The Mark Thompson Show 
12/31/25
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As Elon Musk checked out of DOGE and left government service, he promised he would be starting his own political party: the America party. 
Now, it appears he is back in the fickle embrace of MAGA… and it’s no accident. According to the Washington Post, Vice President JD Vance spent much of the summer and fall working to bring Musk back into the good graces of Donald Trump.
Despite disagreements on the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” and the Epstein files, Musk really wanted his associate Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. After Trump pulled the nomination, Vance reportedly paved the way for Isaacman to be re-nominated and then confirmed. The Trump-Musk truce is in place, but for how long?
We welcome Pulitzer Prize winning author and investigative journalist David Cay Johnston to the show to talk politics.
It’s Tech Tuesday on The Mark Thompson Show. Jefferson Graham will swing by to talk gadgets. 
The Mark Thompson Show 
12/30/25
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Presidential pardons for sale? The Wall Street Journal is reporting that lobbyists "close to Trump" are charging $1m and up, one went for $6m, to get presidential pardons for their clients. The Wall Street Journal says in the case of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, Binance paid $800,000 to lobby for the pardon along with added "success fees of as much as $5 million."  Is anyone surprised?  We will talk about it with iHeart TV and radio political analyst Gary Dietrich. 
We’ll keep the political conversation rolling with the brilliant author and scholar Sarah Kendzior.
The Mark Thompson Show 
12/29/25
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It seems using the military against United States citizens crosses a line even Supreme Court justices aren’t comfortable, stepping over. Yesterday, the Supreme Court denied Trump’s emergency request to keep National Guard troops in Illinois. The preliminary decision may impact National Guard deployments in other states too. We will dig deeper into that ruling as we welcome presidential historian and political analyst John Rothmann to the show. Our very own J-L Cauvin is running for Congress in New Jersey. He’s at a critical stage of fundraising and has a brand new commercial that he will share.. We welcome The Culture Blaster, Michael Snyder, to look at the big holiday movie weekend ahead. *Show note: the Mark Thompson show will be dark on Christmas and the day after for Mark‘s birthday 🎂🎉 #Trump #Epstein #EpsteinFiles #EpsteinJet #EpsteinIsland #Chicago #Illinois #NationalGuard #SupremeCourt #Scotus #Venezuela #OilTankers #Politics #Political #PoliticalAnalysis #JohnRothmann #Movie #MovieReviews #Avatar #MichaelSnyder #Entertainment #MovieCritic #PoliticsOnChristmas The Mark Thompson Show 12/24/25 Patreon subscribers are the backbone of the show! If you’d like to help, here’s our Patreon Link: https://www.patreon.com/themarkthompsonshow Maybe you’re more into PayPal. https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=PVBS3R7KJXV24 And you’ll find everything on our website: https://www.themarkthompsonshow.com

The Mark Thompson Show 
12/23/25
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If Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest is any indicator, MAGA, conservatives and conspiracy theorists are no longer aligned. From so called ‘Heritage Americans’ being more important than other more recent Americans to America First policies and blatant racism/antisemitism, the speakers at the event ripped into each other. The infighting was so awkward, Erika Kirk said it “Feels like a Thanksgiving dinner where your family’s hashing out the family business,” JD Vance tried to laugh it off but ended up doing little to bring people together. 
We’ll talk about it with iHeart TV and radio political analyst Gary Dietrich 
Astronomy Professor Andrew Fraknoi joins to take us to the stars. 
The Mark Thompson Show 
12/22/25
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Political activists are being put on notice. The Trump administration is going to try to squash what they are calling "left-wing domestic terrorism. Attorney General Pam Bondi is ordering all federal law enforcement agencies to share intelligence on “Antifa” and “Antifa-related” activities with the FBI. Bondi wants agencies to come up with lists of Americans and foreigners to investigate. Is it the end of free speech in America? We will talk about it with Michael Shure & Mo Kelly on This Week in Politics. Friday Fabulous Florida brings a crazy road rage story! Plus, The Culture Blaster, Michael Snyder, will stop by to talk movies and streaming options for the weekend ahead. Happy Friday!

The President's address to the nation last night was a smorgasboard of his favorite hits. He railed against former President Biden and touted questionable economic numbers. He did announce a bonus for members of the military. His so called "Warrior Dividend" will be paid for by his controversial tariff policies, without the approval of Congress. We will talk about Trump's odd speech and about the latest release of pictures related to Jeffrey Epstein. Former Federal Prosecutor and now defense attorney David Katz will join the conversation to talk about Friday's deadline for the Epstein Files and Ghislaine Maxwell's efforts to get out of her prison camp.

President Trump is moving to put a blockade in place around Venezuela, targeting all “sanctioned oil tankers.”  He claims Venezuela is using oil to fund drug trafficking and according to the Associated Press, Trump says he will "continue the military buildup until the country gives the U.S. oil, land and assets.  The blockade comes after the US seized an oil tanker in the region last week.  
Meanwhile, the attacks on suspected "drug boats" off Venezuela continues and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says he will not he releasing video of the so called "second strike" video that killed two survivors of one such attack.  
We'll discuss that and more with politicao analyst and presidential historian John Rothmann. 
The Mark Thompson Show 
12/17/25
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It may be that bad mouthing a beloved American Icon on he day he died is too much for even Trump to overcome. Usually, the public expects cruelty from Trump and his outbursts bring a collective shrug. His nasty words about actor/director Rob Reiner being killed because of Trump Derangement Syndrome seem to have been a bridge too far.  Even some MAGA faithful are turning away and finding it hard to defend Trump this time.  We will talk about it with Pulitzer Prize winning author and investigative journalist David Cay Johnston.  
It's Tech Tuesday and Jefferson Graham is back from from Japan and ready to talk gadgets.  

The Mark Thompson Show 
12/16/25
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The Mark Thompson Show 
12/15/25
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Patreon subscribers are the backbone of the show! If you’d like to help, here’s our Patreon Link: https://www.patreon.com/themarkthompsonshow

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Blatant theft and an act of piracy. That's what Venezuela is calling the actions of the United States in the seizure of an oil tanker. The ship was leaving Venezuela when US Marines and Special Forces dropped down from a helicopter and took the tanker. It's the latest in a string of actions, including blowing up so called "drug boats", escalating a possible confrontation between the US and Venezuela. We'll discuss whether it was piracy or lawful with former federal prosecutor David Katz.

It appears that GOP leaders in Congress are turning away from extending tax credits that would help more than 20 million Americans pay for Affordable Care Act health insurance. They’re following President Donald Trump’s lead. He told Politico he would not endorse extending subsidies that are set to expire, despite billing himself as the affordability president. So far, Trump’s only plan for healthcare is to give people $2k to pay for it without offering details of how that would work. 
We welcome presidential historian and political analyst John Rothmann to discuss this and more. 
The Mark Thompson Show 
12/10/25
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The Mark Thompson Show 
12/9/25
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Members of Congress from both parties are now supporting the release of the video showing the U.S. carrying out a double-tap strike on a speed boat in the Caribbean. The move reportedly killed two survivors of the initial attack that were in distress. With allegations of war crimes being discussed, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is refusing to say whether the Pentagon will be releasing the video, only that, “We're reviewing the process, and we'll see.”
We’ll visit with iHeart TV and radio political analyst Gary Dietrich and we’ll talk politics with author, journalist and scholar. Sarah Kendzior. 
The Mark Thompson Show 
12/8/25
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Even Republican senators are growing wary of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. From Signalgate to allegations of war crimes in the killing of two people already in distress on an alleged drug boat, Hegseth is getting harder to support. We run though the latest developments on This Week in Politics with Michael Shure & Mo Kelly. A check in with J-L Cauvin to see how his congressional bid is going brings a big announcement. Comedian Mark Malkoff joins to talk about late night television and his new book Love Johnny Carson. We”ve got Friday Fabulous Florida and a look at movies with The Culture Blaster Michael Snyder.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is taking heat from all sides. A growing number of members of Congress, both Democrat and Republican, are vowing to provide special oversight after his the "Kill Them All" order took out two people dangling from the wreckage of a boat off the coast of Venezuela. Whether the boat was being used by fishermen or to run drugs is at question, as is whether the men posed a clear and present danger to the United States. If allegations of war crimes in that case weren't enough, the result of Pentagon's Signalgate review conclude that Hegseth violated military regulations when he used the unsecure chat platform to discuss details of US strikes in Yemen. What are the legal ramifications, if any? We'll ask former federal prosecutor David Katz to weigh in.

The Mark Thompson Show 
12/3/25
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According to the White House Press Secretary, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth authorized Admiral Frank Bradley to carry out a second strike on a burning drug boat, already hit by one US mortar, in the Caribbean. Two people were hanging off the boat after it was hit the first time and reportedly did not survive the second strike. Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says there is no question the second strike was a war crime. The matter brings to the forefront the question of what constitutes an illegal order and whether Admiral Bradley and those involved in carrying out such killings, have a duty to refuse.
We welcome Pulitzer Prize winning author and investigative journalist David Cay Johnston to the show. We’ll talk about this and much more.
Today, the White House announced Trump Accounts. The investment accounts are said to be away to help young people prepare for the future. Is this the first indicator of privatizing social security? We’ll talk to professor Ray Madoff about what these accounts really mean. We'll also discuss her eye-opening new book “The Second Estate: How the Tax Code Made an American Aristocracy.“
The Mark Thompson Show 
12/2/25
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