Polilogue

Today on Polilogue, we look at the walk back from Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney on Fox News Sunday. After normalizing quid pro quo’s and telling the press to “get over it,” Mulvaney took a very different tone and said he never used those words. Chris Wallace came extremely prepared with many video clips disputing Mulvaney’s reversal comments.

We also look closely at the questions asked in many interviews. Are they purely subjective? Do they invite conversation? Do they use inflammatory language? It’s easier to recognize when a guest trying to play an interview to their advantage. It is a harder task to identify hosts’ missed opportunities. But with dense topics like impeachment inquiries and Syrian conflicts, the questions asked are just as valuable as the answers given.

Chapters

• Introduction

• Highlight/Lowlight

• Mulvaney plays dumb

• Five day ceasefire in Syria

• 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

New places where you can find us!

• Instagram (@polilogue)

• Spotify

• YouTube

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

Love our show and want to support us directly? You can support us on our Patreon.

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 fourth democratic primary debate. Last night, CNN and the New York Times hosted a three hour debate with TWELVE candidates! That is the most candidates on stage EVER. We provide an analysis of the host performances and then 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. 

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

Love our show and want to support us directly? You can support us on our Patreon. 

Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com  

 Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org

For the last six months we have examined State of the Union, This Week, Meet the Press, and Fox News Sunday. From July 2017 to April 2019, we had looked at Face the Nation and not Fox News Sunday. But today on Polilogue, we’re thrilled to announce that for the first time, we examined all five of the Sunday news shows!

Today on Polilogue, we looked at how the new media covers and explains complicated news stories like what we’re seeing now in Syria. We also examine if the Sunday news shows explained how President Trump’s erratic decision making is a death sentence for our Kurdish allies in northern Syria.

This was a good week to include Face the Nation in our weekly digest, because Margaret Brennan’s interview with Defense Secretary Mark Esper was one of the top interviews of the week. Chris Wallace also had an excellent interview with Esper. What we see in Brennan and Wallace’s interviews are appropriate interjections and a demand for clarity. They had interviews that were productive for people outside of the Washington Beltway bubble.

Chapters

• Introduction

• Highlight/Lowlight

• Trump and the Kurds

• Wallace and Brennan Interview the Defense Secretary

• Republicans and Democrats United

• 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

Articles we found helpful:

• Trump’s shocking Syria decision and confusing aftermath, explained (Vox)

• Who are the Kurds? (BBC)

New places where you can find us!

• Instagram (@polilogue)

• Spotify

• YouTube

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

Love our show and want to support us directly? You can support us on our Patreon.

Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com  

 Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org

What is the value of interviewing a liar? What is the value of interviewing someone who is intentionally and actively trying to deceive his or her audience?

These are questions that usually only come up when journalists interview White House officials like Kellyanne Conway or Stephen Miller. However the quandary has now spread to other Republican loyalists in Congress who are willing to confuse and deceive. In today’s episode of Polilogue we examine Chuck Todd’s interview with Senator Ron Johnson and George Stephanopoulos’ interview with Congressman Jim Jordan.

We also discuss the impeachment inquiry and ask ourselves: “Should Democrats vote on a formal impeachment resolution?!”

Chapters

• Introduction

• Chuck Todd’s Anger

• George Repeats the Question

• From Inquiry to Impeachment

• Show Rankings

• Closing

Shows discussed 

• State of the Union on CNN

• Fox News Sunday on FOX

• This Week on ABC

• Meet the Press on NBC

New places where you can find us!

• Instagram (@polilogue)

• Spotify

• YouTube

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

Love our show and want to support us directly? You can support us on our Patreon.

Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com  

 Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org

As more and more details emerged about the pressure President Trump put on the Ukrainian President to investigate his political rival, House Democrats opened an impeachment inquiry against President Trump. 

In response, a handful of Republicans went on the Sunday political shows to defend President Trump — and each had their own explosive interview.

Chapters

• Introduction

• Fox News Sunlight

• State of the Union

• Meet the Press

• This Week

• Final Thoughts

• Closing

Shows discussed 

• State of the Union on CNN

• Fox News Sunday on FOX

• This Week on ABC

• Meet the Press on NBC

New places where you can find us!

• Instagram (@polilogue)

• Spotify

• YouTube

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

Love our show and want to support us directly? You can support us on our Patreon.

Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com  

 Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org

Today we had two big stories from abroad dominating the Sunday news shows.

First, the breaking whistleblower story that was originally reported by the Washington Post. According to reports, on a July 25 call President Trump pressured the Ukrainian President-elect Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, for conflicts of interest. This pressure came at the same time that President Trump withheld or delayed foreign aid to Ukraine.

Second, President Trump wants to demonstrate power and strength against Iran, but he is also extremely reluctant to start a war. While economic sanctions against Iran continue in severity, the United States is sending a battery of US forces to Saudi Arabia for additional defense support.

Chapters

• Introduction

• Highlight/Lowlight

• The Ukraine Scandal

• The Iran Escalation

• Show Rankings

• Closing

Shows discussed 

• State of the Union on CNN

• Fox News Sunday on FOX

• This Week on ABC

• Meet the Press on NBC

New places where you can find us!

• Instagram (@polilogue)

• Spotify

• YouTube

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

Love our show and want to support us directly? You can support us on our Patreon.

Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com  

 Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org

Three days after the debates and the Sunday morning political shows were still talking about the performances of the top 10 candidates at the third Democratic debate.

Two moments from the debate were frequently mentioned: 1.) Congressman Beto O’Rourke’s insistence of a mandatory buyback program for assault weapons; and 2.) the tense exchange between former HUD Secretary Joaquin Castro and Vice President Joe Biden about Biden’s potentially fleeting memory.

Candidates like Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Senator Amy Klobuchar, and entrepreneur Andrew Yang attempt to keep the momentum going in the days after the debate.

Chapters

• Introduction

• Highlight/Lowlight

• Acting on gun violence

• The Biden age question

• Moderates demand attention

• The Iran conundrum

• Show Rankings

• Closing

Shows discussed 

• State of the Union on CNN

• Fox News Sunday on FOX

• This Week on ABC

• Meet the Press on NBC

New places where you can find us!

• Instagram (@polilogue)

• Spotify

• YouTube

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

Love our show and want to support us directly? You can support us on our Patreon.

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 third democratic primary debate. Last night, ABC News hosted a three hour debate with TEN candidates. This is the first debate held on a single night. Over 10 candidates did not reach the threshold, so we had just 10 candidates onstage. And no debate on Friday. Yay! As in earlier debates, we do a quick analysis of the hosts’ performances and then 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. 

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

Love our show and want to support us directly? You can support us on our Patreon.

Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com  

 Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org

In a series of surprising tweets, President Trump announced late Saturday night that a secret meeting at Camp David with Taliban leaders and Afghanistan leaders fell apart as the last minute. The meeting was part of a larger negotiation strategy about the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. The immediate backlash in both parties was complete and utter dismay that Taliban leaders were ever invited to Camp David.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo went on all the Sunday morning political shows to defuse the outrage and explain the larger goal of getting out of an 18-year-long war.

Chapters

• Introduction

• Highlight/Lowlight

• Pompeo Makes the Rounds

• Mark Sanford Joins the Race

• Show Rankings

• Closing

Shows discussed 

• State of the Union on CNN

• Fox News Sunday on FOX

• This Week on ABC

• Meet the Press on NBC

New places where you can find us!

• Instagram (@polilogue)

• Spotify

• YouTube

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

Love our show and want to support us directly? You can support us on our Patreon.

Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com  

 Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org

Each week the Sunday morning political shows are mainly compromised of interviews and panel discussions. But there are many other editorial decisions that are made that reflect show values and host preferences.

Today on a special episode of Polilogue, we discuss the extra segments of each show. We ask ourselves if (1) Data Download; (2) Nate Silver’s Do You Buy That?; (3) State of the Cartoonian; (4) Power Player of the Week; and (5) John Dickerson’s Asides are valuable contributions to our media diet.

Chapters

• Introduction

• Special Segments

• Data Download

• Nate Silver’s Do You Buy That?

• State of the Cartoonian

• Power Player of the Week

• John Dickerson’s Asides

• The Future of Special Segments

• Closing

Shows discussed 

• State of the Union on CNN

• Fox News Sunday on FOX

• This Week on ABC

• Meet the Press on NBC

• Face the Nation on CBS

New places where you can find us!

• Instagram (@polilogue)

• Spotify

• YouTube

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

Love our show and want to support us directly? You can support us on our Patreon.

Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com  

 Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org