Comedy

The Political Orphanage

Politics minus bile plus jokes. Comedian and avowed independent Andrew Heaton interviews authors and thought leaders about policy and big thinky stuff.

Latest Episodes:

When a Government Accidentally Declares You Dead (Friday Release Valve) May 01, 2020

Show notes

(NSKF) As part of my ongoing commitment to providing levity and sanity during quarantine, I am for some length of time resurrecting an old segment: Friday Release Valve, where I grab some comedy buddies to go over the week's undeserved headlines.

Turner Sparks and Andrea Jones-Rooy join me to talk about: when a government accidentally declares you dead, how to fix basketball using firearms, Cambodian machete making, and Canadian gambling ordinances. Season 2, Ep 49

How Vladimir Putin Thinks Apr 29, 2020

Show notes

How does Russian propaganda work now, compared to the Soviet era? What power structures have kept Putin in place for decades? And what does Putin think about democracy, subverting American media, and Trump? Michael Weiss is Director of Special Investigations at the Free Russia Foundation, a columnist for Foreign Policy, and editor-at-large at The Daily Beast. He joins Heaton to peer into the mind of the Russian state.

Season 2, Ep 48

Desperately Needed Optimism from Matt Ridley Apr 22, 2020

Show notes

Matt Ridley is a science writer, member of the House of Lords, and author of the amazing book, "The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves." He joins Heaton to talk about how, overall, life is dramatically and empirically better than the rest of recorded history--and why.

Season 2, Ep 47

Bernie Sanders is the Ron Paul of Socialism Apr 16, 2020

Show notes

Last week Bernie Sanders dropped out, ending the closest bid to an outright socialist presidency in American history. Brian Brushwood and Justin Robert Young join the program to talk about the impact of Sanders, student loan forgiveness, and Medicare for All.

Season 2, Ep 46

What the Hell is Happening with the Economy? Apr 09, 2020

Show notes

Are we sliding into a Great Depression, or just a quarantine-induced slump? What did the stimulus bill do, how big was it, and might it capsize the national debt? Colin Mortimer, director of the Neoliberal Project at the Progressive Policy Institute and host of The Neoliberal Podcast, along with Ben Ritz, Director of the PPI Center for Funding America's Future, join Heaton to explain what's happening with the economy and what the federal government has been doing to help or hinder it.

Season 2, Ep. 45

PSA: What To Expect the Next Two Weeks Apr 02, 2020

Show notes

I want to share a resource that will help frame what to expect in your state as April unfolds: Covid19.healthdata.org . This website will tell you when to expect peak hospital usage in your state, and also what to brace yourself for. But I'll also top of the episode with some of the best quarantine humor I've encountered on the internet.

Season 2, Ep 44

Three Ways to Stop Corrupt Congressmen Apr 01, 2020

Show notes

Senator Richard Burr is catching fire (and possible prosecution) about selling $1.7 million of stock days before the market tumbled. How do members of Congress profit from insider information and power, and what can we do to stop them? Brian Sack and Jack Helmuth join Heaton to discuss.

Season 2, Episode 43

What Your Life Costs, According to Uncle Sam (Bonus) Mar 28, 2020

Show notes

At the request of Patreon listeners, I'm releasing this bonus episode to the main feed--go to Patreon.com/andrewheaton if you want a weekly bonus episode like this on top of the main show! This week I explain why the government calculates a monetary price of what an individual American's life is worth, and why that's actually a useful tool for making cold, deliberative policy determinations. Which is unfortunately something we might have to do if confronted with the two bad options of "risk lives to pandemic" or "hurl the country into another Great Depression." If and when we get to that point, we'll need rational people operating the levers of power.

Season 2, Ep 42

Politicians Make Poor Superheroes Mar 25, 2020

Show notes

Should people wielding the levers of power be pragmatists who get things done, or idealists with firm convictions and boundaries? Which political opinions attract the most elitists? Jeremy Kareken and Tom Brennan join the program for an astonishingly fun episode given how long we've all been in quarantine.

Season 2, Ep 41

Live from Snuffy's Fallout Shelter: The Corona Episode Mar 20, 2020

Show notes

In which Heaton speaks with: Tom Snuffhauser, local business owner, about the impact of the Corona Virus on the consumer economy; U.S. Horse Surgeon General Richard Snodgrass, about health precautions you can implement on behalf of your horse; Brian Sack and Jack Helmuth, hosts of the "Questionable Material" podcast, and Josh Jennings, producer emeritus for Something's Off with Andrew Heaton. Apologies on sound quality--technical problems resulting from a live stream show!

Season 2, Ep 40

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