The Political Orphanage

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Why Can't We Have Nice Trains? Aug 05, 2026

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It's not that America won't spend money on mass transit, it's that we piss it away when we do. Our transit system is a mess, with a lot of problems in spending, procurement, NIMBYism and good 'ol fashioned idiocy.

Will Poff-Webster is the Director of Infrastructure Policy at the Institute for Progress, where he works on energy, transportation and housing policy.

Richard Hanania on Populism Eating America Jul 30, 2026

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Should you trust experts—or trust yourself?

Richard Hanania, author of Kakistocracy: Why Populism Ends in Disaster joins to discuss why populism has become one of the defining forces in modern politics.

We discuss whether elites really deserve their bad reputation, why expertise and institutions matter, where academia and the media have genuinely failed, and whether movements built around "the wisdom of ordinary people" inevitably drift toward conspiracy theories, corruption, and bad governance.

Why Nobody Trusts the News: Isaac Saul Jul 23, 2026

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Why has trust in the news collapsed—and is it really all the media's fault? Tangle founder Isaac Saul joins for a candid conversation about the incentives driving modern journalism, from clickbait and audience capture to ideological groupthink and the collapse of local news. We explore whether readers are rewarding the very coverage they claim to hate, why viewpoint diversity matters inside newsrooms, whether AI poses a real threat to journalism, and what it would actually take to rebuild public trust. It's a nuanced discussion about media, incentives, and why fixing the news may require fixing ourselves first.

I Ask an Amish Guy about Everything Jul 15, 2026

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Is Rumpsringa real? Are Amish people happier than you? Let's visit Amish country! Heaton visits Muhlenberg County, Ohio, to investigate America's unique subculture of pacifistic, techno-phobic Anabaptists.

We meet Marcus Yoder, the Executive Director of the Amish and Mennonite Heritage Center, and talk to him about all things Amish. Why do they have weird beards? Why eschew buttons, automobiles, and smartphones? And, crucially… are they onto something?

Revenge of the Non-Profits Jul 10, 2026

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Brian Dunning of the Skeptoid podcast returns to The Political Orphanage for a spirited pushback episode on the modern non-profit industry. In a previous conversation, we argued that sprawling tax-exempt organizations can become bloated, unaccountable, and more interested in perpetuating themselves than solving problems. Brian arrives armed with skepticism, data, and counterarguments. Do non-profits actually dodge property taxes? Are giant charities a public good or just corporations with better branding? And when does cynicism about institutions become its own kind of ideological blind spot? This episode dives into philanthropy, incentives, tax policy, and the uneasy overlap between altruism and bureaucracy—with plenty of disagreement along the way.

This interview was edited for purposes of clarity and brevity. When I significantly alter an interview I make the uncut version available, just in case: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1szkeykHYAmerFXpeDTww2o_uHyLsj1_2/view?usp=sharing

George Washington's Anti-Daddy Jul 03, 2026

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Why did the United States become a stable republic while so many revolutions ended in dictatorship?

The answer lies in two men pivitol to the Revolution: George Washington... and Oliver Cromwell.

A century before George Washington, Cromwell fought a king in the name of liberty, overthrew the monarchy, and then—step by step—became everything he opposed.

Washington would later face many of the same temptations: an unpaid army loyal to him, politicians begging him to stay in power, even a proposal to become king.

This is the story of two revolutionary generals, two republics, and why America stayed on the path of democracy instead of descending into a military junta.

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How Harlots Saved America (Rebroadcast) Jul 01, 2026

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What if history isn't a string of great man biopics or a struggle between conservatives and progressives? What if it's a battle of disciplinarians against drunks and harlots? Thaddeus Russell comes on to talk about his book, "A Renegade History of the United States."

America's Dueling Enlightenments (Rebroadcast) Jun 30, 2026

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The Founding Fathers were all children of the Enlightenment, and they agreed on kicking King George out, but they never agreed on how to run the country.

Seth Radwell, author of American Schism: How the Two Enlightenments Hold the Secret to Healing Our Nation joins on to discuss these two halves of our Founding, and how they are ultimately complimentary.

Cicero and the Founding Fathers (Rebroadcast) Jun 29, 2026

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Jeffrey Rosen is a legal scholar and the President of the National Constitution Center. He's the author "the Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America."

Zuby Grew up in a Company Town Jun 24, 2026

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Zuby is a British rapper who spent his childhood on a Saudi Aramco compound—a sprawling corporate community complete with schools, recreation, housing, and services. We discuss what it was like growing up in a place where one company effectively functioned as the local government, and whether company towns deserve their bad reputation.

Then the conversation takes an unexpected turn. Having also lived in Dubai, Zuby reflects on how one of the world's most diverse and immigrant-heavy societies manages to maintain remarkably high social trust, low crime, and social cohesion. What can Dubai teach us about community, culture, and governance? And what assumptions do Westerners make about diversity that may not hold true elsewhere?

It's a conversation about company towns, global cities, social trust, and the strange places that challenge our political priors.

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