Bob Dreyfuss on the Russia Investigations–plus David Cole: Could Trump pardon himself? and Nancy MacLean on the Roots of the Right

What Did Trump Know About Russian Money-Laundering, and When Did He  Know It?– Bob Dreyfuss of The Nation reports on new evidence about the connections that Donald Trump is desperate to conceal.
Plus: David Cole, legal director of the ACLU, considers different ways Trump could end the work of the special counsel investigating his campaign’s collusion with Russia: He can fire the Attorney General and order the firing of the special counsel; he can pardon his son Don Junior and his son-in-law Jared Kushner.  But can he pardon himself?
Also: The Deep history of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America – historian Nancy MacLean explains the southern roots of libertarian ideology, and its ties to resistance to civil rights.  Her new book is “Democracy in Chains.”
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Surviving the Trump Years: Katha Pollitt’s Guide for the Anxious and the Depressed. Plus John Nichols on Medicare-for-All and Rosa Brooks on the generals.

We’re six months into the Trump era—and how are you feeling about the world today? Katha Pollitt conducted an unscientific survey. She found anxiety and depression, but also wisdom about working together over the long haul: We will defeat Trump (if he doesn’t defeat himself first).

Also: One good result of the Republicans’ failure to repeal and replace Obamacare is the growing support for a single-payer, Medicare-for-all system—not just among the public, where it’s always been popular, but also among Democratic Party leaders. John Nichols comments.

Plus: It seems like the military is becoming everything in the Trump administration. The president just made a general his chief of staff, and has another heading the Defense Department—and yet another as his national-security adviser. That led us to a conversation with Rosa Brooks about “how the military became everything.” Her book, How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything, is out now in paperback.
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The Trump Kids in Trouble: Amy Wilentz; plus Rick Wartzman on jobs and Harold Meyerson on the Senate GOP

Amy Wilentz comments on Jared Kushner’s congressional testimony about that meeting with the Russian promising dirt on Hillary, and 6-year-old Arabella “interrupting” the NY Times interview with Trump in the Oval Office.
Also: Rick Wartzman on the rise and fall of good jobs in America–his new book is The End of Loyalty.
And Harold Meyerson analyzes the latest efforts of Senate Republicans to repeal and replace Obamacare–and considers the Jeff Sessions situation. (recorded Thursday evening, before the vote).
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The Desperation of Donald Trump: David Cole; plus George Zornick on healthcare in the Senate and Joshua Holland on happiness in Denmark

David Cole, legal director of the ACLU and The Nation’s legal-affairs correspondent, argues that Trump would only be talking about pardoning himself if he was desperate—because he knows what the special counsel is likely to find—and is thus willing to pay a tremendous political price to avoid impeachment.
Plus: The Senate GOP healthcare bill is confusing—that’s the way they want it, says George Zornick: It’s their only chance of repealing Obamacare. (recorded Tuesday afternoon, before their bill failed).
And Joshua Holland explains why Danes are so much happier than Americans: It’s not just because Donald Trump is not their president.  Josh wrote and narrated the animated video at TheNation.com.
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Jeff Sessions should be impeached, not fired: John Nichols; plus Al Franken

John Nichols of The Nation opens the show with comments on Jeff Sessions‘s past, present, and possible future–Sessions is featured in John’s forthcoming book, Horsemen of the Trumpocalypse.
And Al Franken talks about the dangers of humor in politics, about the voters who supported Trump, and the need for a public option in health care in America. He also answers the question, “Is Jeff Sessions a lying little weasel”? His new book, a numer one bestseller, is Al Franken: Master of the Senate.
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Trump’s Troubled Top Attorney; plus The Children’s Hour–Don Jr., Jared, Ivanka, and Eric

Bob Dreyfuss reports on the lawyers on both sides of the Russia investigations, starting with Mark Kasowitz, Trump’s longtime personal attorney, who is also working for Russian bankers connected to the meeting with Don Jr. at Trump Tower. Also: the deep challenges facing Trump’s legal team.
Plus: Amy Wilentz with The Children’s Hour: news about Don Jr., Jared, Ivanka, and Eric—boy, are those kids in trouble this week!  One big question: Why were Jared and Ivanka partying with Chuck Schumer in the Hamptons last week?
And Suzanne Gordon argues, in the wake of the Republicans’ failure to repeal or replace Obamacare, that the VA provides a strong example of healthcare for America—better in many ways than Medicare for all.
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 Al Franken: Is Jeff Sessions a Lying Little Weasel?

Questions for Al Franken, and answers, about Trump voters, Bernie voters, and Russians.  Our Q&A for “Start Making Sense,” The Nation’s weekly podcast, edited and condensed for print.  His new book is Al Franken: Giant of the Senate.
(His answer to the question, “Is Jeff Sessions a Lying Little Weasel?”: “That’s not how I would characterize the attorney general of the United States.”
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Naomi Klein: No is Not Enough

It’s not enough to say “no” to Trump, Naomi Klein argues; we need to transform ourselves and our movement to bring about the change we need.  Her new book is No is Not Enough.
And we revisit our 2003 interview with Al Franken about his number one bestseller, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them. Now he has a new number=one bestseller: Al Franken, Giant of the Senate.
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 Al Franken Versus the De-Humorizer

Al Franken talks about the dangers of humor in politics, about the voters who supported Trump, the “deep hole” Attorney General Jeff Sessions has dug for himself, and the need for a public option in health care in America.  His new book is Al Franken: Giant of the Senate.
Also: Joan Walsh comments on Donald Trump Jr.’s meeting with a Russian government representative promising dirt on Hillary: It may make him a criminal, and it certainly made him a liar.
And Ari Berman explains what the Russians did to hack voting, and what it would take to make our systems less vulnerable—and why Trump’s commission on “electoral integrity” should be disbanded.
Listen HERE