The Al Franken Podcast
A five-time Emmy winning SNL comedy writer/producer, joins a four-time #1 NYT bestselling author, a three-time highest-rated national progressive radio host, a two-time Grammy winning artist, and a former US Senator. So, it gets a little crowded in the booth when Al talks public policy and sometimes political comedy with notable guests. Think “The Daily” without the resources of the NYTimes.
YouTube Sensation David Pakman on The Big, Beautiful Bill and More!
George Packer on Vice President JD Vance
225: BEST OF: Ed Shelleby on Being My Senate Communications Director
224: Michael Lewis on Amazing Government Workers
223: Dahlia Lithwick on the Courts vs. Trump
222: Mark Leibovich and Molly Jong-Fast on Trump’s 100 Days
221: Robert Reich on Fighting The Trump Autocracy
220: BEST OF: Tim Alberta on Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism
219: Atul Gawande on Musk’s Destruction of USAID
218: Catherine Rampell on Trump’s Tariffs and DOGE
217: Jessica Yellin on Our Anxiety Producing News Cycle
216: Norm Ornstein on Another Terrible Week in D.C.
215: BEST OF: Trae Crowder on Comedy and The Liberal Redneck
214: Mark Leibovich on the Week in Washington
213: War Correspondent Tim Mak on Russia and Ukraine
212: Sarah Longwell on Voter Reactions to Trump's First Month
211: SPECIAL: Al on SNL's 50th
210: Molly O’Toole on Immigration
209: Peter Beinart on Israel and Gaza
208: Molly Jong-Fast on Trump’s First Week
207: Ian Bassin on Saving Our Democracy
206: Dana Milbank on The Nutcase Republican House
205: BEST OF: Scott Galloway
204: BEST OF: SNL's Jim Downey
203: The Atlantic's George Packer on the End of Democratic Delusions
202: Anne Applebaum & Frank Foer on Syria, The Middle East, and Ukraine
201: WaPo's Aaron Blake on The Transition
200: BEST OF: Anne Applebaum on her book Autocracy, Inc.
199: David Axelrod on The Trump Transition
198: David Weigel - Political Writer for Semafor
197: Norm Ornstein on the Coming Hellscape
196: ELECTION PREVIEW with Molly Jong-Fast, Mark Leibovich, Jessica Taylor, & Jeremy Peters
194: WaPo’s Catherine Rampell on how the Economy is Helping Harris (A Little)
193: Laura Bassett of The Cut and Sarah Zhang of The Atlantic
192: Frank Foer and David Rothkopf on Israel’s Wars in Gaza and Lebanon…and Nobel Climate Scientist Michael Mann on the Hurricanes
191: Tim Miller and Aaron Blake on the VP Debate and Jack Smith's Filing
190: Jamelle Bouie - Columnist for the New York Times
189: Dems Top Election Lawyer Marc Elias on the Legal Battles Ahead
188: NYT’s Jeremy Peters on Trump’s Bad Debate
187: Author and Journalist Joe Conason
186: Martin Short: A “BEST OF”
185: Molly Jong-Fast and Mark Leibovich on The Democratic Convention
184: YouTuber Brian Tyler Cohen on his new book Shameless
183: Scott Galloway - Professor, Podcast Host, Author
182: Pulitzer Prize Winning Author Anne Applebaum on Autocracies and Comedian Trae Crowder on JD Vance
181: The Atlantic's Frank Foer and Elaina Plott Calabro on Harris and Biden
180: Molly Jong-Fast and Mark Leibovich on the RNC
179: Dahlia Lithwick on SCOTUS
178: Best Of: Heather Cox Richardson on Our Democracy
177: 4th of July Special: Thomas Jefferson on the Declaration of Independence
176: Norm Ornstein on The Debate & SCOTUS
175: Never-Trumpers Sarah Longwell and Tim Miller on the Presidential Debate
174: WaPo Op-Ed Columnist Catherine Rampell
173: In Remembrance of Howard Fineman
172: Frank Foer of The Atlantic and David Rothkopf of The Daily Beast
171: Dan Balz - Washington Post Chief Correspondent and Former US Attorney Harry Litman
170: In Remembrance of My Friend Bill Walton
169: Harry Litman on the Trump Trial
168: Comedian Trae Crowder – The Liberal Redneck
167: Judd Legum on How Elon Musk is Helping Trump
166: Molly Jong Fast, Host of the Fast Politics Podcast
165: Ari Berman on His New Book, Minority Rule
164: Melissa Murray & Andrew Weissmann on the “Hush Money Trial”
163: Battleground States: Wisconsin: Ben Wikler – Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair
162: Democratic Strategists Rachel Bitecofer and Justin Barasky on Democratic Messaging
161: Pulitzer Prize Winning Historian Anne Applebaum of The Atlantic
160: NPR's Senior Political Correspondent Domenico Montanaro
159: Tim Miller – New Host of The Bulwark Podcast
158: Frank Foer – The End of the Golden Age of American Jews
157: Mini Timmaraju, President & CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All
156: Tim Alberta on Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism
155: The Atlantic’s David Frum on GOP Dysfunction
154: Olivia Nuzzi - Washington Correspondent for New York Magazine
153: Dahlia Lithwick on the Trump Trials
152: Michael Steele
151: Saturday Night Live Writer & Producer Jim Downey
150: Adam Serwer of The Atlantic on What Trump Would Do the The Courts in a Second Term
149: Heather Cox Richardson on Her Book Democracy Awakening
147: Best Of: Patton Oswalt is Great!
148: Best Of: Jim Gaffigan, The Master!
146: Year in Review: Molly Jong-Fast & Mark Leibovich Look Back at the Year in Politics
145: Year in Review: Anne Applebaum & Frank Foer on Foreign Affairs
144: In Remembrance of My Friend Norman Lear
143: Year in Review: Joyce Vance and Barbara McQuade Review ALL the Cases Against Trump
142: Ian Bassin On The Steps Trump Would Take to Unravel Our Democracy
141: David Fahrenthold on The Trump Organization’s Long History of Corruption
140: David Axelrod
139: Norm Ornstein on the Israel-Hamas War
138: WaPo Columnist Dana Milbank on the Super-MAGA House
137: Aaron David Miller on the Israel-Hamas War
136: BEST OF! QAnon – Weirder Than You Know!!! Author Will Sommer
135: Climatologist Michael Mann on How to Talk to Climate Deniers
134: Norm Ornstein on the Shutdown
133: Harry Litman and George Conway!
132: Anne Applebaum on the War in Ukraine
131: Franklin Foer’s New Book on Biden: The Last Politician
130: The Case for Universal Voting. Like in Australia!
129: Molly Jong-Fast and Mark Leibovich on the GOP Debate
128: Tim Miller and Charlie Cook on the First GOP Debate
127: Stuart Stevens is Ashamed
126: Neal Katyal on Jack Smith’s Very Smart Case
125: Best Of: Sarah Silverman!
124: Inside the Race to Go Viral with Ben Smith
123: Marc Elias and Ari Berman
122: Dahlia Lithwick on the Awful SCOTUS Term
121: Best Of: John Mayer on Playing with The Dead
120: Comedian Alex Edelman on Heading to Broadway!
119: Ukraine Update with The Atlantic’s Frank Foer
118: Mark Leibovich on the Documents Indictment
117: Our Immigration System: It's Broken!
116: QAnon – Weirder Than You Know!!! Author Will Sommer
115: Molly Jong-Fast and Al Discuss The Week’s Events
114: Dahlia Lithwick is BACK!
113: NYT Columnist Paul Krugman on The Debt Ceiling
112: Dan Balz, WaPo’s Chief Correspondent, Explains It All!
111: Rep. Katie Porter - On Her New Book & Jeremy Peters On Dominion
110: Heather McGhee - My Favorite Is Back
109: Harry Litman – A Panorama of Trump’s Massive Legal Problems
108: Israel Expert Aaron David Miller on Netanyahu’s Anti-democratic Judicial “Reforms”
107: Adam Schiff on Lots of Stuff!
106: WaPo Economics Columnist Catherine Rampell
105: Best Of: Chris Rock
104: Andy Slavitt & Laurie Garrett on “The End of the Covid Emergency?”
103: NYT’s Jeremy Peters on Dominion v. FOX
102: Shoshana Zuboff & Roger McNamee on Surveillance Capitalism
101: Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse on The Right’s 50-Year Scheme to Capture SCOTUS
100: Julia Ioffe - Update on The War in Ukraine
99: Joyce Vance & Barbara McQuade on The Latest from Fulton County
98: WaPo’s Dana Milbank On How Only 2/3 of GOP House Members Are Crazy
97: Norm Ornstein on The Radical Right Takeover of the House
96: Amy Walter of The Cook Political Report
95: BEST OF - Neal Katyal On How Trump Would Be Prosecuted
94: BEST OF: The Day the President Laughed!
88: BEST OF: Anne Nelson on the Right Wing Shadow Network
87: Alexander Vindman on Ukraine
50: Rob Delaney – On the Loss of His 2-Year-Old, Henry
86: Jeremy Peters Traces the GOP’s Descent to Trump
85: Sen. Heidi Heitkamp on The Midterms
84: BONUS EPISODE: My Genius Hearing Parody on WHAT THE HACK!
83: Norm Ornstein on The Wave That Didn’t Happen
82: Cecile Richards and David Axelrod on The Midterms
81: Laboratories of Autocracy – David Pepper – It’s the States, Stupid!
80: MI Sec. of State Jocelyn Benson and Journalist Ari Berman
79: Author Will Bunch – The Cost of College as The Source of Our Division
78: Tim Miller, Former GOP Operative, on Why His Cohorts Caved To Trump
77: Sarah Silverman – AGAIN!!!
76: Dahlia Lithwick On Her Inspiring New Book – LADY JUSTICE
75: NY Times Columnist Paul Krugman
74: Neal Katyal – Does Garland Indict Trump?
73: Sandy Hook Mom Nicole Hockley and Former NRA Big-Wig Ryan Busse
72: Cecile Richards on Dobbs and the Midterms!
69: THE MIDTERMS - John Anzalone and D. Taylor
71: The Authors of "His Name is George Floyd" - Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa
70: Mark Leibovich on his #1 NYT bestseller, Thank You For Your Servitude
68: Russia-Born Journalist Julia Ioffe Gives an Update on Ukraine
67: Jason Kander On His Battle With PTSD
66: Malcolm Nance on The Coming Civil War
65: Dahlia Lithwick on The Horrible SCOTUS Term
64: MARTIN SHORT!!!
63: Daniel Goldman, Legal Analyst, on the Jan. 6th Hearings
62: Author Anne Nelson on the 60-year history of the vast right-wing shadow network
61: Ali Noorani on Immigration
60: Carol Leonnig of WaPo and Ryan Reilly of NBC Preview this Week’s January 6th Hearings
58: Patton Oswalt!
57: Steve Schmidt Sounds the Alarm!
56: Dahlia Lithwick and Joyce Vance on the Alito Draft
55: The Atlantic Monthly’s Anne Applebaum and Arms Expert Joe Cirincione on Ukraine
54: Former Firearms Exec & NRA Member, Ryan Busse, Exposes the Dark Underbelly of the Gun Industry
53: Michael Lewis on why U.S. COVID response was so…CRAPPY. (My word)
52: Bob Odenkirk talks about Comedy, Comedy, Comedy, and Drama
51: Amy Klobuchar on Anti-Trust
50: Bill Walton on Basketball, The Grateful Dead, and Life
49: Dahlia Lithwick on the Insane Republican Awfulness in the Jackson SCOTUS Hearings
48: Marc Lamont Hill, Anchor of Black News Tonight, Explains Basic Concepts Like Race as a Social Construct
47: Atlantic Monthly’s Franklin Foer Covers Lots of Ground on Ukraine
46: Journalist/Author Michael Weiss on Putin's Grave Miscalculation
45: The NYT’s Jeremy Peters on How the GOP Went Batshit Crazy
44: Economist Austan Goolsbee on Guess What? The Economy
43: Heather McGhee on Critical Race Theory & Other Stuff
42: Jamie Raskin
41: Max Bergmann Covers Europe, Ukraine, and Russia for The Center for American Progress
40: Marc Elias & Ari Berman on the GOP’s Assault on Democracy
40: Former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance Discusses Trump's Myriad Civil & Criminal Vulnerabilities
39: Andy Slavitt and Laurie Garrett Discuss Disturbing New COVID Realities
39: Michael Harriot, Acerbic (Funny, Biting, and Funny) Black Writer Talks About (Yikes!) Race
93: David Letterman! Top Ten Reasons We’re Repeating This One: #1 – WE CAN!!!
92: Jim Gaffigan and Al Discuss Stand-up & Netflix’s Release of his 9th Hour Special, Comedy Monster
91: Dahlia Lithwick & Sarah Stoesz, CEO of Planned Parenthood in the Upper Midwest, on Abortion.
90: David Cay Johnston on His New Book – The Big Cheat. Who’s it about? Take a guess!
89: Sen. Tammy Duckworth and Al Laugh About Her Getting Blowed Up!
88: Atlantic Monthly Writer Frank Foer Tears Facebook a New One
87: Norm and Al look Past Build Back Better to Saving Our Democracy
86: Our Climate Guy – Nobel Prize Recipient Michael Mann on COP-26
85: Ryan Busse, Once an NRA Hero, Gives us the Dirt
84: Adam Schiff on The Curious Case of Donald Trump and His Goons
83: Economist Austan Goolsbee on Build Back Better
82: Author Jackie Calmes Did the Investigation on Brett Kavanaugh the FBI Should Have Done
81: The Brilliant Dahlia Lithwick – Slate’s (and Al’s) Expert on SCOTUS
80: Lead Dem Election Lawyer Marc Elias on the Epic Battle for Our Democracy
79: Alex Gibney Talks Opioids & His Doc “The Crime of the Century”
78: R.I. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse on the Corporate Capture of the Courts
77: Author Michael Wolff Discusses Trump’s Disastrous Last Year as POTUS
76: Ben Rhodes, Obama’s Deputy National Security Advisor, on Afghanistan & Our Foreign Policy Reset
75: Laurie Garrett and Andy Slavitt – Where We Are NOW on COVID-19
74: Atlantic Monthly’s Adam Serwer on his book about the Trump Administration: The Cruelty is the Point
73: Bryan Fogel, Producer of The Dissident, on the Brutal Murder of Jamal Khashoggi
72: Atlantic Monthly Journalist Edward-Isaac Dovere's Fascinating New Book, 'Battle For The Soul’, Chronicles the Democrats Fight for the 2020 Nomination.
71: Norman Lear Discusses His 99-Years on the Planet
70: Heather McGhee - An Encore of My Best Podcast Ever!
69: Al Solo!
68: Andy Slavitt On His New COVID Book - Preventable
38: Thomas Jefferson Explains Inconsistencies in the Declaration of Independence
67: George Packer on How It Got So Bad in America & How it Could Get Slightly Better
66: Michael Harriot: Senior Writer for TheRoot.com, the Nation’s Largest Black Online Newspaper
65: Norm Ornstein & Tom Mann - Who Called the GOP a Sham Years Ago!
64: Ed Shelleby - My Communications Director–On Working for a Different Kind of Senator. Plus, a Rant on Voting Rights
63: Louis King – The Real Deal
62: Amy Klobuchar & Al Discuss Anti-Trust & The Ted "Carnival" Cruz Joke
61: Howard Fineman on Republican Nihilism
60: Sen. Tammy Duckworth Tells Her Story
59: Neo-Con Bill Kristol on How Trump Made Him Do Some Re-Thinking
37: Replay of My Conversation with Judge Steve Leifman and Norm Ornstein
58: Malcolm Nance on Russia and Jan. 6th
36: Replay of My Conversation with Vice President Walter Mondale
57: Marc Elias and Ari Berman on Georgia and Worse
35: Mini-Podcast: Peter Bergen on Afghanistan and Bin Laden
56: Uncle Sam (Roger McNamee) & Auntie Trust (Zephyr Teachout) Talk Facebook, Google, Amazon & Democracy
55: Our Southern Border - National Immigration Forum Executive Director Ali Noorani
54: David Letterman!
53: Andy Slavitt (Again!) But Now He’s a Big Shot!
52: Heather McGhee – On What Racism Costs Everyone
51: WaPo Columnist Catherine Rampell Wonks Out w/Al on Economics, Race, Healthcare – You Name It!
50: Nobel Climate Scientist Michael Mann on Denier Tactics and Idiocy
49: Dr. Anthony Fauci Answers the Questions You’ve Been Wanting to Ask
34: Al Recreates McConnell’s Post-Acquittal Impeachment Speech
48: 3 Heroes in the DC Public Schools (One’s My Daughter)
33: Al Gives His Closing Argument for the Impeachment Trial
47: Adam Schiff on (You Guessed It) Impeachment
46: Super Bowl Edition: Journalist/Author Reid Forgrave on Football and Concussions
45: Norm Ornstein & Al (Again!)
44: Former U.S. Attorneys Joyce Vance and Preet Bharara Discuss Legal Problems Ahead for Trump, the Rioters, and Cruz and Hawley
43: Rick Wilson, Co-Founder of The Lincoln Project
32: Al Explains the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact to Tommy
42: Top Dem. Election Lawyer Marc Elias Reviews Trump Legal Team's 59 Post-Election Losses
41: A Holiday Repeat of Conan O'Brien with a Brand New Timely Intro!
40: The Ground Game in Georgia!
39: Maria Teresa Kumar of Voto Latino on the Key Role Latinos Played in Electing Joe Biden
38: Joe Biden’s Closest Ally in the Senate, Chris Coons
37: Fmr. Facebook Exec Tim Kendall on How Social Media is Destroying the World
36: Laurie Garrett & Andy Slavitt on the Covid Spike, the Vaccines, & Trump's Negligent Homicide
35: Al On The Election & Lincoln Project’s Stuart Stevens On What The GOP Has Become
34: SuperPundit Norm Ornstein on the Election
33: Dick Gephardt and Ian Bassin – Can Trump Steal this Election?
32: Montana Sen. Jon Tester on How Dems Win Back Rural America
31: A Preview of the Final Trump-Biden Debate
31: Al Rails About Coney Barrett Hearing w/ Brian Fallon of Demand Justice
30: Al’s Questions for Amy Coney Barrett
29: Maria Teresa Kumar of Voto Latino and Marc Elias, Dems' Election Lawyer, on Voter Suppression
28: Norm Ornstein on the Sh*tsh*w in Cleveland. Franklin Foer and Natasha Bertrand on Russian Interference.
27: Dahlia Lithwick and The Day the President Laughed
26: Debate Prep Vets James Carville and Phillipe Reines on the Upcoming Debate
25: Laurie Garrett, Pulitzer Prize Winner for her Writing on Pandemics and Andy Slavitt, Obama's Head of Medicare and Medicaid on the (Most Likely) Premature Introduction of a Coronavirus Vaccine
24: Douglas Boin, Author of Alaric the Goth – An Outsider’s History of the Fall of Rome, Discusses the Uncanny Parallels Between Trump’s America and 410 AD Rome,
23: David Axelrod on the Election. Spoiler Alert: He's for Biden
21: Repeating My Conversation with Chris Rock Because It's So Damn Great!
19: Author Susan Nieman on Germans/Holocaust vs. Americans/Slavery – Germans Win
20: Paul Begala on How to Beat Trump
22: Andrew Yang and Al Discuss Each Other
18: Fmr. DC and Philly Police Chief Charles Ramsey Talks Police Reform
17: Dahlia Lithwick on SCOTUS 2019-20 Term and Trump's Commutation of Roger Stone's 40-Month Sentence
16: Epidemiologist Abdul El-Sayed Blames the Latest Covid Spikes on Guess Who?
15: Democratic Election Lawyer Marc Elias Talks to Two Texas Teenagers About Winning Them the Right to Vote By Mail in November
1: A Fourth of July Conversation with Thomas Jefferson
14: Melvin Carter Talks About Being St. Paul’s First Black Mayor and the Son of a Cop
13: Frm. Obama Speechwriter David Litt Explains How the GOP Has Systematically Undermined Democracy.
12: Atlantic Writer George Packer on How the Pandemic and George Floyd’s Murder have Laid Bare America’s Weaknesses
11: Donna Edwards and Al Discuss Race, Cops, and Photo Ops
10: NEA President Lily Eskelsen García on Teaching During a Pandemic and a DeVos
1: COVID-19 Trailer
9: Paul Krugman on Arguing with Republican Zombies
8: Steve Schmidt Tears Trump and the Republican Party A New One
7: Epidemiologist Larry Brilliant on Where We Go From Here
6: Chief Democratic Election Lawyer Marc Elias Talks Elections During A Pandemic
5: Billy and Debbie Shore, Founders of No Kid Hungry, on Hunger in America During this Pandemic
4: Michael Lewis On How Trump’s Handling of Covid-19 Has Proven His Book, The Fifth Risk, Tragically Prophetic.
49: Mental Health and Criminal Justice
3: Dr. Leana Wen Discusses the Tortuous and High Stakes Path that Dr.'s Fauci and Birx Must Navigate
2: Austan Goolsbee on Virus Economics
1: Andy Slavitt, Former Medicare/Medicaid Head Discusses the Pandemic
45: MSNBC's Andrew Zimmern Talks About Food, Immigration, Climate and Addiction
44: Documentarian Alex Gibney Tells the Cautionary Tale of the Oligarch Who Defied Putin
43: Pulitzer Prize Winner Dave Fahrenthold Catches Us Up on Trump’s Corruption
42: Is Democracy in Danger? Legal Experts Dahlia Lithwick and Ian Bassin On Trump, Barr and The Abuse of the Criminal Justice System
41: Intelligence Expert Malcolm Nance Makes the Convincing Case that Trump is a Russian Asset
40: A Conversation with Jimmy Kimmel
39: John Mayer on Playing Guitar and Singing at the Same Time
38: How We Got Here. Norm Ornstein on the Erosion of Norms from Gingrich to McConnell to Trump
37: Paul Tough on How the College Admissions System Preserves Our Nation’s Economic and Social Disparities
36: MSNBC's Second Most Popular Host, Lawrence O'Donnell, Is Guest
35: Al and Conan O’Brien
34: Sara Silverman and Al Talk About Comedy and Politics
33: Al Solo! - Al Rants on Impeachment, Trump, McConnell, and GOP Bad Faith.
32: Guilty! Al Discusses Impeachment with Harvard Law Professor, Nancy Gertner and Max Bergmann, Not a Harvard Law Professor
31: Obama National Security Advisor Susan Rice Talks Foreign Policy Successes and Failures
30: Immigration, Child Separation and Voter Suppression with Maria Teresa Kumar
29: Al talks to Ambassador Peter Galbraith About Trump's Tragic Betrayal of the Kurds, and Al weighs in on the Impeachment Hearings.
28: Al Talks To Executive Director of Foster America Sherry Lachman About The State of Foster Care And Al Gets Verklempt
27: Whoever Wins the Popular Vote Should Be President. The New Yorker's Hendrik Hertzberg and Al Discuss Why
26: Where There's Fire, There's Fire." Jeffrey Toobin and Dahlia Lithwick Discuss The Legal Issues Ahead in the Impeachment of Donald Trump
25: Judd Apatow Discusses Comedy, Mental Health and Politics
24: Al Talks with one of his Heroes, Harlem Children's Zone Founder Geoffrey Canada
23: Journalist Elizabeth Drew Explains Impeachment to Al
22: A Conversation with Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
21: A Conversation with Chris Rock
20: Rising Democratic Star and Afghanistan Vet Jason Kander Discusses Putting The Brakes On His Political Career To Treat His PTSD
19: Renaissance Man Bob Kerrey Talks to Man Al Franken
18: How Corrupt is Trump? Veteran DC Watchdog Melanie Sloan Discusses the Trump Culture of Corruption in Washington
17: Obama Chief Economist Austan Goolsbee Explains the Unexplainable: What The Hell Trump is Doing On Trade
16: A Conversation with Vice President Walter Mondale
15: A Conversation with Joe Cirincione
14: A Conversation with Heidi Heitkamp
13: A Conversation with Andy Slavitt
12: A Conversation With Howard Fineman
11: A Conversation with Secretary Ernest Moniz
10: A Conversation With Franklin Foer
9: A Conversation with Dana Carvey
8: A Conversation with David Mandel
7: A Conversation with Michael Mann
6: A Conversation with Andy Slavitt
5: A Conversation with Jeffrey Toobin and Nancy Gertner
4: A Conversation with Michael Lewis
3: A Conversation With Sarah Silverman
2: A Conversation with Dahlia Lithwick and Matt Miller
1: A Conversation With Maria Teresa Kumar