Molly Jong-Fast on The 2025 Elections! (Al Franken podcast)

The Democratic Party showed signs of life all around the country with last week's off-season elections. Helping us make sense of it all is Molly Jong-Fast, opinion writer for The New York Times and host of the Fast Politics podcast!

Molly examines NYC's new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, and why his campaign was so successful. Can he actually deliver on the promises he's made in the campaign? Molly shares her thoughts on some lessons Democrats nationwide could learn from his win.

All of this is going on during the longest-ever government shutdown with a President holding a "Great Gatsby”-themed party at Mar-a-Lago while the economy struggles and Trump continues his tariff wars.

Plus, Molly gives her perspective on the redistricting battles around the country, the nationwide ICE raids, Trump corruption, and more!

LISTEN to Molly's podcast “Fast Politics”: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fast-politics-with-molly-jong-fast/id1645614328 

READ Molly’s latest piece in The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/opinion/trumps-great-gatsby-party-did-not-accept-snap.html
Interview: 

Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-al-franken-podcast/id1462195742?i=1000735924079

or YouTube: https://youtu.be/KKk8P6rnnIs?si=WqnlF8Bwt7_-7bXs

Rural US town outraged as only hospital forced to shut: ‘I would have died without it’ | US healthcare | The Guardian

Nearly 28,000 people relied on Glenn Medical center for its services, but now they will have to travel more than 30 miles for care…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/07/rural-us-town-outraged-as-only-hospital-forced-to-shut-i-would-have-died-without-it 

 

DOGE CFPB shutdown could open the door to scammers

Pending suits include one against JPMorgan, Bank of America and Wells Fargo over alleged fraud on the Zelle payment network. 

Another case is pending against a bank that helps disburse payments to unbanked Social Security recipients. Comerica is accused of charging them unnecessary fees, among other things. 

There's also a suit charging the credit bureau Experian with failing to remove errors on people's credit reports — a move that can leave affect people's ability to land jobs, get mortgages or rent apartments...

https://www.axios.com/2025/02/10/doge-trump-cfpb-scammers

 

New CFPB head, Scott Bessent, orders staff to halt work : NPR

"Shutting down CFPB enforcement actions that are on the verge of delivering money into the pockets of working people is at odds with President Trump's claim that he wants to lower costs for families," Warren said in a statement...

https://www.npr.org/2025/02/03/nx-s1-5285356/treasury-secretary-bessent-acting-cfpb-director

 

Nord Stream 1: Gazprom announces indefinite shutdown of pipeline

The move came hours after G7 countries agreed to impose a price cap on Russian oil in an attempt to stem the flow of funds to Vladimir Putin's regime…

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/sep/02/nord-stream-1-gazprom-announces-indefinite-shutdown-of-pipeline

Nord Stream 1: Russia switches off gas pipeline citing maintenance | Russia | The Guardian

Shutdown at short notice by state-owned Gazprom disrupts European efforts to stockpile for winter..

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/aug/31/nord-stream-1-russia-switches-off-gas-pipeline-citing-maintenance

Governors’ shutdowns did not cause the pandemic jobs crisis - The Washington Post

People started staying at home before the shutdowns were ordered, data shows.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/01/25/lockdowns-job-losses/

Shutdowns prevented 60 million coronavirus infections in the U.S., study finds - The Washington Post

Shutdown orders prevented about 60 million novel coronavirus infections in the United States and 285 million in China, according to a research study published Monday that examined how stay-at-home orders and other restrictions limited the spread of the contagion. https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/06/08/shutdowns-prevented-60-million-coronavirus-infections-us-study-finds/

Breaking precedent, White House won’t release formal economic projections this summer that would forecast extent of downturn - The Washington Post

The president’s aides will not publish updated economic forecasts, citing volatility in U.S. economy ....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/05/28/white-house-coronavirus-economic-projections/

New GOP Reopening Plan: Put Right-Wing Doctors on TV to Parrot Trump Talking Points | Vanity Fair

President Donald Trump and the GOP are pushing to reopen the economy ASAP amid the coronavirus—and they’re planning to mobilize a fleet of Trump-friendly doctors to help them out. The Associated Press reported Tuesday that Republican operatives are currently strategizing to put pro-Trump doctors on television to push the president’s reopening schedule, even as the Trump plan goes against the advice of the vast majority of the medical and public health communities. The doctors would go on television to “prescribe reviving the U.S. economy as quickly as possible, without waiting to meet safety benchmarks proposed by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to slow the spread of the new coronavirus,” the AP reports. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/05/gop-reopening-plan-to-put-pro-trump-doctors-on-tv

Stay-at-home orders saved hundreds of thousands, report finds | TheHill

A new analysis says nearly 250,000 people in the nation's 30 largest cities are alive today because of strict stay-at-home orders issued by local and state governments. The report, from the Urban Health Collaborative at the Dornsife School of Public Health at Drexel University, found the stay-at-home orders likely reduced the number of coronavirus deaths by 232,878 and prevented 2.1 million people from requiring hospitalization.
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/498303-stay-at-home-orders-saved-hundreds-of-thousands-report-finds

America’s corporate elite must stop treating coronavirus as an obstacle to profit

It’s up to CEOs to rise above their arrogance and stop treating coronavirus as an obstacle to revenues https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/17/americas-corporate-elite-must-stop-treating-coronavirus-as-an-obstacle-to-profit

NY Barber Tests Positive for COVID-19 After Defying Lockdown | Time

A barber in Kingston, N.Y., continued to cut hair after stay-at-home orders were implemented in the state to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Now, he has tested positive for COVID-19 and health officials are alerting those who may have visited his shop. ...
https://time.com/5837829/new-york-barber-covid-19/

Here are 6 key moments from Rick Bright’s bombshell whistleblower testimony – Raw Story

It was obvious that Rick Bright’s Thursday testimony before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce was really getting to President Donald Trump when he denounced the former director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority as a “disgruntled employee” — which is exactly the type of insult that Trump resorts to when someone gets under his skin (journalist Scott Martelle, in a Los Angeles Times op-ed, argued that Trump’s insult only adds to Bright’s credibility).
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/05/here-are-6-key-moments-from-rick-brights-bombshell-whistleblower-testimony/

There Are Sensible Ways to Reopen. Then There's the US's Way | Time

This brutal spring, the U.S. faces two great crises. Over the past 14 weeks, 84,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. That’s 28 times the death toll of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, more than the U.S. combat deaths in the Vietnam War, and one-quarter of the total global casualties from the coronavirus pandemic. ....
https://time.com/5836607/reopening-risks-coronavirus/

GOP senator blocks resolution calling for CDC guidelines to be released | TheHill

GOP Sen. Mike Braun (Ind.) on Wednesday blocked a resolution calling for the release of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) guidance on reopening businesses....
The CDC guidance, according to the AP, calls for national coordination that would give communities a step-by-step guide for how to reopen shuttered sectors and lift social distancing restrictions....
https://thehill.com/homenews/coronavirus-report/497531-gop-senator-blocks-resolution-calling-for-cdc-guidelines-to-be

White House Shelved CDC Warnings of Second Virus Surge After Reopening, Says Report

The White House shelved a warning from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that coronavirus cases will likely resurge after states reopen, according to a document seen by the Associated Press. The 63-page document offers previously unpublished guidance to help officials decide when to shut facilities down again during future outbreaks of COVID-19. The White House has used parts of the CDC guidance, but has reportedly set aside large sections that appear to be very important.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/white-house-shelved-cdc-warnings-of-second-virus-surge-after-reopening-says-report

Dr. Fauci Patiently Shuts Down Rand Paul for Minimizing Virus Fears

Fauci also referenced the idea that the virus could “disappear”—something President Trump raised as recently as last week. “That’s just not going to happen,” Fauci said. https://www.thedailybeast.com/dr-fauci-patiently-shuts-down-rand-paul-for-minimizing-virus-fears

How to Create a Pandemic Depression - NYTimes

Opening the economy too soon can backfire, badly. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/11/opinion/coronavirus-depression.html

Fauci to warn of 'needless suffering and death' if country reopens too soon | TheHill

Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert and a member of the White House coronavirus task force, said he plans to tell a Senate panel on Tuesday that there will be “needless” fatalities if the country reopens too soon amid the coronavirus pandemic. https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/497255-fauci-to-warn-of-needless-suffering-and-death-if-country-reopens-too