It's Emptywheel Friday the 13th, and national security journalist Marcy Wheeler is here to connect the dots on a week with no shortage of them.

We start with the good news. Mississippi made history, the Democratic Senate numbers keep climbing, and Alaska elected its first Democratic governor in two decades. Marcy argues that the real action right now is at the state level, where policy that's been in the works since at least 2010 can finally be rolled back.

Then we get into the fight over Senate leadership. Chris Van Hollen is challenging Chuck Schumer, and Marcy explains why she thinks the challenge is healthy, but also why a debate over the filibuster ahead of a December 1 vote could hand Republicans exactly the opening they want during the lame duck. We also break down what actually happened with the Hegseth impeachment vote (it's not what you've been hearing), and how Democrats can find the 67 votes they need on issues like funding the government, ending the Iran war and health care.

The main event is the Nvidia scandal. Marcy lays out the MegaSpeed chip diversion to China, the reporting that Trump was warned twice and did nothing, the money trail she sees running through the bunker ballroom and the Emirates, and how an investigation that started at Commerce wound up at DOJ. She sees strong echoes of the Rudy Giuliani affair, and she warns that the AI bubble could be the thing that makes it all come crashing down.

We close with the Trump administration's threats against members of Congress, the Epstein files, and a frank discussion of Stephen Miller: terrifying, yes, but also, Marcy says, not nearly as competent as he believes.

Find Marcy at emptywheel.net. No paywall, and please pitch in if you can.

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The votes are in, the wave was big, and journalist Brian Karem joins me to make sense of it. Brian argues this was less a repudiation of Trumpism than of Reaganism and 46 years of supply-side economics. We break down the bellwether races he was watching, the Mississippi Senate upset (and the 37-second "pick another senator" ad that helped make it happen), Trump's whiplash reaction to losing, and why Brian thinks a new Congress, seated January 3, could finally do real oversight and pass legislation, even a few veto-proof bills.

We also talk about Stephen Miller as chief of staff, Pete Hegseth's standing on Capitol Hill, impeachment math, ICE detentions, how Arizona voted, the massive Nvidia story, and what it means to be a journalist when everyone has a Substack. Brian also shares news about his new documentary on the incoming class of Congress members.

After Brian leaves, I share a bit of what's been going on in my world, and Spocko calls in to discuss Pete Hegseth's Veterans Day visit to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Plus: Mangy Fetlocks has a song about the new House Republican leadership.

Brian Karem: brianjkaram.substack.com and justaskthequestion.com

The Nicole Sandler Show is independently produced and listener supported.Get more info and ways to support at nicolesandler.com, and subscribe here and at nicolesandler.substack.com.

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The midterms are over, and the wave was bigger than almost anyone expected. Lawyer and Grave Injustice newsletter author Lisa Graves joins me to explain how it happened. She walks through what the Senate and House maps looked like two years ago, how Trump's push for mid-decade redistricting (with help from the Roberts Court) was meant to lock in a Republican advantage, and why shaving margins off Republican seats may have left those seats vulnerable when voters turned out in force.

We talk about Texas electing a Democratic governor and attorney general and sending James Talarico to the Senate, what that means for the 2028 Electoral College map, and why Trump's claim that the election was "fixed" doesn't hold up. We also get to the news of the day: Stephen Miller moving up to chief of staff, Jim Jordan becoming House Republican leader, and Rep. Thomas Massie's articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Lisa lays out what's in them and whether Hegseth can survive.

Plus an update on my friend Tanya in Ukraine. Find Lisa at graveinjustice.news, and read her book, Without Precedent: How Chief Justice Roberts and His Accomplices Rewrote the Constitution and Dismantled Our Rights

More at nicolesandler.com. No paywall, but the show is listener supported, so please chip in if you can. Subscribe here to the podcast and at my substack at nicolesandler.substack.com.

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We just had the election we've been waiting a decade for, so let's take a breath and enjoy it for about an hour.

I open with an update from Ukraine. Last week I tried to reach my friend Tanya, whose Kyiv hostel I first called right as Russia invaded, and she hung up on me. She's okay, and she wrote back with an incredible story of resilience that I share with her blessing.

Then Digby joins me. She calls this the best election of her life. We talk about Trump's brand-new claim that the election was rigged, Andrew Sullivan's piece saying he should resign, Arizona's Democratic trifecta, and Elizabeth Lee's near-miss in AZ-5. We get into what Democrats should do now: pass the agenda, expect the veto, and hold the hearings and subpoenas that accountability demands. We also touch on Hegseth impeachment articles, the 2028 field, and Salon.com shutting down.

Plus a request to help one of our own family members, Jan Morgan, after a house fire. And breaking at the end: Lauren Boebert has lost! Good riddance. At least we're taking out the trash!

More at nicolesandler.com. No paywall, but listener support keeps us going.

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This show is recorded live every day except Fridays! Because Marcy Wheeler lives in Ireland and I'm in Arizona, we record on Fridays at 12 noon Eastern, and it goes live at 3pm Eastern. Occasionally we get caught with news breaking in between the two, as happened today. And it was a big one ... a story that I had even predicted might happen, I just didn't think it would happen so fast! Susie Wiles is out as White House Chief of Staff and the heinous Stephen Miller is taking the job. I opened the show live with Marcy Wheeler's reaction, then we rolled the tape of a long, joyful look at the midterm results.

Marcy makes the case that this was an anti-Trump wave fueled by cost-of-living frustration, and that Democrats' real opportunity is at the state level, where new trifectas in places like Arizona, Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin can show people government can work for them. We talk about Texas, Georgia, Mississippi and the Senate map, the Arizona races (including a breaking call on AZ-5), and the Florida and Louisiana letdowns.

Then we look ahead: a Hegseth impeachment push from Thomas Massie, the December 11 funding deadline, the committee chairs who'll run oversight in January, the Epstein files and a House Judiciary Democrats' report, a string of DOJ departures, concerns about voter-roll challenges aimed at naturalized citizens, Ukraine and Putin, and hearings on ICE.

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The healing has begun, and now we've got some apologizing to do. I open with a song from 2Krispii for every conservative who suddenly cares because gas prices are too high, then break the news that Trump loyalist Harmeet Dhillon has resigned as head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, the first DOJ shakeup since Democrats swept the midterms. I walk through the races still outstanding: Scott Colom's lead in Mississippi, Mary Peltola and Dan Sullivan in Alaska, Lauren Boebert trailing in Colorado's 4th, and the nail-biters right here in Arizona, including my friend Elizabeth Lee in AZ-5. Mangy Fetlocks sings "The Day That MAGA Died." Then I do something about the damage to our standing in the world: I pick up the phone and call Denmark and Canada to apologize, since he never will. I also try to reach a hostel owner in Kyiv I befriended as the war started, but haven't spoken to in years, and it doesn't go the way I hoped. PS I did follow through after the show, but you'll have to wait for the outcome until tomorrow or Monday (and it's worth the wait!).

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It’s my birthday, and the blue tsunami is the best gift I could have asked for. As of this morning, Democrats had secured 54 Senate seats and 228 House seats, with a real chance at 240 or more. NBC News noted it’s the first time since 2006 that the minority party flipped both chambers in a single night.

Driftglass joins me to celebrate. We cover the Senate flips in Maine, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas, plus Michigan held. We cover the governors’ wins, including Georgia, Texas, Ohio and Nevada, and Arizona’s still-undecided congressional races, with Elizabeth Lee’s remarkable run in the 5th. Driftglass shares his math on how far Republicans underperformed Trump’s 2024 margins even in the districts they held. We talk about the state legislatures that finally got some attention, why Democrats shouldn’t let anyone tell them a blowout isn’t a mandate, who might lead Senate Democrats, and what to watch out for during the lame duck period.

Tomorrow: I'm thinking of calling around the world to apologize to our allies, and I want your suggestions for who to call.

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It's Election Day, so go vote! I'm back in the new studio, a little scattered and a lot bruised after yesterday's MRI (four tries to find a vein, in case you were wondering), and since there's no guest today, the phone lines are open. One caller from South Carolina informs me that Donald Trump is the most "philanthropic" president we've ever had. Not only was his sentiment wrong, so was his pronunciation. I ask for receipts. We'll see.

Then I turn to Israel, where last week's election has left things unsettled. I read from Ilan Goldenberg's piece at J Street's substack on the historic possibility of a governing partnership between Jewish and Arab parties, replay my September 2019 call to a hotel in Tel Aviv, and try that hotel again to see what's changed. Spoiler: seemingly a lot. Plus: what to watch as the polls close tonight, and why I'm worried about the next 61 days.

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After a week away to move, I’m back in the rebuilt studio, just in time for Election Day tomorrow. I open the show with J-L Cauvin doing his best D'ump impression with a bit on Haley Stevens and Mike Rogers. I took some calls (the phone works!) from Vereen in the Tampa Bay area and Charlene in Arizona about Florida’s governor’s race, rents, and gas prices. I caught up on some of the news I missed: the Michigan Senate fallout, the Cenk Uygur PAC ad, and Judd Legum’s report that most major outlets ignored a new allegation in the House Judiciary Democrats’ Epstein report that included another credible rape allegation against the orange blimp. We wrapped it up with an impassioned plea to vote if you haven't already, and to stay in line until you vote - as long as you're in line before the polls close ( and you'd better be!

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Happy Friday, everyone! I got my YouTube channel back, so we are officially back in business.

Today's Emptywheel Friday with Marcy Wheeler of emptywheel.net is a big one. We're 11 days from Election Day, and Marcy breaks down what DOJ is up to in Alaska and California, a week of indictments and complaints landing right before the vote, and what she's seeing in the races that are moving toward Democrats, from Georgia to Mississippi to Texas.

We also talk about the Ohio ad that even some Republicans are running from, Elon Musk's money, Starlink and Ukraine, and what could happen between Election Day and January.

Before you go: if you haven't voted yet, make a plan. Then go a step further and knock doors, make calls, or give someone a ride to the polls. Marcy and I both said it, and I mean it.

No show next Friday because I'm moving, but we'll be back the Friday after the election. Watch the full conversation on YouTube, or catch it wherever you get the podcast.

And please share this with a friend who needs a reality check and a little hope this week.

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Elizabeth Lee, the Democratic nominee in Arizona's 5th Congressional District, is back on the show 12 days before Election Day. A year ago she was an underdog nobody gave a chance in an R+10 district. Today, she says, her opponent has lost 19 points of ground even while outspending her 10 to 1, and the race is a toss-up.

We talk about what she hears when she knocks on doors across all 173 precincts: not scandal, but grocery prices, gas, housing, healthcare, and water. We dig into her opponent Mark Lamb's absence from the district and the debates, the reporting that's followed him, and why she says the "extreme" label he pins on her doesn't fit someone who shows up for everybody.

I vent about renting in a market where rents are up about 50% in a year, and Elizabeth explains how corporate landlords and private equity are turning tenants over for profit. She shares the story of how decades of being dismissed by doctors led her to become a nurse, and why she believes a healthier society starts with paying the people who actually deliver care. She also lays out what she sees as the real cost of the war in Iran, why she thinks every House seat matters, and the simple ask she's making of listeners: find three people who haven't voted yet and talk to them!

Tomorrow, it's another Emptywheel Friday with Marcy Wheeler, and we might just be back on YouTube, finally!

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Happy Wednesday! Driftglass and I did our weekly hour today, and it's my most enjoyable of the week. We talked about No Kings, the Arizona and Illinois races, and the Republicans who've suddenly decided they were "independent" all along (spoiler: we aren't letting them off the hook). Also, we finally found a house. So, I'll be out next week -- packing, moving, and rebuilding my studio. I promise some good shows to run while I'm out. Charlie has yet to be convinced about the new pool.

The YouTube situation is still a mess, as the damn hackers seem to have gotten back in to my channel again today! So in the meantime, you can catch me on Twitch and LinkedIn for video and at nicolesandler.com for audio. If you haven't voted yet, please do. It's the best feeling to get that "your ballot has been counted" email.

I should be back tomorrow, hopefully with the next Congressional Representative from AZ05, Elizabeth Lee. 💙

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It's Monday, October 19th, and I'm still locked out of my YouTube channel, so this week the show lives on Twitch, Vimeo, and the audio stream at NicoleSandler.com and NicoleSandlerStream.com.And, of course, the podcast can always be found here. On today's show, I update you on the hack, the move, and the logistics of doing this with no producer.

Then I'm joined by clinical psychologist Dr. Vincent Greenwood, author of Puppet on a String: Trump Is Ruled by an Ominous Psychological Condition. Dr. Greenwood explains why he says the right term is clinical psychopathy rather than narcissism, walks through the three core trait clusters (impulsivity, remorselessness, and a drive to dominate), and addresses the Goldwater rule and whether anyone can assess a public figure from a distance. We also play Trump's Bullhead City riff about the "five words" test and ask what that cognitive screening exam really is, and what it isn't.Things we already knew but somehow, the self-described "genius" occupying the White House doesn't.

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It's Friday, so national security journalist Marcy Wheeler of emptywheel.net is back to connect the dots on anoother week that felt like a year. We start with the White House's new press secretary and her rocky debut, (the news broke about 30 minutes before air time that she's OUT!) then dig into the raid on Rep. Ilhan Omar's home less than 60 days before an election. Marcy explains why the timing, the speech-and-debate issues, and the track record of the agents behind the affidavits all raise serious questions.

We also cover DOJ's escalating fight with California over voter records and ballots, the smear campaign against James Talarico in Texas and why Texas may be the most consequential state of the cycle, and a stunning pile of corruption stories surrounding Trump's circle, from Kimberly Guilfoyle to a cement contract to the White House chief of staff's job security. Then it's Ukraine, Starlink, Putin's diesel claims, and Iran.

I also share a little good news: my ballot was verified and counted, and the Fort Hood execution won't be livestreamed. And we found a house and got the keys yesterday! And we talk about Saturday's No Kings events and why turnout is the whole point.

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I apologize for being MIA for the past two days, but I do have a good excuse.. Actually, a few! Hackers took my YouTube channel and my main Google account and my house hunt is down to the wire, but the show must go on, and Driftglass is here to help. Of course, I got the audio stream back up on my website and working again, except it didn't today.

I started the show with the Marsh Family's song about Ukraine, then dig into the reports that Starlink went dark on Ukrainian drones just before Russia hit the power plants in Kyiv (and all indications point to Musk doing it on purpose!). We talk about Trump's self-declared ceasefire, the Russian diesel deal, the war with Iran, and why the 25th Amendment and impeachment are a long shot, which leaves voting as the real lever. Driftglass lays out the four ingredients of the lifeboat Republicans will build once Trump's power fades, and we both push back on the tone police.

I tell the hack story start to finish, we try to get DirecTV's AI agent to hear me (she can't), and we get into the Trump tiger-video posts, the Illinois governor debate, and Trump's rally today in Arizona.

Find Driftglass at driftglass.blogspot.com and the Professional Left Podcast at proleftpod.com.

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Marcy Wheeler of emptywheel.net joins me after landing back from Vilnius, Lithuania, where she attended the Disinfo conference. She explains how two panels naming the United States, one on U.S. disinformation and one on attacks on researchers, drew the State Department's attention, and why she sees the whole effort as part of a plan to export fascism through big tech.

We also cover four oil-related scandals from the past two days, Hegseth's plan to livestream an execution, the Bronx shooting involving a DHS agent, the Supreme Court's new term, and the latest on the Broadview 6 case and DOJ's look at Cassidy Hutchinson. Plus election resources, a Wisconsin book recommendation, and a reminder that No Kings Day is next Saturday, October 17.

Marcy's work has no paywall, so if you value it, throw her some support at emptywheel.net.

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Lisa Graves is back on the show, and so much has happened while she was away. Lisa is my go-to legal expert and the author of Without Precedent: How Chief Justice Roberts and His Accomplices Rewrote the Constitution and Dismantled Our Rights. In her day job she leads a watchdog group, but on her own time she appears here as a private citizen, speaking for herself.

We start with the Roberts Court and how its immunity ruling and shadow docket decisions have emboldened Trump, then go back to Florida in 2000. Lisa walks through what Bush v. Gore really did, why Clarence Thomas should have recused himself, and how three of today's justices were involved in the recount fight. From there we follow the thread to today: the long-running voter fraud myth, error-prone databases, DHS data-sharing, a postal service under scrutiny, and the U.S. refusing foreign election observers.

We also talk about what to do right now: if you vote by mail, fill out your ballot the day it arrives and get it back as soon as you can. Don't wait.

Plus a new Mangy Fetlocks song, Trump's remarks in Nebraska, and an honest review of my freshly baked avocado bread (spoiler: it's not good). We're also still hunting for a house, so if you know a place in the Phoenix area with a pool, call me.

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It's Wednesday and Driftglass is in the house. We start with a satirical "betting app" ad about Ken Paxton that made both of us laugh out loud, then dig into the Texas Senate race and James Talarico's campaign.

Then: the bribes. Trump is promising $5,000 checks if Republicans win, $500 for some ACA exchange enrollees in red states, and $90 for Medicare beneficiaries who meet a long list of conditions. Driftglass explains how he sees the fear-and-greed playbook, and why he thinks fear has stopped working. We also play rally audio of Trump basically suggesting that Iran take out Los Angeles and San Diego, and that it would be "a small price to pay! The Lincoln Project made a great ad out off it

From there, Dr. Strangelove, Fail Safe, and a conversation about AI agents acting without permission. On the third anniversary of October 7th, I talk about the attack, my frustration with how some on the left are responding, and the question I still can't answer: what should Israel's response be? Driftglass shares where he lands, and we talk about what ordinary people can actually do in a world like this one.

Plus Illinois politics, my Denny Hastert mix-up (corrected!), Edgar Allan Poe, the Alan Parsons Project, and what it's like to look at rental houses when rents have jumped about $500 a month in a year.

Coming up: Lisa Graves returns tomorrow for the first week of the Supreme Court term, and Marcy Wheeler is here Friday.

Find Driftglass at driftglass.blogspot.com and on The Professional Left Podcast (proleftpod.com).

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Alex Lawson, executive director of Social Security Works, flew to Dallas to confront a House Budget Committee field hearing, and what he found was something else entirely. The public was kept out (three people got in), seniors and people with disabilities waited in 103-degree heat, and the hearing took place on billionaire Harlan Crow's property, in a replica of the U.S. Capitol. (That's truly frightening!)

Alex breaks down what the proposed commission is, why backers want to vote on it in the lame duck, and why he calls it a commission to cut Social Security. Then he tells us what to do: vote early, show up for No Kings on October 17, and sign the petition at socialsecurityworks.org.

Also in this episode: a new song from the Marsh Family, a look ahead to tomorrow's conversation about AI, the death of the Epstein whistleblower who exposed Howard Lutnick's ties, and TikTok's warning labels on Aaron Parnas.

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Emptywheel Friday: Klan Act Lawsuits, Chicago's Reckoning, and Georgia's Ask

It's Emptywheel Friday, and Marcy Wheeler is here to connect the dots on a week that kept piling up. We open with two new lawsuits from Renee Good's family, one a wrongful death claim and one under the 1871 Klan Act that names Jonathan Ross, several Trump administration officials, and a list of alleged co-conspirators. Marcy explains why the Klan Act is such an interesting tool, and how a new suit from the Chicago protesters Benny Johnson called "domestic terrorists" fits the same story.

Then we get into the Broadview case, where Judge April Perry held a hearing that Marcy says may point toward contempt or a special prosecutor, and DOJ's judicial complaint against Judge Patrick Schiltz, which Marcy says presents paraphrases as quotes. We cover Georgia's election board asking DOJ to intervene, the dismissal of Davy Hearn's case, and the Time interview with Trump and the AI summit that followed.

Marcy also walks through polling that suggests many 2024 Trump voters are misremembering their votes, why Texas border districts are moving, and the Jack Smith hearing where Senator Eric Schmitt's gotcha moment went sideways. We close with a speed round and Marcy's ask: help make Trump a loser in the public mind, because it matters for what he can get away with.

Find Marcy at emptywheel.net and go support her work. The Nicole Sandler Show is independently produced and listener-supported: nicolesandler.com.

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