The Al Franken Podcast

Throughout the 2024 election, we all heard about the dangers of Project 2025, yet somehow it’s worse than we imagined. Trump continuously said he didn't know anything about it (but he did), and nearly a year after his swearing in, we've seen a huge portion of it already implemented. We're joined by The Atlantic’s David A. Graham, author of the new book, “The Project: How Project 2025 is Shaping America.” In just 138 pages, David covers the entire 920-page document. He explains how many of the authors of Project 2025 saw Trump's first term as a failure because he was stopped from accomplishing his core goals - like building the border wall and repealing Obamacare. The answer was to create a shadow administration that would guide his policy decisions if he made it back to office. We run through a variety of issues that are being influenced by Project 2025, including immigration and border security, education, and trade. And we discuss the most influential figure, Russell Vought, current Director of the Office of Management and Budget. One of his main priorities? Inflict pain on government employees. Plus, Al remembers his friends, Rob and Michele Reiner. READ David's book, “The Project”: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/800230/the-project-by-david-a-graham/ Visit our sponsor Ghostbed and get 25% off of your purchase. Use the code FRANKEN at checkout: https://www.ghostbed.com/Franken Protect yourself and your family from cybercrime this holiday season with 75% off from our sponsor Webroot! https://www.webroot.com/franken Bundle up with some warm weather clothes from Quince! Get free shipping and 365-Day returns at https://www.quince.com/Franken

As we approach the end of 2025, we take a look back at what happened around the world in Trump’s first year back in office. We're joined by two of the best foreign policy writers we know: Franklin Foer and Anne Applebaum from The Atlantic!  We discuss the EIGHT wars and conflicts that Trump has single handedly ended, while also examining the ongoing conflicts in The Middle East, Ukraine, Venezuela, and more. Anne and Frank explain why Trump's Middle East peace plan isn't holding up and why we all should have been skeptical of it from the start. We also look at why the administration's plan for peace between Russia and Ukraine looks like it was written by the Russians themselves. And, of course, we discuss Trump's blatant corruption in both of those theatres. Anne also shares her heartbreaking firsthand account of what the USAID cuts have done to the rest of the world. It highlights the shortsightedness of the entire first year of Trump’s second term. READ Franklin's work in The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/author/franklin-foer/ READ Anne's work in The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/author/anne-applebaum/ Check out our sponsor Ollie for premium dog food! Go to https://www.ollie.com/franken and use code FRANKEN to get 60% off your first box. 

We're joined by the great Mark Leibovich from The Atlantic to run through some of the wild stories fresh out of Washington. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is facing criticisms on multiple fronts: Not only was it reported that he ordered the killing of two survivors from a bombed alleged drug trafficking boat, a Pentagon Inspector General also found that he put American troops' lives in danger with his reckless messages on Signal. Could we see Trump turn on Hegseth? We also recap the marathon Cabinet meeting. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spent his time kissing Trump's ass, and Trump (when he was awake) broke out into an maliciously racist rant about Somalis. Plus, we talk MORE shady pardons (including the former Honduran President and convicted drug trafficker), Trump's sinking approval ratings, and Dick Cheney! READ Mark's writing in The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/author/mark-leibovich/ Protect yourself and your family from cybercrime this holiday season with 75% off from our sponsor Webroot! https://www.webroot.com/franken Visit our sponsor OneSkin for all of your skincare needs! Use the code FRANKEN at checkout to get 15% off of your order: https://www.oneskin.co/FRANKEN Get 10% off your first order from Graza Olive Oil. Use the code FRANKEN at checkout: https://partners.graza.co/FRANKEN Visit our sponsor Ghostbed and get 25% off of your purchase. Use the code FRANKEN at checkout: https://www.ghostbed.com/Franken

One of Donald Trump's most successful initiatives in his second term has been making himself and his family richer than ever. We're joined by The New Yorker’s David Kirkpatrick, who earlier this year wrote a piece outlining all the ways the legendary grifters have cashed in during Trump’s presidency.  The Trump family has long been associated with shameless cash grabs, but we have reached new levels of corruption by using his office for their money-making schemes: international real estate deals, Trump-branded merchandise, and cryptocurrency. David lays out the long list of ethical implications involved and calculates the staggering amount of money Donald Trump and his family have made off of his presidency. READ David's piece “The Number” in The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/08/18/the-number Protect yourself and your family from cybercrime this holiday season with our newest sponsor, Webroot! Use code FRANKEN at checkout: https://www.webroot.com/franken Get free shipping and 365-day returns on wardrobe shopping with our sponsor, Quince! Use code FRANKEN at checkout! https://www.quince.com/franken Visit our sponsor OneSkin for all of your skincare needs! Use code FRANKEN at checkout to get 15% off of your order: https://www.oneskin.co/FRANKEN

In Donald Trump's second term, we've seen a flurry of pardons and commutations. Of course, every President is granted the pardon power, but with this administration, pardons often seem to have a price tag. We're joined by Liz Oyer, former US pardon attorney (appointed by Biden and fired by Trump), to discuss some of the shadier pardons doled out during Trump's second term (so far).  Oyer lays out how several of Trump’s pardons are motivated by money, loyalty, and retribution. Of course, we discuss the blanket pardon of the January 6th rioters, but we also examine the pardon of cryptocurrency-crook Changpeng Zhao, who Oyer says "might be the most corrupt pardon in American history." We dig into Trump's current pardon attorney, Ed Martin, a political operative who believes in "No MAGA left behind." Even Republicans found him too extreme to be a US Attorney, so Trump put him in charge of pardons and commutations.  Plus, we get Oyer's unfiltered opinion of the Ghislane Maxwell/Jeffrey Epstein saga AND Hunter Biden's pardon at the end of Joe Biden's term.  READ Liz Oyer's Substack at https://www.lawyeroyer.com/ Check out our sponsor Ollie for premium dog food! Go to https://www.ollie.com/franken and use code FRANKEN to get 60% off your first box. Check out our sponsor OneSkin for all of your skincare needs! Go to https://www.oneskin.co/FRANKEN and use code FRANKEN to get 15% off of your order.