Politics with Paul

By Paul Rader

Approachable, nonpartisan, and nonideological analysis of various political topics by nonpartisan political analyst, writer, researcher, and speaker Paul Rader.... more

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FAQs about Politics with Paul:

How many episodes does Politics with Paul have?

The podcast currently has 8 episodes available.

Politics with Paul episodes:

September 18, 2024 Politics with Paul Podcast #7 - How Do We Interpret the Constitution?
Government officials take an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution before they take office, yet conservatives and liberals often have considerably different views on how to interpret the US Constitution. Do we interpret it in the context of when passages were ratified? Does the meaning change as society and times change? Today looks into the origins and development of the debate over how to interpret the US Constitution, the arguments between the two basic schools of thought known as "Originalism" and "Living Constitutionalism," and how both ideologies have shaped historical and contemporary US Supreme Court cases.
Today's random question: Do you subscribe to the Shopping Cart Theory?
Purchase my book on Amazon (ebook and paperback): https://www.amazon.com/Why-Independents-Rarely-Win-Elections-ebook/dp/B09K8PYM5J/
My website: https://paulrader.org/
Like and follow my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PaulRaderWrites
Follow me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulrader352/
Read and follow my Medium blog: https://paulrader-42650.medium.com/
Email me: [email protected]
Matchmaker FM profile for booking me on your podcast: https://www.matchmaker.fm/podcast-guest/paul-rader-329e65
(0:00) Introduction and today's topic
(1:09) Origins and development of the Constitutional interpretation debate
(7:38) Interpretation philosophies: Originalism vs. Living Constitutionalism
(9:19) The label of "Judicial Activism"
(12:39) Other court cases where SCOTUS reversed precedent
(15:13) Originalists' Arguments
(16:12) Living Constitutionalists' Arguments
(17:56) Random question of the day
(19:46) Social media and my book
...more
21min
September 12, 2024 Politics with Paul Podcast #6 - What Could be the 28th US Constitutional Amendment?
It takes a lot to amend the US Constitution. About 12,000 amendments have been put in front of Congress over 230+ years, but only 33 of them have been passed by Congress and only 27 of those have been fully ratified as part of the Constitution. So, when could the 28th Amendment be ratified and what will it be? Today, we look at the 27 previous amendments, some quick amendment ratification stats, and some potential candidates for a 28th Amendment and evaluations of their likelihood of being ratified in the near future.
Today's random question: What is the superior font for electronic documents?
Purchase my book on Amazon (ebook and paperback): https://www.amazon.com/Why-Independents-Rarely-Win-Elections-ebook/dp/B09K8PYM5J/
My website: https://paulrader.org/
Like and follow my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PaulRaderWrites
Follow me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulrader352/
Read and follow my Medium blog: https://paulrader-42650.medium.com/
Email me: [email protected]
Matchmaker FM profile for booking me on your podcast: https://www.matchmaker.fm/podcast-guest/paul-rader-329e65
(0:00) Introduction and today's topic
(0:31) The process of amending the US Constitution
(1:33) Some quick amendment ratification stats
(4:59) The 27 previous amendments
(13:34) Evaluating the likelihood of the next amendment
(18:25) Potential candidates for the 28th Amendment
(19:09) Potential: Equal Rights Amendment
(24:56) Potential: Term and/or maximum age limits for Congress
(27:49) Potential: Terms and term limits for US Supreme Court
(31:34) Potential: Banning independent expenditure committees (super PACs)
(35:03) Random question of the day
...more
37min
September 04, 2024 Politics with Paul Podcast #5 - Variations in Voter Turnout
Voter turnout is the foundation of the American system of government, and studying the factors influencing turnout is a key component to understanding what makes American voters tick. So, what makes voter turnout fluctuate? How do we even measure it? How has turnout changed over time? All this and more is the focus of today's episode of Politics with Paul.
Today's random question: Do you use the Oxford comma?
Purchase my book on Amazon (ebook and paperback): https://www.amazon.com/Why-Independents-Rarely-Win-Elections-ebook/dp/B09K8PYM5J/
My website: https://paulrader.org/
Like and follow my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PaulRaderWrites
Follow me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulrader352/
Read and follow my Medium blog: https://paulrader-42650.medium.com/
Email me: [email protected]
Matchmaker FM profile for booking me on your podcast: https://www.matchmaker.fm/podcast-guest/paul-rader-329e65
(0:00) Introduction and today's topic
(1:02) How we measure turnout
(4:09) Historical levels of voter turnout
(9:51) Demographics correlated with higher turnout
(10:43) Introducing the categories I'm breaking up voter turnout into
(11:37) Turnout levels: Federal/state/local levels of government
(14:05) Turnout levels: Primaries vs. general elections
(17:25) Turnout levels: General elections in November vs. other months
(18:22) Turnout levels: Presidential/midterm/odd-year/special elections
(21:39) Turnout levels: Voter party affiliation and strength of partisan ties
(24:02) Turnout levels: Competitive vs. noncompetitive elections
(27:21) Turnout levels: Partisan vs. nonpartisan offices
(28:46) Turnout levels: Elected offices vs. ballot measures
(30:02) Other impacts on voter turnout
(35:18) Random question of the day
...more
38min
August 28, 2024 Politics with Paul Podcast #4 - What are the Red, Blue, and Purple States?
You hear about "red" and "blue" and even "purple" states all the time in elections—red for Republican, blue for Democrat, and purple for a mix of the two. Yet what criteria are needed to actually tell when a state is one of these colors? How did we even get to using red and blue colors for the Republican and Democratic Parties, respectively? Which states are red, which are blue, and which are purple? How have these shades changed over time? All this and more are the subject of today's Politics with Paul podcast episode.
Today's random question: What is the coolest planet in the Solar System (you can't say "Earth")?
Purchase my book on Amazon (ebook and paperback): https://www.amazon.com/Why-Independents-Rarely-Win-Elections-ebook/dp/B09K8PYM5J/
My website: https://paulrader.org/
Like and follow my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PaulRaderWrites
Follow me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulrader352/
Read and follow my Medium blog: https://paulrader-42650.medium.com/
Email me: [email protected]
Matchmaker FM profile for booking me on your podcast: https://www.matchmaker.fm/podcast-guest/paul-rader-329e65
(0:00) Intro and today's topic
(0:37) The origin of red and blue in politics
(4:01) What makes a state red or blue (or purple)?
(6:43) When can you say a state is definitively red or blue?
(11:09) What makes a state purple?
(14:07) Lighter shades of red and blue
(15:59) States that have changed color over time
(19:03) Current red and blue streaks for president, US Senate, and governors
(22:30) Some watershed events changing states' partisan colors
(25:11) The trend of deeper shades of red and blue
(27:37) Random question of the day and social media plugs
...more
31min
August 21, 2024 Politics with Paul Podcast #3 - The Electoral College and Contingent Elections
A presidential candidate must win a majority of the Electoral College (270+ electoral votes out of 538) to win the presidency. But what happens if no candidate reaches that threshold? That's where contingent elections come in. Today, I talk about how the Electoral College has changed over time, how contingent elections work, and one way 2024 could become a contingent election (though the possibility is unlikely).
Today's random question: Is a hot dog a sandwich?
Purchase my book on Amazon (ebook and paperback): https://www.amazon.com/Why-Independents-Rarely-Win-Elections-ebook/dp/B09K8PYM5J/
My website: https://paulrader.org/
Like and follow my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PaulRaderWrites
Follow me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulrader352/
Read and follow my Medium blog: https://paulrader-42650.medium.com/
Email me: [email protected]
Matchmaker FM profile for booking me on your podcast: https://www.matchmaker.fm/podcast-guest/paul-rader-329e65
(0:00) Introduction
(0:09) Today's Topic: The Electoral College and Contingent Elections
(1:11) What the Electoral College is
(1:32) Times when the Electoral Vote Winner Did Not Win the Popular Vote
(5:24) Electors Representing the Electoral College
(6:55) How We Determine Electoral College Votes by State
(8:21) The Evolution of the Electoral College
(15:09) The Process of Contingent Elections
(18:23) When Have We Seen Contingent Elections?
(21:38) How Likely are We to See a Contingent Election in 2024?
(28:12) Random Question of the Day
...more
30min
August 14, 2024 Politics with Paul Podcast #2 - Election Timing and Why it Matters When We Hold Elections
Why do we hold elections at the time of year we do, and why does it matter? Election timing plays a crucial role in the voting process, and depending on the time of year an election is held voter turnout rates, and who turns out to vote, can look vastly different. Today, I dive into how election timing is defined, a brief history of how election timing got to where it is today, the arguments made for and against "off-cycle" election timing, and where we find these off-cycle elections. Today's random question: With NFL season around the corner, which NFL team has the best uniforms?
Purchase my book on Amazon (ebook and paperback): https://www.amazon.com/Why-Independents-Rarely-Win-Elections-ebook/dp/B09K8PYM5J/
My website: https://paulrader.org/
Like and follow my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PaulRaderWrites
Follow me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulrader352/
Read and follow my Medium blog: https://paulrader-42650.medium.com/
Email me: [email protected]
Matchmaker FM profile for booking me on your podcast: https://www.matchmaker.fm/podcast-guest/paul-rader-329e65
(0:00) Introduction and welcome
(0:30) Today's topic: Election timing
(2:52) How do we classify election timing? What is an "off-cycle" election?
(4:55) Where do we usually find "off-cycle" elections?
(8:31) A brief history of how election timing has changed over time
(11:24) How the timing of elections affects voter turnout
(13:59) Primary election timing
(15:18) The debate over when to time (general) elections
(16:04) Arguments from supporters of off-cycle election timing
(21:11) Arguments from opponents of off-cycle election timing
(26:12) Today's random question
...more
29min
August 07, 2024 Politics with Paul Podcast #1 - The Debate Over Age Limits on Government Officials
Calls for implementing maximum age limits on our government officials have increased as of late. But the debate is often made out to be far simpler than it actually is. In today's episode, I dive into the arguments that supporters and opponents of a maximum age limit make. Then I talk about what other factors must be accounted for if we were to have a maximum age limit, such as what that age would be and consideration of political incentives. Finally, I then go into what potential alternatives might be proposed instead of an age limit.
Today's end-of-episode random question: What Olympic sport, that you don't already play, would you most want to be good at?
Purchase my book on Amazon (ebook and paperback): https://www.amazon.com/Why-Independents-Rarely-Win-Elections-ebook/dp/B09K8PYM5J/
My website: https://paulrader.org/
Like and follow my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PaulRaderWrites
Follow me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulrader352/
Read and follow my Medium blog: https://paulrader-42650.medium.com/
Email me: [email protected]
Matchmaker FM profile for booking me on your podcast: https://www.matchmaker.fm/podcast-guest/paul-rader-329e65
(0:00) Introduction by Paul Rader
(0:22) Today's topic: The debate over age limits on government officials
(5:05) A notable exception where we already see maximum age limits on government officials
(7:53) Arguments for and against maximum age limits
(11:15) Complications in how to implement a maximum age limit
(20:50) Are there alternatives to a maximum age limit?
(26:44) Today's random question
...more
29min
July 31, 2024 Intro to the Politics with Paul Podcast
Welcome to the Politics with Paul podcast, home to nonpartisan analysis of politics! In this episode, I talk about what exactly I do, how I came to do it, and why I do it. I also lay out the ground rules on what this podcast entails, including coverage of various policy debates, interviews with guests, and election analysis.
Purchase my book on Amazon (ebook and paperback): https://www.amazon.com/Why-Independents-Rarely-Win-Elections-ebook/dp/B09K8PYM5J/
My website: https://paulrader.org/
Like and follow my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PaulRaderWrites
Follow me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulrader352/
Read and follow my Medium blog: https://paulrader-42650.medium.com/
Email me: [email protected]
Matchmaker FM profile for booking me on your podcast: https://www.matchmaker.fm/podcast-guest/paul-rader-329e65
(0:00) Introduction and my background
(4:26) How I came to my line of work
(6:20) Why I do what I do
(14:26) Types of content on this podcast
(18:01) Other media of mine
...more
20min

FAQs about Politics with Paul:

How many episodes does Politics with Paul have?

The podcast currently has 8 episodes available.