The Nicole Sandler Show

Every Friday we end the week by spending an hour (usually a bit more) with Marcy Wheeler, one of the best independent journalists working today. You can and should read her daily at emptywheel.net and follow her on BlueSky at emptywheel.bsky.social. And, of course, listen to our weekly round up of some of the Trump shit that hit the proverbial fan that week. Today there was much more to discuss than we had time for. But we did speak quite a bit about Due Process and Trump's disregard of it and efforts to erase it from our rights. We spoke about the fact that he is the most corrupt president in history and his continued assaults on our independent judiciary. As always, Marcy's depth of knowledge informs and educates us. I learn something new from her every time we talk. I also spent a couple of minutes at the beginning with sad news about an old friend of mine. Singer-Songwriter Jill Sobule was killed in a house fire yesterday. I've known Jill for over 30 years. Much of my career was spent in music radio, and I was fortunate enough to work at a few stations who were adventurous enough to play her music. I'll dedicate a whole show to her next week, featuring some of our on air appearances together. But for today, I played a couple of her political songs -- a quick one at the beginning, and closed the show with a performance she gave at Netroots Nation in 2011 when my two radio worlds came together. I miss her already.

It's Mayday! The word "Mayday" is an internationally recognized distress signal used in radio communications, primarily by mariners and aviators, to signal a life-threatening emergency. May Day is also known around the world as International Workers' Day, commemorating the fight for workers' rights and the eight-hour workday. Both uses are fitting for today, as around the country, protesters are taking to the streets to speak out against Dump and what his administration is doing to this country and the entire world.Today is also Thursday, so we'll check in with Howie Klein of DownWithTyranny and the Blue America PAC. Today was an infusion day, so hopefully Howie will be up for talking with us today. Oh, and we have a new phone number to reach the show! It's 480-442-6584. Give it a spin and see if it works!

We survived the first 100 days of Trump's hell, depending on what your definition of "survival" is. In my case - and for millions of others, I suspect - just barely. I had a truly difficult time of it the first time around. I never thought we'd be back in this position again. And at the time, I didn't think things could get much worse. Unfortunately, I was wrong on both counts. I'm just trying to get through this hell one day at a time right now. I've heard from quite a few listeners who appreciate my work. There certainly is comfort in knowing that we're not alone in our misery and disbelief. So I promise to keep going a long as I'm able to. And I appreciate you bearing with me on those days when I simply can't, and just need a break. I'm envious of those who do this work and are able to keep a sense of humor while exposing the grift, immorality and vindictiveness that are representative of what this administration is about. Today, I'm thrilled to welcome Brian Karem back to the show. We got to know Brian from his fearless coverage of the first Dump White House. He continues his important work with a column at Salon.com, his podcast "Just Ask the Question," his new substack, his books and his appearances on this and other shows that keep the information flowing

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker delivered a barn burner of a speech in Manchester, NH yesterday in which he spoke the truth about all we're facing right now, and made me hope he runs for president in 2028. He made a lot of great points, and I'll share some of them on today's show. But it was his call for mass protests and mobilization to get us to that point that I want to focus on. Last weekend at protest march at the Arizona state capitol in Phoenix I was impressed by one of the women who appeared to be leading the rally. Before the march began I introduced myself to Erica, also known as Weird Violet, who is an Arizona state liason to 50501, and has stepped up to be one of the many grassroots organizers pulling some of these events together. With the next big nationwide day of protest planned for this Thursday, May 1, I invited Erica to join me on today's show to talk about all of it. We all must do what we can. It's how we'll survive this mess and move past the worst part of history in my lifetime...

We made it through another treacherous week in Trumpville. Every Friday, I get together with Marcy Wheeler of emptywheel.net who helps me unpack much of what happened since we spoke the Friday before. This was another week that felt like a decade! From Hegseth melting down, to Trump's continual lies and tweets (Vladimir Stop!), his newest illegal grift, a few judicial victories for the good guys (us) and even today's arrest by the FBI of a judge in Wisconsin for "obstructing an ICE arrest" --- we cover a lot of ground. Strap in and get informed....

Chaos. It's their mantra and goal.There's no way any one person can keep track of all the crap spewing from the White House these days, but I try to do my part in finding some of the stories that most infuriate me to share with you each day on the show.And today is Thursday, our day to check in with Howie Klein of DownWithTyranny and the Blue America PAC. Now is the time to start vetting our candidates for 2026!

After a break yesterday for a fun show about music and reliving the good old days, it's back to the real world today. The news is insane, from the orange one playing games with the world's economies, tariff roulette, SCOTUS & judicial uncertainty and more questions than we can reasonably answer. But we'll try. Today, we'll catch up with Lisa Graves, the Nicole Sandler Show's legal expert, who joins us in her personal capacity as a concerned citizen who's got the legal bona fides to back up her information and opinions. A big welcome to Randi Rhodes listeners who I hope will come join us more often now that Randi is retiring. We're here, for the time being, anyway...

Today we'll take a break from the depressing, stress-filled world of news and politics to talk about the best job ever. Today's guest is Paul Rappaport who spent his career at Columbia Records promoting rock records to radio and wrote a wonderful book recounting those glory days, GLIDERS OVER HOLLYWOOD: AIRSHIPS, AIRPLAY AND THE ART OF ROCK PROMOTION.

The weekend was chock full of news, beginning with a SCOTUS surprise at 1am on Saturday morning. For the first time in a long time, they ruled the correct way. Jonathan Larsen of thefuckingnews.substack.com joins me for our regular Monday debriefing session on what the hell is going on...

Each Friday, Marcy Wheeler of emptywheel.net and I get together to recap much of the important news from the week just ending. It's a daunting task, but necessary at this strange and fucked-up time in history. Today, we covered Trump's attempts to mess with immigration, his continued actions in shutting down the government, shutting down the global economy and the end of his BS attempt to negotiate peace between Russia and Ukraine. We talked about yesterday's ruling from Judge Harvie Wilkinson dealing with the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador and the administration's disregard for due process. You can and should read the whole thing here. It's only 7 pages and more than worth your time! Today also happens to be the 250th anniversary of the midnight ride of Paul Revere, the night before the start of the American Revolution. Tomorrow and Saturday are also days that the magat faction likes... 4/19 is the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, and 4/20, Hitler's birthday and other nefarious occasions. (I'd prefer a peaceful day celebrating cannabis, but that's now what I'm worried about.) With another National Hands Off Day of protests planned for tomorrow, and rumors flying about the possibility of Trump using this occasion to invoke the Insurrection Act, we have some warnings about being safe and diligent if you join in the protests tomorrow.

Howie Klein has been a regular weekly guest on this show for close to 15 years now. He writes at DownWithTyranny.com and runs the Blue America PAC where he champions the best progressive candidates running for office. Ten years ago, Howie successfully fought a rare form of cancer and enjoyed a clean bill of health for years. Unfortunately, a few months ago he was diagnosed with cancer again, this time pancreatic.I tell you this because today, at the time we usually speak, Howie will be at the hospital getting a chemotherapy infusion. As he told me, if it's just the infusion, he'll be able to talk. But if the doctor decides to come talk to him at that time, he won't. Either way, we'll understand and there's lots to talk about. Unfortunately the "lots to talk about" is all pretty fucked up.Another mass shooting - this one at Florida State University, more Trump insanity on multiple fronts, and ratcheting up fears around April 20 and the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution.I think I need another Xanax...

Everything is FUBAR, and I'm not exaggerating. I constantly reiterate that it's almost impossible to keep up with all the shit that's hitting the fan. I should modify that to say that I personally cannot keep up with it all. But my friend Heather Parton, better known as Digby, does a great job of it with the help of Tom Sullivan, Spocko and Dennis Hartley at her wonderful Hullabaloo blog at DigbysBlog.net.We're midway through what is shaping up to be one of the worst weeks in an awful few months since this administration has been in power, so I thought today would be a great day for a meeting of the minds with Digby. I always feel a little better after talking with her. Hopefully you will too.

If it feels like things are spinning out of control, you are correct. If you're wondering why no one is doing anything, you're asking the wrong question. You should be asking the corporate media why they're not covering the opposition. There's a lot of it from all quarters. There's a lot of pushback and fighting, but the most important element is WE the People.Today, we'll speak with Jeff Hauser, the Executive Director of the Revolving Door Project. In addition to their mission of scrutinizing executive branch appointees to ensure they use their office to serve the broad public interest, they've branched out further.They've launched what I think is the most comprehensive tracking of everything this administration is doing that's illegal, immoral and unconscionable. It's DOGE Watch or Trump-Musk Watch.. but it's a comprehensive list of all of this administration's atrocities, and you need to know it's there and help spread the word. TheRevolvingDoorProject.org/dogewatch

Just when you think we've hit rock bottom, the magats in Dump-land prove that there is no bottom. Since we last spoke, the tariffs are on again, off again, temporary or permanent or paused for 90 days (and the stock market is up, down, up, down, ad nauseum; the administration is openly defying a Supreme Court ruling that tells them to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia; a domestic terrorist firebombed the home of Pennsylvania's Governor Josh Shapiro on the first night of Passover... I could keep going, but we'll get to most of it today when we're joined by Jonathan Larsen of The Fucking News (thefuckingnews.substack.com)

Every Friday, I join with Marcy Wheeler of emptywheel.net to recap much of what happened during the week. As has been the case every week since the inauguration, this week was a doozy. But as Marcy says, "gravity hit this week, in a big way." Trump had his "liberation day" tariff announcement, causing the stock market to crash. Then he "paused" it (but not really), causing the market to spike before it crashed again. The DumpsterCoaster is one nauseating ride. Things may be coming to a head in this administration's clash with the judiciary branch. The Supreme Court unanimously said yesterday that they must facilitate the return of Abrego Garcia who was deported illegally to El Salvadore. The DOJ missed the deadline for information they were supposed to submit this morning and apparently, in a hearing that was starting as we finished recording today's episode, they didn't comply with the orders for information then either. What happens next? We don't know, but I'd suggest you make sure you're fastened in. This is going to be a tumultuous ride.

I'm not quite sure what "yippy" means, but the guy with the *best* words used it to explain (in Dump's case, that means 'lie') why he reversed himself on his tariffs yesterday. People were getting yippy? Maybe it means that they were pissed off that their portfolios and retirement accounts were hemorrhaging money? I wonder how they're feeling today...In case you weren't paying attention, after Dump 'paused the tariffs', the market went on a bit of buying spree yesterday. It seems obvious to me and many others that market manipulation and insider trading were a big part of it, and the market closed up almost 3000 points.Early trading this morning saw most of the gains going away again. Now, with still about four hours left in the trading day, the Dow is down almost 1000 points. The DumpsterCoaster ride is still treacherous and nauseating. One thing we know for sure is that everything is uncertain, a dangerous place to be. A newchart today shows the US Economic Policy Uncertainty Index is literally off the charts. Just look at today's show graphic.Today is Thursday, so we'll check in with Howie Klein of DownWithTyranny.com and the Blue America PAC today too...

If you're feeling nauseous right now, that's to be expected and you're not alone. Exactly one week after proclaiming it "liberation day" and a week of saying he wouldn't back down, today the orange one pulled a 180 and said "never mind," pausing the "reciprocal tariffs" for 90 days, except for China and 10% for everyone else. Huh?If you're confused, you're also not alone. But as I said on Monday after noting that RUMORS of him 'pausing' the tariffs caused the stock market the rebound temporarily, which let us know that there is a way to reverse the huge crash, there was a way to turn it around. I guess he was listening. But in the next breath, he said to stand by for huge tariffs on pharmaceuticals. (Where's that barf bag?)Today, we're joined by our pal Driftglass, one of the OG progressive bloggers who's still churning it out at driftglass.blogspot.com and co-hosting the Professional Left Podcast with his wonderful wife Bluegal Fran at proleftpod.com.

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!