Sarah and John discuss Ruy Texiera's ungenerous (and very partisan) review of Linda Killian's "The Swing Vote." Sarah talks about her recent visit to the armory art show in NYC and how artists who shock are wearing thin on her. We discuss why HBO's Game Change missed the mark and why its so hard to make political art in today's culture. Send us your comments and questions to [email protected] and please give us a review on Itues! We need more than 2 reviews....

Ignore the hypnotic drumming in the background (NYC Ambiance!) and listen in as Sarah and John discuss the rumblings from insiders about the need for a third party, Sarah's obsession with downhill skiing, Charles Dickens, and Jackie Salit's debut as James Madison in the off-Broadway Fred Newman musical "Sally and Tom."

Episode 8 will be listener driven, so e-mail your questions/comments/thoughts/ideas to [email protected]

Sarah and John discuss Sarah's desire to build a post-modern media empire, the relationship between good improvisation and good fundraising (hint: create, don't convince!), and the excellent television fare being served up by BBC America. And we commence on a journey to debunk the political myths and misconceptions that surround independent voters.

Sarah and John discuss "super serving your niche" a la Ed Burns and Tyler Perry, Glen Campbell's farewell tour, the Iowa caucuses - did independent leave a mark? And the philosophical approach to interacting with the media. Plus....we now have an e-mail address - [email protected]. Send us your questions and comments so we can use them on next weeks' podcast.

Sarah and John discuss No Labels, Larry Lessig's Republic Lost, and the growing national conversation regarding political reform. They also touch on the joys of ice skating in NYC and Barcelona's continued domination of Real Madrid.

Sarah and John discuss the Anti-Corruption Awards, the invisible man Karl Marx, the sound and fury of Thomas Friedman, and direct democracy.

John and Sarah explore the End of Knowing, the jobs bill, the "psychology of donations" and holiday movies.

John and Sarah discuss third party politics, protest candidacies, and George Clooney's star turn in The Ides of March