Erin and Alyssa break down the legal saga unfolding between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni over the misconduct that happened on the set of It Ends With Us and the smear campaign that followed. They also discuss a historic breakthrough in the fight against medical debt, Meta’s twisted new hate speech policies, and how Democrats should deal with conservative BS in 2025.

‘We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine (NY Times 12/21)

A Timeline of Blake Lively’s Legal Dispute With Justin Baldoni (Vogue 1/2)

Gillibrand to head Senate Democrats’ campaign arm (The Hill 1/6)

Medical debt will be erased from credit reports for all Americans under new federal rule (The 19th 12/7)

For Harris, an Awkward Election Task: Certifying the Vote She Lost (NYT 1/6)

Facebook lifts restrictions on calling women ‘property’ and transgender people ‘freaks’ (The Independent 1/7)

The Hysteria team is off this week, but we're excited to bring you an episode of Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams. In this episode, Stacey talks to Kate Nazemi, a local education activist and parent, and Jon Valant, director of the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution, about the future of public education during a second Trump Administration. They break down Project 2025’s education policy prescriptions, the threats to the Department of Education, and what changes a President can and cannot make. Then, they discuss how to best get involved at the local level to make change in your community – from attending local school board meetings, to writing to your local representatives.

If you liked this episode, subscribe to Assembly Required wherever you get your podcasts:

crooked.com/assemblyrequired

Erin Ryan and Alyssa Mastromonaco say goodbye and good riddance to 2024 with help from guest panelists Akilah Hughes and Kara Klenk. They reflect on the parts of the year that kept them sane, from the Paris Olympics to the Kendrick-Drake beef. Then, they talk about holiday traditions and read out listener submissions about odd and wholesome ways to celebrate.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.