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

Download on the App Store

Download on the App Store

Get it on Google Play

FAQs about Politics with Paul:

How many episodes does Politics with Paul have?

The podcast currently has 59 episodes available.

Politics with Paul episodes:

September 16, 2025 Politics with Paul #58: How YOU Can Help Reverse the Tide of Political Violence
If we're going to turn back the tide of political violence, it's going to take all of us. Fortunately, there are simple steps any of us can take to start pushing against the acceptance and use of violence to achieve political goals.
Today's episode of Politics with Paul covers some of the reasons why people feel justified in using or supporting political violence. If we are going to fix this problem, we need to know why it occurs in the first place. At the end, I give actionable ways that we can fix the political climate and highlight some of the groups working to build bridges.
Join the movement for a non-toxic political climate.
Download my FREE 5-day educational email course on how to fight polarization: https://detoxifyamericanpolitics.com/
Buy my book on Amazon (ebook and paperback): https://www.amazon.com/Why-Independents-Rarely-Win-Elections-ebook/dp/B09K8PYM5J/
My website: https://paulrader.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaulRaderWrites
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulrader352/
Medium: https://paulrader-42650.medium.com/
Email: [email protected]
(0:00) Intro: Political Violence and What You Can Do About it
(2:43) Some Reasons Why People Feel Political Violence is Justified
(3:08) Reason #1: Sense of Moral Superiority
(5:21) Reason #2: Seeing Politics as an Existential Crisis
(6:22) Reason #3: Not Feeling Heard, Feeling Rights Being Taken Away
(7:57) Reason #4: Higher Usage of Social Media
(10:08) Reason #5: High Level of Affective Polarization
(12:12) Reason #6: Distrust of Political Institutions, Deeming Them Illegitimate
(15:15) Reason #7: Disinformation/Misinformation About the "Other Side"
(17:18) Some Ways We Can Lessen Political Violence and its Acceptance
(17:47) Way #1: More Self-Awareness From Everybody
(20:00) Way #2: Improved Civics Education
(23:48) Way #3: Distinctly Acknowledge Each Other's Humanity
(28:50) Way #4: Don't be Apathetic or Tune Out of Politics
(31:40) Way #5: Responsible Social Media Usage
(33:34) Way #6: Don't Focus Only on One Side's Violence
(37:33) Way #7: Clearly Support Pluralism and Democracy
(41:35) Way #8: Recognize that Calls for Violence are NOT the Norm
(43:11) Progress Starts With All of Us
(53:20) Civics Groups That are Making a Difference
(56:23) Closing
...more
58min
September 09, 2025 Politics with Paul #57: Ideological Labels - What is a Conservative, Liberal, Moderate?
Ideological labels are common appeals in political campaigns and battles. For various reasons, however, the actual meaning of conservative, liberal, and moderate have been intentionally and unintentionally obfuscated.
Today's episode explores the most basic meanings of conservative, liberal, and moderate; how elites and voters variously define the terms and why; the difference between party and ideology; how you should view ideological labels; and more.
Download my FREE 5-day educational email course on how to fight polarization: https://detoxifyamericanpolitics.com/
Buy my book on Amazon (ebook and paperback): https://www.amazon.com/Why-Independents-Rarely-Win-Elections-ebook/dp/B09K8PYM5J/
My website: https://paulrader.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaulRaderWrites
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulrader352/
Medium: https://paulrader-42650.medium.com/
Email: [email protected]
Matchmaker FM profile for booking me on your podcast: https://www.matchmaker.fm/podcast-guest/paul-rader-329e65
(0:00) Intro to the Meaning of Ideological Labels
(1:23) Party is NOT Ideology
(3:10) How Do We Measure Ideology?
(13:00) How People Variously Define "Conservative" and "Liberal"
(16:06) The Most Basic Meanings of "Conservative" and "Liberal"
(21:03) Ideological Labels as Campaign Tools
(32:02) What is a Moderate?
(36:52) How Should You View Ideological Labels?
(43:55) Closing and My Media
...more
46min
September 02, 2025Politics with Paul #56: Can Radical Moderation Save Our Politics? w/ Lauren Hall
The vast majority of today’s political discourse focuses on extremes and polarized voices. But is moderation the solution? More specifically, is "radical moderation" the kind of moderation we should be striving for?
On today's episode, Professor Lauren Hall joins the show to discuss her concept of radical moderation. She talks about what radical moderation is and isn't, how to apply its principles, how it addresses polarization, and more.
Lauren's links:
Her website: https://www.laurenkhall.com/
Her SubStack: https://radicalmoderatesguide.substack.com/
We Made This Political Podcast w/ Lura Forcum: https://wemadethispolitical.substack.com/
My links:
Buy my book on Amazon (ebook and paperback): https://www.amazon.com/Why-Independents-Rarely-Win-Elections-ebook/dp/B09K8PYM5J/
Download my FREE 5-day educational email course on affectively depolarizing politics: https://detoxifyamericanpolitics.com/
My website: https://paulrader.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaulRaderWrites
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulrader352/
Medium: https://paulrader-42650.medium.com/
Email: [email protected]
Matchmaker FM profile for booking me on your podcast: https://www.matchmaker.fm/podcast-guest/paul-rader-329e65
(0:00) Introduction to Lauren Hall and Radical Moderation
(1:49) Why Study Moderation in Politics?
(5:19) What is Radical Moderation?
(9:47) What Radical Moderation is NOT
(15:19) The Biggest Obstacles to Radical Moderation
(22:40) Can Less Extreme People Also Fall to False Binary Thinking?
(30:37) How Do You Teach Radical Moderation to Students?
(36:09) What Would be the Societal Outcomes of Radical Moderation?
(41:34) Can We Convince Polarized People to be Radically Moderate?
(44:17) On Not Forcing People to Take Sides in Politics
(50:23) Final Thoughts on Moderation, Depolarization
(51:24) Random Question: Worst Bad Driving Sins
(54:38) Closing and Our Links
...more
57min
August 26, 2025Politics with Paul #55: One Political Protester's Perspective w/ Luis-Enrique Marquez
NOTE: I do not endorse or oppose any guest's political views or groups they support.
In today's episode, activist and author Luis-Enrique Marquez sits down to discuss his involvement in political protests. What's it like to be on the front lines of a protest? What are the biggest challenges in forming protests? How do protesters feel about their media coverage? How do protesters engage with opposition and critics?
Luis-Enrique gives his takes on these questions and much more. At the end, he also discusses his book, and what he feels liberals, conservatives, and moderates alike can take away from it.
Luis' links:
His book: https://www.amazon.com/Antifascist-Luis-Marquez/dp/B0D16C7QTB/
His website: https://www.antifascistmemoir.com/
My links:
Buy my book on Amazon (ebook and paperback): https://www.amazon.com/Why-Independents-Rarely-Win-Elections-ebook/dp/B09K8PYM5J/
Download my FREE 5-day educational email course on effectively depolarizing politics: https://detoxifyamericanpolitics.com/
My website: https://paulrader.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaulRaderWrites
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulrader352/
Medium: https://paulrader-42650.medium.com/
Email: [email protected]
Matchmaker FM profile for booking me on your podcast: https://www.matchmaker.fm/podcast-guest/paul-rader-329e65
(0:00) Introduction to Protest Politics
(2:13) Luis’ Early Political Involvement
(5:18) Why Portland for Protests?
(8:47) Challenges in Forming Massive Protests
(10:39) What Luis Says the Media Gets Wrong About Protests
(12:55) Could Protesters Have Done Better Engaging With Media?
(15:52) Luis’ Positive Experiences From the Protests
(18:26) Has Luis Had Positive Encounters with Critics of Anti-Fascism?
(22:28) What Luis Says People Get Wrong About Anti-Fascism
(28:03) How Luis Engages with Critics of the Anti-Fascist Movement
(32:05) A Difference Between Antifa and the Broad Anti-Fascist Movement?
(35:50) What Luis Says the Anti-Fascist Movement Can Improve On
(40:24) Why Luis Wrote About the Portland Protests
(45:23) Engaging with Those Who Have Hateful Ideologies
(46:38) What Can Liberals, Conservatives, and Moderates Take Away from Luis’ Book?
(52:49) Random Question: “Guilty Pleasure” Songs You Readily Admit Enjoying?
(58:22) Closing and Our Links
...more
1h 1min
August 19, 2025 Politics with Paul #54: Do We Really Want Political Compromise?
It's important to have political convictions that you believe in and will fight for. Yet political discourse is also rife with stubbornness and an inability to consider opposing views. You have to stand for something but you must also be willing to compromise.
What is the dividing line between being strong in your convictions and being willing to compromise? What does public opinion polling say about citizens' desire for compromise? What factors hinder the likelihood of compromise and where do we see compromise most often? How do we move as a country toward a willingness to compromise? These questions and more are explored on today's podcast.
Buy my book on Amazon (ebook and paperback): https://www.amazon.com/Why-Independents-Rarely-Win-Elections-ebook/dp/B09K8PYM5J/
Download my FREE 5-day educational email course on how to fight polarization: https://detoxifyamericanpolitics.com/
My website: https://paulrader.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaulRaderWrites
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulrader352/
Medium: https://paulrader-42650.medium.com/
Email: [email protected]
Matchmaker FM profile for booking me on your podcast: https://www.matchmaker.fm/podcast-guest/paul-rader-329e65
(0:00) Introduction to Compromise in Politics
(2:00) How Do We Define Compromise?
(4:54) Famous Historical Compromises
(16:01) Public Opinion on Compromise
(21:30) Barriers to Political Compromise
(30:47) Where Do We Often See More Compromise?
(40:18) How Do We Reorient Ourselves Toward Compromise?
(51:10) Closing
...more
53min
August 12, 2025Politics with Paul #53: Education Policy's Impact on Civic Engagement w/ Shaka Mitchell
Shaka Mitchell joins the podcast today to discuss how we can change education policy to positively improve civic engagement among both students and parents. Shaka is a senior fellow with the American Federation for Children, a professor of constitutional law at Belmont University, and an attorney.
How does how we teach our kids (and adults) about the political process affect how invested people are in politics? Where are the areas most in need of improvement? How can parents better facilitate civic engagement in students? How do we use education to reconnect citizens to the political process. Tune in to hear Shaka's insights on these questions and much more!
Shaka's links:
Shaka's SubStack: https://shakamitchell.substack.com/
TED talk "Can Helicopter Parents Save Our Struggling Schools?": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR-9C8xEwuo
My links:
Buy my book on Amazon (ebook and paperback): https://www.amazon.com/Why-Independents-Rarely-Win-Elections-ebook/dp/B09K8PYM5J/
Download my FREE 5-day educational email course: https://detoxifyamericanpolitics.com/
My website: https://paulrader.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaulRaderWrites
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulrader352/
Medium: https://paulrader-42650.medium.com/
Email: [email protected]
Matchmaker FM profile for booking me on your podcast: https://www.matchmaker.fm/podcast-guest/paul-rader-329e65
(0:00) Intro: Shaka Mitchell, Political Engagement and Education Policy
(2:08) Why Shaka Studies Education Policy's Effect on Engagement
(5:32) Shaka's Work with AFC, Young People's Political Engagement
(8:59) Political Engagement Through Professor/Lawyer's Lens
(12:53) Are College Students Skeptical of Political Content?
(16:16) Biggest Issues with Nation's Schools Regarding Political Engagement
(21:04) Balancing Protecting Students with Challenging Their Views
(28:21) Could a Civics Bee Enhance Political Engagement?
(31:41) Parental Impact on Students' Civic Engagement
(37:19) Improving Adult Civic Engagement with Continuing Education Policy
(41:52) Impact of Citizen Distrust of Government on Civic Education Policy
(47:27) How Do We Reconnect Citizens with the Political Process?
(52:34) Will Improving Civic Education Policy Decrease Our Polarization?
(59:16) Today's Random Question: Cool Places to Grow Up
(1:02:10) Closing, Shaka's Media, My Media
...more
1h 4min
August 05, 2025Politics with Paul #52: Teaching and Preserving Political History and Civics w/ Alex Vassar
On today's episode, guest Alex Vassar discusses some of the biggest challenges facing the preservation and teaching of political history and civics, and how we can make these better. Alex is the founder of JoinCalifornia.com (a repository of election data and facts for the State of California), the founder of the One Voter Project, and the communications manager for the California State Library.
How do we best preserve political history? How do we make that history accessible and engaging for other people, especially if they are not as interested in history? What are some of the biggest obstacles to improving civic and historical understanding amongst the public? What is some advice for groups in other states looking to build political history databases? Tune in to hear Alex's insights on these questions and much more!
Alex's links:
JoinCalifornia political history database: https://www.joincalifornia.com/
One Voter Project: https://www.onevoter.org/
California State Library: https://www.library.ca.gov/
My links:
Buy my book on Amazon (ebook and paperback): https://www.amazon.com/Why-Independents-Rarely-Win-Elections-ebook/dp/B09K8PYM5J/
Download my FREE 5-day educational email course: https://detoxifyamericanpolitics.com/
My website: https://paulrader.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaulRaderWrites
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulrader352/
Medium: https://paulrader-42650.medium.com/
Email: [email protected]
Matchmaker FM profile for booking me on your podcast: https://www.matchmaker.fm/podcast-guest/paul-rader-329e65
(0:00) The Importance of Political History
(1:47) How Alex Became Fascinated With Politics
(3:44) Why Alex Built a Political History Database
(6:29) How Alex Built JoinCalifornia's Database
(11:38) The Most Difficult Aspects of Making a Historical Database
(15:47) Why Create the "One Voter Project" Civics Initiative?
(18:13) Enhancing Civic and Political Awareness in California
(25:10) Teaching Civics vs. Teaching Government, Improving Civics
(31:18) Teaching History to People With Preconceptions About it
(36:19) What Places Teach Civics and History Well?
(40:01) What Should State, Local Governments Role Be in Teaching Civics?
(44:48) Other Weird, Interesting Facts From California Political History
(50:00) Alex's Advice for Others Making Political History Databases
(56:38) Random Question: Annoying Grammar/Pronunciation Errors
(1:00:45) Closing and Our Media
...more
1h 4min
July 29, 2025Politics with Paul #51: How to Have Constructive Political Discussions w/ Guy and Heidi Burgess
On today's guest episode, Guy and Heidi Burgess of the Conflict Information Consortium share 40 years of insights into the broken state of America's political discourse and how to fix it. Among their works are the Beyond Intractability Knowledge Base, Moving Beyond Intractability, and the Constructive Conflict Initiative, projects dedicated to making our conversations about the most divisive issues more productive and encouraging.
How do we improve America's political dialogue? What are intractable conflicts that need more constructive ways to be discussed? How do we come to a better understanding of each other and take steps to solve our intractable conflicts? Are we more polarized than ever? Tune in to hear Guy and Heidi's expertise on these questions and more!
Guy and Heidi's links:
Beyond Intractability website: https://www.beyondintractability.org/
Beyond Intractability newsletter: https://beyondintractability.substack.com/
My links:
Buy my book on Amazon (ebook and paperback): https://www.amazon.com/Why-Independents-Rarely-Win-Elections-ebook/dp/B09K8PYM5J/
Download my FREE 5-day educational email course: https://detoxifyamericanpolitics.com/
My website: https://paulrader.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaulRaderWrites
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulrader352/
Medium: https://paulrader-42650.medium.com/
Email: [email protected]
Matchmaker FM profile for booking me on your podcast: https://www.matchmaker.fm/podcast-guest/paul-rader-329e65
(0:00) Introduction to Political Conflict Resolution
(1:54) Why Guy and Heidi Started the Conflict Information Consortium
(5:01) How has Polarization Changed or Stayed the Same for the Past 40 Years?
(10:40) Are We More Polarized Than in the Past Few Decades?
(16:57) Is Most of Our Polarization "False Polarization"?
(19:48) Key Impacts that Heidi and Guy Have Had with the CIC
(27:09) Shifting from "Blame" to "Contribution"
(36:45) More Examples of Intractable Conflicts
(45:07) Pushing Back Against "Ends Justify the Means"
(52:49) Simple Tools for Individuals to Tackle Intractable Conflicts
(59:10) Will Recent Political Violence Lead to a Breakthrough in Dialogue?
(1:03:25) Random Question: What Job Besides Your Current One Would You Want to Do?
(1:09:39) Closing and Our Other Media
...more
1h 14min
July 22, 2025 Politics with Paul #50: Political Apathy - Why it's Dangerous and How We Can Fix it
It's episode 50! There are some Americans who simply don't care about politics, or at least not nearly to the extent they should. In some respects, these citizens have a responsibility to care about politics, and to inform themselves about what is going on. At the same time, however, there are understandable reasons why some citizens throw up their hands and tune out politics. To effectively tackle the problem of political apathy, we must examine all these root causes and how to address each of them, not just simply blame people for their apathy.
How do we measure political apathy? Which citizens tend to be more apathetic? In what ways does political apathy manifest? Why are some voters apathetic? And: Why does political apathy pose such a threat, including unintentionally contributing to our nation's polarization? All this and more is on tap for today's podcast.
Buy my book on Amazon (ebook and paperback): https://www.amazon.com/Why-Independents-Rarely-Win-Elections-ebook/dp/B09K8PYM5J/
Download my FREE 5-day educational email course: https://detoxifyamericanpolitics.com/
My website: https://paulrader.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaulRaderWrites
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulrader352/
Medium: https://paulrader-42650.medium.com/
Email: [email protected]
Matchmaker FM profile for booking me on your podcast: https://www.matchmaker.fm/podcast-guest/paul-rader-329e65
(0:00) Introduction to Political Apathy
(2:58) How Do We Define Apathy?
(6:15) How Do We Measure Political Apathy?
(22:31) Which People Tend to Be More Apathetic?
(30:23) Why are Some People Politically Apathetic?
(45:55) Why Political Apathy is a Major Problem
(53:44) How Do We Become Less Politically Apathetic?
(1:01:11) Closing and Media
...more
1h 3min
July 15, 2025 Politics with Paul #49: Bipartisanship in Legislative Advocacy w/ Florida Student Policy Forum
What goes into advocating for bills in state legislatures? How do you reach out to different interests of both lawmakers and activists to build a bipartisan coalition? What are the toughest parts of the legislative process to deal with as an advocate?
Here to talk about that and more on today's episode are two members of the Florida Student Policy Forum, Graham Bernstein and Jacob Kaplan. They discuss their work on Florida bills involving expedited foreclosures on abandoned properties, phone calls for prisoners on good behavior, and school corporal punishment reform. At the end, they also give advice for other advocates, especially college students, looking to make a difference in the legislative process...and an incorrect take on whether hot dogs are sandwiches.
Florida Student Policy Forum website: https://floridastudentpolicyforum.org/
Buy my book on Amazon (ebook and paperback): https://www.amazon.com/Why-Independents-Rarely-Win-Elections-ebook/dp/B09K8PYM5J/
Download my FREE 5-day educational email course: https://detoxifyamericanpolitics.com/
My website: https://paulrader.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaulRaderWrites
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulrader352/
Medium: https://paulrader-42650.medium.com/
Email: [email protected]
Matchmaker FM profile for booking me on your podcast: https://www.matchmaker.fm/podcast-guest/paul-rader-329e65
(0:00) Introduction to Bipartisanship in Legislative Advocacy and Guests
(2:03) The Florida Student Policy Forum and Why Graham and Jacob Joined it
(5:04) What Did These Bills Seek to Fix?
(12:16) Why Work on These Specific Bills?
(17:51) How Graham and Jacob Built Their Bipartisan Coalition
(32:51) What Were the Hardest and Easiest Parts of the Legislative Process?
(38:37) What Were the Outcomes for These Bills?
(45:06) Graham and Jacob's Takeaways for Their Future Advocacy Efforts
(47:15) Graham and Jacob's Advice for Other Advocates
(50:59) How Much Do They Think Their Advocacy Efforts Translate to Other States?
(58:53) Today's Random Question: Is a Hot Dog a Sandwich?
(1:00:36) Closing and All Our Media
...more
1h 4min

FAQs about Politics with Paul:

How many episodes does Politics with Paul have?

The podcast currently has 59 episodes available.