The Politics Lab

The threat of mass violence is on the rise in the United States, as demonstrated by the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Dr. James Waller, noted expert on mass violence and genocide, joins us this week to talk about the risk factors that contribute to widespread political and ethnic violence and to wrestle with the warning signs present in the United States today.

Bill and Phil are joined by Dr. Suzanne Chod to break down the results of the Georgia Senate races, whether Biden has a chance to get his agenda through a split Senate, the upcoming 2nd impeachment of Donald Trump, and what the future may hold for the Republican Party.

On this week’s episode, Bill and Phil devote the entire episode to the presidential inauguration and what the future may hold for President Joe Biden.

On this week’s episode, Bill and Phil discuss the historic second impeachment of Donald Trump, how the last 4 years of Trump led to the attack on the U.S. Capital, and we end the episode with an interview of Michael Blight, Assistant Professor of Communication, to discuss Trump’s social media ban and the practice of deplatforming.

On this week’s episode, Bill and Phil devote the entire episode to an extended conversation focused on breaking down and reacting to the pro-Trump extremists who attacked the Capital building yesterday. 

Bill and Phil reflect on the wild and awful political year that was 2020; including what COVID revealed about our common humanity, competing conceptions of social justice, attacks on law and order, the shaky state of US democracy, and we close with things that happened in 2020 that you already forgot about.

Happy Holidays! Bill and Phil are taking the week off. But we want to thank all of our listeners for your support this year. We’ll be back next week with a full episode. For now, please enjoy a brief message from The Politics Lab, plus some bonus content from this week’s YouTube session. Thank you!

On this week’s episode, Bill and Phil reflect on the departure and legacy of Attorney General Bill Barr, ponder the significance of the election case brought to the Supreme Court by Texas, and look at recent international developments in Russia and Morocco.

Bill and Phil explore whether Trump and Trumpism will simply fade away or whether its here to stay. We also examine if Joe Biden is further undermining the balance between civil and military authority by appointing Retired General Lloyd Austin to serve as secretary of defense and what to make of the fact that only 27 congressional Republicans have acknowledged Biden’s win.

Bill and Phil discuss the flurry of news surrounding presidential pardons, explore the often uncomfortable relationship between Covid and sports, think through a recent critique of the infamous Golden Arches Theory of Conflict Prevention by Thomas Friedman, and ponder the tactic of Taiwanese politicians who threw pig guts in parliament last week.