
Tuesday, June 16th, 2026 Today, Donald Trump weighed suspending Habeas Corpus and invoking the Insurrection Act; Governor Gavin Newsom says the Justice Department is investigating him and his wife; A B-52 bomber crashed after takeoff in the Mojave desert; UFC fighter Josh Hokit called First Lady Michelle Obama “a man” at Trump’s gladiator games; the Justice Department’s decision to approve the Paramount Warner merger surprised staff investigators; and Dana delivers your Good News.
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History is messy. It's weird, wild, and anything but boring. Rainy Day Rabbit Holes is a history podcast about unhinged stories that make you stop and ask, wait, is this real life? From crazy disasters and tasty scandals to enlightening and surprising, heartwarming tales, we explore the moments where people behave badly and sometimes beautifully. We've got naughty politicians, cultural chaos, and a deep love for the Pacific Northwest, including Bigfoot. It's thoughtful, irreverent, occasionally serious, and always entertaining. Let's fall down the rabbit hole. MSW Media. Msw media. Daily beans. Daily beans. Daily beans. Hello and welcome to the Daily beans for Tuesday, June 16, 2026. Today, Donald Trump Wade suspending habeas corpus and invoking the Insurrection Act. Governor Gavin Newsom says the Justice Department is investigating him and his wife. A B52 bomber crashed after takeoff in in the Mojave Desert. UFC fighter Josh Hokut called first lady Michelle Obama a man at Trump's gladiator games. And the Justice Department's decision to approve the Paramount Warner merger surprise staff investigators. I'm your host, Dana Goldberg. Hey, everybody. You will notice that Alison was not in that introduction. Our dear friend will be back with us tomorrow. So I'm flying so low in the captain's chair, and in doing that, you know what? I just like to get right to it. So why don't we do that? Let's hit the hot notes. Hot notes. All right, everyone. First up, more White House insider reporting from the Times. Now, last spring, Will Scharf. He's an arch conservative lawyer. He's serving as the White House staff secretary. He wrote a secret memo to the chief of staff that reflected growing unease in the West Wing about one of the extreme measures being weighed by Nazi Stephen Miller. I'm sorry, supposed Nazi Stephen Miller, the powerful advisor, as we know, that is basically running the country and also driving President Trump's deportation campaign. Dated April 29, 2025, and stamped confidential, the memo was careful and lawyerly, but amounted to a warning against end running the rule of law. The subject line, this is what he read, and I quote, the writ of habeas corpus. Habeas corpus. This is centuries old. What it is is to force the government to justify before a judge why it's locked a person up is, by the way, enshrined in Article 1 of the Constitution. Now, Mr. Scharf's memo, in a very unassuming way, it was basically a blinking red warning light. The second Trump White House was deliberating an explosive new claim of presidential power. The suspension of habeas rights for unauthorized immigrants. Now, the suspension of habeas corpus has occurred just a handful of times in US History, and it's always under the most dire circumstances of war or invasion. Two things that this was not written under, by the way. Yet to a greater degree than previously known, administration officials encouraged Donald, actually encouraged by Donald actively weighing taking that step in the early months of his second term, this time to accelerate the mass deportation of immigrants in the country illegally. The man who outlined his concerns in the memo, Mr. Scharf, was no resistance figure at all. I mean, he's not really on that side. They say he's a trim, balding, Harvard trained lawyer who had run for office in Missouri. And he had bemoaned John McCain as too moderate for the 2008 Republican nomination and believed Trump had been vindictively prosecuted after his 2020 election law. So this guy's always been way right now. He had helped develop the Trump team's legal arguments behind the successful effort to get the Mar A Lago classified documents indictment thrown out, as well as arguments behind the presidential immunity case that prevailed at the Supreme Court. He had embraced the most contentious elements of Donald's agenda. But he was quickly coming up against the limit of what the Constitution in his reading could actually be made to bear. The Constitution, Mr. Scharf wrote in his memo to Sue Wiles, as we know, is that wild nutty. The White House chief of staff basically permits suspension of habeas corpus only in cases of rebellion or invasion. Courts have almost uniformly held that only Congress can do it. He also added, and I quote, even where Congress has explicitly suspended habeas corpus rights, the Supreme Court has held that some alternative process must be provided to defendants with procedural safeguards akin to a habeas corpus action. He said it prevents, in effect a governmental actor from detaining, imprisoning, or executing individuals arbitrarily. Again, this is all Mr. Scharf. Now, in April of last year, the Supreme Court ruled that the migrants were entitled to challenge their deportations in court before being expelled. The detainees, the court held, could file lawsuits citing habeas corpus to challenge the basis for their removal, substantially slowing the administration's deportation drive. Inside the White House, Mr. Stephen Miller, as we know, the very influential vampire that sleeps upside down with his eyes wide open. He's also the deputy chief of staff, saw an opening for an idea that he had raised previously. What if Donald simply claimed the power to suspend habeas corpus? Stephen Miller, Everyone is dangerous as fuck. He's the guy behind all of this. Now, then, the locked up immigrants would be blocked from receiving hearings or even from seeking court orders to prevent their removal from the country. This was an opportunity for Donald not only to speed up deportations, but also to assert vastly expanded power over a legal system that was getting in his way. Suspending habeas corpus was one of the two radical ideas that Stephen had been pushing that alarmed Mr. Scharf. And we've got to remember, this guy was far right up until Stephen Miller pushed him into the fucking middle. That's wild. The other, by the way, was invoking the Insurrection act to deploy the military to enforce the law on American streets as protests grew against deportation sweeps. Now, Allison and Annie McKay, they're gonna go over all of this in more detail on this weekend's Unjustified podcast, so make sure you check it out. Great reporting. Next up is from the Times. Federal agents have questioned friends and associates of Governor Gavin Newsom of California and his wife. Now, Mr. Newsom said that on Monday in a video in which he accused Donald of using the Justice Department to punish a political enemy. And if you're asking me, I am surprised this took this long. I'm surprised they didn't go after Gavin and his family a long time ago. A full scope of any investigation remains unclear at this point, but Mr. Newsom's aides say part of the federal investigation appears to focus on his wife. That's Jennifer Seibel Newsom. Former employees of the governor and the people affiliated with his wife's nonprofit groups are among those who have been questioned by the agents. And this is all according to the governor's office. A person familiar with the matter confirmed that multiple federal investigations were underway related to the governor, including one looking at his wife's finances. But the person disputed Mr. Newsom's assertion that the investigations were politically motivated. I can't even help but laugh. And said that they had been initiated by federal law enforcement officials in California, not launched by officials in Washington. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly. And it sounds like they might be lying now. Might be. Mr. Newsom, as we know, is a Democrat, described the investigation as a fishing expedition in which federal agents had started sifting through years and years of random documents and knocking on the doors of family, friends and associates of the Newsoms to try and find evidence of an unspecified crime. So we'll keep you posted on that. Like I said, I'm surprised it has taken this long for him to be under some sort of investigation by the federal government. But we will keep you updated. Now, next up is a story from the Associated Press. A B52 bomber crashed shortly after takeoff Monday, Monday morning at a US Air Force base in Southern California in that Mojave desert. Now this is from officials. There was no information yet on the crew. However, aerial footage showed virtually nothing left of the aircraft. Black smoke rose from a large swath of charred desert at Edwards Air Force Base near what appeared to be a Runway with emergency vehicles nearby. The military, they have not said whether or not the bomber was armed. The Boeing B52 Stratofortress, typically crewed by five people. It's a long range bomber that entered service in 1955. It's designed to carry both conventional and nuclear weapons and it's been used in conflicts involving the U.S. military from Vietnam to Iran. The plane Crashed at around 11:20am this is what the military said on the social platform Twitter. Now, by the afternoon, the airfield remained closed and all inbound aircraft they were being diverted. Non commercial visitor passes for the base were suspended and I quote, to allow the installation to focus entirely on the emergency response operations. This is what the official said. The way the B52 crashed so quickly after takeoff without getting very high or going very far makes aviation safety expert Jeff Gazetti suspect on some kind of flight control malfunction. But it's too soon to say what might have actually caused the control problem. It's possible the controls were rigged wrong after maintenance, he said, or a catastrophic engine problem or a failure of a piece of equipment that was being tested. So clearly there's a lot of reasons this could have happened and they're not sure yet which one. But I am interested to see when they figured out this investigation. This next story I'm bringing to you from the Wall Street Journal. The Justice Department's senior leadership closed an investigation of Paramount's bid for Warner Brothers discovery before career staffers who were concerned about the acquisition even had an opportunity to object, according to people familiar with the matter, a team of career lawyers who had spent months scrutinizing the deal. They were leaning toward recommending a lawsuit challenging it on the grounds that the combination of the two movie studios would be anti competitive and violate antitrust laws. This is what people said. The staff investigators hadn't yet made a final recommendation, by the way. That is a typical step in this deal review process. And they were told Friday that the department would close the investigation, effectively clearing the deal at the federal level without any input from them. The Justice Department's senior leaders believe that Paramount Chief Executive Officer David Ellison and as we know, that son of Trump, very, very close ally Larry Ellison persuasively addressed many of the staff's questions about the deal during a two hour interview last month. And that's according to people who were actually familiar with their thinking. Among staffers, questions was how the combined company could meet its commitment to make 30 theatrical releases a year, giving its increased debt load. The senior leaders allowed the inquiries, but believed Paramount's debt wasn't a reason to challenge the merger. This is what people familiar with their thinking said. No one on the investigative team spoke up to leadership voicing support for filing a lawsuit. No one, and I quote, the antitrust division conducted a thorough investigation to assess whether the proposed transaction would harm competition. This is from the Justice Department and this is a spokeswoman. That's what they said. They said the investigatory record indicated that the transaction will increase competition across the media and entertainment ecosystem, benefiting American consumers and workers. Bullshit. We all know that's not true. Justice Department decision makers often follow staff recommendations on mergers, but there are times when the two camps disagree. This is one of them. On Friday, the department issued a long, supportive public statement about the merger, saying it would likely be good for competition, especially in the market for streaming video in which Netflix and Amazon are major players. The statement also said that studio and distribution market has extensive competition that would probably continue even after Paramount acquires Warner. Some staffers in the Justice Department's antitrust division believe the statement was designed to make it harder for state attorneys general to challenge the deal in court. The investigative staff didn't participate in writing the statement at all. This is what everyone familiar with has reported. So it just goes back to the state run media. They want to acquire all of these and have a conglomerate and people are fighting as hard as they can and some of these cannot. I mean, if they're going to ignore the investigative staff, what are you going to do? All right, everyone, this next story is from one of our favorites, Aaron Reed and Aaron in the Morning. On Sunday night, in the shadow of the White House, Donald Trump held a gladiator style fight night on the southern lawn that drew comparisons to the excesses of Caligula. As we know, that's the first professional sporting event ever staged at the presidential residence. By the way, I saw an interview from a UFC fighter and this shocked me. He was like, listen, I support the ufc, but this is not what the, the administration should be doing, which was so nice to hear someone on the UFC actually say, I support ufc. Why wouldn't they do this? But this is not what the government's for. It's kind of awesome. Now the event, UFC Freedom250 featured seven bouts, military flyovers and Trump sitting ringside flanked by Dana White, Melania and Mark Zuckerberg. It was almost certain to be used as a political stage for Trump's favorite culture wars, and it was during one of the mid card fights, UFC heavyweight Josh Hokut beat Derrick Lewis by a tko, which was a technical knockout. He exited the cage to drape a gold chain around President Trump's neck at ringside and then returned to the microphone and called Michelle Obama a man. Yep, a reference to anti trans conspiracy theories and right wing circles that Michelle Obama's transgender by the way, which she is not in the aftermath of the fight, Joe Rogan interviewed Hokutt in the cage and this is what the quote is. Congratulations sir. I'm here with the winner, Josh Hocut. Josh, once again you've proved the doubters wrong, moved to 100 and knocked out one of the biggest knockout artists in the history of the sport. This is what Joe Rogan said. Hokutt responded, I'm the man with the plan, the piece that's ready to feast. You know what? Fuck this speech. Shout out to Trump for having the balls to put something like this on. And if I'm gonna say anything, there's one person more incredible than the Incredible Hawk, and that's my Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. Before pivoting from his supposedly deeply held religious beliefs to transphobia, he said, and lastly, Michelle Obama, even though he messed up her name, is a man. Am I right America? Rogan smiled. He didn't push back and he ended the interview. Ladies and gentlemen, Josh Hocut. Now, it's not Hocut's first brush with transphobia. He's made it a centerpiece of his fighting career. The fighter, who is ranked highly, has repeatedly used his post fight interviews as a platform for bigotry. After beating Eric Lunsford In May of 2025, before he was even in the UFC, Hokut ended his interview with the same line, Michelle Obama's a man. In January 2026, after beating Denzel Freeman, he ended a post fight speech by calling WNBA legend and 10 time All Star Brittney Griner a man. During the same speech, in which he also used the N word by the way, no consequences followed. Hocus also posted on Instagram in which he explicitly threatened violence against transgender women, stating and I qu if you're a man and you identify as a woman, you don't belong in women's sports, women's restrooms, or women's prisons. You belong in the octagon with me because you need to get your ass whooped. All right, dude. It's Also not nearly UFC's first brush with transphobia and homophobia. UFC is known for this, you know. Aaron goes on to write, UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland has called being trans a mental fucking illness and said that society should never accept transgender people. He once claimed that having a gay son would mean he failed as a man for creating such weakness. The sport has long struggled with hostility toward Fallon Fox, the first openly transgender MMA fighter who competed in the 2010s and whose treatment by the MMA community became a precursor to the broader anti trans sports ban that we see today. It's worth noting that the conspiracy theory that Michelle Obama's transgender is completely unfounded. It's part of a broader pattern in which people opposed to transgender existence claim that prominent women, from Serena Williams to Lady Gaga to Bridget Macron to Brittney Griner are, and I quote, secretly trans, treating the accusation itself as a degradation. The underlying logic is the same logic that drives bathroom bills and sports bans, that someone could be secretly transgender, and then this would be a deception, a danger, a punchline. These conspiracy theories tend to simmer in the background of far right forums and social media. But every now and then, like last night on the White House lawn, broadcast to millions of people with no care for the damage it inflicts. You know what really bothers me? Everyone, obviously, this entire story. And I. I'm sorry, without the trigger warning for the people who are part of the trans community or have trans or non binary kids, because I know that you listen to this with your children sometimes, and then you have to explain to them why this administration and everyone who supports it is so awful, even though they probably know that. So, bringing this to the forefront, no one would have known this fighter. I didn't know who this fighter was. And I don't think people would have even talked about this UFC thing. The majority of the American public didn't want it. But then this guy knows that if he drops that line, mainstream media and everyone on social media is going to pick it up. And UFC knows that, like it or not, it's great advertising for them. And now people know this guy's name when they would not have known it. And I blame the mainstream media and I also blame social media for just spreading this and it's gotta be covered. But it should be covered in substacks like this by Aaron, part of the community. This isn't someone talking about transgender people at the table without them there. This is someone who has built the table and continues to build on it. So Erin, thank you so much for the reporting and if you have not subscribed to Aaron Reed's substacked Aaron in the Morning, please do so. Extraordinary journalism and we support you entirely. So all right everyone, thank you so much for listening to the hot notes and as always, I am going to cleanse your palette, so stick around. We'll be back with the good news after these messages. We'll be right back everyone. I am so excited to tell you about Honey Love Now. I first tried Honey Love after getting fed up honestly with bras and shapewear that always made me choose between looking good and being comfortable. Now Honey Love was the first one that did not make me settle. The support is real and the fit is fantastic. And honestly, nothing spends the day sliding, digging or demanding to be readjusted. It works for everyday clothes, special occasions or any other day I plan on having. So now you'll understand why we want to thank Honey Love for sponsoring our show. Use our exclusive Link to save 20% off honeylove@honeylove.com DailyBeans HoneyLove clearly understands what women actually want from these pieces and it's no surprise it's an independent female founded company and that shows in the design. The bra delivers real support without underwire thanks to bonding technology that lifts without turning the whole experience into torture. Now the new crossover contour bra is a great example. It takes their best selling wireless crossover design and it adds built in molding, light foam pads for extra support and more contouring shape. A great bra changes everything. You know this, I know this. It is the foundation of any outfit and honeylove gets that. On the shapewear side, honeylove does not just squeeze you into submission. The targeted compression enhances your shape moves with you. It does not roll down the second you sit, stand or try to enjoy yourself. I also love that honeylove keeps the pieces attractive. The lingerie inspired design details. They are beautiful and the fabrics are soft enough that you do not spend the day counting down until you have to take it off. Treat yourself to the most advanced bras and shapewear on the market. Use our exclusive link to save 20% off honeylove@honeylove.com DailyBeans that's honeylove.com DailyBeans after you check out, they'll ask you where you heard about them. Please support our show and tell them we sent you. Experience the new standard in comfort and support with Honey Love.
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Hello, Martin Sheen here. And it seems to me that no day of the week is without its endless barrage of bad news. Even on Sunday. For God's sake, let's change that. What do you say? Together, let's make Sunday immune to bad news. Available now every Sunday, Season three of the Martin Sheen Podcast with yours truly, Martin Sheen has begun. Yeah, 10 brand new episodes are already underway. So join me, Martin sheen, for a 20 minute journey as I share my personal stories, a bit of poetry, and insightful reflections that will encourage you to take a deep breath and enjoy a relaxing moment. Of course, it's important to know and understand what's happening in the world, but I also believe there's nothing wrong with taking a step back to find strength and clarity. And Lord knows we need that now more than ever. A moment of thoughtfulness and calm may be rare these days, but it doesn't have to be. So what do you say? You want to take back your Sundays? So do I. And guess what? I've already done it. With the Martin Sheen Podcast, Season three available now. Don't mess with my Sunday and thank you for listening.
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All right, everyone, we're back with the good news. Who likes good news?
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Then good news, everyone. Good news, good news, everyone. If you have good news, confessions, corrections, things you want to send Allison and I just to make us feel better. Misheard lyrics. We love those will be stories what you're thankful for. Give a shout out to your favorite person. Give a shout out to yourself. We love the what the mutts reminder. You can see the pod pet pics if you become a patron. So do that. And the good news picks are at the bottom of the show notes of each patron episode. All right. And if you have some good news, you can send it to dailybeans.com good to submit your good news now. Always. We're gonna start off with some good trouble. All right everyone, your good trouble today comes from Emma Joy Pronoun. She and her Trump's U.S. department of Housing and Urban Development. That's HUD is proposing a rule to exclude trans and intersex persons from shelters and other HUD supported housing. We're gonna have a link to that. It's FR6518P01. It's called Equal Access to and HUD Programs Revisions. The comment period for this proposed revision is open until June 29th everyone, you know what to do. We're going to have a link in the show notes where you can comment. This is what this person wrote. Emma Joy wrote. If anyone would like to copy or even edit it in their own way to use it, as Joy said, I write in in opposition to FR 6518 p.01 equal access revisions these proposed revisions do not advance any public purpose. They are predicated on flawed presumptions and assumptions that reflect animus toward LGBTQ persons, overlooking the very real human physical needs of intersex and other transgender persons. Ironically, being intersex and are transgender is indeed an immutable characteristic, the very opposite of the representation made in executive order number 14168, which the proposed revision cites, by the way. To justify these pointless, cruel revisions, LGBTQ individuals are overrepresented in the populations that are served in HUD supported programs. These proposed revisions are therefore unethical to the purpose of HUD equal Access rules. For these reasons, I respectfully but fervently oppose these proposed revisions. So thank you very much for that and I know that our people are going to get on and will do their comments. Now, I have a little bit of other good trouble, and this is a personal request. Everyone. If you're in the Chicago area and you are free June 24, I have a concert that I want to recommend for you. It's Teresa Troll and Barbara Higbee and they're going to be in concert with a local artist named Jeannie Tanner. Some of you may know these names. These are three extraordinary musicians and the reason that I'm asking you to make some good trouble. Teresa Troll, her partner, who is a horse rider competitively, has been for years, was in a horrible accident and she has a horrible brain injury and it doesn't seem like she's going to be getting much better. And a lot of these funds from these concerts that they are holding are going to help her and the treatment because the bills are getting extraordinary. So these are friends of mine, Chicago, you know me and you know the people that I support. This music when I tell you it will help you heal your soul. It's some of the most incredible music I've ever heard. So if you are free on June 24th of this month, please go. And it's going to be at the Gateway Lounge at the Copernicus Center. It's 5216 West Lawrence in Chicago. We're going to have a link to the tickets in the show notes. Again, it's one line only. June 24th. A lot of the proceeds are going to go support Theresa's wife. And as I said, this is just a personal good trouble for me with three artists that I know and love. But this music is going to soothe your soul, especially in this time. So go get tickets. I would very much appreciate and I know they would too. So thank you very much for letting me do that and indulging in my little good trouble. This next Good News segment is from Emily Pronoun she and her I'm in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I recently emailed my State House Representatives Abigail Salisbury to ask her to co sponsor Pennsylvania House Bill 123, which would allow ranked Choice voting in Pennsylvania, and she responded that she would co sponsor the bill. I was inspired by the work of Fair Vote Anne March on Harrisburg and I really want to spread the good news of ranked choice voting. I think RCV could have a huge impact on the health of our elections and democracy and it's one of the reasons we got Mamdani. Please check it out and if there are any Pennsylvanias listening, please ask your state Reps to co sponsor HP 123. Emily, well done for getting some shit going. I love to see this. Next up from Taylor's biggest fan pronoun she and her I just want to give a shout out to a local restaurant who's taking a bold stand during Pride Month. Taylor's Oak Restaurant in Camden, North Carolina is flying a Pride Progress flag, giving away Pride swag and posting about it with their daily specials despite it costing them business in this rural, deeply conservative area. This is also the kind of good Trouble I love. I love this. I love this. I love this. If you live in Northeast North Carolina, stop by for a great meal and to show them the same love that they're showing some of our marginalized and most closeted community members. We are on our drive to the Outer Banks for a family vacation and since it was mentioned on the Daily Beans Talk today, you can breakfast or lunch at Taylor's Oak and then hop on over here to Digger's Dungeon, home of the Gravedigger, for some monster truck fun before your vacation at the beach. If you can't make it to Taylor's Oak in person, show them some love on their Facebook page and we're going to have a link to their Facebook page in the show Notes. I love all of these establishments that are supporting the LGBTQ community, especially in rural red areas for podpet tariff. It's my friend's pup helping us out at the latest protest oh, this little. I believe it's a spaniel. Says no kings. So cute. All right, next up from Diana Pronoun. She and her Hello, Queens of the Beans. I so appreciate the light and life you bring with clarity and truth. Today, June 14, several fellow resisters and I gathered for a cookout at a local. Sorry, you guys heard what I almost said. Maybe it was. We don't know. A cookout at a local park to honor a couple who, in their retirement, travel the country to support Democratic campaigns. For the last year, they've been here in Richmond, Virginia. We have so benefited from their generosity of spirit and absolute expertise at banner making. They quickly integrated themselves into our local Indivisible chapter. They canvassed for Abigail Spanberger and were a driving force in creating and attending several protests weekly in and around the Richmond area. They would set up their banners, and then David would don his inflatable frog costume and Linda her rainbow unicorn inflatable suit and wave more signs as motorists honked and waved. Since today in the Toddler in Chief special day, we thought we'd enjoy seeing our crew give the man baby the salute he deserves. On another note, the cutout on the left is our friend and activist, Chris. He lost his life when he was struck by a car on May 15 crossing the street at a corner protest. Many of us were present for. Oh, my God, Diana. I'm so sorry you all had to witness that. And I'm so sorry you lost that. You lost Chris. He was an incredible human who spent his life standing in the gap for those around him. He was a leader in Indivisible, worked with troubled teens, active members of his church, and devoted father and grandfather. Poppy was his favorite role. Ma'.
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He was married for 44 years to his wife. Sorry, Though heartbroken with the loss of her soulmate, echoed our sentiment that while he would have been fighting for the freedoms for the next 20 years, he died doing what he loved. Thank you for letting me honor him here. He was truly an exceptionable human being. Look at this group. Ah. I just, you know, I believe in the universe, everybody. I just. I struggle when shit like this happens. I don't know why they take the good ones from us, the helpers, you know? All right, have a little sip of water. They're gonna do an edit for me so you don't have to hear that. And we're gonna keep going. Ah, thank you for that moment, everybody. And to my producer and editor while I compose myself, this next one is from Bodhi's mom, Pronoun she and her hey sexy ladies. Oh my gosh. Okay, now I'm not even gonna be able to do this gangman style. I can't do it. I know how the song goes. I can't do it. I'm too choked up now. Hello from Ohio. Visiting from Massachusetts in the Akron Aryan. Thinking of you, Ag. We went to the Cleveland Zoo right after the core flower bloomed, but it was mostly closed already due to the heat. My intro is due to the kea bird. I love them and their gangman style dance. Didn't see any capybaras except for the two stickers from the gift shop. Staying with lovely, generous, hard working union people, but they have too many tchotchke. Wow, I've never seen that word spelled out. Too many tchotchkes. Flags for my liking. Attaching a bird watching pic that I took in their basement on Sunday while waiting out a tornado warning. Oh my gosh. My first. It was so exciting. We're all safe and hoping the torrential rains head toward dc. Love you guys. Safe travels to the gala in Chicago. This is great bird watching to Donald Trump, apparently in their basement. I'm not sure why that's there, but there you have it. Got some capybara stickers. Oh, thank you so much for that. All right, everyone. This is from Andy R. Pronouns he and him. Hey, Beans Queens. Aside from saying thanks for the great effing podcast, I wanted to share pictures of my foster cat, Whisper. She's been adopted and returned twice. Once was allergies and the other that she doesn't play nice with other cats. She's a sweetie pie who requires 100% of the attention, so she has to be an only cat. She's available through Happy Days Dog and Cat rescue in Southeast Michigan. Her page still lists her as adopted, but I assure you that she is available. You gotta look at black cats. You can't adopt a black cat. Everyone. Good luck. Andy, thank you so much for this. Oh my goodness. Wish we could just, you know, dedicate this entire podcast to Chris. Goodness, goodness, goodness. You all know me by now. Sometimes one gets me in. That one was real tough to recover from. But I appreciate all of the submissions and the good news. Keep sending them in. As you know, we love them and they help us get through this fucking nightmare of hot notes that we bring to you every single day. So again, the good trouble is there for you. That comment section is open to make sure that our trans and non binary people can still get the housing they need. And again, if you're in Chicago, the Good Trouble. Go see Theresa Troll and my dear friend Barbara Higbee on June 24th. You will not regret it. In fact, I want to hear all about it after you go, especially if you're not familiar with their music because man, it is fantastic. So everyone, thank you for joining me. Allison's gonna be back with me tomorrow. Until then, take care of yourselves, take care of each other, take care of the planet, take care of your mental health, and take care of your family. I've been your host. DG the Daily Beans is written and executive produced by Allison Gill with additional research and reporting by Dana Goldberg. Sound design and editing is by Desiree McFarlane with art and web design by Joelle Reader with Moxie Design Studios. Music for the Daily Beans is written and performed by they Might Be Giants and the show is a proud member of the MSW Media Network, a collection of creator owned podcasts dedicated to news, politics and justice. For more information Please visit msw media.com msw media
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hello, Martin Sheen here, and it seems to me that no day of the week is without its endless barrage of bad news. Even on Sunday. For God's sake, let's change that. What do you say? Together, let's make Sunday immune to bad news. Available now every Sunday, Season three of the Martin Sheen Podcast with yours truly, Martin Sheen has begun. Yeah, 10 brand new episodes are already underway, so join me, Martin sheen, for a 20 minute journey as I share my personal stories, a bit of poetry, and insightful reflections that will encourage you to take a deep breath and enjoy a relaxing moment. Of course, it's important to know and understand what's happening in the world, but I also believe there's nothing wrong with taking a step back to find strength and clarity. And Lord knows we need that now more than ever. A moment of thoughtfulness and calm may be rare these days, but it doesn't have to be. So what do you say? You want to take back your Sundays? So do I. And guess what? I've already done it with the Martin Sheen Podcast, Season three, available now. Don't mess with my Sunday and thank you for listening.
Episode: "Deeply Held Bigotry"
Host: Dana Goldberg (Solo; Allison Gill returns tomorrow)
Date: June 16, 2026
In this June 16, 2026 episode, host Dana Goldberg delivers a sharp, incisive roundup of unsettling headlines and developments from the worlds of politics, media, and culture. The hot topics range from troubling new authoritarian moves proposed by the Trump White House, to the Justice Department's surprising decision on a major media merger, to overt transphobia on display at a high-profile White House event. Through it all, Dana maintains The Daily Beans' characteristic wit, candor, and commitment to social justice, highlighting not only the challenges faced by marginalized communities but also the everyday acts of resistance and solidarity that persist across the country.
[02:34–09:12]
Secret Memo and Authoritarian Proposals:
Stephen Miller's Influence:
Legal and Historical Context:
Related Shows:
[09:12–12:04]
Federal Probes:
Fishing Expedition Allegation:
[12:08–14:30]
Incident Details:
Expert Commentary:
[14:30–17:22]
Surprise Decision:
Staff Concerns:
Political Connections:
Media Monopoly Concerns:
[17:23–21:13]
Event Recap:
Josh Hokut's Bigoted Outburst:
History of Bigotry:
Culture and Media Critique:
Praise for Community Journalism:
"Stephen Miller, everyone, is dangerous as fuck. He's the guy behind all of this."
— Dana Goldberg, [06:09]
"Mr. Scharf's memo, in a very unassuming way, was basically a blinking red warning light."
— Dana Goldberg, [04:14]
"They want to acquire all of these and have a conglomerate and people are fighting as hard as they can and some of these cannot. I mean, if they're going to ignore the investigative staff, what are you going to do?"
— Dana Goldberg, [17:07]
"Michelle Obama... is a man. Am I right America?"
— Josh Hokut, [20:01]
"I blame the mainstream media and I also blame social media for just spreading this... But it should be covered in substacks like this by Aaron, part of the community. This isn't someone talking about transgender people at the table without them there. This is someone who has built the table and continues to build on it."
— Dana Goldberg, [21:03]
Action Against HUD's Proposed Anti-Trans Rule:
Benefit Concert in Chicago:
Good Trouble & Community Wins:
Moving Memorials & Community Bonds:
Dana’s delivery is characteristically snarky, passionate, empathetic, and at times irreverently funny. She pulls no punches in calling out authoritarianism, media complicity, and bigotry, but closes out with warmth and optimism in the listener submissions.
This episode is a microcosm of the challenges and resilience facing progressive America in 2026: threats to the Constitution, weaponization of government against political foes, unchecked media consolidation, and a culture war waged from the highest office. Yet, at the grassroots level, resistance, solidarity, and hope persist, reinforced by listener stories, local activism, and the unwavering commitment of the show’s hosts and community.
For listeners who missed this episode:
You get a brisk, gutsy, and unvarnished view of the day’s most critical stories—with enough context to understand the stakes and enough heart to fuel the fight for justice.