Politics + Media 101

John and Justin sit down with Curt Mills, Executive Director of The American Conservative magazine. Curt, a former college classmate of John's, is an influential voice in the conservative intelligentsia's restrainer camp, advocating against the use of US military force abroad. The group discuss whether Donald Trump fits into this camp and what his nominations and appointments signal about his foreign policy goals.

On this episode, John and Justin discuss why Donald Trump won the election, Where VP Harris and Democrats went wrong, and how they can improve their messaging and approaches to campaigning to win back working class voters. Please subscribe and rate our podcast wherever you listen.

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John and Justin discuss the state of the presidential election, the racist comments at Trump's Madison Square Garden rally, how Puerto Rican voters will impact the election for the White House, and Trump's lies about his anti-war record. 

John and Justin host Mother Jones' Kat Abu to discuss political social media, the DNC, state of the Harris-Walz campaign and its approach to Israel-Palestine.

The 2024 Democratic National Convention came to Chicago amid a series of strange parallels to the 1968 convention in the same city: the incumbent president withdrew from his reelection campaign, the vice president was nominated without running in the primaries, students organized a national protest movement against a war, a major candidate was shot, someone named Robert F. Kennedy was running for president.

Justin and John sit down with Michael Koncewicz, a historian at New York University, to discuss these overlaps. Michael is currently working on a biography of Tom Hayden, the anti-war activist who stood trial as one of the "Chicago 7" blamed for violence at the 1968 convention.

Justin and John sit down with journalist David Corn, Washington Bureau Chief for Mother Jones and author of several books, most recently American Psychosis.

David is an expert on the history of the Republican Party and its relationship with right-wing populism. He assesses the choice of Ohio Senator JD Vance as Donald Trump's vice presidential running mate and what it means for the direction of the GOP.

Justin and John discuss the state of the presidential campaign after an incredible month of news: the Republican convention, an assassination attempt on Donald Trump, JD Vance becoming Trump's running mate, Joe Biden's retirement, and Kamala Harris's ascension to the top of the Democratic ticket.

In particular, they review the choice of Governor Tim Walz to run for vice president. Harris chose Walz ahead of Governor Josh Shapiro, who many pundits favored.

Justin sits down with Andrew Lawrence, Deputy Director of Rapid Response at Media Matters to discuss the state of the presidential election, and why labeling Trump Republicans as weird has been effective for Democrats. 

After watching the Thursday night debate, Justin and John tackle the difficult question of whether Joe Biden should withdraw as a candidate for the 2024 presidential election.

Justin and John sit down with Tara McGowen, a former political strategist, former journalist, and founder of Courier Newsroom. Tara is an expert on digital media strategy, and she assesses the strengths of Republicans and Democrats in the ever-evolving online information landscape.