Podcast
The Nicole Sandler Show
Hosted by Nicole Sandler · EN
Speaking Truth to Power from a progressive point of view with the irreverence it demands
114episodes
Episodes
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Another Emptywheel Friday with Marcy Wheeler of Emptywheel.net
May 101:24:32Tap to summarizeIt's another Emptywheel Friday, when national security journalist Marcy Wheeler of emptywheel.net joins me to break down the week, and this one was a mess! The Supreme Court finished off what was left of the Voting Rights Act, we saw two days of "Whiskey Pete" Hegseth hearings (House AND Senate Armed Services Committees), the Jim Comey "8647" indictment #2 and why it's a mess, the SPLC prosecution unraveling, the Cole Allen shooting attempt at the White House Correspondents dinner, gas prices spiking while the Defense Secretary can't tell you what a gallon costs, and the Sarah Jacobs/Trump-as-Jesus moment you have to see to believe. Plus, a tribute to the civil rights heroes who did the hard work to get the Voting Rights Act passed in the first place, and why their persistence matters right now.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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Rigged Maps, Money, a Military in Chaos & an American Who Got Out
Apr 3001:58:09Tap to summarizeIt's a long, busy show today! We opened with old friend and longtime progressive writer Dave Johnson, now living as an American expat in a tiny village outside Cambridge, England. He talks NHS, the UK's surging Green Party, the lessons Labour's collapse holds for US Democrats, and what it's like watching America from across the Atlantic — where literally everyone hates Trump. Then it's wall-to-wall news: Hegseth's two-day Congressional testimony (day one: a disaster; day two: damage control, sort of), the Supreme Court finishing off the Voting Rights Act and the redistricting scramble that followed, gas prices at record highs, Trump's approval ratings at record lows, the Comey seashell "threat," DOGE handing voter data to outside political groups, a Fox News contributor nominated as Surgeon General, the ICE agent who killed Renee Good getting reassigned instead of prosecuted, and — to end on a weird note — an Indian medical student who made a fortune scamming MAGA men with a fake AI conservative influencer.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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SCOTUS Took the Vote, We're Taking to the Streets
Apr 2901:19:53Tap to summarizeThe Supreme Court's extremist majority struck again today — this time gutting what's left of the Voting Rights Act in a 6-3 ruling written by Samuel Alito. Elena Kagan wrote the dissent — which pointedly drops the word "respectfully" — which isn't the usual. Then: Friday is May Day, and the movement is calling for a nationwide day of economic disruption. No work, no school, no shopping. My guest Nancy Tooozian, founder of Tempe Rising Indivisible, joins me in studio to talk about how she built her chapter from scratch and how you can do the same wherever you live.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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The Monday After Madness: WHCA Shooting, Trump on 60 Minutes & Fight for Your Rights!!
Apr 2700:59:40Tap to summarizeIt's the Monday after the "Nerd Prom" — and wow, what a weekend. We open the show with Jesse Wells' brand new song "Lone Wolves" (already at 53K views!), then journalist Jonathan Larson from The F'ng News joins to break down the assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents Dinner, Trump's bizarre 60 Minutes interview with Nora O'Donnell, and what we actually know — and don't know — about alleged shooter Cole Allen. Plus: Melania wants Jimmy Kimmel punished, and Nicole and David share a feel-good win: they took their nightmare former landlord to small claims court and actually got punitive damages. Stand up for your rights, people!Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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Emptywheel Friday - Marcy Wheeler Explains WTF's Going On
Apr 2401:17:49Tap to summarizeIt's another Emptywheel Friday! Every Friday, Marcy Wheeler of emptywheel.net joins Nicole Sandler to wrap up the week's news. Today, Marcy explains why Trump is psychologically trapped in the Iran war — he can't confront Russia, and he can't admit Obama's JCPOA was better than anything he could negotiate. The global jet fuel crisis is already crashing airlines (hello, Spirit), and the worst economic effects haven't even hit yet.And then, the DOJ's strange indictment of the SPLC; why the Kash Patel/Atlantic lawsuit is going to backfire spectacularly; a Special Forces soldier arrested for insider-trading on the Maduro raid; and the story barely anyone is covering — Joe DiGenova put in charge of the Mueller review, despite being a subject of the very investigation he's supposed to oversee. And probably more...Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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What Would Johnny Carson Say About Trump? Late Night Then and Now
Apr 2301:15:51Tap to summarizeToday I needed a laugh — and honestly, so did you. We kick things off with the best Trump impression on the internet, JL Cauvin. Today's guest is Mark Malkoff, author of Love, Johnny Carson: One Obsessive Fan's Journey to Find the Genius Behind the Legend, about the man who invented late night as we know it. We get into what Carson really thought about Trump back in the '80s and '90s, whether he would have survived today's TV landscape, the Don Rickles cigarette box story you've never heard, and what's happening to late night now that Colbert's show is ending. Plus: my husband calls in to correct my geography. As he does...Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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The Law, The Lies and The Lisa Graves
Apr 2201:00:00Tap to summarizeYes, my favorite expert on the law, Lisa Graves - @TheLisaGraves.bsky.social - will join us in the last half-hour of today's show. I had invited her to discuss today's SCOTUS opinions, but they weren't the big ones we were hoping for (or dreading). There's still plenty to discuss, like yesterday's important wins in the ballot box in Virginia! Though- as I'm posting this came the news that judge has struck it down. More details tomorrow!And you know I have a few things to say about how the orange bloviator tried to block the Democrats from doing what he suggested first, claiming that when the Dems do it, it's illegal and immoral, but when he does it, it's brilliant and we're entitled to it.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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Why Won't Tom Steyer Listen to Me? And Lots of News Too
Apr 2101:16:36Tap to summarizeTom Steyer is running for governor of California and still hasn't taken my advice from 2019. We dig into the full California governor's race — who's in, who's out (looking at you, Swalwell), and what to think about the candidates left standing. Then we go to the Wayback Machine for my actual December 2019 interview with Steyer, where I made the case — live on air — that he should put his $100 million into rebuilding progressive media instead of a presidential run he had no chance of winning. He disagreed. Respectfully. And here we are. After that: Kash Patel filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic — and his own lawsuit appears to confirm several of the things he's claiming are lies. Classic. Plus, Trump is reading from the Bible tonight on camera (pre-recorded, naturally), The Onion takes over InfoWars, the Iran war is affecting condom supply, and the tariff refund website is off to a "glitchy start" (that's the diplomatic version). My guest Dayna Steele from Today's Facts joins to break down what's real and what isn't in today's news — and shares the exciting news that her one-woman show is heading to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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AI, Sociology & Annihilation Normalization with Art Jipson
Apr 2001:29:59Tap to summarizeIt's a Monday and, unfortunately, the news doesn't stop churning over the weekend... A new friend of the show is Dr. Art Jipson. In addition to being a professor of sociology at the University of Dayton and teaching those impressionable college students, he's a prolific writer on substack and a few other venues, writing about the issues in the news that are so troubling to us. And he hosts a weekly radio show on WUDR! Today, an important film I saw last night about AI and why I'm even more frightened now, and how it could affect every aspect of our lives... and more!Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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Emptywheel Fridays: Pope Bob, Armed Seditionists, Springsteen & More
Apr 1701:21:31Tap to summarizeIt's another Emptywheel Friday! Marcy Wheeler of emptywheel.net graciously joins us each Friday to talk with me about the news that hit since we spoke last week. I'm running on Springsteen fumes today (he played Phoenix last night for THREE amazing hours ) but Marcy Wheeler and I still had a full show: Orban lost in Hungary, the DOJ is reversing convictions of Jan 6 convicted terrorists, Trump is losing Catholics while fighting the Pope, and ICE agents are being charged in Minnesota. Come hang. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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