In 2017 Congressman Steve Israel left Capitol Hill – unindicted and undefeated – at the very pinnacle of politics. He was one of the top ranking Democrats in Congress, widely respected, and on a path to even greater influence. President Bill Clinton called him “one of the most thoughtful Members of Congress.” So why did he give it up? And how did the reality of Congressional fundraising factor in? By the way, if you like what you hear, Congressman Israel’s latest literary venture is his new book...
Mar 03, 2022•41 min
Why this war? Why now? And are there fractures behind the scenes within the Kremlin? Sean Carberry served as NPR’s international correspondent based in Kabul, Afghanistan after reporting for NPR from more than two dozen middle eastern and African countries. He shares what top analysts are thinking about the state of the war in Ukraine, what his colleagues on the ground are focusing on right now, and what the future might hold. A crossover episode with the Beyond Politics Podcast. Photo by Max Ku...
Feb 28, 2022•42 min
I recently wrote an article for Newsweek in which I pleaded with Democrats to refocus. When we lost the effort to save American democracy in the Senate at the beginning of the month, it was demoralizing. And Democrats shouldn't give up on the federal level. But there's a lot more to government and making change in America than the federal level. Earlier this month when the Ohio Supreme Court threw out the Republican legislature's ludicrously gerrymandered congressional maps, there was a lesson t...
Feb 24, 2022•44 min
Chris Hill of Motley Fool Money walks through how to think about (and how much to worry about) recent volatility, as well as the drops of some high performers, and the counterintuitive performance of the lodging industry.
Feb 23, 2022•25 min
Democratic political and media consultant Mark Bergman has a message for Democrats...we're right about a lot of things, including striving for equality, supporting working families on needs like child care, and following science on Covid. But the the voters are not seeing things the same way. It's partly the message, partly the priorities we talk about, partly the brand of the entire party...and there's a healthy dose of distortion from right wing media. But the bottom line is, we're losing the ...
Feb 21, 2022•43 min
Matt joins legendary West Virginia radio broadcaster Howard Monroe to talk about why school issues - including mask mandates, closures, curriculum, "transparency," and critical race theory - have become such a huge focus in politics these days. And are Republicans winning on these issues?
Feb 18, 2022•25 min
The agreement from gun manufacturer Remington to settle a civil court case brought by Sandy Hook families marks the first time a gun company in America has been held liable for a mass shooting. The case revolved around the marketing campaign for the rifle used by the Newtown shooter and whether it targeted teenage boys and young adults through ad placement in violent video games. The fact that the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case could open the door to many more state-based lawsuits,...
Feb 17, 2022•19 min
No...not that Michael Cohen . This Michael Cohen is one of the most thoughtful, analytic, and interesting minds in the Republican Party. Mike has worked in politics for 25 years, primarily in polling, and he also teaches at Johns Hopkins University’s graduate communications program and has appeared on numerous media outlets. He had the number one opinion piece in The Hill this weekend, making the case that Mike Pence should run for President. He is "out" on the Republican Party right now. So I a...
Feb 14, 2022•43 min
Dr. Roderick Graham is Associate Professor in Sociology & Criminal Justice at Old Dominion University who writes social critique through a sociological lens. We tackle affirmative action, immigration, harm reduction centers, "hate launderers" and why America has become so culturally unhealthy. Make sure to check Rod out on YouTube , Twitter , Substack , and at The Editorial Board ....
Feb 10, 2022•41 min
Moundsville , directed by David Bernabo and John W. Miller and currently playing on PBS , is the biography of a classic American town: Moundsville, WV (pop. 8,400), on the Ohio River, where Appalachia hits the Midwest. Told through the voices of residents, the film diverts from the well-trod paths – opioids, coal, Trump – to trace the many forces that have buffeted this proud town, diminishing it but also offering new promise and opportunities. In this crossover episode with the Great Ideas Podc...
Feb 09, 2022•41 min
Chris Hill, the host of Motley Fool Money, the number one stock investing radio show in America, explains what the heck is going on with successful big tech companies that continue to grow steadily while Facebook hits the skids. Also, we dive into the future of Peloton, and are all those expensive Super Bowl ads actually worth it?
Feb 09, 2022•25 min
Four months ago, our co-host Matt Robison wrote an article in Newsweek arguing that it was time for America to panic. He quoted from the government scholar Robert Kagan: " the United States is heading into its greatest political and constitutional crisis since the Civil War, with a reasonable chance over the next three to four years of incidents of mass violence, a breakdown of federal authority, and the division of the country into warring red and blue enclaves." Last week, a powerful and respe...
Feb 07, 2022•41 min
Today, we wanted to bring you portions of a conversation that Matt Robison had on the Healthier Tech Podcast with host R Blank. Some of you may recognize that name from my previous conversation with him in which we talked about the science behind electromagnetic radiation and some of the effects that that type of radiation -- which comes from everything in the world around us that runs on electricity -- has on our bodies, our brains, and our health. There is some pretty compelling science that s...
Feb 03, 2022•44 min
Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement raises a number of significant questions about the future of the Supreme Court. To understand what has been happening on the Court, the implications of losing Justice Breyer, and what’s coming next as President Biden decides on a nominee, we’re very pleased to have one of the country’s top legal analysts, Joyce White Vance. She’s a frequent legal commentator on MSNBC and other media outlets, a Distinguished Professor of the Practice of Law at the University of...
Jan 31, 2022•37 min
Americans are sad, angry, and fed up these days...and with the lingering pandemic, high prices, and continued partisan bitterness, it's understandable. So what is that doing to elected officeholders, voter perceptions of the two parties, and re-election prospects for everyone on the ballot in 2022? Neil Levesque of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics who oversees the top-rated St. Anselm's poll walks through their latest findings, and what they mean for the direction of public opinion and po...
Jan 27, 2022•44 min
With the eyes of the world on Ukraine, we look today at why Russia has pushed the world to the brink of war. Max Bergmann is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, where he focuses on Europe, Russia, and U.S. security cooperation. From 2011 to 2017, he served in the U.S. Department of State in a number of different positions, including as a member of the secretary of state’s policy planning staff, where he focused on political-military affairs and nonproliferation; special assistan...
Jan 24, 2022•43 min
Today, I published an article in the Editorial Board that is getting a ton of attention online, arguing that the answer to the question “what grade do you give Biden’s first year in office?” is “A+” and that anything else is insane. Here's why.
Jan 20, 2022•25 min
We did our regular check in with Chris Hill, the host of Motley Fool Money, the #1 stock investing radio show in America, and one of the biggest financial podcasts out there. We look at Microsoft's giant acquisition, what are the big trends to look for in earnings season, and how are live sports doing (hint: amazing).
Jan 19, 2022•25 min
Fred Wellman is the former Executive Director of The Lincoln Project, a West Point and Army veteran, and a former Republican. He's spent years fighting what Donald Trump stands for. But the insurrection on January 6th, 2020 marked a turning point. He saw something new: a clear parallel to the roots of the fascist movement in Germany in the 1930s growing here in America. So Fred’s decided to take everything he learned at the Lincoln Project and do something about it. He’s founded The Beer Hall Pr...
Jan 18, 2022•43 min
The Supreme Court followed up its recent ruling on state district maps with a shot across the bow of state Republicans today, blasting their ludicrously gerrymandered Congressional map and sending it back to the drawing board. This is a big deal not just because of how it could affect the count in Congress, but also because it provides a blueprint for how Democrats can fight back against the assault on free elections by using a little focus and tactical smarts. There's a backstory to how we got ...
Jan 14, 2022•44 min
Today we talk with former Sunday editor at the Chicago Sun-Times and former metro editor at the Chicago Tribune Mark Jacob about a crisis in media like nothing we have ever seen before. Criticizing the media is nothing new. But today, the fracturing of the media landscape, the rise of social media, the battle for attention and eyeballs online, and the willingness to brazenly disregard the truth on the part of some politicians has left the media reeling, and unable to help its readers, viewers, a...
Jan 13, 2022•42 min
In the aftermath of the insurrection of January 6th 2021, it appeared for a moment that Donald Trump's effort to cast the 2020 election as illegitimate and to overturn the results of that election had come to an end. While 140 Republican members of Congress did vote to overturn the results – literally in the midst of the damage around them in the capitol – Republican leaders ultimately expressed acceptance of the election and a rejection of the insurrection. It seemed like there was a chance tha...
Jan 10, 2022•43 min
In the wake of the January 6 insurrection, a Harvard professor decided, in a matter of days, to teach a course that unfolded in real time and dug deep into what happened on January 6th, the roots of the insurrection, and the still-developing understanding of the events of that day. So what did he and his students learn, and what can we say about the future now that we are a year out? We wanted to bring the kind of insight that you get in a Harvard course to everybody, so we brought that professo...
Jan 06, 2022•39 min
Matt joins veteran radio host Howard Monroe to talk about why the insurrection was, yes, an insurrection, where public opinion has gone, and why we are in more peril now than we were a year ago.
Jan 05, 2022•25 min
As we enter 2022, the biggest question on everyone’s minds – the biggest question in the world – is what will happen with Covid, especially as we deal with the Omicron wave which is continuing to lead to record numbers of cases. So we wanted to check in with one of our favorite guests, Donald G. McNeil Jr. Throughout the pandemic, for millions of readers and podcast listeners in the US and around the world, Donald has been one of the most trusted, thoughtful, and clear explainers on the science ...
Jan 03, 2022•41 min
The most fun show of the year where our panel hands out end of year awards: MVP for Dems and for Republicans, most important news story, surprising polling finding, under-reported news story of the year, and more. Our panel is Republican political columnist Alicia Preston, former Democratic Congressman Paul Hodes, and host and former Congressional staffer Matt Robison. Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash...
Dec 29, 2021•42 min
We call the show Beyond Politics for a reason, and today, we once again step way beyond politics for a fun conversation with astronomer John Gianforte about all of the fascinating news in space and astronomy. What are we going to see with our new $10 billion telescope? Can we stop killer asteroids with a spaceship, like something out of a movie? And what can we learn from the brief few days where scientists thought we might have finally gotten a message from extra terrestrial intelligence, and i...
Dec 27, 2021•44 min
The outstanding think tank The Concord Coalition has its own podcast and radio show called Facing the Future, and recently, they hosted Beyond Politics hosts Matt Robison and former Congressman Paul Hodes for a lively discussion about how screwed up things are, and what can be fixed (and what can't). There's a little friendly dunking on Congress, plus some practical talk about how to make things work on the side.
Dec 24, 2021•20 min
Matt joins legendary West Virginia radio broadcaster -- and expert Senator Joe Manchin analyst -- Howard Monroe to talk about Manchin's weekend stunner, what was really driving it, and whether it's the best thing that could have happened to Democrats.
Dec 23, 2021•25 min
The recently concluded COP 26 summit in Glasgow was supposed to shine an international spotlight on global warming and charge up the next stage of commitments from countries to reduce carbon emissions. There were only two problems. One: it’s unclear how much progress was actually made. The conference did end with a new consensus about the need for action, and some analysts called that a substantial achievement. But the Swedish activist Greta Thunberg accused the conference of consisting of a lot...
Dec 20, 2021•43 min
