The Al Franken Podcast

In a major blow to American healthcare, Congress has let the ACA subsidies expire. This means higher premiums and, as a result, fewer Americans enrolling. We are joined by Wendell Potter, former VP of Corporate Communications for Cigna turned whistleblower and healthcare reform advocate. Since 2009, Wendell has pulled back the curtain on how insurance giants game the system to prioritize profits over patients.
Wendell shares the two stories demonstrating the inhumanity of the American healthcare system that pushed him to speak out. He also talks about the impact of the expiring subsidies and why it could be what he calls a "death spiral." But don't worry! Donald Trump has a plan... or at least concepts of a plan.
Al and Wendell talk about the accomplishments of the ACA, while also acknowledging that Democrats should have done more to strengthen it during the Biden administration. Now with Trump and the Republicans in charge, any chance at meaningful reform is out the window.
Plus, we revisit the December 2024 murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and why that struck a nerve with so many Americans.
READ Wendell's substack, HEALTH CARE un-covered: https://healthcareuncovered.substack.com/
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As tensions escalate in Minnesota and Donald Trump threatens to invoke the Insurrection Act, ICE’s brutality continues. We are joined by the current Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota and candidate for the U.S. Senate, Peggy Flanagan, to discuss the crisis in her and Al's home state. 
Flanagan details the cover-up and lies surrounding the Renee Good investigation. The DOJ has withheld evidence and prohibited the state from investigating the case, while lying about how the officer who shot Good has “absolute immunity.” It is clear Trump, Kristi Noem, JD Vance, and the administration have no interest in justice.
Flanagan also shares stories of the vibrant Somali community who have contributed so much to the state, despite the attempts to malign them. She also shares stories of talking to constituents around the state and how she's finding common ground with rural farmers over the cost of healthcare and tariffs. 
LEARN about and DONATE to Peggy's campaign: https://peggyflanagan.com/
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We had a chaotic start to the new year with Donald Trump invading Venezuela and kidnapping dictator Nicolás Maduro. We’re joined by The Atlantic's David Frum to help us make sense of and give us important context on the situation. Trump says that America is running the country and might be there for years to come. It sounds more like old-fashioned imperialism than a democratic transition.
Trump has openly admitted that this is about oil. He says he's taking Venezuelan oil and putting it into a special account controlled only by the President. Isn't it the job of Congress to appropriate how money is spent in this country?
We also discuss the administration's plans for Greenland. Are we actually prepared to seize it from our NATO ally, Denmark? Trump says yes. How crazy is that?!
Al also shares his thoughts on the horrific situation in his home state of Minnesota as ICE’s reckless aggression led to the murder of Renee Good.
READ David Frum in The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/author/david-frum/
LISTEN to The David Frum Show: https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/the-david-frum-show/
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In this Best Of episode, we revisit our 2023 conversation with Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse. We talked to Sen. Whitehouse about his book, “The Scheme,” which examines how dark money and radical right wing activists worked tirelessly to gain control of the Supreme Court.

Sen. Whitehouse lays out all the key players in this effort, including The Federalist Society and Leonard Leo, the main architect of this mission. By filtering dark money through dozens of agencies and blocking Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland, the right wing has a chokehold on the SCOTUS majority. As a result, we've seen rulings that are horrible for abortion rights, climate change, voting rights, and so much more.

Sen. Whitehouse also explains some of the ways that the extremist takeover of the judicial system can be reigned in, but it's going to be a fight. 

READ Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse's book, “The Scheme”: https://thenewpress.org/books/9781620978344/

In this Best Of episode, we revisit our 2020 conversation with Jimmy Kimmel! We go through his long career, beginning with his start in radio and his transition to television.

We discuss the birth of Jimmy’s late night show back in 2003 and how, in his own words, the show was "genuinely terrible.” With time, Jimmy figured it out and established a template for what makes a good show and learned what makes a good guest versus a bad guest. 

A major turning point for Jimmy was when his son battled health challenges. He became more vocal on issues like healthcare, which led to him butting heads with the GOP over their attempts at repealing the Affordable Care Act. 

While this interview was in 2020, Jimmy continues to butt heads with the GOP, which resulted in his censorship battle with ABC and the Trump administration earlier this year.

WATCH Jimmy Kimmel Live! https://www.youtube.com/jimmykimmellive

READ what I wrote when Kimmel was (temporarily) taken off air: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/trump-attack-political-satire-kimmel-colbert-1235431290/

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