The Nicole Sandler Show

Every Monday we check in with Jonathan Larsen who tells us what's happening in our world at thefuckingnews.substack.com. Here at the Nicole Sandler Show, we use language like that, but apparently some are squeamish about expletives, so Jonathan is launching a second substack newsletter. He'll fill us in on that today, along with more important news like a second assassination attempt on TFG and the Trump campaign's latest attempt to pit Americans against Americans. Plus my thoughts on how we're coping with the sickening racism, xenophobia and contempt for our fellow human beings by Trump and his minions...

Every Friday I get to hang out with Marcy Wheeler of emptywheel.net, discussing much of what happened during the week. Of course, this was the week we saw the brilliance of VP Kamala Harris as she destroyed TFG in what just might be their only debate of this race. But it gave us "they're eating the dogs" and other priceless gems

Howie Klein is here today. In addition to the debate and the strange political bedfellows that have emerged in this election cycle, we'll also discuss the disconnect that finds tens of millions of Americans still supporting and voting for the convicted felon, adjudicated rapist, known conman and pathological liar (I could go on, but you get the idea). Also too, as Howie and I both had careers in the music biz, we'll talk about the effect of celebrity/musical icons endorsements in the wake of Taylor Swift and Linda Ronstadt - and many others - coming out loudly in support of Vice President Kamala Harris.

Talk about a complete 180. Donald Trump was decimated in last night's debate with VP Kamala Harris. Today, I'll share some of the highs and the lows of what might be the only the time these two debate ahead of the 2024 presidential elections... We call it 100% for Harris (Trump is toast!)

As we prepare for tonight's debate between the Vice President and the former guy, we'll chat with director Dan Partland. Dan returns to the show four years after his first appearance here. The occasion is the release of the latest film he directed, UNTRUTH: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF TRUMPISM. The first time he was here, the film UNFIT: The Psychology of Donald Trump had just been released. A lot has happened since..

Mondays are difficult by definition, soo we get our news with a bit of snark with Jonathan Larsen who delivers the news to us every morning from thefuckingnews.substack.com and discusses it with us Monday afternoons on the show. Today... about those Kamala Harris endorsements from Liz & Dick Cheney! And what about the rest of the Republicans???

It's Friday! Although this was a short week, there was no shortage of news to discuss with Marcy Wheeler today... The fall season of the Trump Trials has begun. Trump was in court this morning to appeal the verdict in the first E. Jean Carroll case. Yesterday Judge Chutkan issued her scheduling order for the next developments in Trump's Jan 6 trial. And unfortunately, while we were recording (we tape on Friday mornings due to the fact that Marcy is in Ireland and I'm in Arizona), the news broke that Judge Merchan will delay the sentencing in the Manhattan criminal case for which he was convicted in May of falsifying records to cover up a sex scandal. The sentencing, scheduled for Sept. 18 will now happen on Nov. 26. In other news that we discuss on today's show, AG Merrick Garland announced new charges in a new case alleging Russian interference in the 2024 presidential election, Hunter Biden pleads guilty in the tax case that was set to begin yesterday in a California courtroom, Liz Cheney endorsed Kamala Harris, and there was yet another school shooting... Here we go....

Sorry for my absence yesterday... still feeling the effects of a nasty infection from a few weeks ago, and trying to listen to my body and take better care of myself. Getting old sucks, but it beats the alternative! Anyway, I'm back today (with a follow up appointment with my doctor scheduled for tomorrow afternoon). It's Thursday, so Howie Klein is usually here... but I got a message from him a few minutes before showtime apologizing that he hadn't let me know that he had a doctor's appointment and wouldn't be able to be here today. Obviously I know how that goes... so hopefully, Howie will be back next week. In the meantime, there's lots to talk about today, from Liz Cheney formally endorsing Kamala Harris for President, Trump's trials back on track (at least in Judge Chutkin's court), Merrick Garland is alive and filing charges to fend off Russian interference in the 2024 election, Tim Walz's weird brother surfaces, Trump's "town hall meeting" with no audience questions, MAGAts Nazi bromances,.... you get the idea...

Both the Democratic and Republican conventions are in the rear view mirror, and we made it through Labor Day, so we're now officially in the home stretch of the 2024 presidential election cycle. In two months and two days Nov 5 arrives, whether or not we're ready. Today, we'll take a look at some of the news made over the Labor Day holiday weekend. Then we'll speak with Will Bunch who attended and covered both conventions in his column at the Philadelphia Inquirer, the media's horse race approach to the campaigns, and the shit the media is allowing the Trump campaign to get away with.... This is going to be a long couple of months ahead!

We wrap up each week with Marcy Wheeler of emptywheel.net and a review of all that happened that week. Today it's Jack Smith's superseding indictment (predicted by Marcy last week), plus the big boring CNN interview, the Arlington Cemetery photo op debacle, RFk Jr & Tusli Gabbard and lots more...

For the past dozen or so years, I've had a weekly conversation with my old friend Howie Klein who blogs at DownWithTyranny.com and runs the Blue America PAC, identifying and supporting progressive candidates up and down the ballot all over the country. Howie returns today and brings with him a young candidate running for the Florida state senate, Ben Braver. He's @BenBraverFL on social media, and his website is BenBraver.org. A quick online search tells me that Ben Braver is something of a super hero. We'll get to the bottom of that today. Plus the some news, magat character flaws and, hopefully, a few laughs along the way.

I've been looking forward to this interview for a long time. In fact, Steve Benen was scheduled on this show two weeks ago, the day MINISTRY OF TRUTH: DEMOCRACY, REALITY, AND THE REPUBLICANS' WAR ON THE RECENT PAST was published, but I got sick and had to reschedule. I promise you, it was worth the wait. If you're like me, you've been shouting at the TV every time the former guy shows up spouting more lies which, for the most part, the mainstream corporate media just lets slide. It's this practice of propaganda on such a massive and in-your-face scale that made the term "Gaslighting" part of our regular lexicon and likely the cause of thousands of broken TV screens across the nations. Today, we'll talk about the fact that we're not the crazy ones...

Today is a catch up day, of sorts. We'll talk about the latest news - there's never a lack of crazy stuff to discuss while TFG is trying to remain relevant. Just before we hit the air, a breaking news alert came in-- Jack Smith filed a superseding indictment in the J6 Obstruction case against Trump. We'll open the phone lines should you have a comment or question about the campaigns, conventions or anything else. And we did hear from a special guest. Dave, though you know him better as the worm (still) living in RFK, Jr's brain....

I'm finally feeling almost normal after an awful infection that led me to two separate Emergency Room visits in one week. So today, it's back to the grind. Somehow, the fact that today is Monday is not quite as awful as the last few hundred (or so it seems) Mondays have been... So, we'll chat about all that's happening in the news today, and then bring on Jonathan Larsen who reports on all of that at thefuckingnews.substack.com every day....

Well, that was a convention for the history books! I apologize for the lack of an Emptywheel Friday show last week. I got really sick from a UTI that spawned an e Coli infection, something you do not ever want. Thankfully I was doing well enough this week to be able to share some highlights of the 2024 Democratic National Convention for the past few days, and today, was joined by Marcy Wheeler (emptywheel.net) for a complete postscript to the most entertaining and inspiring political convention I've ever watched. Strap in... we're not going back!

This was supposed to run on Monday,but I obviously uploaded the wrong episode, Here's the correct show: -------- When I decided to put together some actual best of shows to run while I'm in transit, I asked for requests…. Almost immediately someone asked if I had ever interviewed Tom Petty. I did! IT was the one and only time I ever met him… It was April 30, 1999…. We had just signed a new radio station on the air in Los Angeles, Channel 103.1 a few months earlier. Tom had just released a new album called Echo, and joined me in the studio. He didn't perform that day, but hung out and talked for a while… I decided to play this today, as it marks the sixth anniversary of his sudden and untimely death on oct 2, 2017. We follow that with an interview with Jon Scott, the man TP credits for ever getting his records played on the radio. Jon wrote the book, "Tom Petty & Me"

I can't remember ever smiling so much while watching a political convention. I predict the top three names for baby girls born this year will be Hope, Joy and Kamala!! Night 3 of the party of the decade featured some real surprises: Stevie Wonder delivering heartfelt words and a rousing "Higher Ground." Sheila E was joined by John Legend to play Minnesota favorite son Prince's "Let's Go Crazy" before we officially met MN Gov Coach Tim Walz, the next Vice President of the United States. Speakers from Oprah Winfrey to Amanda Gorman to Hakeem Jefferies wowed the crowd... and we heard from rising Dem Party stars PA Gov Josh Shapiro and Sec of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. And the crowd was even courteous and welcoming to two figures that many would have preferred not have prime time speaking slots, former President Bill Clinton and Speaker emeritus Nancy Pelosi. There was mostly that inescapable Joy in the room, but I was heartened by the warn response and love shown toward Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin, the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Poln, one of 8 Americans still being held captive by Hamas terrorists in Gaza since he was abducted on Oct 7 of last year. Another night that was excellent in both substance and style... Today on the show, we'll do as we've been doing all week... we'll hear some highlights and a few full speeches from last night... Do Something!

If I had to chose a week to be sick this would have been the one. That's because as lousy as I feel, watching the festivities out of Chicago for the DNC is making me feel so much better. Although the first night was a difficult act to follow, the Harris/Walz team did just that. With a number of moving and motivational speeches -- as expected from former President Barack Obama and the man who could have been one Bernie Sanders, the two that floored me were from the first Second Gentleman - and soon-to-be first First Gentleman Doug Emhoff and the knockout speech delivered by Michelle Obama. By the way, Doug Emhoff chose for his entrance and exit music one of my favorite songs, "You Get What You Give" by New Radicals. New Radicals released their one and only album in the late 90s, Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too. It quickly rose to the top of my favorites of that year. I was Music Director and later Program Director of the radio station I worked for at the time, Los Angeles' Channel 103.1. And I was fortunate enough to interview Gregg Alexander, the man who was New Radicals. He didn't do many interviews, and never recorded another album, though he continued writing and producing for other artists, preferring to remain out of the spotlight. To honor our first Second Gentleman, and the man who will be our first First Gentleman, here's my interview with Gregg Alexander, recorded May 3, 1999 ( the day that my daughter was likely being born on the other side of the world in Kazakhstan... a story for another day)... Enjoy! I am still recuperating so will share with you a couple of full speeches from last night (can you guess which ones?) as well as some clips and observations as my still-on-the-mend psyche can conjure up. Either way, the chat room is open during the live show and we're partying like it's 2024!!!

Talk about good medicine! As you may know, I've been pretty sick for the past week or so. But the best medicine possible came last night in the form of Night 1 of the 2024 Democratic National Convention! It just kept getting better as the night went on, and I cried tears of joy as President Joe Biden received the love and adoration of a grateful nation. Tonight's program will begin a little earlier than last nights to allow for the extended periods of unbridled appreciation! But the big guns won't come on until after we're done with this program for the day. So, today, we'll talk about some of what happened last night and watch and listen to some of it together. We'll hear the full speeches from Congressmembers AOC, Jasmine Crockett, first daughter Ashley Biden and a bit from Rep Jamie Raskin, Sen Raphael Warnock and whatever else time permits... We're not going back!!

I spent the weekend resting and recuperating, slowly regaining my strength and planning to be back on the air today. But E Coli seems to have other plans. I am feeling much better, but far from normal (even for me, which is also far from normal).So it's lucky for me that the Democratic Convention gets underway today in Chicago. Unfortunately, the festivities and streaming don't begin until the show ends... Good thing I recorded an interview a couple of weeks ago with Jessica Goudeau who just released a new book, WE WERE ILLEGAL. She has a fascinating story to share, and the story is certainly timely as the MAGAt presidential candidate is threatening mass deportations should we screw up and allow him anywhere hear the oval office again. So, we'll hear that interview, I'll update you on my ordeal (minus the tears today, I hope), and somehow make it through the hour. A programming note... for the rest of the week, I'll share highlights from the previous nights' convention happenings. And I WILL be back to host Marcy Wheeler on Friday. I'm going through emptywheel withdrawals too!