Politix

Latest Episodes:

All Tapped Out Dec 10, 2025

Show notes

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.politix.fm

Donald Trump is suddenly mired in a huge war-crimes scandal, complicating his desire to launch an actual war (also illegal) against Venezuela.

In this episode, Matt and Brian discuss:

* All the things that make the circumstances surrounding the order to murder shipwreck survivors so strange and suspicious;

* How it all gels with Trump’s broader, corrupt foreign policy;

* Whether the so-called Seditious Six Democrats, who first elevated the issue of illegal orders, laid a trap for Trump.

* Also, is Pete Hegseth doomed?

Then, what’s all that got to do with the midterms? Did left-wing politics doom Democrats in last week’s Tennessee special election? Was the outcome there actually bullish for Democrats? Could it be both things at once? And why is the Democratic establishment really so up in arms about Jasmine Crockett entering the Texas Senate Democratic primary?

All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribers—just upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.

Further reading:

* Todd Zwillich on what Democrats in Congress did (and didn’t) know about Trump administration war crimes before they made a ruckus about it.

* Matt on the bizarre march to war with Venezuela.

* Brian on the problem of the missing antiwar movement.

Who wins? Who loses? And why? Dec 03, 2025

Show notes

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.politix.fm

Brian is adventuring in South America, so Matt is joined by Lakshya Jain of The Argument and Split Ticket to talk about his Wins Above Replacement calculations, which politicians are good at winning, and what we know about them.

In the episode, Matt and Lakshya discuss:

* The importance of “downballot lag” in assessing candidate quality.

* Why AOC and Ritchie Torres are both overrated by their fans.

* While highly viral members of congress tend to underperform, while many electoral superstars are relatively anonymous.

Then, for paid subscribers, what can really be learned from Zohran Mamdani, a politician who won a difficult race despite being less popular than many of the people he bested in his primary? What’s the point of identifying over performing politicians in the first place? What’s Rashida Tlaib doing right?

All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribers—just upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.

Trump Can't Handle The Truth Nov 26, 2025

Show notes

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.politix.fm

Donald Trump has lost his grip, and it’s making him prone to a variety of political errors, some of which we enjoy with pure schadenfreude, others of which could cause tremendous collateral damage.

In this episode, Matt and Brian discuss:

* What if anything makes Marjorie Taylor Greene’s early exit from the House of Representatives different from past Trump purges?

* Why did he blow up his party’s big plan to make Zohran Mamdani the face of the Democratic Party?

* How on Earth does it make sense for him to pick a fight with, and try to court martial, an extremely popular astronaut war hero?

Then, for paid subscribers, should we be careful what we wish for? After blowing the vindictive prosecutions of James Comey and Letitia James, should Mark Kelly put himself in harms way and demand his day in military court? Should Democrats be even bolder and clearer about Trump’s general commitment to illegal conduct, and his the specific illegality of his policy toward Venezuela? Is he really just going to blunder us into a destabilizing and terribly unpopular war there?

All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribers—just upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.

Further reading:

* Brian notes that MAGA disarray will paradoxically make Trump and his loyalists more determined to mount a coup d’etat.

* Matt argues against the Strange New Respect on the left for Marjorie Taylor Greene.

* Brian’s conversation with Pat Dennis about public opinion formation.

Wet Hot American Summers Nov 19, 2025

Show notes

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.politix.fm

Donald Trump’s Epstein coverup has faltered. Jeffrey Epstein’s estate has produced tens of thousands of emails implicating scads of U.S. elites, Trump foremost among them, but including famed economist Larry Summers and other prominent Democrats. Meanwhile, Congress has now voted overwhelmingly to compel the Justice Department to release its Epstein case files.

In this episode, Matt and Brian discuss:

* What do the recent disclosures actually reveal?

* What the fuck Larry Summers?! And, also, ew!

* Should erstwhile Summers allies throw him under the bus, even though he’s announced his withdrawal from public life?

Then, for paid subscribers, what now? Will Trump sign the Epstein disclosure bill without delay? If so, how will he endeavor to obstruct disclosure once it becomes law? Is the evidence in the case file safe from tampering or destruction? And why has this issue, rather than tariffs or health care or even war in Venezuela, the one that has blown the coalition wide open? (Hint: It has something to do with all the antisemites in MAGA).

All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribers—just upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.

Further reading:

* Brian argues Dems should lean into Epstein politics at least as hard as party strategists want them to lean into “affordability.”

* Matt argues moderation shouldn’t be synonymous with throwing a winning hand—possibly relevant to forthcoming Epstein politics.

* Emily Catalano on Epstein truthers coming full circle.

Quick Cave By The Bad Seeds Nov 12, 2025

Show notes

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.politix.fm

After notching huge victories in last week’s off-year elections, Senate Democrats were overcome by a failure of nerve, and agreed to reopen the government without restoring anyone’s health insurance or securing any legal mechanism to rein in Donald Trump’s lawlessness

In this episode, Matt and Brian discuss:

* What the fuck?

* Why did the standoff end the way it did?

* How could the eight capitulators plus Chuck Schumer have engineered a better outcome, whether it brought the shutdown to an end or not?

Then, for paid subscribers, how will the recriminations play out inside the party? Could it feed a constructive conversation about what a better opposition party might look like? Will they put up any resistance at all when the next deadline looms at the end of January? Are memories long enough that the cave might have an impact on the 2026 midterms? Will Trump interpret this as a mandate to use the infliction of pain to bend Democrats? Or will we all move on when the House votes to release the Epstein files?

All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribers—just upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.

Further reading:

* Brian has 16 thoughts on the surrender.

* Matt only has 13.

* Chris Murphy’s interview with Punchbowl.

The Jay Jonestown Massacre Nov 05, 2025

Show notes

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.politix.fm

It was a night of blowout victories in elections for Democrats and Democratic causes across the country, significantly surpassing the party’s most optimistic expectations. In this episode, Matt and Brian discuss:

* What, if anything, do the margins, and the nature of the sweep, tell us about the politics today;

* How compatible are these results with a Democratic Senate victory in 2026?

* Why “Democrats should moderate” and “Democrats need to fight harder” takesters both had good nights.

Then, for paid subscribers, will frontline Democrats really continue to be afraid of fighting Trump after tonight’s results? Didn’t the revived resistance widen the party’s margins? Shouldn’t this help Democrats across the board? And if so, why do news reports suggest Senate Democrats might yield in the government-shutdown fight, even though they appear to be winning it?

Further reading:

* Matt writes there’s more to politics than what happens in the four-corners of a campaign.

* Brian on why the Democrats’ biggest liability has been the scourge of wimpiness.

* Brian’s July piece asking what Democrats intend to do if they win the midterms?

Came In Like A Reckoning Ballroom Oct 29, 2025

Show notes

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.politix.fm

Even some of Donald Trump’s own voters were shocked to see he summarily demolished part of the White House, surprising many Democrats who had convinced themselves Trump is teflon and people don’t care about his corruption or vulgarity. In this episode, Matt and Brian discuss:

* The long history of politicians not doing stuff like this, fearing political backlash;

* Whether this episode suggests swing voters can be moved by symbols and appeals to American greatness, or whether this, too, is a distraction from the issues that really matter;

* What other corruption scandals Democrats might drag into the partisan fray, now that the middle of the country is wising up to Trump’s let-them-eat-cake greed, at the expense of normal citizens.

Then, for paid subscribers, if Trump’s recent political troubles stem from shocking images of the East Wing reduced to rubble, what else in politics is an artifact of media effects? Are Democrats lucky that Trump is so venal and lawless, because Americans would otherwise be highly supportive of how he governs? Or does he mostly get a pass on corruption (because Democrats want to focus on issues) while Republicans invest billions of dollars to define Democrats as out-of-touch wackos?

Further reading:

* Brian on a Democratic-friendly way to make Trump pay for his corruption, now that it’s breaking through.

* Matt: It’s all about policy, including (maybe particularly?) immigration.

* A nerd-off between Biden alums who think their biggest mistake was not creating enough winning ideological conflict and outside strategists who think Democrats earned their toxic unpopularity fair and square.

Palace Intrigue Oct 22, 2025

Show notes

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.politix.fm

More than seven million Americans marched peacefully in the streets. Republicans are palpably spooked about it. And courage is proving contagious: In this episode, Matt and Brian discuss:

* How Trump’s king-like abuses are, for the first time in a decade, becoming hard to distinguish from kitchen-table issues;

* Whether, given the galvanizing power of No Kings, Democrats should pivot to the theme (away from health care) and make a national scandal of Trump’s demolition of the White House to build a palace ballroom;

* The importance of message amplification in getting people to care about anything when their day-to-day lives are unaffected by political scandal.

Then, the Democratic establishment comes for Graham Platner with…some pretty explosive opposition research. How much grace does he deserve? What does he need to do to earn it? And how is it that people make decisions about what is sincere and insincere when it comes out of the mouth of a politician. All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribers—just upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.

Further reading:

* Halina Bennet’s report from No Kings DC.

* Brian’s piece, from December 6, 2024: The New Gilded Age Will Be Streamed.

* Seth Masket on the political class’s over-interpretation of gaffes.

* Graham Platner responds to the oppo dump on Crooked Media.

King Of The Swill Oct 15, 2025

Show notes

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.politix.fm

The government shutdown just crossed the two-week mark. If you take Donald Trump and his people at their word, it doesn’t seem like it’s about to reopen. But they are also huge bluffers. In this episode, Matt and Brian discuss:

* Has Trump hit upon a (legally dubious) way to keep the government “shut down” indefinitely?

* Which signs suggest he’s digging in and which suggest he’s bluffing?

* Are we about to test, once and for all, whether anti-authoritarian politics are more compelling and more galvanizing than cost-of-living politics?

Then, Republicans are desperate to shrink down and smear No Kings protesters en masse. Can this be interpreted as a sign of weakness? Is it a cunning, if ill-intended attempt to tip the country into civil unrest? How close to 1.000 does a non-violent resistance movement have to bat to keep the majority of the public on its side?

All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribers—just upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.

Further reading:

* Brian on the median experience of tyranny.

* Matt argues the authoritarian menace has arrived.

* Brian makes the case that if the current equilibrium devolves into violence, we’ve seen enough to blame Trump.

* Erica Chenoweth on civil resistance.

Forget It Jake, It's Shutdown Town Oct 08, 2025

Show notes

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.politix.fm

As anticipated in last week’s episode, the government did indeed shut down, and as of this recording Congress remains at an impasse. At the same time Donald Trump and Stephen Miller are trying harder than ever to foment street violence in blue cities and maybe even martial law. In this episode, Brian and Matt discuss:

* How the GOP’s ongoing Epstein coverup is prolonging the shutdown and making it likelier that they “lose.”

* The esoteric Beltway metaphysics of who gets blamed for government shutdowns.

* Why Democrats are winning the battle of public opinion despite Beltway consensus that they are to blame.

Then, would it really be “winning” the shutdown to force Republicans to renew Affordable Care Act subsidies, without securing any new constraints on Trump’s abuses of power? Would Democrats shut down the government again to have another fight centered more closely on Trump’s authoritarian abuses? Is the dictatorial overreach bad enough now that Democrats should simply withhold their votes under any feasible set of concessions? And which prominent Democrats are doing resistance politics most effectively.

All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribers—just upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.

Further reading:

* Matt argues that “authentic” politicians are mostly just acting.

* Brian argues that “non-sequitur politics” are a bad basis for fighting fascism.

* Bharat Ramamurti imagines how Democrats could force Trump closer to compliance with constitutional rule.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected