Democrats Add Tax Cuts To Affordability Agenda

Summary

What A Day Podcast Summary

Episode: “Democrats Add Tax Cuts To Affordability Agenda”

Date: March 25, 2026 | Host: Jane Coaston

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Episode Overview

This episode examines new Democratic proposals to cut federal income taxes for lower- and middle-income Americans, shifting tactics after decades of Republicans owning the tax-cut conversation. Host Jane Coaston interviews Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen about his new bill, discusses coverage of affordability concerns, and breaks down broader national issues: war in Iran, pessimism about the economy, and AI’s growing role in March Madness brackets.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Democrats Push New Tax Cut Proposals

[00:52 – 02:24]

• Background:

  • Americans face complex, expensive tax filing: over $140 billion out-of-pocket yearly and 11 billion hours spent just to file taxes.
  • Despite high collective payments, economic insecurity remains: nearly half of Americans say their finances are worsening, while the wealthy pay relatively little.

• Shift in Democratic Tactics:

  • Traditionally, Republicans have “seized the opportunity to promote lower taxes” (01:32), but now Democrats like Cory Booker and Chris Van Hollen are advancing their own tax-cut measures for the middle and lower-income brackets.

• Senator Cory Booker’s Proposal:

  • “No household in America should pay federal income tax on their first $75,000 of earnings.” (01:49 – Booker)

2. Senator Chris Van Hollen’s Tax Plan

[02:24 – 06:57]

• Details of the Proposal:

  • Eliminates federal income taxes for individuals making <$46,000/yr; reduces taxes up to about $80,000.
  • Funds cuts with a surtax on income over $1 million: “the first dollar over a million dollars would have a 5-cent surtax and then it’s graduated from there.” (02:47 – Van Hollen)
  • “It gives working people a little more breathing room. And it says to folks who are doing very well…they should chip in more so that all of us can do better.” (03:33 – Van Hollen)

• Why Introduce the Bill Now?

  • Despite not being in power, Democrats want to “speak to the concerns Americans are feeling”—affordability is a top issue.
  • “There’s two sides to the affordability coin…how much money you have in your pocket…that’s where this bill comes in.” (04:08 – Van Hollen)
  • Estimated to benefit roughly 130 million Americans.

• Debate Over Using ‘Tax the Rich’ for Tax Cuts vs. Other Government Needs:

  • Criticism from Ben Ritz (Progressive Policy Institute) that using all plausible tax hikes on the rich for tax cuts would leave nothing to fund other priorities.
  • Van Hollen counters: “It’s not either/or. We can provide working Americans with a little tax relief and provide revenue for other priorities as well.” (05:18 – Van Hollen)
  • Van Hollen expresses support for “wealth tax” proposals (Sanders, Warren, Wyden) to raise broader revenues for pressing needs like Social Security and Medicare solvency.

• Approach to Social Security/Medicare Funding:

  • Van Hollen: Support for wealth taxes—especially ending “stepped up basis” loophole—can address funding gaps: “It’s really leading us to more and more of an American aristocracy.” (06:24 – Van Hollen)
  • Sanders’ wealth tax bill would “cover a gap in Medicare to provide coverage for dental…glasses…hearing.” (06:46 – Van Hollen)

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3. Homeland Security & Immigration Enforcement

[06:57 – 10:18]

• Funding and Oversight for DHS:

  • Ongoing bipartisan negotiations to fund most of DHS (TSA, Coast Guard, FEMA) while disputes remain on ICE reform.
  • Van Hollen: “There’s still really important gaps…we need to ensure that we have credible, independent investigations when we have wrongdoing by DHS officials.” (07:13 – Van Hollen)
  • Calls for basic legal protections, referencing cases of abuse and lack of transparency.

• Leadership at DHS:

  • Markwayne Mullin confirmed as Secretary, but Van Hollen has “no confidence” that he’ll break from Trump-era immigration policies:
    • “Other than a different face, I don’t see any differences...they’re going to continue to follow the Trump policies, which will remain the same despite some changes in rhetoric.” (09:06 – Van Hollen)
  • Notes administration’s pattern: “They didn’t say they were going to end mass deportations. They said just don’t talk about it.” (09:31 – Costen/Van Hollen)

• Rule of Law in Enforcement:

  • Calls out the White House for only promising to uphold already-existing constitutional protections: “When they say, ‘we’re going to agree that you need a search warrant…’ That’s what the Constitution says. This is plain constitutional law.” (09:32 – Van Hollen)
  • “If you’re saying we’re finally going to obey the Bill of Rights, I feel like that says more than you’re intending to say.” (10:18 – Costen)

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4. The Iran War and American Interests Abroad

[10:18 – 11:45 | 16:22 – 17:56]

• Military Escalation:

  • Senator Van Hollen: “The administration entered this war without a clear explanation as to why. Constantly shifting explanations…They have no end game.” (10:40 – Van Hollen)
  • Cites the cost: 13 US service members dead, hundreds wounded, thousands of civilians killed, and $2 billion/day taxpayer burden.
  • “This was a huge miscalculation. It’s a war of choice. It’s an illegal war, and we should end it now.” (11:37 – Van Hollen)

• Trump’s Vague Claims:

  • Trump claims a ‘present’ from the Iranian government worth a “tremendous amount of money” but refuses to clarify. (16:47 – Trump)
  • Coaston jokes: “Whatever it is, don’t open it.” (17:10 – Coaston)
  • Despite claims of peace, the administration is deploying more troops to the Middle East (3,000 from 82nd Airborne Division).

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5. Economic Gloom and Approval Ratings

[17:56 – 19:27]

• Polling Data:

  • Gallup: only 28% of Americans say it’s a good time to look for a job (was 70% in 2022).
  • Reuters/Ipsos: Trump’s economic approval rating is now at 29%, his overall approval at 36%—both historic lows for his presidencies.

• Coaston Commentary:

  • “It’s also funny because we heard throughout 2024 that the reason people were voting for Trump was because of the economy and that somehow he could magically bring us back to the economy of 2019…which I don’t remember being that great, but I guess people do, and that’s not happening.” (19:09 – Coaston)

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6. Tech & Culture: AI in March Madness, Meta Verdict

[19:27 – 21:57]

• AI in March Madness:

  • Wall Street Journal enters ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini in its bracket contests.
  • “Claude is currently in the lead despite picking Illinois to win…the models were initially confused by the concept of a bracket…” (19:39 – Coaston/Berg)
  • Raises questions about AI’s role in betting: “Could people use AI to make good bets in prediction markets? Is that being regulated? How is Congress going to regulate this?” (20:54 – Matt Berg)

• Jury Ruling Against Meta:

  • In New Mexico: Meta found to have harmed children’s mental health; must pay $375 million. (21:22)
  • “We respectfully disagree with the verdict and will appeal,” Meta spokesperson.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Tax Cuts:

  • Cory Booker: “No household in America should pay federal income tax on their first $75,000 of earnings. Keep your money.” (01:49)
  • Chris Van Hollen: “It gives working people a little bit more breathing room…It completely pays for itself.” (03:33)

• On Wealth Tax and Social Programs:

  • Van Hollen: “It’s not either/or. We can provide working Americans with a little tax relief and provide revenue for other priorities as well.” (05:18)

• On DHS Oversight:

  • Van Hollen: “We need to ensure that we have credible, independent investigations when we have wrongdoing by DHS officials.” (07:13)
  • Coaston: “If you’re saying we’re finally going to obey the Bill of Rights, I feel like that says more than you’re intending to say.” (10:18)

• On Iran War:

  • Van Hollen: “This was a huge miscalculation. It’s a war of choice. It’s an illegal war, and we should end it now.” (11:37)

• On AI in Sports:

  • Coaston: “I personally do not want robots involved in my community activities.” (20:11 – paraphrased from Berg/Coaston discussion)

• On Trump's Approval:

  • Matt Berg: “…only 29% of the country approves of how Trump is handling the economy. That’s the lowest number in either of his terms…” (18:28)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Tax Filing Hassle & New Dem Tax Cuts: 00:52 – 02:24
• Sen. Van Hollen Explains His Bill: 02:24 – 04:56
• Responding to Progressive Critiques: 04:56 – 06:57
• Debate on Social Security & Medicare Funding: 05:47 – 06:57
• DHS Funding & ICE Reform: 06:57 – 10:18
• Iran War Critique: 10:18 – 11:45
• Economic Polls and Trump Approval: 17:56 – 19:27
• AI in March Madness: 19:27 – 21:12
• Meta Verdict: 21:22 – 21:57

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Conclusion

This episode breaks down a significant shift in the Democratic economic message—direct tax cuts for the middle class, funded by higher taxes on the ultra-wealthy—while highlighting sharp debate over how best to pay for social priorities and deal with inequality. The conversation pivots to deep skepticism about current US military engagement, frustration with vague government communication, declining confidence in the economy, and both curiosity and concern about technological advances like AI’s foray into sports betting. Throughout, Jane Coaston’s tone is incisive, irreverent, and focused on connecting policy debates to listeners' daily lives.

Transcript

[Activist]

Foreign.

[Jane Costen]

It's Wednesday, March 25th. I'm Jane Costen, and this is what a day. A show that just wants President Donald Trump to tell us whatever he told Secretary of War little boy Pete Hegseth. Here's Hegseth on Tuesday.

[Pete Hegseth]

This is not Iraq and Afghanistan. This is not a president who's interested in vague end states. He's been very clear with us about what we need to accomplish.

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

If he's been very clear with you about the war in Iran, could he

[Jane Costen]

be clear with us? Maybe. On today's show? New polling shows Trump's approval rating is on the decline. Shocking. And the Wall Street Journal's March Madness

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

bracket is AI mazing.

[Jane Costen]

But let's start with taxes. When of the two certainties in life. A new report published by Fortune magazine on Tuesday found that Americans pay more than $140 billion in out of pocket expenses and spend more than 11 billion hours just to fill out their individual tax returns. And that's before they actually, you know, pay their taxes. In 2022, for example, Americans paid more than $2 trillion in individual income taxes. That's a ton of money.

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

And at a time when, according to

[Jane Costen]

the Guardian, nearly half of Americans think their financial security is getting worse, not better. And the richest people in America often pay remarkably little in income taxes.

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

So after decades of Republicans seizing the

[Jane Costen]

opportunity to promote lower taxes to voters, Democrats are getting in on the action and talking lower taxes themselves. New Jersey Senator Cory Booker and Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen have put together separate measures aimed at easing the tax burden on middle and lower income people. Here's Senator Booker discussing his legislation.

[Senator Cory Booker]

So here's the big idea I want to share with you. No household in America should pay federal income tax on their first $75,000 of earnings. Keep your money.

[Jane Costen]

But here's my issue with this. It sounds incredibly basic to say, but

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

taxes pay for public goods, as in

[Jane Costen]

goods that everyone gets to enjoy, from parks to roads to schools.

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

I had a lot of questions about

[Jane Costen]

how taxing rich people to lower taxes on less rich people ensures we have the money we need for the buses, trains, public pools and traffic lights we all rely on. So I spoke with Maryland Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen about his plan.

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

Senator Van Hollen, welcome back to Whataday.

[Senator Chris Van Hollen]

Jane, great to be with you.

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

You introduced a bill this month that would eliminate federal income taxes for people making less than $46,000 a year and lower taxes for anyone making less than about $80,000 per year. It would also gradually raise taxes on Americans who earn more than a million dollars annually. What else should people know about this proposal?

[Senator Chris Van Hollen]

Well, it's good to be with you. The key idea behind this proposal is we have millions of Americans who are working hard every day just to make ends meet. And we decided as part of this bill that if you're just at the cost of living expenses, in other words, if your income is essentially matching your basic cost of living expenses, then you should be able to keep more of what you earn. So you're right. For a single individual who makes $46,000 a year, they would pay no federal income tax. And then we adjust it for households and couples and it's paid for, as you indicate, by a surtax on people who make more than $1 million a year so that the first dollar over a million dollars would have a 5 cent surtax and then it's graduated from there. So it completely pays for itself. It gives working people a little bit more breathing room. And it says to folks who are doing very well making over a million dollars a year that they should chip in more so that all of us can do better.

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

Now, I have a bunch of questions about this, and I'm sure you've gotten a ton of questions about this. First and foremost, Democrats are obviously not in control of Congress or the White House right now. So why did you decide to introduce this bill now?

[Senator Chris Van Hollen]

Well, because I think it speaks to the concerns Americans are feeling. I mean, we've seen in many of these recent elections at the state and local level that affordability is top of mind for Americans. And there's two sides to the affordability coin, right? One is we should try to contain costs. Electricity prices are going up, grocery prices are going up, and we should do what we can to prevent those costs from going up further. But the other side of the coin is how much money you have in your pocket to pay for your basic living expenses. And that's where this bill comes in. It says if you're in that category of people who's essentially going paycheck to paycheck, meeting your basic expenses, that you'll be able to have a little bit more money in your pocket. So it benefits about 130 million Americans. And again, it's financed by this surtax on people who make over a million a year.

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

Ben Ritz from the Progressive Policy Institute

[Jane Costen]

think tank, he criticized your bill in

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

the Atlantic and he said, quote, if the entire universe of plausible tax hikes on the top 2% is spent cutting taxes for the other 98%, no money will be left to pursue other goals. What's your response to that argument that taxing the rich should not just be used as a way to fund tax cuts for everybody else?

[Senator Chris Van Hollen]

Well, I disagree with this premise, which is there is additional revenue that we can achieve, for example, by the wealth tax. I mean, I support Senator Sanders proposal for a wealth tax and Senator Sanders supports this proposal that we're talking about right now to provide middle income tax workers with tax relief. So it's not either or we can provide working Americans with a little tax relief and provide revenue for these other priorities as well.

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

Is that also how you're thinking about addressing funding issues for Social Security and Medicare? Ben Ritz as well as Eric Levitz and Vox, both of them point out that unless significant revenue is raised, Social Security and Medicare will face budget shortfalls within the next decade. Is the wealth tax something that you and Senator Sanders are talking about? Is that how we solve that problem?

[Senator Chris Van Hollen]

Yes, I think it is. I mean, there are a number of wealth tax proposals. Senator Sanders has one, Senator Warren has one, Senator Wyden has one. I support them all because I support the concept as we have it today. As you know, people can pass on large fortunes from one generation to another, tax free because of what we call stepped up basis at death. And it's really leading us to more and more of an American aristocracy. So I do believe, Jane, that that is a source of funds to address some of these other issues. So for example, in Senator Sanders wealth tax bill, he also covers a gap in Medicare to provide coverage for dental services, for seeing, for glasses, as well as for hearing.

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

While you're here, I have to ask about the Department of Homeland Security. Senators from both parties are starting to sound more optimistic this week about the prospect of a deal to fund most of DNA dhs.

[Jane Costen]

Do you expect Republicans to eventually agree

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

to some of the restrictions on ICE officers that Democrats have called for?

[Senator Chris Van Hollen]

Well, I think all of this is premature. I know Republicans have been making positive soundings about this. In, in my view, there's still really important gaps between Republicans, what they say they'll support and what I think we need to do. Just one example, in my view, we need to ensure that we have credible independent investigations when we have wrongdoing by DHS officials. After all, we saw two American citizens killed in Minneapolis and the Homeland Security Department. The former secretary said that the victims were domestic terrorists and yet they refused to share that information with state and local authorities. And so it's outrageous they accused the victims of being domestic terrorists. And so I ask how can we expect DHS to conduct a credible independent investigation? In my view, we can't. And that's not dealt with. So my view, Jane, is for now we should support what Democrats have been calling for for weeks now, which is let's just fund tsa, get those agents paid, make sure people are at the airports and getting paid. Let's fund the Coast Guard, let's fund female and then we can continue to discuss meaningful reforms to ICE and Customs and Border Patrol.

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

I thought it was very telling, Senator, that the White House proposal included a line saying we won't deport US Citizens, which is a funny thing for someone to need to say that, oh, no, we won't do the thing that is

[Jane Costen]

actually illegal for you to be doing.

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

But to that point, Mark Wayne Mullen was confirmed to lead DHS this week in a mostly party line vote. You told Fox News this weekend that you have, quote, no comment confidence and his ability to do this job. Do you expect DHS to look any different under Mullen than it did under Kristi Noem?

[Senator Chris Van Hollen]

Other than a different face, I don't see any differences. I mean, they're going to continue to follow the Trump policies, which will remain the same despite some changes in rhetoric. You probably saw the White House sent, you know, Hill Republicans some memo saying don't talk about mass deportations. You know, the American people don't like mass deportation. They didn't say they were going to end mass deportations. They said just don't.

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

They just said don't talk about it.

[Senator Chris Van Hollen]

Yeah, and so, you know, they've said from the beginning they were going to go after the so called worst of the worst. And we know that they're focused not just on the worst of the worst, they're engaged in these mass deportations. And to your point about simply saying that they're going to do what's already required, I mean, I, I saw Mullen saying, you know, we're going to agree that you need a search warrant before you go into someone's house. That's what the Constitution says. Right. This is the Fourth Amendment. This is plain constitutional law. So, you know, when they say, well, you know, we're going to finally agree to obey the law. We're not going to deport American citizens. We're not going to bash down your door without a warrant. It's like, that is not enough. We want to really fundamentally and meaningfully rein in ice.

[Jane Costen]

Right.

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

Again, if you're saying we're finally going to obey the Bill of Rights, I feel like that says more than you're intending to say. Lastly, I have to ask you about Iran. It's being reported that the Trump administration is planning to send 3,000 more troops to the Middle East. These would not be boots on the ground, and I'm using air quotes, but what are your biggest concerns about the war in Iran at the moment?

[Senator Chris Van Hollen]

Well, my biggest concern is that it's making America less safe. It's making the region less stable. I mean, the region is on fire now. And the administration entered this war without a clear explanation as to why. Constantly shifting explanations, Right? At one point it was to get rid of Iran's nuclear program. Then Tulsi Gabbard admits in public testimony that they assessed that Iran was nowhere near a nuclear weapon. Then Donald Trump changes the story again. They have no end game. We have lost 13American service members, hundreds wounded, over 2,000 civilians killed in the region, including over 100 Iranian schoolgirls. And we're talking about $2 billion a day in American taxpayer money, plus rising in oil, oil and gas prices. This was a huge miscalculation. It's a war of choice. It's an illegal war, and we should end it now.

[Jane Costen]

Senator Van Hollen, as always, thank you

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

so much for joining me.

[Senator Chris Van Hollen]

It's great to be with you. Thanks, Jane.

[Jane Costen]

That was my conversation with Maryland's Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen.

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

Unlike death and taxes, listening to Water

[Jane Costen]

Day is actually pretty enjoyable.

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

So if you like the show, make

[Jane Costen]

sure to subscribe, leave a 5 star review on Spotify and Apple podcasts, watch us on YouTube and share with your friends. More to come after some ads. What a day is brought to you by Factor.

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[Runaway Country Host]

the country feels like it's falling apart right before

[Runaway Country Guest]

our eyes and the people inside it are being silenced.

[Runaway Country Host]

So we're going to East 26th street and Nicollet Avenue, which is where Alex Preddy was executed by ICE and Border Patrol. That is not a headline.

[Runaway Country Guest]

That is a human life and it is all happening right now. Do you worry about your own safety being involved in all this?

Yes, but it doesn't really feel like there's another option, you know?

[Activist]

And of course they use a 5 year old child as bait and of course they're doing all these horrible bad things because they don't know what they're doing. They've been told that they're going to get rid of the worst of the worst, then they have absolute immunity and they've been told that nothing they do will they ever be held accountable for.

[Runaway Country Host]

On my show Runaway country, we go where the headlines hit home from communities

[Runaway Country Guest]

under threat to the people fighting to be heard new episodes of Runaway country drop every Thursday. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts or watch on YouTube.

[Book Narrator]

Bringing together Marvel's infamous street hero Daredevil and the award winning crime thriller writer Alex Segura, get ready for an all new addition to the Marvel crime series. By day, Matt Murdock defends the Punisher at the trial of the century. The murder of the kingpin. By night, Daredevil staves off a war of succession from the throne of the criminal underworld. Will he win out or will Hell's Kitchen finally fall by? Enemy of my enemy Today, wherever books are sold.

[Jane Costen]

Here's what else we're following today.

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

Head of Lines. I am once again joined by Crooked's Washington correspondent Matt Berg to talk about the big stories. Hey, Matt.

[Matt Berg]

Hey, Jane.

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

Matt, do you remember how we were wondering. Actually, I wasn't wondering, but some people were wondering whether or not we were at war with Iran a few weeks ago.

[Matt Berg]

Yeah. And that feels like years ago, honestly.

[Jane Costen]

Weird, because it's been like three weeks.

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

But now we have a new problem. The world is still trying to figure out whether the US Is actually in talks with Iran to end the war that is a war. Here's what President Donald Trump had to say on Tuesday.

[Donald Trump]

They're going to make a deal. They're going to make a deal. They did something yesterday that was amazing, actually. They gave us a present and the president arrived today and it was a very big present worth a tremendous amount of money. And I'm not going to tell you what that president is, but it was a very significant prize.

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

I'm just gonna say it.

[Jane Costen]

Whatever it is, don't open it.

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

I've seen movies. Don't open it. But this present, Matt, isn't the only thing Trump's being vague about. Actually, he's being vague about the whole thing. He keeps saying, for example, the US Is in talks with Iran, but there's still no clear indication of what he's

[Jane Costen]

talking about or what the talks would be doing.

[Matt Berg]

Right. And despite all this vagueness from Trump, he keeps saying that things are just going great. On Tuesday, he spoke about Iran's military capabilities, telling a reporter, quote, can you name that's not gone? Let's contrast that with what the administration is actually doing. There's news on Tuesday that the Pentagon reportedly plans to deploy 3,000 more troops in the Army's elite 82nd Airborne Division to support war efforts. And none of that sounds quite like peace to me.

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

No, none of this sounds like peace. It definitely sounds like war. And at the same time, Americans are not happy at home. They are extremely pessimistic about the job market, according to new polling from Gallup that was taken at the end of 2025. According to Gallup, only 28% of people said it's a good time to look for a new job, versus 72% who said it's rough out there in 2022, 70% of people said it was a good time to look for a job.

[Jane Costen]

Remember 2022 when people were quiet quitting

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

and it felt like employers needed to do everything possible to keep their employees?

[Matt Berg]

Yeah, that was four years ago. Believe it or not, it has been a very long for years. There's other polling out today from Reuters and Ipsos showing that only 29% of the country approves of how Trump is handling the economy. That's the lowest number in either of his terms, which is pretty shocking. But a more important number, maybe to Trump, is that that is lower than any point in Joe Biden's presidency, which I'm sure he's still going to find a way to blame Joe Biden for the economy. But the numbers here don't lie. And Reuters also reports that Trump's overall approval rating is dropping now at 36%. So, I mean, you could say that things are looking great for him.

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

It's also funny because we heard throughout 2024 that the reason people were voting for Trump was because of the economy and that somehow he could magically bring us back to the economy of 2019, which I don't remember being that great, but I guess people do, and that's not happening. But what is happening is basketball.

[Jane Costen]

We're in the thick of March Madness and robots are playing this year, sort of.

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

They are not playing college basketball, which

[Jane Costen]

is good, but they are taking part in the Wall Street Journal's Bracket tournament. According to the outlet, reporters trained Claude,

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

Gemini and ChatGPT on how to find the best way to win a March Madness pool and then secretly entered them into the bracket. Claude is currently in the lead despite picking Illinois to win the national championship, and not one of the number one seeds like Michigan, for example, just picking one out of a hat. Interestingly, all of the large language models, which include Claude, Gemini and ChatGPT, were initially confused by the concept of a bracket, but actually I'm fine with the fact that they couldn't figure this out. The more stuff AI figures out, the more scared I get.

[Matt Berg]

I feel the exact same way. I mean, now AI is coming for things that are actually just fun for humans to do, like the community building aspects I love about March Madness. And now AI is going to be involved. And I personally do not want robots involved in my community activities. But I mean, this just goes to show, like you said, that AI is involved in not just writing and editing resumes and coding, but now it's getting good at betting, which could bring up a lot of other problems. I mean, we're seeing all this news about prediction markets and the different problems caused there. And could people use AI to, to make good bets in prediction markets? Like, is that being regulated? How is Congress going to regulate this?

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

It's also interesting because, like, AI models are good at probability and they're good at understanding metrics. After getting past their initial confusion, the models are now doing better than most

[Jane Costen]

humans in the Wall Street Journal bracket. They all avoided picking Florida, the number

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

one seed that lost this past weekend.

[Jane Costen]

So to our viewers, who are you rooting for in March Madness?

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

You already know who I'm rooting for in March Madness because come on, you watch this show. But Matt, I'm always rooting for you.

[Matt Berg]

Thanks for having me. And please do not replace me with Claude anytime soon.

[Jane Costen]

And we have an update to a story we brought you yesterday. In a landmark decision on Tuesday, a New Mexico jury found that social media conglomerate Meta harmed children's mental health in violation of the state's consumer protection law. Jurors found that there were thousands of violations mandating Meta to pay a $375 million penalty. A spokesperson for Meta said in a statement, quote, we respectfully disagree with the verdict and will appeal. And that's the news.

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

Before we go. This week on Pod Save the World, Tommy Vitor and Ben Rhodes break down

[Jane Costen]

the latest on Iran and Lebanon as

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

the fallout from this escalating conflict keeps

[Jane Costen]

spreading across the region and into global politics.

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

They'll also dig into the latest EU

[Jane Costen]

election shakeups and what they mean for

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

the future of the West.

[Jane Costen]

Plus, I sit down with Edward Fishman from the Council on Foreign Relations to talk through the long term economic consequences of the Iran crisis. If you want a clear eyed breakdown

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

of what's happening and what it means

[Jane Costen]

down the line, listen to Pod Save the World, wherever you get your podcasts. That's all for today. If you liked the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, congratulate Egyptian Queen Hatshepsut on getting some worthy reconsideration from the historical record and tell your friends to listen to. And if you're into reading, I'm not just about how the ancient queen was positioned by 19th century historians as an evil usurper. But new research shows she was a diplomatic superpower who led an era of prosperity during the 15th century B.C.

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

like me.

[Jane Costen]

What a Day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and [e-mail] subscribe I'm Jane Coston and a woman being miscast by male historians. Groundbreaking. What a Day is a production of Crooked Media. It's recorded and mixed by Desmond Taylor. Our associate producer is Emily Foer. Our producer is Caitlin Plummer. Our video editor is Joseph Dutra. Our video producer is Johanna Case. We have production help today from Greg Walters, Matt Berg and Ethan Oberman. Our senior producer is Erica Morrison and our senior vice president of news and politics is Adrian Hill. Our theme music is by Kyle Murdoch and Jordan Cantor. We had help today from the Associated Press. Our production staff is proudly unionized with the Writers Guild of America.

[Interviewer (Jane Costen)]

East.

[Runaway Country Host]

The country feels like it's falling apart

[Runaway Country Guest]

right before our eyes and the people inside it are being silenced.

[Runaway Country Host]

So we're going to East 26th street and Nicollet Avenue, which is where Alex Preddy was executed by ICE and Border Patrol. That is not a headline.

[Runaway Country Guest]

That is a human life and it is all happening right now. Do you worry about your own safety being involved in all this?

Yes. But it doesn't really feel like there's another option, you know.

[Activist]

And of course they use a 5 year old child as bait. And of course they're doing all these horrible bad things because they don't know what they're doing. They've been told that they're going to get rid of the worst of the worst. Then they have absolute immunity and they've been told that nothing they do will they ever be held accountable for.

[Runaway Country Host]

On my show, Runaway country, we go where the headlines hit home from communities

[Runaway Country Guest]

under threat to the people fighting to be heard. New episodes of Runaway country drop every Thursday. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts or watch on YouTube.

[Jane Costen]

Hey boss, how did we get these massage chairs?

[Verizon Business Customer]

Easy. I saved big on the new Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra from Verizon Business. The savings helped me buy the chairs.

[Jane Costen]

Oh yeah.

[Verizon Business Customer]

Oh yeah.

[Verizon Business Announcer]

Get up to $1,100 off the new Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. Verizon Business New liner upgrade with new device payment agreement select traded in my biz plan with 20 monthly add on spending required terms apply. Ends 3-31-2026.

[Book Narrator]

Bringing together Marvel's infamous street hero Daredevil and the award winning crime thriller writer Alex Segura. Get ready for an all new addition to the Marvel crime scene by day. Matt Murdock defends the Punisher at the trial of the century. The murder of the kingpin. By night. Daredevil staves off a war of succession. From the throne of the criminal underworld. Will he win out? Or will Hell's Kitchen finally fall? My enemy of my enemy today, wherever books are sold.