Grounded with Jon Tester & Maritsa Georgiou

Jon Tester set a new record for the number of phone calls that interrupted our live stream today—but that’s part of the deal when you work with a farmer who still has a landline. Alas, no calls from sitting senators today.

We wanted to hop on for a quick(ish) chat about a few of the headlines from this week in politics. We start with Attorney General Pam Bondi’s performance on Capitol Hill. How would Jon Tester have reacted if he were on the receiving end of her “burn book” insults? We also go over the House’s passage of the SAVE Act, the announced end of ICE’s Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis-St. Paul, and conditions in ICE detention facilities. Plus, two big legal wins this week for Democratic lawmakers who made a video that urged military members to refuse illegal orders.

It fortuitously lined up on the calendar to have Rachel Maddow as our guest to mark one year of Grounded. We talked seriously about the moment we’re in and what keeps her up at night. We also discussed what’s working, including the pushback that’s been a theme of Maddow’s show for many years. Maddow discusses how she hardens herself against threats, the future of news consumption, and how to beat the uncertainty that lies ahead. What would she ask Donald Trump if she interviewed him? What’s the scariest interview she’s ever done? What do Democrats need to do to win again? Plus, she gives us a sneak peak at her new book project she’s been working on all year. It’s a wide ranging conversation that will leave you with a lot to think about. 

Maybe you’ve been here from the start, and maybe you’re new to Grounded. We want to thank all of you. The truth is, we have the same questions, frustrations, and concerns as so many of you. We started this to try to make sense of the chaos. To stay grounded: in facts, in reason, in community. Let’s keep going. There’s more work to do.

2026 has already been a long year, which means we didn’t get to a fraction of the questions we had for former Rep. Adam Kinzinger. He tells us why he’s not immediately losing sleep over proposals to nationalize elections, but also what voters can do to ease concerns. Kinzinger has long been the focus of Donald Trump’s ire, especially since he was one of only two Republicans who served on the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attacks on the U.S. Capitol. With news that Trump is going to start holding daily meetings to focus on prosecuting his political enemies, Kinzinger has said he’s not worried, scared or intimidated. Kinzinger talks about putting country over party—calling out lies, defending democratic norms, and accepting the political fallout that came with it. Plus, don’t miss his answer when asked about running for president.

We’ve reached the point in the timeline when the federal government starts arrested journalists. We didn’t plan to release an episode tonight, but we’re thankful Dave Aronberg, former state attorney of Palm Beach County, was able to jump on with us at the last minute to unpack some legal headlines, including the arrests of independent journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort and the latest release of Epstein files. Some of those documents include shocking (and unsubstantiated) allegations against President Trump. We also tackle the FBI raid at the Fulton County election hub in Georgia, and the partial government shutdown that begins at midnight, despite the Senate passing a government funding bill.

We apologize for the gap in audio episodes this week—Maritsa went to Minneapolis to cover the DHS operations and did live reports, which you can find on the Grounded Substack page.