This week, Professor Rob and Jack wanted to highlight some advocates of civil discourse! They were joined by debate coaches Sam Markley and Travis Dahle to discuss the importance of civil discourse.

The Center for American Institutions has long been committed to advancing the value and teaching the skill of civil discourse. This commitment is evident in the structure of the Center's foundation courses and the Politics and Leadership Club.

Both Professor Rob and Jack have noticed that many of the students who take best to civil discourse in Center-related activities have participated in high school debate. So, to find out more about why high school debate is so effective at teaching the value of civil discourse, they brought in expert coaches to discuss the matter.

It's officially an election year again! Professor Rob Ferguson and Jack Hinrichs ring in 2026 by chatting about the Senatorial primary campaigns in Maine and Texas that will shape the political landscape for the November elections.

Listen to Professor Rob and Jack chat about Graham Platner's most unfortunate tattoo, the natural animosity between Austin and Dallas in Texas, and (most importantly) why using Celsius to measure temperature is simply unamerican.

It's officially an election year again! Professor Rob Ferguson and Jack Hinrichs ring in 2026 by chatting about the Senatorial primary campaigns in Maine and Texas that will shape the political landscape for the November elections.

Listen to Professor Rob and Jack chat about Graham Platner's most unfortunate tattoo, the natural animosity between Austin and Dallas in Texas, and (most importantly) why using Celsius to measure temperature is simply unamerican.

This Monday, Professor Rob sat down with Shirvin Zeinalzadeh to discuss Iran, diplomacy, and nuclear weapons.

Shirvin Zeinalzadeh is a PhD Candidate in Political Science at Arizona State University. He served previously as both a diplomat and a London police officer.

This Thursday, Professor Rob and Jack discussed the upcoming primaries for statewide races in South Dakota.

Jack and Rob chatted about property taxes, the political strengths of Toby Doeden and weaknesses of Dusty Johnson, and why the politics of the Black Hills is often more extreme than that of the rest of the state.

If you'd prefer an audio recording of this podcast, there is a audio version available elsewhere in the "Politics and the Past: Desert Dialogues" feed.

This Thursday, Professor Rob and Jack discussed the upcoming primaries for statewide races in South Dakota.

Jack and Rob chatted about property taxes, the political strengths of Toby Doeden and weaknesses of Dusty Johnson, and why the politics of the Black Hills is often more extreme than that of the rest of the state.

If you'd prefer a visual recording of this podcast, there is a video available elsewhere in the "Politics and the Past: Desert Dialogues" feed.

This Monday, Professor Rob is visiting the Reagan Ranch in Santa Barbara, California with dozens of students from the Center for American Institutions.

In honor of this trip, Rob decided to chat about the history and legacy of President Reagan and the USSR.

This Thursday, President Jake Dueck of the Politics and Leadership Club joined Dr. Rob Ferguson to chat about the club's success over the past semester.

Dr. Ferguson and President Dueck chatted about PAL's role in encouraging civil discourse for individuals of all political persuasions. They also discussed the explosion in interest and membership that PAL has experienced over the past semester.

This Monday, Dr. Rob Ferguson sat down with Dale Justice and Frank Mons of ASU's School of Politics and Global Studies about their new initiative: The State of Veterans Project.

Ferguson, Justice, and Mons discussed misconceptions surrounding the political preferences of veterans and their effort to create a comprehensive database of information surrounding the experiences of America's veterans.

This Thursday, Jack and Dr. Rob sat down to discuss the future of the Democratic Party.

They chatted about the four spheres of ideology present within the party, the effects of the Israel-Palestine conflict upon party primaries, and why economic nationalism may be a poor policy platform for the party's future.

Also, Jack and Rob disagreed about the future of Marjorie Taylor Greene.