The Takeout

Hurricane Helene ran roughshod over western North Carolina in late September, killing nearly 100 and making life difficult for thousands more. Major speaks to Appalachian State professor and former CNN correspondent Chris Moody who lives in the region and has been tracking the clean up effort. Major is also joined by elections expert and CBS News contributor David Becker who explains how voting will change in North Carolina to accommodate storm victims. Join us. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CBS News Executive Director of Elections and Surveys Anthony Salvanto joins Major this week to explain how CBS News digests data, conducts polls and makes Election Day projections. A recent CBS News poll found that Harris voters and Trump voters can't even agree on basic facts about the economy, FEMA relief and immigration. Join us for a behind the scenes look at CBS News's preparations for the upcoming election that is shaping up to be one of the tightest races in recent memory. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"The Apprentice," a Donald Trump biopic starring Jeremy Strong and Sebastian Stan, depicts Trump's early business career and his relationship with controversial mentor Roy Cohn. The film premieres on October 11th, but there's at least one person who doesn't want you to see it: Donald Trump. His lawyers threatened to sue the filmmakers earlier this year to block the film's release (they haven't sued so far) and his campaign team calls the movie, "pure malicious defamation." That's not how director Ali Abbasi sees it. In fact, Abbasi tells Major there's plenty in the film for Trump haters and Trump lovers alike. Join us! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last month, Major traveled to Wisconsin and interviewed two prominent figures spreading the gospel of Trumpism via the growing white Christian nationalist movement. This week, Major sits down with Jim Wallis, a D.C.-based public theologian and justice activist who believes many of that movement's leaders are, "power brokers who are using religion to promote fear and hate." In his latest book "The False White Gospel," Wallis makes the argument that the teachings of the Christian nationalist movement are "antithetical to the teachings of Jesus," and if democracy is to be refounded, we must raise up the faith in all of us. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Michigan Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D) believes her battleground state will remain competitive until the last vote is counted on Election Day. What advice does she have for Vice President Harris's presidential campaign? Do the Democrats have a chance of winning the House of Representatives? What can Congress get done between now and the end of the year? Rep. Dingell takes on these questions and more in this week’s show. Join us! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Major traveled to Atlanta earlier this month to speak with four battleground state election administrators - Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D), Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Member Bill Gates (R), Philadelphia City Commissioner Seth Bluestein (R) and Chief Operating Officer for Georgia’s Secretary of State Gabriel Sterling (R). All four shared a sense of cautious optimism roughly two months ahead of Election Day, but they sounded the alarm on threats of violence rooted in lies and misinformation. Join us! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Election Day 2024 is roughly 5 Scaramuccis away. A Scaramucci, of course, is the length of time former Trump White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci lasted in that role (11 days). And how times have changed. Scaramucci is now an outspoken critic of the former president and has endorsed her opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris. The always colorful Scaramucci tells Major why he thinks Harris will win in November and why he now views his former boss as unfit for office. Join us! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lance Wallnau headlines the so-called "Courage Tour," an evangelical road show that aims to mobilize religious conservatives to vote, serve as election workers and spread the gospel of Trumpism. Wallnau, 68, is a business consultant, self-proclaimed prophet and firebrand influencer in the growing charismatic Christian movement. He views Donald Trump as a once-in-a-thousand years figure - flawed but divinely chosen to navigate chaotic times. Major travels to Eau Claire, Wisconsin to speak with Wallnau and religious scholar and author Matthew Taylor about the impact evangelicals could have on the 2024 election. Join us! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Three years ago this week, as U.S. forces were clearing out of Afghanistan, a suicide bomber killed thirteen American service members and about 170 Afghan civilians outside Karzai International Airport. What followed was what the U.S. had spent decades trying to prevent: the Taliban swiftly seized control of the country. Filmmaker Ibrahim Nash’at spent months chronicling a Taliban commander as he and his lieutenants go about converting the spoils of war - about $7 billion of left behind military equipment - into usable gear. While making “Hollywoodgate,” Nash’at tells Major he was not always welcomed by his hosts and often at great personal risk. Join us. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

George Washington University Professor Timothy Shenk recently wrote an op-ed in The New York Times on how Kamala Harris can re-position her party for the long term. Major sat down with Shenk in the CBS Bureau to discuss how history intersects with 2024 election and why Shenk believes this could be an inflection point for the party of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Vice President Harris, he argues, ought to give working class voters a compelling reason to vote for her this fall. Find Shenk’s book “Left Adrift” in October. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Robby Mook, Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign manager, is Major’s guest this week. Join us for a spirited conversation about the state of the 2024 race for the White House. Mook believes it’s a 50-50 toss up and Vice President Kamala Harris, riding a wave of enthusiasm, has limited time to define her candidacy for voters. Mook says Harris is better positioned to beat Donald Trump than President Biden was, but the race is only going to get tougher. We’re at the CBS News Washington bureau. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorusch sat down with Major to discuss his new book “Over Ruled: The Human Toll of Too Much Law.” Gorsuch, who was nominated to the bench by Donald Trump in 2017, believes too much law can be dangerous. Sharing stories of a fisherman and a magician, Gorsuch explains his perspective that the law has become overwhelming for average Americans. In this exclusive sit down, Major pushes Gorsuch on the role of Supreme Court justices amid calls for ethics reforms and recent decision on abortion and affirmative action. Join us at the Supreme Court. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The new documentary “War Game” simulates a future scenario where Washington is beseiged by a heightened version of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. Major sits down with co-directors Jesse Moss and Tony Gerber and former Marine Captain Janessa Goldbeck to discuss how disillusionment among military members and growing extremism inspired the film. In “War Game,” policymakers and experts role play how they would handle a insurrection in order to preserve democracy. We're at Carmine's in Penn Quarter. Join us! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Major is in Nashville, TN, to interview independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. The hourlong chat covers Kennedy’s assessment of the race now that President Biden is out, parallels to the 1968 campaign, his history of childhood vaccine skepticism, his view of January 6th rioters, 9/11, his health, cryptocurrency and much, much more. Join us in Music City. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, Major visits Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to cover the Republican National Convention. His guests include former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, Milwaukee County Executive and Joe Biden surrogate David Crowley and former Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. Join us! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With President Joe Biden’s health in question, Representative Adam Smith (D-WA) is one of at least 13 House Democrats to publicly call for Mr. Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race. Smith joined Major to explain why there needs to be a new candidate, emphasizing that Mr. Biden can no longer carry the message of the party. The congressman, who called Mr. Biden one of the best first term presidents ever, envisions an optimistic future for both the country and the Democratic party with Kamala Harris as the nominee. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From the AIDS crisis in the 1980s to advising on the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci has seen the country through the toughest of times. His new memoir 'On Call' covers his accomplished career, while providing insight into the high-pressure demands of his job and the minds of the presidents he has worked with. In his fifth (editorial note: actually, it's his sixth!) appearance on the show, Major sits down with Dr. Fauci to discuss Joe Biden’s mental capability, the consequences of Donald Trump’s optimism in the pandemic and the emotional toll experienced in the field of medicine.  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Over the course of the past decade, an endless stream of mis- and disinformation has made it increasingly difficult to parse fact from fiction. We sat down this week with a man who has a plan to restore trust in institutions and hold social media platforms accountable for divisive content that's often pushed for profit. Author and journalist Steven Brill, who cofounded the misinformation tracking tool NewsGuard, joins Major for appetizers at Buck's Fishing and Camping in upper Northwest D.C. His new book "The Death of Truth" is out now. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gene Sperling has served multiple presidents - real and ficticious. He was an economic advisor to Presidents Clinton and Obama and currently serves as a senior advisor to President Biden and coordinator of the American Rescue Plan. In between White House stints, Sperling served President Jed Bartlet as a consultant on the hit TV show "The West Wing." In this episode, Major presses Sperling on the causes of and solutions for inflation, economic perceptions versus reality and whether President Biden's age and health are in decline. Join us for ice cream at Thomas Sweet in Georgetown. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What can the lead up to the war in Iraq teach us about America's foreign policy today? Journalist and author Steve Coll joins Major to discuss his new book "The Achilles Trap," which chronicles the rise and reign of Saddam Hussein and the miscalculations that led to war in the Middle East. Join us. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices