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The Asset

District Productive

In 2016, Donald Trump conspired with a foreign government to become President of the United States. On July 25, 2019, with the 2020 election around the corner, he decided to do it again.

The first time around, it was collusion, aiding and abetting Russia’s attack on American democracy. The second time, it was extortion, demanding the Ukrainian government manufacture dirt on Trump’s political opponents in exchange for help the country needs to fend off a Russian invasion and chart a democratic future free of Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin.  

To make sense of these recent events that have rocked American politics and led to very real concerns that the President of the United States may be a Russian asset, we need to dig a little deeper. 

In Season 1, The Asset dives into Trump’s decades-long history with Russia, from his extensive business dealings with Russian oligarchs to his presidential campaign and the investigations that have sent some of his closest associates to prison.

In Season 2, The Asset explores the backstory to Trump’s infamous phone call with the newly-elected Ukrainian President, where he demanded an investigation into a political opponent and set off a series of events leading to the impeachment inquiry.

Hosted by Max Bergmann, a senior fellow and director of the Moscow Project at the Center for American Progress Action Fund, and featuring expert guests, The Asset will put together the pieces of Trump’s relationship with Russia and Ukrainian extortion campaign.

The Asset is a partnership between the Center for American Progress Action Fund, District Productive, and Protect the Investigation. It is produced by Paul Woodhull, a 20-year veteran media executive and president of Build Better Media, and Peter Ogburn, the executive producer of the Bill Press Show.


  • 62 episodes
  • Updated July 23

Episodes62

  • Nov 27, 2020 · 57 min

    What Happened?

    Max Bergmann sits down with Paul "Woody" Woodhull, the co-creator of The Asset podcast and president of the progressive podcast network, District Productive, to analyze the election outcomes and the future of Donald J. Trump. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  • Nov 3, 2020 · 33 min

    Election Day Special: Too Big to Rig

    President Trump on mail-in ballots: “A whole big scam.” Vice-President Joe Biden on claims of voter fraud: “He’s trying to undermine the election.” Unless we see a massive victory by either one of the candidates, both campaigns have signaled they will fight for what they believe to be the right outcome. What Americans need to know is how this battle for ballots could create an unprecedented outcome with the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, being sworn in as President of the United States on Inauguration Day. How is that even possible? Republican and Democratic scholars and advisors lead us on a Constitutional journey from November 3rd to January 20th, pointing out the legal tripwires and dates certain that may likely determine our next President. In this Election Day Special we are presenting an encore episode of the Unconventional Threat podcast. Listen to the podcast Unconventional Threat and help @defendourdemocracy2020 Follow us onTwitter @UncoThreat See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  • Oct 30, 2020 · 1 hr 4 min

    Epilogue: Rehashing

    In the year since season one of The Asset concluded, we have learned a lot. There are tell all books about the Mueller investigation, explosive new reporting, and the bombshell Senate Intelligence Committee Report. In this special episode of The Asset we break it all down and tell you what it all means. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  • Oct 21, 2020 · 49 min

    Threats Foreign and Domestic

    In this very special episode of The Asset, host Max Bergmann introduces a new podcast, Unconventional Threat from The Asset's production team, District Productive and the bi-partisan organization Keep Our Republic. This is an election year unlike any other in ways that are unsettling and dangerous. Unconventional Threat brings together exclusive interviews with newsmakers about everything that can happen between now and Inauguration Day, when it's possible we may still not have chosen a President. Journalist Peter Eisner and longtime State Department official Jonathan Winer will outline all the possibilities, including: the use of the military; uncounted ballots; and one scenario where the House of Representatives picks the next President, with each state getting just one vote, no matter who wins the popular vote or leads the Electoral College. You will hear exclusive interviews with such notable guests as: Former United States Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff Senior Vice President of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Heather Conley Chair of the House Committee on Rules Rep. Jim McGovern Ranking Member of the Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Bob Menendez Author of The Plot to Betray America Intelligence analyst Malcolm Nance Former FBI special agent, specializing in counterintelligence investigations, Asha Rangappa Author of Shadow Network: Media, Money, and the Secret Hub of the Radical Right Anne Nelson Based on hard reporting, facts, and Constitutional Law, this series of 10 podcasts will prepare you for a very possible Unconventional Threat and delineate the steps we can take to come together as a nation to ensure that everyone has the chance to vote, their votes are counted, and the count is respected to create our national choice for President for the next four years. Listen to the new podcast Unconventional Threat and help @defendourdemocracy2020 Follow us onTwitter @UncoThreat See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  • Oct 20, 2020 · 40 min

    Trump vs. Intelligence

    In this bonus episode of The Asset Robert Draper, a writer at large for New York Times Magazine and the author of How the Bush Administration took America into Iraq, gives us a behind the scenes look at the Trump Administration's battles with the intelligence community. Draper chronicles how the White House has co-opted the intelligence agencies in order to further its political agenda and the devastating results it has had on our nation's global standing. Draper says, "The erosion of our credibility in the global intelligence community is a lamentable and rather stunning development." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  • Sep 24, 2020 · 52 min

    Rigged: America, Russia and 100 Years of Covert Electoral Interference

    Max Bergmann, the Executive Director of the Moscow Project speaks with historian and author David Shimer about the alarming and disturbing pattern of electoral interference in American politics by Russia. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  • Sep 17, 2020 · 23 min

    Exclusive Interview with Senator Mark Warner

    The Moscow Project Executive Director Max Bergmann sits down with Senator Mark Warner, Vice-Chair of the Select Committee on Intelligence, for an exclusive interview on the committee's report of Russian Active Measures, Campaigns, and Interference in the 2016 U.S. Election. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  • Aug 19, 2020 · 44 min

    Made To Fail

    In this special episode of The Asset, we are showcasing a new podcast from our friends at the Sixteen Thirty Fund: Made to Fail. From health care, to unemployment insurance, to exercising the right to vote, COVID-19 has affected every part of American life. Sky-high unemployment. Vulnerable elections. Unrest in American cities. But what’s happening in our country is something much bigger than a pandemic. Something that’s been in the works for a long, long, time. The pandemic has pulled back the curtain on the conservative policies that time and time again, have failed the people they were supposed to protect. Made to Fail travels the country to tell the story of how conservative ideology has gutted the safety net, corrupted our institutions, and made government unaccountable to the people. As we confront an unprecedented era of economic uncertainty, amidst a health crisis and a national reckoning on race, the question is…how can we find the way out? https://www.madetofail.org/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  • Aug 18, 2020 · 52 min

    Shadow State: Murder, Mayhem, and Russia's Remaking of the West

    Max Bergmann interviews The Guardian's Luke Harding about how Russia has sought to undermine the West by interfering and corrupting the politics of the US, UK, and other Western countries. Harding discusses his interviews with Christopher Steele, new revelations about Russian interference in the United Kingdom, his reaction to the Mueller report, and how Russia will seek to interfere in the 2020 election. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  • May 8, 2020 · 32 min

    The Michael Flynn Story

    In this very special episode of The Asset, Max Bergmann brings us the back story of Michael Flynn's rise within the Trump adminstration and breaks down why Donald Trump can never let Flynn be incarcerated. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  • Mar 5, 2020 · 20 min

    BONUS-The Truth about Vladmir Putin's Reign of International Terror

    Russian investigative journalists Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan risk their lives every day to expose the truth about Vladamir Putin's murder sprees around the world, including in the United States and Great Britain. In wide-ranging exclusive interview with Max Bergmann, the host of The Asset podcast, Soldatov and Borogan explain how and why Putin orders international assassinations and the reason there are little to no consequences for the Russian leader. To hear the full interview, please subscribe to our Patreon page. https://www.patreon.com/posts/34596098/edit See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  • Feb 16, 2020 · 11 min

    BONUS-Donald Trump's First Impeachment Trial

    Now that Donald Trump's first Impeachment Trial has wrapped up, Max Bergmann and Peter Ogburn discuss what was lost and gained in the trial and the path forward to saving our democracy. To hear the full episode and all of our unedited interviews,please subscribe to our Patreon Page. https://www.patreon.com/posts/34081678 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  • Jan 31, 2020 · 14 min

    What's Next?

    Max Bergmann, the host of the Asset Podcast, assesses the Impeachment Trial to date and handicaps what's ahead, as the end of Donald Trump's trial before the Senate looms. To hear the full episode, become a Patreon subscriber. https://www.patreon.com/posts/33614330 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  • Jan 18, 2020 · 9 min

    BONUS- O What a Tangled Web

    In this teaser episode of This Week in Impeachment, Max Bergmann breaks down the the latest news of Parnas and Pence. In the full episode available on Patreon, Max triangulates the Republican Senators' positions, projects the possible outcomes, and explains why any of them will be good for the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate. https://www.patreon.com/posts/33256671 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  • Dec 15, 2019 · 13 min

    BONUS -- I is for Impeachment

    Max Bergmann, Executive Director of The Moscow Project and host of The Asset podcast, blazes the trail that could lead to a trial in the Senate with full witness testimony, something Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is working to thwart. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  • Dec 11, 2019 · 1 hr 11 min

    Impeaching

    Earlier in Season 2, we explained the backstory to the Ukraine scandal, tracing Trump’s efforts to extort a foreign government for his own personal gain. When a whistleblower complaint brought this scandal to light, it sparked the fourth impeachment investigation in our nation’s history. In this episode of The Asset, host Max Bergmann, the director of The Moscow Project, an initiative of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, explains why Democrats finally moved forward on impeachment, and talks about how the Ukraine scandal grew out of an effort to shield Trump from the political fallout of his decision to collude with Russia in 2016. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  • Dec 5, 2019 · 13 min

    BONUS-"Follow the Trail of Dead Russians" Part 2

    "Follow the Trail of Dead Russians" was the advice given by national security expert Clint Watts when he testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee. In this excerpt from our Patreon page, Max Bergmann continues down the mysterious trail that crosses the globe and is littered with the dead bodies of Russian diplomats, businessmen, and gangsters. To listen to the full episode please subscribe to our Patreon Page here: See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  • Dec 3, 2019 · 13 min

    BONUS-"Follow the Trail of Dead Russians"

    "Follow the Trail of Dead Russians" was the advice given by national security expert Clint Watts when he testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee. In this excerpt from our Patreon page, Max Bergmann leads us down the mysterious trail that crosses the globe and is littered with the dead bodies of Russian diplomats, businessmen, and gangsters. To listen to the full episode please subscribe to our Patreon Page here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/32059046 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  • Nov 26, 2019 · 11 min

    BONUS-Excerpt of The Asset's Exclusive Interview with Calder Walton, general editor of the Cambridge History of Espionage and Intelligence: What You Need to Know About Russian Spying

    Max Bergmann, host of the Asset Podcast, sits down with Calder Walton, Ernest May Fellow in History & Policy at Harvard Kennedy School and general editor of the Cambridge History of Espionage and Intelligence, to discuss the long legacy of Russian espionage in the United States and the consistent pattern of current efforts by Russia to disrupt American politics and damage the standing of the United States around the world. To hear the entire interview, please subscribe to our Patreon page. https://www.patreon.com/posts/31876080 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  • Nov 25, 2019 · 12 min

    BONUS - This Week in Impeachment: November 25, 2019

    Producer Peter Ogburn sits down with host Max Bergmann to find out what happened This Week in Impeachment. We discuss the stunning testimonies of Fiona Hill and David Holmes as well as the madcap antics of Devon Nunes and Gordon Sondland. To hear the full 40-minute roundup, sign up at https://www.patreon.com/assetpodcast See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.