OK Talks

Another day, another story of breathless speculation about the President's age. Speaking (views very much my own) as a member of the generation that coined the phrase "ok boomer," I, for one, would like a little more focus on what Biden has actually done as President, and a little less on the fact that he was born during WWII.

In this episode, I discuss several unrelated but important stories from the past week:

- The implications of the end of Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin

- The early implementation of Uganda's vicious anti-LGBT law (known universally as the "kill the gays" bill), the role of American evangelicals in the passage of the law, and the need for liberals to stand up for liberal values everywhere and not just where it's comfortable to do so

- The first steps in the groundbreaking change of Medicare finally being allowed to negotiate drug prices with the pharmaceutical industry.

Views my own.

This week Trump was indicted for a fourth time, the second set of indictments around his efforts to overthrow the results of the 2020 elections. There are a number of implications to this latest round of charges - I examine them and how they might play out in this latest episode. Views my own.

This week, an underhanded Republican attempt to block Ohio voters from protecting abortion rights later this year failed. In this episode I discuss what that means for Ohio, for abortion rights, and for democracy more broadly. Views my own.

Oh, yeah, and here's that piece I mention in the episode I said I'd link to: https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/05/10/abortion-history-right-white-evangelical-1970s-00031480

More than two years after leading an insurrection and undermining the peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 election, Donald Trump is finally facing charges for the crimes he committed in trying to fraudulently overturn an American election. In this episode I discuss why it took so long to get here, the impact that will have, and what might happen next. Views my own.

In this episode I weigh in on a couple topics - the weird and seemingly endless pursuit of Hunter Biden, the latest antics of the Alabama GOP, bad news out of Israel, further bad news for the world out of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and some promising news stemming from Spain's recent elections. Views my own.

Spain is holding national elections THIS SUNDAY! In this episode I give an overview of Spanish government and politics, and am joined by Júlia Juan to discuss potential outcomes, and what it would mean for Spain and Europe more broadly. Views our own.

Saying they're strongly for something while doing the opposite in practice has long been a Republican superpower - but with a few of the things they've been doing over the last few weeks, they've reached hitherto untouched levels of hypocrisy. In this episode, I look at a few areas where that's the case. Views my own.

The direct follow up to the last episode (wherein I address whining about Biden's age, charisma, etc, crystallized in an interview with former HUD Secretary Julian Castro in the New York Times), here I address further arguments made by Castro, along with broader analysis of what Biden has gotten done as President, and the profound stupidity of suggesting a primary in the context of the historical analog to Biden and what he represents.

Despite getting more done in his first term than any American president since the '60's, Joe Biden faces griping from various quarters within the Democratic Party (including two, uhh, eccentric primary challengers). This griping was crystalized in a New York Times interview with former HUD Secretary Julian Castro (linked below). In this episode, part one of two, I start to take on the stupidest arguments against Biden (particularly those about his age, speaking ability, etc). Views my own.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/01/joe-biden-stutter-profile/602401/

Oh, and for those interested, here is the piece from The Atlantic re Biden's fight to overcome a stutter that I mention in the episode: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/15/podcasts/julian-castro-joe-biden-democrats.html