
Wednesday, January 21st, 2026 Today, a Trump appointed judge strikes “US Attorney” from Lindsey Halligan’s title; DOJ prosecutors subpoena more Minnesota officials in an ongoing criminal investigation for impeding ICE as a pretext to invoke the Insurrection Act; Judge Kacsmaryk compares drag to blackface and allows college campus drag ban in Texas; Congress releases its massive funding bill ahead of a looming shutdown; the stock market takes a dive after Trump announced EU tariffs; the DOJ concedes DOGE misused Social Security data; Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney rips Trump during his Davos speech; and Allison and Dana deliver your Good News.
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Allison Gill
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.
Dana Goldberg
The moments where people behave badly and sometimes beautifully.
Allison Gill
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.
Dana Goldberg
Let's fall down the rabbit hole.
Allison Gill
MSW Media. Msw media.
Dana Goldberg
Daily beans.
Allison Gill
Daily beans. Daily beans. Hello and welcome to the Daily beans for Wednesday, January 21, 2026. Today, a Trump appointed judge has stricken U.S. attorney from Lindsay Halligan's title. Department of justice prosecutors have subpoenaed more Minnesota officials in an ongoing criminal investigation for impeding ICE as probably a pretext to invoke the Insurrection Act. Judge Kaczmarek has compared drag to blackface and allows college campus drag bans. In Texas, Congress has released its massive funding bill ahead of a looming shutdown. The stock market took a dive today after Trump announced EU tariffs over the weekend. The Department of Justice concedes that Doge misused Social Security data. And Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney ripped Trump in the United States during his Davos speech. I'm Alison Gill.
Dana Goldberg
And I'm Dana Goldberg.
Allison Gill
Hello, my friend. How are you?
Dana Goldberg
I'm good. And I'm just gonna keep doing this until this no longer applies. But we are recording this on January 20th and it is Alice and Gil's birthday. I know I keep saying this, I know we're in a time machine, but I'm still celebrating you. What did you do to celebrate this auspicious occasion?
Allison Gill
Oh, let's see. I got up this morning and the first thing I did was take a very long walk outside in the sunshine. That was nice. Yes. I got up after the came up, so that was also nice. I'm usually up when it's dark, but I really wanted the first thing I did today to be to go outside and, you know, touch grass, as they say. It was very, very nice. It's a good way to set up your day. I highly recommend it.
Dana Goldberg
It really is. I've been doing my five minute journal every morning and I light a little tea light candle. I have something warm to drink. I don't check my phone. I wake up, don't look at my phone. I just go get my little five minute Journal. I sit at the table, I finish it up and then, then I'll look at my phone to see what's there. It's a good way to start the day.
Allison Gill
Yeah. And trust me, if it happens, the phone will have blown up overnight. And so you won't have to wonder if that kind of amazing news awaits you on social media.
Dana Goldberg
That is very fair.
Allison Gill
Yeah. All right. Well, we have a ton of news to get to. Thank you again and thanks to everybody for all the birthday wishes. Seriously, it's been amazing. Again, my mom got me flowers. My BFF got me flowers. We're going to go to dinner tonight. It's going to be nice and I really appreciate that. Just hundreds and hundreds of messages from people wishing me well today. I really appreciate it. It was a nice bright spot in the gestures broadly quagmire that is the United States. And speaking of that, gestures broadly quagmire. Let's get into the news. Let's hit the hot notes. Hot notes. First up from the Times. Federal prosecutors issued subpoenas on Tuesday to at least five Democratic officials in Minnesota ramping up the JUST department's investigation into their response to the Trump administration's aggressive immigration crackdown in the state. That's according to two people familiar. So they murder someone and now they're investigating Minnesota officials and the partner and the family of the woman that was murdered. Got it?
Dana Goldberg
Yep.
Allison Gill
These subpoenas sought documents from Tim Walls, Jacob Fry, Minneapolis mayor, and Mayor kohole her of St. Paul. And this was all related to their policies on immigration enforcement efforts in the state. Two Minnesota prosecutors also got subpoenas, Keith Ellison and the Hennepin County District Attorney Mary Moriarty. The subpoenas, all of which were formally served on the officials offices, represent a significant expansion into the inquiry into Minnesota leaders that was disclosed late Friday. The investigation was initially said to have focused on Fry and Walls, who have both criticized the crackdown. But now it appears prosecutors will also scrutinize other public officials, including Allison and Moriarty, who could open their own inquiries into the fatal shooting in Minneapolis, the murder of 37 year old Renee Good by federal immigration agent Jonathan Ross. Jonathan Ross. I'm going to say his name, Kristi Noem. Fuck you. It's Jonathan Ross. While the subpoenas did not cite a specific criminal statute because there isn't one, the inquiry as a whole said centers on whether elected officials in Minnesota had conspired to impede the federal agents who have been in the state, thousands of them, since last month, looking for undocumented immigrants, which is not what they're doing. They're terrorizing everyone but the investigation is likely to run up against stiff pushback from examining political speech and conduct that is traditionally protected by the First Amendment. And again, this is just. All the language is straight out of the Insurrection Act. I think this is pretext to invoke the Insurrection act.
Dana Goldberg
Absolutely. Thanks, Alison. Now this one is from Aaron Reid at Erin in the Morning, who we love. Great reporting. Not a great story, but great reporting. On Saturday, January 17, far right judge Matthew Piece of Garbage Kaczmarek.
Allison Gill
Oh, yeah, oh.
Dana Goldberg
Issued one of his most extreme rulings yet. He found that West Texas A and M can ban drag performances on campus. Now, in reaching that conclusion, Kaczmarek discarded longstanding First Amendment precedent. He made demeaning assertions about drag itself, including a comparison to blackface. The 46 page ruling is riddled with strained reasoning, misapplications of law, and unless overturned by a higher court, it will continue to prevent the campus LGBTQ organization, Spectrum WT from holding its drag show on campus. By the way, that's an event that raises funds for the LGBTQ suicide prevention hotlines. Spectrum WT is an LGBTQ student organization at West Texas A and M. The group previously held drag performances on campus, including in 2019 without incident. That changed in 2023 when university president Walter Wendler announced a ban on drag shows, writing in a campus wide email that the university would, and I quote, not host a drag show on campus because he said, every human being is created in the image of God and therefore a person of dignity. Wouldn't that also fucking include drag queens, you asshole?
Allison Gill
No, I don't think he thinks they deserve any dignity.
Dana Goldberg
Yeah. Wendler went on to justify the ban by characterizing drag as misogynistic, derisive, divisive, demoralizing. Any other D words, douchebag. Even comparing it to blackface. He concluded by writing, and this is a quote, a harmless drag show. Not possible. I will not appear to condone the diminishment of any group at the expense of impertinent gestures toward another group for any reason, even when the law of the land appears to require it. Supporting the Trevor Project is a good idea. My recommendation is to skip the show and send the doe. That's interesting. The dispute has since evolved into a protracted legal battle winding its way through the courts. Now, Kacmer first denied a preliminary injunction allowing the ban to take effect. That decision was briefly reversed by a divided panel of the 5th Circuit before the full court vacated the panel ruling and opted to rehear the case on banc. Now, following a full bench trial. Kacmaric has issued a final ruling on the merits, holding that West Texas A and M may ban drag performances on campus. Now, whether this ruling endures may now hinge on the Fifth Circuit's pending on bonk hearing on drag bans in general. After previously blocking similar restrictions, the court vacated its own decision should rehear the issue before its full heavily conservative bench, a showdown that's going to unfold this week and could determine whether Kaczmarek's reasons holds permanently in states belonging to that particular circuit. Now, you can read a full article on substack at Aaron in the Morning. And there's also many other articles that I'm sure will be interesting to the people who are listening to this podcast.
Allison Gill
Yeah, agreed. And again, hats off to Aaron for her really great reporting, even though it's terrible information that we have to to get. Kazmark is just a giant piece of shit. But yeah, her coverage of this issue is on point. All right, next up from Rolling Stone, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, I am applauding, delivered a pointed critique, I know pointed critique of Donald Trump while speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, as tension between Trump and America's allies intensifies amid the president's push to take control of Greenland. Quote, we are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition, he said on Tuesday. Over the past two decades, a series of crises in finance, health, energy and geopolitics have laid bare the risks of extreme global integration. But more recently, great powers have begun using economic integration as weapons and tariffs as leverage, financial infrastructure as coercion, supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited. You cannot live within the lie of mutual benefit through integration when integration becomes the source of your subordination. Just brilliant, brilliant speech. I mean, you know, there's a lot going on in that, in those few sentences about global integration and Trump, you know, the United States using it as a sword and a shield and using those global integrations to threaten and expose people and isolate them and exploit this for his own benefit. It's just all wrapped up in those couple of sentences. It was so well done. Now his speech comes days after Trump announced a new round of tariffs against several American European allies in an effort to force them to support his bid to annex Greenland, a territory of Denmark. Trump has, meanwhile, bashed NATO, even sharing a social media post on Tuesday alleging that the alliance of nations is a greater threat to the United States than Russia or China. The president also has recently shared memes depicting him planting the American flag on Greenland and of him and world leaders in the Oval Office next to a map with the American flag plastered over both Canada and Greenland. Trump on Sunday sent Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gar Storr a letter in which he suggested he could take Greenland by force and because he didn't get the Nobel Peace Prize. What? We talked about this yesterday on Beans Talk as well. I recommend listening to Carney's entire speech. By the way, I hope his European counterparts speak in the same plain language about what Trump is doing to the world economy. I hope this gives them the permission structure they need to stand up to this. US equities suffered big losses Tuesday after Trump intensified his rhetoric on Greenland, threatening to impose new tariffs on countries. U.S. treasury yields spiked and the U.S. dollar declined. The dollar lost value as Trump's threat caused a flight from US assets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 900 points. S&P 500 dipped 2%, pacing for its worst day since October. And the Nasdaq composite slid 2.3%. The day's losses sent the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq lower on the year, with the former dropping 0.5% and Nasdaq down by nearly 1%. It's a bad day. And you know, I'd posted on Blue sky, like our markets held when he subpoenaed Jerome Powell, Fed Reserve Chair. But I said I don't think that they'll hold after what he did this weekend. And sure enough.
Dana Goldberg
Yeah, yeah, right. Listen, this next story shouldn't surprise any of us. It's from Politico. Two members of Elon Musk DOGE team working at the Social Security Administration. They were secretly in touch with an advocacy group seeking to, and I quote, overturn election results in certain states. And one signed an agreement that may have involved using Social Security data to match state voter rolls. This is what the Justice Department revealed. The Justice Department? This corrupt fucking Justice Department actually revealed. In newly disclosed court papers, Elizabeth Shapiro, a top Justice Department official, said SSSA referred both DOGE employees for potential violations of a Hatch act, which bars government employees from using their official positions for political purposes. We knew this, that they were stealing our information. No one's surprised by this. Shapiro's previously unreported disclosure, dated Friday, came as part of a list of corrections to testimony by top SSA officials during last year's legal battles over Doge's access to Social Security data. Now, they revealed that DOGE team members share data on unapproved third party servers and may have access private information that had been ruled off limits by a court at the time. I know. Shapiro said the case of the two Doge team members appeared to undermine a previous assertion by SSA and that DOGE work was intended to detect fraud, waste and abuse. It never was in Social Security and modernize the agency's technology. That was never the point. And this is a quote from the story. SSA believed those statements to be accurate at the time that they were made, and they are largely still accurate. This is from Shapiro. That's what he wrote, adding, and I quote, at this time, there is no evidence that SSA employees outside of the involved members of the DOGE team were aware of the communications with the advocacy group, nor were they aware of the voter data agreement. And I believe that that's why all this, they, they hacked into these systems. They weren't supposed to be in the buildings Now. Shapiro, a longtime DOJ veteran, said it's not yet clear whether either of the two DOGE team members, who are not identified by the way in her filing, actually shared data with the advocacy group, which is also unidentified. But she said emails suggest that DOGE team members could have been asked to assist the advocacy group by assessing SSA data to match the voter roles. Shapiro also revealed that Steve Davis, a senior advisor to Musk and Doge's team, was copied on a March 3, 2025 email that included a password protected file containing private information about about 1,000 people contained in Social Security systems. Now, it's unclear, she said, whether Davis ever accessed that file. And Shapiro said current SSA employees have been unable to access the file to determine precisely what it contained. Whoops. Also among the corrections, DOJ revealed that a DOGE team member was briefly granted access to private Social Security profiles even after a court prohibited it. And they did that. And they all were, sorry, I guess we're not supposed to be here. Shapiro said the access was never utilized. I don't believe that. And in another instance, a DOGE team member had access for two months to call center profiles that contained private information. It's unknown at this time whether any private information was accessed. Again, this is Shapiro. Shapiro also revealed that despite prior assertions in court, SSA's DOGE team members were using links to share data through the third party server Cloudflare. And this is a quote, Cloudflare is not approved for storing SSA data and when used in this matter is outside SSA security protocols. This is again Shapiro and went on to say SSA did not know until its recent review that DOGE team members were using Cloudflare during this period. Because Cloudflare is a third party entity, SSA has not been able to determine exactly what the data were shared to Cloudflare or whether the data still exists on the server at all.
Allison Gill
Remember when I did that report with that cybersecurity guy that Doge was installing boxes and uploading data to the cloud?
Dana Goldberg
Sure do, yeah.
Allison Gill
And then they were maybe selling that data to a private pack so that they could compare Social Security numbers of voter rules to try to overturn election results. Jesus Christ. That's why, like when, when they stole all of those data and, you know, we're wondering, like, well, what are they going to use it for? Seems like they're going to use it to hack elections. We'll see next up from NBC. Congressional negotiators in both parties released a massive bill Tuesday aimed at fully funding the government ahead of a shutdown deadline on January 30th. It's a thousand pages. It's a bipartisan bill. It includes money for the Pentagon and the Department of Labor, Health and Human Services and Homeland Security, and it reduces the chances of another funding lapse after the longest shutdown in U.S. history last fall. But the DHS measure is sure to be a point of contention for Democrats in the House and the Senate, many of whom insist they would reject any funding bill without policies to restrain ICE after an agent murdered Renee Goode in Minneapolis. Quote, there should absolutely be reforms to ice, and if there aren't reforms, I'm going to be a hard no on that bill. That's the DHS bill. That's Rep. Ted Lieu of California, the number four House Democrat. That's what he told NBC News last week ahead of the release of the bill. The bill, quote, leaves in place an additional $18 billion a year for ICE, tripling the budget. That's Rep. Bro Khanna, California Democrat, top progressive in Congress. Quote, it is a surrender to Trump's lawlessness. I will be a strong no and help lead the opposition to it. The package would keep ICE funding essentially flat at 10 billion for the remainder of fiscal year that ends September 30, even as the agency receives $75 billion of additional money for detention and enforcement from the Big ugly bill. So this is something that I think we need to take into consideration when we talk about shutting down the government to defund ice. It's fully funded through the Big ugly bill, right?
Dana Goldberg
A lot of fucking money.
Allison Gill
So shutting down ICE and shutting down the whole government to shut down ICE wouldn't defund ICE. That's the problem here. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a Democrat from Connecticut, top Democratic appropriator, acknowledged that the package did not include broad reforms to rein in ice, and she said that in a statement from her office announcing the bill. But she endorsed the package, saying it would prevent a partial shutdown, and argued it did include some Democratic priorities. The bipartisan deal allocates 20 million for procurement, deployment and operations of body worn cameras for ICE agents and the bill encourages DHS to develop and implement a new uniform policy. Encouraging? Fuck you, no, you don't encourage them to do anything, DiLauro said. The bill also cuts funding for ICE enforcement and removal operations by $115 million and reduces the number of ICE detention beds by 5,500. Now the House is expected to vote on the package Wednesday. That's today. Dilaro said that the GOP leaders have promised to hold a separate vote on just Homeland Security, another promised vote, which would give Democrats an opportunity to oppose it without moving Washington toward another shutdown. So if they can actually pull the DHS appropriations out and pass this bill without it and then vote on DHS separately, I'm for that. I'm all for that. Because then we can fund everything else and not ice, and then vote separately to fund ice. You know what I'm saying?
Dana Goldberg
I, I do, I get it.
Allison Gill
Unlike the House, where the Republican majority could plausibly carry the contentious DHS bill on its own, the Senate would need 60 votes to pass it. So if they pull DHS bit out separately, pass all the rest and fund the government till the end of the fiscal year, vote on DHS separately, the Republican majority could carry it, but you would need 60 votes in the Senate to pass it. Now Patty Murray, a senator from Washington, top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, defended this bill as a rejection of many Trump backed cuts, saying that it invests in education, rental assistance and medical research. Quote, ICE must be reined in and unfortunately neither a continuing resolution nor a shutdown would do anything to restrain it because thanks to Republicans, ICE is now sitting on a massive slush fund from the big ugly bill that it can tap whether or not we pass a funding bill. The suggestion that a shutdown in this moment might curb the lawlessness of this administration is not rooted in reality, she said. Also from Aaron in the morning, our friend again. Early Tuesday, final appropriations bills for the Department of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education and related agencies were released marking the last major funding measures to be negotiated in the aftermath of the record breaking shutdown in 2025. The standoff featured multiple approbes, bills loaded with anti transgender riders and poison pills for Democrats, ultimately ending in a short term continuing resolution that punted many of those provisions, anti trans provisions, to now the end of January, while other minibus packages funding individual agencies moved forward. Education and health and human services bills were conspicuously absent as they contained some of the most sweeping and consequential anti trans riders ever proposed in Congress. Now with the final bills released, it is clear no anti transgender riders were included, meaning transgender people will largely be spared new congressional attacks through the rest of 2026, the fiscal year should this pass. All of the anti trans stuff has been pulled. So this does not mean that transgender people will not be targeted with policies and rules that affect them in all areas of life. The Trump administration has acted without regard to the law, enforcing bans on sports, pulling funding from schools and hospitals, banning passport gender marker updates, and so on. The Supreme Court has been increasingly willing to let the office of the presidency under Trump do whatever it would like to transgender people. However, the lack of passage of bills targeting transgender people means these attacks will only last for as long as we have Trump in the White House and a future president should hopefully be easily able to to reverse those attacks.
Dana Goldberg
So I am looking forward to that day.
Allison Gill
So all of that, that's also good news in this huge thousand page bill. No anti trans stuff in HHS and education.
Dana Goldberg
Yeah. Thanks so much Allison. This one is from NBC. A federal judge has barred Trump loyalist Lindsey Halligan from masquerading as the top federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia, but said he would allow her to avoid attorney disciplinary proceedings for now in light of her inexperience. And I end quote, you're so stupid.
Allison Gill
Honey, that we're not going to punish you now.
Dana Goldberg
U.S. district Judge David Novak issued an order that bars, And I quote, Ms. Halligan from representing herself as the United States Attorney in any pleading or otherwise before the court until such time as she may lawfully hold the office either by Senate confirmation or appointment by this court. Should either occur, I have a feeling it's not going to be by that court. Novak warned that Halligan would face this disciplinary referrals if she continued to improperly refer to herself as the United States Attorney. Quote, the Court recognizes that Ms. Halligan lacks the prosecutorial experience that has long been the norm for those nominated to the position of United States Attorney in this district. Consequently, in light of her inexperience, the court grants Ms. Halligan the benefit of the doubt and refrains from referring her for further investigation and disciplinary action regarding her misrepresentations to the court at this time. We're sorry you were so stupid that you didn't know the law, so we're going to give you a break.
Allison Gill
But now you do. So don't do it again because if you do it again, then you're going to be in trouble.
Dana Goldberg
Yeah. This move actually came the same day as the federal judge in the Eastern District of Virginia posted a job opening for a top federal prosecution position previously occupied by Allegan.
Allison Gill
The court put out a job notice.
Dana Goldberg
Oh, my God. It's so funny. Little shot in front of y'.
Allison Gill
All. All right, thank you for that, everybody. We've got some good news that we have to get to, but we have to take a quick break, so stick around. We'll be right back after these messages.
Dana Goldberg
We'll be right back.
Allison Gill
Hey, everybody. This episode is brought to you by IQ Bar, our exclusive snack and hydration sponsor. IQ Bar is the better for you. Plant protein based snack made with brain boosting nutrients to refuel, nourish and satisfy hunger without the sugar crash. And right now, IQ Bar is offering you an exclusive deal. 20% off all IQ Bar products plus get free shipping. Just text Daily Beans to 64,000. This new year gives us a chance to reset and I'm genuinely excited about IQ Bar as a part of my reset. What makes it special to me is that it's an easy, all in one snack that supports how I want to feel fueled, focused and consistent. All IQ Bar products are clean, label, certified and entirely free from gluten, dairy, soy, GMOs and artificial ingredients. They are made with clean, delicious ingredients that help keep you physically and mentally fit, including magnesium, which is amazing for sleep, lion's mane and more. So if you want to sample the whole lineup, there's the ultimate sampler pack. It's the best place to start. It includes all three categories and it's generous. You get nine IQ Bars, eight IQ Mix sticks and four IQ Joe sticks. Now, I keep IQ Bars plant protein bars in my bag because they are smarter as a snack choice. They have plenty of protein, plant protein and tons of fiber and no added sugar. And if one of your New Year's resolutions is to start exercising, IQ Mix is here to help. It's a zero sugar drink mix that hydrates with electrolytes, improves mood food and boosts clarity after a workout. And in the morning, IQ Joe changes the routine with mushroom coffee designed for mental clarity and 200 milligrams of natural, clean caffeine, plus four flavors that are better than any brewed coffee I've ever had. So reset and maximize your brain and body and their potential with IQ Bar this year. And right now, IQ Bar is offering our special podcast listeners 20% off all IQ bar products, including the sampler pack, plus free shipping. So to get your 20% off, text daily beans all one word to 64,000. Again, text daily beans to 64,000. That's daily beans to 64,000. Message and data rates may apply. See Terms for details. Hey everybody. I'm really excited to tell you about our sponsor, Koyuchi. Their bedding, bath and home products are top tier and their organic sateen and flannel sheet sets, they're a great way to get more comfortable and cozy and have healthier sleep all year long. Now, I've always been careful about what I eat and what I put on my skin, but I only recently started thinking about what sleep on every night. The Kuchi set that I have, it feels soft, it's breathable, it looks thoughtfully designed. The colors are amazing. They came in 100% recycled packaging, which I love, and there are plenty of organic options out there. But Kuchi stands apart. They have 35 years of heritage, extraordinary quality, and real commitment to ethical production that can be hard to find. So we have a deal for you from Koyuchi. You can get 15% off your first order@kuchi.com dailybean means. So if you're trying to sleep better, what you sleep on matters. Koichi sheets are made with natural fibers. They're certified to be free of toxins and harmful chemicals, which is a big deal when your skin is in contact with them for hours every night. So they're also incredibly comfortable and soft. They're breathable and gentle to your body in a way that feels instantly soothing and relaxing. It helps you sleep. And on top of that, Koiuchi has effortless style. The sateen has a subtle sheen that looks polished, and the brushed cotton flannels feel very velvety and warm. They're so cozy. Their calming hues are amazing, like botanicals and vintage inspired patterns. They bring the natural world to your space. And the sheets only get softer with each wash. There's no pilling, no tearing, just quality that holds up over time. So if you want healthy, organic luxury bedding that lasts a lifetime, you need Koiuchi. Get 15% off your first order when you visit coyuchi.comdailybeans that's coyuchi.com dailybeans to get 15% off. C-O-Y-U-C-H-I.com dailybean. You'll be glad you did 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.
Dana Goldberg
The moments where people behave badly and sometimes beautifully.
Allison Gill
We've got naughty politicians, cultural chaos, chaos and a deep love for the Pacific Northwest, including Bigfoot. It's thoughtful, irreverent, occasionally serious, and always entertaining.
Dana Goldberg
Let's fall down the rabbit hole.
Allison Gill
MSW Media. Hey everybody. Welcome back. It's time for the good news. Who likes good news?
Dana Goldberg
Everyone?
Allison Gill
Then good news everyone. Good news.
Dana Goldberg
Good news.
Allison Gill
And if you have any little bit of good news, please share it with us. We need to microdose in your happiness. Please. Please. Could be small, could be big, could be Yesterday, could be 20 years ago. Send it to us. Send us your favorite joke. Send us some misheard song lyrics you've been singing wrong forever so that we can laugh along with you. Maybe you have a shout out to a loved or a small business in your area or yourself. We love self shout outs. Tell us what's awesome about you. We would love to hear it. Shout out to a government program that's helped you or a loved one. We love those too. You can send it all to us@dailybeanspod.com and click on contact. Also send us your good trouble ideas. We love sharing those and all you got to do to get your stuff right on the air is pay your POD pet tariff which means attach a photo of your pet. And if you don't have a pet, send an adoptable pet in your area. If you don't have that you can send any picture you want. It can be a random photo of an animal on the Internet. It can be your baby photo. It can be family photos, photos of rallies, some of your favorite protest signs. Maybe you see some overpass highway overpass protest signs that you want to share with us. Maybe show us what you're making or creating or growing in your garden. Or maybe you got chickens and we're all except in goats right now. Goats. Goats goats. 24 hour goats. You can send us all your goats@dailybeanspot.com and click on contact. First up is your good trouble. Your good Trouble comes from iceout.people over papers. Ice Out's objective is to collect community submitted Information about possible ice activity down to the street level to help inform the public and raise awareness. All reports are reviewed and categorized by a moderator team before appearing on the map. The website is available in 11 different languages, so head to iceout.org to view the map and you can also head to iceout.org location report to submit a report of an ice sighting. So thank you very much to iceout.org we appreciate that. And it's a very cool website. It'll show you like people submit photos and little.
Dana Goldberg
This is fantastic.
Allison Gill
Pins on a map. Yeah. Now that our. Our buddy Joshua Aaron is suing the DOJ for having the ice block app removed from the Apple Store, maybe you can use this website in the meantime.
Dana Goldberg
All right, this is from Kevin P. No pronouns given. Hello AG D, G. I love that. Acdc. A G, D, G. I have a small correction that I've been debating with myself over whether or not to write about it. It's a small detail that shouldn't matter. However, in light of the fuckery going on by ICE in Minnesota, this could be important during the beans talk. Dana, you mentioned that the Minnesota National Guard be wearing orange vests to stand out amongst ice holes. This is a wonderful idea. Yet they will be wearing fluorescent yellow vests. Thank you very much for the correction, Kevin. I had the wrong information. Now, yellow vests, I think it's a good idea for anyone protesting to familiarize themselves with their look. I do worry, though. What is stopping ice from wearing those vests, too? Stay strong, Minnesota. For tax, I included a picture of what to expect from Minnesota's fluorescent camo. Weird, right? As well as a few wild horses I saw around five miles northwest of my home in Mesa. Thank you so much for all the hard work the two of you put in. It's truly needed in our time. And I love that you said this. What you will notice. And I know that you asked Kevin what's keeping ice from wearing those fluorescent yellow vests. Well, then we go back to the masks.
Allison Gill
Yeah.
Dana Goldberg
Because the National Guard will not be wearing masks.
Allison Gill
Although it looks like in this picture.
Dana Goldberg
That looks like a face protector. But also, there's something weird about this picture. It looks like part of it is blurred.
Allison Gill
Maybe they're blurring their faces. I don't know.
Dana Goldberg
It looks like a blur on their faces on this picture.
Allison Gill
Yeah.
Dana Goldberg
Yeah.
Allison Gill
I don't know. Look for those yellow vests. Thank you, Kevin. All right. We said orange. It was yellow. Thank you for that correction.
Dana Goldberg
Wild horses are absolutely beautiful, too.
Allison Gill
They are. I want to go Horseback riding now. All right, next up from Claudia Pronoun. She and her hi Ag DG and the Laguminati. In a recent episode, AG mentioned her favorite Ray Bradbury quote and that it was going to be her next tattoo. I fell in love with the quote and after doing a little research, I decided it was going to be my next tattoo. You beat me to it, Claudia. Thank you for the inspiration for pod pet tariff. Here are my three cats at vet. Cat is the one with the white paws and Anastasia is hovering next to him. So you have cat and Anastasia. Don't let the picture fool you. They were planning my demise. Can you find Rasputin? Look at that. You've got to jump off cliffs cliffs all the time and build your wings on the way down.
Dana Goldberg
Oh my gosh. So sweet.
Allison Gill
Oh, yep, I see Rasputin in the carrier.
Dana Goldberg
Yeah.
Allison Gill
He's like, nope, I'm staying here.
Dana Goldberg
I'm good. Thanks. Peace.
Allison Gill
Love it.
Dana Goldberg
Love this awesome tattoo. Yeah. All right, this is from Anonymous Pronoun. She and her Greetings beans queens. First, a belated happy birthday to Ag and thank you both of you and to the entire staff for continuing to be a source of info and inspo. With a bit of curse laden venting, we've turned into my first POD of the day. Now I need to send a massive shout out to a. This is a program specifically designed for autistic kids within my public school system. I think all New York state schools have them through their county. It's called Boces B O C E S Boces though they have different names every morning used to be heart wrenching. With my first grader crying for no school, using all the limited speech he could muster in the two weeks since his school transfer, I feel like I've gotten my kid back. The additional support has meant that he has the capacity to handle his school day without any of the violent outbursts or falling asleep out of exhaustion. I'm no longer waiting by the phone, waiting for the call to come pick him up. And for the first time in his life, he has friends. He is still learning everything he usually would, but the approach is different. Allowing him to be himself at school. Something many of your listeners can probably relate to. I'm so grateful to the teachers and staff that worked with us to get my son the support he needs. It's one giant stress off my plate and my heart that lets me put more energy into resisting the absolute fuckery that is this administration and become more involved in local civics. For my pod Pet tariff. I'M sending you a picture of my kiddo's baby blanket and the yarn spun to knit it with.
Allison Gill
Oh, you spun the yarn yourself.
Dana Goldberg
That's gorgeous.
Allison Gill
It looks very soft.
Dana Goldberg
It sure does.
Allison Gill
Oh, Anonymous, that's such good news. Oh, what like a. What a giant relief. Like, what a weight that must be lifted off your shoulders, you know? Incredible. Thank you for that government program. Shout Out. Next up is from Patrice Pronoun. She and her Good morning, beans Queens. Thanks for helping me stay sane in this weird, awful time.
Dana Goldberg
Time.
Allison Gill
Thought you might like my first tattoo, do not Obey. It's in my handwriting in electric blue ink on the inside of my left forearm, which I got for my 57th birthday last October. I had planned to have the whole Timothy Snyder quote, but realized a day or two before my appointment that I don't generally obey at all. So the in advance was superfluous. If I know there's a good reason, I'll cooperate really hard. But obedience has never been my thing. I think my parents raised me weird. I have also mailed you a copy of a letter I wrote to Chief Justice Roberts last November. About 800 words, so it's too long for this form.
Dana Goldberg
Oh, amazing.
Allison Gill
Thank you for that, Patrice. Beautiful tattoo. Do not obey. Yeah, the in advance is superfluous.
Dana Goldberg
That's so funny. Just. Nope. All right. This is from Charity Pronoun. She and her for a week now. All I can think of is boats, boats, boats from the TV series How I Met yout Mother. Whenever Alison says goats, goats, goats. That's it. That's my submission. Happy birthday, Allison, and thank you, Bunches, for all you do. For all you and Dana do. For my tariff, I present my pup, Zappa. Zappa.
Allison Gill
Zapod. Beeblebrox.
Dana Goldberg
Oh, Zappa Beeblebrox. Thank you. The Nothings doing one of the favorite things here in Minnesota. Oh, my God, what a fantastic picture.
Allison Gill
This dog is amazing.
Dana Goldberg
Just chasing snow off the shovel. Get thrown. That's a fantastic shot.
Allison Gill
He's like, oh, man, that's like a backwards swan dive.
Dana Goldberg
And I love it.
Allison Gill
Look at boats, boats, boats. Now I need to go and find that charity. I have to find that. That's amazing. Thank you so much. Next up from Renee Pronoun. She and her hello, awesome beans, Queens. Pat Ryan, Democrat from New York, recently said there's going to be legal and I think criminal liability for multiple members of this administration, certainly including Stephen Miller. And we are already readying investigations across a whole bunch of committees to be ready on day one when we retake the majority Those comments were music to my ears. I believe this is what democracy loving citizens need to hear, that there will be accountability for those who are destroying our beloved America. Of course people need to vote and the Democratic candidates need to win. My question is about accountability for the ICE members and their illegal actions. We don't know who these dicks are because they're cowardly and they cover their faces. But through employment records, DOGE data collection, etc. Do you think they can and will be identified and eventually face justice for their actions and terrorism? God, I hope so. Renee for Podpet tax pictures. This is from a very cool place called the Wilds in Ohio run by the Columbus Zoo, where they have animals you'd never expect to see in the Midwest. The first pic reminds me very much of our entire bird brained White House administration. My appreciation for you both, both and of you and your work. It goes beyond words. Congratulations on your Glad Media Award nomination and again, thank you. Look, it's a giraffe and an emu, I think. Or an ostrich. One of those.
Dana Goldberg
Dude. Oh my God, the giraffe head.
Allison Gill
I love giraffes so much. They're so weird. Like, who thought of that? It's just weird. I think one of my favorite, as you know, like one of my favorite comedians is Mitch Hedberg. Right, right. And his one liners, his observational comedy, and one of his jokes is, I'd hate to be a giraffe with a sore throat because God damn it. Anyways.
Dana Goldberg
All right. One of my favorite things about giraffes is they have the biggest heart in the animal kingdom because they have to get all of that blood up to that big old head through the neck. I know. All right, this is from sheep's pronouns, she and her. Just wanted to update you, ladies. I was laid off in July and I wrote in, I am now employed. The job isn't my dream job, but I have found that I'm actually better at it than I have thought. Just wanted to send you ladies all the love and good vibes. Thank you for always wearing your hearts on your sleeve. I mean, the amazing women you are. The world is better with you in it. I have included a photo of my son cuddling our pup, Duchess. She is the goodest girl and I bet your boy is the bestest boy.
Allison Gill
I bet that's a Weimaraner.
Dana Goldberg
Oh, yeah. Cutie pie.
Allison Gill
Such a distinctive color.
Dana Goldberg
So sweet.
Allison Gill
Oh, everybody, thank you so much for your wonderful good news and good trouble and shout outs and everything. Please send them to us dailybeanspod.com and click on contact. Do you have any final thoughts before we get out of here today, my friend?
Dana Goldberg
Just as a final thought, I had put up a video. I put up a video on my Instagram if you don't follow me. It's DG comedy. Anyway, I was making fun of the fact that we haven't seen Usha Vance in a little while and her doing dry January and that every month is probably dry if you're married to J.D. vance. And then, and then she announced she was pregnant and all the MAGA came on and were like, oh, this aged well. She just announced she's pregnant. I'm like, women don't have to get wet to get pregnant. I mean they don't even have to enjoy sex with their husbands to get pregnant.
Allison Gill
But these dudes don't even know where a women pee from.
Dana Goldberg
So just mind blowing. But yeah, let's see what they name USH's fourth child because you know, all the magazine seems to have a problem with the brown babies. So we'll see. They're going to name the damn kid Charlie. Watch, it'll be.
Allison Gill
Yeah, it'll be Chaz and he'll be baptized as a Christian nationalist. Is that.
Dana Goldberg
Yeah, probably. Anyway, I wish her a healthy pregnancy. I do. I do.
Allison Gill
Sure wonder what Erica Kirk thinks about that.
Dana Goldberg
Yeah, there's a lot of fun videos online talking about it, that's for sure.
Allison Gill
Bet she mad. So follow. Follow Dana for sure. DG comedy. That's pretty much every social media platform but especially the videos over on Instagram. It's really amazing.
Dana Goldberg
Thank you.
Allison Gill
All right everybody, we will be back in your ears tomorrow. Until then, please 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 framily. I've been ag. I've been DG and them's the Beans. 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 Joel Reeder 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.
Dana Goldberg
I'm Brian Caram and I've spent decades covering politics. Now I'm taking you behind the scenes one interview at a time.
Allison Gill
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.
Dana Goldberg
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, for curiosity will lead us to the facts. Subscribe now on your favorite podcast platform.
Allison Gill
And remember, when you want answers, all you have to do is just ask the question.
Date: January 21, 2026
Hosts: Allison Gill (AG), Dana Goldberg (DG)
Podcast Theme: Progressive news and social justice with wit and candid conversation.
This episode focuses on a whirlwind of major political, legal, and social justice news from the US and beyond, particularly highlighting the Justice Department’s escalating investigation into Minnesota officials over their resistance to Trump-era immigration enforcement (referred to by the hosts as “lawfare”), judicial attacks on drag shows, the fallout of Trump’s Greenland aggression on global markets, government misuse of data, government funding fights (with an ICE focus), and a much-needed dose of good news shared by listeners.
Format Highlights:
“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 framily… I’ve been AG. I’ve been DG. And them’s the Beans.”
— Allison Gill (42:10)
For more info or to submit good news:
Visit dailybeanspod.com and click “contact.”