5 Things

While the Clintons testified in closed-door Congressional hearings about what they know about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the fallout for the rich and powerful continues. Will more people be named and charged as co-conspirators from the Epstein investigation? And will Epstein’s victims ever see full accountability?Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@usatoday.com. Episode transcript available here. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sex for secrets. In an age dominated by digital surveillance, human desire remains a vulnerability. Foreign intelligence agencies are still using intimacy as a tool for gathering information. Is there a way to protect national security secrets from sexpionage? If trained officials with security clearances can be compromised in this way, how safe are our secrets? USA TODAY World Affairs Correspondent Kim Hjelmgaard joins The Excerpt for a look at the world of spies and honey traps. Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@usatoday.com. Episode transcript available here. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

After a tumultuous start to his second term, President Donald Trump is looking to reset the reigning narrative about his leadership with Americans. In his first State of the Union address of his second term, the president tried to sell the country on his economic agenda, working to counter increasingly dim views of his economic stewardship. Did he succeed? And critically, will he able to convince Americans to keep Republicans’ control of Congress in the midterms? USA TODAY Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page joins The Excerpt to share her analysis.Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@usatoday.com. Episode transcript available here. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Last week, the Supreme Court delivered a major ruling on presidential power — striking down a centerpiece of President Donald Trump’s economic agenda. What happens next? USA TODAY White House Correspondent Bart Jansen joins The Excerpt to break it all down.Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@usatoday.com. Episode transcript available here. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

America needs affordable energy, and that demand sits at the crossroads of creating economic stability while balancing environmental responsibility. Green energy solutions like wind and solar farms hold promise, but there’s been strong pushback over safety and land use. As the country weighs questions about infrastructure and affordability, what kind of energy future should we invest in? USA TODAY Reporter Elizabeth Weise joins USA TODAY’s The Excerpt to explore those questions and to share the perspective of farmers who have grappled with the issue of land use.Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@usatoday.com. Episode transcript available here. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jesse Jackson spent decades as a public figure turning his moral convictions into public action. Jackson was a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, a Democratic presidential candidate and one of the world's best-known Black activists. Following a lengthy illness, Jesse Jackson died earlier this week on the morning of Tuesday, February 17th. He was 84 years old. USA TODAY National Correspondent Trevor Hughes joins The Excerpt to explore the life and legacy of civil rights icon Jesse Jackson.Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@usatoday.com. Episode transcript available here. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore was taken aback when he learned that he wasn’t on President Donald Trump’s invite list for the White House’s annual dinner for governors, a historically bipartisan event. As a leading figure in the Democratic Party a larger question looms, though: how does he think his party can prove to voters that they’ve figured out a way forward heading into this year’s midterm elections? Gov. Wes Moore joins The Excerpt to share thoughts on all things politics.Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@usatoday.com. Episode transcript available here. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Last week, the Trump administration announced it was repealing a 2009 determination called the endangerment finding. That finding had been the basis by which the EPA had assumed the right to regulate greenhouse gases for nearly 20 years. How will its repeal impact Americans and is the Supreme Court likely to join this heated debate? Michael Gerrard, a law professor at Columbia University, joins The Excerpt to share his insights regarding the legal, political and scientific issues at play.Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@usatoday.com. Episode transcript available here. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As the critical midterms approach, we’re taking a look at how Trump’s numbers may be influencing voters. At stake: 435 House seats, 35 Senate seats, 39 governorships -- and the nation's political direction for the next two years. USA TODAY Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page joins The Excerpt to share her insights.Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@usatoday.com. Episode transcript available here. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The fight over renaming The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts has led to a reckoning about the meaning attached to presidential memorials and arguments about who we are. From marble monuments to cultural institutions, what do presidential memorials tell us about not only our past, but our present? For Presidents Day we decided to dig into that with one of the nation’s leading voices on memory and memorials, James E. Young, professor emeritus of English and Judaic & Near Eastern Studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@usatoday.com. Episode transcript available here. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Chocolate wasn’t always sweet — or romantic. Once a ceremonial drink and even a form of currency, cacao has a long history before becoming a Valentine’s Day staple. Harvard Professor Carla Martin explains how marketing, industrialization and chemistry helped turn chocolate into a symbol of love — and why men buy the most chocolate one week a year.Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@usatoday.com. Episode transcript available here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Attorney General Pam Bondi clashed repeatedly with Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday in a fiery hearing. Among other heated topics was the release of the Epstein documents and the redactions and lack thereof on those files. Top House Committee Democrat, Representative Jamie Raskin, accused the Justice Department of redacting the names of multiple men for political reasons. USA TODAY Justice Department Correspondent Aysha Bagchi joins The Excerpt to share her reporting.Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@usatoday.com. Episode transcript available here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Who will be the Democratic presidential nominee in 2028? What will the price of gold be at the end of the week? Who will win the World Cup? All of these are relatively benign bets you can make today. But there are other bets that maybe aren’t so benign, like will Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro be removed from office by the end of January? That well-timed bet, made in the hours before the U.S. captured and extracted Maduro, netted the anonymous investor who made it $400,000. Are prediction markets democratizing information as some argue or are we monetizing reality in a way that incentivizes perverse motives? Alex Goldenberg, Fellow at Rutgers University, joins The Excerpt to explain how these markets work and the risks they pose financially and politically.Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@usatoday.com. Episode transcript available here. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#d

For the first time in over half a century, there are no nuclear arms controls in place between the world’s two largest nuclear powers, the US and Russia. With a rising China growing its nuclear arsenal while it continues to assert its power on the international stage, we ask, is this the beginning of a new Cold War era? Ankit Panda, a senior fellow with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, joins The Excerpt to dig into the critical geopolitical, economic and military concerns at the heart of this story.Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@usatoday.com. Episode transcript available here. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It started with the banning of the Associated Press from certain White House events over its refusal to use the term “Gulf of America” instead of “Gulf of Mexico.” Then there was a recent FBI search of a Washington Post reporter’s home. And then in January two journalists, including former CNN host, Don Lemon were arrested following an immigration protest at Cities Church in St Paul, Minnesota. What’s happening to freedom of the press? First Amendment scholar RonNell Andersen Jones, professor of law at the University of Utah, joins The Excerpt to dig into all of it.Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@usatoday.com. Episode transcript available here. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Two recent elections-related developments are playing out today that have some election officials concerned. The first relates to the FBI’s seizure of election documents in Georgia, a state whose election President Donald Trump continues to falsely claim he won in 2020. The second involves recent public comments made by the president that elections should be nationalized in 15 states. Both of these actions may be illegal. Has the Trump administration crossed a line USA TODAY Justice Department Correspondent Aysha Bagchi joins The Excerpt to unpack the story.Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@usatoday.com. Episode transcript available here. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We are now just one day away from the roar of the opening ceremonies of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, Italy. Team USA is on the hunt for gold as figure skater Ilia Malinin – who some have dubbed the ‘quad god’ - pushes the sport of ice skating to dizzying heights. USA TODAY National Sports Columnist Christine Brennan and Olympic Gold Medalist Brian Boitano, the hosts of USA TODAY’s Milan Magic podcast and vodcast, join The Excerpt to share what they're most excited about.Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@usatoday.com. Episode transcript available here. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Since the Supreme Court widely legalized sports wagering in 2018 the nation’s appetite for bets has exploded. U.S. betters made over a billion dollars worth of bets in 2025 on sports alone. This year’s Super Bowl is expected to attract $1.7 billion in legal U.S. wagers. But investigators are finding that there’s also been a surge in illegal betting by minors. Are sportsbooks putting our children in harm’s way? USA TODAY Investigative Reporter Nick Penzenstadler joins The Excerpt to share his reporting.Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@usatoday.com. Episode transcript available here. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The 2026 Grammys saw major wins for artists like Bad Bunny, Kendrick Lamar and Lady Gaga, and also served up an impressive number of live performances. But beyond the spectacle and the awarding of Grammy statuettes, the night also highlighted the bridge between headlines about immigration policy and ICE and how music often defines our most challenging cultural moments. USA TODAY National Music Reporter Melissa Ruggieri joins USA TODAY’s The Excerpt to discuss the biggest night in music.Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@usatoday.com. Episode transcript available here. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A landmark trial asks whether social media giants like Instagram and YouTube knowingly designed addictive platforms, and if they can be held legally responsible. Clay Calvert, nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, joins USA TODAY’s The Excerpt to break down the case.Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@usatoday.com. Episode transcript available here. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.