In our first episode of the new year we try to figure out which country's government looks more dysfunctional right now: The United State's or the UK's? We found ourselves talking about democratic values and norms as things comparable to currency. Their value is dependent on people choosing to value them, like the dollar or the euro.

We also talk about features of the system that come to look like bugs in moments of crisis, and about trashy TV on both sides of the Atlantic.