The Rachel Maddow Show Blog

Today's TRMS

Vanessa Silverton-Peel — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:50:21 -0500

On today's TRMS Rachel will be talking to two giants in their fields: author Tim Weiner and former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinsky. Weiner wrote "Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA" and he'll join us to discuss the appointment of Leon Panetta. Then Brzezinski and Rachel discuss the escalating war in Gaza, what sending more troops to Afghanistan would really mean, and how Condi Rice became angrily passive.

Wednesday's Open Thread

bobdrummond — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:10:38 -0500

Enjoy, and play nice...

Today's TRMS

Vanessa Silverton-Peel — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 15:11:47 -0500

On today's TRMS Rachel will be talking to Jeremy Ben-Ami, Executive Director of the progressive, pro-Israel organization J-Street about the ongoing Israeli air assault in the Gaza Strip, a densely populated area roughly twice the size of Washington D.C. Will there be a ground assault? What does Israel want? How will they know when they've won?

And then Patrick Campbell, Legislative Director Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America, chats with Rachel about the news this week that not one of the major TV networks has a full time correspondent in Iraq.

Maddow on Obama's Really Bad Choice

Air America — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 09:42:34 -0500

On "The Rachel Maddow Show" last night, Rachel explained why the scandal behind President-elect Obama's selection of Rick Warren for the inaugural invocation will not go away. One reason would have to be that Rick Warren keeps discussing it publicly.

Maddow on the Utah Wilderness Auction

Air America — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 11:31:46 -0500

Last night, Rachel discussed how the Bush administration auctioned off leases to Utah's red rock wilderness for oil and gas drilling. Environmental activist Tim Dechristopher signed up as a bidder thus monkey-wrenching the bids.

Earth Justice President TripVan Noppen joined Rachel to discuss how the Bush administration is continuing to ruin the environment.

Today's TRMS

Vanessa Silverton-Peel — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 14:09:09 -0500

On today's show Rachel will be deabting to potential and even probable appointment of Caroline Kennedy with her pal and political guru David Bender, host of Politically Direct. It's not that Kennedy is a particularly terribel choice, but why can't New York find a worthy leader not named Kennedy, Cuomo or Clinton? And then Mark Greenberg, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, talks to us about the state of th ewelfare system left in tatters by Bill Clinton's 1996 "reforms." When an economy starts to tank, people really need that social safety net. Is ours too full of holes?

And if you live in New York and you aren't too terrified of the scary snow, please join Rachel at Susan Mikula's awesome art opening at CHC Gallery in Chelsea. If you can't make it tonight, the show will be up until January 24th.

Today's TRMS

Vanessa Silverton-Peel — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 17:36:01 -0500

On today's show Rachel will be talking to LA Times reporter Ken Ellington about the kidnapping of a kidnapping expert in Mexico this past week. And then Mike Lillis from the Washington Independent explains why the Southern Republican Senators don't want to save the American auto industry. Hint: it has nothing to do with conservative economic principles.

Maddow on Bush Keeping Gitmo Open

Air America — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 12:50:29 -0500

On “The Rachel Maddow Show” last night, Rachel interviewed Salon.com columnist Glenn Greenwald about whether the Bush Administration is trying to obstruct President-elect Obama’s plan to shutdown Guantanamo Bay.

Video and transcript after the jump.

Maddow on the Myth of "Clean Coal"

Air America — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 14:15:39 -0500

Last night on "The Rachel Maddow Show," Rachel talked with Brian Hardwick, spokesman for The Reality Coalition about the myth of clean coal and Obama's plan to develop clean coal technology in order to help create millions of new green jobs. After the jump is where you will also find video and a transcript.

Today's TRMS

Vanessa Silverton-Peel — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 15:35:07 -0500

On today's show Rachel is going to be talking to Slate's Emily Bazelon about the five Guantanamo detainees who have decided to plead guilty in order to maintain their status as martyrs. And then Jane Hamsher from Fire Dog Lake is here to argue AGAINST Caroline Kennedy as the new New York senator.

Maddow on the GOP Spin Cycle

Air America — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 11:09:40 -0500

Last night on "The Rachel Maddow Show," Rachel talked to Los Angelas Times' columnist Rosa Brooks about the GOP's new attempt to rewrite history with Saxby Chambliss' win in Georgia.

Today's TRMS

Andrew Dunn — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:02:47 -0500

Happy Wednesday!

David Bender is in for Rachel tonight on the Rachel Maddow Show. In the first hour he'll be talking with Milk producers Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen about the film and the life of Harvey Milk.

MILK movie site: http://www.filminfocus.com/focusfeatures/film/milk/ Check out the bottom of the post to see when MILK is coming to your city.

In the second hour David talks with Frank Voci of WhiteKnot.org [http://whiteknot.org] about marriage equality and what symbol can do to raise awareness of the issue.

MILK city release schedule

November 26:

11/26/2008 ATLANTA

11/26/2008 BOSTON

11/26/2008 CHICAGO

11/26/2008 DALLAS

11/26/2008 DENVER

11/26/2008 DETROIT

11/26/2008 JACKSONVILLE

11/26/2008 LOS ANGELES

11/26/2008 MINNEAPOLIS

11/26/2008 NEW YORK

11/26/2008 PHILADELPHIA

11/26/2008 PORTLAND

11/26/2008 SAN FRANCISCO

11/26/2008 SEATTLE

11/26/2008 ST. LOUIS

11/26/2008 WASHINGTON

November 28:

11/28/2008 SAN FRANCISCO

December 5:

12/05/2008 ATLANTA

12/05/2008 CHICAGO

12/05/2008 CINCINNATI

12/05/2008 DALLAS

12/05/2008 JACKSONVILLE

12/05/2008 LOS ANGELES

12/05/2008 NEW YORK

12/05/2008 SALT LAKE CITY

12/05/2008 SAN FRANCISCO

12/05/2008 WASHINGTON

December 12:

12/12/2008 ALBANY

12/12/2008 ATLANTA

12/12/2008 BOSTON

12/12/2008 BUFFALO

12/12/2008 CHARLOTTE

12/12/2008 CHICAGO

12/12/2008 CINCINNATI

Maddow: Don't Blame Unions

Air America — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 12:00:14 -0500

Rachel broke down the good, the bad and the ugly of the Big Three "crisis" and then talked to United Steelworkers International President Leo Gerard. Check out the video or read the transcript after the jump.

Open Thread

bobdrummond — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 09:35:18 -0500

Enjoy the new thread...

Rachel Maddow on Conan O'Brien

Dorsey Shaw — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 15:56:19 -0500

On Friday night Rachel appeared on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" for a very entertaining chat including a discussion of her favorite childhood game called, "Iran."

Rachel is back!

Vanessa Silverton-Peel — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 11:18:43 -0500

Rachel is back from the Air America cruise where she met so many of our very smart and very fun listeners. As we ease back into the swing of things Rachel will be hosting the first hour of the show and Nicole Sandler will be hosting the second hour.

Nicole has done a bang up job filling in for Rachel these last three days, we are lucky to have her! More on tonight's show later...

Guest Host: Maddow and Reagan Today

Beau Friedlander — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:22:54 -0500

Tonight on the Rachel Maddow and Ron Reagan Radio Programs....

Rachel and Ron are off on the Air America Cruise, and I'm thrilled to have the honor of filling in for them for the next few days.

By way of introduction, my name is Nicole Sandler, and I'm broadcasting this week from Miami, FL. I've actually been in radio for close to 30 years, but most of those years were spent playing music. Listeners in Los Angeles might remember me from my days with Mark & Brian at KLOS, or from the "Triple A" stations KSCA and Channel 103.1.

After losing a couple of jobs due to stations being sold and changing formats, I moved around the country a bit, and wound up back in South Florida, where I grew up, for family reasons. I started a video production company, but spent much of my time listening to the Air America affiliate down here, and soon contacted them for employment.

To make a long story short, I wound up hosting mornings on 940 WINZ until, along with much of the radio industry, I was downsized. I now podcast and blog daily at www.RadioOrNot.com, and this week am honored to fill in for Rachel and Ron Reagan while they're cruising.

Tonight, we'll deal with the passage of constitutional amendments in California, Florida and Arizona that outlaw gay marriage... and more. We'll look at the effect of the legislation, how this happened in a supposed enlightened time in American history, and what we can do to counter it.

I'll be joined by Melissa Etheridge, activist/artist Charles Merrill, TV's Judge David Young, adoption professional and gay foster parent Robert Lamarche, and you on the phones at 866-303-2270.

You can always reach me at www.radioornot.com, or nicole@nicolesandler.com.

Looking forward to talking with you tonight! And stick around for the third hour for The Ron Reagan Show!

Watch New IAVA PSA

Andrew Dunn — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 20:55:18 -0500

http://www.iava.org/content/view/2867/235/

- or -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VcvmoGjGNc

Ron Reagan hosts TRMS tonight from 7-8 EST

logan — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 14:25:07 -0500

From Ron Reagan:

Victory.

How sweet it is.

Hour 1: An update on the controversial ballot initiative, Prop 8, which passed yesterday with Rev. Susan Russell (Prop 8)
And behind-the-scenes details on team Palin, McCain and Obama with Newsweek reporter, Nick Summers

And stick around for hour 2 : John Nichols, from The Nation, on the obstacles ahead and the historical nature of the Obama win
And Darcy Burner (running for Washington State’s 8th Congressional District) on the yet undeclared results this local race

Plus your calls throughout the show

866 – 303 – 2270 IS THE NUMBER TO CALL-IN FOR YOU LISTENERS OUT THERE

Today's TRMS

Vanessa Silverton-Peel — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 18:17:43 -0500

Happy Election Day! On today's show we are talking about the HOW of voting. How active duty soldiers vote, how the campaigns get out the vote, how Florida will or won't get voting right this year. Rachel's guests will be Sean Quinn from fivethirtyeight.com, Paul Rieckhoff, and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Rachel Talks with Obama

Air America — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 17:00:32 -0400

Attention all Air Americans! As many of you know, Rachel is on her way down to Florida to talk to the guy who will turn this country around, and you can listen to their conversation and Rachel's commentary tomorrow! Tune in at 6pm!

Josey Packard's Election Day Cocktail Recipes

Vanessa Silverton-Peel — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 13:19:39 -0400

The Fix

Source: an American classic! courtesy of Josey Packard

Build in a tumbler:

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

1 teaspoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon water
mix that up til the sugar has started to dissolve

half-fill the glass with cracked ice, then add:

2 oz spirits (josey likes whisky)

fill the glass to the brim with more cracked ice
stir
garnish lavishly -- slice of lemon, slice of lime, berries, tropical fruits if you've got 'em.

The Prosecutor

Source: a Josey Packard original cocktail

In a cocktail shaker, combine:

2 oz rye (try Old Overholt or 6 year old Sazerac)

half-ounce fresh-squeezed lemon juice

half-ounce st. germaine elderflower liqueur

half-ounce yellow chartreuse

Add lots of ice, shake for at least ten seconds, and strain into a cocktail glass. No garnish.

Want Josey to make you a cocktail? http://www.drinkfortpoint.com

Today's TRMS

Vanessa Silverton-Peel — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 13:13:18 -0400

On today's show Rachel welcomes back the man we think of as both the dean and the class president of Air America Radio, Al Franken! Al will be talking about ihis tight Senate race against Norm Coleman and why he thinks it's OK for McCain to go on Saturday Night Live this weekend.

And then Josey Packard, official Rachel Maddow Show mixologist and bartender at a the very new Drink in Boston, talks to Rachel about what cocktails we should make on Election Day.

And finally, if you are bored this weekend, here is a Rachel Maddow-approved video about robots!

Ron Reagan hosts TRMS ...

logan — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 18:18:04 -0400

Tonight, from Ron Reagan:

Rachel Maddow on her BIG get: Obama!

Plus Sonja Eddings Brown, Rev. Susan Russell, Chris Carlson, on some of the more controversial ballot proposals:

- Prop 8 California Constitutional Amendment to eliminate same-sex couples from marriage.

- Prop 1000 in Washington State "Right to Die"

Plus, linguist George Lakoff & filmmaker Eugene Jarecki later in the show on framing talk about war and politics.

And your calls.

866 – 303 – 2270 IS THE NUMBER TO CALL-IN FOR YOU LISTENERS OUT THERE.

Today's TRMS

Vanessa Silverton-Peel — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:24:54 -0400

Every prediction we make about the election is based on one thing: polls. But do you trust the polls? What if they are wrong? On today's show Rachel will be talking to Nate Silver, founder of fivethirtyeight.com, about why we should trust the polling and why it should also be keeping us up at night.

And then Kathy Spillar, the executive vice president of Feminist Majority, will be here to talk about anti-abortion ballot initiatives and what they might mean for women across the country.