Shows
Grounded with Jon Tester & Maritsa GeorgiouThe Bright Red LineIs due process in trouble in America? We discuss with Dave Aronberg, a former state attorney in Florida, who also worked alongside current U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. He tells JT and MG why he believes due process is still intact. He also explains why he doesn’t think AG Bondi will cross what he calls the bright red line. Let’s go to law school!
2025-05-2041 minGrounded with Jon Tester & Maritsa GeorgiouBetting the FarmFormer Sec. of Agriculture Dan Glickman joins the pod to chat about the effect of tariffs on American farmers and access to food we eat. We also discuss concerns over DOGE cuts within the U.S. Forest Service, bipartisan cooperation, and what Jon Tester really thinks about going to State of the Union addresses.
2025-05-1256 minGrounded with Jon Tester & Maritsa GeorgiouInside OutJT & MG chat with Olivia Troye, who worked as a national security adviser to former Vice President Mike Pence. They unpack the latest Trump interview on Meet the Press, what’s likely happening behind closed doors at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. and the reasons she left the Trump 1.0 administration in the summer of 2020. Olivia also tells JT & MG what keeps her up at night and what gives her hope moving forward.
2025-05-051h 09Grounded with Jon Tester & Maritsa GeorgiouPassing the TorchSen. Dick Durbin, who announced his retirement last week, joins JT & MG to chat about that decision after more than four decades in Congress, his experience at Pope Francis' funeral, the future of the Democratic party and more. Plus, what he fears will be the “most serious constitutional crisis since the Civil War.”
2025-04-2859 min
The Chuck ToddCastThe Decline Of Local Journalism + Money Is Corrupting PoliticsChuck begins by weighing in on a new Pew Research poll showing a significant drop in President Donald Trump’s approval rating since his inauguration. He highlights the erosion of support among non-voters as a potential warning sign for the president. Chuck also shares his concerns about the administration’s apparent deference to Russia in the latest Ukraine peace agreement.Next, he’s joined by Jon Tester and Maritsa Georgiou to discuss their new podcast, the underrepresentation of middle America in the media, and why members of Congress should spend more time outside the Washington, D.C. bubble...2025-04-241h 24Grounded with Jon Tester & Maritsa GeorgiouMargaritaville MirageFresh off his return from El Salvador to visit a Maryland man deported in error, Sen. Chris Van Hollen joins JT & MG to for an inside look at what led up to his meeting, the “margaritas” placed at the table for social media optics, and why he thinks this is a constitutional crisis. CVH and JT explain why every American should care about this case and the precedent it sets.
2025-04-2248 minGrounded with Jon Tester & Maritsa GeorgiouPublic Lands, Public HandsFormer Bureau of Land Management director (and Montanan!) Tracy Stone-Manning joins JT and MG to dissect new concerns over threats to public lands. They get into the weeds on the difference between proposals to sell public land for tax breaks and affordable housing solutions. The conversation also covers what DOGE cuts could mean for our great outdoors and what people can do to keep public lands in public hands.
2025-04-1733 minGrounded with Jon Tester & Maritsa GeorgiouTariffiedEconomic concerns over tariffs and the markets persist and JT and MG chat all about it with University of Michigan economist and public policy professor Justin Wolfers (who sometimes goes by his alter ego Fed Lasso). Hear why he says we’re in the middle of two economic crises and his predictions for what’s ahead. Will prices ever come down? What about accusations of market manipulation in the Oval Office? What does the U.S. stand to win in this trade war? A fascinating conversation you don’t want to miss!
2025-04-1446 minGrounded with Jon Tester & Maritsa GeorgiouSimplifying SAVEAhead of a scheduled US House vote on the SAVE Act, JT and MG discuss its potential impacts with Greta Bedekovics with the Center for American Progress. What will the SAVE Act mean for voters across the country if it passes through Congress? What impact will it have on married women who took their husband’s last name? How is it different than President Trump’s executive order on elections? We break it all down.
2025-04-1025 minGrounded with Jon Tester & Maritsa GeorgiouFree FallIt's the economy, stupid! Jon and Maritsa dig into what's happening with tariffs, Wall Street and your finances with former White House economic adviser Jared Bernstein, who also chaired the U.S. Council of Economic Advisers under President Joe Biden. How did the Trump administration come up with this tariff formula? Are we heading for a recession? What should we be doing right now? We ask all of these questions and more!
This is a free episode of Grounded! If you'd like to get exclusive content or chat with other subscribers, please visit our Substack! 2025-04-0748 minGrounded with Jon Tester & Maritsa GeorgiouHonoring Our PactAfter a wild political week that included a 25+ hour speech on the Senate floor and sweeping new tariffs, former VA Sec. Denis McDonough joins JT & MG to explain the importance of the programs he helped implement, and what's at stake for our veterans with proposed cuts to staff and those very programs.
2025-04-0456 minGrounded with Jon Tester & Maritsa GeorgiouBad SignalFormer Sec. of Defense Leon Panetta unpacks SignalGate with JT and MG, including the questions he would ask if he were leading the investigation. The three also discuss foreign policy related to Iran and Greenland, and how Elon Musk’s DOGE cuts compare to the balanced budget Sec. Panetta helped craft when he was the director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Bill Clinton.
2025-04-0157 minGrounded with Jon Tester & Maritsa GeorgiouSchooledJT and MG weigh in on the Signal scandal and take up the Trump executive order to dismantle the Department of Education (which officially takes an act of Congress). So now what? Randi Weingarten, the President of the American Teachers Federation, joins Jon and Maritsa to break down what it means for you.
2025-03-2744 minGrounded with Jon Tester & Maritsa GeorgiouFourth EstateLegendary political journalist Sam Donaldson joins Jon and Maritsa to discuss what’s changed since he covered the White House, what he would do if he were still in the briefing room, and the moment in history he says the United States has never fully recovered from.
2025-03-2344 minGrounded with Jon Tester & Maritsa GeorgiouNo LuckJon and Maritsa discuss news headlines including a new legal fight over the Trump administration's use of a centuries-old war time law to deport hundreds of Venezuelans alleged to be gang members. The pair also chat about a deal to cut 10,000 USPS employees, cuts to Voice of America, and the Autopen signature you're likely to hear a lot more about.
2025-03-1729 minGrounded with Jon Tester & Maritsa GeorgiouTrouble in ParadiseFormer U.S. Ambassador to Russia (and native Montanan) Michael McFaul joins Jon and Maritsa on a special edition of Grounded. The trio discuss what McFaul calls similarities between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin’s ideologies, the history lessons he wants Americans to pay attention to, and what keeps him optimistic about the future.
2025-03-1538 minGrounded with Jon Tester & Maritsa GeorgiouOh, CanadaIn this week’s episode of Grounded, we hear from former Republican political strategist Steve Schmidt, who now hosts The Warning with Steve Schmidt on Substack. Hear his warning to Americans across all political ideologies, his criticisms of Democrats AND Republicans in Congress, and what he says you should do if your elected representatives aren’t being responsive.
2025-03-1036 minGrounded with Jon Tester & Maritsa GeorgiouThe Middle FingerVeteran political journalist Jim Acosta joins Jon and Maritsa to reflect on what’s happening with the White House press corps, the fiery Trump/Vance/Zelenskyy exchange in the Oval Office, and what Jim says to people who give him the middle finger at Trump rallies.
2025-03-0447 minGrounded with Jon Tester & Maritsa GeorgiouPentaGONE"When you're not going to follow the law, the first thing you want to do is get rid of the lawyers."
Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee and a former Army paratrooper, joins JT & MG to discuss in simple terms the Pentagon’s Friday night massacre as the Trump administration purged multiple military leaders including Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. CQ Brown Jr. and multiple JAGs.
2025-02-2548 minGrounded with Jon Tester & Maritsa GeorgiouLong Live the KingSen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) joins Jon Tester and Maritsa Georgiou to discuss her time in Ukraine on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion along with concerns over what comes next in the war in light of recent comments made by President Donald Trump about Ukraine and the country’s president.
2025-02-2132 minGrounded with Jon Tester & Maritsa GeorgiouCold CutsFormer U.S. Senator Jon Tester and political journalist Maritsa Georgiou speak with former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson about confusion over recent firings within the federal government, tariffs, how some legal decisions could backfire on red states, and the outcasting of Republicans who go against President Trump.
2025-02-1743 minGrounded with Jon Tester & Maritsa GeorgiouIs this legal?Former U.S. Senator Jon Tester and political journalist Maritsa Georgiou talk with former White House ethics counsel Richard Painter about the legal pushback against executive actions issued by the Trump administration, what could transpire if the White House ignores the judicial branch, and what history teaches us about the system of checks and balances.
2025-02-1037 min
Grounded with Jon Tester & Maritsa GeorgiouPreview of Grounded with Jon Tester and Maritsa GeorgiouA Super Bowl Sunday preview of our new venture: Grounded with Jon Tester and Maritsa Georgiou. We hope you'll join us for our inaugural episode this week when we talk to Richard Painter, who served as the chief White House ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush administration. If you have questions for us or Richard, you can send them to groundedpcast@gmail.com.
2025-02-0903 min