• 55 minutes 18 seconds
    Trump’s Desperate $5,000 Bribe to Save the GOP Could Blow Up in His Face

    Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov mark Raging Moderates' two-year anniversary with a packed episode on one of the most significant news days of the year.

    On the eve of the 25th anniversary of the September 11th attacks — and the one-year mark since the Charlie Kirk assassination — Trump and the GOP gathered for night one of the first-ever RNC midterm convention. Trump used the stage to make a remarkable promise: a $5,000 "Trump dividend" for every American adult if Republicans hold onto Congress. 

    Scott and Jess break down night one, react to the surprise cameo by Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, and weigh in on James Talarico doing counter-programming on Fox News, where the Democratic hope of Texas reversed some of his past controversial positions.

    Also, it’s the two-year anniversary of the launch of Raging Moderates. Scott and Jess revisit some takes from their very first episode. Two years in, how are they feeling about the show and where America stands compared to where it was when they started?

    And finally: Tomorrow marks 25 years since 9/11. Scott and Jess pause to reflect on the experience of living through that harrowing day. And for Jessica, this tragedy struck very close to home, as she speaks about openly and vulnerably here.


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    10 September 2026, 11:28 pm
  • 33 minutes 14 seconds
    Trump’s GOP Is in Full Panic As Republicans Flee His Convention Flop

    The first-ever GOP midterm convention is underway in Dallas, and a number of high-profile Republicans, particularly those in battleground territory, are notably skipping it. The party has even been offering free tickets to help fill seats, at a moment when Trump's approval rating is at an all-time low and oil hits $100 a barrel amid escalating chaos in the Middle East. Trump is competing with NFL kickoff and insisting the American Airlines Center is "totally sold out." What will the vibes be like on the ground, and more importantly - what will ratings look like? Plus, why Aaron thinks the midterms will be closer races than polls would suggest. 

    This week marks the 25th anniversary of September 11, 2001. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is releasing more than 170,000 pages of city records documenting the government's response to the attacks and their aftermath, launching the city's first public portal dedicated to 9/11 records. But controversy surrounds the commemoration: former Mayor Rudy Giuliani says he doesn't want Mamdani at Friday's ceremony, and Trump falsely claimed that firefighters carried him away from the site after the attacks. Aaron and Jessica break down the commentary around Mamdani, how people are grappling with the tension between honoring families' grief and holding the city accountable, and reflecting on how history repeats itself. 

    New disclosures show Trump gave three young White House staffers $45,000 each as Christmas gifts — including executive assistant Natalie Harp, who is rarely more than a few feet from the president. A former White House ethics lawyer says the payments may violate federal law. The White House insists they were simply holiday gifts. Is this generosity — or a serious ethical and legal problem?

    A senior Anthropic researcher has publicly stated he believes there is more than a 10% chance AI could kill all humans within the next decade — and he's not alone, with several Anthropic researchers now warning publicly that AI could become uncontrollable. Are we actually on track for an AI apocalypse?

    Plus, Jess and Aaron take listener questions.

    Preorder "I Disagree" by Jessica Tarlov: https://sites.prh.com/idisagree

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    9 September 2026, 8:00 pm
  • 47 minutes 15 seconds
    The Canada Trade War Might Actually Cost Trump More Than It Costs Canada

    Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov break down a packed Tuesday, starting with the news that Canada's counter-tariffs are officially in effect — and Trump is escalating rather than negotiating. In recent days he has threatened to bar Bombardier from the U.S. market unless it builds there, accused Canada of blocking American banks and companies while benefiting from American customers, and floated ending all trade with Canada entirely. How does this end?

    The Republican National Committee is holding its first-ever midterm national convention this week. Unlike a presidential nominating convention, there is no party business or nominations, which means it's shaping up to be a two-night Trump rally. Scott and Jess break down what to expect from the event, and why Democrats aren't hosting something similar. Is it a missed opportunity?

    An Israeli newspaper is reporting that Prime Minister Netanyahu was personally warned by UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed that Hamas was planning a major offensive roughly ten days before the October 7, 2023 attack. What implications does this have for the ongoing conflict in the region today?

    It has now been three months since Mitch McConnell was last present in the Senate. Will Republicans start publicly demanding he resign — and what happens to his seat if he does?

    Plus, the Trump administration has proposed a new child care subsidy that would let married couples in certain income brackets collect money if one parent stays home — funded by redirecting money from the $12 billion Child Care and Development Fund, which was created to help low and moderate income parents work or attend school. The program currently provides about $9,000 per child per year. Who benefits from this proposal — and who gets left out?

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    8 September 2026, 11:07 pm
  • 52 minutes 50 seconds
    The Economy Is Sending Trump a WARNING Republicans Can’t Ignore

    Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov open by addressing a warning signal that Washington appears to be ignoring: the 10-year Treasury yield just hit 4.81% — up from 4.20% in January — while the 30-year remains at levels not seen this persistently since 2006. With a $2 trillion deficit, potentially billions in tariff refunds, and a Fed that could raise rates to fight inflation that’s now at 3.4% annually, the economic picture heading into the midterms is… complicated. Are Republicans turning away from these issues in order to keep Trump happy — and how likely is an interest rate hike from Trump's own Fed chair?

    The Trump administration is doubling down on AI data centers — even as about 70% of Americans say they oppose building one in their community. Trump says communities against them "want to be backwards and poor," while Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is calling concerns about their water use propaganda from U.S. adversaries. Scott and Jess break down why this has become such a political flashpoint — and why  Trump is pushing so hard for something so deeply unpopular. U.S. data center power demand is projected to nearly double to 95 GW by the end of 2027, all while electricity prices are rising fast.

    New York City has rolled out the nation's broadest generative AI moratorium in schools — banning student-facing AI tools for a year for 600,000 students from preschool through 8th grade. Is this a positive step from mayor Zohran Mamdani— or is this setting up NYC’s youth to fall behind? Scott and Jess also connect a policy like this to broader problems facing many Democrat-run cities, such as governing amidst a homelessness crisis in San Francisco. 

    In Massachusetts, 80-year-old Senator Ed Markey, the co-author of the Green New Deal who was first elected to Congress in 1976, successfully fended off a primary challenge from Rep. Seth Moulton. In a cycle defined by younger challengers ousting incumbents, Markey is an outlier, having positioned himself as the more progressive candidate. Does his win say anything meaningful about the age debate — or is this a rare exception?


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    3 September 2026, 10:25 pm
  • 32 minutes 51 seconds
    Is the USPS Helping Trump Rig the Election?

    Get your ticket for our live show at 92NY: https://www.92ny.org/event/scott-galloway-and-jessica-tarlovJessica Tarlov and Aaron Parnas are back for Raging Perspective, breaking down the week's biggest stories live.

    Military strikes between the U.S. and Iran have intensified again after a month of relative quiet — and the markets noticed immediately. The Dow closed down nearly 500 points, oil prices climbed back toward $100 a barrel, and the U.S. private sector added just 38,000 jobs in August, well below forecasts. Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson is being asked about Congress's role in authorizing the use of force — and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll has resigned, in what looks like the latest in a pattern of Vance allies departing as Rubio allies gain ground inside the administration. They also preview what the 2028 field might look like, and ask whether Howard Lutnick is becoming the administration’s favorite fall guy. 

    House Democrats are threatening consequences for Representatives Jared Golden and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez after both broke with Democratic leadership to help advance a key Republican procedural vote. Hakeem Jeffries has called it a "significant breach of trust" and asked the caucus rules committee to consider stripping them of their committee assignments. Was this justified — or is the party eating its own?

    A whistleblower disclosure filed through Senator Blumenthal's office reveals that USPS is rushing out a system to implement Trump's mail voting order — and according to the whistleblower, it is "secretive, rushed, chaotic, and fundamentally flawed." The plan requires states to upload lists of mail voters with barcoded ballot envelopes; if USPS scanners find even one mismatch in a batch, the entire batch — potentially tens of thousands of ballots — gets kicked back to the state instead of delivered. Mail-in voting starts this week. A federal judge has frozen the mandatory part of the rule, but the Justice Department is appealing. Is this the administration getting its way even when it loses in court?

    In Times Square, a knife-wielding suspect killed 32-year-old Erin Piacenti — a Bank of America vice president and lawyer from New Jersey — on what was her first day back at work after maternity leave. The suspect, a 49-year-old woman, was shot and killed by NYPD after graphic video of the confrontation spread widely on social media. Jessica and Aaron break down what we know.

    And before the audience Q&A: AOC is single and showing up. Jessica and Aaron react.


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    2 September 2026, 7:35 pm
  • 49 minutes 37 seconds
    Scott's Back — And So Are Iran Strikes, the Canada Trade War, and a Very Smelly TikTok Trend

    Get your tickets now for our live show at 92NY: https://www.92ny.org/event/scott-galloway-and-jessica-tarlov

    Scott Galloway is back — and so is the Iran war. He joins Jessica Tarlov to discuss the new round of fire between the U.S. and Iran after a month-long lull in military strikes. The resumption comes alongside growing fractures inside the administration: Army Secretary Dan Driscoll resigned after months of tension with Secretary Pete Hegseth, six months into a war with no visible endgame. There are reports that senior military leaders have warned Hegseth that current operations aren't sustainable. Meanwhile, Hegseth was spotted in Iowa looking increasingly like a 2028 presidential candidate, and Trump has now weighed in on the idea.

    The Canada tariff deadline is one week away. Canadian retaliatory tariffs kick in on September 8th, focused on politically sensitive goods like steel, dairy, appliances, and construction materials. Scott and Jess debate whether Trump will blink before the deadline, whether Canada is right to hold its ground, and what it means if Canada starts pivoting to new long-term trading partners and strengthening ties with other allies. 

    With nine weeks until the midterm elections, Scott gets caught up on everything he missed. The odds of Republicans keeping Senate control are 52% on Kalshi, but Jess breaks down the mounting favorables for Democrats headed into November. How will 2026 stack up against the 2018 “blue wave”?

    And finally: a particularly funky TikTok trend involves skipping showers, ditching deodorant, wearing the same clothes for days, and — for the truly committed — drinking one’s own urine… all in pursuit of a "natural musk,” supposedly more attractive to women. Scott and Jess ask who exactly benefits from pushing this narrative on social media.

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    1 September 2026, 10:55 pm
  • 56 minutes 45 seconds
    Trump’s Foreign Policy Could Define the Midterms — And He’s Losing

    Jessica Tarlov is joined by Ryan Grim, reporter at Drop Site News and co-host of Breaking Points, for a wide-ranging conversation nine weeks before the midterms.

    They open with the state of the races. Democrats have flipped roughly 30 state legislative seats in special elections since Trump returned to office, while Republicans have flipped none. With a wave of progressives and anti-establishment candidates winning primaries, can Democrats make the big tent work in the general? And how would Ryan rate the Republican strategy heading into the fall?

    They check in on the race in Michigan with progressive Abdul Al-Sayed. And one primary still to watch: Massachusetts, where 80-year-old Senator Ed Markey is running for another six-year term against Rep. Seth Moulton. In a cycle where incumbents have been falling to younger, more progressive challengers, Markey has uniquely positioned himself as the more progressive candidate — touting his record as coauthor of the Green New Deal. Polling has him far ahead of the younger Moulton. What does Markey's campaign tell us about where the Democratic Party is heading?

    Then, according to reporting in The Washington Post, a classified Pentagon planning document revealed that senior U.S. military leaders have warned Secretary Pete Hegseth that sustaining current operations against Iran isn't feasible. Ryan breaks down how dire the situation actually is — and what it means that these officials are putting this on record, knowing how Hegseth treats military leaders who push back.

    A New York Times investigation has found that a growing number of political influencers are being paid by campaigns and outside groups to endorse candidates on social media without disclosing those payments to viewers, a practice that is largely unregulated at the federal level. And, more distressingly, the Pentagon appears to also have certain content creators on their payroll. What does this mean for the future of political media? 

    On the Canada trade war: Google Maps has renamed Lake Ontario "Lake America" for U.S. users, following the Gulf of Mexico precedent. Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers are speaking out against Trump's tariff escalation and his decision to allow 300,000 tons of foreign beef into the country duty-free. Is this another Trump news cycle that ends in a backdown — or something more serious?


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    31 August 2026, 11:15 pm
  • 37 minutes 23 seconds
    Trump Can’t Stop Fighting Canada

    Get your ticket for our live show at 92NY: https://www.92ny.org/event/scott-galloway-and-jessica-tarlov

    Trump just renamed Lake Ontario “Lake America” as his trade war with Canada heats up. Meanwhile, Democrats face a growing civil war over the party’s future, Trump ramps up deportations of Haitians, and a Florida grand jury finds $10 million was misappropriated by the DeSantis administration.

    Plus, Donald Trump Jr. pushes states to back off prediction-market regulations despite his financial ties to the industry, Trump’s new crypto bank gets a massive foreign backer, and Jelly Roll finds himself in the crosshairs of the MAGA mob after joking about Trump.

    Jessica Tarlov and Aaron Parnas break down the latest political chaos, corruption, and fights shaping the country.

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    28 August 2026, 7:10 pm
  • 51 minutes 3 seconds
    Trump's Canada Trade War Is Destroying Republicans in the Exact States They Need to Win

    Jessica Tarlov is joined by Katie Phang, lawyer, legal analyst, and host of the MeidasTouch podcast Sidebar with Katie Phang. They open discussing Trump’s trade war with Canada, which is now landing squarely on the swing-state Republicans who were hoping tariffs had faded from the headlines. Border state lawmakers in Maine and Michigan are feeling the blowback, as are agricultural strongholds like Iowa and North Carolina. Trump's move to temporarily ease tariffs on imported beef has rural GOP lawmakers worried, especially after the FDA issued multiple meat recalls including one this month on ground beef imported from Argentina. Is this Trump simply not caring about down-ballot Republicans?

    Jess and Katie check in on the current civil war in the Democratic party. Will the establishment wing move left, after a number of DSA primary wins across the country? Have the Democratic purity tests gone too far? 

    The Trump administration has paused immigrant visa interviews at U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide, just days after a federal judge ruled that an earlier blanket visa freeze on 75 countries was unlawful. Simultaneously, the administration is preparing to revoke up to 200,000 business and tourism visas from foreigners who applied for asylum — potentially the single largest mass visa revocation in U.S. history. Katie breaks down the political calculus behind continuing these moves.

    Two days after the Supreme Court handed the Trump administration a procedural win on their efforts to restrict mail-in voting, Democratic-led states are back in court, challenging the finalized USPS rule that would restrict who gets mailed a ballot. Katie assesses the true implications of the SCOTUS ruling, in light of the ongoing nationwide injunction that still blocks the rule for November, and whether the real strategy here is simply to sow enough confusion to suppress turnout.

    Meta has agreed to settle claims from a bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general that it knowingly designed Instagram and Facebook to be addictive to children — agreeing to pay up to $17.1 billion and committing to new usage restrictions for under-18 users. Is this a genuine reckoning for social media — or a settlement that lets the industry off the hook?

    In South Carolina, Darline Graham — sister of the late Senator Lindsey Graham — has won her GOP runoff and will face Democratic nominee Dr. Annie Andrews in November. Kalshi has Graham winning the seat at 86%. Katie weighs in on whether a Democrat could ever realistically compete in this race.

    And finally, remembering Dolly Parton. Dolly, you will be missed.


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    27 August 2026, 11:06 pm
  • 54 minutes 18 seconds
    Democrats in Fox News Territory, the Paramount Merger Crisis, and Data Center Outrage

    Get your tickets now for our live show at 92NY: https://www.92ny.org/event/scott-galloway-and-jessica-tarlov

    Jessica Tarlov is joined by Michael Grynbaum, media correspondent at The New York Times and author of Empire of the Elite: Inside Condé Nast, for a conversation on media strategy, corporate power, and the political landscape with just over two months until the midterms.

    They open with a question Jessica is uniquely positioned to ask: should Democrats be doing more appearances on conservative media? Yesterday, progressive Michigan Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed joined Fox News primetime host Jesse Watters. Jessica and Michael break down whether El-Sayed came out on top, and whether the broader strategy of reaching voters outside the Democratic media ecosystem is paying off. Can Democrats appeal to working-class men by embracing “bro-iness”?

    The Paramount/Warner Bros. merger is on ice; the $111 billion deal has cleared all required regulatory approvals but remains frozen by an antitrust suit from a coalition of states led by California. Michael, who covers the Ellison family and the media industry closely, breaks down whether the merger might actually be stopped, where media concentration goes next, and if this is a signal of upheaval for Hollywood. They also talk about some recent high-profile personnel moves at CBS, CNN, and The New York Times.

    Data centers have become one of the hottest campaign issues in the 2026 midterms. Ads running in Texas, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania are all hammering candidates over their support of data center development. Michael and Jessica discuss why voters are latching onto this issue — and whether it's really about data centers, or a much broader anxiety about AI, inequality, and the economy.

    Plus: Michael's book Empire of the Elite: Inside Condé Nast is newly out in paperback — and it comes at a moment when major media companies are settling lawsuits with the president. He talks about what’s changed in the landscape of media and power in just a year since its first publication.


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    25 August 2026, 11:05 pm
  • 50 minutes 12 seconds
    Trump Just Turned Canada Into an Enemy — Carney Is Fighting Back (ft. Anne Applebaum)

    Jessica Tarlov is joined by Anne Applebaum, staff writer for The Atlantic and Pulitzer Prize-winning historian. They open with the U.S.-Canada trade war, which escalated dramatically over the weekend when talks collapsed minutes before a deadline, triggering 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion worth of Canadian goods including hockey sticks, building materials, liquor, and clothing.

    Trump responded by saying Canada "wants the benefits of being a state, without being one." Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney responded by declaring the U.S. "at war" with Canada and announcing dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs on U.S. steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, and electronics, effective September 8th. Is Carney showing the kind of resolve other foreign leaders should be emulating?

    On the bigger world stage, Jess and Anne take a look at the precarious state of U.S. alliances — NATO, in particular. Eastern allies are now offering to shoulder more of the costs of hosting U.S. troops, apparently in an effort to appease Trump, as the U.S. continues to scale back its commitments to the alliance. Anne and Jess assess NATO's options in the context of an ongoing Ukraine war and a retreating America, and whether the long-term survival of the alliance is genuinely at risk.

    Six months into the Iran conflict with no end in sight, the Trump administration is dramatically escalating economic pressure. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is unveiling what he calls the "single greatest financial offensive ever marshalled against an adversary," threatening to isolate any country that continues doing business with Iran. Iran's currency has hit a record low, divisions are emerging within its leadership over whether to fight or talk, and Iran is warning neighboring countries that aligning with the U.S. could constitute an "act of war." They also discuss how the relationship between the U.S. and Israel is shifting as a result of this conflict.

    Stars and Stripes, the independent military newspaper, has been reporting on the 1,300 military families evacuated from Bahrain who, six months into the Iran war, still cannot return home and are facing tens of thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket expenses. Defense Secretary Hegseth has now fired senior staffers at the paper. Anne and Jessica discuss what that move says about press freedom under this administration — and Anne draws on her extensive reporting on Viktor Orbán's Hungary, where a years-long campaign to weaken independent media ultimately failed to save his government. Is there a lesson there for what happens when a government tries to control the information its citizens see?

    In Ukraine, pressure is mounting on multiple fronts simultaneously. Anti-corruption investigators have released tapes alleging senior officials treated corruption as routine. Former defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov is openly challenging Zelensky and calling for elections. Russia is escalating attacks on civilians. Ukraine faces a $27 billion defense shortfall. And political divisions inside Kyiv are deepening. How serious is this political crisis for Zelensky?

    And finally: the U.S. Army created a 600-soldier drone battalion earlier this year to learn from Ukraine and prepare for the future of warfare. Months later, it's being phased out by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Is this a strategic correction, or is America falling dangerously behind on drone warfare already defining modern battlefields?


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    24 August 2026, 11:00 pm
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