Brain Trust Live

12/16/25 - Entangling Innocent People

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 23:21:22 -0700

In Which We Discuss:

1. Once again and always and forever. It’s the guns, people.

2. Epstein files are out this Friday so get excited for that Venezuelan ground war you’ve been waiting for!

3. The House GOP finally has a healthcare plan, and it’s somehow even worse than Trump’s own plan to just send people money.

4. Karen Bass gears up for reelection by thinking, eating, and dreaming of the largest police force ever devised.

Brain Trust Live is Lila Nordstrom and Brent Thornburg's look at the week in electoral and political news. Join the millions of chirping birds, sirens, helicopters, barking dogs, and computer beeps who love our podcast and tell your friends about BTL! Then rate us on iTunes or find us Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Stitcher, or Instagram!

And, as always, you can buy and review Lila's book here: Some Kids Left Behind.

Plus, subscribe to Lila's other podcast, What Can I Do, wherever you get your podcasts!

11/18/25 - Memes of Courage!

Mon, 17 Nov 2025 18:34:53 -0700

In Which We Discuss:

1. It’s Epstein week so…now is not the time to fact check! Spread those memes with courage!

2. As her brain short-circuits, now’s the time to give Marjorie Taylor Green’s brain the correct inputs.

3. Did you know that if you’re elected as a Democratic Socialist you can keep identifying as one while in office?

4. The shutdown is over and…how many times have we had to write the headline “Democrats snatch defeat from the jaws of victory”?

And, as always, you can buy and review Lila's book here: Some Kids Left Behind.

Plus, subscribe to Lila's other podcast, What Can I Do, wherever you get your podcasts!

11/4/25 - Let Them Eat Ballrooms!

Mon, 03 Nov 2025 23:02:30 -0700

In Which We Discuss:

1. It’s election day and New York City has predictably stolen the show with the most important election in the nation!

2. Nancy Pelosi makes the shocking decision to not die in office.

3. We’ve entered the “Let them eat cake!” era of the Trump shutdown.

4. Is baseball becoming a Democratic sport?

And, as always, you can buy and review Lila's book here: Some Kids Left Behind.

Plus, subscribe to Lila's other podcast, What Can I Do, wherever you get your podcasts!

10/20/25 - Why We're Shut Down

Sun, 19 Oct 2025 16:54:16 -0700

This week, we’re live in the shutdown trenches reporting on a good 2% of the news that’s happened since you last heard from us. (And also the NYC Mayor’s race!)

And, as always, you can buy and review Lila's book here: Some Kids Left Behind.

Plus, subscribe to Lila's other podcast, What Can I Do, wherever you get your podcasts!

7/29/25 - A Crisis With No Cause

Mon, 28 Jul 2025 23:53:47 -0700

In Which We Discuss:

1. How many times are we going to get breaking news that this guy is in the Epstein files, a thing we’ve known in our hearts since thinking itself was invented?

2. At long last, Barack Obama has finally been told about the crisis in Gaza!

3. Trump health controversy leads us to discover shocking news: Mitch McConnell is still alive and still in the senate.

4. Democrats so bad at their jobs that voters now trust Republicans more on TARIFFS.

5. New York City primary results leave Andrew Cuomo in a high school lunchroom nightmare scenario

6. If fraud is allowed now, why is George Santos the only Republican without a pardon?

And, as always, you can buy and review Lila's book here: Some Kids Left Behind.

Plus, subscribe to Lila's other podcast, What Can I Do, wherever you get your podcasts!

7/1/25 - Sometimes Good Things Still Happen!

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 22:14:42 -0700

In Which We Discuss:

1. Bad things are happening a lot out there, but sometimes good things happen! And that’s okay too!

2. Will John Fetterman ever make it to his beach vacation or will he be stuck forever in the One Big Beautiful Bill vote-a-rama?

And, as always, you can buy and review Lila's book here: Some Kids Left Behind.

Plus, subscribe to Lila's other podcast, What Can I Do, wherever you get your podcasts!

6/17/25 - What's Math Anyway?

Tue, 17 Jun 2025 22:03:58 -0700

In Which We Discuss:

1. Crowd math is not math, it’s a vibe.

2. There’s no such thing as pointless activism.

3. Maybe Democrats never do the WORST version of the thing, but why are they so complicit in the thing?

4. Can Democrats not put us in the position of having to agree with Tucker Carlson?

5. Are you in NYC? Vote for Mamdani! Elect fun people with ideas!

6. Speaking of ideas, you can have them too!

And, as always, you can buy and review Lila's book here: Some Kids Left Behind.

Plus, subscribe to Lila's other podcast, What Can I Do, wherever you get your podcasts!

4/21/25 - The Easter Spectacular: 2025 Edition

Sun, 20 Apr 2025 22:18:08 -0700

In Which We Discuss:

1. It’s our yearly Easter special! This year we learn the story of Jesus’s resurrection from leading biblical expert and improvisational essayist Marjorie Taylor Green!

2. Pete Hegseth: Still drunk texting war plans to his friends.

3. Chris Van Hollen is the one Democrat to try a stunt this week. Next week let’s aim for two!

4. Our hot take on private space travel.

5. An important general PSA: Have fun out there, guys!

And, as always, you can buy and review Lila's book here: Some Kids Left Behind.

Plus, subscribe to Lila's other podcast, What Can I Do, wherever you get your podcasts!

4/7/25 - Credible Explanations

Sun, 06 Apr 2025 20:24:47 -0700

In Which We Discuss:

1. The April 5th protests: A great place to be mad about…literally anything.

2. We famously love a filibuster stunt, but save your money. Cory Booker’s presidential campaign will be funded by the “good billionaires,” not your $5.

3. Did you ever wonder if there’s a reason you don’t understand what’s going on with these tariffs? Do you wish somebody credible would explain them to you? Us too.

Brain Trust Live is Lila Nordstrom and Brent Thornburg's look at the week in electoral and political news. Join the millions of falling phones, sirens, helicopters, barking dogs, and computer beeps who love our podcast and tell your friends about BTL! Then rate us on iTunes or find us Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Stitcher, or Instagram!

And, as always, you can buy and review Lila's book here: Some Kids Left Behind.

Plus, subscribe to Lila's other podcast, What Can I Do, wherever you get your podcasts!

3/31/25 - Let's Message

Sun, 30 Mar 2025 21:58:37 -0700

Turn off your push notifications - they're not helping you now. There's a major messaging and strategy challenge in front of us, and we're thinking through how to solve it.

11/18/24 - Let's Brainstorm

Sun, 17 Nov 2024 19:22:59 -0700

Welp....that happened. We're not really sure what the report this week so welcome to our post-election real-time brainstorm session!

And, as always, you can buy and review Lila's book here: Some Kids Left Behind.

Plus, subscribe to Lila's other podcast, What Can I Do, wherever you get your podcasts!

11/4/24 - Let's Vibe

Sun, 03 Nov 2024 20:40:11 -0700

🚨ELECTION DAY IS TOMORROW, NOVEMBER 5th!!! Need help with your CA ballot? Looking for a breakdown of the props? Check out the BTL CA Prop Guide: https://tinyurl.com/CApropguide2024 🚨

In Which We Discuss:

1. What do you do when the one outlier poll is the most respected state pollster in the nation?

2. Newspapers are afraid of Trump. Is it possible pollsters are too?

3. Early vote continues to tell us…that a lot of people are early voting and little else.

4. Brain Trust Live Exclusive: We’re not doing “election week” this year.

5. Trump closing argument: I can be even more orange than I was in 2020.

6. Kamala’s closing argument: Your vote is secret and vibing together is fun.

And, as always, you can buy and review Lila's book here: Some Kids Left Behind.

Plus, subscribe to Lila's other podcast, What Can I Do, wherever you get your

10/28/24 - Beyhive and KHive Unite!

Sun, 27 Oct 2024 22:56:10 -0700

In Which We Discuss:

1. Early voting numbers. We’ve got ‘em, and we don’t know what they mean! (Don’t worry, nobody does.)

2. The Trump Nazi Rally adds insult to injury by denying New Yorkers their daily bagel run.

3. Harris’ ability to stay on message in front of television cameras is expiring.

4. Beyhive and KHive finally become one.

5. Latest debacle at LA Times and Washington Post are pretty excellent reasons for doing away with billionaires.

6. Trump’s Rogan interview reminds us that at his core, he’s really just a mediocre entertainer.

ALSO, need help with your CA ballot? Looking for a breakdown of the props? Check out the BTL CA Prop Guide: https://tinyurl.com/CApropguide2024

And, as always, you can buy and review Lila's book here: Some Kids Left Behind.

Plus, subscribe to Lila's other podcast, What Can I Do, wherever you get your

10/21/24 - Arnold Palmer

Sun, 20 Oct 2024 18:24:08 -0700

In Which We Discuss:

1. Early voting is happening and you should do it!

2. How is it possible that we haven’t left Elon Musk on the moon yet?

3. Donald Trump would like you to know something about Arnold Palmer.

4. Jon Tester’s opponent either got shot in a gunfight in Afghanistan, or shot himself with a pistol while visiting a national park. Just depends who you ask.

5. Control of the senate is within the margin of error.

6. Despite what you see in today’s news, Donald Trump still technically hasn’t worked at a McDonald’s.

Need help with your CA ballot? Looking for a breakdown of the props? Check out the BTL CA Prop Guide: https://tinyurl.com/CApropguide2024

And, as always, you can buy and review Lila's book here: Some Kids Left Behind.

Plus, subscribe to Lila's other podcast, What Can I Do, wherever you get your

10/14/24 - The 2024 CA Prop Guide Spectacular!

Mon, 14 Oct 2024 19:19:24 -0700

Our ballots have arrived in the mail, and now we have to actually fill them out. It's not such an easy task, though. In every election, Californians are asked to parse a truly unconscionable number of ballot propositions and make informed votes on a number of obscure topics. But here at Brain Trust Live, we're here to help!

Enter: The CA Prop BTL Spectacular. Dive in to our 10 state propositions and learn more about how the system works and what we could do differently. Then, make sure to check out (and share) our written guide, which you can find HERE. (It includes additional recommendations for county and city props in our area.)

More questions? Feel free to email us at braintrustapproved@gmail.com.

And, as always, you can buy and review Lila's book here: Some Kids Left Behind.

Plus, subscribe to Lila's other podcast, What Can I Do, wherever you get your podcasts!

10/8/24 - No Constituency for Dick Cheney

Mon, 07 Oct 2024 20:54:59 -0700

In Which We Discuss:

1. Californians, if you just got your 94 page sample ballot, never fear! Our prop guide is on the way!

2. Eric Adams: He’s not just bad at funding libraries, he’s bad at criming too!

3. What is going on with the Nebraska senate seat? A question we never thought we’d ask!

4. Tim Walz was a model of Minnesota nice even when presented with the world’s most punchable face.

5. Note to the Harris campaign: There is no constituency of Dick Cheney voters.

And, as always, you can buy and review Lila's book here: Some Kids Left Behind.

Plus, subscribe to Lila's other podcast, What Can I Do, wherever you get your podcasts!

9/23/24 - Scandal Mad Libs

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 06:17:18 -0700

In Which We Discuss:

1. This week’s Police Commissioner FBI raid in New York felt eerily similar to last week’s Police Commissioner FBI Raid.

2. Mark Robinson is playing GOP scandal Mad Libs.

3. Donald Trump’s assassination attempt sequel is a ratings flop.

4. Somehow RFK’s sex scandal is the least provocative of the lot.

5. We’re on the precipice of a world in which Ted Cruz is no longer our problem.

And, as always, you can buy and review Lila's book here: Some Kids Left Behind.

Plus, subscribe to Lila's other podcast, What Can I Do, wherever you get your podcasts!

9/12/24 - BTL's Harris/Trump Debate Extravaganza!

Wed, 11 Sep 2024 18:45:18 -0700

Hold onto your dogs and cats, it’s a Brain Trust Live Harris/Trump Debate Extravaganza (the first of what we *hope* will be many)!

Plus, don't miss Lila's appearances on NPR:

WNYC's All Things Considered: https://www.wnyc.org/story/23-years-after-911-women-and-children-survivors-are-asking-for-more-resources/

WBUR's Here and Now: https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2024/09/11/sept-11-stuyvesant-high-school

And, as always, you can buy and review Lila's book here: Some Kids Left Behind.

Plus, subscribe to Lila's other podcast, What Can I Do, wherever you get your podcasts!

9/4/24 - Our Greatest Philosopher on the Nature of Time

Tue, 03 Sep 2024 19:05:00 -0700

In Which We Discuss:

1. Polling: Not sure if you’ve heard, but the presidential election is close

2. New York Times makes unforced error using in an extended tennis metaphor during coverage of Kamala Harris’s CNN interview

3. Kamala Harris, our greatest philosopher on the concept of time, shows surprising discipline in a major new interview

4. Having made it an issue in the first place, Trump is now getting on all sides of the IVF issue in record time.

5. Did AI write Lara Trump’s new single or is Lara Trump actually AI?

And, as always, you can buy and review Lila's book here: Some Kids Left Behind.

Plus, subscribe to Lila's other podcast, What Can I Do, wherever you get your podcasts!

8/24/24 - A DNC AND 500th Episode Spectacular!

Fri, 23 Aug 2024 16:20:52 -0700

YOU MADE IT TO OUR 500TH EPISODE! We're so happy you're here and hope that in honor of this milestone we hope you'll subscribe and share this special episode featuring Grant Sloss!

This Week We Discuss:

1. Our favorite guest and secret research consultant Grant Sloss is here to celebrate this milestone!

2. Kamala Harris makes her DNC debut in “coconut brown.”

3. There was no Beyonce performance at the DNC…but we did get Lil’ Jon at the Roll Call?

4. The Tim Walz candidacy is apparently going to be 90% football references Lila doesn’t understand.

5. RFK is dropping out in the exact way the brain worms told him to.

6. JD Vance’s advance team is clearly out to get him.

And, as always, you can buy and review Lila's book here: Some Kids Left Behind.

Plus, subscribe to Lila's other podcast, What Can I Do, wherever you get your podcasts!

8/7/24 - You Need Joy

Wed, 07 Aug 2024 00:44:43 -0700

In Which We Discuss:

1. We have a VP candidate! We like him!

2. Democrats are making a slew of good decisions and nobody has any experience with this so we don’t know how to act.

3. What if we all just tried to enact the Democratic party platform? Is that a thing?

4. Trump’s interview with the National Association of Black Journalists somehow went even worse than you’d imagine.

5. If you thought New Gingrich getting bitten by a penguin was crazy, we’ve got a story for you!

6. The Olympics. Still a joy to behold.

And, as always, you can buy and review Lila's book here: Some Kids Left Behind.

Plus, subscribe to Lila's other podcast, What Can I Do, wherever you get your podcasts!

7/29/24 - 2024's Most Important Endorsement

Sun, 28 Jul 2024 23:32:55 -0700

In Which We Discuss:

1. The French don’t want their love of ménage à trois to get lost in the olympic frenzy.

2. British pop star Charli XCX makes most important endorsement of the US campaign season.

3. Kamala Harris could set herself apart from past democratic candidates by not making an absolute donkey-brained choice for VP.

4. Nobody wants to sit with JD Vance at the lunch table.

5. Speaking of unpopular people, it’s no longer cool to shake Benjamin Netanyahu’s hand.

And, as always, you can buy and review Lila's book here: Some Kids Left Behind.

Plus, subscribe to Lila's new podcast, What Can I Do, wherever you get your podcasts!

7/22/24 - Unburdened by What Has Been

Sun, 21 Jul 2024 21:33:33 -0700

It's a Presidential chaos spectacular!

Listen, we’d write a rundown, but it’s not worth it. Just listen.

And, as always, you can buy and review Lila's book here: Some Kids Left Behind.

Plus, subscribe to Lila's new podcast, What Can I Do, wherever you get your podcasts!

6/30/24 - June Gloom

Sun, 30 Jun 2024 19:31:57 -0700

It’s a June debate and SCOTUS season spectacular with special guest Ben Softness! (Plus the presidential pep talk you’ve been needing.)

And, as always, you can buy and review Lila's book here: Some Kids Left Behind.

Plus, subscribe to Lila's new podcast, What Can I Do, wherever you get your podcasts!

6/17/24 - More Physical Comedy Than Content

Mon, 17 Jun 2024 00:40:20 -0700

In Which We Discuss:

1. Sadly Donald Trump is not yet a political prisoner! If only.

2. GOP frustrated that the Hunter Biden conviction they’ve long sought is now here.

3. First presidential debate shaping up to be more physical comedy than content.

4. Democrats mysteriously unbothered by spooky parallels to ‘68 Chicago convention.

5. Did Donald Trump commit 34 felonies to get out of going to Milwaukee for the GOP Convention?

6. Imagine how many trips Doug Burgham would get to take to the border if he was Trump’s VP pick!

And, as always, you can buy and review Lila's book here: Some Kids Left Behind.

Plus, subscribe to Lila's new podcast, What Can I Do, wherever you get your podcasts!