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347 episodes
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Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes Podcast MSNBC
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- News
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4.6 • 8.7K Ratings
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Every week Chris Hayes asks the big questions that keep him up at night. How do we make sense of this unprecedented moment in world history? Why is this (all) happening?
This podcast starts to answer these questions. Writers, experts, and thinkers who are also trying to get to the bottom of them join Chris to break it all down and help him get a better night’s rest. “Why is this Happening?” is presented by MSNBC and NBCNews Think.
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“The Big Dig” with Ian Coss
Why does it seem so hard to build big things nowadays? Our guest this week points out that no one project embodies that cynicism quite like Boston’s Big Dig. Boston’s Central Artery/Tunnel Project, commonly known as the Big Dig, was the most complex and technically challenging highway project in American history. Ian Coss is host and creator of “The Big Dig” podcast, produced by GBH, which unpacks why the endeavor was so difficult and what it represented more broadly about ambitious efforts like it. He joins WITHpod to discuss lessons learned from the project, his storytelling process and why big infrastructure projects so often fail.
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What’s Next for Biden? with Jamelle Bouie
The Democratic Party coalition is a complicated one to say the least. A growing number of Democrats have called on President Joe Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential election in recent weeks. Those encouraging him to step aside have cited concerns about his fitness for office and ability to win reelection. Jamelle Bouie is a New York Times opinion columnist and is a co-host of the Unclear and Present Danger podcast. He joins WITHpod to discuss the lack of mechanisms to force an incumbent president to withdraw from the race, the mostly unprecedented set of circumstances surrounding all of this, the case for and against Vice President Kamala Harris as a replacement Democratic nominee.
Note that this conversation was recorded on Friday, July 12th before the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. -
SCOTUS Doing Its Worst - Strict Scrutiny Crossover
Another year, another pretty wild Supreme Court term. SCOTUS recently ended its term with a number of big decisions including ruling that former president Donald Trump is immune from prosecution for his “official acts” in office. And it also overturned the Chevron doctrine, reversing a 40-year-old precedent that afforded federal agencies a degree of discretion in interpreting ambiguous laws. As always, there’s a lot to unpack and we’re excited to share our third crossover episode with the hosts of the Strict Scrutiny podcast, Chris’ wife Kate Shaw, and her co-hosts Melissa Murray and Leah Litman. They join to discuss some of the most alarming actions from the super conservative majority of the Court, attacks on government agencies and more.
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The End of Libraries as We Know Them? with Brewster Kahle and Kyle Courtney
Could the future of libraries as we’ve known them be completely different? Our guests this week say so. Megapublishers are suing the Internet Archive, perhaps best known for its Wayback Machine, to redefine e-books as legally different from paper books. A difference in how they are classified would mean sweeping changes for the way libraries operate. Brewster Kahle is a digital librarian at the Internet Archive. Kyle Courtney is a lawyer, librarian, director of copyright and information policy for Harvard Library. He's the co-founder of Library Futures, which aims to empower the digital future for America's libraries. They join to discuss what’s animating the lawsuit, information as a public good and the consequences should the publishers ultimately prevail.
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WTH is Project 2025? with Thomas Zimmer
Project 2025, also known as the Presidential Transition Project, is a collection of policy proposals from The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. The group’s 920-page “Mandate for Leadership” is an extremely granular playbook that includes sweeping policy changes aimed at reshaping and dismantling American government. It’s pretty alarming. With so much at stake, we thought it would be good to do a deep dive into what the document contains and what it could portend for a possible Trump second term. Thomas Zimmer is a historian at Georgetown University. He’s studied and written about Project 2025 extensively, including for his Democracy Americana newsletter on Substack. Zimmerman is also the host of the “Is This Democracy?” podcast. He joins WITHpod to discuss what Project 2025 proponents aim to accomplish, how the plans within the mandate reflect broader American right ideology and more.
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Criminal Justice, Faith and Politics with Rep. Jasmine Crockett
Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett is one of the most interesting figures in Congress. You may have been introduced to her in recent weeks following a House committee during which Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene insulted her appearance. The verbal spat between the two took the internet by storm and became a viral moment. But that exchange, and her clapback, is only one part of her story as a rising star within the Democratic Party. She joins WITHpod to discuss the impetus for her political work, how her faith keeps her grounded in the often vitriolic world of politics, serving as a criminal justice advocate and more.
Customer Reviews
Libraries
Hey friend, recently told me how about the Huntington Beach California library going private. It alarmed me listening to this podcast. I realize there is much bigger than just one library as a student as a reader listening to this podcast made me realize that it is a much bigger problem than Huntington Beach California. Great show! I’ve shared it many times over.
Why I’m unfollowing and you should too
This show, as with all things related to MSNBC, is IGNORING GENOCIDE!!!! It is morally corrupt not to cover the tragedy that is happening in Gaza. It is especially egregious to avoid such an important and complicated subject when it is your brand to take deep dive, all angles looks at big issues like this.
Absolutely disgusting
Nice knowing you, Chris
Excellent
Chris, excellent podcast. Keep it going.