Welcome to the very first episode of Informed Takes! We’re Kevin and Devin—two recovering hot-takers who finally decided to launch the rational conversation we’ve been yelling about for years. Today we lay it all out: who we are, where we stand politically (spoiler: we’re both conservatives, but we’re not here to play team sports), and why this show exists.

We talk about growing up Democrat by default, getting mugged by reality (and Scripture), why we left the mainstream news bubble, and how we somehow got to a 2024 where both presidential candidates make us want to sigh loudly.

Grab a drink (Devin had fancy Portuguese cognac, Kevin had sad vodka water) and let’s talk about how America went from “E pluribus unum” to “every man for himself.”

What We Cover:

Why we started Informed Takes (it’s not because we needed another hobby)

Our political journeys (hint: Thomas Sowell is involved)

Why “I’m in the middle” is a cute lie we all tell ourselves

Our beef with both the left and the right (fair is fair)

How Marxism crept into your news, your school, and your brunch table

Why the 1960s ruined everything (except the music, maybe)

How we actually read news (spoiler: not by doomscrolling Twitter)

Setting the tone: Fair takes, no strawmen, no screaming into the void

Chapters:

00:00 - Welcome to Informed Takes!

01:00 - Why We Needed This Show

04:00 - Our Political Origins (and Growing Up Default Democrats)

10:00 - How Faith Changed Our Politics

16:00 - Dealing with Family and Political Differences

24:00 - Are We Republicans? (Short answer: kinda, not really)

30:00 - MAGA, Trump, and Hero Worship

38:00 - How Did America Get So Polarized? (Blame the ’60s)

46:00 - The Marxist Playbook in America

53:00 - Why We’re Sick of Hot Takes

58:00 - Where We Get Our News (Hint: Not Cable News)

01:05:00 - Final Thoughts: Call Balls and Strikes

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kevinbriggins.substack.com/subscribe