Brain Trust Live

6/17/25 - What's Math Anyway?

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!

 

10/28/24 - Beyhive and KHive Unite!

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

 

5/19/24 - Birthday Indictment Papers

In Which We Discuss:

1. MMT: Now you don’t have to read the book. (But you should!)

2. To celebrate his 80th, Rudy Giuliani was served birthday cake and birthday indictment papers.

3. Democracy is not, in fact, on the ballot in New York State care of the state Dems.

4. Democrats shocked at 700th poll showing Joe Biden losing battleground states.

5. The Trump Trial strategy can’t rely on jurors trusting Michael Cohen as a non-liar. We know he’s a liar. Work around it.

6. Samuel Alito’s wife: Just another SCOTUS spouse working to overthrow the government.

 

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!

2/5/24 - If a Tree Falls and Zero Voters Hear It...

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!

10/24/23 - Bad Coaching

In Which We Discuss:

1. Jim Jordan coaches the US House to its most embarrassing week in history

2. Recent Georgia plea deals leave us wonder, how many more times will we have to see the artwork of Trump standing next to Jesus in the courtroom before this is all over?

3. A gelato entrepreneur is running for president, because someone had to

4. Democracy in action: California will finally get to vote for a US Senator!

5. One (?) thing is sure: Kennedy either is or isn’t pulling votes from Trump and/or Biden. Or something.

 

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!

7/18/22 - Master of the Self-Own

In Which We Discuss:

1. The West Wing fight, brought to you by Overstock.com

2. The next January 6th hearings are PRIMETIME, which means speculation, drama, and the most primetime of gossiping!

3. John Bolton, the mustache, the weasel, the man, is the master of the self-own

4. Joe Biden checks in with his fraternity bros in Saudi Arabia

5. We’re going to lose Congress for literally no reason whatsoever

6. Joe Manchin and the truth: A Trumpian tale

 

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

7/11/22 - Permission To Have An Idea [w/ Carla Nordstrom]

In Which We Discuss:

1. Feeling helpless post Dobbs? Carla Nordstrom joins us with a list of action items that will help you sow the seeds of chaos!

2. Sri Lankans hold the pool party of the summer during their palace coup extravaganza! This is why you shouldn’t hold coups in January.

3. My baloney has a first name, it’s P-A-T-S-Y

4. Everything is the left’s fault. [End of Quote. Repeat the line.]

5. Democrats spend their primary season doing what they do best: Electing Republicans.

6. COVID. It’s on you.

Plus, find Carla's Girl Power playlist at the bottom of the post!

 

More from Carla Nordstrom: CBS News / Over 50 years ago this woman had an illegal abortion. Now, she's telling her story.

 

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

 

Carla Nordstrom's Girl Power Playlist:

I’m Just a Girl No Doubt

The Pill Loretta Lynn

You Don’t Own Me Lesley Gore

Girls Just Want to Have Fun Cindy Lauper

Harper Valley PTA Jeannie C. Riley

Respect Aretha Franklin

Not Ready to Make Nice The Dixie Chicks

9 to 5 Dolly Parton

Talking About a Revolution Tracy Chapman

Sisters are Doing it for Themselves Eurythmics 

Independent Women Destiny’s Child

I am Woman Helen Reddy

Can’t Hold Us Down Christine Aguilera

Our Problem Amada Shires

I Will Survive Gloria Gaynor

 

6/20/22 - Diet Pepsi Drunk

In Which We Discuss:

1. The June corporate appropriation holiday bonanza continues!

2. Biden will try literally anything to make America think he’s President Bartlett.

3. Rudy Giuliani didn’t knowingly break the law, he was just drunk on Diet Pepsi.

4. Can we please put a news embargo on reporting CA election results until we actually have California election results?

5. When will Democrats learn: Part 435 of our ongoing series.

6. Have you ever wondered if the current inflation was caused by something other than that one time the government sent you a measly check? We have.

 

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

 

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!

 

5/24/21 - 400th Episode Extravaganza

In Which We Discuss:

1. Having proved himself a terrible senator, we’re now seeing why Rand Paul didn’t hack it in the medical field either.

2. Joe Biden loves to compromise so much, he’s decided to do it with himself

3. The squad is finally coordinating with each other! Just maybe not in the way you’d hope

4. Turns out one way to end a war is for everybody to declare victory at once and avoid specifics.

5. Abortions: Men and Amy Coney Barrett don’t want you to have them. 

6. In further proof that the space/time continuum is busted, it’s time to start talking about elections again!

 

Congrats to the winners of our anniversary trivia game, The Buttons!

 

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!