The Chuck ToddCast

Chuck Todd opens with Ken Paxton's runoff blowout over John Cornyn — a result that confirms Texas Republicans remain the base of what eventually grew into MAGA nationally, that the insurgent wing of the GOP consistently wins in the state, and that Paxton is somehow simultaneously the least electable nominee Republicans could have picked and still electable enough to make this a real fight. He argues Texas is slowly moving toward swing state status the way Georgia did over the past decade — the ingredients are there for a Democrat to finally break through, the question is whether James Talarico can move his 45% number higher and prove he's the political athlete this moment requires. The downstream consequences for Republicans are brutal: the GOP will have to drop a $500 million anvil on Talarico that can't be deployed in other races, and Democrats' path to a Senate majority just got measurably wider.
But the more fascinating story Chuck unpacks is Pope Leo's stunning new document on AI, automated weapons, and concentrated power — a text Chuck argues is essentially an indictment of American military dominance dressed in the language of moral theology. The Pope explicitly compares AI-driven targeting systems to slavery, arguing both reduce human beings to data points and dehumanize their victims, and apologizes for the church's historic slowness on slavery while warning Catholics that they cannot afford the same slowness on artificial intelligence. He declares the centuries-old "just war" framework outdated, argues that no algorithm can ever make war morally acceptable, and pushes back forcefully on the entire concept of nuclear deterrence — drawing a direct line back to Pope Leo XIII's 1891 intervention on industrial capitalism. He argues the document, while never naming the United States, is speaking directly to American politicians: it's framed as a call for a moral framework around AI that can live above the political discourse, an explicit argument that technological capital must be regulated, and a warning that AI is not morally neutral no matter how much Silicon Valley wishes it were. The larger message is unmistakable — the Pope, who Chuck notes is now arguably the most formidable global moral voice that even secular Americans look to for clarity, has just put concentrated technological power on notice in a way no head of state has been willing to.
Then, Virginia Kase Solomon — president of Common Cause, one of the country's oldest and most respected pro-democracy organizations — joins the Chuck Toddcast to deliver a clear-eyed assessment of just how broken American self-government has become, and what it might actually take to fix it. Kase Solomon argues that Trump's corruption has gone so far beyond anything in modern history that it makes Watergate look quaint by comparison — she points to Trump stealing roughly $1.8 billion from American taxpayers as a single staggering example — but warns that the most dangerous development isn't the corruption itself, it's that young voters are growing up normalized to it, with no living memory of an administration where this kind of behavior carried consequences. She makes a striking comparison to Hungary, where it took genuinely staggering levels of corruption before Orbán could be toppled, and where the opposition only succeeded once it tied that corruption directly to degrading quality of life for ordinary people — a lesson she says American Democrats badly need to learn. They note that there are real bipartisan calls to address money in politics, that a congressional stock trading ban enjoys overwhelming public support, that Amy Klobuchar's Disclose Act keeps getting reintroduced and ignored, and that forced disclosure of large-dollar donors alone would significantly reduce political giving — but the country is on a runaway train, with big tech money flowing to whoever holds power and Trump openly running the country like a corporation.
The conversation broadens into Kase Solomon's structural diagnosis of why American democracy isn't working. She argues that the way the founders designed the country no longer functions in the modern era — but that the founders also gave us the tools to fix what's broken if we choose to use them. Congress is too small to genuinely represent the public, the Senate is horribly malapportioned, the Supreme Court has offered no real solution to the gerrymandering crisis, and we've completely lost the "statesmen" in Congress who once voted their conscience because there's no longer any incentive to compromise or work across the aisle. She is deeply concerned about the regulatory vacuum around AI — deepfakes have terrifying implications for elections and civil litigation is currently the only meaningful path to push back — and she warns that the election of judges has corrupted the rule of law in ways America needs a movement to address. Despite all of this, she is genuinely hopeful: Common Cause is litigating against the corruption, organizing a million conversations between activists and ordinary Americans, and operating from the conviction that the public isn't stupid and still loves this country. Her closing argument is the most American one possible: the United States has always emerged from its darkest periods better than it went in — but only because people refused to accept the broken system as permanent, and that work has to start now.
Finally, Chuck reveals his ToddCast Top 5 list of Democrats who could be vaulted into 2028 contender status for the presidency if they perform well in the midterms. He highlights two midwestern gubernatorial candidates, two upstart senate bids and one name that stands above the rest… Jon Ossoff of Georgia. He also answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment.

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Timeline:
(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)
00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction
03:30 Ken Paxton trounces John Cornyn in runoff election
05:00 Texas Republicans are the base for what grew into MAGA nationally
07:15 The insurgent wing of the GOP consistently wins in Texas
09:00 Paxton is the least electable nominee, but he’s still electable
10:30 Is 45% Talarico’s ceiling, or can he move that number higher?
11:30 Texas is slowly moving towards swing state status like Georgia did
13:00 Ingredients are there for a Democrat to finally break through in TX
15:30 Senate Republicans won’t be happy having to serve with Paxton
16:00 Texas is more winnable than other races for GOP, will have to spend in TX
16:30 Republicans will have to spend big to drop the anvil on Talarico
17:30 We’ll find out how talented of a political athlete Talarico is
19:30 This will be the magnet race that national reporters will focus on
21:30 Race will cost the GOP $500m that can’t be deployed elsewhere
23:15 Democrats now have a better chance of winning the senate
24:00 The Pope speaks to more than Catholics, seculars look to him for moral clarity
25:00 The Pope is formidable influencer in America
26:15 The Pope speaks out about AI, concentrated power & the “just war” theory
26:45 He compared automated weapons to slavery
28:00 The Pope spoke out similarly in 1891 during the Industrial Revolution
29:00 The Pope’s document says AI is not morally neutral
30:15 Document argues that technological capital needs to be regulated
30:45 The church has had a “just war” framework for hundreds of years
31:15 Pope Leo says “just war” framework is outdated
32:15 Document argues no algorithm can make war morally acceptable
33:15 Document argues against the concept of nuclear deterrence
33:45 Pope apologizes for church’s role in slavery
34:30 Document says AI systems reduce human beings into targeting data
35:00 Pope argues the dehumanization of AI targeting is similar to slavery
36:00 While not saying it directly, the document is speaking about the United States
37:00 The document is an indictment of American military dominance
38:30 Document does have a carve-out for self defence
40:15 The document was speaking directly to American politicians
41:30 A call for a moral framework for AI can live above the political discourse
42:30 Pope argues church was too slow on slavery, can’t be slow on AI
49:00 Virginia Kase Solomon (Common Cause) joins the Chuck ToddCast
50:30 Common Cause works to hold the government accountable to the people
51:30 Corporate lobbies have disproportionate power compared to people
52:15 Many people threw their hands up after Citizen’s United
53:30 States are working to change campaign finance rules
55:15 States can ban companies in their state from making political donations
57:00 Rules changes but money always seems to find a way around them
59:00 Parties stopped becoming the epicenter of political donations
1:00:30 There are bipartisan calls to do something about money in politics
1:02:00 More GOP support for reform at the state level than national level
1:02:45 We’re on a runaway train for money in politics
1:03:30 Big tech money goes to whoever is in power
1:04:00 The country is being run like a corporation
1:04:45 Jamie Raskin has started an anti-corruption task force
1:05:15 A congressional stock trading ban has massive public support
1:06:15 Trump is obviously corrupt, but people fear him too much to act
1:07:30 Forced disclosure of large dollar donors would reduce donations
1:08:30 Amy Klobuchar has put forward the Disclose Act in almost every congress
1:11:00 The Trump administration’s corruption is beyond egregious
1:11:45 Trump stealing $1.8 billion from taxpayers, makes Watergate look quaint
1:13:15 Young voters have grown up being normalized to this corruption
1:13:45 There will be a backlash to the corruption at some point
1:14:45 America’s long term global standing has been severely damaged
1:15:30 Common Cause is involved in litigation trying to prevent the corruption
1:17:30 Striving to have a million conversations between organizers & normal people
1:18:45 People are struggling and feeling fatigued
1:20:30 It took staggering levels of corruption in Hungary before Orban was toppled
1:21:30 Opposition in Hungary tied corruption to degrading quality of life
1:23:30 A fairness criteria was implemented in the California redistricting
1:24:30 CA and VA put redistricting before the voters, but still a race to the bottom
1:25:00 The Supreme Court hasn’t offered any solution to gerrymandering problem
1:26:00 Congress is too small to effectively represent the public
1:26:45 The senate is horribly malapportioned
1:28:30 The way the founders designed the country doesn’t work anymore
1:29:00 The founders gave us the tools to fix the democracy
1:31:15 There’s no incentive to work in a bipartisan manner or compromise
1:32:45 We’ve lost the “statesmen” in congress who vote their conscience
1:33:30 Politics has become a zero sum game
1:34:45 Politics has always been dirty, but we’ve hit an all-time low
1:36:00 Government seems completely unequipped to regulate AI
1:38:45 Deepfakes impact on elections are very concerning
1:40:00 Civil litigation is the only current path to push back on AI
1:41:30 Status of “sunshine laws” in the country? Could they be rolled back?
1:43:45 Need a movement against the election of the judiciary
1:46:45 The reason for optimism… is that people aren’t stupid and love the country
1:47:30 Our country has always emerged better after dark times
1:49:30 Chuck’s thoughts on interview with Virginia Kase Solomon
1:50:30 ToddCast Top 5 2028 contenders depending on their 2026 performance
1:54:00 #5 Amy Acton
1:56:15 #4 Rob Sand
1:57:45 #3 Graham Platner
2:01:15 #2 James Talarico
2:03:45 #1 Jon Ossoff
2:07:15 Ask Chuck
2:07:30 Why are people rounding up Trump’s 1.776B slush fund to $1.8b?
2:09:30 Supporting candidates you oppose just for judicial confirmations?
2:16:30 New Parallel AI model that prioritizes original writing and journalism?
2:20:15 How are candidates allowed to deploy financial resources during campaigns?
2:24:30 Pattern of Dems fixing the economy and GOP making it worse?
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Virginia Kase Solomon — president of Common Cause, one of the country's oldest and most respected pro-democracy organizations — joins the Chuck Toddcast to deliver a clear-eyed assessment of just how broken American self-government has become, and what it might actually take to fix it. Kase Solomon argues that Trump's corruption has gone so far beyond anything in modern history that it makes Watergate look quaint by comparison — she points to Trump stealing roughly $1.8 billion from American taxpayers as a single staggering example — but warns that the most dangerous development isn't the corruption itself, it's that young voters are growing up normalized to it, with no living memory of an administration where this kind of behavior carried consequences. She makes a striking comparison to Hungary, where it took genuinely staggering levels of corruption before Orbán could be toppled, and where the opposition only succeeded once it tied that corruption directly to degrading quality of life for ordinary people — a lesson she says American Democrats badly need to learn. They note that there are real bipartisan calls to address money in politics, that a congressional stock trading ban enjoys overwhelming public support, that Amy Klobuchar's Disclose Act keeps getting reintroduced and ignored, and that forced disclosure of large-dollar donors alone would significantly reduce political giving — but the country is on a runaway train, with big tech money flowing to whoever holds power and Trump openly running the country like a corporation.
The conversation broadens into Kase Solomon's structural diagnosis of why American democracy isn't working. She argues that the way the founders designed the country no longer functions in the modern era — but that the founders also gave us the tools to fix what's broken if we choose to use them. Congress is too small to genuinely represent the public, the Senate is horribly malapportioned, the Supreme Court has offered no real solution to the gerrymandering crisis, and we've completely lost the "statesmen" in Congress who once voted their conscience because there's no longer any incentive to compromise or work across the aisle. She is deeply concerned about the regulatory vacuum around AI — deepfakes have terrifying implications for elections and civil litigation is currently the only meaningful path to push back — and she warns that the election of judges has corrupted the rule of law in ways America needs a movement to address. Despite all of this, she is genuinely hopeful: Common Cause is litigating against the corruption, organizing a million conversations between activists and ordinary Americans, and operating from the conviction that the public isn't stupid and still loves this country. Her closing argument is the most American one possible: the United States has always emerged from its darkest periods better than it went in — but only because people refused to accept the broken system as permanent, and that work has to start now.

Link in bio or go to https://getsoul.com & enter code TODDCAST for 30% off your first order.
Refresh your wardrobe with Quince. Go to https://Quince.com/chuck for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns.
Thank you Wildgrain for sponsoring. Visit http://wildgrain.com/TODDCAST and use the code "TODDCAST" at checkout to receive $30 off your first box PLUS free Croissants for life!
Timeline:
(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)
00:00 Virginia Kase Solomon (Common Cause) joins the Chuck ToddCast
01:30 Common Cause works to hold the government accountable to the people
02:30 Corporate lobbies have disproportionate power compared to people
03:15 Many people threw their hands up after Citizen’s United
04:30 States are working to change campaign finance rules
06:15 States can ban companies in their state from making political donations
08:00 Rules changes but money always seems to find a way around them
10:00 Parties stopped becoming the epicenter of political donations
11:30 There are bipartisan calls to do something about money in politics
13:00 More GOP support for reform at the state level than national level
13:45 We’re on a runaway train for money in politics
14:30 Big tech money goes to whoever is in power
15:00 The country is being run like a corporation
15:45 Jamie Raskin has started an anti-corruption task force
16:15 A congressional stock trading ban has massive public support
17:15 Trump is obviously corrupt, but people fear him too much to act
18:30 Forced disclosure of large dollar donors would reduce donations
19:30 Amy Klobuchar has put forward the Disclose Act in almost every congress
22:00 The Trump administration’s corruption is beyond egregious
22:45 Trump stealing $1.8 billion from taxpayers, makes Watergate look quaint
24:15 Young voters have grown up being normalized to this corruption
24:45 There will be a backlash to the corruption at some point
25:45 America’s long term global standing has been severely damaged
26:30 Common Cause is involved in litigation trying to prevent the corruption
28:30 Striving to have a million conversations between organizers & normal people
29:45 People are struggling and feeling fatigued
31:30 It took staggering levels of corruption in Hungary before Orban was toppled
32:30 Opposition in Hungary tied corruption to degrading quality of life
34:30 A fairness criteria was implemented in the California redistricting
35:30 CA and VA put redistricting before the voters, but still a race to the bottom
36:00 The Supreme Court hasn’t offered any solution to gerrymandering problem
37:00 Congress is too small to effectively represent the public
37:45 The senate is horribly malapportioned
39:30 The way the founders designed the country doesn’t work anymore
40:00 The founders gave us the tools to fix the democracy
42:15 There’s no incentive to work in a bipartisan manner or compromise
43:45 We’ve lost the “statesmen” in congress who vote their conscience
44:30 Politics has become a zero sum game
45:45 Politics has always been dirty, but we’ve hit an all-time low
47:00 Government seems completely unequipped to regulate AI
49:45 Deepfakes impact on elections are very concerning
51:00 Civil litigation is the only current path to push back on AI
52:30 Status of “sunshine laws” in the country? Could they be rolled back?
54:45 Need a movement against the election of the judiciary
57:45 The reason for optimism… is that people aren’t stupid and love the country
58:30 Our country has always emerged better after dark times
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chuck Todd opens with a brutal verdict on the emerging Iran "deal": it's just a worse version of the Obama agreement Trump once tore up, Iran has effectively avoided every stated goal Trump and Israel set out to achieve, and Tehran retains control of the Strait of Hormuz — meaning this is unambiguously a loss for the United States, no matter how the administration tries to spin it. He argues Trump bit off far more than he could chew, that Bibi Netanyahu put his faith into Donald Trump (which never ends well), and that America's standing has been diminished in ways that will reverberate for years. Iran's regime won't be able to repress its own people forever, He notes, but the window to actually topple it during the protests was missed — and Gulf state allies will now be dealing with the Iranians for much longer than they bargained for, having quietly hoped the U.S. and Israel would do their dirty work for them. The political damage at home is just as severe. He cites the Wall Street Journal christening the past seven days as "the week that broke Trump's hold on Congress," with the president now underwater on every single issue, consumer confidence unlikely to recover before the midterms, the Senate unable to fund DHS through reconciliation because Trump makes bipartisan solutions impossible, and his January 6th slush fund producing a backlash that won't go away — with Republican senators visibly wavering. Chuck's verdict on the lame duck arriving early: this is a failed first two years of the Trump presidency, and the stronger his grip on the party, the weaker that party becomes in general elections. He blasts Todd Blanche for turning the DOJ into Trump's personal legal team (Blanche should be impeached, Todd argues, and nothing coming out of this DOJ can be trusted), tears into the long-awaited DNC autopsy of the 2024 loss as paralyzed, tone-deaf, and poorly thought-out — naming Ken Martin as the wrong person to lead the DNC and noting that the simple truth Democrats can't bring themselves to face is that the party is perceived as too liberal in a country with more conservatives than progressives. He flags Mike Duggan dropping out of the Michigan governor's race after his hoped-for contentious Democratic primary never materialized, and Tulsi Gabbard's resignation as DNI proving that the position itself was never really necessary
Then, former Marine sniper AJ Pasciuti — author of the new book Dark Horse and host of the Combat Story podcast — joins the Chuck Toddcast for one of the most riveting and clear-eyed conversations about military service, leadership, and the realities of modern war. Pasciuti was 16 years old on September 11th, enlisted at 17, and eventually became the Marine who led the team that killed "Juba" — the notorious Iraqi sniper who uploaded videos of his American kills to the internet to taunt the U.S. military. He walks listeners through the entire hunt: how Marines studied Juba's uploaded footage to identify his patterns, how the team set a trap, how Pasciuti spotted Juba in his hide by catching the glint off the lens of a Sony Handycam, and how he knew within minutes that they'd gotten him — while emphasizing that he may have pulled the trigger but it was an entire team that brought Juba down. Pasciuti reflects on the strange experience of fighting enemies who saw themselves as freedom fighters rather than terrorists, why attention to detail is the trait that weeds out most sniper candidates, and how snipers are ultimately meant to combat the enemy emotionally as much as physically.
The conversation broadens into a sweeping meditation on what military service teaches you about America — and where Pasciuti worries the country is heading. He calls the military one of the last bastions of the American dream, where opportunity is real but has to be earned, and argues that a culture promoting service to the greater good over the accumulation of wealth would make America measurably healthier.. Pasciuti is openly worried about political leadership infecting the values of the military, makes the case that empathy must be viewed as a strength rather than a weakness in military leadership, and insists his book is political but not partisan — it's about values. He offers a vital warning that the Taliban proved asymmetrical warfare can defeat a stronger foe, that drone warfare is dangerously dehumanizing combat by reducing casualties to dollars and cents, and that the most important thing any soldier carries home is their soul intact — something he says becomes harder every year as the social contract between America and its veterans erodes. Pasciuti describes seeing fear rather than hatred in the eyes of a dying enemy combatant, a moment that has stayed with him, and explains why he can't support any politician who describes a political opponent as an enemy. He shares his experience running for city council and personally knocking on thousands of doors, his frustration with the financial barriers to entry in modern politics, and his belief that current discourse simply doesn't allow for real dialogue. He closes with the most powerful observation of the episode, made for Memorial Day: the holiday isn't about those who came home — it's about those who didn't — and anyone calling for war should be required to first sit down and have a conversation with a Gold Star family.
Finally, Chuck hops into the ToddCast Time Machine for a thoughtful Memorial Day reflection on how countries honor their war dead — and how the rituals they choose reveal who they understand themselves to be. He traces Memorial Day back to its actual origins in the Civil War and its 600,000 American dead, including the powerful and often-forgotten story of formerly enslaved people who reburied Union soldiers from a mass grave to give them the dignified resting place their country had failed to provide. He explains that the date was chosen not because of a specific battle but because of when flowers bloom, that Southern states kept parallel remembrance traditions for the Confederacy, and that Memorial Day's secondary role as the unofficial start of summer has always made it a uniquely American hybrid of grief and gathering — which, Chuck argues, is actually one of its virtues, because coming together is how communities find common ground. He surveys how other nations approach the same task: WWI created a uniquely Canadian identity around remembrance, Russia centers its V-Day celebrations on WWII triumph as the foundation of national identity, Germany approaches its war dead cautiously and somberly with a deep awareness of historical responsibility, and Japan frames remembrance through loss, peace, and explicit anti-war reflection. His larger argument is that the story and tone of a country's remembrance day reveals exactly how it understands itself — what it celebrates, what it confronts, and what it would rather not look at. He closes with the smallest but most important reminder of the day: you don't say "Happy Memorial Day." He also answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment.
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Thank you Wildgrain for sponsoring. Visit http://wildgrain.com/TODDCAST and use the code "TODDCAST" at checkout to receive $30 off your first box PLUS free Croissants for life!
Timeline:
(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)
00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction
04:00 Pending Iran deal looks like a worse version of Obama’s deal
04:45 Iran looks to have avoided all of Trump + Israel’s stated goals
05:15 Iran retains control of Strait, that means this is a loss for Trump
06:15 Trump is capitulating, and this diminishes America’s standing
07:15 Administration hoping to sweep Iran under the rug in time for the midterms
08:00 Normally, America would be leading Ebola response. Trump destroyed USAID
08:45 Helping with disease outbreaks was about protecting us at home
10:00 Unlikely the Iranian regime will be able to repress their people forever
11:00 Trump bit off more than he could chew and needs an offramp
11:45 Bibi put his faith into Donald Trump, which never goes well
13:00 Trump hires flawed people that could only work for him. Makes them loyal
14:15 Politics infects every decision Trump makes
15:45 Gulf state allies will have to deal with Iran for much longer now
16:30 Missed the window to topple the regime during the protests
18:00 Gulf states were hoping U.S. and Israel would do their dirty work
18:30 Trump was worst possible commander in chief for this moment
19:30 It’s a big loss for Trump, but he had no choice but to end the war
22:00 New polling shows Trump approval tanking, huge generic Dem advantage
23:45 WSJ dubs the past week, “The week the broke Trump’s hold on Congress”
25:00 Trump is underwater on every issue
26:00 It’s highly unlikely consumer confidence will rise before the midterms
27:00 Trump is directly responsible for higher inflation and cost of living
28:00 Senate cannot find way to fund DHS through reconciliation
29:30 Trump makes any bipartisan solution impossible
30:15 Todd Banche is making DOJ Trump’s personal attorneys
31:45 Can’t trust anything this DOJ says. Blanche should be impeached*
33:15 Trump’s J6 slush fund is likely illegal and has GOP senators wavering
34:15 Backlash to slush fund isn’t going away
35:45 The stronger Trump grips the party, the weaker it is in general elections
36:30 The lame duck is here. This a failed first two years of Trump’s presidency
37:15 DNC finally releases autopsy of 2024 election loss
37:45 Ken Martin is the wrong person for the DNC chair. In over his head
38:15 The simple fact of the matter is the party is perceived as too liberal
40:45 There are more conservatives than progressives, need to win the moderates
42:00 Autopsy offering gubernatorial wins as a counterpoint is tone deaf
43:45 Trump’s electoral strength doesn’t translate when he isn’t on ballot
44:30 DNC was in a no-win situation with the autopsy
45:15 Seems like the autopsy was just going through motions, poorly thought out
46:30 DNC is paralyzed, in need of new leadership
48:30 Mike Duggan drops out as independent in MI governor’s race
50:00 Duggan counted on contentious primary & that didn’t happen
52:00 Duggan didn’t want a Republican elected and dropped out
52:30 Tulsi Gabbard resigns. DNI post shown to not be necessary
53:00 The CIA has won the “turf battle” amongst intel agencies
54:30 Gabbard isn’t the first DNI that’s been marginalized.
55:15 It’s easy to eye roll Don Jr & Hunter Biden… Their fathers screwed them up
1:03:30 AJ Pasciuti (Dark Horse) joins the Chuck ToddCast
1:05:30 If you wrote the book 10 years ago, how would it have been different?
1:07:00 You gain extra perspective about “why” when more time has passed
1:07:45 Leadership is currently in very short supply
1:09:45 The book is a love letter and thank you to people who shaped AJ’s life
1:11:45 The military is one of the last bastions of the American dream
1:12:45 Was 16 years old on 9/11 and the attack inspired AJ to enlist at 17
1:13:45 How did you identify that you had the skills to be a sniper?
1:15:15 Gunnery Sgt. Jackson helped set AJ on his trajectory
1:16:00 What is training for a sniper like?
1:17:00 Attention to details is the trait that weeds out most sniper candidates
1:17:45 Snipers have to be self-dependent, must rely on yourself for survival
1:19:00 Snipers are meant to combat the enemy emotionally, scare them
1:19:45 “Juba” may not have been just one enemy sniper & hunted Americans
1:20:15 Juba uploaded videos of sniper kills of Americans to the internet
1:21:00 Watching the videos allowed marines to understand Juba’s patterns
1:21:30 Set up a trap for Juba and Juba fell into it
1:22:30 AJ knew they had killed Juba within minutes
1:23:30 Caught a glint of the lens of a Sony handycam to spot Juba
1:24:45 AJ may have pulled the trigger, but it was an entire team that got him
1:26:15 Marines were shocked that people would fight for a tyrant like Saddam
1:27:00 We viewed the enemies as terrorists, they viewed themselves as freedom fighters
1:28:45 Does the message to the troops today seem different than when you served?
1:29:45 When we send Americans into conflict, it must be for a just cause
1:30:15 There’s a responsibility that comes with having the greatest military in history
1:31:15 Are you worried political leadership is infecting the values of the military?
1:32:15 Leadership needs to project values people are inspired to defend
1:34:00 Military leadership needs to view empathy as a strength, not a weakness
1:35:00 The book is political but not partisan. It’s about values
1:36:45 A culture that promotes services to the greater good is healthier
1:38:30 If the culture promotes service over wealth, we’d be better off
1:39:00 Mandatory service in Israel has helped to bond their society
1:41:30 Service strips away the illusion that we succeed alone
1:42:45 Veterans aren’t easily categorized in their politics
1:43:30 Military provides an opportunity, but you have to earn it
1:45:30 Competitive advantage for the military is to think, adapt & react quicker
1:46:45 Marine culture should create soldiers that are problem solvers
1:47:45 Taliban found that asymmetrical warfare could defeat a stronger foe
1:50:00 We have to better prepare for asymmetrical warfare
1:50:45 The American Revolution was fought with asymmetrical warfare
1:51:30 Drone warfare dehumanizes war. Casualties counted in dollars and cents
1:52:45 War is a chess game, and modern tech has leveled the playing field
1:54:45 Have to avoid being dehumanized by war
1:55:30 Saw an enemy combatant dying, saw fear in his eyes, not hatred
1:56:15 Wrote the book not to glorify war, but to tell the realities of it
1:57:45 The hardest part of coming home was doing so with your soul intact
1:59:00 The social contract with our soldiers must be protected
2:00:15 How are you able to publicly express your experience when many can’t?
2:02:30 Can’t support someone that says a political opponent is an enemy
2:03:30 Tell us about your podcast “Combat Story”
2:05:00 Ran for city council, personally knocked on thousands of doors
2:06:30 Our current politics doesn’t allow for dialogue
2:08:45 There’s a financial barrier to entry into politics
2:11:30 Memorial Day is tough, it’s about those who didn’t come home
2:12:00 Anyone calling for war should have a conversation with a gold star family
2:15:15 Chuck’s thoughts on interview with AJ Pasciuti
2:16:00 ToddCast Time Machine
2:16:30 Every country honors war dead, but don’t do it the same way
2:17:15 Memorial Day was borne out of the civil war and 600k Americans dead
2:18:00 Formally enslaved people reburied union soldiers from mass grave
2:18:45 Holiday is also about who gets remembered in our national story
2:19:15 Date was chosen due to flowers blooming & not a specific battle
2:20:30 Southern states kept remembrance traditions for the confederacy
2:21:15 Memorial Day also marks the unofficial start of summer
2:21:45 Gathering together is an important way to find common ground
2:22:45 Different memorial traditions & rituals in other countries
2:23:30 WW1 created a unique identity in Canada
2:24:00 Russia celebrates V-Day, triumph in WW2 central to identity
2:24:45 Germany remembers war cautiously and somberly
2:25:30 Japan remembers war through loss, peace and anti-war reflection
2:26:15 Other memorial rituals around the world
2:27:45 Story and tone of remembrance days are how countries view themselves
2:28:45 You don’t say “Happy Memorial Day”
2:30:00 Ask Chuck
2:30:15 Isn’t it odd that we know so little about attempted Trump assassins?
2:37:00 Why didn’t Dems lean into “Trump Lie Trackers” more in campaigns?
2:41:00 Does the “Epstein Class” framing feel stronger than the “1%”?
2:45:00 Did “No Child Left Behind” do real damage to civics education?
2:51:15 Does the 2.5 swing in presidential elections show most voters are locked in?
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Former Marine sniper AJ Pasciuti — author of the new book Dark Horse and host of the Combat Story podcast — joins the Chuck Toddcast for one of the most riveting and clear-eyed conversations about military service, leadership, and the realities of modern war. Pasciuti was 16 years old on September 11th, enlisted at 17, and eventually became the Marine who led the team that killed "Juba" — the notorious Iraqi sniper who uploaded videos of his American kills to the internet to taunt the U.S. military. He walks listeners through the entire hunt: how Marines studied Juba's uploaded footage to identify his patterns, how the team set a trap, how Pasciuti spotted Juba in his hide by catching the glint off the lens of a Sony Handycam, and how he knew within minutes that they'd gotten him — while emphasizing that he may have pulled the trigger but it was an entire team that brought Juba down. Pasciuti reflects on the strange experience of fighting enemies who saw themselves as freedom fighters rather than terrorists, why attention to detail is the trait that weeds out most sniper candidates, and how snipers are ultimately meant to combat the enemy emotionally as much as physically.
The conversation broadens into a sweeping meditation on what military service teaches you about America — and where Pasciuti worries the country is heading. He calls the military one of the last bastions of the American dream, where opportunity is real but has to be earned, and argues that a culture promoting service to the greater good over the accumulation of wealth would make America measurably healthier.. Pasciuti is openly worried about political leadership infecting the values of the military, makes the case that empathy must be viewed as a strength rather than a weakness in military leadership, and insists his book is political but not partisan — it's about values. He offers a vital warning that the Taliban proved asymmetrical warfare can defeat a stronger foe, that drone warfare is dangerously dehumanizing combat by reducing casualties to dollars and cents, and that the most important thing any soldier carries home is their soul intact — something he says becomes harder every year as the social contract between America and its veterans erodes. Pasciuti describes seeing fear rather than hatred in the eyes of a dying enemy combatant, a moment that has stayed with him, and explains why he can't support any politician who describes a political opponent as an enemy. He shares his experience running for city council and personally knocking on thousands of doors, his frustration with the financial barriers to entry in modern politics, and his belief that current discourse simply doesn't allow for real dialogue. He closes with the most powerful observation of the episode, made for Memorial Day: the holiday isn't about those who came home — it's about those who didn't — and anyone calling for war should be required to first sit down and have a conversation with a Gold Star family.
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Timeline:
(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)
00:00 AJ Pasciuti (Dark Horse) joins the Chuck ToddCast
02:00 If you wrote the book 10 years ago, how would it have been different?
03:30 You gain extra perspective about “why” when more time has passed
04:15 Leadership is currently in very short supply
06:15 The book is a love letter and thank you to people who shaped AJ’s life
08:15 The military is one of the last bastions of the American dream
09:15 Was 16 years old on 9/11 and the attack inspired AJ to enlist at 17
10:15 How did you identify that you had the skills to be a sniper?
11:45 Gunnery Sgt. Jackson helped set AJ on his trajectory
12:30 What is training for a sniper like?
13:30 Attention to details is the trait that weeds out most sniper candidates
14:15 Snipers have to be self-dependent, must rely on yourself for survival
15:30 Snipers are meant to combat the enemy emotionally, scare them
16:15 “Juba” may not have been just one enemy sniper & hunted Americans
16:45 Juba uploaded videos of sniper kills of Americans to the internet
17:30 Watching the videos allowed marines to understand Juba’s patterns
18:00 Set up a trap for Juba and Juba fell into it
19:00 AJ knew they had killed Juba within minutes
20:00 Caught a glint of the lens of a Sony handycam to spot Juba
21:15 AJ may have pulled the trigger, but it was an entire team that got him
22:45 Marines were shocked that people would fight for a tyrant like Saddam
23:30 We viewed the enemies as terrorists, they viewed themselves as freedom fighters
25:15 Does the message to the troops today seem different than when you served?
26:15 When we send Americans into conflict, it must be for a just cause
26:45 There’s a responsibility that comes with having the greatest military in history
27:45 Are you worried political leadership is infecting the values of the military?
28:45 Leadership needs to project values people are inspired to defend
30:30 Military leadership needs to view empathy as a strength, not a weakness
31:30 The book is political but not partisan. It’s about values
33:15 A culture that promotes services to the greater good is healthier
35:00 If the culture promotes service over wealth, we’d be better off
35:30 Mandatory service in Israel has helped to bond their society
38:00 Service strips away the illusion that we succeed alone
39:15 Veterans aren’t easily categorized in their politics
40:00 Military provides an opportunity, but you have to earn it
42:00 Competitive advantage for the military is to think, adapt & react quicker
43:15 Marine culture should create soldiers that are problem solvers
44:15 Taliban found that asymmetrical warfare could defeat a stronger foe
46:30 We have to better prepare for asymmetrical warfare
47:15 The American Revolution was fought with asymmetrical warfare
48:00 Drone warfare dehumanizes war. Casualties counted in dollars and cents
49:15 War is a chess game, and modern tech has leveled the playing field
51:15 Have to avoid being dehumanized by war
52:00 Saw an enemy combatant dying, saw fear in his eyes, not hatred
52:45 Wrote the book not to glorify war, but to tell the realities of it
54:15 The hardest part of coming home was doing so with your soul intact
55:30 The social contract with our soldiers must be protected
56:45 How are you able to publicly express your experience when many can’t?
59:00 Can’t support someone that says a political opponent is an enemy
1:00:00 Tell us about your podcast “Combat Story”
1:01:30 Ran for city council, personally knocked on thousands of doors
1:03:00 Our current politics doesn’t allow for dialogue
1:05:15 There’s a financial barrier to entry into politics
1:08:00 Memorial Day is tough, it’s about those who didn’t come home
1:08:30 Anyone calling for war should have a conversation with a gold star family
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former Senator, Tennessee Governor, and Education Secretary Lamar Alexander joins the Chuck Toddcast to discuss his new memoir The Education of a Senator and an offer his extraordinary perspective on American politics shaped by five decades in public life — including the surreal experience of being sworn in as governor under emergency circumstances because his predecessor was openly selling pardons for cash and eventually went to prison for selling whiskey licenses. (For listeners absorbing the news of Trump's modern pardon market, the historical echoes are impossible to miss.) Alexander shares stories that capture an entirely different era: how he had to govern in a bipartisan manner from day one to handle the scandal he inherited, how an inquiry surfaced about springing MLK's killer from prison, and how Southern governors of his generation had to drag their states out of the 1950s and into something resembling modernity. Alexander argues that style matters enormously in politics — and reveals that he predicted Trump's presidency years before it happened, because he saw clearly that American politics was being consumed by money and media in ways that disincentivized actual legislating. He walks through his theory of education reform, defends "No Child Left Behind"'s standards-based approach, and offers the wonkish but fascinating idea he once pitched to Reagan: have states and the federal government swap administration of Medicaid and K-12 education.
The conversation broadens into Alexander's diagnosis of what's gone wrong with American politics and the path back. He argues that partisan primaries have created more ideologically extreme candidates than the system can absorb, and that people will always find ways around campaign finance limits — meaning the real fix has to be structural. Alexander offers a remarkable assessment of recent presidents: governor is the best preparation for the presidency, Carter didn't understand Washington when he arrived but Clinton did, and George W. Bush was the most "normal guy" of the modern era. He reflects on his famous healthcare debates with Obama (both gave each other notes afterwards rather than playing for spectacle), shares his concerns about state budgets becoming dangerously reliant on vice taxes, and asks the question no Republican can answer honestly anymore: could you propose raising the gas tax in today's GOP? Alexander is candid about Trump's mixed legacy — the party had become ossified and Trump did break it open, but pardoning the January 6th rioters was a profound error because the peaceful transfer of power is the single most important element of American democracy. He warns that we lack genuine two-party competition right now, that the next Republican nominee needs a fundamentally different temperament than Trump, and that the lack of character and morality in modern politics may be dissuading exactly the kind of people we most need to run.

Link in bio or go to https://getsoul.com & enter code TODDCAST
for 30% off your first order.

Refresh your wardrobe with Quince. Go to https://Quince.com/chuck for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns.

Thank you Wildgrain for sponsoring. Visit http://wildgrain.com/TODDCAST and use the code "TODDCAST" at checkout to receive $30 off your first box PLUS free Croissants for life!
Timeline:
(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)
00:00 Sen. Lamar Alexander joins The Chuck ToddCast
01:30 Being a senator vs. being a governor
02:30 There are always 8-10 senators that are better than the rest
03:15 Ted Kennedy was an incredibly effective senator
04:45 The governor he succeeded was selling pardons for cash
06:30 The prior governor eventually went to jail for selling whiskey licenses
08:15 There was an inquiry about springing MLK Jr.’s killer from prison
09:30 Had to work in a bipartisan manner on day 1 to handle the scandal
10:30 Southern governors had to bring southern states out of the 50’s
12:45 How would you update & modernize public education?
14:15 Mississippi has had great success emphasizing phonics
15:00 Schools are best governed community by community
15:30 Don’t need a Dept. of Education for higher ed
16:00 Federal money should allow money to follow low income students
16:45 You need advocacy but not management from Washington
17:30 Hard to argue with standards created by “No Child Left Behind”
19:00 If you’re entering politics it should be to accomplish something
20:00 Goal isn’t necessarily bipartisanship, it’s to get a result
21:00 Style matters in politics
22:15 Politics has become all money and media - Predicted Trump as president
23:00 The digital democracy doesn’t provide incentive for legislating
24:30 Money has consumed our politics, how do we fix it?
25:45 NC senate race could be the first billion dollar senate race
26:15 People always find a way around campaign finance limits
28:00 John Kerry was first pres. candidate to spend huge sums of personal $
29:45 Why couldn’t John Baker get traction but George Bush did?
31:00 Governor is the best job to prepare you for the presidency
32:00 Carter didn’t understand D.C. when he got there, Clinton did
32:45 George W. Bush was the most “normal guy” out of recent presidents
34:30 Debate with Obama over healthcare gave both sides a platform for their views
35:45 Didn’t want to over debate Obama for spectacle, give him notes afterwards
36:30 Proposed states swapping Medicaid admin for K-12 admin to Reagan
37;45 Medicaid was cramping states ability to effectively manage public ed
38:15 Vice taxes have been relied on as a way to pad state government budgets
39:30 Are we too reliant on vices to fund state budgets?
40:45 Could you propose a raise to gas tax in today’s GOP?
42:15 Where is the Republican party headed in the post-Trump era?
43:00 Partisan primaries created more ideologically extreme candidates
45:15 Most national politicians from Tennessee came from eastern TN
45:45 Elements of Trumpism were emerging in early 2000’s GOP politics
47:45 GOP needs to nominate someone with a different temperament than Trump
48:30 Lack of character and morality in modern politics
49:30 Politics has caused ruptures in families, might dissuade good people from running
51:00 Trump has been both good & bad for the GOP - The party had become ossified
52:00 Trump made a major error in pardoning the J6 rioters
52:45 The peaceful transfer of power is the most important element of democracy
54:00 Washington shouldn’t operate on a pay to play basis
55:45 When did you first connect with Doug Bailey?
57:45 What advice did you get from Bailey when you were governor?
1:00:00 Purpose of memoir was to explain the goals he had as a public servant
1:01:15 The republic will survive, but we have work to do to make it survive
1:02:30 We suffer from a lack of two party competition
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.