Polilogue

The economic recovery from this unprecedented pandemic looked like it was going well—until this week.  Economists and policymakers were shocked that the 1 million jobs they expected to see created in April was actually just about a quarter of that.  What went wrong?  While Republicans were interested in pointing the finger at enhanced unemployment benefits as a disincentive to work, experts persistently talked about the role of women during the pandemic.  From workforce and labor issues to questions of childcare, we discuss it all in this week’s episode (even if some Sunday shows disappointed on that front).  We also address the war within the GOP House conference as Rep. Liz Cheney finds her leadership role under threat. 

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

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

Republicans went on the Sunday morning political shows to attack President Biden’s infrastructure plan. We were impressed by the effective questions on Fox News Sunday and frustrated by the vague questions and focus on Meet the Press. We were surprised by the lackluster criticisms and weak messaging from prominent Republican leaders negotiating the infrastructure counter proposal.

We also explore the tone and objectives of journalists with a cause.

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

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 explore the many ways the Sunday morning political shows discussed police violence and police reform. Some shows did a crap job and used body cam video footage and mislabeled violence. Other shows chatted in circles about what Washington could do to fix the issue. And then some shows went deeper into the conversation with experts and the actual lived experience in communities.

We also appreciate honest responses, worthwhile follow-up questions, and explicit public health instructions.

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

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 discuss the Johnson & Johnson vaccine pause and whether or not the explanations suffice. We question whether the pause will undermine broader efforts to reach herd immunity.

We also discuss police reform and President Biden’s recent decisions regarding refugee caps and ending military presence in Afghanistan.

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

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

President Biden’s Americans Jobs Plan has caused a lot ruckus in its first couple of weeks in the public discourse. There are questions about what counts as infrastructure, what does a modern society and economy require, and if and how social services should be included in an infrastructure plan.

That is the point of policy discussions. Understanding these disagreements in policy is the whole point of critical thinking and nuance.

What is less clear is the fact that very few news organizations have done their own independent fiscal analysis. Journalists seem to be extra quiet on providing any kind of meaningful fact check about the costs of the proposal.

On today’s episode, we also discuss the extended introduction of Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the frustration of vague language, and the human being component of human stories.

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

Resources

• “The GOP claim that only 5 to 7 percent of Biden’s plan is for ‘real infrastructure’” (WaPo)

• “A former top Trump official started a lie about Biden's infrastructure bill. Two Sunday shows ran with it.” (Media Matters)

• “When Children Say They’re Trans” (Atlantic)

• Transgender Identity and Experiences of Violence Victimization, Substance Use, Suicide Risk, and Sexual Risk Behaviors Among High School Students — 19 States and Large Urban School Districts, 2017 (CDC)

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

Infrastructure Week. Finally!! Except don’t call it an infrastructure bill, because apparently it’s called the Americans Jobs Plan. In today’s episode of Polilogue, we examine the framing by the Biden administration for their new aspirational jobs bill and their goal to expand the definition of infrastructure. Some of the journalists questioned this premise stronger than others.

We also discuss differing expert opinions regarding a COVID fourth wave and the host responsibility to lay out the facts.

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

Resources

• CDC Conflicting Messaging (Tweet by Christopher Ingraham)

• “What Georgia’s Voting Law Really Does” (NYT)

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 explore more conversations about bipartisanship and voter rights. We also looked at a special episode on gun violence.

We ask ourselves if journalists asked the right questions. We examine if the hosts framed issues appropriately. And we wonder why some hosts weren’t ready with the rigorous follow up question.

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

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

Migrants and unaccompanied minors are arriving to the southern border in new record numbers. Department of Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was on four shows to explain how the Biden administration was working on the issue in a humane manner, but Secretary Mayorkas provided few details on how the decades-long crisis would actually be resolved.

We also discuss how poorly all the shows explained the border crisis or even the immigration crisis more broadly, in any meaningful way.

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

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 look at if and how the Sunday talk shows presented Biden’s now fully confirmed American Rescue Plan. Shows like Fox News Sunday had extensive conversations about the law’s cost and intended impact. Shows like Meet the Press failed to acknowledge the new law at all.

We all discussed the difference between vague and specific questions; the value of a good clarifying question; and how to spot when a journalist is asking a troll question.

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

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

President Biden’s $1.9 trillion relief package finally passed the Senate last Friday. The House still needs to approve a few remaining amendments, but it’s official: President Biden’s first piece of tentpole piece of legislation is on its way to become law.

The effort was narrowly approved with only 50 votes after certain benefits were reduced to appease a moderate Democrat with substantial power in the Senate: Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Senator Manchin was on four of the five Sunday shows today defending his actions and his support of the Senate filibuster.

Chapters

• Introduction

• Quality: Who is Worthy to Lead?

• Quality: Returning to the George Floyd Story

• Questionable: Little Substance in Sec Def Interview

• Questionable: Asa Hutchinson’s Public Health Fail

• Politics: DeWine Stays Clear of Texas

• Politics: The Restrictions of Republican Governors

• Journalism: Manchin Mania

• Show Ratings

• Dialogue Challenge

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

Resources

• Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy by Adam Jentleson

• “Manchin in the Middle” via Politico Magazine

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