The Political Orphanage

Latest Episodes:

How to Talk to Your Neoliberal Shill Nov 06, 2026

Show notes

The Neoliberal in your life cares enough about you to ask you to listen to this audio cassette.

After completing this course, you will understand the basics of neoliberal psychology.

And be able to engage in productive conversations about political economy with your neoliberal, without resort of violence or condescension.

You'll be well on your way... to Talking with Your Neoliberal Shill!

Audio book by Andrew Heaton

Why Did We Close the Asylums? Oct 29, 2026

Show notes

Why did America close its psychiatric hospitals, and what happened to the people who needed them? Writer and cultural critic Freddie deBoer, author of All in Your Head: Illness as Identity, Trauma as Fashion, and the Desire to Be Disordered, explores the ideas, political decisions, and good intentions behind deinstitutionalization. From the influence of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest to the promise of community care, the conversation examines how efforts to end psychiatric abuse left profound gaps in treatment—and asks what humane care should look like for people who cannot recognize their own illness.

Why Corporations Are People Oct 22, 2026

Show notes

Corporate personhood is one of the most misunderstood concepts in American law. From ancient Rome and medieval universities to William Blackstone and the modern Supreme Court, this episode explores why corporations have legal identities, how limited liability works, why companies can be prosecuted for crimes, and whether they can receive the corporate equivalent of the death penalty.

Then, a look at three competing philosophies of corporate personhood—Association Theory, Concession Theory, and Real-Entity Theory. Are corporations simply groups of individuals exercising their freedoms collectively? Artificial creations granted privileges by government? Or institutions with identities and rights of their own? And which constitutional rights should corporations actually possess?

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How Immigration Broke German Politics Oct 16, 2026

Show notes

Why is Germany's anti-immigration AfD surging in popularity? And why does immigration seem to work better in America than in Europe? Harris, a Bosnian refugee turned American citizen who now lives and works in Germany, joins us to explore the economic, cultural, and political tensions fueling Europe's immigration backlash. We discuss Germany's sprawling welfare state, bureaucratic obstacles to integration, immigrant crime statistics, the challenges of assimilating refugees, and the difference between civic and ethnic nationalism. Along the way, we examine whether the AfD's rise reflects legitimate grievances, xenophobia, economic stagnation, or a growing sense that Germany's political establishment has lost control. Discord Server: https://discord.gg/D2uBGknhe NOTE: This episode has been edited for purposes of brevity and flow. On occassions when I do this, I make the unedited vrsion available as well. The original can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HP02k2rFmgs1neximy-jeF6cqa30_x4l/view?usp=sharing

Europe is Freeloading on American Healthcare Oct 08, 2026

Show notes

Americans pay vastly more for medicine than citizens of other wealthy countries, but are those countries getting a bargain at our expense? David Goldhill, author of Catastrophic Care and founder and CEO of the healthcare marketplace Sesame, joins the show to explain why he considers American healthcare a kind of "second NATO"—one in which the United States shoulders a disproportionate share of the costs of medical innovation while the rest of the world reaps the benefits. We discuss why American healthcare is so outrageously expensive, whether adopting a European-style system would undermine medical innovation, why hospitals compete on everything except price, and whether healthcare can ever function like a normal market.

The Man Who Killed Antitrust Oct 01, 2026

Show notes

When does a successful company become a dangerous monopoly? Heaton traces the strange history of American antitrust law, from railroad barons and Standard Oil to Hollywood studios and Big Tech, before diving into the intellectual cage match between Louis Brandeis and Robert Bork. Should regulators worry about corporations getting too big and powerful, or only step in when consumers actually get hurt? Along the way, Heaton encounters natural monopolies, vertical integration, glitter cartels, cowboy boots, suspiciously powerful coffin companies, and the surprisingly difficult question of what even counts as a market.

Why Childcare Will Always Be Expensive Sep 23, 2026

Show notes

Alex Mayyasi of NPR's Planet Money joins me to explore some of the stranger forces shaping the economy. Why did the federal government create a legally mandated raisin cartel? Why are so many American corporations technically from Delaware? Should companies exist solely to make money? And are there times when price controls actually work?

We also dig into Baumol's cost disease—the counterintuitive reason that as society gets richer, childcare, healthcare, restaurants, haircuts, teachers, and live performances can become increasingly expensive. Plus: how rising labor costs might be contributing to the loneliness epidemic, and how Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz helped invent the modern television business.

His book: "Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life"

The A.I. Civil War Sep 17, 2026

Show notes

Are we racing toward an AI-powered golden age—or building something we won't be able to control? Justin Robert Young joins to explore the emerging philosophical divide over artificial intelligence: accelerate innovation and reap potentially enormous benefits, or slow down before we unleash risks we don't understand. We discuss OpenAI and Anthropic, the politics of AI regulation, competition with China, whether the AI boom is a bubble, the strongest case for the AI doomers, and the possibility that advances in AI could transform medicine, work, and even human aging. Plus: Justin explains why the best way to prepare for the AI revolution is surprisingly simple—start asking it dumb questions.

Upwingers Fighting Downwingers (Rebroadcast) Sep 15, 2026

Show notes

Dr. Steve Fuller of Warwick University says the meaningful split in society is not Leftwing vs. Rightwing, but rather Upwing vs. Downwing. Both have radically different attitudes to both risk and human nature, which informs their policy decisions and the direction they want to steer society.

SUPPORT THE SHOW! www.patreon.com/andrewheaton

Dr. Fuller's book at: www.mightyheaton.com/featured

Referenced in the show today:

TPO: "Was Abraham Lincoln Leftwing or Rightwing?" https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com/hyrum-lewis

"Transcendant Man" – Documentary by Ray Kurzweill about the Singularity https://www.amazon.co.uk/Transcendent-Man-Ray-Kurzweil/dp/B016V7WCLA

ATA: The Bioethics of Gattica – Discussed on Alienating the Audience https://alienating.libsyn.com/gattaca

ATA: How Cryonics Works – Interview on Alienating the Audience https://alienating.libsyn.com/we-can-freeze-you-how-cryonics-works ORIGINAL AIR DATE: August, 2023

How Do Other Countries do Healthcare? Sep 10, 2026

Show notes

Healthcare in America is more expensive than anywhere else in the world—but what are other countries actually doing differently? Physician and Slice of Life MD author Sally Primus joins me to tour healthcare systems from Germany and Britain to Japan, Australia, and Estonia. We look at single payer, private insurance, wait times, doctor shortages, drug prices, bureaucracy, and the strange economics of American healthcare—and ask which ideas the United States might actually want to steal.

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