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
Monday Dec 15, 2025
Monday Dec 15, 2025
In Which We Discuss:
1. Once again and always and forever. It’s the guns, people.
2. Epstein files are out this Friday so get excited for that Venezuelan ground war you’ve been waiting for!
3. The House GOP finally has a healthcare plan, and it’s somehow even worse than Trump’s own plan to just send people money.
4. Karen Bass gears up for reelection by thinking, eating, and dreaming of the largest police force ever devised.
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!
Tuesday Jun 17, 2025
Tuesday Jun 17, 2025
In Which We Discuss:
1. Crowd math is not math, it’s a vibe.
2. There’s no such thing as pointless activism.
3. Maybe Democrats never do the WORST version of the thing, but why are they so complicit in the thing?
4. Can Democrats not put us in the position of having to agree with Tucker Carlson?
5. Are you in NYC? Vote for Mamdani! Elect fun people with ideas!
6. Speaking of ideas, you can have them too!
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!
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!
Sunday Jul 21, 2024
Sunday Jul 21, 2024
It's a Presidential chaos spectacular!
Listen, we’d write a rundown, but it’s not worth it. Just listen.
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!
Sunday Mar 24, 2024
Sunday Mar 24, 2024
In Which We Discuss:
1. There’s been elections. Lots of elections. We’ll tell you about them.
2. Republicans continue to flee the scene of the crime.
3. Everytime a new government funding bill passes, a new GOP speaker gets their wings.
4. Democrats try to make a splashy announcement, seem unaware that everybody else denounced Netanyahu twenty years ago.
5. Like the collection of old foggety people that it is, Congress sets its sights on banning fun next.
6. The return of George Santos, queen of the return.
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!
Sunday Feb 04, 2024
Sunday Feb 04, 2024
In Which We Discuss:
1. Ben Softness, our resident legal expert, who is in no way representing the views of Alphabet Inc., joins us to discuss the recent Trump legal action. (Skip to 39:02 to start there)
2. Can we move on, as a people, from caring about Taylor Swift?
3. If a tree falls in the South Carolina primary, and no voters hear it, did an election actually occur?
4. Hot takes from a low stakes California senate candidate forum.
5. New potential immigration bill might be a paperwork nightmare for drug cartels.
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!
Tuesday Jul 11, 2023
Tuesday Jul 11, 2023
In Which We Discuss:
1. An exhaustive list of all 25 of the candidates who may or may not be running in the GOP presidential primary
2. No Labels is a Republican organization, but you probably knew that in your hearts
3. Ron DeSantis is a man who loves making us right
4. Iowa Republicans accidentally admit that elections should be national holidays
5. Barbie’s geopolitics and cartoon maps are a new area of concern for Republican lawmakers
If you'll be at Netroots Nation this weekend, come say hello!
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, now in it's second season: What Can I Do.
Sunday Jun 18, 2023
Sunday Jun 18, 2023
In Which We Discuss:
1. We’ve reached peak Florida in the GOP primary
2. “No Labels?” More like no strategy.
3. There is not one person currently running for president that anybody wants to be the president
4. New nonsense CA Senate candidate believes her personal fortune qualifies her to be the senator
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!
Sunday Dec 11, 2022
Sunday Dec 11, 2022
In Which We Discuss:
1. Kevin De Leon first ruins city government, then ruins Christmas for LA families
2. The only person happier than Raphael Warnock about the Georgia runoff results was Herschel Walker
3. Newsflash: Kirsten Sinema had left the Democratic party long before this week
4. The Trump org is officially as guilty as we knew in our hearts they were
5. House passes marriage equality for everybody but polygamists
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!