Finding Common Battle Grounds

In this episode of Finding Common Battle Grounds, we tackle two topics. We start with the Trump Administration's efforts to restrict voting by mail. We note that elections are governed by the states, and we all agree that the federal government should have no involvement in elections. Tommy and Josh continue to be convinced there is widespread voter fraud, though they are not able to muster evidence. Ryan is not convinced voter fraud is common at all (see here and here), but is convinced that Trump's use of the United States Postal Service is aimed at rigging the election. In the process, we learn that voting in Hillsborough County, Florida, appears to be far more secure than is voting in Utah! We then turn to the trade war with Canada... For a brief second. We go off on a lot of tangents. Tommy brings us back and reiterates that this is largely political and does not involve the vast majority of our trade with Canada. Ryan suggests that this may be the beginning of countries standing up to US bullying. Josh doesn't agree with that. Ryan also makes the point that the trade deficit the US has with other countries has gone up under Trump, not down (Fact check: goods deficit, not services). Alas, our discussion of the trade war in Canada kind of dissolves into chaos. Oh, and Tommy is under the weather, Ryan is on painkillers as he just had a tooth extracted, and Josh is loopy because he has COVID and is on medication. So, if we're not very coherent in this one... You're welcome!

In this episode of Finding Common Battle Grounds, we tackle two topics. First, we discuss the decision by Sean Duffy, Secretary of Transportation, to label bike lanes "DEI bike lanes" and remove them from the Department of Transportation's website and cut funding for them. We all agree that this is absolutely absurd. It strikes us as the Trump Administration looking for things that are associated with progressive countries in Europe, labeling those things "DEI" to poison the well, and then trying to harm them just because they want to be seen as opposed to progressive ideas. The Trump Administration's anti-woke agenda has reached a climax by banning bike lanes. We then turn to our second topic - the rise of interest in the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and their recent successes in big elections. Tom points out that there are some members of the Democratic Party who are distancing themselves from the DSA. Ryan points out that the DSA is garnering interest because there are lots of people in the US who are suffering, and the current conservative administration's allegiance with big businesses and oligarchs isn't helping the "man on the street." Josh says he will die over any efforts to institute socialism in the US - literally, he will get out his guns and start shooting people. We then discuss the language surrounding this and realize we have a semantic disconnect over socialism.

We tackle three topics in this episode of Finding Common Battle Grounds. We start with the intervention by Donald Trump on behalf of the US Men's National Soccer Team in the World Cup on behalf of Folarin Balogun. We all agree that FIFA is corrupt. We also agree that it's harder to get more corrupt than Trump. Our general conclusion is that we want a World Cup that is just about the sport, and that Trump's intervention added a taint to an event that was wholly unnecessary. We then turn to outgoing Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, and her over-hyped report claiming to reveal the truth about Anthony Fauci. We agree that the report didn't really provide new data. But Josh and Tom are convinced that the documents provide compelling evidence that COVID-19 came from a lab; Ryan can't agree because the science isn't there yet. Otherwise, we agree that Fauci was involved in funding gain-of-function research and lied. Finally, we turn to the initial framework for an agreement between the US and Iran to end the war (that had just restarted the night we recorded this) that was worked out in June 2026. Ryan argued that Obama had a better deal. Josh and Tom are skeptical. We discuss some of the details.

In this episode of Finding Common Battle Grounds, we tackle two recent news topics. The first is the resolution of the case in the UK against Vickrum Digwa, who killed Henry Nowak in December 2025 (FYI, Digwa was sentenced to life in prison). The case has apparently become a huge issue on the right in the US (and in the UK), and is being used to suggest that police have become so sensitive to race that they immediately side with racial minorities in any situation. Josh and Tom seem to take this position. Ryan, who hasn't heard much about the case, makes a different argument: police officers have been trained to be more sensitive to race because of a long, well-documented history of police officers discriminating against racial and ethnic minorities. As a result, they are not going to immediately privilege white individuals. That means they will now get situations wrong in favor of racial minorities AND white individuals in equal measure... And that suggests their training is working. Eventually, Josh and Tom agree, for the most part. We then turn to a recent news announcement by the State of Minnesota that they are not going to prosecute the protestors who interrupted a church service during the ICE occupation of Minneapolis. Josh and Tom condemn this decision. Ryan argues that the federal government politicized this when they decided to charge all of the participants in the protest with two federal felonies that could result in decades of prison time, even though the protestors did nothing violent. Minnesota's government is, in turn, politicizing this by not prosecuting them. Ryan's argument is that he would have been fine with all of them being charged with a trespassing misdemeanor and having to pay a $1,000 fine, but charging them with federal felonies is ridiculous. Josh and Tom agree for the most part, but point out that the victims were the people in the church. Ryan agrees.

In this episode of Finding Common Battle Grounds, we tackle two topics. First, we examine Donald Trump's efforts to brazenly and blatantly steal a few billion dollars from the federal government. Trump sued the IRS, claiming they leaked his tax records (they didn't, but a former contractor for the IRS did). He sued for $10 billion, after he became President, which was effectively like he was suing himself as he got to decide the outcome. That was a first, because, despite there being plenty of crooks to inhabit the Oval Office, none are as brazenly corrupt as Trump. He then settled the lawsuit with two agreements: (1) His administration gets a $1.8 billion slush fund to give out to anyone who felt wronged by Biden, and (2) Trump and his family are immune from IRS investigation forever. Josh and Tom argue that Trump's lawsuit was legitimate, but otherwise agree with Ryan that this is blatant corruption and theft. We then turn to a new piece of federal legislation, the PROTECT Kids Act, that would force teachers to tell parents if their kids want to be called by a different name or pronouns. Josh is strongly in favor of the act and thinks it is the responsibility of teachers to inform on their students. Ryan disagrees. He argues that teachers are supposed to teach and make sure kids are safe, from themselves or others. This boils down to a disagreement over whether a kid exploring their gender is "safe" or not. Josh considers it evil. Ryan does not. Tom sees both sides. We don't agree!

In this episode of Finding Common Battle Grounds, we tackle two topics. We start with the oil/energy shock that has resulted from the double blockade of the Straight of Hormuz. We talk about the consequences for Americans, for the global economy, for car purchasing decisions in the future, and whether it will affect the mid-term elections in November. We largely agree on this topic. Josh even admits he is going to be going all-electric at some point in the future! We then turn to the recent indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) by the Department of Justice (DOJ's). Josh and Tom start by parroting the DOJ talking points that the SPLC was funding racist and terrorist organizations, so they would have a reason to exist. Ryan points out that they funded informants, and they admit that. He also argues that the lawsuit will drag on for years until there is a new administration, and then it will be dropped. In other words, this is a big "Nothingburger." Josh insists this was weird, and Tom seems convinced the SPLC was drumming up a problem. Ryan agrees it was weird, but the question is whether it was illegal.

The primary focus of this episode of Finding Common Battle Grounds is the assertion by Josh and Tom that being labeled "racist" is so damaging in society that mainstream media outlets won't even note when someone is a different religion or race in their news coverage, even when it is important to the story. This came up in the context of the recent attempted attack on an anti-Muslim protest in NYC. Ryan isn't fully convinced by this and eventually argues that it is perfectly acceptable to single out a small group of people who are a subset of a nationality or race or religion and say they are a problem for specific, contextual reasons, but not to broaden that to an entire group of people. We discuss immigrant crime statistics in relation to this. We then briefly discuss what appears to be widespread insider trading among politicians based on a story about Markwayne Mullin. There's also a bonus debate at the beginning about sea shanties, whether the awful chant by White Pine Riots counts, and whether it is a racist or anti-immigrant song.

In this episode of Finding Common Battle Grounds, Tom, Josh, and Ryan discuss the war in Iran that the US has entered with Israel. We discuss the justification for the war, how it seems to be going, and, most importantly, what we think the likely outcome will be. There is a lot of agreement. We all agree that Khameini was a horrible dictator. We all agree that the timing is off. We all agree that the likely outcome will be a failed state governed by anarchy and probably warlords. We don't agree on whether it was the right thing: Josh and Tom lean in favor of that, while Ryan leans against it.

In this episode of Finding Common Battle Grounds, Ryan, Josh, and Tom are joined by Jake and Hunter. We discuss Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD), Canada's program that allows people who meet specific criteria to have the help of a physician to end their lives. Josh is adamantly opposed to this and is unwilling to budge at all, even in pretty obvious cases, like if someone is very old, has a terminal diagnosis, and is going to spend their remaining few months in excruciating pain. The rest of the panelists fall on a spectrum, from Ryan, who fully embraces this (closely followed by Jake), to Hunter and Tom, who don't love it, but respect people's autonomy. Josh brings up gray cases to criticize the practice, which is useful to show that any policy can be problematic. Intriguingly, some panelists suggest their real concern is that it is a government program, and that they would trust it more if it were privatized, you know, like a big-box wholesaler!

In this episode of Finding Common Battle Grounds, we have two new panelists: Jake and Hunter. They are Millennials! We invited them on to give them an opportunity to talk about the challenges of trying to make it in the US in 2026, given the economic situation with expensive housing, high interest rates, inflation, and general expenses. Jake and Hunter both indicate that there is a YOLO attitude among Millennials that is tied to their perception that it isn't possible for them to succeed, so they are living it up to the extent they can without regard for debt. They both also note that some of this is social media's influence and the desire for immediate gratification, and people's unwillingness to struggle and suffer for a while to skimp, save, and eventually build up enough savings to buy a home and stabilize their lives. Even so, it does seem as though there are serious impediments to building wealth for younger generations. We discuss possible causes and consequences.