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:

Ep 121 | Mother's Day Special May 13, 2019

Show notes

It's that time of year again! The mistletoe is hanging in the doorway, all the snow has been shoveled, and there's a glass of wine just waiting on the kitchen counter for that special person. Snuffy's Diner is proud to sponsor this year's Mother's Day Special!

Ep 120 | The Spy Whale Who Loved Me | Guest: Lou Perez May 10, 2019

Show notes

Comedian Lou Perez joins Heaton for a Friday Release Valve episode to discuss the silliest headlines of the week: Some sheep go to school, chicken nugget ice cream, a guy crossing the ocean in a barrel, and a lot more fun on this week's episode!

Ep 119 | How Harlots Saved America | Guest: Thaddeus Russell May 09, 2019

Show notes

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."

Ep 118 | A Great Way to Screw Up the Economy | Guest: Jeremy Kareken May 08, 2019

Show notes

The market tumbled yesterday after Donald Trump threatened to double down on tariffs. Heaton explains Comparative Advantage with a brilliant scotch analogy, and is then joined by playwright and comedian Jeremy Kareken to rant about protectionism.

Ep 117 | Criminology Lessons from a Prison Rodeo | Guest: German Lopez May 07, 2019

Show notes

It's expensive maintaining the largest prison population on the entire planet, but we've managed to do it for several decades. German Lopez, senior correspondent at Vox, joins Heaton to talk about criminal justice reform and how the 2020 candidates stack up on drug policy and sentencing.

Ep 116 | How We Beat Those Neanderthals | Guest: Natalia Reagan May 06, 2019

Show notes

Comedian and primatologist Natalia Reagan joins Heaton to talk about hominids, the human family tree, and the time when Homo sapiens weren't the only smart bipedal hominids running around.

Ep 115 | The World's Sexiest Accent | Guest: Brian Sack May 03, 2019

Show notes

Comedy writer Brian Sack joins Heaton for a Friday Release Valve episode to sort the world's better headlines: from the worst use of parking spaces ever, to a great education game about cow tuberculosis, to an effortless but irritating way to get abs.

Ep 114 | Why Do We Love Conspiracy Theories? | Guest: Jesse Walker May 02, 2019

Show notes

What's in the DNA of a conspiracy theory, and when does it go from benign to dangerous? Jesse Walker is author of "The United States of Paranoia: A Conspiracy Theory," which identifies the different types of conspiracy theories and charts them from the Salem witch trials through Barack Obama's birth certificate.

Ep 113 | That's Not Socialism, Dammit! | Guest: Justin Haskins May 01, 2019

Show notes

People don't really like pointing to Venezuela, Cambodia, Cuba, or the Soviet Union when they talk about socialism. (What with the deaths.) They like to mention cute sweater-vest countries, like Denmark, that aren't actually socialist. Justin Haskins, executive editor at the Heartland Institute, joins Heaton to talk about what socialism is and isn't, and also when it occasionally gets out of hand and murders hundreds of millions of people.

Ep 112 | The Student Loan Bubble Is Filled with Swamp Gas | Guest: Royce Sharp Apr 30, 2019

Show notes

Student loan debt has surpassed $1.5 trillion dollars — more than credit card debt — prompting some ascendant Democrats to push for loan cancellation and tax-funded university tuition. Heaton figures out what's making it so expensive with filmmaker and friend Royce Sharp.

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