Brain Trust Live

4/10/23 - The 2023 Easter Spectacular

In Which We Discuss:

1. It’s Easter, which can only mean that our Easter Spectacular Episode is finally here!

2. Somehow Donald Trump being indicted was only the third most important news story by the end of Tuesday.

3. Bernie Sanders and James Clyburn win together for the first time.

4. Even Ann Coulter is wondering if the right has lost touch on abortion.

5. It might be a weird week to ask this, but is the conservative movement doomed?

6. The Tennessee legislature was so heinous this week that Instagram briefly became a pro-Gen Z platform. 

 

Brain Trust Live is Lila Nordstrom and Brent Thornburg's look at the week in electoral and political news. Join the millions of falling phones, sirens, helicopters, barking dogs, and computer beeps who love our podcast and tell your friends about BTL!  Then rate us on iTunes or find us Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Stitcher, or Instagram!

And, as always, you can buy and review Lila's book here: Some Kids Left Behind.

Plus, subscribe to Lila's new podcast, What Can I Do, wherever you get your podcasts!

 

1/9/23 - Negotiating With The Terrorists

In Which We Discuss:

This week there's no rundown because, listen, as we enter 2023 there's only one thing to discuss. Enter: Speaker vote-a-thon bonanza funtimes chaos week!

 

Brain Trust Live is Lila Nordstrom and Brent Thornburg's look at the week in electoral and political news. Join the millions of quarantiners, sirens, helicopters, barking dogs, and computer beeps who love our podcast and tell your friends about BTL!  Then rate us on iTunes or find us Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Stitcher, or Instagram!

And, as always, you can buy and review Lila's book here: Some Kids Left Behind.

Plus, subscribe to Lila's new podcast, What Can I Do, wherever you get your podcasts!

5/9/22 - Governing With Imagination

In Which We Discuss:

1. It’s time to try to dream as big as Republicans.

2. Also, If you’re in line to protest at the homes of the SCOTUS judges, stay in line!

3. When Jen Psaki and Bill Kristol give you life advice, do the opposite.

4. If you’re going to pursue student loan forgiveness, try actually forgiving some loans.

BUT most importantly, you can do more than vote. Burn it down! Become ungovernable!

 

Brain Trust Live is Lila Nordstrom and Brent Thornburg's look at the week in electoral and political news. Join the millions of quarantiners, sirens, helicopters, barking dogs, and computer beeps who love our podcast and tell your friends about BTL!  Then rate us on iTunes or find us Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Stitcher, or Instagram!

And, as always, you can buy and review Lila's book here: Some Kids Left Behind

3/14/22 - ”Yes We Can!”...Still Get COVID [w/ Kristin Urquiza of Marked By COVID]

In Which We Discuss:

1. Kristin Urquiza from Marked by COVID joins us to talk about advocacy, public health policy, and the pandemic.

2. Florida is very committed to its brand

3. Obama shows us that, “Yes We Can!”...still get COVID

4. We joked about it before, but we might actually have attended the nation’s last caucus

5. If Chuck Grassley hates Eric Garcetti so much he should understand why Angelenos are trying to get him to India so fast

6. Mar-a-lago is the hottest gay club in Florida

 

Find the Kristin Urquiza and Marked by COVID Online:

Twitter: @kdurquiza / @MarkedByCovid

Instagram: @markedbycovid

Facebook: @markedbycovid

 

Brain Trust Live is Lila Nordstrom and Brent Thornburg's look at the week in electoral and political news. Join the millions of quarantiners, sirens, helicopters, barking dogs, and computer beeps who love our podcast and tell your friends about BTL!  Then rate us on iTunes or find us Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Stitcher, or Instagram!

And, as always, you can buy and review Lila's book here: Some Kids Left Behind

3/1/22 - LA Needs A Mayor [w/ guest Chris Melody Fields Figueredo of BISC]

In Which We Discuss:

1. Our guest Chris Melody Fields Figueredo of Ballot Initiative Strategy Center joins us to talk props and progressive policy!

2. The LA Mayor’s race update you forgot you needed!

3. And the Love is Blind recap that you knew you needed

4. Joe Biden finally delivers on a campaign promise in appointing Ketanji Brown Jackson to SCOTUS

5. In all this week’s excitement, you probably forgot about the SOTU. It’s today!

6. What a dick move to start a war right now, two years into a pandemic. People haven’t even gone to their first party yet!

 

Find the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center (BISC) Online:

Twitter: @BallotStrategy

Instagram: @BallotStrategy

Web: www.ballot.org

 

Brain Trust Live is Lila Nordstrom and Brent Thornburg's look at the week in electoral and political news. Join the millions of quarantiners, sirens, helicopters, barking dogs, and computer beeps who love our podcast and tell your friends about BTL!  Then rate us on iTunes or find us Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Stitcher, or Instagram!

And, as always, you can buy and review Lila's book here: Some Kids Left Behind

1/10/22 - Thanks, Teachers! [w/ guest Carissa Byrne Hessick]

In Which We Discuss:

1. Carissa Byrne Hessick joins us to talk about her book Punishment Without Trial: Why Plea Bargaining is a Bad Deal.

2. COVID is everywhere thanks to…teachers?

3. Jobs: You can now even do them with COVID!

4. Voting: What if we could protect your ability to do it

5. Chris Matthews and Hillary Clinton chime in with a message from the bunker.

6. Madison Cawthorn ends his marriage to a Crossfit Influencer who may or may not be a Russian spy.

 

* Follow Carissa on Twitter: @CBHessick

* Buy Carissa's Book: Punishment Without Trial: Why Plea Bargaining is a Bad Deal

 

* Buy Lila's Book: Some Kids Left Behind

Brain Trust Live is Lila Nordstrom and Brent Thornburg's look at the week in electoral and political news. Join the millions of quarantiners, sirens, helicopters, barking dogs, and computer beeps who love our podcast and tell your friends about BTL!  Then rate us on iTunes or find us Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Stitcher, or Instagram!

 

10/3/21 - Almost a Real Infrastructure Week

In Which We Discuss:

1. For the first time in 5 years we almost had a real infrastructure week.  Almost.

2. A review of all the dumb ways moderates waste money.

3. Are we talking about the fucking debt ceiling??? Again???

4. I do not have enough closet space for a repeat of the toilet paper shortages.

5. Who fixes an oil pipeline when nobody knows who owns it? 

6. We freed Britney! But who’s in charge of worrying about her now?

 

Get a vaccine so you too can record a podcast in the same room as your co-host!

Brain Trust Live is (still) Lila Nordstrom and Brent Thornburg's look at the week in electoral and political news. Join the millions of quarantiners, sirens, helicopters, barking dogs, and computer beeps who love our podcast and tell your friends about BTL!  Then rate us on iTunes or find us Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Stitcher, or Instagram!

6/28/21 - Ennui on the Funeral Crashing Circuit

In Which We Discuss:

1. We’re starting with Britney. For the clicks.

2. The votes are in in the New York City mayor’s race. So we’ll tell you who won in one to two months!

3. Infrastructure. We’ve got nothing left on this one.

4. SCOTUS went so far to the dark side that Clarence Thomas had to speak up.

5. Don’t worry, you can still go to prison for longer than Derek Chauvin if you put your mind to it. Or if you just happen to be Black.

6. Apparently the funeral crashing circuit got boring.

 

Get a vaccine so you too can record a podcast in the same room as your co-host!

Brain Trust Live is (still) Lila Nordstrom and Brent Thornburg's look at the week in electoral and political news. Join the millions of quarantiners, sirens, helicopters, barking dogs, and computer beeps who love our podcast and tell your friends about BTL!  Then rate us on iTunes or find us Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Stitcher, or Instagram!

 

6/14/21 - Emu Crime

In Which We Discuss:

1. Thankfully Tiktok will live on under the Biden administration because there are emus committing crimes out there.

2. Terry McAuliffe is still here. Why?

3. World leaders donated money to telling developing nations about technology they can’t afford.

4. Kamala Harris is a woman, so yes, she will only be given tasks she can fail at

5. Infrastructure month has officially turned into infrastructure season

6. Israel elected new impossible person to lead their impossible government

Also:

CALL YOUR REPS. ABOUT EVERYTHING. Make this number your profile picture. Tweet it every day. Add it to your phonebook:

Capitol Hill Main Switchboard: (202) 224-3121

 

Brain Trust Live is (still) Lila Nordstrom and Brent Thornburg's look at the week in electoral and political news. Join the millions of quarantiners, sirens, helicopters, barking dogs, and computer beeps who love our podcast and tell your friends about BTL!  Then rate us on iTunes or find us Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Stitcher, or Instagram!

6/7/21 - Robert Byrd's Hostage

In Which We Discuss:

1. Joe Manchin’s brain is being held hostage by the ghost of Robert Byrd

2. Giving people money stops them from starving: an expose

3. Dem soul searching leads to exact answers we gave them before they started soul searching

4. Surprising that Andrew Yang, after participating in the democratic presidential primary, admitted publicly to wanting to be more like Michael Bloomberg.

5. In effort to undermine the meat industry, vegans find natural ally in Vladimir Putin

6. Donald Trump will be back in August according to the pillow industry

Also:

Get a vaccine so you too can record a podcast in the same room as your co-host!

 

Brain Trust Live is (still) Lila Nordstrom and Brent Thornburg's look at the week in electoral and political news. Join the millions of quarantiners, sirens, helicopters, barking dogs, and computer beeps who love our podcast and tell your friends about BTL!  Then rate us on iTunes or find us Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Stitcher, or Instagram!