The Decency Era is Over
Jan 20, 2026 The Lincoln Project Podcast This week’s double-header episode confronts America’s moral crisis from two sides of the same coin: what happens when leadership becomes corrupt and power-hungry—and what it looks like when leaders choose decency instead. First, journalist Mary Clare Jalonick joins Rick to break down her urgent new book Storm at the Capitol, a chilling account of how ambition, radicalization, and moral cowardice led to January 6 and exposed what happens when power is severed from principle. Then, veteran political voice Chris Matthews offers a stark counterpoint with Letters from Bobby , drawing on Robert F. Kennedy’s words to remind us that leadership is a moral act rooted in restraint, empathy, and responsibility. This conversation couldn’t be more timely as ICE violence and aggressive enforcement tactics come to a head across the country, putting into sharp relief the real-world consequences of unchecked power and moral collapse. One episode. Two...
