Joe Kennedy III is trying to rebuild Democratic power from the ground up—in places where the party has long been written off. The former Massachusetts congressman joins Preet to talk about his work with the Groundwork Project, an organization supporting grassroots organizing in rural America. They discuss what it means to do politics outside the spotlight, his disagreements with his uncle RFK Jr., and how Kennedy is navigating legacy, loss, and the long game of building trust where Democrats have stopped showing up.

Then, Preet answers questions about posthumous criminal charges, whether a pardon can be revoked, and how we decide what to cover on this show. 

In the bonus for Insiders, Kennedy discusses his work in Northern Ireland, and what we can learn from the country’s violent past.

Join the CAFE Insider community to stay informed without the hysteria, fear-mongering, or rage-baiting. Head to cafe.com/insider to sign up. Thank you for supporting our work.

Have a question for Preet? Ask @PreetBharara on BlueSky or Twitter with the hashtag #AskPreet. Email us at staytuned@cafe.com, or call 833-997-7338 to leave a voicemail. 

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Stay Tuned with Preet is brought to you by CAFE and the Vox Media Podcast Network.

Executive Producer: Tamara Sepper; Editorial Producer: Noa Azulai; Associate Producer: Claudia Hernández; Deputy Editor: Celine Rohr; Supervising Producer: Jake Kaplan; Technical Director: David Tatasciore; Audio Producers: Matthew Billy and Nat Weiner.