Finding Common Battle Grounds

In this episode of Finding Common Battle Grounds, we start with a lengthy discussion of the kidnapping of Maduro and his wife from Venezuela. We tackle this from multiple perspectives. We start by noting this is not about drugs. Even if Maduro is convicted, everyone knows that the drug trafficking charges are tangential to why this actually happened. We recognize that the plan went well from a military and precision standpoint. We note that, from Trump's standpoint, this was primarily about gaining access to the largest oil reserves in the world and not about liberating the Venezuelan people from a dictator (though Josh insists it's also because Maduro taunted him). We also discuss the moral calculus of roughly 100 people dying; if it were to liberate Venezuela, possibly justified; if it is so the US can gain access to oil, this is deplorable. Ergo, it's likely deplorable, and the CEOs of the oil companies who are greedily sitting on the sidelines watching the US military do their bidding are morally bankrupt pieces of shit. We also discuss whether a precision removal of a government leader is preferable to a full-scale ground invasion (probably). Ryan then raises the question of whether the US has now made this kind of attack on sovereign nations acceptable, meaning another country can do this to the US, and we can't argue that it's not allowed, since we did it. Finally, we discuss the "Donroe Doctrine," which is based on the 2025 National Security Strategy. Basically, the strategy is that the world is now divided up into regions, and the US doesn't care what China and Russia do in their regions as long as the US gets the Western Hemisphere and can do what it wants within that region, which is why Trump is claiming to own the oil in Venezuela. We end with a rather pointless discussion of the latest ICE shooting in Minnesota. Josh tries to convince Ryan of FAFO and that taunting people with guns increases the odds you'll get shot. Ryan is already convinced of this, so we just go in circles for a ridiculous amount of time. (Apologies to our listeners.) In a post-podcast discussion, we realize that Josh was really trying to suggest that left-wing media are encouraging people to mess with ICE and then holding up those who get shot as martyrs. He is bothered by this and doesn't want to see more people get shot. Ryan points out that left-leaning media are not telling people to aggravate ICE, though he does see how some left-leaning media outlets are depicting those who were shot as heroes.

In this episode of Finding Common Battle Grounds, we tackle three topics. We start with a discussion of Zohran Mamdani's election as Mayor of New York City. Josh and Tom are really disturbed that so many people were willing to elect a democratic socialist. Ryan is fine with it. When pressed, Josh and Tom seem to be okay with some of the specific actions Mamdani wants to take (e.g., free child care), though not all of them (e.g., rent control and free buses). But their bigger concern is that they think democratic socialism is a slippery slope into communism, which Ryan points out is not the case (c.f. every other developed country on the planet). Ultimately, we agree that Mamdani won't be able to institute most of the changes he wants because of the oligarchs who really run the US. Josh then dropped a surprise topic on us: White Christian Nationalism. We ignore the "white" in this label and focus on Christian Nationalism. Ryan explains what it means: that you prioritize your nation above all others AND believe that your nation should be Christian. The implication is that anyone other than Christians will be second-class citizens without equal rights to Christians. Josh and Tom seem fine with that, even when Ryan directly confronts them and asks them if they think he should not have the same rights they have. They seemed reluctant to answer that question directly. Finally, we turned to the bombing of boats off the coast of Venezuela by the US military. Ryan brought this up because it is illegal, unethical, and reflects the shocking level of moral depravity of Pete Hegseth and the Trump Administration; they are gleefully killing people without a trial to demonstrate their guilt. Josh agrees it is wrong, but only because it is really just an attempt to start a war or regime change in Venezuela. Tom thinks it's fine to send a message to drug traffickers (even though roughly 2% of drugs that enter the US come from Venezuela). Ryan cannot fathom how someone can believe they should have the authority to take other people's lives when they are not being violently attacked (perhaps he's becoming a pacifist as a result of this podcast).

In this episode of Finding Common Battle Grounds, we tackle two topics. First, there was the shooting of Marimar Martinez in Chicago by Border Patrol agents, which was in the news because her lawyer is suggesting that body cam footage undermines the government's claims about what happened. Second, we tackle the ceasefire and possible peace deal between Israel and Gaza and explore Trump's role in it. We generally find agreement in this episode.

In this episode of Finding Common Battle Grounds we tackle free speech under Donald Trump. We start with Trump's quote that he wants major broadcasters to lose their licenses for criticizing him. We then turn to a discussion of Brendan Carr, the head of the FCC, threatening Jimmy Kimmel over a comment he made about the person who has been arrested in the killing of Charlie Kirk and the resulting removal of Jimmy Kimmel from the air (though we recorded the podcast the night Kimmel returned to the air). We all agree that Trump (and Pam Bondi) seem to very clearly want to end free speech in America. We note that politicians on both sides of the political spectrum called these actions terrifying. Ryan then compared Trump's desire to stop the media from criticizing him to what the Nazi's did after they took over, as detailed in this Holocaust Encyclopedia article; it became illegal to criticize Hitler at all. We all agree that Trump wants to be like Hitler in this one specific respect.

We start our discussion in this episode with a "quick" conversation about the Sydney Sweeney American Eagle ad in which she talks about her good "jeans/genes." Josh argues that this is why the left lost to Trump and conservatives, because they turn everything into identity politics and racism. Ryan argues that many on the left realized that as well. We then discuss Trump's threats to fire Jerome Powell and the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Erika McEntarfer. Tom argues that Trump is playing a smart long game, but Josh and Ryan both agree that this is classic authoritarian behavior - fire people who tell the truth because you don't like the truth. Finally, we discuss the defunding of public media, particularly the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which will be shutting down at the end of the year because of the cuts. Ryan argues that it generated wholesome content that taught kids important values, and the people who claim to care about those values - conservatives - are the ones who defunded it. Josh and Tom agree, but they don't think public money should be spent on that. Wholesome content needs to stand on its own. We kind of admit that Sesame Street doesn't really stand a chance then... Unless Sydney Sweeney goes on it and shows some sideboob.

In this episode of Finding Common Battle Grounds, we tackle three topics. First, we discuss how the Trump Administration's failure to release any new information about the people who were involved with Jeffrey Epstein is tearing the MAGA movement apart. We then briefly discuss the rise of measles cases, which turns into a discussion of how different institutions have lost the trust of people. Our final topic is a discussion of a recent Lancet article that estimated 14 million people will die over the next 5 years because of the cuts to USAID. Somehow, we come back to Epstein. It's always about Jeffrey Epstein.

We tackle just a single topic in this episode of Finding Common Battle Grounds - the recent riots in Los Angeles that started as a result of the ICE raids and deportations. We find a lot of common ground in this one. We agree that riots are bad (phew). We agree that Trump and his administration over-reacted and were extremely heavy-handed in their response. We agree that the Trump administration's approach to deporting immigrants has been problematic. We even agree that Stephen Miller looks a lot like Goebbels, but only Ryan and Tom admit it as Josh doesn't want to get arrested for saying it. We don't agree on whose flag should be waved during anti-deportation protests and riots!