Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes Podcast

There’s a good chance that before November of 2022, you hadn’t heard of tech nonprofit OpenAI or cofounder Sam Altman. But over the last few years, they’ve become household names with the explosive growth of the generative AI tool called ChatGPT. What’s been going on behind the scenes at one of the most influential companies in history and what effect has this had on so many facets of our lives? Karen Hao is an award-winning journalist and the author of “Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI” and has covered the impacts of artificial intelligence on society. She joins WITHpod to discuss the trajectory AI has been on, economic effects, whether or not she thinks the AI bubble will pop and more.

Who are The Best People? They’re the people who are the best at what they do and know how to bring out the best in others. On her new podcast, Nicolle Wallace speaks to the people who inspire her. As a mom. As an American. Or sometimes just as a super fan. In the first episode, she sits down with actor Jason Bateman. His show “Smartless,” which he co-hosts with Will Arnett and Sean Hayes, is the podcast that inspired her to do her own. On this special preview, Bateman shares his journey into podcasting and reflects on the political climate that gives him endless fodder for conversation. Search “The Best People with Nicolle Wallace” to listen to the full episode and to catch new episodes every Monday. Or sign up for MSNBC Premium on Apple Podcasts to get early access on Fridays. Signing up for Premium also includes ad-free listening and bonus content.

Note: this episode originally published on 11/12/24. From original description: Whew, the past few days have been a lot. Like you probably, Chris hasn’t slept much this past week. There’s a lot to process given that Donald Trump is now president-elect… again. Our guest this week, who has worked as an organizer throughout numerous political ups and downs, points out that we “must not neglect the work of standing up right now to fight back.” Anna Galland is the former executive director of MoveOn Civic Action from 2012 to 2019. She now works with a range of national pro-democracy organizations, coalitions, and leaders. Galland also teaches about democracy renewal & social movements at Northwestern University. She joins WITHpod to help us take stock of this moment, what the progressive movement can do right now, reasons for hope (we could use it, right?) and more.

Tax policy has been a core part of the Republican party. A central feature within the GOP, particularly since Reagan, has been cutting taxes for corporations and some of the wealthiest Americans. President Trump, breaking away from traditional party orthodoxy, recently raised the idea of increasing taxes on some of the country’s richest. Our guest this week points out that Republicans have made a “devil’s bargain” with Trump. Arjun Singh is the co-host and senior producer of the Lever Time podcast. He is also the lead reporter and editor of the Tax Revolt miniseries. He joins WITHpod to discuss historical and contemporary fights over taxes, coalitions effects of MAGA, what the latest intraparty disagreements could portend and more.

We got a pretty clear heads up about what Trump 2.0 could portend for so many facets of American life. The Mandate for Leadership, also known as Project 2025, is perhaps the clearest compilation of goals for Trump’s second term. Now that 100 days have passed of the second Trump administration, we thought it would be a good time to see where things stand. David Graham is a staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of “The Project: How Project 2025 Is Reshaping America.” He joins WITHpod to discuss what has already been done, what’s been most surprising, how he sees the plans playing out and more.

You’ve probably seen footage or photos of people protesting the Trump regime. Some data suggests that the volume of protestors is higher than in Trump’s first term. But at the same time, you might be wondering if we’re seeing enough civil resistance to preserve American democracy. Our guest this week is one of the authors of a study that found that just 3.5% of the population taking to the streets is enough to block authoritarian takeover. Erica Chenoweth is a political scientist at Harvard. They join to discuss historical and contemporary strategies for protesting, democratic backsliding, global comparisons and more.

A good amount of institutions have capitulated and complied in recent months with many of the Trump administration’s actions that far overstep executive authority. At the same time, we’ve seen a few places where there has been opposition and resistance to tactics employed by the Trump 2.0 regime. Some of the most pushback has come from democratically elected attorneys general. Our guest this week points out that Trump “can’t override laws with sharpies” and that checks and balances still exist. Letitia James is the attorney general for the state of New York. She joins WITHpod to discuss why she says Trump is on a “revenge tour,” whether or not she feels the rule of law will prevail as we move forward from the first 100 days and more. And a BIG thank you to all of our WITHpod fans for voting for us to win a People’s Voice Webby Award in the category of Best Interview or Talk Show. We truly appreciate your support. ICYMI, WITHpod full episodes are now on YouTube. You can watch by visiting msnbc.com/withpod.

The United States is pretty intertwined with Latin America. So why has it historically been seen as more of a European outpost as opposed to a nation in the Western hemisphere that is part of the broader Americas? Our guest this week points out that there are other ways to understand the history and identity of the U.S., aside from the narrative that is so often a part of contemporary discourse. Greg Grandin is the C. Vann Woodard Professor of History at Yale and the author of “America, América: A New History of the New World.” He joins WITHpod to discuss rethinking our conceptions of the “New World,” democratic backsliding in the U.S., why he says we should rethink hemispheric history and more.

We’re now a year and a half into the war in Gaza. Our guest this week has spent a lot of time thinking and writing about all that has unfolded. Peter Beinart is the author of numerous books including his latest, “Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning” and writes “The Beinart Notebook” on Substack. He’s also an MSNBC analyst and the editor-at-large of “Jewish Currents.” He joins WITHpod to discuss what the war in Gaza has revealed about American Judaism, why he says Jews must tell a new story, what his vision of the future is and more. And ICYMI, an exciting announcement: “Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes Podcast” is now on YouTube! Watch at msnbc.com/withpod. Plus, we're nominated for a Webby Award! Please vote for us and your other favorite MSNBC podcasts by April 17th: Why Is This Happening? With Chris Hayes in the Podcasts - Interview/Talk Show category:https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2025/podcasts/shows/interviewtalk-show Into America: Uncounted Millions in the Podcasts - News & Politics category:https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2025/podcasts/limited-series-specials/news-politics Prosecuting Donald Trump in the Podcasts - Crime & Justice category:https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2025/podcasts/shows/crime-justice

Why has America's 20th century vision of innovation and opportunity transformed into a stagnant and stunted dystopian reality? Our guest this week claims that “the crisis that’s clicking into focus now has been building for decades” and it’s all because we haven’t been following building enough. Ezra Klein is host of The Ezra Klein Show podcast, a columnist for New York Times Opinion and the author of “Abundance,” which he co-wrote with Derek Thompson. He joins WITHpod to discuss how liberals have failed on progress, how they can shift gears in MAGA America, and how we might reimagine abundance for everyone. And an exciting announcement: “Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes Podcast” is now on YouTube! Watch at msnbc.com/withpod. Plus, we're nominated for a Webby Award! Please vote for us and your other favorite MSNBC podcasts by April 17th: Why Is This Happening? With Chris Hayes in the Podcasts - Interview/Talk Show category: https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2025/podcasts/shows/interviewtalk-show Into America: Uncounted Millions in the Podcasts - News & Politics category: https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2025/podcasts/limited-series-specials/news-politics Prosecuting Donald Trump in the Podcasts - Crime & Justice category: https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2025/podcasts/shows/crime-justice

Tuberculosis is the deadliest infectious disease in the world. Why does something that’s curable still kill millions every year? And what does this illustrate about global health disparities? John Green is the author of “Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection.” Green is also the co-creator of Vlog brothers, which he co-hosts with his brother Hank Green. He joins WITHpod to discuss why tuberculosis is seen as a disease of poverty, what the disease exposes about healthcare inequities, concerns about the Trump administration retracting foreign aid and more.

J. Edgar Hoover is one of the most polarizing figures in U.S. history. And the seeds he planted as the decades long founding director of the FBI continue to shape much of today’s conservative political landscape. Kash Patel, who now leads the FBI, has openly vowed to find ways to punish Trump’s political enemies. While that’s appalling, it’s not the first time an FBI director has used abused institutional power. There’s a lot of historical precedent that we can compare and contrast with the current moment. Beverly Gage is a historian at Yale University and the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century.” She joins WITHpod to discuss Hoover’s influence, the politicization of the FBI, the abuse of its power, the FBI in Trump 2.0 and more.

Public streets play a big role in our day-to-day lives. And if you’ve visited any large metropolitan city, you’ve seen just how much traffic can fill up roadways. New York City became the first city in America to implement congestion pricing, a program aimed at generating revenue and making streets less crowded. But the initiative hasn’t been immune to opposition, including from the Trump administration, which has ordered the city to end the program. Janno Lieber is the chair and CEO of the Metropolitan Transit Authority. He joins WITHpod to discuss the effects of congestion pricing in NYC, legal fights ahead and more.

The Democratic Party has its work cut out. Meanwhile, there’s a fundamental issue: the party doesn’t currently have formal power. It doesn't have a majority in either House of Congress, it doesn't control the executive branch, and the Supreme Court has a 6-3 Trump majority. And all of this is creating a kind of impotent rage, frustration and feeling that Democratic leadership hasn’t really risen to the moment. But how might Democrats stand up in this moment? Rep. Robert Garcia, is a representative from California’s 42nd congressional district. Before that, he was the mayor of Long Beach. He joins WITHpod to discuss his thoughts on whether or not we’ve lost the American republic, the unlawful nature of so many Trump 2.0 actions, ways Democrats can adjust messaging and more.

Trolls have basically taken possession of the U.S. government. How have trolls been able to go from being mostly cordoned off in dark parts of the internet to gaining so much influence in American culture and politics? Our guest this week has spent years researching and reporting on-the-ground to learn more about how the battle online between the right and the left has moved into the real world. Elle Reeve is a correspondent at CNN and the author of “Black Pill: How I Witnessed the Darkest Corners of the Internet Come to Life, Poison Society, and Capture American Politics.” She joins WITHpod to discuss the politics of “black pilled” and “red pilled” young men, the ways in which online extremism so often translates into political violence and more.

A defining feature of America from its inception has been physical mobility. And that physical mobility has been the engine of social mobility. But we’ve seen a great deal of economic and social sclerosis over the past few decades. Our guest this week has studied how, for many people, America has ceased to be the land of opportunity. Yoni Appelbaum is a deputy executive editor of The Atlantic and a social and cultural historian of the U.S. He joins WITHpod to discuss how the idea of mobility has changed within the last century, how things might become less “stuck” and more.

So much has happened in the past few weeks. And we’ve seen a speed game of sorts being played by the Trump administration to try to act as rapidly as possible to rework the administrative state of the government. One example of that is the attempts to end the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The letters have even been taken off of the building. But is any of this even legal and what are the implications of gutting USAID? Jeremy Konyndk is the president at Refugees International. He served as a senior official at USAID in the Obama and Biden administrations. Konyndk joins WITHpod to discuss progress that has already been undone, diplomatic repercussions, the effects on American soft power and the uncertain future of USAID.

A lot of things are changing. And there’s a lot of things that the new White House administration wants to do differently. One of the areas where we’ve seen a lot of attention is cryptocurrency. Some of the latest developments are pretty confounding, to say the least. Lucky for us, our guest this week has spent years following crypto. Zeke Faux is a reporter for Bloomberg News and the author of “Number Go Up: Inside Crypto's Wild Rise and Staggering Fall.” He joins WITHpod to discuss some of the latest developments in cryptocurrency, concerns about the government purchasing it, Trump memecoins and more.

On a new podcast series, “The Blueprint with Jen Psaki,” host Jen Psaki dives into two crucial questions: where do Democrats stand in this moment? And how can they win again? Listen to the full first episode here, as Jen sits down with Governor Wes Moore of Maryland. They reflect on the meaning of patriotism, where the party can be bolder, and authenticity as a winning factor. Follow “The Blueprint with Jen Psaki” to catch new episodes. Episode two with writer Jack Schlossberg is in the feed now. And sign up for MSNBC Premium on Apple Podcasts to listen without ads.

It’s no surprise that immigration policy is an area that we’ve seen so much focus on recently. The Trump administration has moved with lightning speed to roll out its immigration agenda. With everything that’s going on, we thought it would be good to have a conversation about some of the deep roots and complexities in history that have brought us to this moment. Jonathan Blitzer is a staff writer at The New Yorker and the author of “Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis.” He joins WITHpod to discuss what he has called “misguided” policy, the real-life impacts and more.