Episodes

4 days ago
4 days ago
The two discuss how the U.S. Dept. of Veterans' Affairs has been understaffed and underfunded for decades, often proving to be a barrier to those who served getting the care they need.
However, rather than bolstering this vital lifeline, early on in the Trump administration, amid brutal cuts to a number of federal agencies, it announced that it would eliminate approximately 83,000 positions at the VA.
While this was part of a larger effort to gut the federal government in the name of efficiency, as in other areas, there was nothing targeted or strategic about these cuts.
Jim explains how the USW and their "Veterans of Steel" group is not only fighting these cuts, but working across the political aisle to promote common sense legislation to further help U.S. military veterans.
Follow the USW on Facebook, Instagram and X, using the handle @steelworkers, and visit their website at USW.org. Also, check them out on Blue Sky where their handle is @steelworkers.bsky.social. Jim's handle on Blue Sky is @savageusw.bsky.social.

5 days ago
5 days ago
Brad is first joined by Sarah Jones, the Editor-in-Chief of PoliticusUSA.
The two discuss the Wall Street Journal Report that, in 2003, Trump sent Jeffrey Epstein, his then close friend, a graphic birthday card with a self-drawn picture of a naked woman, with the message, "Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret."
Then, Brad is joined by Dr. Robert Shapiro, Chairman of Sonecon, an economic advisory firm and a Senior Fellow of the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University.
The pair examines the new economic data showing that both inflation, and the consumer price index (CPI) rose in June.
This shows that the Trump tariffs are raising both inflation, and prices for goods that the American people purchase regularly.
Brad also talks with Dr. Shapiro about his new piece for Washington Monthly, titled, "Trump's Budget Could Break the Economy."
(Link: https://washingtonmonthly.com/2025/07/20/trumps-deficits-could-break-the-economy/)
Sarah Jones' handle on BlueSky is @politicussarah.bsky.social and the website for PoliticusUSA is www.PoliticusUSA.com.
Dr. Shapiro's website is www.sonecon.com, where you can find his latest blog posts as well.
Brad writes a political column every Sunday for 'The Hill.'
He's on the National Journal's panel of political insiders and is a national political analyst for WGN TV and Radio in Chicago and KNX Radio in Los Angeles. You can read Brad's columns at www.MuckRack.com/Brad-Bannon. His handle on BlueSky is @bradbannon.bsky.social.

Friday Jul 11, 2025
Made in America - Manufacturing, Trade, and the Fight for the Middle Class
Friday Jul 11, 2025
Friday Jul 11, 2025
The pair first discusses a new piece that Scott wrote for 'Industry Week' that finally puts to rest one of U.S. manufacturing naysayers’ favorite lines: “Who wants to work in a factory anyway?”
Next, they explore what progress has the Trump administration made on all of their attempted trade deals after the White House extended its reciprocal tariff pause to August 1st, with the hope of securing more deals.
Third, Scott and Leslie explain why Americans should be pleased about a new 10-year end to 'the de minimis exemption,' a Customs loophole that Chinese e-commerce behemoths like Temu and DHGate had been exploiting.
Fourth, Leslie asks Scott about an FTC letter sent on the same day Amazon launched its Prime Day sale this week, which called on the e-commerce giant (and Walmart) to put a stop to false “Made in USA” claims on its website. This comes after Amazon’s marketplace has increasingly become a Wild West of products from third-party vendors as it seeks to emulate SHEIN and Temu.
Finally, both Leslie and Scott applauded Senator Elissa Slotkin for a recent speech she gave outlining her “Economic War Plan." They also found this particular line from the speech very timely: "As a CIA officer and Pentagon official by training, I believe that the single, greatest security threat to the United States is *not* coming from abroad. It’s the shrinking middle class here at home."
Here is where you can find more of Scott and the AAM's work:
WEBSITE: AmericanManufacturing.org
YouTube Channel: youtube.com/@AmericanMfg (where you can watch episode's of AAM's podcast, "The Manufacturing Report")
X: 1. AAM - @KeepItMadeInUSA 2. Scott Paul - @ScottPaulAAM
BlueSky: @keepitmadeinusa.bsky.social

Wednesday Jul 09, 2025
How Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill' Affects Student Loans Now and In the Future
Wednesday Jul 09, 2025
Wednesday Jul 09, 2025
They also discuss what these changes could mean for the economy as a whole, and what folks can do right now if they have defaulted student loans.
This episode's SDCC hosts are President and Founder, Natalia Abrams, Executive Director, Sabrina Calazans, Special Projects & 'Free the Degree' Director, Sabrina Ashley Cereceres, and Communications Associate Ángel Rentería.
The Student Debt Crisis Center (SDCC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that centers the needs and voices of borrowers, and partners with allies, to impact public policy and end the student debt crisis.
The SDCC website is www.StudentDebtCrisis.org and their handle on X, Instagram and Facebook is @DebtCrisisOrg.
Their handle on BlueSky is @debtcrisisorg.bsky.social.

Tuesday Jul 08, 2025
Bipartisan Advocacy Organization for Children says BBB Puts Kids Last
Tuesday Jul 08, 2025
Tuesday Jul 08, 2025
Bruce explains how the newly passed 'Big Beautiful Bill' "chooses billionaires over babies, and puts the nation’s children in unprecedented peril."
Here are just a few ways that the new law will hurt the nation’s children:
Cuts $1 trillion from Medicaid and CHIP: Medicaid and CHIP provide health insurance to over 37 million children in the United States and Medicaid covers nearly 40% of births. H.R.1 includes the largest funding cuts to these programs in their history and creates administrative burdens, such as lock-out periods and work requirements.
Defunds the largest child anti-hunger program: One-in-five children experience food insecurity. This bill cuts food assistance by cutting more than $200 billion from SNAP and places a larger cost share burden on states. This cost shift could cause states to end their programs or limit enrollment. Advocates argue that losing SNAP benefits could also impact free school meals, further risking a rise in child hunger.
Leaves children behind in tax policy: This legislation offers an inadequate Child Tax Credit. While some will see an increased credit amount, the increase still fails to keep pace with inflation. Even worse, the new structure keeps more than 20 million children from receiving the full credit and blocks 2.6 million kids from receiving any credit at all.
Undermines public schools: H.R.1 creates a new tax benefit for wealthy donors that jeopardizes the future of our public schools. This education voucher tax credit will offer 2-3x the benefit of other non-profit donations, incentivizing donations over other organizations. It is important to note research shows vouchers do not improve academic outcomes and disproportionately benefit families who already send their children to private schools.
Threatens the child care workforce: There is already a child care shortage in the country. H.R.1 will make it harder to recruit and train new child care professionals by prohibiting the use of federal student loans for sectors that do not earn over the median high school graduate salary. We must further invest in this profession and work to increase pay for providers, not create additional barriers to building a strong child care workforce.
Increases funding for family separation: H.R. 1 dramatically raises funding for immigration enforcement. This funding will lead to increased family separation and detention. These immigration practices disrupt entire communities and are known to create childhood trauma, adversely affecting child health and development.
Cancels efforts to address the climate crisis: H.R. 1 eliminates investments in solar and renewable energy leaving our children to deal with greater effects of climate change in the future. This measure comes as kids are experiencing adverse environmental health effects and natural disasters.
Forces kids to shoulder our ballooned national debt: H.R. 1 drives up the national debt by $3 trillion in order to give tax breaks to billionaires and industries like gun manufacturers. This bill expects our children to shoulder the cost of these tax breaks when they become adults while stripping them of essential services today.
The website for First Focus on Children is FirstFocus.org and their handle on BlueSky is @FirstFocus.bsky.social. Bruce's handle there is @BruceLesley.bsky.social.

Tuesday Jul 08, 2025
Tuesday Jul 08, 2025
The two discuss what’s happening in the U.S. sanitation industry, the ongoing strikes at Republic Services, and why this moment matters for working families across the country.
Visit Teamster.org for more information. Follow them on X and Instagram, where their handle is @Teamsters, and “like” them on Facebook at Facebook.com/Teamsters.

Monday Jul 07, 2025
Monday Jul 07, 2025
Brad is first joined by Mabinty Quarshie, White House Reporter for 'the Washington Examiner.'
The pair examines what's in the Republicans' newly passed 'Big, Beautiful Bill,' how Trump managed to convince wayward GOP congressional members to support such an unpopular bill, the implications the bill has on next year's congressional midterms, Virginia's statewide elections this year, and an update on Trump's tariffs.
Then, Bob Deans, Senior Advisor for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), talks about Trump and DOGE's cuts to the U.S. National Weather Service, and whether they contributed to the poor forecast and deaths in the Texas floods.
Then, they discuss how the cuts to clean energy manufacturing incentives will hurt the planet, as well as the United States' economy and manufacturing base.
Finally, they talk about Trump's executive orders, which have been devastating for our environment.
You can follow Mabinty Quarshie on X at @MabintyQ.
The website for NRDC is www.NRDC.org and their handle on BlueSky is @NRDC.org.
Brad writes a political column every Sunday for 'The Hill.'
He's on the National Journal's panel of political insiders and is a national political analyst for WGN TV and Radio in Chicago and KNX Radio in Los Angeles. You can read Brad's columns at www.MuckRack.com/Brad-Bannon. His handle on BlueSky is @bradbannon.bsky.social.

Monday Jun 30, 2025
Monday Jun 30, 2025
The guest host for today's show is Brad Bannon. Brad runs Bannon Communications Research, a polling, message development and media firm which helps labor unions, progressive issue groups and Democratic candidates win public affairs and political campaigns. His show, 'Deadline D.C. with Brad Bannon,' airs every Monday from 3-4pm ET.
Brad is first joined by CNN Military Analyst Cedric Leighton.
Col. Leighton (USAF-Ret.) gives the latest updates on Iran's nuclear program following missile strikes on their nuclear enrichment facilities by the Trump administration. He and Brad also discuss the U.N. nuclear agency disagreeing with the administration that the strikes have fully disabled Iran from enriching uranium for a nuclear weapon in the near future.
Then, Alex Lawson, Executive Director of Social Security Works, joins Brad to break down Congressional Republicans' 'Big, Beautiful Bill,' and why it's so intensely unpopular with Americans.
Col. Cedric Leighton is the Founder and President of Cedric Leighton Associates, a strategic risk and leadership consultancy serving global companies and organizations. He founded the company in 2010, after serving in the US Air Force for 27 years as an Intelligence Officer and attaining the rank of Colonel. His website is www.CedricLeighton.com and his handle on BlueSky is @CedricLeighton. bsky.social.
The 'Social Security Works' website is www.socialsecurityworks.org and their handle on BlueSky is @socialsecurityworks.org. Alex's handle there is @alaw202.bsky.social.
Brad writes a political column every Sunday for 'The Hill.'
He's on the National Journal's panel of political insiders and is a national political analyst for WGN TV and Radio in Chicago and KNX Radio in Los Angeles. You can read Brad's columns at www.MuckRack.com/Brad-Bannon. His handle on BlueSky is @bradbannon.bsky.social.

Friday Jun 20, 2025
Friday Jun 20, 2025
The two discuss:
1. The Wall Street Journal recently documented the stark disparity between China and America’s military-industrial strength in a series of graphs. The results are downright alarming, especially as geopolitical tensions flare. The data illustrate the urgent need for the United States to take action to revitalize our domestic shipbuilding industry.
2. With tariffs coming into force, Made in the USA marketing is surging. U.S. consumers are rejiggering their purchasing habits, as evidenced by a boom in “Made in USA” searches on e-commerce sites, and companies are more than happy to tout their “Made in USA” commitments. (From Modern Retail: “Amazon searches for the phrase shot up to 126,000 from 26,000 in the past 30 days — nearly five times the previous period.”)
3. The state of our infrastructure and energy grid is dire. It’s a crisis that creates another obstacle to U.S. manufacturing’s renaissance and America’s competitiveness.
4. This time, the China Shock is global in nature. Beijing is flooding the world’s markets with its industrial overcapacity across all categories, and job losses and bankruptcies are trailing the imports.
WEBSITE: AmericanManufacturing.org
YouTube Channel: youtube.com/@AmericanMfg (where you can watch episode's of AAM's podcast, "The Manufacturing Report")
(If you want to listen to episodes of "The Manufacturing Report," visit AmericanManufacturing.org/Podcast)
X: 1. AAM - @KeepItMadeInUSA 2. Scott Paul - @ScottPaulAAM
BlueSky: @keepitmadeinusa.bsky.social

Tuesday Jun 17, 2025
10 Years of Trump in Politics; NYC, Virginia and New Jersey Election Previews
Tuesday Jun 17, 2025
Tuesday Jun 17, 2025
Brad is first joined by Charlie Cook, Founder of 'the Cook Political Report,' to talk about ten years of Trump in politics. This includes how he completely changed the Republican party's identity, and what might happen to the GOP once Trump is no longer President.
Then, Kim Scott, Publisher of 'Dem List,' previews the NYC Mayoral primary election.
She also details the upcoming Governors' races in Virginia and New Jersey, which tend to be a bellwether for the following year's midterm elections in Congress.
Kim Scott's 'Demlist' is a free national daily political column, calendar and resource site for Democrats and allies - a unique, central source that connects people to the who, what and where of Democratic events, issues and activism. You can find out more about them at DemList.com and follow them on BlueSky at the handle @demlist.bsky.social.
Brad writes a political column every Sunday for 'The Hill.'
He's on the National Journal's panel of political insiders and is a national political analyst for WGN TV and Radio in Chicago and KNX Radio in Los Angeles. You can read Brad's columns at www.MuckRack.com/Brad-Bannon. His handle on BlueSky is @bradbannon.bsky.social.