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** THE WEEKLY REVEAL
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Saturday, January 31, 2026


** How Trumpism Is Trickling Down to Your Town
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** Murphy Woodhouse
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Listen to the episode ([link removed])

Donica Brady lost her job after the Trump administration cut grant funding to bring solar power across the country, including to tribal nations. She picked up multiple jobs to make ends meet. That, in addition to caring for children, whittled down Brady’s free time. So she invited reporter Ilana Newman over when she found a quiet moment—while skinning a deer—to talk about what the loss of solar funding meant to her and her community.

“When the opportunity came up to work and help us get something established…it was huge,” she said.

Brady was one of many Indigenous people working to build energy sovereignty for tribal nations—work that continues despite the administration clawing back federal funds.

This week on Reveal, we’re diving into how small communities across the country are navigating the current administration’s policies and how they show up in everyone’s lives, no matter where you are in this country.

We’ve partnered with The Daily Yonder to share a story about the solar energy hopes of tribal nations; The Tributary in Jacksonville, Florida, to learn how local and state DOGE are complicating efforts to run the city; and Idaho-based reporter Heath Druzin to hear how the Trump administration’s immigration policy is rupturing the state’s Republican Party.
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🎧 Other places to listen: Spotify ([link removed]) , Overcast ([link removed]) , iHeartRadio ([link removed]) , or wherever you get your podcasts.


** He Helped Build the Religious Right. Now He’s Fighting ICE.
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Sam Van Pykeren/Mother Jones

On January 24, a US Border Patrol agent shot and killed 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis after he was held down by multiple federal agents. The Trump administration alleged that Pretti threatened agents with a gun. But videos appear to show Pretti, who was carrying a licensed handgun, holding only his phone in his hand when he was tackled and agents disarming Pretti before he was shot and killed.

The Trump administration has since signaled that it’s scaling back the federal immigration operation in the city. Gregory Bovino, the top US Border Patrol official, has been demoted and left Minnesota. Tom Homan, the White House border czar, is now managing immigration enforcement in Minneapolis.

Following Pretti’s death, thousands of protesters once again flooded the streets of Minneapolis. One of them was Rob Schenck, an evangelical minister who once routinely lobbied legislators to adopt a Christian conservative agenda and worked to persuade Supreme Court justices to rule in favor of the religious right. But Schenck began doubting the movement and his own role in it—especially once President Donald Trump came to power. Since then, he’s made a moral and political 180 and is now working to undo his decades of activism that he believes helped lead to this moment.

On this week’s More To The Story, Schenck sits down with host Al Letson to talk about what led him to the streets of Minneapolis, his emotional visit to Renée Good’s memorial, and why he’s become “guardedly optimistic” about the ultimate direction of this current political moment in America.

Find this episode wherever you listen to Reveal, and don’t forget to subscribe:
Apple Podcasts ([link removed]) | Spotify ([link removed]) | iHeartRadio ([link removed]) | Overcast ([link removed])
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** In Case You Missed It
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** 🎧 How ICE Became Trump’s Very Own Paramilitary Force ([link removed])
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Investigative journalist Radley Balko examines the connections among Trump’s immigration crackdown, the militarization of police, and America’s long-running drug war.

Photo Credit: Dave Decker/ZUMA

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** 🎧 America’s New Era of Violent Populism Is Here ([link removed])
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The recent assault on US Rep. Ilhan Omar shows what University of Chicago professor Robert Pape already knew: “There are many ways we could lose our democracy. But the most worrisome way is through political violence.”

Photo Credit: Joel Marklund/Bildbyran/ZUMA
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** 🎧 How Sports Became a Battleground Over Trans Rights ([link removed])
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Riley Gaines turns a fifth-place tie in college swimming into a career in anti-trans activism. Soon, she’s sharing the stage with the president.

Photo Credit: Kirby Lee/Getty
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** 🎧 A Dictator Deposed—What Now for Venezuela? ([link removed])
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In the wake of Nicolás Maduro’s ouster, Venezuelan journalists, historians, and politicians explain what’s at stake for their country.

Photo Credit: Cristian Hernandez/AP
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This issue of The Weekly Reveal was written by Arianna Coghill and edited by Nikki Frick. If you enjoyed this issue, forward it to a friend ([link removed]) . Have some thoughts? Drop us a line (mailto:[email protected]) with feedback or ideas!

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