuesday and Thursday at 6 pm Maine time (3 PM PT / 6 PM ET).Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/EvVPhRv8qU0?si=P5_WFiKCHE4Bf47GGet full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
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Politics Chat, April 21, 2026
Apr 2200:47:51Tap to summarizeInstability in the Trump administration as (female) cabinet departures continue, Kash Patel Atlantic story and FBI leadership concerns, Wall Street Journal reporting on Trump's conduct during Iran crisis, U.S.-Iran conflict and Strait of Hormuz closure, Trump approval ratings at historic lows, 2026 election war chest and voter roll manipulation efforts, Christian nationalist Bible-reading campaign, UAE financial backstop talks and World Liberty Financial ties, FISA Section 702 renewal fight in Congress, Haitian TPS discharge petition and Republican defections, Tucker Carlson breaks with Trump, Democratic governors and 2028 presidential candidate activity.Politics Chat is recorded live on YouTube and Facebook every Tuesday and Thursday at 6 pm Maine time (3 PM PT / 6 PM ET).Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/sSZHkUdsXQM?si=zC5zTQAt91EZPOKUGet full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
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