Trey and Ken start the show with Biden’s immigration order. President Biden has announced a sweeping executive action on immigration, authorizing U.S. immigration officials to deport large numbers of migrants without processing their asylum claims. This new policy, seen as one of the most restrictive border policies by a Democratic president, marks a significant shift in the administration’s approach to border security. Ken partially defends Biden’s order, even if it looks similar to past Trump ...
Jun 06, 2024•1 hr 6 min
Mike talks with Les Leopold, co-founder and executive director of the Labor Institute, a nonprofit organization that develops and conducts education and policy programs for unions, environmental organizations, community groups, and immigrant worker centers on workplace health and safety, the environment, economics, and movement building. He’s also the author of multiple books. His latest is Wall Street’s War on Workers: How Mass Layoffs and Greed are Destroying the Working Class and What to Do A...
Jun 05, 2024•1 hr 1 min
Mike and Jay open the preview of this supporters’ midweek episode with a discussion of the Supreme Court’s decision in NRA v. Vullo, a case in which Jay submitted an amicus brief to the Court. The Justices unanimously agreed with (most of) Jay’s reasoning, as does Mike. From there, they move on to the decision by the Biden administration to allow Ukraine to use US weapons to strike inside Russia, which they both agree with, but wish were less limited. Following that is a discussion of the Libert...
Jun 04, 2024•18 min
Mike & Jay open with a discussion of Donald Trump’s conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records. Mike isn’t crazy about the law but believes that the prosecutor, judge, and jury acted reasonably in applying it. Jay discusses possible grounds for appeal. They agree that the effect of the conviction won’t be great, but that any small political benefit should be to Biden. Then they move to calls for Justice Samuel Alito’s recusal. Mike starts with some comments concerning Ken’s chara...
Jun 01, 2024•52 min
Mike talks with Corey Nathan, host of the most excellent podcast, Talkin’ Politics & Religion Without Killin’ Each Other. Corey shares his unique perspective as a "born-again Christian with a thick Jewish accent" and how his background has influenced his approach to discussing sensitive topics like politics and religion. Topics Mike & Corey Discuss Include: - how and why Corey doesn’t fit the ‘Evangelical Christian’ stereotype - discussing politics with evangelical Christians - a Biblica...
May 30, 2024•55 min
Trey talks with Becca Block, author of Can You Help Me Give a Sh*t, in which she discusses the surprising policy implications of listening to student's voices in public education. Topics Trey and Becca Cover Include are we asking too much of the public school system? what it means to listen deeply to student voices the competing policy desires of parents, teachers, and students the intersection of race and gender on educational policy are libertarians right when it comes to public education? Fol...
May 29, 2024•50 min
Trey and Ken dive into the 7th and 8th Amendments. Topics include: The historic origins of jury trials The lack of contemporary 7th Amendment cases Excessive bail Excessive fines and civil forfiture Cruel and unusual punishment The death penalty Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 28, 2024•21 min
Trey & Ken start the show by delving into the International Court of Justice’s Friday ruling against Israel. Trey and Ken disagree over the scope of the decision as to whether it prohibits further offensive action. Ken believes the ICJ is offering wiggle room and Trey does not. Staying overseas, the guys talk about the surprising call for snap elections in the United Kingdom. The hosts focus on the motivations behind this decision, especially given recent poll numbers for Conservatives, the ...
May 24, 2024•1 hr 14 min
Trey talks with Elizabeth Neumann, former Assistant Secretary for Counterterrorism and Threat Prevention at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, about her recently released book Kingdom of Rage: The Rise of Christian Extremism and the Path Back to Peace. Topics Trey and Elizabeth Cover Include from foreign extremism to domestic extremism the Christian case against extremism the evolution of religion and politics how left and right differ in extremist activities Follow Elizabeth on X, and ch...
May 22, 2024•56 min
Mike and Trey kick off the previeww of this midweek supporters’ episode with a look at the Supreme Court’s upholding the funding structure for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Mike and Trey think this was the right call, with Trey arguing that Justices Alito and Gorsuch are conflating the unconstitutional with what they may believe to be unwise public policy. Next, they discuss how AT&T improperly influenced the Illinois legislature into passing bills favorable to the company. This ...
May 21, 2024•19 min
Mike and Trey open with a discussion of the Biden administration’s recently announced tariffs on China. Trey is no fan of protectionism, but he understands Mike’s points concerning US issues with China’s trade practices. They both agree that Donald Trump’s approach to China would almost certainly be more tariff-heavy than Biden’s. Then they turn to presidential debates, which will happen without the Commission on Presidential Debates. Trey points out how early the first of the two scheduled deba...
May 17, 2024•1 hr
Mike talks with Tulsi Gabbard, a military veteran and four-term member of Congress who was Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee. She caused a major stir when she left the party, which she’s written about in her recently released book, For Love of Country: Leave the Democrat Party Behind, which is the focus of their conversation. Topics Mike & Tulsi Discuss Include: - what drew Tulsi to the Democrats in the first place - how she realized she no longer was a Democrat - if Democratic...
May 15, 2024•46 min
Jay and Justin open the preview of this midweek supporters’ episode with a discussion of South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem revealing in her new book that she shot a dog and lied about meeting Kim Jong Un. They discussed why someone would put that in a book, what this means for the VP contest, and ultimately proposed a third political party whose platform mostly consists of not shooting dogs. Next, they talk about the Supreme Court ruling in Culley v. Marshall, dealing with a civil forfeiture cas...
May 14, 2024•19 min
Jay and Justin start off discussing President Biden’s proposed pause in sending certain offensive weapons to Israel if they attack Rafah, including the impact on the conflict, potential reverberations in the international community, and the domestic political implications of conflict over Israel within the Democratic party. Next, they turn their attention to Marjorie Taylor Green’s failed attempt to oust Speaker Mike Johnson. Why did the Democrats stick by him, what does this say about the state...
May 11, 2024•57 min
Mike talks with Allen Guelzo, the Thomas W. Smith Distinguished Research Scholar in the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University. Professor Guelzo is a three-time winner of the Lincoln Prize, awarded annually for the finest scholarly work in English on Abraham Lincoln, the American Civil War soldier, or a subject relating to their era. They discuss his latest book, Our Ancient Faith: Lincoln, Democracy, and the American Experiment. Topics Discussed Includ...
May 08, 2024•1 hr 2 min
Mike and May open the preview of this midweek supporters’ episode with a look at the Louisiana redistricting plan recently rejected by a three-judge panel. They get into the tension between the Voting Rights Act and the Equal Protection Clause, partisan vs racial gerrymandering, and if there’s a better way to set up congressional districts. Next is a discussion of the proposed federal rescheduling of marijuana. Mike thinks it’s long overdue and should lead to more and better research on the effe...
May 07, 2024•21 min
Mike & May open with a discussion of the escalating pro-Palestine protests on college campuses. May things other schools can learn from Florida’s handling of protests at state institutions. Mike wonders if ‘outside agitators’ are necessarily a bad thing, and if we should be glad that so many people are in a position to protest what they view as significant injustice. Next is a look at the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which passed the House with strong bipartisan support. May thinks it’s large...
May 04, 2024•59 min
As a cross-interview with Sustainable Planet, Kimberly Weir, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Northern Kentucky University and co-host of Sustainable Planet talks with Akshat Rathi, award-winning senior reporter for Bloomberg News and the host of Zero, a climate-solutions podcast for Bloomberg Green and author of Climate Capitalism: Winning the Race to Zero Emissions and Solving the Crisis of Our Age. Topics Kimberly & Akshat discuss include: How a misinformed campaign marketing sl...
May 01, 2024•33 min
Mike and Jay open the preview of this supporters’ exclusive episode with a discussion of oral arguments in Grants Pass v. Johnson, where the Supreme Court is considering the constitutionality of a local ordinance that bans sleeping outdoors. Mike has more of a problem with the ordinance than does Jay, and they agree that the Court is likely to issue an opinion that gives cities clearer guidance. They also discuss the underlying issue – the growing homelessness problem in the United States. After...
Apr 30, 2024•19 min
After some brief comments on the ongoing criminal trial of Donald Trump, Mike and Jay discuss the Ukraine aid package, considering how it got to the floor, what it says about the Republican Party, and the arguments against extending more aid to Ukraine. Next, they turn to the recently passed TikTok ban, which would require parent company ByteDance to either sell the company to an approved buyer within a year or no longer be able to do business in the United States. Both Mike and Jay are skeptica...
Apr 26, 2024•1 hr 1 min
Mike welcomes back to the show Bryan Caplan, a Professor of Economics at George Mason University, prolific author, and blogger at Bet on It. They discuss his latest essay collection, You Will Not Stampede Me: Essays on Non-Conformism. Topics Mike and Bryan Discuss Include - disobedience to authority - why the world is wrong and the weird is right - herding and hysteria - the ubiquity (and danger) of crusades - what the world got wrong about COVID - combining cynicism and idealism Bryan Caplan on...
Apr 24, 2024•59 min
Trey and Ken dive into the Sixth Amendment and the unique protections it provides defendants. Topics of conversation include: The advent of professional police and prosecutors The modern plea bargaining system The right to a prosecutor The ability to produce evidence in your defense The Politics Guys on Facebook | X Mike and Kimberly's new show splanetpod.com Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or ...
Apr 23, 2024•11 min
Trey and Ken open with breaking news on Israel’s attack on Iran and Syria. They discuss the appropriateness of the response, the likely message behind the response, and the political implications for U.S. politics. They also briefly consider the timing of the U.S.’s blocking of Palestinian United Nations membership in the Security Council. Next, they move to Congress and the ongoing debate inside the Republican Party over foreign aid. Trey believes Speaker Johnson has a deal already struck with ...
Apr 19, 2024•1 hr 3 min
Trey talks with author Sasha Issenberg about his new book The Lie Detectives: In Search of a Playbook for Winning Elections in the Disinformation Age, in which he talks about the left's campaign strategies to combat "disinformation" and "misinformation." Topics Trey and Sasha Cover Include - why the left is primarily interested in disinformation - the campaign strategies of Democrats online - the focus on engagement in political persuasion - how overseas democracies have faced similar disinforma...
Apr 17, 2024•56 min
Mike and Jay open the preview of this supporters’ midweek episode with a discussion of the Biden administration’s move to close the ‘gun show loophole’. Mike argues that it’s a good move and, to his surprise, Jay doesn’t really disagree. From there they move on to a more contentious regulatory issue – whether the government should require all new table saws to have a finger-sensing blade brake. Mike thinks the benefits outweigh the costs, but Jay isn’t too sure that’s the case. Following that, t...
Apr 16, 2024•20 min
Mike and Jay open with a look at the ruling by the Arizona Supreme Court upholding a near-total ban on abortions passed in 1864. They consider the legal reasoning behind the decision, what’s likely to happen next, and how they see it playing out politically, particularly in light of Donald Trump’s recent announcement that he believed abortion rights should be left up to the states. Next, they discuss the latest Biden administration efforts to forgive student loan debt. Mike and Jay disagree as t...
Apr 13, 2024•1 hr 21 min
Mike talks with historical anthropologist Nicholas Dirks, Chancellor of UC Berkeley from 2013-2017, about his book City of Intellect: The Uses and Abuses of the University. Topics Include: - the public’s decline of faith in higher education - if higher ed is focused on the right kind of diversity - free speech as privileging dominant views - what elite institutions are doing with their massive endowments - rising education costs and administrative bloat at universities - if public universities s...
Apr 10, 2024•58 min
Trey & Ken discuss the five major elements of the 5th Amendment: Grand Juries Double Jeopardy Self-Incrimination Due Process Takings The Politics Guys on Facebook | X Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo we’re @PoliticsGuys. The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can wor...
Apr 09, 2024•14 min
Trey & Ken start the episode with a deep dive into Israel’s airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Syria. This leads to a discussion of the differences between the northern conflict and the Gaza conflict. Next, the discussion moves to Biden’s newest demands of Israel and how Israel has responded. This also includes a discussion of shifting American attitudes on supporting Israel. After that, the duo look at the 6/15 week abortion ban in Florida. They discuss the Florida Supreme Court’s legal ...
Apr 05, 2024•56 min
Mike, Jay, and Justin open the preview of this supporters’ midweek episode with a discussion of NBC’s decision to hire, and then quickly fire, former RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel. Was it a bad business decision poorly implemented, an example of anti-Trump bias, or something more than that? Next, they consider whether Truth Social’s IPO makes any sense. Probably not from a strictly business sense, but as Mike points out, owning a share of DJT is likely to be more than a dollars and cents calculation ...
Apr 02, 2024•18 min
