The Daily Beast Podcast

On this episode of The New Abnormal, Molly Jong-Fast and Andy Levy debate which Republicans testifying at the Jan. 6 hearings can be considered ‘good guys.’ Spoiler alert, not Bill Barr according to Andy. Molly also breaks down the ‘psychology’ of Jared Kushner based on his performance testifying. Plus! The Nation columnist Jeet Heer explains to Molly why Democrats shouldn’t trust Liz Cheney and CNN national security reporter Zachary Cohen points out one of big question marks on the Jan. 6 timeline that the committee is trying to piece together: What happened when Donald Trump was in the dining room? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse is not pleased with Mitch McConnell’s handling of dark money. He came on the pod to explain why he’s pinning the lack of dark money legislation on McConnell as well as what’s happening with climate change legislation. Plus, author Wes Moore tells TNA co-host Molly-Jong-Fast why he’s running for Governor of Maryland and what he wants to change. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Daily Beast's Chief Content Officer Joanna Coles unpacks the two biggest reality shows of our time: Britain's royal family and Donald Trump's presidency. First she lifts the lid on what's really going on in the White House and Mar-a-Lago with the Beast's Executive Editor Hugh Dougherty and finds out who's been voted off the island, who's been pitted in a brutal head-to-head contest and why Warren Buffett just delivered a stinging rebuke with a personal sting in the tail. Then Coles turns to the Beast's European Editor-at-Large Tom Sykes for revelation after revelation about the British royals. Why is Prince Harry really pleading for reconciliation with his father, King Charles? And why is the California exile hinting that someone wants him dead like his mom, Princess Diana—and who exactly does he mean? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Daily Beast Podcast is as wildly exciting, energizing, and entertaining as the topics it covers. Hosted by Joanna Coles, Chief Content Officer of the Daily Beast, every episode brings you more of the people, politics, and pop culture coverage you need straight from the Daily Beast newsroom. Amazing conversations have included Amber Ruffin, Tiffany Haddish, Mika Brzezinski, Don Lemon, John Oliver and more!New episodes every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.If you’re not already a subscriber to The Daily Beast, it’s easy! Just go to thedailybeast.com to sign up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Trump biographer Michael Wolff joins Joanna Coles to discuss how the president's $45 million attempt at creating a "menacing" military parade backfired into a yawning, low-budget cosplay. The author of 'All or Nothing' reveals the real reason Trump was furious at the troops, what Pete Hegseth got wrong, and why the U.S. military has moved on while Trump is still stuck in 1965. Coles and Wolff explore how Israel's strike on Iran played out while Trump sat bored on a D.C. bleacher—and why the war made him look weak, used, and irrelevant.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Daily Beast’s David Rothkopf joins Joanna Coles to unpack the chaos behind Israel’s strike on Iran—and the confusion inside the the Trump administration's response. From Marco Rubio claiming America had nothing to do with Israel's attack, to Trump scrambling to take credit, Rothkopf lays out why nobody seems to know who approved what, or when. He explains why Trump’s “deal guy” approach to foreign policy has failed everywhere from Gaza to Ukraine, and why Trump’s inner circle of golf buddies and yes-men leaves America weaker and more isolated than ever. Rothkopf calls Trump “the most impotent president in living memory”—and warns that our enemies are laughing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joanna Coles unpacks global chaos colliding with American absurdity: a California senator thrown to the ground, Israel striking Iran, and the man in charge of U.S. diplomacy? Trump’s golf buddy Steve Witkoff. Who else to make sense of this than Michael Wolff, the chronicler of Trump’s chaos. Wolff dives into Trump’s racist tirade after the arrest of Senator Padilla, and how Gavin Newsom accidentally became the face of Democratic leadership—thanks to Trump himself. Plus, Wolff paints a jaw-dropping picture of Trump’s “phone monologues,” Witkoff’s terrifying Middle East power grab, and why American politics now runs on height, hair, and real estate credentials. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joanna Coles is joined by Russian and American Journalist M. Gessen, whose reporting from both Putin’s Russia and Trump’s America has made them a singular voice on creeping autocracy. Gessen explains why Americans' faith in endless progress is misplaced—and how Trump, like Putin before him, overwhelms the system by attacking everything, everywhere, all at once: courts, media, universities, even law firms. They argue that the biggest danger isn’t sudden collapse, but slow adaptation—that Americans are already getting used to living in a crumbling democracy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

California governor Gavin Newsom tells Joanna Coles how he is going head-to-head with Donald Trump and Stephen Miller's cruelty and chaos—and why the country has never faced such a crisis before. He goes scorched earth on the "carny bulls**t artist" president and say what he thinks about being nicknamed "Gavin Newscum." Newsom has harsh words for Speaker Mike Johnson and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, warning their loyalty to Trump's authoritarianism shows how weak they are. And he spells out what is next in his fight against Trump and why he doesn't regret hosting MAGA stars like Steve Bannon on his podcast.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joanna Coles is joined by Anthony Scaramucci, the infamously short-lived Trump first term White House communications director and longtime Trump confidant-turned-critic. The Mooch brings a blisteringly informed look into what happens to those, like Elon Musk, who get too close to Donald Trump—and why Musk is the latest casualty. Scaramucci explains why Ro Khanna is the only Democrat with the foresight to try and win Musk back, how Potomac fever has infected Silicon Valley, and why Trump's orbit inevitably burns anyone drawn into it. He reveals how Trump really fired him and why Howard Lutnick may be the next domino to fall. Plus, Scaramucci argues that a Musk-backed centrist third party won't be able to win the presidency—it could break the political duopoly for good. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joanna Coles returns to dissect the latest turn in the Trump–Elon Musk war—and who better to decode the thoughts in Donald Trump's head than Michael Wolff, Trump's biographer. Wolff explains how the feud puts JD Vance's future in question because Vance's "only hardcore support" is from within the tech community. Wolff reminds us that Trump's Epstein connection still hangs over Trump like a sword Damocles. And Wolff shares that within the White House, people are saying "Thank God for LA" and the mass protests against ICE agents, which have stolen the American people's attention. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joanna Coles welcomes Scott Galloway—the irreverent marketing professor, tech provocateur, and self-declared “really f***ing rich” man—to understand into the dark ballet between DonaldTrump and Elon Musk. Galloway calls Musk to a “rabid addict with a checkbook,” and unpacks how Tesla’s collapsing brand is a case study in boardroom paralysis, loyalty bought with billions, and a CEO in free fall. He then turns his fire on Brand America, the Democrats’ allergy to confrontation, and why the resistance feels like a “rebel force without Luke Skywalker.” It’s a high-octane, unfiltered diagnosis of power, cowardice, and the price of silence. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joanna Coles is back with an emergency podcast to reveal just what is going on with the Trump–Elon Musk blow-up—and who better to explain it than Michael Wolff, Trump’s biographer and longtime chaos whisperer. Wolff explains why Musk is “Elon Bannon," revealing how he’s stolen Bannon’s role as Trump’s dark twin. And he unpacks why both men are deploying Trump’s ultimate fear: Jeffrey Epstein. From Epstein’s Manhattan mansion, where Bannon coached the disgraced financier on media comebacks, to Elon’s furious tweets, Wolff traces a toxic triangle of power, revenge and secrets. And he explains why Musk may be the first man rich and ruthless enough to truly go to war with Trump—and win. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joanna Coles calls an emergency podcast for the biggest fall-out in political history: Donald Trump and Elon Musk. And it's the perfect guest to explain EVERYTHING: Michael Wolff, the Trump biographer—who already predicted what would happen. He unpacks a "nuclear" break-up and why Musk has used the weapon Trump fears most: Jeffrey Epstein. Wolff reveals his own extraordinary moment of interviewing Trump and what happened when he raised the pedophile financier. He talks about the predator and the president's long friendship. And he explains why Musk is now Trump's perfect enemy—bigger than Harvard and of course the Democrats. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joanna Coles sits down with Michael Wolff, the best-selling biographer of Donald Trump who has become his definitive chronicler. Wolff reveals Trump's the real reason for the president's pick-me-energy hair. He tells how Trump has been making an extraordinary racially charged observation to West Wing visitors about modern college students—and Wolff reacts to Trump going after him for saying that the war on Harvard was a revenge attack because 18-year-old Donald didn't get in. Wolff reveals what's really being said inside the president's inner circle about the Lucifer-like fall of Elon Musk and explains what it really means about the prospects for anyone who put themselves in Trump's orbit. And he resurfaces Stormy Daniels' very telling anecdote about who blew up Trump's phone when the two were engaged in their tryst—which of course, Trump still denies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joanna Coles sits down with MSNBC’s own Stephanie Ruhle—seasoned financial journalist and host of The 11th Hour—for a sharply insightful breakdown of the economic theater inside Trumpworld. Ruhle dissects the tensions between truth and loyalty for financiers like Scott Bessent, who finds himself defending Trump-era trade policies he once publicly opposed, and contrasts him with Trump loyalists like Howard Lutnick, ever willing to sell the show. With a signature mix of Wall Street fluency and media savvy, Ruhle unpacks the deeper motivations behind Elon Musk’s quiet exit from Washington, the strategic silence of major investors, and how grift has gone from subtle to spectacular in the Trump era. Follow @SRuhle for her razor-sharp takes on money, power, and the political theater that binds them. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joanna Coles welcomes back David Rothkopf, the seasoned national security expert and former Clinton official, for a no-holds-barred analysis of the Democrats' curious case of Trump envy. Rothkopf breaks it down into two camps: the mild, who admire Trump’s decisiveness (however impulsive), and the dangerous, who want to emulate his ruthless authoritarian swagger wholesale. He warns that Democrats risk losing their identity—and their base—by chasing "neoliberal" Wall Street donors and selling their authenticity to the top bidder. Rothkopf also weighs in on Gavin Newsom’s podcast pivot and why being “Trump-lite” might just be the fastest way to burn out in both politics and entertainment. Follow @djrothkopf for his latest bold takes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joanna Coles welcomes back Michael Wolff, the bestselling author of “Fire & Fury” and “Siege,” to dissect the latest act of the Trump show—this time targeting elite American universities. Wolff unpacks the curious logic behind Trump’s crusade against institutions like Harvard, suggesting it’s less about policy and more about showmanship, headlines, and perhaps even old grudges. He weighs in on the persistent mystery surrounding Melania Trump’s absence and the transactional nature of the Trump marriage, and explains why every public outing together appears to be the the result of a strict negotiation. Wolff also shares how Trump has transformed the Oval Office into a bizarre open-call performance space—complete with gold décor, packed audiences, and surprise video screenings for world leaders. Also, Wolff dives into why accusations of racism are viewed as a sort of badge of honor in the Trump world. Follow @MichaelWolffNYC for more of his inside takes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joanna Coles unpacks the maddening paradox of Donald Trump: a man who rages against the media while being entirely made by it. Joining her is former CNN senior media reporter Oliver Darcy who lays bare the uncomfortable truths — how Trump lost control of the narrative he once mastered, why media giants like Disney are bending the knee, and the chilling tactics being used behind the scenes to reshape the fourth estate. It’s a gripping look at power, ego, and the fragile state of American media. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joanna Coles talks with author and TV producer Daisy Goodwin about her injectable weight loss drug journey. Goodwin explains how she learned to stop worrying and love the fat shot. After grappling with the stigma and shame of taking GLP1s, Goodwin admits that losing 50lbs also helped her shed anxiety and depression. She credits the medicine with forever changing her life. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.