In this episode, Van digs into the varieties of progressive foreign policy thought, and confesses to evolutions about his own thinking. Why Joe and Hunter Biden--who did no wrong here--remind us that foreign money corrupts the politics of democracies everywhere. What is the "Washington Post test?" And how is journalism itself complicit in empowering Trump? Also in this episode, why government memos are sanitized versions of history. Ask Me Anything: Which democratic presidential candidates does Van like? Is China neo-fascist (or neo-racist)? Non-Sequitur: Van's recurring dream about Ted Cruz.

Notes and Sources:

Uri Friedman's Atlantic piece on GOP civil war: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/09/will-gop-split-trump-over-foreign-policy/598438/

Jim Goldgeier's Washington Post piece on how to read government phone call "transcripts": https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/09/25/what-expect-when-you-are-expecting-trump-transcript/

Liz Cheney v. Rand Paul feud: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/22/rand-paul-liz-cheney-senate-wyoming-1506603

William Gallo Tweet: https://twitter.com/GalloVOA/status/1175420934108266501

John Glaser, Trevor Thrall, and Christopher Preble's New Book: https://www.cato.org/events/fuel-to-the-fire

In The Loop Movie: https://www.amazon.com/Loop-Peter-Capaldi/dp/B0093SSPGG

Show Producers: Pete McKenzie and Gaby Magnuson

Theme Song: "Van is Meta" by Tre' Hester