The Politics Guys

Latest Episodes:

Binyamin Appelbaum on The Economists' Hour Jan 08, 2020

Show notes

Mike talks with Binyamin Appelbaum, who writes about economics and business for the editorial page of the New York Times. From 2010 - 2019 he was a Washington correspondent for the Times, covering economic policy in the aftermath of the 2008 crisis. They discuss his recently released book: The Economists' Hour.

After the interview, Jay joins Mike to provide a conservative perspective.

Topics Mike & Binyamin discuss include:

why markets are wonderful
Keynesianism, monetarism, and supply side economics
the massive influence of Milton Friedman
fine-tuning the economic machine
balancing unemployment and inflation
the shifting value of a human life
why we shouldn't reinstate 20th century financial regulations
President Trump's 'turtle shell nationalism'
defending Alan Greenspan
and lots more!

Binyamin Appelbaum's NYT Columns

Binyamin Appelbaum on Twitter

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Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. If you're interested in supporting the show, go to patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support.

Middle East Tensions, Democratic Race, Hopes & Predictions for 2020 Jan 04, 2020

Show notes

Mike & Jay open the show with a discussion of the escalating tensions between Iran, Iraq, and the United States in the aftermath of the U.S. killing of Iranian Quds Force commander Quasem Soleimani. Jay thinks that the Trump administration may have made the right move, but Mike is concerned that the blowback could be worse than any benefits from Soleimani's death.

Next is a look at the Democratic presidential race, including Julian Castro's exit from the race, whether Iowa and New Hampshire should be the first two contests, and the nearly $200 million that Michael Bloomberg has spent.

After that, Mike & Jay talk about their hopes and predictions for 2020, focusing on President Trump's Senate trial, the Durham Report, China, Iran, and the 2020 elections.

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Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. If you're interested in supporting the show, go to patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support.

Trump Impeached, IG Report Aftermath, 2020 Budget, USMCA Dec 21, 2019

Show notes

President Trump has been impeached but the odds are strongly against him being removed from office. Mike & Jay open the show talking about the impeachment vote, what happens next, and the potential electoral consequences.

After that, they discuss the aftermath of Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz's findings on the FBI's conduct of the 'Crossfire Hurricane' investigation, including Horowitz's Senate testimony and the FISA court ordering the FBI to clean up its act.

Then it's a look at the $1.4 trillion 2020 budget, which has something for everyone but which neither Mike nor Jay are entirely happy with, followed by the House of Representatives' approval of the USMCA trade agreement (or, as Mike likes to call it 'CAMUS').

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Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. If you're interested in supporting the show, go to patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support.

The Politics Guys and Future Hindsight Dec 18, 2019

Show notes

Mike talks with Mila Atmos, host of the Future Hindsight podcast. They discuss rights and responsibilities in a democracy, cynicism, adopting a cause, the 2020 Democratic presidential field, Joe Biden as the DNC's chosen candidate, the impeachment of President Trump, how to make a difference, why Mila is hopeful, and lots more. After the interview, Trey joins Mike to provide a conservative perspective. Update: Mila checked in after the episode dropped, and confessed to also being a Cory Booker fan. When she was in Iowa in November, a voter asked her who he should caucus for, and she emphatically replied, "Booker!"

Future Hindsight on Twitter

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IG Report, Articles of Impeachment, USMCA, Executive Orders on Jewish Identity, UK Elections Dec 14, 2019

Show notes

This week Trey is joined by Ken and they begin the show by exploring the Justice Department's inspector general, Michael Horowitz's, report into the potentiality of a political bias by the FBI. Next the pair turn to the House Judiciary Committee's party-line vote to move forward two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump to the full house floor. Trey and Ken then discuss the United States-Mexico-Canada-Agreement (USMCA) which may replace NAFTA -- both its provisions and the likelihood of passage. After that the pair turns to President Trump's recent executive order attempting to crack down on discrimination against Jewish individuals, specifically on college campuses. Finally, as is their custom, Trey and Ken cross the pond and talk Boris Johnson's big Conservative victory in the British Parliament.

Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. If you're interested in supporting the show, go to patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support.

Jacob Hacker on The Great Risk Shift Dec 11, 2019

Show notes

Mike talks with Yale political scientist Jacob Hacker about the newly revised version of his book The Great Risk Shift. After the discussion, Jay joins Mike for a discussion of Hacker's key ideas.

In this interview, we discuss the rise in economic insecurity, declining social mobility in the US, the 'old contract' versus the 'new contract' between employers and workers, technological change & globalization, the waves and the tides of the economy, Medicare for all, reasons to be hopeful, and lots more.

Here's Mike's previous discussion with Dr. Hacker, on his book American Amnesia.

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Impeachment, Harris Out, Biden's 'No Malarkey' Tour, Cutting SNAP Dec 07, 2019

Show notes

This week Jay and Mike talk impeachment and the balance of power between the executive and legislative branches. For the fourth time in history the House is drafting articles of impeachment. But are the Democrats moving too quickly and does that make impeachment a tougher sell for the voting public?

Then the Guys talk about the state of the race for the Democratic nomination in the wake of Kamala Harris's departure from the race. Also, is a "No Malarkey" tour a stroke of marketing genius or terrible branding?

Finally, Jay plays Scrooge while Mike plays Santa in discussing proposed changes in the SNAP program and work requirements.

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Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. If you're interested in supporting the show, go to patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support.

The Politics Guys & The Political Orphanage Dec 04, 2019

Show notes

On this special crossover show, Mike talks with Andrew Heaton, host of The Political Orphanage podcast. They cover a lot of ground in a conversation that (very) loosely revolves around presidential power. Along the way, they discuss Caddyshack, Edmund Burke, impeachment, anonymous Senate conviction votes, a constitutional convention, Thomas Paine, why a Stormy Daniels based case would have been the most fitting impeachment for President Trump, national emergency powers, splitting up the presidency, expanding the Supreme Court, 'These United States' vs 'The United States', politics as the new religion, and lots more.

Andrew Heaton on Twitter

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Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. If you're interested in supporting the show, go to patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support.

Taliban Talks, Hong Kong, Navy Secretary Fired, CBD Crackdown Nov 30, 2019

Show notes

Mike and Kristin start off talking about President Trump's Thanksgiving trip to Afghanistan. The President served surprised service men and women Thanksgiving dinner at Bagram Air Force Base and made a rousing speech where he said that the U.S. and the Taliban have been involved in peace talks, which prompted discussions about whether the U.S. should remain in the region.

Next, Mike and Kristin discussed President Trump's signing of two bills aimed at supporting the protestors in Hong Kong. The first enforces sanctions on Chinese and Hong Kong officials who commit abuses of human rights and would subject Hong Kong to an annual review. The second prohibits exporting nonlethal munitions to the Hong Kong police. Of course, China is not happy about any of this and some critics say that this could damage ongoing trade talks between the U.S. and China.

The next topic involves the aftermath of the Gallagher court martialing, pardoning, and the Navy's decision to not allow him to retain his SEAL status. The firing of Navy Secretary Richard Spencer made headlines this week. President Trump said that the decision was about Spencer's leadership, and that it was a long time coming. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper told reporters that Spencer had gone behind his and others' backs to broker a deal, displaying insubordination. Spencer hit back with a fiery op-ed in the Washington Post.

Finally, with all of the interest in CBD products lately, it's no wonder that the FDA made some headlines this week with its warnings about CBD. The FDA has decided to crack down on some companies selling the products, which brings about questions for Mike and Kristin regarding overreach, regulation in general, and the necessity to protect the public from false claims.

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Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. If you're interested in supporting the show, go to patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support.

The Politics Guys & Democracy Works on Trump, Impeachment and the Future of Democracy Nov 27, 2019

Show notes

Mike talks with Chris Beem and Michael Berkman from Penn State's McCourtney Institute for Democracy about their Democracy Works podcast and a whole bunch of other things including:

the fact that two of our last four, and three of our last nine presidents have gone through impeachment
the 'best case' outcome from this impeachment process
the potential fallout from straight party line impeachment voting
if Donald Trump is a unique case or a portent of presidents to come
strengthening our political institutions
whether we're optimistic or pessimistic about the future of liberal democracy in the United States
and lots more!

The McCourtney Institute on Twitter

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Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. If you're interested in supporting the show, go to patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support.

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