

The Al Franken Podcast
The Al Franken Podcast
A five-time Emmy winning SNL comedy writer/producer, joins a four-time #1 NYT bestselling author, a three-time highest-rated national progressive radio host, a two-time Grammy winning artist, and a former US Senator. So, it gets a little crowded in the booth when Al talks public policy and sometimes political comedy with notable guests. Think “The Daily” without the resources of the NYTimes.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Apr 12, 2020 • 53min
49: Mental Health and Criminal Justice
Miami Dade County Judge Steve Leifman and Norm Ornstein on Judge Leifman’s remarkably successful Jail Diversion Program, which saves lives and big bucks. An inspiring, feel-good story about changing the lives of our society’s most vulnerable.

Apr 5, 2020 • 55min
3: Dr. Leana Wen Discusses the Tortuous and High Stakes Path that Dr.'s Fauci and Birx Must Navigate
Dr. Wen is an emergency room physician, professor at GW School of Public Health, and fmr. Public Health Commissioner for Baltimore under two mayors. The second, who was recently sentenced to 3 years in prison, is arguably crazy, giving her unique insight into the dilemma that Fauci and Birx face in dealing with an inarguably crazy president.

Mar 29, 2020 • 1h 12min
2: Austan Goolsbee on Virus Economics
The former Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Obama speaks with clarity and common sense about how virus economics are different than normal economics.

Mar 22, 2020 • 53min
1: Andy Slavitt, Former Medicare/Medicaid Head Discusses the Pandemic
One of the earliest and most outspoken critics of Trump's mishandling of the pandemic, Slavitt reviews its tragic consequences and where we go from here.

Mar 15, 2020 • 58min
45: MSNBC's Andrew Zimmern Talks About Food, Immigration, Climate and Addiction
Turns out food is important. Andrew Zimmern, host and producer of MSNBC’s new series, “What’s Eating America” talks about the intersection of food and health, immigration, climate, and addiction – including his own harrowing journey to sobriety and grace.

Mar 8, 2020 • 55min
44: Documentarian Alex Gibney Tells the Cautionary Tale of the Oligarch Who Defied Putin
Russia’s transition from a brutal dictatorship to a fledgling capitalist democracy and back to a brutal dictatorship.

Mar 1, 2020 • 55min
43: Pulitzer Prize Winner Dave Fahrenthold Catches Us Up on Trump’s Corruption
In a time of an international health and economic crises, it’s good to have a POTUS who can be trusted by the world community. Instead, we have a grifter with an entire family of money-grubbing, lying grifters.

Feb 23, 2020 • 58min
42: Is Democracy in Danger? Legal Experts Dahlia Lithwick and Ian Bassin On Trump, Barr and The Abuse of the Criminal Justice System
Dahlia Lithwick of Slate and Ian Bassin of Protect Democracy discuss Trump's sickening lurch toward autocracy post-impeachment with the cooperation of Bill Barr.

Feb 16, 2020 • 1h 4min
41: Intelligence Expert Malcolm Nance Makes the Convincing Case that Trump is a Russian Asset
The author, commentator, and career intelligence officer lays out Donald Trump's decades-long relationship with Putin, the KGB, and Rusky Oligarchs. With a cast of unsavory characters like convicted Russian stooges Paul Manafort and Roger Stone, Nance leaves little doubt that the President of the United States has been and continues to be in cahoots with corrupt money-launderers and murderers. A fun show!

Feb 9, 2020 • 53min
40: A Conversation with Jimmy Kimmel
Al and Jimmy discuss his radio days, Jimmy Kimmel Live’s rough start, then success, bad guests, his emotional appearance after his son’s birth, and his passionate support of universal health care.


