President Trump got our week off to a truly troubling start with early morning tweets on Saturday accusing President Obama of secretly listening in on phone conversations at Trump Tower before the election. The White House issued a new travel ban, House Republicans try to come together over an alternative to the Affordable Care Act, and WikiLeaks releases a trove of CIA documents: Molly Ball of the Atlantic and Michael Shear of the New York Times talk about the news stories of the week and the challenge of trying to make sense of it all. Then, a conversation with writer George Saunders about first novel, “Lincoln in the Bardo”.
And in our “From the Archives” segment this week: Donald Trump’s tweet last weekend accusing Obama of wiretapping Trump Towers and calling it “McCarthyism” go us thinking about what shows Diane had done on that period of American history. We found this 2009 interview with Robert Shogan, former national political correspondent for Newsweek and the Los Angeles Times. His book “No Sense of Decency” explored how the live television coverage of the McCarthy hearings offered a preview of the power of T.V. in American politics.
Menopause. Once a taboo topic, the "m" word is having a moment – among celebrities, in the media, and in Washington, where President Biden recently signed an order that supports research into women's health. Dr. Sharon Malone says it's about time, and explains why understanding "the change" is critical for a woman's ability to get – and stay -- healthy.
Donald Trump regularly ends his rallies with prayer. He has repeatedly compared himself to Jesus. And last week he started selling a version of the Bible. Robert P. Jones of the Public Religion Research Institute weighs in on Trump’s growing embrace of Christianity.
Donald Trump has made cognitive ability a central issue of the presidential race. But he rarely talks about his own family's experience with dementia. The Washington Post's Michael Kranish on Fred Trump Senior's Alzheimer's disease and what voters deserve to know about a candidate's mental fitness.
Donald Trump faces a cash crunch as he struggles to pay more than half a billion dollars in legal fines. Edward Luce is U.S. editor and columnist for The Financial Times. He joins Diane to break down Trump's money problems and what these penalties could mean for him and his candidacy.