Shows / Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
Politics has never been more chaotic, and most podcasts just add to the noise. Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes cuts through it.Grant is an AP Award-winning journalist with over a decade of on-the-ground reporting on the biggest political stories, scandals, and elections in America. Twice a week, he takes the stories dominating the headlines and breaks them down in plain English — no jargon, no spin, no shouting.If you care about what’s happening in this country but you’re exhausted by how…
Episodes
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
Your Money Is Worth Less Today Than It Was Last Month
Inflation just hit 3.8%, the highest in three years, and wages can't keep up. Gas is nearly $4.50 a gallon, groceries cost more than ever, and the war in Iran…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
The Democratic Party Is Lost. A Former Presidential Campaign Manager Explains Why
Why is the Democratic Party so lost right now, and is there actually a path forward?Former presidential campaign manager and Democratic strategist Maya Rupert…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
The Iran Peace Deal Is Just Obama's Deal (But Worse?)
The White House is claiming a peace deal with Iran is close, but The deal on the table looks almost identical to the Obama-era agreement Trump tore up in 2018…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
Is the Iran War Actually Over? The White House Can't Get Its Story Straight
The president told Congress the Iran war was "terminated." The Secretary of Defense says there's still a ceasefire. Then Trump called it a "mini-war" on…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
Forget Gerrymandering, The Supreme Court Legalized Gerrymaxxing w/ Dave Daley
It's like Looksmaxxing but for gerrymandering. GERRYMAXXINGThe Supreme Court just finished what John Roberts started 45 years ago, gutting the Voting Rights…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
The Supreme Court Just Killed the Voting Rights Act
The Supreme Court just gutted the Voting Rights Act. Grant explains what that means for your vote, your district, and the next election. Plus: four massive…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
The Shooting, The Ballroom, and The Fallout
Someone tried to assassinate the President at the White House Correspondents' Dinner — and the political fallout may be almost as dangerous than the attack…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
They Can Take Your Citizenship Away — And the Trump Administration Is Trying
Can the U.S. government take away your citizenship? Increasingly, the answer is: they're trying.This week, Grant sits down with Irina Manta, professor of…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
Trump Blinked Again and Gas Prices Won't Drop Until 2027
Trump extended the Iran ceasefire indefinitely, which is another way of saying he blinked. Again. Meanwhile, a new Pentagon assessment says the Strait of…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
Trump Lied About Iran, The US Broke the Ceasefire & The FBI Director Is Allegedly Wasted
Trump got caught lying about Iran agreeing to US demands. The Wall Street Journal published a bombshell account of his erratic behavior behind closed doors…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
America Already Crossed the Line in Iran. What Happens Now? w/ Oona Hathaway
The war in Iran may be ending, maybe, but the legal and moral reckoning is just beginning. Grant sits down with Oona Hathaway, Yale Law School professor and…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
4 Scandals, 2 Resignations, 1 Week. Welcome Back, Congress
Congress came back from spring break, and in under 6 hours, two members resigned, two more could be next, and the balance of power in the House just got a lot…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
The Blockade Backfired and the Iran Crisis Is Worse Than Ever
The US tried to end the war in one day. It collapsed. Then things got significantly worse...and weirder.After 21 hours of failed peace talks in Pakistan, the…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
We Made It Worse: How the US Handed Iran a Nuclear Argument w/ Eric Czuleger
How Close Did We Actually Come? — Iran, The Peace Talks, and What Happens NextThe VP is on a plane to Pakistan. Peace talks are scheduled for Saturday in…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
Is This Even A Ceasefire?
The Iran "ceasefire" lasted roughly three hours. The Strait of Hormuz is technically a toll road now. America might get a cut. And nobody can agree on what…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
Trump Threatens to Wipe Out Iran's Entire Civilization And The Nuclear Option on the Table?
Trump's deadline for Iran expires at 8PM ET tonight — and hours before it hits, he threatened to wipe out an entire civilization in a single night. Is the…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
The 1% Election: How Primaries Are Rigged Against Everyone ft. Chad Peace
45% of Americans now call themselves independent — more than either party. So why does Congress look nothing like the country?Today Grant talks with Chad Peace…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
Trump Said Nothing For 20 Minutes
Trump gave a primetime national address about the Iran war — and the most important parts were what he didn't say. We break down the three things that got cut…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
The Shutdown Is Still Here, The War Has No Plan, And Lindsey Graham Is At Disney World
The longest government shutdown in US history drags on as Republicans in the House and Senate square off against each other before leaving for Spring Break…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
Congress Is Giving Away Your Power w/ Michael Thorning from Bipartisan Policy Center
Grant is joined by the Bipartisan Policy Center's Michael Thorning. Thorning is the director of structural democracy at the nonpartisan think tank and the lead…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
Pam Bondi Wants To Save The Lawyers Judges Hate w/ Liz Dye from the Law and Chaos Podcast
Grant is joined by Liz Dye from the Law and Chaos Podcast to talk about the shenanigans coming from the Attorney General's office. AG Pam Bondi is trying to…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
Why Is The FBI Digging Through Arizona's Election Trash?
Grant gives an update on the war in Iran after a new report shows the US did in fact bomb a girls' school, Iran chooses to start deploying mines in the Strait…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
Trump Says The War In Iran Is "Complete," Is It?
After struggling to explain the objectives for entering the war in Iran, the Trump administration is struggling to define whether the mission is close to…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
How Big Spending Is Breaking Democracy w/ Tiffany Muller from End Citizens United
The 2026 midterm election is shaping up to be the most expensive in American history, with the combined races for Senate already reaching the $5 billion. Ad…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
Kristi Noem Gets Fired, What's Next For Immigration?
In a bombshell piece of news, Donald Trump announced that Kristi Noem would no longer be the Secretary of Homeland Security. After several big scandals, some…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
The Whys And How The US And Israel Went To War With Iran
After three days of the Iran War, the reason the US struck first is still shifting target for the Trump administration as it tries to make its case to the…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
Should Democrats Make A Nuremberg Caucus? W/ Cory Doctorow
Grant talks to the author, journalist, activist Cory Doctorow, about his recent article calling for Democrats to create a Nuremberg Caucus to hold federal…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
Trump Leaves ICE Out In The Cold During The State Of The Union
During his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, President Donald Trump made his usual sweeping statements, false claims, and insults at Democrats. But…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
Could The State Of The Union Be Trump's Most Important Speech?
Donald Trump gives his first true State of the Union speech to Congress since becoming president for a second time. It just might be the most important speech…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
Are We Going To War With Iran? w/ The Under Report's Eric Czuleger (again!)
Grant brings Eric Czuleger back on the show for the very first back-to-back guest on Make It Make Sense. With the largest military buildup in the Middle East…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
The Trump Administration Is Getting Expensive...
Donald Trump ran for president promising to make Americans richer and bring prices down, starting on day one. So far, that's not panning out. The cost of the…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
10 Things Democrats Hate About DHS
The government is in another shutdown. This time, it's only a partial one. Every agency inside DHS isn't being funded, except ICE. Grant explains the 10…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
America's Abandonment Issues w/ The Under Report's Eric Czuleger
Grant is joined by Eric Czuleger, the voice behind The Under Report, which covers foreign policy, open-source intelligence operations, and what's really…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
Congress's Voting Bills Aren't About Protecting Your Vote
As the Senate takes up the House's voter ID bill, Grant explains what's in it. Known as the SAVE America Act, along with its partner bill the MEGA Act…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
The [REDACTED] Epstein Episode
Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle are getting increasingly angry with the Department of Justice and the president after they were supposed to have…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
Can Trump Break America's Elections? w/ Michael McNulty From Issue One
Grant is joined by Michael McNulty to talk about a wild week of the federal government attempted to interfere in the 2026 elections. McNulty is an elections…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
How To Break ICE To Fix Immigration w/ fmr. ICE AD Scott Shuchart
Grant talks to Former ICE Assistant Director for policy Scott Shuchart. Scott served in both DHS as a senior advisor for civil rights during the Obama and…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
The Epstein Files Are Worse Than We Thought
The Department of Justice has released millions of documents, photos and videos from the Epstein Files. Despite it being 6 weeks late and still refusing to…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
The Spies And Diplomats Working To Save America w/ The Steady State's Steve Cash
Grant is joined by the Executive Director of TheSteadyState, Steve Cash to talk about the mission of the nearly 400 intelligence and diplomatic community…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
Is Funding ICE The Democrats' Last Stand?
As the deal to avoid a government shutdown seems likely, Democrats are grappling with what it would mean to continue to allow DHS and ICE to operate the way it…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
DHS Kills A Man Then Flees Minnesota, What Now?
After the latest fatality at the hands of DHS agents and the second in as many weeks in Minneapolis, ICE, DHS and the Trump Administration have begun to…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
What's Happening To Civil Rights Under ICE? w/ David Gans
Grant talks to David Gans about what we're seeing happen to civil rights and Constitutional rights as ICE continues to occupy Minneapolis. Gans is the Director…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
Why Trump's Fight With The Fed Matters To You
The Department of Justice investigates one of the president's favorite political punching bags. This time it's the head of the Federal Reserve. While the…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
Venezuela, Latino Voters and Avoiding Nuclear War w/ Mike Madrid
Grant talks to Mike Madrid, the former GOP operative, consultant, and now the mind behind The Great Transformation Substack, about the bombing and capture…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
ICE Kills A US Citizen In Minnesota, What Now?
An ICE officer shot and killed a 37-year-old US Citizen, wife, and mother named Renee Good on a neighborhood street in Minneapolis, MN. All of it was caught on…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
Trump's Old World Order Plan For Venezuela
It's been a whirlwind start to 2026. The United States is actively working to run Venezuela after bombing the country and capturing its leader, Nicolas Maduro…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
Did The US Bomb Venezuela Or Not?
President Donald Trump made a surprise announcement the week of Christmas; the US had attacked a Venezuelan port with a drone strike. But no one has been able…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
The MIMS Christmas Story Special!
The first of what might be a new tradition here at Make It Make Sense. Grant reads you some of his favorite Christmas and holiday stories! First, The Polar…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
The Epstein Files Redactions Are "Breaking The Law"
The Department of Justice missed its deadline to release all the Epstein files to the public and is now actively saying it's going to continue to break the law…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
Do The Epstein Files Take Down MAGA? w/ Anthropologist Alex Hinton
With the Epstein files set to be released on Friday, Grant talks to Alex Hinton. Alex is a Rutgers Professor of Anthropology, Director of the Center for the…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
Trump's Right Hand Woman: On The Record, Off The Rails
Vanity Fair drops two bombshell stories based on months of interviews with the White House Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles.Wiles says Trump has an "alcoholic's…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
"Children Will Die" Because Of Dept. of Ed's New Policy w/ Zero Abuse Project CEO, Jeff Dion
Grant sits down with the CEO of the Zero Abuse Project, Jeff Dion, to talk about the Department of Education's new policy to downgrade degrees for jobs…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
Congress Shrugs And Lets Insurance Costs Spike
After weeks of fighting over what will happen to Affordable Care Act subsidies that help millions of Americans afford their health insurance, Republicans in…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
Who In Trump's Cabinet Is Getting Fired?
There's been a lot of talk about Trump getting fed up with certain members of his administration. Pete Hegseth, Kristi Noem, Kash Patel, and Pam Bondi have all…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
Is This Millennials' Political Moment? w/ Amanda Litman from Run For Something
Grant welcomes Amanda Litman from Run For Something and author of the book When We're In Charge (link below) back on the show to talk about the tipping point…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
Pete Hegseth's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week
It has been a week for the books for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. First, there was new, corroborated reporting that he might have ordered a war crime in…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
Did Pete Hegseth Commit A War Crime?
A growing scandal rocked the White House over the Thanksgiving holiday. The Washington Post reported that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth gave an order to…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
Why So Many Americans Are Afraid To Talk Politics w/ Junelle Cavero from My Code
This week’s interview is with Junelle Cavero, a State Representative from Arizona and head of political at the multicultural-focused media company My Code. She…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
Trump Signs Off On The Epstein Files And Chaos At The DOJ
Donald Trump signed the bill to release the Epstein files after being jammed by the Senate, which passed the bill in a matter of hours. Now it's in the hands…
- Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
Republicans Flip On The Files
The House of Representatives overwhelmingly vote to release the Epstein files ( Grant reacts live) but it's only the beginning of the process. Grant explains…