Political Curiosity

We are back for another great episode of Political Curiosity this week! We discuss the flaws of the education system in the US, particularly in rural areas around the country. What impact does this have on our society and politics? We also talk a little bit about political fatigue, why does this occur? What are the causes behind this issue that many of us seem to be experiencing?
This week we have a mystery caller, look out for what words he has for us and the pod!

Resources:

Rural Education

In this week's episode, our conversation is centered around recent polls that show Biden losing ground in his approval rating. We discuss to what extent we should trust polls and how public opinion may be influenced by mainstream media narratives. Can Biden bounce back from the recent developments at home and abroad? To talk about this and more, our favorite permanent guest Mark joins us to give us his valuable takes!

This week we bring you part 3 of the Political Curiosity Special Series on democracy vs, authoritarianism! In this last part, we discuss the confrontation between the United States and China in three different aspects: geopolitical, economic and cultural. We each have different views on how this will unfold during the 21st Century and the potential implications. Our friend Mark Johnson join us to give us his take too! As always, we welcome any feedback or comments.

What's inflation? Why does everyone seem to be talking about this issue? To what extent does it matter and should we be worried? This week we attempt to answer and give our take on these important questions. We hope our conversation sparks your curiosity about inflation and we look forward to your feedback as well!

References:
What is Inflation?
What's going with inflation now?

Welcome back to another episode of Political Curiosity! This week our discussion stems from the word "loyalty". What drives loyalty in the political sphere? Are people loyal to ideas, leaders or political organizations? What are the implications of extreme political loyalty? We dive into these and many other interesting questions this week. Also, make sure to listen to the end to see if the quote-game score was updated!

This week we bring you Part 2 of our 3 part Special Series on democracy vs. authoritarianism. In this second part, we analyze the Chinese model for development; its successes as well as its controversies. We also discuss the consolidation of power under Xi Jinping in the past years and how that may compare to the centralized/decentralized political system in the U.S. We are joined again by Mark Johnson, who is looking to gain another honorary point in "who said it?".  We'll be back for part 3 next month!

References:

Xi Jinping's power grab
Belt and Road Initiative 

In this week's episode Pete and Luis discuss Luis's wedding, Ezra Klein's latest book 'Why we're polarized', and dive head first into their conversation starter 'access'. 

Stay til the end to take your shot at 'Who said it?'. 

A lucky fan's suggestion of generosity was this week's conversation starter. Pete and Luis explore Madame Vice President Harris's disastrous trip to Central America, the Biden's recent G7 vaccine donation announcement, and if being generous is part of fundamental human behavior. 

They also touch on current events like inflation and infrastructure negotiations. While Luis continues to destroy Pete in 'Who said it?'

This week we bring you the first of a three part series on democracy vs. authoritarianism! In many ways the 21st century will be a confrontation between these two governing models, and in particular, between the United States and China. In this first part, we discuss what the state of democracy is in the U.S: how did we get here? To help answer this question, Mark Johnson joins us for this series of episodes. Stay tuned for part two and three over the next few weeks!

This week's conversation starter is paradigm! What is an economic/political paradigm and why is it significant? The latest speeches and actions by the Biden administration seem to be signaling a paradigm shift from Reaganomics and neoliberalism to a more progressive/inclusive vision for the 21st Century. We discuss the importance of embarking on a new paradigm a for the United States and the world.

Resources:

Biden Speech in Ohio