Michael Cohen | Chris Aldrich

🎧 Look Back in Anger | On the Media | WNYC Studios

Listened to Look Back in Anger from On the Media | WNYC Studios

The Cohen testimony, a new Breaking News Consumer's Handbook, the risks of laundering our hot takes through history, and the story of an infamous Nazi rally.

When President Trump’s former personal lawyer testified in front of Congress this week, it was both captivating and oddly familiar. This week, On the Media looks at the tropes that ran through the hearings, and offers a guide to news consumers trying to understand the tangled threads of the Mueller investigation. Plus, a sideways glance at historical hot takes and a second look at an infamous Nazi rally in the heart of New York City.

1. Bob and Brooke on Michael Cohen's enthralling testimony this week. Listen.

2. Eric Umansky [@ericuman], co-host of Trump, Inc. from WNYC Studios and ProPublica, on how news consumers can best understand Mueller-related news. Listen.

3. Corey Robin [@CoreyRobin], political theorist, on the tendency for journalists to launder their hot takes through history. Listen.

4. Marshall Curry [@marshallcurry], documentary filmmaker, on his Oscar-nominated short, A Night At The Garden. Listen.

CORRECTION: In the opening segment, we describe U.S. Representative Jim Cooper, of Tennessee, as belonging to the wrong political party. Rep. Cooper is a Democrat.

📺 PBS NewsHour – January 18, 2019 | PBS

Watched PBS NewsHour – January 18, 2019 from PBS

Friday on the NewsHour, a report by BuzzFeed alleges that President Trump personally directed Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about a business project in Moscow. Plus: The president announces a second summit with North Korea to discuss denuclearization, how the shutdown is affecting people in D.C., David Brooks and Ruth Marcus on the week in politics, hockey and race and an unusual ice formation.

🎧 “The Daily”: ‘The Most Significant Campaign Contributions’ in U.S. History| New York Times

Listened to "The Daily": ‘The Most Significant Campaign Contributions’ in U.S. History from New York Times

We spoke with Neal Katyal, a lawyer who wrote the special counsel regulations, about the case against Michael Cohen and what it means for President Trump.

🎧 “The Daily”: Why Michael Cohen Lied to Congress | New York Times

Listened to "The Daily": Why Michael Cohen Lied to Congress by Michael Barbaro from New York Times

An admission by President Trump’s former lawyer about a proposed business deal in Russia sheds new light on where the special counsel investigation is headed.

How does this happen so late in the game?

🎧 The Daily: Implicating the President | New York Times

Listened to The Daily: Implicating the President by Michael Barbaro from New York Times

One former confidant entered a guilty plea. Another received a guilty verdict. Both events may have significant consequences for President Trump.

🎧 CNN's Lanny Davis Problem | On the Media

Listened to CNN's Lanny Davis Problem from On The Media | WNYC Studios

Did they err? Or did they lie?

Six weeks ago, CNN broke a blockbuster story: According to several anonymous sources, President Trump had advance knowledge of the infamous Trump Tower meeting. It was a potential smoking gun, until one of those sources — Lanny Davis, attorney for Michael Cohen — recanted.

Beyond that headache for CNN, there was another. The original article had claimed, "Contacted by CNN, one of Cohen's attorneys, Lanny Davis, declined to comment." Depending on how you understand the word "comment," and depending your general disposition, that claim could be technically true or woefully, mendaciously disingenuous. Bob spoke with Washington Post media reporter Paul Farhi about the implications — and dangers — of this latest media mishap.

👓 National Enquirer Had Decades of Trump Dirt. He Wanted to Buy It All. | New York Times

Read National Enquirer Had Decades of Trump Dirt. He Wanted to Buy It All. by Jim Rutenberg, Maggie Haberman (nytimes.com)

Donald Trump and his lawyer, Michael Cohen, devised a plan to buy all the stories on Mr. Trump that the National Enquirer and its parent company had collected, according to Mr. Trump’s associates.

👓 Theory: Playboy Model Who Got $1.6 Million Had Affair With Trump, Not Broidy | Daily Intelligencer | New York Magazine

Read Theory: Playboy Model Who Got $1.6 Million Had Affair With Trump, Not Broidy by Paul Campos (Daily Intelligencer)

Michael Cohen arranged a $1.6 million payout to a model allegedly impregnated by GOP fundraiser Elliott Broidy. But was Broidy covering for Trump?

Ho-ly Shiiitttt!! This is a major bomb of a theory!!

It’s well reasoned and incredibly well laid out. Having read it, I can’t help but think that the logic is solid and the probabilities are far more in favor of the theory than they are of the previously reported stories holding water.

I literally can’t wait to see how this plays out…