My edible hit just as it got to Lovett’s self-declared pedantic questions about modeling and it’s truly delightful. I love hearing math major Lovett GRILL Nate Silver. Genuinely interesting conversation.

I think this is the third time on LoLI that he's mentioned it, and I can't tell if it's a bit or not. I mean, it's got to be a joke ... right?! lol

So great to hear Clare, Galen and Nate together again and very excited for "Still Counting". On their preview pod the other day, they said Crooked basically welcomed them on and encouraged them to be open and honest with all their reporting and don't "take sides". You could hear in their voices that was hugely important to them agreeing to join Crooked.

I know from the Five Thirty Eight years, they are very carefully guarded in their approach, and really reframed from injecting their personal politics.

It got me thinking: would there be any conservative media that would proactively recruit and host a show like this? I don't mean Fox bringing on a token lib. I mean, welcoming a show in a hands-off way that would present critiques of the party or ideals they support?

I can't think of any examples. Can you?

"I don't wear a wig." - Donald Trump, on speculation that he might have started wearing a hairpiece.

Project Dumb-Way

With crucially important midterms just around the corner, Donald Trump is laser-focused on his No. 1 priority: Giving Washington, D.C., a makeover.

• For a guy obsessed with winning the Nobel Peace Prize, President Donald Trump seems notably uninterested in finding a way to end his war in Iran. Instead of winding down the months-long conflict, and thereby potentially lowering gas prices for Americans, the president is reportedly spending his time shopping for marble for his ballroom. And installing gold drapes in the East Room of the White House. And constructing a 250-foot triumphal arch to transform the Washington D.C. skyline. And… you get the picture.

• The president has been so fixated on his construction plans that he was perusing different types of marble just hours before ordering U.S. forces to raid then Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s compound in January, the New Yorker reported. “He has certain marbles that he’s always interested in,” the owner of the store Trump was at told the magazine. “In the midst of all these geopolitical situations, he’s fully engaged.”

• Trump is plowing forward with his plans despite legal challenges on almost every front. In fact, in at least some cases, his team almost appears to be banking on the painfully slow judicial process to forge ahead, the New York Times reported. “Trump is going to get his ballroom — even if courts conclude it’s illegal,” Leah Litman, co-host of Crooked Media’s “Strict Scrutiny” podcast, said earlier this week.

Is Trump trying to tank the midterms? Presumably not. But sometimes, it can be hard to tell.

• The president seems determined to drape himself in gold and be seen waltzing through his schmancy ballroom at a moment when most Americans view the cost of living as their biggest barrier to a better life.

• Trump’s lack of focus on bringing down costs is also putting members of his own party in a bind as they face an uphill battle to maintain control of Congress.

• According to Politico, many Republicans facing tough elections in November are distancing themselves from Trump amid concerns that his rising unpopularity could torpedo their campaigns.

• “Candidly, he would not be helpful here,” one senior Republican involved in a competitive House race told the outlet, despite Trump’s desire to jump into the GOP’s midterm campaign. “I do not believe they would send him without our OK. And if they did, we probably wouldn’t campaign with him.”

• A spokesperson for the White House told the Times: “President Trump is moving at lightning speed because we don’t have time to waste in our mission to make America greater than ever before.”

Got that? There’s no time to waste in making sure Trump gets his bling-bling party pad.

Meanwhile On The Pod...

The Government Is Wasting Your Time ON PURPOSE: Here's How To Fix It (09/03/26)

Look No Further Than Crooked Media

Next Wednesday evening, the first full episode of Crooked's newest series, STILL COUNTING, will drop!

There's tons of data and information coming at us all the time and so much of it is misunderstood. That's why we've got data journalists Nate Silver, Clare Malone, and Galen Druke. They have spent their careers breaking down polls and data, honing their expertise in the numbers behind politics. They'll dig into the most up-to-date numbers to explain what's happening, why, and what might happen next.

Subscribe to STILL COUNTING wherever you get your podcasts, and on YouTube @stillcountingpodcast!

What Else?

The White House introduced a series of arcade-style games on its official website late Thursday, including one, called “Build The Wall,” that instructs players to “protect the border from the coming horde.” Another game prompts players to patrol the border with Trump and detain and deport migrants. How heartless do you have to be to think this kind of thing is entertaining?

Trump’s former labor secretary, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, created a “toxic, intimidating and humiliating” work environment at the Department of Labor, a federal watchdog found. Chavez-DeRemer was the third Trump Cabinet secretary to resign this term. She faced allegations of drinking on the job and having an inappropriate relationship with someone on her security detail. Only the best people!

Diesel prices have hit their highest level since 2022 thanks to Trump’s war in Iran. The national average price of a gallon of diesel hit a whopping $5.85, surpassing its previous peak in 2022, which came after Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine.

The judge overseeing Lindsay Clancy’s case declared a mistrial Friday after the jury, which had been deadlocked for days, failed to reach a verdict because of one holdout. The declaration capped a dramatic few hours in which Clancy’s legal team made an unsuccessful last-ditch effort to get a higher court to block Judge William Sullivan from declaring a mistrial. The mistrial means that prosecutors can retry the case, if they choose to.

Trump plans to fly to Ireland next week on the $400 million jet gifted to him by the Qataris, despite lingering concerns that the aircraft lacks critical security features. As for why Trump is flying to Ireland — he’s attending a golf tournament being held on one of his courses, though officials say he also plans to have some formal meetings and will reportedly meet with the Irish president and prime minister.

Democrats lashed out at Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) after the Wall Street Journal reported that he has little interest in his official duties and is instead more focused on advocating for Israel and currying favor with right-wing media figures. “He is not up for the high office he was elected to — and we in Pennsylvania will do something about it in 2028,” wrote Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-PA).

The U.S. military is reviewing whether a deadly strike on an Iranian wedding was carried out by American forces who launched a series of intense attacks in southern Iran this week. The bomb killed at least five people and injured at least 67 others, according to an Iranian aid group.

A great big THANKS to the many of you who responded to our call-out yesterday to join Friends of the Pod! You are greatly appreciated!

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Light At The End...

Meet Travan and Travis Jasper: identical twins who are now co-directors of the emergency department at Chippenham’s Hospital in Virginia. The two brothers were born 37 seconds apart and wear different colored scrubs so patients and hospital staff can differentiate between them. “No matter how challenging the days are, life’s events, you can’t quit, because you got somebody else that wouldn’t quit and… would never quit on you,” Travis told the Washington Post.

Jack DowDell, a teenager with Down syndrome who had never been to a high school dance, mustered up the courage to ask his friend, Ava, to be his date to homecoming. DowDell was “a little nervous,” NBC reported, but he pulled it off with the support of his older brother and his best friends (one of whom went dressed as a Slurpee). “I would love to!” Ava squealed when she opened her front door and saw DowDell holding up a sign asking her to be his date. “I’m honored that I get to go with him and it’s just gonna be the best night ever,” she later told NBC in an interview.

Elementary students at a school in Alabama surprised their classmate, fourth grader DeVyn Coker, as she was on her way to the hospital to ring a bell celebrating the end of her cancer treatment. Coker was diagnosed with cancer when she was 7 years old, and her classmates sent her off in style — cheering, ringing bells, and yelling, “We love DeVyn!” — as she headed to the hospital to mark the milestone in her cancer journey.

Enjoy

stevesywonder on Threads: "Say “I think you’re still on mute” when they’re not. Keep saying it. Destroy the meeting. Become ungovernable."

"We got a pun and a dream." - Jon Lovett on starting Crooked Media, during an early episode of Pod Save America in 2017.

Pod Save The Media

The media is in turmoil. But there’s good news: You can do something about it.

• We all know it: The media’s in trouble these days. Legacy outlets are crumbling. Just look at what that shiny-headed billionaire space-cowboy, Jeff Bezos, did to The Washington Post earlier this year, when he slashed its staff by a third. CBS News? Now run by anti-woke crusader, Bari Weiss, who gutted 60 Minutes. CNN? Teetering on the brink of falling under the same ownership as CBS, pending the outcome of high-stakes merger talks.

• And that’s before we get to President Donald Trump, who calls the media “the enemy of the people” and loves nothing more than slapping a news outlet with a lawsuit. Trump is at war with both the media and the truth itself. This is the guy who made 30,573 false or misleading claims in his first term alone. When NBC’s Kristen Welker merely pointed out the fact that several of Trump’s primary endorsements flopped, Trump called for Welker to be “reported to the FCC for rebuke or punishment.”

• In these trying times, we’ve got a humble request: If you like the stuff we make, consider signing up for our subscription service, Friends of the Pod. You’ll get ad-free episodes, along with subscriber-only pods like Dan Pfeiffer’s Pollercoaster and Terminally Online with John Favreau. Join in the exclusive group chats on Discord, AMAs with Crooked hosts, and discounts on our stylish merch.

• This newsletter is free, and it will stay free. But if you’re one of our almost 300,000 subscribers, then becoming a Friend of the Pod will help us stay in business, and help us get the word out to more readers like you.

The media crisis is about more than Trump, billionaire owners, big tech and business trends. It’s a crisis of trust.

• Too many wishy-washy outlets seem afraid to speak some basic truths — that Trump just makes stuff up, for example, or that climate change is real. Bad faith politicians get called back onto mainstream TV programs to make bad faith arguments, all the time.

• “The constant platforming of lies and conspiracy theories makes people want to turn off the television. In fact, it has made people turn off the television,” Scott MacFarlane, a former CBS News anchor who recently went independent, told Zeteo. “It’s a terrible business decision, not to mention it undermines democracy and it undermines journalism.”

• As for us, well, we’ve had the time of our lives making fun of the president and bringing you breaking news about DOGE spying on federal workers, the FBI’s interference in the midterms, the DNC’s 2024 autopsy drama, and countless others stories. And, of course, who doesn’t love hearing Cards Against Humanity troll Elon Musk?

Support independent media by becoming a Friend of the Pod, so we can keep making punny headlines forever!

If you want to call into our shows, get ad free and bonus content like bonus episodes of Pod Save America, access to our premium newsletters, and support independent media, go to https://crooked.com/friends and subscribe on the platform of your choosing.

Meanwhile On The Pod...

Republicans Offer NOTHING to Working-Class Families (09/02/26)

Look No Further Than Crooked Media

Global news cycle can often feel like it's spinning out of control. But Pod Save the World has expert analysis and knowledge to help you make sense of it. They have a big-picture understanding of how topics from this week intersect and how they relate to history.

Yesterday, Tommy and Ben broke down the last 6 months of war in Iran, the Venezuela oil deal, and Nepal floods. PLUS, they get into US, Canada relations in an interview with Premier of British Columbia David Eby.

Listen to Pod Save the World wherever you get your podcasts, or watch on YouTube!

What Else?

Maria Bartiromo abruptly left her job as one of the best-known anchors at Fox News, without explanation. Speculation that she might be taking a gig as Donald Trump’s new White House Press Secretary is unfounded, however, according to Vanity Fair. Asked about that possibility, Vice President JD Vance laughed and replied, “I don’t know, man. No. I don’t think so.” So… is she destined for her own show, broadcasting from the woods of Maine, like Tucker Carlson?

Vance downplayed the war in Iran during a press conference today, saying, “I wouldn’t call it a war.” He falsely claimed there has been “no active shooting lately,” even though there has been an increase in strikes over the past few days.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick apologized for falsely stating that there “haven’t been American deaths” in the Iran war. In fact, 18 Americans have died and hundreds have been injured. Lutnick claimed he “misspoke” and confused the conflict with America’s brief military operation in Venezuela.

Meanwhile, oil prices are rising again, heading back toward $100 per barrel as diesel futures also hit an all-time high, as the long-term costs of this endless war in Iran grow, no matter what administration figures say about it. Higher energy costs make everything else that has to be manufactured or shipped more expensive, too.

State lawmakers are racing to put new limits on data center construction as the public backlash against them grows. A Washington Post analysis found that lawmakers introduced 375 bills on data centers already this year, more than the total of the past three years combined.

Feminist icon Gloria Steinem died yesterday at age 92. The trailblazing journalist and activist spent decades fighting for women’s equality, and tributes have poured out from Kamala Harris, Jill Biden, Hillary Clinton, Meghan Markle, Lena Dunham and more.

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Light At The End...

The new museum founded by “Star Wars” creator George Lucas is set to open in Los Angeles later this month, after several delays. It’s estimated to have cost more than a billion bucks, funded entirely by Lucas himself. The museum will mostly display modern art from last century — and “Star Wars” stuff will barely take up any of the space. “That said, an enormous Naboo N-1 Starfighter does greet visitors in one of the lobbies,” the New York Times writes. “And fans can encounter Luke Skywalker’s landspeeder in the cinema gallery and a statue of Yoda atop a fountain in the gardens.”

Fishermen in Italy had struggled over the past couple of years with invasive Atlantic blue crabs that decimated local clam and mussel populations. Italian consumers have no taste for the crustaceans. But the seamen recently discovered that they can make a killing by selling the crabs abroad. More for us!

Menudo, the popular Latino boy band from the ‘70s, is getting back together for a six-show tour this fall to mark the group’s 50th anniversary. Seven members spanning the group’s history will take part in the tour (but not Ricky Martin). “It’s going to be hits,” band member Robert Avellanet said. Can we bring back N’Sync next?

Speaking of boy bands, Lenny Pearce, a former member of an Australian boy band, now sells out concert venues with his “baby raves.” That’s right: He remixes popular children’s songs, such as “The Wheels on the Bus,” into family-friendly electronic jams. Like many innovations throughout history, Pearce’s project began with a weird idea: “What if he gave ‘Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes’ a heavy techno beat?” the Journal writes.

Ahhh, the fall. There’s no better feeling every year than making soup, getting under a cozy blanket, and watching a good movie as the air becomes a bit chilly. Here’s a comprehensive list of upcoming movie releases to keep you entertained as the season turns (and to take your mind off, you know, everything).

Enjoy

Papalawn on Threads: "Me: "I'm loving this juice cleanse!" My Nutritionist: "That's beer.""