Earlier this week, the EU agreed on a record breaking stimulus package to deal with the economic fallout from the Coronavirus Pandemic. The $857 billion package included many steps to help less wealthy European countries. However, while this package may have been passed, it could cause more political division between the frugal north and the debt riddled south. Also, as always, in order for the deal to be passed, Poland and Hungary were excused for their illiberal tendencies and actions. Alex gets into all of this today, on “Catching Up.”

In 1789, Thomas Jefferson said that “No society can make a perpetual constitution... The earth belongs always to the living generation and not to the dead .… Every constitution, then, and every law, naturally expires at the end of 19 years." In this context, there has been growing criticism in the United States that the constitution needs reform and potentially needs to be updated in it’s entirety. In this episode, Drew and Alex look into this complicated issue. They get into the pros and cons of changing a constitution, and how true reform could be carried out.

More than a dozen Azerbaijani and Armenian soldiers have been killed in the recent days following clashes between the two former Soviet republics. These two countries have long been at odds over the Nagorno - Karabakh region which is culturally Armenian yet is still part of Azerbaijan. This heating up of tensions was one of the worst moments of violence since 2016 and could spark trouble, not only for the Caucus region and its people, but also for world powers such as Western Europe, the US, and Russia. In this episode, Drew and Alex look at the extremely complicated ethnic issues between these two countries. They talk about the economic implications on oil supply chains if a hot war were to break out between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Also, they discuss a need for global arbitration when these small ethnic conflicts are blowing up.

Trump has replaced Brad Parscale with Bill Stepien as campaign manager in an attempt to turn around tumultuous poll numbers. But who is Bill Stepien? And why is he Trump’s pick? Drew discusses Stepien’s history as a cunning political operative and his brushes with scandal.

Joe Biden has emerged as the presumptive 2020 Democratic Candidate for President during a very strange and complicated time. For this reason, Joe Biden seems to be seen by both sides as something he isn't. The more progressive left thinks that Biden hasn't done enough and is too centrist; the right worries that Biden is a puppet of the far left that will defund the police and enact "Medicare for All." In this episode, Drew and Alex take a look into the specifics of what Biden ACTUALLY wants to accomplish in 2020. They look into his tax plan, his environmental policies, his economics, and his plans for police reform. They go over the pros and cons of a Biden Presidency and find that he likely would be an efficient "transitional" president during these strange times.

July marks twenty-five years since the Srebrenica massacre and the larger Bosnian Genocide. This year’s memorial will feature videos from leaders from all around the world. However, there is one exception: the mayor of Srebrenica will remain silent. In fact, Bosnian Serbs in general have been quick to deny any wrong doing during this period. In this episode, Drew and Alex try to tie history with the present. They discuss how this recent revelation illustrates a larger trend in which many nations still have issues facing their past. They look at why some nations (Germany) can move on from their past atrocities, while others (Turkey) can't. The two also hope to add relevance to the issue the US is facing in reexamining their relationship with past atrocities.

Earlier this week, Kanye West announced that he was running for President in this year’s presidential election. He was later endorsed by people like Elon Musk. In this “Catching Up” segment, Alex breaks down this ridiculous headline. Is it possible? Is he serious? Could he win? Is it too late? Would it hurt Joe Biden or Donald Trump? Alex discusses his “2.5 theories” on what could be happening and why it could matter.

Earlier this week, Mike Pompeo told Laura Ingraham, on Fox News, that the US is looking to ban TikTok, the popular Chinese app. In this episode, Drew and Alex look into TikTok and why it is controversial. Then they turn the episode into a larger discussion regarding the role of big tech companies in geopolitics and global democracy. They discuss whether breaking up big tech would be a viable option, why these companies took the easy road in harvesting user data, and what can be done to resolve this issue.

Before the pandemic, Latin America was already on life support. Following populist elections in many of the countries, the collapse of Venezuela, the subsequent refugee crisis, and the removal of Morales in Bolivia; it seems like this pandemic may bring even more upheaval to a volatile region. Now around 50% of worldwide daily COVID-19 cases are coming out of Latin America. Today, Drew and Alex talk about the state of Latin America as a whole during the pandemic. They touch on the chaos in Venezuela, the growing problems in Mexico and Brazil, and the dire situation in Brazil. They also bring in some positivity by touching on the feel good story of how Uruguay handled the crisis.

What started as an attempt to live free of police authority in the capital hill zone of Seattle, ended up devolving into violence, arson, sexual assaults, and two deaths. Now the police under order from the mayor, have retaken the zone, but they now face legal repercussions from local businesses. In this episode, Drew catches you up on CHOP and compares it to a few other occupation movements in the US.