The Nicole Sandler Show

I'm playing catch up with the news, so today I'm covering Trump's third hospital visit this year, the alarming details about his daytime somnolence (falling asleep in the Oval Office, possibly at Arlington on Memorial Day — yikes), and his midnight rhino meme that makes zero sense. Plus the Texas Senate runoff — Cornyn vs. Paxton — and how Trump just torpedoed a nearly-done Iran ceasefire deal by throwing the Abraham Accords in at the last minute like an afterthought. Then my guest Mark Malkoff — author of Love Johnny Carson and a veteran of the late night world — joins me to talk about the end of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. 33 years of the CBS late night franchise, gone. We cover it all: the joke that supposedly got the show canceled, Colbert's brilliant post-finale appearance on Monroe Community Media's public access channel with Jack White, Eminem and Jeff Daniels, the CBS copyright freakout, what happens to the Ed Sullivan Theater now, and whether we'll ever see late night TV at this scale again. Spoiler: probably not. And I close with one more gut punch — the Trump administration wants every federal employee to sign an NDA. Because why not finish off what's left of free speech? Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Today, I have a different kind of Memorial Day show for you. Instead of the usual music, I'm honoring two dear friends we lost too recently — Boca Brit Summers, the comedic genius behind so much of this show's best imaging and parody music, and Howie Klein, former president of Reprise Records and my weekly guest for nearly 15 years. We revisit a 2023 show Brit and I did together when she was finally feeling well enough to come back on the air, featuring some of her greatest hits. Then Howie, in his own words, remembering his close friend Lou Reed just days after Lou's death in October 2013. Grab a tissue. Or maybe a laugh. Probably both. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Every week feels like an eternity, and this one seemed worse than normal. On today's Emptywheel Friday, Marcy Wheeler and I covered a lot of territory. 🏰 Trump's billion-dollar ballroom got killed by the Senate parliamentarian and some help from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse — because Republicans forgot which committees have jurisdiction over the White House. Oops. 💰 The so-called "terrorist slush fund" — a $1.8 billion bounty that could, allegedly, pay pardoned January 6th rioters, cop assaulters, and at least one convicted child sex abuser who used the promise of a payout to try to silence his victim. And Todd Blanche lied his face off about it in front of the Senate. There are a few lawsuits already challenging this travesty. ⚖️ The Broadview 6 case is OVER — dismissed with prejudice after a judge discovered the DOJ had hidden grand jury misconduct with redactions. This is a pattern. 🎸 The Late Show's final night was last night, with Paul McCartney helping Stephen turn off the lights. Oh, and the right wing billionaires who killed off one of Trump's biggest TV critics is also shuttering the original news authority - CBS News Radio no longer exists after today. For someone whose entire career has been in radio and who spent a few years in the CBS building on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood, this is a true punch in the gut, and just plain wrong. Plus — what YOU can do this Memorial Day weekend while your representatives are out in public. Listen now! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

A LOT going on today on the Nicole Sandler Show ... Trump created a $1.776 billion slush fund to pay off his Jan. 6 insurrectionists (yes, that number was chosen on purpose — cute, right?). And now the Pillow Guy wants $400 million from it, a Proud Boy leader wants $5 million because his "life was messed up," and actual Republicans in Congress are starting to say... wait, what? We cover the pushback from Rep/ Brian Fitzpatrick and Sen. Bill Cassidy, and Todd Blanche's testimony that makes less sense the more you listen to it. Ryan Cooper from The American Prospect joined me to talk about all of it — plus the military getting run into the ground, the Ebola outbreak nobody's prepared for, and the DNC's post-election autopsy that somehow forgot to mention inflation OR Gaza. Oh — and tonight the Late Show ends, thanks to the right-wing takeover of our media. Bruce Springsteen was on last night and had a few things to say. And as usual, I have feelings. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

I'm Nicole Sandler, and today I nearly lost my mind before I even got to my guest. Between Trump dropping his IRS lawsuit only to magically produce a $1.776 BILLION "weaponization fund" to pay off his convicted cronies — oh, and a little addendum granting himself and his whole family immunity from tax prosecution forever — I needed someone smarter than me to talk me off the ledge. That someone is Driftglass — brilliant OG Progressive political blogger and co-host (with the incomparable Blue Gal Fran) of the Professional Left Podcast. And he delivered. We trace exactly how we got to this insane moment in history: from Bill Clinton's budget surplus (say it with us — surplus) to George W. Bush blowing it all up, to Republicans meeting at a DC restaurant the day Obama was inaugurated to plot his destruction, to the rise of the birther king himself, to here. It's a long story. But Driftglass tells it better than anyone. Also: eight Senate Democrats voted to confirm a judicial nominee who wouldn't say Biden won in 2020. We have thoughts. Many thoughts. Subscribe. Tell your friends. We'll keep going as long as we can. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Today's show was one I didn't plan. I woke up to watch the Senate grill Todd Blanche over Trump's $1.776 billion slush fund (yes, 1776 — he literally can't help himself), and then I got the news that my dear friend and radio comedy legend Boca Britany Somers passed away last night. So I did what I always do — I showed up, played her bits, cried a little, and kept going. That's what she would've wanted. Come listen. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

So Trump flew to China, brought Eric and the Nvidia guy instead of any actual China experts, accomplished nothing on Hormuz or Taiwan, got a lecture from Xi about Sparta and Athens, and came home. Marcy Wheeler of emptywheel.net and I spent an hour plus breaking down what it all means — plus Kash Patel snorkeling a war grave, which is exactly as bad as it sounds. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

I've been waiting to talk with my favorite legal expert Lisa Graves about this latest, most despicable outrage from the Extreme Court. Just last week they gutted what was left of the Voting Rights Act. Lisa breaks down how we got here- from Roberts, who started his career as a Reagan revolutionary attacking the VRA's effects provisions, to the neo-Confederate legislatures that instantly moved to bleach Black representation out of Congress the moment the ruling dropped. We also talk Leonard Leo's sudden billions, C. Boyden Gray's deeply troubling family history, Linda McMahon calling teachers non-professionals, Trump literally saying on camera that he doesn't think about Americans' financial situation, and — most importantly — what we can actually DO about all of this. Spoiler: it's court reform. And Lisa makes the case better than anyone. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Nicole Sandler is joined by Kaswar Klasra — journalist, founder, and Editor-in-Chief of The Islamabad Telegraph — for a wide-ranging, no-holds-barred conversation about the world Trump has made. Calling in from Islamabad at midnight his time, Kaswar brings a firsthand view from Pakistan: a country caught in the crossfire of Trump's war with Iran, mediating between nuclear powers, watching gas prices double overnight — and still trying to maintain a free press while American journalism collapses in real time. From the Strait of Hormuz double blockade and Pakistan's surprising role as peacemaker, to Trump's visit to China and fears he'll give away Taiwan, to the death of the Voting Rights Act, the dismantling of CBS and Voice of America, and Trump calling a female reporter "Piggy" — nothing is off the table. Nicole and Kaswar have known each other since 2011, and this reunion is exactly the kind of global, unfiltered conversation you won't find anywhere else. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Nicole Sandler returns after an unplanned absence following a scary health event that landed her in the hospital for several days. She breaks down what happened — heart racing at 143 BPM, chest pressure, possible AFib, and a pericarditis scare — and why she's still not entirely in the clear. On the news front: Trump's Iran nuclear negotiations have collapsed after he rejected Tehran's response with a dismissive Truth Social post; the Supreme Court takes another sledgehammer to the Voting Rights Act; and a shadow hearing in Florida gives Epstein survivors — including Jenalisa Jones — a platform to speak out about how Pam Bondi's DOJ exposed their names and identities in the document release, re-traumatizing women who had told no one about their abuse. Plus: the no-bid Reflecting Pool contract, Trump berating a reporter, and Nicole's honest reflection on why she keeps doing this work. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Nicole Sandler is back after a health scare, but she tries to never miss an Emptywheel Friday episode! So she and national security journalist Marcy Wheeler of emptywheel.net are here for their weekly breakdown of lots of what the corporate media is underreporting. This week: the Iran War is far more catastrophic than the White House is letting on — bases may be permanently abandoned, Saudi Arabia is furious, jet fuel prices are spiking, and Spirit Airlines is the first casualty. Plus, Kash Patel's whiskey brand may have gotten him into serious legal trouble, Howard Lutnick testified behind closed doors about his Epstein ties, Trump's new counterterrorism strategy conspicuously omits far-right extremists, and the Voting Rights Act is basically history. It's a lot — because it always is. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

It's another Emptywheel Friday, when national security journalist Marcy Wheeler of emptywheel.net joins me to break down the week, and this one was a mess! The Supreme Court finished off what was left of the Voting Rights Act, we saw two days of "Whiskey Pete" Hegseth hearings (House AND Senate Armed Services Committees), the Jim Comey "8647" indictment #2 and why it's a mess, the SPLC prosecution unraveling, the Cole Allen shooting attempt at the White House Correspondents dinner, gas prices spiking while the Defense Secretary can't tell you what a gallon costs, and the Sarah Jacobs/Trump-as-Jesus moment you have to see to believe. Plus, a tribute to the civil rights heroes who did the hard work to get the Voting Rights Act passed in the first place, and why their persistence matters right now. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

It's a long, busy show today! We opened with old friend and longtime progressive writer Dave Johnson, now living as an American expat in a tiny village outside Cambridge, England. He talks NHS, the UK's surging Green Party, the lessons Labour's collapse holds for US Democrats, and what it's like watching America from across the Atlantic — where literally everyone hates Trump. Then it's wall-to-wall news: Hegseth's two-day Congressional testimony (day one: a disaster; day two: damage control, sort of), the Supreme Court finishing off the Voting Rights Act and the redistricting scramble that followed, gas prices at record highs, Trump's approval ratings at record lows, the Comey seashell "threat," DOGE handing voter data to outside political groups, a Fox News contributor nominated as Surgeon General, the ICE agent who killed Renee Good getting reassigned instead of prosecuted, and — to end on a weird note — an Indian medical student who made a fortune scamming MAGA men with a fake AI conservative influencer. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The Supreme Court's extremist majority struck again today — this time gutting what's left of the Voting Rights Act in a 6-3 ruling written by Samuel Alito. Elena Kagan wrote the dissent — which pointedly drops the word "respectfully" — which isn't the usual. Then: Friday is May Day, and the movement is calling for a nationwide day of economic disruption. No work, no school, no shopping. My guest Nancy Tooozian, founder of Tempe Rising Indivisible, joins me in studio to talk about how she built her chapter from scratch and how you can do the same wherever you live. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

It's the Monday after the "Nerd Prom" — and wow, what a weekend. We open the show with Jesse Wells' brand new song "Lone Wolves" (already at 53K views!), then journalist Jonathan Larson from The F'ng News joins to break down the assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents Dinner, Trump's bizarre 60 Minutes interview with Nora O'Donnell, and what we actually know — and don't know — about alleged shooter Cole Allen. Plus: Melania wants Jimmy Kimmel punished, and Nicole and David share a feel-good win: they took their nightmare former landlord to small claims court and actually got punitive damages. Stand up for your rights, people! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

It's another Emptywheel Friday! Every Friday, Marcy Wheeler of emptywheel.net joins Nicole Sandler to wrap up the week's news. Today, Marcy explains why Trump is psychologically trapped in the Iran war — he can't confront Russia, and he can't admit Obama's JCPOA was better than anything he could negotiate. The global jet fuel crisis is already crashing airlines (hello, Spirit), and the worst economic effects haven't even hit yet. And then, the DOJ's strange indictment of the SPLC; why the Kash Patel/Atlantic lawsuit is going to backfire spectacularly; a Special Forces soldier arrested for insider-trading on the Maduro raid; and the story barely anyone is covering — Joe DiGenova put in charge of the Mueller review, despite being a subject of the very investigation he's supposed to oversee. And probably more... Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Today I needed a laugh — and honestly, so did you. We kick things off with the best Trump impression on the internet, JL Cauvin. Today's guest is Mark Malkoff, author of Love, Johnny Carson: One Obsessive Fan's Journey to Find the Genius Behind the Legend, about the man who invented late night as we know it. We get into what Carson really thought about Trump back in the '80s and '90s, whether he would have survived today's TV landscape, the Don Rickles cigarette box story you've never heard, and what's happening to late night now that Colbert's show is ending. Plus: my husband calls in to correct my geography. As he does... Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Yes, my favorite expert on the law, Lisa Graves - @TheLisaGraves.bsky.social - will join us in the last half-hour of today's show. I had invited her to discuss today's SCOTUS opinions, but they weren't the big ones we were hoping for (or dreading). There's still plenty to discuss, like yesterday's important wins in the ballot box in Virginia! Though- as I'm posting this came the news that judge has struck it down. More details tomorrow! And you know I have a few things to say about how the orange bloviator tried to block the Democrats from doing what he suggested first, claiming that when the Dems do it, it's illegal and immoral, but when he does it, it's brilliant and we're entitled to it. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Tom Steyer is running for governor of California and still hasn't taken my advice from 2019. We dig into the full California governor's race — who's in, who's out (looking at you, Swalwell), and what to think about the candidates left standing. Then we go to the Wayback Machine for my actual December 2019 interview with Steyer, where I made the case — live on air — that he should put his $100 million into rebuilding progressive media instead of a presidential run he had no chance of winning. He disagreed. Respectfully. And here we are. After that: Kash Patel filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic — and his own lawsuit appears to confirm several of the things he's claiming are lies. Classic. Plus, Trump is reading from the Bible tonight on camera (pre-recorded, naturally), The Onion takes over InfoWars, the Iran war is affecting condom supply, and the tariff refund website is off to a "glitchy start" (that's the diplomatic version). My guest Dayna Steele from Today's Facts joins to break down what's real and what isn't in today's news — and shares the exciting news that her one-woman show is heading to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

It's a Monday and, unfortunately, the news doesn't stop churning over the weekend... A new friend of the show is Dr. Art Jipson. In addition to being a professor of sociology at the University of Dayton and teaching those impressionable college students, he's a prolific writer on substack and a few other venues, writing about the issues in the news that are so troubling to us. And he hosts a weekly radio show on WUDR! Today, an important film I saw last night about AI and why I'm even more frightened now, and how it could affect every aspect of our lives... and more! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy