
Hosted by The Daily Beast, Joanna Coles · EN

Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial today at https://shopify.com/dailybeast with promo code dailybeast. #ad Michael Wolff and Daily Beast executive editor Hugh Dougherty unpack Trump’s chaotic China trip and the increasingly surreal inner workings of his orbit, from Xi Jinping visibly outmaneuvering a diminished Trump on the world stage to the bizarre cast of loyalists, tech billionaires, and media personalities surrounding him abroad. Wolff argues that Trump’s mental decline is no longer possible to ignore, pointing to his overnight Truth Social rants, escalating paranoia, and what aides privately fear is behavior spinning further out of control, while Dougherty details why even major media outlets are finally starting to acknowledge it. The conversation also turns to the growing instability inside the administration itself, including Kash Patel’s mounting controversies at the FBI, RFK Jr.’s increasingly alarming role in public health, and the quiet panic spreading among Trump insiders as scandals, firings, and public humiliations pile up behind the scenes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get 15% off OneSkin with the code BEAST at https://www.oneskin.co/BEAST #oneskinpod #ad Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) speaks with Sarah Ewall-Wice about what he calls the alarming transformation of Donald Trump’s Justice Department into a tool for loyalty, intimidation, and political retribution, while sounding the alarm over the administration’s handling of the Epstein files and the growing secrecy surrounding millions of unreleased documents. Goldman argues that Trump’s inner circle is covering up damaging information, warns that the president’s behavior and mental acuity are becoming increasingly erratic behind the scenes, and predicts explosive investigations if Democrats retake the House. The conversation moves from threats against the press and alleged weaponization of federal power to the Iran war fight in Congress, rising inflation, redistricting battles, and why Goldman believes the next election could reshape the balance of power in Washington. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

INCOGNI Deal: To get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan, go to https://incogni.com/beast #ad Michael Wolff and Daily Beast executive editor Hugh Dougherty trace the cracks spreading across Donald Trump’s world, from Wolff’s prediction that Marco Rubio is headed for a brutal fall after becoming too competent and too visible inside the administration, to Trump’s escalating crisis with Iran and a high-stakes trip to China that Wolff argues could end with America “giving away the store.” The conversation moves from inflation fears and the politics of populist collapse to why Trump’s obsession with spectacle may be colliding with geopolitical reality, before turning into a gripping deep dive on Wolff’s explosive new Jeffrey Epstein reporting, where he draws chilling parallels between Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump as two men obsessed with inventing myths about themselves. Along the way, they unpack Nigel Farage’s rise in the UK, Rupert Murdoch’s shadow influence, and why Wolff believes Trump remains dangerously incapable of listening, focusing, or handling the details of power even as the world’s biggest adversaries learn exactly how to play him. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Go to https://zbiotics.com/DAILYBEAST and use code DAILYBEAST at checkout for 15% off your first order of ZBiotics probiotics. #ad David Rothkopf and Joanna Coles break down Donald Trump’s high-stakes China trip as the White House scrambles to escape the political fallout from Iran, plunging poll numbers, and growing global instability. Rothkopf explains why Chinese officials jokingly call Trump “Comrade Nation Builder” because, in their view, every chaotic move he makes strengthens Beijing’s hand while weakening America’s standing in the world. The conversation tears into Trump’s obsession with strongmen, fears that he could privately bargain away leverage on Taiwan in exchange for help with Iran, and the increasingly awkward roles being played by Marco Rubio and JD Vance inside an administration that looks more fractured by the week. From Xi Jinping preparing an imperial-style welcome to questions about whether Trump is setting Rubio up to absorb the blame for the Iran crisis, the episode pulls apart the spectacle, the strategy, and the dangerous consequences behind one of the most consequential foreign trips of Trump’s presidency. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Head to https://biologica.com/BEAST to take the Quick Hormonal Life Stage Quiz and get up to 32% off your first subscription order. #ad Joanna Coles speaks with journalist and author Anand Giridharadas about Donald Trump, the Epstein files, and the powerful network he calls the “Epstein class” — a web of billionaires, politicians, professors, royals, financiers, and cultural elites who protected each other while ordinary people paid the price. Giridharadas argues that Trump’s Iran escalation may have conveniently shifted attention away from explosive revelations tying the president and other influential figures to Jeffrey Epstein’s orbit, while exposing what he describes as a deeper culture of elite impunity in America. From Prince Andrew’s downfall to Jeffrey Epstein’s enduring influence over Wall Street, academia, and global power brokers, the conversation digs into why so many people stayed silent, how the rich shield each other from accountability, and what real justice would actually look like for the survivors at the center of the scandal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ready to reach your goals? Visit https://hims.com/DAILYBEAST to get a personalized, affordable plan that gets you. #ad Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles unpack a strange new chapter in the Trump orbit as Melania Trump publishes a cliché-ridden Mother’s Day op-ed, sparking questions about whether the first lady is quietly building a business identity separate from Donald Trump himself. From Melania’s “strategic absences” and growing concerns within White House to Wolff’s update on his legal battle with the first lady, the discussion moves through media capitulation, Trump’s escalating attacks on ABC and the press, and a startling Virginia court decision that could reshape the 2026 midterms by giving Republicans a major structural advantage. The episode also explores Britain’s political upheaval under the rise of Nigel Farage, mounting fears that Trump can manipulate the electoral system despite worsening political headwinds, and the eerie details surrounding Epstein’s death and purported suicide note, which Wolff says sounded disturbingly Trumpian. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joanna Coles speaks with Glenn Kirschner, former federal prosecutor and host of Justice Matters, about what he calls America’s accelerating constitutional crisis, from Donald Trump’s “unconstitutional war” with Iran and Pete Hegseth’s role in deadly military actions to the explosive fallout over the Epstein files and the firing of Pam Bondi. Kirschner explains why he believes Trump is using global conflict to distract from mounting Epstein scrutiny, why the Department of Justice has become “Donald Trump’s DOJ,” and why accountability for January 6, classified documents, ICE shootings in Minneapolis, and even Trump himself could still come after 2028. In a stunning final stretch, Kirschner openly questions the official narrative around Jeffrey Epstein’s death, drawing on his decades prosecuting homicide cases to explain why he remains deeply unconvinced by the newly released purported suicide note and why the fight over the Epstein files is far from over. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles dive headfirst into the chaos consuming Donald Trump’s world—from the unraveling Iran conflict and Trump’s desperate declarations of “victory” to the political panic spreading from Washington to Westminster. Wolff compares Trump’s crumbling Middle East strategy to his increasingly performative marriage with Melania, while Coles unpacks how Jeffrey Epstein’s shadow is now destabilizing British politics and weakening Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The two also dissect Trump’s obsession with revenge, the bizarre loyalty he still commands inside the Republican Party, and the surreal spectacle of Usha Vance and Cheryl Hines starring in what may be the most uncomfortable political podcast ever created. Along the way: Rudy Giuliani’s tragic downfall, RFK Jr.’s increasingly strained marriage, Trump’s looming China trip, and the growing sense that the people orbiting Trump always end up paying the price. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joanna Coles speaks with Rep. Seth Moulton in a blistering, no-holds-barred conversation on the escalating crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, Moulton warns the U.S. is losing ground to Iran while accusing the Trump administration and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of catastrophic missteps, legal overreach, and dangerous misinformation. He slams Trump as acting like a petulant child and becoming an increasing threat to U.S. troops, national security, and the economy, while unpacking the fallout from abandoning the Obama-era nuclear deal and the growing risk of a nuclear-armed Iran. From the reality behind so-called “ceasefires” to dysfunction in Washington, Moulton connects global instability to domestic political failure, outlines his Senate ambitions, and argues Democrats must embrace a new generation ready to confront AI, economic anxiety, and a rapidly shifting world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Michael Wolff and Nico Hines, the Daily Beast’s Global Editorial Director, dissect a week where everything around Donald Trump seems to be unraveling at once—starting with the stark cautionary tale of Rudy Giuliani, once “America’s mayor” and now a symbol of what loyalty to Trump can cost, abandoned and politically ruined. From there, they pivot into the escalating crisis with Iran, where Trump’s strategy has left the White House cornered, oil prices surging, and insiders quietly admitting they have no clear way out of a conflict increasingly defined by drone warfare and global instability. The conversation then veers into the surreal overlap of politics and culture, as figures like Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez become unlikely players in Trump’s orbit, turning elite spaces like the Met Gala into symbols of shifting allegiances and reputational risk. Layered on top of it all: brutal new polling showing Trump’s support collapsing—not just with independents, but within his own base—raising the possibility that the very forces that once made him untouchable are now eroding in real time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices