Russia Withholds Alexei Navalny's Body From His Family

The House is expected to vote Wednesday on a bill that could force the Chinese owners of TikTok to sell the social media platform or face a ban on U.S. app stores. Lawmakers say TikTok is a potential national security threat. The bill has bipartisan support in the House. Tech journalist Louise Matsakis explains why banning TikTok is one of the few issues lawmakers can agree on these days.

And in headlines: The House Judiciary Committee grilled Special Counsel Robert Hur over his investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents, an FAA report said Boeing failed dozens of audits, and Airbnb told hosts no more indoor security cameras.

Show Notes:

• Louise Matsakis’s newsletter “You May Also Like” – https://youmayalsolike.beehiiv.com/
• The Guardian: “Revealed: how TikTok censors videos that do not please Beijing” – https://tinyurl.com/y56o6hnk
• Network Contagion Research Institute: “ How TikTok's Global Platform Anomalies Align with the Chinese Communist Party's Geostrategic Objectives” – https://tinyurl.com/ynsd9kyj
• What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
• Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/
• For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

President Biden on Monday unveiled his $7.3 trillion budget proposal for the next fiscal year. He calls for new spending to lower the cost of healthcare, housing and childcare, and wants to offset it by raising taxes on the wealthy and corporations. The proposal as it stands now has little chance of passing a divided Congress, but is the basis for negotiations and also serves as a campaign promise for his reelection.

A settlement over Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay and Trans” bill means teachers and students can talk about gender identity and sexual orientations in classrooms again. Kind of. Both sides are calling it a win.

And in headlines: Trump asks to delay the Manhattan trial in his hush money case, Special Counsel Robert Hur testifies in front of Congress about his investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents, and could next month’s total solar eclipse make some animals extra randy? Researchers want to know.

Show Notes:

• What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
• Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/
• For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

Ramadan began Sunday night, and it was also the unofficial deadline by which the Biden administration hoped to have negotiated a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. But as fighting in Gaza rages on and the death toll there tops 30,000, President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu amped up their criticisms of each other.

Haiti’s government is on the brink of collapse after local gangs united in a coordinated attack on the nation’s capital city Port-au-Prince. The roots of the violence can be traced back all the way to the 90s.

And in headlines: Oppenheimer dominated the Oscars, the Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into Boeing, and the Republican National Committee named two new leaders, one with the last name Trump.

Show Notes:

• AP: “Why is Haiti so chaotic? Leaders used street gangs to gain power. Then the gangs got stronger” – https://tinyurl.com/259cbjhv\
• What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
• Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/
• For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

Primaries elections are good, right? It’s how we hold the party accountable and raise up progressives! It turns out there’s more to the story.

This week on “How We Got Here,” Max and Erin explore how party primaries have led to the success of more extreme candidates, the passage of fewer polices, and an increase in American polarization. From the Tea Party and Ron Paul to decidedly not "tea" parties with Texas House Speakers, this week’s episode probes the dangers of primaries, and why the U.S. seems to be the last country in the world to catch on.

President Biden delivered his State of the Union Thursday night. He traded verbal blows with his conservative opponents inside the room, and also offered a preview of his 2024 campaign message. Pod Save America's Tommy Vietor assessed Biden's speech on topics such as abortion access, Gaza, immigration at the southern border and more.

And in headlines: Sweden joins NATO, Trump can't delay his payment to E. Jean Carroll, and House lawmakers advanced legislation that could ban TikTok.

Show Notes:

• What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
• Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/
• For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

President Biden delivers his third State of the Union address Thursday night ahead of this November’s election. Part of the challenge for Biden is to show voters that he’s still got the energy for another four year term. But he also has to motivate his base, including progressives who are following his campaign with varying amounts of enthusiasm. Activists and organizers across the country told us about the issues they’re most concerned about, and what they want Biden to say when he steps up to the podium.

And in headlines: Nikki Haley cedes the Republican primary race to Trump, a Russian missile hits near the President of Ukraine, and a Texas company says it’s one step closer to bringing back woolly mammoths.

Show Notes:

• “Rep. Allred to Host Dr. Austin Dennard at State of the Union” – https://tinyurl.com/24s5646j
• Listen To Michigan campaign – https://www.listentomichigan.com/
• United We Dream Action – https://unitedwedreamaction.org/
• Debt Collective – https://debtcollective.org/
• What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
• Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/

Super Tuesday was mostly a blowout on the Republican side for former President Donald Trump. Nikki Haley did manage to eke out a win in Vermont, but that's not enough to give her a clear path to victory. Danielle Deiseroth, the executive director of the progressive think tank Data for Progress, helps us interpret what the Super Tuesday results could mean for both Republicans and Democrats in November.

And in headlines: Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed the GOP-backed Arizona Border Invasion Act, Senator Kyrsten Sinema won't seek re-election, and Dartmouth's basketball team votes to unionize.

Show Notes:

• Data For Progress – https://www.dataforprogress.org/
• Vote Save America – https://votesaveamerica.com/
• What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
• Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/
• For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Tuesday that former President Donald Trump can stay on Colorado’s primary ballot. This reverses a decision by Colorado’s Supreme Court, which ruled that Trump could be disqualified based on his actions on January 6th, and the 14th Amendment’s stipulation that insurrectionists cannot hold public office. To understand the Supreme Court’s rationale, we spoke to Leah Litman, co-host of Crooked’s “Strict Scrutiny” and professor at the University of Michigan Law School.

Today is Super Tuesday. Voters in 16 states and American Samoa head to the polls, and one of the states we’re keeping a close eye on is California where several House races could determine which party will take control of Congress. We spoke with Marisa Lagos, KQED politics reporter, about how these California races in several swing districts got so competitive in the first place.

And in headlines: the Supreme Court temporarily blocked Texas from implementing its harsh new immigration law, the first OTC birth control pill heads to pharmacies, and French lawmakers make abortion a constitutional right.

Show Notes:

• Crooked’s Strict Scrutiny – https://crooked.com/podcast-series/strict-scrutiny/
• Vote Save America – https://votesaveamerica.com/
• “Biodiversity footprints of 151 popular dishes from around the world” – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10880993/
• What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
• Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/
• For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

Oregon’s legislature has reintroduced criminal penalties for hard drug possession, effectively reversing course three years after voters passed the state’s Measure 110 and decriminalized possession in many cases. Many describe the reversal as a big setback for the criminal justice reform movement. But to understand how we got here, we look at where Oregon fell short in its implementation of Measure 110.

Israel boycotted ceasefire talks in Cairo on Sunday after Hamas refused a demand to provide a list of all the hostages who are still alive and in their captivity. Meanwhile as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues to worsen, the U.S. carried out its first airdrop of aid supplies into the region.

And in headlines: CVS and Walgreens will start dispensing abortion pills, Caitlin Clark shatters an NCAA scoring record, and Donald Gorske shatters a McDonald’s eating record.

Show Notes:

• OPB: “Oregon’s drug decriminalization experiment appears dead” – https://tinyurl.com/2d3o5v5n
• What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
• Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/
• For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

I see London, I see France, I see Shohei Ohtani’s underpants. This week, the MLB kicked off Spring Training with brand new see-through uniforms — yes, you read that right.

But it’s not just MLB players’ clothing that’s seemingly crappier, the uniform change is another story in a long line of corporate decisions that have made the clothing we wear worse and worse with each passing year. Max and Erin get to the bottom of how fashion got so fast, telling the story of a little Spanish retailer named Zara that changed the way we shop and a big, bad bogeyman (hint: it’s private equity) that stepped in to accelerate the decline of clothing quality.