On Background with Susan Crabtree
On Background with Susan Crabtree, a Government Accountability Institute podcast, exposes corruption and government mismanagement through hard-hitting investigative journalism. Hosted by veteran reporter Susan Crabtree, alongside GAI’s Vice President Eric Eggers, the podcast leverages confidential “on background” insights to uncover truths behind political headlines.
Episodes
Steve Hilton returns to On Background with Susan Crabtree and Eric Eggers to lay out the case against Javier Becerra and the closing gap in the California governor's race. He walks through Becerra's record at HHS, the missing migrant children, the corruption case reaching into Sacramento, and the practical agenda he says voters respond to on the ground.
00:00 Steve Hilton returns to On Background 00:38 Why...
Meta agreed to settle with 47 states one day before Mark Zuckerberg was set to take the stand. California Attorney General Rob Bonta calls the deal a milestone. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier calls the deal a giveaway. Susan Crabtree and Eric Eggers follow the money, run the math, and ask why the number looks so small next to the tobacco settlement of the 1990s.
00:00 Meta's $18 billion settlement...
Susan Crabtree and Eric Eggers break down a week of accountability stories out of California. A state assembly chief of staff tries to humiliate journalist Nick Shirley on camera, days after Democrats advance a bill to fine reporters who question immigration nonprofits. The FBI seizes Eric Swalwell's devices and searches his home. And a new HHS report, Wolves in White Coats, details how federal dollars flowed to hospit...
𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐄𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 break down a primary night gone sideways. Milwaukee lost five of nine jump drives and held up a razor-thin governor's race until the wee hours of the morning. It fits a pattern the city has repeated for two decades. Then the show turns west: Nancy Pelosi's machine against Scott Wiener, an AI chatbot stunt that collapsed into a racism charge, and Medicaid fraud numbers that ex...
Susan Crabtree has spent months reporting on a Secret Service losing control of its own ranks. This week the pattern got harder to ignore. A Miami agent wanted his name out of her story. Then police arrested him for leading a near-fatal hazing. Eric Eggers and Susan walk through five agent arrests this year, the resurfaced Vanity Fair essay reopening Gavin Newsom's 2007 affair, and Javier Becerra's role in losing track of 140,000 m...
DHS says it found 278,000 noncitizens registered to vote across four states, with 190,000 in California alone. New Jersey already admitted 6,600 on its own rolls. California refuses to hand over its voter file and rewrote its voter ID ballot measure overnight. Susan Crabtree and Eric Eggers break down the money, the machine, and the fight over the November...
A DEA agent seized fentanyl headed for the streets of Albuquerque. His own government punished him for it. On this episode of On Background, Susan Crabtree sits down with Tristan Leavitt, president of Empower Oversight, the law firm representing DEA Special Agent David Howell. Howell blew the whistle on a policy that let hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills keep ...
John Ondrasik of Five for Fighting joins Susan Crabtree and Eric Eggers to talk about performing on the USS Nimitz for America's 250th, bringing a freed hostage on stage to play piano, and why patriotism became a political flashpoint.
He explains how a song written after October 7th connected him to ...
Susan Crabtree and Jed McFatter return to walk through ten figures in Gavin Newsom's political orbit who later faced charges, convictions, or prison. They trace verified election coercion in his first run for San Francisco mayor, the bribery cases reaching into his former staff, and the federal scrutiny now aimed at Jennifer Siebel Newsom's nonprofit and the million...
Newsom says Trump invented an investigation to stop his 2028 run.
The truth: prosecutors in Sacramento opened it before Trump took office. A whistleblower came forward last year. His chief of staff already pleaded guilty.
Susan Crabtr...
California's primary is next week and the numbers are wild!
A reality TV star is within 1 point of the sitting LA mayor. One Democrat running for governor said on camera that California "needs Chevron" while taking their checks. Another has spent $195 million on ads and is...
Steve Hilton is leading the race for governor of California, and he sat down with Susan Crabtree and Eric Eggers to explain why.
The numbers tell the story. California ranks 50th out of 50 for opportunity. 50th out of 50 for business climate, ten years in a row. Highest po...
A gunman opened fire at the White House Correspondents Dinner with the President, Vice President, and most of the Cabinet in the same room. The Secret Service Director called the setup “perfect.” On this episode of On Background, Susan Crabtree and Eric Eggers are joined by former House Oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz to examine what actually happened, what the agency is still hiding, and why a decade of warnings has ...
California's fraud problem is no longer a local story. Federal investigators are now pursuing thousands of cases tied to state-run programs, and Susan Crabtree has been on this story for months.
In this episode of On Background, Susan Crabtree and Eric Eggers detail the scope of what they call California's empire of fraud. They cover the DOJ's Never Say Die hospice fraud arrests, the collapse of the sta...
The California governor’s race takes a chaotic turn as a major televised debate collapses under political pressure. In this episode of On Background, Susan Crabtree and Eric Eggers examine what led to the cancellation and what it reveals about the state of California politics.
They break down the criteria used to select candidates, the backlash from excluded campaigns, and how internal party divisions and race-based disputes...
Iran tried to kill President Trump in 2024 and the threats remained active. In this episode of On Background, Susan Crabtree and Eric Eggers reveal the assassination plots that came within one day of the Butler shooting.
They explore how the FBI arrested Asif Merchant on July 12th at an Iranian safe house where he discussed Trump rally security details. National security officials warned the Secret Service about Iranian threats tw...
Gavin Newsom stepped on his own book launch this week with contradictory claims about dyslexia that unraveled under basic scrutiny. In this episode of On Background, Susan Crabtree and Eric Eggers break down the disastrous week that exposed a pattern of lies defining Newsom's political career.
They explore how Newsom told voters he cannot read while video shows him bragging about reading quickly. His press team responded to questio...
The Hunter Biden investigation became one of the most suppressed stories in American history, but the IRS whistleblowers who exposed the truth are finally telling their side. In this episode of On Background, Susan Crabtree and Eric Eggers sit down with Tristan Leavitt, President of Empower Oversight, to reveal the two-year saga of bringing Gary Shapley and Joe Ziegler's testimony to Congress.
They explore how the Department of Ju...
Popular Podcasts
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!
Betrayal Weekly is back for a new season. Every Thursday, Betrayal Weekly shares first-hand accounts of broken trust, shocking deceptions, and the trail of destruction they leave behind. Hosted by Andrea Gunning, this weekly ongoing series digs into real-life stories of betrayal and the aftermath. From stories of double lives to dark discoveries, these are cautionary tales and accounts of resilience against all odds. From the producers of the critically acclaimed Betrayal series, Betrayal Weekly drops new episodes every Thursday. If you would like to share your story, you can reach out to the Betrayal Team by emailing them at betrayalpod@gmail.com and follow us on Instagram at @betrayalpod and @glasspodcasts. Please join our Substack for additional exclusive content, curated book recommendations, and community discussions. Sign up FREE by clicking this link Beyond Betrayal Substack. Join our community dedicated to truth, resilience, and healing. Your voice matters! Be a part of our Betrayal journey on Substack.