What A Day

Crooked Media
  • 0.0 (0)
  • DAILY NEWS
  • UPDATED DAILY

If you’re looking for hype, fake outrage, and groupthink, kindly keep moving. Our mission at What a Day is simple: to be your guide to what truly matters each morning (and the fun stuff you might have missed) in just 20 minutes. Host Jane Coaston brings you in-depth reporting and substantive analysis on the big stories shaping today and the creeping trends shaping tomorrow—and when she doesn’t know the answers, she asks someone even smarter to fill us all in. Radical, right? New episodes at 5:00 a.m. EST, Monday–Friday in your favorite podcast app and on YouTube. Being informed was never this easy.

  1. SCOTUS Takes On Birthright Citizenship

    5 DAYS AGO

    SCOTUS Takes On Birthright Citizenship

    The Supreme Court tackled a question Wednesday that most Americans probably thought was settled: are the American-born children of immigrants American citizens? The Constitution seems pretty clear -- Section 1 of the 14th Amendment reads in part, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.” But an executive order issued on President Donald Trump’s first day back in the White House argued, “The Fourteenth Amendment has never been interpreted to extend citizenship universally to everyone born within the United States.” That order was quickly met by a number of lawsuits. During oral arguments on Wednesday, most of the Supreme Court justices seemed skeptical that the 14th Amendment means something other than what it says. Melissa Murray, professor at the New York University School of Law and co-host of Crooked Media’s Strict Scrutiny, joins the show to break down the birthright citizenship question. And in headlines, Trump threatens to withdraw the U.S. from NATO even though he'd need Congressional approval to do so, Republicans say they finally have a plan to fund DHS, and statues mocking the president keep popping up across the nation’s capital. Show Notes: Check out Melissa's book – https://tinyurl.com/5ay6txmw Call Congress – 202-224-3121 Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/y4y2e9jy What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/ For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

    27 min
  2. A Shutdown On Pause

    30 JAN

    A Shutdown On Pause

    Senate Democrats were ready to shut down the government Friday night in order to get much-needed reforms to ICE and Border Patrol — but they didn’t need to. On Thursday, they made a deal with Republicans and the White House to fund most of the federal government for the rest of the fiscal year. The Department of Homeland Security, however, will only be funded for two weeks while Senators negotiate some guardrails for ICE. So what happens now? To find out, we spoke with Virginia Democratic Senator Tim Kaine on Thursday just before Senate Democrats announced their deal. And in headlines, President Trump hopes for Iranian regime change, the Justice Department files federal charges against the man accused of attacking Minnesota Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar, and activists ask Americans to skip school, work, and shopping Friday to protest ongoing ICE operations. Show Notes:  Call Congress – 202-224-3121 Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8 What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/ For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

    24 min
  3. Streets Of Minneapolis

    29 JAN

    Streets Of Minneapolis

    Minneapolis is still under ICE’s thumb — and contrary to the Trump Administration and some media reports, ICE has not “de-escalated” in the Twin Cities. Multiple media outlets have reported no real change in Department of Homeland Security activity — but the communities in Minneapolis are still standing up to the Trump Administration, using every peaceful tool at their disposal to do so. For more, we spoke to Alex Wagner, host of Crooked’s Runaway Country podcast, who is reporting from Minneapolis. And in headlines, Secretary of State Marco Rubio testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the FBI raids a Georgia election office infamous to conspiracy theorists for its role in “rigging” the 2020 election, and Democrats are apparently ready to pass every bill in the massive funding package before the Senate — except for the DHS portion. Show Notes: Check out Runaway Country – https://tinyurl.com/ykf6fs5c Call Congress – 202-224-3121 Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8 What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/ For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

    26 min
  4. The Sunshine State Strategy

    28 JAN

    The Sunshine State Strategy

    U.S. Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Marco Rubio is expected to publicly testify Wednesday about what exactly the U.S. has planned for Venezuela. But the next potential target of the Trump administration’s imperialist adventuring might be even closer to home. Ending Cuba’s communist regime — which has controlled the island since 1959 — is the dream of thousands of Cuban-Americans. And now, thanks in part to Rubio, it’s a serious goal of the White House. So, to talk more about South Florida’s influence on American politics at home and abroad, we spoke with Patricia Mazzei. She is the Miami bureau chief for The New York Times.  And in headlines, U.S. population growth slowed significantly between the summers of 2024 and 2025, Democratic efforts to redistrict in Virginia are stunted by a state court, and TikTok agrees to settle a landmark social media addiction lawsuit just before trial.  Show Notes:  Check out Patricia's piece – https://tinyurl.com/2cxz46rb Call Congress – 202-224-3121 Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8 What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/ For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

    28 min
  5. Mayhem In Minneapolis

    27 JAN

    Mayhem In Minneapolis

    There’s a massive funding package making its way through Congress this week. It includes funding for the Department of Homeland Security, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol, and must pass by Friday for the government to remain fully open. But that’s looking less and less likely. After the killing of Alex Pretti, Senate Democrats and their allies are saying that they are willing to risk a government shutdown to get policy changes. To talk more about Homeland Security, a potential shutdown, and what Democrats in Congress can do to stop ICE, we spoke with Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin. Later in the show, we talk to Monica Byron, president of Education Minnesota, about how educators are dealing with the surge in ICE activity.  And in headlines, U.S. warships arrived in the Middle East on Monday and Iran is warning of all-out war, Israel recovers the remains of the last hostage in Gaza, and Goodwill stores are breaking revenue records.  Show Notes:  Call Congress – 202-224-3121 Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8 What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/ For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

    29 min
  6. Joining ICE Is Much Easier Than You Think

    26 JAN

    Joining ICE Is Much Easier Than You Think

    On Saturday, Alex Pretti – a 37-year-old registered nurse at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Minneapolis – was shot and killed by Border Patrol agents. It’s the third shooting in three weeks by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis. And as violence from federal law enforcement becomes increasingly more common, it begs the question – who is joining these agencies? A few months ago, freelance journalist Laura Jedeed applied for a job with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. And she got a final offer, despite not doing the required paperwork and undergoing what she put as “minimal” vetting. We spoke to Laura before the shooting of Pretti about her background, the ICE recruitment process, and what questions she still has. And in headlines, a partial government shutdown looms as Senate Democrats vow to oppose a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security, Trump threatens a new tariff on Canada if the country makes a free trade deal with China, and California steps up after President Trump pulls the U.S. out of the World Health Organization.   Show Notes:  Check out Laura's Substack – www.firewalledmedia.com/ Call Congress – 202-224-3121 Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8 What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/ For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

    26 min
  7. Trump's Never-Ending Enemies List

    23 JAN

    Trump's Never-Ending Enemies List

    Former special counsel Jack Smith testified before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday about the steps President Donald Trump and his allies took to overturn the 2020 election and to foment the January 6th insurrection. Smith did this knowing that he is already at the top of Trump’s enemies list — which the President is increasingly using the Department of Justice to prosecute. For more on the Trump administration’s latest investigations, we spoke with Ken White. He’s a former federal prosecutor and criminal defense attorney who hosts the legal podcast, “Serious Trouble.” And in headlines, Vice President JD Vance arrives in Minnesota to “tone down the temperature a little bit,” Trump establishes the Gaza ‘Board of Peace’ as an official international organization, and the White House Twitter account gets caught being dishonest. Show Notes:  Check out Serious Trouble – https://www.serioustrouble.show/ Call Congress – 202-224-3121 Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8 What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/ For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

    24 min
  8. Trump: Bigly Unpopular

    22 JAN

    Trump: Bigly Unpopular

    After meeting with NATO allies in Davos, Switzerland, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to announce “the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region.” He also said he would not be imposing the tariffs he threatened against eight European countries less than a week ago — which is probably good, because Americans did not want him to mess with Greenland. But that’s not the President’s only unpopular stance. We're one year into Trump’s second term in the White House, and his polling numbers are subterranean across the board. To talk more about Trump’s numbers, we spoke to Dan Pfeiffer. He’s the host of Crooked Media’s Pollercoaster podcast and co-host of Pod Save America. And in headlines, the Supreme Court casts doubt on Trump’s efforts to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, the Department of Homeland Security announces a new ICE operation in Maine, and Former Special Counsel Jack Smith is expected to testify in front of the House Judiciary Committee today. Show Notes: Check out Pollercoaster –https://crooked.com/podcast-series/pollercoaster/ Call Congress – 202-224-3121 Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8 What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/ For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

    23 min
See All (1.6k)

Shows with Subscription Benefits

Ad-free episodes + exclusive bonus pods

US$9,99/mo or US$96,00/yr after trial

View Subscription FAQs

Hosts & Guests

About

If you’re looking for hype, fake outrage, and groupthink, kindly keep moving. Our mission at What a Day is simple: to be your guide to what truly matters each morning (and the fun stuff you might have missed) in just 20 minutes. Host Jane Coaston brings you in-depth reporting and substantive analysis on the big stories shaping today and the creeping trends shaping tomorrow—and when she doesn’t know the answers, she asks someone even smarter to fill us all in. Radical, right? New episodes at 5:00 a.m. EST, Monday–Friday in your favorite podcast app and on YouTube. Being informed was never this easy.

Information

More From Crooked Media

You Might Also Like