Polilogue

Today on Polilogue, we examine the use of political panels. Are they worth it? Should they come back in their original form after the long COVID hiatus on some shows? This could be an opportunity for the shows to breathe some life into their structure. They could reexamine if and how political panels could be worth it in their hour block. But sneak peak: the shows haven’t done that. Many political panels are back and as lazy as ever. They are full of hot takes with little purpose other than to inflame viewers.

Shows discussed 

• State of the Union on CNN

• Fox News Sunday on FOX

• This Week on ABC

• Face the Nation on CBS

• Meet the Press on NBC (preempted by Olympics Coverage)

Contact us

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. If you’d like to support the show with a one-time or recurring donation, please visit our donate page here. Or leave a review on iTunes, Apple Music, or the Apple Podcast library. Thank you!

Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com  

Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org

Today on Polilogue, we treat the escalating crisis along the border of Ukraine with the seriousness it deserves. Even if the hosts are a little questionable in some of their questions. We also consider how focus groups and the issue of bipartisanship are typically covered by the Sunday Shows.

Shows discussed 

• State of the Union on CNN

• Fox News Sunday on FOX

• This Week on ABC

• Face the Nation on CBS

• Meet the Press on NBC

Contact us

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. If you’d like to support the show with a one-time or recurring donation, please visit our donate page here. Or leave a review on iTunes, Apple Music, or the Apple Podcast library. Thank you!

Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com  

Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org

Today on Polilogue, we take a spin throughout several interviews on Face the Nation and then dissect the story of the Supreme Court. First, we reflect on the fact that Margaret Brennan often books more compelling guests and asks more noteworthy questions than her Sunday counterparts. We then ask why the Sunday news shows (and the media ecosystem more broadly) seems so unwilling to critically examine an entire branch of the US Federal Government—-the Supreme Court itself.

Shows discussed 

• State of the Union on CNN

• Fox News Sunday on FOX

• This Week on ABC

• Face the Nation on CBS

• Meet the Press on NBC

Resources

• Essays on Justice Stephen G. Breyer (Harvard Law Review)

• Stephen G. Breyer Brief Bio (Oyez)

• The Supreme Court’s Enduring Bias (The Atlantic)

Contact us

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. If you’d like to support the show with a one-time or recurring donation, please visit our donate page here. Or leave a review on iTunes, Apple Music, or the Apple Podcast library. Thank you!

Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com  

Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org

Finally! Polilogue is talking POLITICS. After weeks of resisting the narrative that everything in politics has to be viewed through the lens of the presidency, we accept the premise and dive deep on Biden’s first year. Analyzing the insights from the hosts, guests, and representatives of both sides of the aisle, we try to understand what it means for Biden’s year ahead. We also consider what drives some people crazy about Chuck Todd and we catch up with the latest news out of the January 6 Committee.

Shows discussed 

• State of the Union on CNN

• Fox News Sunday on FOX

• This Week on ABC

• Face the Nation on CBS

• Meet the Press on NBC

Contact us

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. If you’d like to support the show with a one-time or recurring donation, please visit our donate page here. Or leave a review on iTunes, Apple Music, or the Apple Podcast library. Thank you!

Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com  

Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org

The Biden administration has tabled their Build Back Better efforts and is onto another legislative priority: voting rights. Today on Polilogue, we discuss whether the Sunday shows succeed in explaining where the bill is in the legislative process and/or if they successfully explained the White House’s strategy in making this happen. We also discuss whether, as a news consumer, one angle is more valuable than another.

Shows discussed 

• State of the Union on CNN

• Fox News Sunday on FOX

• This Week on ABC

• Face the Nation on CBS

• Meet the Press on NBC

Resources Discussed

• The Blue States That Make It Hardest to Vote (The Atlantic)

Contact us

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. If you’d like to support the show with a one-time or recurring donation, please visit our donate page here. Or leave a review on iTunes, Apple Music, or the Apple Podcast library. Thank you!

Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com  

Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org

On our first post-COVID (but not post-pandemic) episode, we discuss…you guessed it…COVID! But today’s Sunday shows provided a series of fascinating examples of new issues in journalism. First, we dissect two interviews with new NYC Mayor Eric Adams and ask how the hosts have fared covering the complex topic of education. Next, we go deep on an extremely critical interview with CDC Director Walensky on Fox News Sunday. Is there such a thing as being too critical (spoiler alert: no), or too agenda-driven (yes)?

Shows discussed 

• State of the Union on CNN

• Fox News Sunday on FOX

• This Week on ABC

• Face the Nation on CBS

• Meet the Press on NBC

Resources Discussed

• Laurel Bristow, Instagram / Twitter

• Jessica Malaty Rivera, Instagram

Contact us

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. If you’d like to support the show with a one-time or recurring donation, please visit our donate page here. Or leave a review on iTunes, Apple Music, or the Apple Podcast library. Thank you!

Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com  

Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org

Happy New Year! And welcome to 2022! It’s a new year—but we are faced with a lot of old news, particularly on the COVID front. In this short episode, we discuss COVID from a more personal perspective.

Resources and Links

Excellent Film Discussion Questions

The Lost Daughter on Netflix

Contact us

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. If you’d like to support the show with a one-time or recurring donation, please visit our donate page here. Or leave a review on iTunes, Apple Music, or the Apple Podcast library. Thank you!

Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com  

Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org

For their last episode of 2021, the Sunday political shows used an array of journalistic styles to explore often under-told stories. Today on Polilogue, we go through each show and discuss the noteworthy — and problematic— attempts.

Shows discussed 

• State of the Union on CNN

• Fox News Sunday on FOX

• This Week on ABC

• Face the Nation on CBS

• Meet the Press on NBC

Contact us

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. If you’d like to support the show with a one-time or recurring donation, please visit our donate page here. Or leave a review on iTunes, Apple Music, or the Apple Podcast library. Thank you!

Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com  

Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org

Manchin is a “no.” We know this because he told us so—on the first episode of Fox News Sunday without the venerated Chris Wallace. On today’s Polilogue, we dissect the Manchin interview and the reactions to it from progressives like Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Ayanna Pressley.

Later in the episode, we take a deep dive into America’s appalling opioid crisis. More than 100,000 Americans died this year from overdose deaths—and 6 in 10 of those were fueled by fentanyl. In a compelling and vital interview on Face the Nation, Margaret Brennan spoke with the head of the Drug Enforcement Agency. We break down what worked and what was missing from this critically important dialogue—one that we see far less often than we should.

Shows discussed 

• State of the Union on CNN

• Fox News Sunday on FOX

• This Week on ABC

• Face the Nation on CBS

• Meet the Press on NBC

Mentioned Resources

• CBS News Report on Social Media and Fentanyl

• The White Houses’ Recent Executive Orders on Fentanyl

• Open Letter to Biden Calling for WMD Designation of Fentanyl

• Understanding the Three Waves of Opioid Deaths

• Excellent NY Review of Books Article on the New Paradigm of the Opioid Crisis

Contact us

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. If you’d like to support the show with a one-time or recurring donation, please visit our donate page here. Or leave a review on iTunes, Apple Music, or the Apple Podcast library. Thank you!

Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com  

Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org

Today on Polilogue, we go back to some of our show roots: comparisons of shows and editorial decisions! Both This Week and Meet the Press examined the escalating tensions of US-Russia relations. This Week took the approach of utilizing foreign correspondents and subject matter experts. They provided tons of context of Russia’s encroachment on Ukraine. Meet the Press, on the other hand, did not have much in terms of ground setting or context, but Chuck Todd had an exclusive interview with Secretary of State, Antony Blinken.

On State of the Union, Jake Tapper interviewed outgoing NYC mayor Bill de Basio and Arkansas governor Asa Hutchison on their varied approach on getting their constituents vaccinated.

All of these different strategies have pros and cons that are really dependent on what your goals are as a media consumer. Plus, we have a conversation about the bombshell news that Chris Wallace will be leaving Fox News after 18 years with the network.

Shows discussed 

• State of the Union on CNN

• Fox News Sunday on FOX

• This Week on ABC

• Face the Nation on CBS

• Meet the Press on NBC

Mentioned Resources

• Who’s left? Engaging the remaining hesitant consumers on COVID-19 vaccine adoption (McKinsey & Company)

Contact us

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. If you’d like to support the show with a one-time or recurring donation, please visit our donate page here. Or leave a review on iTunes, Apple Music, or the Apple Podcast library. Thank you!

Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com  

Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org