ReConsider

Politics gets emotional. However the emotional part of our brain was designed not for rational thought, but for knee-jerk survival mechanisms. How can we train our brain to think more clearly about politics in our daily lives?In this episode, Erik and Xander talk Stoicism, a philosophy and thought strategy that has been used for thousands of years by everyone from slaves to emperors to get a grip on the turbulent world around them. You'll learn why Stoicism is so powerful, and you can apply it in your life and conversations today.

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HEY! The sound quality on this is junk. Really sorry. Technical issue that we didn't realize was there until we were done. We've figured out how to keep it from happening again.The US and the world seem like they're in a really odd, perhaps dangerous place right now. Throughout history, people have felt like their own time defines the status quo, and all history going forward is either a path from that moment, or a departure from it.Getting a sense of the big picture from the perspective of the past--and the big trends that emerge--can give us a sense of where we really sit in history, and what we might be able to expect next.This episode is mostly answering a bunch of questions from our last ReConsider Cabinet meeting! For those of you who are higher-level Patreon patrons, remember you can send us questions to answer and we'll take 'em on!

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AKA, "The Bromance of the Bad Hombres"In this episode we interview Prof. Stephen Sestanovich, a Colombia professor, think tank big wig, and prolific writer. Formerly ambassador-at-large and special advisor to Madeleine Albright. Prof. Stestanovich puts the Putin-Trump relationship in context by warming us up with understanding the evolving US/Russia Presidential relationship since the end of the Cold War. Strap in for this info-packed episode!

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AKA: My Homie, ComeyWelp. Trump fired Comey. If things weren't crazy enough in the White House right now.There's a pretty incredible amount of speculation about why he did it and what it could mean. How much do we actually know? And where is all the speculation getting us?

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What is Russia's current interest on its borders, and what considerations will shape its behavior over the next 20 years? Prof. Mitchell Orenstein is the Professor of Central and East European politics in the Slavic Department at the University of Pennsylvania and an associate of the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard. We're thrilled to have him and as always we learn a ton.

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Much hubbub over the Syrian airstrike--everything from patriotic fervor to seemingly-genuine terror about World War 3. What happens when we take a step back from the hype and political spin, and look at the strike in the context of geopolitics, international relations, and history?

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We're joined by Mark Schauss to give us a whirlwind tour of Russian history. Mark is the host of the Russian Rulers History Podcast: http://russianrulers.podhoster.com/Mark attended Queens College in New York, studied Russian History and Economics, got his doctorate in Business. Lecturer on cognitive function, environmental health, other medical issues, and also Russian History!We walk through how Russia has dealt with its neighbors and the world, through the Mongols, the Great Northern War, the Napoleonic War, the later 1800s, WWI, WWII, the Cold War, and post-Cold War. It's a ton of fun.

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(Not the news source.)Joining us is Sean Guillory of Sean's Russia Blog and Podcast, at seansrussiablog.org. He has a PhD in Russian History from UCLA.Sean helps us dive into the nitty gritty about what's actually going on with Russia today. We ask:-Who's in charge? How does Russia's leadership work?-Why is United Russia so popular?-What's the economy really look like?-How corrupt is Russia?-How do Russians feel about the world?-What's the plan in Ukraine? How's it going?-What about the Syria intervention?-Did Russia manipulate US elections?-Why is Russia picking a fight with NATO?-What common narratives about Russia just don't make sense?Enjoy!

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Russia is a scary place--and very misunderstood. We decided it deserves 4 whole episodes unto itself. We'll be teaming up with 4 big-wigs that know their stuff about Russia to help you dive deep and understand Russia a whole lot better.

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Or, "How'd punching Nazis work out last time?"People in the United States are starting to talk about using political violence in response to perceived dangerous political extremism and violent rhetoric. We look through history to see how the use of violence had worked or not worked to suppress unwelcome political ideologies.We look purely at the results and consequences of the violence, rather than discussing the morality or ethics of it.

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