For the ad-free version of this episode, subscribe to Politicology+ at https://politicology.com/plus For most Americans, losing access to a bank account sounds like a customer-service hassle—not a political problem. But what if your ability to get paid, pay bills, run a business, donate to a cause, or even shop online or just withdraw cash at an ATM can be shut off quietly, without a trial, without an explanation, and without a meaningful way to appeal? In this two-part episode, Ron Steslow is j...
Jan 15, 2026•52 min•Season 2Ep. 547
For most Americans, losing access to a bank account sounds like a customer-service hassle—not a political problem. But what if your ability to get paid, pay bills, run a business, donate to a cause, or even shop online or withdraw cash at an ATM can be shut off quietly, without a trial, without an explanation, and without a meaningful way to appeal? In this two-part episode, Ron Steslow is joined by economist Jorge Jraissati, President of the Economic Inclusion Group, to unpack the growing reali...
Jan 15, 2026•49 min•Season 2Ep. 546
Ron Steslow kicks off 2026 with a “Smash Brothers” weekly featuring Lucy Caldwell, Hagar Chemali, Susan Del Percio, and Mike Madrid to look at the forces they think will define the year ahead—geopolitical disruption, institutional failure, civil dysfunction—and the transformational period we’re living through. Then they share some exciting news about The Weekly in 2026. Finally, in Politicology+, they dive into the values that will matter the most as we head into 2026. POLITICOLOGY+ Not yet a Po...
Jan 10, 2026•1 hr 2 min•Season 2Ep. 545
In the first week of the new year, the U.S. launches a dramatic operation in Venezuela that ends with Nicolás Maduro (and Cilia Flores) in U.S. custody, transported to New York to face narco-terorism charges. Ron and Hagar Chemali (Fmr. spokesperson for the U.S. Mission to the UN) unpack what we know about the raid, why the administration says it happened, and why the real motive may be bigger than oil or drugs. Then they turn to the hardest questions: legality in a world where "international la...
Jan 07, 2026•1 hr 11 min•Season 2Ep. 544
Ron Steslow and Lucy Caldwell talk about the current healthcare landscape and the ongoing debate about how we pay for healthcare. They critique the ACA’s effectiveness, the challenges of health insurance coverage and explore market-based solutions. They also highlight the importance of personal advocacy in navigating healthcare and the evolving discourse around health and wellness, particularly in the context of AI's role in healthcare advocacy. Related Reading: NBC News - Senate Republicans pla...
Jan 03, 2026•33 min•Season 2Ep. 543
Ron Steslow and Olivier Knox discuss whether thinking is becoming a luxury good. They explore the alarming trend of declining literacy and the implications of digital media and AI on human thought and social interaction. Later, they discuss how the shift towards a post-literate society, characterized by short-form content and algorithmic reading, threatens the foundations of democracy and critical thinking. Related Reading: NYT - Thinking Is Becoming a Luxury Good TIME - ChatGPT's Impact On Our ...
Jan 03, 2026•41 min•Season 2Ep. 542
You can pre-order Testimony: Inside the Evangelical Movement That Failed a Generation now at https://www.jonwardwrites.org/ Jon Ward (Journalist and author of Testimony: Inside the Evangelical Movement That Failed a Generation) joins Ron Steslow to discuss growing up in the Evangelical Church, “Christian Trumpism,” and his new memoir. (06:05) Why Sarah Palin resonated with so many Christians (10:36) What having difficult conversations can teach you engagement and defensiveness (20:00) Evangelica...
Jan 01, 2026•45 min•Season 2Ep. 541
You can pre-order Testimony: Inside the Evangelical Movement That Failed a Generation now at https://www.jonwardwrites.org/ Jon Ward (Journalist and author of Testimony: Inside the Evangelical Movement That Failed a Generation) joins Ron Steslow to discuss growing up in the Evangelical Church, “Christian Trumpism,” and his new memoir. (03:28) Why Jon wrote the book (08:10) Being a “border-stalker” (14:36) The Jesus Movement (21:07) Understanding the different motivations (abortion and race) for ...
Jan 01, 2026•51 min•Season 2Ep. 540
Not yet a Politicology+ member? Don’t miss all the extra episodes on the private, ad-free version of this podcast. Upgrade now at politicology.com/plus . Ron Steslow and Mike Madrid discuss the redistricting wars, the Supreme Court case that could upend a central part of the Voting Rights Act, how Latinos becoming the largest minority group will make us rethink what being a “minority” even means, and how partisanship is becoming our primary identity. Related Reading: Axios - Virginia judge lets ...
Dec 26, 2025•36 min•Season 2Ep. 539
Not yet a Politicology+ member? Don’t miss all the extra episodes on the private, ad-free version of this podcast. Upgrade now at politicology.com/plus . Ron Steslow and Mike Madrid unpack historian Gordon S. Wood’s recent Wall Street Journal op-ed arguing that the United States is built on shared ideas, not shared bloodlines—and what that means in an era of rising “blood and soil” nationalism and demographic change. They dig into whether the American creed still has enough power to hold a multi...
Dec 26, 2025•39 min•Season 2Ep. 538
In this episode, Ron is joined by Hagar Chemali (Fmr. spokesperson for the U.S. Mission to the UN) to break down the Trump administration’s 2025 National Security Strategy—and why it reads like multiple agendas stitched together. They dig into the document’s big shift toward the Western Hemisphere, what “partnership without shared values” really implies, and how the administration’s internal split—isolationists vs. internationalists—creates real risk when the U.S. can’t speak with one voice. The...
Dec 20, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Season 2Ep. 536
In this episode, Ron is joined by Lucy Caldwell (Board Advisor to the Renew Democracy Initiative) to confront the question hanging over Democratic politics: Can the Democratic Party keep pretending we’re not in a populist era? Lucy breaks down the party’s internal struggle between centrists and insurgents—and why both sides are wildly overinterpreting recent election results. Using the Maine Senate race as a case study, they examine how primaries reward disruption and narrative power, often at t...
Dec 13, 2025•1 hr 12 min•Season 2Ep. 535
For the ad-free version of this episode, subscribe to Politicology+ at https://politicology.com/plus Last weekend, eleven Politicology listeners from all over the country joined Ron and Mike in person for a salon style retreat called Unscripted: A Politicology Gathering. They explored big questions like “What is the point of America?” and “What does it mean to be a citizen in the digital age?” In this episode, those same listeners share what they learned and how it’s changing how they think abou...
Dec 11, 2025•47 min•Season 2Ep. 534
Have you ever thought about what it means to be anonymous? Have you considered what it means that you can walk down the street or go to the grocery store or out to dinner without someone you’ve never met knowing your name, everything you’ve posted online, or your political leanings? Or when you go on a first date with someone, they’d walk in knowing your dating history, your political affiliations, your credit score or what groceries you buy? Advancements in facial recognition and a secretive st...
Dec 05, 2025•55 min•Season 2Ep. 533
Have you ever thought about what it means to be anonymous? Have you considered what it means that you can walk down the street or go to the grocery store or out to dinner without someone you’ve never met knowing your name, everything you’ve posted online, or your political leanings? Or when you go on a first date with someone, they’d walk in knowing your dating history, your political affiliations, your credit score or what groceries you buy? Advancements in facial recognition and a secretive st...
Dec 05, 2025•39 min•Season 2Ep. 532
For the ad-free version of this episode, subscribe to Politicology+ at https://politicology.com/plus Molly McKew (writer and lecturer on Russian influence and information warfare) joins Ron to break down a whirlwind of revelations about Trumpworld’s back-channel contacts with the Kremlin—and what they mean for Ukraine’s survival. Molly explains the leaked call where envoy Steve Witkoff coached the Kremlin on how to influence Donald Trump. She details why this behavior is wildly outside diplomati...
Dec 04, 2025•44 min•Season 2Ep. 531
In a special Thanksgiving-week episode of The Weekly , Ron Steslow and Mike Madrid sit down to answer your questions — about the deep fractures emerging inside the Republican Party, the escalating ICE raids in smaller cities, the boundary between sharp-elbowed politics and institutional destruction, the rise of AI, and the future of American civic life. In Politicology+ they unpack historian Gordon S. Wood’s recent Wall Street Journal op-ed arguing that the United States is built on shared ideas...
Nov 29, 2025•1 hr 17 min•Season 2Ep. 530
For the ad-free version of this episode, subscribe to Politicology+ at https://politicology.com/plus Last week, a “peace plan” to end the war in Ukraine leaked to the press. It would force Kyiv to abandon its NATO ambitions, cap its armed forces and shower Moscow with concessions. In this episode Ron talks to Gabrielius Landsbergis (former Foreign Minister of Lithuania ) and Molly McKew (writer and lecturer on Russian influence and information warfare) about what’s in the plan, what it means for...
Nov 25, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Season 2Ep. 530
This week, Ron Steslow and Hagar Chemali (Fmr. spokesperson for the U.S. Mission to the UN) break down the newly released Epstein emails, what they show, what they don’t and why the national security implications are far bigger than the headlines. They dig into Epstein’s attempts to insert himself into global politics including offering Russia “insight” on Donald Trump and the strange connection between Larry Summers and China’s Belt and Road Initiative Then, they walk through why Congress force...
Nov 22, 2025•1 hr 16 min•Season 2Ep. 529
Washington just lived through a “Seinfeld shutdown” —a 43-day government closure over… basically nothing. Or was it nothing? This week, Ron Steslow is joined by Peter Suderman (features editor at Reason and host of the Reason Roundtable) to unpack the weirdest shutdown in modern memory and the deeply broken healthcare system underneath it. They dig into why Democrats picked this fight, why they folded even while winning the blame game, and what it says about Obamacare that it now needs emergency...
Nov 15, 2025•1 hr 15 min•Season 2Ep. 528
Ron Steslow and Peter Suderman dive into the battle between the Abundance Agenda (Ezra Klein & Derek Thompson’s answer to America’s scarcity mindset) and the newly ascendant socialist wing embodied by New York City’s new mayor, Zohran Mamdani. Related Reading: The Atlantic - Mamdani Has a Point About Rent Control - The Atlantic Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Nov 15, 2025•33 min•Season 2Ep. 527
This week, Ron Steslow and Susan Del Percio (MSNBC political analyst and crisis communications expert) break down Tuesday night’s election results, Mamdani’s win in New York City, the blowout wins for moderate Democrats in New Jersey and Virginia, and how these wins highlight the identity crisis within the Democratic Party. In Politicology+ they unpack the Trump tariffs and the oral arguments in one of the most watched Supreme Court cases of the year. Not yet a Politicology+ member? Don’t miss a...
Nov 08, 2025•1 hr 7 min•Season 2Ep. 526
Nick Gillespie and host Ron Steslow discuss AI, what it’s doing to us, and our relationship with what it means to be human. Related media: NBC - Some of her closest relationships are with chatbots. That's more common than you think. Vox - The rise of chatbot “friends” | Vox Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Nov 06, 2025•28 min•Season 2Ep. 525
This week, Ron Steslow and Mike Madrid (Author of The Latino Century) discuss the proposed wealth tax on billionaires in California, the signs of worsening economic conditions, and how class warfare could dominate our politics. In Politicology+ they discuss the redistricting wars, the Supreme Court case that could upend a central part of the Voting Rights Act, how Latinos becoming the largest minority group will make us rethink what being a “minority” even means, and how partisanship is becoming...
Nov 01, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Season 2Ep. 524
This week, Ron Steslow and Hagar Chemali (Fmr. spokesperson for the U.S. Mission to the UN) connect a headline-grabbing jewel heist at the Louvre to China’s push to dethrone the dollar. Then, they turn to the escalating conflict with Venezuela: the strikes on alleged “drug boats,” CIA’s new covert action authority, and what’s really at stake for Maduro’s regime. In Politicology+ they discuss the Gaza ceasefire, why early flare-ups aren’t a sign of failure, the new “yellow line,” and why disarmam...
Oct 25, 2025•1 hr 25 min•Season 2Ep. 523
In our digital age, people have grown to see social media platforms as mere tools and applications. Marcus Collins, the award-winning marketer, former digital strategist for Beyoncé, and author of "For The Culture", argues otherwise. Join host Ron Steslow as he sits down with Marcus to unravel the deep-seated influence of culture on social media and our daily choices. Marcus elaborates on his assertion that "social media is people" and why understanding this fundamental idea changes our approach...
Oct 16, 2025•36 min•Season 2Ep. 522
This week, Ron Steslow and Susan Del Percio (MSNBC political analyst and crisis communications expert) break down New York City’s mayoral race and what a likely Zoran Mamdani win would signal for Democrats, how “personality politics” and populism are reshaping both parties, and what’s driving the current government shutdown fight. In Politicology+ they unpack the disturbing revelations surrounding Virginia Democratic Attorney General candidate Jay Jones. Not yet a Politicology+ member? Don’t mis...
Oct 11, 2025•58 min•Season 2Ep. 521
We live in a loud world that’s getting louder. We encounter noise all around us—from the chatter of polite conversations, to street noise in a big city, to the constant intrusion of the dings of notifications. But what is all of this noise doing to us, and what does it mean to find quiet in the midst of it? In fact, what is silence, anyway? How can it affect our minds, our bodies, and our relationships? Harvard and Oxford trained policymaker Justin Zorn and NASA consultant Leigh Marz join host R...
Oct 09, 2025•49 min•Season 2Ep. 515
This week, Ron Steslow and Mike Madrid (Author of The Latino Century) trace a through-line from our screen-first, post-literate society to America’s escalating political violence. In Politicology+ they continue the conversation, discussing the institutions, laws, and norms we’ve put in place to prevent violence from becoming a political tool, how they’re breaking down, and how we move forward. Not yet a Politicology+ member? Don’t miss all the extra episodes on the private, ad-free version of th...
Oct 04, 2025•1 hr 7 min•Season 2Ep. 515
This week, Ron Steslow and Hagar Chemali (Fmr. spokesperson for the U.S. Mission to the UN) break down the headlines and hidden stories from the United Nations General Assembly and the Trump administration’s surprise Gaza peace proposal. In Politicology+ they discuss the future of Hagar’s show My World, and what it’s like to navigate media and geopolitics in today’s fractured landscape. Not yet a Politicology+ member? Don’t miss all the extra episodes on the private, ad-free version of this podc...
Oct 03, 2025•1 hr 23 min•Season 2Ep. 514
