Our National Conversation

📅 Published: July 17th, 2025

🎙️ Host: Sam Taylor, Chief Operating Officer, Our National Conversation (ONC).

👤 Guest: Connor Chung, PhD Candidate in Political Science, MA in International Relations from the University of Oklahoma.

Recently, Benjamin Netanyahu followed others in nominating Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize. To some, this is laughable; to others, it's well-deserved. In this episode, I check in with a young Trump supporter on this topic. Though he supports much of Trump's domestic policy, Connor argues that the administration's foreign policy is a "mixed bag at best," and that Trump has failed to abide by many of the foreign policy promises he made on the campaign trail.

We discuss Ukraine, Gaza and the concept of "realpolitik," which, according to Connor, greatly informs the perspective of many young conservatives. I contest Connor's opinions and try to get a deeper understanding of his perspective, and that of the young conservatives he represents.

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#nobelpeaceprize #trump #trumpadministration #netanyahu #benjaminnetanyahu #gaza #israel #israelpalestineconflict #ukraine #ukrainewar #ukrainerussiawar #foreignpolicy #internationalrelations #realpolitik #respectfuldebate

📅 Published: July 10th, 2025

🎙️ Host: Sam Taylor, Chief Operating Officer, Our National Conversation (ONC).

👤 Guest: Joseph Arellano, Social Media Intern, Our National Conversation (ONC).

An NYC mayoral race has been making headlines over the past week. Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist, defeated former Governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democrat's primary election. It seems that Mamdani's success can be largely attributed to one word: affordability. He believes higher taxes on the wealthy, several city-run grocery stores, free busing and similar policies can improve the lives of everyday New Yorkers. People across the political spectrum are asking: is Mamdani a promising template for Democratic politics after Trump?

In this episode, I speak to a Mamdani-supporter to better understand this candidate. Why is he doing so well among young progressives? How do these voters define Democratic Socialism? Is it "Marxism" or "Communism"? And what do these voters think of their conservative critics?

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#zohranmamdani #mamdani #nyc #newyork #newyorkcity #nycmayor #ericadams #cuomo #andrewcuomo #socialism #affordability #affordabilitycrisis

📅 Published: July 7th, 2025

🎙️ Host: Sam Taylor, Chief Operating Officer, Our National Conversation (ONC).

👤 Guests: Masie Zasadny, Managing Editor, Our National Conversation (ONC). Jeff Hall, CEO, Our National Conversation (ONC).

The Big Beautiful Bill is currently being debated on the House Floor. This bill, roughly 900 pages long, would extend Trump's tax cuts, impose big restrictions on Medicaid and bolster ICE and the military --- all in addition to about a billion other things.

Democrats are saying this is the worst piece of major legislation in modern history --- a bloated and shameless series of tax cuts paid for by gutting low-income services. Most Republicans, meanwhile, are living in a completely different world: this, in their view, is one of the best bills in modern history, securing our boarder, stimulating the economy through tax cuts and imposing common-sense restrictions on welfare services.

In this episode, three moderates try to figure out what is going on with this bill. Why are Democrats and Republicans living in completely different worlds? What does the bill actually do? Is it all bad? All good? Or a mix?

🔗 Connect with ONC: 📷 Instagram - / ournationalconversation | 🐦 Twitter - https://x.com/OurNatlConvo | 🎵 TikTok - / ournationalco. . | 💼 LinkedIn - / our-. . #bigbeautifulbill #republicans #democrats #respectfuldebate #policydiscussion #civildiscourse #trump #trumpadministration

📅 Published: June 26th, 2025

🎙️ Host: Sam Taylor, Chief Operating Officer, Our National Conversation (ONC).

👤 Guests:

Joseph Arellano, Social Media Intern, Our National Conversation (ONC).

Masie Zasadny, Managing Editor, Our National Conversation (ONC).

Last week, the U.S. launched strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities. The White House hails the strikes as a huge success that forced Iran to the table, while others argue that they failed to eradicate Iran's nuclear capabilities and unnecessarily dragged the U.S. further into the Middle East.

In this episode, I speak with Joseph (a staunch progressive and Trump critic) and Masie (a political moderate) to get their thoughts on the strikes. The result isn't an expert interview: it's an honest conversation between people of different points of view on a developing story. This conversation was recorded a day after the strikes took place.

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#middleeast #israel #iran #iranisraelwar #iranvsisrael #trump #trumpadministration #nuclearweapons #nuclearfacilities

📅 Published: June 19th, 2025

🎙️ Host: Sam Taylor, Chief Operating Officer, Our National Conversation (ONC).

👤 Guest: Jeff Hall, Founder and CEO, Our National Conversation (ONC).

Last Saturday, amidst a DC military parade, cities across the United States saw protests against President Trump and what many perceive to be his authoritarian policies and tendencies. Most of the focus went to LA, where ardent anti-ICE protests occurred.

In this episode, I speak with Jeff Hall, an LA resident, about his thoughts on the protests. The conversation turns to the No Kings protests more broadly, whether the Trump administration can be classified as authoritarian, the immigration debate and the different narratives playing out around the protests and Trump's parade.

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#nokingsprotest #trump #trumpadministration #militaryparade #protest #protests #policydiscussion #losangeles #laprotests #immigration #government

📅 Published: June 12th, 2025

🎙️ Host: Sam Taylor, Chief Operating Officer, Our National Conversation (ONC).

👤 Guests:

Jeff Hall, Founder and CEO, Our National Conversation (ONC).

Connor Chung, Director of Policy Content and Strategy, Our National Conversation (ONC).

Last week, we were graced by the first major breakup of Pride Month: Trump and Musk. In this episode, a centrist (Jeff), a conservative (Connor) and a progressive (Sam) discuss the initial drama between the president and the former DOGE advisor, and the spending issues that may have sparked it.

That's the second part of this discussion: What are different segments of the ideological spectrum thinking as the deficit grows ever larger with the likely passage of the Big Beautiful Bill? Musk and Trump may be getting back together in some sense, but what about the spending issues that instigated their fight?

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📅 Published: May 29th, 2025

🎙️ Host: Sam Taylor, Chief Operating Officer, Our National Conversation (ONC).

👤 Guest: Joseph Arellano, Social Media Intern, Our National Conversation (ONC).

Last week, Biden was diagnosed with cancer. Some have raised questions about government transparency, alleging a "cover-up." Others argue that the diagnosis could have legitimately been made after Biden's term. Even so, concerns exist that many aspects of Biden's mental and physical health were hidden from the public in an effort to stop Trump's return to office.

In this episode, I have a conversation with someone who believes that the Trump Administration is an existential threat to democracy. What do they think about transparency under Biden? Were the cover-ups, if they occurred, justified if the aim was to hinder Trump? Or is that thinking itself a threat to democracy? And why do many believe Trump is a threat? Are there other sides to the story?

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📅 Published: May 22nd, 2025

🎙️ Host: Sam Taylor, Chief Operating Officer, Our National Conversation (ONC).

👤 Guest: Jeff Hall, CEO, Our National Conversation (ONC).

Donald Trump has just accepted a major gift from Qatar: a luxury jet that will serve as a temporary replacement for the outdated Air Force One planes. Eventually, this jet will be donated to Trump's presidential library. Does this count as an illegal or ethically questionable personal gift or bribe? Meanwhile, Trump intends to hold a dinner and tour for top investors in his meme coin. All this occurs as charges of corruption, oligarchy and incompetence are levied against the administration.

Are these criticisms well-founded? Or is there another side to the story? How do these political antics compare to those of the 1960s when today's guest, Jeff Hall, came of age? And what does all this mean for the health of our democracy? Sam and Jeff explore these questions and more in today's episode.

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#onc #trump #trumpadministration #corruption #oligarchy #goodgovernance #policydiscussion #democracy #civildiscourse

📅 Published: May 15th, 2025

🎙️ Host: Sam Taylor, Chief Operating Officer, Our National Conversation (ONC).

👤 Guest:

Jeff Hall, CEO, Our National Conversation (ONC).

Tania Ruedas Ortiz, Director of Community, Our National Conversation (ONC).

Pope Francis definitely showed us that the Catholic Church is not afraid to talk politics --- and even call out specific politicians and policies. Last week, Pope Leo XIV became the first American pope in history. Progressives and conservatives are already making predictions. Is this a likely return to tradition? Will the Catholic Church get harder on social and cultural issues? Or will Leo maintain the relatively welcoming and tolerant atmosphere fostered by his predecessor?

In this episode, we speak with Tania and Jeff: both raised Catholic, one still practicing. How are they feeling about the appointment? How politically important is this to them and their families? And what do they feel is the proper role of religion in politics and public policy?

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#onc #pope #popeleoxiv #popefrancis #catholic #catholicchurch #religionandpolitics #policydiscussion #respectfuldebate

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📅 Published: May 8th, 2025

🎙️ Host: Sam Taylor, Chief Operating Officer, Our National Conversation (ONC).

👤 Guest: Connor Chung, Director of Policy Content and Strategy, Our National Conversation (ONC).

Canada's elections took an unexpected turn as the Liberal Party managed to hold onto power. Many say this is Canada's reaction to Trump's tariffs and rhetoric.

Connor, a self-described conservative who studied extensively in Alberta, walks us through his and his peers' opinions and worries. What are Canadian conservatives generally thinking? Do they have a consensus on Trump? What don't they like about Canada's Liberal Party? And, more interestingly, why do they believe what they believe? Sam tries to dig into, contest and understand Connor's views.

🔗 Connect with ONC: 📷 Instagram - / ournationalconversation | 🐦 Twitter - https://x.com/OurNatlConvo | 🎵 TikTok - / ournationalco. . | 💼 LinkedIn - / our-. . #onc #canada