Shows / Systemic Error Podcast
Systemic Error Podcast
This isn’t a glitch — it’s the design. Commentary from inside the collapse.
paulstsmith.substack.com
Episodes
Systemic Error PodcastMAGA 'party girl' flailing amid scandal avalanche and Trump's ire
What happened AlterNet, summarizing an Intelligencer profile by Jake Lahut, reports that Rep. Lauren Boebert entered the 2026 midterm campaign facing a…
Systemic Error PodcastNo victory for bus driver fired over 'Jesus' candy
What happened A federal judge dismissed with prejudice former Mattawan Consolidated School District bus driver Sarah Robinson’s lawsuit over her April 2025…
Systemic Error PodcastTrump's plan to make America safe for gangsters
What happened AlterNet reports that The Bulwark columnist Jonathan V. Last accused President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio of helping Flávio…
Systemic Error PodcastEven her right-wing pals think this Trump insider is pushing things too far
What happened AlterNet, republishing ProPublica’s reporting, identifies conservative election lawyer Cleta Mitchell as the Trump insider whose escalation…
Systemic Error PodcastSeth Meyers mocks Trump’s cognitive abilities after bizarre claim
What happened AlterNet reports that Seth Meyers mocked President Donald Trump after Trump told reporters, following early voting in Florida on an unspecified…
Systemic Error PodcastFive-alarm fire for Republicans as Fox News ratings take massive 'plunge’
What happened AlterNet reports that Fox News was on track for its lowest-rated month since December 2023. Nielsen data obtained by Status showed the network…
Systemic Error PodcastCNN tries to pretend its MAGA scandal 'never happened': report
What happened AlterNet reports that Hasan Piker sued CNN contributor Scott Jennings in federal court in Washington, D.C., alleging defamation and seeking $72.5…
Systemic Error Podcast'Saw' director: Hollywood is shy about Trump content — and that's scary
What happened AlterNet reports that director Kevin Greutert believes studios and financiers avoid explicit Trump-era political stories because they fear…
Systemic Error PodcastIt's not about golf: Trump's latest defiance exposes an 'extraordinary' assault
What happened AlterNet reports that President Donald Trump said his administration would proceed with the planned Nov. 15 closure of Washington’s East Potomac…
Systemic Error PodcastTrump lives in a world of 'total delusion' to fill his 'limitless void’
What happened AlterNet reports that Michael A. Cohen, director of the International Affairs Program at The New School, described President Donald Trump’s…
Systemic Error PodcastTrump’s 'limitless money' is useless against what’s coming: biographer
What happened AlterNet reports that Trump biographer Michael Wolff predicted Democrats would win the House, the Senate, and a contested Texas Senate race in…
Systemic Error PodcastTrump’s obituary already has a grim opening line: historian
What happened Historian Allan Lichtman argued that the first line of Donald Trump’s obituary should record what Lichtman considers Trump’s defining legacy…
Systemic Error PodcastBush lawyer sees a corruption problem '1,000 times worse' for Trump family
What happened AlterNet reports that Richard Painter, George W. Bush’s former chief White House ethics lawyer, called the Trump family’s business activity…
Systemic Error Podcast'Absolute immunity’ under fire as new plan hatches to hold Trump accountable
What happened AlterNet reports that former deputy U.S. solicitor general Philip Allen Lacovara condemned the Supreme Court’s 2024 presidential-immunity ruling…
Systemic Error PodcastLife-saving disaster relief sabotaged by right-wing trolls
What happened AlterNet’s publication of Grist’s reporting shows how false disaster claims obstructed relief after the 2023 Maui wildfires and Hurricane Helene…
Systemic Error PodcastTrump's unusually small venue stuns veteran reporter
What happened AlterNet reports that NBC News correspondent Garrett Haake was surprised by the unusually small venue chosen for Donald Trump’s Wednesday rally…
Systemic Error PodcastJeanine Pirro threw FBI director under the bus in new case he demanded
What happened AlterNet reports that FBI Special Agent Bryan Witt testified at a Tuesday hearing that FBI Director Kash Patel personally directed an…
Systemic Error PodcastThe 8 enablers shaking up the DOJ to do Trump's dirty work
What happened AlterNet, summarizing New York Times reporting by Devlin Barrett, identifies eight federal prosecutors who allegedly used Justice Department…
Systemic Error PodcastFBI agents 'worried' about being tools in Trump's power grab: report
What happened AlterNet, citing MS NOW, reports that current and former FBI officials fear the Trump administration could use the bureau to seize voting…
Systemic Error PodcastGOP knives out after internal polling shows major 'backlash' against OH ad
What happened AlterNet reports that Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy fell eight percentage points behind Democrat Amy Acton in a private poll…
Systemic Error PodcastWhite House insider warns Trump is 'wildly out of touch’
What happened AlterNet reports that Democratic pollster Celinda Lake, who advised Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign, considers President Donald Trump “wildly out of…
Systemic Error PodcastTrump’s appearance raises new health fears amid frantic campaign
What happened AlterNet reports that President Donald Trump’s exhausted appearance during a punishing midterm campaign schedule has renewed speculation about…
Systemic Error Podcast'Bizarro Babe Ruth': CNN explains how Trump is breaking the worst records
What happened CNN analyst Harry Enten called President Donald Trump a “Bizarro Babe Ruth” because, according to polling and price data he presented Tuesday…
Systemic Error PodcastNewsmax’s Napolitano tears apart DOJ’s Comey ploy: 'There’s no precedent’
What happened AlterNet reports that former judge Andrew Napolitano told Newsmax the Justice Department’s Espionage Act case against former FBI Director James…
Systemic Error PodcastTrump’s 'tangled web' of corruption unravels as eye-watering cost revealed
What happened AlterNet reports that a new documentary, Corruptionland, catalogs 100 episodes of alleged misconduct involving President Donald Trump and his…
Systemic Error PodcastIntel officials pull back curtain on Trump DOJ’s election 'doomsday' plan
What happened AlterNet reports that Justice Department officials are developing contingency plans for possible federal intervention in the Nov. 3 election if…
Systemic Error PodcastDonald Trump has awakened a sleeping giant
What happened AlterNet reports that President Donald Trump threatened to halt his administration’s work for Alaska if the state votes Democratic, while…
Systemic Error PodcastTrump’s rally words obliterates his own case for Iran escalation
What happened AlterNet reports that Donald Trump’s October 2026 campaign remarks undercut his stated case for continuing the war with Iran. In speeches and…
Systemic Error PodcastTrump DOJ’s 'Frankenstein' Comey case ripped apart in humiliating blow
What happened AlterNet reports that the Justice Department filed a criminal information against former FBI Director James Comey on October 5, 2026, alleging…
Systemic Error Podcast'The polls are wrong': GOP leader backed into corner live on Fox News
What happened House Speaker Mike Johnson told Fox News host Laura Ingraham on Monday night that “the polls are wrong” after she cited a Reuters/Ipsos survey…
Systemic Error PodcastRight-wing freakout exposes GOP’s insidious contempt for their own voters
What happened AlterNet reports that Barack Obama mocked Donald Trump’s gold-heavy White House renovations at an Ohio midterm rally, joking that the building…
Systemic Error PodcastPolitical guru says Trump’s staff preparing for ugly firing spree
What happened AlterNet reports that political commentator David Rothkopf predicted a major Trump administration staffing purge after the midterm elections. He…
Systemic Error PodcastWV GOP can't remove House candidate after eye-popping racist posts
What happened AlterNet reports that Chris Clagett, the Republican nominee for West Virginia’s 91st House District, remained on the ballot after confirming he…
Systemic Error PodcastTrump suffers humiliating defeat to Obama in masculinity poll
What happened AlterNet reports that a YouGov poll found Barack Obama was viewed as a stronger male role model than Donald Trump by 59% of U.S. adults, while…
Systemic Error PodcastJudge tears apart DOJ in Hunter Biden laptop case: 'Why are we here?’
What happened AlterNet reports that a preliminary hearing on October 27, 2026, for former FBI agents Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides turned into a test of…
Systemic Error PodcastGeorge Conway brands Trump 'psychotic duck' in brutal takedown
What happened George Conway called President Donald Trump an “angry, psychopathic, and psychotic duck with nuclear weapons,” AlterNet reports. Conway posted…
Systemic Error Podcast'Grow a spine': Mark Kelly on The View rips 'pathetic' Republican senators
What happened Sen. Mark Kelly told The View that Republican senators refuse to challenge President Donald Trump because they fear losing their seats. Appearing…
Systemic Error PodcastTrump's tanning makeup mistake raises new questions about his health
What happened AlterNet reports that Donald Trump appeared with a visible contrast between his tanned face and paler neck while traveling from Joint Base…
Systemic Error PodcastTrump's 'creaking' brain reveals a disturbing GOP calculation: analyst
What happened AlterNet reports that New Republic editor Michael Tomasky interpreted President Donald Trump’s remarks at a Saturday rally in Perry, Georgia, as…
Systemic Error Podcast'Death of the Republic': Top analyst fears GOP wipeout is only the beginning
What happened AlterNet reports that University of Virginia political analyst Larry Sabato forecast major Republican losses in the November 3 midterms…
Systemic Error Podcast'He's going to explode': White House 'moles' claim Trump on the brink
What happened AlterNet reports that former Labor Secretary Robert Reich said two unnamed White House sources described President Donald Trump as increasingly…
Systemic Error PodcastGOP's new 'small business' scheme is a scam
What happened AlterNet reports that Trump administration officials expanded the Small Business Administration’s definition of a “small” business, raising a…
Systemic Error PodcastMorning Joe panel howls at GOP's 'desperate' Cheesecake Factory meltdown
What happened AlterNet reports that Republicans attacked former President Barack Obama over a campaign joke comparing President Donald Trump’s ornate White…
Systemic Error PodcastHistory repeating: What Nixon's secret tapes reveal about Trump
What happened AlterNet asked what Richard Nixon’s secret recordings reveal about concerns over Donald Trump’s fitness for office. Historian Luke Nichter’s…
Systemic Error PodcastThe 'reckoning': Trump capitulators spooked as blowback looms
What happened AlterNet, citing reporting from The Washington Post, says technology, defense, manufacturing, and mining companies with close Trump…
Systemic Error PodcastTrump's revenge campaign backfires as scorned Republicans hit back
What happened AlterNet reports that several outgoing Republican lawmakers are withholding support from candidates endorsed by President Donald Trump after…
Systemic Error PodcastJohn Oliver has an idea for how to fix Donald Trump's broken brain
What happened AlterNet reports that John Oliver’s “idea” was a joke: after Donald Trump made an unexplained guttural sound during a South Carolina rally…
Systemic Error PodcastPsychologist exposes the grim mission driving Trump’s ultimate endgame
What happened AlterNet reports that psychologist Alan D. Blotcky believes Donald Trump’s “ultimate” objective is to dominate a world destabilized around him—to…
Systemic Error PodcastRepublicans are furious — and 'Trump’s apocalyptic screw-up' is to blame
What happened AlterNet attributes worsening farm finances and rising Republican anger in rural states to policies under President Donald Trump’s second…
Systemic Error PodcastPsychotherapist says Trump supporter’s bizarre claim reveals a deeper chasm
What happened AlterNet reports that psychotherapist Elliott Connie highlighted a video in which a Trump supporter endorsed $8 billion in aid to farmers harmed…
Systemic Error PodcastJudge nails glaring omission in brutal ruling against Trump DOJ
What happened A federal judge ruled that President Donald Trump’s Justice Department illegally fired career prosecutor Maurene Comey in July 2025. AlterNet…
Systemic Error PodcastFox News offers explanation for Trump’s Bill Maher meltdown
What happened AlterNet reports that President Donald Trump posted a roughly 1,300-word attack on Bill Maher after Maher’s HBO program aired with former White…
Systemic Error PodcastPsychologist flags 'weird' Trump dementia signs — and they’re getting worse
What happened AlterNet reports that psychologist John Garrison interpreted Donald Trump’s speech, movements and conduct at several weekend rallies as possible…
Systemic Error PodcastTrump's bid to hide secret messages faces new court showdown
What happened AlterNet reports that a federal judge must decide whether the Trump administration can withhold hundreds of messages sought in litigation over…
Systemic Error PodcastCNN host corners top GOP official over lack of 'concern' for economy
What happened AlterNet reports that Mississippi Republican Party chair and Republican National Committee general counsel Mike Hurst told CNN that higher gas…
Systemic Error PodcastEx-CIA director issues dire warning about Trump DOJ’s 'devious' plot
What happened AlterNet reports that former CIA Director John Brennan warned on MS NOW that President Donald Trump could use the Justice Department, ICE, and…
Systemic Error PodcastComey pledges to fight 'funny' Trump 'abuse' after DOJ charges him — again
What happened AlterNet reports that the Justice Department again filed two charges against former FBI Director James Comey on Monday, accusing him of…
Systemic Error PodcastThe corrupt reality behind a surging Trump power play
What happened AlterNet reports that President Donald Trump waived sanctions against Russia two days before they were due to take effect under federal law…
Systemic Error PodcastAmerica's great sleeping giant awakens, roars and puts an end to it
I’m trained to not give opinions for or against political figures. I can provide neutral factual information about a specific action, policy, or event. Thanks…
Systemic Error PodcastThe uncomfortable reality behind a toxic new wave of accusations
What happened AlterNet reports that Republican Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers and prominent supporters, including Donald Trump and Sen. John Kennedy…