In this special episode, Drew and Alex sit down with Madeline Quasebarth to talk about her upcoming paper on the Pfizer Vaccine and the exploitation of Bauxite miners in Guinea. The two topics may seem separate and worlds apart, but Madeline talks about how Bauxite is a crucial component of keeping the vaccine cold and the mining of this material may be cause social, economic, and health issues to the population of Guinea. Madeline is a recent graduate from the University of Chicago with a Masters in Social Sciences. Currently she works for the Chicago Center for HIV elimination and the Africa Center for Strategic Progress. She is passionate about economic, racial, and reproductive justice and volunteers as a case manager for the Chicago Abortion Fund.

Nobody was able to predict what happened in 2020, now the big question is what will be coming in 2021. The Spanish Flu was the predecessor to the "Roaring '20’s," could the world see another booming decade ahead? Or could 2020 be a harbinger for a new world to come? Last year, Drew and Alex talked about their predictions for 2020 and they didn’t predict most of the chaos that followed. In this episode they make predictions on COVID-19, the vaccine, Asian geopolitics, China's economy, the future of the EU, what may happen in the United States, and more! Will they be more correct than the previous year?

In this special Wednesday episode, Drew and Alex discuss the horrifying events that unfolded outside nation's capitol yesterday. They provide their reactions, thoughts, and more. They also talk about the future of the GOP, what can be done from here, and what Biden can do to unify the country.

In this episode, Drew and Alex do a live analysis and discussion over the two runoff elections in Georgia for the US Senate. The elections are Raphael Warnock against Kelly Loeffler and David Purdue against Jon Ossoff. As the results come in, they break down the implications of this election, the drastic difference between this election, and how Trump may affect voter turnout on both sides.

Over a week ago, news broke that the U.S. government had been hacked by what appeared to be a Russian intelligence service. A week later, the list of affected agencies continues to grow, as do the calls for a U.S. response. Experts say the hackers may have been seeking nuclear secrets, blueprints for advanced weaponry, and COVID-19 vaccine-related research. Now President Trump has claimed without evidence that China did the hacks. In this episode, Drew and Alex cover the hack, how the US should deal with Russia, and why Trump’s blindspot towards Russia may be dangerous.

The Senate finally reached an agreement on a new stimulus. In this episode, Alex looks at why the first stimulus bill since May is trying to fix the wrong problem. He cites economists who mention that normally during a recession, you want to incentivize people to get back to work and you want firms to invest more. However, with a pandemic, you want to pay people not to work. Alex discusses how Europe seems to have found the right approach in which they have nationalized payroll systems instead of expanding unemployment. In Spain, furloughed citizens still get 70% of their paycheck.He feels that the US is too caught up in a philosophical debate over the role of the federal government, and this has hurt COVID-19 relief. Is Alex right?

Did you know that President Carter issued over 560 pardons? President Clinton over 450? And President Obama granted clemency 1,927 times during his eight-year tenure, which included 212 pardons? In this episode, Drew and Alex look into the presidential pardon. They discuss its history from a tool of the British Monarchy to something added to the US constitution at the last minute. They also talk about how the pardon has changed over time. Then Drew and Alex get into the question of whether President Trump can pardon himself? Can he pardon Rudy? His family?

On Monday, the Electoral College cast their votes in the 2020 presidential election, this officially certified Joe Biden as the president elect. However, not all has been rosy. There’s a growing schism not only inside of the country but also inside of the GOP. Less than a week earlier, 126 House Republicans and 18 states’ attorney’s generals supported asking the Supreme Court to nullify the election results in four battleground states. The Supreme Court denied it, but the anger isn’t going away. Today, Drew and Alex discuss the future of the GOP and why Republicans are hanging on to this nightmare. What could be next for a party that is clearly divided?

In this episode, Alex catches listeners up on the COVID-19 situation in the African continent. He talks about how Africa has done better than projected in handling the virus. Many African nations have proven that localized projects can help average people during a crisis. He talks about solutions from drones that can deliver public messages and medical supplies, to digital currency which helps against fraud, to cheap COVID tests and transparent messaging.  One can only wonder if this pandemic may help Africa realize its ability to evolve and create adaptive solutions.

Should the government always be trusted? Why does support for public spending seem to imply you’re a socialist? Is the United States actually a democracy? In this episode, Drew and Alex look into some of the biggest misconceptions and myths that many people take for fact inside of the political world.