The Cornell 57 w. Marisa Lagos & Kathryn Anne Edwards

Erin Ryan (0:00)

Hysteria is brought to you by Zebiotics Pre-Alcohol. Some nights are planned, some are spontaneous. Either way, I'm someone who thinks I had my drink, Zebiotics Pre-Alcohol, before my first drink. Zebiotics Pre-Alcohol Probiotic Drink is the world's first genetically engineered probiotic. It was engineered by Ph.D. microbiologists to break down acetaldehyde, an unwanted byproduct of alcohol metabolism. Make pre-alcohol your first drink of the night, drink responsibly, and enjoy your next day activities. Zebiotics has sold more than 14 million bottles and earned the trust of thousands, including us. My favorite occasions to use zebiotics pre-alcohol is for company-related parties. Company-related parties tend to, when I was younger, they tended to spiral into longer nights. And because I was younger, I could bounce back the next day, no problem. I do not have that luxury now, and so I need to be careful and strategic about the way that I engage in company parties, which means that I take zebiotics as my first drink. I drink responsibly throughout the evening. I go home before things get out of hand, and I wake up the next day ready to take on my responsibilities. Try for yourself today, and if you are unsatisfied, they will refund your entire order. No questions asked. Head to zebiotics.com/hysteria. Code hysteria for 15% off your first order. Zebiotics is a partner of mine.

Hello, and welcome to Hysteria. I'm Erin Ryan.

Marisa Lagos (1:31)

And I'm Marisa Lagos.

Erin Ryan (1:33)

Marisa is, of course, a correspondent for KQED's California Politics and Government Desk and co-host the award-winning show and podcast, Political Breakdown, an episode of which I never miss. Marisa, thank you so much for joining us. Oh my gosh.

Marisa Lagos (1:45)

I'm so excited to be here with you.

Erin Ryan (1:47)

This is amazing. I've got a fun question for you to kick the show off. Have you ever thought you were about to do something incredible only to have it flop?

Marisa Lagos (1:56)

Almost on the daily, probably, but hopefully not that publicly, right?

Erin Ryan (2:01)

Well, I'm about to embarrass myself, but it was 20 years ago. I was 23 and my college boyfriend and I were long distance, and I drove to the airport wearing lingerie underneath a trench coat.

Marisa Lagos (2:14)

That's amazing.

Erin Ryan (2:17)

To pick him up. This is a very underdeveloped sense of sexiness that you learn from movies or whatever.

Marisa Lagos (2:24)

Just the amount of energy you would have.

Erin Ryan (2:26)

Yeah.

Marisa Lagos (2:27)

Think about doing that in this day and age.

Erin Ryan (2:29)

Yeah. I ran out of gas on the way there.

Marisa Lagos (2:33)

That's like a Sex and the City or Modern Family episode. Yeah.

Erin Ryan (2:37)

I ran out of gas on the way there. Luckily, I was only a couple of blocks from the gas station, but it was an awkward walk to and from the gas station in a trench coat and heels. Yeah.

Marisa Lagos (2:44)

Awesome.

Erin Ryan (2:45)

Very cool. That's amazing. Very cool. Yeah. I flocked. I really Eric Schmitted.

All right. I like that. Yeah. Really, Eric Schmitted the bed. All right.

Today, we take a look at how dems are doing nationally and Marisa helps us understand what the heck is going on in California politics and look into the horrific, yet familiar Cornell 7 case. Then the economist, Kathryn Edwards, joins us to demystify everything we've been hearing about the economy and the news lately. Of course, we wrap up with Sandy Petty. You're listening to Hysteria, the podcast for people who always remember to double check their posters before they whip them out in a moment of Perry Mason victory.

Of course, we are talking about the viral moment from a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday. On Tuesday, former special counsel for the Department of Justice, Jack Smith, which doesn't sound like a real name, right?

Marisa Lagos (3:41)

I know, every time it's like, is this a spy movie?

Erin Ryan (3:43)

Yeah, right, right. He even looks like a guy from a spy movie. It's like.

Marisa Lagos (3:47)

And he's got that vibe, yeah.

Erin Ryan (3:48)

Yeah, yeah, he's like got a haunted Abraham Lincoln kind of look.

Marisa Lagos (3:52)

Especially haunted after yesterday's hearing, I'm sure, but.

Erin Ryan (3:55)

Absolutely haunted. Well, Jack Smith testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee about his efforts to prosecute Donald Trump over Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

And at one point in the almost four-hour questioning, Missouri Republican Eric Schmitt dusted off his poster board and confidently accused Smith of taking a secret trip to an Atlanta Hawks game as cover for a clandestine meeting with a Georgia prosecutor behind charges against Trump. Let's see a condensed version of how that went.