Former President of Ireland's Sinn Féin Party joins Sean on today's episode of Better Bad Ideas. A insightful conversation covering the spark of Gerry's activism as a young teen, to surviving gunshots as President of Sinn Féin.

New episodes of Better Bad Ideas drop every Wednesday! Subscribe and hit the bell to be notified when they go live! Also available where ever you download podcasts!

Chapters

00:00:00 - Intro

00:02:51 - What is Sinn Féin?

00:06:00 - Why was the Irish Flag Outlawed?

00:11:59 - Joining Sinn Féin

00:14:12 - The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Movement

00:22:41 - Gerry's Imprisonment

00:26:53 - Navigating Peace in tumultuous times

00:28:34 - Efficacy of Hunger/Blanket Strikes

00:33:37 - Did the IRA want peace?

00:35:48 - Making a deal as the President of Sinn Féin

00:36:45 - An Attempt On Gerry's Life

00:37:51 - The Good Friday Agreement

00:41:40 - Will a referendum be called?

00:44:21 - Gerry's Legacy

00:46:03 - A prediction on a the referendum

Better Bad Ideas

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Policy Commentator, author, and founder of think tank American Compass, Oren Cass joins Sean on today's episode of Better Bad Ideas.

New episodes of Better Bad Ideas drop every Wednesday! Subscribe and hit the bell to be notified when they go live! Also available where ever you download podcasts!

Chapters

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:06 - Early Schooling

00:04:03 - Oren's Parent's Journey

00:07:35 - Identifying with Conservative ideas in college

00:11:14 - Going to work at Bane and Co.

00:25:02 - What does a consultant do?

00:28:41 - Going to work for Mitt Romney

00:41:36 - Are Working People in an economic crisis?

00:46:40 - What is American Compass?

00:47:44 - Tariff effects on the American worker

00:58:45 - Republicans being held hostage?

01:07:06 - What does the 101st day look like?

01:11:51 - A day in the life of Oren Cass

Oren Cass

https://x.com/oren_cass

Better Bad Ideas

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Writer, Host, and Union leader Adam Conover joins Sean on today's episode of Better Bad Ideas. From Adam's career as a comedian and writer to being an integral part of gathering support during the WGA Strike, Adam has a lot to say about the state of the entertainment industry and current political landscape.

New episodes of Better Bad Ideas drop every Wednesday! Subscribe and hit the bell to be notified when they go live! Also available where ever you download podcasts!

Chapters

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:26 - Growing Up

00:11:05 - Solidarity Between Comedians

00:13:09 - Majoring in Philosophy at Bard College

00:23:17 - Adam's Start In Comedy

00:30:52 - Adam Ruins Everything

00:34:23 - WGA vs Hollywood Agents

00:47:40 - Joining WGA Leadership

00:50:31 - How The Writers Guild Works

00:58:12 - Teamsters Support of WGA

01:02:11 - What Was The Strike About?

01:09:03 - What Will You Focus On At Next Bargaining?

01:15:37 - Corporate Race To The Bottom

01:32:11 - Adam Asks About Sean About NLRB

01:39:20 - Union Strength Is Solidarity

Adam Conover

• https://www.youtube.com/@UC-kM5kL9CgjN9s9pim089gg 

• https://www.instagram.com/adamconover

• https://www.tiktok.com/@adamconover

• https://x.com/adamconover

Better Bad Ideas

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Today on Better Bad Ideas with Sean O'Brien, we're joined with author, speaker, political activist, and once Presidential hopeful, Marianne Williamson. Sean and Marianne cover the struggles of working class families, politics, and what Marianne calls the "dark cloud" forming over the Nation. A really spirited and engaging conversation!

New episodes of Better Bad Ideas drop every Wednesday! Subscribe and hit the bell to be notified when they go live! Also available where ever you download podcasts!

Chapters

00:00:00 - Intro

00:00:52 - Who is Marianne Williamson?

00:02:35 - The First Time Hearing The Word "Scab"

00:14:00 - Discovering Her Spirituality

00:23:00 - Writing Her Book - Mental Health

00:38:49 - Getting Involved In Politics

00:42:20 - Running for President in 2020

00:47:21 - Marianne Speaking at The Teamsters Union

00:54:15 - Sean's Experience with the 2024 Dem Party

00:57:28 - Marianne On Republicans Destroying Unions

01:06:00 - What Did Teamsters See in the Republicans?

01:12:35 - Marianne's Analogy of the Democrats and Republicans

Better Bad Ideas

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This week on Better Bad Ideas, three legends from the 1980 Men's Hockey Gold Medal Olympic Team! Jack O'Callahan, Dave Silk, and Mike Eurozione talk about the iconic moment beating the Russians as a rag tag group of college kids, what happened after, and how the game of hockey has changed over the last 45 years. 

New episodes of Better Bad Ideas drop every Wednesday! Subscribe and hit the bell to be notified when they go live! Also available where ever you download podcasts!

Chapters

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:01 - Mike on Winthrop and meeting Jack Parker

00:03:58 - Dave Growing up in Scituate MA

00:08:05 - Jack O'Callahan Growing Up In Charlestown

00:12:18 - Jack's Story About Jack Parker

00:14:10 - Mike's First Impression of Dave at BU

00:18:41 - The Olympic Team Selection Process

00:32:49 - Mike's Winning Goal

00:34:40 - After beating the Russians

00:36:55 - What Was Life Like After the Gold Medal?

00:40:56 - First NHL Contract

00:43:43 - What Were The Downsides?

00:49:19 - How Politics Plays A Role

00:52:35 - Visiting The White House

00:56:33 - Did You Experience Jealousy?

01:01:36 - Statue at Lake Placid

01:04:16 - Hockey Now Vs Hockey Then

01:09:00 - Are Hockey Players Underpaid? Pensions?

01:18:28 - What's Next?

Better Bad Ideas

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This week Ro Khanna joins Sean O'Brien on Better Bad Ideas. Ro is an American politician and lawyer serving as the U.S. representative from California's 17th congressional district.

New episodes of Better Bad Ideas drop every Wednesday! Subscribe and hit the bell to be notified when they go live! Also available where ever you download podcasts!

Chapters

00:00:00 - Intro

00:00:47 - Fighting with the Democrats

00:02:58 - Growing up in Philadelphia

00:06:12 - Hollowed out communities

00:08:12 - NAFTA

00:10:30 - Money in politics

00:14:50 - Manufacturing in Ohio

00:17:00 - AI

00:21:20 - Restarting the Democratic Party

00:24:40 - Sean as Secretary of labor?

00:26:30 - Lori Chavez-Deremer for Labor

00:30:24 - Republicans have a lot to prove

00:36:36 - Trump cuts USAID

00:46:27 - Trumps Bold Immigration Policy

00:51:48 - Blue MAGA?!?!

00:55:58 - JD Vance TWEET WAR!!!

00:59:50 - Personal attacks

01:01:36 - After Trump

01:03:53 - You need the Teamsters

01:08:36 - Talking to communities

01:11:11 - We have better bad ideas

01:15:04 - Rebuilding America

01:17:35 - What's important?

Better Bad Ideas

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This week comedian, actor, and podcaster Bryan Callen joins Sean O'Brien on Better Bad Ideas. 

New episodes of Better Bad Ideas drop every Wednesday! Subscribe and hit the bell to be notified when they go live! Also available where ever you download podcasts!

Chapters

00:00:00 - Intro

00:00:35 - Bryan Callen has hot blood

00:02:52 - Going to school in Massachusetts 

00:06:19 - What drew Bryan to Hollywood

00:11:22 - Stand up and how it relates to boxing

00:13:55 - Bryan's short financial career path

00:18:52 - Bryan's first time doing stand up

00:21:09 - Patty Jenkins tells Bryan to do stand up

00:22:50 - How does Bryan handle fame?

00:28:23 - Experience with Warrior and other roles

00:30:10 - The current state of fame and attention

00:37:00 - The myth of all actors being millionaires

00:43:25 - The dangers of AI

00:54:00 - What's the role of government

01:01:51 - Bryan on Sean's mother

01:03:03 - Tulsi Gabbard and the confirmation hearings

01:07:50 - What's Bryan up to in 2025

Better Bad Ideas

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This week Faiz Shakir joins Sean O'Brien on Better Bad Ideas. Faiz is the senior advisor to Bernie Sanders and executive director of the nonprofit media organization More Perfect Union.

New episodes of Better Bad Ideas drop every Wednesday! Subscribe and hit the bell to be notified when they go live! Also available where ever you download podcasts!

Chapters

00:00:00 - Intro

00:00 39 - Getting to know Faiz

00:03:52 - Why Faiz is a Democrat.

00:08:40 - Faiz's first job

00:11:30 - 911 Changed Things

00:15:10 - Lost faith in institutions

00:18:48 - The DNC Emails

00:21:20 - ACLU

00:23:00 - Bernie Sanders hires Faiz

00:27:58 - Bernie Sanders impression

00:34:34 - Have Democrats lost sight of who they are?

00:42:30 - What voters want

00:45:00 - Fix the Democrat brand

00:54:00 - President O'Brien

00:54:30 - Can we agree on good ideas?

01:00:00 - Learning from the workers

01:02:45 - DNC Election popularity context

01:06:21 - Faiz's family life

01:09:30 - School nurse advocacy

01:10:37 - More Perfect Union

01:16:45 - Podcasts replacings Mainstream media

01:22:00 - Democrats not showing up

01:29:53 - Hasan Piker

01:33:00 - How Faiz supports working people

Better Bad Ideas

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Oscar winning actor Casey Affleck joins Sean O'Brien on this week's Better Bad Ideas.

New episodes of Better Bad Ideas drop every Wednesday! Subscribe and hit the bell to be notified when they go live! Also available where ever you download podcasts!

Better Bad Ideas

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Senator of Missouri Josh Hawley joins Sean O'Brien on this week's Better Bad Ideas. 

New episodes of Better Bad Ideas drop every Wednesday! Subscribe and hit the bell to be notified when they go live! Also available where ever you download podcasts!

Better Bad Ideas

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Senator Josh Hawley

• https://x.com/HawleyMO

• https://www.instagram.com/joshhawleymo 

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