The DSR Network

On the Thursday edition of the DSR Daily, we cover Congress’s $1.1 trillion spending package to avert a shutdown, the surprise resignation of Irelands Prime Minister, Secretary Blinken’s impending visit to Israel, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump just announced that he’s likely to campaign for the presidency on a promise of a 15-week abortion ban, even as political commentators are wondering whether reproductive rights will be as salient this fall as they were in 2022 and 2023. An interesting test looms in deep red Alabama, where Marilyn Lands is running for a state House seat in a special election set for March 26th—a campaign that Lands has made about her own agonizing abortion story. We talked to Lands about what she’s hearing on the ground and how voters are reacting to her personal journey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the Wednesday edition of the DSR Daily, we cover the resignation of the President of Vietnam, the looming famine and horrific reports from the civil war in Sudan, the indictment of Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is there any chance that Congress will not abandon Ukraine to the Russians? With Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans determined to cut off military aid to Ukraine, it’s looking grim. Yet there are glimmers of hope. Some Republicans are reportedly pushing a proposal that would offer aid to Ukraine as a loan. And there are signs that House Speaker Mike Johnson does want something to pass. We chatted with Democratic Congressman Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania, who offered a keen understanding of the tortured dynamics surrounding this deeply dispiriting debate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the Tuesday edition of the DSR Daily, we cover Hong Kong’s contentious new national security law, the Supreme Court indefinitely blocking a Texas law cracking down on immigration, the death of a senior Hamas military leader, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Donald Trump’s lawyers admitted that he’s failed to secure a bond to cover the half-a-billion-dollar penalty he faces in his civil fraud case in New York. As The New York Times delicately noted, “he does not have enough liquidity” to persuade any company to provide that bond. Translation: He doesn’t have the cash. This is humiliating to Trump, relative to his self-mythology. But it also points to his broader, largely-overlooked weaknesses in the 2024 campaign. We discussed this with The New Republic’s Timothy Noah, author of a great new piece on Trump’s financial travails that predicts he will soon declare bankruptcy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marc’s guest this week is Patrick Weninger, a retired CIA Senior Intelligence Service Case Officer with over 28 years of experience in the Central Intelligence Agency and U.S. Air Force. He served executive-level headquarters assignments overseeing clandestine operations, tradecraft, and technical operations and served as a Senior Executive Operations Officer and Manager, with senior field assignments in the Near East, South Asia, and Europe, including multiple Chief of Station and war zone assignments. He led and oversaw the CIA’s global program for Russia. Marc and Patrick discuss Ukraine, election meddling and generative AI. Don’t miss this fascinating and wide-ranging conversation with one of the agency’s top former officers, in his national security podcast debut.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Russian Election(0:33) - Reuters: Putin wins Russia election in landslide with no serious competitionIsrael(5:56) - Straits Times: Israeli troops raid Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospitalTrump (3:03) - Washington Post: Trump is eyeing Paul Manafort for 2024 campaign roleThe Guardian: Trump predicts ‘bloodbath’ if he loses election and claims ‘Biden beat Obama’The Daily Blast covers the Trump Ohio Rally with special guest, Susan Glasser.Haiti(11:29) - NPR: First charter flight with U.S. citizens fleeing Haiti lands in Miami Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Ohio over the weekend, Donald Trump delivered one of his most unhinged and dangerous rally speeches yet: He used appallingly dehumanizing language about migrants, saluted the Jan. 6 rioters as patriots and heroes, and predicted a “bloodbath” if he loses the election. We talked to New Yorker staff writer Susan Glasser, the author of an excellent new piece about Trump’s use of violent and authoritarian language at rallies like this one, about why the media urgently needs to do better at conveying the full threat to democracy that Trump poses. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Air Date: April 14, 2023On this week’s episode of Words Matter, Norm and Kavita discuss a number of judiciary issues, including reproductive health. In a special extended bonus section, Norm and Kavita tackle Clarence Thomas and Diane Feinstein. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices