For most television personalities, the release of a book is akin to tossing a giant, bleeding hunk of red meat to their most fervent admirers. Substantive content be damned, Daddy needs a new yacht! But Rachel Maddow's Drift addresses questions that people of every political persuasion should be asking as we approach our twelfth year embroiled in wars both acknowledged and covert. How did American society become so disengaged with its military? When did the executive branch effectively swallow Congress' warmaking powers and how do we shift the balance back? more ›

Rachel Maddow will remain on MSNBC for years to come. more ›

Keith Olbermann returned to cable television last night with his Current TV version of Countdown with Keith Olbermann. The former ESPN anchor-turned-vocal libtard left MSNBC in January and announced his move to Al Gore's network in April. His show is pretty much the same as before, if only on a different channel, and he's still "madder than hell." His first "Worst Persons In The World" segment featured everyone's favorite "very well-educated" Metro-North rider, Hermon Raju (see video below), but to some MSNBC viewers, Olbermann is a Worst Person for running four minutes in the 9 p.m. Rachel Maddow hour! more ›

It was Bowling for Columbine revisited on The Rachel Maddow Show last night. Maddow has been covering the increased debate on gun control in the wake of the Tuscon massacre, and her guest was activist filmmaker Michael Moore, who asked the same difficult question that perplexed him in his smash hit 2002 documentary (which won an Academy Award): Why are Americans so trigger happy? The interview began with that stunning segment from Moore's film wherein K-Mart reps meet with two Columbine High massacre victims, whose presence persuades the company to stop selling handgun ammunition. more ›

After being suspended without pay last week—for failing to inform management about his political donations—Keith Olbermann will be back hosting his MSNBC show on Tuesday night. MSNBC president Phil Griffin said, "After several days of deliberation and discussion, I have determined that suspending Keith through and including Monday night's program is an appropriate punishment for his violation of our policy. We look forward to having him back on the air Tuesday night." more ›

Yesterday, MSNBC suspended Countdown host Keith Olbermann without pay after Politico reported that he made donations to three Democratic candidates during this midterm election cycle. Rachel Maddow took up the topic during her MSNBC program, explaining, "The reason that resulted in Keith’s suspension is that, here at MSNBC, there is an explicit employee rule against hosts making contributions like that. You can do it if you ask in advance and management tells you ‘O.K.’ That’s what I understand what happened with our morning show host’s political donations in 2006 under previous management. But if you do not ask in advance, you are bound by the rule." And then she tore into Fox News: more ›

Last week on The Rachel Maddow SHOWwas "Geek Week," which featured Maddow interviewing Nobel Prize-winning Energy Secretary Steven Chu, visiting Ground Zero, and checking out the Iwo Jima helicopter carrier (which is here for Fleet Week). On Friday, she headed to the Second Avenue Subway launch box at 96th Street, noting the many starts and stops of the future "T" line and how it's desperately needed, pointing out the crowded Lexington Avenue line carries more people than the Boston, Chicago and D.C. subways combined each day. more ›

Rand Paul, who won the Republican Senate primary in Kentucky on Tuesday, found himself under fire after his remarks expressing his concern with the 1964 Civil Rights Act. So he went on the Rachel Maddow Show, where he first announced his candidacy, to defend himself. Yet now Paul, the Tea Party darling, regrets it, "It was a poor political decision and probably won't be happening anytime in the near future. Because, yeah, they can play things and want to say, 'Oh you believed in beating up people that were trying to sit in restaurants in the 1960s.' And that is such a ridiculous notion and something that no rational person is in favor of. [But] she went on and on about that." more ›

Last night Rachel Maddow interviewed the NYPD detective and photographer whose stunning photos of the 9/11 attack on the WTC were recently released. Asked about his feelings on the images being made public after all these years, retired Detective Gregory Semendinger told Maddow, "I think they should have been out a long time ago... We were the only ones there, and I was fortunate to be there and take photographs... Something like this is monumental. If we can record it and get it on film, then it's a true record of what happened... It gives us a historical time timeline of the events that occurred, and it's something we should never forget." more ›

In New Jersey, the legislature is poised to vote on whether gays can marry. In Uganda, they're debating legislation to kill them. Last night, Rachel Maddow interviewed an author named Richard Cohen, who says he used to be gay—until he cured himself. Now he writes books helping others straighten up too! His book Coming Out Straight has been cited by the Ugandan proponents of executing homosexuals, because in it Cohen claims that homosexuals are much more likely to molest children. Watch Maddow respectfully hand his ass to him: more ›

Earlier this year we chatted with Rachel Maddow (MSNBC host, swine flu survivor and cocktail aficionado) about many things, including the search for the perfect pre-prohibition Scotch drink. At the time, she told us, "Scotch is used in very few cocktails, but when it is used, it can be very effective. So I'm very interested in trying to figure out what's beyond the Blood and Sand in terms of Scotch in cocktails." more ›

CBS Early Show host Harry Smith wasn't at work this morning—because he suspects he may have the H1N1 virus! While he's doing the right thing by not going into work and infecting coworkers and other people he might be commuting with, we are curious about Smith's self-diagnosis. From 1010WINS: "In an interview live from his New York City apartment Monday, Smith told CBS viewers he started feeling achy and feverish over the weekend after a 25-mile bike ride in the rain and dancing all night at a birthday party." Let's see, a 58-year-old man who biked 25 miles in the rain AND danced all night... yes, swine flu it is. Other symptoms include "Trouble breathing or shortness of breath," "Pain or pressure in the chest or stomach," "Sudden dizziness," "Confusion," and "Severe vomiting that won’t stop." And recently Rachel Maddow battled swine flu. more ›

Recently, viewers of The Rachel Maddow Show have noticed that Rachel Maddow has been out, due to the flu. And last night on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, she revealed she had the swine flu! (She's one of those 1 in 10 New Yorkers!) more ›

How are you doing, other than having to brave the mid-morning traffic? I'm good. Last night we did an interview on the show with Philip Zelikow, who was Condoleezza Rice's right hand man at the State Department when all the torture memo stuff was going on. There's this very grave, very serious first-draft-of-history sort of thing, and it was very exciting. more ›

Though he initially said he wanted to remain anonymous, actor Chad Lindsey, who on Monday rescued a man who fell into the subway tracks in Penn Station, has been making the rounds, doing TV appearances with WCBS and Rachel Maddow's show. On the latter program, he recounts his daring rescue story with self-effacing aplomb, and while there aren't any new details revealed, many viewers will no doubt swoon to hear the cutie tell his tale. more ›

The Observer considers the future of NBC reporter David Gregory, since "lame-duck presidents create lame-duck White House correspondents." more ›