Knowledge Wonderland

Andrew Sullivan sees fascism descending on America. And he sees Donald Trump's election as (perhaps) inevitable. One of our time's foremost public intellectuals, Sullivan took a break from entrepreneurial journalism to let his brain recover from a decade of blogging. Marc welcomes him back for his first podcast interview since returning to print.

In 1968, something was wrong with America. Incredible turmoil in cities, an unpopular war abroad and a president who couldn't fix what was wrong. The election that year was disruptive and its echoes can be heard today. Marc interviews Michael A. Cohen, whose new book, American Maelstrom: The 1968 Election And the Politics of Division, provides a groundbreaking look at the political decisions that shaped that cycle and offers his predictions about what to expect in November.

A purely political episode, with special guest Christina Bellantoni of the Los Angeles Times. If Ted Cruz thought the Bronx was awkward, wait until he campaigns in Maxine Waters's district. Plus: Bernie Sanders and the future of the Democratic Party, and a debunked Clinton Doomsday scenario.

Christian Stephen is one the coolest guys you’ll ever meet, a 21-year Brit with a sexy accent, is also an award-winning conflict journalist who suffers from PTSD. And he spoke with me right before he got kicked out of a country – this country – because he’d traveled too often to Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan and whatever ISIS calls their territory these days. What drove him, when he was just a teen, to rebel by going to the West Bank? Does he have a death wish? What drives him to danger? And what has he learned about the world?

Dipping into the public till dates back to the 16th century in Brazil, but never has the country been in such a crisis now, with its president headed towards impeachment and a majority of its Congress under investigation.  From São Paulo, journalist and writer Alex Cuadros, author of the forthcoming Brazillionaires, explains the origins of the constitutional and economic chaos in the world’s 5th largest country, and explains why Brazil’s crusading judiciary might be the only institution that can save the country.

Emily Zolten Jillette is a master poker player, a great golfer, the world’s only credited crowded fulfillment producer, and a Hamilton buff. She joins Knowledge Wonderland to talk about the lessons she learned while trying to make 5,500 crowdfunders happy, why she and husband Penn Jillette let strangers into her home, and the future of the cult(ish) diet that has changed the life of the entire family. EZ is Las Vegas royalty and one of the most interesting people you’ll ever meet.

The Knowledge Wonderland today is full of political surprises. Yes, Michigan was a surprise, a great sign for Bernie Sanders, and a sign of trouble for Hillary Clinton. Marc walks through how to not over or under-interpret what happened. Then: a master class in Donald Trump. Why? Who? How in the hell? And why, when he angers people like me, he wins supporters among people who don't think like me. Finally, Marc brings you a quick and crude guide to a contested Republican convention. What are the scenarios, and how likely is it that, say, John Kasich wins the nomination?

Ron Fournier spent two decades covering Presidents and politicians; he was the guy who wrote the first draft of history as the chief White House correspondent for the Associated Press wire. The first flash on September 11? That was his writing. Though he held powerful interests accountable all of his life, he’s become something new in the past several years: a trenchant, caustic critic of American political intuitions. Ron tells me why he thinks the country might turn out worse if Donald Trump isn’t elected president, and why voter anger and millennial frustration might cause the whole damn system to collapse – or, if not collapse, transform into something entirely new.