A totally genius analysis of the week’s political news from two certified brains. Ready to resist, progressive AF. Podcast posted weekly since 2012.
Episodes
Sunday Apr 20, 2025
Sunday Apr 20, 2025
In Which We Discuss:
1. It’s our yearly Easter special! This year we learn the story of Jesus’s resurrection from leading biblical expert and improvisational essayist Marjorie Taylor Green!
2. Pete Hegseth: Still drunk texting war plans to his friends.
3. Chris Van Hollen is the one Democrat to try a stunt this week. Next week let’s aim for two!
4. Our hot take on private space travel.
5. An important general PSA: Have fun out there, guys!
Brain Trust Live is Lila Nordstrom and Brent Thornburg's look at the week in electoral and political news. Join the millions of chirping birds, 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 other podcast, What Can I Do, wherever you get your podcasts!
Sunday Apr 06, 2025
Sunday Apr 06, 2025
In Which We Discuss:
1. The April 5th protests: A great place to be mad about…literally anything.
2. We famously love a filibuster stunt, but save your money. Cory Booker’s presidential campaign will be funded by the “good billionaires,” not your $5.
3. Did you ever wonder if there’s a reason you don’t understand what’s going on with these tariffs? Do you wish somebody credible would explain them to you? Us too.
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 other podcast, What Can I Do, wherever you get your podcasts!
Sunday Mar 30, 2025
Sunday Mar 30, 2025
Turn off your push notifications - they're not helping you now. There's a major messaging and strategy challenge in front of us, and we're thinking through how to solve it.
Sunday Nov 03, 2024
Sunday Nov 03, 2024
🚨ELECTION DAY IS TOMORROW, NOVEMBER 5th!!! Need help with your CA ballot? Looking for a breakdown of the props? Check out the BTL CA Prop Guide: https://tinyurl.com/CApropguide2024 🚨
In Which We Discuss:
1. What do you do when the one outlier poll is the most respected state pollster in the nation?
2. Newspapers are afraid of Trump. Is it possible pollsters are too?
3. Early vote continues to tell us…that a lot of people are early voting and little else.
4. Brain Trust Live Exclusive: We’re not doing “election week” this year.
5. Trump closing argument: I can be even more orange than I was in 2020.
6. Kamala’s closing argument: Your vote is secret and vibing together is fun.
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 other podcast, What Can I Do, wherever you get your
Sunday Oct 27, 2024
Sunday Oct 27, 2024
In Which We Discuss:
1. Early voting numbers. We’ve got ‘em, and we don’t know what they mean! (Don’t worry, nobody does.)
2. The Trump Nazi Rally adds insult to injury by denying New Yorkers their daily bagel run.
3. Harris’ ability to stay on message in front of television cameras is expiring.
4. Beyhive and KHive finally become one.
5. Latest debacle at LA Times and Washington Post are pretty excellent reasons for doing away with billionaires.
6. Trump’s Rogan interview reminds us that at his core, he’s really just a mediocre entertainer.
ALSO, need help with your CA ballot? Looking for a breakdown of the props? Check out the BTL CA Prop Guide: https://tinyurl.com/CApropguide2024
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 other podcast, What Can I Do, wherever you get your
Sunday Oct 20, 2024
Sunday Oct 20, 2024
In Which We Discuss:
1. Early voting is happening and you should do it!
2. How is it possible that we haven’t left Elon Musk on the moon yet?
3. Donald Trump would like you to know something about Arnold Palmer.
4. Jon Tester’s opponent either got shot in a gunfight in Afghanistan, or shot himself with a pistol while visiting a national park. Just depends who you ask.
5. Control of the senate is within the margin of error.
6. Despite what you see in today’s news, Donald Trump still technically hasn’t worked at a McDonald’s.
Need help with your CA ballot? Looking for a breakdown of the props? Check out the BTL CA Prop Guide: https://tinyurl.com/CApropguide2024
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 other podcast, What Can I Do, wherever you get your
Monday Oct 07, 2024
Monday Oct 07, 2024
In Which We Discuss:
1. Californians, if you just got your 94 page sample ballot, never fear! Our prop guide is on the way!
2. Eric Adams: He’s not just bad at funding libraries, he’s bad at criming too!
3. What is going on with the Nebraska senate seat? A question we never thought we’d ask!
4. Tim Walz was a model of Minnesota nice even when presented with the world’s most punchable face.
5. Note to the Harris campaign: There is no constituency of Dick Cheney voters.
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 other podcast, What Can I Do, wherever you get your podcasts!
Tuesday Sep 03, 2024
Tuesday Sep 03, 2024
In Which We Discuss:
1. Polling: Not sure if you’ve heard, but the presidential election is close
2. New York Times makes unforced error using in an extended tennis metaphor during coverage of Kamala Harris’s CNN interview
3. Kamala Harris, our greatest philosopher on the concept of time, shows surprising discipline in a major new interview
4. Having made it an issue in the first place, Trump is now getting on all sides of the IVF issue in record time.
5. Did AI write Lara Trump’s new single or is Lara Trump actually AI?
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 other podcast, What Can I Do, wherever you get your podcasts!
Friday Aug 23, 2024
Friday Aug 23, 2024
YOU MADE IT TO OUR 500TH EPISODE! We're so happy you're here and hope that in honor of this milestone we hope you'll subscribe and share this special episode featuring Grant Sloss!
This Week We Discuss:
1. Our favorite guest and secret research consultant Grant Sloss is here to celebrate this milestone!
2. Kamala Harris makes her DNC debut in “coconut brown.”
3. There was no Beyonce performance at the DNC…but we did get Lil’ Jon at the Roll Call?
4. The Tim Walz candidacy is apparently going to be 90% football references Lila doesn’t understand.
5. RFK is dropping out in the exact way the brain worms told him to.
6. JD Vance’s advance team is clearly out to get him.
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 other podcast, What Can I Do, wherever you get your podcasts!
Wednesday Aug 07, 2024
Wednesday Aug 07, 2024
In Which We Discuss:
1. We have a VP candidate! We like him!
2. Democrats are making a slew of good decisions and nobody has any experience with this so we don’t know how to act.
3. What if we all just tried to enact the Democratic party platform? Is that a thing?
4. Trump’s interview with the National Association of Black Journalists somehow went even worse than you’d imagine.
5. If you thought New Gingrich getting bitten by a penguin was crazy, we’ve got a story for you!
6. The Olympics. Still a joy to behold.
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 other podcast, What Can I Do, wherever you get your podcasts!