The Al Franken Podcast

Updated: 19 Jan 2025 • 318 episodes
art19.com/shows/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.

Show episodes

Donald Trump's unprecedented second term is upon us. As we prepare to endure another (at least) 4 years of this, we are joined by Ian Bassin, the co-founder and Executive Director of Protect Democracy. Trump has already promised to undermine democracy in America. How can we fight back? And how can we mount a defense to

44 min
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Dana Milbank, Washington Post Opinion columnist joins us this week! His latest book, "Fools on the Hill: The Hooligans, Saboteurs, Conspiracy Theories and Dunces who Burned Down the House", chronicles the ineffectiveness of the members of the U.S House. He makes the case that the MAGA members in the House have turned i

42 min
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05 Jan 2025 • EN

BEST OF: Scott Galloway

Professor Scott Galloway is our guest in this New Year's Best Of. Galloway has thoughts on the current political climate and how extreme most of the Republican agenda is these days. He also speaks about how modern politics and policies have left our young people disaffected and feeling left out of the political process

36 min
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29 Dec 2024 • EN

BEST OF: SNL's Jim Downey

In this Best Of episode, we revisit the conversation from earlier this year with SNL writer and producer Jim Downey. Al and Jim worked on several iconic sketches and remember some of their favorite political bits from the history of the show. They also discuss the importance of rewarding audiences for knowing stuff but

67 min
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The Atlantic's George Packer joins us to discuss his recent piece titled The End of Democratic Delusions. Packer discusses the new era that Donald Trump has ushered in and what that means to politics moving forward. Trump won a close election, but it's a moment for the Democratic establishment to take a look at their s

41 min
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We're joined by two of our favorite foreign policy writers to examine what the end of Bashar al-Assad’s regime means to Syria and the region. Frank Foer and Anne Applebaum from The Atlantic also look toward the incoming Trump administration and what lies ahead. Can Trump be a steady hand to stop escalating war around t

44 min
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