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What A Day

Crooked Media

If you’re looking for hype, fake outrage, and groupthink, kindly keep moving. Our mission at What a Day is simple: to be your guide to what truly matters each morning (and the fun stuff you might have missed) in just 20 minutes. Host Jane Coaston brings you in-depth reporting and substantive analysis on the big stories shaping today and the creeping trends shaping tomorrow—and when she doesn’t know the answers, she asks someone even smarter to fill us all in. Radical, right? New episodes at 5:00 a.m. EST, Monday–Saturday in your favorite podcast app and on YouTube. Being informed was never this easy.

  • 27 minutes
    Will Senators Let A Vaccine Skeptic Run Public Health?

    Robert F. Kennedy Jr. started making the rounds on Capitol Hill Monday to lobby Senators on his nomination to be the next secretary of Health and Human Services. There are plenty of reasons why he could face an uphill battle to confirmation, from his prior support for abortion access and background as an environmental lawyer to his hostility toward industrial agriculture. However, chief among the reasons why Senators may be hesitant to confirm RFK Jr. is that he's been one of the most prominent and pernicious sources of vaccine misinformation in the last decade. Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, health officer for Wayne County, Michigan, and host of the podcast 'America Dissected,' explains the risks RFK Jr. poses to public health. 

    Later in the show, Rachel Donadio, a Paris-based journalist and contributing writer at The Atlantic, explains the chaos engulfing France's government.

    And in headlines. A New York judge rejected President-elect Donald Trump's bid to get his hush money conviction overturned, a teen killed a teacher and a student in a school shooting in Wisconsin, and Amazon workers threaten to strike right before the holidays.

    Show Notes:

    17 December 2024, 8:30 am
  • 20 minutes 3 seconds
    Biden Puts His Stamp On Federal Courts

    President Joe Biden and Senate Democrats are expected to score a big win this week. If all goes to plan, they’ll get their 235th judge on the federal bench, one more than President-elect Donald Trump seated in his first term. But the story is bigger than the total number of judges earning lifetime appointments under Biden. The president is also set to appoint a record number of Black judges, and more than half of his appointments have been people of color and women — both firsts for a sitting president. Lena Zwarensteyn, senior director of the fair courts program at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, talks about the significance of Biden's judicial record.

    And in headlines: ABC News agreed to pay $15 million to settle a defamation lawsuit brought Trump, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is reportedly recovering from hip replacement surgery after falling down a flight of stairs, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. has officially made contact with the Islamist rebel group that has seized control of Syria.

    Show Notes:

    16 December 2024, 8:30 am
  • 29 minutes 50 seconds
    What Happens When Rebels Take Over Your Country?

    It’s been a week since Syrian rebels overtook the country’s capital and forced out the longtime dictator, Bashar al-Assad. This has all been a long time coming, but now a lot is happening very quickly. In this week’s How We Got Here, Max takes a look at the handful of other countries whose governments have also been overthrown by rebels to understand what it means for Syria that the guys with guns are now in control. Will they be tolerant and pluralistic — or despotic and cruel? Will they govern wisely or capriciously? How will they align Syria within the politics of the Middle East, and what will that mean for the rest of the world?

    14 December 2024, 8:30 am
  • 24 minutes 4 seconds
    What Praising The UnitedHealthcare Shooter Says About America

    The murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has sparked a massive reaction online that’s veered into support for the alleged shooter, with an outpouring of sympathy on social media. This week we also saw a jury acquit Daniel Penny, a Marine veteran who killed a man named Jordan Neely using a chokehold on a New York Subway train. The verdict prompted a similar outpouring of support for Penny on the right. Suffice it to say, it was a big week for vigilantism. Atlantic staff writer Ali Breland explains what it all says about our political discourse. 

    Later in the show, California Attorney General Rob Bonta joins us to discuss how the state is ‘Trump-proofing’ its progressive laws.

    And in headlines: President-elect Donald Trump is Time magazine’s ‘Person of the Year,’ President Biden made history by commuting the prison sentences of nearly 1500 people and pardoning another 39, and the federal government says don’t worry about all of those drone sightings over New Jersey.

    Show Notes:

    13 December 2024, 8:30 am
  • 25 minutes 32 seconds
    How Senate Dems Can Fight feat Sen. Tammy Baldwin

    We are just 39 days away from President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration. But Democrats are still trying to figure out what went wrong in 2024, and how to fix it before 2026. Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin breaks down why she thinks she won re-election in a swing state, in which Trump also won, and how Democrats are approaching the president-elect's cabinet picks. 

    Later in the show, Politico senior defense correspondent Conner O'Brien explains what's actually in the big defense bill House lawmakers passed Wednesday.

    And in headlines: FBI Director Christopher Wray says he will resign when President Joe Biden leaves office in January, Grocery store chain Albertsons called off its merger with fellow mega grocer Kroger, and a federal judge in Texas put a stop to the sale of Alex Jones's Infowars to the Onion.

    Show Notes:

    12 December 2024, 8:30 am
  • 22 minutes 58 seconds
    Biden’s Unresolved Conflicts

    It’s a tense time in international politics right now. And it’s coming at a pretty tough time for the U.S., as President Joe Biden gets ready to hand over the foreign policy reins to President-elect Donald Trump. Syria’s fate is a big question mark as it prepares for a new government, Israel’s war in Gaza is still raging, and Russia and Ukraine are stuck in a stalemate. Ben Rhodes, former deputy national security advisor for President Barack Obama and co-host of Crooked’s ‘Pod Save the World,’ joins us to discuss Biden’s foreign policy legacy and the conflicts Trump inherits.

    And in headlines: President Biden defended his economic policy during a speech at a Brookings Institution event, New York Attorney General Letitia James says her office will not drop the almost $500 million fine Trump owes the state, and former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz gets a new job.

    Show Notes:

    11 December 2024, 8:30 am
  • 29 minutes 44 seconds
    Is TikTok Doomed?

    TikTok’s days in the U.S. may be numbered after a federal appeals court upheld a federal law late last week to force the ban or sale of the social media app. The case could ultimately end up before the Supreme Court. President-elect Donald Trump has also promised to reverse the ban, even though he tried to ban TikTok in his first term. Louise Matsakis, senior business editor at WIRED, walks us through all the what-ifs of a future without TikTok. 

    Later in the show, Bloomberg senior editor Stacey Vanek Smith talks about what the incoming Trump administration’s enthusiasm for cryptocurrency means for all of us.

    And in headlines: A suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO was arrested and charged in Pennsylvania, Lara Trump eyes Marco Rubio’s Florida Senate seat, and Biden faces a growing pressure campaign to use his clemency powers.

    Show Notes:

    10 December 2024, 8:30 am
  • 25 minutes 40 seconds
    How Rebels Gained Control of Syria

    President-elect Donald Trump stopped by 'Meet the Press' on Sunday for his first network sit-down interview since winning back the White House. During his hour-plus conversation, he reaffirmed his promise to pardon most of the people who violently stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, possibly on his first day back in office. And he said every person who sat on the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack "should go to jail." Those kinds of comments are exactly why the Biden Administration is reportedly weighing preemptive pardons for people who might become targets of Trump's Justice Department. Kim Wehle, a professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law and author of the book 'Pardon Power,' explains the significance of the presidential pardon.

    Plus, we talked with Pod Save The World's Tommy Vietor about how a Syrian rebel militia group gained control of the country.

    And in headlines: Trump says he can't guarantee Americans won't end up paying more for goods under his tariff plans, The U.S. Department of Agriculture orders testing of the nation's milk supply for bird flu, and Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral held its first mass on Sunday since a 2019 fire partially destroyed it.

    Show Notes:

    9 December 2024, 8:30 am
  • 22 minutes 23 seconds
    Can the Trump Administration Undo the Sexual Revolution?

    Trump’s rhetoric glorifies an America where men are in charge and women are subjugated. Rights that many of us took for granted for decades—no fault divorce, access to contraception and abortion—as well as newer rights like access to gender-affirming health care and same sex marriage are now in the crosshairs of an empowered conservative bloc. Project 2025 calls for the government to stop barely short of forcing women back into a state of subservience, gay people back into the closet, and America back to the 1950s. But can the government actually do that? This week on How We Got Here, Erin interviews author and New York Magazine Writer Rebecca Traister to understand how sexual politics will evolve over the next four years.

    7 December 2024, 8:30 am
  • 17 minutes 11 seconds
    Will Senate Stymie Trump feat. Sen. Jacky Rosen

    There are only two weeks left for the 118th Congress to legislate. And there’s a lot to do. Lawmakers must pass a federal spending package to prevent a government shutdown, approve a defense budget, and decide how much money to set aside for relief after a rough year of natural disasters—no big deal. In the Senate, Democrats also need to confirm as many as President Joe Biden’s remaining judicial nominations before they lose power. Nevada Senator Jacky Rosen joins us to discuss what’s on the Senate Democrats’ agenda for the remainder of the year.

    And in headlines: Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy paraded around Capitol Hill to push their vision for DOGE, the Justice Department says the Memphis Police Department violates residents' constitutional rights, and Republicans face a historically small House majority in the next Congress.

    Show Notes:

    6 December 2024, 8:30 am
  • 27 minutes 44 seconds
    Trump’s DoD Pick Scrambles To Salvage His Nomination

    Former Fox News host Pete Hegseth was on Capitol Hill Wednesday to meet with senators, trying to salvage his nomination to be the next defense secretary. His nomination is hanging by a thread amid a drip, drip, drip of sordid details about his very messy personal life. But if Hegseth does manage to win Senate confirmation, he'd oversee the largest U.S. government agency with a nearly $900 billion budget. Paul McLeary, Pentagon and national security reporter for Politico, breaks down the job of the defense secretary and how Hegseth fits into President-elect Trump's larger vision for national security.

    There's a lot of hand-wringing about where Democrats went wrong and why they lost the White House. And a big part of that conversation is how the party lost the support of many working-class voters while Trump gained ground. Max Alvarez, Editor-in-Chief of The Real News Network, talks about the shift among the voting bloc.

    And in headlines: The Supreme Court appeared poised to side with Tennessee over its law banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors, Trump moves to have his Georgia election interference case dismissed, and Senators grilled airline executives over excessive fees.

    Show Notes:


     

    5 December 2024, 8:30 am
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