The Briefing with Jen Psaki

Everything is bigger in Texas, including the politics. With a few weeks left until the midterms, MS NOW anchors and fans gathered in Texas for a day of conversation and community. Now, we’re bringing the fun to you directly. Listen to a compilation special from Together In Texas: We the People 2026, featuring talks with top newsmakers and some of your favorite hosts, such as Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O’Donnell, Jen Psaki, and Chris Hayes. This is part two of the special.

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Everything is bigger in Texas, including the politics. With a few weeks left until the midterms, MS NOW anchors and fans gathered in Texas for a day of conversation and community. Now, we’re bringing the fun to you directly. Listen to a compilation special from Together In Texas: We the People 2026, featuring talks with top newsmakers and some of your favorite hosts, such as Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O’Donnell, Jen Psaki, and Chris Hayes. This is part one of the special.

To listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads, sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

October 9, 2026 - Jen Psaki reports on Donald Trump giving Russian President Vladimir Putin another big boost by dropping sanctions to allow Russia to move more diesel fuel to market and suggested the U.S. would be among the buyers. Trump even thanked Putin even though the diesel release is not expected to be enough to change global diesel prices, but will yield billions for Russia to spend on its war against ostensible U.S. ally, Ukraine. Brett McGurk, former White House coordinator for the Middle East, joins to discuss.
Jen Psaki looks at newly obtained video of an ICE shooting in New York City and compares the information we can see so far to the official explanation of the shooting from the Department of Homeland Security. John Sandweg, former acting director of ICE under President Barack Obama joins to discuss.
Democratic candidate for governor of Ohio, Amy Acton, talks with Jen Psaki about J.D. Vance's weird offer to meet her at a bar.
DNC Chair Ken Martin talks with Jen about the lawsuit to make Donald Trump pay for his own propaganda ads instead of using taxpayer money.

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October 8, 2026 - Jen Psaki explains that while a popular president may be able to carry a lackluster candidate with the help of local partisanship, the combination of Donald Trump's abysmal public approval and deeply flawed Republican candidates appears to not only be tipping races toward Democrats, but also changing the minds of voters who might have previously voted Republican by reflex.
Democratic candidate for Senate from Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed, fresh from his debate with Mike Rogers, talks with Jen Psaki about how little Republicans have to run on when they are complicit and compliant with Donald Trump's failures and unpopular policies.
Senator Jon Ossoff, having also just finished a debate, talks with Jen Psaki about the character of his opponent, Mike Collins, and the urgent stakes of this year's midterm elections.



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October 7, 2026 - Jen Psaki relays new reporting from the Wall Street Journal that Kimberly Guilfoyle, former Fox News host, former Donald Trump Jr. fiance, and current U.S. ambassador to Greece, struggled with debt, begged a Trump donor for $100,000 to pay off her credit card bill, and offered to use her influence in the Trump administration to do favors for the donor ahead of her confirmation hearing.
Jen Psaki shares reporting from the New York Times that James Blair and Chris LaCivita, two key members of Donald Trump's poltiical machine, took some time away in the middle of the midterm crunch to offer their political insights to the far right government of Russia-aligned Republika Srpska. Republican Senator Thom Tillis offers his insights on the news.
Donald Trump learned first-hand why Republican candidates are having such a hard time in Texas when his rally was repeatedly interrupted by protesters. Johnny Garcia, Democratic candidate for Congress from Texas, talks with Jen Psaki about the political shift that has taken place in Texas and why Trump's scheme to win more seats by gerrymandering Texas does not appear to be playing out as Trump hoped.
Michael Lewis, author of the newly published "Blockers," talks with Jen about the people who tried to resist the DOGE destruction of the federal government.

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