Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes Podcast

This week Americans are voting for thousands of candidates, but one issue has dominated almost everybody’s campaign: affordability. And one thing that millions of Americans have struggled to afford for decades is healthcare. This political moment just might be a window of opportunity to make high quality, affordable, universal healthcare a reality in America. The latest season of “The Big Dig” podcast looks at how Mitt Romney and Ted Kennedy made Romneycare happen in Massachusetts in the early 2000s – prefiguring Obamacare. The Peabody Award-winning host of “The Big Dig,” Ian Coss, joins Chris to imagine a future where Congress can achieve policy-driven change that has long been standard internationally. “Where is the laboratory right now for the next time that actual national health reform is possible?” asked Coss. “ I find myself thinking about, where is the energy? Where is that alignment happening right now?”

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Conflict is part of life. Whether with family, at a wedding, or at these midterm elections on November 3, it's unavoidable. Chris invites author and conflict resolution expert Priya Parker to teach us how important fighting is and how crucial it is to manage, address, and use conflict as a means of growth. “ We don't fight about the things we don't care about, and we don't fight with people we don't care about. If we don't care, we leave.” said Parker. “What I've tried to do in my own life is identify where and how do we actually hold healthy heat, and that if conflict is not bad all the time, there is actually helpful, functional conflict.”

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Ken Paxton’s list of scandals keeps growing – from his wife’s tweet last summer (”Today, after 38 years of marriage, I filed for divorce on biblical grounds”) to “Wall Street Journal” reporting last week that he rang in the New Year in Dubai a couple years ago with two fugitives from justice. But if you listen to Republicans, his opponent James Talarico is the real monster. “The Atlantic” writer Adam Serwer joins Chris to break down how the right has tried to turn Paxton's negative qualities into positives by painting real men as jerks and men like Talarico are, well, not men. Serwer argues this Republican strategy has been heavily influenced by the toxic manosphere that’s been brewing in this country. “If we can make men feel insecure about themselves they will adopt right-wing views in order to feel better about themselves,” he says. “And then they will vote Republican.”

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In 2023, a former Marine strangled a homeless Michael Jackson impersonator to death on a New York City subway. The story became national news, as Americans chose sides, either demanding justice for another Black man’s death at the hands of a white man or defending the actions of a former soldier who said he believed he was protecting the car’s passengers. Anand Giridharadas chronicled this deadly chapter in American history and its aftermath in his latest book Man in the Mirror. He dissects the divisions that have been spreading in the country in this – as he calls it – age of estrangement. "In a case about dehumanization,” he says. “I wanted to humanize everybody. ”

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Americans are stressed about a lot. As a result, climate change is often left out of the national conversation. Marine biologist and co-author of the Blue New Deal Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson joins Chris to discuss how transitioning to clean, green energy is not only cheaper than gas but also hugely important if America wants to keep up with China. They also talk about oil companies profiting off the high prices engendered by the Iran war, and how the oceans have been protecting the Earth from an even worse environmental crisis. And the two surface multiple examples of the American people caring about climate change -- from recent polling to the internet's vociferous response to mass firings of national park rangers to the public's reaction to data centers. Plus, there are incentives for people who keep climate top of mind. "Eat as many oysters as you want," says Dr. Johnson. "This is actually very good for the planet."

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Writer and cultural critic Jamilah Lemieux published a collection of personal essays and testimonies called “Black. Single. Mother.” in March. When she joined Chris to talk about her experience of writing the book and then touring the country to promote it a few months later, she said she’d been changed. “I went into this book wanting to defend us, you know, wanting to stand up for us, wanting to give us our flowers. I've come out of the process of writing the book and living with it in the world and being on tour, I've become radicalized,” she says. “Now I would go so far to say that I think Black single mothers are the most essential group of people in the Black community, and arguably one of the most important, most productive, high-functioning, and significant groups of people in our society.” She and Chris talk about parenting, the manosphere, class, the ways politicians have used – and continue to use – single mothers, and especially Black single mothers, to their own ends, and what she learned about her own family while writing her book.

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Alex Bores, elected assembly member for the 73rd District of New York, a computer scientist, and co-founder of Who Decides, an effort to align the Democratic message on AI, joins Chris this week. Together, they sort through the Hugging Face incident, in which AI agents went rogue, and what it tells us about where we are with AI right now. And the answer is ... in a strange place. Because what's come to light about what happened in an Open AI testing environment back in May sounds like science fiction. This conversation includes imagining AI agents as teenagers leaving secret notes in a supply closet, a modern day John Henry battling a swarm trying to take over a German-language Wikipedia page, an InfoSec presentation that left jaws on the floor, and the development of an almost cultural convention among AI agents that persisted after it had ceased to be useful. "There are people that are like, 'Don't engage in this narrative. It's science fiction,'" says Bores. "I actually think engage and wrestle with all that weirdness. You're gonna find things beyond science fiction that might hold the solution for how we end up doing this safely."

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Is the apocalyptic mood in our culture today just in our imagination, or are we witnessing the rise of a dangerous new political reality? Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor co-authored ‘End Times Fascism: And the Fight for the Living World' to help answer that question. They join WITHpod to discuss how the far-right has shifted from climate denialism to weaponizing ecological and economic crises, creating an ideology built on survivalism, tech-oligarchy and authoritarian control. Plus, they talk about what can be done to resist.

As the 2026 midterm elections heat up, MS NOW is headed to the Lone Star State. Join more than a dozen of your favorite hosts - including Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell, Jen Psaki, Michael Steele, Ali Velshi and more - in Arlington, Texas on September 26 for a day of community and conversation about the issues that matter most to you. Get your tickets at ms.now/together.

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The valuations for sports teams have increased exponentially in recent years. It’s almost an understatement to say that sports is big business. What does this mean for the mechanics of sports operations? Pablo Torre is a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist and the host, executive editor, and co-owner of Pablo Torre Finds Out. Torre also recently reported on a bombshell alleged shell game of investments and insider deals which are now under scrutiny by the federal government. He joins WITHpod to discuss the rising costs of sports for fans, profit vs. championships, the youth sports bubble and more.

As the 2026 midterm elections heat up, MS NOW is headed to the Lone Star State. Join more than a dozen of your favorite hosts - including Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell, Jen Psaki, Michael Steele, Ali Velshi and more - in Arlington, Texas on September 26 for a day of community and conversation about the issues that matter most to you. Get your tickets at ms.now/together.

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Silicon Valley was once viewed as a center-left stronghold where tech founders partnered with Democrats to push clean energy and digital innovation. But today, the world’s most powerful tech titans in many cases are bankrolling right-wing authoritarianism, promoting anti-democratic ideologies. Gil Durán is the author of “The Nerd Reich Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy.” He joins WITHpod to discuss the radicalization of tech oligarchs, why he says they’re attempting to dismantle American democratic values and more.

As the 2026 midterm elections heat up, MS NOW is headed to the Lone Star State. Join more than a dozen of your favorite hosts - including Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell, Jen Psaki, Michael Steele, Ali Velshi and more - in Arlington, Texas on September 26 for a day of community and conversation about the issues that matter most to you. Get your tickets at ms.now/together.

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There’s a lot to unpack about the economic effects of artificial intelligence. It’s clear that artificial intelligence is having a moment (to say the least) and that it has a profound impact on global GDP. But is it just a boom that will bust? Ed Zitron, author and host of the “Better Offline” podcast, is deeply worried about the long-term viability of the industry. He points out that AI lacks the basic traits that have been associated with previous software booms. This raises the question: is AI running more on unsustainable costs and vibes rather than long-term profit potential? According to Ed, the answer is clear. Note that is episode was originally released on 6/9/26.

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We’re now in the second year of Donald Trump’s second term. And there’s a lot to be concerned about as it relates to the future of American democracy. How can everyday people push back against authoritarianism and antidemocratic forces? Zack Beauchamp is a senior correspondent at Vox. He’s also the author of “The Reactionary Spirit,” a book about this topic. Beauchamp joins WITHpod to discuss Democratic backsliding, the role of protests in stopping dictators and lessons that can be learned from Brazil, South Korea and Poland. Note that this episode was originally released on 3/10/26.

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There’s a lot to unpack about the risk of a historic global oil supply shock amid the U.S. war with Iran. Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and other regions continues to drive fuel hoarding, panic buying and a marked rise in costs. Meanwhile, significant hurdles continue to impede efforts to transition to more green energy. Antonia Juhasz is an investigative journalist specializing in energy, author and politics reporter for Rolling Stone. She joins WITHpod to discuss the impact the war in Iran is having on oil, why she says fossil fuels are being used as weapons of war and more. Note that this episode was originally released on 4/7/26.

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This was the first summer that Chris and his family took their annual road trip in an electric vehicle through the Midwest. It was doable, but not without some challenges. Where are we with regards to EVs in the U.S. and where do we go from here? Patrick George is the Detroit Bureau Chief for the Wall Street Journal. He joins WITHpod to discuss the logistics, policy and infrastructure hurdles that still stand in the way of broader EV adoption.

As the 2026 midterm elections heat up, MS NOW is headed to the Lone Star State. Join more than a dozen of your favorite hosts - including Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell, Jen Psaki, Michael Steele, Ali Velshi and more - in Arlington, Texas on September 26 for a day of community and conversation about the issues that matter most to you. Get your tickets at ms.now/together.

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There’s no question that Trump’s 2024 win was in large part driven by chaos at the border. He still polls best in this area even as approval rates fall in other areas like inflation. There’s a lot to discuss about why this is the case. Ken Salazar is a former senator from Colorado, served as U.S. Secretary of the Interior in the Obama administration from 2009 to 2013 and as United States ambassador to Mexico from 2021 to 2025. He’s the author of the newly released book, “Borderlands: My Fight for an Inclusive America.” He joins WITHpod to discuss why he says the border is indeed “broken,” what’s needed to fix it and more.

As the 2026 midterm elections heat up, MS NOW is headed to the Lone Star State. Join more than a dozen of your favorite hosts - including Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell, Jen Psaki, Michael Steele, Ali Velshi and more - in Arlington, Texas on September 26 for a day of community and conversation about the issues that matter most to you. Get your tickets at http://ms.now/together.

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It seems like you can bet on anything nowadays and like you can make a wager on practically everything. Examples of the proliferation of this can be seen everywhere from service members betting on insider knowledge, to people making bets on sports games. One of the most mind-blowing aspects of all of this is that companies that dominate the betting space, like Polymarket and Kalshi, are essentially unregulated. Bobby Allyn is a technology correspondent at NPR. He joins WITHpod to discuss the rapid ride of prediction markets, concerns, the outlook and more.

As the 2026 midterm elections heat up, MS NOW is headed to the Lone Star State. Join more than a dozen of your favorite hosts - including Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell, Jen Psaki, Michael Steele, Ali Velshi and more - in Arlington, Texas on September 26 for a day of community and conversation about the issues that matter most to you. Get your tickets at http://ms.now/together.

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The World Cup is captivating to watch not just for the sports element, but also for the profound global tensions that it highlights. From intense matches between former colonial powers and the nations they once colonized, to heavy concerns about corruption and the treatment of international teams by foreign governments, the games tell a layered geopolitical story. At the same time, fandom also unites. Ayman Mohyeldin is a MS NOW host and avid soccer fan. He joins WITHpod to discuss game highs and lows, pay to play systems, his personal and familial soccer experience and more.

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Well, it’s that time of the year again when the ladies of Strict Scrutiny join Chris to break down the latest ways in which SCOTUS has taken a sledgehammer to constitutional principles. There's a lot to discuss as the 2025-2026 term was another consequential one. Kate Shaw, Melissa Murray and Leah Litman, co-hosts of Strict Scrutiny, join to break down some of the biggest decisions this most recent term, what re-envisioning the Court could look like and more.

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There’s so many scandals in this era. And one of the biggest ones has to do with highly controversial brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate who have built massive followings online as right wing anti-feminist, misogynistic and pro-patriarchal influencers. The two, who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and U.K., face multiple legal investigations related to allegations of human trafficking, rape, and organized crime, all of which they strongly deny. There’s a lot to unpack, a lot of which is reported in a piece titled, “Andrew Tate’s Empire of Abuse,” written by Heidi Blake, an investigative reporter at The New Yorker. She joins WITHpod to discuss her reporting.

We should note that Andrew and Tristan Tate have denied any wrongdoing. This conversation includes discussion of alleged sexual assault and abuse.

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Well, we just wrapped our special 8-part miniseries “The AI End Game,” and we’re back to regular new episodes of WITHpod. There’s a lot to discuss since the start of the miniseries a few weeks ago. Alex Wagner is an MS NOW senior political analyst and the host of “Runaway Country” on Crooked. She’s also the author “How the Hell with Alex Wagner” on Substack. She joins WITHpod to discuss the real pain everyday Americans are feeling, why she believes the script for an impending Trump political defeat is already written and more.

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