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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
Trump Administration Sues California to Stop Redistricting; Republicans Brace for Mass Defections on Epstein Files; Government Reopens with No Deal on Health Care; Major Storm Brings Strong Winds, Heavy Rain Across California; BBC Apologizes to Trump, Rejects Defamation Claim; Maduro Weighs in on American Actions; Trump Official Refers Swalwell for DOJ Investigation; Doc Examines Effects of Psychedelic Therapies for Veterans. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired November 14, 2025 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Say that before. California is the greatest country, and so -- yes.
[00:00:07]
LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR: That might be the new -- the new bumper sticker, headline, theme. I don't know. It's got a ring to it. Others might take it.
But tell me what else you've got coming up tonight.
MICHAELSON: We're going to talk about that, because that was really interesting, with our political panel.
We've got Congressman Sydney Kamlager-Dove is joining us.
And we've got another congressional candidate making news on our show, because that's what we do here on CNN.
COATES: Well, have a great show, Elex.
MICHAELSON: Thanks. "The Story Is" starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON (voice-over): "The Story Is" President Trump sues California when new information about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein leaks out. With us in studio, Democratic Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove.
"The Story Is" Venezuela versus the United States.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: What is your message to the people of the United States, President?
MICHAELSON (voice-over): CNN talks with President Nicolas Maduro.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was like being drafted and going to the Patriots.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): "The Story Is" the power of psychedelics.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The medicine brings out things it wants you to see.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): The Navy SEAL starring in a new Netflix documentary is in our studio.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Los Angeles, "The Story Is" with Elex Michaelson.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: And welcome to "The Story Is." I'm Elex Michaelson.
The federal government is back open, but it's going to take a moment for everything to go back to normal.
One of the areas still impacted is the SNAP food benefits that 40 million Americans rely on. Remember, 19 states rushed to issue full benefits, because people were scared they weren't going to get theirs.
Well, the U.S. agriculture secretary, Brooke Rollins, told CNN on Thursday that relief is on the way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BROOKE ROLLINS, U.S. AGRICULTURE SECRETARY: Hopefully, by the end of this week, most will receive it; at the very latest on Monday.
It's moving. It's coming. And for those who really depend on it, good news is on the way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Meanwhile, many federal workers are waiting on their paychecks as government agencies are just starting to process their back pay.
This comes as U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem handed out $10,000 bonus checks to TSA employees in Houston, citing their work ethic during the shutdown.
Noem said more would be receiving bonuses, but it's not clear who's going to get the bonuses or what criteria was used to give out the bonuses. All TSA agents are expected to receive back pay in the coming days.
Meanwhile, investors are assessing the long-term impacts of the shutdown on the financial sector, as Wall Street had its worst day in a month. The Dow Jones falling nearly 800 points, or one and two- thirds percentage points; the NASDAQ sliding 536 points, more than 2 percent; while the S&P 500 was down more than 1.5 percent.
This comes as some on Wall Street are expressing concerns that delayed economic data from the shutdown may impact the Federal Reserve's economic outlook. In Washington, a growing number of Republicans are breaking away from
party leaders and backing the idea of releasing the full Epstein files.
House Speaker Mike Johnson had scheduled a vote for next week on a bill to release those files. A senior White House official says Johnson made President Trump aware of the decision, once it became apparent that that vote could not be stopped.
Newly-released emails from Epstein mentioning Trump have helped fuel the push for a vote. Some lawmakers blaming the Trump administration's handling of the crisis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DON BACON (R-NE): If this comes on the floor, I will vote for it. I want transparency. It's the worst P.R. job I've seen anywhere.
I mean, initially, you know, back in February or March, whatever it was, we have all the Epstein lists right here. We're going to release it. And then all of a sudden, there's nothing. It's sort of a self -- they shot themselves in the foot on this.
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Epstein vote's coming to the floor. Are you going to vote for it, this bill?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Yes.
REP. WARREN DAVIDSON (R-OH): I'm going to vote for it if it comes up. I'm not on the Judiciary Committee, but I did want Pam Bondi to come and do some explaining. How is it that you had everything teed up, and then suddenly, there's nothing? You handed out binders to journalists. What was in the binders?
REP. MARIA ELVIRA SALAZAR (R-FL): I'm a Florida girl. I have two daughters. So, I am thinking. I'm thinking. I mean, you know, I'm sure that the president has nothing to fear.
RAJU: yes.
SALAZAR: We do need to know. We do need to know everything about Epstein.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Manu -- Manu Raju on Capitol Hill there today.
The Trump administration is joining the lawsuit to stop congressional redistricting here in California. Voters approved Prop 50, the plan to redraw the state's congressional map with the aim of electing more Democrats.
Well, now the Justice Department claims that the redistricting is race-based, which they say is unconstitutional.
A spokesperson for Governor Gavin Newsom says, quote, "These losers lost at the ballot box, and soon they will also lose in court."
Democratic Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove of Los Angeles joins me now here on set. Congresswoman, welcome to "The Story Is" for the first time.
REP. SYDNEY KAMLAGER-DOVE (D-CA): Oh, my God, thank you for having me. Congratulations. You are moving on up, like "The Jeffersons."
[00:05:05]
MICHAELSON: Thank you very much. It's nice digs here.
KAMLAGER-DOVE: Yes.
MICHAELSON: Nice for L.A. to have this sort of show. Right?
KAMLAGER-DOVE: Swanky. Swanky.
MICHAELSON: Thank you. All right, well, let's start, I guess, here in California --
KAMLAGER-DOVE: OK.
MICHAELSON: -- with that news of President Trump suing California over Proposition 50. Your thoughts on that?
KAMLAGER-DOVE: Because he has nothing better to do. My question is, why are you going to sue California? You should be suing Texas. They were the ones who started it.
If you remember, it was Greg Abbott who took the call from Donald Trump and went into partisan gerrymandering to steal five Democratic seats to give to Trump.
California responded with Proposition 50 to neutralize Trump. But the difference is, this had to go through the legislature and, ultimately, the voters here, who approved it. So why is he suing the voters?
MICHAELSON: Well, he -- they're saying, essentially, that this advantaged Latinos in an unnecessary way.
KAMLAGER-DOVE: This was a partisan clapback on a partisan gerrymandering rigging that happened in Texas.
So, I -- I suspect that this will get dismissed. I hope it does. But once again, if they're going to talk about California, they have to talk about Texas, and they should be talking about the other states that they're trying to do the same thing in.
MICHAELSON: So, you were back in the House yesterday after about a month off.
KAMLAGER-DOVE: Yes.
MICHAELSON: That was not your choice. That was the Republicans' choice. And one of the things that you're about to deal with next week is the Epstein files. I'm sure you're going to vote to try to release the Epstein files.
KAMLAGER-DOVE: Mm-hmm.
MICHAELSON: It seems like an increasing number of Republicans are going to, as well. What do you make of the fact that so many Republicans now seem to be saying, let's release the files?
KAMLAGER-DOVE: I think it's very hard to say, "I support continuing to cover up pedophilia, pedophiles, and a child trafficker."
So, yes, we have to let this discharge petition ripen. Adelita Grijalva was the 218th signature on that. When she got sworn in, there were some survivors of Jeffrey Epstein in the gallery. And she talked about the need to release the files.
I think it's interesting, however, that Donald Trump ran on a platform to release the files, and now he's doing everything he can to bury the files, including calling Lauren Boebert into the Situation Room with creepy Kash Patel and Pam Bondi, who were trying to intimidate her to take her name off this discharge petition.
MICHAELSON: We have seen emails leaking out now, thousands of pages of emails. Anything surprise you? Anything stand out to you?
KAMLAGER-DOVE: I love that Jeffrey Epstein said Donald Trump is a low- down dirty dog, essentially, right? He said he's someone who -- he's the worst. So, when you have a human trafficker say that Donald Trump is the worst, that should tell you something.
MICHAELSON: Although we do not have any evidence of Trump actually --
KAMLAGER-DOVE: We do not.
MICHAELSON: -- doing anything with these underage women.
KAMLAGER-DOVE: We do not. We do not.
MICHAELSON: Which is an important thing to say.
KAMLAGER-DOVE: We do not. But we have 20,000 emails that are being released. More to come. We hope that as much can be redacted. And this should not just be in Oversight. It actually should be in our Judiciary Committee, as well.
MICHAELSON: So, the -- the shutdown was really over Democrats saying, we need to make a deal on health care. There was no deal on healthcare. Some of your Democratic colleagues said, We're going to reopen the government anyways.
There was always talk during the shutdown when the Speaker, Mike Johnson, said, If we reopen the government, then we can negotiate over health care.
So, we're back open. What's the deal with -- with negotiations? Are you optimistic there might actually be a deal? KAMLAGER-DOVE: I don't think that Mike Johnson has the constitution to
negotiate with Democrats. Remember, Donald Trump has said repeatedly, do not negotiate with Democrats. So, there was no negotiation during the shutdown. And we see that they don't even have a plan for health care.
What has been revealed are those things, as well as the majority of the American people want us to fix this broken health care system. And polls have come out that said, folks trust Democrats over Republicans to do so.
So, the -- the ball is in Republicans' court. Do they care about the American people? Do they want to address the fact that premiums are going to quadruple and community clinics and hospitals are going to close?
MICHAELSON: So, you're willing to negotiate with them. You hope that there is some sort of deal.
KAMLAGER-DOVE: I am willing to negotiate. We have a discharge petition on the floor right now, saying we want to extend the health care subsidies for three years. I'd like some Republicans to sign onto it. We will see how much they do care about the American people.
MICHAELSON: All right. Quickly, we do something on this show called "Rapid Fire" to get to know some of your cultural favorites. It's your first time here. So, this is the fun stuff. Ready?
First thing that comes to mind, what's your favorite TV show?
KAMLAGER-DOVE: Ooh, "Studio."
MICHAELSON: "The Studio."
KAMLAGER-DOVE: "The Studio."
MICHAELSON: The -- on Apple TV.
KAMLAGER-DOVE: Apple TV.
MICHAELSON: Favorite movie?
KAMLAGER-DOVE: "Romancing the Stone."
MICHAELSON: What is -- who's your favorite actor or actress?
KAMLAGER-DOVE: Oh, I mean, Robert de Niro.
MICHAELSON: OK. Good choice.
KAMLAGER-DOVE: Yes.
MICHAELSON: Favorite band or musical artist?
KAMLAGER-DOVE: OK, I'm going to stick with Beyonce and a little Kendrick Lamar, and then maybe some Stevie Nicks/Fleetwood Mac. Can I get all three?
[00:10:03]
MICHAELSON: That's a -- that's a great band --
KAMLAGER-DOVE: OK.
MICHAELSON: -- if you can put that together. And finally, who is your role model?
KAMLAGER-DOVE: Oh, my grandmother.
MICHAELSON: Why is that?
KAMLAGER-DOVE: She was a nurse. She worked in a clinic in the South side of Chicago. I got to volunteer with her and see her take care of young girls who were pregnant and being mothers for the first time.
She was a single woman who traveled the world and really exposed me to what it means to -- to want to see other parts of this beautiful planet.
And she was so graceful, and she had strong faith.
MICHAELSON: Love that.
Congresswoman, great to see you.
KAMLAGER-DOVE: Thank you.
MICHAELSON: Hope you visit us again.
KAMLAGER-DOVE: I will. Invite me back.
MICHAELSON: Thank you so much.
"The Story Is" the weather. A major storm system is unleashing strong winds and heavy rain in California.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Man, it's been crazy. Like halfway through the 99 going up, it's -- it was just completely flooded.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: In the coming hours, the storm expected to increase the threat of flooding and mudslides for millions here in Southern California, especially those living in recent burn areas. Officials are warning them to prepare to evacuate.
CNN's Allison Chinchar has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Rain already started to fall across much of California on Thursday, but this is going to be a multi-day concern.
You see, on Friday and Saturday, millions under the potential for some very heavy rainfall that could cause not only some flash flooding in a few areas, but also the concern for mudslides, especially across any areas that have had recent wildfires. Those burn scars are very susceptible to a lot of the heavy rain that is expected to come in.
You can see through the very early hours of Friday that shift of the rain from the Northern part of the state down into the Southern half of the state. This includes Los Angeles; San Diego getting some very heavy rain bands, especially during the morning commute on Friday. Not exactly the timing you would like to see.
But it's expected to continue through the afternoon and even into Friday evening. And all of that rain is going to pile up at some point. You're looking at widespread totals of 2 to 4 inches, where you see this yellow color. Even a couple patches of orange and red, indicating higher totals are possible.
And then also up into the higher elevations, snow. Except in this instance, we're measuring it in feet rather than inches. We are looking at widespread totals of 2 to 4 feet in some of those higher elevations, but you could even see slightly higher amounts, especially in some of those peaks.
That's why you've got these winter weather alerts in effect for a lot of these areas here, just to kind of give folks a heads up for any travel concerns they may encounter.
Winds are also going to be a big concern for much of the day Friday. But the good news is, by the time we get to Saturday, the winds, at least, do start to die back down, especially across the Northern and central portion of the state of California.
May still see some gusty winds up around 20 to 30 miles per hour lingering across the Southern portion of the state into the early hours.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Allison Chinchar, thank you for that.
"The Story Is" MVP. Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, unanimous winner of this league's National League MVP. The two-way superstar is the first player to win the award twice in both leagues.
You see him there with his family on this live camera, as he was told. But I think, really, the star of this show was his dog, Decoy. Look at -- look at Decoy right there, who actually threw out a first pitch this season. A lot of love for Decoy.
Ohtani hit 55 regular season home runs, made 14 starts as a pitcher. Just last month, he helped lead the Dodgers to their second consecutive World Series title.
In the American League, another familiar sight. Yankee slugger Aaron Judge takes the MVP for the second year in a row, but the star here might have also been his dogs. We've got Gus and Penny home, along with the Judge family there.
Judge launched 53 home runs to go along with a league-leading 331 batting average. He joins Mickey Mantle and Jimmie Foxx as the only players to hit at least 50 home runs and win the batting title in the same season.
This is the third straight MVP for Judge.
But he hasn't won any World Series titles. Shohei now has two.
Coming up, the BBC apologized to President Trump over misleading edits in a documentary as it tries to defuse its worst crisis in years. That's ahead.
Plus, Venezuela's president has a message for the American people, as he says the U.S. government is preparing military action against him.
We'll have an exclusive report from Venezuela's capital, next.
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[00:19:01]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lift-off, effective.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin has launched a landmark mission to Mars. The towering New Glenn rocket took off Thursday from Cape Canaveral, Florida. It was carrying a pair of satellites that are now headed to the red planet.
Blue Origin also landed the first stage of its rocket back on a seafaring platform for the first time, which is something Elon Musk has been doing for a while, but is a major milestone in making New Glenn reusable and cheaper, and able to do this a lot more. It's a big deal.
Meanwhile, the BBC has apologized to President Trump over editing blunder in a documentary. Note for everybody: be careful about editing President Trump.
The president's attorney, threatening to sue for $1 billion.
CNN's Max Foster has more from London.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT: The BBC spent several days trying to get this response to President Trump right.
FOSTER (voice-over): BBC lawyers have written to White House lawyers, and the BBC chairman has written separately to President Trump, offering a personal apology.
[00:20:08]
That appears to satisfy at least one of his demands for this edit in a documentary that even the BBC accepts was a mistake.
Now, Trump also asked for a full and fair retraction of the documentary. The BBC says it will not rebroadcast the show. Will that be enough to satisfy President Trump? Will he see that as a full enough retraction?
Trump's third demand was for appropriate compensation. The BBC hasn't addressed that directly, only to say that they strongly disagree there is a basis for a defamation claim.
That suggests they are ready to go to court, if the president decides to pursue this, as he said he would if he doesn't get that retraction and the apology.
Now, they may have offered some sort of settlement away from court. We just don't know at this point. But the media giant is under huge pressure from politicians not to pay anything out, because they are a publicly funded organization, and that money would effectively belong to taxpayers.
If Donald Trump accepts this reach-out from the BBC --
FOSTER: -- then it could potentially end a very painful period in the BBCs modern history. If he doesn't accept it, then it may well end up in court, and it could rumble on and on and on.
Max Foster, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Fascinating case. Max Foster, thank you.
The U.S. carried out its 20th strike on alleged drug boat this week. Defense Department officials tell CNN the strike killed four people.
This is some video of some of the earlier strikes, which now have killed a total of at least 80 people. Some experts and U.S. allies are questioning, is this legal to do this?
The U.S. has deployed more than a dozen warships to the Caribbean, including its largest aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford.
The White House says it is going after drug traffickers, but Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says the U.S. is actually preparing to overthrow his government.
Meanwhile, four sources tell CNN that President Trump has received an updated briefing on options for possible military operations inside Venezuela. We're talking about a ground game here.
The sources say he has yet to decide on how to proceed. A senior U.S. official says the options are part of an operation dubbed Southern Spear.
The secretary of war, Pete Hegseth, posted online about Southern Spear on Thursday but said it targets drug traffickers.
Meanwhile, Venezuela's president, Nicolas Maduro, issuing an appeal to the American people.
CNN's Stefano Pozzebon has this exclusive report from the country.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: We've just come out of a rally of government supporters in Caracas, and actually, the Venezuelan leader, Nicolas Maduro, arrived at this march. We were able to approach him and ask him if he's not preoccupied with the build-up of U.S. military forces off the coast of Venezuela.
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: President, are you concerned about the possible aggression?
NICOLAS MADURO, VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We're focused on the people. Governing with peace, with these young people building.
POZZEBON: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: What is your message to the people of the United States, President?
MADURO (through translator): Unite for the peace of the continent. No more endless wars, no more unjust wars. No more Libya. No more Afghanistan.
POZZEBON: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: Do you have a message for President Trump?
MADURO (through translator): My message is: yes, peace. Yes, peace.
POZZEBON: The U.S. Department of Justice accuses Nicolas Maduro of being the leader of a narco trafficking cartel and even placed a $15 million bounty on his head.
Maduro denies this accusation, but I think that the fact that he was willing to be seen walking around the streets of Caracas and surrounded by regular people shows us that he's willing to play. What a bold move. And at the same time that perhaps he's not as worried as somebody in
the White House would like him to be.
For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Caracas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Interesting to see that. Thank you.
As concerns grow about the safety risks posed by artificial intelligence, two U.S. law enforcers are teaming up with two of the biggest names in tech to try to put some protections in place.
The attorneys general from North Carolina and Utah have formed the A.I. Task Force, and OpenAI and Microsoft have signed on to help provide oversight of A.I. development and usage.
Right now, there are no overarching federal laws regulating A.I., and some federal lawmakers have even worked specifically to prevent the regulation of that technology.
Well, Apple has launched Digital I.D., a new way for users to verify their identity when they're traveling in the U.S. Users can upload their passport or driver's license information to their Digital I.D. in their Apple wallet.
TSA checkpoints at more than 250 airports are set to accept the Digital I.D. for domestic flights, but it's not a replacement for a physical passport. So, it can't be used for international travel and border crossings in place of a U.S. passport.
[00:25:06]
But if you forget your wallet, it could make a huge difference for domestic flights.
And if you worry that artificial intelligence is taking over everything, the new Russian A.I. robot may calm your fears. So, this is what's playing. This was the real video that they had playing, the "Rocky" theme.
This was at a tech event in Moscow. But the robot was knocked out by the air, apparently.
Nicknamed Idol, the staggering, drunk-looking machine stopped, lifted its arms to wave, and then fell flat on its face. The private tech company blamed calibration issues and the normal parts of cutting-edge development.
Russian media quoted the CEO, saying he hoped this mistake will turn into an experience. That it was.
Up next, our political panel is here. Hopefully, it gets better for them than that robot. Dan Schnur and Lynn Vavreck, your thoughts on the robot.
DAN SCHNUR, POLITICAL COMMENTATOR AND PROFESSOR: C-3PO gets drunk. Tomorrow, they're sending him to Ukraine.
LYNN VAVRECK, PROFESSOR OF AMERICAN POLITICS, UCLA: They've got us right where they want us.
MICHAELSON: There we go. All right, Lynn and Dan, when we come back.
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[00:30:55]
MICHAELSON: At least one person is dead, two others injured following what Ukraine called a mass attack on its capital.
Officials in Kyiv said hours ago that several buildings caught fire and urged people to stay in shelters. The warning also said that power, heat and water could be out in parts of the city.
But across the border, a Ukrainian drone strike damaged an oil refinery in Southwestern Russia Friday morning. Russia officials say the drones were being intercepted. So far, no reports of casualties.
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REP. ERIC SWALWELL (D-CA): They're investigating Adam Schiff. It's nonsense that they're investigating Tish James. It's nonsense that they're investigating Lisa Cook, all for the same thing.
And next week when we hear about someone else who's a political opponent of Donald Trump being investigated, it will also be nonsense.
And of course, I am one of the most vocal critics against Donald Trump. I have the only lawsuit that survived him becoming president. Me and the January 6th officers.
I'm a little surprised, frankly, that it took him this long to get to me, but it's not going to shake me.
The next governor better be a fighter, a protector, and somebody who takes on the affordability crisis. I've been asked by many supporters to consider it, and of course, I'm considering it.
Again, greatest country in the world. California.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: That was Eric Swalwell, on with Laura Coates about an hour ago here on CNN. She asked him about two different things.
One, being investigated potentially for mortgage fraud, potentially facing criminal violation from the Trump administration.
And two, this persistent rumor that he's about to announce that he's running for governor.
Joining me to talk about that and more is our political panel: the Hoffenberg professor of American politics at UCLA, Lynn Vavreck, and political commentator and professor at USC, UC Berkeley, and Pepperdine, Dan Schnur. So, we've got two guests and four schools represented.
Great to see both of you.
Lynn, welcome back.
VAVRECK: Thank you.
MICHAELSON: Dan, welcome to "The Story Is" for the first time.
SCHNUR: Thank you so much for having me, Elex.
MICHAELSON: And full disclosure for people. Dan was my professor at USC --
VAVRECK: Wow.
MICHAELSON: -- years ago, as well. So, it's very cool if you think about that era, for us to be doing this on CNN all these years later.
So, let's start, Lynn, with Lynn Vavreck [SIC]. Sorry. Let's start with Eric Swalwell, Lynn Vavreck. Let's start with Lynn Vavreck talking about Eric Swalwell.
VAVRECK: Lynn Vavreck is not running for governor.
MICHAELSON: Yes. It sounds like he's running for governor, right?
VAVRECK: It sounded that way, despite him saying, I'm going to think about it. And I don't know how long I'm going to think about it.
California, greatest country in the world. Positioning himself as standing up to taking Trump's ire and standing up to Trump. Those all seem like signs to me.
MICHAELSON: What do you make of him as a -- as a gubernatorial candidate?
SCHNUR: Whenever any politician utters the sentence, "Many people are encouraging me to run," you can pretty much write it down that that person is running for governor.
And I think what's interesting is now that Senator Alex Padilla has decided not to run for governor, now that former Vice President Kamala Harris has decided not to run, there is a whole new wave of potential candidates circling the race.
Swalwell is one of them. Rick Caruso, the very wealthy former candidate for mayor of Los Angeles. Tom Steyer, the very wealthy former candidate for president. This field is about to get a lot more crowded.
But at this point, no one has really emerged as a frontrunner. And it's the first election for governor of California, Elex, probably since the 1980s, where there hasn't been a clear frontrunner going into the race.
MICHAELSON: Yes, you think of Gavin Newsom, Jerry Brown, others were clear frontrunners.
Katie Porter has been the one ahead in the polls. But what does this say about her, that all these people think that she's weak enough that they want to get in?
VAVRECK: Yes. Candidates will enter races when they see opportunities for them to win, and they'll sit out until those opportunities emerge.
So, I think the fact that Professor Schnur sees no clear frontrunner and that we see these other candidates sort of testing the waters, is an indication that she is not the frontrunner, even though maybe it seemed that way a couple of weeks ago.
[00:35:02]
SCHNUR: And, Elex, you and I have talked about this before. There's a famous cartoon from the mid-20th Century where a little boy's coming home from baseball practice, carrying his glove and his bat. He's got this very sad look on his face.
And his parents ask, "What's wrong?"
And he said, "Well, I had a no-hitter going until the big kids got out of school."
And I wonder if Katie Porter is feeling like that right now: I'm the frontrunner until the big kids got out of school.
MICHAELSON: And so, who do you think? Who do you think is the frontrunner, of all the people that are being tossed around?
SCHNUR: I think you could throw a blanket over the top 4 or 5 candidates. I'd say of those currently in the race, the undervalued stock is probably Antonio Villaraigosa, the former mayor of Los Angeles.
But if any of the three people we just talked about get into the race, it all starts over.
MICHAELSON: And that's, of course, because Antonio Villaraigosa was on set with us here on "The Story Is," and you get "The Story Is" boost.
SCHNUR: It's one of many reasons, but clearly, clearly the most important one.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
VAVRECK: All candidates -- all candidates should come for the boost.
MICHAELSON: Meanwhile, the guy who's currently in that job, Governor Gavin Newsom, seems to be interested in another job: running for president, which it also seems like he's been doing for a long time. What do you make of his presidential prospects? SCHNUR: Well, even before the passage of our Proposition 50 here in
California earlier this month, Newsom had emerged as the most forceful and probably the most effective Trump critic in the national Democratic Party.
And now that he's passed a ballot initiative that it was technically about redistricting, the least interesting word in the English language, but was really a referendum on Donald Trump. Newsom is -- got his -- has got booster rockets on, and the national party is looking at him.
He went to Texas immediately after this election. So, he is, if not the front runner, a top-tier candidate.
But Elex -- and you've seen this many times with other governors getting ready to run for president. There's an adjustment period when he was in Brazil this week for the climate change conference, he was getting asked foreign policy questions.
And Newsom on Venezuela, for example. He still needs a little bit of work.
MICHAELSON: So, you think he has some weaknesses going into this?
SCHNUR: He's learning. You know, he's learning. He's an incredibly gifted communicator. As you know, from your previous experience with him, he can be a little bit thin-skinned. In a national political campaign, that's something he's probably going to need to get past.
MICHAELSON: Lynn, one of the things that Governor Newsom has tried to do is both be the fighter against Trump, but also sort of bring the Democratic Party to be more with the 80 in the 80/20 issues, meaning issues that 80 percent of the country are for.
And you're sort of looking into this issue, saying that there are things that the country agrees on. We talk so much about the division. There's a whole media ecosystem about the division. But let's put up onto the screen some issues that people actually agree on.
Look at this: background checks, 94 percent of Democrats want it; 81 percent of Republicans. Paid family leave, 86 percent of Democrats, 67 percent of Republicans. A pathway to citizenship, 79 percent of Democrats, even 51 percent of Republicans.
This is according to American National Election Study. What's your big takeaway from that?
VAVRECK: Yes, it's nice to have a moment to think about the things on which most people agree, because, as you say, we do hear so much about how divided we are and polarized we are.
So, there are these opportunities. And, you know, Newsom is trying to move more toward the middle, even on issues that are not as lopsided as these.
So, I think for the right political candidate; for a political entrepreneur, someone with a little imagination and creativity or a great political consultant, there's an opportunity here to craft a message, to frame a campaign around things that people agree on.
MICHAELSON: Yet, Dan, all those issues, nothing's getting done. Issue like universal background check is something that -- that we've seen poll numbers like that for decades, and yet, nothing happens. Why aren't we making progress on things that everybody agrees on?
SCHNUR: So, there's an old saying in political science, and I wish I knew who said it, so I could give them credit. So, I'll take it. The old saying is democracy is not a system of majority rule. It's a system of minority rule with majority acquiescence.
So, people tend to have preferences on these issues, but they don't feel strongly about them. But when you've got a small group of people who care very, very deeply about guns, about immigration, about family leave, they can keep progress from happening.
The other thing that strikes me, Lynn, is every single one of these three issues is an issue on which most Democrats support, and many Republicans oppose, which leads to two questions: one, why are the Republicans on the wrong side of all these issues? And No. 2, why can't the Democrats do anything about it?
VAVRECK: Yes. Republican candidates, you mean?
SCHNUR: Yes.
VAVRECK: Because we just saw the numbers that voters are.
SCHNUR: Candidates.
VAVRECK: Yes, yes. That is an interesting wrinkle.
And your last question, I love this. Why aren't Democratic candidates capitalizing on this? Their opponents are on the wrong side of a lopsided issue.
[00:40:09]
But I think the thing that Dan says is right: these are not high- impact issues for people.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
VAVRECK: They care about other things more than this.
MICHAELSON: And when you say, "wrong side," you're just meaning in terms of the polling.
VAVRECK: The polling. The polling, of course.
MICHAELSON: You're not even making a judgment.
VAVRECK: Yes.
MICHAELSON: You're just saying if you want to be with the winner, you picked the wrong --
SCHNUR: The Democrats have a solid majority on all three of these issues. Still can't do anything about them.
MICHAELSON: With them, right?
SCHNUR: And on guns and immigration, at least, they've lost on these issues in the past.
MICHAELSON: Many times.
SCHNUR: Well, Mark Twain said a cat that sat on a hot stove will never sit on a hot stove again, but he'll never sit on a cold stove either. They're scared.
MICHAELSON: There we go. Lots of sayings tonight, Dan.
VAVRECK: I know, right?
MICHAELSON: You came loaded. Dan, Lynn --
VAVRECK: I've got to get better sayings game.
MICHAELSON: -- thank you so much. We'll be back with more of "The Story Is" right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:45:31]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're overseas, and you see half your platoon get killed. We're not supposed to leave them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was just begging. Can you please help him?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The medicine brings out things it wants you to see. And you don't know why.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I had a lot of stuff to work through.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: That is a clip from a new Netflix documentary called "In Waves and War." It's a true story about three Navy SEALs who left it all on the battlefield and returned home with some serious mental health issues.
Approved treatments in the U.S. did not work for them. But what set them on the road to recovery was found in Mexico, where they discovered the healing power of psychedelics. Joining me on set, executive producer of the film, Eliza Dushku
Palandjian. Marcus Capone, one of the highly decorated SEALs featured in the documentary, and his wife Amber, who has been instrumental in Marcus's journey.
Welcome to you all. Thanks so much for being here. Thank you for this documentary and thank you for your service.
MARCUS CAPONE, NAVY SEAL: Thank you. Thanks for having us here.
MICHAELSON: So, a lot of people may remember you from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Bring It On." You're now working in the mental health field. What drew you to this story in particular?
ELIZA DUSHKU PALANDJIAN, PRODUCER, "IN WAVES AND WAR": Their story drew me to this -- to this story and the stories of the other SEALs and service members in the film.
You know, I'd been in the industry for 25 years, and it's so rare when a movie can really capture, like, the -- the humanity and the -- the grit and the -- the rawness of -- of this, of their story and then infuse it with hope and also infuse it with this really necessary battle cry that the film has: that we are not winning the war when it comes to mental health in our veterans and service members.
And so, we owe it to these people who have put so much on the line for us to give them everything that is available to help them become whole and heal. And that's what the treatments in this film offer.
MICHAELSON: So, Marcus, this tells the story of you and two of your buddies. But let's talk about your story now. You spent 13 years in the SEALs, experienced traumatic brain injury. Talk about what it was like coming home from that.
M. CAPONE: Yes, well, I'll speak for all veterans. I'm one of the ones that just have come out and talked about this.
But, you know, we come home, and many veterans are struggling, both with PTSD and traumatic brain injury. We're showing symptoms of depression, anxiety. It's very difficult to diagnose.
And right now, traditional approaches to care -- modern antidepressants and talk therapy -- don't work for everybody. As a matter of fact, research shows almost 50 percent of those individuals don't respond. And I was one of them.
So, multi-years of failed therapies, you get to a point where, you know, you may think that it's better to not be here than be here with your family.
And for me, I'm lucky I had a lifeline. And I flew outside the country to do a -- you know, I call it an experimental psychedelic treatment.
And it was -- we could be here for hours, but it was life-changing. It was lifesaving. And it really -- we just wanted to pay it forward to our friends and families, you know, teammates. And we started a nonprofit to help others and kind of here we are today with a documentary and servicing, you know, thousands of veterans. So, it's been really amazing.
MICHAELSON: Amber, talk about how you saw Marcus change, both once he had the traumatic brain injury, and then he went to Mexico and how that changed him.
AMBER CAPONE, WIFE OF MARCUS CAPONE: Traumatic brain injury, for the global war on terror era of veterans, is actually the signature injury of the war. And it's -- it's micro incidents that add up over time.
So, there wasn't one massive incident where I noticed a gigantic change. It was the chipping away of the person that I have known for almost 30 years. And we had begun to spend so much time apart that I really didn't recognize him at all.
And when he transitioned out of the military, and we were together as a family for the first time, I became very alarmed at what I was seeing. He certainly wasn't himself. And we were -- fail -- failed avenue after failed avenue and attempts to help.
MICHAELSON: And then -- and then in Mexico. What's the name of the drug that you -- that worked?
A. CAPONE: A friend of his recommended that he do Ibogaine. It was something that the friend had done. He and his wife shared with me that it was very effective.
[00:50:02]
At that time, I was so desperate to save him, because I knew that we were racing against a very dangerous clock. And as he tried things and failed again and again, I could see the hopelessness setting in.
And I thought, I don't know how much time this will buy us to find more avenues here in the United States, but I need a tourniquet today. And what I didn't know was that that tourniquet would end up saving his life. I wasn't prepared for the efficacy.
MICHAELSON: Yes, and Ibogaine right now is illegal in the United States. It's not illegal in Mexico. That's part of what the point of this is.
How did it change you once you started taking that? How did it -- how did you start thinking differently?
M. CAPONE: It -- you know, I think it -- it reached down to the root cause of the issues that I was dealing with. So, I had some mild traumatic brain injuries; obviously had some PTSD from, you know, years overseas.
The -- the modern approaches in medicine really put band-aids on our symptoms. And putting band-aids, although it could be temporarily, it's not the fix for long term.
This really gets to the root cause of issues. And that's why we believe it's -- it's so powerful. We shouldn't be sending our veterans outside the country or many others now who are reaching out for these type of treatments. We need access here. We need more money for research. And we, you know, we -- again, we need to open our eyes and ears and look to modern treatments.
MICHAELSON: And we've been seeing this now being talked about in different states around the country, as well. California passing some legislation, Texas passing some legislation to at least study this. So, this film already making an impact.
PALANDJIAN: Absolutely. And, you know, we were -- clearly, psychedelics have entered the cultural zeitgeist. Right? I get an email or an article from someone every day about psilocybin and MDMA and all these treatments.
Ibogaine really is newer. Not a lot of people know about it. It's a West African tree bark. And it's been use -- it was used for thousands of years by indigenous people in West Africa.
And they've found -- and in the film you'll see. The film is bookended by the Stanford brain stimulation lab study, where they show FMRIs of the brains of these SEALs before and after.
And they believe that this psychedelic, like, washes the brain. And it actually is the first compound that has been shown to -- to improve mild to moderate traumatic brain injury. There's nothing else that could heal the brain in the way that these medicines do.
So, this -- this specific psychedelic, it's kind of known as, like, the strongest psychedelic known that we know of today. But it is extraordinary in its healing capacity to -- to help these -- this population and so many others. As we study it, it will be applied to so many other maladies.
MICHAELSON: Marcus, there is no bigger platform in the world than Netflix. And this has been on Netflix now since November 3, which means people are watching it all over the world. What are you hearing from folks?
M. CAPONE: The -- it's overwhelming, the support that we're receiving. Nothing but really positive -- positive stories, individuals that are -- they're reflecting on their own lives and seeing that there's hope and that there's, you know, there's treatments that are coming that, you know, we can -- we can -- It's OK to ask for help. I think that was -- that's one of the biggest pieces here.
You have, you know, two friends that I served with, Mattie Roberts (ph) and D.J. Shipley. Like, these are two -- some of the toughest guys. And here we are, asking for help because we all came to a point that was really -- you know, it was -- it was difficult.
And we want to keep our families together. We want to have relationships again with our children.
And I think that's what this film does. It really humanizes, you know, the warfighter, which, you know, we loved doing as a profession. But when we came back, you know, we needed help. And all this is just like you hurt your shoulder. You go in, you get it fixed. That's all this is.
I mean, these individuals, including myself, I think we're living our best lives right now. And that's what we're excited to see.
This is not just for veterans. This is a much bigger issue. There is a kind of global mental health epidemic, and we need to fix that.
MICHAELSON: Well, thank you guys for bringing this to our attention. And congratulations on a brilliant documentary. "In Waves and War," available on Netflix now.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:58:50]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TAYLOR SWIFT, SINGER: This show created a bonding experience for, like, 70,000 people all at once. There's something very special about that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Taylor Swift's Eras Tour may be over, but there's more to come. Swift just dropped the trailer for upcoming Disney Plus docuseries, "The End of an Era."
The six-part series promises an inside look at the tour's inner workings and personal moments from her life, which include her relationship with now fiance Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs.
You can watch the first two episodes on December 12.
For cheeseheads, this was irresistible: judging the world's best cheese for 2025. Five thousand cheeses from dozens of countries competed at the World Cheese Awards in Switzerland. Yes, this is a thing.
And more than 260 judges sniffed, crumbled, and tasted before deciding. And the winner is an aged Swiss gruyere made from cow's milk at a small dairy in Western Switzerland.
The cheese maker called it an incredible honor. One judge described its flavor as butterscotch, caramel, savory, some fruit-funk notes, and some slight burn on there like charcoal. That's a lot of stuff combined.
Three cheeses later, he said, we could still taste that cheese.
