The Best People with Nicolle Wallace

“Pod Save America” began as a way to “narrow the distance” between the conversations former Obama White House staffers were having in private and the ones echoing throughout the public sphere. And since launching in 2017, it’s become a force in America’s competitive media culture. As two of the three co-founders behind Crooked Media, Jon Favreau and Tommy Vietor are ushering in a new era of political communication, championing a craft many Democratic lawmakers might learn from – one that threads entertainment and information, and turns audience engagement into activism. They join Nicolle to talk about the stakes of the November 2025 election, what it would take for new Dem leaders to emerge, and what lessons they carry from their former boss, President Obama. For more from the “Pod Save” world, be sure to revisit Nicolle’s conversation with Tommy and Jon’s co-host, Jon Lovett, over the summer. And if you want to catch them live, tickets are on sale now for Crooked Con, happening November 6th and 7th in Washington DC! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Governor JB Pritzker has mastered the art of standing up to Donald Trump. Whether he’s mocking Trump’s threat to jail him (“Come and get me, Mr. President!) or calling on the citizens of Illinois to grab their phones and document how ICE is targeting black and brown people, Pritzker is showing us how it’s done. With the threat of deployment of federal troops to the streets of Chicago, Pritzker is determined to lessen the fear and suffering of his constituents (“People are traumatized”) and hold the Trump administration to account. Now, the Governor is warning that Trump may use the military to interfere in the 2026 election and turning our attention to a lesson from the Holocaust, so eloquently captured in Pastor Martin Niemöller’s haunting poem “First They Came”.  “People need to speak up, speak out, grab a megaphone and get to the ballot box.” Want to listen to this show early and without ads? Sign up for MSNBC 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.

Charlamagne Tha God’s more than 7 million monthly listeners hang on his every word for a reason: Charlamagne is plugged into real Americans’ lives. Listening to Charlamagne’s nationally syndicated radio show “The Breakfast Club” has been likened to “sitting on America’s front porch” – a sensibility Charlamagne honed growing up in rural South Carolina. “It gave me a front row seat on working class people”.  Now he’s putting politicians on both sides of the aisle on blast – from Trump (“he’s wiping his a** with the Constitution”) to Biden (“Joe Biden should have stepped down 2 years ago”) and sounding the alarm about the rule of law, our fragile Constitution and why Democrats should never stop asking about the Epstein files. Plus what Charlamagne says gives him hope: “the one branch of government that hasn’t failed us thus far: We the people.”Want to listen to this show early and without ads? Sign up for MSNBC 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.

Jen Psaki is on a mission to show us how the Democratic party can use this political moment to fight and win again. On Season 2 of her podcast, “The Blueprint,” she interviews the people reshaping the party, starting with Texas Congressman Greg Casar, Chair of the Progressive Caucus.The first two episodes of “The Blueprint with Jen Psaki” are available now, and will continue to drop every Wednesday, from now through mid-November. Stay right here to listen to a special preview. And for the full episode, search for “The Blueprint with Jen Psaki” and follow the show. Plus, subscribe to MSNBC Premium on Apple Podcasts for ad-free listening. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Martin Sheen has been playing iconic leading men for nearly 70 years from "Badlands" to "Apocalypse Now" and of course as President Jed Bartlet in "The West Wing." But the Emmy and Golden Globe winner says that while acting is his profession, activism keeps him alive. The son of immigrants, social justice is at the center of his life; Sheen's decades of non-violent civil disobedience has earned him the dubious distinction of being the most arrested celebrity in Hollywood. At MSNBC's annual live event MSNBCLIVE '25, Nicolle talks to Sheen about his faith in this country and his call to action for each of us to "lift up this country" and make politics joyful again. Plus: a surprise appearance from an old friend from Sheen’s days in the “West Wing.”Want to listen to this show early and without ads? Sign up for MSNBC 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.

Anthony Scaramucci, known as “The Mooch” to friends and foes alike, holds a unique place in American politics. A baseball fanatic and Goldman Sachs alum, he was once a Donald Trump supporter, campaign advisor, and held an 11-day stint as Trump’s White House Communications Director in 2017. After Trump called him a “deep-stater” and fired him, Scaramucci did a lot of soul searching. And in 2019, he came to own what he openly calls his “mistake” of supporting the president, urging voters to learn from his lapse in judgement. In this episode, he and Nicolle muse about Republicans’ ability to remain in lock step, while the Democrats are in the midst of an inner-party civil war. But more importantly, Scaramucci shares his optimism for what's next in our democratic experiment. Want to listen to this show early and without ads? Sign up for MSNBC 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.

Rosie O’Donnell has never shied away from a microphone. And while her decades-long public feud with Donald Trump has at times been fodder for tabloids, she is quite clear that her decision to move to Ireland, her ancestral home, was all about her family and her own self-preservation. Rosie and Nicolle first met as co-hosts thrown together to debate on “The View”, but they developed a friendship that continues today. This episode shows the breadth of that connection, as Rosie reflects on the continual chaos Trump brings to the country each day, shares some memories about “The View” and Barbara Streisand, and issues a call to action for people feeling lost: find your community. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Legendary singer and activist Joan Baez still marches in protests; but she also performs in a circus, dances with drag queens and does whatever else she can to maintain a sense of joy and laughter. Baez has spent her career equally at home on the political frontlines as behind a guitar. But as the world has changed, so has how she calculates risk. She thinks if she were to be arrested now – as opposed to 58 years ago – it would be “scary in a way that I was not scared back then.” But, she tells Nicolle, “social change cannot happen until somebody's willing to take a risk." Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

At 22 years old, Jess Michaels was thriving. She was finding success as a dancer and model in New York City. Then, in 1991, she met Jeffrey Epstein. Jess Michaels was sexually assaulted by Epstein and it destroyed her stability, her career and her health. After doing the work to begin healing from this trauma, she has found renewed purpose as an advocate alongside other survivors of Epstein's abuse. The day after excerpts from Epstein’s 50th birthday book were made public, Jess and her lawyer, Jennifer Freeman, joined Nicolle to call out the decades of institutional cowardice, and with a warning for elected leaders: Jess and her fellow survivors are not going away, and they are not going to stop until they get accountability, truth and justice. A note to listeners: This episode contains discussions around sexual assault.  Please listen with care.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

She’s a voting rights activist, a prominent voice in the Democratic party and a three-time New York Times best-selling novelist; but more than anything else, Stacey Abrams is a bonafide badass. As Democratic leaders struggle to unify around a message to counter Trump’s relentless attacks on democracy, Abrams envisions a future where having a moral backbone is an asset, not a weakness. She calls out the political cowardice that’s taken hold of Trump’s MAGA Republicans and calls on Democrats to find their voice and their spine. Never forget, says Abrams, that being in the minority doesn’t make you powerless.And a reminder: tickets are on sale now for MSNBC Live – our second live community event featuring more than a dozen MSNBC hosts. The day-long event will be held on October 11th at Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan. To buy tickets visit msnbc.com/live25.Want to listen to this show early and without ads? Sign up for MSNBC 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.

Ken Burns is America’s documentarian: From the Civil War to Vietnam, baseball to the Brooklyn Bridge, his films are gospel for generations of Americans curious about the world and our history. This November, in a new six part, 12-hour documentary series Burns turns his attention to the American Revolution – and the counterintuitive revelation that democracy was *not* on the table when the fighting first broke out. Burns says what this film showed him is that the tension we feel today in 2025 arcs back to and mirrors the tension that gave birth to our nation. And Burns believes the American story boils down to a simple choice – a question posed in the timeless Frank Capra classic “It’s a Wonderful Life”: Do you want to live in Pottersville or Bedford Falls? (HINT: Ken Burns only wants to live in Bedford Falls) Tickets are still available for MSNBC Live – our second live community event featuring more than a dozen MSNBC hosts. The day-long event will be held on October 11th at Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan. To buy tickets visit msnbc.com/live25. Want to listen to this show early and without ads? Sign up for MSNBC 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.

Life can take some pretty unexpected turns. Just ask Phil Rosenthal. The man who brought us “Everybody Loves Raymond” is now a global star in his own right thanks to “Somebody Feed Phil” – Netflix’s longest running unscripted original series, a show Phil says boils down to one simple sentence: “I’m just like Anthony Bourdain if Bourdain was afraid of everything”. The result is a profound, at times goofy, and utterly relatable exploration of humanity through food. Phil tells Nicolle about his “hero’s journey” as a kid from Queens who didn’t taste garlic until he was 17 to a world traveler who’s trying to get everybody out of their comfort zones one dish at a time. And Phil shares what he’s learned along the way: that most people are nice, it’s time to replace the manosphere with the “lady-sphere”, and diners might just save the world. A note to listeners: Tickets are still available for MSNBC Live – our second live community event featuring more than a dozen MSNBC hosts. The day-long event will be held on October 11th at Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan. To buy tickets visit msnbc.com/live25. Want to listen to this show early and without ads? Sign up for MSNBC 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.

Pod Save America and Crooked Media founding member Jon Lovett isn’t just a podcasting legend or Barack Obama’s speechwriting secret weapon. He's a quick study of our political discourse and a cultural vanguard. Now he’s spilling the tea on everything from the “vandalism” Trump is unleashing on American institutions, the Hollywood heavy-hitter who had a hand in THAT Trump joke at the White House Correspondents' Dinner and what it was really like working with Hillary Clinton. Lovett also offers some hard truths Democrats need to face if they hold any hope of getting back into power. Plus: his hot take on the Epstein scandal and whether it could deliver a knock-out blow to Trump’s support with the MAGA faithful. A note to listeners: Tickets are on sale now for MSNBC Live – our second live community event featuring more than a dozen MSNBC hosts. The day-long event will be held on October 11th at Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan. To buy tickets visit msnbc.com/live25. Want to listen to this show early and without ads? Sign up for MSNBC 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.

When systems are failing, what do you triage first? That's a question that keeps constitutional law superstar Melissa Murray awake at night. As a law professor at New York University, a former clerk for Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and co-host of the “Strict Scrutiny” podcast, Melissa is well-versed in examining our legal system at the intersection of the social and political, and she knows that what is being broken will take a long time to rebuild. In this episode, Melissa joins Nicolle to talk about why Justice Sotomayor's dissents from the bench send a message about protest amid a conservative supermajority on the High Court, the power of Black women voters, and how to put Humpty Dumpty back together again. A note: Tickets are on sale now for MSNBC Live – our second live community event featuring more than a dozen MSNBC hosts. The day-long event will be held on October 11th at Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan. To buy tickets visit msnbc.com/live25. Want to listen to this show without ads? Sign up for MSNBC 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.

From the war in Ukraine to the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, Jacob Soboroff is no stranger to covering tragedy. His first-hand account of family separations along the Southern border during Trump’s first term became a bestselling book and later the critically acclaimed documentary “Separated” by Academy Award winning director Errol Morris. Now, Soboroff is back chronicling the human toll and devastating impact of Trump’s new immigration crackdown, including an exclusive interview for “The Best People”: with Narciso Barranco, the gardener and father of three whose violent detention by masked ICE agents in California this June went viral. Plus: tickets are on sale now for MSNBC Live – our second live community event featuring more than a dozen MSNBC hosts. The day-long event will be held on October 11th at Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan. To buy tickets visit msnbc.com/live25.Want to listen to this show without ads? Sign up for MSNBC 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.

There is no pre-political Tim Miller. From a fifth-grade bet on Bill Clinton, to becoming a Republican strategist for Jeb Bush, to finally saying “Goodbye to All That” and leaving the party in 2020, and now hosting the Bulwark podcast as a ‘Never Trumper,’ Miller has been immersed in politics his whole life. In this episode, Tim joins Nicolle to discuss finding (and losing) community within the Republican party, the manosphere, and what he’s learned about breaking down the Trump coalition as a long-term anti-Trump advocate. Want to listen to this show without ads? Sign up for MSNBC 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.

Very few actors have the range to pull off “Dumb and Dumber’s” slack jawed Harry Dunne, while mastering the arc of moral giants like Atticus Finch on stage or Ronald Reagan in the upcoming film “Reykjavík.” Jeff Daniels is that actor. He’s played iconic character driven roles like “The Newsroom’s” Will McAvoy and delivered countless monologues that embrace the better angels of our nature. And now, he’s playing guitar and writing songs that hold up a mirror to the human experience. He joins Nicolle in this episode to talk about the trajectory of his career, choosing a life in Michigan over Hollywood, and the lack of a national moral compass in the Trump era. Plus: a special acoustic guitar performance. Want to listen to this show without ads? Sign up for MSNBC 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.

BONUS: In his two decades of coaching youth baseball, Youman Wilder never expected ICE agents to show up at his practice. But recently, that's exactly what happened. On New York's Upper West Side, Coach Wilder claims to have witnessed armed ICE agents questioning his players—and that’s when he knew he had to step in. On “Deadline White House” Nicolle interviewed Wilder on the experience and what is asked of all of us in this moment. Listen to the conversation here.Editors’ Note: since the interview aired on MSNBC on July 14th, an ICE spokesperson has refuted this account, saying “ICE has not conducted any recent enforcement activity in the vicinity of Riverside Park.”Want to listen to this show without ads? Sign up for MSNBC 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.

Five-time Grammy Award winner, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, and more Billboard No. 1 hits than any other production team in history – these are just a handful of the accolades amassed by Jimmy Jam. The mastermind behind a seemingly endless list of iconic songs like “Control” and “Rhythm Nation” and the legendary producer has long been a venerated fixture of the music industry, alongside his partner Terry Lewis. From serving as the Chairman of the Grammys, to songwriting for Janet Jackson, to growing up alongside Prince, his infectious passion for music and belief in its unifying properties seeps into everything he does. In this episode, he joins Nicolle to share memories and lessons from his storied career. Want to listen to this show without ads? Sign up for MSNBC 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.

Sarah Jessica Parker is the ultimate New Yorker. Andy Cohen says walking around with her is like “walking around with the Empire State Building.” SJP, as Parker is affectionately known to her fans, is best known for playing the iconic Carrie Bradshaw on HBO’s “Sex and The City” and its revival “And Just Like That,” currently in its third season. But more than men or fashion, the show is about friendship, community, and what it means to show up for one another. And in this interview with “The Best People,” she tells Nicolle Wallace that this spirit of care is one we could use a little more of in today’s political climate. Want to listen to this show without ads? Sign up for MSNBC 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.