Rachel Maddow Sets First New Podcast at MS NOW: Burn Order (Exclusive)

Rachel Maddow is ready to debut her first new podcast under the MS NOW banner.

The primetime host and star talent of the cable news channel will launch Rachel Maddow Presents: Burn Order on Dec. 1.

Burn Order “exposes the extraordinary chain of events behind the U.S. government’s decision to forcibly target and incarcerate Japanese American citizens at the outset of World War II,” MS NOW says. “The series shines a light on the senior government officials who fueled the policy with lies and racial stereotypes, as well as the desperate internal efforts to halt the plan before it went into effect.”

The first two episodes will debut Dec. 1, with new episodes dropping each subsequent Monday. Subscribers to MS Now Premium through Apple will be able to access ad-free episodes beginning Friday, giving them an early listening opportunity.

The podcast is Maddow’s first since season two of Ultra debuted last year, and the first podcast since MSNBC rebranded itself to MS NOW earlier this month. Maddow was prominently featured in the marketing campaign to drive awareness of the rebranding.

Maddow used to host the 9 p.m. hour on MSNBC nightly, before shifting to a weekly cadence in 2022. Now she hosts only on Monday nights and during major news events (i.e., elections). She spends the rest of her time on multiplatform projects, including podcasts and documentaries. In addition to Ultra, she has hosted or produced podcasts like Bag Man and Déjà News.

MS NOW, meanwhile, has been building out a slate of podcasts based on its talent roster. Shows include The Best People With Nicolle Wallace; Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes Podcast; The Blueprint With Jen Psaki; Main Justice With Andrew Weissmann and Mary McCord; Into America With Trymaine Lee; and Velshi Banned Book Club.

Maddow’s documentary projects have included From Russia With Lev, which chronicled the scheme that led to former President Donald Trump’s first impeachment; and more recently Andrew Young: The Dirty Work, which focuses on the eponymous Civil Rights Movement leader who worked alongside Martin Luther King Jr. and later became a Congressman and mayor of Atlanta.

MS NOW is expected to expand its digital products under Versant, which is being spun out from NBCUniversal. In a roundtable with The Hollywood Reporter, MS NOW anchors including Katy Tur, Ali Velshi and Stephanie Ruhle said that they were eager to do more in the podcast space, as well as on platforms like YouTube.