Polilogue

This week, it’s all about the Democrats. First, we look at the fallout from the “disastrous” Iowa caucuses. Then, we look at how the Sunday shows are interviewing the top democratic candidates—from Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg to Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden. Some shows excelled, and some shows were (to steal a phrase from Bernie): “an embarrassment…a disgrace…screwed up badly.” There a lot of lessons we can take from this week’s coverage!

Shows discussed 

• Face the Nation on CBS

• State of the Union on CNN

• Fox News Sunday on FOX

• This Week on ABC

• Meet the Press on NBC

Email us at [email protected] or you can send us your feedback @PolilogueCast. You can also follow us at @sotonaomi_ and @bsteidle.

Support the show: We produce Polilogue out of our own pocket and with about 10 hours of work every Sunday. If you’d like to support the show with a one-time or recurring donation, please visit our donate page here. Thank you!

Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com  

 Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org

In this special episode, we analyze the eighth democratic primary debate. Last night, ABC News, WMUR-TV, and Apple News hosted a debate with seven candidates in New Hampshire. We saw Senator Bernie Sanders and Mayor Pete Buttigieg try to defend their position atop the crop of candidates after essentially tying in Iowa. And we saw Vice President Joe Biden and Senators Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren try to chip away at their leads.

As always with our debate special episodes, we provide an analysis of the host performances and then we rank the candidates in three distinct categories: candidates who have improved their standing; candidates that are in the same place they were  yesterday; and candidates who are in a worse place than they were yesterday. 

Link to the meme Naomi referenced.

Email us at [email protected] or you can send us your feedback @PolilogueCast. You can also follow us at @sotonaomi_ and @bsteidle.

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com  

 Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org

In this special multimedia episode of Polilogue, we actually go to a real Iowa Caucus. We observe the process and interview voters. To view photos from this podcast, simply look at your podcast player while playing it—and the images will appear where the podcast cover art usually appears.

WHAT’S ON THE AGENDA: 

We’ll first talk about our overall impressions at our FIRST Iowa Caucus.  We’ll share some audio from the room tonight, and some interviews we had with real Iowans after they had finished caucusing.  Finally, we’ll wrap it up with our closing thoughts.    

Email us at [email protected] or you can send us your feedback @PolilogueCast. You can also follow us at @sotonaomi_ and @bsteidle.

Support the show: We produce Polilogue on our own dime and with about 10 hours of work every Sunday. If you’d like to support the show with a one-time or recurring donation, please visit our donate page here. Thank you!

Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com  

 Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org

Iowa is upon us! The Sunday morning political shows went all in for Iowa—with many hosts broadcasting straight from the Hawkeye state (except Chris Wallace, who was in Miami for the Super Bowl!). This week, we take a close look at Iowa, from the questions lobbed at candidates to the role of the shows in framing the decisions facing Iowans.

Then, there’s Impeachment. We discuss Chuck Todd’s exclusive interview with Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and how Adam Schiff is responding to criticism of the House process.

Don’t miss our special episode on Friday’s Democratic debate—showing up in your feeds on Saturday morning!

Chapters

• Introduction

• Highlight/Lowlight

• Iowa

• Iowa Candidate Interviews

• Iowa Commentary

• Impeachment

• Why It Matters: Interviewing Candidates

• Show Rankings

• Closing

Shows discussed 

• Face the Nation on CBS

• State of the Union on CNN

• Fox News Sunday on FOX

• This Week on ABC

• Meet the Press on NBC

Email us at [email protected] or you can send us your feedback @PolilogueCast. You can also follow us at @sotonaomi_ and @bsteidle.

Support the show: We produce Polilogue on our own dime and with about 10 hours of work every Sunday. If you’d like to support the show with a one-time or recurring donation, please visit our donate page here. Thank you!

Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com  

 Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org

The impeachment trial officially started and the Sunday morning shows prioritized summaries and explanations differently. Meet the Press and Fox News Sunday provided comprehensive summaries to start the discussion—but others failed to set the stage. And no show took a comprehensive approach to bringing the audience up to speed on the events of the week. Interviews also varied in quality. For example, Chris Wallace and George Stephanopoulos excelled, asking tough questions in organized interviews.

Chapters

• Introduction

• Highlight/Lowlight

• Impeachment: The Media

• Impeachment: Republicans

• Impeachment: Democrats

• Why It Matters: Jim Lehrer 

• Show Rankings

• Closing: Obstacles

Shows discussed 

• Face the Nation on CBS

• State of the Union on CNN

• Fox News Sunday on FOX

• This Week on ABC

• Meet the Press on NBC

Email us at [email protected] or you can send us your feedback @PolilogueCast. You can also follow us at @sotonaomi_ and @bsteidle.

Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com  

 Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org

The impeachment trial is officially set to begin in the Senate in just two short days. Today on Polilogue we look at the White House impeachment legal team — in particular the new addition of Alan Dershowitz. We also look at the defenses of Republican senators and the issue framing of the House Impeachment Managers.

In examining all components of the impeachment, we ask ourselves: “Are the journalists giving us enough context to better understand what is about to happen on Tuesday?”

Unfortunately, we often find the answer to be: not really.

Chapters

• Introduction

• Highlight/Lowlight

• Democrats on Impeachment

• Republicans on Impeachment

• Why It Matters: Warren vs. Sanders

• Show Rankings

• Closing: MLK and Dialogue

Shows discussed 

• Face the Nation on CBS

• State of the Union on CNN

• Fox News Sunday on FOX

• This Week on ABC

• Meet the Press on NBC

Email us at [email protected] or you can send us your feedback @PolilogueCast. You can also follow us at @sotonaomi_ and @bsteidle.

Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com  

 Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org

Today on Polilogue, we look at fallout from the Iran crisis. There’s a lot to discuss—and for a second week in a row, the Trump administration sent top national security officials to all five Sunday shows. Where last week we heard from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, this week the duties were split between Defense Secretary Mark Esper and new National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien. How did they do—and how did each Sunday show approach this multi-faceted story? We divide the conversation into three major themes:

What was the true nature of the threat from Iran?

What’s the role of Congress in this?

What will happen with Iraq?

Chapters

• Introduction

• Highlight/Lowlight

• The Threat from Iran

• The Role of Congress

• The Future of Iraq

• Why It Matters: Imminent Threats

• Show Rankings

• Closing

Shows discussed 

• Face the Nation on CBS

• State of the Union on CNN

• Fox News Sunday on FOX

• This Week on ABC

• Meet the Press on NBC

Email us at [email protected] or you can send us your feedback @PolilogueCast. You can also follow us at @sotonaomi_ and @bsteidle.

Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com  

 Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org

A Polilogue first - one guest on all five Sunday political shows!

Today on Polilogue we examine the interviews of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on all of the shows. Secretary Pompeo was on the shows to discuss the assassination of Qasem Soleimani. Soleimani was an extremely important figure in the Iranian national leadership. He was the Iranian major general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and commander of its Quds Force. He was also responsible for hundreds of deaths of Americans in the region, the deaths and displacement of hundreds of thousands of Syrians and Iraqis and other civilians in the region. He was a known adversary for years.

Threats and retaliations from Iran are expected to take place. Given the potential severity of these repercussions, there is intense scrutiny of the Trump administration’s handling and decision to take out Soleimani. We review how how each host approached their conversation with Secretary Pompeo.

We also review Senator Elizabeth Warren’s two interviews on State of the Union and Meet the Press! These were her first Sunday interviews since becoming a presidential candidate.

Chapters

• Introduction

• Highlight/Lowlight

• Pompeo on All Five Shows

• New Perspectives on Iran

• Elizabeth Warren Interviewed

• Why It Matters

• Show Rankings

• Closing

Shows discussed 

• Face the Nation on CBS

• State of the Union on CNN

• Fox News Sunday on FOX

• This Week on ABC

• Meet the Press on NBC

Email us at [email protected] or you can send us your feedback @PolilogueCast. You can also follow us at @sotonaomi_ and @bsteidle.

Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com  

 Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org

This week Meet the Press hosted a special episode about the state of media in the age of disinformation. With guests like the editors-in-chief of the New York Times and the Washington Post, disinformation researchers, and other prominent journalists, MTP attempted to have a larger conversation about news in the age of Trump. They discussed what’s changed, how making the news got harder, and what they can do to maintain or regain trust.

In advance of this episode, Rolling Stone interviewed Chuck Todd. He mentioned how naive he was at the start of this administration. He mentions being shocked that White House officials and Republican lawmakers would blatantly lie on Meet the Press and purposely engage in disinformation campaigns. This promotional article did not impress media critic, Jay Rosen, who released his own scathing response to Chuck Todd’s media confessions.

So today, we will forego reviewing the other shows and have a fuller conversation about the state of media by looking exclusively at Meet the Press and the criticism of Jay Rosen.

Chapters

• Introduction

• Highlights from MTP

• Lowlights from MTP

• Missing from MTP

• Jay Rosen’s MTP Criticism

• Final Thoughts

• Closing

Shows discussed 

• Meet the Press on NBC

Articles discussed

• The Christmas Eve Confessions of Chuck Todd (Jay Rosen’s Press Think blog)

• How Disinformation Spreads, According to Chuck Todd (Rolling Stone)

• The truth is worth it. (NYT media campaign)

Email us at [email protected] or you can send us your feedback @PolilogueCast. You can also follow us at @sotonaomi_ and @bsteidle.

Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com  

 Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org

This week, President Trump became the third president in history to be formally impeached by the US House of Representatives. The next step is a trial in the Senate. However, Speaker Nancy Pelosi is waiting to send the charges to the Senate until fair trial conditions have been agreed to by Mitch McConnell. In this episode, we discuss Speaker Pelosi’s very surprising power play and Republican’s ire of its effectiveness.

We also discuss Senator Amy Klobuchar, who is getting increased attention after her performance in the last Democratic debate. She has been going on the Sunday talk show for weeks. Can she continue the momentum to a good finish in the Iowa and New Hampshire caucuses?

Chapters

• Introduction

• Highlight/Lowlight

• Impeached!

• Klobuchar!

  Why It Matters: Moderates

• Show Rankings

• Closing

Shows discussed 

• Face the Nation on CBS

• State of the Union on CNN

• Fox News Sunday on FOX

• This Week on ABC

• Meet the Press on NBC

Email us at [email protected] or you can send us your feedback @PolilogueCast. You can also follow us at @sotonaomi_ and @bsteidle.

Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com  

 Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org