Bestselling author of World War Z Max Brooks joins broadcaster/comedian Chip Franklin and former Assistant FBI Director Frank Figliuzzi to discuss how to reframe the fight for democracy away from "doom and gloom" in the latest episode of "Frankly."

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We are living in unprecedented times. With so many domestic and foreign threats looming, this is, as Frank calls it, “an absolutely unprecedented, dangerous part of history.” Our hosts are here to help you break through the panic and fear to better understand those threats.

In this episode, we are joined by author Max Brooks, son of legendary actor Mel Brooks. Max is the bestselling author of numerous books, including World War Z. He was also a Senior Fellow of the Modern War Institute at West Point, New York.

“He's not only an author and an actor,” Chip said. “He looks deep into this stuff. His book World War Z was read and discussed by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He's been invited to speak at a variety of military functions and engagements, the Naval War College, the FEMA hurricane drill in San Antonio, and many war game scenarios.”

From Putin to China, we’ll talk about many of the most pressing threats facing America today, and hear why he thinks miscalculation presents the greatest danger to global security. Max also tells us exactly why in this age of cyber warfare the military needs to have more creativity and courage.

What does a second Trump administration look like? And is there any hope for Democrats after Biden’s poor debate performance? You’ll hear our answers to these pressing questions and more in this awesome episode.

“I think anybody who predicts the future with any certainty nowadays is either a liar or an idiot,” Max said. “But I can tell you that I think the failure of last night was not Biden. It was our reaction to Biden.”

Brooks uses his expertise to explain that Americans shouldn’t be so doom and gloom, which is very timely following Biden’s debate performance and the ensuing discord. “No matter what a problem is, we are never doomed,” Max said. “There are always solutions. And if we focus on those we actually start working on what we can do.”

He also tells our listeners how he uses reality in his fictional works to show that there are real systems in place to keep us safe, and challenges us to study and familiarize ourselves with the nature of these looming threats so that we can start working on how to solve it.

Former Acting Director of the FBI Andrew McCabe joins hosts Chip Franklin and Frank Figliuzzi to discuss how Trump and MAGA world’s attacks have endangered him and his family in the latest episode of Frankly.

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Be sure to pick up a copy of Frank’s hot new bestselling book, Long Haul: Hunting the Highway Serial Killers

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You’ll hear first hand about Andrew McCabe’s experience in the Trump administration. McCabe was fired as Acting Director of the FBI by Trump’s Attorney General back in March 2018, only hours before he was eligible for retirement. The firing was an act of political retribution for Andy opening two investigations into Trump - one to determine if the former President had obstructed justice by firing James Comey, and the other to determine if Trump was acting on behalf of the Russian government.

“It was incredibly stressful,” Andy told us. “We were making very hard choices with really no precedent to follow. But that's just what you do when you're in the FBI. We don't pledge fealty to a king or a prime minister or a president. We swear an oath to the constitution and we do what we believe is necessary under the constitution, whether people are going to like it or not.”

McCabe has since been cleared of wrongdoing, and awarded back pay as well as his pension. Nevertheless, since then, Andy has been a repeated and leading target for harassment and threats by Steve Bannon and Donald Trump. He was one of the brave few to stand up to Donald Trump- and now he pays the price.

In this fantastic episode, we’ll discuss how MAGA’s intimidation tactics and Trump’s threat to reclassify 50,000 government leaders into political appointees will likely influence future decisions by the FBI and DOJ.

“When Trump starts to attack someone personally, what generates from that is a perimeter of fear,” Andy told us. “And everyone who's within that perimeter recedes into a defensive crouch. That fear is an organized crime tactic. That's the fear that gets people to comply.”

We’ll also talk about the horrors that a second Trump term could pose, including the terrifying prospect of Michael Flynn serving as the next Attorney General. “To see where he is with this QAnon stuff is just sad,” McCabe surmised. “I put him right up there with Giuliani as one of the few people whose fall has been just so tragic and so obvious.”

From ISIS-K, to Hamas in the US, to domestic terror, Andrew breaks down the most chilling looming threats to our national security. This is absolutely something everyone needs to hear.

Frank also gives us a quick update on his brand new, TOP RANKED book Long Haul: Hunting the Highway Serial Killers. Be sure to grab a copy if you haven’t already. “It's launch was three weeks ago, and to my amazement, we're into the third printing already,” he said. “I felt compelled to write about it when I realized there were about 850 murders of women alongside our nation's highways, and the FBI said with confidence that most of those murders are committed by long haul truckers.”

Be sure to join us next week as we host author and actor Max Brooks for another awesome episode of Frankly.

On this episode of HIT SHOW Frankly, NBC MSNBC Analyst John Heilmann joins hosts Chip Franklin and Frank Figliuzzi to find out just how close the presidential race is, and talk about the reliability of polls. We’ll also be exploring the very real threat to democracy posed by a Trump win.

“The playbook is there,” Frank said. “No one should ever feign surprise if Trump gets reelected and starts doing things that are clearly antithetical to democracy and the rule of law.”

Subscribe to our Patreon here, where paid members will get access to exclusive portions of this show. patreon.com/reallyamericanmedia

Be sure to pick up a copy of Frank’s hot new bestselling book, Long Haul: Hunting the Highway Serial Killers

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Our guest is author and top national affairs analyst John Heilemann. In this gripping interview, John explains where he thinks the MAGA movement originated and takes our listeners on a journey through what he calls “The genesis of Trump, and the populist grievance based on nationalist, xenophobic racism.”

John gives us the inside scoop on what the presidential poll numbers look like today, and cautions our listeners against reading too heavily into them. “Stop clinging. Don't cling anymore. The election is going to be really close,” he said. “It's a margin of error election.”

We’ll break down the very real national security threat posed today by Christian nationalists and white supremacists who support MAGA, as well as the looming dangers that a second Trump administration poses to our democracy.

“You'd be looking at a very volatile circumstance in the country,” John said. “A very volatile, threatening, and vulnerable one, particularly for people who are perceived as enemies of the administration. Trump knows how to do things now with the government that he didn't in the four years that he was in office. And he will be unconstrained, in a more, not just ruthless, but more effective way.”

In this episode, John shares stories of a few great experiences from his time on the frontline of journalism. He also gives a crystal clear breakdown of the behemoth that is the American media today and explains why mainstream outlets don’t do more to address rising threats like Christian nationalism. As Chip summarized, the media is “trying to find an audience that likes what we have to say, as opposed to challenging people with new ideas and new approaches to policy and philosophy.”