Beyond Politics

Is This the Closing Act of the Republican Party? Mar 04, 2025

The Future of the Republican Party: Matt Robison joins A.J. Kirstead from The New England Take and Republican writer Dexter Tarbox to tackle a provocative question: are we about to see the end of the Republican Party? Episode available at https://www.youtube.com/@newenglandtake.

00:00 Introduction: The Republican Party's Closing Act?03:06 Discussion Begins: State of the Republican Party04:57 Coalition or Chaos? Internal GOP Dynamics07:27 Economic Shifts and Political Realignments10:00 Populism and Party Identity15:59 Trump's Influence and Future GOP Leadership20:49 Debating Inflation and Economic Policies28:55 Final Thoughts: GOP's Path Forward

The Key Opening Democrats Can Use to Fight Back Right Now Feb 28, 2025

Should Democrats Take Carville's Advice? And How Trump-Zelensky Meeting Unfolded: Democratic political analyst Matt Robeson and Republican political consultant Matt Wylie discuss James Carville's controversial advice for Democrats to 'roll over' against Trump and explore whether there's a better version of that idea that just might work. They also delve into the high-stakes meeting between Ukrainian President Zelensky and Trump, along with America's role in global democracy, Republicans' internal conflicts, and the vulnerabilities of both parties.00:00 Introduction: Should Democrats Follow Carville's Advice?00:49 Introducing Matt Wiley: A Republican Perspective02:04 The Trump-Zelensky Meeting: Real-Time Reactions04:31 Understanding Matt Wiley's Republican Stance09:14 Debating Trump's Foreign Policy and Its Implications25:23 James Carville's Controversial Strategy for Democrats26:38 Prosecuting the Case: A Republican Consultant's Perspective27:35 Democrats' Lost Direction and Carville's Argument28:31 Economic Struggles and Political Strategies31:33 Healthcare as a Political Battleground37:02 The Importance of Real People in Political Messaging39:19 State of the Union and Political Reactions42:55 Concluding Thoughts and Strategic Advice

How Fixing the News Could Help Fix Everything Else Feb 25, 2025

The Exhausting Chore of Engaging with the News and How We Can Fix It: Matt Robison discusses the increasing difficulty and demoralization of modern news consumption and its negative impact on America--including how it empowers Trump. Important Links:

00:00 Introduction: The Exhausting Chore of Getting the News00:39 The Vicious Cycle of News Consumption02:08 Exploring the Change Research Study04:09 The Impact of Avoiding the News08:47 Trust in Media and Institutions09:22 Potential Solutions and Media Examples13:52 Conclusion: Fixing Trust First16:39 Personal Reflections and Future Plans

Does Musk Have a “Dark Glitch” Plan As His Ultimate Secret Weapon? Feb 19, 2025

Decoding Trump’s Secret Plan to Sabotage the Government:Matt Robison delves into the possibility of a covert Trump strategy to wipe out huge swaths of the government through a "glitch fix.'' Based on his article in Newsweek, available at: https://www.newsweek.com/will-trump-fix-glitch-win-his-war-government-opinion-2031305.

If you want to give feedback on the show, you can email Matt directly at robisonmatt@gmail.com.

00:00 Introduction: Trump's War on American Government01:38 Programming Note: Changes to the Show03:34 Office Space Analogy: Fixing the Glitch04:42 Elon Musk's Role: Government Efficiency07:43 Legal Implications: Trump's Executive Authority11:58 Conclusion: The Ongoing Assault

Farewell Alicia! (With Big Surprise Guests) Feb 14, 2025

Yes, unfortunately, you read that episode title, right: Today is Alicia Preston Xanthopoulos' last episode of Beyond Politics. Before we got into her big send off, we had to talk about the whole mess of things that are going on from the Trump administration. What's the most concerning? Is there a constitutional crisis happening right now? And what do we think is really the strategy going on behind all of this? And then at the end, yes, we did get to our send off for Alicia with some very special guests. Not kidding. No joke.

We're Not Talking About The Biggest Thing Happening in Trump's Washington Feb 11, 2025

While all the focus has been on Trump's executive orders and funding freezes affecting billions of dollars, under the radar, Congress is starting to make decisions affecting trillions of dollars and vital functions of government that Americans rely on. Matt Robison and Congressional insider Ryan McConaghy explore the Democrats' potential leverage points and strategies in the huge upcoming Congressional battles and where everything could land.00:00 Introduction: The Overlooked Question in Trump's Washington01:43 Interview with Ryan McConaughey: Inside Congress02:59 Shock and Awe: Reactions to Trump's Administration05:32 Probing the Limits: Trump's Strategy09:06 Reconciliation and Government Funding Challenges16:42 Democratic Leverage and Legislative Strategy31:14 Predictions and Future Outlook33:37 Conclusion: Final Thoughts and Farewell

Elon's DOGE Disaster Is Starting to Turn Even Republicans Feb 07, 2025

Alicia Preston returns to our regular panel, and like all thoughtful friends, she's brought gifts. In this case, a new poll suggesting that even Republicans are quickly souring on the Elon Musk show, and he may be about to drag Donald Trump down with him. We also got into the less than effective communications that Democrats have been mounting in opposition to Trump over the past two weeks, and the truly awful, obscenely immoral thing that Trump and Musk just did. And hang on until the end when Alicia reveals the ultimate Trump scam that she received live on air in the middle of our show. 00:00 Welcome Back Alicia Preston! 00:17 Republicans Sour on Elon Musk 01:51 Trump's Unfulfilled Promises 02:44 The Reality of Trump's Policies 06:59 The Honeymoon is Over 08:52 Government Spending Debate 11:56 Condescension and Condemnation 17:09 Biden's Role in Inflation 18:00 Democratic Messaging and Campaigning 19:12 Critique of Current Democratic Strategy 20:39 Proposed Legislative Actions 24:46 Foreign Aid Controversy 31:03 Republican Stance on Foreign Aid 34:58 Trump's Financial Conflicts 35:57 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

The Secret Zen That Can Get Us Through the Trump Era Feb 04, 2025

Strategic Zen in the Trump Era: Navigating Exhaustion and Overwhelm: Matt Robison joins radio legend Howard Monroe to discuss the coping strategy of 'Strategic Zen' to deal with the overwhelming nature of Trump's second administration. They discuss how critical it is for Democrats to differentiate between significant moves and more transient actions, and how overreacting to every development is counterproductive. 02:33 The Strategic Zen Approach to Trump's Actions 03:36 Interview with Howard Monroe: Coping with the Trump Administration 05:21 The Fire Hose Effect: Managing the Overwhelm 07:43 Something or Nothing: Evaluating Trump's Actions 17:04 The End Game: What Should the Opposition Aim For? 31:20 Conclusion: Finding Calm Amidst the Chaos

How Dems Can Beat the "Trump Onslaught" Jan 31, 2025

Democrats vs Trump's Tactics: How to Beat the Flood the Zone Strategy. Matt Robison, Matt Wylie, and Paul Hodes discuss how Democrats should respond to the outpouring of pronouncements and Executive Orders from Donald Trump's administration. Democrats may be falling into the trap that Trump's team intended--but it's not that hard to see it and stay out of it. 01:06 The Spending Freeze Saga 06:51 Democratic Exhaustion and Disengagement 10:45 Trump's Performative Politics 15:15 Immigration and the Bigger Picture 22:42 The TV Presidency: Trump's Media Strategy 27:56 Republican Opportunities and Challenges 36:19 The Chaos and Its Consequences 42:23 The Absurdity of Trump Loyalty

Jonathan Rauch on Christianty's Broken Bargain with Democracy Jan 28, 2025

Cross Purposes: The Broken Connection Between Christianity and American Democracy Matt Robison explores the relationship between Christianity and American democracy with Brookings scholar and Atlantic author Jonathan Rauch. They discuss the themes of Rauch's new book, Cross Purposes, which argues that the health of America's political and religious institutions are deeply intertwined. The conversation delves into the decline of Christianity's influence, the rise of secular substitutes, and the problematic blend of religion with partisan politics. Rauch also highlights the potential model of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints as a way forward for American Christianity. 00:00 Introduction: Christianity and American Democracy 01:28 Christianity's Contributions to America 07:17 The Decline of Religiosity in America 14:50 Sharp Christianity and Its Political Influence 19:17 The Broken Bargain Between Christianity and Democracy 22:03 Why Christianity Matters in America 31:05 The Decline of American Christianity 37:22 The Church Within the Church 42:40 A Civic Theology 44:51 The LDS Church as a Model 47:48 Final Thoughts and Reflections

Are Trump's Executive Orders A Big Deal, Or Mostly Nonsense? Jan 24, 2025

It's been a blitzkrieg of executive orders from President Donald Trump in his first week. But is it all a huge deal or is it more like Shakespeare said, a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing? That's the question weo wanted to put to our round-table today and Once again, we had a pinch hit from our friend, Matt Wylie, who was super subbing in for Alicia Preston.

We covered immigration, climate agreements, energy production, and controversial measures like birthright citizenship and the "weaponization" of the federal government.

00:42 Trump's Executive Orders: Big Deal or Not? 03:08 The Role of Congress and the Judiciary 07:00 Big Deal, Little Deal, or No Deal: Game Time 14:12 Trump's Immigration Policies 21:25 The Fox News Fallacy and Immigration Impact 23:17 Economic Frustration and Trade Effects 25:00 Trump's Climate and Energy Policies 29:45 Weaponization of the Federal Government 33:00 TikTok Ban and Executive Orders 38:38 Trump's High Point and Future Challenges

Cease Fire Good News and a Damning Report on Trump Jan 17, 2025

Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement--a rare case of productive teamwork between Donald Trump and Joe Biden in brokering the deal? The Jack Smith report detailing Trump's alleged crimes related to January 6th and classified documents. Pete Hegseth's controversial confirmation hearing for Secretary of Defense. And finally Alicia Preston's birthday so who's the second greatest person born on her birthday? 00:28 Ceasefire Agreement Between Israel and Hamas 02:12 Trump and Biden's Roles in the Ceasefire 09:25 Jack Smith Report on Donald Trump 20:53 Pete Hegseth's Embarrassing Confirmation Hearing 26:41 Elon Musk vs. Steve Bannon 35:28 Middle Class Struggles and Political Neglect 37:53 Birthday Game: Famous People Born Today

The Trump Fallacy, AI, and Banning Fraternities Jan 14, 2025

Matt Robison and radio legend Howard Monroe separate the real, subtle threats posed by artificial intelligence from the kinds of things we stress about in movies. Then: why Democrats need to avoid falling into the "Trump fallacy." And finally, an audio adaptation of Matt's most recent Newsweek column on why Congress needs to step in and ban fraternities and sororities on college campuses. 00:00 Introduction and Overview 03:00 Howard Monroe Radio Show: Health and Humor 06:43 The Real Danger of AI: Distorting Reality 13:16 Trump's Press Conference: World Domination or Bluster? 15:15 Navigating Trump's Statements: Picking Battles 29:12 Fraternities and Sororities: Time for a Ban

The Weird End of the Trump Legal Saga Jan 10, 2025

Matt, Paul, and Alicia hit the biggest stories unfolding this week, starting with the Los Angeles wildfires and the way in which the politics of global warming have already entered the picture, even as people are still at risk. Also, Joe Biden's assertion that if he had stayed in the race, he would have won; the end of all of the Donald Trump legal cases and the confusing muddled pile up it's turned into and what it ultimately means; the question of how Republicans are going to try to pass the Trump agenda; Facebook waving the white flag on fact checking; and finally, the case that Donald Trump is actually right about taking possession of Greenland.

00:00 Introduction and Overview 01:11 Los Angeles Wildfires and Climate Politics 03:17 Debating Energy Policies and Insurance Issues 07:58 Biden's Interview and Political Reflections 10:22 Trump's Legal Troubles and Sentencing 16:04 Jack Smith Report and Transparency Issues 19:00 The Importance of Truth in Politics 20:42 Debating Trump's Legislative Strategy 27:53 Mark Zuckerberg and Content Moderation 33:44 Trump's Greenland Ambitions 38:36 Final Thoughts and Farewell

The Truth About President Jimmy Carter Jan 07, 2025

Was Jimmy Carter really a failed President? Ahead of his funeral at Washington National Cathedral on Thursday, Matt Robison and historian Dr. Erik Loomis take a clear-eyed, unvarnished look at a presidency and historic legacy that are more complicated, and at times more successful, than we remember.

00:00 Introduction: Reflecting on Jimmy Carter's Legacy 02:17 Jimmy Carter's Early Life and Political Rise 04:33 Carter's Relationship with Racism and Segregation 07:42 Media Perception and Public Image 12:51 Presidential Challenges and Failures 29:44 Carter's Post-Presidency Achievements 35:54 Final Thoughts and Legacy

The Five Most Amazing Moments in Space from 2024 that Will Blow Your Mind Jan 03, 2025

A Stellar Year: Space Discoveries and Cosmic Wonders of 2024 Matt Robison is joined by astronomy professor John Gianforte from the University of New Hampshire, also known as 'the Sky Guy'. They delve into the most fascinating space-related events of 2024, including the Great North American Eclipse, new moons around Uranus and Neptune, significant finds from the James Webb Space Telescope, and intriguing developments in early universe theories. They also look ahead to future missions like the Europa Clipper and the use of AI in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, highlighting how science fiction is becoming reality. (New Englanders: if you want to see some of these amazing sky sights, come to the UNH Observatory--more information here) 00:00 Introduction to Beyond Politics 02:04 A Big Year for the Sun 02:14 The Great North American Eclipse 05:39 Solar Maximum and Aurora Borealis 13:39 The Parker Solar Probe 16:22 Exploring the Solar System 16:49 The Comet 18:54 The Mysterious Oort Cloud 24:04 The Debate Over Pluto and Planet Nine 29:15 The Mystery of Planet Nine 29:35 New Moons Discovered in Our Solar System 32:35 James Webb Space Telescope's Latest Discoveries 33:48 Formation of Stars and Planets 36:34 Theories on Solar System Formation 39:40 Earliest Galaxies and Black Hole Mergers 47:28 The Ultimate Fate of the Universe 56:11 Science Fiction Becoming Reality

Part Two: The Greatest Annual Awards Show is BACK! Dec 31, 2024

PART TWO of the "Boppies": our annual award show of the highlights and lowlights in news, politics, and current events for 2024. We dive into the most intriguing public opinion and demographic data of 2024, biggest science story, the year's defining moment, and the "Winner" of the year. 02:07 Public Opinion Fact of the Year 11:54 Best First of 2024 20:49 Breakthroughs in Science: Top Stories of the Year 33:14 Defining Moments of 2024 36:48 Who Won the Year?

The Greatest Annual Awards Show is BACK! Part One Dec 27, 2024

It's the "Boppies": our annual award show of the highlights and lowlights in news, politics, and current events for 2024. In Part One we cover categories such as Most Valuable Player (MVP) on both the Democratic and Republican sides, 'Perp of the Year,' and the most significant news stories of 2024. 00:00 Opening Remarks and Fashion Highlights 03:10 Introducing the Gala and Categories 03:37 Democratic MVP Nominees 08:36 Republican MVP Nominees 13:44 Perp of the Year: Political Scandals 20:32 Best Achievement in Legislation 24:04 News Story of the Year

How Trump Brought Chaos Back Before Even Taking Office Dec 20, 2024

How did Elon Musk corner Donald Trump into a fit of chaos that could shutter the entire US government? Matt, Paul, and guest panelist Republican political consultant Matt Wylie discuss how the rapid meltdown could be a preview of the next four years of Trump giving Republicans fits. We also analyze Trump's lawsuits against media figures and the chilling effect on journalism, and a close look at the big Daylight Savings Time fight. 00:00 Introduction and Guest Host Announcement 01:34 House Speaker Mike Johnson's Challenges 02:12 Government Shutdown and Debt Ceiling Crisis 06:02 Elon Musk's Influence on Politics 09:46 Republican Party's Internal Struggles 12:12 Trump's Governance by Chaos 15:36 Future Political Strategies and Predictions 23:43 Midterm Election Prospects and Historical Patterns 28:13 Trump's Legal Battles and Media Accountability 34:01 The Future of Free Press and Media Ownership 42:23 Debate on Daylight Savings Time

How American Jews Messed up Hanukkah Dec 18, 2024

Did American Jews Mess Up Hanukkah and How Can It Be Fixed? Matt Robison explores how American Jews altered Hanukkah in an attempt to align it with the new "American Christmas," of the 19th century, and why the initiative never really worked. 00:00 Introduction and Article Overview 02:09 The Cultural Confluence of Hanukkah and Christmas 02:31 The Historical Context of Hanukkah 03:42 The Commercialization of Christmas and Its Impact on Hanukkah 05:41 The Failure of the Hanukkah Makeover 08:08 Proposed Changes to Hanukkah Traditions 12:17 Conclusion and Upcoming Content

Are We Living in a Trump Warp? Dec 13, 2024

Matt, Paul and Alicia started off with President Biden's record-setting number of clemency petitions and that led right into the question of whether we're living in a Trump warp where everything that we do is being bent around Trump or our fears of what he might do in the future. We also talked about the bizarre, cruel online reaction to alleged murderer Luigi Mangione and what it says about where we are culturally. And finally we had to hit two late breaking stories. Donald Trump being named Time's Person of the Year and a plague of drones attacking New Jersey. 00:00 Introduction and Overview 00:57 Biden's Record Clemency Announcement 03:47 The Trump Warp Theory 13:22 The Luigi Mangione Case 30:13 Trump Named Time's Person of the Year 32:15 Mysterious Drones Over New Jersey

Revolution in Syria: New Hope or a Looming Disaster? Dec 10, 2024

The Fall of Assad Throws the Future of the Middle East Into Uncertainty. Matt is joined by former Middle East editor for the Associated Press, Dan Perry, to discuss the recent fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria and its implications for the Middle East. What will it mean for the stability of Syria and the broader region, and what is the impact on global politics including the US, Israel, Europe, Russia, and Iran? They also touch on the complexities of the US State Department's response, the role of Donald Trump, and the fate of long-held American captive Austin Tice. 00:00 Introduction and Middle East Shakeup Overview 00:51 Guest Introduction: Dan Perry's Expertise 02:58 The Role of Hezbollah and Israel's Impact 04:59 Unintended Consequences and Global Reactions 07:33 The Fall of Assad and Rebel Dynamics 11:47 US and International Perspectives 17:48 Trump's Potential Influence and Future Implications 26:06 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Tango with Kash: So, How Bad IS This Guy Really? Dec 06, 2024

Assessing Nominee Threats, Hunter Biden's Pardon, and 2024's Word of the Year: Matt, Paul, and Alicia engage in a lively debate about which Trump nominee, Kash Patel or Peter Hegseth, poses a greater threat to America. They also discuss President Biden's recent pardon of his son, Hunter, and reach a counterintuitive conclusion. The show wraps up with an amusing yet thought-provoking discussion on Oxford's 2024 word of the year, and its implications for society. 00:00 Introduction and Game Setup 01:11 Who's a Bigger Threat to America? 02:26 Debating the Nominees 04:07 Paul's Profanity-Laced Tirade 06:02 Matt's Turn and Shawshank Reference 12:51 Discussion on Pardons 19:41 The Role of Press Secretaries 23:14 Word of the Year: Brain Rot 24:28 The Impact of Social Media on Society 32:17 Concluding Thoughts and Historical Context

Trump Is Falling Into the Classic Trap That Kills Presidencies Nov 29, 2024

Matt, Paul, and Alicia look at the question from Matt's most recent Newsweek column: is Trump falling into the mandate trap? New numbers from post-election analysis pain a pretty clear picture of what voters want and the limits of what voters want. In the case of Trump, there are very sharp limits on what voters will tolerate, and he seems to be pushing past them already. 01:06 Election Analysis: Trump's Mandate 03:13 Hakeem Jeffries and the Freedom Caucus 05:37 Political Negotiations and Compromises 11:28 Voter Sentiments and Democratic Party Challenges 25:15 Thanksgiving and Final Thoughts

A Fun, Fascinating Tale of Basketball, Marketing, and Politics Nov 26, 2024

We're joined by Mark Jacob, former editor for both the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times. His most recent book is "Globetrotter: How Abe Saperstein shook up the world of sports. "

It's a remarkable story about how a 5-3 Jewish immigrant became one of the most important figures in American sports history. Abe Saperstein founded the Harlem Globetrotters. His drive, determination, and creativity led to, among other things, the integration of basketball, the three-point line, and breaking baseball's color line. He even had a hand at American diplomacy in the 1950s and sixties.

We also had to talk politics at the end, and discuss how the media is falling into the MAGA trap in even subtler ways these days.

00:22 The Story of Abe Saperstein 03:10 Saperstein's Impact on Basketball and Baseball 05:33 The Jewish Experience and Racism 13:33 Saperstein's Role in Diplomacy 16:38 The Globetrotters and Minstrelsy 22:13 Connecting Sports and Media 24:10 Pro-Democracy Journalism 29:03 Subtle Media Manipulation 35:24 The Democrat Party Tactic 41:19 Entertainment as Propaganda 47:44 Respecting Different Views 50:14 Concluding Thoughts

Gaetz OUT. What Should The Senate Do With Trump's Other Controversial Nominees? Nov 22, 2024

Matt Gaetz is out. But Peter Hegseth is still in and so are a bunch of other Trump nominees who have a mix of no qualifications and disqualifications, How are senators supposed to weigh those factors, especially when they depend on accusations> And how do we prevent nominations like this from becoming another polarizing Brett Kavanaugh-esque test that forces each side into their partisan corners and ultimately just results in giving Donald Trump what he wants? Also, Representative Nancy Mace's controversial rules change preventing transgender Congresswoman Sarah McBride from using women's facilities. And finally, an update on Matt's culinary interest in Paul and Alicia's pets.

00:00 Matt Gaetz's Exit 02:01 Controversial Trump Nominees 04:55 Debating Qualifications vs. Allegations 07:07 The Role of Senate in Vetting Nominees 09:14 Personal Conduct and Public Office 24:50 The Matt Gaetz Update 26:52 Transgender Rights in Congress 40:03 Closing Thoughts and Pets on the Menu

How to Feel Better About the Trump Mess Nov 19, 2024

Matt Robison and Howard Monroe explore not only why things under Trump may not be as bad as they seem at first, but why it's so critical for people to feel better, more upbeat, and more positive about politics. 00:39 The Dismal Seriousness of American Politics 01:08 The Election and Trump's Cabinet Nominations 02:18 Making Politics Fun Again 03:39 The Impact of Media and Messaging 07:07 Challenges for the Democratic Party 16:33 Trump's Nominations and Their Implications 28:31 Concluding Thoughts and Future Outlook

"Putinists and Pedophiles": Has Trump 2.0 Bellyflopped Already? Nov 15, 2024

Trump Appoints Matt Gaetz as Attorney General: Political Comedy or Crisis? Hosts Matt , Paul, and Alicia discuss Donald Trump's controversial decision to nominate Matt Gaetz for Attorney General, examining the political, ethical, and conspiratorial aspects. They also delve into the qualifications of Trump's other nominations, including Marco Rubio and Tulsi Gabbard, and the implications for a closely divided, Republican-controlled Congress. And we close with a genuinely inspirational, historic moment, plus an ironic comeuppance for one of the right-wing's most loathsome figures. 00:06 Trump's Controversial Nominee: Matt Gaetz 03:32 The Ethics Report and Gaetz's Qualifications 06:58 Reactions and Political Implications 11:21 Trump's Strategy and Senate Dynamics 18:05 Potential Recess Appointments and Senate Pushback 25:36 Freedom Caucus and House Majority Challenges 27:36 Marco Rubio and Elise Stefanik's Qualifications 28:01 Tulsi Gabbard's Controversial Appointment 31:15 Pete Hegseth's Military Experience and Concerns 33:18 Trump's Cabinet Picks and Their Implications 39:04 Performative Politics and Peaceful Transfers of Power 43:46 The Onion Buys InfoWars: Satirical Justice

Why Trump's Return Might Be a Little Less Awful Nov 09, 2024

This is a post election essay that I'm calling "Blue Linings Playbook: the Game Plan Democrats Need After a Disaster." The message is that the election WAS a disaster, but we can manage it. And if you look hard, there are even some upsides for the long term.

00:00 Introduction: Blue Linings Playbook 01:01 Short-Term Strategies for Democrats 02:19 Trump's Waning Influence 04:11 Executive Actions and Judicial Appointments 05:57 Long-Term Democratic Reformation 11:53 Rebranding and Refocusing the Party 13:12 Conclusion: Turning Crisis into Opportunity

A Dark Day. But There's a Path Back. Nov 06, 2024

There's no sugar coating that it was a terrible night. Matt, Paul, and Alicia discuss not just why voters decided to bring Donald Trump back, but also why there are good reasons to believe that we can mitigate the worst damage from Trump's return, and that if Democrats can face some painful truths, they can chart a course back.

00:00 Introduction and Election Overview 00:22 Analyzing the Election Results 04:00 The Economy and Voter Sentiment 06:31 Democratic Party Challenges 20:43 Voter Disconnect and Information 26:23 Looking Forward: Strategies and Hope

3 Reasons to Feel (Nauseously) Optimistic About the Election Nov 04, 2024

Matt Robison discusses why Kamala Harris is more likely than not to win, even if he (and we) can't feel confident about it. And no matter what happens, after a difficult November to come, why there's hope ahead. 00:00 Introduction and Election Day Predictions 01:27 Media Advantage: TV and Digital Ads 06:38 Ground Game: Mobilizing Voters 09:58 Polling Manipulations and Their Impact 17:18 Why Confidence is Still Shaky 20:01 Preparing for Post-Election Challenges 22:08 Conclusion: Nauseous Optimism

How to Watch Election Night for Early Clues Nov 01, 2024

For our last pre-election round table panel we explore whether the unhinged racist rally from Donald Trump over the weekend really will make a critical difference in the election. Also, we each took a swing at giving our closing arguments in the campaign. And finally, we give our tips for what to look for on Tuesday night to get a sense of what happened and who's going to win. 00:50 Trump's Racist Rally and Its Impact 03:02 Latino Voters and Trump's Influence 08:08 Biden's Gaffe and Public Reaction 12:39 Closing Arguments: Why Vote for Harris 19:45 Reflecting on Political Choices 20:54 A Dream of the Capitol 22:08 Election Night Preparations 23:13 Analyzing Swing States 24:09 Campaign Experiences 27:10 Election Night Strategies 33:42 Election Night Snacks and Humor 34:33 Concluding Remarks

What Factors Will ACTUALLY Push Make-or-Break Voters to Decide? Oct 30, 2024

This week we're talking about the factors that are going to tip the election one way or the other in the final few days, as we're down to a very, very few voters who ultimately hold our fate in their hands. To try to get some insight I wanted to ask my friend, Sam Harris, who hosts one of the fastest growing and most popular psychology podcasts on earth. It's called Growth Mindset and it's a really interesting dive in each episode into a different idea from psychology and how you can apply it to what you do. So what is REALLY going to push the final undecided voters in the final days?

03:45 Heuristics and Decision Making 07:14 Impact of Recent Events on Voter Decisions 12:41 Trump's Unique Appeal 19:27 The Role of Podcasts in Campaigns 32:32 Collective Dissatisfaction and Political Change 35:36 Conclusion: Reflecting on Progress

Is This One Closing Edge Enough to Win It for Harris? Oct 28, 2024

We are about to find out if Kamala Harris' biggest advantage is going to make the winning difference: a subject I cover in depth in my new column in Newsweek today.

One person who knows quite a lot about it and who believes that the answer is yes is Matt Wiley, a Republican political consultant and former executive director of the Massachusetts Republican party who has managed many Senate campaigns. He lays out the case for why he not only thinks Harris' advantage is going to make a difference, but why he feels confident that Trump is going to lose. He also explains how Trump has destroyed the party that he believes in and how both Republicans and Democrats might change course after the election.

02:54 The Importance of Ground Game 07:21 Random Factors in Elections 09:19 Republican Party Challenges 18:05 Trump's Campaign Strategy 22:18 Polling and Election Predictions 24:34 The Future of the Republican Party 25:08 Challenges for the Democratic Party 27:39 Concerns About the 2024 Election 31:16 The Importance of Checks and Balances 33:52 The Aftermath of the Election 40:37 Hope for America's Future

Is The F-Word Kamala's Closing Argument? Oct 25, 2024

Right now the F word is all over the news. Donald Trump's longest serving chief of staff, retired four-star Marine general John Kelly, said that Donald Trump is literally the dictionary definition of a "fascist" and Kamala Harris agreed. So is this going to be the Harris campaign's closing argument in the final 10 days? And should it be?

Also, the quiet campaign that Democrats are starting to whisper into the ears of Republican women, especially women in Republican areas.

Two Weeks: Where Do We Stand, and Is There Hope Oct 23, 2024

Where are we with two weeks to go? That's what my good friend, legendary radio broadcaster, Howard Monroe wanted to ask me on his show yesterday. And so we ran through all of it. Where do things stand? What could they turn on in the end? And is there hope for Democrats, as the polls have seemed to shift very slightly in Donald Trump's direction?

And before we got into any of that, Howard wanted to talk about texting. What is the effect of all of these fundraising texts and emails that we're all constantly getting, do they work? And I suggested that they might be working kind of, but they might also be having a really destructive long term effect that no one is really talking about. 00:23 The Impact of Fundraising Texts 03:22 The Science Behind Political Messaging 11:58 The Final Countdown to the Election 14:01 The Butterfly Effect in Elections 16:36 Trump's Recent Behavior and Public Perception 17:56 Economic Plans and Public Opinion 19:50 Polling Trends and Voter Behavior 27:44 The Final Countdown to Election Day

Five Fresh Insights That MIght Make You See Politics Differently Oct 22, 2024

Jason Fields, Deputy Opinion Editor at Newsweek, shares the five sources of fresh insights in politics and current affairs that are worth spending your time on, give new insight or just freshen up what you thought you knew.

Also, is Kamala Harris pulling off a major vanishing act? What's up with the Elon Musk's bizarre, illegal scheme to help Trump that came to light over the weekend? And how have things changed in the way we do political discourse in America? 00:40 Interview with Jason Fields: Insights from a Newsroom Veteran 01:32 Kamala Harris: The Vanishing Act 06:12 Trump's Unpredictable Political Landscape 10:20 Elon Musk's Controversial Moves 14:45 The True Believers vs. The Grift Class 19:33 The Age Dilemma 20:02 The Evolution of Political Debate 23:27 The Browser Tab Phenomenon 24:48 Newsweek's Diverse Opinions 29:20 Top Writers and Their Impact 37:17 Election Predictions and Reflections

The Election Crosses Over the Danger Line Oct 18, 2024

We just crossed an invisible line in the 2024 election. Ever since the presidential debate, Kamala Harris has held a small but steady lead in the critical swing state polls. That made her the favorite to win in the election, even by a small amount. But this week that forecast slipped away. So we ask: is this really happening? Is this really a situation where Trump is now the favorite to win? Alicia laid out a case that it will not end up that close. And she remains confident that Trump cannot and will not win. We also talked about the US political impact of the death of the Hamas leader and Kamala Harris' big Fox News interview. And at the end we give you the definitive readout on Donald Trump's 39 minutes of straight dancing at a rally.

00:00 Election Forecast Shifts: Trump Takes the Lead 01:26 International News: Death of Hamas Leader 06:31 Kamala Harris's Fox News Interview 10:47 Media Bias and Its Impact on Elections 23:03 Polling Numbers and Forecasts 24:25 Alicia's Analysis: Trump's Chances in the Election 28:29 Ground Game: Harris vs. Trump 31:41 The Role of Field Operations 41:44 Trump's Dance Party and Final Thoughts

Are We Reading Polls Wrong? Expert Explains The Smarter Way. Oct 15, 2024

What if I told you that we're looking at polling numbers in the wrong way? We're all inundated with polling right now as we enter the final three weeks of the 2024 election, and we're used to looking at those polls with one question in mind. Who's ahead? But today's guest says we shouldn't be looking at the margin. We should be looking at the share of the vote that each candidate is getting. And that tells us a LOT more about what's going to happen in the election. Our guest is Nate Moore, a public opinion expert who writes for the American Enterprise Institute and the Liberal Patriot. 00:59 The Importance of Vote Share 04:20 Current Polling Trends and Predictions 09:16 The Pennsylvania Problem 16:11 The Blue Shift Phenomenon 19:40 Polling Methodologies and Their Impact 26:33 Impact of Mark Robinson Scandal 29:21 The Butterfly Effect in Elections 32:26 Electoral System and Party Dynamics 38:36 Key Races to Watch 40:42 Election Night Indicators

Why Is The Election Stuck in Place? Oct 11, 2024

Kamala Harris has every advantage -- money, ads, volunteers -- but is stuck in polling against Donald Trump. Matt, Paul and Alicia explore what's going on. We also delve into Bob Woodward's explosive claims about Trump's secret interactions with Putin during the COVID pandemic. Also, a friendly fight breaks out on misinformation in politics. And finally, a look at the wackiest unfounded conspiracy theory circulating online these days, plus our parody (note: you do actually have to cast your vote by Election Day people!) of the kind of misinformation that's out there. 00:00 Introduction: Why Are We Stuck? 00:59 Debating Lies and Misinformation in Politics 12:20 The 2024 Election Stalemate 22:41 Trump's Secret Conversations with Putin 32:03 Conspiracy Theories and Parody

Can We Actually Learn Something Important From Trump's Economy Pitch? Oct 08, 2024

Painful as it is for Democrats (like us at the Beyond Politics podcast) to say, there's no denying that Donald Trump's economic pitch is working, especially among working-class voters. Despite significant backlash from non-partisan experts and economists, Trump is tied or ahead of Kamala Harris on the issue that voters say is most important to them. Why? And is there something Trump is saying that we should all be paying more attention to. Matt welcomes back Newsweek Opinion Editor Batya Ungar-Sargon to talk about what she sees in Trump's economic message, why she ran Trump's plan and Matt's critique of it back-to-back, and where she finds Kamala Harris hitting the right notes.

***For those wanting to see the draft piece Matt discussed on Friday on the most intriguing questions coming out of the VP debate, check out this link to his Patreon page (patrons always welcome!)*** 00:00 Introduction and Tough Question 01:38 Newsweek's Editorial Decision 03:27 Promoting Diverse Opinions 06:48 Debating Trump's Economic Policies 11:43 Economic Perspectives and Personal Stories 29:54 Concluding Thoughts and Reflections

Five Big Questions Coming Out of the VP Debate Oct 04, 2024

The Fallout from the VP Debate: Implications for 2024 and Beyond. The big VP debate may not significantly affect the 2024 election, but it raises critical questions for American politics. Here's a quick look at the top5 big questions for the future coming out of the debate 00:00 Introduction: The Impact of the VP Debate 03:30 Trump's Mental Triggers: A Potential Downfall 04:52 Vance's Strategic Positioning in the Republican Party 06:14 The Double-Edged Sword of Vance's Success 07:22 Democrats' Rediscovery of a Powerful Issue 08:51 A New Era for Debates and Political Content? 11:32 Conclusion: Final Thoughts and Stakes

Were There Big, Hidden Things We Learned in the VP Debate? Oct 02, 2024

Decoding the 2024 VP Debate: Key Takeaways and Insights: Matt, Paul, and Alicia discuss the significant moments and lessons from the 2024 vice presidential debate. There is a lot going on under the surface, and even if the debate didn't move the needle that much in 2024, there's a lot to unpack about the future of the Republican Party, Trump's brain, and how we consume information in America. 00:56 Top Takeaways from the VP Debate 04:30 Analyzing JD Vance's Debate Tactics 09:16 Voter Perceptions and Poll Analysis 13:51 Engaging with Trump's Economic Policies 18:43 JD Vance's Opportunism and Future Implications 20:56 The Debate's Key Non-Answer 24:13 The MAGA Movement and Republican Party Dynamics 27:11 The Role of Expertise in Politics 32:23 Media's Role in Shaping Debate Narratives 37:09 Human Moments in Political Debates 41:59 The Future of Political Debates

Does This Scandal Mean the Election is Over? Sep 27, 2024

Is the Presidential Race Over? Examining the Impact of the Mark Robinson Scandal: If Trump loses North Carolina, he has almost no chance at the presidency. Will the scandal be enough to end things? Also: the indictment of New York City Mayor Eric Adams and the extensive history of corruption in New York politics; the huge strategic decision Democrats must make in the fight for the Senate; and, is there a 'war on pets in American politics? 00:20 The Mark Robinson Scandal 01:20 Impact on Trump's Campaign 03:57 Republican and Democratic Strategies 15:00 Eric Adams Indictment 21:49 Analyzing the 2024 Senate Races 23:57 Strategizing Democratic Resources 32:36 Republican Controversies and Racism 38:57 The War on Pets

Trump's Stealth Plan to Crush Low Income People Sep 24, 2024

What would Trump's actual policy plan be if he got back into office? We can tell an awful lot from what he tried to do the first time, and most of it came at the expense of less wealthy Americans. Bob Greenstein, founder of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, joins us to discuss the far-reaching implications of Donald Trump's budget proposals during his presidency. 00:00 Introduction: The Hidden Details 03:13 Trump's Budget Proposals: A Deep Dive 20:29 The War on Poverty: Progress and Challenges 25:09 The Tariff Debate: Understanding the Impact 33:44 Future of the Republican Party 34:38 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Alicia Drops An F-Bomb On Trump Sep 20, 2024

Alicia's Fiery Rebuke and Trump's Scandalous Rhetoric: Unpacking the Fallout Matt, Paul, and Alicia dive into the aftermath of Donald Trump's racist claims about Haitian immigrants. Alicia passionately criticizes Trump's loyal followers and the consequences of their actions on communities like Springfield, Ohio. The discussion also explores the broader issue of heated political rhetoric from both sides, the implications of Trump's radical policy proposals, and recent polling trends in the presidential race. And finally, should this new fish speciesbe called...the Trump fish?

00:59 Trump's Racist Rhetoric and Real-World Consequences 02:53 Political Reactions and JD Vance's Role 05:07 The Broader Impact on Politics and Society 11:18 Debate on Heated Rhetoric from Both Sides 18:53 Alicia's Fiery Response 25:08 Trump's Economic Plan: A Disaster in the Making 26:12 Historical Lessons: The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act 26:52 The Real Impact of Tariffs on American Consumers 27:39 Political Hypocrisy and Economic Lies 33:21 The Polls: Analyzing the Fallout from the Debate 37:17 Kamala Harris: Rising Favorability and Strategic Moves 39:10 Trump's Campaign Strategy: Flawed and Failing 44:00 Debate Performance: Harris vs. Trump 46:49 Closing Thoughts and Fish

War to Win Minds Ep.5: One Brilliant Moment Where It All Came Together for Harris Sep 18, 2024

PART TWO OF TWO-PART MINI SERIES FINALE. As Kamala Harris rises in the polls following her crushing performance over Donald Trump in their debate, we look at the key moments and the hidden psychological strategies that led to the rout. This is the final episode of 'The War to Win Minds' miniseries, and Matt Robison and psychologist Lauren Goldstein run down a dizzying array of mental tactics that were on display and that we will continue to see in the 2024 campaign, including maybe the most important lesson from persuasion psychology--knowing what type of persuasion you are trying to do.

01:06 Overview of Persuasion Techniques 02:31 Kamala Harris' Debate Strategy 05:59 Trump's Response and Analysis 08:40 Psychological Warfare in Debates 22:04 Closing Statements and Final Thoughts 28:08 Conclusion and Farewell

War to Win Minds Ep.4: Harris Drops a Psych Bomb on Trump Sep 17, 2024

PART ONE OF TWO PART MINI SERIES FINALE. We dive into the explosive psychological strategies behind the Kamala Harris -Donald Trump presidential debate. In this episode of 'The War to Win Minds' series, Matt Robison and psychologist Lauren Goldstein break down the mental tactics used to sway voters and what Harris did to break Trump's brain. Discover how Harris dismantled Trump's arguments and left him floundering by employing clever, counterintuitive methods. 01:50 Psychological Insights into Debates 03:34 Analyzing Kamala Harris's Debate Tactics 05:17 The Impact of Presidential Debates 08:36 Persuasion Principles in Action 17:03 Trump's Tactics and Harris's Response 20:16 The Power of Storytelling and Emotional Appeal 23:45 Harris's Strategy to Undermine Trump 27:58 Conclusion and Key Takeaways

Harris Dominated the Debate. What Will That Do to the Race? Sep 11, 2024

In this quick reaction show, Matt, Paul, and Alicia dive into the aftermath of the recent debate, discussing who won, who lost, and why both parties should maybe feel frustrated. Kamala Harris is broadly considered the winner against Donald Trump but how much will it matter? And will Taylor Swift's endorsement of Harris matter even more? 00:54 Who Won the Debate? 03:23 Debate's Impact and Media Critique 06:15 Republican and Democratic Reactions 11:23 Missed Opportunities 17:19 The Flaws of Presidential Debates 21:18 Debate Moderators and Fact-Checking 28:29 Trump's Dangerous Rhetoric and Lies

The Psych Trick Trump Is Relying On Above All Sep 10, 2024

In episode 3 of our mini series 'The War to Win Minds,' hosts Matt Robison and Lauren Goldstein delve into the concept of social proof, its influence on political campaigns, and why it's Donald Trump's not so secret weapon in the 2024 campaign. 00:32 The Power of Social Proof 03:21 The Reagan-Mondale Debate Experiment 06:35 The Elevator Experiment 07:50 Asch's Social Conformity Experiment 10:30 Social Proof in Political Campaigns 14:12 Trump's Use of Social Proof 15:32 The Double-Edged Sword of Social Proof 24:06 Polling Data and Social Proof 26:02 Conclusion: Recognizing Social Proof Techniques

Is the Kamala Honeymoon Crashing to a Halt? Sep 06, 2024

Is the Kamala-mentum waning? It's a question that was raised in Politico and that's being pushed by the Republican side, especially the Trump campaign. We have some data and some insights from where the campaigns are spending their money. Also, we ask why would Kamala Harris go to New Hampshire? The unfolding legal situations for hunter Biden and Donald Trump, both in court today. And a cute animal story that goes in a disturbing direction.

How the Supreme Court Gave Presidents Evil Superpowers Sep 05, 2024

ABC Legal Analyst Kim Wehle explains how the Supreme Court's decision granting immunity to US Presidents is way more far-reaching that it appears. When paired with the "pardon power," Presidents now wield a devastating one-two punch of power. Wehle is the author of a fascinating new book on the history and law of the pardon, and why Americans need to understand just how dangerous this power has become. Also: a look at the current legal situations involving Donald Trump, Jack Smith's refiling of the election interference case, and Judge Aileen Cannon's dismissal of the classified documents case. 01:34 Jack Smith's Election Interference Case 05:38 Aileen Cannon and the Classified Documents Case 09:09 The Supreme Court's Role and Bias 20:58 The History and Importance of Pardon Power 26:23 Potential Reforms and Fixes 29:53 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

War to Win Minds Ep.2: How to Jedi Mind Trick Voters Into Liking You Sep 03, 2024

Episode Two of The War to Win Minds: The Hidden Psychology of Political Persuasion. Matt Robison and Dr. Lauren Goldstein dive deep into the liking principle and break down campaign ads to show how politicians like Kamala Harris use similarities, compliments, attractiveness, and associations shape to change voters' minds and shape public opinion. Learn strategies used by campaigns to make their candidates more likable in ads from Barack Obama, Raphael Warnock, and Kamala Harris. 00:37 The Cartoon That Explains Opinion Formation 02:52 The Psychology Behind Likability 05:13 The Halo Effect and Attractiveness 08:53 Similarity and Its Challenges 13:39 The Power of Compliments 16:19 Association and Its Impact 19:21 Kamala Harris's Fearless Ad 24:57 Conclusion and Preview of Next Episode

How Jack Smith Drove Trump To a Very Public Meltdown Aug 30, 2024

Matt, Paul, and Alicia discuss Donald Trump's unhinged rant on Truth Social plus the recent Arlington National Cemetery incident, which has pushed Trump to new levels of insanity. The panel explores what triggered Trump's meltdown: Jack Smith's refiled case against him. They also question why, despite Trump's outrageous behavior, the race remains a 50/50 toss-up. Plus, the 10-year anniversary of 'Tan Suit Gate' involving former President Barack Obama. 00:00 Introduction: Trump's Unhinged Rant 01:07 Analyzing Trump's Truth Social Meltdown 03:58 The Normalization of Trump's Behavior 06:09 Misogyny and Disrespect Towards Women 09:11 Arlington National Cemetery Incident 18:06 Jack Smith's Indictment and Trump's Reaction 23:39 Why is This Still a 50-50 Race? 33:04 Tansuitgate Anniversary

Why RFK's Dropout Probably Won't Help Trump Aug 29, 2024

***Don't forget to check out our mini-series on the hidden psychology of political campaigns on ⁠YouTube⁠ or ⁠Spotify⁠.***

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDbNEHJ_pV4

RFK Jr.'s withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race and his subsequent endorsement of Donald Trump would, until very recently, have been viewed as a watershed. But when it finally went down late last week, it barely made waves. Will it matter?

02:59 RFK Jr.'s Support Base and Its Implications 09:42 Kamala Harris's Campaign Strategy 17:21 Trump's Response and Campaign Strategy 20:50 Psychological Techniques in Campaigns 24:31 Trump's Campaign Challenges 29:38 Potential October Surprise

War to Win Minds Ep. One: How Emotional Ads HIJACK Brains Aug 27, 2024

Episode One of The War to Win Minds: The Hidden Psychology of Political Persuasion. A limited series where PhD psychologist Lauren Goldstein and veteran campaign manager Matt Robison break down political ads to show the science behind how political campaigns fight and win the battle for our brains. In this episode: how one brilliant Kamala Harris ad explains the two pathways into our minds, and which one really works to win elections.

*** WATCH ON YOUTUBE at https://youtu.be/ZDbNEHJ_pV4?si=9f4lHui08g0WG3je ***

00:00 Introduction: The Battle for Minds

1:03 Central vs. Peripheral Routes

4:26 The Central Route Explained

9:25 The Peripheral Route Explained

11:56 Analyzing Effective Political Ads

14:45 Kamala Harris's Ad Breakdown

21:52 Polling Insights and Strategy

25:00 Key Takeaways and Conclusion

The Final Sprint is Here. What Does Harris Need to Do Now? Aug 23, 2024

What do Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party need to do in the final stretch of the campaign to secure a win against Donald Trump? Paul, Matt, and Alicia take stock of where we are and where we need to get to. They also break down Harris' acceptance speech and the DNC's overall performance, the importance of upcoming debates, and the critical swing state of Pennsylvania. 00:55 Analyzing Kamala Harris's Acceptance Speech 01:35 Critique of the Democratic Convention 04:54 Discussion on Political Reporting and Media 13:31 Upcoming Mini-Series 17:38 Current State of the Campaign 23:25 Debate Expectations and Strategies 27:03 The Role of Swing States 32:05 Kamala Harris's Debate Tactics 37:07 Election Polls and Predictions 40:45 The Grammar Debate

How Michelle and Barack Shifted the Whole Campaign Last Night Aug 21, 2024

Was last night's set of Democratic Convention speeches a game changer for Dems? Paul, Alicia and Matt think it quite possibly was, and got into such a heated discussion about it over text that they decided to take it right to the podcast. We cover why Doug Emhoff hit a grand slam, what Michelle did that worked so well, and why Barack Obama's speech marked a critical shift in Kamala's strategy.

00:57 Reactions to Obama's Speech 04:11 Alicia's Take on Dougie's Speech 05:23 Obama's Subtle Jabs and Nitpicks 08:54 Generational Differences and Grace 15:35 Obama's Inflection Point in the Campaign 19:51 Debating Obama's Legacy 30:05 Closing Thoughts and Reflections

Who Has More Paths to Victory Now - Harris or Trump? Aug 20, 2024

Today, an unvarnished and unbiased deep dive into the numbers and the scenarios for the 2024 election with former executive director of the Republican Party in Florida, Jamie Miller. We ask what are the best strategies and likeliest potential outcomes for the presidential race as well as down-ballot races? And we try to step outside either party's partisan perspective to see where the opportunities and pitfalls are. 00:00 Introduction: Beyond Politics with Matt Robinson 00:02 Stepping Outside the Echo Chamber 00:34 Interview with Jamie Miller: A Reasonable Perspective 01:15 Convention Insights: Kamala Harris and the Final Stretch 01:44 Historical Speeches and Convention Experiences 02:28 Echo Chamber vs. TV Land: Communication Differences 02:54 Analyzing the Republican Convention 05:20 Paths to Victory: Harris vs. Trump 05:47 Polling Momentum and Strategic Predictions 08:22 Impact of Down-Ballot Races 18:41 Budgeting and Campaign Strategies 19:41 The Importance of Key States 33:27 Debate Impact and State Strategies 35:03 Florida Politics: Crazy Stories and Strategic Errors 37:45 Conclusion: Wrapping Up with Jamie Miller

The Democrats' Critical Mission at the Convention Aug 16, 2024

With polling data showing Kamala Harris bursting into the lead ahead of Donald Trump, what do they need to do at the upcoming conversation to keep the momentum going and propel them into November. Also, why are voters suddenly rating Harris ahead of Trump on the economy? Also, the controversy surrounding Olympic gymnast Jordan Childs and the governing body's decision to take away her medal. 01:43 Polling and Kamala's Momentum 05:27 Communication Tips for Dems 08:58 Balancing Policy and Values 13:50 Convention Entertainment 18:53 Warming Up the Crowd for Barack 21:27 Economic Plans and Voter Sentiments 23:49 Poll Results and Voter Trust 25:09 Emotional Resonance in Politics 33:46 Olympic Gymnastics Controversy

Alicia Thinks Its All Over for Trump Aug 09, 2024

Alicia Prestonhas reached a stunning conclusion: Trump's chances for 2024 are over, and Republicans' only hope is for every Senate, Congress, and gubernatorial candidate to fend for themselves. We talk about Trump’s blunders, the rise of Kamala Harris in the polls, and the weird attack on Tim Walz’s military record. 01:05 Trump's Mar-a-Lago Press Conference 02:41 Alicia's Bold Prediction 06:22 Republican Party's Dilemma 20:22 Heroism and Military Service 21:55 Swift Boating and Political Strategies 28:14 Kamala Harris's Campaign Strategy 34:31 Trump's Campaign Struggles 39:10 Dad Jokes

The Sneaky Reasons Walz Got the VP Nod Aug 06, 2024

Matt was getting interviewed live on the radio when the news broke that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz was the surprise VP pick for the dems. Here's the analysis getting worked out in real time. And here is the Newsweek article that Matt wrote right after describing what we can read between the lines about this pick, and why it might be sneaky good news for Democrats.

https://www.newsweek.com/3-things-we-can-read-tim-walz-vice-presidential-pick-opinion-1935427

00:42 Breaking News: Tim Walz as VP Nominee 01:40 Live Radio Analysis with Howard Monroe 04:19 The Case for and Against Tim Walz 05:58 Polling and Electoral Strategy 09:03 Tim Walz's Political Strengths 15:35 Republican Reactions and Attack Lines 20:22 Debate Strategy: Should Harris Debate Trump? 22:19 Final Thoughts and Conclusion

Trump Tries to Stop Kamala-Mentum By Saying "She's Not Black"?!? Aug 02, 2024

With Kamala-mentum becoming very real, we dive into Donald Trump's pretty insane strategy to put out that fire with gasoline by questioning whether Kamala Harris is actually Black. Is there any chance it could help him? Also, a massive deal that gained the release of 16 unjustly imprisoned people in Russia. And the "weird" wave sweeps America.

00:00 Introduction and Trump's Controversial Strategy 00:32 Breaking News: Massive Prisoner Release 02:33 Diplomatic Implications and Political Reactions 12:26 Kamala Harris's Rising Momentum 15:13 Polling Trends and Public Perception 20:33 Trump's Strategy and Media Reactions 34:49 The Weird Factor in Politics 39:04 Concluding Thoughts

Emergency Bonus: Hamas Leader Assassinated. Will This End the War? Aug 01, 2024

Dan Perry, former Middle East editor for the Associated Press, unpacks the complex, unfolding situation surrounding the assassination of both Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, including the potential "good news" scenario that this could create an off-ramp to end the war and bring Israeli hostages home, or the possibility that things could escalate. Perry writes "Ask Questions Later", a substack with unparalleled analysis of the Middle East and world affairs. Subscribe here: https://danperry.substack.com/ 02:25 Good News Scenario in the Middle East 06:07 Bad News Scenario and Potential Escalations 09:51 Turkey's Role and NATO Concerns 13:05 US Domestic Politics and Global Implications 18:19 Netanyahu's Political Future 22:53 Conclusion

Are We Thinking About America's Political Divide All Wrong? Jul 30, 2024

We tend to think about American politics as being driven by the fight between the two major parties. But what if the conventional view of political polarization in America is missing the true divide: between elites and the working class. Batya Ungar-Sargon, Opinion Editor at Newsweek, discusses insights from her book 'Second Class,' in which she interviews hundreds of Americans and posits that elites on both sides of the political spectrum have betrayed America's working men and women. 03:31 The Real Disconnect in America 04:21 Stories from the Working Class 10:04 The Impact of Immigration and Healthcare on the Working Class 20:02 Political Opinions and Voting Decisions 30:54 The Elites' Betrayal of Working Americans

Can The Dems' Sudden Surge Possibly Continue? Jul 26, 2024

Is Kamala Harris in an even better position than initial indications would seem to suggest, and can the Dem's big surge this week get even better? Also, were Joe Biden's limitations as a communicator really a legit demerit on how effectively he could do the job as president? Who should get the Dem VP nod? And did JD Vance say the most insulting and politically destructive thing in American vice-presidential history? 01:49 Inside Reactions and Polling Insights 04:23 Kamala Harris's Campaign Strategy 19:15 The Role of Communication in Politics 31:25 Social Media's Impact on Society 34:37 Kamala Harris and Political Communication 37:08 VP Picks and Political Strategy 40:26 J.D. Vance's Controversial Remarks

Support for Harris Explodes Jul 24, 2024

The surging beginning of Kamala Harris' presidential campaign is exactly what anxious Democrats were hoping for. Matt joins radio legend Howard Monroe to discuss all the new angles: the fundraising, the maneuvering, the messaging, and the polling. 03:00 Kamala Harris's Campaign Momentum 07:28 Debate on Biden's Resignation 17:35 Kamala Harris vs. Donald Trump Winning Messages 22:39 Polling and Public Perception 26:38 Republican Strategies Against Harris

After the Upheaval: Taking Stock of Dems' New Reality Jul 23, 2024

The Pivot to Kamala: Trump, Biden, and the Divide in America. Matt is joined by Batya Ungar-Sargon, Opinion Editor at Newsweek, to discuss the sudden ascension of Vice President Kamala Harris, Donald Trump's influence, and whether Joe Biden should resign. 02:18 Boiling it All Down: Has This Been a Great Week? 07:18 Biden's Withdrawal and Kamala Harris 12:01 Economic Models and the American Dream 17:01 GOP vs. Democratic Party Elites 25:25 Conclusion and Next Episode

EMERGENCY POD: Biden Withdraws. Should He Also RESIGN to Help Harris? Jul 21, 2024

President Joe Biden has withdrawn from the 2024 presidential race. He's already a hero who saved America once. Now, will his selfless move increased the Democratic Party's chances of beating Donald Trump? And, Matt just wrote in Newsweek on SATURDAY that Biden should also resign in order to help Kamala Harris defeat Trump. Is the case now even stronger? 00:00 Breaking News: Biden Withdraws from 2024 Race 01:07 Analyzing Biden's Debate Performance and Media Influence 02:25 The Impact of Biden's Withdrawal on the Democratic Party 05:28 Reflecting on Joe Biden's Presidency 10:17 Kamala Harris: A lock as the Next Democratic Nominee? 12:35 Strategizing for the 2024 Election 21:11 Potential Vice Presidential Picks 23:17 Closing Remarks and Subscriptions

Is This Joe Biden's Final Weekend As Nominee? Jul 19, 2024

We tried to boil down one of the most eventual weeks in American political history into two questions: Is there really a new Trump following the assassination attempt, and if this is the end of the political road for Joe Biden as looks increasingly likely, what will happen next for the Democrats?

00:46 Assassination Attempt and Trump's New Promise 01:51 Analyzing Trump's Convention Speech 04:27 Trump's Economic Ideas and Their Impact 10:23 Biden's Potential Withdrawal and Democratic Party Reactions 18:41 Goodfellas vs. Godfather 24:59 Strategic Realities for Democrats 26:44 Kamala Harris as a Candidate 29:13 Hypothetical Scenarios for Biden 31:54 IS Alicia Really in Matt's Basement?

The Unbelievable Disaster of Trump's Economic Ideas Jul 16, 2024

Voters consistently say the economic is the most important issue to them. Which is why it's baffling that there's been so little attention on Donald Trump's economic ideas, which would be an unspeakable disaster for the American economy, and especially for the middle class. Brian Riedl, a conservative economist from the Manhattan Institute breaks down why proposals like replacing the income tax with a massive tariff are mathematically and economically terrible. We also get into Trump's broader policy ideas, and if you want to read more about Project 2025 and what Trump wants to actually do if he regains power, check out Matt's piece in Newsweek. 00:00 Introduction: The Overlooked Economic Disaster 01:10 Biden's Clear Agenda vs. Trump's Hidden Plans 01:44 Trump's Radical Economic Proposals 02:44 Expert Analysis: The Flaws in Trump's Tariff Plan 05:10 The Impact on Low-Income Families and Retaliation Risks 09:27 The Political Reality Behind Trump's Proposals 20:34 The Need for Honest Policy Discussions 31:49 Reforming Social Security and Medicare 38:43 Conclusion: Finding Common Ground

Is the Biden Dropout Saga Coming to an End? Jul 12, 2024

Is the turmoil surrounding Joe Biden's potential dropout from the presidential race wrapping up, or ramping up? Is it even possible that the media is simply fueling this narrative for drama and traffic, obscuring where their focus should be on Donald Trump's controversial plans for America? Check out Matt's newest Newsweek article on the exceedingly dangerous Trump plan for a second term. 02:47 The Media's Influence on Public Perception 04:39 Internal Democratic Party Tensions 07:00 Public Sentiment and Polls 10:51 Strategic Dilemmas for Democrats 18:45 Media Criticism and Public Backlash 21:17 Media Bias and Math 30:06 Project 2025: A Blueprint for Trump's Second Term 35:38 Pornography and the RNC

What Will America's 71 Million Centrists Do? Jul 09, 2024

It's one of the biggest questions looming over American politics: what will the centrists do? There are as many as 71 million self-identified centrists in America - people who don't feel entirely comfortable with either major political party, and largely agree on most issues - and these are the people who are probably going to decide which of two very different paths America follows. So why can't either party nail them down? And which way will they go? Former Republican Congressman and centrist Scott Klug, host of the podcast Lost in the Middle joins to explain.

***Don't forget to leave us a rating and review!***

***Subscribe to Lost in the Middle! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lost-in-the-middle-americas-political-orphans/id1706739467*** 02:21 Centrists and the Trump-Biden Debate 09:47 How the Middle Got Lost 24:16 The Rise of Independents and Future of Politics 32:43 Ticket Splitting and Political Trends 37:42 Democratic Party Dynamics 48:30 Favorite Funniest Moments in Congress

Why "Will Biden Drop Out" Is The Wrong Question Jul 05, 2024

President Biden's candidacy is in what's increasingly looking like a death spiral. But "should he stick it out or should he drop out" is the wrong question. There is a much better and a much more important question that Democrats really need to ask. Also, is the Supreme Court's presidential immunity decision as bad as it seemed; should Russian athletes should be banned from international athletic competitions; and why sometimes scientific advance can be downright disgusting. 02:24 The Biden Question: Will He or Won't He? 04:05 Democratic Party's Internal Chaos 10:39 Polling and Public Perception 19:05 The Future of the Democratic Party 24:40 Debating Kamala Harris's Role 30:44 The Supreme Court's Immunity Ruling 39:54 Politics in International Sports 45:17 The Creepy Robot Face

A Supreme Court Ruling That Shakes America to Its Foundations Jul 02, 2024

"The president is now a king above the law. With fear for our democracy, I dissent." Those were the words of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor about yesterday's Supreme court decision conferring what the press described as "partial immunity" on Donald Trump and future presidents for crimes they may commit in office. But the reality goes much deeper than that. Legal scholar Kim Wehle -- a former US Attorney who regularly explains rulings like this on ABC news (subscribe to her substack here)-- explains the stark reality of what this ruling could mean.

01:29 Implications of the Ruling 03:42 Motivated Reasoning and Judicial Philosophy 09:37 The Role of Intent and Evidence 12:58 Political and Social Ramifications 22:08 The Importance of Voting and Democracy 25:36 Conclusion: Reflecting on the Future

The High Stakes Fork in the Road Dilemma for Democrats Jun 29, 2024

BONUS EPISODE: There are two paths in the road ahead for Biden and the Democrats after President Joe Biden's rough debate. There is a roadmap for how he can recover--but can Biden pull it off? And if he can't, what does the unprecedented pathway of him dropping out look like? CHECK OUT MATT'S NEWSWEEK ARTICLE COVERING THIS ISSUE IN DEPTH: https://www.newsweek.com/disastrous-debate-biden-leaves-path-forward-democrats-opinion-1918957

01:44 Analyzing Biden's Debate Performance 03:38 Media Reactions and Public Perception 08:47 Strategic Pathways for Biden 10:40 Potential Replacement Scenarios 24:36 Concluding Thoughts

Debate Disaster for Biden. What Happens Now? Jun 28, 2024

The debate went very badly for Joe Biden. And whether it's fair or not, the reality is that Biden's path to stopping Trump has gotten much harder. Matt, Paul, and Alicia delve into the key question of what happens next. Can Biden recover? What would that take? And if his team concludes that he can't, what would that look like?

01:32 Analyzing Biden's Performance 04:13 Media Perception and Reality 09:11 Debate Performance vs. Presidential Capability 12:12 The Elephant in the Room: Biden's Future 14:07 Strategies for Biden's Campaign 19:44 Political Campaign Strategies 24:40 Potential Democratic Candidates 26:51 The Chaos of an Open Convention 29:44 Democratic Party's Path Forward 36:33 Closing Thoughts -- Just in Case It All Goes Wrong

How To Win the Long Fight for America's Soul Jun 25, 2024

We're in the middle of a fight, as president Biden put it, for the soul of America. We face diametrically opposing visions of the future, and a ton of difficult questions. Even if we win the election, do we just have the bigger threat of everything Donald Trump has unleashed looming ahead of us? What about the way we're waging this fight? I just wrote an article in Washington Monthly arguing that the way we fight in American politics simply may not work in most cases anymore. So if the stakes are really that high shouldn't we be doing something else?And what about the big issue of the nervous breakdown that we seem to be going through as a country? We talk to Dimitri Mehlhorn, political advisor to Democratic donor Reid Hoffman, and one of the Democratic Party's deepest thinkers, about these questions. 02:28 The 2024 Election: What Are We Doing Right and Wrong? 04:14 Trump's Criminal Record: New Information for Voters 09:20 The Challenge of Swing Voters and Polling 13:32 The Permanent Fight Between Good and Evil 14:41 The Democratic Party's Messaging and Strategy 21:56 Challenges of Political Advertising 24:22 Innovative Campaign Strategies 27:29 Authenticity in Political Messaging 35:30 Urban vs. Rural Political Divide 38:50 Trust in Institutions and Government

Biden's Blistering Attack Shifts the Campaign Jun 21, 2024

Why did the Biden campaign decide to launch a blistering new line of attack right now? And what does it tell us about what his closest advisers are seeing from the inside? We connected a few dots to try to figure out the answer. Also, a flood of big news from the tech and political world, including. And, has the Trump campaign figured out how to manipulate the media as laziness and in attention. And we close with a really delicious story, which ends up with me asking: Is Alicia Preston a French RINO traitor. But we had to start with the news yesterday of a sweeping new investigation into MAGA Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz, and an unprecedented broadside from the House Ethics committee.

00:59 Matt Gaetz Under Investigation 06:37 Biden Campaign's New Strategy 10:18 Ground Game Importance in Elections 16:01 Hi-Tech Hijinks and Social Media Concerns 20:13 The Surgeon General's Warning on Social Media 24:29 Trump Campaign's Media Manipulation 31:40 Soccer Predictions and Politics

Sentencing Trump: What Should We WANT to Happen? Jun 18, 2024

With Donald Trump's sentencing in New York rapidly approaching, we ask, what should we want out of the judges sentencing? It's really not that clear cut, since the answer invokes issues of justice, precedent and practical politics. What will this mean for the 2024 election? How would different sentences change voters' perceptions and each sides' message?

03:38 Trump's Legal Troubles and Political Implications 15:22 Sentencing Possibilities and Ramifications

An Insurrectionist [Trump] Returns to the Scene of the Crime Jun 14, 2024

So what happened when Donald Trump went back to the scene of the crime? We're talking of course, about his visit to Congress, the independent branch of government that he urged his supporters to attack as he inspired them to attempted insurrection. We also got into the hunter Biden verdict, and the question of whether Members of Congress really misplayed the political messaging about it. We also talked about the abortion pill ruling and how the media handled that. And then today is Donald Trump's birthday. And we took the liberty at the very end of the show of proposing our very own set of birthday presents for him. 01:00 Trump's Capitol Hill Visit: A Bizarre Return 06:36 Trump's Influence and Republican Sycophancy 12:08 Nikki Haley and the Future of the Republican Party 19:34 Supreme Court Ruling on Mifepristone 24:57 Hunter Biden's Legal Troubles 30:21 Justice System and Political Influence 38:02 Trump's Birthday

The Real Behind the Scenes Power in America Jun 11, 2024

Today, we look at the source of power that has driven the Republican Party for the last five decades, and has shaped the policies, politics, and politicians who in turn shape our lives. Political scientist EJ Fagan's new book 'The Thinkers,' dives into the origins, methods, and extensive power that these institutions quietly wield.

01:07 The Power Behind the Throne 03:41 The Garbage Can Model in Policy Making 11:32 Heritage's Legacy and Modern Think Tanks 20:05 The Intellectual Orthodoxy of Conservatism 20:53 Nixon and Environmental Policies 21:58 The Laffer Curve and Alternative Facts 27:31 Think Tanks and Policy Influence 34:56 Funding and Influence of Think Tanks 38:09 Polarization and the Role of Think Tanks

It's Starting to Turn on Trump Jun 07, 2024

Int he aftermath of Donald Trump's felony conviction, polls are suggesting that critical voters are turning on him. So why are all the big name Republicans so determined to stick with him, and suggest dangerous, scary reprisals? Also is Biden's big border executive order going to make a political difference. Plus, President Biden boxed in Bibi Netanyahu on the peace deal that's on the table between Israel and Hamas. Finally, we have a bold prediction on the NBA finals.

01:03 The Aftermath of Trump's Conviction 05:02 Republican Disconnect and MAGA Penalty 06:54 Faith in Voters and Polling Insights 17:48 Biden's Border Executive Order 27:35 Netanyahu and the Israel-Gaza Conflict 36:53 NBA Finals Predictions and Conclusion

After Trump? Reporter's Inside Look at the Crazy MAGA Future. Jun 04, 2024

ProPublica reporter Andy Kroll just went deep inside the epicenter of MAGA insanity, and found some unsettling things. What drives the MAGA movement is not policy or even support for Trump anymore, but something worse, something that's been on full display since Trump's conviction in New York. And it paints a troubling picture of the post-Trump future of the Republican Party.

01:40 A Disturbing Scene

06:47 The Ideological Divide in MAGA

16:17 The Rise and Fall of Christina Karamo

21:57 The Rise of Nihilism in the Republican Party

25:45 The Future of the Republican Party Post-Trump

29:42 The Entrenchment of Election Denialism

40:28 A Glimmer of Hope: Grassroots Education

Bonus: How Much will the Conviction Hurt Trump May 31, 2024

A quick interview with Howard Monroe about the impact of the Trump conviction

Emergency Pod: Trump Convicted, But Is He Finally Done? May 31, 2024

We start with an emergency segment recorded late this evening on the news that Donald Trump has been convicted on all 34 counts int he New York fraud trial, and is now a felon. We sort through the legal next steps and the political implications. We then shift to our earlier recording and hit the big story from Congressman Jamie Raskin and his proposal about how to force Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito off of the Supreme court cases involving Donald Trump because of their obvious bias. And finally, you'll want to hang on until the end. When we talk about whether we found the single dumbest criminal defendant in history.

00:00 Trump's Conviction: Immediate Reactions

02:14 Legal Analysis of the Verdict

04:43 Political Fallout and Public Reaction

08:29 Implications for American Democracy

11:36 Future Legal Proceedings and Sentencing

23:14 Supreme Court Controversies

38:53 Zoom Courtroom Mishaps

How Mega Companies Get Filthy Rich Off America's Poor with YOUR Tax Dollars May 28, 2024

It's a shocking story we hear almost nothing about: huge corporations exploiting some of the $900 billion a year in government programs aimed at helping America's poor, and pocketing hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars along the way. Anne Kim, a Contributing Editor at Washington Monthly, shares some of the most riveting stories from her book 'Poverty for Profit' (publishing TODAY at this link) a deep dive into what these companies are doing, who is being hurt, and why we decided as a country to outsource the poverty industry. Anne also explains why there's still some good news and hope for the future.

00:51 The Shocking Reality of the Poverty Industry

04:31 The Earned Income Tax Credit: A Double-Edged Sword

10:54 Maximus: The Giant Behind Welfare Outsourcing

16:48 The Dark Side of Medicaid and Dialysis Centers

21:19 The Bail Bond System: Preying on the Vulnerable

23:22 The Roots of Privatization and Its Impact on Poverty

30:03 Reimagining Government's Role and the Path Forward

Trump Claims That He's Dead May 24, 2024

Yes, Donald Trump did kind of tell supporters that he's dead. Our round table discussion started with deep, interesting question: after all the talk about polarization and division, is there actually a powerful emerging centrist movement in America? But then, Alicia dropped something kind of fascinating and disturbing into the conversation, an email from Donald Trump that seems to imply the he is currently dead. And as if that wasn't amusing enough, we close the show on one of the deepest existential questions facing America: what is the sandwich really? We actually had a legal read on that from a real court this week.

01:24 Exploring the Existence of a Political Center in America

05:54 The Rise and Impact of Performative Politics

07:53 The MAGA Movement and Its Influence

16:54 The Future of Republican Moderates and the MAGA Legacy

22:28 Is Trump...Dead?

28:47 The Biden vs. Trump Debate: Age, Sanity, and Governance

30:24 The Great Sandwich Debate: What Qualifies?

Is Biden REALLY in Trouble with Black Voters? May 21, 2024

Are Democrats really shedding massive amounts of support from African American voters? There are certainly warning signs of trouble -- including a New York times poll showing Trump getting the support of more than 20% of Black Americans. But Mario Broussard and Ana Robinson of Global Strategy Group say that the actual picture is a lot more nuanced than that, and that if the numbers suggest anything, it's that there are things Biden and the Democrats can do to hold on to the critical core of the Democrats' base.

01:21 Young Black Women's Voting Enthusiasm and Economic Struggles

04:49 The Impact of Abortion Rights on Young Black Women Voters

15:27 Economic Concerns Among Black Voters

26:34 Messaging Strategies for Democrats: Addressing Key Voter Concerns

32:31 The Role of Social Media and Influencers in Engaging Young Voters

Who ACTUALLY Won the Presidential debate Standoff? May 17, 2024

After a major standoff, Trump and Biden have agreed to two presidential debates. Did Biden win this exchange? And how much does it really matter? Also, a quick breakdown of Michael Cohen's testimony, and the question of whether Trump's political defenses in the hush money trial are actually kind of working. Plus, a very weird New York Times poll from this week and a continued run of voting results that Donald Trump should be finding downright scary. Plus, our closing segment has snakes on a plane. No, really.

And we closed with snakes on a plane. No, literally. I mean, it. Snakes on a plane,

00:00 Opening Remarks: The Role of Debates in Politics

00:46 Debating the Debates: Trump vs. Biden

02:27 The Circus of Presidential Debates

04:26 Breaking Tradition: The New Debate Format

06:19 The Argument Against Debates

10:53 Character and Policy in Debates

17:02 Strategic Analysis: Biden vs. Trump Debate Dynamics

19:29 Trump's Debate Strategy and Poll Analysis

20:16 Breaking Down Trump's Legal Challenges

20:25 The Michael Cohen Testimony: A Deep Dive

25:50 Analyzing Trump's Defense Strategies

30:56 Voter Sentiment and Election Predictions

35:40 Quirky News Roundup: Bees, Zebras, and Snakes

What Everyone Is Missing About Voters' Sour Mood on the Economy May 14, 2024

Lauren Goldstein of Change Research dives into a fascinating study aims to get inside the minds of voters and could help explain why they feel so negative about the most important issue of the 2024 election - the economy. Also, why they do things differently than most opinion researchers, and how that can help change the way we talk to voters.

01:38 Exploring the Real Economic Pain Points of Voters

05:20 The Psychological Underpinnings of Financial Comparisons

10:09 Addressing the Generational Divide and Economic Pessimism

17:08 Strategies for Effective Political Communication

23:13 The Secret Handshake and Used Car Fraud Metaphors

31:29 Innovative Approaches to Public Opinion Research

34:37 The Importance of Listening and Adapting Messaging

Trump's Legal Danger Just Went Way Up...But Not Because of Stormy. May 10, 2024

Was the big, headline grabbing testimony from Stormy Daniel actually the most significant thing that happened in the Trump trial this week? We make the case that the answer is actually...no. Trump should be a lot more worried about three other developments. Plus, what's driving the Biden administration's pause on arms transfers to Israel? And why did RFK Jr. say that a piece of his brain is missing???

00:53 Exploring the Impact of Stormy Daniels' Testimony

05:14 The Hypocrisy Surrounding Pornography

08:56 The Legal Significance Beyond the Headlines

13:32 Trump's Legal Risks and Public Opinion Dynamics

17:30 Debunking Polling Myths and Misinterpretations

21:34 Analyzing the Middle East Ceasefire Negotiations

25:19 The Grand Bargain: Biden's Middle East Strategy

32:56 The Controversial Views of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The Secrets You Need to Know to Succeed in Politics May 07, 2024

What are the things you have to get right to succeed in the world of politics? What's the secret sauce to winning a campaign? (hint: it's actually not what most people think) And what are the unwritten rules that you have to know to be a member of Congress or to work in Congress? We tacked these questions and much more this week, when Matt was honored to be a guest on one of the top podcasts in the world aimed at political insiders, the ProPolitics podcast hosted by Zac McCrary. We're bringing you the full episode here, and check out their feed and consider subscribing if you want to hear more from the biggest insiders in DC.

A Week of Bizarre, Hilarious Political Stories May 03, 2024

This week, politics has been kind of amazing because there's been such a strange mix of ultra serious issues filled with moments that are just hilarious. We unpack the latest developments in the Trump trial and how Donald Trump's own lawyer ended up introducing some really humiliating evidence about him. Also, the crackdown on student protesters and how Lauren Boebert managed to beclown herself. And then of course, we had to talk about the most bizarre story of political self destruction that any of us have ever seen, which happened to a prominent Republican this week.

01:00 The Trump Trial: Legal Analysis and Hilarity

04:01 The Gag Order Debate: Trump's Legal Challenges and Strategies

17:56 Campus Protests: A Mix of Serious and Ridiculous

20:34 The Quirky Protesters and Their Demands

21:20 The Satirical Take on Modern Protests

23:06 Lauren Boebert's Campus Stunt Goes Viral

26:04 Christy Noem's Controversial Animal Stories

32:41 The Debate Over Marijuana Legalization

36:30 Closing Thoughts and Goodbyes

There's a Way Out of MAGA Domination Apr 30, 2024

Is there actually a light at the end of the tunnel, a way out of MAGA domination for the Republican Party? Jonathan Rauch of the Brookings Institution and Peter Wehner of the Trinity Forum, walk us through their much-discussed plan outlined in a recent New York Times opinion piece for a new movement to return to a rational, conservative Republican Party in America. ***Please remember to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.***

00:59 Exploring the Roots and Reasons for a GOP Split

05:05 The Exile Strategy: Overcoming MAGA's Grip

09:12 The Moral and Strategic Imperatives of Overthrowing MAGA

14:34 Potential Leaders and the Path Forward

26:55 The Psychological Battle Against MAGA Dominance

What Should Universities Do About Increasingly Violent Protests? Apr 26, 2024

As protests over the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, reignite and turn violent, the panel ask whether a line has been crossed and what universities that have been paralyzed for so long should do now. We also mark the historic passage of the foreign aid bill, which included long overdue money for Ukraine. And at the end, we ask whether a quote from Mitt Romney this week was a great one or the greatest one ever given. But we start off with the tsunami of Trump legal news, including yesterday's massive Supreme court hearing, new indictments in Arizona, and Paul's evaluation as a former prosecutor of how effective this week's testimony in the New York trial really was

01:07 Analyzing the Prosecution's Strategy in Trump's Trial

05:07 The Intricacies of Legal and Ethical Boundaries in Media Collaboration

14:27 Breaking Down the New Indictments and Supreme Court's Role

18:01 Addressing Anti-Semitic Protests at Elite Universities

24:43 Comparing Past and Present Campus Protests

36:22 Political Achievements and Bipartisanship

37:47 The Mitt Romney Quote

Why Are Right-Wing Media "Utterly Collapsing?" Apr 24, 2024

The biggest right-wing news sites are seeing cratering traffic and influence. But why? And is that all good news for the rest of the anti-Trump world? Veteran reporter Paul Farhi joins to discuss his recent blockbuster article in The Atlantic on what's happening, and why it's significant.

00:59 How Big is the Collapse of Right-Wing Media Traffic

03:46 Exploring the Causes

10:38 The Financial Impact and Future of Right-Wing Media

18:17 The Broader Implications: Misinformation, Fracturing, and the Future of Media

22:33 The Controversy Around NPR's Alleged Leftward Shift

35:13 Analyzing the Impact of Conservative Media

Who's Fighting one of America's Biggest Threats? Meet the Lie Detectives. Apr 22, 2024

What would you say is the biggest threat to America today? It might not be what you think. Many of America's senior leaders, especially the ones in the Democratic Party, believe that it's the insidious, intentional assault on our brains, from people using technology to pump them full of misinformation and disinformation. The torrent of lies may be making it impossible for democracy to function anymore, and is putting some of the worst possible people in power.

Journalist Sasha Issenberg takes us inside this world in his new book The Lie Detectives, and joins us to explain what they've found out about how to fight this new war for information, truth, and democracy.

01:13 The Oh Gosh Moment: Realizing the Scale of Disinformation

16:18 Jiore Craig's Mission: Adapting Political Strategies for the Digital Age

30:49 Understanding the Ecosystem of Disinformation

41:25 The Future of Fighting Disinformation: Challenges and Optimism

The Shifting, Secret Trump Jury That Could Shape History Apr 19, 2024

Former prosecutor Paul Hodes walks us through one of the most important jury selection processes ever, as jurors are added - and removed - from trump's fraud trial in New York. We also probe the impact of having two lawyers on the jury, and is the Biden White House taking the right approach politically by staying totally silent about the trial.

Also, the sham Mayorkas impeachment. And is Mike Johnson actually doing a GOOD job? And a wild closing story that involves escaped zoo animals and a huge metaphor for politics in America.

00:53 The Trump Trial: Jury Selection and Legal Drama

05:27 The Role of Lawyers in the Jury

14:51 Biden's White House: A Silent Strategy on Trump's Trial

17:13 The Mayorkas Impeachment: A Partisan Stunt Dismissed

20:12 The Impact of C SPAN on Politics

25:21 Mike Johnson: Good Leadership on Ukraine?

34:41 Closing Segment: The ACTUAL Political Circus

Trump's Stock is Crashing Now. How Bad Will This Get for Him? Apr 17, 2024

The dramatic decrease in value of Donald Trump's Truth Social stock has already erased billions in ill-gotten gains from the former President. Why the major fall, and more important, how bad could this ultimate get for Trump? We asked stock market expert Chris Hill, former host of Motley Fool Money.

00:00 The Crash of Trump's Truth Social Stock

02:03 The Meme Stock Phenomenon Explained

04:35 The Intricacies of SPACs and Their Impact

09:21 The Financial Mechanics Behind Truth Social's Strategy

20:53 Predictions and Implications for Trump

Did the OJ Simpson Trial Foreshadow the Rise of Trump? Apr 12, 2024

Did the basic elements of the OJ Simpson trial give us a preview of Trump's America? The comparison isn't as far-fetched as it might seem. Also, the impliations of the recent Arizona ruling implementing a total abortion ban, and how did that lead to Lindsay Graham being called a Republican in name only (RINO). Also... Lenny Kravitz's fashion choices?!?

00:17 The OJ Simpson Saga previewed the age of Trump

09:02 Exploring the Impact of Arizona's Abortion Ban

12:26 The MAGA Conundrum: Logic, Loyalty, and Lindsey Graham

20:30 FISA Controversy: National Security vs. Political Allegiance

29:54 Lenny Kravitz's Leather Pants

Obama's AI Advisor: What's Good, What's Bad, And What's Scary Apr 10, 2024

The implications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) could be profound, wonderful, and maybe terrifying. Eric Daimler -- a former AI advisor to President Obama -- helps us sort through the good, the bad, and whether the AI apocalypse is actually a risk (hint: yes, sort of).

01:36 The Real Concerns and Misunderstandings of AI

08:04 The Surprising Origins and Current Challenges of Cybersecurity

13:50 The Ubiquity of AI: From Everyday Anxieties to Real-World Applications

17:32 Flipping the Script: The Positive Side of AI

23:47 The Power of Data in Government and Business

26:37 The Future of AI

31:28 Debating the AI Apocalypse

38:52 Empowering Individuals in the Age of AI

The Best Movie About Politics EVER Isn't What You Think Apr 08, 2024

We're talking about the best movie about politics ever today, and we'll bet it's not what you think. Maybe you brought to mind Mr. Smith goes to Washington, or the American President. Maybe even the Reese Witherspoon classic Election? NOPE. We want to make a case today that the most accurate, the most insightful, the most hilarious movie about politics ever made is this amazing classic from 30 years ago that not only captures real truths about how the system does and doesn't work, but is also downright hilarious, and even predicted the rise and fall of George Santos. We bring in the writer and Executive Producer of the film to discuss.

00:00 Introduction: Unveiling the Best Political Movie Ever

02:34 The Making of a Political Satire Masterpiece

10:38 Insider's View: The Realism Behind the Comedy

15:35 The Lobbyist System Exposed

21:17 The Art of Political Speechwriting

23:04 Breaking Down the Best Political Speech Ever

27:09 Navigating the Complex World of Congress

31:15 The Challenge of Satire in Today's Political Landscape

33:50 Envisioning a Sequel

40:26 Reflecting on the Impact and Legacy of the movie

How Trump Is Knifing Johnson Using Marjorie Taylor Greene Apr 05, 2024

Marjorie Taylor Greene's is trying to remove Mike Johnson as House Speaker, supposedly over his government funding deal, but really over his proposal for Ukraine aid. But it's really a sign of how Trump's small MAGA sect -- and their patron Vladimir Putin -- continue to exercise leverage over the rest of America. Then, was there a critical shift in the Israel-Hamas war this week? Also, Trump's legal and financial maneuvers, and we highlight the most bizarre far-right conspiracy theories related to Monday's eclipse.

00:00 Diving into Trump's Political Maneuvers and House Speaker Drama

00:17 Exploring the Complex Dynamics of US and Israel Politics

00:50 Unpacking the Intricacies of the Ukraine Conflict and US Support

08:37 Analyzing the Political Landscape and Public Perception in Israel

15:17 Shifting Perspectives on Israel and the Impact on US Politics

19:36 A Lighter Take: This Week in Trump and Legal Battles

27:05 Navigating the World of Conspiracy Theories and Eclipse Madness

32:33 Wrapping Up: Reflections and Greek Independence Day

One Thing: the Right's Frankenstein Monster Is Back to Get Us Apr 02, 2024

One thing to notice today is a news story in Politico about how the anti-abortion movement is scheming to turn the Republican party and ultimately all of America against in-vitro fertilization. What's amazing is that this is actually just the latest result of an intentional cynical, carefully calculated project begun in secret 50 years ago, it's sort of a Frankenstein monster of political power that's changed the face of America. And since it's broken lab containment, I may continue to affect all of us for decades to come.

***This mini-episode is part of a pilot project to try short, daily, focused episodes focusing on one key idea, number, or news item. We really want to know what you think of it. You can answer the poll question (on Spotify), or email us at matt.beyondpoliticspodcast@gmail.com.***

Are Republicans About to Melt Down...Again? And What About the Rest of Us? Apr 01, 2024

On the surface, the day's big headline was about Republican dysfunction. Underneath, it really revealed something that's been going wrong with all of American politics for a long time. One polling number, and one long-forgotten episode of a television science fiction series, help illustrate the problem.

Inside the Right Wing's Not-So-Secret Plan for a Radical Takeover Apr 01, 2024

Imagine the leaders of America's right wing sitting down and writing a plan for a radical re-shaping of American government and society, a blueprint to put in place if they manage to elect Donald Trump again. It actually happened. Today, we go inside 'Project 2025' with Ben Olinsky from the Center for American Progress Action Fund, and find out what's in the plan, and why on Earth if they have such an alarming set of ideas designed to scare swing voters they would ever write it down.

00:51 The Shocking Contents of Project 2025

04:17 Schedule F: Trump's Plan to Politicize the Federal Bureaucracy

09:14 Weaponizing the Department of Justice Under Trump

13:20 Immigration Policies in Project 2025: Expanding Expedited Removal

15:55 The Achievability of Project 2025's Goals

20:29 Hidden Agendas: Labor Policies and Christian Nationalism

24:07 The Strategy Behind Publicizing Project 2025

31:24 Defending Democracy: Strategies Against Project 2025

One Thing: How Daniel Kahneman Actually Changed the World Mar 29, 2024

There were two significant deaths in the news on Wednesday: one got all the headlines, but the other one changed the world. And that's the one thing to pay attention to: how Daniel Kahneman led a quiet revolution in understanding how people think that is still rippling through the world and will for decades to come. He's even likely influenced the things you say and do.

We really want to know what you think. You can answer the poll question (on Spotify), or email us at matt.beyondpoliticspodcast@gmail.com.

Trump Just Made Billions. Does It Change Anything? Mar 29, 2024

Donald Trump just made billions by taking his media company built on Truth Social public. Is that really going to change anything politically? Or in terms of the fact that he seemed to be nearly bankrupt at the beginning of the week? (01:09). Then the Ronna McDaniel saga at NBC where she got hired and promptly fired. Alicia Preston shuts down the Republican counter backlash in one line. (12:51) Also, which party should be more nervous about the rise of RFK Jr.(21:25) , the legacy of Joe Lieberman (24:46), AND, based on the news that Donald Trump is selling Trump-branded Bibles, we came up with our own list of Trump branded religious paraphernalia that he should try to sell next (28:45).

Wait, HOW Often Do Ships Run Into Bridges??? (Hint: A LOT) Mar 28, 2024

Today, we're testing a new concept: 10 minute daily episodes highlighting the things happening in the news that are worthy of your attention, but that don't make the headline skim. The kind of important number or idea that somehow slips down 8 paragraphs in the story, or onto the back pages. Something that might make you think about the world a little differently, or help connect some dots that put current events in a new light.

We really want to know what you think. You can answer the poll question (on Spotify), or email us at matt.beyondpoliticspodcast@gmail.com.

Today, the thing to notice is the number 35. Earlier this week, a cargo ship lost power and plowed into the Francis Scott Key bridge in the port of Baltimore killing six bridge workers. The effects will ripple across America for years to come. But it's the number 35, tucked into a New York Times op-ed, that makes one think about the bigger role of the federal government and what it quietly does in the shadows.

He Stopped Trump from Stealing One Critical Swing State Mar 27, 2024

Joe Khan was the lawyer for a critical swing county in Pennsylvania in 2020 when he noticed something...odd. He joins us to tell the story of how he and a group of lawyers banded together to defend the Pennsylvania election outcome - and ultimately American democracy - from the Trump onslaught. And now that he's running for Attorney General of Pennsylvania, what lessons will he apply in 2024, when Pennsylvania appears to be under even greater threat of Trump election interference?

01:30 The Early Signs of Election Interference in Pennsylvania

04:29 Building a Legal Coalition to Defend the Vote

09:01 Frontline Strategies: Preparing for Every Scenario

15:41 The Fight Against Social Media Giants

21:49 The Critical Role of the Attorney General in Future Elections

Is Most of the Music Industry About to Be Wiped Out? Mar 25, 2024

There is a sneaky huge shift happening in American music right now right under our very noses (or ears). Private equity's takeover of the music business could have major consequences for what we hear and whether we hear anything new at all. Whitney Houston's catalog acquisition, Taylor Swift's battle over her masters, and the fight over Pink Floyd's music are just a handful of examples. Music industry writer Marc Hogan joins to explain his fascinating piece about this in the New York Times.

00:00 The Unseen Impact of Private Equity on Music

01:27 A Deep Dive into Music Rights and Private Equity

05:00 The Taylor Swift Case

10:50 Exploring the Financialization of Music and Its Effects

17:59 The Future of Music: Creativity vs. Commercialization

27:01 Exploring the Potential for Innovation in Music and Visual Media

30:28 The Future of Music: Opportunities and Challenges

Republicans' Spactacular, Epic, Hilarious Backfire Mar 22, 2024

A Chaotic Republican Hearing and Trump's Legal and Financial Woes: the round table runs through a tumultuous Republican hearing meant to highlight Republicans' fantasy of wrongdoing by President Biden, which backfired spectacularly on themselves and Donald Trump. Also, Judge Aileen Cannon's ham-handed slow-walking of the Trump documents case, and the incredible shrinking Trump fundraising base.

02:29 The Republican Hearing Debacle

14:15 The Media's Role and Public Perception in Political Narratives

21:48 Judge Cannon Tries to Bury The Case in Florida

28:27 Breaking News: The Government's New Lawsuit

38:50 Trump's Legal and Financial Troubles Are Deep

45:31 The RNC Takeover and Trump's Fundraising Woes

50:40 The Bizarre World of Political Fundraising Emails

Trump is Beating Biden Right Now. Why That Probably Won't Last. Mar 20, 2024

How on earth is Trump beating Biden right now? It's the question that has baffled and enraged Democrats for months. And it's the question that Matt Robison tackled in his new article for Washington Monthly. Matt lays out one of the biggest reasons, something that analysts tend to overlook, and adds material that didn't make it into the article.

00:05 The Puzzling Popularity of Donald Trump

02:07 The Low Information Trap: Unpacking Voter Awareness

03:45 The Stark Contrast: Trump's Failures and Crimes

10:49 High vs. Low Information Voters: Bridging the Gap

17:48 The Impact of Information on Voter Perception

22:25 Looking Ahead: What Does this Mean for 2024?

Did Trump Just Beat (some of) the Rap? Mar 15, 2024

Three charges were just dismissed against Donald Trump in Georgia. Will this make a major, lasting difference in his legal peril? Also, Never Trump Republicans fold bigly, is a MAGA takeover bid for TikTok a good thing, and is the AI apocalypse here?

00:46 Analyzing the Legal Implications and Prosecutorial Missteps

11:16 The Political and Legal Ramifications of the Case

12:46 Trump's New Never-Trump Republican Endorsements

19:21 The RNC Takeover: Trump's Personal Agenda

27:29 The TikTok Dilemma: National Security

33:09 AI Apocalypse: The End of Humanity as We Know It?

Whatever Happened in the Biggest Trump-Russia Scandal? Mar 13, 2024

We look back today at the biggest, and probably most forgotten scandal in the whole Trump-Russia web of corruption. When Charles McGonigal, former head of counterintelligence at the FBI, was recently convicted for money laundering and working for Russia, the media barely took notice. In this interview recorded a year ago just after McGonigal's arrest, our expert guest Craig Unger laid out just how deep the Trump-Russia-FBI ties go, and how disturbing the implications are.

00:00 Introduction: The Unseen Scandal of American Intelligence

03:06 The Forgotten Ties: Trump, Russia, and the FBI's Compromised Investigation

09:59 The Historical Context: Trump's Long-standing Ties with Russia

20:37 The Media's Role and the Need for Counterintelligence Investigation

28:29 Confronting the Challenges: How to Combat Disinformation and Silence

Biden Just Took His Strategy From A Hollywood Movie Mar 11, 2024

Beyond Politics: Biden's Impact, Trump's Troubles, and Democratic Strategies

Biden's recent turn in tone, language, and strategy that he started at the State of the Union seems ripped from the pages of a Hollywood script. Political analyst Cliff Schecter thinks it comes right out of "The American President," but Matt Robison has a couple other movie moments in mind. Also, does Trump's decision to appoint Lara Trump to head the RNC a hint o how deep his financial troubles are? And when will Nikki Haley bend the knee to Trump??

01:54 The Rise of 'Dark Brandon'

11:55 The Power of Counter Attack

14:35 Movie Metaphors for Political Strategies

18:12 The Trump Crime Family and the RNC

22:02 The Financial Struggles of Donald Trump

27:32 The Future of Nikki Haley and the Republican Party

Did Biden's "Home Run" Speech Reset the 2024 Election? Mar 08, 2024

President Joe Biden's fiery, fiesty State of the Union drew raves from analysts, with Politico writing "it’s hard to imagine how the SOTU could’ve gone much better for Biden." But what impact did it actually have with the swing voters that will decide the 2024 election? And will it reset a race that's been looking dangerous for the President? Pollsters Ian Smith and Gabi Parra of Navigator Research explain what their live dial testing with swing voters revealed, what moments really stuck out, and whether this speech accomplished what Joe Biden truly needed.

02:02 The Impact of State of the Union on Swing Voters

07:11 The Importance of Democracy and Voting Rights

09:54 The Impact of Biden's Economic Policies

10:58 The Role of Women in Politics

12:16 Immigration

19:56 The Age Issue

23:15 Women's Political Power

26:33 The Moment that Mattered

Is This Make Or Break Week for Joe Biden? Mar 06, 2024

With major polls showing President Joe Biden continuing to trail Donald Trump, Democratic insiders believe that the State of the Union speech this week has now become a make-or-break moment for the President. But is it? And what does he need to accomplish for it to be successful? Also, the hidden significance of Super Tuesday that could be sneaky good news for Democrats, major rulings from the Supreme Court that help Trump and cast doubt on the Court, and Matt and Alicia get parodied on social media.

02:10 State of the Union: Predictions and Expectations

12:01 Super Tuesday: Significance and Predictions

17:49 Supreme Court Decisions and Their Impact

30:06 The Lighter Side of Politics: Parody Accounts

Will the Alabama IVF Ruling Continue to Shake American Politics? Mar 04, 2024

When Alabama's Supreme Court redefined the legal status of stored embryos, equating them to children under a law from 1872, it unleashed a tidal wave of outrage, fear, and recriminations. Sabrina Talukder, Director of the Women's Initiative at the Center for American Progress, joins to talk through the continuing repercussions of the ruling, whether all the concern is warranted, and how the ruling will shape the debate and the politics of reproductive freedom and women's health in the coming year.

01:34 Alabama Supreme Court's Decision

04:02 Legal Analysis and Repercussions

09:08 Discussion on the Political Implications

19:02 The Politicization of Medicine

21:11 Future Implications

Should Trump Or Biden Be More Scared By This Week's Primaries? Mar 01, 2024

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What is the meaning of the Haley vote in South Carolina and the "uncommitted" vote in Michigan? Is Trump or Biden more vulnerable to weakness in his own party? Also, how should the Biden campaign shift strategy after the Supreme Court took up the Trump immunity case and pushed back the election subversion trial indefinitely? And what is the meaning of Mitch McConnell's stepping down and the emerging MAGA bloc search for a successor in the Senate. And, the hilarious politics story of the week: a MAGA troll gets ratio-ed on Twitter!

01:27 Supreme Court Decision on Trump's Immunity

04:25 Election Strategy

08:43 IVF Ruling and its Political Impact

13:56 Primary Results in South Carolina and Michigan

20:13 Mitch McConnell's Departure and its Implications

23:48 Fun Politics Story of the Week

Emergency Pod: The Supreme Court Massively Shifts the 2024 Election Feb 29, 2024

The Supreme Court's decision to consider Donald Trump's claim of absolute immunity could massively change the course and the outcome of the presidential election. With this decision, the Court seems to be taking away the biggest driver of voters turning away from Trump. Guest Andy Kroll of ProPublica helps examine why the Court did this, what the political implications are, and what might eventually unfold. ***Please rate&Review on Apple Podcast App!***

02:04 The Supreme Court's Decision: A Detailed Breakdown

05:31 The Legal and Political Implications of the Decision

13:27 The Impact on the Presidential Election

16:05 The Future of the Legal Cases Against Trump

23:05 The Potential Outcomes and Their Implications

Revisiting the Reporter Who Discovered Clarence Thomas' Dirty Secrets Feb 28, 2024

Today, we revisit an interview with Justin Elliot from ProPublica on his groundbreaking investigation into corruption allegations against Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. We cover the financial ties between Thomas, his wife, and right-wing billionaire Harlan Crow, which included expensive vacations and significant contributions to private school tuition. And we go inside the world of investigative reporting to understand what it takes to break a story like this.

00:00 Introduction and Context

00:01 The Clarence Thomas Corruption Story

00:26 The Impact of Corruption on the Supreme Court

01:39 The Role of Journalism in Uncovering Corruption

02:33 Interview with Justin Elliot

02:39 The Importance of Investigative Journalism

07:08 The Challenges of Reporting on the Supreme Court

08:25 The Unusual Financial Ties Between Crow and Thomas

12:48 The Power of Public Records in Journalism

18:47 The Influence of Money in Politics

24:55 The Need for Transparency in the Supreme Court

36:39 The Role of the Senate in Investigating Corruption

39:38 Conclusion and Call to Action

A Staggering Disaster For 20 Million in America Feb 26, 2024

There's a shadow healthcare crisis looming for 20 million, and you probably haven't heard about it. That's because it largely affects a group of people who have been swept up in the politics of immigration and border policy -- even though the vast majority of them are naturalized citizens, documented permanent residents, or Americans born in this country. Adriana Cadena, Director of the Protecting Immigrant Families Campaign, and Leo Cuello, a research professor at the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy, explain why this is happening, why it's so important, and what can be done about it.

00:00 Introduction to the Looming Healthcare Crisis

01:05 Understanding the Scale of the Problem

04:32 The Human Impact of Losing Healthcare Coverage

06:09 Exploring the Reasons Behind the Crisis

11:19 The Role of Immigration Status in Healthcare Access

13:07 The Politics of Healthcare and Immigration

22:55 Potential Solutions to the Healthcare Crisis

27:48 The Future of Healthcare for Immigrant Families

31:58 Closing Thoughts on the Importance of Policy Experts

Russia-Republicans Swindle America AGAIN Feb 23, 2024

Tell me if you heard this before--the whole impeachment case against President Biden was based on a Russian disinformation operation. AGAIN. Also, what is the impact of an Alabama State Supreme Court ruling regarding in-vitro fertilization?

00:00 Introduction: The Russian Disinformation Operation

01:12 The FBI's Role and Suspicion

01:59 The Hillary Clinton Investigation and Russian Intelligence

08:00 The Alabama State Supreme Court Ruling on Embryos

19:24 The Ezra Klein Controversy: Should Biden Step Down?

They Publicly Protested the President. He's Their Boss. Feb 21, 2024

***Please share our show with a friend!*** What do you do if you disagree with your boss, when your boss is one of the most powerful people in the world? Recently, 17 Biden campaign staffers publicly wrote a letter to the president disagreeing with his position on the war in Gaza, which followed a letter anonymously sent by over 500 staffers back in November. Our guest Jim Papa is a former White House and Congressional staffer and host of the podcast "Staffer," and he says that this kind of protest can cause serious damage. But what about the case of Trump White House staffers who quietly worked against Trump ideas that they thought were dangerous or outright insane. Where do you draw the line

00:59 The Dilemma of Disagreeing with Your Boss

02:51 The Balance Between Personal Conscience and Professional Duty

10:42 The Consequences of Publicly Disagreeing with Your Boss

13:14 The Ethical Dilemma of Working for a Controversial Administration

21:51 The Role of Staffers in Shaping Information

How Republicans Disatrously Broke Congress Feb 19, 2024

Republicans have officially broken the US Congress to the most dysfunctional, dangerous, and even absurd degree in American history. Congressional expert Laura Rodriguez of the Center for American Politics Action Fund joins to Matt Robison to run down just how severe the madness has gotten, and why people should care about how much damage they are doing. ***Please leave us a great review in Apple Podcasts App!!***

01:44 The Impact of Trump on American Politics

03:03 The New York Special Election: A Turning Point?

07:37 The MAGA Mind Virus: Is It Real?

11:30 The Impeachment of Secretary Mayorkas

16:02 The Consequences of Congressional Dysfunction

30:15 The Future of the Republican Party

A Prosecutor + Her Boyfriend = Get Out of Jail Free for Trump? Feb 16, 2024

Could Fani Willis' relationship kill the Georgia Trump case? Also, Trump's total meltdown on NATO and Putin, MAGA Republicans try to kill Ukraine aid, gun violence in Kansas City, and an easy solution for the patriarchy. ***Don't forget to rate and review us!!*** Check out another great podcast at ⁠⁠Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other⁠ ***

02:03 Introducing 'Rent-a-Dude': A Solution to Gender Bias

04:07 The Fani Willis Hearing

07:15 Trump Legal Watch: A Look at Ongoing Cases

10:36 The Foreign Aid Bill: A Political Standoff

13:40 Lindsey Graham's Political Shift

14:38 Sheldon Whitehouse's Twitter Rant

17:19 Donald Trump's Controversial Statements

22:56 Debate on Gun Violence and Media Coverage

$17 Billion in Political Ads. Does It Even Work? Feb 14, 2024

US political campaigns are expected to spent $17 billion on ads in 2024. But there's little evidence about how much of it works, if any does at all. John Halpin, Executive Editor of The Liberal Patriot, explains what we know and what we don't know about political advertising, and why the best solution for winning campaigns in 2024 might be a back-to-the-future approach.

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00:31 The Question of Political Ad Effectiveness

03:24 The Trust Gap in Political Advertising

05:09 The Influence of Political Ads: A Data Perspective

08:18 The Impact of Negative Political Ads

10:18 The Role of Money in Political Campaigns

17:10 The Need for a Rethink in Political Campaign Strategies

26:52 The Power of Person-to-Person Contact in Politics

30:18 Conclusion: The Future of Political Advertising

"Disenfranchisement and Chaos": Inside the Supreme Court's Biggest Case Feb 12, 2024

ProPublica's star investigative reporter Andy Kroll takes us behind the scenes, inside the issues and internal debates within the Supreme Court as it hears the 14th Amendment case against former President Donald Trump.

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01:17 Case Overview: Donald J. Trump vs Norma Anderson

05:54 The Debate on the 14th Amendment

11:40 The Tension Between Strict Constructionism and Legal Interpretation

20:19 The Three Core Questions for the Court

25:28 Understanding the Concept of Insurrection

26:55 The Role of States in Enforcing the 14th Amendment

36:13 The Role of the Supreme Court in Political Decisions

41:38 The Potential for Future Political Crises

46:42 The Importance of a Functional Congress

A Disaster Day for Democrats: Sunday Roundtable Edition Feb 11, 2024

A Bad Day for Democrats, the 14th Amendment, and Questions about Joe Biden's Fitness for Office. A special Sunday bonus roundtable discussion with Matt, Paul, and Alicia on how the Supreme Court is crushing Democrats dreams of getting saved from Trump, while the Special Counsel crushed Biden's age and memory in a way that could have lasting echoes throughout the Presidential race.

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00:40 The Impact of Special Counsel's Investigation on Joe Biden

09:15 The Political Impact of the Special Counsel's Report

14:42 The Age Factor in Politics: Biden vs Trump

18:19 The Supreme Court and the 14th Amendment

22:16 The Immunity Question: Trump's Legal Challenges

24:30 The House of Representatives: A Study in Dysfunction

30:14 The Swift Bowl

Bonus Episode: Trump CAN Run, But He AIN'T Immune Feb 10, 2024

Two cases in the federal courts this week had very different outcomes for Donald Trump. A Federal Appeals Court demolished Trump's claims of immunity from prosecution, but the US Supreme Court seemed poised to allow him to remain on the ballot despite a constitutional challenge over his role in the Insurrection. Matt Robison joins radio legend Howard Monroe to break it down.

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02:51 Discussion on Court Rulings and Presidential Immunity

08:37 Conversation on the 14th Amendment Case

18:12 Discussion on the Biden Special Prosecutor's Report

Top Expert's Election Forecast Is In, And the Winner Is... Feb 09, 2024

Top forecaster Mark Zandi, Chief Economist of Moody's Analytics and the host of 'Inside Economics' has released his election forecast model. We dive into the factors that will truly matter in 2024, and announce the predicted winner.

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02:49 The Impact of the Economy on Voter Behavior

04:40 The Influence of Voter Turnout

07:00 The Significance of Election Forecast Models

09:42 The Role of Third-Party Candidates in Elections

19:43 The Impact of Economic Factors on Elections

23:35 Predicting the Next President

Part 2: Can We Talk Politics & Religion Without Killing Each Other? Feb 07, 2024

Corey Nathan of the hit podcast Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other joins Matt Robison for Part Two of their conversation about whether the divides in America are really that big for the vast majority of people, and how to connect with people who seem to have major differences with you.

If you haven't heard Part One yet, click on the link for Corey's pod and check it out (and then come right back here)! And PLEASE hit follow on both of our shows, and if you're on the Apple Podcast app especially, scroll to the bottom of the episode list and leave us a rating and review!

05:04 The Journey from Judaism to Christianity

07:42 The Importance of Engaging in Political Discussions

10:36 The Role of Religion in Politics

18:07 The Dangers of Avoiding Political Discussions

21:16 The Exit Ramp for Trump Supporters

23:48 Understanding Deplorability and Open-Mindedness

30:31 The Power of Listening and Understanding

37:40 The Threat of Authoritarianism to Democracy

40:44 The Value of Maintaining Conversations Across Differences

Why 2024 Might Be the Most Important Year Feb 05, 2024

2024 may be the most pivotal year in decades, one that could shape the world's future in profound ways. Xenia Wickett, a geopolitical expert who has worked at the White House, State Department, Chatham House, and the Harvard Kennedy School explains what the big drivers of instability and change are, and suggests how to think about the complicated cross currents in the world in 2024.

02:57 The Key Challenges in 2024

06:02 The Pillars of Global Structure

16:11 The New Role of Corporations Across Societies

20:19 The Four Global Systems

22:49 The Interplay of Global Systems and Foundational Pillars

28:40 The 'Rooms' - Localized Issues Impacting the Global System

31:07 Understanding the Interconnectedness of Global Events

38:48 Learning to Manage Volatility

Who Actually Won the Hollywood Bloodbath? Feb 02, 2024

Smart insights on the future of streaming and entertainment with Chris Hill, the former host of Motley Fool Money. Now that Netflix seems to have come out on top int he streaming wars, what does the mix of emerging company strategies mean for various forms of media that Americans watch, including television, movies, and sports. 🙂🙏🤛QUICK Favor: After you Hit "Follow" or "Subscribe" Can You Please Leave Us a Rating & Review in the Apple Podcasts App?

02:02 The Future of Streaming and Entertainment

04:30 The Streaming Wars: Are They Over?

08:11 The Impact of the Pandemic and Strikes on the Entertainment Industry

13:48 The Role of Advertising in Streaming Platforms

14:35 Is the Change in the Entertainment Industry Good for Viewers?

18:51 The Evolution of Viewer Behavior and Business Response

21:44 The Rising Cost of Streaming Services

22:19 The Future of Cable Bundle Business Model

27:24 The Evolution of Movie Content

30:10 The Future of Movie Theaters and Releases

37:18 The Rise of International Content on Streaming Platforms

39:23 Predictions for the Future of Streaming

Why Taylor Swift Is Driving Republicans Insane Jan 31, 2024

Also, what does Donald Trump's move to kill an immigration deal tell us about shifting power centers in America? And, what will the latest developments in the Middle East and changes in voter perceptions of the economy do to the political landscape in 2024?

00:09 Taylor Swift and the Political Landscape

02:55 The Politics of Jealousy

08:27 The Impeachment of Alejandro Mayorkas

13:32 The Border Issue and Political Power

18:32 The Power Shift in the Republican Party

25:57 The Current State of the Middle East

32:26 The Impact of the Economy on Politics

A Sneaky New Supreme Court Case Could Upend the Trump Trial Jan 29, 2024

Renowned Constitutional scholar and law professor Kim Wehle explains how an unheralded Supreme Court case could eliminate the core of the election subversion case against Donald Trump, and give him many more paths to delay and escape justice.

03:04 Discussion on Kim's New Book on Pardon Power

07:10 How Fisher vs United States Could Upend the Trump Trial

15:26 Critique of the Supreme Court's Approach to Precedent

21:47 Unpacking the Legal Implications for Donald Trump

30:56 The Role of Regulatory Agencies and the Supreme Court

37:50 The Threat of State Secession

Trump Won New Hampshire. Why's He Hopping Mad About It? Jan 24, 2024

A special late-night discussion on the results of the New Hampshire primary. Donald Trump won, but showed continued vulnerability which seemed to send him into a meltdown. Should Trump be encouraged or nervous after this supposedly big win?

00:32 Analyzing Trump's Victory and Haley's Performance

04:16 The Future of the Republican Party

06:57 The Democratic Side of the Race

11:39 The Impact of Trump's Misogyny

26:04 The Future of the New Hampshire Primary

Chris Matthews: Behind the Scenes from a Lifetime in Politics Jan 23, 2024

On New Hampshire Primary day, an in-person discussion with Chris Matthews, best known for his political analysis on the show Hardball. He shares his experiences with House Speaker Tip O'Neill and shares inside stories about politics and lessons from a lifetime rubbing shoulders with some of the best-known politicians in America.

00:58 The Impact of Hardball: The Book and The Show

01:44 Analyzing the Political Landscape and Key Players

04:24 The Impact of Personal Presence in Politics

08:03 The Role of Media in Politics

12:08 The Role of Journalists in Holding Politicians Accountable

19:43 The Importance of Responding to Political Attacks

22:19 The Challenge of Dealing with Trump

24:02 Kamala Harris: Biden's Biggest Problem?

26:42 The Challenges and Rewards of a Political Career

35:04 The Changing Political Landscape

37:23 The Importance of Personal Relationships in Politics

Is Trump a Done Deal? We Asked New Hampshire's Top Pollster. Jan 22, 2024

New CNN polling from Andy Smith, the director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, is out with new figures and for those hoping to stop Trump, things are not looking good. What happened, why, and what do the coming months look like?

01:03 Interview with Andy Smith, Director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center

02:32 The Influence of Trump on New Hampshire Politics

03:36 The Rise and Fall of Ron DeSantis

04:25 The Impact of Indictments on Trump's Support

09:42 The Role of Nikki Haley in the Republican Primary

12:37 Understanding Voting Behavior in New Hampshire

20:01 The Impact of Immigration on Trump's Support

28:07 The Strategy and Challenges of Haley's Campaign

29:58 The Influence of Media on Election Results

36:54 The Future of the Republican Party

39:47 Memorable Moments from Past Primaries

44:43 The Paradigm Shift in the Polling Industry

No, You're Not Taking Crazy Pills -- The Trump Story Is Really Wrong Jan 19, 2024

Matt Robison and Paul Hodes join renowned radio host Matt McNeil to talk about how the media narrative is spinning Trump's results into political capita, the challenges facing Biden, and the curious political campaign of Dean Phillips.

00:42 Critique of Media's Role in Politics

02:25 Analysis of Trump's Performance in Iowa

03:12 Media's Misrepresentation of Trump's Success

06:29 Impact of Media Narrative on New Hampshire Polls

09:28 Understanding New Hampshire's Political Landscape

16:28 Discussion on Dean Phillips' Campaign

20:34 Analysis of Write-in Campaign for Biden

Things Are Moving Fast In New Hampshire Now Jan 18, 2024

What's it like behind the scenes in the New Hampshire Primary, and what should people watch for in the coming days. Matt Robison and Paul Hodes join Howard Monroe to take us inside a fast-moving an unpredictable race.

00:43 Media's Role in Shaping Perceptions

03:46 Understanding New Hampshire Primary

04:32 The Role of Independent Voters in New Hampshire

08:08 The Unusual Year for New Hampshire

09:21 The Impact of Media on Election Results

15:45 The Potential Impact of Undeclared Voters

22:48 The Future of American Politics

The Media Got Its Iowa Trump Story Outrageously Wrong Jan 16, 2024

How the media's lazy, glib reporting managed to distort the story of Trump's win in Iowa, and why that could have disastrous consequences for this election and America's future. See Matt's companion op-ed in Newsweek. ***Please take a moment to leave us a 5-star rating and a review on Apple podcasts***

02:18 The Media's Misrepresentation of Trump's Victory

09:37 The Impact of Iowa Results on New Hampshire

11:18 The Role of Media in Shaping Election Narratives

22:16 The Importance of the New Hampshire Primary

27:55 The Impact of Iowa Results on Democratic Primary

A Light at the End of the Tunnel in the Israel-Hamas War? Jan 14, 2024

Matt Robison welcomes back Dan Perry, a former lead AP editor for the Middle East. They discuss the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, and a big step that might signal some light at the end of the tunnel.

01:49 Discussion on Genocide Charges Against Israel

03:38 Potential Ceasefire Proposal from Qatar

13:00 Netanyahu's Role in the Conflict

23:45 Potential Outcomes of Genocide Charges

28:42 Pathway to Peace

What Does Michigan's MAGA Meltdown Mean for The Rest of Us Jan 12, 2024

Matt Robison and Jason Sattler (aka @LOLGOP), a former USA Today columnist, describe how the insane (and hilarious!) MAGA implosion in Michigan is a window into the real political problem that we all face as a country in 2024.

01:14 The Michigan MAGA Meltdown: Christina Caramo's Saga

03:24 Caramo's Controversial Statements: A Tournament of Absurdity

10:08 The Bigger Picture: Michigan as a Microcosm

16:20 The Muslim Community's Political Influence in Michigan

21:25 Analyzing Biden's Stance on Israel and Its Political Implications

24:55 The Role of Recency Bias in Voter Perception

27:57 The Role of the Economy in Voter Perception

30:07 The Flaws of Binary Choices in Political Polling

41:04 The Integrity Test for Republicans

Trump Says He Can Murder His Oppenents Jan 09, 2024

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Donald Trump's lawyers just argued that he could assassinate a political opponent and get away with it (that he could only be prosecuted if impeached and convicted in the Senate). Will federal jusdes agree? Also, should Meet the Press anchor Kristen Welker be fired? And are we seeing the craziest Republican ever?

00:00 Introduction and Trump's Lawyer's Argument

02:12 Historical Context and Legal Analysis

04:51 Trump's Media Strategy and Public Perception

11:01 Media's Role and Accountability

15:36 Debate on Media Boycott and Journalistic Standards

20:28 Impact of Media Narratives on Public Opinion

26:27 Shocking Endorsements

27:30 Discussion on Controversial Republican Figures

34:04 Analysis of Recent Polls and Political Momentum

America's Top Expert on Impeachment: Inside the Broken Laws and Nasty Politics Jan 09, 2024

A deep conversation about presidential impeachment -- one of the most important drivers in American politics today -- with Michael J. Gerhardt, a distinguished constitutional law scholar and has been part of several impeachment proceedings. He is the author of The Law of Presidential Impeachment: A Guide for the Engaged Citizen.

00:16 The History and Evolution of Presidential Impeachment

01:57 Understanding the Framers' Vision of Impeachment

04:20 Early Experiments with Presidential Impeachment

07:12 The Role of Impeachment in Holding Presidents Accountable

12:07 The Nature of Impeachment: Political vs Legal Proceedings

13:36 The Impact of Partisanship on Impeachment

18:22 The Nixon and Clinton Impeachment Processes

22:39 The Trump Impeachment Trials: An Insider's Perspective

28:30 The Biden Impeachment Inquiry: An Unprecedented Situation

31:02 The Future of Presidential Impeachment

Best of BP: Top Five Mind-Blowing Images from the James Webb Telescope Jan 05, 2024

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We welcome back UNH Observatory Director John Gianforte to talk about what the James Webb Space Telescope has discovered in it's first year, and run down the top five most mind-blowing images. 🙂🙏🤛QUICK Favor: After you Hit "Follow" or "Subscribe" Can You Please Leave Us a Rating and Review?***

Find a short summary video with images on YouTube here. Or if you want to pull up those images yourself, here they are:

5) James Webb Space Telescope time travels billions of years in amazing 3D visualization ⁠https://www.space.com/james-webb-space-telescope-3d-video-13-billion-year-journey⁠

4) Neptune's rings⁠ https://www.planetary.org/space-images/neptunes-rings-2⁠

3) James Webb Space Telescope celebrates 1st year of science with jaw-dropping view of cosmic nursery ⁠https://www.space.com/james-webb-space-telescope-new-image-rho-ophiuchi-celebrate-year-science-july-12⁠

2) Webb Detects Water Vapor in Rocky Planet-forming Zone ⁠https://webbtelescope.org/contents/news-releases/2023/news-2023-130⁠ AND Exoplanet HIP 65426 b ⁠https://www.planetary.org/space-images/exoplanet-hip-65426-b⁠

1) The deep field. ⁠https://www.planetary.org/space-images/jwsts-first-deep-field-image

Will Trump Acutally Be Barred from the Ballot? Jan 04, 2024

Matt Robison speaks with legendary West Virginia radio host Howard Monroe about the recent rulings which preclude Trump from appearing on Maine and Colorado ballots, and dive into what the key factorsd will be in the 2024 Presidential race.

04:16 Predictions for the 2024 Presidential Election

10:40 The Economic State of the Nation

12:31 The Impact of Third Party Candidates

18:37 The Role of the 14th Amendment in the 2024 Election

26:16 The Future of Donald Trump: Jail, Presidency, or Other?

Two of the Biggest Months in American Political History? Jan 02, 2024

Why the upcoming two months could change everything about the future of America. But first, an in-depth analysis of the ruling that Donald Trump can't appear on the ballot because of his involvement in instigating an insurrection

00:57 Legal Analysis of the Ruling

05:50 Debate on the Constitutionality and Implications of the Ruling

23:58 The Impact of Legal Cases on Trump's Campaign

26:37 Upcoming Key Dates in Politics

28:49 The Significance of the Supreme Court's Ruling on Trump's Immunity

29:50 The New Hampshire Primary and the Potential for an Upset

36:16 The Potential for a Government Shutdown

Part Two: 2023's BIGGEST End of Year Awards Show! Dec 29, 2023

Part two of the biggest end of year awards show in all podcastdom...we discuss the most interesting public opinion research story, debate medical advancements and breakthroughs in various fields, and decide who was the biggest 'idiot' of the year. ***🙂🙏🤛QUICK Favor: Can You Please Leave Us a Rating and Five-Star Review?***

00:23 Recap of Previous Awards

00:52 Discussion on Public Opinion Research

11:13 Most Interesting Science Story of the Year

18:11 Best Piece of Good News

24:40 Biggest Idiot of the Year

30:29 Who Won the Year

Part One: 2023's BIGGEST End of Year Awards Show! Dec 28, 2023

Matt Robison, Alicia Preston, and former U.S. Congressman Paul Hodes celebrate the world's greatest annual end of year awards show - 'The Boppies'! ***🙂🙏🤛QUICK Favor: Can You Please Leave Us a Rating and Five-Star Review?***

01:32 Reflections on 2023: Trump's Influence and the Economy

06:22 The Boppies Awards: Democratic MVP Nominees

12:55 The Boppies Awards: Republican MVP Nominees

18:23 Prosecutor of the Year

22:32 Best Achievement in Legislation

26:37 News Story of the Year

Financial Life Planning: Rollover IRA Dec 24, 2023

There are many different types of IRAs, from rollover to Roth, traditional to back door, and everything in between. The one key thing to remember is that they all share a common thread—they end in ‘IRA.’ Each Individual Retirement Account comes with its own set of rules for things like transfers, withdrawals, and contributions, and has its own tax implications.

Trump Spouts Hitler While He Sinks in New Hampshire Dec 19, 2023

Donald Trump's continued use of Nazi language and the surging popularity of Republican Nikki Haley in New Hampshire putting the first real pressure on his quest to seize power again -- is there a connection? Also: Vice President Kamala Harris's Reproductive Freedom Tour, should the White House make an immigration deal to win aid for Ukraine, and what does that big Mark Meadows ruling mean?

03:17 Donald Trump's Continuing Nazi Rhetoric

07:14 The Rise of Nikki Haley in New Hampshire Polls

14:33 Kamala Harris's Reproductive Freedom Tour

23:51 Democrats' Dilemma: Persuade or Mobilize

26:18 Importance of Aid to Ukraine

35:52 Analyzing the Case of Mark Meadows

39:40 Discussing the Unusual Candidate for a Special Election

Financial Life Planning: Hire a Fiduciary Dec 17, 2023

If you’ve been a listener to this podcast for some time, you are likely well aware of the things to look for when hiring a financial planner. However, your friends may not be. If the topic of finances comes up, do the right thing: educate your friends and family on how to find a good advisor.

Best of BP: Why Norm Ornstein is So Worried Dec 15, 2023

In our interview with Norman Ornstein -- one of the most famous and respected scholars of American politics and government -- we were struck by how worried he's become for the future of America. ***🙂🙏🤛QUICK Favor: After you Hit "Follow" or "Subscribe" Can You Please Leave Us a Rating and Review?*** A trusted voice who often appears on C-SPAN, CBS, CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, NPR, and “PBS NewsHour” and who served as an election analyst for CBS News for thirty years, Ornstein explains the factors that contributed to the current broken state of American politics, most significantly the so-called tribalization initiated by Newt Gingrich, the influence of Rupert Murdoch's media outlets, and the advent of social media. He also shares his ideas for making things better, including national service and a surprising idea for Congress. Ho

03:21 The Shift in American Politics and the Role of Trump

09:19 The Impact of Media and Social Media on Politics

13:42 The Need for Structural Reforms in American Politics

29:15 The Future of the Democratic and Republican Parties

29:43 Potential Fixes for the Current Political Climate

39:43 The Impact of the Permanent Campaign on Politics

42:22 A Sliver of Hope

Part One: What the Heck is Wrong with Congress And How Do We Fix It Dec 13, 2023

In part one of a two-part crossover between the Beyond Politics podcast and The Politics Guys, Matt Robison and Mike Baranowski discuss what's gone so disastrously wrong with Congress and why things have gotten so horribly broken. ***🙂🙏🤛QUICK Favor: After you Hit "Follow" or "Subscribe" Can You Please Leave Us a Rating and Review?***

When you're done, jump over to the Politics Guys feed and check out Part Two.

02:05 The Politics Guys Podcast

03:54 The Beyond Politics Podcast

07:01 The Challenges of Running for Congress

08:58 The Reality of Being a Member of Congress

14:56 The Impact of Celebrity Culture in Congress

20:15 The Shift from Workhorses to Show Horses in Congress

21:43 Decline in Competitive Seats in the House

22:06 The Rise of Extremism in Safe Districts

22:45 The Role of Low Turnout Elections

23:21 The Influence of Political Incentives

25:20 The Mudcat Principle

25:44 The Role of Money, Votes, and Press in Campaigns

27:52 The Shift in Party Power

29:53 The Unintended Consequences of Reforms

37:58 The Role of Voter Turnout in Elections

42:36 The Shift in Control of Congress

The Most Critical Supreme Court Trump Decision Yet Dec 12, 2023

Special counsel Jack Smith, who is prosecuting Donald Trump for election interference, is seeking Supreme Court intervention to speed up his case, and all of the prosecutions of Trump likely hang in the balance. Also: University Presidents' insane hypocrisy on antisemitism, House Republicans' upcoming vote to impeach President Biden despite lack of evidence, the"optimally" strong job numbers in the U.S., a shocking situation in Texas related to abortion, and the mysterious disappearance of Alexi Navalny.

00:51 Discussion on Jack Smith's Case Against Donald Trump

03:24 Debate on the Impact of Trump's Potential Conviction

07:01 Analysis of Chris Sununu's Endorsement of Nikki Haley

15:28 Debate on the Impact of University Presidents' Statements

25:45 The State of the U.S. Economy and the Impeachment of President Biden

32:29 The Impact of Abortion Laws on Women's Rights

37:50 The Disappearance of Alexi Navalny: A Reminder of Putin's Dictatorship

Financial Life Planning: End of 2023 Dec 10, 2023

Tune in to this week's podcast with Mike Morton to learn more about what you can be doing to improve your financial wealth towards the end of this year.

Lambda Legal CEO Kevin Jennings: The Future of the Fight for Equal Rights Dec 08, 2023

***🙂🙏🤛QUICK Favor: Can You Please Leave Us a Rating and Review?*** Kevin Jennings is the CEO of Lambda Legal, the nation's preeminent legal advocate for LGBTQ+ individuals and those with HIV/AIDS. We cover the roots of the struggle over the past fifty years, progress for marriage equality, and the new challenges as Americans consider issues of equality and bias for transgender people. 00:26 The Evolution of LGBTQ+ Rights in America 06:51 The Legal Landscape for LGBTQ+ Americans from 1970s to 2000 10:29 The Journey Towards Marriage Equality 11:35 The Current Legal Challenges for LGBTQ+ Community 19:43 The New Transgender Issue Landscape 32:43 The Future of LGBTQ+ Rights ***Are you concerned that you might be facing about discrimination? Lamda Legal's help desk is available at LambdaLegal.org/helpdesk or call 1-833-ISAYGAY. ***

Liz Cheney Running for President?! Would it Stop Trump, or Help Him Win? Dec 05, 2023

Liz Cheney is floating the idea of a third party presidential run: what impact this could have on the 2024 election? Would this help or hurt Joe Biden. Also: the passing of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, gathering momentum around Nikki Haley as the potential candidate to stop Trump, and the subtle influence of the National Association of Realtors on political decisions.

01:07 Discussing Liz Cheney's Potential Presidential Run

01:34 Analyzing the Impact of Cheney's Candidacy on Biden

02:38 Debate on Cheney's Potential to Win as a Third Party Candidate

04:18 Comparing Liz Cheney to Previous Third Party Candidates

07:30 The Potential Impact of Cheney's Candidacy on Swing States

14:09 The Princess Bride Choice: Biden, Trump, or Cheney?

19:23 Reflecting on the Legacy of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor

27:37 Rapid Fire Discussion on Current Political Events

34:29 The Impact of the National Association of Realtors on Politics

Crooked Criminal Santos Booted from Congress: Three Things We Know Dec 03, 2023

***🙂🙏🤛QUICK Favor: Can You Please Leave Us a Rating and Review?***

Now that George Santos has been expelled from Congress, we know three things for sure: 1) this is the rule, not the exception, when it comes to Republican insanity, 2) this was not about Republicans doing the right thing, but about something else, 3) Trump had better watch his back. Matt Robison and Cliff Schecter run down what this means in this fast-turnaround "emergency" pod.

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America is Doing Well. So Why Do Americans Feel So Down? Dec 01, 2023

***🙂🙏🤛QUICK Favor: Can You Please Leave Us a Rating and Review?***

The economy is really good by most of the big measures that economists use and that political analysts typically pay attention to -- jobs, unemployment, and economic growth -- and inflation has mostly evaporated. Yet Americans are still downright sullen about not just the economy, but the state of the country overall, and wide open to conspiracy theories in a way they've never been before. Matt and Dr. Debra Osgood explore the intersection of human psychology and politics and discuss the impact of fear and perceived threats on our behavior.

Does ABC Scoop Change How We Think About Jan 6? Nov 28, 2023

The panel debates whether recent revelations -- scooped by ABC News -- about former Vice President Mike Pence actually deciding to let Donald Trump have his way on counting the 2020 electoral votes on January 6 are an understandable moment of human doubt that only a partisan would criticize, or a major sliding doors moment in American history that changes our understanding of Mike Pence and that day. Also:

00:25 Discussion on Journalists Held Hostage

01:08 Analysis of Israel-Hamas Conflict

03:34 Critique of Media Coverage on Israel-Hamas War

06:21 Discussion on Mike Pence's Role in Election Certification

19:37 Debate on Trump's Mental State and Presidential Prospects

23:45 Speculation on Republican Nomination Process

30:38 Hunter Biden to testify, Santos to be sent packing

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Financial Life Planning: Sparketype Nov 26, 2023

Tune in to this weeks podcast about Sparketypes and how they can impact your life!

Dems Dividing, R's Weird Obsession with Minor Celebrities Nov 22, 2023

Part Two of our conversation with Justin Higgins and John Gunnison of the hit podcast Politics+ Media 101 (find Part One in their feed). We dive into the divisions inside the parties, the rise of young educated voters in driving the Dems, and what's up with Republicans' fascination with D-List celebrities?

00:09 How Dems Dealt with Rashida Tlaib's Controversial Statements

03:47 The Role of Young Elites in Shaping the Democratic Party

07:05 President Biden's Legislative Successes and Challenges

09:08 The Influence of Media Ecosystem on Political Success

21:35 The Impact of Abortion and Dobbs

27:27 Republicans and Celebrities

Will Trump Be Gagged? Nov 21, 2023

Will a federal appeals court keep a gag order on Donald Trump for the rest of his trial? Also, what's happening with young voters' attitude towards Joe Biden?

01:01 Discussing the Gag Order on Trump

05:27 Trump's Mental and Physical Health

10:35 Young Voters' Attitude Towards Biden and Trump

11:41 The Role of Polls in Politics

28:19 The Influence of Social Media on Politics

Financial Life Planning: Cut the Cord Nov 19, 2023

Let’s start with a simple question: How many services do you subscribe to? Not sure? You’re not alone! Many people experience difficulty keeping track of multiple subscriptions. As the number of available services grows, managing various accounts and remembering which shows or channels each one offers becomes increasingly overwhelming.

Is the Future of Tech, AI, and Politics...good? Nov 17, 2023

Adam Kovacevich, the founder and CEO of the Chamber of Progress gives a center-left perspective on the future of social media, false information on platforms like Facebook/Meta, and the influence of artificial intelligence.

02:12 Is there a Progressive Future of Technology

03:13 Impact of Social Media on Elections

12:01 Concerns about AI and Creativity

18:44 Discussion on President Biden's Executive Order on AI

Trump Goes Full Mussolini Nov 15, 2023

Donald Trump isn't just calling his opponents "vermin," his allies have crafted a detailed plan hundreds of pages long about how they plan a full authoritarian takeover if he ever regains power. The panel runs down the frightening scheme. Also, Biden-Axelrod fight! And can Biden turn around voter perceptions on the economy by the election?

The Most Important Number in Politics Right Now is 10 Nov 13, 2023

Matt Robison joins Howard Monroe's radio program to explore Joe Biden's current position in the polls and whether it means he should drop out of the race. Matt argues that the answer is no, and because of the significance of the number 10. Also, are any of the judges in Trump's trials going to hold him accountable for breaking their courtroom rules, or even jail him?

00:17 Discussion on Joe Biden's Political State

02:04 Biden's Potential Replacement?

06:05 Why 10 is the Most Important Number in Politics

17:04 Will Trump Be Jailed for His Behavior in Court?

Financial Life Planning: Ongoing Costs Nov 12, 2023

It is essential to recognize the ongoing responsibilities and costs that come with one-time purchases. By understanding and preparing for the continuous costs – both in terms of money and time – you can enjoy your investments without the constant stress of unexpected expenses. Expect maintenance, be proactive, budget wisely, prepare, and remember – it’s not just the price tag; it’s the ongoing commitment that truly defines ownership.

What Does Democrats Huge Election Night Victory Actually Mean? Nov 08, 2023

De3mocrats ran the table in the 20232 elections, so how does that mesh with all that polling suggesting Joe Biden is down against Donald Trump in 2024? Conservative analyst Alicia Preston suggests Republicans need a 'cleansing fire' to rid them of Trump's shadow. Does this mean we are in for a totally negative re-run of recent campaigns next year? Also, should anyone watch the Republican Presidential debate? And should Democrat Rashida Tlaib have been censured for her comments on Israel?

00:44 Analyzing the Recent Democratic Victories

01:43 Implications for Biden and 2024

08:19 The Role of the Economy in Voter Sentiment

14:03 The Impact of Inflation

31:35 Tlaib and Free Speech

Why You Should NOT Freak Out About that Scary NYT Poll Nov 06, 2023

Recent New York Times poll results show President Biden trailing Donald Trump in six key battleground states for the 2024 election. Host Matt Robison welcomes back guest Ian Smith, Director of Polling and Analytics for Navigator Research, to talk about why Democrats should not panic.

00:01 Polling Results

02:03 The Impact of Economic Factors on Voter Sentiment

03:52 The Role of Campaigns and the Potential for Change

07:47 The Influence of Negative News and Criminal Trials

07:47 Why Are Dems Suddenly losing young, Black, and Latino voters?

11:01 The Importance of Voter Education and Awareness

15:50 The Potential Impact of Donald Trump's Legal Troubles

20:20 The Debate on Whether President Biden Should Drop Out

25:41 The Need for a Micro Economy Message

Financial Life Planning: Get Organized After Estate Planning Nov 05, 2023

Tune in to this week's podcast where Mike Morton and I discuss how to stay organized while estate planning. Make sure to follow the correct process so that your heirs aren't left cleaning up a mess.

The Financial Mystery of the Most Powerful Republican in America Nov 03, 2023

Does Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson not have a bank account? It seems like the answer might be no, and whatever is going on, it only leads to more disturbing questions. Guest Roger Sollenberger, Senior Political Reporter with The Daily Beast, shares insights into a story he broke.

00:01 Why does the most powerful Republican in America seem to have no bank account?...01:48 Comparing Johnson's Finances with Other Politicians...02:37 Exploring Possible Reasons for Johnson's Financial Status... Implications of Johnson's Financial Status on His Political Position....17:00 How did he find this story?

Is Election Denier Speaker Mike Johnson REALLY This Crazy? Nov 01, 2023

New House Speaker Mike Johnson literally believes that people rode dinosaurs onto Noah's Ark. Really. But that may not even be the most out-there thing about him. Matt, Paul, and Alicia dive in to the deep right-wing craziness of the man who is second in line to the Presidency. Also, can Republicans pay for Israel support...with a tax CUT? (12:44) Will the investigation into Clarence Thomas go anywhere? (17:06)? Does Dean Phillips run for the Dem nomination matter? (23:49) Will Santos get kicked out of the House, and will Tlaib get censured? (30:48)

Could One Big Money Group Spoil the Election & Bring Trump Back? Oct 30, 2023

Could Donald Trump walk right back into the White House again? It looks like the answer is, yes. No Labels has $70 million, they're on the ballot in key states, and they just shifted to a new plan that could easily spoil the 2024 election by making it impossible for President Joe Biden to win enough states. No Labels thinks it would then be in a position to have more influence over who wins. But the reality could be much worse.

Financial Life Planning: 3 accounts Oct 29, 2023

What if I told you that you could be paying thousands of dollars in unnecessary taxes every year on your savings? You might think I have some savvy financial trick up my sleeve to save you from Uncle Sam, but the opposite is actually true. In this episode, it’s all about the basics. Basic account types, that is: The Three Musketeers: Taxable, Tax Deferred, and Tax Free

Barb McQuade: 3 Flipped Lawyers, Powerful Evidence, Huge Trump Trouble? Oct 25, 2023

For months, the eyes of the political and legal world have been on Georgia, ever since Donald Trump and eighteen alleged co-conspirators were indicted in Fulton County under the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). Fulton County prosecutor Fani Willis is aiming to prove that there was collusion to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election. The past week has seen a dramatic turn in the case as three of Trump’s former attorneys have plead guilty in rapid succession. To get a handle on what that might mean, we welcome back one of America’s sharpest legal minds, Barbara McQuade, a professor at Michigan Law, former US attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, well known as legal analyst for NBC News and MSNBC. She is also part of the Sisters-in-Law podcast featuring Joyce Vance, Jill Wine-Banks, and Kimberly Atkins Stohr.

Bonus Episode: Matt's Newsweek Article on the Shameful New York Times Incident Oct 24, 2023

Matt Robison joins radio host Matt McNeil to talk about his recent Newsweek article laying out the horrible sequence at the New York Times that may have cost the Times credibility, cost Israel support, and cost lives. The Times has now issued a non-apology apology, and the episode raises questions about what is driving mainstream media to behave this way, and what it will mean if they are falling prey to pressures from extreme voices that undermine their function in America.

MORE Trump Lawyers Guilty, Are Republicans Destroying Themselves? Oct 24, 2023

After a third Trump attorney, Jenna Ellis, pled guilty in the Georgia Trump election interference case, the immediate question became: is the wall around Trump crumbling? And is the entire Republican Party descending into an incoherent melee?

Has tech actually made not just media, but all American politics worse? Oct 23, 2023

The way we communicate in political campaigns, and American politics overall, has changed radically. New media platforms, a fractured media landscape, and innovative techniques for getting political messages across have created opportunities for mischief, misinformation, and misdirection -- along with genuine ways to politicians to engage with voters. Now, artificial intelligence may scramble things even further. Matthew Krayton joins the show to talk about this new environment. He is an accomplished political operative and campaign consultant who specializes in the brave new world of "digital media."

Financial Life Planning: Traditional vs. Roth 401K Oct 22, 2023

This week Mike Morton and I put the Traditional 401k and the Roth 401k in a head-to-head battle of the retirement accounts. If you’ve been following this podcast for a while, you are well aware of what a 401k account is a tax-advantaged way to help fund your retirement. Just in case you need a refresher, a 401k, or 401(k), is a retirement savings plan offered by many employers in the United States. It’s a valuable tool that allows you to save for your retirement while enjoying potential tax benefits. There are two types of these accounts, a Traditional and a Roth. Which is right for you? Follow the fight to find out.

The Most Powerful Man in Politics You Never Heard Of Oct 19, 2023

He's the man who engineered the right wing takeover of the courts. He's sitting on a $1. 6 billion slush fund, and now he says he's coming for the rest of American politics and culture. You may have heard the name Leonard Leo, but you may not know the full impact of what he's done, or the remarkable backstory of his rise to becoming one of the most powerful people in America. Our guest is Andy Kroll, an investigative reporter for ProPublica, where he covers voting elections, the courts and other democracy issues. He was part of a team that wrote the definitive investigation of Leo, He's also the author of the book, A Death on W Street, the murder of Seth Rich and the age of conspiracy.

New York Times' Ugly Anti-Israel Bias, and an Insurrectionist for Speaker? Oct 18, 2023

How mainstream media rushed into a false narrative about the Gaza hospital explosion. Should Joe Biden have gone to Israel? Will an insurrectionist leader become Speaker of the House? What effect will the Trump gag order have?

Financial Life Planning: Bonus 529 Accounts Oct 15, 2023

If you're intrigued by the idea of making the most of your 529 accounts, I have just the podcast for you. This week Mike Morton and I discuss three advanced strategies that can help you get the most out of these versatile financial tools.

Are Dems Actually Beating Back the GOP Crazy? Surprisingly, Yes! Oct 12, 2023

In the last 15 years, Republicans have successfully, and quietly, the grabbed a hold on key offices at the state and local level -- often uncontested -- that make critical decisions about Americans' day to day lives. Amanda Litman runs Run for Something, an organization that is working to beat back that tide. And she joins us with some surprisingly good news...it's working.

Seeds of Tension Already Forming in US Support for Israel? Oct 10, 2023

As we begin to think ahead to the coming days and weeks of war between Israel and Hamas, are there already signs of divisions forming in the US? Democrats are dealing with a long-simmering division on the left about Israel policy, while increasing numbers of Republicans are offering the false choice between Israel and Ukraine. Also: Scalise or Jordan, which is worse? And who does RFK Jr. hurt more, Biden or Trump?

Top Reporter: Israel at War, Where will the Crisis Go Next? Oct 09, 2023

October 7 has been called Israel's 9/11. There are a few people on Earth that are better able to talk about what's happening now and what may happen next than Dan Perry, former lead reporter for the Associated Press for the Middle East, who is based in Tel Aviv and joins us from the middle of the crisis.

Financial Life Planning: 529 to Roth Oct 08, 2023

Join Mike Morton and I this week as we discusses 529 to Roth IRA contributions and how you can use it to benefit the financial aspect of your life.

Jamie Raskin: Here's Why We Didn't Save McCarthy Oct 04, 2023

Congressman Jamie Raskin, one of the most capable, incisive, and brilliant members of Congress serving today, joins the show. We wanted to know, now that Kevin McCarthy has been removed as Speaker of the House, what was the real reason Democrats didn't try to save him (1:29)? Is there really a hard-right fringe, or is the fringe actually the real core of the Republican Party today (9:34)? What happened at that infamous impeachment inquiry hearing last week when Raskin tore apart the Republican argument and laid bare the real agenda behind what was happening (12:36)? What did he see on the Jan 6 committee that hasn't shown up in the indictments of Trump and his co-conspirators (20:11)?

Shutdown, Power Struggles, Trump Meltdowns, Taylor Swift? Is This the Craziest Week Yet? Oct 03, 2023

Right wing nuts (i.e. Matt Gaetz) are trying to take down the most powerful Republican in America, Kevin McCarthy, who just pulled off a shocking 11th hour deal to prevent a government shutdown, while Donald Trump goes on unhinged rants about his financial and legal world collapsing around him. And the biggest story might be...Taylor Swift?

Chaos in the House: Will Dems Do a Deal to Save McCarthy? Oct 02, 2023

Kevin McCarthy maneuvering to try to save his speaker-ship against a Matt Gaetz-led charge to remove him after the surprise weekend deal for a continuing resolution that's keeping the government open. Democrats are trying to figure out whether can they cut a deal here to gain themselves more power and to get rid of this impeachment inquiry. Republicans are scrambling to figure out whether Gaetz actually has the votes to actually remove Kevin McCarthy? And is there an alternative if they do manage to get rid of them? Matt Robison and Cliff Schecter quickly hit all the key points on what everyone is thinking and where this could be heading.

Financial Life Planning: Should You Pay Down Your Mortgage Oct 01, 2023

Have some extra cash? Wondering if you should put it toward your mortgage? Join Mike Morton and I this week as we delve into the answer to this FAQ. It’s not as simple as you might think. Why? Because why you shouldn’t is equally as compelling as why you should work to pay down that debt.

Remarkable Icon Senator Feinstein Has Died. Will McConnell Now Exploit It? Sep 29, 2023

California Senator Dianne Feinstein, a trailblazing icon, has died. In this emergency podcast, writer and political analyst Jason Sattler joins to discuss the remarkable legacy of Senator Feinstein, and also the burning question that will have far-reaching consequences for America: will Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans take advantage of her death to block all Biden judicial appointments for the rest of the President's term?

Government Shut Down is Here! Who Does It Actually Hurt Politically? Sep 28, 2023

The government shut down is upon us. There will be serious effects on people's lives. And of course, the question that everyone inevitably asks is: who will get the political blame? Traditionally, the conventional wisdom is that shutdowns hurt Republicans more. But was that really true and in the past, and is it still the case this time around. Bryan Bennett and Ian Smith of Navigator Research join to explain what the numbers and their focus group work with voters actually tells us.

The Incoherent Nihilism of Republicans in Congress and on the Debate Stage Sep 27, 2023

Republicans angling to shut down the US Government and preparing to take the debate stage tonight for the Republican Presidential nomination have one thing in common: they can't say what it is they are trying to achieve, what they believe in, or how they would help do anything positive for America. They've made a backward mess of immigration (11:01) and they're afraid to attack Donald Trump (14:31) even though they secretly know he's a plague. And yet, recent polling (21:10) has some ominous signs for America and shows that voters may be tuning out their shenanigans. At least the writer's strike is over! (29:15)

Attitudes On LGBT Issues Have Turned More Negative. Is There Actually a Backlash? Sep 25, 2023

Part two of our interview with Dr. Daniel Cox. American's attitudes on LGBT issues have shifted significantly, with far more people -- including Democrats -- saying that we have "gone too far." Why is this happening, and what does it really mean? Also, have Americans lost something fundamental that holds us together, and if so, is there anything we can do to revive it? (14:12)

Dr. Daniel Cox is Director of the Center on American Life at the American Enterprise Institute and his work is frequently featured in the Atlantic, CNN, and the Washington Post. His outstanding Substack is at: ⁠ https://storylines.substack.com/

Financial Life Planning: Plan Your Time Sep 24, 2023

Ah, estate planning. Such a fun exercise. No one wants to think about the end, but we will all smile, so we might as well plan for it. In this week's podcast, join Mike Morton and I as we explore the importance of planning for your golden years, the ones filled with activity, those that slow down, and even the ones where you may need extra care.

The Republican Party Went Nuts. So Why Do Americans Hate Both Parties Equally? Sep 22, 2023

If Republicans are so nutty, then why are Republicans and Democrats tied in popularity (2:05)? Also, why is Ron DeSantis SO darn unpopular? (There's actually a pretty straightforward reason for that) (7:48). And why is Donald Trump maybe a lot weaker than it appears? (14:55).

Dr. Daniel Cox is Director of the Center on American Life at the American Enterprise Institute and his work is frequently featured in the Atlantic, CNN, and the Washington Post. His outstanding Substack is at: https://storylines.substack.com/

Why Did America Spend $100 Billion on a "Little Crappy Ship"? Sep 20, 2023

ver the past 20 years, the U. S. Navy has built a vessel that they've nicknamed the "little crappy ship." It barely works and it's costing us taxpayers about 100 billion or about what we'd spend on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in 20 years, the agency that regulates nuclear materials in 100 years or the Peace Corps over the course of 200 years.

How did this happen? And what does it say about the entire way we arm our nation through the defense industrial complex? We're joined by the outstanding investigative journalist who broke this entire story about the literal combat ship, Joaquin Sapien, who was one of the first reporters hired at our friends at ProPublica.

We've had other reporters from ProPublica with us before. You all just do outstanding work and I would be remiss if I didn't mention that one of your recent stories a few years ago won a Deadline Club award and a Katherine Schneider Journalism Award for excellence in reporting on disability.

Boebert's Weird Sex Incident Is Funny. But Does It Overshadow Something Much Worse? Sep 19, 2023

It was too tempting to avoid talking about the strange Lauren Boebert incident over the weekend...so we did. But more seriously, retiring Senator Mitt Romney has leveled some serious accusations at his own party about what Republicans have become, and what it means for America. Also, will Ukraine actually get more US support despite Republican opposition? What to make of the Iran prisoner swap? And how do we feel about Donald Trump's criticism of American Jews?

Financial Life Planning: Be more Aggressive Sep 17, 2023

This week, Matt Robison and I discuss the concept of being aggressive in your investment strategy, especially when you have time on your side.

PART 2 USA Today's Rex Huppke: abortion, Biden's Age, and Isn't Trump Disqualified? Sep 15, 2023

Part two of our interview with Rex Huppke, in which we hit what is driving Kevin McCarthy (0:54), what do we know from polling (5:50), are we falling into the Fox News Fallacy (8:30), and can anyone realistically beat Donald Trump for the Republican nomination? (14:10)

PART 1 Brilliant! Kevin McCarthy's New Panic Plea for Help Scooped by USA Today's Rex Huppke Sep 14, 2023

USA Today columnist Rex Huppke imagined what Kevin McCarthy's new outgoing voicemail would sound like after launching his desperate, shamefully empty impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden, and wrote it up here (https://t2m.io/rSPhOjY2). So, we start our show with our rendition of his column (0:00) and talk about this ridiculous impeachment inquiry, and then get into whether this is a naked power grab on par with the insurrection (7:39), will the impeachment boomerang on Republicans (12:15). We wrap it up there, and will bring you Part Two tomorrow.

Is sex on camera the next great political campaign idea? Sep 13, 2023

Not really...but...maybe? The panel dissects the situation with a candidate who was doing that exact thing. Should it matter? Also, is the "Biden should retire" thing gaining momentum (8:22)? What to make of Democrats bleeding support from non-white voters (18:01), is the the New Mexico gun ban a massive overreach (21:59), and is the government going to shut down (24:49)?

[PART 2] Matt McNeil: How Are Dems Doing So Well in their Big Idea Lab? Sep 12, 2023

PART TWO. NBC News says Minnesota is now a "laboratory for progressive policy." But HOW did that happen? WHY is it working so well? And what lessons can the rest of the country learn at a time where the Midwest matters more than ever? Matt McNeil, an outstanding progressive radio host in Minnesota, joins the Beyond Politics podcast to explain what is happening and how Democrats can use it around the country.

Is progressive radio non-existent where you live? Get a dose of Progressive media every weekday with The Matt McNeil Show, from AM 950 in Minneapolis/St. Paul. How did Minnesota become a progressive stronghold? Listen to the show that's giving you a bird's eye view of how Democrats win. The Matt McNeil show is available on ⁠Apple⁠ or wherever you get your podcasts.

[PART 1] Matt McNeil: How Are Dems Doing So Well in their Big Idea Lab? Sep 11, 2023

NBC News says Minnesota is now a "laboratory for progressive policy." But HOW did that happen? WHY is it working so well? And what lessons can the rest of the country learn at a time where the Midwest matters more than ever? Matt McNeil, an outstanding progressive radio host in Minnesota, joins the Beyond Politics podcast to explain what is happening and how Democrats can use it around the country.

Is progressive radio non-existent where you live? Get a dose of Progressive media every weekday with The Matt McNeil Show, from AM 950 in Minneapolis/St. Paul. How did Minnesota become a progressive stronghold? Listen to the show that's giving you a bird's eye view of how Democrats win. The Matt McNeil show is available on Apple or wherever you get your podcasts. 0:00 How Did Dems Take Over In Minnesota? 5:37 The Importance of Not Being Afraid 7:20 Ignore Republican Talking Points 13:00 What About Bipartisanship? 16:54 What About the "Woke" Attack? 18:21 Staying Focused

Financial Life Planning: Inflation is a drag Sep 10, 2023

Inflation has a way of eroding the purchasing power of our money over time, making it essential to plan smartly to ensure financial security. In this episode, Matt Robison and I delve into the intricacies of managing finances in the face of rising inflation. Most notably, we talk about the importance of aligning investment strategies with specific timeframes to make the most of your assets.

Trump Endorsed Him for Senate. Why's He Fighting to Kick Trump off the Ballot? Sep 07, 2023

In 2020, then President Donald Trump sent a tweet to his 82 million followers about a candidate running for US Senate New Hampshire that read "Corky Messner will be a fantastic senator for New Hampshire. He has my complete and total endorsement." A little over three years later, on August 25th, 2023, Corky Messner met with the Secretary of State of New Hampshire to make a case that Donald Trump should be disqualified from appearing on the ballot at all in the next presidential election. We wanted to know what happened. Is this going to work? And what are the consequences of this kind of ballot challenge if it gets copied across the country? So we called Corky up and we asked him, and he was gracious enough to join us here on Beyond Politics.

Are Republicans Finally Ready to Take On Trump Or Were They Never Really Trying? Sep 05, 2023

New reports suggest that Republicans may be ready to attack Donald Trump, but what if they were NEVER actually trying to beat him? Former Congressman Paul Hodes, New Hampshire Republican Political consultant Alicia Preston, and political analyst Matt Robison break down whether Republicans are ready to execute the only possible winning strategy against Trump, or is it the more intriguing possibility that none of them were actually trying to win in 2024 in the first place?

Financial Life Planning: The Logistics Matter Sep 03, 2023

In this week’s episode, Matt Robison and I dive into an often-overlooked aspect of job selection: logistics. While most people prioritize salary and job responsibilities, we emphasize the significance of considering the logistical details that contribute to job satisfaction and work-life balance.

How to Kill BS, OutThink Spin, and Get Smarter, with WaPo's Philip Bump Aug 31, 2023

One of our very favorite columnists working today is the Washington Post’s Philip Bump. He's been a lightning rod for right wing criticism because he specializes in using data, sources, and FACTS to separate what’s real from what’s not, and cut through the fog of spin, distortion, and lying that pervades politics. He writes the weekly newsletter How To Read This Chart, to which you should subscribe. He's also the author of The Aftermath: The Last Days of the Baby Boom and the Future of Power in America.

With one new legal filing, are we about to have unprecedented political chaos? Aug 30, 2023

In a little-noticed filing, a Republican, Trump-endorsed attorney asked the Secretary of State of New Hampshire to keep Donald Trump OFF the presidential ballot. The panel discusses the massive ramifications, including whether this will unleash a wave of similar moves targeting not just Trump, but also President Biden and other candidates. Also, why Mark Meadows Maneuvers could be a BFD.

An Amazing Scene at the January 6 Trump Trial Aug 29, 2023

On the surface it seemed like just a lot of legal maneuvering, but underneath, the entire course of the January 6th trial of Donal Trump played out in a federal courtroom yesterday. Matt Robison joins radio host Howard Monroe to dissect what we heard and what it means. Also, the 14th Amendment cascade is about to begin.

Former Governor Ted Strickland: Is Ohio a Sign of Good Things to Come for Democrats? Aug 28, 2023

The Wikipedia entry for Ted Strickland notes that “As of 2023, he is the last Democrat to serve as Governor of Ohio.” But when Ohio voters soundly rejected a cynical Republican ballot initiative a few weeks ago, it made us wonder, is that about to change? What happened to this onetime bellwether state, and have Democrats begun to figure out how to win it back, and other states like it?

So we thought we would ask him. Ted Strickland served in the US House of Representatives for 12 years and as the Governor of Ohio from 2007 to 2011. He’s also been president of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, and he is an is an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church.

Financial Life Planning: Read the Ingredients - Even on your investment funds Aug 27, 2023

Mike and I discuss the various labels you should be paying attention to in the stock market. For instance, a popular value index fund, the iShares S&P 500 Value ETF (ticker IVE) includes Microsoft which is typically a growth company. Here is where knowing the ingredients of the fund is crucial.

Swing Voters Hated Last Night's Debate. Did Republicans Hurt Themselves Even More? Aug 24, 2023

Two expert pollsters wanted to know what swing voters thought of the Republican candidates in the Presidential debate -- so they tested them with dials as they watched. The results should make the entire Republican Party nervous.

Do Republicans Need to Attack Trump in the Debate to Actually Win the Race? Aug 22, 2023

The first debate may be other Republican candidates' best chance to make up some ground on Donald Trump -- who isn't even showing up -- but it seems like the other candidates are going to defend him rather than try to beat him. Can that work? Or are these candidates just cementing his place as the eventual nominee?

Financial Life Planning: Your Life Doesn’t Matter, and That's Good News! Aug 21, 2023

As part of our financial life planning series, financial planner Mike Morton and Matt Robison explore why it is liberating to embrace the idea that individual lives may not hold significant meaning in the grand scheme of things. In fact, embracing that notion can help you do things that are more fulfilling, spend your time more wisely, and make better decisions.

How YOU Can Help Save Democracy, Kill Dark Money, and Win $50,000 Aug 18, 2023

What if the laws that allow billions of dollars of dark money to drive American politics are based on...a mistake? One of America’s most prominent legal scholars thinks that’s exactly what’s happened, and he’s going to give someone $50,000 to help him prove it.

Lawrence Lessig is the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership at Harvard Law School and the founder of Equal Citizens, an advocacy group whose mission is to fix democracy by establishing truly equal citizenship. On Labor Day, September 4, 2023, Equal Citizens will launch a video competition with (at least one) $50,000 prize for whoever can help clearly and concisely explain the legal argument for why SuperPACs can be regulated.

To find out more about the contest and enter, go to the contest page: https://equalcitizens.us/crowdfund-video/ And to watch a longer explanation of Professor Lessig's argument, see this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPTY327iRJA&feature=youtu.be

"Four Armed Men Were Chasing Me Down": Reporting from Global War Zones with Sean Carberry Aug 16, 2023

Even before he became NPR's Kabul-based reporter on the war in Afghanistan, Sean Carberry had traveled the globe telling the on-the-ground stories from conflict zones that shaped our understanding of the world. Now out with his new book "Passport Stamps: Searching the World for a War to Call Home," the current Managing Editor of National Defense Magazine shares stories and lessons learned from over a decade in some of the most difficult and dangerous places on Earth.

Is There a Clever Legal Way Out of Our Trump Trap After ANOTHER Indictment? Aug 15, 2023

The fourth Trump indictment in Georgia is being driven by the RICO statute, which has serious implications for what Trump and his conspirators can be charged with and found guilty of. Also, why haven't Republicans found a political way out of their Trump mess, and have two conservative legal scholars found a constitutional way out for all of us?

How to Shut Down Stupid Politics Myths, with Media Star Matt McNeil Aug 13, 2023

So many myths and lies come out of political mouths these days (especially, let's face it, from the leader of a party whose name rhymes with "Bepublican") it's hard to keep track. Then, they get reported by willing journalists who act as stenographers. The result is a doom-scroll narrative that hurts Democrats' ability to win and Republicans who want to defeat Donald Trump. Veteran radio host Matt McNeil has Matt Robison on to talk about some of the biggest ones going right now, and how to debunk them. MORE MATT MCNEIL: https://www.am950radio.com/events/the-matt-mcneil-show/

***FIXED*** What Happens When One Party Starts Ignoring the Legal System? Aug 09, 2023

***Corrected to remove radio ad at the beginning***

More and more, we see elected officials in the Republican Party ignoring courts, ignoring votes, and setting up self-reinforcing rules to get what they want -- which usually includes keeping themselves in power. So what do we do when a major political party simply ignores our system of law and government?

What Happens When One Party Starts Ignoring the Legal System? Aug 09, 2023

More and more, we see elected officials in the Republican Party ignoring courts, ignoring votes, and setting up self-reinforcing rules to get what they want -- which usually includes keeping themselves in power. So what do we do when a major political party simply ignores our system of law and government?

Do We Want the Trump Trial on TV? Do We Want ANY Politicians on TV? Aug 08, 2023

Should the Trump trial be televised? Will we see a protective order? Why are Republicans rooting against the Barbie movie and the US World Cup team? And what is up with the Ohio Issue 1 referendum?

Why Trump's Legal Defenses Probably Won't Work Aug 04, 2023

We were interviewing Kristy Parker - former federal prosecutor and current attorney at Protect Democracy - about the destruction of protections for our democratic system, when she carefully, methodically, and compellingly dismantled Donald Trump's main defenses in the election fraud/January 6 case. Also: we does it make sense to charge Trump under a statute intended to go after the KKK. And how can we reverse the assault on democracy in the US?

Matt in Newsweek: No, These Indictments Don't Strengthen Trump. That's Just Media Nonsense Aug 03, 2023

Matt joins legendary West Virginia radio host Howard Monroe on his radio show to talk about the big new set of Trump indictments, especially Matt's new article in Newsweek arguing "No, These Indictments Don't Strengthen Trump. That's Just Media Nonsense." Also, the Trump defenses, and what's the end game here?

Devastating New Trump Indictments Set Up Even More Tantalizing Questions Aug 02, 2023

Special Prosecutor Jack Smith just dropped four new charges on Donald Trump, indictments for conspiring to overturn American democracy and ultimately causing January 6. Former prosecutor and US Congressman Paul Hodes joins Matt Robison and Republican political consultant Alicia Preston to walk through the three biggest questions from the new charges: how strong are they, can Trump's defense work, and how will all of these mounting legal cases get done before the 2024 election? 0:00 The Charges 1:43 How Strong IS The Case? 4:44 Trump's Defense: Will It Work? 10:11 The Co-Conspirators 11:59 Why No Sedition Charge? 13:41 Republicans' Lame Response 15:50 Trump's Insane Response 18:13 Trump's Other Problem: Money 19:35 Can We Do ALL These Trials? 21:26 Can Trump Still Win?

Political campaigns run on one thing, and he's the master of getting it Aug 01, 2023

No one likes money in politics. But the simple truth is, if you want to win and do the things that you believe in, you need to raise campaign cash. And one of the Democratic Party's top experts on how to do it, Josh Handelman, says, we shouldn't feel bad about that. We should embrace it. He also explains how things have changed int he past 17 years in campaigns, what works and what doesn't and Matt and Josh share some of their best secrets for being successful in campaigns.

PART TWO Horrible and Embarrassing: DeSantis Actually Running the Worst Campaign Ever? Jul 30, 2023

Following Part One on the Ron DeSantis campaign catastrophe, Kartik Krishnaiyer, one the the nation's leading experts on Florida politics and proprietor of The Florida Squeeze and Matt Robison discuss whether a reboot is possible. ALSO: the biggest Senate race in the country that you probably should be paying more attention to. And another incredible, undemocratic, anti-democracy power grab. And if you want to see Kartik's book, check it out here. And come support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/user?u=7411781

Horrible and Embarrassing: DeSantis Actually Running the Worst Campaign Ever? Jul 28, 2023

When top elections analysts are asking whether your campaign is the worst in modern political history, you know things have gone south. And that's where things are for Ron DeSantis after a series of disasters, embarrassments, and acts of stubbornly clinging to insane positions. Kartik Krishnaiyer, one the the nation's leading experts on Florida politics and proprietor of The Florida Squeeze joins to walk through this monumental political disaster and what it means for the presidential race. And if you want to see Kartik's book, check it out here. And come support us on ⁠Patreon⁠ to see PART TWO of the video of this episode! https://www.patreon.com/user?u=7411781

Top Five Mind-Blowing Images from the James Webb Telescope in Year One Jul 27, 2023

It's time for another installment our most fun episode series on space, where we go WAY Beyond Politics. We welcome back UNH Observatory Director John Gianforte to talk about what the James Webb Space Telescope has discovered in it's first year, and run down the top five most mind-blowing images. Find the full video on our Patreon page here, and please support our work! Or if you want to pull up those images yourself, here they are:

5) James Webb Space Telescope time travels billions of years in amazing 3D visualization https://www.space.com/james-webb-space-telescope-3d-video-13-billion-year-journey

4) Neptune's rings https://www.planetary.org/space-images/neptunes-rings-2

3) James Webb Space Telescope celebrates 1st year of science with jaw-dropping view of cosmic nursery https://www.space.com/james-webb-space-telescope-new-image-rho-ophiuchi-celebrate-year-science-july-12

2) Webb Detects Water Vapor in Rocky Planet-forming Zone https://webbtelescope.org/contents/news-releases/2023/news-2023-130 AND Exoplanet HIP 65426 b https://www.planetary.org/space-images/exoplanet-hip-65426-b

1) The deep field. https://www.planetary.org/space-images/jwsts-first-deep-field-image

Three Signs Republicans Are Back in Epic Presidential Hell Again Jul 25, 2023

Three under the radar stories from recent days suggest that Republicans are once again about to kneecap each other and leave a wide open path for Donald Trump. Also, disaster in Israel for democracy, an empty trying to get back to the top in New Hampshire, and what's with the death of sports sections?

Third Disastrous Trump Indictment Day Is Looming. And Is Sununu REALLY Done? Jul 19, 2023

The trump indictment three-peat is looming, and there are huge questions involved. Will this one matter politically and start to peal away Republicans? Can DeSantis make a surge off this? Is there a "David" strategy in this primary? AND, what does New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu declaring he won't run for re-election mean? IS he reconsidering challenging for the nomination?

Did a Famous Cop Mind Trick An Innocent Man Into a Murder Confession? Jul 18, 2023

Lying. Hypnotizing. Gaslighting. Did Texas’ “serial killer whisperer” and his questionable tactics ensnare an innocent man? An amazing new podcast from journalist Maurice Chammah and the Marshall Project called "Just Say You’re Sorry" poses all of those questions and ultimately asks, what’s the price that we pay for a sense that we’ve closed the books, when we might be closing them on the wrong page?

Maurice Chammah is a staff writer and the author of "Let the Lord Sort Them: The Rise and Fall of the Death Penalty," which won the 2019 J. Anthony Lukas Work-In-Progress Book Award. His work has been published by The New Yorker, The Atlantic and The New York Times.

Mailbag! Is A Shrewd Strategy Bringing MORE Trump Legal Danger? Jul 17, 2023

It's our July mailbag! Your questions and comments answered, including:

Why won't the media report more on the DeSantis Guantanamo Bay story?
What's about to happen with the Trump case in Georgia?
Does Jack Smith have a major ace up his sleeve against Trump?
Is Jim Jordan going to be sued for his role in the Ohio State scandal?
Who are the top five Dems who could be replacement White House contenders?
Are Trump voters...hiding?

Trump and Netanyahu Make New Moves to Kill Democracy, Save Themselves Jul 12, 2023

The panel discusses the eerie parallels on a day when Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu both made new legal maneuvers to stay out of prison and regain (or regain) power. Also, what does a new grand jury empaneling mean in Georgia. And is Biden crushing it when it comes to our alliances?

Why is Israel Erupting Again? Leader of Pro-Democracy Protests Explains. Jul 11, 2023

As we record this on the morning of July 11, Israel has once against broken out in massive protests after an overnight vote in their Parliament that pushed forward the far-right governing coalition’s plan to limit their judiciary. Protestors see the plan as nothing less that a more stealthy version of the overt power grab that Prime Minister Netanyahu announced in January and that led to a shutdown of the country in March.

One of co-founders of the pro-democracy protest movement is Gilead Sher. He is a former Chief of Staff and Policy Coordinator to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and a senior peace negotiator. He joins us with an update on what is happening and why.

Further Reading: subscribe to former AP lead Mideast reporter Dan Perry's substack. See Gilead Sher's Times of Israel article.

America's ultimate political insider: four voter types Dems need to win next year Jul 07, 2023

Every so often, the political guru that the Washington insiders listen to delivers one of his deep dive analysis memos on what’s going on under the surface in politics. And everyone drops everything to see what he had to say. So when Doug Sosnik delivered his newest analysis -- explaining what the 2024 election will come down to and what four key voting blocs would decide the outcome -- we knew we wanted to bring all of our listeners and viewers the voice that the pros listen to.

Doug served as a senior advisor to President Bill Clinton for 6 years, including as the White House Political Director, and he’s gone on to advise over 50 U.S. Senators and governors. Fortune 100 corporations, foundations and universities for 35 years, including the National Basketball Association, the Motion Picture Association of America, CNBC. And he Doug co-authored a New York Times bestseller, Applebee’s America: How Successful Political, Business and Religious Leaders Connect with the New American Community.

Was the Supreme Court Actually Tricked Into Ruling on a Fake Case? Jul 04, 2023

The Supreme Court wrapped its term with a rush of rulings, including in a pivotal case that pitted issues of free speech against anti-discrimination laws. Except, the case was built on a fantasy: a web designer who had never designed a website, and a request from a gay couple that never existed. So was the Supreme Court duped? And is the Court veering outside the mainstream of public opinion, or reflecting it? Also, is Ron DeSantis flailing with a bizarre new ad as his poll numbers tank?

Supreme Court Ends Affirmative Action. What Will Colleges Do Now? Jun 30, 2023

When the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina were unlawful, rejecting affirmative action at colleges and universities around the nation, it created more questions than it answered about the future of racial diversity in elite college admissions. Dr. Stephanie Hall is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and a leading expert on college accountability, and she joins us to describe what the impact of this decision could be in practical terms.

Important New Poll Has Good News for Trump, Even Better News for Biden Jun 28, 2023

A major new poll has good news for Donald Trump. But somehow, it has even better news for President Biden. Strangely, it also brings unsettling news about how Americans view our system and the choice that they are determined to make, yet seem to hate.

An epic MAGA showdown in New Hampshire: will anyone win? Jun 27, 2023

Former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis are descending on New Hampshire at this very moment to hold dueling political events, as new national polling shows a widening gulf between them, and between Trump and the rest of the field. Why is Trump growing his lead, and will that last? Also, MAGA shenanigans hit the US House of Representatives, and the results would be funny if they weren’t so sad.

A Huge Supreme Court Ruling Will Impact the US Congress for Decades to Come Jun 22, 2023

When the Supreme Court issued a surprise ruling on Congressional maps last week, it not only created a pathway for Democrats to re-take the House in 2024, it also kept critical protections first enacted in the Voting Rights Act that the Court has otherwise chipped away in recent years. Michaeleen Crowell worked on reauthorizing the Voting Rights Act for civil rights icon Congressman John Lewis, and she joins us to explain what has happened and what the future might hold for voting rights.

One Insane Day: A President, Prison, and Unprecedented Political Peril. Jun 14, 2023

Matt Robison joins legendary radio broadcaster Howard Monroe to analyze the American crossroads that we reached yesterday: a twice indicted former President - whose case is being overseen by a political crony who could let him off the hook - and a minefield of bad outcomes ahead. What do we know from legal scholars, polling, and history about what could happen next?

One Hidden Rule Could Let Trump Go Free Even if a Jury Convicts Him Jun 13, 2023

Law Professor Steve Vladek was in the middle of explaining a pivotal Supreme Court decision to us when he delivered us some chilling news: a little-used legal rule would allow Trump-appointed judge Aileen Cannon to overturn a guilty verdict in the classified documents case and set Trump free even if he is convicted. Professor Vladek explains what this is all about. Plus: what does that key SCOTUS decision mean, and what is the Shadow Docket and why should we be paying more attention to it?

MORE Mailbag Questions! How Do You Turn Family Away From the MAGA Right Wing? Jun 12, 2023

Matt Robison and Cliff Schecter tackle listener questions in part two of our mailbag. Can MAGA family members be persuaded? What is happening with the Supreme Court Clarence Thomas scandal since it disappeared from the news? Is Casey DeSantis even crazier than Ron? Did Mark Meadows flip? Can we, or should we, have Congressional term limits? What happened to Sydney Powell? Can we recall Congressman George Santos? Will a Trump conviction matter? All this and more!

A Devastating Federal Indictment for Trump. Why Is He in Bigger Trouble This Time? Jun 09, 2023

Former President Donald Trump is going to be indicted again, this time on federal charges stemming from his secreting away classified documents from the White House. Former prosecutor and Congressman Paul Hodes runs through why we are seeing these charges, what we can read in to the fact that the Department of Justice is bringing them, and why they could spell deeper legal peril for Trump than the state charges we saw two months ago. Also: should Trump be treated differently than other defendants? Why does his history of criminal behavior matter? And why are so many Republicans so deep into the cult of Trump that they can't shake out of it as the charges mount?

YOUR Mailbag questions! Can We Just Get Rid of the Supreme Court? Jun 07, 2023

One of the upsides of the fact that we now have 20,000 subscribers and climbing on the Blue Amp channel on YouTube is we have a really big interactive community that can throw questions at us and that we can give responses to, and vice versa. If you are interested in participating in a future mail bag, then just So when we asked them to throw questions at us, they came through bigly! Today, we cover three great ones about the Department of education, a pivotal Supreme Court ruling, and who needs a Supreme Court anyway?!?

A Republican Governor Issues A Devastating Warning to His Party Jun 06, 2023

New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu didn't just decline to run for President. He issued a dire plea to fellow Republicans to turn away from their current course of culture war and wedge issue politics, before they destroy themselves. Also: why is Biden so accomplished and yet so unpopular? The panel unpacks Matt Robison's Newsweek article on that question, and the eerie rise of RFK Jr. First of a Two Part Episode.

Financial Life Planning: PART TWO How to teach your kids about money (without driving yourself crazy) Jun 04, 2023

This is PART TWO of our show on how do you teach your kids about money, without making it a chore for you?

We're once again bringing you an episode from Financial Life Planning with Matt Robison and Financial Advisor Mike Morton. Do you offer an allowance? Is it tied to chores or some other ‘work?’ Do you give your kids the freedom to spend their money with abandon or try to control what they buy? Have you had an honest discussion about college and the immense expense associated with higher education? Plus:

Giving freedom to kids to spend their own money - and allowing the ‘failures’ that come with some of those decisions
Chores - Do you pay your kids to be a contributing member of your family?
When and how to talk to teenagers about college expenses

Democrats Won the Big Showdown. Now What Happens Next? Jun 01, 2023

Congressional insider and former Chuck Schumer right hand man on policy Ryan McConaghy joins to grade Matt Robison's argument that the debt ceiling deal was a huge win for President Biden, and also evaluate whether it was a win for Kevin McCarthy as well, and what the real world impact will be. Then: can Congress accomplish anything else after this? And will Senate Democrats finally do away with an arcane procedure that is slowing down judicial confirmations?

There's a Surprising Deal to Avoid Economic Catastophe. Did Anyone Come Out Ahead? May 30, 2023

Were there clear political "winners" and "losers" in the debt ceiling deal that will prevent a total meltdown of the American economy? Or is this a much more nuanced situation? Could everyone have actually come out ahead? The panel points out how you can tell. Also, why the sudden Republican agreement to impeach their hardest-charging warrior?

Financial Life Planning: How to teach your kids about money (without driving yourself crazy) May 28, 2023

How do you teach your kids about money, without making it a chore for you? We're once again bringing you an episode from Financial Life Planning with Matt Robison and Financial Advisor Mike Morton. Do you offer an allowance? Is it tied to chores or some other ‘work?’ Do you give your kids the freedom to spend their money with abandon or try to control what they buy? Have you had an honest discussion about college and the immense expense associated with higher education? Plus:

Giving freedom to kids to spend their own money - and allowing the ‘failures’ that come with some of those decisions
Chores - Do you pay your kids to be a contributing member of your family?
When and how to talk to teenagers about college expenses

Did this clever candidate figure out the key to the Democrats' future? May 26, 2023

We've known Trevor Chandler for a long time: as a congressional staffer, LGBT rights activist, and political organizer. So when decided to jump into a local San Francisco race, it didn't surprise us. What did surprise us was the message he decided to run on. Could it be the key to pushing back on the Fox News attacks and unifying the Democratic Party?

Dems Need to Change Their Entire Approach. Here's How. May 25, 2023

Former Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper is out today with Saving Democracy, a how-to guide on how individuals and small groups can actually tilt the balance of power away from right-wing extremists and back to sanity and democracy. David joins us to explain why state governments have become engines of Republican extremism, and how effective it can be for grassroots Democrats to fight back and win by focusing much more heavily on the state and local level and leveraging the advantages they have.

Republican Presidential Field Takes Shape. Do Any of Them Have a Chance? May 23, 2023

Republican Senator Tim Scott has everything his party should want in a Presidential contender...except a clear path to being the nominee. The panel looks at whether he, Nikki Haley, Mike Pence, Asa Hutichinson, Vivek Ramaswamy, Ron DeSantis or anyone else has any chance of wresting the nomination away from Donald Trump, and whether retail politics-heavy states like New Hampshire can actually help.

Dems Actually Losing Black Voters? Polling Experts on Whether Disaster Looms. May 18, 2023

Are Black Voters Actually Going…MAGA? In 2020, 12% of Black men voted for Donald Trump. By 2022, headlines were proclaiming an historic shift in Black America to the Republican Party, with CNN declaring “Voters of color are backing the GOP at historic levels” and the NY Post saying “Young, Black Americans are turning to the GOP.” If this is true, it would represent a crisis for Democrats, since Black voters, particularly Black women, have long been the backbone of the Party. So what’s actually happening? We welcome back two friends of the show, Mario Broussard and Alex Ivey, who are Senior Vice President and Vice President of Research respectively at Global Strategy Group, one of the premier polling, research, and public affairs companies in America.

The Durham Report Arrived And It's a Embarrassment. So Why the Big Media Headlines? May 16, 2023

A brief review of the ham-fisted attempted cover operation for Trump that was the Durham special counsel investigation, how it fell apart, and why it still seemed to be a political success for Republicans. Also what is a "nothingburger" anyway? Will President Biden actually agree to put more work requirements on Food Stamps? And should we raise the voting age to 25?

Can the Media Prevent Trump from Serving Us Poison Again? May 15, 2023

After last week's disaster, can the media prevent Trump from serving us poison again? That was basically the question that was posed to me this morning by Howard Monroe, legendary West Virginia radio broadcaster. It's a question that we're all continuing to grapple with in the wake of the CNN town hall with Donald Trump last week. Is there any way for the media to cover Donald Trump, do their job in our democracy, and yet not allow him to spew lies and undermine that democracy?

The CNN Town Hall Was A Disgusting Disaster. Trump Wasn't Actually Why. May 11, 2023

Philadelphia Inquirer National Columnist and Pulitzer Prize Winner Will Bunch joins to lay out why everything we saw from Donald Trump in the catastrophic town hall last night was terrible...but unsurprising. The real shock wasn't even the way CNN was complicit in setting up the disaster. Rather, it was another group that really brought a low point to the entire night.

Can One Constitutional Clause Save America from Republican Hostage-Takers? May 09, 2023

As the debt ceiling standoff begins to dominate political discussion, serious legal scholars are beginning to debate whether the Constitution offers a simple way out. Also, Alicia makes a moving plea to her own Republican Party on immigration. And could the writer's strike be good for America?

Sunday Financial/Life Planning: Interest Rates Are Surprisingly Interesting! May 07, 2023

On Sundays, we post shows from Financial Life Planning with financial advisor Mike Morton and man-in-need-of-advice Matt Robison. This week: we have interest rates now, so what does that mean, in a nutshell, for our daily lives. And is there anything we need to, you know, DO about it?

The answer is: YES! We cover:

Mortgage Rates - How the increase affects your payments (not in a good way!)
Home Equity / Construction Loans - You might want to think twice about borrowing for renovation projects and why I paid off my HELOC.
Savings - You will finally earn some interest on your cash
CD’s - Some brokerage products are offering 3%-4% interest, something we haven’t seen in almost 20 years
Stocks - It’s like Black Friday: with the 20% market decline now is a (better) time to buy stocks. Stay invested for the long run.

Clarence Thomas Scandal - This Is the Reporter Who Found Out May 06, 2023

Justin Elliott is one of the team of reporters at ProPublica who conducted the blockbuster investigation that uncovered the Clarence Thomas corruption scandal. Elliot takes us inside the story and how he reported it. His reporting uncovered the financial ties between Harlan Crow and Justice Thomas: millions of dollars in gifts, benefits, and luxury trips. His newest article revealed strange details: a secret real estate deal where Crow bought Clarence Thomas' mother's house, and let her live in it rent free, and also paid years of tuition for Thomas's adoptive son at a swanky private school.

When Are Politicians Too Old? And Are We Wasting Money on Seniors Too? May 05, 2023

Matt walks into the belly of the beast, joining Alicia Preston guest-hosting on the Jack Heath show, one of the top conservative radio programs out there. They cover the question of when are politicians too old, and the controversial idea that we spend too much money on senior citizens anyway.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse: Startling Signs of Supreme Court Corruption May 03, 2023

US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse joins us to expose a "toxic cocktail of creepy billionaires and phony front groups and dark money" ruling the Supreme Court in this interview coming fresh off a blockbuster Senate hearing. Corrupt right wing Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife have raked in millions from people with cases before the court. It's all part of a broken system that funnels hundreds of millions in dark money to put these people on the court and then tells them what to do.

Is Trump Aiming for a Devastating Kill Shot on DeSantis Right Now? May 02, 2023

Republican insiders think so, and they see an emerging strategy to try to take DeSantis down in one particular early primary state. Also, what is up with the big new messaging plan from Democrats on the Republicans debt ceiling plan, and will it work? And how worries should we be that three of the four biggest banking failures in US history happened in the last couple months?

Financial Life Planning: When Should I Borrow Money to Pay for Stuff Like Cars? Apr 30, 2023

Financial advisor Mike Morton and Matt Robison dive into when it makes sense to borrow money to pay for stuff (like cars) vs. digging deep into your savings. And does it make sense to use a HELOC? And what the #$%^ IS a HELOC anyway?

Can President Biden Win and Save Us from the Trump Apocalypse Again? Apr 27, 2023

President Biden is running for re-election, but are his chances of beating Trump uncomfortably...even? Also, what does a new rule say about whether Democrats are swinging too far to the left? And is there a simple deal to be had on the debt that could save America from economic catastrophe?

After Fox News Tucker Disaster, Will Staggering Media Failures Get Even Worse Now? Apr 25, 2023

Tucker Carlson has been a disaster for America, and he is an embarrassment that Fox News is trying to put behind them. But the big question is, will Fox get any better without him? And what about the rest of the media, which seems perpetually locked in both-sides-ism and unwilling to provide the context to help Americans understand what has been happening in our country in the age of Trump. Mark Jacob is a former editor for the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun Times and co-author of six books about history and photography.

The Top 5 Enormous Flaws that Will Make DeSantis Crash Down and Burn Apr 20, 2023

Ron DeSantis was the Fox News "Great White Cope" (cope with their soured love affair with Trump, that is)...until things started going south. Now questions are swirling about whether he's been a paper tiger all along. Columnist Jason Sattler and host Matt Robison debate the top five flaws that are most likely to complete DeSantis' flameout, and try to figure out whether he can ultimately turn things around and defeat Trump.

Will This Weird Pudding Pornography Video Actually Help Trump's Attack? Apr 18, 2023

One of the strangest political ads ever and it's strangely...dirty?!? Also what's underneath the move to get Senator Feinstein to resign? Does Kevin MCCarthy actually have a plan to save America from his own insane Republican Congress? And what should we hope for int he Fox-Dominion lawsuit?

Clarence Thomas' Money Scandal Is Extra Dicey Once You Remember This Supreme Court Ruling Apr 17, 2023

How does a forgotten 2016 ruling from the Supreme Court impact the Clarence Thomas corruption scandal and make it so darn obnoxious? Matt joins legendary West Virginia radio host Howard Monroe to talk about the Fox News-Dominion defamation lawsuit and the rapidly growing Clarence Thomas corruption questions.

Why Are Republicans Acting Like Criminals? They Think They're Royalty. Apr 14, 2023

Fred Wellman, former Executive Director of the Lincoln Project, talks about his provocative substack article connecting the dots between Donald Trump's criminal behavior, Clarence Thomas' corrupt behavior, and Ron DeSantis' authoritarian behavior. They all believe that the rules don't apply to them, and that they are somehow royal.

Will Fumbling DeSantis Fail, and Why is Florida Actually So Damn Crazy Now? Apr 12, 2023

In the last 20 years Florida has gone from balanced swing state to incubator of far-right Trump clones, and it's about to produce the leading non-Trump Republican candidate for President, Ron DeSantis. So why did Florida go so...nuts? And is Ron DeSantis going to wilt under the national spotlight as so many analysts seem to think? Kartik Krishnaiyer is a writer who focuses on Florida politics at his must-read website The Florida Squeeze and he joins us to wade us through the craziness of the Florida swamp.

Can President Biden Tell Corrupt Courts to Go to Hell? Apr 11, 2023

And should he do that with the new abortion medicine ruling? Also, what about the astonishing revelations about Clarence Thomas' corruption. What is on the line for Donald Trump in his NEW deposition this week? And what is the big takeaway from the expulsions of two Black Tennessee legislators?

Famous Government Expert Norm Ornstein Is Worried Sick About the Next Five Years. Why? Apr 07, 2023

The Wall Street Journal says there’s a five-alarm warning for Republicans happening right now. But is it really a five alarm-warning for all of us? We wanted to ask that question of one of the top experts on American government after an historic and ominous week in America. Norman Ornstein is one of the most famous and respected scholars of American politics and government, he often appears on C-SPAN, CBS, CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, NPR, and “PBS NewsHour,” He served as an election analyst for CBS News for thirty years, and his most recent book was “One Nation After Trump: A Guide for the Perplexed, the Disillusioned, the Desperate, and the Not-Yet Deported."

PART TWO: Is the Devastating Trump Felony Indictment Way Worse Than He Imagined? Apr 05, 2023

In Part One, former prosecutor and Congressman Paul Hodes walked us through the charges against Donald Trump in New York, and why they amount to such a strong case. In today's Part Two, our panel takes a closer look at the political impact and debates whether Trump can still win the Republican nomination and what it will do with his political prospects in general.

Is the Devastating Trump Felony Indictment Way Worse Than He Imagined? Apr 04, 2023

In a word: YES. Here's why this is potentially so devastating...with a read of the indictment itself hot off the presses from former prosecutor Paul Hodes and political operatives Alicia Preston and Matt Robison.

Is Donald Trump Actually About to Go Full "Jump the Shark" Crazy? Mar 29, 2023

The panel evaluates whether Trump's latest doozy of a rally represents a desperate attempt to keep his fans' attention with even more insane stuff. Also, is DeSantis about to fizzle? Will Republicans repeat their 2016 blunder? Will Democrats' connection with American Jews permanently fall apart over Netanyahu's power grab? And...rainbows!

Media, Lies, and Laws: Will Israel's Crisis Be America's Future? Mar 27, 2023

As Israel spirals into street protests, strikes, and political chaos, former AP lead Middle East reporter Dan Perry joins us to explain why this is happening and to dive into the eerie parallels between Bibi Netanyahu and Donald Trump, and the political unraveling in Israel and what has been happening in the United States. And we ask what lessons we can learn about how to head off a similar crisis in America. Subscribe to Dan Perry's must-read Substack for more.

Painful Questions, Searing Lessons: What Did We Learn in the Failed Iraq War? Mar 24, 2023

The 20th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq has raised important and enduring questions: why did we do it? Why did the press get so fooled by false arguments for invading? How could we have failed in our military planning so badly that we sent our troops to war without the equipment they needed? Was there a "winnable" version of this -- or even are we better off for having done it than we think? And what are the lasting consequences here? Sean Carberry - Managing Editor of National Defense Magazine, Former NPR Kabul correspondent, and former member of the DoD Inspector General's oversight on Iraq - joins us.

How the right wing hacked the media, and how we can hack back Mar 23, 2023

How did right-wing MAGA Republicans dupe the media into parroting their undiluted propaganda to the public? Our Blue Amp YouTube Channel partner Cliff Schecter joins podcaster and journalist Greg Olear to trace the history and reasons why we landed here.

Panic! Attack! Defend! Are Republicans Scrambling in Fear Before Trump Arrest? Mar 22, 2023

Desantis going hard after Trump, other Republicans going to the mat to defend him, and Democrats trying to play it cool. Could Trump come out of this stronger, or are Republicans tying themselves in knots as the world waits for Trump to make his perp walk? Also, a monumental ruling on abortion could come any day...what would a ban on the top medical abortion pill mean?

Donald Trump Arrest Preview Spectacular! Will He Doom the GOP? Mar 20, 2023

Will the increasingly likely indictment of Donald Trump somehow help him and the Republicans, or set them up for political misery? Matt Robison joins legendary radio broadcaster Howard Monroe to figure out the answer. Also, what about Trump's call for protests--how dangerous is that? What about the other pending legal cases?

Startling Campaign Abuse; and Is President Biden Using A Time-Tested Political Strategy? Mar 16, 2023

Today, an abusive Democratic politician, and an inside view as Joe Biden gears up for the re-election campaign. A bombshell story in Politico on Marianne Williamson and her abuse of staff and the people around her features a sole on-the-record quote from our own Paul Hodes. We wanted to understand more about what it's like to put a story together like that, and we also wanted to take the chance to bring our viewers and listeners one of the top White House reporters around as President Biden prepares to run again. We ask her: is Biden...triangulating?!? Lauren Egan was previously a White House reporter for NBC News, and is now a lead reporter for the West Wing Playbook team for Politico.

Money, Sex, and Washington: A Week of Exploding Banks and Trapped Republicans Mar 14, 2023

No one likes to talk about banking...that is, until a couple of banks go down and everyone starts worrying that spreading panic might bring about another "Great Recession" style financial crisis. Paul Hodes was a member of Congress during that crisis and he takes us inside the differences between now and then. Also, Republicans have put themselves in a box on cutting the budget, and now they've trapped all of us and the entire US economy inside with them. And, Trump...Stormy Daniels...indictments...sex...money...it's all about to happen, but is it politically going to finally undo the former President?

Right-Wing Censorship Claims Are Lies; and How to Fix Massive Social Media Failures Mar 09, 2023

Disinformation, misinformation, and lies: how do we deal with a fire-hose of mind-warping bullshit in the age of social media? There's been a perfect storm on this topic in the past month: the Dominion lawsuit cast a bright light on Fox News' determination to lie; the House oversight committee’s Festivus airing of invented grievances about the persecution of the right wing by social media; and of course our own experience being mistakenly targeted by YouTube as we talked about exposing election misinformation. Two years ago, Paul Barret wrote a perhaps the definitive analysis on this question of whether there is anti-Republican bias on social media, and how to fix social media platforms. Paul M. Barrett is Deputy Director of the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights.

We Got Censored! The BS Myth About Right-Wing Media. Mar 08, 2023

Our own experience getting pulled down by the YouTube algorithm highlights some of the deep problems with social media, Fox News, disinformation, and the myth of right-wing persecution. A panel conversation featuring guest conservative analyst Michael Graham, former CBS NEws analyst and currently of the NH Journal and the Boston Herald. Also, do you want to live in Trumpville?

WHERE ARE YOU GUYS? An Update On a Wild Week at Beyond Politics Mar 08, 2023

So...we kinda got censored over at YouTube...

Inside the spectacular crash of one of the right wing's most vile figures Mar 03, 2023

Today, the baffling rise and spectacular fall of one of the right wing's biggest stars. When the news broke that James O'Keefe had been forced out of Project Veritas, the group he founded that conducted stunts, undercover stings, another deceptive tactics to inflict embarrassment on Democrats and media targets, there was one person I wanted to talk to more than anyone else. She's Lauren Windsor, the executive director of American Family Voices and the executive producer of the grassroots political web Show, the Undercurrent. She's a contributor to HuffPost the Nation, LA Progressive prolific author, and a much quoted voice in media. And she has the wild inside story of being thye most high profile target of O'Keefe's, and how she's personally fought back against the right and won.

How This Ugly Fox News Moment Opens a Window on the Gaslighting of America Feb 28, 2023

New documents in the defamation suit against Fox News for deliberately spreading Donald Trump's "Big Lie" about the election have opened a window on what it looks like when a media company sets out to deliberately mislead the American people, knowing they are lying. What does it mean for the first Amendment, for media coverage, and for the struggle against conspiracy theories? Also, another monumental Supreme Court case, ands Idaho takes up Marjorie Taylor Greene's call for a national divorce.

Can Democrats Get Smart, Hit Hard, Inspire, and Kick More A** NOW? Feb 24, 2023

How can we make Democrats kick ass again? We have better ideas, a stronger record of getting great stuff done, and we're not insane semi-fascists like some people we could mention. But we still barely eke out wins against a Republican Party led by nuts. This conversation is taken from a live YouTube show on the Blue Amp channel, where our expert guests explained exactly how Democrats can get more aggressive and stronger with their messaging and win more. Our guests are former Biden ad writer and democratic communications guru Cliff Schecter, and celebrated political scientist, modeling expert, and messaging maven Dr. Rachel Bitecofer.

Captured FBI. Swindled NY Times. How Did Russia Make Pawns Help Trump? Feb 23, 2023

Possibly the greatest scandal in American intelligence history, and even political history, is unfolding right now. Our guest Craig Unger is the author of a recent article in the New Republic called "Did the FBI's Charles McGonigal help Throw the 2016 Election to Trump?" It raises the very real possibility that Russia infiltrated the FBI and helped orchestrate a stunning swindle of the New York Times in ways that may have handed the Presidency to Donald Trump. And we're still learning more about it every day.

Unger is the widely respected author of New York Times bestselling books like House of Trump, House of Putin, and American Kompromat.

Was Biden's Risky Stunner Worth it, And Time for Painful Political Divorce? Feb 21, 2023

Biden's bold Ukraine fly-in was historic, but we ask the question that no one is: was it too great a risk? Also, Kevin McCarthy hands over raw insurrection footage exclusively to Tucker Carlson, a known insurrection denier and Russian propegandist. And Marjorie Taylor Greene thinks America needs a Red-Blue divorce. The panel wonders: could we just divorce ourselves from Marjorie Taylor Greene?

Four Ways Republican Insanity is Exploding Out of Congress and Into the Open Feb 17, 2023

New revelations about George Santos, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Jim Jordan and the Freedom Caucus' demands provide a window into just how off-the-wall the Congress under Republican leadership has become. Matt appears on the radio show hosted by legendary broadcaster Howard Monroe to run down just how bad it's gotten, how Republicans are trying to reverse reality, and what the consequences would be for all of us if this group has their way.

Can You Kinda Like Politics, and Totally Hate all the Politicians? Feb 16, 2023

Bringing you a conversation today that Matt recorded with AJ Kierstead, a libertarian Republican radio host who finds common ground with people across the political spectrum. We put a bow on the state of the union address and what it meant and ask why we can't stand politicians, but still like politics.

UFOs, Republicans' Impossible Dilemma, and IS Trump an actual PAB? Feb 15, 2023

We take you inside a classified military briefing like the kind members of Congress got last week about the UFOs we've been shooting down. What happens? What can you believe? Also, Republicans have an impossible dilemma in front of them that they may not solve. And, a linguistic analysis: is Donald Trump ACTUALLY a PAB???

How to Know MTG is a Lunatic and More from Inside the Nutball Congress (with Congressman Steve Cohen) Feb 14, 2023

Congressman Steve Cohen tells us what's going on inside the right-wing Freedom Caucus-infused Congress, including the dramatic moment that Marjorie Taylor Greene confirmed that she's nuts, what Jim Jordon is doing with his gaslighting investigations, and what does George Santos do with his day?

A 4th Craft Shot Down. But Are They Aliens? Probably Not. Our Interview with The World's Top UFO Video Expert Feb 13, 2023

The military shot down it's fourth object flying over our skies in eight days yesterday. This raises a ton of questions: what are these things, where do they come from, and why are there so many right now? Underlying them all is the big one: could it actually be aliens? That is why we wanted to share our earlier interview with Mick West, who is the preeminent explainer of UFO videos in the world. He's widely cited by journalists, highly respected, and highly respectful. He takes a rational, scientific approach to breaking down incidents like these and providing explanations, and there's a lot we can learn from him about how to approach these questions.

A Devastating, Hidden Russian Invasion: Is America Still Failing to Stop it? Feb 10, 2023

This is the hidden story of how Russia invaded America -- not with soldiers, but with a mind-bending web of money. They briefly infiltrated and bent the highest levels of our politics, and then seemingly stopped. Or did they? Dr. Ruth May is a business professor at the University of Dallas, now retired, and an expert on the economies of Russia and Ukraine. She wrote an article for the Dallas Morning News in 2018 called How Putin's Oligarchs Funneled Millions into GOP campaigns, and she joins us to trace the fascinating history, and future, of the great Russian financial invasion that law enforcement and the media seems to have forgotten.

Breaking Eggs, Balloons, and State of the Union Speeches Feb 07, 2023

The panel describes what a State of the Union Speech is like behind the scenes, and what do members of Congress and both parties try to achieve on one of the biggest nights in American politics? Also, is the Chinese balloon episode meaningful in some way, or just plain stupid? And Matt admits that he was wrong, and Alicia was right, about one critical issue.

Russians, The Supreme Court, Dark Money, and Conflicts: What We Learned from Senator Sheldon Whitehouse Feb 06, 2023

The past week brought new revelations about Supreme Court conflicts and millions of dollars flowing through right-wing groups and Russian fronts into our politics. That's why we wanted to bring you this recent interview with Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island into what we know -- and dangerously, what we don't know -- about dark money, judicial influence, right-wing activism, and foreign influence including from Russia.

Will Anything Change With Trump... or Police Violence? Feb 02, 2023

New prosecutions on the cusp for Donald Trump, but is this Lucy and the football all over again, and will anything actually bring him down. The answer is...yes, quite possibly, but it won't be a prosecution. Also, will anything change with police killings in the wake of Tyre Nichols' murder?

A Top FBI Official Arrested. Is Russia Winning Their Inflitration War Against Us? Jan 31, 2023

Russia has infiltrated American politics, mostly through the Republican Party, largely through Donald Trump. We know this, and yet we’ve somehow all been gaslighted, exhausted, or tricked into sending it down the memory hole. Today, a reminder of how the KGB begin recruiting Donald Trump in the early 1980s and about how all of his behavior since confirms that, whether he’s aware of it or not, he is very much an asset of Russia and has created a conduit for Russia to manipulate and control senior Republicans. Our guest is author Greg Olear who writes Prevail on Substack and hosts the Prevail podcast.

Republicans Vote on the Future of Their Party (But They're Dodging Their Biggest Orange Problem) Jan 26, 2023

Republicans are fighting over what direction they should take, with a big vote coming this week. But the panel discusses how they are blaming all the wrong things for their problems. Also, another drip falls in the Biden classified documents story. And the Republican "debt ceiling" crisis gets re-branded as the Republican "stupidity bomb."

How the Republican Stupidity Bomb Would Annihilate America's Economy Jan 24, 2023

The "debt ceiling" is actually a stupidity bomb: a dumb way for politicians to wreck our economy and send us into a recession. Celebrated economist Mark Zandi is often on television and in Congress explaining economics as clearly and directly as he can to decision-makers, and he joins us to explain why the debt ceiling standoff is so perilous, and why the underlying argument is merely a setup for disaster.

Is Santos Actually a Russian Pawn??? Jan 17, 2023

There are some suspicious ties (see the 60 second YouTube summary here). Plus, more Biden classified documents emerge, so is there more to this story now? And, Chris Sununu is gearing up for a Presidential run, along with other Republicans. WHY? Is it realistic? Does it matter?

The Truth Behind Why Dems Did So Well in 2022, and What It Means for 2024 Jan 16, 2023

Last month, one of America's most celebrated pollsters put together the most comprehensive, detailed explanation of what actually happened in the 2022 elections that anyone had done, and shared it with a group of campaign insiders. We wanted all of our listeners and viewers to get access to the same expert insights, so we were delighted when our old friend Jef Pollock agreed to come onto the show to talk about it. Jef is the founding Partner and President of Global Strategy Group, counting a who's who of elected Democrats among his clients. And after looking at all of the data at his disposal, here's what he found out.

The Fascinating Inside Story When Amazon Decided that Crypto Was Bull#$%& Jan 12, 2023

2022 was the year of the crypto crash, when hundreds of billions of dollars in investor savings suddenly evaporated. For years, cryptocurrencies, NFTs and the technology they are built on have been sold by true believers as game-changers that will revolutionize the world and solve everything from banking to health care to law. Those evangelists still believe. But the question many of have been wondering is: is this all bullshit? A few years back, that exact question was on actually on the mind of one of the most powerful business leaders on earth. In 2016 Andy Jassy, then the CEO of Amazon Web Services, now CEO of all of Amazon, approached our guest, and asked him to answer it. As for what happened next, that’s what Tim Bray is here to tell us all about.

Biden Docs Nothingburger & the Ticking Time Bomb Under Our Government Jan 10, 2023

Does the Biden classified document revelation matter, or is a nothingburger? Also, why we're in for a world of hurt after the MAGA nutjob deal that Kevin McCarthy struck to get the Speaker job, and how it could fracture DC on defense spending and fracture America's economy altogether. Plus, a special bonus for audio listeners of our Blue Amp channel SDE ad.

Kevin McCarthy Falls Deeper Into the Right Wing's Clutches Jan 06, 2023

The ongoing Kevin McCarthy Speaker saga seemed to make a little progress on Friday, as McCarthy lost a 13th round by a little less. But actually, he's walked right into a trap where the far-right band of nihilists in Congress is only gaining power, and McCarthy's future in the Republican Party is getting hazier by the hour. Matt Robison and former Biden admaker Cliff Schecter of the Blue Amp channel run through why things have gotten so dicey not just for McCarthy, but for all of us.

The Agonizing Humiliation of Kevin McCarthy and What the GOP Meltdown Means Jan 04, 2023

Democrat and former Congressional staffer Matt Robison and conservative political consultant Alicia Preston unpack one of the wildest days in Congressional history and what it means. We hit questions like: what’s the scene usually like Congress on swearing in day? What is driving House Republicans' bizarre tantrums? Why the difference between McCarthy and McConnell? Do actually have a Congress right now? What does all this say about the Republican Party?And what’s going to happen next?

How Did Republican Conman Santos Do It? Inside Story from Former Rep. Steve Israel. Dec 30, 2022

The Democrat who used to Represent George Santos's district tells the inside story of how a lying con man could fool Democrats, the oblivious media, and even Republicans to win a seat in Congress. Steve Israel wrote an inside account in The Atlantic and he joins the Beyond Politics podcast, also available on video on YouTube.

End of Year Awards Part Two Dec 27, 2022

What was the best news story of the year? The biggest innovation? Who was the biggest idiot? And who won the year?

The BOPies! The GREATEST Year End Awards Show in Politics Dec 21, 2022

Who was the MVP for Republicans...for Democrats? What new bill or law was the biggest deal? What did we learn about ourselves this year? Part One of an action-packed two part year end episode.

The Russian Landromat: House Republicans Gearing Up to Spread Putin's Disinformation...Again... Dec 19, 2022

You're going to hear a lot of Russian disinformation from House Republicans in the next few months. As they gear up to rehash the Hunter Biden laptop story, Republicans are preparing to spread what they know full well to be a noxious mix of salacious personal detail, mixed with invented Russian intelligence material. Veteran reporter Lindsay Beyerstein provides definitive rundown of the distortions, tall tales, and outright lies that are coming, and why legitimate media was right to be so skeptical of this story. For the video version, check out the Blue Amp channel part one here.

Going Down? Inflation, Crypto, and Twitter's Death Sprial Dec 14, 2022

Chris Hill of Motley Fool Money hits the things going DOWN right now: inflation, the reputation of cryptocurrencies, and Twitter's business model. Also: CEO of the year award, and the government steps in to block Microsoft.

The Episode That Will Get US Kicked Off Radio: MTG, Sex Toys, and Prehistoric Dildos Dec 13, 2022

No, really, we talked about all of those things. Also, crypto is evil, beating deplorables, and marriage equality.

Why Trump, Despite Everything, Is Still Politically Alive Dec 12, 2022

Matt joins legendary West Virginia radio host Howard Monroe to examine why Sinema bolted, why Trump despite being such a disaster is still politically viable, and why Herschel Walker came so darn close in Georgia.

Emergency Pod: Sinema Bolts, What Do Dems Do Now Dec 09, 2022

Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema's decision to leave the Democratic Party made Kari Lake jump for joy. But is it really huge news for Republicans? Former Biden admaker Cliff Schecter and former Dem congressional staffer Matt Robison run down the biggest questions and threats, and discuss what Dems need to do next on an emergency Beyond Politics mini podcast.

Senator Heidi Keitkamp: Tech, Innovation, and Macaroni Dec 09, 2022

Is American tech and innovation something that's not just good for California tech bros? Yes, and former U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp can tell you why. She was the first female Senator elected from North Dakota, served on the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and serves on the Board of the American Edge Project, an advocacy group focused on the role of American technology and innovation. She also shares some favorite insider memories from the Senate, and weighs in on what the Democratic party gets wrong about picking it's nominees.

The end of the NH Primary, the Constitution, and Twitter? Dec 07, 2022

All three have been suggested to be over. Which is actually done? And which should be? Also, right wing nutjob bingo, and Georgia runoff!

Taking on the Mental Health Crisis, One Kid at a Time, with former Chief Justice John Broderick Dec 06, 2022

John Broderick was Chief Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court. When John’s son was just 13, he began suffering from anxiety and depression, conditions that went unrecognized and undiagnosed for years. His family went on a very public and painful journey, luckily, one they all survived and healed from. If you recognize this story, it’s because we told it with John on this show a little over a year ago. And in fact, when we won a New Hampshire Association of Broadcasters Award, that was the show we submitted to the jury. John is back with us now to talk about his campaign to change the culture, stigma, and shame around mental illness that for generations has kept too many people feeling alone and afraid to step out of the shadows. He’s written a new book Backroads and Highways: My Journey of Discovery on Mental Health.

What We'll See in the Lame Duck and the Next Year in Congress Dec 02, 2022

As we enter a period of lame ducks, high stakes negotiations, and divided government, we wanted to know: how does it all work, and will the next year of American government work at all? So we asked Ryan McConaghy, Senate Majority Leader Schumer's former right hand man on policy, to walk us through what, if anything, we might get out of the next month and the next year. Photo by Norbert Kundrak on Unsplash

Big Black Friday, China Repercussions, and A Huge Hollywood Reboot at Disney Nov 30, 2022

Matt Robison and Chris Hill of Motley Fool Money tackle:

Black Friday/Cyber Monday – A record $9 billion in sales on Black Friday! It’s encouraging, with one caveat: the percentage of purchases bought with a “buy now, pay later” plan is very much on the rise.

China protests – Everyone has something in their home made in China. From manufacturing to U.S. businesses with expanding operations in China (e.g., McDonald’s, Starbucks, Yum Brands) these protests affect American businesses (and not in a good way).

CEO 2: The Return of Bob Iger! – Just….wow. Four months after the board gave CEO Bob Chapek an extended contract they iced him.

Biden Bustin Unions? Congress Bustin Out? Nov 30, 2022

Is President Biden's move to enforce a rail deal a smart move to save the American economy, or a double cross of his base? Also, is Congress about to drop the ball on its most basic responsibility? Does the Senate actually need to protect interracial marriage? And what do the China protests mean?

Should Democrats Have Won The House? Nov 28, 2022

Democrats have been congratulating themselves for a strong showing in the 2022 midterms. But when it comes to the House, did they actually fumble the ball at the goal line? Our guests are Lauren Harper and Liam Kerr, the co-founders of WelcomePAC, an organization focused on a pragmatic approach to growing a big tent Democratic party and winning more elections. They were featured last week in the New York Times arguing that Democrats made some critical missteps in the runup to the election and that now is the time to learn lessons, so we don’t repeat them in the future.

Photo by Luis Santoyo on Unsplash

Who's Afraid of Donald Trump? Apparently...No One. Nov 23, 2022

Republicans coming out of the woodwork to take on Trump, the shrinking political battleground in America, is Alito a leaker, the impeachment train loads up at the station, a real American hero, and a World Cup shocker.

Pelosi's Right Hand Man on What to Expect from Congress in The Next Two Years Nov 21, 2022

How does a narrow majority in the US House of Representatives work, what will Republicans have to do to manage it, and what can Democrats do to overcome it? Our inside expert walks us through it. Jerry Hartz worked in Congress for 28 years, most recently as Senior Adviser and Director of Legislative Floor Operations for Nancy Pelosi. There is no one on Earth who knows more about how to run the House of Representatives, and how things may play out in the coming years.

(Part 2) The 10 Questions That Will Consume the Next Two Years Nov 18, 2022

Part two of the conversation with Dr. William Ewell, a political science professor and expert on Congress and American elections, discussions the odds that: Democrats will reverse their decline among Hispanic voters in 2024, Biden will be impeached, Republicans will learn their lesson and run more moderate candidates in swing districts, Democrats look back in two years and realize there were some major downsides to how well they did in the 2022 midterms, and that we have a constitutional meltdown in 2024

The 10 Questions That Will Consume the Next Two Years, Part 1 Nov 17, 2022

What are the odds that: Kevin McCarthy will be Speaker in January 2024; The government will shut down in 2023; Trump will be the Republican nominee; The next Congress passes any legislation beyond funding bills and naming post offices; Biden will catch Trump on appointing federal judges by the end of 2024? Matt is joined by Dr. William Ewell, a political science professor and expert on Congress and American elections, in Part One of this two part pod.

Signs the Inflation Wild Ride May Be Coming to An End Nov 16, 2022

Chris Hill of Motley Fool Money explains why inflation may be easing off, but businesses are tightening belts. Also, what Mark Cuban told him about his surprising new venture, and why inventories matter.

Trump's Big Announcement That He Is Going to Split the Republican Party Nov 15, 2022

The panel dissects Donald Trump's impending announcement of another run for President, including Republican analyst Alicia Preston's theory that he might form his own party. Either way, the question is whether he is going to fatally divide Republicans for the next two years. Also, the latest from Ukraine, the painful struggle session for Kevin McCarthy, and the impact of gerrymandering.

USA Today's Rex Huppke: What We Really Learned from the Midterms Nov 14, 2022

USA Today's Rex Huppke is one of America's sharpest voices on politics and society, and he joins Beyond Politics to discuss what we really learned about America and politics from the 2022 midterms. Did voters side with "decency"? Where do Republicans go from here on Trump? Does polling do anything good for us? What does it mean that America pushed back against election deniers? What do Republicans need to fix to be more successful? And what do Democrats need to fix to be more successful?

Dems Still Have a Shot at the House. Here's How. Nov 11, 2022

David Beard, Contributing Editor at DailyKos Elections and co-host of The Downballot podcast, joins Matt to walk through exactly how Democrats could still win the US House of Representatives, and what an ultra-thin margin in the House would mean for both parties.

Not A Red Trickle. A Blue Crush. Nov 09, 2022

The election appears to be a stunning win not just for Democrats, but for the fight against the Big Lie and election denialism. In this extended discussion on the bipartisan Balance of Power round table, Matt, Paul, and Alicia discuss what the results mean for democracy, Democrats, Republicans, Trump, polling, the media, campaigns, and the future of America.

Bernie's Former Chief: This Ain't Over Nov 07, 2022

The midterms could still go either way. That's the message from Michaeleen Crowell, former Chief of Staff and strategist for Bernie Sanders. She's the rare Washington insider with insights from across the full political spectrum, someone who's seen Democratic and Republican polling and who thinks this election is still up for grabs. Is a Republican sweep possible? Sure she says. But, is a Democratic win possible? Absolutely. Also...why Democrats' accomplishments have gotten buried, and who's been holding the shovel.

The Huge Part of the Midterms You Haven't Heard About Nov 04, 2022

In 1984, Ronald Reagan won a landslide re-election as President on a message of economic recovery, despite prices and unemployment being higher than when he took office. This year, President Biden and Congressional Democrats have a record of achievements that absolutely dwarfs Reagan's, and not just on the economy -- though the greatest one year job growth in history is a good start. Yet, you probably haven't heard anything about it. Based on Matt Robison's article for The Editorial Board, former Biden ad-maker Cliff Schecter and Matt go through what that record is, and why the accomplishments that should make this election a slam dunk have been absent from the political conversation.

Is Meta/Facebook in a Meltdown? Nov 02, 2022

Chris Hill of Motley Fool Money explains why Facebook is spiraling, and where that situation may be headed. Also, a big week for the big economic picture; a rough week for Big Tech Companies Not Named Apple; and Amazon has a bold but slightly confusing new offering.

Is Political Hatred Really a Both Sides Thing? Nov 01, 2022

Also, Elon Musk fuels the online dumpster fire, how a quirk in polling may have caught the Democrats, and is John Fetterman's auditory issue really an impediment to him doing the job of US Senator?

Where The Midterm Races Stand, One Week Out Oct 31, 2022

Mark Bergman, a top Dem political consultant working on some of the biggest races around the country, joins Matt to look at which factors have really been shaping the midterm elections, where things stand now, and how the dynamics are looking in each of the biggest races on the map.

He Makes More Democratic Ads Than Anyone. And He's Noticed Something. Oct 27, 2022

As we barrel toward the midterms, the parties have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into delivering their messages to voters. Doug Thornell may be responsible for more of those ads than anyone. He's a partner at SKDK, one of the top strategic communications companies in the world, and one of the few Black media consultants in Democratic politics. So when we asked him what making all those ads has shown him about the challenges that the party faces, he had something interesting to say. "The Democratic Party has an image problem. And we have for awhile now."

Senate Race Mania, UK Conservative Implosion, and Student Loan Confusion Oct 26, 2022

Also, are debates uniformly terrible? And is Kanye too crazy for Tucker Carlson?

Lessons from The Political Orphanage: A "Weird" Fix for America, and How to Survive a Nuclear War Oct 24, 2022

Andrew Heaton is a comedian, author, and political satirist. He’s also the host of “The Political Orphanage” comedy and news podcast. As a couple of passionate moderates, Matt and Andrew dive in to some of the goings-on in politics recently that are driving us the most nuts. Then we get into some of the really good ideas we've heard on our shows recently, from why multi member congressional districts might fix some our partisanship to how to survive a nuclear war.

Why Are We So Miserable, And How We Can Be Happier? Oct 20, 2022

Something is wrong in America, and we’ve gotten so used to it, we don’t really talk about about, or not enough anyway. We are in a major happiness recession, and we have been for a long time. The highest proportion of Americans ever (80%) say they are satisfied with their family’s financial situation, while an all-time low reports being “very happy” in their lives (14%). Over the last 40 years, a median of 66% of Americans have told Gallup they were “dissatisfied.” In the decade or so before the pandemic sent our despair into overdrive, major depression was rapidly rising, the suicide rate was up 35%, drug use and death were skyrocketing, birth rates were down 23%, and Americans told Pew researchers that they had become deeply pessimistic about the future.

Our guest today, Catherine Sanderson, has become a widely cited author for her contributions on positive thinking and achieving better parenting, happier aging, and more courage in our lives. Dr. Sanderson is the POLER Family Professor and Chair of Psychology at Amherst College. In 2012, she was named one of the country's top 300 professors by the Princeton Review. Her talks have been featured in numerous mainstream media outlets, including The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, USA Today, The Atlantic, CNN, and CBS Sunday Morning.

Has the Vibe Shifted Back to Republicans? Oct 19, 2022

Did the January 6 hearings accomplish anything? Did Democrats actually botch the impeachments? Is inflation taking center stage again and killing Dems' ability to talk economic accomplishments? And are we about to start eating...congressmen?

Going Beyond Politics...And Into Politics Oct 18, 2022

Matt joins legendary West Virginia radio host Howard Monroe to talk about what going "beyond politics" means, and also to dive into whether Trump will actually testify, where Trump's latest scandal rates in the all-time list, and whether Marjorie Taylor Greene is actually about to be in charge in Washington DC.

The Untold Story Behind the Botched Impeachments Oct 17, 2022

In November of 2019, the two top reporters covering the first impeachment of then-President Donald Trump for the Washington Post got together over a bottle of water and decided to write a book about what had really happened. Now, that book is finally hitting bookshelves tomorrow. It’s called “Unchecked, the Untold Story Behind Congress’s Botched Impeachments of Donald Trump.” The authors, Rachael Bade and Karoun Demirjian, join the show to reveal why the outcome of those impeachments was not as inevitable as people think, why Democrats pulled their punches, and what sliding doors moments might have changed everything.

Jason Sattler (@LOLGOP): 15 Burning Questions in Politics Oct 13, 2022

Former USA Today / current Editorial Board Columnist and worldwide Twitter star Jason Sattler (known online as @LOLGOP) joins for a massive rundown of the most burning questions in politics heading into the midterms. Borrowing from podcast legends Bill Simmons and Zack Lowe, Matt and Jason ask 15 big "are we sure" questions like "Are we sure that Democrats aren’t missing golden opportunities in the North Carolina and Ohio Senate races?" "Are we sure that the Herschel Walker scandal is even in the top five of Republican hypocrisy scandals in the last 20 years?" "Are we sure we won’t have a constitutional crisis in this election?" And "Are we sure that we’ve seen the biggest October Surprise come out yet?" Go to The Takedown YouTube channel for the full episode on video.

Our Award-Winning Interview with Former NH Chief Justice John Broderick Oct 12, 2022

We are proud to say that Beyond Politics just won an award from the New Hampshire Association of Broadcasters for outstanding Feature Story, so we are re-issuing that interview. One night, New Hampshire Supreme Court Chief Justice Justice Broderick awoke to find himself in the ICU. He had been attacked by his son. The story made national news. But it was only after the cameras left that the real story begins. Since that day, Justice Broderick has been on a journey of discovery and leadership on mental health in America. He’s working to improve understanding and awareness of mental illness in order to get rid of some of the myths, encourage discussion and treatment, and begin to change the unfair and shameful culture that surrounds mental health in America. Today on Beyond Politics, a remarkable story of health, struggle, recovery, and hope, and a look at the reality of one of America's greatest and least understood challenges.

What Matters for the Midterms? Economy Hits, Walker Scandals, Ad Strategies? Oct 12, 2022

The panel looks at the big economic news, including the Saudi oil production cut and the return of a potential railroad workers strike, and asks how much it will matter on election day. Also, is the Herschel Walker scandal a political nothingburger, why are Republicans hitting the crime angle so hard, and Biden finally passes a "green new deal."

Annie Duke: You Should Have Quit Oct 10, 2022

Quitting gets a bad rap. But the thing is, we know from psychological research, behavioral economics, and the professionals who help top business leaders to make decisions that actually, we should be doing a lot more of it, and a lot sooner. In fact, most us stick with losing propositions far too long, and a lot of the time the smartest decision is to make s strategic decision to focus on something else. So why don't we? And can we learn to be better judges of when to throw in the towel? Our guest, Annie Duke, is well known to anyone who got caught up in the poker boom of the mid 2000s as one of the top professionals in the game, but over a decade ago she quit, and now she’s a bestselling author, a corporate speaker, and consultant on decision-making, as well as Special Partner focused on Decision Science at First Round Capital Partners, a seed stage venture fund. Her newest book is Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away.For our WKXL radio listeners she’s also a Concord New Hampshire native.

The Surprising Beginning of Modern, Selective Higher Education Oct 06, 2022

Today, we feature the host of an amazing podcast called Gatecrashers, an eight-part series that tells the fascinating history of how the modern college admissions system (in fact, the entire notion of academically rigorous elite schools) that we know in America -- with its applications, essays, interviews, standardized tests, and US News lists -- all sprang from a surprising starting point: an effort to control how many Jews, and even what kind of Jews, were getting into the most prestigious schools. As the Supreme Court takes up a case that may end affirmative action in higher education, we couldn't have a more timely or important look at how we ended up with the modern higher education system.

Mark Oppenheimer created and reported Gatecrashers and he’s a Senior Editor at Tablet. From 2010-2016 he wrote the Beliefs column about religion for The New York Times. He also hosts the Unorthodox podcast about Jewish life and culture. He’s also the author, most recently, of Squirrel Hill: The Tree of Life Synagogue Shooting and the Soul of a Neighborhood.

New Poll Shows Dems Winning, But Republicans Have a Path Too Oct 05, 2022

Neil Levesque of the St. Anselm's Institute of Politics returns to run through findings from their latest high quality poll, showing why Democrats have an edge in key races despite President Biden's low approval, whether Democratic meddling in Republican primaries worked, what role abortion is really playing in the election, and whether we're getting an early bead on the shape of the 2024 Republican presidential primary.

Herschel Walker Really Messed Up Oct 04, 2022

The panel breaks down how Herschel Walker could have avoided a potentially campaign-sinking message catastrophe (besides not being an awful person in the first place) with some age-old political tactics. Also, Trump lawyers lying, huge issues on the Supreme Court docket, and is Mehmet Oz about to be eaten by Alicia's dogs?

J6 Committee's Jamie Raskin: Trump is Culpable Oct 03, 2022

Congressman Jamie Raskin of Maryland was a professor of constitutional law at American University’s Washington College of Law for more than 25 years. That’s part of the reason he was named the lead impeachment manager for the Senate trial during the second impeachment of then-President Donald Trump for inciting an insurrection at the United States Capitol. For over a year, he has been serving as a member of the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack. He says that the Committee has now established beyond any doubt that Trump was culpable for the insurrection. He reveals the big items that the Committee has uncovered that the media and the public may have missed, what missing pieces of the story he'd still like to fill in during the remainder of the Committee's work, and whether Ginni Thomas is in what amounts to a religious cult around Donald Trump.

Dems Were Right to Meddle in Republican Primaries Sep 30, 2022

It's been called risky, controversial, playing with fire...and that's just the Democrats talking. But now that the tallies are in, it is clear that Democrats spending $53 million to wade into Republican primaries was the right move. Matt joins The New England Take to explain why, based on his article published on The Editorial Board and Alternet.

Is Big Tech Just Poison, or Can It Be Fixed? Sep 29, 2022

Recently the Center for American Progress issued a report that said “Online service companies have produced substantial wealth, but these gains have failed to reach the American workforce more broadly. Pervasive, ubiquitous digital surveillance has eroded Americans’ civil liberties. Exploitation of people’s data has created novel consumer threats around privacy, manipulation of consumer behavior, and discrimination. Americans face these and other harms from online services, including but not limited to widespread fraud, abuse of small businesses, abuse of market power, faulty algorithms, racist and sexist technological development, cybersecurity challenges, threats to workers’ rights, curtailed innovation, and challenges with online radicalization and misinformation.”

But one of the authors of that reports says that despite this massive litany of destructive problems, big tech platforms can be fixed, and the Internet can be...good! Erin Simpson of CAP joins to explain.

Photo by Rahul Chakraborty on Unsplash

The Issues That Are Deciding the Midterms Sep 28, 2022

The panel dives in to understand the key issues that are driving the midterm elections and where things stand on them: abortion, the economy and inflation, immigration, and Trump. Which party is driving the narrative onto their home turf, and how are voters reacting? Also, are Dems kidding themselves with polling, again? And did NASA just make one of Marjorie Taylor Greene's Jewish space lasers?!?

Russ Feingold: The Stealth Rightwing Campaign to Rewrite the Constitution Sep 26, 2022

In the last few years, we’ve seen ideas that were once on the far fringes of American political thought become some of the most important and frightening factors in our politics. Overturning elections. QAnon. "Alternative Electors." Strict originalist views on abortion. And now, using an obscure section of the Constitution to create a right-wing rewrite of the Constitution itself. Former US Senator Russ Feingold served nearly two decades in the United States Senate, and is the co-author of “The Constitution in Jeopardy" with Peter Prindiville. They both join us to explain this growing threat to the country.

The Past and Future Republican Scheme to Distract from the Trump Disaster Sep 22, 2022

Political scientist Dr. William Ewell and I just wrote an article for Newsweek breaking down the go-to Republican panic move every time they run into a rough patch politically. Pull a stunt on immigration, no matter the human cost. William joins me to run through the Groundhog Day history and likely future of their immigration ploy, and how it will probably be the ideal cover Republicans will look to in the unfolding Trump legal disaster.

Photo: Jeff Swensen/Getty Images

No One Knows What's Going to Happen in the Economy Sep 21, 2022

Chris Hill of Motley Fool Money on why no one knows what to make of the confusing mess of economic data and business news...and that's making the market super jumpy. Also, Amazon goes all in on the NFL.

Are Democrats Falling Into a Classic Trap? Sep 20, 2022

Just as Republican Senator Lindsay Graham scored a possible own-goal by proposing a national abortion ban, suddenly Ron DeSantis Diverted media attention onto his stunt to fly migrants from Texas to Massachusetts. Are Democrats at risk of letting the election focus change to Republicans' favorite territory. Also, the country dodged a train last week when President Biden helped to avert a railroad strike--but it ain't over yet.

What a 2nd Trump Term Would Actually Look Like Sep 19, 2022

Brookings Institution expert Jonathan Rauch breaks down his amazing viral article for The Atlantic, "Trump's Second Term Would Look Like This," detailing a nightmarish future with an unprecedented assault on the agencies, military, courts, and democracy. Rauch is the author of eight books and a contributing writer to The Atlantic. He was the recipient of the 2005 National Magazine Award, the magazine industry’s equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. For the video of this podcast, subscribe to The Takedown on YouTube.

Will the August Inflation Numbers Kill Dems' Momentum? Sep 13, 2022

Also, the tide turns in Ukraine. The big primaries today. And should Democrats try to keep Trump off the ballot?

Why Won't the Media Just Call It Facism? Former Chicago Sun Times Editor Mark Jacob Explains. Sep 12, 2022

Several weeks ago, an NBC news poll found that the number one issue for Americans was not inflation, but the threat to democracy. Yet, despite American's clear concern, and despite Republican gaslighting about the supposed liberal bias of the media (hint, it's the opposite, as we cover in this episode), former Chicago Sun Times Editor Mark Jacob says that the stunning rise of fascist forces in America and the MAGA takeover of the Republican Party remains stunningly under-covered. "The media is scared of telling the truth when it comes to horrible things happening in politics. Nobody was set up for this rise of fascism...and it is fascism. And also the willingness of the Republican party to cheat in elections and and try to overturn legitimate elections. It's just astounding to me is how the biggest story of our lifetime is sitting right in front of us...yet they're afraid to cover it." Mark Jacob spent 41 years in daily newspapers, mostly in Chicago. He’s the former Sunday editor at the Chicago Sun-Times and former metro editor at the Chicago Tribune.

How to Fix Democrats' Biggest Messaging Problem Sep 08, 2022

Time Magazine recently described Jesse Ferguson by saying that he "as been one of the quiet forces inside rooms where power has been negotiated, won, or ceded over the last two decades." He's one of the most sought-after messaging experts among Democrats, and he has a lot to say about the key thing that Democrats always seem to get wrong when talking to voters, and how to fix it (hint: there's an easy acronym to remember how...ABC-V). Matt and Jesse also cover how to make the Inflation Reduction Act resonate with voters, how the midterms are shaping up, and favorite stories from the campaign trail.

The Future of Streaming, Television, and Sports Sep 07, 2022

The shape of what and how we view things on television is rapidly evolving, with the NFL moving to Amazon, NBC potentially dropping an hour of prime time, and sports looking to a streaming future. Chris Hill, host of Motley Fool Money, explains the dizzying changes and what might be coming next. Also, what will the homestretch of the business year look like?

We're in the End Times Now Sep 06, 2022

By which we mean the homestretch toward the midterms, with 9 weeks until election day, and the outcome depending on voters' priorities between inflation and autocracy. But also, President Biden's big speech last week depicted a country on the brink of a total meltdown, with MAGA forces poised to upend 250 years of democracy. Are we actually that close to the brink, and if so, was his speech the right thing to do? Plus, if we're so close to a MAGA takeover of government, why are Democrats promoting MAGA candidates?

The Most Important Economic Indicator We Should All Be Watching Sep 01, 2022

Several years ago, Newt Gingrich created a bit of controversy when he said in an interview that feelings are facts, and that the way people perceive an issue has just as much to say about it’s reality as any set of statistics that you could gather. Many people scoffed or reacted with outrage...but the truth is, he was kind of right: for instance, the way people feel about the economy has a strong influence on the objective reality of the economy as seen in the kinds of statistics that we can measure. In fact, economists generally accept the idea that people's feelings and expectations about inflation -- the number one public issue in the country right now -- become self-fulfilling prophecies that manifest in actual inflation. That’s why if you listen closely to our nation's economic leaders like Fed Chair Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, you’ll hear them talk so much about consumer confidence. The leading institution that measures people's feelings about the economy in America is the University of Michigan Survey of Consumers. Their Consumer Sentiment Index is one of the most closely-watched metrics of what is happening, and will happen, with the economy. Their Director Dr. Joanne Hsu joins us to tell us what it means, why it’s important, and why we need to be paying extra close attention to it right now.

Top Conservative: Student Loan Relief May Be Flawed; Republican Response is Even Worse Aug 30, 2022

We’ve been talking a lot about President Biden's decision to give holders of student loan debt substantial aid by canceling up to $10,000 in debt for those making less than $125,000. It seems like the decision has made no one happy, and that's definitely true of today's guest. Brian Riedl is a Senior Fellow with the Manhattan Institute who is an expert in economic policy, having worked for six years a chief economist senator Rob Portman and Director of Budget and Spending Policy for Marco Rubio’s presidential campaign. He has plenty of policy critiques of the Biden plan...but surprisingly, he has even more criticism for the Republican response and what it says about where the Republican Party has landed today, lacking any kind of coherent domestic policy agenda. He's written an article about it for The Dispatch (image from their article) and he joins us to explain.

Will Student Loan Forgiveness Kill Dems' Big Momentum? Aug 29, 2022

Or will it amp it up even further? The panel dives into why Democrats are gaining ground, and whether President Biden's big move on student debt is the right thing to do both economically and politically. Plus, Lindsay Graham makes the MAGA hostage threat explicit: stay away from Trump, or the base will attack (again). Does that mean prosecutors should back off?

Debunking Republican Attacks on Tax Enforcement Aug 26, 2022

In the past week, Republican attacks on the Inflation Reduction Act around how it funds tax enforcement have gotten downright scary, claiming that the IRS will use the additional funding to hire thousands of armed agents and threaten Americans’ life and liberty. It's nonsense, but it's nothing new. Back in December, we did an episode of Great Ideas that ran through the myths, realities, and partisan lies that were emerging then about tax enforcement...and most of it applies just as much now as it did then.

Top Republican Pollster Weighs in on Whether Dems have Turned the Tide Aug 25, 2022

We work very hard on this show to get out of our bubble and challenge our perceptions about what is happening, so that we don't end up just living in a political echo chamber. There’s no better way to do that for Democrat than to hear from one the very top Republican pollsters working today. Right now, the big question is whether there is a real shift going on in politics...is it just a case of Democrats over tilting on a bit of good news, or is it based on real, tangible signs that voters' fundamental views and drivers of politics are changing? We've heard from Democratic analysts, and now, we get insights from Whit Ayres, a leading Washington, D.C. political consultant with over 30 years of experience in polling and survey research for high profile political campaigns and associations. He’s the Founder and President of North Star Opinion Research, a national public opinion and public affairs research firm where he provides message development and strategic insights to high level political clients including Marco Rubio, Lindsey Graham, Jim Inhofe, John Kennedy, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Whit’s comments and analysis appear in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today,and numerous regional newspapers as well as National Public Radio.

How Dems Are Turning the Midterm Story Around Aug 23, 2022

This week, we're focusing on the question of the big vibe shift in politics: is it just a hazy feeling among Democrats, or a real reflection of a significant change in their favor? Aliza Astrow is a senior political analyst at Third Way who conducts public opinion research and analysis on voter views, and she walks through whether, how much, and why voters may be warming to keeping Democrats in power.

Dem Momentum: Just a "Vibe Shift," Or Something Real? Aug 22, 2022

Numerous data points are suggesting that there may be some positive trends for Democrats, along with some troubling signs for Republicans. Dems have been acting downright giddy about what they see as the recent turn. But is it mostly in their mind? Is it going to be enough? Or are they getting meaningful traction at just the right time? The panel weighs what we're seeing out there and separates what's real from what's not.

Brennen Center's Caroline Fredrickson on the Republican Party's Turn to Lawlessness Aug 18, 2022

Since the FBI search on Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home more than a week ago, the response from Republican office holders has been to demonize the Department of Justice, FBI, and law-enforcement in general. Republican firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene called for the FBI to be "destroyed and defunded," and the echoes of that exact sentiment have sounded throughout Republican Party leadership. Our guest today identifies a growing pattern of opposing the rule of law and celebrating lawlessness at the heart of the Republican Party. Caroline Fredrickson is a Senior Fellow at the Brennen Center for Justice at NYU Law. She’s served as the President of the American Constitution Society and she’s a frequent guest on television and radio, including serving as a regular on-air commentator during Donald Trump’s impeachments. She regularly contributes opinion pieces for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other news outlets, the most recent of which was “The Lawless G.O.P. Response to the Raid at Mar-a-Lago” in the New York Times.

Are We in a Recession or Not? Aug 17, 2022

Chris Hill, host of the country's #1 stock investing radio show, joins Matt to dive into the question of whether we are actually in a recession, and whether that question really matters. There are confusing, contradictory market signs, promising indications, and warnings that could spell trouble ahead. Chris and Matt try to untangle the indications from jobs, retailer's earnings, stock market performance, GDP growth, and hiring to understand what the big picture really is.

New Polling Shows How Abortion Could Be Giving Dems the Winning Edge In Key Races Aug 16, 2022

A new, highly-regarded poll from the St. Anselm's Institute of Politics is providing the best understanding yet of the politics of abortion after the Supreme Court's historic ruling ending Roe v. Wade. Neil Levesque, Executive Director at the IOP, takes us inside what they found, including how they are differentiating between people's personal views and how they will behave politically, and why this issue really could provide a winning edge for Democrats in some of the nation's most closely contested races this November. Also, the poll provides new data on the overall political environment and helps fill in the story of what's happened in politics over the past year, and where things may go next.

Photo by Gayatri Malhotra on Unsplash

The Question No Republican Can Answer on Trump, the FBI, and Those Secret Files Aug 15, 2022

Our panel of former US Congressman Paul Hodes, conservative columnist Alicia Preston, and former staffer/campaign manager Matt Robison unpacks what we've learned in recent days about Donald Trump's hidden stash of top secret files, and identifies the one big question that no Republican Trump defender seems able to answer. Also, are things truly turning in Dem's direction politically?

Afghanistan Withdrawl One Year Later: Where Are We? Aug 11, 2022

On April 14 2021, President Biden announced that a full withdrawal from Afghanistan -- one that President Trump had previously promised would happen by May -- would go forward by September 11. The withdrawal turned out to be chaotic and deadly. By August 15, Kabul had fallen to the Taliban, and 13 US service-members were subsequently killed. Now, as we approach the one year anniversary of that date, how should we think about the withdrawal decision? Was the price too high? Or does the recent killing of the world's top terrorist there help show that it was the best decision in the long run? Sean Carberry is a foreign affairs expert, consultant, and an award winning journalist and media producer with unique experience reporting on conflict. He served as NPR’s international correspondent based in Kabul, Afghanistan after reporting for NPR from more than two dozen war torn middle eastern and African countries. He worked for the US department of Defense as the lead on Department of Defense Inspector General reports on Afghanistan.

Photo by Andre Klimke on Unsplash

Emergency Pod: The Shocking Raid on Mar-a-Lago Aug 09, 2022

Former Democratic Congressman and prosecutor Paul Hodes, conservative consultant Alicia Preston, and host Matt Robison break down the early legal and political fallout from the surprise FBI raid on former President Trump. Paul explains from a prosecutor's standpoint what the behind-the-scenes mechanics are of getting a warrant like this, Alicia analyzes the Republican reaction, and Matt runs through the short and longer term political implications.

Is the Inflation Reduction Act a Game Changer for the Midterms? Aug 08, 2022

The Senate passage of the Inflation Reduction Act caps a surprisingly successful summer for President Biden and Congressional Democrats in which they passed major legislation to help veterans exposed to toxins, to increase manufacturing competitiveness against China, a bipartisan deal to rein in gun violence...not to mention President Biden holding together the western alliance against Vladimir Putin‘s war in Ukraine, adding two new members to NATO, and taking out the world's number one terrorist. So have Democrats turned around what seemed to be a disastrous trajectory. And has the picture now changed for the 2022 midterms?

Our guest is Navin Nayak, President of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, one of the major organizations that focuses on how policy impacts politics. He previously served as the director of opinion research for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, and you may recognize him from his numerous television program appearances including CNN’s “Crossfire” and MSNBC’s “Hardball.”

Has the 2024 Picture Fundamentally Changed? Aug 02, 2022

Recently, legendary West Virginia broadcaster Howard Monroe has been wondering: has something deeply changed about the 2024 picture? It seems like both Donald Trump and Joe Biden's position has been softening in measurable ways. So what is the trajectory of the next presidential race? Matt Robison joins him to walk through what the indicators are -- and aren't -- telling us.

Manchin, Moderates, and Maneuvering with Top Dem Communications Strategist Jim Manley Aug 01, 2022

The day before Joe Manchin made his thunderbolt announcement of the new Inflation Reduction Act, I had a conversation with one of the Democratic Party's top communications strategists. Jim Manley - who served as senior communications advisor and spokesman for then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid - walked me through the question of whether all this wrangling over President Biden's economic agenda had been all negative, or whether Senator Manchin had actually helped steer Democrats ultimately to a better place. In the interview, you can hear Jim hint that there's some news coming, and his analysis of what's happened over the past year sounds even more prescient and on-point now that we know what's emerged in recent days. A fascinating discussion about negotiating, finding compromise, and trying to create a coherent message for a party that is frequently all over the place.

The Rise of Christian Nationalism Jul 29, 2022

In this crossover edition of Great Ideas and Beyond Politics, we take a closer look at Christian nationalism. Recently, controversial Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene said that she’s a Christian nationalist...and the Republican party should be too. In fact, increasing numbers of candidates have embraced the language of Christian nationalism, if not the outright label, in the past year. But what does it actually mean? Is Christian nationalism an extreme religious and political ideology as practiced by Viktor Orbán of Hungary, or simply an expression of patriotic fervor combined with religious identity that fits into long-standing American traditions? Our guest today, Dr. Paul Miller, is a political scientist and a professor at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. He is a devout Christian, a fervent patriot and military veteran, a conservative Republican, and the author of The Religion of American Greatness: What's Wrong With Christian Nationalism. And he explains why Christian nationalism is fundamentally un-Christian and un-American.

Inside Trump’s Stealth Purge Plan with the Congressman Leading the Fight Against It Jul 28, 2022

Late last week, a blockbuster report from Jonathan Swan of Axios detailed how former President Trump’s top allies are prepping a plan to purge the federal government. They want to remove thousands of key decision-makers and replace them with MAGA loyalists, all through an Executive Order called "Schedule F." The report shows that even beyond the usual targets like EPA and the IRS, the Trump shadow team is targeting our entire law enforcement, intelligence, and defense apparatus. The end result? If Donald Trump were re-elected, there would no longer be any guardrail between the American people and Trump’s whims, once the core of the federal service is replaced with a new army of rabid MAGA foot soldiers.

The Congressman who has been leading the fight against this threat is Gerry Connolly (D-Va.). He successfully passed an amendment in the House of Representatives to this year’s defense bill to prevent any future president from executing the Schedule F maneuver, but Republicans hope to block it in the Senate. We are very privileged to have Congressman Connolly here with us to tell us all about it.

What Does the Bleh Stock Market Really Say About the Economy? Jul 27, 2022

Chris Hill, host of Motley Fool Money, explains what the low earnings reports and downward guidance from major retailers really reflects about the economy. Does it mean that the biggest sellers see troubled times ahead, or is something else going on? Also, why is Google forever? And is now a good time to buy...grills?!?

A Turning Point for Trump? Jul 26, 2022

Did last week mark a major crumbling in Donald Trump's pillars of support? Today, we bring you another episode of our in-depth roundtable analysis show "Balance of Power" in which we look at a not-so-subtle turn in conservative media around the former President. Also, is it time for both parties to turn the page to a new generation? Why is one of the biggest Senate races in the country swinging toward the Democrat? And do recent revelations show that the media has been messing up the Hunter Biden story all along, or that they mostly got it right?

Photo by Darren Halstead on Unsplash

Senior Project Scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope, Dr. John Mather Jul 18, 2022

If you’re like us and most of the Internet, you spent last week goggling at the very first, and absolutely stunning, images from the James Webb Space Telescope. These images lead us right into the most profound questions about the cosmos, and our own existence...and they help to put some of our fights, disagreements, and problems here on this pale blue dot (the kinds of things we normally cover on this show) into some proper perspective.

To give us that perspective, our guest is Dr. John Mather, Senior Project Scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope. In 2006, he won the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the Cosmic Background Explorer Satellite (COBE) which helped cement the big-bang theory of the universe. According to the Nobel Prize committee, "the COBE project can also be regarded as the starting point for cosmology as a precision science." In 2007, Mather was listed among Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in The World.

Note: we had low audio quality on Matt's portion of audio, because when a Nobel Prize winner agrees to come on the show to talk about one of the most exciting stories in the world, you make it work even if one of your hosts is traveling and using sub-standard equipment. We apologize for the slightly hollow sound.

Manchin's "Crushing Blow" to Dem Agenda: Is It Actually Crushing? Jul 18, 2022

Also, have the January 6 hearings been valuable? Are in-party challengers emerging for Trump and Biden? And will the horrifying Ohio case and similar tragedies that are surely coming change the impact of the Dobbs decision for voters?

Do Democrats Even Have a Message? Jul 15, 2022

Mark Bergman has advised some of America's best-known political leaders on effective messaging...and he's worried. We need to do better among non-college educated voters, but he says that "the Democratic Party is not giving them an option and an economic alternative. They agree with us on all these other issues, but the Democratic party needs an economic message. Can you tell me what it is? I couldn't." Mark and Matt run through how things are shaping up not just for the midterms but beyond, and how Democrats can start to make more inroads with the voters that they desperately need.

Photo by Max LaRochelle on Unsplash

The Elon-Twitter Breakup Jul 14, 2022

Chris Hill of Motley Fool Money explains what's going on with the Elon-Twitter deal meltdown. Also, the economy is looking up, and expectations are super low, so could we be in for a market surge on even meh earnings reports? And a huge summer movie benchmark for Hollywood.

The Knives Come Out for Biden on the Left Jul 13, 2022

A spat between the White House and progressives was followed in short order by a slew of stories about whether Biden is too old to run again. Coincidence? Also, should the nomination process become a reality show? Is there really room for a centrist party in America? And is there a Constitutional right to eat dinner?

A Democratic Revolt in New Hampshire Jul 12, 2022

Paul and Kevin Landrigan cover the front page New York Times article about awakening democracy in Croydon, New Hampshire. The town rose up, shook itself off, and organized to confront Free Staters who had taken advantage of citizen complacency. They also cover the race for NH Governor. A new poll from Democratic candidate Senator Tom Sherman gives him a shot with abortion politics as the driving issue.

Behind the Scenes with Democrats' Best Ad Maker Jul 11, 2022

Mark Putnam has helped to elect 11 governors, 10 senators and dozens of House members. He may be best known for the fact that when Barack Obama had enough money in 2008 to produce not a 30 second ad but a 30-minute film, he turned to Mark Putnam to direct it. According to the Washington Post, Mark has “a reputation in Beltway circles as the go-to guy for candidates running tough races in red states.” So as the Democrats face down an election cycle with nothing but tough races, Mark joins the show to tell some amazing stories from his decades behind the camera working with America's top leaders. Plus, he reveals his hints for how to make an effective ad in this day and age and what Democrats need to do in 2022 and beyond.

Rethinking What We Do Online In Post-Dobbs America: The Very Real Threat Jul 07, 2022

Privacy experts and pro-choice advocates are trying to get a handle on a new threat in post-Dobbs America: that our online behavior in apps, searches, or even just keeping our phones in in our pocket at the wrong time could send women or doctors to jail. Its a wild west of data collection and sale out there, and the new patchwork of abortion laws across states could mean that our digital footprints create very real legal perils. What if you need an abortion and you're in a state like Texas that puts a bounty on you? What if there's a new law that allows prosecutors to go after doctors if they provide care to women crossing state lines from states where abortion is restricted? How much information are we putting out, who might get it, and how might it be used against us? Rob Shavell, CEO of digital privacy provider Abine, joins to explain this emerging issue.

Photo by Rahul Chakraborty on Unsplash

Do 25 year olds run the country, and is Mitt Romney right that America is in denial? Jul 05, 2022

From time to time, Paul and Matt take a step back to look more deeply at a few topics, and in this episode, we examine the narrative about January 6 Committee star witness Cassidy Hutchinson's age, and what role young professionals really play in Washington. Are they bystanders, or the power behind the thrones? [hint: it depends]. Also, Mitt Romney's widely-discussed piece in the Atlantic claims that "America is in Denial." Is it actually Mitt who is in denial? Or does he have an important point?

Your Break from Politics: Black Holes, Skygazing, and Going to Mars Jun 30, 2022

From time to time, we all need a break from the news, current events, and politics.On this show, the way we do that is to go way, way beyond politics every few months and hear about what's going on at the frontier of human discovery in space. Today we talk about the amazing views of all the planets in our solar system available in the sky right now, the first image of the black hole at the center of our galaxy, the plan to return to the moon and send humans to Mars, and a postcard from interstellar space and decades ago from the Voyager spacecraft. Our guest is "The SKYGUY," John S. Gianforte, an Astronomer and Director of the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Observatory.

What Are Black Voters Thinking Right Now? And Will They Turn Out This Fall? Jun 27, 2022

We welcome back two friends of the show, Mario Broussard and Alex Ivey who are senior vice president and vice president of research respectively at Global Strategy Group, one of the premier polling, research, and public affairs companies in America. Mario and Alex have just released the latest edition of their fascinating research project The Melting Pot: An Ongoing Look at Racial Politics in America, which is intended to take the temperature of Black America on political issues, social attitudes, and voting behavior.

Sunday Re-release: The Real History of the Religious Right's Crusade Against Abortion Jun 26, 2022

In the wake of the Dobbs decision overturning a constitutional right to abortion, we wanted to re-release a discussion we had two months ago with Dr. Randall Balmer of Dartmouth College about the real history of the religious right's crusade against abortion. Because this moment is the direct result of a tactical decision that religious conservatives almost stumbled into 44 years ago. In fact, Dr. Balmer says that under closer examination, the real driver of the story at the time was not really abortion at all. It was segregation. Dr. Balmer joins us to explain what actually happened, and why it matters so much today.

Roe is Overturned Jun 24, 2022

As we were recording another show, news broke about the Dobbs decision that overturns the right to abortion in America. Our panel -- featuring former Democratic Congressman Paul Hodes, conservative commentator Alicia Preston, and political analyst Matt Robison -- immediately switched in real time to discussing the decision. Alicia provides a pro-life view, but with an empathetic response from those who will be enraged by the decision. Paul weighs in to ask what rights are next? And Matt raises the question of just how radical the strict originalist cult on the Supreme Court is.

Election Workers Are Under Attack: Here's How YOU Can Protect American Elections Jun 23, 2022

Ruby Freeman is the new face of the attack on American democracy. She is one of the critical people who helps make elections work. Donald Trump falsely accused Ruby and her daughter, both former election workers in Georgia, of election fraud. This week, she testified that “There was nowhere I feel safe. Nowhere. Do you know how it feels to have the president of the United States to target you? The president of the United States is supposed to represent every American, not to target one. But he targeted me.”

If we want to preserve our system of elections, we need to have the people in place -- unbiased, patriotic, fair-minded people -- to run them. Two months ago I wrote an article arguing that people who really cared about protecting American democracy needed to start paying a lot more attention to people like Ruby who make our elections work. I pointed out that there are not-for-profit organizations that will help you get involved, say if you are interested in being a poll worker, or helping to keep our elections working free of partisan interference. One of the organizations I spotlighted is the Fair Election Center, established 16 years ago by a prominent public interest attorney named Bob Brandon, which also helped to launch an effort called Power the Polls that helps people to volunteer to help run elections. Bob joins us to talk about what the true threats to elections are and how each of us can protect American democracy.

Bonus pod: It's Not About the Insurrection, It's About Everything That Came Before It Jun 21, 2022

Right before recording our show yesterday with NBC legal analyst Barbara McQuade, Matt joined legendary West Virginia radio broadcaster Howard Monroe for a quick conversation about the January 6 hearings, in which he previewed the emerging argument that January 6 was a big deal, but from a legal standpoint may now take a back seat to everything that preceded it. Because as rofessor McQuade argued, there are two ways to prosecute Donald Trump and his co-conspirators that have almost nothing to do with the attack on January 6, and they both have a growing stack of proof to support them. Howard and Matt get into what that case is and why we may be entering a new phase of thinking about the investigation in this quick bonus pod.

NBC News Legal Analyst Barbara McQuade: The Increasingly "Devastating" Case Against Trump, and Why the January 6 Attack May Not Even Matter to the Prosecution Jun 20, 2022

Last week's Congressional hearings were as riveting and disturbing as any testimony that has ever occurred in the US Congress. The picture has now become much sharper and much uglier about the true danger on January 6, the wild scheme to overturn the election that built for months, the fact that the plot was occurring at the highest levels of government, and most of all that President Donald Trump was told repeatedly, in the words of the former Attorney General of the United States William Barr, that his false election claims and the illegal scheme to keep him in power was all "bullshit." And yet, he tried to stage a coup anyway. In fact, perhaps most surprising, the January 6 attack may not even matter when comes down to the question of whether Donald Trump will be prosecuted.

We unpack all of this with Barbara McQuade, a law professor at the University of Michigan and the former U.S attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan - the first woman to serve in her position. She’s also a legal analyst for NBC News and MSNBC. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, Foreign Policy, Lawfare, Just Security, Slate, and NPR.

Deplorables, Insufferables, and Persuadables: Why Dems Need to Understand the Difference Jun 17, 2022

Matt joins Old Dominion University sociologist and Editorial Board writer Rod Graham on his live video show to break down how Democrats could do a better job peeling off voters they may have written off too soon, why Democrats need to stop chasing shiny objects, and whether Joe Biden still deserves some strong grades for his presidency.

The Gun Agreement, and is the Trump Con Finally Getting Exposed? Jun 15, 2022

Every week, we convene a former Congressman from the left, a conservative political consultant and columnist from the right, and a center-left host to dive deep behind the week's headlines. The Balance of Power round table is usually broadcast on WKXL and available in the Capitol Close Up podcast. But this week, we wanted to bring the show to our Beyond Politics listeners as we talk about the framework agreement on reducing gun violence and the real implications of the new information coming out of the January 6 committee hearings.

The Bear Finally Caught Us: Now What? Jun 15, 2022

With this week's drop the S&P 500 is officially in bear market territory. Why? And why are major business leaders warning of an “economic hurricane”? Chris Hill of Motley Fool Money explains.

Star Economist Mark Zandi on What's Next for Inflation and Whether We Face a Recession Jun 13, 2022

The top issue on everyone’s minds these days is the economy, and especially the fast-rising prices that we’re all feeling at the grocery store and the gas pump. Of course, the economy is almost always the top issue for Americans….in 1992 the Bill Clinton campaign boiled down their whole message to its “the economy, stupid.” So to understand what’s happening in the American economy, inflation, and most important, what’s likely to happen next, we simply couldn’t have a better guest than Dr. Mark Zandi. He’s chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, where he directs economic research, and he’s a recognized and trusted voice through his many appearances on major news media outlets like CNBC, NPR, Meet the Press, CNN, not to mention frequent testimony before Congress.

The Editorial Board's John Stoehr: Boudin, Democracy, and Questioning Media Narratives Jun 09, 2022

The Editorial Board, edited by longtime newspaper veteran John Stoehr (@johnastoehr), publishes articles designed to make you think. You may agree, disagree, or find yourself alternating between the two. And that's the idea. John and Matt talk about what the recall of Chesa Boudin really means, why the media narrative about it (and a lot of things) isn't quite right, whether more democracy is the cure for what ails many of our failing government systems, and our ambivalent relationship with Twitter.

Bonus Pod: Legal Expert Kim Wehle on the Biggest Jan 6 Questions and Can Dems Simply Recognize the ERA? Jun 08, 2022

Before and after our great discussion with legal expert Kim Wehle about her new book featured in our last pod, we talked a bit about the January 6 investigation (which Kim has written extensively about) and whether the Administration can deem the Equal Rights Amendment as enacted right now (and whether they should!) which Matt is writing about in an article due out this week.

How to Think Like a Lawyer, and Why You Should Want To Jun 08, 2022

Our guest today may be the bravest woman in America, because she has the gumption to argue that we could all learn a thing or two from lawyers, and in fact, if YOU could think more like a lawyer, you’d make better decisions and be happier. Her new book is called “How to Think Like a Lawyer – and Why.” Kim Wehle is a law professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law and a former Assistant US Attorney and you may recognize her not only from her work as a CBS News legal analyst, but also her appearances on CNN, MSNBC, NBC, BBC, NPR and here as our previous guest on Beyond Politics.

Key Things to Watch for in the January 6 Hearings Jun 07, 2022

Matt joins legendary West Virginia radio host Howard Monroe to talk about the public hearings starting this week about the insurrection. What can we expect, will evidence come out that leads to indicting Donald Trump, and if not, what will the committee actually accomplish when they take this to prime time?

Motley Fool's Chris Hill: What Michael Lewis Says About CEOs and Their Pay Jun 03, 2022

Chris Hill, the host of Motley Fool Money, joins to explain why the market suddenly turned around for no apparent reason, what the success of Top Gun: Maverick means, and what he learned from his recent interview with famed author Michael Lewis about expertise and CEO pay.

Washington Monthly Contributing Editor Anne Kim: Rick Scott's Cruelty, the Future of STEM, and America's Lost Youth Jun 02, 2022

Prolific and insightful writer Anne Kim is a Washington Monthly contributing editor and the author of Abandoned: America’s Lost Youth and the Crisis of Disconnection. She does in her writing what we do on this show: dive down below the surface into areas we often don't think enough about. We touch on the glib cruelty beneath Senator Rick Scott's plan for America, her in-depth report on women and minorities in STEM fields, and the lost generation of millions of young people in America neither working nor in school.

Bonus Extra: Why "Will Democrats Lose in 2022" Is the Wrong Question Jun 01, 2022

Aquick podcast bonus taken from Matt's recent radio interview with John Howell on WLS 890-AM in Chicago on why the usual question about the midterms -- "will Democrats lose" -- is the wrong thing to be asking. Check out the full Newsweek article here.

Political Writer Jason Sattler (@LOLGOP): Want to Save Democracy? Save Michigan. May 31, 2022

Former USA Today Contributing Editor Jason Sattler (known to legions of fans on Twitter as @LOLGOP) has a smart new article out this week on The Editorial Board explaining why if you want to understand what's happening in American politics -- if you want to save democracy itself -- look to Michigan. Time and again, it all comes back there. Matt and Jason take a closer look at why Michigan is so pivotal and how you can use it as a lens into winning in the critical upper Midwest swing states and the entire current political dynamic. Follow Jason on twitter at @LOLGOP and Matt at @MattLRobison.

Real, Achievable Things That We Can Get Done on Gun Violence May 26, 2022

Like many people, we are still reeling from the mass shooting in Texas that killed 19 children and two adults and injured many others. Parents like me are raw with anger, despair, and hopelessness. And what feeds our hopelessness is that at the federal level, there is no prospect of doing even the slightest thing to stop more of this from happening again. Which is why an article caught my eye this morning that is about the real, achievable, practical things that counties and cities can do to curb gun violence. One of the authors of that article, Alex Barrio, is the Director for Advocacy for Gun Violence Prevention at the Center for American Progress, and he joins us to talk about the very real prospect of making a difference on the local level even if our federal government won't.

This is a crossover episode of Great Ideas and Beyond Politics.

Photo by Colin Lloyd on Unsplash

Schumer's Former Right Hand Man: What Can Dems Actually Do About the Midterms? May 23, 2022

There's no shortage of virtual ink being spilled over the idea that Democrats are in Big Trouble in November. As I point out in my new Newsweek article, the President’s party has almost always bled seats in midterms, and this year, even a handful of losses will mean a Republican majority. So for Democratic members of Congress desperately trying to hold on to the slimmest of majorities, the question becomes, what should they do and what can they do in the dwindling number of months before the election? We wanted to pose that question to one of our favorite guests, Ryan McConaghy, who was US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's former right-hand man on the connection between policy and politics. Now at Forbes Tate, Ryan continues to provide advice to advocacy groups across America, but we drag him in for some wisdom for Democrats right now.

Your Break from Depressing Politics with Award-Winning Satirist Andrew Heaton May 19, 2022

OK, there's no escaping the onslaught of eye-crossingly crappy news, but at least we can try to laugh about it. Andrew Heaton is a comedian, author, and political satirist, and the host of “The Political Orphanage” comedy and news podcast (plus the scifi deep dive podcast “Alienating the Audience” -- go ahead nerds, you know you wanna). Plus he’s the author of 3 best-selling political satire books including Los Angeles is Hideous: Poetry About An Ugly City. And he's a former congressional staffer too. So Matt and Andrew dive in to how being a staffer ain't what it used to be, how hard and how important satire is these days, what William Shatner said about him, and why Los Angeles truly sucks.

What Is the Market Telling Us About Inflation, Consumers, and the Economy? May 18, 2022

Chris Hill of Motley Fool Money walks through what the earnings from big retailers like Walmart says about how businesses, consumers, and the market are reacting to inflation...and what we can expect later this year. Also, how companies are trying to keep their customers amid rising prices, and who is raising prices because they know they can keep their customers.

Bonus pod: Unpacking the Senator Whitehouse Dark Money Interview May 17, 2022

After we finished recording a really terrific, eye-opening episode with Senator Sheldon Whitehouse on how dark money drives Republican candidates and conservative judges to the hard right on issues like guns and abortion, former Congressman Paul Hodes and Matt Robison had a short follow up conversation to digest what we had just heard, why it matters so much, and to provide a little insight from Paul into what goes on behind the scenes in Congress on an issue like this.

Photo by Sivani B on Unsplash

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse: The Dark Money Network Behind the Supreme Court Takeover May 16, 2022

The right wing takeover of the Supreme Court by hand-picked ideologues -- who are now on the cusp of overturning Roe v. Wade -- was a carefully orchestrated effort funded by a flood of "dark money." In just the last 8 years, investigators have identified at least $580 million of those hidden funds, channeled through a tangled network of right wing groups. But even more disturbing is what we don't know: where these funds come from, whose interests both foreign and domestic they represent, and how they all connect. And it isn't just the judiciary: dark money is also flooding into efforts to stop Biden nominations and win American elections. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island has been the Senate's most dogged pursuer of uncovering what is happening, and he joins us to explain what he is seeing.

The Real Agenda of the Religious Right, and Why It Matters So Much Today May 09, 2022

The draft opinion that would overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling has led to a torrent of analysis about how this moment culminates a five decade-long quest for the religious and ideological right wing in this country to accomplish their most cherished goal. But that history is wrong. Dr. Randall Balmer of Dartmouth College has written extensively about the religious right and he says that under closer examination, the real driver of the story over the last five decades was not really abortion at all. It was segregation. In fact, his Politico Magazine article about it from 2014 that set the record straight became one of the most-read articles on their website again last week. Dr. Balmer joins us to explain what actually happened, and why it matters so much today.

Why Alito's Roe Argument Makes No Sense, and Why It Could Wipe Out a Wide Range of Rights May 05, 2022

Even though it was widely anticipated, the release of a draft Supreme Court opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade sent a jolt through America. But the opinion itself is a maze of choppy logic, invented legal tests, and cherry picked precedents - an exercise in stretching an argument to reach a preordained conclusion. To understand what is going on and the impact it could have, we turn to Kimberly Whele, a law professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law and a former Assistant US Attorney who is highly regarded for her clear legal explanations as a CBS News legal analyst and in her appearances on CNN, MSNBC, NBC, BBC, and NPR. Professor Wehle walks through why the ruling is so misguided, and how it could deal a profound blow to many fundamental rights that Americans have come to take for granted.

The Bears Roar, Netflix Tumbles, and the Aristocrats Deliver May 04, 2022

What is up with the market falling off a cliff? The NASDAQ is off to its worst start of any year this century. Netflix is way down. Tesla shareholders are nervous about Elon's Twitter adventure. And yet the"aristocrats" of American industry keep delivering. Chris Hill of Motley Fool Money explains.

NYT's Jason Zengerle on the Rise of the Tucker Carlson Politician May 02, 2022

Why does it seem like so many Republicans are trying to be Tucker Carlson these days? Because consciously or not, they are. Imitating Carlson's playbook of explosive provocation has become the go-to move for aspiring politicians on the right. Jason Zengerle, the outstanding New York Times Magazine Writer at Large and author of the recent analysis The Rise of the Tucker Carlson Politician, explains why this is happening and what it says about how the Republican party and media landscape has changed in the past two decades.

Orrin Hatch's Complicated Legacy for America Apr 28, 2022

When I read the news that longtime US senator Orrin Hatch at passed away at the age of 88, I thought of only one person: Eric Loomis (@ErikLoomis) Associate Professor of history at the University of Rhode Island. Eric just wrote a deep dive on The Editorial Board on Hatch's complicated legacy, one that was at times surprising for someone with a reputation of being a relative moderate with some real bipartisan accomplishments. Senator Hatch's career provides a lens into the evolution of the Republican Party.

The "Libs of TikTok" Story Perfectly Captures the Current "Crapnado" of Politics Apr 27, 2022

Matt Robison joins AJ Kierstead on WKXL's The New England Take to break down why the Taylor Lorenz / Washington Post Vs. "Libs of Tiktok" story became such a fact-free partisan spin cycle of stupid. Also, Matt defends his take on President Biden's first year grade (yep, the grade was A+) in light of continuing revelations about the end of the Trump presidency.

Rick Hasen - Election Law Expert - On How "Cheap Speech" is Poisoning America Apr 25, 2022

Today, in America, the system is blinking red. Experts are sounding increasingly dire alarms that our politics have become so distorted by anger, partisanship, lies, manipulation, and disinformation – not to mention deliberate steps to subvert American elections – that American democracy itself is in real peril. There may be no more widely respected expert on election law and the role of disinformation that Rick Hasen. He's a Professor of Law and Political Science at the University of California, Irvine and is Co-Director of the Fair Elections and Free Speech Center. Dr. Hasen also served in 2020 as a CNN Election Law Analyst, and is the author of numerous books and articles, including op-eds and commentaries in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Politico, and Slate. His most recent book is “Cheap Speech: How Disinformation Poisons Our Politics—and How to Cure It.”

What Amazon's Been Doing While We Were All Focused on Elon Musk Apr 22, 2022

Chris Hill of Motley Fool Money, the #1 stock investing radio show in America, joins to look at the biggest business and financial stories including Elon Musk vs. Twitter, the clever things Amazon is doing to position itself, the end of mask mandates on airlines, and the big storylines coming out of earnings season.

Donald McNeil, former lead NYT Covid Reporter, On Our Troubling Pandemic Future Apr 21, 2022

Recently, it's been clear that we’ve entered a new phase of the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s just not clear exactly what this phase is, or where we’re going from here. Are we in even worse shape than we thought on Covid, or for the next pandemic that is inevitably coming? Whenever we wonder about questions like this, we think of Donald G. McNeil, Jr. Throughout much of the pandemic, for millions of readers and podcast listeners in the US and around the world, he has been one of the most trusted, thoughtful, and clear explainers on the science of the coronavirus. He was the lead reporter on the Covid-19 pandemic for the New York Times. Today, we welcome him back to discuss his new article: "Better Luck Next Pandemic: Will we do better next time? Not from what I can see now."

Elizabeth Warren Vs. Biden's Pollster: Who's Got the Right Idea? Apr 20, 2022

Also, even more texts to Mark Meadows come out...how many people were texting this guy about the insurrection?!? The end of mask mandates, but forever? And why are Republicans holding off on Senator Maggie Hassan?

Globe Columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr: Insurrection, CROWNs, and the Shadow Docket Apr 18, 2022

With so much legal news, we're thrilled to finally bring you one of the really bright minds in legal and political commentary, Kimberly Atkins Stohr. She's a senior opinion writer and columnist for the Boston Globe, an MSNBC contributor, and co-host of the podcast #SistersInLaw (with our previous guest Joyce Vance). We tackle the true impact of Kentanji Brown Jackson, insurrection texts, seditious conspiracy, Merrick Garland, pulling out all the available legal tools on guns, the CROWN Act, and whether the Supreme Court needs to be reined in.

A Break From the News: The Mind-Blowing Stuff Happening at the Edge of Universe Apr 14, 2022

It's time for one of the most fun, refreshing, and mind-bending recurring segments on this show, where Matt talks with the SKYGUY, John S. Gianforte, an astronomer and Director of the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Observatory. In this episode, we cover the furthest (and oldest) galaxy ever seen which is right at the very edge of the observable universe, the oldest known star, the thousands of new planets that we have discovered, and much more.

Bernie's former Chief of Staff on Voting, BBB, and whether Dem "dysfunction" is real Apr 11, 2022

Michaeleen Crowell was Chief of Staff to US Senator Bernard Sanders, Legislative Director for civil rights icon John Lewis (GA-5) for 8 years and is now Principal at S-3 Group, a bipartisan consulting and communications firm in DC. We dive in to whether Dems are getting a lot more done than people realize, what the family of Martin Luther King wants people to understand about the civil rights leader, and what the prospects are for voting protection, a BBB successor bill, and getting anything else at all done this year. Featuring an appearance from "Bernie Sanders" himself!

The First Presidential Primary Should Be in...DC??? Apr 08, 2022

Yes! This idea seemed a little...out there...when I saw the headline for an article on The Editorial Board. Then I read it, and I was halfway convinced. So I had writer Noah Berlatsky on the show today to explain, and he got me fully convinced. Listen to the episode, and let me know what you think at @MattLRobison on Twitter.

The Ginni Thomas Story Goes A Lot Deeper Than We Thought Apr 07, 2022

In the past two weeks, we've learned a lot more about the role of Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, behind the scenes in the runup to the January 6 insurrection. Matt joins West Virginia broadcasting legend Howard Monroe to talk about just how deep this goes. Also, Howard and Matt discuss a congressional ethics scandal and where to draw the line on how members of congress use their staff and their campaign funds.

A Glimmer of Hope for Dems Apr 04, 2022

Neil Levesque oversees the Saint Anselm College Survey Center poll, one of the most respected polls in any swing state in the country. Their newest survey shows an uptick in voter mood over the past two months, creating some hopeful signs for Democratic incumbents facing re-election, including in the most-watched Senate race in the country. So what's going on here, how much further do Dems need to go to pull things out in 2022, and what issues are driving the discussion heading into the summer? Neil and Matt break it all down.

Are Dems Aiming At the Wrong Targets? With Jason Sattler (Twitter's @LOLGOP) Mar 31, 2022

According to Jason Sattler, better known to his army of Twitter followers as @LOLGOP and a former columnist and member of the USA TODAY Board of Contributors, "Marjorie Taylor Greene could marry Hunter Biden, put her pronouns on her Twitter bio and give herself a real-time abortion on Tucker Carlson’s desk while wearing a rainbow-colored N95 mask – she’d still win." So why are Dems giving her opponent so much darn money? This question, which he posed in a great article on The Editorial Board, provoked my own upcoming article on that site (subscribe free here) and today's conversation, which covers why Dems pick the wrong targets, what the role of social media is, whether Republicans have an in-built advantage, and what Democrats can do to win more and protect democracy better. You can follow me on Twitter at @MattLRobison.

What CODA means for the future of movies, and what the heck is Uber doing? Mar 30, 2022

Matt catches up with Chris Hill, host of Motley Fool Money, and what's going on in business: an unsettled market that might be finding its footing, what the CODA Oscar win means for the big streamers, the future of Uber, and the wild story of what Fred Smith did for the shipping business.

WaPo Reporter and Former Hostage Jason Rezaian on Bringing Americans Home Mar 28, 2022

In the summer of 2014, Washington Post Tehran correspondent Jason Rezaian and his wife were arrested and held as hostages in order for the Iranian government to be able to exert leverage in its negotiations with the US. Ultimately imprisoned for 544 days, 100 longer than the US hostages seized in 1979, Jason has since continued his reporting and analysis on similar cases, including in his book “Prisoner: My 544 Days in an Iranian Prison.” Recently, he teamed with producer Kate Woodsome to create the powerful short documentary film “Bring Them Home” about the family of American citizen Emad Shargi who is currently held hostage in Iran. Jason and Kate join us to tell us about the film and what the US government and all of us can do to bring Americans held overseas home. If you want to learn more or provide resources for students about this issue, there is lesson plan and viewing guide available through the Pulitzer Center. If you want to write directly in support of Americans held overseas, go to the documentary page and scroll down for resources. And finally, if you want to support the James Foley Foundation mentioned in the episode, you can find them here.

Is Tangle the Future of News In America? Mar 24, 2022

Isaac Saul left a career writing for some of the biggest media outlets - including Time Magazine, Vox, and The New York Daily News - to found Tangle, an independent, ad-free, nonpartisan newsletter that has been recognized by The New York Times, Forbes, and Substack as one of the most successful political newsletters on the internet with over 35,000 daily readers. Tangle breaks out of the usual partisan mold by giving readers a summary and the strongest arguments from each side of an issue, along with straight-shooting analysis. So why is this model growing so quickly, and is this the future of news? Check out Tangle here (https://www.readtangle.com/?ref=beyond) and judge for yourself.

Bye Bye Iowa? Republicans' "Real America." And Daylight Savings Time Forever! Mar 21, 2022

In a rare host-only episode, Paul and Matt dive into what's going on with Dem's maneuvers to boot Iowa from the early presidential nominating process, and whether the entire system should be blown up. Also, are we fighting a war against autocrats both abroad and at home? Remembering colorful Congressman Don Young. And should we make Daylight Savings Time permanent?

Cicely Simpson: Lessons from Politics on How to Pull Out Your C.H.A.I.R. Mar 17, 2022

What happens to people who were deeply enmeshed in politics once they move "beyond politics?" What perspective do they gain working in our government and political system that applies to the normie world, and how does living in the rest of the world change their perspective on politics? Cicely Simpson served as the Legislative Director for two Congressmen on Capitol Hill, and then became Executive Vice President of Public Affairs at the National Restaurant Association, where she was recognized by the newspaper The Hill as one of Top Lobbyists in America in 2015, 2016, and 2017. But now she's focused everything she's learned into becoming a public speaker, leadership coach, author of the new book "Pull Up Your C.H.A.I.R," podcaster, and Founder / CEO of Summit Public Affairs.

Elaine Kamarck: Dems' New Politics of Evasion, and the Open Door to Trump Mar 14, 2022

In 1989, Elaine Kamarck wrote a blunt wake-up call to Democrats, saying: “Too many Americans have come to see the party as inattentive to their economic interests, indifferent if not hostile to their moral sentiments, and ineffective in defense of their national security.” That missive helped steer the party back Presidential success. She has now published a widely circulated and much discussed follow-up called “The New Politics of Evasion: How Ignoring Swing Voters Could Reopen the Door for Donald Trump and Threaten American Democracy.” Elaine Kamarck is a contributing author for the Progressive Policy Institute, the Director of the Center for Effective Public Management at the Brookings Institution, and a Lecturer in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

This Won't Be Like Two Years Ago Mar 11, 2022

Chris Hill, host of Motley Fool Money, the #1 stock investing radio show in America, explains why the down market won't be like March 2020 this time around. Also, why is Disney+ adding a subscription with ads, and are baseball owners the dumbest business leaders in America?

Inside the How the US Government is Handling Ukraine Mar 10, 2022

Max Bergmann (@maxbergmann) is a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress and a former senior State Department official who is an expert on US-Europe-Russia relations. He takes us inside what is probably going on in the State Department, the White House, and other agencies right now as they make major decisions on issues like the Russian oil ban, no fly zone, and other moves to counter Russia in its war with Ukraine. How does the process work, who does what, and how much more have government leaders worked out behind the scenes than they let on to the public?

Jim Clyburn: Behind the Scenes of the Biggest Endorsement in History...and Other Stories Mar 07, 2022

Jim Clyburn is the Majority Whip in the United States House of Representatives, the third-ranking Democrat, and one of the top leaders of our country. In 2020, his decision to endorse then-candidate Joe Biden was probably more responsible than any other single act for Biden winning the nomination, defeating Donald Trump, and saving America. Congressman Clyburn takes us behind the scenes of that dramatic moment and through some other great stories that you've never heard before.

Democrats' former Top House Strategist on the Shocking Reality of Money in Congress Mar 03, 2022

In 2017 Congressman Steve Israel left Capitol Hill – unindicted and undefeated – at the very pinnacle of politics. He was one of the top ranking Democrats in Congress, widely respected, and on a path to even greater influence. President Bill Clinton called him “one of the most thoughtful Members of Congress.” So why did he give it up? And how did the reality of Congressional fundraising factor in?

By the way, if you like what you hear, Congressman Israel’s latest literary venture is his new bookstore in Oyster Bay, Long Island called Theodore’s. You can order a range of great books online, including the two satires he penned since leaving Congress.

An Award-Winning War Reporter on the Calamitous Attack on Ukraine Feb 28, 2022

Why this war? Why now? And are there fractures behind the scenes within the Kremlin? Sean Carberry served as NPR’s international correspondent based in Kabul, Afghanistan after reporting for NPR from more than two dozen middle eastern and African countries. He shares what top analysts are thinking about the state of the war in Ukraine, what his colleagues on the ground are focusing on right now, and what the future might hold. A crossover episode with the Beyond Politics Podcast.

Photo by Max Kukurudziak on Unsplash

Run For Something Might Be the Most Important Organization In Politics Feb 24, 2022

I recently wrote an article for Newsweek in which I pleaded with Democrats to refocus. When we lost the effort to save American democracy in the Senate at the beginning of the month, it was demoralizing. And Democrats shouldn't give up on the federal level. But there's a lot more to government and making change in America than the federal level. Earlier this month when the Ohio Supreme Court threw out the Republican legislature's ludicrously gerrymandered congressional maps, there was a lesson there...and if Democrats can pick their chins up and pause outrage-tweeting for a moment, they will see that the Ohio win didn't just fall out of the sky. It happened because Dems focused on overlooked, smaller, state and local races that make a huge difference in power. Democrats may not be able to pass a big, sweeping federal law to comprehensively stop all election abuses, or to fix all of our problems. But that doesn't mean they can't grit and grind their way to achieve many similar protections and advances in the states and at the local level.

One of the key leaders in understanding the importance of state and local politics, and doing something about it, is Amanda Litman. She co-founded Run for Something, an organization dedicated to supporting people who want to run for office, and getting smart, dedicated, progressive leaders in positions across the country that make a difference in American lives.

The Market's Down...Does It Really Matter? Feb 23, 2022

Chris Hill of Motley Fool Money walks through how to think about (and how much to worry about) recent volatility, as well as the drops of some high performers, and the counterintuitive performance of the lodging industry.

Democrats Facing a Stark Reality Feb 21, 2022

Democratic political and media consultant Mark Bergman has a message for Democrats...we're right about a lot of things, including striving for equality, supporting working families on needs like child care, and following science on Covid. But the the voters are not seeing things the same way. It's partly the message, partly the priorities we talk about, partly the brand of the entire party...and there's a healthy dose of distortion from right wing media. But the bottom line is, we're losing the middle, and we can't win elections in 2022 or 2024 with just our activist base, because the Republican base is even more fired up. We need to appeal to persuadable working class voters again. The good news is that it ain't over yet. "That's why you play the whole ball game...the Cincinnati Bengals thought they were going to win the Super Bowl until the final two minutes," Mark says. In this episode, Mark gives a dose of reality, but also some helpful pointers about how to fight back against the headwinds the party is facing.

Why Are Schools the Focal Point of American Politics Now? Feb 18, 2022

Matt joins legendary West Virginia radio broadcaster Howard Monroe to talk about why school issues - including mask mandates, closures, curriculum, "transparency," and critical race theory - have become such a huge focus in politics these days. And are Republicans winning on these issues?

The Sandy Hook Settlement: A Tipping Point on Gun Reform? Feb 17, 2022

The agreement from gun manufacturer Remington to settle a civil court case brought by Sandy Hook families marks the first time a gun company in America has been held liable for a mass shooting. The case revolved around the marketing campaign for the rifle used by the Newtown shooter and whether it targeted teenage boys and young adults through ad placement in violent video games. The fact that the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case could open the door to many more state-based lawsuits, while the settlement award could put financial pressure on other manufacturers across the industry.

So is the $73 million settlement a turning point for gun reform efforts? We wanted to ask one of the top veterans of the gun reform advocacy community, Cliff Schecter, who has worked for Mike Bloomberg’s Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Everytown for Gun Safety, and the Brady Campaign, and has written widely about gun safety.

Photo by Bexar Arms on Unsplash

Michael Cohen: "We Have to Decide Not to Be the Party of Bull$%^&" Feb 14, 2022

No...not that Michael Cohen. This Michael Cohen is one of the most thoughtful, analytic, and interesting minds in the Republican Party. Mike has worked in politics for 25 years, primarily in polling, and he also teaches at Johns Hopkins University’s graduate communications program and has appeared on numerous media outlets. He had the number one opinion piece in The Hill this weekend, making the case that Mike Pence should run for President. He is "out" on the Republican Party right now. So I asked him, what would it take to get him back in? We also cover both parties' prospects for the midterms, his book "Modern Political Campaigns" and whether America is simply depressed.

Rod Graham on the Sociology of Our Unhealthy America Feb 10, 2022

Dr. Roderick Graham is Associate Professor inSociology & Criminal Justice at Old Dominion University who writes social critique through a sociological lens. We tackle affirmative action, immigration, harm reduction centers, "hate launderers" and why America has become so culturally unhealthy. Make sure to check Rod out on YouTube, Twitter, Substack, and at The Editorial Board.

The Story of Moundsville, and What It Tells Us About America Feb 09, 2022

Moundsville, directed by David Bernabo and John W. Miller and currently playing on PBS, is the biography of a classic American town: Moundsville, WV (pop. 8,400), on the Ohio River, where Appalachia hits the Midwest. Told through the voices of residents, the film diverts from the well-trod paths – opioids, coal, Trump – to trace the many forces that have buffeted this proud town, diminishing it but also offering new promise and opportunities. In this crossover episode with the Great Ideas Podcast -- which we hope you'll subscribe to -- director and former Wall Street Journal reporter John Miller joins the show to tell us what he learned after a year talking to the people of Moundsville, and what they can teach all of us about the future of America.

Why Are the Biggest Tech Companies Soaring While Facebook Tumbles? Feb 09, 2022

Chris Hill, the host of Motley Fool Money, the number one stock investing radio show in America, explains what the heck is going on with successful big tech companies that continue to grow steadily while Facebook hits the skids. Also, we dive into the future of Peloton, and are all those expensive Super Bowl ads actually worth it?

The Plot to Steal the Presidency Feb 07, 2022

Four months ago, our co-host Matt Robison wrote an article in Newsweek arguing that it was time for America to panic. He quoted from the government scholar Robert Kagan: "the United States is heading into its greatest political and constitutional crisis since the Civil War, with a reasonable chance over the next three to four years of incidents of mass violence, a breakdown of federal authority, and the division of the country into warring red and blue enclaves." Last week, a powerful and respected Washington voice published a comprehensive and detailed breakdown of how all of this is unfolding right before our eyes, and what we must start doing right now to stop it. He's Matt Bennett, the Executive Vice President at Third Way, a leading Washington, DC think tank that aims to develop fresh thinking and moderate ideas. Matt joins the podcast (also available on video) to share the stunning details.

How Do We Get Government to Pay Attention When Technology Impacts Our Health? Feb 03, 2022

Today, we wanted to bring you portions of a conversation that Matt Robison had on the Healthier Tech Podcast with host R Blank. Some of you may recognize that name from my previous conversation with him in which we talked about the science behind electromagnetic radiation and some of the effects that that type of radiation -- which comes from everything in the world around us that runs on electricity -- has on our bodies, our brains, and our health. There is some pretty compelling science that suggests it's a problem. There are direct effects that are measurable in the cells inside our body, and there's a lot more research that's needed on the association with various diseases. So what can we do to get government to take this on?

The show is also about other intersections between our health and technology. That includes mental health and social health, the kinds of issues that have been raised by the Facebook whistleblower Francis Haugen, and some of the documents that she's brought to light about research that Facebook has done about the impact of social media, particularly on teenagers, and most particularly on young women. We also consider some of the other social effects that we've seen in terms of misinformation. The question is the same: how can we get government to address technology that is harming us?

MSNBC Legal Analyst Joyce Vance on Breyer's impact, the nomination, and that Trump Executive Order Jan 31, 2022

Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement raises a number of significant questions about the future of the Supreme Court. To understand what has been happening on the Court, the implications of losing Justice Breyer, and what’s coming next as President Biden decides on a nominee, we’re very pleased to have one of the country’s top legal analysts, Joyce White Vance. She’s a frequent legal commentator on MSNBC and other media outlets, a Distinguished Professor of the Practice of Law at the University of Alabama School of Law and served eight years as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama.

A Top Pollster Explains the Impact of Americans' Sour Mood on Biden, Dems, and Everybody in Office Jan 27, 2022

Americans are sad, angry, and fed up these days...and with the lingering pandemic, high prices, and continued partisan bitterness, it's understandable. So what is that doing to elected officeholders, voter perceptions of the two parties, and re-election prospects for everyone on the ballot in 2022? Neil Levesque of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics who oversees the top-rated St. Anselm's poll walks through their latest findings, and what they mean for the direction of public opinion and politics as we head toward the mid-term elections.

Fmr. State Dept Expert on Why the Ukraine Conflict is Happening, and What the US Should Do Jan 24, 2022

With the eyes of the world on Ukraine, we look today at why Russia has pushed the world to the brink of war. Max Bergmann is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, where he focuses on Europe, Russia, and U.S. security cooperation.From 2011 to 2017, he served in the U.S. Department of State in a number of different positions, including as a member of the secretary of state’s policy planning staff, where he focused on political-military affairs and nonproliferation; special assistant to the undersecretary for arms control and international security; speechwriter to then-Secretary of State John Kerry; and senior adviser to the assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs. He helps us understand why there is a brewing conflict, what the options are, and what the path ahead should be.

Photo by Snowscat on Unsplash

Biden's First Year Grade is A+. Any Other Answer is Insane. Jan 20, 2022

Today, I published an article in the Editorial Board that is getting a ton of attention online, arguing that the answer to the question “what grade do you give Biden’s first year in office?” is “A+” and that anything else is insane. Here's why.

The Business Landscape with Motley Fool Money's Chris Hill Jan 19, 2022

We did our regular check in with Chris Hill, the host of Motley Fool Money, the #1 stock investing radio show in America, and one of the biggest financial podcasts out there. We look at Microsoft's giant acquisition, what are the big trends to look for in earnings season, and how are live sports doing (hint: amazing).

How Do We Stop Them? Fighting Back, with Lincoln Project fmr Executive Director Fred Wellman Jan 18, 2022

Fred Wellman is the former Executive Director of The Lincoln Project, a West Point and Army veteran, and a former Republican. He's spent years fighting what Donald Trump stands for. But the insurrection on January 6th, 2020 marked a turning point. He saw something new: a clear parallel to the roots of the fascist movement in Germany in the 1930s growing here in America. So Fred’s decided to take everything he learned at the Lincoln Project and do something about it. He’s founded The Beer Hall Project, a new super PAC with a goal of battling Donald Trump and his supporters who are trying to rewrite the history of what really happened on January 6. He joins us to talk about how to win this fight against a Trump movement that is trying to overthrow American democracy.

Emergency Podcast: Ohio Supreme Court Slams Republican Gerrymandering Jan 14, 2022

The Supreme Court followed up its recent ruling on state district maps with a shot across the bow of state Republicans today, blasting their ludicrously gerrymandered Congressional map and sending it back to the drawing board. This is a big deal not just because of how it could affect the count in Congress, but also because it provides a blueprint for how Democrats can fight back against the assault on free elections by using a little focus and tactical smarts. There's a backstory to how we got here, and there's no one better to tell it than one of its architects: former Ohio Democratic Party Chair David Pepper, author of Laboratories of Autocracy about what Republicans are doing at the state level. We pulled him onto an emergency podcast to explain what happened, why it's so significant, and most important, what lessons Democrats elsewhere can learn.

Former Chicago Tribune Editor: "we've never seen so many lies," and the media is enabling them Jan 13, 2022

Today we talk with former Sunday editor at the Chicago Sun-Times and former metro editor at the Chicago Tribune Mark Jacob about a crisis in media like nothing we have ever seen before. Criticizing the media is nothing new. But today, the fracturing of the media landscape, the rise of social media, the battle for attention and eyeballs online, and the willingness to brazenly disregard the truth on the part of some politicians has left the media reeling, and unable to help its readers, viewers, and listeners understand what is real and what is invented. The blizzard of lying is coming disproportionately from the Republican Party, and the mainstream media is giving those lies "more credence, more time, and more legitimacy." It's a demoralizing and dangerous situation in a democracy that requires that people have real facts and good faith analysis. The good news: Mark has some ideas about how to fix things. The not-so-good news? None of them are easy.

What Americans Are Thinking About the Insurrection, the Big Lie, and Trump Jan 10, 2022

In the aftermath of the insurrection of January 6th 2021, it appeared for a moment that Donald Trump's effort to cast the 2020 election as illegitimate and to overturn the results of that election had come to an end. While 140 Republican members of Congress did vote to overturn the results – literally in the midst of the damage around them in the capitol – Republican leaders ultimately expressed acceptance of the election and a rejection of the insurrection. It seemed like there was a chance that this was an issue that Americans might generally come together on.

But in the year since, the opposite has happened. Americans attitudes about that day and everything that led up to it shifted almost immediately, and fell into familiar partisan patterns, yet shocking in the face of the violence that day and the revelations about it since then. And in the past two weeks leading up to the anniversary of the insurrection, a number of polls have returned with alarming results about how Americans view the last election and the violence at the Capitol.

One of the best of these polls comes from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The associate director of that poll is Jesse Rhodes. He’s a Professor of Political Science, author of three books and numerous scholarly articles, and he’s here to tell us all about his findings.

He taught the Harvard Course on the Insurrection Jan 06, 2022

In the wake of the January 6 insurrection, a Harvard professor decided, in a matter of days, to teach a course that unfolded in real time and dug deep into what happened on January 6th, the roots of the insurrection, and the still-developing understanding of the events of that day. So what did he and his students learn, and what can we say about the future now that we are a year out?

We wanted to bring the kind of insight that you get in a Harvard course to everybody, so we brought that professor onto the show today. Alexander Keyssar is the Matthew W. Stirling Jr. Professor of History and Social Policy at Harvard Kennedy School and author of “Why Do We Still Have the Electoral College?”

Where Are We As We Approach January 6? Jan 05, 2022

Matt joins veteran radio host Howard Monroe to talk about why the insurrection was, yes, an insurrection, where public opinion has gone, and why we are in more peril now than we were a year ago.

Donald McNeil, former NYT lead Covid reporter, on the future of Covid in 2022 Jan 03, 2022

As we enter 2022, the biggest question on everyone’s minds – the biggest question in the world – is what will happen with Covid, especially as we deal with the Omicron wave which is continuing to lead to record numbers of cases. So we wanted to check in with one of our favorite guests, Donald G. McNeil Jr. Throughout the pandemic, for millions of readers and podcast listeners in the US and around the world, Donald has been one of the most trusted, thoughtful, and clear explainers on the science of the coronavirus and public health measures to control it. He was the lead reporter on the Covid-19 pandemic for the New York Times in 2020 and since leaving the Times, he’s continued to write and explain the science of Covid to the public. He recently wrote an article titled “Oh, Great. Now I’ve Got Covid.” Donald joins us to explain what happened, why he went with the British approach to quarantining instead of the CDC approach (and what Dr. Anthony Fauci told him about it), and what seems most likely to happen with Covid in 2022 (and why that might be better than you think).

The Big End of Year Awards Show Dec 29, 2021

The most fun show of the year where our panel hands out end of year awards: MVP for Dems and for Republicans, most important news story, surprising polling finding, under-reported news story of the year, and more. Our panel is Republican political columnist Alicia Preston, former Democratic Congressman Paul Hodes, and host and former Congressional staffer Matt Robison.

Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash

Black Holes, Killer Asteroids, and Alien Radio Signals Dec 27, 2021

We call the show Beyond Politics for a reason, and today, we once again step way beyond politics for a fun conversation with astronomer John Gianforte about all of the fascinating news in space and astronomy. What are we going to see with our new $10 billion telescope? Can we stop killer asteroids with a spaceship, like something out of a movie? And what can we learn from the brief few days where scientists thought we might have finally gotten a message from extra terrestrial intelligence, and in our own galactic back yard?

Photo by Alexander Andrews on Unsplash

Deck the Halls with Broken Congress! Dec 24, 2021

The outstanding think tank The Concord Coalition has its own podcast and radio show called Facing the Future, and recently, they hosted Beyond Politics hosts Matt Robison and former Congressman Paul Hodes for a lively discussion about how screwed up things are, and what can be fixed (and what can't). There's a little friendly dunking on Congress, plus some practical talk about how to make things work on the side.

Manchin's BBB Blast: WTF or Blessing in Disguise? Dec 23, 2021

Matt joins legendary West Virginia radio broadcaster -- and expert Senator Joe Manchin analyst -- Howard Monroe to talk about Manchin's weekend stunner, what was really driving it, and whether it's the best thing that could have happened to Democrats.

Elizabeth Gore of Environmental Defense Fund: Yes, We're Making Progress on Climate Dec 20, 2021

The recently concluded COP 26 summit in Glasgow was supposed to shine an international spotlight on global warming and charge up the next stage of commitments from countries to reduce carbon emissions. There were only two problems. One: it’s unclear how much progress was actually made. The conference did end with a new consensus about the need for action, and some analysts called that a substantial achievement. But the Swedish activist Greta Thunberg accused the conference of consisting of a lot of “blah, blah, blah.” Two: nowadays, it’s hard to focus on the fact that the world is on fire when global warming is competing for our attention with immediate problems like the worldwide pandemic, economic instability, and the fact that democracy is weakening around the world, and may not have long to go in the US.

So we wanted to take a look at where we really are on climate, COP 26, and the US role in it, and to do that we have one of the very best environmental leaders in the United States. Elizabeth Gore is Senior Vice President for Political Affairs at Environmental Defense Fund. She served as a US Senate Legislative director and chief of staff for 18 years, and 6 years in the House of Representatives before that. We talk climate, progress, whether Congress really is a mess, and why she was invited to be the commencement speaker at UMASS.

Is Biden's Low Approval Rating a Sign That Things Are Working? Dec 16, 2021

More than five and a half million Americans out of work in January found jobs by November. In the same period, the jobless rate fell from 6.3 to 4.2 percent, a drop of one-third. Jobless claims in November hit a 52-year low. Real GDP growth for 2021 is expected to be 5.9 percent. (Between 2000 and 2019, real GDP growth stayed lower than 3 percent.) President Biden’s temporary child tax credit, which provides direct cash payments to poor families, cut child hunger rates from 30 percent to 21 percent. That’s 2 million fewer kids who went hungry.

Yet Biden’s popularity, as measured by poll aggregator FiveThirtyEight, remains in the doldrums. At 43 percent approval, his numbers are worse than any postwar president at this point in his term except for his predecessor, Donald Trump.

Author Noah Berlatsky has written an analysis for The Editorial Board in which he says that all this kind of...makes sense. In fact, it may be a sign of democracy working. On the show, Matt and Noah run through his argument, and talk about whether democracy truly can work in the process of so much media propaganda, misinformation, and voter confusion.

Business Story of the Year, CEO of the Year, and The Biggest Business Questions for 2022 Dec 15, 2021

Chris Hill of Motley Fool Money takes stock of the biggest trends of 2021 for business, the economy, and investing, and the biggest questions ahead for 2022. He awards CEO of the year (there were three), business story of the year, and a nice piece of good news for investors ahead.

Corrupt Politician Comebacks, Dick Sweat, and Why Immigrants Are the Key to the Economy Dec 14, 2021

Av Harris of the national fiscal responsibility advocacy group The Concord Coalition joins the show to share insights from his experience working for some of the most colorful -- and colorfully named -- politicians in America, and to explain the new Concord Coalition report on why immigrants will be so vital to maintaining economic growth in the future. Also, what's up with the Congressional Budget Office saying that the Build Back Better bill won't add to the deficit, and then saying well, if you did a bunch of other stuff, it would? Is that actually a meaningful way to look at this (the Concord Coalition says yes, Matt says no), or just fodder for scoring political points?

Photo by Kerwin Elias on Unsplash

Did Bob Dole Invent Everything We Hate About Today's Politics, Including Trump? Dec 09, 2021

On today's show, we highlight the complicated legacy of Bob Dole. For Americans of a certain age, basically age 35 and over, Bob Dole was an avatar of the Republican Party. After his losing presidential campaign, he went through a transition from a taciturn, gruff politician known as Dr. Gridlock to a much more genial and vulnerable public image cultivated on late night TV, as a spokesperson for World War II veterans, and on behalf of sufferers of erectile dysfunction as a pitchman for Viagra. In the wake of his death, analysts focused on that later image, and mourned the passing not only of the man, but of a seemingly different and better kind of American politics. But our guest today was one of the few to point out that Bob Dole's record was far more complex, and maybe the nostalgia about the way things used to be in politics isn't quite right. In fact, as much as we praise his military service and personal toughness, it can be argued that Bob Dole was ahead of his time on many of the things that we hate most about today's politics. He may even have invented them.

Erik Loomis is Associate Professor of History at the University of Rhode Island. His most recent book is A History of America in Ten Strikes, published by The New Press in 2018. He also writes for the Editorial Board, and his most recent article is titled The Mean Old Man of the GOP is Dead.

Why Isn't There a Liberal Fox News? Dec 07, 2021

Or Rush Limbaugh? Or the same media echo chamber that exists on the right. Longtime West Virginia radio host Howard Monroe and Matt Robison dive into where the right wing dominance of slanted media comes from (and make no mistake, the right wing does dominate), and whether it is ultimately fixable.

How Dems Can Talk About Critical Race Theory According to Top Pollsters Dec 06, 2021

Today, we're thrilled to welcome back two friends of the show, Mario Broussard and Alex Ivey, who are Senior Vice President and Vice President of Research respectively at Global Strategy Group, one of the premier polling, research, and public affairs companies in America. They have been running an absolutely fascinating research project, Global Strategy Group’s bi-annual series, The Melting Pot: GSG’s Ongoing Look at Racial Politics in America, which is intended to take the temperature of Black America on political issues, social attitudes, and voting behavior. As we observed in Mario and Alex’s last appearance on the show, Black Americans are the absolute core what the Democratic Party and turn out an engagement from these voters will be absolutely critical to determining the outcome of the elections in 2022 and beyond. Today, we tackle lessons learned from their research about Defund the Police and even more important, Critical Race Theory. How can Democrats talk about it when it is so politically dangerous? Our guests have the answer.

Reasonable Voters Are Turning on Democrats - Researchers Now Know Why Dec 02, 2021

In the last few months American politics has become a little mysterious, if not downright confounding. By almost every measure, President Joe Biden and the Democratic party have had an extremely successful year. Remember we started this year with an insurrection in the very heart of our government, with armed vigilantes roaming the halls of Congress. We also had a brand new set of vaccines but almost no Americans vaccinated against a deadly pandemic. Unemployment was still six and a half percent. Economic output was hundreds of billions of dollars lower than the start of the pandemic.

Fast forward to the end of October: GDP had fully recovered and grown beyond pre-pandemic levels, employers were adding half a million jobs a month, unemployment was down to 4.6%, and people were leaving their jobs at a record rate because the job market was so good. Wages were up 5.0% over the year. And Americans had accumulated $2.3 trillion more in savings, with the median household’s checking account balance 50 percent higher than before the pandemic. The US had also carried out the fastest vaccination campaign in our history, and after a painful, wrenching takeover by the Taliban that cost American lives, the US managed to end its longest war, successfully evacuating 124,000 people, including 6000 U.S. citizens, in the largest airlift in U.S. history.

And yet, Democrats running on these successes, and contrasting with the disastrous leadership the country had suffered under Donald Trump, saw a massive swing of voter sentiment against them. President Biden’s approval rating has cratered, and Republican turnout surged so strongly in the New Jersey and Virginia elections that Democrats lost everything in Virginia, and nearly so in New Jersey.

Some of the smartest minds in politics set out last month to find out why. Aliza Astrow is a political analyst at the think Tank Third Way, she helped organize this research effort, and she’s here to tell us what they found.

Bigger Economic Trouble Sign: Omicron, or Weak Black Friday? Dec 01, 2021

Markets have been spooked by Omicron news in recent days. And Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales are down year-on-year. So which of these is a bigger concern, or are either of them really a bad sign at all? Also, Dorsey is OUT at Twitter, Amazon is taking over the shipping market, and what can we learn for business from the Patriots? Chris Hill of Motley Fool Money weighs in.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Soul of a Democrat: Seven Core Ideals To Get the Party Back to What It is Supposed to Be Nov 30, 2021

In 2016 the Democratic Party lost control of every branch of government. Countless explanations and excuses have been offered, and despite an anti-Trump backlash in 2018 and eking out the Presidency in 2020, Democrats have been on a continued downward slide down ballot. And now, facing the midterms, their prospects don’t exactly look rosy. The news media is full of doom and gloom, the President’s popularity is underwater despite some massive successes, and Republican voter suppression efforts look likely to keep them with the upper hand into the future.

So what’s the answer? Our guest, Tom Reston has one. His book Soul of a Democrat: The Seven Core Ideals That Made Our Party — and Our Country — Great, focuses on the root ideas of the Democratic Party and how to start from the foundation of what the party is supposed to be about. He argues that Democrats need a coherent, blunt set of American ideals and in this book, he provides one.

Harvard Economist Jeffrey Frankel: The Real Deal on Inflation Nov 22, 2021

By most measures, the economy is doing great. The country's economic output is way past where it was before the pandemic. In October alone, the country created 531,000 jobs and set a record for the number of people leaving their jobs, which is a sign the people see a hot job market and want to take advantage of it. Unemployment is way down, wages are way up, and the average American has 50% more their checking account today than they did just two years ago. Not to mention that businesses are also happy and flush with cash: consumer spending is surging while the stock market was up 7% in October, capping off a strong year.

BUT...Inflation. It's on everybody's minds. It was up 6.2% in October, and that has made Americans feel like the economy is terrible. 68% of Americans told Gallup in October that they thought the economy is getting worse, while the University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey finds that Republicans feel worse about the economy than at the height if the Great Recession.

So, how is the economy doing? What’s real, what’s perception, or is perception what creates economic reality? Harvard Kennedy School professor Jeffrey Frankel is the James W. Harpel Professor of Capital Formation and Growth at the Harvard Kennedy School, and most important, he graduated from the best undergraduate college in America – Swarthmore College. He joins the show to explain the real story on inflation, including the sneaky link between vaccination and bringing inflation down.

Republican Infighting and Threats; Also, Overturning America's Gerontocracy Nov 18, 2021

Matt joins legendary West Virginia radio host Howard Monroe on his show to talk about his Alternet article describing the government's massive bias toward the old over the young, and why it needs to end. Then, a discussion about Republican infighting and growing threats of violence, what it means, and why it's happening.

What People Say About the Economy is Totally Different Than How They Behave Nov 17, 2021

Chris Hill of Motley Fool Money explains what to make of the very different things people are saying about the state of the economy / their personal finances, and how they are actually acting. Right now, Americans tell pollsters that the economy is bad and that they are worried. But they are spending, seeking new job opportunities, and investing like things are great. So what does that mean, and what do businesses, investors, and analysts do when those things diverge?

The Dems' Fix-It Comms Guy on How to Fix It Nov 15, 2021

Josh Schwerin is a communications veteran among Democrats, and it sure seems like they need one right now. A former press secretary for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, he served as the National Spokesman for Hillary Clinton in 2016, and as the Senior Strategist and Director of Communications for Priorities USA, the biggest Democratic outside advocacy group and political action committee, where he played a big role in figuring out how to spend $153 million in advertising in the 2020 political cycle, and what to say with all that money. He’s also a veteran of the Terry McAulliffe political operation, which makes him the perfect person to talk about where we are now, and what Democrats need to do in the coming year.

Can Joe Biden (or any President) Use the Bully Pulpit to Move Public Opinion? Nov 11, 2021

The degree to which President Biden can sell his agenda to the American public maybe the single most important factor in driving the politics of the coming years. Many analysts have compared President Joe Biden's legislative plans for America to the Great Society program of President Lyndon Johnson -- widely regarded as the most ambitious set of social investments in American history. With the passage of the bipartisan infrastructure bill and Joe Biden's signature social investment program, the Build Back Better agenda, waiting in the on-deck circle, it appears the President Biden is on track to make that comparison very real. But will the public end up supporting these achievements, and will they reward Democrats politically for them? After all, don't parties in power use their position, especially the position of the President, to sell their ideas to the public and then reap the rewards by touting their achievements?

The answer is no. In fact, we may be thinking about how this works all wrong. Dr. George Edwards is Distinguished Professor and the Jordan Chair in Presidential Studies at Texas A & M University, and he has analyzed hundreds of public opinion polls. He finds that actually, Presidents are usually unsuccessful at wielding the so-called bully pulpit. They are frequently unable to move public opinion at all.

VA and NJ: No Big Deal? Nov 09, 2021

Matt appears on The Watchdog with Howard Monroe to run through what actually happened in the elections last week and whether it was really all that surprising. Also, what will it take to win in 2022, how much will passing BBB matter, and Weird Al Yankovic!

A Top Dem Advisor on Last Week's Rough Elections, and Whether Dems Can Recover Nov 08, 2021

Adnaan Muslim is one of the most sought-after campaign consultants in America. A top counselor to Senators like Elizabeth Warren and Raphael Warnock and Boston mayor-elect Michelle Wu, Adnaan joins the show to explain what happened last Tuesday, how Dems can fight the CRT and education messaging from Republicans, what the path to a fighting chance in 2022 looks like, and what his favorite Elizabeth Warren stories are.

Meta, Microsoft, and Movies: The Weird, Messy Stuff Happening in Business Right Now Nov 05, 2021

Chris Hill of Motley Fool Money, the #1 stock investing radio show in America, returns from a summer break spent dominating the airwaves on his own show to talk about the biggest moves and most puzzling questions in the business world. What's driving the Meta shift? Why on Earth is Microsoft back on top? And has anyone figured out the new Hollywood model? Plus, wing-chef robots????

Ratf**ked Nov 04, 2021

Today, we’re going to take you on a journey down into some of the most insidious, infuriating, and un-American skulduggery that has gone on in this country. And then, we’re going to talk about how we’ve started to turn the tide, and how maybe, maybe we can finish the job. Our guide on this trip is David Daley. His journalism has appeared in the New Yorker, the Atlantic, Slate, the Washington Post, and New York magazine. He is a senior fellow at FairVote, the former editor of Salon, and the author of two recent books, one that takes us on the journey down, the other that takes us on the journey back: Ratf**ked and Unrigged. This is the explosive account of how Republican legislators and political operatives fundamentally rigged our American democracy through redistricting, and how a vibrant political movement that is rising in the wake of his and other reporters’ revelations might provide a blueprint for what must be done to keep American democracy afloat.

How does taxing the ultra-rich actually work? Nov 02, 2021

I do a regular show with financial advisor Mike Morton about personal financial planning. Today, he and I got into a bit more of a politics, policy, and tax discussion around the idea that we could tax the ultra-rich to pay for social investments. It's a conversation about practical politics, how hard t is to come up with a rational tax policy, and how the ultra rich avoid our best efforts to get them to pay their fair share.

The Problem We Never Talk About that Might Be Bigger Than Trump Nov 01, 2021

Far more than the high-profile antics of politicians like Marjorie Taylor Greene or Jim Jordan—and yes, even bigger than Donald Trump’s "Big Lie”—our guest today says that it is anonymous, often corrupt politicians in statehouses across the country who pose the greatest dangers to American democracy. Our old friend David Pepper is the former Chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party. Born and raised in Cincinnati, he’s served in city and county offices, run statewide in Ohio, and has a law degree from Yale. But he’s also an accomplished author of works that are eerily prescient about American politics. He's written Laboratories of Autocracy, a chilling new account of just how bad things have gotten at the state level, and what we can do to fix it.

Could the “Moneyball Effect” Actually Save American Politics? Oct 28, 2021

The way we run political campaigns has changed drastically in the last two decades. Today, political campaigns spend three times more money and leverage far more sophisticated data and media tools, paired with an unnerving amount of information on voters. But those extraordinary powers have mostly been used not to have a more nuanced, persuasive public conversation, but to stoke outrage and election turnout. It is possible to argue that way we run campaigns has been a huge factor in how angry, divided, and dysfunctional our country has become.

Today, guest Michael Cohen – author of Modern Political Campaigns – argues that a “Moneyball”-like search for smarter ways to win might actually drag American politics back away from the extremes and toward a more reasonable center. He also explains how the role of political parties has changed, what is working and not working in campaigns today, and whether things like yard signs are ever helpful to winning.

Will America Tear Apart in the Next Three Years? Oct 26, 2021

Matt talks about his recent Newsweek op-ed with West Virginia radio host Howard Monroe of The Watchdog. Will Trump run in 2024 (yes!), if he does are there any good outcomes (no!), and if the threat to America is so big, is there anything that can be done about it right now (yes!)

The Man Behind Build Back Better and the American Rescue Plan Oct 25, 2021

Congressman John Yarmuth has served as Chairman of the House Budget Committee since 2019, and was one of the key architects of the $1.9 American Rescue Plan that is lifting 5 million American children out of poverty, saving millions from losing their homes, and saving lives every day by getting people vaccines. He's also the hidden force behind trying to wrangle Democrats together on Build Back Better. In this fascinating interview before his retirement from Congress next year, Chairman Yarmuth shares what it was like trying to herd cats between moderates and progressives in the negotiations over the Build Back Better bill, what Mitch McConnell is really like, and what the unseen physical demands of being a member of Congress are.

A New Analysis of Democrats' "Way to Win" Oct 21, 2021

Do Democrats actually have a chance to hold on to their majorities in the US House and Senate in the midterm elections in 2022? History is not on their side. Since 1946, the average number of seats in the US House of Representative lost by the president's party in the midterm elections is 46. Projections by our recent guest David Shor show that in 2022, if Senate Democrats somehow manage to beat Republicans by a stunning four percentage points they’d only have about a 50-50 chance of holding onto the majority. If they win only 51 percent of the vote, they’ll likely lose a seat — and the Senate.

But our guest today says the Democrats can give themselves a fighting chance by employing the right strategy and focusing on the right places. Colleen Loper is the Senior Director of Political Strategy at Way to Win, an organization founded after the 2016 election to channel more funding from Democratic donors into organizations and campaigns that focus on voters of color. They’ve raised $165 million to do just that, and they recently posted an in-depth study called How 2020 Shapes 2022. Colleen breaks down where the best opportunities for Democrats lie, and also shares insights from her time as a Texas-based strategist on whether Democrats can finally win a major race in the Lone Star State.

David Shor: An Interview With Today's Most Provocative Democratic Political Expert [re-release] Oct 18, 2021

In recent weeks, there's been one person driving the discussion in Democratic circles: David Shor. Big profiles in the New York Times and Politico have further elevated this rising political star, along with his stark warning that if Democrats think they're sitting pretty for the coming years having beaten back the forces of Trump in 2020, they're deluding themselves. Three months ago, we interviewed David on this show, and today, we bring you a re-release of that terrific episode, in which David explained his argument, his evidence, and his interpretation of what we're seeing around us.

The discussion included this summary from David of his outlook: "We actually aren't winning the war of ideas as much as we think...and the Republican Party is more popular relative to the Democratic Party than people think. The Democratic Party brand and agenda has shifted a lot in the last four to five years, and it's gone in a direction that a lot of voters aren't comfortable with. People can easily overestimate how much support there is for the Democratic Party."

Check out the whole show for more from this fascinating interview. Shor is a data scientist who consults with progressive groups around the country and is one of the most trusted and widely respected voices on what’s actually happening with the American electorate. He's the Head of Data Science at OpenLabs R&D, and previously was the director of Political Data Science at Civis Analytics, overseeing a research and development program that interviewed millions of people for hundreds of individual campaigns and electoral organizations.

He called out the core problem with Facebook a year ago Oct 14, 2021

One year ago today, political scientist EJ Fagan published an article called "End the Algorithm" on Tech Policy Press in which he identified the basic problem with Facebook: that it is powered by machine learning algorithms which favor outrageous, inflammatory, and degrading content. Now, new revelations from Facebook product manager-turned-whistle-blower Frances Haugen have rocked the company, drawn the attention of the world, and completely confirmed everything that Professor Fagan wrote. The algorithm -- which feeds Facebook's basic business model built around maximizing engagement from users -- is a one-way ticket to warping our brains and shaking the foundations of democracy. Dr. Fagan joins us to discuss what we have learned, how deep the problem goes, and whether anything can be done to fix it.

Is Woke Media *Really* Killing Democracy (and Democrats)? Oct 11, 2021

Is something fundamentally wrong with American journalism? On the right, we know that there’s all of the “fake news” propaganda: Fox, the New York Post, and right-wing radio. But on the left, a growing number of experts believe that something has also gone badly off track. Our guest today says that what’s happened is that mainstream news is not liberal anymore; it’s woke: propagating radical ideas that were fringe as recently as a decade ago. So is this actually real? And how big a problem is it?

BATYA UNGAR-SARGON is the deputy opinion editor of Newsweek. Before that, she was the opinion editor of the Forward, the largest Jewish media outlet in America. She has written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, Foreign Policy, Newsweek, the New York Review of Books Daily, and other publications. She has appeared numerous times on MSNBC, NBC, the Brian Lehrer Show, NPR, and at other media outlets. She holds a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. Her new book is Bad News: How Woke Media Is Undermining Democracy.

How the Media is Totally Screwing Up on the Biden Agenda (And How Dems Are Letting Them) Oct 07, 2021

Author Magdi Semrau recently wrote an article for The Editorial Board arguing that the media is badly misleading the public on Joe Biden's "Build Back Better" plan, and explaining some of the massive political consequences that we could see. And the Democrats have not only let it happen, they've actively seeded their own problems. Magdi joins the show to walk us through a major media distortion happening right before our eyes, and what Democrats can do to salvage the situation.

Inside the most closely watched race in America -- and what it can tell us about politics in 2021 Oct 04, 2021

Every four years, political analysts obsess about the Virginia governor's race, the first and usually closest big election after we elect a President. This year, the race is balanced on a knife's edge. Operatives around the country will be poring over data in the coming weeks to understand what is happening, what's working, what's not working, and where the 2022 midterms could be headed. One of the very top experts on the state is Mark Bergman, a political consultant who has worked around the country but has his deepest roots in Virginia. He explains how the pros are watching the race, what it could turn on, how to judge which way it's going in the next month, and why the results are such a good barometer for politics in America. We also cover why Ralph Northam survived the photo scandal, how to navigate a media firestorm, and why things have gotten so much harder for campaigns in the last ten years.

Inside D-Day in Congress Sep 30, 2021

All paths have led to this day. The Biden agenda. Infrastructure. Child Care. Health Care. Funding for our entire government. Our entire country's credit. The biggest issues have all converged in Congress today, and everything is hanging by a thread. Our Senate insider, former Chuck Schumer right-hand man on policy and legislation Ryan McConaghy, walks us through the standoff...what are people thinking, what are people doing, and where all of this could be going.

On the Front Lines of Democracy with Maine's Secretary of State Sep 27, 2021

Shenna Bellows is Secretary of State of the State of Maine, the very first woman to hold that position, and she joins us on Beyond Politics during a crisis of American democracy. Two-thirds of Republican voters say in surveys but they don't believe the 2020 election was legitimate. We have seen 350+ bills introduced in legislatures around the country over the past year that in one way or another restrict access to voting. And new Pew Research Center survey finds that a depressingly low number of Americans, only 57%, say voting is “a fundamental right for every adult U.S. citizen and should not be restricted in any way.” 42% now say that “voting is a privilege that comes with responsibilities and can be limited if adult U.S. citizens don’t meet some requirements.”

It’s not going too far to say that in 2020, Secretaries of State like Republican Brad Raffensberger of Georgia were part of the very thin line of courage and integrity that saved American democracy. So we ask Secretary of State Bellows about her efforts to protect the right to vote, how Maine's groundbreaking ranked-choice voting system works, and what we can do to get people to reaffirm their faith in our basic system of government.

What Mary Trump Has to Say About the Horror Movie Ending We Are Living Through Sep 23, 2021

Cliff Schecter just hosted Donald Trump's niece and clinical psychologist Mary Trump on the Unpresidented Podcast to talk about the roots of his psychopathology. Cliff joins Matt to discuss the biggest takeaways from that interview, and how they relate to recent revelations about the Trump plot to overthrow our democratic system and stay in power.

Science Editor Alison McCook on the End of Our Covid Summer Sep 20, 2021

Alison McCook is a veteran science journalist for Reuters, Scientific American, Discover, Nature, Science, and Retraction Watch, as well as a regular columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer. She takes us inside the winding science and public health road that we've taken on Covid in recent months, explains where science and public communication have gotten out of sync, and looks ahead at where we might be going next.

Fresh, Smart, Different: Politics in Plain English from "The Editorial Board" Sep 16, 2021

John Stoehr is the Editor of "The Editorial Board," a newsletter about politics in plain English for normal people, democracy and the common good. We talk about some of the fresh takes and insightful analysis that has appeared on its pages recently, especially around authoritarianism, lawlessness, the media, and how political discourse has gone off the rails. John is a former visiting professor of public policy at Wesleyan University; a fellow at the Yale Journalism Initiative; a contributing writer for the Washington Monthly; a contributing editor for Religion Dispatches; a columnist for Public Seminar; and senior editor at Alternet.

The Weird Inside Story of the California Recall Sep 13, 2021

Kathleen Ronayne is a highly respected, veteran Associate Press reporter who covers California and national politics. So she was the perfect guest to explain some of the wild backstory that got us to tomorrow's California recall, and to preview what national political operatives and experienced analysts will be watching for in the coming days. Why is this a thing anyway? Could Larry Elder really win with 20% of the vote? Is Gavin Newsome going to coast to safety? And what would it really mean if the governor is recalled?

New Polling Showing Trouble for Biden and the Democrats Sep 06, 2021

In recent weeks, Afghanistan, the Delta surge, Hurricane Ida, and mixed economic news have changed what’s on voters' minds, and driven new and more negative perceptions of elected leaders and policies in the U.S. Joe Biden is significantly down, as are views of the Democratic Party and the state of the country overall. One of the very best polls in New Hampshire or around the country tracking these views comes from the Saint Anselm College Survey Center. The Executive Director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm is Neil Levesque...he oversees this poll, and he joins us to discuss what it says about the current state of politics in America.

Mars, Venus, and Beyond: The Fascinating Science Happening Right Now Aug 31, 2021

There's so much in the news these days -- much of it depressing -- that it's hard to pick our heads up and see what else is going on. It turns out that there's a lot, especially if you pick your head all the way up and look out to other worlds and some of the most exciting frontiers in science. Today, we talk about all of these fascinating developments with "The SKYGUY." John Gianforte is an Astronomer and Director of the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Observatory. He is also a Science Writer, and Adjunct Faculty member at Granite State College, in New Hampshire.

Photo by NASA on Unsplash

One of America's Top Afghanistan Experts on What Happened, And What Happens Next Aug 30, 2021

We’ve all been focused on the news out of Afghanistan in recent weeks, and the story there needs almost no introduction. Today we wanted to talk about the situation, how we got here, and where we’re going in the future. There is no one better to help us understand all of this that Sean Carberry. Sean is an award-winning writer, editor, and foreign policy and national security expert with more than 20 years of experience in government and journalism. From 2018 through February 2021, Mr. Carberry served in the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General as managing editor of the Lead Inspector General quarterly reports to Congress on overseas contingency operations, which included public and classified reports on operations in Afghanistan. From June 2012 through December 2014, he was NPR’s Kabul Correspondent. He covered the ongoing war, the 2014 Afghan presidential election, and daily life in the country until NPR closed the Kabul bureau in December 2014.

Photo by Andre Klimke on Unsplash

A Turning Point on Abortion in America Aug 26, 2021

In recent months, there have been some potentially landmark developments on abortion. It could well be that the middle of 2021 will mark an historic turning point on an issue that has been one of the cultural hot buttons in America for decades. On May 17, the US Supreme Court agreed to hear Jackson Women’s Health Organization v. Dobbs. The case deals with Mississippi’s law banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. This marks the first time that the Court will rule on the constitutionality of a pre-viability abortion ban since Roe v. Wade. The case also features a novel conservative legal argument that the writers of the 14th Amendment, which is foundational to the Roe decision, would have considered “persons” to include “unborn children” and that fetuses are “persons” from the time of conception.

The other development is a new Texas law that creates an end run around the federal courts and Supreme Court rulings, by creating an avenue for individuals to sue people connected with providing abortions in civil court…making what one analyst called a market for abortion vigilantism.

That analyst is one of the sharpest-eyed commentators on law and legal history around, and she’s with us today. Mia Brett has a PhD in history and specializes in American legal history. She’s a freelance writer, educator, and a contributor to The Editorial Board.

What High Tech Innovation is Doing to Our Economy, Society, and Politics Aug 23, 2021

The last 10 years have seen a breathtaking pace of technological innovation in every area of our economy and society. These days, anyone on Earth with access to a mobile phone or laptop computer and the connection to the Internet can access almost the entire sum total of human knowledge with the click of a button. American high-tech companies are creating a whole new industries along with millions of jobs and millions of dollars. At the same time, all of this new innovation brings complicated questions about privacy, security, economic balance, and government regulation.
One of America’s undisputed leaders in navigating all of these issues is Rob Atkinson. He’s the founder and President of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), recognized as the world’s top think tank for science and technology policy. The New Republic has named Rob of the “three most important thinkers about innovation.” He’s the author of many books, a leader on countless government boards and councils, he’s testified numerous times before the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, and he appears frequently on news and public affairs programs on BBC, CNBC, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, NPR, and NBC Nightly News.

The Epic Fall of Andrew Cuomo, and What it Means Aug 19, 2021

The saga of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in some ways looks like what journalists call a man bites dog story: something that happens so often that it almost escapes our attention. It does seem hardly new that awful behavior and sexual harassment by a male politician comes to light and ends a once-lofty career. But there’s a lot going on under the surface in this story, both in this particular case and in the trajectory of how we deal with issues like this among American politicians. Lindsay Beyerstein is an award-winning investigative journalist who has covered the Cuomo saga in depth. She covers legal affairs, health care and politics for The Editorial Board, and is also an award-winning documentary filmmaker and a judge for the Sidney Hillman Foundation. She joins the show to dissect what we can take away from the Cuomo story.

Inside the Stunning Revolution in American Attitudes and Law on Same-Sex Marriage Aug 16, 2021

In 2004, the Pew Research Center poll found that Americans opposed same-sex marriage 60% to 31%. But a series of legal rulings, cultural shifts, prominent gay figures in entertainment becoming wildly popular, and growing advocacy changed the entire tenor of the debate. By 2019, Pew polling on that same question of what we now call marriage equality had totally flipped: 61% supported same-sex marriage, while 31% opposed it.

This represented the most rapid and profound change in American attitudes on any social issue since we had any measurements. So how did it happen? Our guest today is Sasha Issenberg. He’s one of the most insightful and widely-read journalists in America, especially when it comes to dissecting what’s happening behind the curtain in American politics. He’s the author of The Engagement: America’s Quarter Century Struggle Over Same Sex Marriage, a fascinating look behind the scenes of both sides in the marriage equality fight. He’s here to tell us the inside story of what really happened.

A Bold Idea for Breaching the Conservative Fortress in the Judiciary Aug 12, 2021

Republicans have been flat-out winning the battle for the judiciary -- the “shadow war” in the fight for control of America’s government. We all know about the Supreme Court, but underneath the Supreme Court there are 13 courts of appeals, and below them 94 district courts. Most of the time, it is those lower courts that have the final word on questions of federal law. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor once said they are “where policy is made.” Donald Trump substantially shifted the calculus of those courts. By the time he left office, he had appointed about one quarter of the total judges, and at ultra-important appellate level, Trump had shifted Republican-appointed judges from holding 40% of the seats to an outright majority at 54%. Trump also flipped 3 of those 13 courts to Republican-appointed majorities, meaning that 7 of the 13 Courts of Appeals are now controlled by jurists picked by Republicans.

Our guest today, calls this a "conservative fortress" in the federal judiciary. But he’s devised a smart, constitutional method for scaling that fortress…and it’s not court packing or term limits, or probably anything you’ve heard before. Chris Sprigman is the Murray and Kathleen Bring Professor of Law at the NYU School of Law, the author of numerous articles in law reviews and other scholarly publications, and he’s here to tell us all about it.

He Was the Chief Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court. One Night, His Son Attacked Him. Aug 09, 2021

One night, New Hampshire Supreme Court Chief Justice Justice Broderick awoke to find himself in the ICU. He had been attacked by his son. The story made national news. But it was only after the cameras left that the real story begins. Since that day, Justice Broderick has been on a journey of discovery and leadership on mental health in America. He’s working to improve understanding and awareness of mental illness in order to get rid of some of the myths, encourage discussion and treatment, and begin to change the unfair and shameful culture that surrounds mental health in America. Today on Beyond Politics, a remarkable story of health, struggle, recovery, and hope, and a look at the reality of one of America's greatest and least understood challenges.

Insights from Bernie Sanders' and John Lewis' Right Hand Woman Aug 05, 2021

Michaeleen Crowell was Chief of Staff to US Senator Bernard Sanders for 5 years. She was Senior Advisor to the Bernie 2016 presidential campaign. She built the social media empire that Senator Sanders uses to reach 25 million people each week. As if this wasn’t enough, she was Legislative Director for civil rights icon John Lewis before that.

Michaeleen joins the show to talk about how Bernie Sanders became a masterful inside player; how to pass bills in today's divided Washington; what Republicans are saying behind the scenes in the Senate; what working for John Lewis was really like; what she learned playing Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Sanders campaign prep debates; and what the future of the progressive movement looks like.

"Swing voters don't share our values. If they did, they would be liberals." Democratic data guru David Shor on Dems' growing peril. Aug 02, 2021

Democratic data expert David Shor has a stark warning:t if Democrats think they're sitting pretty, they're deluding themselves. "We actually aren't winning the war of ideas as much as we think...and the Republican Party is more popular relative to the Democratic Party than people think. The Democratic Party brand and agenda has shifted a lot in the last four to five years, and it's gone in a direction that a lot of voters aren't comfortable with. People can easily overestimate how much support there is for the Democratic Party."

Check out the whole show for more from this fascinating interview. Shor is a data scientist who consults with progressive groups around the country and is one of the most trusted and widely respected voices on what’s actually happening with the American electorate. He's the Head of Data Science at OpenLabs R&D, and previously was the director of Political Data Science at Civis Analytics, overseeing a research and development program that interviewed millions of people for hundreds of individual campaigns and electoral organizations.

Photo by Marvin Esteve on Unsplash

The President of the Most Important Business Group in New England Jul 26, 2021

In the 1992 presidential race, the Clinton campaign famously came up with what they called a haiku to summarize what they wanted to make everything about. The economy, stupid…change vs. more of the same…and don’t forget health care. 30 years later, that’s also a really good summary of where we find ourselves as a country – and as a region, since we’re broadcast out of New England. Over the last year we’ve seen breathtaking change in our politics and our daily lives. The number one issue on our minds is the economy, and our worries about are far from stupid. And of course, we can’t forget health care…our health is front and center in our lives.

Helping to navigate all of these concerns, and connect our businesses, cities, educational institutions and nonprofits with our government…in New England that job falls to the New England Council. The New England Council is the nation’s oldest regional business organization. But it’s not just business, its an alliance of businesses, academic and health institutions, and public and private organizations throughout New England formed to promote economic growth and a high quality of life in the New England region.

The President and Chief Executive Officer of The New England Council, Jim Brett, is with us to talk about the economy, change, health care…and everything else going on in New England and Beyond.

The Smart (and fun) Way to Understand the Ridiculously Big Numbers in Government Jul 22, 2021

The numbers we hear about in government and politics are often so big that they lose all meaning. This is a big deal -- we are after all in a democracy, and if we can't understand what we're even talking about in budgets and programs, it's hard to make smart decisions. That's why Cornell University Professor Steven Strogatz and his student Aiyanna Green wrote a New York Times op-ed explaining a smarter way to think about big numbers. Ms. Greenis an undergraduate majoring in policy analysis and management in the College of Human Ecology at Cornell University, and she joins us to explain.

Photo by Roman Mager on Unsplash

The best-reviewed young adult book of the summer Jul 15, 2021

Victor Piniero is the author of Time Villains, an Amazon Best Book of the Month in July 2021. Kirkus Reviews, in a STARRED review says “Piñeiro scores with this tale of friendship, magic, and adventure.…Magnificent.” Victor joins the show to talk about the book and give advice to other aspiring writers about how to get going and write their dream novel.

Amazon is in our Brains. Is that...bad? Jul 08, 2021

Today we tackle Amazon, Amazon prime, and the many ways both obvious and unseen that Amazon has wormed its way into everything we do. For many of us, Amazon is just a part of our daily lives. What we buy, what we watch, and what we say… Much of it runs through Amazon‘s computers and marketplaces. And from there of course, it is incorporated into Amazons algorithms, its data, it’s artificial intelligence. In a very real way, Amazon is inside our brains.

So what does that mean? How much control does Amazon really have over the American economy and over the choices we make as individuals? And is it time to take some more aggressive action place some limits on an entity that has really no precedent in human history?

Our guess is Dr. Emily West, an associate professor of communication at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She’s the coeditor of The Routledge Companion to Advertising and Promotional Culture, and the author of the forthcoming book "Buy Now: How Amazon Branded Convenience and Normalized Monopoly."

Is Everything that Runs on Electricity Bad for Us? The Science Says "Probably"... Jul 01, 2021

What if I told you that there is clear, convincing, peer reviewed, and widely accepted research showing that things in the world around us that run on electric power could be hurting us in ways that we don’t even fully understand? It’s true. My uncle Dr. Martin Blank -- professor at Columbia University -- was for decades one of the world-leading scientists when it came to the effect of the radiation that comes from all of the things that run on electric power on the cells in our body. After he died, his son (my cousin) decided to carry on his work. He joins the show today to describe the science -- both what we know and what we don't know -- and to offer some practical, common sense (and mostly free) solutions for mitigating risks. He also hosts the Healthier Tech Podcast, a show about how best to live in balance with our increasing reliance on tech. Listeners who want to learn more and get free information on the science and what they can do can visit http://shieldyourbody.com/beyondpolitics.

Is There Anything Democrats Can Do Now to Save Democracy? We asked US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse. Jun 28, 2021

With the death of the For the People Act - and Republicans passing more voting laws at the state level aimed that independent analysts say gives them a partisan advantage or could even allow Trump-style factions to overturn election results - we ask Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse what on Earth Democrats can do to ensure fair elections with equal access for everyone. Also, Senator Whitehouse weighs in on the Manchin compromise, what one thing he would persuade Republicans on (if he could only choose one thing), and just how worried he is about the state of the Senate and our country.

Is the public turning on Biden and the Democrats? Jun 22, 2021

The Executive Director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm's, Neil Levesque, breaks down the results of their latest survey, which chock full of tantalizing insights on why President Biden's approval rating -- and the strength of congressional Democrats -- is falling. Also, what does each party need to do to get their mojo back for the next election?

Before AOC, There Was Crowley. Lessons from One of the Savviest Dems Around. Jun 21, 2021

Three years ago, when a little-known primary challenger pulled off a surprise win over a congressional veteran in New York, it made national political news. That upstart -- Alexandria Ocasio Cortez -- eventually became well-known for her outspoken embrace of the label “Socialist,” her big Twitter following, and as the star of countless Republican political ads that painted her as the “scary” face of Democratic politics. But what about that veteran congressman? He’s the one that insidershave heard of…because he was, and still is, a hugeplayer inside the Democratic Party…as influential and well-connected as any Democrat in the country, and with the ear of Congressional leadership.

Now a Senior Policy Advisor at Squire Patton Boggs, Joe Crowley represented the people of New York's 14th congressional district, including his hometown of Woodside, Queens, in the US Congress for nearly 20 years. There is no one in America with better insights into politics, Congress, the Democratic party, Springsteen, and where to get the best pizza in New York City.

On the Front Lines Defending and Advancing Science in America Jun 14, 2021

The covid pandemic has shown us all just how much we rely on science and scientists, just how important the advance of science research can be to our health and our way of life…and also, just how easily the public’s understanding of science can become confused…with real consequences.

In recent years, federal support for science has flattened, major science topics have become politicized, and we’ve seen explosion of misinformation, conspiracy theory, and mistrust of scientific expertise, which is slowing down our recovery from the pandemic and making it harder to find solutions for our long-term challenges like global warming. Our guest today is one of our national leaders in trying to navigate us through all of these challenges. Dr. Sudip Parikh is the chief executive officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and executive publisher of the Science family of journals.

Right wing extremism, Manchin says no to democracy reform, and media bias in the covid lab leak theory Jun 10, 2021

Excerpts from Matt Robison's recent interviews with West Virginia broadcaster Howard Monroe on some of the most controversial topics in the news

Donald McNeil - former Lead Covid Reporter for the New York Times - on the Wuhan Lab Leak Theory Jun 07, 2021

In recent weeks, there’s been an abrupt and significant change in the way scientists, political leaders, and the media have talked about the origins of the Covid pandemic. There was once consensus that the virus had come from an animal, but new questions have emerged, and by May 26, even President Biden had called for a new, full, and transparent investigation into whether the virus actually emerged from a lab in Wuhan China. The sudden change has led to questions about the interaction of science and politics, how the media covers science, and how scientists communicate what they think they know.

Throughout most of the pandemic, for millions of readers and podcast listeners in the US and around the world, Donald G. McNeil Jr. has been one of the most trusted, thoughtful, and clear explainers on the science of the coronavirus and public health measures to control it. He was the lead reporter on the Covid-19 pandemic for the New York Times and his May 17 article in Medium titled “How I Learned to Stop Worrying And Love the Lab-Leak Theory” is widely credited with helping to catalyze this re-examination of where the virus came from.

UFOs: Can We Explain the Navy Videos Seen on 60 Minutes? May 31, 2021

Is there an explanation for the Navy UFO videos, as seen on 60 Minutes? We take a serious, respectful, rational approach in this discussion among former Congressman Paul Hodes, former congressional staffer Matt Robison, and top expert in UFO video analysis, Mick West -- featuring a careful breakdown of the videos and Hodes' own experience.

If you like this kind of lively discussion of current events, subscribe to the Beyond Politics podcast with Paul Hodes and Matt Robison on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/2foIjClIUWCFdJl9ogdMtA or wherever you get your podcasts.

Why Aren't Democrats Winning More? Lessons from Carville, Begala, and Schecter May 25, 2021

A fascinating discussion with Cliff Schecter - one of President Biden's key campaign consultants and host of the UnPresidented Podcast - about his interviews with Paul Begala and James Carville and the fundamental question confronting the Democratic Party: given all of Donald Trump's insanity, why aren't Democrats winning more? And is there anything they can do about it?

How hyper-partisanship has warped our brains May 24, 2021

In the days after the violent, seditious attack on Congress on January 6, the American people were briefly aghast and outraged. But barely a week later, Republican voter identification with Trump had “rebounded to pre-election levels." Nowadays, even the most searing national events get sucked down a partisan rabbit hole…and last week, Republican leadership came out against any commission on looking into January 6. Our guest is an expert in political behavior and psychology and how we form political opinions. We talk about how much the age of hyper-partisanship has changed our understanding of events and reality itself. Alexander G. Theodoridis is an associate professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, he helps to direct the UMass poll, and his work has been featured by the New York Times, Washington Post, Scientific American, Time, CNN, The Hindu, The Economist and many other media outlets.

Why Don't Content/Platform Mergers Work More Often? May 19, 2021

The big AT&T/Discovery deal is creating a behemoth (CNN, HBO, TLC, Food Network, TNT, TBS, etc.) streaming service. But will it work? And why don't these combinations work more often?

Wait, is the System Actually Working? Why Congress is a Lot More Effective than you Think May 17, 2021

There's a perception that Congress is totally gridlocked, and that the parties do nothing but bicker. But our expert guest says that maybe we're all being a little too negative, because actually, Congress gets more done while you're not looking than you'd think. And despite the historic problems we've seen recently (think insurrection), the system is kind of holding together. Frances Lee is a Professor of Politics and Public Affairs, and the Associate Chair of the Department of Politics at Princeton University.

Photo by Syed F Hashemi on Unsplash

Talking with Legendary Broadcaster Howard Monroe About Fixing American Politics May 12, 2021

Matt was a guest on West Virginia radio legend Howard Monroe's morning show, talking about how we got into such a divided place in American politics and what some solutions would look like

Why Was the April Jobs Report So Weak? (Hint: think "She-Cession") May 10, 2021

Last week's news that the economy added just 266,000 jobs when many economists were expecting closer to 1 million made for a lot of head-scratching. Republicans say that excessive Covid relief benefits are creating a disincentive for people to come back to work. Democrats say that recovery is a long road and that if anything, the anemic jobs numbers show that the economy needs an additional boost.

So, what’s really going on? To find out, you have to look at who has gone back to work, who hasn’t, and why they haven’t.

Our guest Diane Lim is an economist who over the course of a distinguished 30 year career has worked in the federal government, nonprofit and academic sectors. She writes the EconomistMom blog and has served as an advisory board member of the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia.

Will African American Voters Continue to Turn Out for Democrats in 2022? May 06, 2021

In 2020, one thing was clear: as goes African American voters, so goes the Democratic Party. And as goes the Democratic Party, so goes the balance of power in America. Understanding the evolving views and priorities of Black Americans -- and what drives their enthusiasm to vote -- will be critical if Democrats are to have any chance in the 2022 midterms (and beyond). The authors of a new report on African American voter priorities in 2021 -- Promises Made Must Be Promises Kept -- join the show to explain their findings.

The Way Back From Trump's America: A Conversation with PoliticusUSA Editor-in-Chief Sarah Jones May 04, 2021

We’ve got something a little different for you: a conversation between Beyond Politics host Matt Robison and PoliticusUSA Editor-in-Chief Sarah Jones, available as a podcast, a video, and an excerpt on PoliticusUSA. Matt and Sarah are both fascinated by the same question: how did we get to this pretty awful place in American politics and society…and how do we get out of it? In other words, what is way back from Trump’s America?

Are you over-"Sharenting"? Apr 30, 2021

Apple's decision this week to clamp down on how apps to track your behavior and movements online has reignited a debate about privacy and the information we share, both willingly and unwittingly, in the digital age. What is often overlooked is just how much we make decisions, sometimes without even realizing it, about how much information we share about our kids. This is a deep, fraught, and complicated topic that too many of us have not really thought about. One of the world leading experts on it is Leah Plunkett, the author of "Sharenthood: why we should think before we talk about our kids online," and an very accomplished legal scholar with positions at the University of New Hampshire School of Law and the Berkman Klein center for Internet and Society at Harvard University. She makes the case that there are many consequences to every piece of information we share--some we know about, and some that go in unknown and disturbing directions

Apple Strikes Back Apr 29, 2021

What does Apple's big privacy release mean for Facebook's business and the broader "free" economy? Also, the hottest investment opportunity is...house paint?

Did Biden Make the Right Call on Afghanistan? Apr 26, 2021

Sean Carberry, the former Kabul correspondent for NPR and the lead on Department of Defense Inspector General reports on Afghanistan, walks through what has happened in Afghanistan, whether the US could have done anything differently, and ultimately whether President Biden made the right decision to withdraw US troops once and for all.

The Senate: Are Things Beginning to Work (Maybe)? Apr 22, 2021

The Senate is a mess. All legislative roads lead there, and usually it’s a dead end. When Presidents take executive action, it’s usually to work around the Senate. It’s the site of national catharsis over judges. And when something actually does get passed, it’s major news.

But now, things might...just might... be changing. Democrats have used special senate "reconciliation" rules to pass the massive American Rescue Plan. More bills like that may be on the way. And there's a possibility of striking deals with a group of 10 Republican senators to pass actual bipartisan bills on important issues in American society.

Its never been been more valuable to understand the dynamics of the Senate, the people, the rules, and the politics. Ryan McConaghy is one of the country’s absolute top notch experts on the Senate, and he joins the show to break down the prospects for legislation, progress, and making things work in Congress.

Photo by Matthew Bornhorst on Unsplash

Thinking Beyond the Great Re-opening Apr 21, 2021

As more signs emerge of an impending surge in the economy, Chris and Matt explore how we can think about what those signs are telling us about investing and business in the near term, and also how to think beyond them to what the longer term future looks like.

Photo by Tomasz Frankowski on Unsplash

Covid Vaccines and the J&J Pause: A Leading Scientist Weighs In Apr 19, 2021

The big news on Covid last week was the decision by the CDC and FDA to call for a nationwide halt to delivering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine while they investigate a rare blood-clotting disorder. Our guest, Dr. Angela Rasmussen, is a virologist and one of the most well-known and oft-quoted scientists on Covid vaccines. She has written for Forbes, Foreign Affairs, Slate, the Guardian, and Leapsmag, and appeared many times in media outlets including the New York Times (including an op-ed last week), the Washington Post, National Public Radio, ABC, NBC, CNN, CBC, and BBC. And last week, she appeared in a really good explanatory article on the Johnson and Johnson vaccine by Katherine Wu in The Atlantic. So we invited her to walk us all through what we need to know about the J&J pause and the fight against Covid in general.

Boiling Down the DC Statehood Argument (Hint: It's All Politics) Apr 16, 2021

Matt joins legendary West Virginia radio host Howard Monroe on his morning show to discuss the arguments around statehood for Washington D.C., why the arguments against should remind you of "My Cousin Vinny," and what the real holdup is. Also, what the government should actually do to keep people from migrating out of rural states.

What Does Snacking Data Tell Us About the Economy? Apr 14, 2021

And other tantalizing bread crumbs for investors from Chris Hill of Motley Fool Money.

Photo by Georgia Vagim on Unsplash

Top Operative Pia Carusone on the Evolution of the Gun Issue Apr 12, 2021

Pia Carusone is the managing director at SKDKnickerbocker (SKDK), a top national communications and political consulting firm. She was Chief of Staff for Congresswoman Gabby Giffords during 2011 shooting that left six dead and injured Congresswoman Giffords and 12 others. Carusone helped to start Giffords’ organization that advocates for solutions to prevent gun violence, and later served as the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the Department of Homeland Security. She talks about how Americans views on gun safety and gun violence have changed in the last two decades, how gun safety advocates are making slow progress, and what the future of the issue might look like. We also touch on Democratic messaging and whiskey, and Pia's role in creating both...

Photo by Roman Poberezhnik on Unsplash

A Monkey's Head, Metaphysics, and the Cold War Apr 09, 2021

Today, we've got a wild story for you. It’s definitely Beyond Politics...but trust us on this one, it'll make you think. Our guest Dr. Brandy Schillace is the Editor-in-Chief for BMJ’s Medical Humanities Journal and the author of MR. HUMBLE AND DR. BUTCHER: A Monkey’s Head, the Pope’s Neuroscientist, and the Quest to Transplant the Soul, which the New York Times called “delightfully macabre.” A fascinating look at what makes us...us...and whether we could ever move ourselves to another body.

Photo by Syed Ahmad on Unsplash

Why Joe Manchin, Chuck Schumer, and Joe Biden Are Smiling Apr 08, 2021

Matt joins legendary West Virginia radio host Howard Monroe on his morning show to discuss the Georgia voting law jockeying, why the Dems' legislative strategy shifted this week, why Joe Manchin is even more in the catbird seat, and what Mary Poppins has to do with passing laws in Congress.

Is the Whole Stock Market Under Threat? Apr 07, 2021

Chris Hill, the host of Motley Fool Money, the #1 stock investing radio show in America, discusses the Atlantic article arguing that the growth of index funds could be changing everything: the way companies behave, people invest, and the whole market operates. Also, why is good economic news in the Great Reopening a mix bag for many companies? And what can Godzilla teach us about the entertainment industry right now?

Is Polling Broken, and if So, Are We Fixing It? Apr 05, 2021

2020 was not a great year for pollsters, at least the ones who release their work to the public: in the final three weeks of the election, national surveys of the presidential race were wrong by an average of more than six points, the same as 2016. Is something fundamentally wrong here? And what do we do if there’s problem with one of the major tools we use to understand public opinion and guide election campaigns in our democracy?

Recently, the think tank Third Way convened a panel of top experts to address this question. That panel was presented mostly to political insiders…but one of those top experts joins us to bring the discussion to our listeners. Angie Kuefler is Senior Vice President of Research at the Global Strategy Group. She has done extensive political research for local, state, and federal candidates, including many members of congress, governors, and issue advocacy campaigns.

The Hidden Force Driving America Into Different Political Realities Apr 01, 2021

In the 1970s, conservatives began to believe that the places where people in government got their information - their basic facts -- were inherently liberal. They didn’t like the answers they were hearing from universities, scientists, and research groups on what government should do…what policies we should follow. So some of them decided that they needed a whole different regime of knowledge and analysis – a different way of looking at the world – that would justify the policies that they wanted to see. They started new institutions – led by the Heritage Foundation – that would be the vanguard of a new, conservative ecosystem of ideas all aimed at explicitly justifying conservative policy. Eventually, as these institutions grew more successful, liberals followed suit.

Today, we live a world of deep polarization. Our two political tribes don’t seem to agree on anything, and nowadays, they sometimes can’t even agree on what is reality is. Can we trace it, or at least a big part of it, back to this moment when the fundamental way each party came to view reality began to be so consciously engineered? EJ Fagan, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Illinois at Chicago, traces these threads back to explain how we got here.

Why Do Republicans Say No Even to the Stuff They Like? Mar 31, 2021

Building the stuff we rely on in America -- roads, broadband, the electric grid -- is something that both parties say is important. Donald Trump pushed a giant investment in it for years. So why were Republicans dead set against the Biden Administration's infrastructure plan even before it was released? Also, is the media full of it these days, why vaccine passports won't work in America, and what to make of Deborah Birx and other Trump administration health officials sudden finger-pointing campaign on Covid.

Photo by Denys Nevozhai on Unsplash

What's the Epicenter of American Politics? Mar 29, 2021

Would the answer "Appalachia" surprise you? Maybe...but consider that the senior-most Republican leader in America is from Kentucky, while the Democrat who wields the most power in the Senate is Joe Manchin of West Virginia. They come from a region that is often misunderstood...and too often looked down on. But Appalachian issues are American issues -- and the priorities of Appalachian leaders echo throughout our country. Today, we welcome the hosts of the outstanding podcast Appodlachia onto the show to share some insights into the region's politics, economy, and lessons for America. Check it out, and subscribe to their show (and ours!) if you want more of their great content.

Social Security: Benefits from Covid Rescue; Debating the TRUST Act Mar 25, 2021

Dan Adcock of the National Committee to Protect Social Security and Medicare explains what's the Covid Rescue bill for Social Security recipients. Also, why his organization opposes the TRUST act -- a bill that would try to address shortfalls in Social Security funding. For the opposing view on that, check out Bob Bixby of the Concord Coalition in the Great Ideas podcast.

Are Dems Stealing a House Seat, and Has Biden Become a Wild-Eyed Progressive? Mar 24, 2021

Also, more incidents of shocking gun violence in America, what does a media ratings plunge mean, and is Donald Trump launching his Republican vendetta campaign?

Ending Cannibis Crime & Why Outer Space Matters with Congressman Ed Perlmutter Mar 22, 2021

Federal law forces a lot of marijuana-related businesses that are legal int heir home states to operate in piles of cash. The problem: that can lead to a pile of crime. Congressman Ed Perlmutter joins the show to explain how his new bill would help fix that problem. And why does space matter? As a member of the congressional committee that oversees US Space policy, Congressman Perlmutter explains what's in it for all of us.

From the Great Ideas Podcast: Norm Ornstein on How to Fix the Filibuster Mar 19, 2021

This episode posted in the Great Ideas Podcast earlier this week, and it's gotten such a reaction that we wanted to make it available in this feed as well for anyone who hasn't subscribed to both (but please do!!).

Many experts argue that the modern filibuster has ruined Congress: it allows a small minority to run roughshod over the majority, and stops important things that the American people need and want. Others say that even with its flaws, getting rid of the filibuster could be dangerous and even destructive. Norman Ornstein is one of the nation's leading experts on American government. He explains what's going on and more important, how we might make it better without causing a Congressional meltdown.

What can be done about immigration? Mar 16, 2021

A roundtable discussion on what's happening and what can be done next. Also, can we fix the filibuster without breaking the congress, and is democracy reform a big federal takeover or a desperately needed fix to protect people's rights?

Ending Political Gerrymandering with NDRC Executive Director John Bisognano Mar 15, 2021

In 2010, Republicans rode a midterm wave to gain overwhelming control of drawing districts for state houses and Congress. The result? Just in 2012, 1.4 million more Americans voted for Democrats for Congress, but Republicans still won a 33-seat majority. In fact, the Center for American Progress estimates that an average of 59 politicians -- more than enough to determine the majority -- were elected to Congress each term simply because the lines were drawn in their favor. Former Attorney General of the United States Eric Holder created The National Democratic Redistricting Committee to fix that problem and support fair districts in America. Its Executive Director John Bisognano joins us to explain what they're doing and how they hope to achieve fair representation for Americans.

Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash

Will Dems win the battle to define the Covid rescue bill? Mar 09, 2021

Joe Biden and the Democrats won the war over the $1.9 trillion Covid rescue bill...but can they win the peace? In 2009, President Obama and the Democrats fumbled the rollout of their stimulus bill. So can Dems avoid making the same mistake twice? Also...is there a filibuster tweak deal on the horizon; convincing people to get vaccines; and what should Congress tackle next?

Saving American Democracy: How Young Leaders Are Taking Charge Mar 08, 2021

Young Americans think politics is broken. Now, some former aides to Senator Bernie Sanders have launched a new group aimed at getting young people excited about fixing it. They think they can get millennials and Gen Zers of all political persuasions fired up, including people on the right. Two of these impressive young leaders - Shana Gallagher and Joseline Garcia - join us to explain why this work is so important to their generation and to all of us, and how they're going to pull it off.

Facebook, Apple, and the battle for the future Mar 03, 2021

There's a titanic battle brewing over the future of the Internet, social media, and tech. It's Facebook vs. Apple: two behemoths with very different visions of privacy, who their customers are, what they're selling, and what the rules should be. Business and investing expert Chris Hill walks us through the fight that could define the future of media, commerce, and technology. These discussions normally appear in our Capitol Close Up podcast, so please check that out and subscribe for more fascinating discussions like this.

Everything you thought about organic food is wrong Mar 01, 2021

Harvard Associate Robert Paarlberg takes on everything we thought we knew about organic and locally-grown food. Think it's better for health, the climate, the environment, low-income communities, and feeding a hungry world? Not so fast! An unbiased look at the much more nuanced truth about farming, eating, and helping the planet, based on Dr. Paarlberg's new book: “Resetting the Table: Straight Talk about the Food We Grow and Eat.”

Will Trump Be the Next Speaker of the House? Feb 23, 2021

It's not as far-fetched as you might think. Also, an epic failure from Ted Cruz's staff, lessons in bad crisis management from Andrew Cuomo, and how to make everyone stop hating the media so much.

Diane Foley: Helping Americans Held Hostage Feb 22, 2021

At least 44 Americans are being held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad today. A few years ago, American freelance conflict journalist Jim Foley was one of them. After his public execution, his mother Diane Foley founded the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation. Diane joins us to discuss the Foundation's critical work to advocate for the safety of Americans held abroad, and especially to promote the safety of journalists. We explore difficult questions, like how do we protect Americans from being kidnapped, what should the US government do when they are, and what can listeners do to help?

Sarah Jones of PoliticusUSA: why we need great ideas Feb 19, 2021

Matt Robison sits down with Sarah Jones, the Editor-in-Chief of PoliticusUSA.com, to talk about how the Great Ideas show came about, why they both feel it is so important to explore serious, positive ideas for change, how the show and website are planning to collaborate, and why it's so important to hear constructive ideas from across the ideological spectrum -- even the ones you don't agree with. Great Ideas is available on Apple, Spotify, Google, Anchor, Breaker, PocketCasts, RadioPublic, and Stitcher. Excerpts from the first show available on PoliticusUSA.

Great Ideas Podcast Trailer Feb 19, 2021

We are so excited to announce a new show, broadcast on WKXL in New Hampshire, and launched as a podcast this week. It's called "Great Ideas." We all know that America faces challenges. But we’ve also got smart people who spend every day coming up with great ideas for how to meet those challenges. That's what this show is all about. Washington's top policy experts from across the ideological spectrum – the people that our leaders listen to – explaining how an issue or a policy really works, and then sharing their newest, most innovative ideas for making it work better. No shouting. No crossfire. Just ideas. Check out this one minute trailer, and then please subscribe to hear fresh episodes wherever you get your podcasts. Great Ideas is available on Apple, Spotify, Google, Anchor, Breaker, PocketCasts, RadioPublic, and Stitcher.

Balance of Power Roundtable: Lincoln Project con job, Schools, and Marijuana Feb 17, 2021

The roundtable tackles whether the Lincoln Project was all a con, should we re-open schools now, if the San Francisco school board vote to remove Abraham Lincoln's name from a school is a sign of the woke Left losing its mind, if its time for a change in federal marijuana policy, and whether a "low hanging fruit" approach is right on immigration.

John Tierney of Council for a Livable World on Peace and Security Feb 15, 2021

With so much focus on our domestic problems, it’s easy to lose sight of the very serious challenges, conflicts, and threats that face us around the world: an Iran that could be within weeks of having the materials to make a nuclear bomb, an aggressive and nuclear-armed Russia, ongoing and tragic warfare in Yemen, and deep tensions in the strait of Taiwan involving nuclear-armed China which also wields the largest military in the world. Our guest John Tierney is the Executive Director at Council for a Livable World, a leading NGO focused on peace and security. He lays out smart approaches for how America can better navigate a hostile, dangerous world to reduce nuclear weapons, promote dialogue, and achieve greater peace and security.

Congressman Peter Welch: Saving Democracy from Russia, Extremists, and Social Media Feb 08, 2021

Senior Congressional Democratic leader and Intelligence Committee member Peter Welch describes efforts to fight extremists in America and the forces -- foreign and domestic -- that support them. He also describes what practical climate legislation could accomplish for the American economy. Then, Paul and Matt break down what it would take to really reform social media and protect American democracy from bots, trolls, foreign manipulations, and misinformation.

The Balance of Power Roundtable Feb 03, 2021

Former Congressman Paul Hodes, columnist/radio host Alicia Preston, and former congressional staffer/political analyst Matt Robison break down the politics and policy of Covid rescue negotiations, Republican infighting, and Jewish space lasers from the left, right, and center.

Chris Hill: Gamestop and Investing in Age of Social Media Feb 01, 2021

Chris Hill is the host of Motley Fool Money, the #1 stock investing radio show in America. He joins us to walk through the deeper implications of the Gamestop saga: what does the social media age of investing really mean for the market, investors, the economy, and businesses? Is this democracy in action, or a social media flash mob run amok? Should the government do something? And how should regular investors think about all of this?

Congressman John Sarbanes on the Most Important Bill in Congress Jan 25, 2021

Congressman John Sarbanes authored the For the People Act, the single most important piece of legislation in Congress. Democrats have made it their very first bill introduced in both the House and Senate for a good reason: it might just save American democracy. What it does and why it's so critical, with Congressman Sarbanes, Paul, and Matt.

What will the market do, and what should YOU do? Jan 19, 2021

A one-two punch of investing insight this week. First, Chris Hill, host of Motley Fool Money, breaks down the big stock market runup, a make or beak 6 months for Hollywood, and what Coke& Pepsi marketing strategies tell us. Then, personal financial advisor Mike Morton gives a primer on investing strategy: how to think about a portfolio, and what to put in it.

The Roundtable: Executive Orders, Rescue Plans, & the Post-Trump World Jan 19, 2021

Republican political analyst Alicia Preston, two-term Democratic Congressman Paul Hodes, and center-left political analyst Matt Robison break down Biden's rescue plan, his flurry of executive orders, and how Republicans plan to move strategically away from Donald Trump (and whether they even can).

The Wrap Monica Ciolfi Jan 13, 2021

New Hampshire attorney and reproductive rights advocate Monica Ciolfi joins The Wrap with Paul Hodes

An Eyewitness Under the Dome Jan 13, 2021

Veteran journalist Jamie Steihm was there in the House Chamber when the attack took place on January 6. She shares her first-hand account of what really happened.

Politics Roundtable: What Do We Do Now? Jan 12, 2021

Alicia Preston, Matt Robison, and Paul Hodes debate the 25th amendment, impeachment, and where the parties go from here.

Law Professor Lawrence Douglas: How Do We Get Him Out Safely? Jan 11, 2021

Lawrence Douglas, a constitutional scholar and author of "Will He Go" - a comprehensive study of how the 2020 election could melt down - joins us now that the meltdown has happened to explain impeachment, pardons, the 25th amendment, and how to safely usher Donald Trump out of office.

Georgia and the new Democratic Senate Majority Jan 07, 2021

Yesterday, we recorded two special episodes about Democrats' Senate wins in Georgia. As we were preparing to release them, the news of the violent intrusion into the Capitol complex broke, and we just released an emergency episode focusing on that horrifying attack. But here are the two earlier, important discussions of the implications of the Democratic takeover of the US Senate with Democratic consultant and podcast host Cliff Schecter, followed by noted author and political analyst Joshua Holland.

Insurrection in the Capitol Jan 07, 2021

Yesterday, we recorded special episodes about the big news of Democrats' Senate wins in Georgia. As we were preparing to release them as podcasts, the news of the violent intrusion into the Capitol complex broke. So today, we recorded this new, emergency episode focusing on that horrifying attack. We will release it back to back with the episodes about Democrats winning the Senate majority to give a full analysis of these historic, unprecedented 24 hours for America.

Sarah Jones: What will Everyone Do After Trump? Jan 05, 2021

PoliticusUSA Editor In Chief Sarah Jones walks through how media, Democrats, and Republicans will each adapt after Trump leaves office. Can any of them quit their Trump addiction, or will he be the center of American political gravity for everyone in the years ahead?

Political Scientist Brendan Nyhan: Can Anyone Even Agree on Facts Anymore? Jan 04, 2021

Dartmouth Professor Brendan Nyhan is a leading expert on something that we all take for granted, but is getting trickier and trickier these days: facts. We dive into why such deep misconceptions of basic facts are growing, what they mean for our political system, and whether anything can be done to stop them.

The Big 2020 Business Wrap Show Dec 30, 2020

Business and investing expert Chris Hill joins for a double episode chock full of insights on a wild year for the economy. Is Dominoes a tech company now? What was the secret that some restaurants realized could help them survive? Did Nike win the year? The answers to these and a lot more of your burning 2020 investment questions inside...

End of 2020 Awards Dec 28, 2020

2020 has been...a bummer. Paul and Matt end the year on a high note by handing out end of year awards...who was the Democrats' MVP? The Republicans'? The best piece of public opinion research? The most interesting news item you missed? And who won the year?

Sarah Ovaska on voter access, Elle Meyers on Trump administration political interference Dec 24, 2020

Sarah Ovaska, Associate Editor of Cardinal and Pine, reports on voter access: how did it really go in razor-thin North Carolina which has been mired in voting and redistricting controversy. Then Courier congressional reporter Elle Meyers explains what went down with Betsy DeVos and her call for the Department of Education to "resist" the Biden administration, and details how Ivanka Trump interfered with the CDC.

The Roundtable: Covid Relief, AOC Goes Down in Flames, and Trump Insanity Dec 22, 2020

Veteran conservative political analyst Alicia Preston joins the panel to break down Congress' Covid relief plan, what Alexandria Ocasio Cortez's big loss means, and what is up with Donald Trump turning into a political ghost.

Congressman Steve Cohen on Trump vs. the Constitution Dec 21, 2020

Congressman Steve Cohen is in charge of the committee in congress that is supposed to stand up for the Constitution. He reacts to President Trump's desperation moves in his final days, explains how to work with Republicans who are still backing Trump, and shares how he plans to keep our country from ending up in this lawless position again.

Chris Hill of Motley Fool Money on IPOs, Streaming Wars, and Sports Betting Dec 18, 2020

What's up with AirBnB and UberEats IPOs...overheated or the right long-term play? The white hot streaming wars get even hotter. And why is Draft Kings doing so well?

The Long Term View with Joshua Holland Dec 16, 2020

Veteran writer and progressive political analyst Joshua Holland explains the potential for lasting damage from the Trump political legacy, talks through how to fix voting in America, and dives deep into the intra-party divide among Democrats.

What Will 2021 Look Like in Congress Dec 14, 2020

Veteran Senate insider Ryan McConaghy gives a look ahead at what razor-thin Senate and House majorities mean for 2021...will anything get done? And if so, what? Paul shares what it's like behind the scenes among House Democrats under Nancy Pelosi.

Chris Hill of Motley Fool Money: The Business Outlook Dec 09, 2020

In a new "Off the Record" recurring feature, I talk with Chris Hill, the host of Motley Fool money, the #1 business and investing podcast. Chris and I look at the longer term prospects for industries that are struggling right now - retail, restaurants, and movies theaters: who will make it, who will keep struggling, and what surprising innovations could keep them afloat.

Lanae Erickson on What We Learned from the 2020 Election Dec 08, 2020

Top politics expert Lanae Erickson runs down the lessons learned from the 2020 election, what the data tells each party about messages and policies that resonated with voters, and what Democrats should do to navigate the months ahead.

Sarah Jones on Rural Voters and Democrats' Message Dec 05, 2020

PoliticusUSA Editor Sarah Jones shares reporting on how the election played in the Rust Belt and how Democrats can sharpen their appeal.

Ken Cail on broadcasting, Biden, and the Celtics Nov 27, 2020

Legendary radio personality and new WKXL host Ken Cail joins the show to talk about his career in broadcasting, the politics of the Biden transition and post-election legal fights, and Celtics basketball as the free agency period comes to a close.

Elle Meyers on Kids and COVID19 Nov 20, 2020

Courier Reporter Elle Meyers details her article on the recent findings about kids and Covid. Then, Paul and Matt discuss the melt down between the left and the center in the Democratic Party.

Peter Emerson gives inside scoop on the Biden transition Nov 13, 2020

Democratic insider Peter Emerson joins the show to give listeners the inside scoop on the Biden transition. Then, WKXL commentator Chris Ryan joins Paul and Matt to discuss Trump’s future, how he can overcome his looming legal and financial difficulties, and whether his political movement can get transferred to one of his kids in 2024.

Cliff Schecter on Democrats after split decision election and future of Trumpism Nov 06, 2020

Pundit, best-selling author and Democratic strategist Cliff Schecter joins the show to walk through the election results, unpack what they mean, and explore what the long-term challenges are for Democrats after a split decision election on the future of Trumpism in America.

Off The Record 10/29/20 Oct 30, 2020

New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley gives the inside scoop on what is likely to happen on Election Day in races up and down the ballot, and what an expert would be looking for on Election Night for clues on who’s going to win.

Off The Record 10/23/20 Oct 23, 2020

Paul and Matt examine what social media platforms are doing to combat foreign disinformation with Kaili Lambe, senior advocacy leader for Mozilla, and then take a closer look at why Trump voters stick with him even when they don’t like him. Plus new polls, Rudy Giuliani in trouble, and why is Barack Obama finally losing his cool?

Off The Record 10/16/20 Oct 16, 2020

Democratic candidate for New Hampshire governor Dan Feltes tells listeners what it was like to be a legal aid lawyer helping veterans get their benefits, the lessons he learned for politics from being the long snapper on his high school football team, and his plan to bring affordable healthcare and better education to New Hampshire.

Off The Record 10/9/20 Oct 09, 2020

Paul and Matt describe how to fix our awful presidential debates, take a close look at recent polls to figure out whether Trump can still win, and give an insider view on what it’s like to be in a neck and neck race with four weeks to go before Election Day.

Off The Record 10/2/20 Oct 02, 2020

Paul and Matt dive deep on strategy for the 2020 election with Josh Schwerin, Senior Strategist and Director of Communications for Priorities USA, the biggest Democratic outside advocacy group and political action committee, and one of the key leaders in the drive to elect Joe Biden and Democrats up and down the ticket this November.

Off The Record 9/25/20 Sep 25, 2020

Jon Jennings has had an incredible career in every level of a government — A former assistant attorney general, White House staffers, congressional candidate, senate staffer, and now the city manager of Portland Maine. He was also an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics during the 1980s glory years. John joins the show to talk about how to have an impact at every level of government and to share some behind the scenes stories from the Celtics.

Biden's Lead Pollster John Anzalone Sep 18, 2020

John Anzalone, the lead pollster for the Biden campaign, joins the show to talk about where the race stands with seven weeks to go, what Biden needs to do to win, and what numbers people should really pay attention to down the stretch.

Off The Record 9/11/20 Sep 11, 2020

Guest Valerie Martin of Silversmith Strategies, skilled veteran campaign operative and media advisor, talks about how to create ads that win races, the advantages of female leadership in campaigns, and how to handle winning (and losing) in the ultra competitive campaign landscape. More on Silversmith Strategies at https://www.silversmithstrategies.com/

Jim Papa: What Staffers Really Do Behind the Scenes Sep 04, 2020

Paul and Matt interview Jim Papa, one of the most experienced staffers in Democratic politics. Jim gives a behind-the-scenes look at what it's like to help new members of congress to do their jobs and win their re-election campaigns, explains what it was like working for President Obama and Rahm Emanuel, and shares some of the best insider stories from his own new podcast "Staffer." https://www.globalstrategygroup.com/news/the-staffer-show-podcast/

Off The Record 8/28/20 Aug 28, 2020

Paul Hodes and Matt Robison speak with James Pindell of the Boston Globe then talk the latest in news and politics.

Off The Record 8/21/20 Aug 21, 2020

Paul Hodes and Matt Robison talk with Lanae Erickson of Third Way. Learn more about her at https://www.thirdway.org/about/staff/lanae-erickson

Off The Record 8/14/20 Aug 14, 2020

Paul and Matt talk with Democratic policy strategist Ryan Mcconaghy

Off The Record 8/7/20 Aug 07, 2020

Paul and Matt talk with Lawrence Douglas, James J. Grosfeld Professor of Law, Jurisprudence and Social Thought at Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts

Off The Record 7/31/20 Jul 31, 2020

Paul and Matt talk with Cliff Schecter, author of "The Real McCain: Why Conservatives Don't Trust Him and Why Independents Shouldn't," previously worked with Everytown for Gun Safety, and host of the podcast Unprecedented

Off The Record 7/24/20 Jul 24, 2020

The latest in news and politics with Paul Hodes and Matt Robison

Off The Record 7/17/20 Jul 17, 2020

Paul and Matt talk with Nicholas Reich, Associate Professor of Biostatistics at the University of Massachusetts, more from him at https://reichlab.io/

Off The Record 7/10/20 Jul 10, 2020

Paul and Matt talk with David Pepper, author and Chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party

Off The Record 7/3/20 Jul 03, 2020

Paul and Matt talk with Congressman Steve Cohen on the investigation into possible impeachment of US Attorney General William Barr.

Off The Record 6/26/20 Jun 26, 2020

The latest in politics, COVID19, and presidential race with Paul Hodes and Matt Robison

Off The Record 6/19/20 Jun 19, 2020

Paul and Matt talk with Max Richtman of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare and Chase Hagaman of The Concord Coalition.

Off The Record 6/12/20 Jun 11, 2020

Latest in news and politics with Paul Hodes and Matt Robison, of amoreperfectunion.com

Off The Record 6/4/20 Jun 05, 2020

Paul and Matt speak with author of "The Anger Gap," Davin L. Phoenix https://www.amazon.com/Anger-Gap-Shapes-Emotion-Politics/dp/1108725333

Off The Record 5/29/20 May 29, 2020

The latest in news and politics with Paul Hodes and Matt Robison

Off The Record 5/22/20 May 22, 2020

Paul and Matt talk possible VP picks for Biden, take listener questions, and much more.

Off The Record 5/15/20 May 15, 2020

Paul and Matt speak with political writer Jason Zengerle

Off The Record 5/8/20 May 08, 2020

Paul Hodes and Matt Robison catch up with NH Executive Councilor Andru Volinsky and NH State Senator Dan Feltes.

Off The Record 5/1/20 May 01, 2020

The latest in news and politics with Paul and Matt!

Off The Record 4/24/20 Apr 24, 2020

Paul and Matt speak with Justin Levitt of Loyola Law School

Off The Record 4/17/20 Apr 17, 2020

Paul Hodes and Matt Robison talk politics, news, and the economy

Off The Record 4/10/20 Apr 10, 2020

Paul and Matt talk with Dan Adcock of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare and discuss the latest political news surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Off The Record 4/3/20 Apr 03, 2020

Paul and Matt talk with Ted Johnson, of the Brennan Center for Justice, about race and American politics

Off The Record 3/27/20 Mar 27, 2020

Paul and Matt talk with political behavior expert Rachel Bitecofer

Off The Record 3/20/20 Mar 22, 2020

The latest in news and politics with Paul Hodes and Matt Robison

Off The Record 3/13/20 Mar 15, 2020

Paul Hodes and Matt Robison, of amoreperfectunionforum.com, talk the impact of coronavirus and the latest political news

Off The Record 3/6/20 Mar 08, 2020

Paul and Matt Robison, of amoreperfectunionforum.com, talk politics and the impact of the coronavirus

Off The Record 2/28/20 Mar 01, 2020

Paul talks politics with Matt Robison of amoreperfectunionforum.com

Off The Record 2/14/20 Feb 19, 2020

Paul talks politics with Matt Robison of amoreperfectunionforum.com

Off The Record 2/7/20 Feb 09, 2020

Paul speaks with Vicky Sandin, Director of Community Players of Concord's upcoming show "The Odd Couple." Get their dates at http://communityplayersofconcord.org/

Off The Record 1/24/20 Jan 26, 2020

Paul talks politics with Matt Robison of https://amoreperfectunionforum.com

Off The Record 1/10/20 Jan 11, 2020

Paul talks politics with Matt Robison of amoreperfectunionforum.com

Off The Record 2019 Holiday Show Dec 28, 2019

Paul is joined by his wife, Peggo Horstmann Hodes, for the annual holiday edition of Off the Record!

Off The Record 12/13/19 Dec 15, 2019

Paul is joined by Dan Weeks to discuss energy and the environment

Off The Record 11/22/19 Nov 23, 2019

Paul is joined by Matt Robison of amoreperfectunionforum.com

Off The Record 11/15/19 Nov 16, 2019

Paul speaks with Vince Davis, Community Players of Concord's director of the upcoming show Sweet Charity. http://communityplayersofconcord.org/current-season/#fall

Off The Record 11/8/19 Nov 10, 2019

Paul speaks with Leah Plunkett, author of the new book "Sharenthood: Why We Should Think Before We Talk about Our Kids Online" and Professor at UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law

Off The Record 10/25/19 Oct 26, 2019

Paul and Matt Robison, of amoreperfectunionforum.com, talk the latest in politics

Off The Record 10/18/19 Oct 19, 2019

Paul is joined by Chase Hagaman of The Concord Coalition

Off The Record 10/11/19 Oct 16, 2019

Paul speaks with Matt Robison of amoreperfectunionforum.com

Off The Record 10/4/19 Oct 05, 2019

Paul is joined by Matt Robison of amoreperfectunionforum.com

Off The Record 9/27/19 Oct 01, 2019

Paul speaks with Stuart Shapiro

Off The Record 9/20/19 Sep 22, 2019

Asheville, North Carolina's River Whyless joins Paul for this week's Off the Record

Off The Record 9/13/19 Sep 15, 2019

Paul is joined by Matt Robison of amoreperfectunionforum.com

Off The Record 8/30/19 Aug 31, 2019

Paul speaks with Mary Kuechenmeister of the Story Preservation Initiative, https://www.storypreservation.org

Off The Record 8/16/19 Aug 17, 2019

Chris Ryan and Paul Hodes talk politics and the presidency

Off The Record 8/2/19 Aug 04, 2019

Matt Robison of amoreperfectunionforum.com returns to the show

Off The Record 7/26/19 Jul 28, 2019

Paul speaks with Miriam Carter, Executive Director of the League of NH Craftsmen

Off The Record 7/12/19 Jul 13, 2019

Paul talks with Matt Robison of http://amoreperfectunionforum.com

Off the Record 7/5/19 Jul 09, 2019

Paul takes listeners behind the scenes of a Presidential debate

Off The Record 6/14/19 Jun 15, 2019

Paul speaks with Matt Robison of AMorePerfectUnionForum.com

Off The Record 5/31/19 Jun 04, 2019

Paul speaks with Marc McElroy, he is a musician, recording studio owner, engineer, and entrepreneur.

Off the Record 5/17/19 May 19, 2019

Paul talks with WKXL's Chris Ryan

Off The Record 5/10/19 May 11, 2019

Paul speaks with guitarist Jon Bresler

Off The Record 5/4/19 May 04, 2019

Paul is joined by Matt Robison who runs amoreperfectunionforum.com

Off The Record 4/26/19 Apr 27, 2019

Paul is joined by Stuart-Sinclair Weeks and Richard Kotlarz of The Center for American Studies at Concord

Off the Record 4/19/19 Apr 20, 2019

Paul speaks to Steve and Kim Lajoie of the Concord Community Players

Off The Record 4/12/19 Apr 14, 2019

Paul speaks with Jason Rosenstock of Thorn Run Partners

Off The Record 4/5/19 Apr 07, 2019

Paul is joined by Byron Champlin, At-Large Councilor for the City of Concord, NH.

Off The Record 3/29/19 Mar 31, 2019

Paul is joined by Matt Robison who runs amoreperfectunionforum.com

Off The Record 3/22/19 Mar 23, 2019

Paul is joined by his wife, Peggo Horstmann Hodes. More available from her at http://peggohodes.com

Off The Record 3/15/19 Mar 16, 2019

Paul is joined by Max Richtman, J.D., President/CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. More about them at https://www.ncpssm.org

Off the Record 3/8/19 Mar 08, 2019

Paul speaks with Matt Robinson, an astute political observer, author and blogger of; A More Perfect Union Forum. Digging deep into three things democrats should not do. https://amoreperfectunionforum.com

Off The Record 2/22/19 Feb 23, 2019

Paul speaks with Chase Hagaman, Regional Director for the Concord Coalition

Off The Record 2/8/19 Feb 09, 2019

Paul speaks with Former US Senator Gordon Humphrey

Off The Record 2/1/19 Feb 02, 2019

Paul is joined by Rob Werner, New Hampshire State Director at League of Conservation Voters.

Off The Record 1/25/19 Jan 27, 2019

Paul talks to Byron Champlin who is running for City Councilor at Large for Concord, NH

Off The Record 1/18/19 Jan 20, 2019

Peter Emerson calls into the show from DC to give Paul a lay of the land in the midst of the government shutdown.

Off The Record 1/11/19 Jan 12, 2019

Paul is joined by Matt Robison who runs http://amoreperfectunionforum.com

Off The Record 1/4/19 Jan 05, 2019

Paul speaks with Jason Rosenstock of Thorn Run Partners

2018 Off The Record Holiday Special Dec 22, 2018

Paul and Peggo give you a special Christmas edition of Off the Record!

Off The Record 12/14/18 Dec 15, 2018

Paul is joined by Ted Blachly of the Guild of NH Woodworkers https://www.gnhw.org

Off The Record 12/7/18 Dec 14, 2018

Paul is joined by Robert A. Baines

Off The Record 11 - 30 - 18 Dec 02, 2018

Paul speaks with Colin Van Ostern, who is running for Secretary of State for New Hampshire

Off The Record 11/16/18 Nov 17, 2018

Paul speaks with Dana Chasin, Founder of 20/20 Vision. https://dc-policyupdate.com

Off The Record 11/9/18 Nov 10, 2018

Paul is joined by Jon Bresler and Peter Emerson to talk this week's election.

Off The Record 11/2/18 Nov 03, 2018

Paul is joined by Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett, President of the Lantos Foundation https://www.lantosfoundation.org

Off The Record 10/26/18 Oct 27, 2018

Paul is joined by Bill Christie of Shaheen & Gordon, P.A. to discuss New Hampshire's new voting law, SB3

Off The Record 10/19/18 Oct 20, 2018

Paul is joined by Joe Gleason, Assistant Executive Director of the Capitol Center for the Arts

Off The Record 10/12/18 Oct 14, 2018

Paul speaks with Jason Rosenstock of Thorn Run Partners

Off The Record 10/5/18 Oct 11, 2018

Paul and Chris talk the conclusion to the Kavanaugh appointment to the US Supreme Court, then Paul talks with Nicole Gregg, Festival Director of the New Hampshire Film Festival https://nhfilmfestival.com

Off the Record 9/28/18 Sep 29, 2018

Paul talks the Kavanaugh hearings then is joined by Andrew Periale, internationally acclaimed puppeteer, magazine editor, actor, and educator from Strafford, NH.

Off The Record 9/21/18 Sep 25, 2018

Paul is joined by Chase Hagaman, of the Concord Coalition, and Weston Wamp, of Fix Politics Now.

Off The Record 9/14/18 Sep 15, 2018

Paul and Chris talk the primary results, then Paul sits down with New Hampshire musician Mary Fagan. Get more from Mary at https://www.maryfagan.com

Miriam Carter of League of NH Craftsmen on Off The Record Sep 08, 2018

Paul is joined by Miriam Carter, Executive Director of the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen. https://www.nhcrafts.org

Remembering John McCain on Off the Record Sep 01, 2018

Paul and Chris reflect on the career of Senator John McCain, then plays the last two interviews Chris did with the late senator.

Off The Record 8/17/18 Aug 18, 2018

Paul talks the latest news and has a discussion with Jason Rosenstock of Thorn Run Partners

Off The Record 8/3/18 Aug 05, 2018

Chase Hagaman, Northeast Regional Director of the Concord Coalition, talks with Paul about the economy, national debt and Trumps approach to fiscal responsibility. Get more from Chase on WKXL's Facing the Future, http://nhtalkradio.com/facingthefuture

Off The Record 7/20/18 Jul 27, 2018

Paul Hodes, away in Columbus, OH, calls into the show to discuss the conference he is attending of Democrats considering the upcoming election and Chris Ryan interviews Senator Maggie Hassan in Washington, DC.

Off the Record 7/13/18 Jul 14, 2018

Paul Hodes and Chris Ryan discuss the many political stories from this past week, then Paul sits down with Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon)

Off The Record 4/6/18 Jul 08, 2018

With a special Independence Day episode, Paul Hodes discusses Donald Hall and reads some of the work from the recently passed Poet Laureate.

Off The Record 6/29/18 Jun 30, 2018

On this episode of Off the Record, Paul discusses last week's NH Democratic Party's convention with Chris Ryan, then speaks to Former U.S. Ambassador George Bruno.

Off The Record 6/23/18 Jun 24, 2018

Paul has returned from his trip in Italy, catching up with the latest in politics with Chris Ryan. Then an interview with Mark Connolly, former Deputy Secretary of State and Director of New Hampshire Bureau of Securities Regulation.

Off The Record 6/8/18 Jun 10, 2018

Paul sits down with Chris Pappas, candidate for New Hampshire's first congressional district.

Off The Record 6/1/18 Jun 04, 2018

Paul talks with Mark MacKenzie (D) who is running for the US Congressional seat for New Hampshire's first district.

Off The Record 5/25/18 May 27, 2018

Paul and Chris talk presidential hopeful US Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon), then Paul speaks with Luke Bonner, Executive Director of the Rock On Foundation, about the upcoming Rock On Fest.

Off The Record 5/18/18 May 20, 2018

John Rauh of Open Democracy joins Paul to discuss campaign finance reform and public financing for elections, learn more about Open Democracy at http://www.opendemocracynh.org

Off The Record 5/11/18 May 20, 2018

Broadcasting from The Birches at Concord! Paul and Chris talk the latest in politics, then Paul speaks with Chuck Crush, Executive Director of The Birches at Concord

Off The Record 4/27/18 Apr 29, 2018

This week's episode of Off the Record with Paul Hodes features Betty Lent of The Community Players of Concord, NH. She is directing their presentation of Shakespeare in Hollywood, which will take place May 4, 5, and 6 at the Concord City Auditorium. Get your tickets at http://communityplayersofconcord.org

Off The Record 4/20/18 Apr 22, 2018

This week's featured guest was Peggo Horstmann Hodes, Director of the Concord Community Music School's Songweavers, which is New Hampshire’s original women’s community chorus. Learn more about the program at https://www.ccmusicschool.org/index.php/music-curriculum-lessons-ensembles-classes-workshops/songweavers

Off The Record 4/13/18 Apr 14, 2018

Paul and Chris discuss the latest craziness coming from the White House, then an interview with Ginnie Lupi, Director of the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts. Learn more about the council's work at https://www.nh.gov/nharts/index.html

Off The Record 4/6/18 Apr 07, 2018

Former Congressman Paul Hodes discusses the latest in politics and is joined by former NH state Executive Councilor Colin Van Ostern who is running for Secretary of State.

Off The Record 3/16/18 Apr 07, 2018

Former Congressman Paul Hodes discusses the latest in politics and is joined by State Senator Dan Feltes (D-Concord)!