Why Won't Tom Steyer Listen to Me? And Lots of News Too

About this episode

Nicole Sandler discusses Tom Steyer's gubernatorial campaign and various current news topics with guest Dayna Steele.

Tom Steyer is running for governor of California and still hasn't taken my advice from 2019. We dig into the full California governor's race — who's in, who's out (looking at you, Swalwell), and what to think about the candidates left standing. Then we go to the Wayback Machine for my actual December 2019 interview with Steyer, where I made the case — live on air — that he should put his $100 million into rebuilding progressive media instead of a presidential run he had no chance of winning. He disagreed. Respectfully. And here we are. After that: Kash Patel filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic — and his own lawsuit appears to confirm several of the things he's claiming are lies. Classic. Plus, Trump is reading from the Bible on camera (pre-recorded, naturally), The Onion takes over InfoWars, the Iran war is affecting condom supply, and the tariff refund website is off to a "glitchy start" (that's the diplomatic version). My guest Dayna Steele from Today's Facts joins to break down what's real and what isn't in today's news — and shares the exciting news that her one-woman show is heading to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August. Advertising Inquiries…

People in this episode

Host: Nicole Sandler

Guest: Dayna Steele

Topics covered

• California governor's race
• political advice
• defamation lawsuit
• media
• current events
• interview

Keywords

• Tom Steyer
• California
• defamation lawsuit
• Kash Patel
• Dayna Steele
• politics
• media
• current events

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Atlantic

Places: California, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

More episodes of The Nicole Sandler Show

• Emptywheel Fridays with Marcy Wheeler, from Dublin to Belfast to Mar-a-Lago · June 12, 2026 · 1h 22m
• Oil and Water and Climate Change and War Don't Mix: The ImPerfect Storm · June 11, 2026 · 1h 22m
• Driftglass Unmasked! Plus: Trump's War, Your Money, and the GOP's "Both Sides" Lie · June 10, 2026 · 1h 6m
• Get Your Religious Lies Out of My US History | Jonathan Larsen on Trump's Freedom 250 Propaganda Trucks · June 9, 2026 · 1h 23m
• Sen. Mark Kelly Changed My Mind, Something I Didn't Expect · June 8, 2026 · 1h 8m
• Emptywheel Friday: Bribery, Binance, Bolton & More BS · June 6, 2026 · 1h 28m