Trump Triggers Economic Chaos as War Costs Skyrocket

Summary

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Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov

Episode: Trump Triggers Economic Chaos as War Costs Skyrocket

Date: March 20, 2026
Podcast Network: Vox Media Podcast Network

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Overview

In this episode, Jessica Tarlov and guest co-host Erin Parnas tackle America's deepening involvement in the Iran war, exploding costs, mounting political discord, and the ripple effect through domestic politics and the economy. They also break down the congressional fight over the Epstein files, examine the ramifications of the Nexstar-Tegna media merger, and discuss fallout from new revelations about Cesar Chavez. The mood is urgent and exasperated, reflecting the pressures of "moderation" amidst a tumultuous political climate.

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Main Topics and Key Insights

1. U.S. War with Iran: Escalation, Costs, and Political Splintering

[01:46 – 14:19]

• Escalation & Political Fractures

  • The U.S. is sending thousands more troops to the region and faces $1B/day spending with an additional $200B request imminent.
  • Discord between the U.S. and Israel over end goals—Israel wants regime change, while Trump signals uncertainty.
  • Growing public and intra-party opposition, echoing the early 2000s Iraq War.

  Quote:
  “Now you’ve got senior officials like Tulsi Gabbard openly suggesting the US and Israel might not even agree on what ‘winning’ looks like here... Something was different from the first few weeks of this war.”
  — Jessica Tarlov, [01:46]

• War Funding as Political Flashpoint

  • MAGA-aligned and far-right Republicans oppose new funding, invoking war fatigue and Pentagon waste.
  • Erin Parnas notes parallels to Bush-era wars, predicting a “blue wave” if $200B in funding passes.
  • Both lament lack of clarity on the war’s objectives and distance between official claims and reality.

  Quote:
  “You can't run on Doge, you can't run on cutting waste, fraud and abuse and then give $200 billion to a Pentagon that… has failed an audit repeatedly every single year.”
  — Erin Parnas, [07:56]

• Economic Consequences

  • Oil projected to reach $180-$200/barrel by end of April; wage stagnation and a stalled job market.
  • Tarlov highlights the economic pain: “No one has had their wages go up. The job market is completely stalled… your premium just went up, you know, 2 to 400%.” [10:19]

• Public Opinion

  • Erin notes Trump administration’s lack of war justification compared with Bush, and polls show approval “already underwater”—historically low for a modern war ([10:25-11:18]).
  • Boots on the ground are becoming inevitable, intensifying public anxiety and military family fears.

  Quote:
  “Support for the war when it first was launched was already underwater under 50%. And I guarantee you… approval for the war will somewhere be in the low 40s, high 30s. That's not a winning coalition.”
  — Erin Parnas, [10:42]

  • Erin underscores risks: the regime and ideology in Iran are resilient, making regime change potentially disastrous ([14:19]).

  Memorable Exchange:

  • “What are you going to do? Kill them, too? Displace them? You can't do that. It makes no sense.”
    — Erin Parnas, [15:14]

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2. Democratic Response & Domestic Gridlock

[15:28 – 19:16]

• Democrats are “coasting” and not doing harm, according to Erin, but lack a forceful, unified voice or plan.

• DHS funding and TSA pay crisis are stacking pressure, but Republicans are blocking stand-alone funding.

• Erin proposes Democrats need a stronger backbone and criticizes their lost leverage in January.

  Quote:
  “Democrats care about people, Republicans don't… Republicans are willing to drag this out for as long as they can.”
  — Erin Parnas, [17:06]

• Judicial warrant requirements for ICE/CBP become a sticking point for potential compromise.

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3. Congressional Fight over Epstein Files

[21:14 – 26:39]

• AG Pam Bondi subpoenaed over Epstein files: heavy redactions and lack of transparency outrage both lawmakers and the public.

• Private, not-under-oath congressional briefing leads to Democrat walkout.

• Key Republican-joined actions but signs of wavering.

• Epstein’s lawyer’s congressional testimony appears evasive; international probes (UK) are expanding as U.S. remains stalled.

  Memorable Moment:

  • “There are 3 million files that you’re not releasing. It really surprised me.”
    — Jessica Tarlov, referencing Bondi’s claim of transparency [21:48]

• Survivors and public feel abandoned, history of redactions and delay over 30 years repeating.

  Quote:
  “As we get close to the truth, like, right, we get 3 million files, okay, but they’re redacted. You're not getting all of them. I mean, it's the same thing just over and over again.”
  — Erin Parnas, [26:06]

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4. Nexstar-Tegna Media Merger: Monopoly Warnings

[26:39 – 29:42]

• FCC waives ownership cap; Nexstar & Tegna will now reach 80% of U.S. households—raises specter of local news monopoly, threats to editorial independence, especially impacting older Americans.

• Nexstar touts itself as “anti-fake-news” and credits Trump and FCC chairman for the policy shift.

• 8 state attorneys general have sued to block the merger.

  Quote:
  “The truth is, is that this is just a monopolization of media on the local level… This type of consolidation shouldn’t be happening now.”
  — Erin Parnas, [27:14]

• Antitrust precedent means such mergers can eventually be unwound—“All it takes is a Lina Khan 2.0 to come in and good luck, Nexstar-Tegna.” ([29:42]).

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5. Cesar Chavez Legacy Re-evaluated

[29:54 – 31:43]

• New revelations about abuse and Dolores Huerta's story spark reconsideration of honoring Chavez.

• California changes “Cesar Chavez Day” to “Farm Workers Day”; more renamings expected.

• Both hosts concur this is “a no brainer"—historic figures' names can and should be reconsidered.

  Quote:
  “You do take his name off of buildings or whatnot. I mean, it’s not permanent, right? Just because you have a name on a building doesn’t mean that name stays there forever.”
  — Erin Parnas, [30:51]

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Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• On War Funding
  "We are spending billions of dollars on projects that you'll never actually see deployed in the battlefield." — Erin Parnas [08:15]

• On Trump’s War Communication
  “Trump today is just saying, screw you. I know better than you. I don't have to explain to you why we're doing this or what the outcomes are gonna be. Just trust me, bro. ‘Trust me, bro’ only gets you so far with so many people.”
  — Erin Parnas, [10:25]

• On American Public Fatigue
  "No one has had their wages go up. The job market is completely stalled… your premium just went up." — Jessica Tarlov [10:19]

• On Congress and the Epstein Case
  “It's been 30 years since Maria Farmer first reported Epstein. In 30 years, every time they came close to the truth, they were met with a redaction or a denied FOIA request. Same thing now.”
  — Erin Parnas, [25:46]

• On Media Monopolization
  "Independent media has never been so important..." — Erin Parnas, [27:14]

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• US-Iran War Escalation & Political Fallout: [01:46–14:19]
• Democratic Response, TSA, DHS Funding Battles: [15:28–19:16]
• Epstein Files Investigation, Survivors' Experience: [21:14–26:39]
• Nextstar–Tegna Media Merger Analysis: [26:39–29:42]
• Cesar Chavez Legacy Discussion: [29:54–31:43]

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Overall Tone

Urgently moderate, skeptical of extremes on both sides, and frustrated at the lack of honesty and clear thinking in government and media. The hosts commiserate over the challenges of forging moderate policy—emphasizing facts, transparency, and empathy—amidst political chaos and economic drift. Their language blends exasperation, dry humor, and detailed analysis.

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“This is a different kind of week... A quiet but action-packed week, somehow.”
— Jessica Tarlov, [23:20]

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Transcript

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[Erin Parnas]

Mormons are having a moment, but some in the church wonder if that's actually a good thing.

[Unidentified Guest or Commentator]

I'm not so concerned about Mormonism kind of being radicalized. I'm actually more concerned about it becoming so obsessed with assimilation that it kind

of loses sight of what it actually is.

[Erin Parnas]

What happens when faith goes mainstream? That's this week on Explain It To Me. Find new Episodes Sundays wherever you get your podcasts.

[Megan Rapinoe]

Megan Rapinoe here this week on A Touch more. We've got two insiders to help us unpack the WNBA's new CBA three time champion and WNBPA vice president Alicia Clark, aka AC and ESPN basketball analyst Andrea Carter. We're also going to take a look at our NCAA brackets and check out what's next in March Madness. Check out the latest episode of A Touch More wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Welcome to Raging Moderates. I'm Jessica Tarlov.

[Erin Parnas]

And I'm Erin Parnas.

[Jessica Tarlov]

And in today's episode, we're going to be talking about how the US Is extending the war with Iran despite promises many, many years of promises to avoid a long conflict, Pam Bondi's congressional subpoena over the Epstein files and what the Teg our merger means for the future of media. If you aren't already, please make sure to subscribe to our YouTube page to get up to date coverage on everything that's happening. We're releasing episodes every day. I've said this before, I'm a little tired. It's exhausting having a five day a week job. But I'm loving it. So please subscribe and let's get into it. The US Is getting pulled deeper into this war with Iran. The Pentagon is considering sending thousands more troops to the region. Projected costs for spending a billion dollars a day at least. And it looks like they're going to be asking for an additional 200 billion. And now you've got senior officials like Tulsi Gabbard openly suggesting the US And Israel might not even agree on what quote, unquote, winning looks like here? Aaron, I'm not sure how you felt during this week, but something was different from the first few weeks of this war. A lot more conflicting signals going and just a general feeling of, like, everybody turning against this except for Pete Hegseth, basically. What were your thoughts?

[Erin Parnas]

Yeah, I mean, I think this week was very different because I think now those around the administration, and especially those online and within MAGA world, they're kind of seeing deja vu of Iraq, of Afghanistan, of what the United States went through in the early 2000s and the war that Bush brought us into. It's actually this week is a 23rd anniversary of Bush announcing the war in Iraq. And so I think what we're seeing now is at the beginning, Trump promised a quick war. Then every day he would say something like, oh, I could finish this in a few days if I wanted to, or it's going to be a couple weeks. We're now entering the first month, week four of this war. We're spending billions of dollars. I don't know any Republican who supported Doge, who also now wants to give another 200 billion to the Pentagon of money that we don't necessarily have. There are reports that the United States and Israel, like you were saying, are not on the same page in terms of what the end goal is. Israel obviously wants regime change here. Trump keeps saying that's maybe not what they want. We haven't actually officially defined this as a war in Congress yet. I mean, on top of it all, and then the Joe Kent resignation, whatever you may think of him, I mean, he has some very bad skeletons in his closet. That, to me, was kind of a bit of a breaking point because Kent resigns on the eve of Gabbard's testimony in the Senate. And then, I don't know about you, but when I watched the House testimony was a little different. Like, the Senate one was more of like, let me defend what Trump is doing in a way. And then the House one was, it's not my personal opinion. It's not like I'm kind of going to stay away from whatever the administration is doing. This is just what the ic, the intelligence community, is saying. So, yes, I do think the tide is turning here. And I, I wonder if Trump is looking for an off ramp, but then you see Marines being deployed to the Middle East. So I don't know.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Yeah, I think the problem is he could be looking for an off ramp, but there just isn't one in sight. When you're this into something and the fact that Israel and the US don't seem to be on the same page. Allah blowing up the Qatari oil fields. Now Trump is lying when he says, I didn't know that this was going to happen there.

[Erin Parnas]

Is Trump lying?

[Jessica Tarlov]

Trump lying on social media and to our faces.

[Erin Parnas]

Breaking news.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Get that Fox News alert up there. I'll be doing it later today on the Five. Like, we had no idea this was coming, but that is a pretty big fissure. And I think that you're right about Tulsi. And I noticed that John Ratcliffe was talking a lot more on day two than he was on day one. He was basically silent for the first bit of this. And I feel like, you know, she's thinking, could you just send me to Fulton County? Like, maybe this would be an easier life for me if I had to chase a conspiracy theory about election fraud. But the supplemental funding, I think, is going to be the easiest way for people who are maybe on the fence about this to latch onto something to be able to say, absolutely not. Like you actually have. You have to have clearer define goals if you want this kind of money. And also, we've already given 1.1 trillion to the Pentagon. How is it possible that this isn't enough when it's only been a few weeks? Right. Like, you're not talking about. You've been in here for three, four years like the Ukrainians. I have a clip of some folks reacting in MAGA World to the supplemental funding. So let's look at that.

[Erin Parnas]

I haven't seen the details. I will not vote for a war supplement.

[Unidentified Guest or Commentator]

I am so tired of spending money elsewhere.

[Erin Parnas]

I think the original wording was around 100 billion. So we need to look at it. Let's wait and see what it, what the request amounts to. Whatever it costs to finish this is worth it.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Lindsey Graham, we can always defend on you for whatever it costs to finish the job. I'm realistically understanding that this isn't the kind of thing that can just be canceled overnight. Right. There are 50,000 troops in the region already. Thousands more are on their way. It's going to take some sort of ground forest to secure the Iranian coastline if we're ever going to open up the Strait of Hormuz. We don't even know how many of these mines they've got in the water already, either, like, at the top or heading, heading down. So what does a fight over funding actually mean for the course of the war?

[Erin Parnas]

I mean, I think it, it could be the catalyst that breaks the war in a way. So I think what we're seeing right now, and I've listened to a lot of national security experts about what's happening overseas in Iran. Iran has really dug in. They don't want a ceasefire, they don't want an off ramp, because they see what's happening inside the United States government right now in terms of kind of the divisions and the fissures. Remember, Iran is not a democracy. They don't, it's not like, let's vote on whether or not we're going to stop this war. And that's not what's happening over there. There's a lot of religion infused in it. They're ready to fight until the end. And so it's going to be up to the United States to say, okay, we're willing to take an off ramp. But then that's a loss for Trump, Trump. And the last thing Trump wants is to look like he just went into war just for funsies, because that's what's happening right now. The regime is pretty much intact. You bombed a bunch of people that, I mean, that's it. And you cause black and toxic oil rain to fall on Iran. You didn't really get much progress out of it. So the supplemental funding issue is going to be one that I think should unite Democrats. I mean, I think you should see every Democrat but Fetterman come out and vote against. Should also unite truly the America first wing of the Republican Party. You can't run on Doge, you can't run on cutting waste, fraud and abuse and then give $200 billion to a Pentagon that, mind you, has failed an audit repeatedly every single year for many years. Bernie Sanders has called it out. The Republicans have called it out. The Pentagon itself is the definition of waste, fraud and abuse. We are spending billions of dollars on projects that you'll never actually see deployed in the battlefield. And so I would hope that this is the crack that, like, breaks the camel's back in a way, the straw that breaks the camel's back. And Trump kind of says, you know, we don't need the 200 billion in supplemental funding. Let's figure out an off ramp here. But I will say, and I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, I think if they pass 200 billion in supplemental funding, you're going to see a blue wave of, like, epic proportion in November.

[Jessica Tarlov]

I, I mean, I would like that. I, I, I was a bit swept up in the fun in Texas last weekend, being with James Talarico, and when I saw the batting odds switched Right. That Democrats were favored to take the Senate. I was really high on all that. Now that I'm back in New York, I'm like, okay, this is a really steep climb. I also want to pay more attention to Iowa and Alaska than we have been. I think Mary Patola is, like, very exciting. But, yes, I think that if we are on war footing, and we are certainly going to be on economic footing linked to a war when we go into this election. This morning, Maria Bartiromo had Chris Wright, the Energy Secretary, on, and she said the Saudis are saying 180 a barrel. The Qataris have said it could get up to $200 a barrel. But we're talking about. By the end of April. We're not even talking about. This is going to take a few months to get there. And the American people, it's. It just can't be sustained. It's not even. I mean, this goes beyond elections. Like, no one has had their wages go up. The job market is completely stalled, is at zero. I'm sure you were listening to Jerome Powell talking where he was like, between tariffs and no job creation, we're at a complete economic standstill.

[Erin Parnas]

Yeah.

[Jessica Tarlov]

And I'm not sure what a working person is supposed to do. And your premium just went up, you know, 2 to 400%.

[Erin Parnas]

Well, I think, and I've said this a long time, is that Trump administration hasn't prosecuted this war adequately. Right. The difference between today and 2003, when Bush brought us into Iraq, was that when Bush brought us into Iraq, support for the war in Iraq was over 80%, over 90% in some polls. And then he went in the Oval Office, he went during a State of the Union address, and he repeatedly prosecuted, based on false information, why we needed to go into Iraq. Trump today is just saying, screw you. I know better than you. I don't have to explain to you why we're doing this or what the outcomes are gonna be. Just trust me, bro. Trust me, bro only gets you so far with so many people. And that's why the approval rating for the war when it first was launched was already underwater under 50%. And I guarantee you, if you polled the American people today, the approval for the war will somewhere be in the low 40s, high 30s. That's not a winning coalition in any way.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Yeah. It's the lowest polling war certainly in recent history, but maybe in all of American history, because I'm thinking like, oh, go back to World War II. People were pretty psyched about that, actually, because they, they understood what the Cause was, I think you're right. I'm interested to see what the polling that comes out on Sunday looks like, because support for going in was ticking up. It was hitting 50% in some polls, like in the Fox News poll. But what is consistently underwater with Republicans, Independents and Democrats is boots on the ground.

[Erin Parnas]

Yeah.

[Jessica Tarlov]

And now it seems like there is no possibility that that isn't going to be the case. And we're not talking about, like, a couple people here and there. We, you know, lost, what is it, seven or eight service members at this point. But, you know, when you're sending thousands of more troops in and you already have 50,000 in the region, some boots are going to be hitting the ground. And again, Bibi Netanyahu saying the quiet part out loud, he said, yeah, there are going to be boots on the ground.

[Unidentified Guest or Commentator]

Yeah.

[Erin Parnas]

I mean, it's, it's coming. I don't, I don't think. And when, when people say boots on the ground, do I think we're going to have military troops in Tehran? No. I mean, I say that now. No. But in three months from now, we may very well have that. What boots on the ground looks like is they're going to try to secure a car guyland where the oil facilities are, and then, like you said at the beginning, the shores of the Strait of Hormuz. But that is terrifying for a lot of military families. I mean, you can't claim Iran is devastated and Iran is done. Iran just struck an F35 yesterday. Right. Like, Iran still has capabilities. Iran struck the Haifa oil refinery in Israel yesterday successfully. Iranian drones have successfully struck over 10American satellite facilities in the region. This is not a regime that's just over and done with. They still have more firepower. And that also doesn't include, like, the lone wolf, like, potential for a suicide bomber by American forces on the ground in Iran. I mean, there's just so many issues with this.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Yeah. You know, what's interesting is the question of whether there needs to be a peacekeeping force, because so let's say there is some off ramp. And Trump basically, you know, he says they were firing 900 missiles a day. Now they're firing eight to 12. This is obviously a win. The Ayatollah is dead. Never mind about Ayatollah junior Or any of that, and says, we got to get out of there. Just like after Operation Midnight Hammer, if you don't destroy the infrastructure in an enduring way, they're just going to keep building it up. And Marco Rubio has acknowledged as much that, yeah, you Know, you can stop the drone and missile capacity for a set amount of time, but they're going to rebuild. And then is this something that we do, you know, every five years, it's like a tradition, right, that we have to go back in and try to wipe it out? I mean, Israel won't settle for that. I mean, they're. You know, they're in a totally different position than we are. From a national security standpoint, There are more rockets getting through the Iron Dome than we've seen in a very long time.

[Erin Parnas]

Yeah. And it's killing Israelis, too. And I. I mean, I don't know that. I think at the beginning of the war, even a lot of Israelis were very excited for it because they were, like, finally, down with the Ayatollah, down with this disaster, this regime, this murderous regime. But. But now, even I think if you polled Israeli citizens, I don't know that they would be fully supportive of this, because I still don't get what regime change is here, and I don't think anyone has adequately explained that. Netanyahu hasn't explained it. Trump hasn't explained it. Okay, you now have a new Ayatollah. Kill him next. Okay, you're gonna have a new cleric that comes up that's even more hardline. You're creating a vacuum where you have more hardliners come in, more people who are willing to restrict the rights of Iranian citizens, and you're not actually doing anything to change it. And if you did put boots on the ground and did conduct a bloody war that will cost a lot of American lives and actually resume. Remove the regime in full. You can remove the regime, but you can't remove an ideology. You have millions of Iranians who still support the Ayatollah in this regime. What are you going to do? Kill them, too? Displace them? You can't do that. It makes no sense.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Jared Kushner would probably say you can move them like we could move the Palestinians.

[Erin Parnas]

Crazy.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Totally crazy. Before we take a break, I wanted to ask you about the democratic response. What grade would you give the party on how they're talking about affordability in the midst of this and how they're prosecuting the case for why this is a war that we have no business being involved in?

[Erin Parnas]

I don't. I can't really grade the democratic response because I don't really feel like they've had a response in a lot of ways. Like, I think they just put out a lot of, like, strong statements, and they've been, like, doing. Asking the right questions and these briefings. But to me that actually in and of itself gets an A grade because it's not like they're hurting the Democratic Party by doing it right. Like they're just kind of coasting.

[Jessica Tarlov]

So that's our standard now, the do no harm principle.

[Erin Parnas]

It's better than before. But like, but I will say if you have Democrats break on this supplemental and you have like Senator Slotkin vote with Fetterman, that's going to be a big problem.

[Jessica Tarlov]

So what, what about the DHS funding? Because the airports are a disaster. Like I actually, I flew last weekend and it was okay, but just before we got on, I was looking at, you know, the laguardia looks insane.

[Erin Parnas]

Yeah, it's bad.

[Jessica Tarlov]

It's really bad. And I saw that Slotkin was potentially open to like TSA funding within, you know, so not FEMA and cisa, but maybe tsa, you know, everyone doesn't want to give ICE funding, which I totally understand and I wouldn't want to either. But they are funded through 2029. So I'm not, I'm not sure how that argument holds up as we kind of descend into this further.

[Erin Parnas]

Well, I think we're at the point, and this is a very cynical way of looking at it from my perspective. Democrats care about people, Republicans don't. Right. Republicans are willing to drag this out for as long as they can. And I honestly think Democrats should grow a similar backbone in this respect. Like Democrats are putting forth TSA funding standalones, FEMA funding standalones. Republicans are voting against it every single time. So I'm not sure what else Democrats can do. If Democrats go and cave on the ICE stuff on CBP and just allow this funding bill to go through, Republicans are gonna know just like the first shutdown, just wait 50 days, wait 60 days and then they'll cave every single time. So it's a very. They're stuck between a rock and a hard place. I feel for those flying. I feel more for the TSA agents who are right now working without pay. To me, I would rather collectively come together and like do a massive donation drive for TSA agents right now. Right. Like that's what I would rather do for my position rather than just try to put pressure on the Democrats to reopen dhs because I get why they've shut it down. But I also think this is again a funding battle that should have never happened when it did. The fact that they allow the two week extension, they lost a lot of leverage back in January. They should have forced the Shutdown of DHS and every other agency force a bigger government shutdown, have more leverage here. They didn't do that, so I don't know.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Well, I don't think, you know, the White House has offered compromises on things like body cams. They're not moving, it seems like on judicial warrants, though, Mark Wayne Mullen intimated that that is a possibility, that we could talk about it.

[Unidentified Guest or Commentator]

Yeah.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Do you think that that is the sticking point? That if we got the judicial warrants versus the administrative warrants for ICE and cbp, that then that's a go?

[Erin Parnas]

Yeah, I think. I think if they commit to that. But also, like the White House's letter, I don't know if you saw it was like, we're not going to deport U. S. Citizens. And I'm like, okay, well, you can't already deport U.S. citizens. Like, why are we talking about things that you. It's already codified into law. So, yeah, I do think the judicial warrant issue, if they cave on it, I think you'll get a funding deal passed.

[Jessica Tarlov]

All right, let's take a quick break. Stay with us.

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[Brene Brown]

Hi, I'm Brene Brown.

[Erin Parnas]

And I'm Adam Grant.

[Brene Brown]

And we're here to invite you to the Curiosity Shop, a podcast that's a

[Erin Parnas]

place for listening, wondering, thinking, feeling, and questioning.

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It's going to be fun. We rarely agree, but we almost never disagree.

[Unidentified Guest or Commentator]

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That's true. You can subscribe to the Curiosity shop on YouTube or follow in your favorite podcast app to automatically receive new episodes every Thursday.

[Unidentified Guest or Commentator]

When you think of the most influential American politician of the 21st century, you probably think of a man. But there's one woman who might fit the bill. She never thought she'd be in politics, but went on to break what she calls the marble ceiling.

Then they'd say, well, why don't you all just make a list of things that the women want, and we'll do those. What this is in this century, really? So the marble ceiling. It's not a glass ceiling anymore. It's a marble ceiling. And they all had it lined up. That you go next and I'll go next. And I'll go next. And we're like, well, you know what we've been waiting over 200 years for breaking in line.

Nancy Pelosi, the longtime Democratic speaker of the House, live on stage at south by Southwest in Austin today explained every weekday and now on Saturdays, too.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Welcome back, Epstein. Back in the news a little bit. Not as much as I thought that it would have been, but Attorney General Pam Bondi faced a congressional subpoena over the Justice Department's handling of the epine files. Lawmakers from both parties and survivors raised concerns about the heavy redactions, missing details about potential accomplices, and whether key information is being kept from the public. Did you see Todd Blanch on Stephen Miller's wife's podcast? On Katie Miller's podcast?

[Erin Parnas]

I did. How crazy crazy I was.

[Jessica Tarlov]

She just snapped on him where he was like, oh, we've been totally transparent. And she's like, there are 3 million files that you're not releasing. It really surprised me.

[Unidentified Guest or Commentator]

But isn't there photos of her with victims and Jeffrey Epstein?

[Erin Parnas]

Yes.

[Unidentified Guest or Commentator]

And so wouldn't it be prudent to figure out which of those, you know, other perpetrators could be prosecuted still? I don't think the American people are wrong to want to see people go to jail beyond just Jeffrey Epstein and her.

[Erin Parnas]

Oh, I agree. I don't think the American people are wrong. We will always investigate anybody for child sex crimes any day of the week.

[Unidentified Guest or Commentator]

There are other victims who have come forward, though, in the SDNY case and in other cases. Why are we not taking them more seriously and prosecuting the people whom they cite.

[Erin Parnas]

Well, we did the. Yeah. I mean, I think she's. I wonder if Stephen Miller kind of was like, back channel through her. Yeah. Yeah. I wonder.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Well, he's probably just mad since he's been put in the corner right, like now.

[Erin Parnas]

Oh, yeah. I think Todd Blanche has been sidelined, by the way. Or not sidelined, but more of just like scapegoated in this whole Epstein thing. I think they've just thrown him to the wolves.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Cause they like Bondi so much that they were like Bondi. We could pin it on you.

[Erin Parnas]

And I don't know how much Bondi likes Blanche. I think that was like a forced marriage onto her. So.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Well, what did we learn this week about, I guess, the future of the Epstein vial releases or where this story is?

[Erin Parnas]

So we learned a lot, actually, that unfortunately, media really isn't talking about.

[Jessica Tarlov]

See, this is a different kind of week. I feel like Last week.

[Erin Parnas]

I know.

[Jessica Tarlov]

You know, it's like war. I don't really know, Epstein. I don't really know. And it was a quiet but action packed week. Somehow.

[Erin Parnas]

There are like four big Epstein news stories that came out this week. First, you have the oversight subpoena that was officially issued to Pam Bondi. Five Republicans joined all Democrats in voting to subpoena Bondi. She then, hours after the subpoena was issued, went on Capitol Hill with Blanche and privately briefed members of Congress. It was like a off the record, not under oath, deposition style briefing that didn't really materialize. Democrats walked out halfway through because she had no impetus to tell the truth and she was filibustering inside there. So that was, that was number one. Number two, you still have the subpoena issued for April 14th. You have some Republicans now apparently wavering on whether to enforce that subpoena that some of the Republicans who voted for it. So we'll see what happens then. If I was a betting man, I would bet she doesn't show up on the 14th. That. Does that mean that she's not going to show up ever for this deposition? No, just I don't know that it'll happen in the next three weeks. The third thing, Epstein's longtime lawyer Darren and Dyke testified in front of the Oversight Committee yesterday and in Dyke essentially said he knew nothing about the crimes, knew nothing about Epstein's, what he was doing to the young children. But Darren Min, one of the members of Congress on the committee, was like, I'm shocked he didn't plead the Fifth because he seemed like he perjured himself repeatedly throughout the entire testimony. So that was number three. And then the fourth thing that has gotten zero attention, British authorities have actually expanded the investigation into Andrew, formerly Prince, to include sex trafficking investigation now. So they've now expanded their investigation. According to the Times. It's much more, much larger, much more expansive. So hopefully, even if the United States won't do anything, the Brits may.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Are you still fully on the side that the United States is going to do nothing or is this just going to be like pulling teeth and take several years, but we'll end up getting there?

[Erin Parnas]

I'm somewhere in the middle of the two. I think it depends on if this issue. If Epstein remains in the news and Democrats keep it in the news after they win the House and they continue an investigation after November, I have higher hopes because then I see a president, a Democratic president potentially coming in and actually doing something more about it. If they just kind of let this Fall to the wayside then I don't think anything's gonna happen.

[Jessica Tarlov]

What are the survivors thinking and feeling right now?

[Erin Parnas]

Abandoned again. I mean, but like, I think, like, truly, like, I think the public is feeling what many of the survivors have felt. It's been 30 years since Maria Farmer first reported Epstein. In 30 years, every time they came close to the truth, they were met with a redaction or a denied FOIA request. Same thing now. I mean, like, as we get close to the truth, like, right, we get 3 million files, okay, but they're redacted. You're not getting all of them. I mean, it's the same thing just over and over again.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Must be an insanely difficult way to live on top of the trauma of what happened. And I still feel guilty that we weren't paying attention. I'm not talking about like the government, but that Americans were not paying enough attention to a scandal of this level of proportions.

[Erin Parnas]

It's sad.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Yeah, we absolutely have to do better.

[Erin Parnas]

Yeah.

[Jessica Tarlov]

I want to shift gears a bit and talk about the government taking steps to pave the way for the merger between nexstar and Tegna, two broadcast news giants who announced their intention to merge last summer. It's a $6.2 billion deal and in order for it to happen, Brendan CARR and the FCC had to waive the so called 39% rule, which prevented one company from owning TV stations that reach more than 39% of households. But that's gone now. And Nextar and its partners will oversee 265 television stations in 44 states and D.C. reaching about 80% of U.S. households. What is happening?

[Erin Parnas]

Well, this is why you have to subscribe to this YouTube channel, because independent media, independent media has never been so important. I don't know if you saw, but nexstar, after this merger put out a statement declaring itself as the quote, anti fake news and saying that they thank President Trump and FCC Chairman Carr for ushering in this new kind of wave of media. But the truth is, is that this is just a monopolization of media on the local level. We see it with the Ellisons with CBS and soon cnn. Now we're seeing it with nextstar and Tegna impacting local tv. Unfortunately, it's going to impact older Americans the most because most young Americans don't watch traditional cable local tv. But older Americans who rely on local tv, like your local affiliates, you're going to have changes in your coverage. And it is honestly terrifying to me because I think that it is this type of consolidation shouldn't be happening now. There is one silver lining, which is eight attorneys general have already filed a lawsuit to block this on antitrust related grounds. And I think that they'll actually win here because one, one company cannot control all of this. It's just too much. So we'll see what happens. But it is, it's terrifying right now. It really is.

[Jessica Tarlov]

It makes me think about, remember when they started tracking what the anchors were saying on Sinclair local stations and they were all reading the same script?

[Erin Parnas]

Yeah. I mean that's, that's this, that it's very similar. And I wouldn't be surprised if that's going to start happening now too.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Is there a way to. Let's say it goes through. I understand the eight attorney generals are suing about it, but let's say they find a way to get it through, which is usually the case with things that Donald Trump wants to get done. Is there a way to undo it or regulate it better? When there's a different, okay, what does that look like?

[Erin Parnas]

So I think a lot of these companies aren't realizing it. If they are, they're taking a massive gamble with the future of their companies. And it's not just next to our Tegna, to any one of these big mergers. You can undo a merger just as quickly as you can do a merger. And when I say quickly, I don't mean like overnight. It takes years. But you can undo it and you can sanction these mergers, lots of fines, lots of penalties, and ultimately try to break up these conglomerates. I mean, Google's faced antitrust issues, Amazon's faced antitrust issues. All your biggest companies face antitrust issues and they usually face massive penalties and fines when they're targeted. All it takes is 1linacon 2.0 to come in and good luck. Next, Artegna.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Interesting. Well, we'll definitely be watching that. And quickly, before we go, did you see all the news about who Cesar Chavez actually was?

[Erin Parnas]

Crazy. Absolutely.

[Jessica Tarlov]

I mean, I guess not completely surprising. And there are a number of people have been giving interviews saying like we knew bits and pieces of it. But obviously Dolores Huerta coming forward with her story is a critical component of it. What do you think lawmakers and really Democratic lawmakers are going to do about this?

[Erin Parnas]

Well, I think the they should do the only thing that's right to do, uplift Dolores and her story and the story of the women who were abused or the former children, women that were abused, and to stop idolizing Cesar Chavez the way that the Democratic Party had in, in past years. I mean, that's, that's what you do. And you, and you try to uplift the stories of Dolores and others.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Does his name come off monuments and schools and, you know, I mean, this is somebody who didn't have a tiny impact on the country and the labor movement and the party.

[Erin Parnas]

I mean, California already ended Cesar Chavez Day, I believe, and change it to like Farm Workers Day or something. I would see, I would expect more of that to continue. But like, yeah, I mean, I think you do rename things. I think you do take his name off of buildings or whatnot. I mean, it's not permanent, right? Like, just because you have a name on a building doesn't mean that name stays there forever.

[Jessica Tarlov]

No, no, of course. And that's the argument that many people, and I don't even want to make it political because there were plenty of people on the right felt about, you know, bad guys from the Civil War, for instance, that they didn't, you know, want their names on things anymore. So. But that, I mean, certainly a lot of people that I know and work with felt like that's gone too far. But this, this feels like. This isn't like Christopher Columbus or something.

[Erin Parnas]

No, this kind of feels, this feels

[Jessica Tarlov]

like something that you could really undo.

[Erin Parnas]

This is a no brainer.

[Jessica Tarlov]

Okay. Erin, it was great to see you. Thanks for joining me.

[Erin Parnas]

See you soon. Yeah. Foreign.

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[Jessica Tarlov]

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