The Takeout

Turn on certain cable news channels and you’ll hear how immigrants pose a threat to the nation. Listen to this episode (or read our guest Zeke Hernandez’s book, “The Truth About Immigration”), and you’ll hear just the opposite. Hernandez, a UPenn business school professor and immigrant himself, lays out a data-driven argument that immigrants are essential to economic prosperity in the U.S. Join us for lunch and a great conversation at Chef Geoff’s in Washington’s West End. 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 presidential debates, as currently contemplated, will look and feel different in 2024. President Biden and former President Trump are scheduled to meet twice at events sponsored by CNN and ABC. That leaves the Commission on Presidential Debates, the organization that has produced presidential and vice presidential debates for 35+ years, out in the wilderness. Major sits down with Frank Fahrenkopf, the commission's co-chair, to find out whether his organization has a future without debates in 2024. Join us at Unconventional Diner in downtown D.C.! 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 sits down with authors Brody and Luke Mullins to talk about Washington’s favorite pastime - and it’s not baseball. Their new book, “The Wolves of K Street,” argues that the last few decades of lobbying members of congress and policymakers has only benefited corporations and the lobbyists themselves, leaving behind the general public. Join us at The Dubliner on Capitol Hill (where lawmakers and lobbyists have been meeting for 50 years!). 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

When the U.S. Navy needed something in the South Pacific or Asia, Leonard Francis seemed to be able to provide just about anything. Nicknamed "Fat Leonard," Francis showered senior officers with bribes - lavish dinners, prostitutes and gifts. In exchange, the officers kept lucrative contracts flowing to Francis's companies, which often overcharged the government for services and supplies. Francis was also able to extract something even more valuable than Navy contracts: classified information. Join us for a conversation with author and Washington Post reporter Craig Whitlock whose scintillating new book "Fat Leonard" dives into one of the wildest scandals in U.S military history. We're at Ris in Washington, D.C.'s West End neighborhood. 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

Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, a freshman Democrat from the Dallas area, joins Major in the Longworth House Office Building for a lively chat about the speakership, Democrats' congressional prospects in 2024, Israel and Gaza and much more. Crockett weighs in on Donald Trump's appeal to voters, how abortion will play as an issue this cycle and President Biden's re-election chances. 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

Bestselling author and New York Times reporter David Sanger joins Major at Macintyre's Pub in D.C.'s Woodley Park neighborhood. Sanger's new book, "New Cold Wars: China's Rise, Russia's Invasion, and America's Struggle to Defend the West," looks at some of the knottiest foreign policy challenges facing the Biden White House and how previous administrations have dealt with them. Join us for a trip around the world. 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

We’re at Daru, a bustling Indian restaurant in D.C.’s H St. corridor, with Ali Zaidi, the National climate advisor to President Biden. How does the government decide where to build electric vehicle charging stations? Why has this administration approved more oil and gas drilling permits on federal land than President Trump’s administration? Will the president declare a national climate emergency? Do Americans know what climate-related actions President Biden has taken? Answers to those questions - and some delicious scallops - on 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

Join us at Carmine's in Washington D.C.'s Penn Quarter for epic quantities of rigatoni, calamari and garlic bread - and an equally delicious conversation with California Congressman Ro Khanna. Khanna, a progressive Democrat and ally of President Biden, says it's time for the U.S. to halt offensive weapons transfers to Israel. He weighs in on Mr. Biden's electoral prospects in key states and explains his very public critique of Robert F. Kennedy's runningmate. 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

After an extraordinary junior golf career and a battle with personal demons, Lisa Cornwell got what should have been a dream job: on-air reporter for The Golf Channel. Cornwell spent seven years covering professional and collegiate golf but she writes few things about the job were all that dreamy. Cornwell describes a toxic, misogynistic workplace culture that punished women for speaking up. Her new memoir, “Troublemaker,” details a life of birdies and bogeys and what she’s learned along the way. Join us at Ris in Washington’s West End for a Masters week special. 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 national correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti joins Major to discuss his new book, Before It's Gone: Stories from the Front Lines of Climate Change in Small-Town America, out this week from Simon & Schuster. Vigliotti, who is frequently called upon by CBS to cover natural disasters and their impact on American communities, shares stories of survivors with, "lessons to teach us all of what they have been through, of what they have witnessed." He recounts the near-death experience he and his photographer encountered during the 2019 Kincaid Fire in Sonoma County, California: "There was no way out. There was no exit." Plus: the roles that beavers play in combating climate change. 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, we focus our attention on the new nine-part Netflix documentary series Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War, which offers viewers a comprehensive look at the Cold War and its aftermath. Major chats with Turning Point director Brian Knappenberger, an accomplished documentary filmmaker whose team conducted over 100 interviews with a variety of subjects: survivors of the atomic blasts in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, current or former world leaders and many other key figures of the Cold War era. Knappenberger says his doc series aims to tell a story about the reverberations from the invention of the atomic bomb and that while it's primarily a look back at the events of the Cold War, it also reflects "the tension we're feeling now" with Russian President Vladimir Putin's ongoing quest to make Russia powerful again. 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/adc

This week's guest wears several hats: he's an author, a data analyst, a tech businessman and a former gubernatorial candidate in his home state of Rhode Island. Ken Block, who joined Major for breakfast at Any Day Now in D.C.'s Navy Yard neighborhood, was also briefly employed by the Trump campaign to hunt for voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. Block's new book, Disproven, details his unbiased search for evidence of fraud that ultimately, "wasn't there." He tells Major that he's worried about the election fraud narratives bubbling up ahead of the 2024 presidential election and warns that former President Trump, "has to be mindful that the election denialism is not a winning message." 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

Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor Julie Su joins Major this week for dinner at Anju in Dupont Circle to discuss President Biden’s State of the Union promise of an economic soft landing. Su, who has been serving as Biden's acting Labor secretary since her nomination stalled in the Senate, also addresses her confirmation prospects and the criticism she's endured from her opponents. Plus: the “moment” unions are experiencing across industries, from restaurant workers to actors in Hollywood. 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 man with one of the most coveted jobs in journalism, Anthony Mason, joins Major for breakfast at Carnegie Diner & Cafe in New York City's Times Square District. The veteran CBS News man currently serves as the network's senior culture correspondent, which means he's frequently profiling some of the biggest names in music. According to Anthony, carving out this unique lane was "entirely an accident" after a chance encounter with a CBS News Sunday Morning producer which led to him landing his first big fish: Bruce Springsteen. Anthony takes us behind-the-scenes of his interviews with the Boss, Neil Diamond, Adele, Pharrell and many more of music's most fascinating stars. It's Anthony Mason's greatest hits - and there's no B-sides or skips! This episode was recorded in December 2023. 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

Political analysts and hosts of the "Night Owls" podcast Joe Klein and John Ellis are our guests on this week's episode of "The Takeout." They join Major Garrett ahead of next week's Super Tuesday primaries to discuss all things politics and campaign 2024 – from President Biden's age and the importance of his State of the Union address next week, to the impact of the 100,000 "uncommitted" votes in the Michigan Democratic primary related to Biden's handling of the war in Gaza and rumors of Michelle Obama's potential presidential candidacy. They also talk about Trump and Biden's dueling visits to the border, the Supreme Court's decision to take up the Trump immunity case in April, and Senator Mitch McConnell's surprise announcement this week that he will step down as Republican Senate Leader in November. Tune in for all that and more! 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://podcastch

Congressman Patrick McHenry (R-NC) is disappointed with the state of Congress. "It's been a rough couple of months," McHenry told Major on this week's episode. McHenry is frustrated that his fellow House Republicans "played politics" and didn't pass the national security supplemental. He believes a majority of House members will support aid for Ukraine if it's allowed to come to the floor. McHenry, who served as temporary Speaker of the House for three weeks last year after Rep. Kevin McCarthy was ousted, says that whether or not we have a government shutdown in March depends on Speaker Mike Johnson. He puts the odds for a shutdown at 50-50, calling it a "preventable disaster." McHenry also talks about the border, the threat of Russia, Trump's legal cases and investigations of Biden's family, and his impending retirement from Congress. Tune in! 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

Anne Neuberger, the White House's Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology, joins Major this week to discuss the threat of attacks from cyber criminals, mostly based in Russia, who target vulnerable systems like hospitals and schools and hold data hostage for ransom. She details actions that the U.S. government is taking, often in coordination with international partners, to stop these attacks. Neuberger also shares her views on artificial intelligence – both the benefits and potential pitfalls.  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 sits down with Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab to discuss former President Trump’s 14th Amendment case and whether a criminal conviction is needed to keep him off the ballot. “He hasn’t been tried," argues Schwab, a Republican who is against an “arbitrary authority” making the call. “I don't think you need a criminal conviction and neither does the law,” Fontes, a Democrat, counters. The secretaries also weigh in on election denialism, the threat of AI on democracy and “sore losers” in government. This episode was recorded on February 6th at Dirty Habit in D.C.'s Penn Quarter neighborhood. 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

United States Agency for International Development Administrator Samantha Power joins Major this week to share her thoughts on the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. She argues for the importance of both military and economic assistance for Ukraine from the US and Europe and warns, "If this economic support gets cut off, Putin can win this war without firing a shot." Power also weighs in on the allegations that a dozen United Nations Relief and Works Agency employees participated in the October 7th attack on Israel by Hamas and discusses the need to surge humanitarian aid into Gaza. 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

Director and writer Michael Kirk joins Major this week to talk about his upcoming FRONTLINE documentary, "Democracy on Trial," which premieres on January 30th across all PBS stations and streaming on demand and YouTube. The film explores January 6th and the Congressional hearings investigating the insurrection, and the criminal cases against former President Trump. Kirk discusses his approach to making the documentary, the challenges of getting people to talk with investigations underway and concerns about Trump's influence over the Republican party, and the 2024 presidential election. 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