DSR's Words Matter

Updated: 27 Mar 2025 • 395 episodes

American politics is undergoing seismic changes that will alter the course of history. At Words Matter, we believe that facts, evidence, truth and objective reality are necessary and vital in public discourse. Our hosts and guests have broad experience in government, politics and journalism -- this gives them a unique ability to explain recent events and place them in historic context. Together, with fellow journalists, elected officials, policy-makers and thought-leaders, they will analyze the week's news and get at the real truth behind all the distracting headlines.

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Signal-gate has dominated the news cycle over the past few days, but it's not the only thing going on in this administration. Trump is issuing executive orders, RFK Jr. is gutting HHS and state health programs, JD Vance is on his way to Greenland, and the White House just pulled Elise Stefanik’s nomination. Is MAGA rea

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On this week’s episode of DSR’s Words Matter, Slate journalist and Supreme Court expert Dahlia Lithwick joins Norm Ornstein and David Rothkopf to discuss America’s ongoing legal crisis. Are we actually in a constitutional crisis? Can we count on the courts to protect us when they continue to hand concessions to Trump?

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13 Mar 2025 • EN

American Pain

We are currently on the verge of a government shutdown. It’s clear that Donald Trump and his cronies are trying to get away with something, and the cult in the Republican Party is all for it. Norm Ornstein and David Rothkopf are here to ask: What the hell is going on? Is there any way to avoid a government closure? Are

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After years of attacking Democrats for America’s economic woes - and promises that he would turn everything around once in office - Trump is already confronting the possibility of a 2025 depression. At the same time, rather than attack Trump for the current economic downturn or raising awareness amongst the public, Dem

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Will the real opposition party please stand up? Republicans are marching towards political suicide with the passage of Trump’s bad budget bill, but Democrats are nowhere to be found. Norm Ornstein and David Rothkopf break down why dems need to find their courage before it’s too late.  Learn more about your ad choices.

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Since last week, the United States is now pro-Russia, anti-NATO, and anti-democracy. Kash Patel runs the FBI, Pete Hegseth is slashing the DoD, and the Trump administration is taking the official position that they don’t have to listen to the courts. Everything we feared is real, and it’s only going to get worse. What

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