The Politics Lab

This week, Bill and Phil sort through the longest State of the Union in American history, then discuss the largest buildup of American troops in the Middle East since the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and whether it means war with Iran is likely.

This week, Bill and Phil breakdown Marco Rubio‘s big week of diplomacy, ponder whether George W. Bush was trolling Donald Trump in a recent essay about George Washington, and discuss whether Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito may soon retire. 

This week, Bill and Phil are heading into a speed round — quick hits on big topics: the 2026 midterms and election legitimacy, Trump’s latest social media controversy, the expiration of the last U.S.–Russia nuclear arms treaty, the pace of democratic backsliding, America’s declining soft power, tensions with Canada over a new border bridge, and yes… even a little Bad Bunny. 

This week, Bill and Phil react to the escalation of political violence in Minneapolis and then discuss the rupture of the liberal international order in the aftermath of the World Economic Forum.

This week, Bill and Phil discuss Trump’s return to Great Power politics - threats to Greenland, intervention in Venezuela, and potential regime change in Iran - then turn to the unrest in Minneapolis in response to ICE’s lethal tactics.

This week, Bill and Phil look back at the significance of 2025 and discuss the many ways that it broke precedents - both good and bad, and then make some predictions for 2026.

This week, Bill and Phil discuss the release of the Trump administration’s new National Security Strategy and it’s claim that Europe is facing a civilization erasure and then play a new game we’re calling “This Week in Political Cringe”. 

This week, Bill and Phil explore the legality and political fallout from the Venezuelan boat strikes and then reflect on the state of Donald Trump’s agenda and what that means for the future of the Republican Party.

On this week’s episode, Bill and Phil celebrate Thanksgiving by handing out the highly coveted Turkey of the Year awards.

This week, Bill and Phil ponder whether political scandals matter anymore and then discuss George Orwell and whether Trump has created his own Orwellian version of 1984.