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The Daily Beans
Memorandum Of Misunderstanding (feat. Joshua Kendall)
00:49:43
Tuesday, May 26th, 2026 Today, Iran talks break down over nuclear material; Donald uses another shooting that happened nowhere near him to justify his ballroom; authorities say the risk of a catastrophic explosion at a chemical plant in Southern California has been eliminated; Ugandan health officials report more cases of Ebola virus infections; there have been over 10K court rulings against the Trump administration’s immigration policy; Trump is expected to head to Walter Reed again today; and Allison delivers your Good News.
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- [00:01]
Frangela (Frances Collier and Angela V. Shelton)
Hi, I'm Frances Collier. And I'm Angela V. Shelton. And we're Frangela. You know what you mean in your life. The Final Word podcast. Yes, you do. That's right. It is the final word on all things political and pop cultural, where we make real news, real funny, where we inspire you so you can resist. Subscribe and get a new episode of the Final Word podcast each week. It's the news we think you need to hear. That's right. We think you need to hear it.
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Allison Gill
Okay. Yeah.
- [00:29]
Frangela (Frances Collier and Angela V. Shelton)
It's what we say.
- [00:30]
Amanda Sturgill
So.
- [00:30]
Frangela (Frances Collier and Angela V. Shelton)
That's right. And because all we do is give. Every Thursday, you can listen to our hysterical podcast, idiot of the Week. We round up the stupid. Because you know what? Somebody has to.
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Allison Gill
Okay? All we do is give. MSW media. News. Whispering Daily beans.
- [00:59]
Brian Caram
Daily beans.
- [01:02]
Allison Gill
Daily beans.
- [01:03]
Frangela (Frances Collier and Angela V. Shelton)
Daily Beans.
- [01:08]
Allison Gill
Hello and welcome to the Daily beans for Tuesday, May 26, 2026. Today, Iran talks breakdown over nuclear material. Donald is using another shooting that happened nowhere near him to justify his ballroom. Authorities say the risk of a catastrophic explosion at a chemical plant in Southern California has been eliminated. Ugandan health officials report more cases of Ebola virus infections. There have been over 10,000 court rulings against the Trump administration's immigration policy. And Trump is expected to head to Walter Reed again today. I'm your host, Alison Gill. Hey, everybody. Happy Tuesday. I hope you had a safe Memorial Day weekend. Dana's out again. She'll be back Monday. But I appreciate you hanging in with me solo. Also, want to take a moment to thank our patrons. All of our shows are free. We don't have any paywalls, but if you want to become a supporting member, you can do that@patreon.com thedailybeans we really appreciate it. You get these shows early, you get them ad free. You get access to our in person events like our gala on June 20th in Chicago and our election night watch party in November, which I believe is going to be in San Diego. You also get advanced tickets to other live events, VIP meet and greet stuff. You get to join our monthly Zoom happy hour calls. It's pretty cool and it's. It's pretty cheap as well, so. So thanks to our patrons for supporting us and for supporting MSW media. And, you know, I'm really looking forward to our gala. So we have like usually two or three galas a year for our patrons and you come and you dress up if you want, or you can be totes cash, but I buy you dinner, I buy you drinks, you get to hear some speakers, they're special guests and we just get to hang out in a room of like minded people. Which is why I want to have one on election night so we can all sit and watch the returns as the blue wave comes in. So again, patreon.com thedailybeans also today, very cool guest author of Trudeau and Doonesbury, the cartoonist who turned the news into art. I'll be speaking with Joshua Kendall, the biographer for Trudeau. Just a really, really incredible book and we'll have lots to talk about. So I'm looking forward to that discussion as well. And his book is out today. It's called Trudeau and the Cartoonist who Turned the News into Art. All right, everybody, we have tons of news to get to today. Let's hit the Hot Notes Hot Notes. First up from the Wall Street Journal. Progress toward a deal to end the war with Iran slowed on Monday as the two sides dug in over references to the country's nuclear program and financial relief for Tehran. The slowdown followed a weekend that began with Trump and other administration officials saying a deal was very close, but ended with Trump saying he wouldn't rush to conclude an agreement that wasn't right. Actually, what happened was, is the terms of the agreement Trump was about to make were released and a bunch of people said, what the fuck? And now he's walking back. After the initial reports of the deal surfaced, Trump came under criticism from more hawkish members of his party who worried an agreement could open the Strait of Hormuz and ease the financial pressure on Iran's regime but leave its nuclear program intact. Quote, the deal with Iran will either be a great and meaningful one or there will be no deal. That's what Trump said Monday after all the backlash, blasting his Republican and Democratic critics as knowing nothing about the deal under negotiation. Okay, two sides are working toward a memorandum of understanding that would end the fighting and lift constraints on shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz over 30 days, while setting the stage for talks about Iran's nuclear program in a second phase. Relief from sanctions would depend on the progress, according to a senior US Administration official. Now the US Is seeking clearer commitments from Iran about its nuclear program up front. Now, while Iranian negotiators are pressing for details from the US about relief from sanctions and asset freezes because Trump wants to give him $25 billion. US officials worry Iran will drag its feet on nuclear issues after securing some relief, and Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmeel Begay said Monday that progress has been made on many of the issues in the talks. But an agreement isn't imminent. Now there is pressure on both sides to strike a deal. Trump has been eager to end a war that is unpopular at home and has raised the price of gasoline, putting pressure on consumers.
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Dana Goldberg
Iran is eager to secure financial relief
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Allison Gill
after the war and US Blockade added to the pressure of what was already a spiraling economic crisis. Now, Gulf countries also broadly support this effort, though they worry the US could disengage before security concerns raised by Iran's bombardment of the region during the war are addressed. And also, you know, right now on Monday evening, there's breaking reports that bombs are now being dropped in Iran and that this might have to do with some of our Gulf allies like UAE wanting contested islands in the Gulf returned to them from Iran with the help of the United States. So we'll keep an eye on this. But mediators said that Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE have pressed them to include a clear clause in the memorandum of understanding that would ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has so far agreed to waive fees on ships passing through the strategic waterway for the duration of the talks but not necessarily going forward. But the Foreign Ministry spokesman said the country continues to assert a role managing the strait and has discussed receiving fees for transit and protection services. So Israel is also concerned that the US could do a deal that would ease the economic and military pressure on Tehran, but tie its hands particularly in its fight against the Iran backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon. You could call it a fight against Hezbollah in Lebanon, but they've displaced millions of Lebanese people. It's ethnic cleansing that's happening down there. Israel is pressing its American contacts and publicly via the media for a tougher deal with more commitments from Iran. Now, mediators said one concern is who is calling the shots in Iran with Supreme Leader the son of Ayatollah Khamenei. His name is Mojtaba. Khamenei has not been seen or heard from since the beginning of his time of his appointment in they say they're trying to determine his views on the various issues being debated in the draft text. If you leave him out of it, you know, I don't know how much of a deal you have. The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman pointed to the divisions in the American government as well. He said, quote, because policy making and decision making in America are afflicted by a kind of institutional instability, to put it lightly, we witness frequent changes in positions. That's what he said. According to state media, Trump later said he wanted Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan to sign onto an Abraham Accord, the president's signature first term foreign policy achievement under which countries including the UAE and Bahrain established diplomatic relations with Israel. He said he would be honored for Iran to join as well once Tehran signs the peace deal now under discussion. And he touted the idea of a combined pact to end the war and Israel's regional isolation. This will be the most important deal that any of these great but always in conflict countries will ever sign. That's what Trump said on social media. Nothing in the past or in the future will surpass it. So he's trying to put a Middle east deal in place alongside all of this. Egypt and Jordan already have peace treaties and diplomatic ties with Israel. Saudi Arabia was close to joining the accords before the war in Gaza, but has since insisted Israel first commit to a path to Palestinian state. That's the sticking point, kind of a big one. Turkey's and Qatar's relationships with Israel have come under increasing strain. The president acknowledged that some of the countries have reasons not to join, but said the rest should do so, beginning with Saudi Arabia and Qatar. All right, next up from PBS and WHO couldn't see this coming after Elon Musk and Trump put USAID through the quote, unquote wood chipper. Ugandan health authorities on Monday report two new cases of Ebola, bringing the number of infections to 7. All the cases are linked to the outbreak in neighboring Congo, which appears to have started several days or weeks before Congolese authorities declared it on May 15th. That's 11 days ago. The 59 year old Congolese man was admitted to a hospital in Kampala, the Lugandan capital, on May 11 and died three days later before it was known he was suffering from the Ebola virus. Two other Congolese nationals who sought medical care in Uganda later tested positive for Ebola. Ugandan health authorities on Saturday confirmed the first local infections. A driver and a health worker exposed to the Congolese patient who died on May 11. Two more health workers at a private hospital in Kampala have since tested positive. Now President Yoweri Museveni has urged Ugandans to stop shaking hands as part of measures to avoid infection. He also ordered the postponement of an annual religious event that attracts thousands of pilgrims from Congo and elsewhere who converge around a Catholic basilica just outside outside Kampala by June 3. Other measures have included the temporary suspension of all public transportation and flights between Congo and Uganda. In Congo, suspected Ebola cases have topped 900, mainly in eastern Ituri Province, where the ongoing outbreak is centered. That's according. According to authorities, the response has been hampered by fear, anger and frustration among the locals, including attacks on treatment centers, as well as a distrust of authorities in a region long plagued by armed violence. Congo has had more than a dozen Ebola outbreaks over the decades. Health experts say international aid cuts last year by the United States are devastating for eastern Congo because of the region's unique problems. Aid groups fighting this Ebola outbreak say they just don't have the equipment they need, like face shields and suits to protect health workers from infection. Testing kits, body bags and other materials needed to safely bury the bodies of the victims, which can be highly contagious. Way to go. Elon Musk, next up from the Post from his senior year at Dundalk High School in Baltimore County, Maryland. Hopefully I'm saying that properly. Where he ran track for the Dundalk Owls, Nassar Best's life seemed to take one wrong turn after another. Best, who according to the police was shot and killed Saturday by Secret Service officers after opening fire near the White House, had by that time cut off contact with even his closest friends and began claiming he was Jesus Christ. Best, who's 21, was 21, was described by a friend as apolitical, with a love of jokes and the video game Fortnite and an obsession with running, quote. A preliminary investigation indicates that as the individual approached, he removed a weapon from his bag and began firing at posted officers. That's what Secret Service communications chief Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement, went on to say Secret Service police officers return fire, striking the suspect, who was transported to an area hospital where he later died. A bystander was also struck in the exchange, according to Secret Service, but they wouldn't say who shot that bystander. If you ask me, that means it was the Secret Service. Best was previously arrested on charges with trespassing, by the way, on July 10th of last year, he was apprehended for allegedly using an exit turnstile to access a restricted portion of the White House grounds. And at the time, according to an affidavit, he claimed he was Jesus and was trying to get arrested. The affidavit also said the Secret Service was previously acquainted with Best for, quote, walking around the White House complex, inquiring how to gain access at various entry points. He was also involuntarily committed on June 26 for obstructing vehicle entry to the White House complex. After that July incident, prosecutors charged Best with unlawful entry into private property. He pled not guilty to the misdemeanor charge the day after his arrest at a hearing in D.C. superior Court where a judge appointed lawyer Darrell Daniels II and was set to represent him and ordered Best to stay away from the White House grounds. Best was due back in court Aug. 7 for that, but the records show that he did not appear for his hearing and council of record did not have representations. A judge issued a bench warrant for Best arrest as it as is standard when a defendant charged with crimes misses their court date. Best's motive for opening fire near the White House is unclear. According to voting records, when he registered in 2022, he marked his party affiliation as Republican and he has no known history of political statements. Trump, of course, used this incident to claim he still needs his ballroom in another crazy ass court filing. By the way, that sounds like a true social post. He says this was an assassination attempt, but doesn't offer any proof of that claim. All right, from the Associated Press the risk of that catastrophic explosion we talked about yesterday at a damaged chemical tank in Southern California. The risk has been eliminated following a close overnight inspection that confirmed that a crack in the tank really relieved the pressure and cooled the chemical. The results of the evaluation was incredibly positive news. That's a new quote. And allowed officials to turn the corner after days of concern about a possible explosion. That's Orange County Fire Authority Division Chief Craig Covey. However, evacuation orders remain in place for about 50,000 people in Garden Grove, which is located south of Los Angeles. There have been no chemical leaks as of early Monday, but the Orange County Fire Authority said the risk to public safety is still ongoing. Covey didn't say in the recorded message what the most likely outcome might be, but officials had previously said they hoped to cool off the chemical inside the tank so it wouldn't leak or explode. And next up from Politico, Hundreds of judges have rejected the Trump administration's unprecedented expansion of ICE detentions, fueling nearly 10,800 rulings against the administration as of May 15. With POLITICO's database of those rulings, as well as their list of judges who have ruled on the issue, there are a handful of courts that have played an outsized role in shaping this overwhelming rebuke of a core Trump policy. They include judges appointed across the ideological spectrum, including Trump appointees and hailing from all over the United States. Clay Land, a G.W. bush appointee in Columbus, Georgia, has ruled against the administration more than 370 times, more than any other judge since ICE adopted a new policy last summer, saying millions of people living in the US without incident for years are actually subject to immediate detention without bond. Judges Trump appointed during his first term have opposed Ice's new approach by a 4 to 1 margin when they haven't been bound by a higher court. But among judges Trump appointed in his second term, 10 have ruled on the issue. Nine of those have sided with ICE. The 10th, Fort Myers, Florida based Kyle Dudyk, forged an unusual middle path, siding with the administration in some instances but opposing it in others. Trump's other second term picks, some of whom have taken the bench over the last few months, have been among the most full throated backers of ICE's policy. They include Kentucky's Chad Meredith, Tennessee's Brian Lee and Missouri's Christian Stevens, Megan Benton and Maria Lanahan. However, Dudic and some other second term appointees can no longer continue to rule in ICE's favor on the issue now that their respective appeals court that's Ohio based 6th Circuit Court of Appeals and the Atlanta based 11th Circuit have actually rejected ICE's approach. In fact, about 20 of the 50 judges nationwide who sided with ICE's detention policy are now bound by appeals court decisions that went the other way. U.S. district Judge Leon Shidelower, who's a Biden appointee, has also had his hands tied by an appellate court he's obligated to follow, the fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled in favor of ice. And toeing that line has made Shidelower the Democratic appointee with the most rulings in Favor of the ICE's mandatory detention policy, more than 140 of them in fact, more than any other judge. Now. Shidelower, unlike a long list of other judges in Texas, rejected an alternative argument that ICE detainees have made to work around the fifth Circuit's decision that the Constitution affords them the right to a bond hearing as a fundamental matter of due process. Though more than a dozen Texas based federal judges, including some appointed by Republican presidents and Trump himself, have endorsed this view, Shidelower has rejected it. Only a handful of other judges appointed by Democratic presidents have ruled in favor of ICE's detention policies, most of them like Shidelower, hemmed in by appeals court rulings. But unlike Shidelower, the others have handled relatively few cases. Among Trump appointees who have ruled for the administration, there's some palpable reluctance. Oklahoma based U.S. district Judge Jody Dishman made that clear when, despite siding with ICE's legal position, she lamented the human cost of her decision. She said the court takes no solace in the human realities on the other end of its pen. That's what she wrote in each of her first two rulings on this subject. And in a third, she said the story of a man whose detention she upheld despite his claims of severe medical needs weighs on one's conscience. Her bottom line, however, quote, the court's first duty is to the rule of law. And to misplace that duty would undermine our system of ordered Liberty. ICE's operations in Minnesota, during which agents killed two people, fueled the peak of public anger on Trump's policy and the most intense pushback from federal courts. ICE lost the overwhelming majority of detention cases stemming from metro surge, with judges in Minnesota rejecting them roughly 385 times, about 90% of the time since December. U.S. district Judge Jeffrey Bryan, a Biden appointee, handled more mandatory detention cases than any judge in the district, ruling against the administration in every single one of his 62 cases. Now, there's a lot more to this story with a lot more detail. You can find it on Politico. And I just wanted to kind of pull these judges out and talk a
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Dana Goldberg
little bit about that.
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Allison Gill
Some reluctant judges bound by appellate courts, other judges not bound by appellate courts, but going against ice, others going for ICE when they are bound to go against it. It's, it's very interesting, but 10,800 losses is pretty, pretty phenomenal. All right, next up from NBC, Trump plans to go to Walter Reed National Military Medical center today for a medical and dental checkup. I thought he just had an emergency dental checkup, didn't he? Anyway, that's according to a White House official. This is the president's third in person doctor visit in a little over a year. He went to Walter Reed twice last year, in April and October. He also visited the dentist. Oh, yeah, in West Palm beach twice this year, first in January and then again earlier this month for a follow up. Trump, who will turn 80 next month and is the oldest person to assume the presidency, routinely asserts that he's in excellent health, even as rumors about his health circulate. And not just rumors, but also facts. He made promised vitality and energy a major part of his campaign for reelection, mocking his rival as sleepy Joe Biden. But moments of apparent drowsiness and noticeable bruised hands, which the White House has blamed on shaking hands and taking aspirin, continue to spark questions. The president was revealed last year to have chronic venous insufficiencies. That's one of those facts that I was talking about. After he was examined for swelling in his legs, Trump told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published in January that aspirin is good for thinning out his blood and he doesn't want thick blood pouring through his heart, okay? His October 2025 visit was initially described by the White House as a scheduled follow up, but Trump later told reporters he'd actually undergone an mri. The exam was eventually revealed to be a CT scan of his heart and abdomen. Looking for that thick blood, I guess. All right, everybody, that's the news for today. Those are the headlines. We're going to have some good news for you submitted by listeners right after this break. Stick around. We'll be right back after these messages. We'll be right back. Hey everybody, One of our producers got fed up with how expensive his old wireless plan had become. Every month brought the same nonsense. High bills, bogus fees, hidden charges and so called perks that never saved him a dime. Mint Mobile was much better for him. He switched over on an unlocked Android. The SIM arrived quickly, setup took under 10 minutes and he kept his same phone number and contacts and everything. Compared with his previous carrier, the coverage and speeds have been just as strong. But now he's paying a lot less. So let's thank Mint Mobile for supporting this episode. Make the switch@mintmobile.com DailyBeans Mint Mobile exists to fix a problem a lot of people have put up with for far too long, which is paying too much for wireless just because that's how how it's always been. That's how the industry's always worked. Now Mint Mobile's premium plan started just 15 bucks a month. You still get high speed data plus unlimited talk and text on the nation's largest 5G network. Like I said, you can bring your own phone number. You can activate with an ESIM in minutes. You can bring your old phone too. And you can start saving right away. No long term contracts, no extra hassle, just a much smarter way to do wireless. Our producer loves that he made the switch and you will too. So if you're like your money, Mint Mobile is for you. Shop plans@mintmobile.com dailybeans that's mintmobile.com, upfront payment of $45 for three month five gigabyte plan required equivalent to $15 a month new customer offer for first three months only, then full price plan options are available, taxes and fees extra. C Mint Mobile for Details it's no
- [22:53]
Amanda Sturgill
surprise that newsmakers try to manipulate the audience. They want you to believe that they are the one holding the line and they'll use any trick they can to get you there.
- [23:00]
Allison Gill
But don't let them fool you.
- [23:02]
Amanda Sturgill
Get Unspun. I'm Amanda Sturgill. I've been a reporter, and today I teach future reporters to cut the spin and think critically about what newsmakers say. My podcast, Unspun, shows you how to know when you're being manipulated by the news, learn to spot the tricks, and how to make up your own mind about what's true. So if you're tired of being fooled by the news, subscribe to Unspun today. Unspun. Because you deserve the truth.
- [23:31]
Dana Goldberg
Hey, everybody. Welcome back. I'm really excited to speak to our next author and he's an award winning freelance journalist. First of all, he's written on history and politics. He's done biographies, health care, neuroscience for tons and tons of outlets, including Mother Jones, Politico, the Nation, Slate. We all love Slate here at the Daily Beans. Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal. Currently lives in Boston, and he is currently an associate fellow of Yale's Trumbull College. And he has just written a biography, it's out today about a fellow Yalie, and the book is called Trudeau and A Biography. So please welcome Joshua Kendall. Hi, Joshua, how are you?
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Joshua Kendall
Good. Pleasure to be on with you.
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Dana Goldberg
Yes. I'm so excited to talk to you about this. Talk, first of all, about, I don't know, the impetus to write about Trudeau and how you viewed him. I know that you guys went to the same school, but not at the same time.
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Joshua Kendall
Yeah. So Gary graduated from Yale in 1970, and I'm the Yale class of 1981. So I knew about Gary as an undergrad, and Gary got an honorary degree at Yale in 1976, and he was the youngest person ever to get an honorary degree. And he was just a hero to my generation because he won the Pulitzer Prize, the first strip artist to win a Pulitzer Prize in 1975. Some people have argued that he helped to take down Nixon because it was some very famous Watergate strips. So he was kind of a hero to me as a, as a young man in my 20s. But the impetus for the book, I'm a Yalie and I've done other books on Yalies, and one was a Yalie from the class of 1778, who was Noah Webster, who did America's first dictionary. And I loved going to Yale and looking at the archives. And about five years ago, I noticed that Gary had this amazing archive of 200 boxes, and it's his original sketchbook. So he was, when he was a Yale undergrad, he would do his doodles, and you can see those doodles. But for me, the most fascinating part of his archives were the letters. There were thousands upon thousands of letters from ordinary readers of his strip to movie stars, Charlton Heston, Robert Redford, Jane Fonda, to politicos like Nixon. Aids. And Gary would write a strip and would make fun of Nixon, and John Ehrlichman would write him a friendly note and want a copy of the cartoon. So looking through that correspondence was just such a thrill. And also, Gary is a very private person and I got him to talk and he did agree to some interviews and he responded to a lot of questions. So it was an absolute thrill to be able to be the first one to really tell a story.
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Allison Gill
Yeah.
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Dana Goldberg
And that's what's really fascinating and amazing about this book is because he's generally such a closed off person, doesn't really talk too much. I think I did catch one interview from him where he spoke mostly about his cartoons of Donald Trump. He's been covering in his cartoon, in his Pulitzer Prize winning strip, Donald Trump since the 80s. And I think he was around 2015, 2016. People had a lot of questions about all of the coverage that he gave to Donald Trump. So I'd like you to address that a little bit, But I'd like to do it in the frame or with the underpinning of Garry Trudeau's belief in punching up when you do comedy, because we see it now with Donald Trump and the treatment of Kimmel and the treatment of Colbert and how these people are being driven out, folks who satirized things. And that was a very big deal and very important for Trudeau. So can you talk about that?
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Joshua Kendall
Yeah. And that's really one of the surprising things about Trump. And one of the reasons that this time is so dark, because what I found in the archive is that Gary would make fun of Nixon or Gerald Ford or other Republican presidents, and he would get very warm notes from the Nixon and Ford staffers. I did an op ed for the Boston Globe a couple of weeks ago about the evolution of satire. So I spoke to one of these Nixon aides who worked with Pat Buchanan as a White House speechwriter. And Gary made fun of Nixon. You know, Watergate, Nixon's Approval rating was 25%. And this was the beginning of Watergate. And Gary went right after Nixon and made fun of him. And his aides wrote. And one of the aides told me, who's about. The guy's about 80 now. And he said, we really appreciated Gary. And because we realized he's a liberal and he's going to attack us. But we enjoyed Punching Back, and we realized that's sort of part of the nature of politics. And in thinking about launching this book, and today's my launch, I took a look at this 700 page book about the history of satire. And it starts with the classics like Juvenile in Rome. And Juvenal once said that it's impossible not to write satire, that so many writers have written satire, because whether it's a Roman consul or the Pope, or if you're an adolescent, your parents, it's kind of natural to want to make fun of people who have power over you. And I think that's what's so scary about these times is that the Trump administration doesn't see that as sort of the natural course of things, that he's the president and he has power over people. And it's not necessarily personal, it's just that he's the president. And every president is going to have things that can have flaws and that people are going to make fun of him. And that's what's really dark about this time, is that President Trump wants to put these people out of business or he wants to get revenge against them rather than just fighting back and say, I don't like Jimmy Kimmel, and, you know, and maybe making fun of Jimmy Kimmel, but. But he doesn't really want to do that. He really wants to eliminate the opposition. And that's why this moment is. Is so dark. And I think that's what the history shows me, is that this was a really vibrant part. This is sort of something that's made America great, this kind of debate. And in 2000, Gary was at the Clinton White House at an event, and Bill Clinton introduced him as the man who makes fun of me for a living. And Gary later remarked that, that he was almost in tears. He said, that made me proud to be an American. And that's kind of what's at stake right now.
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Dana Goldberg
Right. And this is, you know, first time in modern memory that a president doesn't appreciate it, can't laugh at himself, doesn't have a sense of humor, but also tries to shut down the First Amendment and tries to stop that satire and stop that parody. But Even, I think 10 years ago, Trudeau said it's really hard to satirize Donald Trump because he is a tune in a box. He says he, he comes out of life and onto the page, and there's not much you have to do to it. He's already such A caricature.
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Joshua Kendall
Yeah. And so. So Gary starts writing about Trump in the late 80s after the art of the Deal comes out. And I was met with him last week, and he was telling me that Trump is like a cartoon character. I mean, even in the 80s, he's boasting and his hair is ridiculous, and he's saying all these, you know, absolutely impossible things. In those days, it wasn't necessarily about affairs of state, but just that he was the greatest builder and he could do everything. And. And you could tell that there was just a lot of fluff behind that, like a cartoon character. So in the. In the strips in the 80s, Gary mixes him into his strip. So he's got Mike Doonesbury and Boopsy and some of these characters, and it's natural for Trump to kind of hang out with them on the page because he's like a cartoon character. So my chapter on Trump, the last chapter, is called the Cartoonish President. And you don't really need to do much. You don't have to kind of use your imagination to turn him into a cartoon character, because he's already there.
- [32:15]
Allison Gill
Yeah.
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Dana Goldberg
And, you know, so many other interviews that you were able to get, people who were targets, people who were satirized that make it into this book also
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Allison Gill
make it very fascinating to read and
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Dana Goldberg
to look into, because in bigger picture, aside from Trump and the cartoonish president that he is, Trudeau was just all over politics and pop culture for so long and over a thousand newspapers, like you said, first cartoon comic strip to win a Pulitzer. But talk about the importance of being able to make the news digestible, to make it palatable, to. To get politics into the eyes and ears of folks who might generally not
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Allison Gill
be into it, you know.
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Joshua Kendall
Yeah. So the subtitle of the book, it's a biography, but it's called the Cartoonist who Turned the News into Art. And I make the argument that Gary is kind of is a journalist and that he would go to a lot of events in the 1970s when Patty Hearst was on trial, Gary went to that trial, and one of the co defendants passed Gary a little slip from the bailiff. And in one of his very early strips, back in the night, around 1970, his character Mark, who was the. The revolutionary against the Vietnam War, famously said, even revolutionaries like chocolate chip cookies. And when he was at that trial, the Patty Hearst co defendant passed him a little slip that said, you're right, even revolutionaries like chocolate chip cookies. So while he was doing his reporting. But. But the strip has so much power, and I think One of the most moving sets of strips that Gary has done are strips on the Wounded Warriors. And Gary went to, you know, the Middle east in. In the first Gulf War and the second Gulf War. And it's amazing because his main character, bd, develops ptsd. And Gary just reported that out so thoroughly. He spoke to a lot of therapists, and he. He. He learned how these hospitals work, the kind of care that they get. And what's really amazing is that, you know, that stuff is kind of hard to take in. If you read an article about a soldier with ptsd, it's. It's really. Can be kind of overwhelming. But Gary is able to get that information out. How? The human brain really wasn't geared for war, but he's able to get it out and get people to laugh and smile about it and get people to understand this segment of society that doesn't get enough attention. And that's just so moving. And he did that with a lot of issues. AIDS. I mean, one of his characters in the 80s develops AIDS, and somehow people are laughing about that, but laughing with the character at the absurdity and the pain of it. So there's just this really moving way in which he can make news, even disturbing news, really fun and entertaining, and I think that's the greatest strength of his strip.
- [35:31]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah. I have to agree with you on. On. On all of that, because it's. It's so important to get to.
- [35:38]
Allison Gill
To.
- [35:39]
Dana Goldberg
To lead national conversations.
- [35:41]
Allison Gill
Right.
- [35:41]
Dana Goldberg
Like that. But to do it in a way that invites everyone in.
- [35:45]
Joshua Kendall
Yeah. Especially on difficult subjects. We'd rather not think about, you know, aids. I mean, you know, you know, it's. It's kind of grueling if you really want to go in that minutia. But obviously it's really important. But if you can do it in a way that brings people in and leaves them with a smile, but also deepens their understanding. Just an amazing public service. And that's what good journalism is all about, is. Is, you know, telling stories in ways that can bring people in.
- [36:12]
Allison Gill
Yeah.
- [36:12]
Dana Goldberg
We had to take what would otherwise be a very boring subject, the Mueller report on Russia.
- [36:19]
Joshua Kendall
Yes.
- [36:19]
Dana Goldberg
And make it interesting so that more
- [36:22]
Allison Gill
people would read it. Because that's the goal. Right, Exactly.
- [36:25]
Dana Goldberg
We had a fantasy indictment league, and we would give away polonium tea for people who subscribe to hear about the Mueller report to make it, you know, digestible and palatable. Those are the kinds of things that
- [36:42]
Allison Gill
he was a master at and why he is so deserving of the Pulitzer.
- [36:46]
Dana Goldberg
Before I let you go I don't like to ask, like, generally, I don't like to ask authors the most amazing or interesting thing they learned while writing a book. I always like to ask for the
- [36:55]
Allison Gill
penultimate amazing thing because I don't want
- [36:58]
Dana Goldberg
to give away too much in the book. Is there anything that really stood out to you? Any specific interview or correspondence or something that just you didn't know about and kind of, wow.
- [37:10]
Allison Gill
Just wowed you, I guess.
- [37:12]
Joshua Kendall
Just again, the Yale archive with all those letters were just amazing. And one of the letters was from Charlton Heston, who was the NRA head of the NRA called Dead Hands. Yeah. 30 years ago. And just that Gary and Heston became buds. And Heston, you know, he would say, you know, I'm your. You know, I'm your favorite conservative. They really bonded and. And just kind of joked with each other. And then I love what Gary. And I saw a letter that he wrote to his friends. He said, I just got a letter from God because, you know, Heston had played with Moses. I guess that he sort of revered Heston, but, you know, also he couldn't stand the NRA and what he was up to, but they had a bond and that he could appreciate, you know, his iconic stature, but also stick to his gun. Stick to his guns, no pun intended, in critiquing what us, what Heston was doing.
- [38:13]
Dana Goldberg
Man, I feel like those days are gone.
- [38:15]
Joshua Kendall
Yep, exactly.
- [38:16]
Allison Gill
I really do.
- [38:17]
Dana Goldberg
And that is why I'm so glad
- [38:18]
Allison Gill
that you've written this, everybody.
- [38:20]
Dana Goldberg
Trudeau and Doonesbury. It comes out today. It's available wherever you get your books. And as you know, I like to send everybody to their favorite local independent bookseller and order 10 copies so you can give a couple away for holiday gifts, put it in your holiday gift closet, and then also fill your little free local libraries with copies. It's really, really an incredible book, and I enjoyed spending time with you today. Thank you.
- [38:44]
Joshua Kendall
Oh, it's been a pleasure, everybody.
- [38:46]
Dana Goldberg
Joshua Kendall again. The book comes out today, Trudeau and a Biography. And please stick around. We'll be right back with the good news.
- [38:55]
Brian Caram
I'm Brian Caram, and I've spent decades covering politics. Now I'm taking you behind the scenes, one interview at a time. Join us as each week, Brian confronts the issues that matter, posing the questions you wish you could ask. No filter, no agenda, just the truth. We're not here for sound bites. We're here for substance. Join me, Brian Caram, every week as we cut through the noise and get straight to it. This is just ask the question where curiosity will lead us to the facts. Subscribe now on your favorite podcast platform and remember, when you want answers, all you have to do is just ask the question.
- [39:40]
Allison Gill
All right, everybody, welcome back. It's time for the good news. Who likes good news?
- [39:44]
Joshua Kendall
Everyone?
- [39:45]
Allison Gill
Then good news, everyone. Good news. And if you have any little bit
- [40:02]
Dana Goldberg
of good news, it can be small.
- [40:03]
Allison Gill
It can be huge good news. It can be from last week or 25 years ago. Doesn't matter, as long as it brings a smile to our face. We would love to hear about it. You also send in your Good Trouble suggestions. We always get a ton of those from listeners and we love them. You can also send in a shout out to a loved one or a small business in your area or a nonprofit you'd like us to know about. Maybe some great community activism you're seeing. And we also love self shout outs. Tell us what your thesis or dissertation title was. I love reading those because they're so long and complex and it's just, it amazes me every day how smart everyone who listens to this show is. So send everything to us@dailybeanspod.com and click on contact. And all you gotta do to get your submission on the air is attach a photo. It can be a photo of anything as long as it makes us smile. A sunset, your backyard, what you're growing in your garden. Do you have egg laying hens? Or do you have goat milking goats? Maybe you're knitting, crocheting, throwing something on a. On a potter's wheel painting. Maybe you're writing music or lyrics. Maybe you've got a funny meme that you want to send us. Maybe you've got a picture of your family, maybe you got baby pictures to send us. And of course your pod pets. And we can try to guess what breeds they are. Send it all to us dailybeanspod dot Click on Contact. First up is Good Trouble. All right, Good Trouble. Attend a May Recess Town hall this is from the five Calls app. The House of Representatives in is in recess this week May 22 to June 2, while the Senate will be in recess from May 22 to June 1. So this is time allotted for members of Congress to go work in their districts and engage with their constituents. And it's also the perfect time for them to hold public town halls and hear their constituents concerns live and in person. A number of concerning issues are currently worthy of direct discussion face to face with your senators and representatives. The use of taxpayer money for Trump's $1.8 billion slush fund the White House ballroom the ongoing unauthorized war with Iran, creating drastic gas price hikes, new data centers, draining local water and energy supplies and creating health hazards. Congressional Republicans push for $70 billion in ice and CBP funding the urgent need for new voting rights legislation the urgent need for fair maps Remember your representatives work for you. You should have and insist on regular frequent opportunities to discuss their positions and platforms and how their legislative agendas will affect you and those close to you. Town halls are a critical tool for holding representatives accountable for their actions and ensuring that they hear their constituents needs and concerns. Attend a scheduled town hall or if your Congressional members refuse to hold a town hall, request an in office meeting to discuss your concerns. Or you can do what did here in San Diego Daryl Isa's district when he wouldn't show up for a town hall, we held one that he just didn't show up to and instead like Sarah Jacobs came out and we had a really great discussion and when you visit five Calls and enter your town zip code, you'll get contact information for your members of Congress and U.S. senators. You can call their offices, ask them when their next town hall is. If they don't have one demand, they hold one. Constituents deserve the opportunity to communicate directly with their elected representative. So thanks to that good trouble from the 5 calls app, let us know how it goes by sending it you know what your experience about going to and or trying to get a town hall into the good news all right, first up from Mindy Pronoun she and her I listen to you lovely lagoon ladies every day. Thank you for helping keep my sanity like so many of your listeners have said and I agree it's so important to find your people. My friend and I started a local red wine and blue network at our coastal Virginia town. I met some of the most courageous and big hearted women. We protest together, write postcards, we canvas, we write, raise money for local needs and so much more. Basically we make good trouble by fighting fascism with friends. I'm attaching a photo of democracy dirge AKA a funeral for democracy organized by one of our members. This is an event that really gets the point across. I've also attached photos of my fur baby Rosie as my pod pet tariff. We adopted this water loving dog from a local shelter when she was 10 months old. I can only guess her mix but but feel free to take a stab at it. Thanks for all you do. Look at this great organized. Oh you're in front of illegal seafoods. I see one of those at the Boston Logan Airport all the time. And I'm like, is there illegal seafoods? But anyway, this is so great. A democracy dirge. Wonderful. And then let's see the animal. Oh, look at that. Looks like an Aussie or yeah, like a red merle maybe mixed with a chocolab. I don't know. Gorgeous dog. Beautiful lake. Can I live there? Is that house available? Can I just live in that house? Anyway, thank you so, so much, Mindy. All right, next up from Elisa, W pronouns she and her. I can't wait each morning on my way to work to share this time with you. We run a non profit for mental health awareness and suicide prevention in Pittsburgh. It's paint positive.org Some of our favorite fundraisers are pawsitive painting events. Paw positive painting events. Photos attached. Look at these dogs with their paintings. Oh, look at that little. Is that a pug? Oh, adorable Elisa. Amazing. Everybody check out PaintPositive.org that's so. That's so awesome. Thank you for sending these. Next up from Grim. Hey there, girls. I'm a new listener, but at the time I'm writing this, I've listened to you for three days straight. Lol. Love you guys. Love the beans. Beans is my daughter's friend's nickname and my old dog's name. Ah, see, Grim. It's kismet. It was meant to be. I love the good trouble section the most. I've laughed, I've cried. I love it. I am a survivor and the last five years of my life has turned upside down so hard I don't even remember buying the house that I live in. I want to give a shout out to myself for healing, growing, learning, leaving behind what I needed to and who I needed to. For walking away, for having the balls to stay away, and mostly for making this house. I don't even remember buying a home for my kids and myself. And I want to remind all listeners that there are so many me's out there. Please be kind in our photo. In the photo are my boys bread and Cribby Crunchmas the Crunchmas Tree. Cribby Crunchmas Tree. Instead of guessing the breed, guess how Cribby got his name. Love you all. Okay, first of all, I had a cat that looks like you want on the left. His name was Russell, was Rusty, but his full name was Russell T. Cat. Cribby Crunchmas Tree. There's no answer. There's no answer in the good news submission about how Cribby Crunchmas Tree got his name. I mean, I'm guessing it's because he eats Christmas trees. But you can write in and let us know. Grim and welcome. Welcome to the Beans. Glad to have you. Next up, Shay Pronouns she they Hi there Beans Queens. Thanks for all you do. This year has been hell. I started listening to you back in October and wanted to share how I'm a private music teacher and I have a school of over 60 kids and 4 teachers. Community is super important to me and getting to share it through music is amazing. I believe it saved my life as a kid when my parents were trying to shove Catholic dogma down my throat. Same shape, same, same, same. I'm so happy I'm able to have a career giving it to others as well as my Gen Z employees. I'm trying to show that they can make a living wage and that they can be in music and hopefully they can make an important impact for their future and the futures of others. The first picture is one from four Halloween concerts this year. One of four Halloween concerts this year. I'm wearing the yellow banana suit. My punk band is Hot Tina. You can find us on instagram @hot Tinaband and Hot Tina Band on YouTube. We've got dogs, cats, parakeets, chickens. I've decided to send a picture of Betsy. She's 14 years old, pretty fantastic chicken. She deserves her 15 minutes. 14 year old old chicken. From my understanding, Che is an old chicken. I thought most chickens lived like five to seven years. I could be wrong said correct me if I'm wrong. I know I could just google this stuff. But. But why when we can go back and forth on the good news about it. So we have a song. We're going to link you to the YouTube channel and the Instagram account. But we're also going to link you to a song from Hot Tina called Fast and Loud. Che, thank you so much. Oh, these pictures are amazing. Look at that girl. Look at the chicken I want to hug. Is she a lap chicken? Will she sit in my lap? Anyway, Che, thank you so much for this. All right, next up from Amy, she and her hello fabulous Leguminati wanting to share and inspire others to find something to escape into creatively ag. Your suggestion inspired my paint by numbers habit. Cool. The collection on the wall I painted last year is below on my podpet tax is the painting I just completed of my dog overlooking the beach in Pacifica, California. Thank you for continuing to inspire us in between shitty sweary news stories. Amy. Thank you. That's a painting. I thought that was a photograph. I love the dog. No breeds listed but the paint by number stuff on the wall is absolutely incredible. The Martin Luther King one. Oh, my. And the colors, especially in that sea turtle. And the one up to the left of it. Oh, these are amazing. Amy, you're rad. Well done. Next up from Jim Pronouns, he and him. Retired Marine in Albuquerque on Memorial Day. Remembering my grandfather, an army war crimes investigator in Europe in World War II. My stepfather, who served in the Navy in World War II, escorting Atlantic convoys, then fought in the Philippines in Okinawa. My two late brothers, also Marines, and a good friend, Cliff, who died in a helicopter crash. Thinking of you all. For my pod pet tariff, a photo of a tree full of lions. Not pets, but a class act. Thanks for everything you do. I hope you succeed with your claim. You damn sure deserve it, unlike those treasonous J. Sixers. Oh, Jim, thank you so much. My hope is to not get a penny from this slash fund, but to actually shut it down. We'll see how that goes. Stay tuned for an announcement. Maybe tomorrow. Incredible photo. Thank you so much and thank you for your service. All right, everybody, that was your good news. Please send it all to us dailybeanspod.com click on contact again. I promise Dana will come back. She will come back. She's just out doing a bunch of work right now. And my little way of supporting all the incredible work she did, you know, she's raised like $80 million for. For important causes and communities. That's just 80. That's just. That's amazing. And so I always will cover her when she's out doing that important work and the important work of making people laugh. So don't worry. She'll be back soon. I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, please take care of yourself, 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 ag and them's the beans.
- [51:24]
Production Team Narrator
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
- [51:48]
Allison Gill
msw Media
- [51:55]
Rainy Day Rabbit Holes Podcast Host
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.