Slow Burn

Rank #1: S1 Ep. 3: A Very Successful Cover-Up. Woodward and Bernstein, Walter Cronkite, and a host of other journalists tried to make people care about Watergate in the run-up to the 1972 election. They totally failed. Slate Plus members get a bonus episode of Slow Burn every week. Find out more at slate.com/slowburn.

Rank #2: S2 Ep. 1: Deal or No Deal. For 11 hours, Monica Lewinsky faced off against federal prosecutors who wanted her to help them take down the president and threatened her with decades in jail. Slate Plus members get a bonus episode of Slow Burn every week. Find out more at slate.com/slowburn Audible is the world's largest audiobook publisher. For a 30-day trial and a free audiobook, go to audible.com/slowburn

Stay Tuned with Preet

Rank #1: Sanctions, Secrets and Security (with David Cohen). Guest: David Cohen is the former Deputy Director of the CIA and former Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence in the U.S. Department of the Treasury. He’s currently a partner at WilmerHale. *Interview taped on 1/14/19.    On this episode of Stay Tuned, Preet and David discuss: -        The latest reporting from the New York Times and the Washington Post on Trump and Russia -        The key components of a successful sanctions program and the Trump administration’s approach to Russia and North Korea -        The persisting threat of jihadist ideology -        America’s influence in the world   References made in the episode: -        David Frum’s article about issuing a subpoena to the president’s interpreter -        Vanita Gupta’s article, “Bill Barr Must Not Be Sessions 2.0 on Civil Rights” -        The Washington Post report on Trump’s private conversations with Putin -        The New York Times reporting the FBI started a counterintelligence inquiry into Trump -        Preet’s tweet on Trump and NATO -        Report that the Trump Administration decided to lift sanctions imposed on the Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska’s companies -        The SDNY’s Reza Zarrab case -        The 2018 Chicago Council on Global Affairs report, “America Engaged” -        The joint statement issued by President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong Un after June’s 2018 Summit in Singapore -        Trump’s declaration of love to Kim Jong Un -        John Brennan’s twitter feed -        The Wall Street Journal story on Turkey seeking the extradition of basketball player Enes Kanter   Do you have a question for Preet? Tweet it to @PreetBharara with the hashtag #askpreet, email staytuned@cafe.com, or call 699-247-7338 and leave a voicemail.

Rank #2: That Time President Trump Fired Me (with Leon Panetta). On March 11, 2017 President Donald Trump fired US Attorney Preet Bharara. Preet tells the story in detail for the first time. Then, a conversation with former Secretary of Defense and former CIA Director Leon Panetta about how to clean up a chaotic White House, trade Russian spies, and stand up for what’s right, even if it means defying a president.

Vox's The Weeds

Rank #1: Trump Cabinet, Obamacare Update, and Heroin. Sarah, Ezra, and Matt talk about the rush to hold hearings on Trump's cabinet appointees, the sudden emergence of trouble in repeal paradise, and an effort to cut down on pill abuse that backfired massively. 

Rank #2: Ask Weeds Anything!. Matt, Ezra, and Sarah answer your questions.

Can He Do That?

Rank #1: Will Trump face a challenger for the GOP's 2020 nomination?. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) wrote an op-ed asserting his independence from Trump -- a move that prompted speculation about a potential 2020 bid. The Post's Robert Costa explains what it would take for Romney, or another GOP contender, to challenge Trump.

Rank #2: Will President Trump's immigration ban survive?. Is President Trump's executive order temporarily barring entry into the U.S. from seven majority-Muslim countries within the bounds of presidential power? With Marc Fisher, Post senior editor and author of "Trump Revealed," we answer that and more.

FiveThirtyEight Politics

Rank #1: Still Processing.... Nate and Harry report on a post-election forum where it was clear that emotions are still very raw. Then, economics editor Ben Casselman discusses Trump's new deals.

Rank #2: What To Make Of Roger Stone's Indictment. In this installment of Mueller Talk, Amelia Thomson-Deveaux discusses the implications of longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone's indictment.

The Axe Files with David Axelrod

Rank #1: Ep. 108 - President Barack Obama. President Barack Obama sits down with David Axelrod to discuss their shared history together, how President Obama managed to stay grounded during turbulent moments of his childhood and adolescence, why the Obama presidency struggled to overcome the partisan politics in Washington, and what’s in store for the President when he leaves office on January 20th.

Rank #2: Ep. 301 - John Kerry (TV). Former Secretary of State John Kerry joins David for a televised version of the Axe Files to discuss the state of American foreign policy under Donald Trump, whether he’s considering a run for the White House in 2020, what he learned from a life of public service, his decorated service in Vietnam, and why he remains hopeful for the future.

The New Washington

Rank #1: Sarah Huckabee Sanders. The White House press secretary is one of the most visible jobs in American politics. Michael Grynbaum, a media correspondent for The Times, spoke with Ms. Sanders about growing up as the daughter of a prominent politician, inheriting her position after her celebrity predecessor Sean Spicer quit and trying to manage coverage of a tumultuous White House while mollifying a boss who believes he is his own best spokesman.

Rank #2: Roger Stone. The provocateur, political consultant and subject of a new Netflix documentary is one of President Trump’s oldest advisers. Michael Barbaro and Maggie Haberman listen to and discuss Barbaro's recent conversation with Mr. Stone about his views on the internal White House battle between globalists and nationalists, why he promotes conspiracy theories and mistruths, and what he sees as one of the worst things in politics — being boring.

The Ezra Klein Show

Rank #1: Cal Newport has an answer for digital burnout. Cal Newport suspects you’re a digital maximalist — someone who believes that any potential for benefit is reason enough to start using a new technology. Don’t feel bad. That’s how most of us are. That’s how society teaches us to be.Newport wants us to become digital minimalists. He defines digital minimalism as “a philosophy of technology use in which you focus your online time on a small number of carefully selected activities … that strongly support things you value, and then happily miss out on everything else.”Newport is making a bid to be the Marie Kondo of technology: someone with an actual plan for helping you realize the digital pursuits that do, and don’t, spark joy and bring value to your life. This is a conversation about becoming a digital minimalist: why to do it, how to do it, and what it might get you. Whether you want to try Newport’s whole plan or just pick and choose some good ideas from his buffet, there’s a lot in here that will help you find a healthier, more intentional approach to technology.Book Recommendations:The Technological Society by Jacques EllulMedieval Technology and Social Change by Lynn White

Rank #2: Ta-Nehisi Coates: "There’s not gonna be a happy ending to this story". Ta-Nehisi Coates is an author at the Atlantic. His book, Between the World and Me, won the National Book Award, and was spoofed on SNL. He's writing the (awesome) Black Panther series for Marvel. He's a certified MacArthur Genius. And he just released a blockbuster story based on hours of interviews with President Obama about the role race played in Obama's upbringing, his presidency, and the 2016 campaign.Coates is also one of my favorite people to talk to, and I think this conversation shows why.The first half of our conversation is political: it's about Coates's conversations with Obama, his impressions of the president, his perspective on American politics, the way his atheism informs his worldview, why he thinks a tragic outlook is important for finding the truth but — at least for nonwhite politicians — a hindrance for winning political power. The second half is much more personal: it's about his frustrations as a writer, his discomfort with the way "Between the World and Me" was adopted by white audiences, how he learns, his surprising advice for young writers, his belief that personal stability enables professional wildness, his past as a blogger, his desire to return to school, his favorite books. I loved this interview. I think you will, too.

Embedded

Rank #1: The Capital. El Salvador is the murder capital of the world, by many estimates. It has the highest homicide rate anywhere outside of war zones. The reason? Violent street gangs, exported from the U.S. We spend 24 hours in the capital city, San Salvador, when the gangs try to flex their muscle like never before. Follow Kelly McEvers on Twitter @kellymcevers. Email us at embedded@npr.org.

Rank #2: Trump Stories: Scott Pruitt. As Donald Trump's EPA Administrator, Scott Pruitt is popular with conservatives for his aggressive rollback of Obama-era environmental regulations. He has also been strongly criticized for alleged ethics violations. But there's another side of Pruitt that's less well known. Pruitt is a Southern Baptist, and for years, his politics focused on faith-based issues like abortion and religious freedom. Pruitt has publicly said he doubts the science behind the theory of evolution. In this episode, we examine how Pruitt's faith informs his views on the environment, and how he handled a major pollution case in Oklahoma. Follow us on Twitter @NPREmbedded and @kellymcevers, and follow the reporters for this episode: @TomDreisbach and @JoeWertz. (Supreme Court audio in this episode comes from Oyez.)

Today, Explained

Rank #1: The Replacements. President Trump is looking to fill some key positions. One pick is a former attorney general, another comes from "Fox & Friends".

Rank #2: Written in blood. For 31 years, Joe Bryan has been in prison for a murder he says he didn’t commit. He was convicted based on bloodstain-pattern analysis, but ProPublica’s Pamela Colloff says it's way less scientific than you might think.

Trump, Inc.

Rank #1: The Company Michael Cohen Kept. Long before Donald Trump’s attorney paid Stormy Daniels or had his office raided by the FBI, a pattern was established: The associates of Michael Cohen often land in legal trouble.

Rank #2: The Hidden Hand of a Casino Company In Trump’s Contact with Vietnam. Trump’s first call with the Vietnamese prime minister was arranged by Marc Kasowitz, a Trump personal lawyer who has another client with business interests in Vietnam.

Political Gabfest

Rank #1: The Political Gabfest: The We Are Invincible Edition. Slate's Political Gabfest, featuring David Plotz, John Dickerson, and Bloomberg View columnist Megan McArdle. This week: U.S. foreign policy, Obamacare by the numbers, and McArdle's new book, The Up Side of Down. Show notes at www.slate.com/gabfest.

Rank #2: The “Leaks and the Leaky Leakers Who Leaked Them” Edition. Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss protests over the move of the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the rash of White House leaks, and racial bias in marijuana arrests in New York City.Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/gabfestplus.Twitter: @SlateGabfestFacebook: facebook.com/GabfestEmail: gabfest@slate.comShow notes at slate.com/gabfest