Politicology

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Fmr. Senior CIA Official Marc Polymeropoulos and author of Clarity in Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the CIA joins Ron Steslow to discuss Havana Syndrome, his struggle for treatment, and what he learned about leadership in 26 years at the CIA. 

(01:14) Marc’s 26 year CIA career

(03:40) “Easily the most terrifying night of my life” 

(04:58) Moscow’s motivation for directed energy attacks

(09:56) The CIA’s “call to arms” after the 2016 election

(12:44) Fighting for treatment

(16:29) Becoming a leader in times of crisis

(25:03) What happened in Helsinki?

(29:27) Morale—and dysfunction—through the Trump presidency

(33:26) When former senior officials speak out, listen

(36:46) Leadership principles versus the former president

(41:00) Identifying leaders among political candidates

(43:56) Protecting democracy domestically

(48:30) Showing and sharing the world with Marc’s family

[Politicology+ Exclusive] Proliferation of nationalism overseas, and the American affinity for the authoritarian right // Unlock now and get exclusive content on your private podcast feed at politicology.com/plus

Clarity in Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the CIA by Marc Polymeropoulos

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Political strategist Lucy Caldwell and former Congresswoman Katie Hill join Ron Steslow to look at the top stories of the week:

(02:02) New York Attorney General Letitia James alleges Gov. Andrew Cuomo committed crimes, and Cuomo doubles down on his denial

(25:45) Democrats play high-stakes hot potato with the eviction moratorium

(50:07) The shifting politics of vaccine mandates

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Her Time, Katie Hill’s political action committee 

Pray Away

June 9 - Katie Hill on Revenge Porn, Cancel Culture, and Redemption

June 2 - “Strange Bedfellows”—The Weekly Roundup

Contact Your Senators to encourage their support for the Violence Against Women Act

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Susan Del Percio and Mike Madrid join Ron Steslow to look at the top stories of the week:

(01:35) First hearing of the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, and the heightened emotions felt through the frontline officers’ testimony

(37:58) Resurgent COVID-19 pandemic, the CDC’s new masking guidance, and what Americans’ preferred news source can tell us about vaccination rates

(1:08:40) Sneak peek of the latest Enemies of Democracy (Politicology+ series) episode on Rupert & Lachlan Murdoch

[Politicology+ Exclusive] The Olympics, Simone Biles, and the fight to define what patriotism looks like // Unlock now and get your private podcast feed at https://politicology.com/plus

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Attorney and fmr. special ambassador Al Cardenas joins Ron Steslow to reveal the dynamics of the unprecedented uprising in Cuba:

(01:50) The Cuban regime, U.S.-Cuba relations, and Al’s personal story

(12:53) The unprecedented “despair” factor

(15:23) Dissent in communist Cuba

(24:28) The American embargo misconception

(26:59) Options on the table for American intervention

(32:26) Hope for a free Cuba 

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Mike Madrid and Jimmy Williams join Ron Steslow to look at the top stories of the week:

(01:49) McCarthy’s picks, and Pelosi’s veto, for the January 6 committee

(30:52) Billionaire space race ushers in new chapter of private space exploration

(42:00) OAN plans to launch a Spanish-language “MAGA channel”

[Politicology+ Exclusive] Trump’s close friend and inaugural committee chairman Tom Barrack faces charges for failing to register as a foreign agent // Unlock now and get your private podcast feed at politicology.com/plus

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Lucy Caldwell and Lanae Erickson join Ron Steslow to look at the top stories of the week:

(01:53) Texas Democrats break quorum and book it to Washington in a last-ditch effort to thwart the GOP anti-democracy bill

(14:14) Biden takes a stand on Republicans’ threats to our democracy

(35:12) The Senate’s one shot at a massive spending bill full of Democrats’ policy priorities

[Politicology+ Exclusive] CPAC, Jenna Ellis, and a bifurcating GOP // Unlock now and get your private podcast feed at https://politicology.com/plus

“Democracy in Triage” with David Becker (July 7) https://politicology.com/episodes/democracy-in-triage/

“The Great Suppression” with Tharon Johnson (April 7)

https://politicology.com/episodes/the-great-suppression/

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Award-winning investigative reporter Scott MacFarlane talks with Ron Steslow about the most critical filings and pivotal moments in the Feds’ ever-growing case against the January 6 insurrectionists.

(00:00) Sounds of January 6, 2021

(02:48) Scott’s Survivor’s Remorse

(04:16) Where the insurrection investigation stands at this moment

(06:45) Three Percenters, Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, oh my...

(09:14) The two “tiers” of defendants

(11:02) Corroborating conspiracy

(13:25) Defendants inside and outside the Capitol

(14:20) Who is saying what about the former President?

(17:37) Why aren’t we calling this “terrorism?”

(18:29) Insurrectionists’ hit list

(19:30) Hockey sticks, baseball bats, sharpened American flag poles, an axe, a knife, scissors, a tourniquet, pepper spray, chemical spray, bear spray, guns, brass knuckles, batons, pipes, zip ties, tasers, and stolen police riot shields

(20:51) “My client doesn’t understand how what he did is criminal”

(23:40) Three huge questions remain

(25:50) “The first big sentencing”

(28:00) Politicizing Ashli Babbitt 

(30:10) Why we can’t “just get past this and move on”

(31:50) Reporting facts in a post-truth political environment

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Ron Steslow: https://twitter.com/RonSteslow

Scott MacFarlane: https://twitter.com/MacFarlaneNews

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Democratic strategist Liz Gilbert and communications expert Owen Loftus join Ron Steslow to break down the top stories of the week:

(01:53) Kevin McCarthy’s January 6 committee conflict, and the lose-lose Republicans face as we learn more about the attack

(22:36) How Republicans across the country are embracing election lies to win the very elections they deem fraudulent

(34:43) The Biden Administration’s vaccine goal miss, and the right’s Delta-denialism that is deepening the pandemic’s political divide

[Politicology+ Exclusive] Florida man Allen West wants to liberate Texas from Governor Greg Abbott // Unlock now and get your private podcast feed at politicology.com/plus

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“Our democracy is in triage right now.” David Becker, the Executive Director and Founder of the Center for Election Innovation & Research, CBS News contributor and election law expert, joins Ron Steslow to break down the Supreme Court’s decision about Arizona voting laws in Brnovich v. DNC, the gutting of the Voting Rights Act, and what it portends for the fight to protect the franchise, and ultimately, our democracy.

(01:42) What Arizona’s votings laws actually do

(08:47) The Supreme Court’s pattern of voting rights activism

(17:31) Alito’s nod to voter fraud falsehoods, and the popular support for voter access

(21:06) What’s left of the Voting Rights Act?

(27:20) The uphill battle voting rights prosecutors now face to protect the franchise

(30:01) Kagan’s dissent, and Congress’s dysfunction

(32:57) “The filibuster is not particularly relevant”

(36:32) Stress, threats, blood, sweat and tears—fighting on the frontlines for American democracy

(41:48) The dangerous road we’re heading down, and the path forward for allies of democracy

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