The Nicole Sandler Show

The Dump administration is haphazardly attacking all aspects of our federal government, including agencies that are tasked with protecting not only the US' population, but the world's. We've been talking a lot about our social safety net -- attacks on Medicare/Medicaid and Social Security, attacks on due process and civil rights, and equality for all people. They're also taking aim at all the rules put in place over the decades to help protect us from unscrupulous business practices that put our health - and the health of the planet - at risk.Today, in addition to the shitstorm of news that hit since we last spoke yesterday, today, we'll look at their actions that put everything on earth in peril, from the new EPA administrator up and down....... Earth Day is only two weeks away. Will it still be spinning? We're joined today by a dear friend of the show and the planet, Sandy Schoelles of the Environmental Coffeehouse!

Like death and taxes, Mondays always arrive. For the past couple of months, the start of each new week has brought with it a plethora of really bad news. Today is no exception... except there's some very encouraging news along with the usual Trump/shit sandwich.Where? Well, just look back to Saturday and the reported 5 million people plus who took to the streets across the country to protest the idiocy destroying our nation from inside.As we do on most Mondays, we'll check in with Jonathan Larsen of thefuckingnews.substack.com for a spirited discussion about what's happening.

We wrap up each week on the Friday show with Marcy Wheeler of emptywheel.net. This week was a rollercoaster with Cory Booker stepping up to offer motivation and passion and, dare I say, hope. I don't think we've reached the bottom of the rollercoaster yet, as we're watching the Dow in free fall for the second day in a row, and the inflation that's sure to kick in from Trump's new tariffs haven't hit us yet... Strap in, it's a bumpy ride!

I told you yesterday that Trump help his announcement of his "Liberation Day" Tariff plan to crash the world's economies until 4pm because he didn't want us to see the stock market crashing in real time as he unveiled his nefarious plans. Today, he's off again to Florida for a golf tournament at one of his clubs, while most of the rest of the nation is watching their 401k values plummet. (So now, in 72 days, the orange one has taken off 15 days and spent more than $26 million of taxpayer money at his gold clubs, but I digress...)At the same time we're in shock over the stupidity that's intentionally crashing down around us, we're still feeling energized by Cory Booker and his record-breaking 25 hour+ speech that ended yesterday. The Philadelphia Inquirer's Will Bunch wrote a wonderful column about it today, and he joins us to talk about it on today's show.

Senator Cory Booker stood up yesterday - actually, the day before - an made history. Not only did he break former senator and lifelong racist Strom Thurmond's record for the longest senate speech in history, he also used it to denounce Thurmond's racism and the shameful chapter in American history he tried to prolong. Booker's speech and feats of strength also seems to have breathed new life into dejected Democrats, as he implored each of us to do what we can to save our nation from the ravages of Dump and his army of magats.When Senator Booker ended his historic speech, the special election returns began rolling in. Florida disappointed us again, eventhough the margin of the GOP victory shrunk by half in the two districts that went to the polls. But Wisconsin showed up to save democracy, as the Musk/Dump-endorsed candidate for that state's Supreme Court was soundly defeated by Susan Crawford, with a 10 point victory. For once, Elmo's millions couldn't buy that election...As I'm prepping for today's show, we're awaiting word from the orange man about how much more pain and suffering he'll inflict on the America people today as he declares it "liberation day" and announces yet more tariff's to cripple our economy and our spending power. The always amazing Lisa Graves joins us today in her personal capacity to share her legal expertise on all that's going on, especially the big WIN in Wisconsin, where she lives.

There's something happening here. Can you feel it?Joan Walsh and her fellow contributor at The Nation, Micah Sifray, both wrote this week about the resistance. Or as they both prefer, the defiance. But whatever you call it, it's here. And if you're not participating in it, then you're helping to take down our nation and our future. Today, Joan Walsh will join us to talk about it, for what it's worth.Senator Cory Booker has been speaking, holding the senate floor since 7pm ET last night. I'm writing this shortly before 4pm ET. I go on the air at 5. He's not delaying a vote, so it's not technically a filibuster. But he said he needed to do something different. "John Lewis and so many heroes before us would say that this is the time to stand up, to speak up,” Booker said near the start of his remarks. “This is the time to get in some good trouble, to get into necessary trouble. I can’t allow this body to continue without doing something different, speaking out.”As I've not been able to listen for the now 19 hours he's been speaking, I can't tell you that I'll share the highlights. But we'll share some of them. And perhaps we'll hear him wrap it up.

Welcome to another Monday when you wake up hoping it's all just been a horrible nightmare, but the you realize this is really happening. I believe that the bad news goes down easier with some snark and expletives, so we'll check in for our usual Monday get-together with Jonathan Larsen of thefuckingnews.substack.com. There's plenty on the crap menu to choose from today: a president openly confirming he wants to defy the Constitution and remain in power indefinitely, SignalGate or WhiskeyLeaks, or whatever you want to call the biggest threat to our national security in recent history and the mountain of denial and hypocrisy from the right concerning it, tomorrow's special elections and how the guy who purchased the presidency for Trump is handing out millions to try to purchase the WI Supreme Court. And yes, there's lots more. We could - and will - also look to the positive and talk about those special elections happening tomorrow (there's cause for cautious optimism), a blow against fascism in France, more protests coming this weekend. I know, the bad stuff outnumbers the good, but I'll continue to try to stay on the lookout for solutions rather than reinforce the crap that they're pushing on us.

I've been plagued by computer problems all week. I'm still not out of the woods, but I was able to cobble something together to be able to record today's Emptywheel Friday episode with Marcy Wheeler. Good thing too, as this one another hell of a week!We learned about the Signal chat debacle (aka WhiskeyLeaks in honor of the drunken Secretary of Defense Hegseth) and much of the rest of the shitshow that's been playing out all week as I sat by without a working studio or computers.I hope to be back at full strength on Monday, but no promises. I'll keep you posted at nicolesandler.com and on Bluesky @nicolesandler.bsky.social.Donations to the computer repair fund are welcome at nicolesandler.com/donate-2

It was a weekend with some hope as I tried to focus only on the good stuff, and there was cause for encouragement. Bernie Sanders and AOC held five rallies in Nevada, Arizona and Colorado, and they were awesome in the truest sense of the word. Record crowds everywhere, with reports that most were not necessarily previous Sanders voters or supporters. People are rising up and there are more actions planned. Keep 'em coming!It's been a couple of weeks since Jonathan Larsen of thefuckingnews.substack.com was here, but he's back today. Good thing because there's lots of breaking news that shows just how broken this country is... Did you hear the one about the imbecilic Secretary of Defense mistakenly adding a reporter from The Atlantic to a Signal chat revealing highly classified information about an impending attack on the Houthis in Yemen? Just lovely.... Feel safe yet?

We made it to another Friday, and another end of the week recap with Marcy Wheeler of emptywheel.net. We keep noting that each week seems like an eternity, but this one seemed to have been even longer. I cannot keep up with all that’s happening. I don’t have the bandwidth, physically or emotionally to handle it. It’s one of many reasons why I’m so grateful for Marcy Wheeler and her indefatigable work at emptywheel.net, and that she brings it to us here each Friday.

Howie Klein has been my regular Thursday guest for over a dozen years now, but our friendship goes back further to the early 90s, when I was doing rock radio in Los Angeles and he was president of Reprise Records. When Howie left Reprise and Warner Brothers as Time Warner and AOL merged, he began devoting all of his time to progressive politics, launching Down with Tyranny and the Blue America PAC. Danny Goldberg also worked in the music industry as a personal manager, record company president, public relations man and journalist since the late 1960s. When Howie and I first met, Danny managed Nirvana, Hole, Sonic Youth, Bonnie Raitt, The Allman Brothers, Rickie Lee Jones and more. From 2005-2006, Danny was CEO of Air America Radio. That was a few years before I joined the network and hosted a nightly show there. All three of us share the common experience of working in the music industry and being very involved in progressive politics. Today, we're all dealing with our current political situation as best we can. Admittedly, I am not handling it well. Two weeks ago on the show, Howie mentioned that he had dinner with his dear old friend Danny Goldberg, and told me that Danny had some very important and insightful thoughts on surviving these dark days and fighting back, and suggested we have Danny join us on the show. So he is doing that today. They'll be here for the second half-hour. Tonight, Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez will be in my neck of the woods. They're heading out west as part of Bernie's Fighting Oligarchy tour. I will be there and will bring you coverage tomorrow and Monday. They're leading the way of the resistance, but it's up to all of us. At the top of the show, I'll share some more constructive ways we can and are fighting back. It's all in our hands right now...

Both Alex and I had technical problems last week when he joined us, so he's back today as the regime's attack on Social Security intensifies. The news has only gotten more alarming and unprecedented in the last seven days.Alex Lawson is executive director of Social Security Works, an organization dedicated to fighting to protect and expand Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid; lower drug prices; ensure economic justice for all; and guarantee health care as a human right—because everyone deserves to live in dignity.

Monday mornings always come with a rude awakening... it's that "here we go again" feeling as we embark on another week in a world we no longer recognize. With each Monday comes the now-routinely awful news of what happened over the weekend when we tried to look away from the train wreck happening constantly before our eyes. This weekend brought with it the moment we knew was coming while we hoped it wouldn't... when Trump and his administration openly ignored a court order. It involved due process for a group of men who Trump decided were terrorists, without so much as a hearing before they were rounded up, shackled and deported to El Salvadore. Although a judge ordered that if a plane was in the air it be returned, that did not happen. So here we are.. I guess this is the constitutional crisis they've been warning us about? If so, then what? I wish I knew the answer. Our guest today is David Enrich, who's been making the media rounds promoting his important new book, MURDER THE TRUTH: FEAR, THE FIRST AMENDMENT, AND A SECRET CAMPAIGN TO PROTECT THE POWERFUL. For more, go to nicolesandler.com/3-17-25 or get the substack at nicolesandler.substack.com

We wrap up each week on Fridays with Marcy Wheeler of emptywheel.net. We try to cover much of the important news from the week just ending. With the avalanche of shit raining down on us constantly, there's a lot of information to parse. Marcy is in Ireland, I'm in Arizona, so we record our Friday get-togethers at around noon Eastern. The show goes live at 5pm ET. There's a lot happening today, as the senate will vote on the "continuing resolution" offered by the magats. That may or may not happen by showtime. But as Marcy and I discuss, it's a lose-lose situation. There is no good outcome on this bill. Either way, whether the Democrats block it triggering a government shut-down or they vote for cloture allowing it to pass, we're screwed. Today we'll talk about why and how we continue to fight on... and yes, there are some reasons for cautious optimism, coming from the third branch of government -- the courts.

Howie Klein is usually with us on Thursdays but, as he's been writing about at DownWithTyranny.com, he's battling cancer and isn't able to be here today. He should be back with us next week.Today, the senate is debating the continuing resolution passed by the Republicans in the House, even though most of them would never have voted for this if the orange man in the White House hadn't threatened them to do it. Because they'll need 60 votes to invoke cloture and avoid a filibuster, the Republicans will need help from seven Democrats to get that done. Rand Paul is the only Republican to say he'll vote no.We'll talk about why it's important that the Dems don't roll over and allow the Dump/fElon regime free reign to complete their goal of destroying what's left of our nation. The deadline is tomorrow or there will be a government shutdown.

I've gotten a lot of email in the past week or two from listeners very concerned about what the Musk/Dump regime will do to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Although I know that messing with those programs would bring down what's left of this nation -- or maybe because I know that -- it's got me really concerned too. ProPublica this morning published a story regarding a leaked phone recording of the acting Social Security Commissioner expressing grave concerns about what "the DOGE kids" are doing there and the ramifications if they 'succeed'. I shared a lot of it on the show today, but you should read the whole thing for yourself so you know what's going on. We were supposed to speak with Alex Lawson today. He's the executive director of Social Security Works. Both he and I were hit with computer gremlins today so we only got to speak for a few minutes. We will reschedule and get him on early next week for a full conversation. But in the few minutes we had today, he did warn that there's a real possibility that things at Social Security will be affected and so may our payments. He suggested that we all go to ssa.gov, log in and download hard copies of our statements --earnings and money owed-- so we have them should something go wrong. I also mentioned another article you should read, this one from The American Prospect, where David Dayen wrote "Senate Democrats’ Choice: Block the Republican Spending Bill or Dissolve Congress". Please read it and call your senators. A great resource for calling is 5calls.org.

I don't usually interview novelists on this show, but Mike Papantonio is so much more. He is a leading trial lawyer who's won numerous multi-million dollar verdicts on behalf of victims of corporate malfeasance. He hosted the radio show "Ring of Fire" on Air America Radio, and has written a bunch of books - both fiction and non-fiction- dealing with the law.His new book, THE MIDDLEMAN, centers on the shady practices of Big Pharma, a subject we should all be concerned about.One of Pap's co-hosts on "Ring of Fire" for many years was Bobby Kennedy Jr. When I invited him on the show to talk about his new book, I also said I'd have to ask about Trump's Secretary of Health and Human Services, a man for who I previously had a lot of respect. He said no subject was off limits.

We usually spend Mondays talking about the latest news with Jonathan Larsen of thefuckingnews.substack.com, but he's out today doing something important with his son. And frankly, I just don't have it in me today. I was trying to find something that would bring some hope to my feelings of hopelessness right now, when a video titled 'Stress Kills' appeared in my email from Bernie Sanders. He seems to be the only person in DC who's actually out there making noise and trying to help. He's been traveling the country on his Fighting Oligarchy tour. So today, we'll spend most of the show listening to Bernie as we'll share his rally held yesterday in Altoona, WI.. We could all use some of Bernie's energy right about now...

We reached another Friday and it was another week filled with more crap than we could cover in an hour-long discussion, which is what Marcy Wheeler and I try to do each Friday. This morning, Marcy put up a long, information-filled post at emptywheel.net titled "Attention Deficit and Defiance Division of Labor: There's Stuff Happening Where You're Not Looking" which provided a bit of a blueprint for today's conversation -- and lots of links you can click on while you follow along. Coming up next week -- in addition to our regulars Jonathan Larsen of thefuckingnews.substack.com on Monday, Howie Klein of DownWithTyranny.com on Thursday and Marcy Wheeler of emptywheel.net on Friday --we have some great guests coming up. On Tuesday, we'll speak with one of my fellow Air America radio alums, Mike Papantonio! He hosted a show called Ring of Fire with Sam Seder and often with Bobby Kennedy Jr (before he lost his mind. He has a new novel just released this week, The Middleman: A Legal Thriller about a lawyer taking on Big Pharma. His publicist pitched him as a guest. I told him that I don't usually have novelists on, but the subject is interesting, and I'd love to ask him about RFK Jr. Pap's response was that he'll talk about anything I want to ask him about. So I will! I've also heard from a lot of listeners concerned about what Elon Trump will do to Social Security; there are tons of rumors flying about it. So I figured it was time to get Alex Larsen back... He'll be here Wednesday.

Watching the Dow crash for the third day in a row since the megalomaniac in chief unilaterally put 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, the orange one tried to change course again. First he suspended tariffs on cars from both nations. Then he paused the tariffs on Mexico for a month. As the market kept hemorrhaging, the then paused the tariffs on Canada for a month too. The Dow regained about 100 points of today's loss, but still closed down 428 points for the day, adding to the more than 1200 point drop sustained over the two previous days.At DownWithTyranny.com yesterday, Howie Klein wrote "Trump is Tanking the Economy — He's The Worst By That Metric Since Herbert Hoover" - and everyone else is realizing that reality too. Howie Klein joins us today for our regular Thursday get-together to talk about this and more.Is Trump getting the message? Maybe. Today he also convened a cabinet meeting where, Politico reported, he "put new limits on Elon Musk, clarifying that each cabinet member is in charge of their own departments, not Musk."