Democrats like myself have exhaustively criticized Donald Trump’s so-called Big Beautiful Bill. But coming from Democrats like me, folks say: “So what? You’re just another Democrat who opposes Trump. Big deal!”

My guest today is an economist with impeccable conservative credentials — Jessica Reidl.

She is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, specializing in budget, tax, and economic policy. She previously served as chief economist for Senator Rob Portman (R‑OH) from 2011 to 2017, and worked as Staff Director of the U.S. Senate Finance Subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth. She spent a decade as the lead research fellow on federal budget and spending policy at the Heritage Foundation, served as director of budget and spending policy for Marco Rubio’s 2016 campaign and was the architect of Mitt Romney’s 10-year deficit-reduction plan during the 2012 campaign.

In sum, Riedl is a heavyweight, and one we can and should listen to -- especially now.

A handful of ultra-wealthy donors have quietly fueled a campaign to swing San Francisco politics to the right -- according to Julie Pitta, the founder of The Phoenix Project.

In our conversation, she maps the forces transforming San Francisco, from tech billionaires funding ballot campaigns to the rise of YIMBY politics and a new mayor few had heard of a year ago.

How has this city, long seen as a progressive beacon, become ground zero for privatized governance?

Warning: no discussions of reopening Alcatraz included.

Chris Lehmann, Bureau Chief for The Nation in Washington, D.C., objects to the easy characterization of Trump as a populist by both left and right-leaning media, which misunderstands the term grossly. He explains that the idea of Trump as a populist is a tool in Trump's narrative—one that suggests he’s fighting for “the people.” This plays right into his hand, giving him a cloak of legitimacy that obscures his authoritarian nature.

The past weeks' barrage of executive orders are keeping most of us, including those in the media, feeling underwater. But we don't have to wait for Trump to set the tone, or the narrative. Instead of responding to Trump, Chris and I discuss what Democrats should be demanding to get control of the narrative right now. Let me know if you agree with our idea.