The Politics Guys

Mike welcomes back Heather Cox Richardson, a professor of history at Boston College and author of the “Letters from an American” Substack. Professor Richardson is also the author of Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America, which has recently come out in paperback.

Topics Mike & Heather discuss include:

- why the elections went so well for Republicans

- why Harris’ messaging failed to carry the day

- the media and political misinformation

- leftism and liberalism in contemporary America

- voter (mis)understanding of economics

- why Heather is still optimistic

Here's Mike’s 2023 interview with Heather Cox Richardson.

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Elections have consequences for the winning and losing parties. Justin and Jay start this midweek supporters’ episode by discussing how united Republicans are, whether Republicans are ever united, and where there might be dissent that potentially sinks Trump's policy priorities. For the Democrats, will the coalition hold? What does the future of the party look like? Or is it all just the economy?

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Jay and Justin open by explaining why the election results weren’t really all that surprising – at least for those who believe that fundamentals matter more than candidates or campaign strategies. That said, Jay and Justin agree that Republicans generally fielded stronger candidates this time around than they did in the 2022 midterms, which probably helped them to maintain control of the House and retake the Senate.

Following that they turn to President-Elect Trump’s cabinet picks, from mainstream choices like Marco Rubio to more unconventional selections like Tulsi Gabbard, Matt Gaetz, and RFK Jr.

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Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo we’re @PoliticsGuys.

The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

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Trey talks with Stephanie Baker, author of the new book Punishing Putin: Inside the Global Economic War to Bring Down Russia.

Topics Trey and Stephanie discuss include:

- Putin's rise to power

- the economic transition in Russia 

- the size and scope of sanctions on Russia

- the effectiveness of sanctions on Russia

- the future of Russia under Putin

- the war in Ukraine 

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Check out the Sustainable Planet podcast, as well as the free Sustainable Planet Substack.

Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo we’re @PoliticsGuys.

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A discussion of the history of the 14th Amendment as it relates to sexual discrimination. Cases of focus include:

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The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

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Trey and Ken delve into the aftermath of the 2024 election, focusing on Pennsylvania and the contested Senate race. Trey notes the Wall Street Journal has declared a Republican winner, while Ken holds out hope that the New York Times has not. They also examine the remaining House races and what the losses mean for Democrats. Ken sees it primarily as a messaging issue, but Trey believes there are structural issues with Democrats. They both agree that the American electorate wants closed borders and Democrats will be forced to respond. The pair also discuss the ballot initiatives on abortion.

They close the show by discussing the German parliament, including a breakdown of the coalition government. Ken believes it is a tilt to the right globally and examines its reasons.

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The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

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In this special post-election episode, Mike, Trey, Ken, and May get together to discuss their initial thoughts in the wake of Donald Trump’s biggest win to date. They talk about the issues, the campaigns, fundamentals, shrinking vs growing electoral coalitions, what to expect from a second Trump term, where Democrats should go from here, and lots more.

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Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo we’re @PoliticsGuys.

The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

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Mike and Jay open the preview of this midweek supporters’ episode with a discussion of why so many Americans aren’t happy with their presidential choices. Mike points out that this is a relatively new thing, and he and Jay agree that changes to the nomination process and social media have played a significant role in this.

That leads Mike to wonder if there’s any way out of our crummy candidate, two-party doom loop. He isn’t optimistic but thinks there’s at least an outside chance that a popular centrist billionaire could make a real run at the presidency as an independent, mentioning Mark Cuban as a possibility.

They end with Mike explaining why, although he thinks a second Trump presidency will be awful, it won’t end democracy – and it might even be a good thing for Democrats in the medium to long term.

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Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo we’re @PoliticsGuys.

The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

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Just a quick message to let you know that we'll be recording a special 'all hands on deck' post-election episode of The Politics Guys on Wednesday, November 6. It should be in your feed sometime after 6pm Eastern Standard Time that day. 

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