Diane Rehm: On My Mind: Recent Episodes
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Diane Rehm’s weekly podcast features newsmakers, writers, artists and thinkers on the issues she cares about most: what’s going on in Washington, ideas that inform, and the latest on living well as we live longer.
School is back in session across the country for the third time since the pandemic began. Though the school day looks much like it did before Covid-19 forced officials to shutter classrooms, the lingering effects of school closures, online learning, and a world turned upside down are becoming clear.
This includes lagging test scores, continued staffing issues, and, according to a new study, a dramatic jump in absences.
Bianca Vazquez Toness is an education reporter for the Associated Press. She has been following the continued impact of the pandemic on young people and schools and says that for many students and families there is still a lot of work to be done.
On Wednesday night eight candidates took the stage to make their appeal to GOP primary voters. But, as the moderators pointed out, the elephant not in the room was Donald Trump. He opted for a one-on-one interview with Tucker Carlson. The former president then traveled to Atlanta to be booked on criminal charges for the fourth time in recent months.
Susan Page is Washington bureau chief for USA Today. She joined Diane to discuss what we learned from the debate about the primary, Donald Trump’s grip on the party, and what the GOP’s vision for the country looks like.
North Carolina became the tenth state to recognize No Labels as a political party this week.
The non-profit group behind the effort seems to think there is a moderate majority in America that wants to move away from the two-party system. Leaders of the New Labels Party are now toying with offering a presidential ticket in the 2024 election to tap into what they think is a dissatisfaction with the status quo.
Veteran journalist Gerald Seib has been reporting on the No Labels movement. “As I go around the country and talk to people, I get asked all the time, why isn’t there a third party?” says Seib, who last year retired from his role as executive Washington editor for the Wall Street Journal. “They say why isn’t there an alternative?”
Seib recently published an essay in his former paper titled “Could a Third Party Finally Do It?” He joined Diane to talk about the history of third party candidates – and why this might be the election we see one break through.
Rep. Jamie Raskin has been among the strongest voices in politics calling for accountability for the violence that occurred on January 6th.
As a House manager during the second impeachment of Donald Trump, Raskin announced the charge of incitement of insurrection against the now-former president. The Maryland congressman went on to serve on the House committee that investigated the events of January 6th and whose work ended in a recommendation of criminal charges against Trump.
Now, as Donald Trump faces four counts related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election, Rep. Raskin joins Diane to explain why he feels legal accountability is critical for the health of the country’s democracy. Raskin also discusses his cancer remission and why he decided against a run for the Senate.
Special counsel Jack Smith announced charges against Donald Trump this week related to the former president’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
This is the third time Trump has been indicted in recent months – but many commentators are saying this is the big one. That includes New York University law professor Ryan Goodman, who says the crimes Trump is accused of committing are a direct threat to our government, calling them “democracy crimes.”
Goodman, co-editor in chief of Just Security, joined Diane to outline the charges and explain why he thinks only a 2024 election victory can save Donald Trump from conviction.
Americans are getting older. Much older. In 1900, we lived an average of 38 years. By 2000, our average lifespan had been extended by nearly four decades. And though recent years have seen a downturn in the trend, the 85 and older population is projected to more than double by 2040.
“We are not even close to prepared,” says M.T. Connolly, a lawyer and longtime elder rights advocate who in 2011 won a MacArthur Genius Grant for her work in the field. She argues our country’s policies and institutions have not kept pace with our advances in longevity. This mismatch, she says, can result in serious harm for those living into old age, and those who care for them.
Connolly joined Diane to discuss her new book, “The Measure of Our Age: The Measure of Our Age: Navigating Care, Safety, Money, and Meaning Later in Life.” In it, she identifies the obstacles that prevent us from maintaining quality of life as we grow old, and what we as individuals – and as a society -- can do about them.
Diane wanted to share a special conversation from the archives, an interview with legendary book editor Robert Gottlieb, who died in June at age 92.
Gottlieb worked with many of the best-known writers of the 20th century. On the list of names whose work he made shine was Diane Rehm.
Diane remembers him as a masterful editor who was so kind to her – someone with name recognition in the world of public radio, but no track record as a writer.
Gottlieb became one of Diane’s closest friends and confidantes. She says, “he was a genius,” and she was so lucky to have him by her side.
Robert Gottlieb joined Diane several times as a guest on the Diane Rehm Show over the years. This is their conversation from September 2016 in which he discussed his memoir, “Avid Reader.”
This month, On My Mind will be sharing conversations from the Diane Rehm Book Club and Author Interview Series. Today we bring you a conversation with novelist Amy Bloom.
Diane selected Bloom’s memoir “In Love” as her March 2022 read. It deals with an issue that is extremely important to Diane – medical aid in dying. Diane has supported the movement to expand access to this life ending option since 2014 when her husband, John Rehm, suffered a painful and prolonged death from Parkinson’s disease.
In this book, Bloom tells the story of how she helped her own husband die after a tragic diagnosis.
Amy Bloom joined Diane last year to share her experience, an experience she hopes will prompt others to think about what they want at the end of their lives.
This month, On My Mind will be sharing conversations from the Diane Rehm Book Club and Author Interview Series. Today we bring you a conversation with Washington Post foreign affairs columnist – and novelist -- David Ignatius.
Diane selected Ignatius’s book “The Paladin” as the November 2022 read. This high-tech thriller explores the question what happens when bad actors move beyond hacking and disinformation campaigns, to creating false realities?
As part of the book club event Diane first welcomed a panel of guests to discuss the novel– and the spy thriller genre. You can find a recording of that here. Then David Ignatius joined her on Zoom to talk about what inspired the story, as well as his decades long career moving between fact and fiction.
For the next few weeks, On My Mind will be sharing conversations from the Diane Rehm Book Club and Author Interview series. First up is novelist Min Jin Lee.
Diane selected Lee’s novel “Pachinko” as this year’s January read. It tells a generation spanning story that begins in 1910 after Japan’s invasion of Korea.
As part of the book club event Diane first welcomed a panel of guests to discuss the novel – and the history that inspired it. You can find a recording of that here. Then she sat down with Min Jin Lee to hear about how a near fatal illness helped launch her writing career – and the decades of research that went into writing “Pachinko.”
On last week’s podcast, Diane talked to The New Yorker’s Susan Glasser about the indictment of Donald Trump.
One listener emailed after listening to the episode, asking for a clear explanation as to how the former president’s behavior compared with other politicians’ handling – or mishandling -- of government secrets.
So that’s what Diane is doing – hosting a conversation about Donald Trump’s documents, Hillary Clinton’s emails, and Republican charges of unequal treatment.
Diane’s guest, Mary McCord, is the executive director of Georgetown Law’s Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection. She is also a former prosecutor and was Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security at the U.S. Department of Justice from 2016 to 2017.
She explained the next steps in the federal case against former President Trump and why she thinks the charges of unequal treatment don’t add up.
Donald Trump was indicted on 37 federal charges related to mishandling of classified documents at an arraignment in Miami this week.
A federal indictment is a first for a current or former president of the United States, though Trump was indicted on state criminal charges in New York earlier this year. In that complaint, he allegedly falsified business records related to "hush money" payments.
And yet, Donald Trump continues to lead the pack of candidates for the 2024 Republican nomination for president. This has left the rest of the GOP ping-ponging between defending the former president and acknowledging the seriousness of this latest round of charges brought by special counsel Jack Smith.
Susan Glasser is a staff writer at The New Yorker and co-author of the book, “The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021.” She walks Diane through the case against Trump and what it means for his future, as well as what it says about legal accountability in the U.S.
The GOP presidential field continues to balloon.
The number of candidates for the 2024 Republican nomination jumped by three this week with former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, former Vice President Mike Pence, and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum throwing their hats into the race.
They join a crowded field that already includes former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, as well as the state’s senator, Tim Scott.
But most eyes remain on former president Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who many see as Trump’s main competitor.
Jonathan Weisman is a political reporter at The New York Times. He has been traveling the country listening to stump speeches and talking to GOP voters. He joins Diane to explain what he has learned, and what the current field says about today’s Republican party.
Hospice in America has become a big business.
The hospice movement came to the U.S. from England in the 1960s, promising comfort and compassion at the end of life. Today, half of all Americans die in hospice care. But what was once a mission-driven sector run by not-for-profit organizations has become a booming industry – one that some experts say too often prioritizes profit over patients.
In a piece for The New Yorker, ProPublica’s Ava Kofman traces how this transformation happened. She points to lax regulations and a Medicare payment system that is easily exploited by companies looking to make a buck. Diane talked to Kofman about her reporting on rampant fraud, harm to patients, and what can be done about it.
As Donald Trump’s presidency deepened social, racial and political divides in the country, people began to look to the Civil War era for lessons on how to move forward.
Pulitzer prize–winning author Jon Meacham was one of those people. In his new book, “And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle,” Meacham chronicles the life of Abraham Lincoln, and the evolution of his moral principles and political leadership.
Digging into history is a familiar exercise for Meacham. He has previously written about presidents Andrew Jackson and George H.W. Bush, and his 2018 book, “The Soul of America” traced pivotal moments of struggle in our country’s history -- and argued we have always come through the darkness to a better place.
Diane spoke with Jon Meacham about the similarities between the state of democracy in the 1800s and today, and what the era of Lincoln can teach us about contemporary politics.
It has been less than a month since Elon Musk officially took the reins at Twitter. In that short time, there have been mass layoffs, advertisers have pulled back on spending, and some of the platform’s most prominent users have threatened to leave.
But Twitter is not the only social media company experiencing upheaval. In the last year, Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta has lost hundreds of billions of dollars in value and cut more than 10,000 jobs.
Diane spoke with Ian Bogost, director of the film and media studies program at Washington University in St. Louis and a contributing writer at The Atlantic. In a recent essay Bogost asks if the age of social media is ending, and explains why he thinks that might not be such a bad thing.
As ballot counting continues from Tuesday’s midterm elections, one thing has become crystal clear: this was not the outcome anyone had anticipated.
The Republican rout that had been splashed across headlines for months never materialized. Democrats made significant gains in state houses across the country, and when all is said and done, might even have picked up a seat or two in the Senate. In fact, the question of which party will hold a majority in the House come January is also still up in the air, though the GOP is expected to hold a small majority.
Norman Ornstein is an emeritus scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and a contributing editor and writer for The Atlantic. He joined Diane to make sense of the results and discuss what they say about American politics today.
Dr. Anthony Fauci is leaving his post as the nation’s top infectious disease doctor after nearly four decades.
As director of the The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), he acted as a key advisor to seven presidents. In his position, he helped the United States – and the world -- navigate the AIDS crisis, SARS, the H1N1flu virus, Zika and Ebola.
He was also a frequent guest on The Diane Rehm Show, whose list of appearances reads like a history of infectious disease in America.
This was, of course, well before the pandemic pushed Dr. Fauci into the spotlight, where he became a hero to many, a villain to some, receiving death threats and harassment even as he oversaw the race to develop a Covid vaccine.
Diane invited Dr. Fauci to join her on the podcast one last time before he steps down from his post at NIAID at the end of the year. He talked about why he feels now is the right time to change his role and start to focus on inspiring the next generation of public health professionals.
Margaret Sullivan started her career at the Buffalo News, her hometown paper. After 19 years as a reporter, she took over as top editor and ran the newsroom for more than a decade.
In 2012, Sullivan became the public editor of the New York Times, turning a critical eye on the paper’s coverage and seeking accountability for journalistic missteps.
In the heat of the 2016 election, Sullivan again switched papers — and roles. She joined the Washington Post as media columnist, where she traced the press’s role in the rise of Donald Trump, and the media’s efforts to combat the spread of misinformation.
Earlier this year, Sullivan left the Post and set out to write a memoir, which, she admits, quickly became a manifesto. In “Newsroom Confidential: Lessons (and Worries) from an Ink-stained Life,” Sullivan draws on her decades of experience to push journalism toward regaining the public’s trust and playing more of a central role in upholding America’s fragile democracy.
A majority of Republican candidates and voters question the results of the 2020 election. What does this mean for the midterms and beyond?
In the run up to November’s vote, New York Times political correspondent Nick Corasaniti’s reporting has focused on right wing efforts to shake belief in the country’s free and fair election system, and the threats those efforts pose to our democracy.
He and his colleagues have examined public opinion, tracked candidate statements, and followed campaigns across the country to see just how widespread the lies about the 2020 results have become, and the actions that doubt is inspiring as voting begins in the midterms.
How can a country built on the backs of enslaved people compensate for past wrongs? That is the question at the heart of Andrew Delbanco’s upcoming Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities.
Each year the National Endowment for the Humanities selects a scholar to give an address, an act the NEH calls “the highest honor the federal government confers for distinguished intellectual achievement in the humanities.”
This year, on the program’s 50th anniversary, Delbanco, a professor of American Studies at Columbia University, will explore “The Question of Reparations: Our Past, Our Present, Our Future.”
He traces the history of the debate about reparations that began before the Civil War and stretches to today, and tells Diane he hopes understanding our history can help inform the country’s choices about its future.
The Supreme Court is back in session.
The fallout from last term’s blockbuster rulings on abortion and gun laws continues to play out on the ground -- and in the courts. Yet, this week saw the kick off of a new SCOTUS term, one in which the 6-3 conservative supermajority is poised to deliver another set of opinions that could profoundly alter American life. This time, the cases deal with issues like voting rights, election law, environmental protections and the constitutionality of affirmative action.
Kate Shaw is a professor of law at Yeshiva University's Cardozo School of Law and a co-host of the podcast Strict Scrutiny. She joined Diane to preview this term, and talk about the court’s shift to the right.
The clock is ticking on the House Jan. 6 committee.
With the midterm elections a little more than a month away and control of the House uncertain, experts are beginning to wonder what the endgame is for the investigation, even as Hurricane Ian postponed the ninth, and perhaps last, public hearing.
By most accounts, the committee's efforts thus far have proven more successful than anticipated in both unearthing new evidence and drawing attention to the role of former President Trump in enflaming the violence at the Capitol.
The question now becomes, what kinds of recommendations will the committee make to shore up democratic institutions in the U.S.? And will they push for criminal charges against Donald Trump?
Quinta Jurecic is a fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution and a senior editor at Lawfare. She joined Diane to talk about what the committee has learned so far, and what we might expect to see in the coming weeks.
Susan Glasser and Peter Baker are veteran political journalists who closely covered Donald Trump’s rise years in the oval office. He as the New York Times chief White House correspondent, she as a staff writer for The New Yorker.
Yet, the husband-and-wife team felt there was more to know – more the American public should know about what went on behind the scenes.
The result is their new book, “The Divider.” They say it is an attempt to create a comprehensive historical record of the era – and in doing so highlight lessons for America’s political future.
Could Ukraine win the war with Russia?
For months it looked like Russia was waging – and winning -- a battle of attrition. But last week Ukrainian forces made dramatic gains on the battlefield, retaking vast areas of land, including Ukraine’s second largest city. And now some experts say this could be the beginning of a victory for Kyiv.
Angela Stent is a longtime Russia analyst and author of “Putin’s World: Russia against the West And with the Rest.” She joined Diane to help explain whether this is truly a turning point, what a Ukrainian victory might look like, and what it would mean for the future of Russia and its role in the world.
David Corn is a veteran reporter at Mother Jones Magazine who has watched the evolution of politics in Washington for decades. In a new book he argues the extremism that led to January 6th goes back at least 70 years to Sen. Joseph McCarthy and his high profile hunt for alleged Communists inside the State Department, the White House, the Treasury, and even the US Army.
Corn outlines a series of deliberate choices by the Republican Party between the 1950s and today that he says nurtured and exploited fear and loathing, and capitalized on misinformation and political paranoia until it became a central tenet of the party. He joins Diane on On My Mind to discuss “American Psychosis.”
Anthropologist Anita Hannig discusses her new book, "The Day I Die," an intimate investigation of assisted death in America.
Diane talks to Washington Post health reporter Dan Diamond about the scope of the monkeypox outbreak, just how dangerous the virus is, and the government's botched effort to stop the spread.
Diane talks to historian Elisabeth Griffith about the fight for women's equality in the U.S., including battles won and lost, and the struggle to create an inclusive path toward fair treatment for all.
Inflation is high. The GDP has shrunk. But the job market has never been better. The Washington Post's Damian Paletta helps make sense of the U.S. economy today.
From high mortgage rates to shortages that have spread coast to coast, New York Times reporter Emily Badger explains the roots -- and consequences of our country's broken housing system.
Fifty years after the Tuskegee study, Diane talks to Harvard's Evelynn Hammonds about the intersection of race and medicine in the United States, and the lessons from history that can help us understand health inequities today.
Pills, the right to travel and fetal personhood laws -- Diane talks to Temple University Law School's Rachel Rebouché about what's next in the fight over abortion in the U.S.
What's happened to groups like the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys post-January 6, and the ongoing threat of far-right extremism in this country. Diane talks to Sam Jackson, author of "Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group"
For centuries science described male animals as aggressive, promiscuous, and dominant, and females as pretty much the opposite. Author Lucy Cooke says we got it wrong and updates our understanding of the queens of the animal kingdom.
Former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade digs into the week's explosive testimony at the January 6th committee hearing -- and whether it pushes the Department of Justice closer to an indictment of Donald Trump.
A look at what we have learned so far from the public hearings of the January 6 Committee. Diane talks to Ryan Goodman, professor at New York University's School of Law. He explains what is next in the investigation, including whether we might see criminal charges against former President Donald Trump.
To mark Juneteenth, a conversation with three contributors to "The 1619 Project" about what happens when we place slavery and its legacy at the center of the American story. Diane talks to New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie, history professor Martha S. Jones and Jake Silverstein, editor-in-chief of The New York Times Magazine.
Author Jennifer Haigh discusses her latest novel, "Mercy Street." Set at an abortion clinic in Boston, it tells the stories of the patients, employees, and protesters whose lives intersect there.
The New Yorker's Susan Glasser looks at the history of Washington's reactions to mass shootings -- and the politics of passing new gun laws today.
The Atlantic's Katherine Wu discusses what we know -- and what we are still struggling to understand -- about long Covid.
As the war in Ukraine grinds on, a look at the economic battlefield and how the conflict might permanently reshape the global economy. Diane talks to Sebastian Mallaby, senior fellow for international economics at the Council on Foreign Relations.
David Gergen was a White House adviser to four presidents, then founded the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard. In a new book he explains what it takes to become a leader and why fresh leadership is so necessary in this country today.
Title IX turns 50 in June. Diane talks to Elizabeth Sharrow, expert on the history and consequences of the landmark sex discrimination law, about how it transformed women's sports -- and how much there is left to be done to achieve equality on the playing field.
The New Yorker's Robin Wright on Russia's threatened use of nuclear weapons and what it says about the state of global security.
Book bans, outlawed curriculum, and the history of culture wars in America's schools. Diane talks to educational historian Adam Laats.
Journalist Jessica Bruder on prepping for a post-Roe America. Her new cover story in The Atlantic is titled, "The Abortion Underground."
Diane talks to Stephen Rapp, former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues, about alleged atrocities in Ukraine and what accountability might look like.
Historians Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Andrew Curran explore a hidden chapter in the invention of race in the 18th Century.
Veteran national security and foreign affairs reporter James Kitfield on President Biden's trip to Europe and next steps for the Western allies in countering Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Journalist Julia Ioffe on what Russians understand about what's happening in Ukraine, and the impact waging war is having on Russia and its people.
In 2017 New York Times columnist Frank Bruni lost sight in one eye -- and was at risk of losing it in the other. In his new memoir, "The Beauty of Dusk," he tells the story of confronting his own vulnerability and what it taught him about the limitations we all eventually encounter.
The war in Ukraine enters its second week. Diane talks to Washington Post national security reporter Shane Harris about Putin's next move and what more the West can do to counter Russian aggression.
Joy Harjo is the first Native American to hold the post of U.S. Poet Laureate. And just the second to serve a third term. She talks to Diane about how she became a "Poet Warrior," and supporting the voices of other Native poets.
The events of January 6th left some Americans wondering if widespread political violence could occur in the United States. It's a question Stephen Marche explores in his new book, "The Next Civil War: Dispatches from the American Future."
Longtime labor reporter Steven Greenhouse explains what high profile strikes and efforts to unionize say about the and future of the labor movement.
The New Yorker's Jane Mayer discusses the political activism of Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and why her actions may pose a threat to the Court, itself.
Russia expert Angela Stent on the threat of an invasion in Ukraine and why understanding "the Putin doctrine" is key to avoiding a larger conflict.
Dr. Anthony Fauci on cresting the Omicron wave, what the government has gotten right -- and wrong -- with its Covid response, and when he expects a return to some sense of normalcy.
The fight over voting rights has taken center stage in Washington. Election law expert Richard Hasen explains what's at stake and why he's looking beyond Congress to preserve free and fair elections in the United States.
Political scientist Norman Ornstein on the lessons of the January 6 insurrection and what he says must be done to strengthen American democracy.
A 2015 interview with a molecular-biologist-turned-Buddhist-monk who says altruism is the answer to many of the world's most pressing challenges.
Inflation is at a 40-year high. Unemployment is at historic lows. And nobody can find cream cheese, not to mention a new car. Greg Ip of the Wall Street Journal explains what's happening with the U.S. economy, and how long it will last.
Former NATO ambassador Ivo Daalder on threats of a Russian invasion in Ukraine and what the U.S. and European allies can do about it.
The Cook Political Report's Amy Walter discusses why President Biden's popular policies haven't translated to popularity among voters.
Diane talks with Norm Ornstein, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, about the revelations ain Bob Woodward's new book "Rage," and the other major news events of the week.
Diane talks with Shane Harris, intelligence and national security reporter at The Washington Post, about Russia's latest disinformation campaign - as well as the one happening domestically.
Diane asks David Graham, staff writer at The Atlantic, how the the two candidates have responded to the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and why he believes Trump's efforts to stoke violence will ultimately hurt him come November.
The Wall Street Journal's Gerald Seib on how the GOP became the party of Donald Trump. His new book is, "We Should Have Seen It Coming."
Now that the political conventions are over, the 2020 presidential campaign enters a new phase. New York Times opinion columnist Frank Bruni on his takeaways from the last two weeks and how the Republicans and Democrats tried to shape the race.
Author Isabel Wilkerson says a caste system, not racism, is the better prism through which to see and think about black oppression in the United States. Her new book is "Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents."
A new report by the Senate Intelligence Committee details ties between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign. Lawfare's Benjamin Wittes explains what's in the report, and why it raises concerns about Russian interference in this year's presidential election.
ProPublica's Jessica Huseman joins Diane to discuss how the U.S. Postal Service became the center of a political fight over the integrity of the 2020 elections.
In a new book, CNN chief national security correspondent Jim Sciutto, looks into President Trump's foreign policy decision making and what drives it - and compares the approach Richard Nixon's. His new book is "The Madman Theory: Trump Takes on the World."
Nothing about the 2020 presidential campaign is typical and the debates are no different. Diane talks with Janet Brown, executive director of the Commission on Presidential Debates, about how they are planning in the middle of a pandemic.
In a lawsuit filed this week, New York Attorney General Letitia James said a months long investigation into the National Rifle Association found extensive "fraud and abuse" and she's calling for the powerful gun rights organization to be dissolved. Diane talks with Adam Winkler, professor of law at UCLA, about the lawsuit and what comes next.
Diane talks to Robert P. Jones, author of the new book, "White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity."