
Wednesday, July 29th, 2025 Today, Trump told the press that the real reason he ghosted Epstein is because Epstein stole Virginia Giuffre from him; the FBI and DOJ have the missing minutes from the Epstein jail video; Chuck Schumer calls on the FBI to complete a threat assessment of the Epstein files; the Trump administration will rescind the 2009 finding that greenhouse gases endanger public health; the former Ohio police officer who shot Andre Hill has been sentenced to 15 years to life in prison; as i feared - federal data has been disappearing under Trump; Harvard is said to be open to bending the knee to the administration; second and third whistleblowers come forward with evidence that Emil Bove lied to Congress; a scientist with a green card was detained for a week without explanation; a shooter killed three in midtown Manhattan before turning his gun on himself; another three are dead and several injured after a shooting in Reno; and Allison and Dana deliver the good news.
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Allison Gill
MSW Media. Hello and welcome to the Daily beans for Wednesday, July 30, 2025.
Dana Goldberg
Today.
Allison Gill
Today, Trump told the press on Air Force One that the real reason he ghosted Epstein is because Epstein stole Virginia Giuffre from him. The FBI and the Department of Justice have the missing minutes from the Epstein jail video. Chuck Schumer calls upon the FBI to complete a threat assessment of the Epstein files. The Trump administration is going to rescind the 2009 finding that greenhouse gases endanger public health. The former Ohio police officer who shot Andre Hill has been sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. And as I feared, federal data has been disappearing under Donald Trump. Harvard is said to be open to bending the knee to the Trump administration. Second and third whistleblowers have come forward with evidence that Emil Bovey lied to Congress. A scientist with a green card was detained for a week without explanation. A shooter killed three in midtown Manhattan before turning his gun on himself. And another three are dead and several injured after a shooting in Reno, Nevada. I. I'm Allison Gill.
Dana Goldberg
And I'm Dana Goldberg.
Allison Gill
Hey, everybody, it's Wednesday, and I wish we had better news for you today, but all the news is kind of shitty.
Dana Goldberg
Yeah, it is kind of shitty. So that's what we're going to do today. We're going to do it together. We're going to cover the bad news and then, of course, we are going to cleanse your palate at the end of the episode with all of the good news. So let's just get through this part. You know, you still like to be informed even when it doesn't feel good. So we're going to do that.
Allison Gill
Yeah. So thanks for hanging in and hanging out. Like, like Dana said, we'll get through this together. I am going to be talking to former senior policy Advisor for the U.S. department of State and White House National Economic Council and Office of Science and Tech Policy. Her name is Aya Ibrahim. We're going to discuss tariffs, trade and crypto. We're going to kind of get an overview of everything that's gone on, not just with the big ugly bill, but the Genius act and what's going on with the tariff taco stuff that just keeps being threatened and pulled back and threatened and pulled back.
Dana Goldberg
Yeah.
Allison Gill
So it's a really clarifying discussion that I hope you all enjoy. And today. Oh, my gosh, this blew my mind. I wrote it up a little bit@muellershirote.com if you want to hear the actual audio. But Trump admitted to a reporter that the real reason that he ditched Epstein isn't because he was a sex trafficker.
Dana Goldberg
If he even actually ditched him, by the way. But yes, keep going. It's because he stole Virginia Giuffre and other young women. Mar A Lago, otherwise known as underage girls because Virginia was 17 when she worked at the spa, from what I understand. And is that this. You know, this is the thing. Dershowitz. I kept my underwear on. Dershowitz, was that admitted massage at Mar A Lago or somewhere else?
Allison Gill
Yeah, I don't know. I mean, I think it's probably been reported it wasn't Mar A Lago, but I. I would have to.
Dana Goldberg
Yeah.
Allison Gill
Look that up to confirm it. Yeah.
Dana Goldberg
Trump, you got the best spa in the world at Mar A Lago. Best spa in the world.
Allison Gill
And you remember the football guy in Jupiter that.
Dana Goldberg
Oh, yeah.
Allison Gill
Saying they went to a party, that whole massage party.
Dana Goldberg
Eyes Wide shut over at Mar A Lago. Every room was just fucking bizarre.
Allison Gill
Oh, my gosh. So, you know, we've long sort of suspected that this was about. Because, you know, there was a. There was a property deal and Epstein outbid him, bid really high, and then Trump bid higher and got the property. And then apparently in retribution, Epstein started poaching some people from Donald Trump. And today he admitted. We thought it might have been. Yeah, but he admitted that today.
Dana Goldberg
And use the word stole, which, if you are looking at language means that Donald Trump felt like she was his pride property. And I don't feel like I'm making a jump there at all.
Allison Gill
No, not at all. No, you're not at all. That's what Republicans view women, young women, labor workers, the workforce. They've. We're all bodies to them, and that's to exploit.
Dana Goldberg
So we'll see what happens with this. What the fallout is from these comments, but they're pretty disgusting.
Allison Gill
Yeah. Then I was just. I couldn't believe he admitted it. All right, we have a lot of news to get to, so let's hit the hot notes. Hot notes. First up, from cbs, that missing minute from the surveillance video at the Manhattan Metropolitan Correctional center where Jeffrey Epstein died in 2019 actually isn't missing. I mean, it's missing from the public version that we got, but it exists. This is according to CBS News. When Justice Department and FBI released 11 hours of footage earlier this month, the timecode on the screen jumped forward one minute just before midnight, prompting questions about the one minute gap. The video shows part of the area near the cell where Epstein was being held. The Night he died in what a medical examiner ruled as suicide. A government source familiar with the investigation says the FBI, the Bureau of Prisons, and the Department of Justice Inspector General are all in possession of a copy of the video that does not jump from 11:59 to midnight of the night of Epstein's death. So what is unclear, CBS said, is why that section is missing. When the FBI released what it said was the raw footage from inside the Special Housing Unit the night he died, which is August 9th to 10th, 2019, the recording came from what officials said was the only relevant video camera that was recording its footage in the unit. The video has been cited by multiple government officials as a key piece of evidence in the determination that Epstein died by suicide. Now, Attorney General Pam Bondi, as we know, was questioned about that gap during that July 8 cabinet meeting when President Trump jumped in and said, what? Why are you still talking about Epstein? If you want to answer it, go ahead. And she said the missing minute was the result of a nightly reset of the video that caused the recording system to miss one recording minute every night and attributed that information to the Bureau of Prisons. She said, quote, there was a minute that was off that counter. And what we learned from the Bureau of Prisons was every night they redo the video. The equipment was old from, like, 1999, so every night it's reset. So every night should have the same missing minute. That's what she said. Bondi said the Department would share other video that showed the same thing happening every night, but that video has not been released. And that minute, it's actually like 2 minutes and 53 seconds now. It exists, and she has it. So she completely lied about it, which. Why would you do that if it's definitely a suicide?
Dana Goldberg
Yeah, just if that thing happened during those almost three minutes, just release the video.
Allison Gill
Right. So that's going to drive more speculation, I'm sure. Yes, it will. Now, in a related story, Chuck Schumer called on the FBI Tuesday to conduct a counterintelligence threat assessment of files connected to Jeffrey Epstein in order to determine whether a foreign actor could use them against Trump or other prominent Americans. Schumer argued that unless the Epstein files are released and made fully transparent to the public, they could become compromising material that foreign adversaries could use to blackmail someone like the president or other senior leaders in government. Yeah, so I'm glad Chuck Schumer's on the train calling for this counterintelligence assessment, but it'll be conducted by the FBI, which, of course, is run by Kaj Patel, Right. And Dan Bongino. So. But he's calling for it. So good. At least he is.
Dana Goldberg
All right. This next story is from the Gothamist. A gunman, and this was in New York, opened fire inside a midtown Manhattan office building Monday evening, killing four people, including an NYPD officer before killing himself. This is from city officials. A fifth victim was in critical condition. Now Mayor Eric Adams identified the officer who was killed as Dudarul Islam, a 36 year old immigrant from Bangladesh who served with the 47th precinct. He was three and a half year veteran of the department and father of two. And there was a third child on the way. In a late night press conference outside New York Presbyterian David H. Koch center, police officials described the shooting which shut down several blocks of midtown Manhattan during Monday's evening rush hour. They said the gunman acted alone and a motive was not yet clear. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Teesch said the shooter opened fire inside 345 Park Avenue. And that's a commercial building that houses firms including Blackstone, kpmg, the National Football League and Rudin Management. The gunman then fatally shot a woman taking cover behind a pillar, fired into the lobby and shot a security guard. This is from authorities. He then called an elevator, allowed a woman to walk past him unharmed and rode to the 33rd floor. This is home to Rudin Management where he fatally shot another victim before shooting himself in the chest. Officials identified the shooter as 27 year old Shane Tamura. He had a Nevada address. This is again from Tisch. He appeared to have driven across the country entering New York City just hours before the attack. And from abc, three people were killed and several others were injured. I just want to make a little note before I go into this next story. Alison. I had read that he bought the gun that is not legal in the state of New York in Nevada, drove it across the many state lines. And from what I understand, and please tell me if I'm reading something that is not true but that he had an issue with the NFL. It sounded like he may have been a footballer that had brain damage because he felt that the NFL was not protecting the players enough.
Allison Gill
Right.
Dana Goldberg
So that's what seems like some of the motive is. I just wanted to add that to the story. This next story is from abc. Three people were killed and several others injured in a shooting outside a casino in Reno, Nevada. This is again on Monday morning. The gunfire unfolded around 7:25am in the valet area outside the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino. This is from the Reno Police chief Catherine Nance said during a press conference Monday afternoon. Six victims in total sustained gunshot wounds, with three being fatal. Of those injured, two remain in critical condition at an area hospital while the third was released. The suspect, an adult man, was found within minutes. He'd been taken to a hospital following an officer involved shooting. We're going to keep an eye on both of these stories. More details emerge, and obviously our hearts go out to the families and the communities that are shaken and shattered by incidents like this because it creates terror to the citizens in those areas whenever something like this happens close to home.
Allison Gill
Yeah. Thank you for those stories. All right, next up, two more whistleblowers have come forward about Emil Bovey as he faces a vote for confirmation to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. First from CNN, a former DOJ attorney in the Office of Immigration Litigation told CNN documents have been filed with the DOJ Office of the Inspector General that appear to align with another whistleblower's account that Bovey tried to mislead federal judges during the administration's aggressive deportation effort this spring. Quote, I think it would be incredibly dangerous for someone like that to have a lifetime appointment as a federal judge. That's what the whistleblower said. These disclosures were filed in May before Arez Raveni, an immigration law specialist who worked on the case of the mistakenly unlawfully deported Mr. Abrego, made similar claims in a whistleblower letter in June. Once Raveni went public, this whistleblower, the second whistleblower who worked with Raveni, decided to publicize on Friday that their own disclosure had been made to the DOJ inspector general ahead of Bovey's Senate confirmation vote. CNN has not independently reviewed the documents submitted by the whistleblower who's being represented by Whistleblower Aid. And then from the Post, a third whistleblower has come forward to challenge the federal judicial nomination of Bovey, sharing evidence with lawmakers suggesting the controversial attorney for Donald Trump and current top Justice Department official lied to lawmakers about his handling of the dismissal of public corruption charges against Eric Adams. The whistleblower, whose existence has not previously been reported, contends the evidence contradicts Bovey's sworn testimony last month to the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Washington Post reviewed the evidence and agreed to withhold the details to protect the identity of the whistleblower, whose lawyer spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the whistleblower's fear of retribution. The lawyers say they have also turned the material over to the Office of the Inspector General. So now three known whistleblowers that Bovey lied to Congress.
Dana Goldberg
I sure hope they do something about this.
Allison Gill
Yeah, yeah.
Dana Goldberg
This next story is from the Post. A Korean born researcher and longtime U.S. legal permanent resident has spent the past week detained by immigration officials at San Francisco's International Airport without any explanation and has been denied access to an attorney. That's according to his lawyers. Will Kim is the name, has lived in the United States since he was 5, is a green card holder pursuing his PhD at Texas a and M University where he is researching a vaccine for Lyme disease. This is again from his attorney, Eric Lee. Kim, who happens to be 40, was detained by immigration officials on July 21 at a secondary screening point after returning from a two week visit to South Korea for his youngest brother's wedding. The government has not said why he's detained him. This is again from his lawyer. And immigration officials have refused to let Kim speak to an attorney or communicate with his family members directly except for a brief call to his mother on Friday. In 2011, Kim faced a minor marijuana possession charge in Texas, but he fulfilled a community service requirement and successfully petitioned for non disclosure to seal the offense from the public record. When Lee asked a CBP supervisor in a phone call if the Fifth and Sixth Amendments, which establish rights to due process and the right to counsel, applied to Kim, the supervisor said no. At Texas A and M, Kim's primary research had focused on finding a vaccine for Lyme disease, which is caused by bacteria spread through tick bites. He began his doctoral studies there in summer of 2021 after earning a bachelor's degree in ocean engineering from the university in 2007, Texas A& M said in a statement to the Post, so clearly not someone that they should have flagged as a criminal.
Allison Gill
No. Right. And so is it his marijuana possession charge that was expunged from his record from how long ago was it? 2011.
Dana Goldberg
Yeah.
Allison Gill
In Texas. Wow. If that's it, I mean, is it that or is it they don't like his research, that he's a scientist, that he has he said something on social media they don't like? We don't know. Yeah, we have no idea. But he was detained for a week and was told that he doesn't have any rights. All right, next up from the Associated Press, a former Ohio police officer convicted of murder in the shooting of Andre Hill, a black man who was holding a cell phone and his keys when he was murdered, was given a mandatory sentence Monday of 15 years to life. So I guess this is some better news.
Dana Goldberg
Yeah.
Allison Gill
Former Columbus officer Adam coy shot Hill four times in a garage in December of 2020. 20, 25 years for this, as the country reckoned with a series of police killings of black men, women and children. He told jurors that he feared for his life because he thought Hill was holding a silver revolver. Police body camera footage showed Hill coming out of the garage of a friend's house holding up a cell phone in his left hand, his right hand not yet visible, seconds before he was fatally shot. Almost 10 minutes passed before officers at the scene rendered any aid. Coy, who was fired afterward, had a lengthy history of citizen complaints, although most were declared unfounded. Weeks later, the mayor forced out the police chief after a series of fatal police shootings of black people. Columbus later reached a $10 million settlement with Hill's family, and the city passed a law requiring police to give immediate medical attention to injured suspects. That that wasn't already a law is amazing.
Dana Goldberg
Yeah. Okay, we are moving on. This one's next. From the Associated Press. Trump's administration on Tuesday proposed revoking a scientific finding that has long been the central basis for US Action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change. This should surprise no one. The proposed Environmental Protection Agency rule would rescind a 2009 declaration that determined that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, they endanger public health and welfare. The endangerment finding is the legal underpinning of a host of climate regulations under the Clean Air act for motor vehicles, power plants and other pollution sources that are heating the planet. The EPA proposal must go through a lengthy review process, including public comment. Well, you know, right there, we're probably going to have some work for y'.
Allison Gill
All.
Dana Goldberg
Public comment before it's finalized, likely next year. Environmental groups are likely to challenge the rule. That rule change in court. Zeldin called for a rewrite of the endangerment finding in March as part of a series of environmental rollbacks announced at the same time. And what he said was, and I quote, the greatest day of deregulation in American history. Go fuck off. A total of 31 key environmental rules on topics from clean air to clean water, climate change. They'd all be rolled back or repealed under Zeldin's plan.
Allison Gill
Yeah. Ugh. Just the greatest deregulation American history. The greatest. Yeah. Taking rules away so they can pollute and kill us and make money off of our dead bodies. That's what it is.
Dana Goldberg
And our sicknesses.
Allison Gill
All right? And I hate that I was right about this. Remember back when I was like, the Trump administration is going to do a ton of damage and we're not going to know the extent of it because the Trump administration is the one responsible for reporting the damage. Uh huh. Well, this is from Marketplace. Government data is at risk. Federal funding for the main statistical agencies like the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Commerce Department has been tight for years. But since the Trump administration took office, threats to the availability and comprehensiveness of federal data have reached a new level, impacting everything from national health and crime statistics to key economic reports like jobs. Last September, Drew de Silver, an analyst at the Pew Research center, clicked onto the Office of Personnel Management's FedScope database to find out what percentage of the federal workforce was black or Latino. He published the findings earlier this year. After the Trump administration took office, he checked the database again and got a rude awakening. The diversity module, which included all the racial and ethnic breakdowns, has disappeared. That, combined with the fact that the database hasn't been updated since the administration took office. The last data is for September of 2024 makes it more difficult to figure out how massive federal job cuts initiated by dogecoin are impacting black and Latino workers. Office of Personnel Management didn't respond to questions about Fed Scope or about workers of color in the federal workforce by Marketplace's deadline for this story. Denise Ross, who served until December 2024 as U.S. chief data scientist, said this is part of a broad pattern across federal statistical agencies, quote, the targeted surgical removal of data sets or elements of data sets that are not aligned with the administration's priorities. Ross is now at the Federation of American Scientists and has been tracking these changes. Her current projects to monitor and advocate for federal data under the Trump administration are America's Data Index and America's Essential Data. She offered multiple examples of databases that have been altered or just taken down entirely, quote, the Office of Personnel Management, the race and ethnicity category has been removed in response to the President's agenda to remove mentions of DEI. NOAA's billion dollar disaster Data Set has been terminated because it's talking about climate. CDC's National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System, removing questions related to sexual orientation and gender identity. And that'll make it harder to understand how diseases are impacting those populations. And the list goes on and on. Dana. So we've talked about this, we've seen examples of it, and it's continuing. And the data that we're getting from the government is incomplete or non existent. So as I feared, not only do Trump policies cost lives, but they're hiding the damage from us.
Dana Goldberg
Yeah. All right. Another one not filed under Good News and this disappoints me. This is from the Times. Harvard University has signaled a willingness to meet the Trump administration's demand to spend as much as $500 million to end its dispute with the White House as it talks about between the two sides intensify. This is for people familiar with the negotiations. According to one person, Harvard is reluctant to directly pay the federal government, but negotiators are still discussing the exact financial terms. The sum sought by the government, which recently accused Harvard of civil rights violations, is more than twice as much as the $200 million fine that Columbia University said it would pay when it settled anti Semitism claims with the White House last week. Neither Harvard nor the government has publicly detailed potential terms for settlement and allegations the money would be intended to resolve. Although the two sides have made progress toward a deal, Harvard's also skeptical of Columbia's agreement to allow an outside monitor to oversee its sweeping arrangement with the government. Harvard officials have signaled that such a requirement for their own settlement could be a red line as a potential infringement on the university's academic freedom. University officials, though, concluded months ago that even if they prevailed in their court fight against the government, the a deal could help Harvard to avoid more troubles over the course of Mr. Trump's term.
Allison Gill
So the federal monitor is a red line. I think giving a penny, you would think to this administration would be a red line, especially for Harvard, who was initially fighting back against this stuff.
Dana Goldberg
Yeah.
Allison Gill
So this is sad to hear. All right, everybody, your good trouble is going to be first up in the good news, which is going to come after this interview with former Senior Policy advisor for Department of State Aya Ibrahim. So stick around. We'll be right back. All right, everybody, let's be real. There are plenty of things worth spending money on this summer, like concert tickets, gas for road trips, or an extra round of happy hour. Your overpriced wireless plan? Not so much. Not one of them. So I want to thank Mint Mobile for supporting this episode. Get this new customer offer and your three month unlimited wireless plan for just $15 a month at 9 mint mobile.com dailybeans that's why I made the switch to Mint Mobile. You still get the coverage and speed you're used to, but for way less money. All plans include high speed data and unlimited talk and text on the nation's largest 5G network. And right now, Mint is offering three months of unlimited premium wireless for just 15 bucks a month. You can use your own phone, bring your number, and keep all your contacts. There's no need to deal with sketchy fees or confusing bills or contracts ever again. And one of our producers just signed up too. He had an old Android collecting dust, ordered a SIM card and had it up and running within days. He said the setup was quick, it was easy, the service is just as good as his old provider and he's saving real money. And even better, he now has a second number to mess with right wing apps and run sneaky little social experiments on his mom, all for 15 bucks a month. Mint Mobile makes it easy to save money and stay connected this year. Skip breaking a sweat and breaking the bank. Get this new customer offer and your three month unlimited wireless plan for just $15 a month at mintmobile.com dailybeans that's mintmobile.com dailybeans upfront payment of $45 required equivalent to $15 a month new customer offer for three months only. Speeds may slow above three or five gigabytes on a limited plan. Taxes and fees extras. See Mint Mobile for details. Hey everybody. There's nothing that screams summer like a chilled glass of on the patio with your feet up. But I'm not the type to spend hours researching wine or swirling it like I'm in a judging competition. I just want wine that tastes good. Really good. And that's exactly what I get from Naked Wines. It's my favorite subscription service. Naked Wines is a service that directly connects you to the world's finest independent winemaker so you can get award winning wine delivered straight to your door. No middleman? Go to nakedwines.com DailyBeans use our code DAILYBEANS for the code and the password and you'll get the incredible deal of 6 bottles for just $39.99. I recently opened a bottle of Rose from one of their winemakers in New Zealand. The smell hit me first. Passion fruit, zesty citrus. It was crisp, a little tart and incredibly refreshing. It was like drinking sunshine. I immediately ordered another bottle and what I love about Naked Wines is it takes the guesswork out of wine shopping. No more standing at the grocery store aisle hoping for the best or picking based on label. I rate every bottle that I try and my shipments just keep getting better and better. It's like a personalized wine concierge. And what makes it even sweeter, Naked Wine cuts out the middleman. So you get amazing wines directly from over 90 independent winemakers. You save up to 60% compared to retail and there's no membership fees, no contracts, no stress. You can pause any time, cancel any time. It's just good wine picked for you. So now is the time to join the naked wines community. Head to nakedwines.com DailyBeans Click enter voucher and put in my code DailyBeans all one word for the code and the password and you get six bottles of wine for just $39.99 with shipping included. That's 100 bucks off your first six bottles at nakedwines.com DailyBeans and use the code and password DailyBeans for six bottles of wine for $39.99. Again, to get those six bottles of wine for 39 dollars 99 cents, head to nakedwines.com Dailybeans and use code DailyBeans for the code and the password. You'll be glad you did. Hey everybody. Welcome back. I am very, very excited today to be talking to an expert in tariff and trade and crypto. She's a former senior policy advisor for the U.S. state Department and also a White House National Economic Council advisor in Office of Science and Tech Policy. So, like, when I'm talking, when I say expert, I mean expert. So please welcome Eha Ibrahim. Hi, Aya, how are you?
C
Hi, Allison. I'm good. Thank you for having me.
Allison Gill
Thank you so much for coming on and explaining this to us. But I mean, we can kind of see the idiocy that has been the tariff policy over the last seven months or so. We know that Wall street has responded by calling Trump Taco. Trump always chickens out. And so the markets have been able to maintain some stabilization because they know that these tariff threats are often backed off and then put back on. I just saw a graph today where it was like, threat, back off, threat back off, threat back off. And a lot of us also wonder if that's not a way to manipulate the markets to get people to sell off. And I know that there's been a lot of questions around that with the media. But if you could walk us through these policies, actually, first of all, tell us about your work at State and on the National Economic Council. Sure.
C
So at the State Department, I was on the Secretary of State's policy planning staff. So that team is responsible for providing the secretary with both a deeper understanding but also a different perspective than he's necessarily or she is necessarily getting from the department. The office has the explicit mandate of long term strategic planning. It helps sets priorities and really helps drive work for the department. But it is also sort of the perch is you get to see across everything both at State, but by virtue of the ways in which the US Government and the different agencies Work together, you kind of get to see all of it. So for me, I was managing the econ and tech policy portfolio. Okay. And particularly in the Biden administration, there was a ton of overlap in both. And my time at the White House, I had a similar portfolio working a lot of financial regulation things. I worked on the President's digital assets executive order. I worked on the blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights. So a lot of, you know, the, the big questions of tomorrow and how we as an administration wanted to think about it and guide policy. I was lucky to get to be a part of that. And now we' here.
Allison Gill
Yeah. And a lot of big warnings came out from the White House. I remember in Biden's final address, his farewell address about AI crypto, billionaires, tech. And, you know, we also sort of had a little bit of a preview of the tariff policy. And I put policy in quotes and air quotes as outlined in like Project 2025 and what the Heritage foundation wanted to do. And we all understand what tariffs are and that tariffs are not paid by the country that we put them. It goes down to the consumer. It ends up increasing prices for the consumer. And we haven't, I don't think we've actually seen the. We saw a little bit because people were frontloading, buying stuff in anticipation of the potential tariffs. But I think it's important to talk about, you know, what is yet to come. So can maybe you give us a little insight in that? And I think it's amazing having that, you know, 50,000 foot view at state with all this policy because trade falls under there, crypto falls under there, AI falls under there. And so, you know, you sort of had this, this perch, like you, as you call it, where you got to see a lot of this stuff that was going on globally. And Marco Rubio used to be a global trade guy. He's not anymore. Right. But talk a little bit about where we are sort of on the tariff path.
C
Well, let me just take one step back and give a little bit of insight into how at least we approached trade and tariffs in the Biden administration. So we did deploy tariffs in the four years we were in, but there were robust interagency processes that happened. You can argue whether or not there were too many, but everyone got to weigh in and, and shape a lot of the policy. And tariffs are a tool and we deployed them in a way that was narrow and targeted and we hope strategic and often related to the investments that we had made domestically. Manufacturing, clean energy, et cetera. Now fast forward to this administration. And there is no, there's no process one can follow. There's no clear logic other than the fact that the president thinks about it as truly stuff in and stuff out and how much stuff is coming in and how much stuff is going out. And it doesn't take into account other things that might factor into, you know, the, like the country's ledger, its balance sheet, the balance of, of payments. So if one of our allies is investing a lot of money in the US that would show up on the, that would add to the, quote, unquote, trade deficit. If people are consuming a lot of things, which would reflect the fact that we have a higher standard of living in the United States, that would also show up on the side with the quote, unquote, trade deficit or would add to the trade deficit. The President, this administration, is consumed with this specific thing, like the idea of a deficit, that we are being played. And I have to say, I find it kind of funny that even when he talks about it, he'll say, I get it, these people are ripping us off.
Allison Gill
But I get it.
C
I'd do it if I was them. And so there is at least an acknowledgement that, hey, our partners on the other side, they also have their own priorities, they have their own imperatives, and they have their own industries that they're trying to protect. Now, thoughtfulness around those things isn't necessarily being factored into the way that they're going about it. The other thing that I'll say is when they did Liberation Day back in April and, you know, tariffs on everyone and their mom, then the bond market freaked out and they were like, okay, we're doing a pause. We're doing the pause, and we're going to do 90 trade deals in 90 days. We have not done anywhere near that. And in fact, what people, what we're being told are deals sometimes are just announcements, and the White House is putting out fact sheets and the trading partner, it's like, well, maybe some of that, but not all of that. I don't know that we said all of that.
Allison Gill
Yeah. Or no, we didn't do any. If not, there's been a lot of that, too. And it feels to me like blowing something up to fix it at the expense of consumer prices. Right?
C
I mean, at the end of the day, tariffs are a tax on their consumption tax, right? So if you're buying things, then you are paying an additional charge on top of it for the fact that you're buying it and that you're buying it, and it's made somewhere else. It's also incredibly regressive. So it hits those who are on the lower side of the income scale much harder than it does those who are in a position to absorb the costs and who have flexibility in their household budgets. The thing that I find so deeply frustrating, and all of it is frustrating and it's embarrassing, but the thing that I find so deeply frustrating is American families. Many of them do not have a margin of error, so the budget is exactly what they can afford. And when we put on tariffs, we take them off, we say we might do it, we might not. Whether or not the tariff sticks, there will be cost increases just in reaction to the uncertainty because you don't know what's coming. So better to hedge. And that hedge can mean higher expenses for working people.
Allison Gill
Yeah. And I think that that's something that's completely missed by the billionaire class, the oligarchs, the ruling class, is that they don't understand that not everybody has got a $2 million cushion that they're sitting on and that they can make it through the austere measures that have to happen in order for us to get our fair deal, whatever that even means.
C
Right.
Allison Gill
And I think that that shows just a complete lack of, you know, just totally out of touch with, with American families.
C
Well, in touch or not in touch, I just don't think they care. And that too, you know, and I don't. The President himself has pointed to the Gilded Age as the peak of America. And what we want to go back to, we're not even talking about, let's go back to the 1950s trad wife stuff. We're talking about true Gilded Age, unbelievable concentrations of wealth, unbelievable titans of industry, quote unquote. I mean, at the time, you're looking at the Vanderbilts and the Carnegie's and its steel and its oil. Now we're talking about big tech. I mean, our stock market is largely driven by seven large tech companies.
Allison Gill
Let's talk a little bit about tech too, because there's a lot that I personally don't understand about crypto. You know, the things that we've been seeing, we've seen the big ugly bill, right. The billionaire bailout bill, which just undercuts and guts the infrastructure that Joe Biden put into place along with Congress and the CHIPS Act. A lot of the things that he's doing is undermining the CHIPS and science act in this administration. But we also have this crypto bill. And so can you talk a little bit about. Let's start with cryptocurrency versus meme coins, for example, like, a lot of this is just way over my head. Right.
C
Can I just say one thing about the tax bill? I know we're all trying to figure out how to talk about it in a way that captures its horror, but what I keep going back to is the fact that. That this is just another Republican tax bill. This is not an anomaly. This is not something that they would not do otherwise. This is very much in line with the things that they believe. And so I don't want to give them an out because it happens to be President Trump at the helm. They would do some version of this. They have been dreaming of the day to cut the social safety net. And he gave them the space to do it. They would have done it anyway.
Allison Gill
Right. No, that makes sense. And used budget reconciliation to do it.
C
Right, right. The thing that they dragged us for doing so that we could pass the American rescue plan, so that we could make sure that people had what they needed in a public health emergency.
Allison Gill
Yeah. And I mean, that's, you know, one of the things that kind of was shown through all of the different provisions that the parliamentarian yanked out of. Of what the Republicans did. They wanted to do more. They wanted it to be even more cruel and horrible. Yeah. But that you just can't do everything that you want to do through budget reconciliation. And the Democrats as well, like in our budget reconciliation bill, we wanted to do minimum wage. We wanted to raise the minimum wage. And the parliamentarian said, no, that's a policy thing. It's not a budget thing. So you can't, you know, whatever the rules are. Bird rule, you can't have that in your budget reconciliation. And you need 60 votes. You have to overcome the filibuster in order to get that kind of a thing passed. And we're like, okay, so it's applied the same.
C
And that's the difference, though. We're just like, okay, fine.
Dana Goldberg
Right.
Allison Gill
We weren't trying to get rid of the ability of. For judges to hold people in contempt. You know, we were trying to raise the minimum wage. So, you know, it's a little bit of a different. Little different policy goals there.
C
Sure.
Allison Gill
But, you know, talk a little bit about crypto. What's going on with crypto? AI Big tech. Because, you know, I. I'm wondering, you know, that's J.D. vance's sort of wheelhouse with Teal behind him and. And Time Adventure, I believe, Yarvin and all those guys, all these rologarchs.
C
Right.
Allison Gill
The tech. Yes. Yeah. And, and Elon as well. And it seems like Trump has kind of outlived his usefulness after signing all these, getting all these bills signed that they wanted signed, like, what else do they need him for? And so that's kind concern comes in.
C
Well, I can't, I can't speak to what these people are thinking about with regards to his usefulness or not. I mean, he's been very, very useful to them and their, their goals, their priorities. Last week, or I want to, I believe it was last week, maybe it was two weeks ago. Time is melting. The president signed the quote, unquote genius act, right, which was this, this bill to regulate stablecoins. So I think the more helpful distinction perhaps is stablecoins versus like cryptocurrencies, stablecoins named as such because they nominally are pegged to like the, the dollar. It's like a one for one. So if you have, insert whatever stablecoin, you assume that for each stablecoin that you hold that there is a dollar or some equivalent that is being held, one for one. Now, I've never bought that it is in fact one for one. And we have seen instances in which the, they have, you know, broken the buck, if you will. They have not kept in their, in their reserves or on hand one, one equivalent to all of the stablecoins that they're issuing. You use stablecoins as an on ramp to buying other cryptocurrencies and those cryptocurrencies don't pretend to have some, you know, some backing. This is, it's purely speculative. And a lot of the fight has been around stablecoins particularly because it's like, well, if you all are taking money from people issuing coins and then doing all kinds of investment activity or speculative investment of your own, then one, it's not so stable because what happens if everybody wants their money back at the same time? And two, you're functioning as a speculative asset in and of itself. And this idea that you can take these stable coins and they can be a substitute for the dollar, which is what this is privately issued currency. And to be very clear, currency issuance like that is the domain of nation states. It's a thing that countries do. And the last time that we were doing privately issued currency wildcat notes, I mean, it set off a banking crisis because you just can't have a bunch of random people printing money and saying it's valued at X thing. And this is not an industry or a group of people that have shown themselves to be, you know, particularly responsible. I would argue the. So there's the fact that, you know, it separates the wall between commercial activity and banking activity like Glass Steagall and in fact, Brooksley Born, who was the chair of the CFTC and who warned at the end of the Clinton administration that if they went ahead and they rolled back parts of Glass Eagle, which they did, that it would lead to a financial crisis. And it's certainly that. We saw that, and less than 10 years later, we had the great financial crisis.
Allison Gill
It's based on speculative investment.
C
Right. But just removing the guardrails. There's a reason that certain activities are separated when it comes to banking. Like, don't play with people's money. And for me, this entire enterprise is a bunch of people playing with people's money. And one stat when we were working on the lead up to the President's executive order on crypto, they had done some survey work, and they found that black investors, and particularly young black investors, were two to three times more likely to hold crypto or be exposed to crypto than other investors. And that disparity in ownership mirrors what we saw with subprime lending. That felt like a huge red flag for me. You're going after folks who are not in a position to observe any. Any loss. The genius act, regardless of what anyone says, it gave the industry everything that they wanted. And of course it did, because crypto accounted for nearly half of corporate political spending last year.
Dana Goldberg
Right.
Allison Gill
That was where I was wanting to lead to this because of all the. I mean, you pair the genius act with Citizens United, and now people aren't just playing with other people's money on speculation. They're doing it to back politics and lobby and political campaigns. And that scares me. I remember George Nader's payment to Cambridge Analytica or something like that. A lot of the stuff that was going on with Facebook and the Russian interference in the election in 2016, a lot of that was paid with cryptocurrency. And I think it's a. You know, in my mind, I just equate it with a really easy target for money laundering. So, you know.
C
Yeah, I mean, the illicit finance concerns, something that has been raised repeatedly. And, you know, we did the executive order during the Biden administration. Obviously, we started with the risks to people. So was their number. The first objective was protecting consumers, investors, small businesses. The second objective was financial stability and mitigating systemic risk. So the exact opposite of what's happening here. Because, again, you are now letting crypto basically sink its teeth into the incumbent banking system, which has been regulated by a framework and a regime that has held for over 100 years. And I think that this puts it at grave risk. So there's that piece of it. But also among the many other objectives, obviously we had illicit finance and money laundering. And this was an issue that Senator Warren has been very vocal about. But not only that, the money laundering piece, but the corruption piece. And that is something that many people have written about. Ezra Klein, Ben Rhodes, again, Senator Warren has spoken about it multiple times, if I recall correctly. The President's stablecoin, I mean, it's not his. But it is. But it isn't. But it is. And it's the fifth largest stablecoin. And countries that are looking to curry favor with the United States are using the stablecoin, the USD one, to make investments to your point. So it's influenced not just here, but it's external influence too. It really feels like we're in a place where we can just the country and its interest can be bought and sold. And there's one thing to be said about, and this is my view, which I think the future of foreign policy is economic policy. And there's another thing to be said that it just be entirely opaque, transactional deal making.
Allison Gill
Right. Because we saw like going back to the first administration, we saw Essential Consulting, for example, set up by Michael Cohen, where companies would come in and make massive investments into Michael Cohen's company for his expertise on aerospace and telecommunications and a bunch of things he didn't have expertise in. And it was clearly just a slush fund to buy access to the President. Well, now you don't have to put that in dollars, Right, because we saw the crypto dinner, for example, months ago, and all of these investors putting millions of dollars into Trump Coin to buy influence, just more directly, but in a crypto way. So I don't know, it seems pretty obvious to me and of course, I'm a Warren Democrat, I follow Senator Warren quite a bit and she breaks it down pretty succinctly. And if you'd say what the number one goal is for these investors in crypto and the people who wanted the Genius act passed, what's their number one goal here? Just to get at our money so that they can use it in the crypto world.
C
I want to separate out those who have a disproportionate interest or equity in the crypto ecosystem versus smaller investors who like to be totally candid. It's not that the system that we had before fully met people's needs. Right, right. Lots of people could not access financial services. Whether it's, I mean, the number one reason people didn't have bank accounts is because they didn't have the money to warrant having a bank account. But other reasons included, you know, the fees and namely a distrust of government and of banks as institutions. And I have observed a concerted effort to really take advantage or leverage that, that distress and to say, hey, you have tried to get ahead and it doesn't work because the system's not for you. Here is another path and like a surefire way for you to make, to make money. And then you hear all of these stories about rug pulls. Right. You pump, it's like pump and dump schemes. But now you have a leader of our country who is also potentially participating in this as well, or things associated with him are, you know, are susceptible to those dynamics or to that behavior.
Allison Gill
Right. Separating them out just the same as we did with the subprime mortgages.
C
Right.
Allison Gill
There's a predator and then there's a victim of this as well. Sure.
C
But I also, I don't want to take anyone's agency away. So whether it is a sophisticated investor or a first time investor, I just want us to be clear that this is all speculative. Right. You are. If you want to play with the house of cards, that's totally fine. But know what it is, what is dangerous here is trying to redefine or re litigate what are settled matters.
Allison Gill
And.
C
One thing I really wish we had gotten over the finish line during the Biden administration is actual legislation. As I understand it. There is a lot of criticism of, particularly Gary Gensler, who was the former chairman of the sec, that he did regulation by enforcement. A lot of that was in absence of other steps that we could have and should have taken. And so we didn't get legislation through during the Biden administration. So there was a gap. Right. The way that this administration has taken advantage of the gap is awful, unsurprisingly. But there, there was a gap there. And I would similarly say wherever we don't provide people with the things that they need so, you know, accessible, affordable financial services and a faster payment system, someone is going to step in. In this instance, it has been tech companies. First you had PayPal, Cash App, Venmo, and now we're in a different iteration of this where they're trying to sell us on stablecoins as a means of payment. At the same time, these are the people who are most ardently opposed to the Federal Reserve issuing what would be a digital dollar like a Central bank, digital currency, a cbdc. And it is the same playbook that they ran when they tried to stop the Federal Reserve from developing its own real time payment system. So you wouldn't need a Venmo in the same way or a PayPal or a cash app. You could just do the bank to bank transfer and it would settle right away. It's the same playbook and a lot of the same actors. Now we know we have the information.
Allison Gill
You're so right. Having the information is what's important. Being armed with the information is what helps us prevent falling victim to the same playbook by the same actors. Like you say, is there anything else you would want people to know or to keep an eye on, whether it's about crypto or whether it's about tariffs in the future, near future, that everyone should just be aware of?
C
I, I'm not in the prediction business, so I don't know for certain what direction will necessarily go in on any of these things. But I would just say it's very clear that this is not an administration that has working people or American families best interests in mind. That is not what they're thinking about. That is not who they are centering in their work. They're prioritizing. And this is best encapsulated in the fact that their number one priority was jamming through a bill that would facilitate the largest upward transfer of wealth from the bottom up to the top in our history. They have told us exactly who and what they care about. And for regular Americans, workers, our families, it's not you.
Allison Gill
Yeah, very good point. Thank you so much. Can you tell everyone where to find and follow your work, please?
C
So I, I do have a Twitter. It's a Y Y u H, H H. Nice.
Allison Gill
Thank you so much. I appreciate your time today and explaining this and breaking it down in, in terms. Because a lot of this was flying over my head, but you made so many good connections for me in my mind so that I can understand and see where this is going and the impetus behind it. So I appreciate your time so much today. Thank you so much for joining us.
C
No, of course. Listen, if the math isn't mathing, it's because it isn't so.
Allison Gill
Okay, good. Because I was, I thought it was me. Like. No, I'm sorry, does this doesn't make sense to me? Is it, is that because it doesn't make sense? Yes, it's because it doesn't make sense. Thank you. I really appreciate your time today.
C
Thank you so much for having me.
Allison Gill
All right. Everybody stick around. We'll be right back with the good news. All right everybody, welcome back. It's time for the good news everyone. Then good news everyone. Good news, good news. I am so glad it's good news time. That was, that was a hard a walk through today.
Dana Goldberg
Yes. Give me a palate cleanser.
Allison Gill
Yes. Okay, so if you have good news, anything at all, any small little thing that happened that's awesome. Like today I found out that my triglycerides have gone from 143 to 74.
Dana Goldberg
Nice job.
Allison Gill
Six months. Thank you. It's because I stopped drinking booze so much. So I mean kind of at all. But anyway, so that's good news. Send some. If you have something like that tiny anything, anything at all, send it to us. If it's a maybe a shout out to a loved one or a family member or yourself or a small business in your town that could use a boost or, or maybe some great community activism that you are seeing happening or that you're taking part in. Maybe you have information on, on a great non profit that could use some, some light shown on the work that they're doing you that to us. Maybe you have a shout out to a government program that's helped you or a loved one. Like maybe you got your student debt forgiven or you know, you got some great ACA rates. I, you know, I don't know how much longer that stuff is going to be around so we want to celebrate it as long as we can. So any, any great thing that's happened, no matter how small, we have to microdose that hope. Send it to us dailybeanspod.com click on Contact. And all you got to do to get your submission on the air is to pay your POD pet tariff, which really just means attach a photo of anything cool. It could be your pet. It could be an adoptable pet in your area. It could be bird watching, which could be a bird or you flipping the bird to trump or musk. It could be a family photo, baby photo, any animal off the Internet photo that you want to share with us. Really just anything, your happy place, a victory garden. Maybe you're growing something or you've got some great rally photos from the last no kings or the last town hall that you went to. Some great creative signs, anything at all, send it to us dailybeanspot.com click on contact. First up is our good trouble, which is what I promised you before the interview that we did. And this is from Simon Pronouns he and him. Hi Beans Queens. A little good trouble, if you will. The FTC is requesting comments from the public to better understand how consumers may have been exposed to false or unsupported claims about gender affirming care, especially as it relates to minors, and to gauge the harms consumers may be experiencing While using false advertising to go after trans healthcare is a creative approach, it does smell a bit of desperation. Smell a bit of desperation. Either way, if your listeners have stories of thoughtful and well informed gender affirming care that they or their family have received or anything else they'd like to share with the ftc, they can do so using the link in the show notes.
Dana Goldberg
Nice.
Allison Gill
So for more information and submission instructions, they're available on the Docket Documents tab included for your enjoyment. Is the lieutenant napping in her cat tree, the sweet leap day kitty turned nine this year, or two and a quarter if you can count leap years and has been my second in command since college.
Dana Goldberg
Oh, thanks for all you do.
Allison Gill
Look at this pretty baby.
Dana Goldberg
So sweet.
Allison Gill
Thank you so much for that. And that is your good trouble. We'll have that link in the show.
Dana Goldberg
Notes all right, we've got a correction starting this Catherine pronouns she and her hi beans Queens. I wrote the other day and forgot to add my dog's breeds. My bad. Nevertheless, you did great. Renzo's dominant breed is in fact 25% Australian cattle dog and Roma's 25% Chihuahua and 25% American Staffordshire terrier. Well done. You can see from their wisdom panels that they're both truly mutts. Lovable and super silly mutts. I love listening to the beans on our daily walks. Thank you for all you do.
Allison Gill
Look at these babies.
Dana Goldberg
I know we did good.
Allison Gill
Yeah, we did. Not 100%, but close. Close.
Dana Goldberg
There's always room for improvement.
Allison Gill
Yeah. And here's a note in case it wasn't clear to some listeners. Ryan Walters is the superintendent of Schools for the whole state of Oklahoma, not just a district. Oklahoma has no recall ballots and calls for impeachment have been unanswered as of yet. Hopefully the story from Monday fixes that. Thank y' all for making the news palatable. You're the way I usually end my day since I stay up most nights and sleep during the day. Podpet tax is a bunny hopping around my very developed downtown neighborhood.
Dana Goldberg
Cute.
Allison Gill
I love bunnies. Thank you for that.
Dana Goldberg
Yeah, this is Diane and Gail. No pronouns given. Good morning, AG and dg. Huge fans here for years. And I've submitted a pet tax last year for my Jackie, who crossed the Rainbow Bridge this year, my sister and I depend on your daily dose of news, facts and humor. So grateful for your honest content which allows us to avoid TV news. We live in Sun City, Arizona, a wonderful active senior community. But enjoy summers at my lake cabin in northern Minnesota, avoiding the Arizona he. Grand Rapids, Minnesota is a fairly red community of 11,000, but Democrats are showing up to protests. So proud. Evitaska county indivisible. I hope that was cright. I hope that was close and right. And I got kright. Recently, we stopped at lnm Supply looking for a valve for the lake floaty. During early Covid, this company prohibited its employees from wearing masks as their defiance to science. I've avoided them ever since, but Ace didn't have the part, so I had to break my boycott. While we browsed their gift area and found the prominent display of my pillow merchandise, we looked at each other and knew immediately that we needed to take a bird photo for pet tags. Here's Indy, who was rescued during Trump's first indictment week. Thus Indy. She is by our prolific tomato plant. We have to keep an eye on her as she will steal and eat the tomatoes. Her breed is easy to identify as she's 100%. You got it. Sending you all the love and peace. Nice bird photo. And that is a very cute and well groomed shih tzu.
Allison Gill
Yeah. And. And now I. I won't make the shih tzu mistake again. That is definitely a shih tzu. At least I hope so. Yes. Okay.
Dana Goldberg
Yeah, There we go.
Allison Gill
Wonderful. That's hilarious that she will totally snag those tomatoes and eat them. So funny. Diane, Gail, thank you so much and thank you. Of course, bird watching includes Mike Lindell, the pillow man. So fantastic. All right, next up from Anonymous, she her. I went to no Kings a while back with eight friends. Great vibes. We were by a street and so many cars were waving approval and honking. I made my sign while listening to the beans and heard Julie, I think, talk about rolling a fat joint and making signs. We think alike. I used pages of a coloring book for my sign. He had an extendable mop handle for my sign holder. It was great to be able to collapse it at the end when it got really windy. Good idea. A group in my area is doing Great work. It's PSL, RI, SL, RI in on Instagram, and my podpet tax is Leopold.
Dana Goldberg
Leopold.
Allison Gill
Look at the arms.
Dana Goldberg
Felines against Fascism.
Allison Gill
Hell yeah. That's amazing. Leopold is gorgeous.
Dana Goldberg
I love this. All right, this next one's from My sweet Sean. I know Sean. He's a good guy. Pronoun seeing him. Hi, Beans team. I wanted to share a bit of good news from this past weekend. Announce Adena Kelly, California. Over four days, neighbors, volunteers and community partners came together to co create a public mural called Prayer for the Earth, led by the incredibly talented artist. I'm not sure if I'm going to say this right.
Allison Gill
I think it's a Katarina sky.
Dana Goldberg
Oh, it's a Katarina sky. Thank you very much for that. It's painted behind the former oh, Happy Day Vegan Cafe space full of meaning for the local community. What made this so special wasn't just the art itself, but the joy, reflection and healing it sparked. People showed up with paintbrushes and stories. We heard again and again how much it meant just to be part of something joyful and grounding, especially for communities still recovering from the fire six months ago. Sometimes we don't have to do more than create beauty, make space and be present with one another. That's what this mural did, what Katharina helped make possible. If you're in the area, you're warmly invited to come see it while it's still up. It is behind oh Happy Day on East Mendocino Street. Bring a friend, take a breath. Maybe even write your own prayer. My pod tariff is a photo of the mural in all its glory. Sean, thank you for this. Sean had been telling me about it and I knew I was going to be out of town. It's extraordinary. It's so cool to see this final mural. It's powerful. I hope people that are near Altadena will go see it.
Allison Gill
That is really, really incredible. I can't even imagine the amount of time that took.
Dana Goldberg
I know.
Allison Gill
It's. It's beautiful. Thank you so much for that, Sean. Next up, from Kathleen. Oh, oh, oh. It's my favorite bird. Kathleen says, in these horrible times, I've managed to find new communities around just trying to do something. We have a regular postcard writing group. I love this, Kathleen. We want pictures. And I'm amazed at how much better even doing something little makes me feel. I'm also looking for ways to be more active in my own town's politics. And I've started serving as a city commissioner. Hell, yeah. But my real reason for contacting you, Secretary birds. I took a bird painting class and here's my best effort. This is a fantastic painting of a secretary bird.
Dana Goldberg
It is stunning.
Allison Gill
I love these guys so much. If you haven't experienced a secretary bird, if you're in the San Diego area. San Diego Zoo has a couple amazing specimens of the secretary bird. But you can, you know, just Google them. They're everywhere and they're fantastic. Thank you so much for that. Also, shoe bills. Have you seen those guys?
Dana Goldberg
No. Oh, yes. No. Those scare the out of me.
Allison Gill
Yeah.
Dana Goldberg
Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope.
Allison Gill
Oh, they're huge. They're like dinosaurs.
Dana Goldberg
And it looks like a Muppet. Nope. And I'm sure I just sounded like one of them.
Allison Gill
Nope.
Dana Goldberg
Nope. That's a different bird.
Allison Gill
Radio hello. Hello? Burring. Oh, my God.
Dana Goldberg
Listen, people, we have to find the joy after the fucking episode we just asked you to listen to.
Allison Gill
I know. And thank you all for hanging in there. And thanks to Ms. Ibrahim. What an incredible discussion. I learned so much from her and I really appreciate that. And if you. If you were going to talk about the Boasberg Pam Bondi thing, Pam Bondi is trying to get Boasberg in trouble for saying stuff at a judicial conference. And it's all. We're going to talk about it in depth on this weekend's Unjustified podcast with Andy McKay. But if you want, like, the skinny, if you want exactly, like how I feel about it, just go to Steve Vadec's 1/1 substack. He's written it. It's number 170 on his substack. And it. It sums up exactly how I feel about this whole thing. So I didn't skip it today. I didn't miss it. We're going to cover it. And then there's also a bunch of new stories that, that, you know, we haven't been able to get to, but we're going to cover on today's new episode of cleanup on L45 with Harry Dunn. So check that out as well.
Dana Goldberg
Awesome.
Allison Gill
To get the round out of all of your news. And there is some good news in. In that one. So if you, if you're feeling like, man, that was a lot of shitty news, check out, Check out today's.
Dana Goldberg
There you go.
Allison Gill
Clean up on L45.
C
All right.
Allison Gill
That is the show for today. Do you have any final thoughts, my friend?
Dana Goldberg
No, I think we covered it. Let's let them leave.
Allison Gill
Yes. Go about your day. Back to your regularly scheduled programming. And until tomorrow, 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 family. I've been ag.
Dana Goldberg
I've been dg.
Allison Gill
And them's the beans. The Daily Beans is written and executive produced by Alison Gill with Additional research and reporting by Dana Goldberg. Sound design and editing is by Desiree McFarlane with art and web design by Joelle Reeder with Moxie Design Studios. Music for the Daily Beans is written and performed by they Might Be Giant 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 mswmedia. Com MSW Media.
The Daily Beans: "Missing Minute Found" (feat. Aya Ibrahim) – July 30, 2025
Hosted by Allison Gill and Dana Goldberg, The Daily Beans delivers progressive news with a touch of snark, catering to listeners during their morning commutes. In the July 30, 2025 episode titled "Missing Minute Found," the hosts delve into a range of pressing political and social issues, culminating in an insightful interview with former Senior Policy Advisor Aya Ibrahim.
The episode opens with a bombshell revelation from former President Donald Trump. At [02:47], Allison Gill reports that Trump admitted to a reporter that his true reason for distancing himself from Jeffrey Epstein wasn't due to Epstein being a sex trafficker, but rather because Epstein "stole Virginia Giuffre and other young women" from him. Dana Goldberg reinforces the gravity of the statement, highlighting the language used by Trump: “use the word stole, which means that Donald Trump felt like she was his prized property” ([04:15]).
This admission fuels ongoing speculation about Trump's ties to Epstein and the potential implications for those involved.
A significant portion of the episode addresses the mysterious missing minute from Jeffrey Epstein's jail surveillance footage the night of his death. At [05:00], CBS News clarifies that while the public version of the video shows a one-minute gap, internal sources confirm that the full footage exists. Allison Gill underscores the inconsistencies in Attorney General Pam Bondi's explanations, pointing out that the missing segment is "2 minutes and 53 seconds long" and exists under government's possession ([06:57]).
Addressing concerns about national security, Chuck Schumer has urged the FBI to conduct a counterintelligence threat assessment of Epstein-related files. As noted at [07:49], Schumer fears that without complete transparency, these files could be exploited by foreign adversaries to blackmail prominent Americans, including the president.
The hosts cover recent tragic shootings:
Manhattan Shooting: A gunman killed four people, including NYPD Officer Dudarul Islam, a 36-year-old immigrant from Bangladesh ([07:49] – [10:58]). The shooter, Shane Tamura, later committed suicide. Discussions reveal potential motives linked to grievances against the NFL and possible brain injury from football-related activities.
Reno, Nevada Shooting: In another incident, three individuals were fatally shot outside the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino, with several others injured ([10:58] – [12:56]).
Emil Bovey, a prominent attorney for Donald Trump and current Justice Department official, is facing allegations from multiple whistleblowers. Allison Gill details how former DOJ attorneys have come forward with evidence suggesting Bovey manipulated federal judges and lied to Congress ([12:56] – [16:26]). These revelations cast doubt on Bovey's integrity and suitability for the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals.
Allison Gill highlights concerns over the Trump administration's handling of federal data, referencing a report from Marketplace that exposes the removal and suppression of critical data sets. Examples include the elimination of racial and ethnic breakdowns in federal workforce data ([17:14] – [20:43]). Dana Goldberg emphasizes the dangers of such actions, stating, “Trump policies cost lives, but they're hiding the damage from us” ([20:43]).
Harvard University is reportedly negotiating with the Trump administration, potentially agreeing to spend up to $500 million to resolve disputes over alleged civil rights violations ([20:43] – [22:17]). The university remains wary of government-imposed monitoring, viewing it as a threat to academic freedom.
Allison Gill welcomes Aya Ibrahim, a former Senior Policy Advisor for the U.S. Department of State and White House National Economic Council, to discuss the complexities of tariffs, trade policies, and cryptocurrency regulation.
Aya Ibrahim critiques the current administration's erratic approach to tariffs, contrasting it with the more structured methods of the Biden administration. She states, “Tariffs are a tax on consumption and are incredibly regressive, hitting lower-income families harder than those who can absorb the costs” ([34:19]). Ibrahim underscores the lack of strategic planning and the negative repercussions on American consumers, emphasizing that frequent threats and reversals create economic instability.
Discussing the "Genius Act," Ibrahim explains the administration's efforts to regulate stablecoins, distinguishing them from other cryptocurrencies. She warns against the dangers of privately issued currencies, likening them to historical wildcat banks that precipitated financial crises. Ibrahim highlights concerns over money laundering and the susceptibility of the crypto market to illicit activities, noting, “The future of foreign policy is economic policy... it just becomes entirely opaque, transactional deal-making” ([46:10]).
Ibrahim connects the rise of cryptocurrency to attempts at political influence, drawing parallels to past events like the Cambridge Analytica scandal. She expresses apprehension about how crypto can be used to skirt traditional financial regulations and facilitate untraceable transactions that undermine democratic processes.
Concluding the interview, Ibrahim urges listeners to remain informed and vigilant, asserting that the current administration does not prioritize the interests of regular Americans. She emphasizes, “This is not an administration that has working people or American families best interests in mind” ([51:23]).
To balance the heavy news content, Allison and Dana transition to the "Good News" segment, inviting listeners to share positive stories and community achievements. They showcase submissions such as:
Community Mural in California: Sean shares a story about a public mural titled "Prayer for the Earth," created by neighbors and volunteers to foster healing after a local fire ([61:21]).
Creative Expressions: Listeners contribute artwork and personal anecdotes, fostering a sense of connection and positivity amidst challenging times.
In this episode of The Daily Beans, Allison Gill and Dana Goldberg navigate through a maze of unsettling news, from high-profile political scandals and violent incidents to alarming data suppression under the Trump administration. Their thoughtful interview with Aya Ibrahim provides a deeper understanding of the detrimental impacts of erratic tariff policies and inadequate cryptocurrency regulations. The episode concludes on a hopeful note, encouraging community participation and resilience through shared good news.
Notable Quotes:
Allison Gill on Trump’s Admission: “[02:47] Trump admitted that he ditched Epstein because Epstein stole Virginia Giuffre and other young women.”
Aya Ibrahim on Tariffs: “[34:19] Tariffs are a tax on consumption and are incredibly regressive, hitting lower-income families harder than those who can absorb the costs.”
Aya Ibrahim on Crypto and Foreign Policy: “[46:10] The future of foreign policy is economic policy... it just becomes entirely opaque, transactional deal-making.”
For more insights and detailed discussions, tune into The Daily Beans on your preferred podcast platform or visit mswmedia.com.