Pantsuit Politics

By Sarah & BethSociety & Culture News News Commentary Politics

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Pantsuit Politics episodes

October 20It Doesn't Have to Be Like This
With the midterms close, Sarah and Beth step back to ask how a profit-first mindset came to shape so much of public life and what might replace it. Inspired by Chris Marquis's New York Times guest essay on closing business schools, they discuss:
the pervasive influence of MBA thinking on leadership and society

the need for philosophy, art, and new vocabularies about values and priorities

rethinking measurement and growth

Outside of politics (not really!): The Social Reckoning

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1 hr
October 16"If you can imagine it, we're ready for it"
California Attorney General Rob Bonta joins Beth to talk about how state attorneys general are preparing for this election and pushing back on federal overreach. They discuss:
the security of mail-in ballots

the fight over "citizenship lists"

preparations to safeguard against intimidation at the polls

the Supreme Court's emergency docket and strain on the court system

immigration enforcement

AI and the tools needed to protect citizens

outside of politics: soccer brings people together

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1 hr 6 min
October 13A Failed Execution in Tennessee and a Livestream Firing Squad
We did not expect to be discussing the death penalty less than a month before midterm elections, but here we are. Today, Sarah and Beth discuss:
Our individual perspectives on the death penalty

Tennessee's failed attempt to execute Christa Pike

Pete Hegseth's plan to livestream the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan

Outside of politics: seeing leaves last week in New England and Quebec

Mentioned in the episode:
Still Listening, our free pop-up book club for the midterms
Pew Research polling on the death penalty
Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery"
Common Ground Pilgrimages

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59 min
October 09Why this Federal Prosecutor Resigned and is Running for Congress in Kentucky
Beth talks with Zach Dembo, the Democratic candidate for Kentucky's 6th Congressional District, running against Republican Ralph Alvarado in one of the closest House races in the country:
Zach's path to running: Teach for America, active-duty Navy, policy advisor to Gov. Andy Beshear, and most recently a federal prosecutor

Why he resigned from the DOJ, and how that decision affected his marriage (his wife is also a prosecutor)

His anti-corruption platform: no stock trading for members of Congress, 12-year term limits, a ban on lobbying, a ban on dark money and corporate PAC contributions

Why the corruption message is landing with voters across party lines in central Kentucky right now

His "team Kentucky, not team party" case for independence in a polarized Congress

The "nightmare scenario": what Congress can actually do if the executive ignores its own laws

His committee priorities — armed services and agriculture — and why farm economics are personal to both hosts

The contrast with his opponent, Ralph Alvarado

Running a true toss-up race, and how listeners can help

A closing conversation about UK football under Will Stein and UK basketball

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1 hr 4 min
October 06Live, Laugh, Love was never just a sign
Sarah and Beth talk with Kristin Kobes Du Mez about her new book Live, Laugh, Love, exploring the history and influence of white Christian women's culture in America:
how Live, Laugh, Love traces the roots of white Christian women's culture beyond evangelicalism, including Mormon and positive thinking influences

the intertwining of religion, capitalism, and multi-level marketing, and how corporate power shaped Christian subcultures

the impact of Christian fiction, media, and influencers from Little House on the Prairie to modern blogs and Instagram

the challenges of writing recent history and representing living figures in the Christian women's influencer space
Outside of politics, some easy organizing has improved our lives.

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1 hr 10 min
October 01Cornell and the Culture that Let it Happen
Sarah and Beth discuss the horror described in Jane Doe's complaint, the campus culture at Cornell, and the challenges of addressing sexual assault in college environments. They cover:
The reporting and investigation into the Cornell 7 case and the role of student journalism

How campus culture, Greek life, and university responses shape outcomes

The complexities of Title IX, criminal investigations, and legal standards in sexual assault cases

Broader questions about prevention, parenting, and the ongoing struggle to change campus safety
Outside of Politics: Sarah and Beth talk about Derek Thompson's essay on the decline of hosting and why fewer people are having others over.

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1 hr 28 min
September 29 Viral stories tell us more than headlines do (+ Taylor Swift's Encore)
Sarah and Beth discuss the viral stories that took over the weekend, and what they reveal about conflict, context, and civic life heading into the midterms:
- The New York Times report on Alaska Senate candidate Mary Peltola's treatment of staff
- The Boston Globe story on Last Ditch, a COVID-cautious lesbian bar in Greenfield, Massachusetts
- The Giants game "mom of the year" couple and iced coffee at job interviews
- Taylor Swift's four-song encore to The Life of a Showgirl

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1 hr
September 25What Eight Years as a University President Taught Robbyn Wacker about Values
Beth talks with Dr. Robbyn Wacker, a former university president (most recently at St. Cloud State University) with a background in gerontology, about the book she's writing on leadership and values in higher education. They cover:
Robbyn's path from gerontology and legal aid for older adults into higher-ed leadership, and eight years as a university president

The current state of higher education: flipped funding models, the enrollment cliff, cuts to research funding and student loans, restrictions on international students, and a growing public skepticism about the value of a degree

Why Robbyn's book centers on values rather than tactics, and how to choose two or three core values as an actual decision-making tool rather than a platitude

"Values drift" — how leaders rationalize small departures from their stated values until those values stop driving behavior at all

A detour through Lindsey Graham's admission that his real value is "relevance," and what that reveals about naming one value in service of another

Whether organizations — and an entire sector like higher education — can meaningfully hold values, and how to navigate different constituencies without seeming inconsistent

Beth's own reflection on the three values guiding her work this year: honesty, distinctiveness, and joy

A closing story about the real budget dilemmas university presidents face, and how a "North Star" value holds up under pressure

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1 hr 5 min
September 22 The AI Conversation, Continued: Kill Switches, Frontier AI, and What to Do About it All
We're picking back up on artificial intelligence — Mustafa Suleyman's warning about conscious AI, the difference between chatbots and frontier models, recursive self-improvement, kill switches, and what policy response should actually look like at every level of government. Outside of Politics: the foods from our childhoods that still hold up.

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1 hr 2 min
September 18Caitlin Clark, Sydney Sweeney, and the Sports Culture War
Sports, race, gender, religion, cancel culture, and Donald Trump — this week they're all the same conversation. We cover Caitlin Clark's fouls and the House Republicans weighing in, Sophie Cunningham and the trans-athletes-in-sports debate, the Sydney Sweeney ad everyone's arguing about, SF Giants pitchers under DOJ scrutiny for Bible verses on Pride caps, the golf ad that ended a sponsorship, and LIV Golf's bankruptcy. Outside of Politics: which area of law would we actually want to practice?
Sports and the culture war, generally
Sports' grip on America sparks summer of political warfare – Axios
Caitlin Clark / House Republicans
RSC Chairman Pfluger Leads Letter to WNBA Demanding Accountability Over Unfair Treatment of Caitlin Clark

House Republicans absurdly ask WNBA to investigate fouls against Caitlin Clark – Yahoo Sports
Sophie Cunningham / trans athletes / Title IX
Inside the disunited United States that shadows the WNBA – ESPN

WNBA star Sophie Cunningham defends her views on transgender athletes – The Hill

Destroying Women's Sports In Order To Save Them – Matthew Yglesias, Slow Boring
Sydney Sweeney ad
Sydney Sweeney under fire from athletes over nude sports-prediction ad – CNN

Sydney Sweeney Faces Backlash for Sexualized Sports Trading Ad – Hollywood Reporter
SF Giants Pride caps / DOJ-EEOC
Giants 'Pride Night' cap controversy prompts investigation into MLB for religious discrimination – Yahoo Sports

DOJ opens probe into MLB after Pride Night controversy – The Hill
Good Good Golf ad / Callaway
Golf ad showing man shove woman to ground taken down after backlash – CNN

Callaway Golf ends partnership with Good Good Golf after controversial ad – ABC News
LIV Golf bankruptcy
LIV Golf files for bankruptcy protection; Rahm, Bryson owed millions – ESPN

LIV Golf files for bankruptcy protection as it seeks to restart in 2027 – NBC News
Trump and the World Cup
2026 Trump–FIFA red card controversy – Wikipedia

Trump's FIFA Intervention Draws Global Backlash – Time

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1 hr 1 min

About Pantsuit Politics

From the publisher's feed

Pantsuit Politics is the news and politics podcast for people exhausted by outrage. Hosts Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers tackle the week's biggest political stories from genuinely different…