Wow Al….last week’s Ben Wikler episode was OUTSTANDING, and this week’s (4/28) episode was sooooo interesting, incredibly relevant but as a WI resident, it of course brought back all the PTSD from the post 2010 elections and the era of the Walker democracy destruction. Nonetheless, this was a very riveting episode and should be a warning shot across the bow for the nation. Our country holding two diametrically opposed ideas of oligarchy vs democracy is one we’ve battled before but the added bonus of authoritarianism and fascism was generally held in check. Now these threats are escalating exponentially under the minority rule of the GOP. Thank you for hosting this fantastic guest. (Oh yes….and Ben Wikler…you know, for a change!!)

Just what makes that dude think he’s got any idea how this will all shake out? I’m seeing trending away from Don Pornleon. He’s got a flimsy hold on his party and it’s getting flimsier everyday. You will eat your lousy analysis my friend! I promise you. BIDEN will crush that rapist, anti-American , antisemitic, racist, traitor. Did I miss anything? Great show today Al, for a change.😘

Huge admirer of Al Franken here, proud because some of my family were from Minnesota, loved his humor, his pointed humor about being a Jewish Minnesotan and American, his service in the Senate. Sent him money for campaigns. (Until the absurd ouster - like, why? When if there was ever a time for owning bad behavior and apology, for accepting that the best of a person is not their stupidest, most obliviously offensive moments…). But the Franklin Foer interview was terrible. The pacing … slow teasers to get to ads (argh hate this in a podcast: just get it done already). And the mix of great material with again - oblivious?! Just wrong information about such an important and worthwhile subject. If you’re gonna joke about the “exhilaration”guy from Cornell, listen to what he was saying first and make a better joke. If you’re gonna rant about what colleges allow - at least show you have some clue that there is more than one side to what you are talking about - that there are eloquent, thoughtful students among the leaders of Jewish Voice for Peace or whatever - that really, the adults in the room are sometimes the kids, not the admins or politicians, even not the journalists or police. Even while the slogans are like tinder and gasoline, triggering trauma and incomprehension…”free speech” is tough. A lot of gen X parents are scratching their heads, defending Israel in general, decrying antisemitism, and also relearning some history and allowing that their slightly anarchist kids have some good arguments. That yes, people still suffer from the truly atrocious and appalling attacks on defenseless civilians in Israel on October 7… and also, many hundreds of civilian Gazans were suffering pretty horribly - crowding ERs with severed limbs, TBI and burned children - starting right on October 8 - that even while most of us not in the region were trying to get our heads around the news, those aware of Gazan lives were noting us that the IDF dropping something like 6000 pounds of high explosives in a week in really undefended areas was getting “disproportionate” really fast. Bernie Sanders said it well this week - no question that antisemitism is vile bigotry that has caused suffering to millions. But accountability is needed! Foer’s worthy points - and any helpful discussion of them - were lost in a dismaying lack of perspective or nuance that we have now had half an agonizing year to try to gain. I hoped Franken would do better.

Can we please stop pretending that the vast majority of Gazan’s oppose Hamas. The opposite is true. They elected these animals & now they are democracy-loving innocents? How many civilians are dying in Ukraine? How many UK children are being killed & kidnapped into Russia?

Al, if you want to know what’s going to happen in the Trump trials ask Andrew Weissmann and then plan for the opposite to happen. Nobody has been more wrong than Weissmann as to the Trump legal cases…..He also screwed up the Mueller Report. Trump has run circles around the Dems, MSNBC legal pundits, and other fools. Trump is cancer. It’s a very simple concept. Right now the Dems are in the denial phase which will be followed by the prison rape phase….. Dems have absolutely no idea the freight train bearing down on them. The Trump victory will destroy the the Dem Party.

It’s good

If Trump threatens/ defames jurors , are they allowed to sue him after trial? Or would they have to drop out, and then sue?

Dreadful woman - listen to yourself - you must talk about immigration - you ignore this at your peril

Thanks for another great one for a change. Wish you were on more than once a week. Better yet, wish you were still in the Senate. Thanks Al, for all the laughs and all you do, do.

I’m one of those people who still opens Al’s emails. I’ve been listening to Senator Franken’s podcasts for awhile now. They are entertaining and I learn something new from ever podcast. Hearing his infectious laugh is a real bonus. I ordinarily love Tim’s commentary, but he was way off the mark regarding Robert Hur. To keep insisting that he was naive and didn’t understand what to he was doing is a ridiculous take. Al tried to explain to Tim that evidence pointed to the contrary, Tim wouldn’t budge. Cheers, big fan from Air America days.

Is a nothing burger All opinion Knows nothing new

First time ever that I’ve been disappointed by Tim but YOU, AL , were fantastic at keeping Tim off a high horse !! Thank you !

Loved the crossover podcast between Al & Tim!!

Shame

You a my treasure. You are my sunshine. Pretty silly but true.

Former Senator Al Franken and his podcast started out pretty good and funny. However, the liberal Zionism has been coming out more and more and snowballing, even before October 7. Now it’s just intolerant and intolerable.

I’m always happy when there’s a new episode of the podcast. Also, I wouldn’t be mad if you had Heidi Heitkamp on again :)

I haven’t laughed this hard in a long time. Al is a national treasure and his Jewish curiosity about evangelism is so pure. And then Tim’s earnest responses are equally pure. Great pod.

I loved the discussion with Tim Alberta. Thanks, Al.

Does Al’s statement have any relevance after he says the it well over 250 times? Geez Al, do you repeat the same grandad joke to you grandkids over and over and over? Enjoy Al’s viewpoint. Just not the repeated statements, for a change!

Informative conversations. Audio levels are very uneven, both of ads and conversations.

Was this ep recorded in 2016? Al seemed surprised GOP voters like Trump. Been listening out of habit, no more.

Love this podcast, I have been using Audible to listen every week. I download it so I can listen on the go. It has been frustrating to me because when I go to rate and review it says that I have not listened to it long enough. The reality is that I have listened to it if not twice, then plenty of rewind to fully soak up the Senator’s unparalleled wisdom, and thoughtful explanations. I will listen here from now on where my rate and review is noted.

I just put on the most recent episode with Dahlia Lithwick. She upspeaks (rising intonation no matter what is being said) so bad that I can’t listen even though I’m interested in this episode. Maybe I’ll just read the transcript because I will not torture myself. Someone needs to tell her how much she does this and to stop it. I’m going to have to pass on this one.

Dahlia! For Heaven’s sake, stop saying that taking Trumpf off the ballot is “disenfranchising” the Trump voters!!!! These voters are not being denied access to the voting booth. They are perfectly able to cast their vote for someone else or even to write in Trump if they want to. Please stop feeding this disinformation to podcast listeners!! They can write in Q-Anon if they choose to. They STILL HAVE THE RIGHT TO CAST A BALLOT. But the name DJT will not be printed on the ballot. And if they choose to throw away their vote on a write in for a criminal, that is their choice.

Despite what happens in 2024, your common sense and stories from the “inside” keep folks like me going and prevent me from spiraling into complete submission in the republican led craziness I never dreamed possible. Never retire. Please run again. Don’t stop podcasting.

Absolute joy!!!!

So we're supposed to forget Franken resigned from the senate in disgrace?

Looking forward to listening to more episodes of Al Franken’s Podcast!

Am so pleased to see all the other reviews baffled by his antipathy to President Biden running again. I am not alone. President Biden is a breathe of fresh air and the best thing that has happened to the US since the second half of the 20th Century. Polling pundits need to speak to people in the streets and stop spinning their personal negative views, which seems to seep through into the ether. PortSaid1956

For a change Thanks, Al. Sorry it took me so long to understand it wasn’t a joke.

This is a good podcast. But any episode that has the audio of Trump’s voice is too hard to listen to. There is never the reason to play video or audio of that guy. Never. No excuse.

Classic example of “Progressive until Palestine”. I hope that AIPAC money was worth sitting back while the world watched Israel commit genocide.

Al gets the best guests and elicits from them insights into current events and history. I laugh, I weep, but I leave each episode better informed and prepared to fight for our democratic republic.

2020 elections predictors David Axelrod (incorrect) and Cecile Richards (correct) but the one who was wrong (a man) gets another chance to predict? Richards’ cofounded Supermajority, a nationwide initiative working to build an intergenerational, multiracial movement to advocate gender equity. Al, I’d love to hear how that intersection with the upcoming election is going and how predictive Richards is a year out.

Seems like he has an axe to grind.

David Axelrod is old and can’t hardly form a sentence that takes less than 5 minutes, but yet…..Biden

The fact that you frame it as Israel having no choice but to do what they’re doing is disingenuous, but then to compare it to Russia invading Ukraine is is just intentional despicable. There were many calls for the US not to enter into its war in the Middle East, calls that Iraq had nothing to do with it and no WMDs, and calls for us to stop our collateral damage campaign and those calls were right. There were also plenty of calls for Russia to end its invasion, but would you expect a country to not defend itself from an invasion regardless of the perceived power disparity? Of course Hamas’ actions would warrant a response and they were counting on it, but how Israel chose to respond is on them. Leaders are adults capable of making their own choices, I can’t believe how many people are willing to treat Israel , a nuclear superpower backed by the most powerful countries in the world, like some weak, wounded country with no other option than to bombard citizens and commit war crimes of their own.

I thought this is an excellent podcast of the truth about Israel right now. Thank you.

Wish Al would go back to describing the episode, you know, not like the others.

Please Run for office.

“…….him put his hand on the Bible so I can see it burst into flames” Love this podcast!! Educational and humorous

Al Delivers Entertainment and Education in a seemless show

Either Al Franklin is so nice that he can tolerate Bezos, a man *who does not pay his bar tab*, or he is enjoying a very pleasant joke. Either way, I’m here for it.

I love Al Franken's podcast and the wonderful conversations and insights I hear. But please, someone, send Molly Jong-Fast to a speech modulation trainer. I cannot listen to that voice which caused me to miss Al and and Mark Leibovich!

If I could give it, no stars, or a rating of minus stars, I would. I only gave it a one star because that’s the lowest I’m allowed to give it. I’m surprised that Franken is not working for one of the legacy media propaganda outlets.

Senator Franken, as an attorney I think you have the most amazing breadth and depth of knowledge. Thoroughly enjoyed your in-depth discussion with Neil regarding the Jack Smith indictment of trump for the attempted coup. I so wish you would run for the Senate again or president would be better yet! truly admire your work and can’t wait for each new podcast episode.

Hello I really enjoy your podcast and it is interesting and provocative with great guests. My only complaint is the repetitious lame joke on every podcast that this is really good….for a change. This is not funny and is boorish and insulting much akin to some of the old David Letterman repetitive jokes where he kept repeating a punch line even if there was no laughter! (I.e. academy award show). Please stop so I can continue to enjoy your interesting podcast! Ray M

Al, Mark and Ari had the most principled and intelligent discussion about politics and the Supreme Court. I particularly enjoyed the examination of what is happening behind the scene in voter suppression and how the Court participates. Keep up the great work Al. Steve Tamber Retired Attorney Houston Texas

Outstanding episode!