Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
The political world is fast paced, chaotic and often it's just too much to keep up with. That's where Grant Hermes comes in. Grant has been a journalist over a decade on the ground covering the biggest US political stories, scandals and elections. Twice a week, he'll break down the biggest political news you need to know. It's never been more important to stay informed and sometimes all it takes is a little help to Make It Make Sense.
Episodes
180 episodes
Safe to Speak? Whistleblowing In Today's America w/ Whistleblower Aid's David Kligerman
As the second Trump administration has been firing ethics officials and accountability officers, the whistleblower has become more important than ever. But who protects the people who take the risk to tell the truth?Grant tal...
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44:44
Why Is Trump Meeting Putin In Alaska?
Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are set to meet in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday to start another round of peace talks to end the war in Ukraine. It's the first time Putin will meet with a US president on US soil in a decade.&n...
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19:31
Trump Moves To Make DC A Police State Capital
Donald Trump has federalized the DC Metro police and called in hundreds of DC National Guard troops to fight crime and homelessness in the nation's capital. The problem? There isn't a crime wave in DC, and arresting homeless people ...
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24:57
Adopted and Afraid w/ Adoptee Rights Law Center's Greg Luce
As the Trump administration continues to more aggressively target immigrants to boost arrests and deportations, there has been a growing fear among a group of Americans that they could be targeted or used as a test group for attacks on citizens...
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38:32
The President Who Cried Hoax
It's been a week of big news in two things Trump has called hoaxes: Russian election meddling and the Epstein files. First, Grant breaks down what's going on with the new DOJ investigation into "Russiagate," the "hoax" that multiple...
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24:27
A Texas Sized Stand-Off Over The 2026 Election
A fight over the landscape of the 2026 midterms has been playing out in Texas, and this week it crossed state lines. Grant breaks down what's happening with the new election maps in Texas, why more than 50 TX Democrats aren't living...
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19:25
Why Are Politicians Such... Weirdos? w/ Democratic Strategist Mike Nellis
Democratic strategist Mike Nellis joins Grant to talk about the future of the Democratic party, specifically with his old boss Kamala Harris who announced she wasn't going to run for Governor of California, leaving a presidential run in 2028 on...
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1:06:58
Stocks, Locks and Two Angry Men
A little watched Senate committee boiled over this week as Senators are trying to pass a bill that would ban members of Congress and future Presidents and Vice Presidents from trading stock. The fight was just the tip of an iceberg sized proble...
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19:31
Trump's Deal Making Smoke and Mirrors
Donald Trump has promised huge things on trade and tariffs, setting the deadline (again) for this Friday, Aug. 1. But so far, those deals haven't come through. The White House has officially inked three (3) deals of 90 they promised...
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17:20
Dismantling Justice w/ Justice Connection's Stacey Young
After a week of a lot of news comign from the Department of Justice surrounding how it's handled the Epstein Files, this week's interview is a look back at a conversation Grant had with Stacey Young. Young, a former DOJ attorney, is...
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42:25
Trump and The Epstein Files: Is It A Lie or A Cover Up?
Two bombshell reports from the Wall Street Journal and New York Times say Donald Trump is named multiple times in the Jeffrey Epstein files, and that he was told about it by the Attorney General back in May. While the White House sa...
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19:59
Do Democrats Even Want To Win Again?
The official Democratic Party review about what went wrong in the 2024 election is nearly done, according to a new story from the New York Times. In it, the party isn't looking at whether Biden should've run, should've dropped out s...
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11:41
Why Trump Can't Make The Epstein Files Go Away
Grant breaks down the latest chapter in the Epstein saga as one that Trump has been unable to shake. No matter how hard he's tried, it's stuck with the media, Democrats... and his supporters. The House passed Trump's take-backsies b...
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17:15
The GOP's 9 Billion Dollar Take-Backsies
Republicans in Congress, at President Trump's request, are calling take-backsies on $9 billion in funding for PBS, NPR, and foreign aid. Despite all three of those things remaining wildly popular, Congress is preparing to pass a bil...
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18:07
Will The Epstein Files Tear MAGA Apart?
The Make America Great Again movement is splitting at the seams after the Department of Justice said there wasn't a "client list," something Trump's base supporters had been calling for to be released for years. Fueled by the belief...
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16:59
Who Are The New Generation Of Leaders? with Amanda Litman
After the unexpected victory of Zohran Mamdani in the New York mayoral primary, one question has emerged; is this the new model for Democrats. The party has been listless without a clear vision or leader or message to voters and has...
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35:53
Trump's 90 Days Are Up... Where Are All The Deals?
Trump blows through his 90 deals in 90 days deadline, extending when he'd finally make good on threats to start tariffs to August 1. But if he's the Deal Maker in Chief, then why would he need to extend the timeline? Gra...
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15:49
Is Trump Building Detention Centers...Or Camps?
With the passage of the Big Beautiful Bill, US immigration forces are getting a major boost in funding. A lot of it is going to ICE for new agents as enforcement increases in how militaristic it looks and acts. But most of the funding is going ...
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14:11
Why The Texas Floods Are Bad For All Of Us
The state of Texas is dealing with massive, deadly flooding just outside San Antonio. While the National Weather Service did predict heavy rain and gave warnings, the floods have claimed the lives of 82 people (at the time of this e...
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16:22
Will Trump Have To Bail Out The Big Beautiful Bill?
Congress passes Trump's Big Beautiful Bill. Despite its name, it will cut more than a trillion from Medicaid. It will make deep cuts to SNAP, clean energy, college endowments, and increase state and local taxes. It will mean giving ...
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18:39
The Senate Passes The Big Beautiful Bill...What Now?
The Senate passed the One Big Beautiful Bill that's filled with a budget that's going to remake Medicaid, SNAP, and American wealth for a generation. It passed by a super narrow majority, 51-50, and now heads to the House, where it's expected t...
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18:09
BONUS: The Supreme Court's BIGGEST Ruling Yet?
A quick bonus episode about the Supreme Court ruling in Trump v. CASA that might remake the way federal laws are applied and enforced across the country, making for a messy and chaotic legal system.
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12:24
How Trump Embraced Christian Nationalism and Bombed Iran (w/ Matt D. Taylor)
In the conversation about the US bombing Iran, there has been a lot of talk about the mission, the policy behind it, and how well it worked. But one of the main driving reasons Trump chose to approve the mission hasn't been talked ...
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46:22
Trump Ends A War Abroad... To Start A Fake One At Home
For days, President Donald Trump and his administration have been celebrating the bombing campaign against three Iranian nuclear sites, which effectively ended the conflict between Iran and Israel. Trump has repeatedly said the strikes "obliter...
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21:38