James and Albert Hunt open with a litany of Trump behavior that's less "bad policy" than genuinely unhinged — falsely claiming he helped at 9/11, promising every American $5,000 paid for by nothing, a Russian oligarch cashing in at his son's wedding, threatening to shutter the Kennedy Center over naming rights.

James's read: the public is watching, and it's building toward a wave in November. From there the episode keeps finding the same failure mode at different scales. Mike Johnson says Congress shouldn't regulate AI because the industry understands it better than lawmakers do — even as AI executives themselves are begging for guardrails. Colorado congressional candidate Manny Rutinel makes the case that unregulated AI, unchecked data centers, and unaccountable corporate money are all the same fight as the cost-of-living crisis.

Author Ira Shapiro, discussing his book "Betrayed," traces the thread back further: a 2024 Supreme Court immunity ruling that convinced Trump — correctly, in Shapiro's telling — that he can do whatever he wants, with USAID gutted in two weeks, alliances flipped (Canada and the EU as enemies, Russia and Orban as friends), and a Justice Department that answers only to the White House.

James and Albert close with listener questions that return to the same theme from yet another angle: the Epstein files as a "sleeping dog," the GOP's transformation into a personality cult, and whether a blue wave in 50 days is even enough to slow any of it down.

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Timestamps:

00:00 — Cold open: the 9/11 boast, the $5,000 election bribe, family cashing in, the Kennedy Center threat

01:30 — James: the public sees it, and the wave is building

02:50 — The John Brennan indictment and DOJ infighting

04:07 — "Follow the money": the grift as the lasting scandal

04:57 — The three-legged stool for November 3: grift, war, cost of living

05:38 — Mike Johnson on AI: "the stupidest, halfway ignorant answer"

07:19 — Credit where due: Bernie Moreno's one good idea

10:51 — Guest: Manny Rutinel, Democratic candidate, Colorado's 8th District

11:34 — Why AI regulation is defining his race

14:07 — Affordability, the Iran war's price tag, and healthcare costs

18:07 — AI data centers moving into communities unchecked

24:25 — The case for busting the Social Security tax cap

26:18 — Would he take Trump's $5,000 bribe-for-votes offer?

31:25 — Guest: Ira Shapiro on "Betrayed: America Didn't Vote for This"

33:02 — Canada and the EU as enemies, Russia and Orban as friends

34:28 — USAID dismantled in two weeks — "soft power suicide"

37:09 — How hard will this be to unwind in 2028?

40:21 — Model senators: Howard Baker vs. Mitch McConnell

42:14 — Tracing the corruption to the 2024 Supreme Court immunity ruling

47:53 — RFK Jr.'s Dallas convention speech and its litany of falsehoods

51:27 — Listener Q&A: the Dallas convention "psyop," the DSA, and third parties

58:29 — Should Democrats center the campaign on the Epstein files?

1:01:21 — Wealth inequality and the Social Security tax cap, revisited

1:06:34 — Iran vs. Vietnam vs. Iraq: "We can't surrender"