by Taya Graham, Stephen Janis and Maximillian Alvarez | Nov 24, 2025 | Economy and Inequality, Epstein, Inequality Watch, Politics and Movements: US, video
President Donald Trump signed a bill last Wednesday directing the Department of Justice to release more files from the investigations into the infamous sex offender, sex trafficker, and international political power broker Jeffrey Epstein. Will the public finally see the full release of the Epstein Files? Or will the Trump administration withhold and redact the information it does not want people to see? TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez and Inequality Watch reporters Taya Graham and Stephen Janis report back from a truly wild week in Washington, DC, and answer your questions about one of the biggest political scandals in US history.
Credits:Studio Production / Post-Production: David Hebden
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. It will be updated as soon as possible.
Maximillian Alvarez:After refusing to release the Epstein files and claiming the entire massive scandal was a hoax crafted by Democrats, President Donald Trump has apparently changed course in the face of a full-on revolt from his MAGA base, as well as intensifying pressure from Democrats, and even members of his own party. On Wednesday, Trump signed a bill directing the Justice Department to release more files from the investigation into the infamous sex offender, sex trafficker, and international political power broker Jeffrey Epstein.So, will we finally see the full release of the Epstein files? Will the public get the full transparency that we’ve been promised or the selective transparency? And what will the political fallout be? The Department of Justice has 30 days to release the documents, but it’s frankly unclear what the department will release and how much. The bill calls for the Attorney General to make unclassified
by Taya Graham and Stephen Janis | Nov 13, 2025 | Economy and Inequality, Epstein, Inequality, Inequality Watch, Politics and Movements: US, Prisons and Policing, video
Jeffrey Epstein was able to traffic and assault young women and girls for almost two decades, without consequence. How did he get away with this? The simple answer is wealth. But how did a college dropout who was quietly dismissed from his first job as a teacher at a private school acquire a private jet and party with some of the most famous and powerful people in the world? We delve into the money and the people who may have aided and abetted Epstein’s scandalous and criminal life.
Credits:
Producers: Taya Graham, Stephen Janis
Post-Production: David Hebden
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible.Taya Graham:
For most of 2025. One story and one story alone dominated the cultural and political discourse in America, the Epstein files. This phenomena was remarkable, all but more so for President Trump’s response. This was the first time in Trump’s decade long political career that we saw a significant rift in his fiercely loyal MAGA movement. By late July, 47% of Trump supporters disapproved of how he was handling the issue. Now, given Trump’s controversial association with the dead man, his obfuscation seemed like it could be the only thing to finally chip away at his political capital. Since then, a lot has happened in the American news from a major ice crackdown in blue states to the illegal bombing of ships in the Caribbean to an attempted ceasefire in Gaza, and yet Epstein’s case still looms large, large enough, some believe to have played a significant role in the October government shutdown.
Now ostensibly, the shutdown
by Taya Graham and Stephen Janis | Nov 5, 2025 | elections, Inequality Watch, New York, Politics and Movements: US, Socialism, video
The mainstream media said voters wouldn’t go for him and they said “socialism won’t sell.” But on the streets of New York, people were done listening to conventional wisdom. All throughout Manhattan and from East Harlem to Queens, voters told us the same thing: they’re tired of the old guard, the empty promises, and a system that serves the wealthy instead of the working class.
Credits:
Pre-Production: Taya Graham/Stephen Janis
Post-Production: Cameron Granadino
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible.
Taya Graham:
After an election where the mainstream media seemed more concerned about the idea of socialism than the issues confronting New Yorkers Democratic socialist candidate, Zohran Mamdani had a decisive victory and will be the next mayor of New York. We spent the day traveling throughout Manhattan during this record turnout talking to voters who said, this election is about one thing change. Stephen, this has been such an exciting race. What are some of your takeaways from today? Well, I think
Stephen Janis:
What it is is a big miss for the mainstream media. And the reason I say is because they were making this sort of a nationalized race that only it was about socialism and somehow Mondavi was going to be some big eyesore for the Democratic party. But what we saw here was an enthusiasm for change that was much more important than any sort of isms that could be applied to it.
Speaker 3:
Feeling excited about New York City having some new ideas standing up to Donald Trump.
Taya Graham:
Now, is there a particular candidate you feel represents
Speaker 3:
New ideas?
by Taya Graham and Stephen Janis | Nov 3, 2025 | elections, Inequality Watch, New York, Politics and Movements: US, video
Taya Graham and Stephen Janis speak with voters in Harlem just 24 hours before the NYC mayoral election about what issues are important to them, what they think of the frontrunner candidate Zohran Mamdani, what they think of his opponent, former Governor Andrew Cuomo, and what they want the mayor to do for them.
Credits:
Pre-Production: Taya Graham/Stephen Janis
Post-Production: Cameron Granadino
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible.
Taya Graham:
This is Taya Graham and Stephen Janis in Harlem, New York. It’s just 24 hours before the final vote for the New York Mayor’s race. So we came to this bustling neighborhood to ask voters what issues were important to them, what they thought of the front runner, Zohran Mamdani, what they thought of his opponent, former governor Andrew Cuomo, and what they wanted the mayor to do for them. But let’s take a listen to the voters themselves. Mamdani is the front runner against former Governor Cuomo. Which one do you hope becomes Mayor of New York?
James B Cray:
Mayor Mamdani.
Taya Graham:
Wow. And now why do you choose Mamdani?
James B Cray:
Well, Mamdani speaking about a lot of things that really address the people such as housing, the transportation issues. I think he’s more at the forefront of what a lot of young people want to hear about. We’ve had FOMO and Bloombergs and the cycle just keeps on going on without a lot of our issues being addressed.
Taya Graham:
What do you think about the leading candidates?
“Vincent”:
It’s time for a change and time for new blood.
Taya Graham:
Wow. I’m impressed to hear that.
by Taya Graham and Stephen Janis | Oct 31, 2025 | Article, Democrats, Economy, Economy and Inequality, Inequality, Inequality Watch, Politics and Movements: US, Republicans
There’s a popular and recurring chant that echoed throughout the recent No Kings protests several weeks ago: “This is what democracy looks like.”
But on Capitol Hill over the past four weeks, during a protracted government shutdown, Republicans have been displaying the opposite.
The quiet, moribund center of American government looks anything but like a democracy. The deserted hallways and empty offices portend something radically different: a future where the messy work of legislating on behalf of the public is replaced by the whims of a ruling oligarchy.
In other words, Republicans are showing us what autocracy looks like.
To understand why, and the implications for the body politic, it’s critical to recount how their handling of the ongoing shutdown has been remarkably anti-democratic.
It began when Democrats refused to vote for a continuing resolution to fund the government last month. Democrats wanted Republicans to reauthorize expiring Obamacare tax credits, subsidies enacted during the pandemic to make insurance premiums more affordable for millions of Americans. Republicans allowed them to lapse in the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill.”
Democrats have called the end of these credits a crisis. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 2.2 million people will lose health insurance if the subsidies aren’t renewed.
But instead of getting to work and negotiating, House Speaker Mike Johnson sent the entire legislative body home. It was not just an impractical move; it made the possibility of brokering any kind of deal exponentially more difficult.
Importantly, many of Johnson’s own constituents depend on the very programs his party has refused to fund. His district has one of the highest percentage of Medicaid recipients for a Republican controlled district in the country.
by Taya Graham and Stephen Janis | Oct 29, 2025 | Economy, Economy and Inequality, health care, Inequality, Inequality Watch, Politics and Movements: US, video
As the government shutdown stretches into its fourth week, Republicans are managing the crisis as if democratic accountability no longer applies—stalling Congress, ducking public scrutiny, and holding lifesaving ACA tax credits and SNAP benefits hostage for partisan gain. The result is immediate and unequal harm: millions risk losing healthcare while one-man rule, dark money, and gerrymandered advantage erode what little democracy we have left. Reporters Taya Graham and Stephen Janis break it all down in this installment of the Inequality Watch.
Credits:
Studio / Post-Production: David Hebden
Written by: Stephen Janis
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible.
Taya Graham:
Hello, my name is Taya Graham and welcome to our Inequality Watch Reaction Report, the show where we break down how money and wealth control and warp our government and the way we live today. Along with my reporting partner Stephen Janis. Hello, Stephen.
Stephen Janis:
Hey Taya. How are you? Doing
Taya Graham:
Well. Today we’re going to break down a very troubling aspect of the current government shutdown, namely that Republicans are managing it like the end of democracy is near. And this is not just about voting or the electoral system in general, which is constantly under assault, but rather how a lack of democratic accountability can affect the actions in even the psychology of a party and how it uses and even abuses power. Now Stephen, before we dig into this, and this might sound like an odd question, but why do we care about democracy?
Stephen Janis:
Well, the thing is that so far in the history of civilization, the only system
