The Politics Lab

Bill and Phil discuss newly released documents about the Cuban Missile Crisis and what they can teach us about that historic incident as well as the current war in Ukraine, then we shift to look at the “Wacky Week of Politics” and try to figure out why Clarence Thomas is hanging out with a billionaire in Indonesia, why the Manhattan District Attorney is suing Jim Jordan, why the Tennessee legislature expelled two black lawmakers, and finally why Kid Rock was shooting cases of Bud Light in response to the company’s transgender activism.

Bill and Phil reflect on the indictment of former president, Donald Trump, discuss why constitutional crises and political violence could soon be the norm in the U.S., and close with a look at the way in which the Supreme Court is increasingly shaping the nature of U.S. foreign policy.

Bill and Phil ponder arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, reflect on the 20th anniversary of the Iraq war, examine Trump’s embrace of white nationalist rhetoric in his campaign videos and close with a look at our favorite food fails by politicians. 

On this week’s episode, Bill and Phil reflect on some optimistic new data about the future of democracy, discuss developments in Ukraine, and close by exploring the implication of China playing peacemaker with Iran and Saudi Arabia.

On this week’s episode, Bill and Phil explore the dark language in Trump’s CPAC speech, discuss the changing nature of war, ponder whether US politicians have fallen prey to groupthink in becoming dangerously hawkish on China, and close by rating Trump’s nicknames for Ron DeSantis.

Bill and Phil reflect on the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, discuss recent revelations that Fox News hosts and executives privately expressed disbelief about Trump’s stolen elections claims yet continued to promote those lies on the air, and close with a look at a recent Supreme Court case that could literally break the internet. 

This week, Bill and Phil debate whether UFOs really exist and why the US government keeps shooting them down, discuss a new angry and disruptive ethos within the Republican Party, and ponder some new data suggesting that all Americans, Republicans and Democrats, want a strong, anti-democratic leader. 

On this week’s episode, Bill and Phil reflect on the relevance of the State of the Union speech, discuss the politics of the spy balloon, assess the dire state of the British economy, and close with a game of “What’s More Stupid…Truth Social Edition”.

Bill and Phil reflect on the US approach to military aid to Ukraine, review some optimistic data on the global state of democracy, discuss what to make of a U.S. general predicting war between the U.S. and China in the next two years, and close by asking whether the Republicans are using “magical thinking” to assume Donald Trump will simply disappear from politics. 

Bill and Phil offer a guide to the possible forthcoming indictments of Donald Trump, evaluate Joe Biden’s foreign policy two years in, examine the ironclad bond that has developed between Keven McCarthy and Marjorie Taylor Greene, and ponder whether the Supreme Court is capable of investigating itself in the wake of the leaked opinion report.