Finding Common Battle Grounds

In this episode of Finding Common Battle Grounds, Josh and Ryan discuss whether there should be vaccine mandates. Both agree that COVID-19 is real and serious and both are strong advocates for vaccines. While there is general agreement that giving up freedoms is never a good idea, there is subtle disagreement about actual mandates. The issue revolves around the harm that results from individuals who choose not to get the vaccine and whether they infect others who are more vulnerable. Ultimately, we conclude that private corporations should be allowed to require vaccinations. Josh generally agrees that other organizations - schools, hospitals, etc. - should probably be allowed to require vaccinations as well, but not a federal, universal mandate. The sentiment is that everyone should get the vaccines, even though it shouldn't be required.

In this episode of Finding Common Battle Grounds, Josh, Ryan, and Tom  discuss whether transwomen should be allowed to compete in sports. There  is agreement that there are biological differences between men and  women (and even agreement that variation is a continuum and not a  dichotomy). There is also agreement that there is a greater risk of  physical harm to transgender individuals when marginalized and that  physical harm is likely more detrimental than the emotional or  psychological harm that ciswomen would experience if they lose a match  to a transwoman. Lots of questions. Lots of nuance. This is a complicated episode but a good one.       

Josh and Ryan, with Tom as moderator, discuss whether we should build a  border wall with Mexico. The discussion is wide-ranging, covering  immigration, global inequality, and political incompetence. There are some twists and turns in this one - Josh takes a meta approach while  Ryan gets into the weeds. In the end, there is general agreement that a  border wall isn't a solution to the real problems that are leading to the desire to migrate to the United States.

In this episode of Finding Common Battle Grounds, Josh, Jake, and Ryan  discuss first past the post or winner take all elections, why they tend  to lead to a two-party system, and how two-party systems are ultimately  bad for democracy and the United States. They discuss alternatives, like  proportional representation and ranked-choice voting. And, they agree  on practically everything - the two party system of the US favors the  parties but doesn't benefit voters or the country.

In this episode of Finding Common Battle Grounds, Ryan and Josh with Jake Cragun as moderator, consider whether there should be more restrictions on guns. There is a substantial amount of agreement on issues like: universal background checks (including on private sales), restricting gun access to specific people, more training for gun owners, that guns can serve as a form of protection and an equalizer for people, and even that homicides from guns are more common in larger, Democrat-led cities (though why that is the case is contended). Overall, we agree that there should be more restrictions on guns in the US, though exactly what they should be and how to get there is more complicated.

In this episode of Finding Common Battle Grounds, Josh and Ryan discuss capitalism and socialism. Both agree that laissez-faire capitalism  (i.e., completely unregulated capitalism) and Soviet-style communism are not the answer. There is agreement that something in between those two economic systems is ideal. There is just minor disagreement about how much regulation and socialism should exist in the US.

In the latest episode of the Finding Common Battle Grounds podcast, we  discuss the push by Republicans across the US to enact stricter voter  laws and voting regulations. While the focus is on voting laws  generally, we also discuss some of the specifics, including requiring  IDs and the laws enacted in Georgia. We ultimately agree that these laws  are openly intended to benefit Republicans in future outcomes while  also recognizing that fewer restrictions to voting benefit Democrats. We  also agree that these laws are not being developed and passed to  prevent fraud, as there is no evidence that voter fraud in the US is  widespread or would have overturned the 2020 elections. We also generally agree that requiring an ID would disproportionately affect people based on income, not race (while recognizing race and income are connected). Josh argues compellingly that there is well-intentioned but clear racism among many White Americans when talking about how voter ID requirements disadvantage Black Americans. 

In this episode of Finding Common Battle Grounds, Josh and Ryan discuss whether Twitter bans are good. Both agree that Twitter, as a private company, has the right to restrict speech on its platform. Both also agree that it seems as though conservatives have been more likely to be banned from Twitter. However, there is also general agreement that conservatives have long been the promulgaters of censorship, from banning and burning books to imprisoning communists, atheists, and LGBTQ individuals. There are a fair number of twists and turns in this episode.

In episode 2 of season 1 of the Finding Common Battle Grounds podcast,  we tackle the question: Did the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests/riots  help black people and communities in the US? On the major question, Josh  and Ryan disagree. However, on a lot of other points, there is a lot of  agreement - most of the protests were not violent, the media  exaggerated the violence, riots in minority neighborhoods hurt those  neighborhoods, and it appears as though racism, white supremacy,  nationalism, and fascism are on the rise.

In this inaugural episode of the Finding Common Battle Grounds podcast,  Josh and Ryan Cragun try to find common ground over whether college is  worth the expense. They are joined by moderator, Tommy Triplett.