The X-Ray

10/08/2023

This week, Fernando talks with social media reform advocate Kristin Bride about the harms posed by social media and what she’s doing to hold platforms accountable.

Listen now wherever you get your podcasts, or at

Her vibrant son was driven to su***de by a relentless barrage of social media bullying. Carson Bride was like millions of American kids in the age of social apps: vulnerable to the algorithms that drive profitable engagement regardless of the psychological devastation they may cause. In this episode...

13/07/2023

This week, Fernando Espuelas and Jonathan Greenblatt dive deep into the threat white nationalism poses to American democracy.

Listen now wherever you get your podcasts, or at https://thexray.org/jonathan-greenblatt-white-nationalist-danger/

07/07/2023

Listen to this week’s episode to hear Fernando and author, journalist, and professor Héctor Tobar's conversation about Latinos and American democracy.

Check it out wherever you get your podcasts, or at https://thexray.org/hector-tobar-decoding-latinos/

29/06/2023

Last weekend, the Ukraine war took an unexpected turn — into Russia. This week, Fernando Espuelas is joined by Admiral Mike Rogers who unravels the web of Ukraine war politics, shedding light on the almost Russian coup.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or at https://thexray.org/admiral-mike-rogers-from-russia-with-chaos/

22/06/2023

Recently, there’s been increased concern about the Supreme Court’s legitimacy and its outsized impact on American democracy.

Listen to Fernando Espuelas and Michael Waldman dig into the Court’s growing unpopularity: https://thexray.org/supremely-unpopular/

20/06/2023

Listen to the newest episode of The X-Ray to hear Fernando Espuelas and A.B. Stoddard dig into the latest indictment of Donald Trump and its consequences for the republic and 2024.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or at https://thexray.org/a-b-stoddard-the-republic-strikes-back/

01/06/2023

The resolution of the debt ceiling crisis in sight. This week, Fernando Espuelas speaks with Representative Seth Magaziner (D-RI) about what the showdown has looked like from inside Congress.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or at https://thexray.org/circus-politics-the-debt-ceiling-showdown/

25/05/2023

This week, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) joins Fernando Espuelas for an eye-opening conversation about the escalating ethics scandal at the Supreme Court.

Listen now wherever you get your podcasts, or at https://thexray.org/sen-sheldon-whitehouse-supreme-peril/

18/05/2023

Why should Americans care about the war in Ukraine? This week, Fernando Espuelas is joined by former U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta who explains why.

Listen now wherever you get your podcasts, or at https://thexray.org/leon-panetta-putin-is-defeating-himself/

11/05/2023

Listen to Maya MacGuineas discuss with Fernando Espuelas the fallout at home and abroad if no one flinches in the dangerous game of chicken that is the debt ceiling ⬇️

Here we go again. Congress is facing a June 1 deadline to avoid a totally preventable “debt ceiling” crisis. If no one flinches in this dangerous game of chicken, the U.S. economy will be dragged into a cataclysm, destroying America’s global reputation and unleashing unfathomable pain for ever...

04/05/2023

After running for president in 2020, Andrew Yang is now taking another leap — creating a new political party that wants to inject more democracy into our political system.

Listen to Fernando Espuelas and Andrew chat about his latest Big Idea ⬇️

Andrew Yang is at it again. Starting with his debut on the national stage in the 2020 presidential election, the entrepreneur without government experience jumped into the political arena with a fresh message and camera-ready charisma. And though he lost his quest for the presidency, he gained a nat...

27/04/2023

President Biden announced his reelection campaign this week. Will 2024 be a rematch of 2020? Or are we going to see a new dynamic? Former RNC Chair and MSNBC political analyst Michael Steele joins Fernando Espuelas to discuss this and more.

Listen to their conversation wherever you get your podcasts!

The wait is over – President Joe Biden has announced his reelection campaign. Dispelling any lingering doubts that he would step back from the arena, Biden is again on a collision course with former President Donald Trump. Is this a rematch of 2020 or are we going to see a new dynamic framed by th...

20/04/2023

This week, former Rep. Reid Ribble (R-WI) joins Fernando Espuelas to talk about the future of the Republican Party, the moral challenges of a Trump candidacy, and the emerging 2024 election.

Listen to their conversation wherever you get your podcasts!

Like a party guest that won’t leave, Donald Trump is the rare losing presidential candidate that is making another run at the White House. Twice impeached and now indicted, Trump is nevertheless the favorite candidate to win the Republican nomination, according to recent polls. But what does his c...

18/04/2023

Have you listened to the latest episode of The X-Ray yet?

Check it out to hear a wide-ranging conversation with Greg Sargent, an opinion columnist at The Washington Post, about Trump’s MAGA movement, recent political developments, repercussions from the Ukraine war, and the 2024 elections.

Since Donald Trump entered the presidential race in 2015, his MAGA movement has grown exponentially, attracting millions of fervent followers and directly influencing political leaders across the country. In this episode of The X-Ray, Fernando and Greg Sargent, an opinion columnist at The Washington...

13/04/2023

Since Donald Trump entered the presidential race in 2015, his MAGA movement has grown exponentially. This week, Fernando Espuelas and Greg Sargent, an opinion columnist at The Washington Post, talk about this movement and what Greg calls "the Fortress MAGA phenomenon."

Listen to the conversation wherever you get podcasts.

Since Donald Trump entered the presidential race in 2015, his MAGA movement has grown exponentially, attracting millions of fervent followers and directly influencing political leaders across the country. In this episode of The X-Ray, Fernando and Greg Sargent, an opinion columnist at The Washington...

03/04/2023

🚨 New episode: The indictment of Donald Trump is historic and unprecedented. Host Fernando Espuelas talks with Norm Eisen, special counsel for ethics in the Obama White House, to understand what it all means.

Listen now wherever you get your podcasts!

When Donald Trump is arrested and formally charged this Tuesday for alleged crimes in New York, it will be a historic spectacle. As we all know, no U.S. president or former president has ever been charged with a crime. This unprecedented event puts the nation in uncharted, and some say, dangerous te...

31/03/2023

Episode 3 is out now! Check it out to hear a fascinating conversation about social media and the risks it poses to our democracy.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or at thexray.org.

23/03/2023

🎉 We’ve launched and dropped two new episodes today! First up is a conversation with Sarah Longwell, publisher of The Bulwark, about the current state of the Republican party, trends she's seeing coming out of the 2022 midterm and ahead of the 2024 election, and more.

In episode two, Fernando Espuelas talks with Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a professor of history at New York University and author of the best-selling book “Strongmen: Mussolini To The Present,” about authoritarianism and its threat to democracy in the U.S. And check out the second half of the episode for the first “X-Ray Vision” interview - a fun, lighthearted conversation with Former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland and political pundit Michael Steele that you won’t want to miss!

🎧 Listen to these riveting conversations now wherever you get your podcasts, or at

The X-Ray with Fernando Espuelas is a conversation with powerful people impacting the American political system.

21/03/2023

Political power: Who wants it? Who wields it? And why? Through conversations with power players, newsmakers, and experts, The X-Ray with Fernando Espuelas will answer these questions and analyze the biggest issues facing our democracy.

Learn more and listen to the trailer ⬇️

The X-Ray with Fernando Espuelas is a conversation with powerful people impacting the American political system.

16/03/2023

📢 Introducing The X-Ray with Fernando Espuelas — a podcast with a fresh take on political power: Who wants it? Who wields it? And why?

Through compelling conversations with newsmakers, power players, and experts, The X-Ray with Fernando Espuelas answers these questions, providing listeners with insightful analysis of the biggest issues facing our democracy at home and abroad.

Listen to the trailer: https://thexray.org

15/03/2023

📢 Introducing The X-Ray with Fernando Espuelas — a podcast with a fresh take on political power: Who wants it? Who wields it? And why?

Through compelling conversations with newsmakers, power players, and experts, The X-Ray with Fernando Espuelas answers these questions, providing listeners with insightful analysis of the biggest issues facing our democracy at home and abroad.

Listen to the trailer: https://thexraypodcast.org