News & Brews

News & Brews

By News & BrewsNews
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News & Brews episodes

  • Rearranging Deck Chairs on the Death Star
    As Mike and Erol desperately try to avoid looking at live VA governor's race returns, the pair returns to a favorite topic: summitry. In Rome G20 leaders have a plan that involves coinage and actual smart money is on very little at COP26 in Glasgow. Meanwhile, Zuck goes Meta and Alec Baldwin's misfire brings up more than just movie set safety.
    Erol's drinking: Solace Brewing Company Partly Cloudy Hazy IPA
    Mike's drinking: Aslin Beer Co. Palace Bohemian Pilsner
    58 min
  • It's Complicated (Or Not?)
    Lots of news in democracy this week: Barbados goes all in on it, Sudan backslides from it, and Steve Bannon might actually face some consequences for trying to subvert it. In our main story, Africa’s largest country is becoming a powder keg of inequality, violence, corruption, climate change, jihadism, piracy, cryptocurrency, and more. Can the center hold in Nigeria?
    Mike is drinking: Elysian Superfuzz Blood Orange Ale
    Erol is drinking: Soda Stream H20
    Tweet thread Erol mentions: https://twitter.com/SchneidermanDM/status/1452956177957015558?s=20
    The Economist article on Nigeria: https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/how-kidnappers-zealots-and-rebels-are-making-nigeria-ungovernable/21805737
    1 hr 7 min
  • Game of Gangs

    It was a big week for gangs. The Yang gang starts a third party journey, a Haitian gang kidnaps missionaries, and the sorta gang-like construct that is the Chinese Communist Party faces some economic headwinds. Ok that last one was kinda forced, a bit like our (failed) attempts to not talk about infrastructure. 

    Erol is drinking: Gute Nacht by Solace Brewing Company

    Mike’s drinking: Bell’s Two Hearted Ale

    Erol on The Truth of the Matter podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-truth-of-the-matter/id214886950

    The Economist article on the energy crisis: https://www.economist.com/leaders/2021/10/16/the-first-big-energy-shock-of-the-green-era
    Al Franken podcast episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/economist-austan-goolsbee-on-build-back-better/id1462195742?i=1000538806547

    1 hr 8 min
  • It's the Economy, Millennials

    After a week off, Mike & Erol dig in on the most important economic issue of our time: Joe Biden canceling Christmas. In the first round, we check in on millennial world leaders and CEOs (spoiler: we're leaning toward Team Boomer), and we revisit the legislative perfect storm from the last episode (spoiler: still a-brewing).

    Mike is drinking: Some High Quality H20

    Erol is drinking: Stok Cold Brew Coffee - Unsweet Black



    57 min
  • A Perfect (Non Climate-Related) Storm

    This week, Mike and Erol talk about ancient predators, and also Tyrannosaurus Rex. The US has too many murders, the UK has too few truck drivers, and Germany has just the right amount of democracy. For our main story, a perfect storm is brewing in Congress: #BuildBackBetter is on the brink, the government is about to shut down, and the US is about to default on its debts. But, objectively, it's a lovely time of year in DC.

    What Erol’s drinking: Lagunitas Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale

    What Mike’s drinking: Port City Porter

    Show links:

    • LBJ School Outstanding Alumni Awards 2021: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWrCyBqg0JQ
    • George W Bush gives Merkel a shoulder rub and Putin a wink: https://youtu.be/i4wKg2Ddoas?t=16
    • Twitter thread from Alec Karakatsanis on media coverage of the increase in murders: https://twitter.com/equalityAlec/status/1442548020118097921?s=20


      • 55 min
    • “Donnez-moi un break”
      As the UN General Assembly kicks off this week, AUKUS gets awkward. We check in on the Texas 1984-meets-Handmaid's Tale crossover special. Mike wonders what it would mean to bring a galaxy brain strategy to vaccine distribution, while Nicki Minaj's cousin's friend has his own kind of "galaxy brain" problems.
      Mike's drinking: Dogfish Head Punkin Ale
      Erol's drinking: Topo Chico
      Show links:
      WaPo op-ed from Dr. Alan Braid: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/09/18/texas-abortion-provider-alan-braid/?no_nav=true
      Punkin Chunkin: https://youtu.be/dmSyrGsqmg8
      1 hr 6 min
    • Finally, Some Good News

      We're verging on Upworthy territory this week: Biden's vaccine mandate could be the shot in the arm this country needs, child poverty in America is way down, and we're starting to see some progress on "long haul" Covid. But before we get ahead of ourselves, China may also be pulling from Putin's playbook or worse on LGBT rights, and this week saw current and former presidents mark the 20th anniversary of 9/11 as only they can -- for better or worse.

      Mike's drinking: Waterloo Black Cherry sparkling water

      Erol's drinking: Founders Brewing, The Amazing Kosmicki’s Highly Acclaimed KBS, A Flavored Stout

      Show links:

      • Cory Booker photo 
      • Former President George W. Bush's speech at the 9/11 memorial ceremony
      • The Economist Article on "Why nations that fail women fail"
        • 50 min
      • We're All Sideshow Bob Stepping on Rakes Now

        Will Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes make the jury's blood boil, or draw first blood from the prick she used to date? In Earth news, we've got Fire in the west, Wind and Water in the east. America's longest war is over -- not to get all King George about this, but...what comes next? And has Erol finally found his Achilles heel?

        What Erol's drinking: DC Brau Oktoberfest

        What Mike's drinking: Green Man Cider  

        The Atlantic article on Afghanistan in the 1950s and '60s: https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2013/07/afghanistan-in-the-1950s-and-60s/100544/

        Follow us!

        Instagram: @newsandbrewspod
        Twitter: @newsandbrewspod

        55 min
      • "Hi, Mr. Van!"

        Welcome to a Very Delta Back-to-School season. The Kabul Airlift continues and the US Capitol Building comes under threat again, but we’ve got good news on Josephine Baker, a new potential mRNA vaccine for HIV (#anagrams), and…local news in Baltimore?

        What Mike's drinking: Ghost of the James APA from Three Notch'd Brewing

        What Erol's drinking: Tucher Helles Hefeweizen

        50 min
      • Afghanistan 2001 (Taylor's Version)

        Afghanistan is fully broken, with the Taliban's return to power after 20 years. It's a tough week for Haiti too, as natural disasters pile on top of political ones. On the bright side, the U.S. is expanding food stamps, Nancy Pelosi is making it clearer than ever that she has zero time for amateurs, and Erol got to play with some spy gear.

        What Mike's drinking: Lagunitas Super Cluster

        What Erol's drinking: Leffe Brown


        Links referenced in this episode:

        Erol Yayboke's op-ed, "The Next Big Refugee Crisis Just Started" 

        Ezra Klein's interview with Spencer Ackerman about his book, Reign of Terror

        The International Spy Museum's exhibit on female spies, including Virginia Hall and Josephine Baker

        54 min

      About News & Brews

      From the publisher's feed

      It's like happy hour with your nerdy friends. Every Wednesday, Mike and Erol dive deep into the most consequential news stories of the week. Listen as they mix weighty insights with light hearts, lukewarm takes with cold hard facts, dry wit with frothy brews. No ID required.