Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultra

Rachel Maddow, MSNBC

As a new authoritarian movement rises in American politics, stoked by one of the country’s most outrageous demagogues, there is an all-out international manhunt for an American traitor. The U.S. Army’s Nazi war crimes trials in Germany have been infiltrated by a spy -- a mole for the other side. A gruesome foreign influence operation unfolds in Washington. A blackmail plot turns deadly in the U.S. Senate. A Hail Mary scheme to stop the counting of the Electoral College votes rattles democracy’s cage. With the line between the violent ultra-right and mainstream American politics fraying beyond recognition, with the FBI always one step behind their quarry, Americans of all stripes step up to confront a seemingly unstoppable, ascendant, anti-democratic force. Join Rachel Maddow for Episode One, launching June 10, 2024, and follow now. You can also subscribe to MSNBC Premium on Apple Podcasts for early access to every episode the Friday before it drops, and ad-free listening to all episodes in Ultra seasons one and two.read less

Our Editor's Take

Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultrais a production about an insurrection against the U.S. government. But it has nothing to do with January 6. Instead, this podcast features her reporting on a little-known story from the 1940s. The story involves the infamous America First Committee and Nazi Germany.

Some people do podcasts to get a TV show out of it. MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow cut back on her TV work to do podcasts. And got paid extra to do so. In 2022, she announced that she was stepping away from hosting MSNBC'sThe Rachel Maddow Showfive days a week. Instead, she would focus on creating podcasts and longer-form work for the network. She still hostsThe Rachel Maddow Showon Mondays and appears on the network for special events.Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultrais her second long-form podcast.

Maddow knows how to make compelling podcasts. In 2018, she created theBagmanpodcast, about Vice President Spiro Agnew's scandals.Saturday Night Liveproducer Lorne Michaels is making a movie based on the series. In 2022, Maddow releasedRachel Maddow Presents: Ultra.Director Steven Spielberg plans to make a movie out of it.

The Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultrapodcast explains an underreported history story. A Nazi spy funded U.S. House and Senate members. The goal was to keep America out of World War II. The podcast features the extensive research that the progressive commentator does so well. She also plays news audio and speeches from the time for impact. In 1944, some people involved in this convoluted case faced sedition charges. None of them were ever convicted for a variety of reasons. The story does have a surprising aftermath, though, as listeners to the podcast will learn. The program has eight episodes, ranging from 30 minutes to an hour.

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Introducing Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultra

Introducing Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultra

Sitting members of Congress aiding and abetting a plot to overthrow the government. Insurrectionists criminally charged with plotting to end American democracy for good. Justice Department prosecutors under crushing political pressure. Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultra is the all-but-forgotten true story of good, old-fashioned American extremism getting supercharged by proximity to power. When extremist elected officials get caught plotting against America with the violent ultra right, this is the story of the lengths they will go to… to cover their tracks. Follow now and join Rachel Maddow for the first two episodes on October 10th.

Season 2

Introducing Season Two of Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultra

Introducing Season Two of Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultra

As a new authoritarian movement rises in American politics, stoked by one of the country’s most outrageous demagogues, there is an all-out international manhunt for an American traitor. The U.S. Army’s Nazi war crimes trials in Germany have been infiltrated by a spy -- a mole for the other side. A gruesome foreign influence operation unfolds in Washington. A blackmail plot turns deadly in the U.S. Senate. A Hail Mary scheme to stop the counting of the Electoral College votes rattles democracy’s cage. With the line between the violent ultra-right and mainstream American politics fraying beyond recognition, with the FBI always one step behind their quarry, Americans of all stripes step up to confront a seemingly unstoppable, ascendant, anti-democratic force. Join Rachel Maddow for Episode One, launching June 10, 2024, and follow now. You can also subscribe to MSNBC Premium on Apple Podcasts for early access to every episode the Friday before it drops, and ad-free listening to all episodes in Ultra seasons one and two.

Episode 1: Dr. Hunt

Episode 1: Dr. Hunt

The sudden and shocking suicide of a popular Democratic Senator, inside his Senate office, stuns the country and the nation’s capital. And soon, a series of bombshell revelations concerning the circumstances around the senator’s death will start to reveal a web of troubling forces at work on the American ultra right in the post-war 1950s.This episode contains descriptions that reference self-harm. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide /resources for additional support.

Episode 2: The Mole

Episode 2: The Mole

The American government launches an all-out manhunt for a young American ultra-right fascist who harbors sympathy for the Nazis and who is actively peddling one of the world's most dangerous weapons. Francis Yockey’s journey -- and the government’s intense search for him -- will soon leave a mark on American politics for decades to come.

Episode 3: Malmedy

Episode 3: Malmedy

One of the most shocking incidents of World War II for Americans -- a cold-blooded Nazi massacre of surrendering American troops -- gets weaponized against the United States by surviving Nazis hoping to return to power, as well as a group of Americans sympathetic to their cause. A gruesome hoax around the massacre, cooked up by the Nazis, will soon rocket through American politics.

Bonus Episode: Rachel Maddow in Conversation with Tony Kushner

Bonus Episode: Rachel Maddow in Conversation with Tony Kushner

In a live conversation recorded at the Provincetown, MA Town Hall on May 26, Rachel and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and screenwriter Tony Kushner discuss “Ultra,” her book “Prequel,” and the rise of fascism both throughout history and in our current political moment.

Episode 4: Spectacle

Episode 4: Spectacle

Elements of the American ultra right -- including the trailing ends of the America First movement -- begin taking up a strange new cause after the war... sympathy for Nazi war criminals. The surprising efforts to oppose the Nazi war crimes trials, and advocate for individual Nazis at home and abroad, will involve some of the most high-profile voices on the American right, and will jumpstart the career of one rising Republican star, Sen. Joseph McCarthy.

Episode 5: Coming Home

Episode 5: Coming Home

The U.S. government’s search for American fascist Francis Yockey picks up steam as Yockey secretly returns home to America and joins forces with the growing pro-Nazi American ultra right. With investigators continually one step behind, Yockey suddenly turns up alongside one of the country's most powerful political figures who is ascending toward the height of his powers.

Season 1

Introducing Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultra

Introducing Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultra

Sitting members of Congress aiding and abetting a plot to overthrow the government. Insurrectionists criminally charged with plotting to end American democracy for good. Justice Department prosecutors under crushing political pressure. Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultra is the all-but-forgotten true story of good, old-fashioned American extremism getting supercharged by proximity to power. When extremist elected officials get caught plotting against America with the violent ultra right, this is the story of the lengths they will go to… to cover their tracks. Follow now and join Rachel Maddow for the first two episodes on October 10th.

Episode 1: Trip 19

Episode 1: Trip 19

It started with a plane crash. The tragic, mysterious crash of a commercial airliner in the summer of 1940 left a scene of devastation in rural Virginia -- and a series of unanswered questions. The cause of the crash was unclear. Among the dozens of people killed was a sitting U.S. senator. His presence on the flight and the strange circumstances surrounding the crash would end up revealing threats to American democracy itself.

Episode 2: The Brooklyn Boys

Episode 2: The Brooklyn Boys

The most prominent media figure in America calls for the creation of a militia, armed Americans willing to use violence to get their way. What they want is to overthrow the U.S. government and to end democracy in this country – by force. Their plot raised alarming indications that the federal government is not up to the task of dealing with that kind of homegrown threat.

Episode 3: The Day

Episode 3: The Day

A devastating explosion rips through a munitions plant in a small New Jersey town. And the American public is left with the chilling fact that the federal government had been warned about such an attack almost a year prior. The tip had come from a private spy ring operating in Los Angeles that was intent on doing what law enforcement had largely failed to do. Infiltrate far-right groups plotting violence across the country, and foil their plots before it was too late.

Episode 4: A Bad Angle

Episode 4: A Bad Angle

A paid agent of Hitler's government ramps up a targeted propaganda effort aimed at weakening democracy and supporting the fascist cause in America. His base of operations... the center of American democracy itself -- the United States Congress. Sitting members of Congress, and the America First movement, take part in an elaborate scheme to subvert democracy. Laundering millions of pieces of Nazi propaganda through Congress and into the hands of the American people.

Episode 5: Shut It Down

Episode 5: Shut It Down

The walls begin to close in on members of Congress, and members of the America First movement, who are actively involved in a Nazi plot to spread misinformation and propaganda across the country. With a crusading newspaper reporter and a Justice Department prosecutor each peeling back the layers of the scheme, the members of Congress involved in the plot launch a desperate effort to shut down both the reporting and the federal investigation into their activities.

Episode 6: Bedlam

Episode 6: Bedlam

The most high-profile sedition trial in American history kicks off inside a Washington, DC federal courtroom. The members of Congress who attempted to quash the investigation are now faced with a super-charged indictment and a brand new Justice Department prosecutor who is battle tested and up for the challenge. What he finds as the curtain rises on the trial, though, is something that he is wholly unprepared for: pre-planned, unmitigated chaos.

Episode 7: Rinse, Repeat

Episode 7: Rinse, Repeat

The largest mass sedition trial in American history churns on. And continues descending into chaos. But the dozens of sedition defendants attempting to wreak havoc on the proceedings would soon get a high-profile assist. From serving members of Congress injecting themselves into the trial and coming to the defense of the accused seditionists standing trial. Before a verdict can be reached, one final twist calls into question whether the Justice Department will see the case to the end, or cut bait entirely.

Episode 8: Ultra Vires

Episode 8: Ultra Vires

In the wake of the sedition trial's collapse, Justice Department prosecutor John Rogge travels overseas and uncovers a bombshell. He finds evidence of a coordinated effort to subvert American democracy… as well as the names of high-profile Americans involved. Rogge then returns to America... and goes rogue. Risking his career as a prosecutor, he makes public what he's discovered about the fascist threat and the Americans who supported it. And he offers a prescient warning about an American criminal justice system that is ill-equipped to defend democracy from those who seek to destroy it.