Chris Hayes’ antidote to anxiety is always curiosity. Whether on TV with "All In," on his podcast (aptly named “Why Is This Happening?”), or writing about our waning attention spans in his latest book, he looks to make sense of this era’s firehose of information by seeking out the reasons behind the very human decisions we make. This curiosity prompted a deep dive series on his podcast into artificial intelligence: "The AI End Game," tracing AI's evolution to how it will impact our democracy and what guardrails need to be applied. This week, Chris joins Nicolle to talk about how Democrats can rebuild faith in government in a “low trust” democracy, what we can learn from our political past “while not being obsessed with it and trapped in it” and what deeper questions we should be asking about AI. And in his search to understand this technology, he discovered an unintended source of inspiration because “it brings us back in some ways to what we find beautiful and thrilling about being human.”

Search "Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes Podcast" to listen to the full series, "The AI End Game."

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AI – and coverage of it – is everywhere. But what is artificial intelligence, really, beyond the buzzword? Each week, in a special new miniseries - ‘The AI End Game’ - Chris Hayes is joined by preeminent experts on AI and its effects to help make sense of this revolutionary time in history.

The series will feature in-depth conversations with experts, including: The Atlantic journalist Derek Thompson; professor at Wharton and New York Times bestselling author Ethan Mollick, professor of psychology at UC Berkeley and member of the Berkeley AI Research Group Alison Gopnik; former co-lead of the Ethical Artificial Intelligence Team at Google and co-founder of Black in AI Timnit Gebru; philosopher and cognitive scientist David Chalmers; author, host of the “Better Offline” podcast and writer of the “Where's Your Ed At” newsletter, Ed Zitron; The New York Times journalist and author, Michael Pollan, and more. The first episode is available now wherever you get your podcasts.

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Sarah Longwell listens to voters. As a GOP strategist and pollster who felt herself languishing in the wilderness as Trump 1.0 took root, she founded “The Bulwark” in 2019 with a stated mission “to put country over party... and to build a home for the politically homeless.” This masthead has become a movement, and Sarah, its fearless leader, sees defending democracy as the quintessential goal. After leading voter focus groups for the last eight years, Sarah understands that what matters in the beltway ‘bubble” rarely translates to what matters to America’s median voter, and why Trump’s approval is flailing: “People know that the tariffs are Trump’s, people know that the Iran war is Trump's... and that it is raising their prices, and that is what they are mad about.” Sarah uses these insights to chart a path for how Americans can move past the MAGA movement and take the “weird” out of government again. She joins Nicolle for a conversation about the power of simply listening to voters, how the two wings of the MAGA movement are fraying, and what Democrats can do to capitalize on Trump’s failures.

And a note to listeners: Last chance to get tickets for a live taping of "The Best People" with iconic documentarian Ken Burns at the 92Y in New York City. It’s happening on Tuesday, May 12th. You can learn more here: https://stage.92ny.org/event/ken-burns-and-nicolle-wallace

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Governor Mikie Sherill's best leadership lessons came from the Navy—and her kids. As a mom of four, the retired Navy helicopter pilot and former Congresswoman doesn’t have time to waste, and with less than 100 days under her belt as New Jersey's governor, she’s showing Democrats a refreshing governing approach: move quickly and fix things. She believes in the American ideal of kids doing a bit better than their parents but is not looking to replicate the pre-Trump era that held “a great deal of inertia.” Instead, she wants to chart a new path for effective government that’s fast and reliable. She joins Nicolle for a conversation on the quiet benefits of being underestimated, how states are looking to expand their powers, and why Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “is a debacle.” Governor Sherrill also advises on what battles to choose with Trump: “I'm looking at fights that are systemic and problematic... I'm not looking at problems of a patio off the White House that a good bulldozer can deal with in a week.”

And a note to listeners: Tickets are now available for a live taping of "The Best People" with iconic documentarian Ken Burns at the 92Y in New York City. It’s happening on Tuesday, May 12th. You can learn more here: https://stage.92ny.org/event/ken-burns-and-nicolle-wallace

Sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts to listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads. You'll also get exclusive bonus content and early access to new episodes of "The Best People."

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Sherrilyn Ifill maintains that we need a cultural reset from the ground up. The renowned former head of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and Howard University law professor has been in the trenches of defending civil rights for decades. Sherrilyn urges every American to confront the truth about what lives in our nation’s DNA, because she understands that threats to democracy go beyond Donald Trump’s embrace of the "raw animal core of this country"—they are everywhere in our culture. She joins Nicolle for a conversation about the uneven “neutrality” in media, America’s obsession with wealth, and how the Supreme Court, in ruling against the public interest and for maximum executive power, has become its own “Frankenstein monster.” Sherrilyn also reflects on the project before us in Trump’s aftermath: “part of what we have to do is to reexamine our definition of what it means to be a responsible citizen in this country.”

And a note to listeners: Tickets are now available for a live taping of "The Best People" with iconic documentarian Ken Burns at the 92Y in New York City. It’s happening on Tuesday, May 12th. You can learn more here: https://stage.92ny.org/event/ken-burns-and-nicolle-wallace

Sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts to listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads. You'll also get exclusive bonus content and early access to new episodes of "The Best People."

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Kara Swisher is always one of the smartest people in the room. A long-revered voice in tech and media, her trademark, B.S. free ability to pinpoint coming trends and predict fading technologies has earned her trailblazer status for her podcasts, “On with Kara Swisher” and “Pivot” with co-host Scott Galloway. In her upcoming TV series, “Kara Swisher Wants to Live Forever,” she applies that perceptive curiosity to the world of wellness, tech and longevity. She joined Nicolle on one of the very first episodes of “The Best People,” and she’s back this week to dish on where Elon Musk has been since blowing up DOGE, why we're in the end stages of Trumpism (“JD Vance has all the charm of a cyber truck,”) and how to live your best life. If not forever, then at least for right now.

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Last weekend the legendary actor spoke at a protest in New York City. “The concept of No Kings is a great rallying cry, and hugely successful, as millions of us have answered the call. I support this movement 150%” he said. “Afraid of Trump?! Please. No, they should be more afraid of us.” In the conversation he recorded with Nicolle in February he expounded on the principles in that brief speech, and so this week we’re re-running the episode as a Best of The Best People.

Robert De Niro commands every room he enters. His decades-long career and Academy Award winning performances have gifted the world some of its most beloved films, from instant classics like "The Godfather II" and "Raging Bull" to countless gems like "Goodfellas," and "Casino." But despite the rough and tumble characters he often portrays, he tells Nicolle, “I’m not a tough guy. I’m a concerned citizen.” He brings that inextricably human sensibility to this episode, having been a consistent and passionate voice in the fight against President Trump’s worst instincts. De Niro and Nicolle drill down on the optics of business leaders turning a blind eye to the administration’s behaviors, the need for mass mobilization to protect midterm election integrity, and the importance of kindness in an era defined by division. And the Hollywood titan has some sage advice for those who oppose Trump: “Everybody has to get out there every way possible... This is it. This is our country.”

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Alex Wagner is journalist to her core, forever on the hunt for the next story “bubbling up on the ground.” From her 2020 reporting for Showtime’s “The Circus” on right-wing militias intent on reacting to a Joe Biden win, to her post-election MS NOW podcast “Trumpland” which found her standing outside a DC jail on a cold January night waiting for pardoned J6’ers to emerge, she believes in talking to people where they are to understand how they feel. Alex now helms Crooked Media’s “Runaway Country” podcast, and she joins Nicolle this week for a conversation about why some of MAGA's most ardent supporters are “mad at Daddy” and how sanitizing Trump’s crude commentary may have failed as a reporting method. And Alex doesn’t hold back on the White House’s disturbing video-gamification of the Iran War: “The idea that we celebrate and lust for death and bloodshed is some dark business. And this administration keeps telling us over and over again that that's what we want.”

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