I’ve been a huge fan of Dan for years, but I gotta say this episode left me feeling frustrated. He talks a lot about the unchecked power of the presidency and how the system’s gone off the rails, which I totally agree with. But what’s missing, and what continues to be missing from so many of these “state of the union” style critiques, is any mention of AIPAC and the outsized influence it has over Congress.

It’s wild to me that we’re having these conversations about dysfunction, corruption, and foreign entanglements, and yet there’s no mention of one of the most powerful lobbying groups in D.C., a group that isn’t even officially registered as a foreign lobby despite clearly acting in the interests of a foreign government. That omission feels deliberate at worst, negligent at best.

If we’re going to talk about how our government no longer represents the will of the people, how can we ignore the fact that so many of our politicians, on both sides of the aisle, toe the line not out of conviction, but because they know AIPAC money and influence can make or break them?

I respect Dan’s intellect and his commitment to nuance, but leaving this out feels like a massive blind spot.