This is a great show! Love Norm & Kevita! Very invaluable information, and a great perspective.

No idea who co-host Kavita is but she takes FOREVER to say something. I find female (which I am one) speakers on podcasts, etc. tend to speak much more hesitantly and under-confidently than their male cohorts. It’s a societal thing, of course. But, women, we won’t change things until we change things. Especially in a public role (i.e. a model for others), PLEASE embrace your thoughts and beliefs and then express them forthrightly!

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I used to listen to you regularly and took a break after 10/7. I wanted to hear what you had to say about the protests in your 4/26 episode and I’m shocked at your lack of research. JEWISH students at Columbia were invited to do zoom classes because the school wouldn’t guarantee their safety. Columbia students and professors are calling for the death of Jewish students through signs and slogans. Please do not downplay what is happening on college campuses. Please research primary sources. I wondered why good people seem so complacent with the rise of US antisemitism. Reporting like this is why.

WM has consistently tracked core political themes based on current events. However as an early leader I think they’ve fallen to the middle of the pack in terms of content. Some shows feel more like complaining than analyzing. I keep listening but its more out of hope they'll find their footing.

If not for Norm I wouldn’t even listen to the female Host just repeating American news media propaganda. Also the female that is teaching a class is always knowing no facts at all again just repeating what ever propaganda she hears on TV and is always wrong. It will be no government shut down like it was no Red wave and every day the Republican Party is melting down like the witch in the Wizard of Oz.

Thank you for explaining and synthesizing! Your hard work on our behalf is admirable and appreciated!

I love Talking Feds but have given up on this one. NO is interesting although a little windy, but KP, in the time i’ve been listening to this, cannot deliver a clear and concise thought. Instead, she hops around, makes asides and clarifications, and switches subjects…all in one sentence! Who has the time or energy to try to figure out what she’s saying? There are so many talking heads out there. Listen to Talking Feds…they focus on the same issues and can be understood without struggle.

Why is kavita patel incapable of uttering a complete sentence? So annoying.

Would be more interesting if you had a smart right of center co-host with Norm. Too much agreement among your expert hosts

Fake claim. Truly one sided view. If you are an independent, don’t listen. Words do matter, just not these. Polarized views from the left or right will never heal this country.

I appreciate the thoughtful and informed decisions.

Norm, Orenstein and Kavita Patel have extensive experience in current affairs. They bring that knowledge to this podcast, making it something I look forward to listening to every week. I find Kavita Patel to be a true renaissance person. I have not known many doctors with such a broad range of knowledge outside of medicine, particularly in domestic affairs. I’ve heard that she sculpts and writes poetry in her spare time. Norm Orenstein is well known as an expert in both domestic and foreign policy. His insights are always something I look forward to hearing about every week.

Two of my favorite guests on one of my favorite podcasts, David Rothkopf’s Deep State Radio, Kavita Patel and Norm Ornstein, now have a pod of their own (a re-launch of Words Matter) and it’s an excellent one!

Good info on the real save America

Great to be able to hear Norm again on a regular basis. Great information and thoughts from both hosts.

So pleased to once again listen to two committed hosts giving their best analysis.

Appreciated her insight and analysis on Deep State Radio and look forward to her deeper dives here. The first episode is a great start to the relaunch.

Their inaugural relaunching of Words Matter was one of the best podcasts I’ve heard: NO and KP are both engaging conversationalists who really listen to one another, and it’s obvious that they care deeply about the issues (guns and abortion in this episode). They have a rare fund of experience in government, political science, and medicine, and they do their homework to an unusual extent, backing their opinions with many citations to recent studies. In a world of bloviators, Norm and Kavita (and their DSR colleagues) stand high above the crowd. Listening to them, I even felt glimmers of optimism that we might see rationality returning to our discourse and our society! An unusual feeling these days, and I’m grateful.

Thank you for in-depth reporting allowing me to listen with my heart as well as my head. : )

Really excited to see where they take the show

Joe Biden 😷

Slanted news. Boooooring.

I have been a listener since day 1 w Elise and Steve. Was very disappointed in the way they ended their associations w the show. I continue to listen because of Katie. I am not really interested in Deep State Radio. I would subscribe to DSR if it was something I wanted to hear. I will/would be disappointed if Words Matter ceased production, and if there is not time or desire to continue production of Words Matter then please just tell us so we know what’s happening.

It was eye-opening to hear this speech, and very disheartening that not much has changed since. I hope that what he espoused happens.

Thank you Dr. King and Words Matter for aligning and prioritizing the relevant reasons to be alive. He struggle for equality endures.

The interviewer admits Rod is her friend and proceeds to give him a full episode to ‘explain’ his indefensible behavior related to the Mueller investigation where he obstructed a thorough investigation by limiting the scope of inquiry. Rosenstein’s self justification sounds as self serving — as it was. The interviewers do no probing. There is a reason Trump never fired Rod. He probed as little as these interviewers. The interviewers may just as well have allowed him a monologue. During the podcast the interviewers indicate their podcast will become part of the excellent Cafe Inside series. . This does not seem to have happened. I wonder if it was because of the quality of this interview.

Smart interviews that provide great context and historical background for major issues of the day. It’s news that is also fun to hear.

Sorry Kate but it is well known who is the dark money behind the Federalist Society. You lost a ton of credibility here.

I've listened to a few episodes and am loving it so far. This podcast is full of interesting historical facts & context, important takeaways and helpful information to use when navigating current events from a media perspective. Keep up the great work!

I love this podcast but was really sad to hear the last 10 seconds of this episode, which was recycled banter from months ago.

I understand and respect that some want to stick with free podcasts. But for those who value getting a broad array of vital reporting and analysis with limited discretionary funds, consider joining Cafe Insider. Subscribers have full access to the following on an ongoing basis, as I understand it: Stay Tuned with Preet (also offered free), the Cafe Insider Feed, the Cafe Insider Podcast, Words Matter, an excellent podcast, Cyber Space and United Security. That's a lot of cutting edge news and analysis!

Will you interview Rod Rosenstein again now that we KNOW he curtailed the FBI counter Intel investigation making it SEEM like Mueller was going to do it when Rod KNEW that wasn’t the case? That’s not very upstanding OR patriotic, is it?

Pass on this pod, not worth your time. Lockhart hackish ways just come off like he is a snot nosed little kid. Can’t believe they this people will pay $$$ for this lol. Maybe they need it to payout settlements.

Michael Steele is living in lala land of if he really thinks that the evil working in Trump’s White House aren’t explaining to him exactly what QAnon is about, what David Duke is about, etc. I agree that Democrats need to lay close and better attention to middle income suburban voters but that face that racism, bigotry, misogyny and pure hate is now an accepted part of our lives tells me that his “base” is very well supported and Trump knows exactly what he is doing.

Why decent podcasts decide to go for the coin is beyond me. I enjoyed many of these episodes and like so many other pods will never pay. The choices are so far & wide for good pods. No need to pay a dime and in this day & are? Not even close. All the best.

I listen to all your episodes, so I was really sorry to hear you are moving to subscription only. I refuse to pay for a podcast because I can’t afford it. I’ll miss you, but not for long. F Kelleher Wisconsin

This is the most screwed up podcast I’ve ever listened to more than once. A rotating cast of hosts, long hiatuses, and now pay only? Ask David Axelrod how that worked out for him.

Ugh... seriously? You’re going to let him get away with saying all this with no pushback? Lame interview. Y’all literally let him get away with just defending everything he said and did as correct and appropriate. This is my first time listening to this podcast. I can’t imagine listening again.

Rod Rosenstein was rightly asked if systemic racism exists in policing. Why zero follow up on his answer (no)? This was my first and last time listening to this podcast.

Just listened to the conversation with Rod Rosenstein. The back and forth about why James Comey was fired as FBI Director was fascinating and irritating at the same time. At one point Rosenstein said he would not have been surprised if Comey was fired no matter who won the 2016 election for all the reasons he detailed in his letter. Assuming all those errors in judgment were as serious as they sound Comey should have been fired the day after the inauguration, not in May after all that transpired since the previous fall. It beggars belief that anyone could seriously contend Comey was fired for anything other than political reasons; Trump said so himself and any one who believes otherwise simply wasn’t paying attention.

Hard to pick a worse person for this program than the guy who stood behind Barr while Barr lied about the Mueller report Really bad choice

Listened to Rosenstein interview b/c it was fed thru subscription to Preet’s podcast. Preet would never allowed Rosenstein such a “walk in the park” interview of lobbed softballs. Two examples: 1) Rosenstein’s knowingly crafted his memo against Comey at t-rump’s request to allow t-rump to pretextually fire Comey based on the content of the memo knowing that the real purpose was to facilitate firing Comey to derail Comey’s Russia investigation. The interviewers gave Rosenstein a huge pass by allowing him to duck by saying the “content of the memo was accurate”. The scandal is not the accuracy of the memo but it’s manufacture to willfully cooperate in creating a pretext for t-rump to fire Comey to attempt to derail the Russia investigation. In so doing, Rosenstein compromised himself and the institution of the DOJ; 2) When asked about whether he offered to “wear a wire” in a mtg w/ t-rump, Rosenstein was allowed by the interviewer merely to duck by “denying the accuracy of the quote”. Where was the followup correcting the quote? Painful interview. Preet should not have promoted it.

Interesting. I am really glad to have heard this. And, he sounds like a lawyer and not in a good way. Humanity stripped away. I will put this podcast on radar for sure. Thanks.

So is this pathetic podcast.

OMG. What a political hack. Sad that Joe & Katie didn’t challenge him more but instead let him lie & spin about the Mueller investigation and Barr’s actions. I’ll give one more episode a listen before removing from my podcasts. Definitely will not be paying for it on Cafe.

This was scarily on point.

JFK speech during Civil Rights Era put the impatience of people during COVID19 Pandemic into context thinking about what African Americans were/are subjected to in this country. Anyone capable of empathy can see we still have a long way to go. 🇺🇸 It’s about us!! The American people ~ when we are divided then we are losing.

Today I listened to Joe Lockhart’s interview with Vice President Mondale about his experiences running for President. I was very moved by listening to this great man share his thoughts and feelings about the roller coaster ride his campaigning, against Democrats and then Regan, took him on. I remember being a sophomore in high school when Walter Mondale came to Niles West to give a speech. He was my choice for President before he came to Skokie, IL to speak in person. But after feeling him speak from his heart about the good things he wanted to do for the American people, I knew I had chosen wisely, unfortunately I was not old enough to vote. I was really disappointed about not being able to vote when Walter Mondale announced that his Vice President running mate was a woman, Geraldine Ferraro. Thank you Joe for your wonderful interview with Vice President Mondale. And for the great job both you and Katie do every week on your podcast. Linda S. Marshak

What an intelligent and fair reporting of FACTS. It is refreshing! It is enlightening! It is useful! Nothing better in a political podcast. 11/25/19. Best of all podcasts. Keep it going. 12-16-19. Adam Schiff interview was tops!03092020 Love the podcast. Sensible, factual interesting.