Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultra
As a new authoritarian movement rises in American politics, stoked by one of the country’s most outrageous demagogues, there is an all-out international manhunt for an American traitor. The U.S. Army’s Nazi war crimes trials in Germany have been infiltrated by a spy -- a mole for the other side. A gruesome foreign influence operation unfolds in Washington. A blackmail plot turns deadly in the U.S. Senate. A Hail Mary scheme to stop the counting of the Electoral College votes rattles democracy’s cage. With the line between the violent ultra-right and mainstream American politics fraying beyond...
Bonus · Thu, September 12, 2024
Special preview: Season 2 of “Velshi Banned Book Club”
MSNBC's Ali Velshi gives a special preview of the second season of the “Velshi Banned Book Club.” Book banning is happening more and more. Removing literature from library shelves, school syllabi, and summer reading lists isn’t just blatant censorship; it is the tip of the sword that threatens American democracy itself. In this preview, Ali reflects on why this issues is so personal for him and his family. Listen to the first two episodes now and follow the series: https://link.chtbl.com/vbbcs2_fdlw . Subscribe to MSNBC Premium on Apple podcasts for access to episodes one week early, plus ad-free listening, and bonus content from this and other shows.
Bonus · Thu, September 05, 2024
Introducing: Season 2 of “Velshi Banned Book Club”
MSNBC's Ali Velshi brings you a second season of the “Velshi Banned Book Club.” Book banning is happening more and more. Removing literature from library shelves, school syllabi, and summer reading lists isn’t just blatant censorship; it is the tip of the sword that threatens American democracy itself. Featuring critically acclaimed and culturally impactful literature – including work by Tim O’Brien, Roxane Gay, Lois Lowry, and Stephen Chbosky – the second season of the “Velshi Banned Book Club” puts the booking banning epidemic into necessary context. Read along with Ali Velshi and follow now to listen to the first two episodes on Thursday, September 12th . Subscribe to MSNBC Premium on Apple Podcasts for early access to every episode the week before it drops, ad-free listening, and bonus content: https://link.chtbl.com/vbbcs2_fdtw
S2 E8 · Mon, August 05, 2024
Episode 8: Mystery Man
With the backing of an eccentric billionaire and powerful voices on the American far-right, a high-stakes effort to make Sen. Joseph McCarthy president surfaces at the Republican convention, as the years-long manhunt for American fascist Francis Yockey finally reaches its strange and dramatic end. Francis Yockey and Joe McCarthy become martyr figures for an ascendant and aggressive ultra-right intent on reshaping American life and politics for decades to come. This story/episode contains descriptions that reference self-harm. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.
S2 E7 · Mon, July 29, 2024
Episode 7: Mobilized
With Republican Sen. Joseph McCarthy facing the most serious challenge of his political life -- a looming censure vote in the U.S. Senate -- McCarthy's most fervent supporters raise up an army to fight in his defense. The effort, which draws together mainstream Republicans and McCarthy's most radical followers on the ultra right, will involve threats of violence, harassment, and an armed show of force on the steps of the U.S. Capitol.
S2 E6 · Mon, July 22, 2024
Episode 6: Under Pressure
As Sen. Joseph McCarthy's activities -- and his troubling connections to those on the ultra right -- are exposed in the press, Democratic Sen. Lester Hunt launches a final effort to take McCarthy on and rein in his abuses. In response, McCarthy and his allies launch a coordinated blackmail campaign against Hunt, using his own family, that will ultimately end in tragedy. This episode contains descriptions that reference self-harm. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.
S2 E5 · Mon, July 15, 2024
Episode 5: Coming Home
The U.S. government’s search for American fascist Francis Yockey picks up steam as Yockey secretly returns home to America and joins forces with the growing pro-Nazi American ultra right. With investigators continually one step behind, Yockey suddenly turns up alongside one of the country's most powerful political figures who is ascending toward the height of his powers.
S2 E4 · Mon, July 08, 2024
Episode 4: Spectacle
Elements of the American ultra right -- including the trailing ends of the America First movement -- begin taking up a strange new cause after the war... sympathy for Nazi war criminals. The surprising efforts to oppose the Nazi war crimes trials, and advocate for individual Nazis at home and abroad, will involve some of the most high-profile voices on the American right, and will jumpstart the career of one rising Republican star, Sen. Joseph McCarthy.
Bonus · Mon, July 01, 2024
Bonus Episode: Rachel Maddow in Conversation with Tony Kushner
In a live conversation recorded at the Provincetown, MA Town Hall on May 26, Rachel and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and screenwriter Tony Kushner discuss “Ultra,” her book “Prequel,” and the rise of fascism both throughout history and in our current political moment.
S2 E3 · Mon, June 24, 2024
Episode 3: Malmedy
One of the most shocking incidents of World War II for Americans -- a cold-blooded Nazi massacre of surrendering American troops -- gets weaponized against the United States by surviving Nazis hoping to return to power, as well as a group of Americans sympathetic to their cause. A gruesome hoax around the massacre, cooked up by the Nazis, will soon rocket through American politics.
S2 E2 · Mon, June 17, 2024
Episode 2: The Mole
The American government launches an all-out manhunt for a young American ultra-right fascist who harbors sympathy for the Nazis and who is actively peddling one of the world's most dangerous weapons. Francis Yockey’s journey -- and the government’s intense search for him -- will soon leave a mark on American politics for decades to come.
S2 E1 · Mon, June 10, 2024
Episode 1: Dr. Hunt
The sudden and shocking suicide of a popular Democratic Senator, inside his Senate office, stuns the country and the nation’s capital. And soon, a series of bombshell revelations concerning the circumstances around the senator’s death will start to reveal a web of troubling forces at work on the American ultra right in the post-war 1950s. This episode contains descriptions that reference self-harm. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.
Trailer · Mon, June 03, 2024
Introducing Season Two of Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultra
As a new authoritarian movement rises in American politics, stoked by one of the country’s most outrageous demagogues, there is an all-out international manhunt for an American traitor. The U.S. Army’s Nazi war crimes trials in Germany have been infiltrated by a spy -- a mole for the other side. A gruesome foreign influence operation unfolds in Washington. A blackmail plot turns deadly in the U.S. Senate. A Hail Mary scheme to stop the counting of the Electoral College votes rattles democracy’s cage. With the line between the violent ultra-right and mainstream American politics fraying beyond recognition, with the FBI always one step behind their quarry, Americans of all stripes step up to confront a seemingly unstoppable, ascendant, anti-democratic force. Join Rachel Maddow for Episode One, launching June 10, 2024, and follow now. You can also subscribe to MSNBC Premium on Apple Podcasts for early access to every episode the Friday before it drops, and ad-free listening to all episodes in Ultra seasons one and two.
Bonus · Thu, February 15, 2024
Special preview of Into America presents: Uncounted Millions
On Into America presents: Uncounted Millions: The Power of Reparations, award-winning MSNBC correspondent Trymaine Lee dives into one of today’s most pressing debates: reparations. Months ago, Trymaine discovered the little-known story of Gabriel Coakley and it blew his mind. In the midst of the Civil War, Coakley was among a handful of Black people who found a way to get compensated for slavery by the US government. On Uncounted Millions, Trymaine talks to Coakley’s descendants about how reparations forever changed their family’s trajectory. And as more cities and states consider the issue at a policy level, he imagines how reparations might shape the whole of Black America. Listen to this special preview now. And follow the show: https://link.chtbl.com/iapum_fdlw
Bonus · Thu, August 24, 2023
Special Preview: “Velshi Banned Book Club”
Ali Velshi gives a special preview of his new podcast, “Velshi Banned Book Club,” an act of resistance against the epidemic of book banning. In each episode, a different author of a banned book joins Ali—including Margaret Atwood, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Laurie Halse Anderson and more—to talk about why their work is being targeted and about the literature itself. “Velshi Banned Book Club” is a series rooted in literary and cultural analysis and in the notion of reading as resistance. Listen to the first two episodes now and follow the series: https://link.chtbl.com/vbbc_fdlw
Bonus · Mon, June 12, 2023
BONUS: Rachel Maddow Presents: Déjà News
As a bonus for listeners, we’re sharing a special preview of “Rachel Maddow Presents: Déjà News,” a new original podcast series from MSNBC. In each episode, Rachel Maddow and co-host Isaac-Davy Aronson seek a deeper understanding of a story in today's headlines by asking: Has anything like this ever happened before? Would knowing that help us grapple with what’s happening now… and what might happen next? Listen to the first episode now and follow the series: https://link.chtbl.com/rmpdn_fdlw
Bonus · Tue, June 06, 2023
Special Preview: Rachel Maddow Presents: Déjà News
As a bonus for listeners, we’re sharing a preview of “Rachel Maddow Presents: Déjà News,” a new original podcast series from MSNBC. In each episode, Rachel Maddow and co-host Isaac-Davy Aronson seek a deeper understanding of a story in today's headlines by asking: Has anything like this ever happened before? Would knowing that help us grapple with what’s happening now… and what might happen next? Follow now and listen to the first episode on Monday, June 12: https://link.chtbl.com/rmpdn_fdtw
Bonus · Thu, April 06, 2023
Bonus: Prosecuting Donald Trump
As a bonus for listeners, we’re sharing a preview from Prosecuting Donald Trump, a new original podcast series from MSNBC. Donald Trump became the first ex-president to be arraigned on criminal charges Tuesday. MSNBC legal analysts Andrew Weissmann and Mary McCord tell us what happened inside that Manhattan courtroom, what stood out to them in the pages of the indictment and what it all tells us about how District Attorney Alvin Bragg plans to build his case. Listen to the first three episodes now and follow the series: https://link.chtbl.com/pdt_fd
Bonus · Mon, February 13, 2023
Introducing Letters from Sing Sing
As a bonus for Ultra listeners, we’re sharing a special preview of Letters from Sing Sing, a new original podcast from NBC News Studios. Letters from Sing Sing tells the story of a man convicted of murder, his fight for justice, and how the letters he sent NBC News producer Dan Slepian sparked a 20-year investigation that changed both of their lives. Follow now to get the first two episodes on Monday, February 20: https://link.chtbl.com/lfss_fdtw
Bonus · Thu, February 09, 2023
Special preview: Trymaine Lee on 50 years of hip-hop
This Black History Month, MSNBC’s “Into America” podcast celebrates the 50th anniversary of hip-hop with a special mini-series, “Street Disciples: Politics, Power and the Rise of Hip-Hop.” Hosted by Trymaine Lee, the series explores how our country’s political and economic forces shaped half a century of hip-hop, and how over time, hip-hop shaped America. Listen to a preview of the second episode featuring hip-hop legend Melle Mel, the man behind “The Message,” and follow the series: https://link.chtbl.com/iambhm_fd
S1 E8 · Mon, November 21, 2022
Episode 8: Ultra Vires
In the wake of the sedition trial's collapse, Justice Department prosecutor John Rogge travels overseas and uncovers a bombshell. He finds evidence of a coordinated effort to subvert American democracy… as well as the names of high-profile Americans involved. Rogge then returns to America... and goes rogue. Risking his career as a prosecutor, he makes public what he's discovered about the fascist threat and the Americans who supported it. And he offers a prescient warning about an American criminal justice system that is ill-equipped to defend democracy from those who seek to destroy it.
S1 E7 · Mon, November 14, 2022
Episode 7: Rinse, Repeat
The largest mass sedition trial in American history churns on. And continues descending into chaos. But the dozens of sedition defendants attempting to wreak havoc on the proceedings would soon get a high-profile assist. From serving members of Congress injecting themselves into the trial and coming to the defense of the accused seditionists standing trial. Before a verdict can be reached, one final twist calls into question whether the Justice Department will see the case to the end, or cut bait entirely.
S1 E6 · Mon, November 07, 2022
Episode 6: Bedlam
The most high-profile sedition trial in American history kicks off inside a Washington, DC federal courtroom. The members of Congress who attempted to quash the investigation are now faced with a super-charged indictment and a brand new Justice Department prosecutor who is battle tested and up for the challenge. What he finds as the curtain rises on the trial, though, is something that he is wholly unprepared for: pre-planned, unmitigated chaos.
Bonus · Mon, October 31, 2022
Special Preview: “The Revolution with Steve Kornacki”
Steve Kornacki gives a special preview of his new podcast, “The Revolution with Steve Kornacki.” In this six-part original series, Kornacki steps back from the Big Board to tell the origin story of the 1994 Republican “revolution,” the midterm election when the GOP took the House majority for the first time in four decades. Listen to all six episodes now and follow the series: https://link.chtbl.com/trwsk_fdlw
S1 E5 · Mon, October 31, 2022
Episode 5: Shut It Down
The walls begin to close in on members of Congress, and members of the America First movement, who are actively involved in a Nazi plot to spread misinformation and propaganda across the country. With a crusading newspaper reporter and a Justice Department prosecutor each peeling back the layers of the scheme, the members of Congress involved in the plot launch a desperate effort to shut down both the reporting and the federal investigation into their activities.
S1 E4 · Mon, October 24, 2022
Episode 4: A Bad Angle
A paid agent of Hitler's government ramps up a targeted propaganda effort aimed at weakening democracy and supporting the fascist cause in America. His base of operations... the center of American democracy itself -- the United States Congress. Sitting members of Congress, and the America First movement, take part in an elaborate scheme to subvert democracy. Laundering millions of pieces of Nazi propaganda through Congress and into the hands of the American people.
S1 E3 · Mon, October 17, 2022
Episode 3: The Day
A devastating explosion rips through a munitions plant in a small New Jersey town. And the American public is left with the chilling fact that the federal government had been warned about such an attack almost a year prior. The tip had come from a private spy ring operating in Los Angeles that was intent on doing what law enforcement had largely failed to do. Infiltrate far-right groups plotting violence across the country, and foil their plots before it was too late.
S1 E2 · Mon, October 10, 2022
Episode 2: The Brooklyn Boys
The most prominent media figure in America calls for the creation of a militia, armed Americans willing to use violence to get their way. What they want is to overthrow the U.S. government and to end democracy in this country – by force. Their plot raised alarming indications that the federal government is not up to the task of dealing with that kind of homegrown threat.
S1 E1 · Mon, October 10, 2022
Episode 1: Trip 19
It started with a plane crash. The tragic, mysterious crash of a commercial airliner in the summer of 1940 left a scene of devastation in rural Virginia -- and a series of unanswered questions. The cause of the crash was unclear. Among the dozens of people killed was a sitting U.S. senator. His presence on the flight and the strange circumstances surrounding the crash would end up revealing threats to American democracy itself.
Trailer · Sat, October 01, 2022
Introducing Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultra
Sitting members of Congress aiding and abetting a plot to overthrow the government. Insurrectionists criminally charged with plotting to end American democracy for good. Justice Department prosecutors under crushing political pressure. Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultra is the all-but-forgotten true story of good, old-fashioned American extremism getting supercharged by proximity to power. When extremist elected officials get caught plotting against America with the violent ultra right, this is the story of the lengths they will go to… to cover their tracks. Follow now and join Rachel Maddow for the first two episodes on October 10th.
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