Four Political Podcasts You Should Be Listening To (If You Aren’t Already)

Politics podcasts are a dime a dozen these days. For one to stand out, there has to be something about it that keeps them coming back every week.

The New Abnormal: Hosted by Molly Jong-Fast (daughter of author Erica Jong) and Andy Levy, the light is held up to the darkness that is threatening our country. Told with humor, guts, and a few four-letter words thrown in along the way, I feel better knowing that I am not alone in my fears for the future.

New episodes air every Tuesday and Friday.

The Meidas Touch: Started during the pandemic by the three Meiselas brothers (Ben, Brent, and Jordan), their mission is clear: save our American democracy, get rid you know who, and force the Republicans to take responsibility for what they have done.

New episodes air every Tuesday and Friday.

The Mary Trump Show: Hosted by author Mary Trump (the niece of he who shall not be named), she is not afraid to speak the truth. Seeing the world as only she can, it’s a refreshing, no-bullshit take on what is happening around us.

New episodes air every Wednesday.

Fever Dreams: Hosted by journalists Asawin Suebsaeng and Will Sommer, the purpose of this podcast is to call out certain persons and political parties who are using our long-held beliefs and norms to fit their perspective.

New episodes air every Wednesday.

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The Reckoning: Our Nation’s Trauma and Finding a Way to Heal Book Review

Healing is never easy. It requires strength, fortitude, and the courage to face your demons. Though this is often applied to difficult life challenges and mental health, it can also be applied to a shared historical or cultural past.

Mary Trump‘s new book, The Reckoning: Our Nation’s Trauma and Finding a Way to Heal, was published in August. Combining a new examination of American history and her professional background as a psychiatrist, Trump forces the reader to ask the difficult questions that few have had the courage to even consider. She goes deep into the institutions that have built up this nation and how they have been changed, for better or for worse. The throughline is if we can trust both the individuals and establishments that are supposed to keep this nation going. If we can’t, what needs to be done to rebuild that trust?

I enjoyed this book. Trump’s approach is both firm and supportive. She is challenging all of us to take a hard look at what needs to be done and be unafraid to do it. Which may come, at the end of the day, making hard decisions.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

Best Books of 2020

1. Hearts, Strings, and other Breakable Things by Jacqueline Firkins: This modern adaptation of Jane Austen’s 1814 novel Mansfield Park is one of the best professionally published fanfictions I’ve read in a long time.
2. Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man by Mary Trump: You Know Who’s only niece, Mary Trump tells her uncle’s story as only a close family member can.
3. Joe Biden: The Life, the Run, and What Matters Now, by Evan Osnos: This biography tells the President-elect’s story from a human perspective, giving the reader an insight that the news headlines cannot.
4. Bronte’s Mistress, by Finola Austin: Austin delves into the myth of the affair between Branwell Bronte and Lydia Robinson, his older and married employer. Giving voice to Branwell, his youngest sister Anne and Mrs. Robinson specifically, she introduces the reader to the woman behind the rumor.
5. Rage, by Bob Woodward: Legendary journalist Bob Woodward takes the reader into the current Presidential administration and the chaos created by you know who.
6. The Light in Hidden Places by Sharon Cameron: Cameron’s book follows the story of Stefania Podgorska, a Polish-Catholic teenage girl who saved thirteen Jews during World War II.
7. Jagged Little Pill: The reader is taken into the world of the hit musical, Jagged Little Pill: The Musical.
8. Pretending: A Novel, by Holly Bourne: April believes that she is damaged goods, romantically speaking. When she creates an alter ego named Gretel, the results are surprising.
9. A Star is Bored: A Novel, by Byron Lane: Lane, a former assistant to the late actress and writer Carrie Fisher, spins his time working for her into a hilarious and entertaining novel.
10. Hatemonger: Stephen Miller, Donald Trump, and the White Nationalist Agenda, by Jean Guerrero: This insightful and frankly scary book tells the story of Presidential aide Stephen Miller.

Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man Book Review

No one knows you like your family. We may be able to put on a face for the outside world, but not for those who know us best.

In the last couple of years, there has been a flood of books about you know who and his attempt at being President of the United States. One of the most recent books is written by his only niece, Mary Trump. It is entitled Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man.

In the book, Ms. Trump, a trained psychologist, describes how you know who became the man who he is today. The fourth of five children from New York City, he was raised by two parents who can only be described as lacking parental inclination. When her late father, Fred Trump Jr., became a disappointment to his father, the spotlight fell on you know who. Tracing the patterns from childhood to the present day, she tells the story of the President as only a family member can.

This is an incredible book. It is one of those books that is hard to put down. The narrative is compelling, well written and just a good read. It is also a reminder of why you know who needs to be a one term President.

I absolutely recommend it.