How Trump Made 2025 Worse Than 2020

How Trump Made 2025 Worse Than 2020

Author: CLNS Media Network December 30, 2025 Duration: 59:55
Co-hots Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman return for the final Muckrake episode of 2025, and the vibes are… kinda emotionally stable. They look back on a year that somehow felt darker than 2020, then pivot straight into the current circus: Trump raging at the media, posturing about the Epstein files, hosting Zelensky at Mar-a-Lago, and then parroting Putin’s lines like the Oval Office has a Kremlin teleprompter. From there, the conversation goes where 2025 always seems to go: Into the flashing dashboard lights of institutional collapse, Trump’s visible decline, and the unnerving signals that J.D. Vance is already laying 2028 groundwork with Turning Point backing. And if that wasn’t bleak enough, they close with an absolutely cursed focus group of Gen Z Republicans that reads like a “content brain” case study, complete with casual extremism, conspiracy marination, and the kind of political illiteracy that would be funny if it wasn’t actively setting things on fire. Support the show by signing up to our Patreon and get access to the full Weekender episode each Friday as well as special Live Shows and access to our community discord: http://patreon.com/muckrakepodcast

Hosted by political analysts Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman, The Muckrake Political Podcast operates on a simple premise: the daily headlines are just the surface layer. Produced by the CLNS Media Network, this podcast actively resists the repetitive spin cycle that defines so much political coverage. Instead, each episode is an exercise in excavation, where Sexton and Hauselman pick apart a current event to uncover its roots and ramifications. They consistently reach for historical parallels and viewpoints often sidelined by mainstream discourse, arguing that understanding the past is crucial for navigating the present. The goal isn't just to inform, but to impose a framework for thinking critically about power, rhetoric, and policy as they unfold in real time. For listeners fatigued by shallow takes, this show offers a substantive alternative, replacing noise with nuance. The conversation you'll hear is analytical yet accessible, designed for anyone who feels the news moves too fast to comprehend. It’s a deliberate attempt to find signal in the noise, providing context that makes chaotic political developments feel more intelligible. Tune in for a discussion that treats politics as the complex, consequential force it is, beyond the day's predictable talking points.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

The Muckrake Political Podcast
Podcast Episodes
The Quick Reaction Force for Fascism [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:13
This is a preview of The Weekender edition of the Muckrake Podcast. Please go to ⁠patreon.com/muckrakepodcast⁠ to gain access to the regular Weekender episodes on Fridays. Co-hosts Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman d…
GOP: Let’s Solve These Problems By Making Them Worse [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:35
Together at last! Co-hosts Nick Hauselman and Jared Yates Sexton break down Donald Trump’s stunning move to seize control of Washington, D.C.’s police force despite the city’s crime rate hitting a three-decade low. The g…
Is This The Epstein Coup? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:18
To support the show and gain full access to the Weekender episode on Fridays, head over to ⁠⁠patreon.com/muckrakepodcast⁠⁠ and become a patron. It keeps us ad-free, editorially independent, and helps us grow. The right-w…
Trump Rejects Reality [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:49
On this episode of the Muckrake Podcast, co-hosts Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman dig into the disturbing trend of punishing truth-tellers in government, the newly revealed memo outlining plans to deploy more milit…
It's The Epstein, Stupid. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:28
This is a preview of The Weekender edition of the Muckrake Podcast. Please go to our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to gain access to the regular Weekender episodes on Fridays. Co-hosts Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman…
Let's Make Appeal: To The Max(well) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:58
Co-hosts Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman break down the stunning news that Ghislaine Maxwell secretly met with the DOJ, potentially signaling cooperation that could implicate more powerful figures. Meanwhile, Donal…
From McCarthyism To Epsteinism [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 10:53
Together at last! Co-hosts Nick Hauselman and Jared Yates Sexton are reunited (and it feels so good). In this episode, they dig into the Wall Street Journal’s latest bombshell reporting on Jeffrey Epstein, the flurry of…
From Epstein to ICE: How Power Protects Itself [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:04
Together at last! Co-hosts Nick Hauselman and Jared Yates Sexton are reunited (and it feels so good). In this episode of the Muckrake Podcast, Nick and Jared break down newly surfaced evidence related to Jeffrey Epstein,…
What They Did to the Epstein Files, They’re Doing to Democracy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:43
This is a preview of The Weekender edition of the Muckrake Podcast. Please go to our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to gain access to the regular Weekender episodes on Fridays. Jared Yates Sexton is unavailable, so on this ep…
The Truth Behind The Epstein Files, With Aaron Rupar [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:46
Nick Hauselman hosts while Jared Yates Sexton is unavailable, and he interviews Aaron Rupar, an independent journalist and publisher of The Public Notice Newsletter. As the tweeter of record of all things political on br…