It’s 2026 and FP Zaddy & T-Ceps are back! We thought we might ease into this new year, but, nope, this week we’re diving into the seizure and kidnapping of the president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro – what’s motivating Trump, why you need to know about REEs, and what may happen next. We also welcome journalist Samira Mohyeddin to talk about WTF is happening in Iran and help us work through why it feels a bit different this time. And of course, we close out with JD Vance corner. Nicki Minaj called JD what?!

Happy New Year! This week on TFR we talk with progressive political strategist Frank Spring who tries to convince us that we should be somewhat hopeful about Democratic prospects in 2026. Arguing against the recent “Deciding to Win” report, he explains that, at least some, Democrats can walk and chew gum at the same time. Meaning, they don’t have to abandon core Democratic positions, but they do need to figure out (and quickly) how to talk to real people about the issues that matter the most.

This week on TFR, we talk with the illustrious lawyer and free speech champion, Dr. Nadine Strossen. We dig deep into the first amendment– what it actually guarantees, why it’s so important, what people tend to misunderstand. And then pivot to the many challenges it faces– online culture, hate speech, self-censorship, AI bots, and an unhinged government. We also somehow get to JD! Who’da thought?!

This week on TFR we talk through the horrors of the Bondi Beach and Brown University shootings and the murder of the great Rob Reiner. We question who in their right mind would have the stomach (ahem, Mr. President) to try and score political points in the face of such tragedy. We then shift our focus to the year ahead, which is bound to be better, right? Will JD become prez? Will Israel attack Iran? Will the war in Ukraine finally come to an end? We can’t promise to be particularly hopeful but we can promise to make it bearable!

This week on TFR, we talk about the fallout from the Venezuelan double tap and try to answer the age old question– what’s worse the crime or the cover-up and decide they’re both pretty f***ing bad. We also talk through Trump’s 12 billion dollar bailout of farmers necessitated by Trump’s 40 billion dollar bailout of Argentina. Go figure. 🫩We mourn the continued collapse of international humanitarian aid efforts, confirm that Roger Stone is a liar, and hear how Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric is impacting Somalis in Travis’s hometown. Spoiler alert, they don’t like it.

This week on TFR, we go back in time to WWII and the Peleus Affair to explain why Hegseth is a war criminal. Once that was cleared up, we rolled our eyes at Netanyahu for his pre-emptive pardon request, threw our hands up at Trump for overtly meddling in the Honduran election and lament the continued school closings in Northern Nigeria. Then we look toward 2028 and the inevitable showdown between Cruz and JD. Who will be declared the least likeable?! We can’t wait to find out…

This week on TFR, Seena and Travis clean out the fridge to talk Jeffrey Epstein’s odd relationship with Ehud Barak and the recent revelations of his geopolitical back-channeling. They delve into the growing global arms race and what it may mean for the world and then tackle the real tough questions: how to handle your family over this holiday season.

What a week. Seena & Travis are back to talk lobbyists at COP30 and who exactly is getting screwed by climate change. They marvel at Trump’s embrace of the Saudi Crown Prince and what that may augur for the region, check in on raging corruption in the Philippines, and side-eye Trump’s baseless accusations against Nigeria. Oh, and, of course, they had to cover JD’s security detail running over a police officer. 😑

With Seena out this week, Ed Larson from the Last Podcast on the Left and the Brighter Side podcasts joins Travis to talk cowardly Dems, Epstein emails, and JD Vance memes. Ed also tells stories about his time in Iraq on a USO tour. What do the Chairman of the Joints Chief, an accidental midnight mass, and popping pills have in common? Listen and find out!

**NOTE The causality from the Al Fashir has been updated from when we recorded. As of Friday the numbers from just the last 10 days could in the tens of thousands. There's also word that the RSF has agreed to a ceasefire...JFC** This week as Seena and Travis celebrate much-needed wins for the Dems, send off Dick Cheney, our political Darth Vader, with a too-many-to-be-brief list of his top “accomplishments,” and wrestle with the ick factor of agreeing with Nick Fuentes about JD Vance. They also dig into the current status of the tragedy that is the civil war in Sudan. Hard to make that bearable but they do their best to break it down and provide some context for the ongoing genocide.

This week Seena and Travis talk Trump’s tariff “strategy” and how the US appears to be losing out to China in most places. They weigh in on Canada’s Reagan commercial and Trump’s unsurprising overreaction, Israel’s blatant disregard for the ceasefire, elections in Argentina, and a devastating hurricane in the Atlantic. They also wonder why JD has nothing better to do with his time than make a fool of himself on Twitter.

This week the hilarious comedian, podcaster, and former NYC mayoral candidate Corinne Fisher joins the show to talk through updates in the Caribbean–did we just bomb another boat?! They also dig into Trump's expected u-turn on Russia, but since we recorded he even made another u-turn! We also cover the absurd prospect of Jared Kushner & JD Vance stabilizing the Hamas-Israeli ceasefire, and the new Iron Lady of Japan. They question if JD will be the chosen one or if a new hereditary monarchy is in the works. There is no lesser of two evils anymore….

This week the incredible writer, comedian, and general provocateur Jena Friedman joins Seena and Travis to explain why being a public figure in our current online culture is scary as f***. The crew reacts to various Riyadh Comedy festival takes and tries to figure out when and why we became so reactive and polarized. Seena and Travis also break down the current state of the peace process in Gaza and locate the potential fault lines underlying the ceasefire.

This week Seena and Travis take it back to the beginning to help us understand the exact moment when everything went to hell in Palestine. They cover the secret deals and broken promises that led us to where we are today, as well as explain what we’re all getting wrong when we call the region the Middle East. That colonialism is a real cock-up is no surprise, but the inanity of the language is wild. They also talk about Trump’s plans for regime change in Venezuela, Italy standing up for Gaza, and, of course, they monitor JD’s steady decline into despotism.

This week Jonathan Panikoff, the Director of the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative, joins the show to talk through Trump’s proposed plan to end the war in Gaza. What are the potential pitfalls? Will Hamas agree? What does Bibi really want?! Seena and Travis also cover Trump’s $20 billion dollar bailout of Argentina and its effect on American farmers, as well as the recent deportations of Iranian asylum seekers back to Iran, where the regime promises they’ll be welcomed with open arms. Oh, yeah, and JD’s out there campaigning to be the new Joseph McCarthy. All good stuff.

Marcus Parks is back on the pod, folks! This week he joins Seena and Travis to rally against the crackdown on free speech and discuss Trump’s embarrassing UNGA appearance. They check in on some recent polling suggesting all is not hunky dory in MAGA world and ask a newly pressing question– are we all antifa now?! The gang also looks into why people in JD Vance’s hometown have been stocking up on toilet bowl cleaner!

The Charlie Kirk assassination is global politics now, so that means we’re covering it on the show. From the connections between Kirk and Netanyahu to the conspiracy stew that’s arisen from his death, we did our best to make the terrible bearable. Saena and Travis unpack how foreign powers buy influence, how disinformation is shaping the battlefield of your mind, and why JD Vance filling in as Kirk’s podcast host might be the worst open mic set in history. Plus: Germany’s far-right gains, a Swedish pole vaulting hero, and a heavy dose of sarcasm along the way.

***Please go to our YouTube channel for a special segment on Charlie Kirk*** On this week’s show, Seena and Travis dig into our self-proclaimed president of peace embracing war of all kinds - renaming departments, killing foreign citizens on the open seas, and rubber-stamping every Israeli bomb. They check in on the violence in Nepal, the insanity of Israel’s decision to attack Qatar, and NATO taking a stand against Russian drones. And, of course, they revel in the Rand Paul / JD Vance social media spat.

Writer, comedian and all-around smart dude John Fugelsang joins the show this week to talk about MAGA mangling the teachings of Jesus, why the Dems are in trouble, and his new book: Separation of Church & Hate: A Sane Person's Guide to Taking Back the Bible from Fundamentalists, Fascists, and Flock-Fleecing Frauds.

This week Davram Stiefler and Jason Selvig, otherwise known as the Good Liars, join Seena and Travis to share their experiences interviewing Trump supporters over the last decade. Why do they like Putin more than due process? Is there anything the Dems could do to sway them? What makes JD so f-ing scary? We talk through all those burning questions and more.