The Politics Lab

This week, Bill and Phil discuss the growing embrace of Christian nationalism in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s death and then introduce a new game we’re calling, The Elephant in the Newsroom. 

This week, Bill and Phil talk through the aftermath and implications of the murder of Charlie Kirk.  

This week, Bill and Phil explore the growing divide between the federal district courts, which have been ruling against Trump, and the Supreme Court, which has largely ruled in Trump‘s favor. Then we introduce a new game that we’re calling “What’s More Authoritarian?”

On this week’s episode, Bill and Phil discuss whether this was the week that the American democracy drifted over the line into authoritarianism.

This week, Bill and Phil reflect on Trump’s high-stakes diplomatic meetings with Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky, and European leaders, and then ponder the effectiveness of Gavin Newsom‘s new social media strategy of trolling Donald Trump by imitating Donald Trump.

This week, Bill and Phil dig into some of the bizarre and troubling actions of the Trump administration over the past week and then explore some of the deeper causal factors behind Trump’s success. 

This week, Bill and Phil take a moment to reflect on one of the most bizarre political weeks in recent memory, consider the implications of Trump’s decision to fire the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and close with a look at the situation in Gaza and news that Canada, Britain, and France will soon recognize a Palestinian state.

This week, Bill and Phil wrestle with the fact that Trump seems to be winning his war to remake the world, then they play a game of “What’s More Stupid?: Corn Pop Mental Agility Standard Edition”

This week, Bill and Phil reflect on the 80th anniversary of the creation of nuclear weapons, then ponder what history and historical analogies can teach us about our modern world.

This week, Bill and Phil discuss the ways that the Epstein case is turning Trump’s supporters against him, then dig into the curious (and troubling) phenomenon of American political institutions ceding power to the Presidency.

This week, Bill and Phil break down the Supreme Courts ruling on birthright citizenship and then think through the future of the Democratic Party on the one year anniversary of Joe Biden’s disastrous debate.

This week, Bill and Phil discuss the significance and implications of the US bombing of Iran and then assess the results of the recent New York City mayoral race.

This week, Bill and Phil discuss the expanding war between Israel, Iran and (possibly?) the United States; consider the growing prominence of political violence in American society; and grade Donald Trump’s birthday parade.

This week, Bill and Phil offer a big picture assessment of Trump's decision to deploy the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles, then reflect on Elon and Trump's drama-filled breakup.

This week, Bill and Phil discuss whether Trump’s shifting rhetoric on Russia and Putin is significant and then dive into some recent news stories to decide “What’s More Stupid?”.

This week, Bill and Phil debate whether Donald Trump has taken an amoral approach to American Foreign Policy and walk through the implications for global politics.

This week, Bill and Phil discuss how to know when our democracy has failed, then talk with Indivisible co-founder Ezra Levin about what we can be doing today to push back against Trump’s attacks on democracy. 

This week Bill and Phil discuss Trump’s indifference to due process and the constitution, how the public will respond to Trump’s tariffs leading to fewer dolls and pencils for American children, and close with a spirited discussion of whether it’s more likely that Bill & Phil could escape from Alcatraz or that Trump will become the next Pope.

This week, Bill and Phil discuss the significance of the first 100 days of Trump’s second term, then decide who had the dumbest tweet of the week.

This week, Bill and Phil look at some of the institutions and people that are pushing back against an increasingly authoritarian Trump, including the Federal Reserve, the Supreme Court, and the American people.  Then they close with an invigorating session of “What’s More Stupid?”

This week, Bill and Phil explore the ongoing battle between the Trump administration and the judiciary, pondering whether the country finds itself in a full blown constitutional crisis, then continue their ongoing series looking at attacks on core democratic institutions, focusing this week on Trump‘s attack on higher education.

This week, Bill and Phil try to make some sense of Trump’s tariffs and their implications.

This week, Bill and Phil discuss President Trump’s “Liberation Day” of tariffs, whether Trump can run for a third term, and the institutional resilience of the media as it comes under attack by the president.

This week, Bill and Phil discuss the implications of Signal-gate, then assess the resilience of the judicial system in light of Trump’s attacks on it.

This week, Bill and Phil offer a big picture look at the tumultuous first fifty days of the Trump presidency.