#1349 A Deep Dive on the Dysfunction of Trump and his Followers (Coronavirus)

Air Date 5/3/2020

Today we take a look at the unique, profound dysfunction at the heart of the train wreck that is Trump's response to the Coronavirus. Plus, we explore the death cult that is the group of people still supporting the president.

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SHOW NOTES

Ch. 1: Memory Hole - On the Media - Air Date 4-18-20

McKay Coppins [@mckaycoppins], staff writer at The Atlantic, on the latest pivots in the Trump administration's ever-evolving "disinformation architecture."

Ch. 2: Is Trump Criminally Responsible for Coronavirus Deaths? - Deconstructed with Mehdi Hasan - Air Date 4-2-20

Mehdi talks with Glenn Kirschner about Trump's inaction and misinformation that is leading to deaths.

Ch. 3: What Trump Knew & When He Knew It NYT on How Trump Ignored COVID-19 Warnings Until It Was Too Late - Democracy Now - Air Date 4-13-20

We look at how President Trump led the country to this point with Eric Lipton, lead author of The New York Times’s explosive new exposé, “He Could Have Seen What Was Coming: Behind Trump’s Failure on the Virus.”

Ch. 4: Warnings To The White House - Frontline - Air Date 4-10-20

Trump and the government's response to the Pandemic are explored.

Ch. 5: Explaining why he can't do that but just did anyway - The Bugle - Air Date 4-18-20

The answer to everything strange in America is slavery.

Ch. 6: Michael Lewis On How Trump’s Handling of Covid-19 Has Proven His Book, The Fifth Risk, Tragically Prophetic. - The Al Franken Podcast - Air Date 4-19-20

In The Fifth Risk, Lewis portrayed Donald Trump as a man totally ignorant of and disinterested in the actually functioning of the federal government.

Ch. 7: Trump Cuts Funds for World Health Org as Oxfam Warns Pandemic Could Push Half a Billion into Poverty - Democracy Now - Air Date 4-15-20

President Donald Trump says he will cut U.S. support for the World Health Organization. Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of The Lancet medical journal, called it a “crime against humanity.”

Ch. 8: Bleach? Nevermind - The Bugle - Air Date 4-25-20

Andy, Nish and Hari attempt to make sense of another week of transatlantic buffoonery.

Ch. 9: Is the Trump Cult a Death Cult? - Deconstructed with Mehdi Hasan - Air Date 3-25-20

The Atlantic’s Adam Serwer joins Mehdi Hasan to discuss the President’s continuing refusal to take the Covid-19 pandemic seriously.

Ch. 10: Jared Yates Sexton reflects on his childhood and life in Trumplandia - The Chauncey DeVega Show - Air Date 3-24-20

Jared Yates Sexton reflects on his childhood and life in Trumplandia and the power that Trump’s cult holds over so many white right-wing so-called “Christians.”

Ch. 11: Tim Wise Explains How White Privilege is Making the Pandemic Much Worse - The Truth Report with Chauncey DeVega - Air Date 4-21-20

Tim Wise reflects on how only white men such as Donald Trump and his cabal could still be viewed as competent given their gross and willful negligence in how they chose to (not) respond to the pandemic.

Ch. 12: The Tactics Of The “Re-Open America” Protests ft. Joshua Kahn Russell - The Michael Brooks Show - Air Date 4-23-20

Joshua Kahn Russell joins us to analyze the reopen America protests.

Ch. 13: Kurt Andersen, Fantasyland, and How Irrational Thought Worsened the Pandemic - Point of Inquiry - Air Date 4-9-20

Kurt Andersen, the author of Fantasyland, explains what happens when the departure from empirical, reality-based thought plays out during a global pandemic.

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FINAL COMMENTS

Ch. 14: Final comments on my use of The Al Franken Show

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MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions):

• Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr 
• Haena - Cloud Harbor
• Arizona Moon - Cholate
• Decompression - Rayling
• Waterbourne - Algea Fields
• Molly Molly - Barstool
• Take a Tiny Train - Ray Catcher
• 7.1 The Spinnet - Castle Danger
• Tar and Spackle - Plaster
• Denzel Sprak - CloudCover
• Feather on the Crest - Wax Museum
• Interlude - The Nocturne
• Tripoli - Pecan Grove
• Voicemail Music: Low Key Lost Feeling Electro by Alex Stinnent
• Closing Music: Upbeat Laid Back Indie Rock by Alex Stinnent

 

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

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