WTF Just Happened Today

Nov 20 2024 50 ep. 5 mins 1.1k

WTF Just Happened Today Podcast artwork

Your essential guide to the daily shock and awe in national politics.

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Day 1401: "Weapons of obedience."

Nov 20 2024 4 mins

1/ Trump nominated Linda McMahon, the co-founder of World Wrestling Entertainment, to lead the Education Department that he has repeatedly vowed to dismantle. Like Betsy DeVos, Trump’s first-term education secretary, McMahon has no significant background working in public schools, teaching, or education policy outside of an appointment in 2009 to the Connecticut State Board of Ed

Day 1400: "Qualified and capable."

Nov 19 2024 4 mins

1/ Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg asked to postpone Trump’s criminal sentencing in his hush money case. In a letter to Judge Juan Merchan, the district attorney’s office acknowledged that Trump is not likely to be sentenced “until after the end of Defendant’s upcoming presidential term,” but prosecutors said they oppose any effort to dismiss Trump’s felony conv

Day 1399: "A terrible precedent."

Nov 18 2024 5 mins

1/ Trump confirmed that he plans to declare a national emergency “on day 1” to use the military to carry out “the largest deportation program in American history.” Trump responded “TRUE!!!” at 4:08 am to a post on his personal social media network that his incoming administration is “prepared to declare a national emergency and will use military assets to reverse the

Day 1395: "Relentless barrage."

Nov 14 2024 3 mins

1/ Trump asked Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to serve as secretary of health and human services, putting one of the nation’s leading vaccine skeptics in charge of America’s health care agencies. Kennedy has spread discredited conspiracy theories that vaccines cause autism, opposed CDC guidance on water fluoridation for dental health, backed the consumption of raw milk against FDA warni

Day 1394: "Drastic change."

Nov 13 2024 5 mins

1/ Trump named Matt Gaetz his pick as attorney general. Trump called Gaetz, once the subject of a Justice Department sex-trafficking investigation involving a 17-year-old girl, a “deeply gifted and tenacious attorney” who would end the “the partisan Weaponization of our Justice System.” Although Republicans will control the Senate, it unclear if Gaetz will have a path to co

Day 1393: "Unprecedented circumstances."

Nov 12 2024 5 mins

1/ A New York judge postponed his decision on whether to dismiss Trump’s 34 felony convictions of orchestrating an illegal conspiracy to influence the 2016 presidential election by falsifying business records. Trump has argued that his return to the White House means the verdict should be set aside because the Supreme Court granted immunity to presidents for all official acts in

Day 1388: "The agenda."

Nov 07 2024 6 mins

1/ Biden vowed to ensure a “peaceful and orderly transition,” calling on Americans to “accept the choice the country made” and to “bring down the temperature.” During his six-minute remarks, Biden said he hopes the 2024 election “can lay to rest the question about the integrity of the American electoral system. It is honest, it is fair, and it is transparent, and it c

Day 1387: "The golden age of America."

Nov 06 2024 8 mins

1/ America elected the first convicted felon to serve as president of the United States. Trump – the twice-impeached, four-times indicted, once-defeated former president – overcame 34 felony convictions, 88 criminal charges, accusations of insurrection as part of his attempt to overturn the 2020 election, civil lawsuit judgments totaling more than a half-billion dollars, allega

Day 1386: "America is ready for a fresh start."

Nov 05 2024 4 mins

The presidential election is TODAY. 🗳️ When polls close in the battleground states: Georgia: 7 pm (Trump +0.8) North Carolina: 7:30 pm (Trump +0.9) Michigan (most): 8 pm (Harris +1.0) Pennsylvania: 8 pm (Harris +0.2) Arizona: 9 pm (Trump +2.1) Michigan: 9 pm (Harris +1.0) Wisconsin: 9 pm (Harris +1.0) Nevada: 10 pm (Trump +0.3) All times Eastern. Polling average

Day 1385: "A petty, vindictive, cruel, unstable man who wants to be a tyrant."

Nov 04 2024 6 mins

The presidential election is tomorrow. How to manage stress and maintain perspective on election night in one sentence: Surround yourself with supportive people; set realistic expectations for results; mentally prepare for any outcome; accept uncertainty and lack of control; know the possibility of significant polling error; limit social media and news refreshes; remind yoursel