OK Talks

In this election-eve episode of OK Talks, I have a look at roughly four reasons why I'm feeling cautiously optimistic that Kamala Harris will win the 2024 Presidential election.

#78 - Fear: Trump's Motivation And Main Offering by Oliver Kendall

In this episode, I throw some shade at some of the latest antics from the anti-Israel movement including their attempts to mess with the Democratic National Convention, and at some in the pro-Israel community who have jumped all over a single line in President Biden's convention speech and unfairly written off Democrats as having given in to the antisemitic wing of the horseshoe left. The Democrat...

With the benefit of 24 hours to process, here is my initial off-the-cuff of the pick by Kamala Harris of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to be her running mate.

In this episode, I look at a mix of topics: - Good journalism on display at the National Association of Black Journalists (and Trump's pathetic and racist behavior in response to it) - Bad journalism in the domestic press and foreign policy space (unserious coverage of the election at the expense of Democrats, biased coverage at the expense of Israel, and lack of coverage of the spike in antisemit...

In this episode, I discuss the weirdness of Republicans' obsession with having children and denigration of people who don't for whatever reason, as crystalized in the selection of JD Vance to be Trump's running mate. Views my own.

In this episode, I weigh in on the decision by President Biden to withdraw from the Presidential campaign. I also give my takes on the shooting at Trump's rally, the judicial travesty wrought by the deeply corrupt Florida judge in the classified documents case, and the selection of JD Vance to be Trump's running mate. Views my own. Below is the link to The Atlantic piece by David Frum referenced i...

In this episode, intended to come out two weeks ago, I discuss the loss in a high-profile primary of Congressman Jamaal Bowman. We have a look at the rise (and failure of the Republicans to curb) more extreme members of Congress (mostly within the GOP but also among Democrats), the comparison between Republicans and Democrats vis-à-vis this issue, the implications of Bowman having lost, and anothe...

In a ruling that has shocked most legal observers and just about everyone else, the far-right Supreme Court has ruled that a President can basically just... commit crimes. This is nuts. And it's hardly the only crazy thing this court has done lately. In this episode, I explore that, and the way in which the behavior of this court should focus the minds of voters this fall.

Initially alarmed by the optics of the debate (boy do I hope President Biden mainlines vitamin C before the next one), I'm joined at 5:30AM Barcelona time by former Republican and current fellow Dem Abroad Robert Gerrard to provide our half-asleep reactions to the debate, and, hopefully, some counter to the doom-and-gloom narrative that's been the initial reaction. I mean come on, the NYT ran thei...

This past weekend, elections were held across the EU for the European Parliament, with the results showing an undeniable shift rightward. I examine what could be the reason for this outcome (digging into questions of how Europeans view immigration and security), and what it might mean. Views my own.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we got him. ...well, maybe not quite yet. This podcast reacts to the milestone in the seemingly endless saga of Trump's legal issues, and analyzes some of the questions raised by the former president having been found guilty of all charges in the first of the multiple trials he should be facing. Views my own.

In this episode, following up on the previous one, I'm joined by Spencer Morin Reynolds, who is an expert on third party movements and a veteran of the Forward Party. We discuss the impediments to minor parties in the US political system and why minor party Presidential campaigns at the moment are tilting at windmills, and how a what would be necessary for a third party to actually stand a chance...

In this episode, I discuss the impact of minor party presidential candidates in elections within the relatively unique American electoral system, and take a look at the minor party candidates playing spoiler in this particular election year. Views my own.

In this episode, I discuss the Israeli response to the large-scale attack on their territory by the Islamic Republic of Iran, the broader theory around escalation and deterrence. On the home front, I talk about excesses among and responses to the anti-Israel protests across US college campuses this past week, and some broader themes around how people protest. Views my own.

This episode, which should be seen as a spin-off of the last, discusses the patterns of mistakes made in the coverage of Israel's war in Gaza, and examines the consequences of those mistakes. Views my own. As mentioned in the episode, linked here is a piece by Chair of Urban Warfare Studies at West Point John Spencer: https://www.newsweek.com/israel-has-created-new-standard-urban-warfare-why-will-...

This episode takes apart the idea that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the broader Israel-Palestine conflict can be broken down into "two sides," and discusses the alarming rise in antisemitism around the world. Views my own.

In this episode, we cover and analyze several more events that unfolded over the last week: - The very different way in which Brazil is handling the aftermath of its version of January 6th - The star-studded Biden campaign fundraiser last week in the context of the Democrats' very real need for a huge cash advantage in order to have a fair fight - The Russian campaign to kidnap citizens of western...

After the unplanned hiatus, I'm back with takes on several of the leading stories over the past week or so. In this episode, we discuss: - The nonsense scandal around the prosecutor of Trump's election interference case in Georgia - The broader issue of justice delayed when it comes Trump - The ISIS attack in Russia, what it means, and some ties to the situation in the Middle East - The spread of...

Another year come and gone - one I believe will go down in the history books as not-great overall. In this episode, I look at a couple of reasons why I believe the last calendar year was bad specifically vis-à-vis the promotion and preservation of democracy, from the effective return of Trump, to the Middle East, to the war in Ukraine. Views my own.

While the US has yet to elect a woman president (despite Hillary Clinton having received by far the most votes in 2016) and Republican states race each other to enact the most restrictive abortion laws they can conceive of, the neighbors south of the border are going in a rather different direction on both counts. In this episode I'm joined by Marta Treviño Leyva and Edgar Lopez Vallejo to discuss...

In this episode, I look at the two big political stories out of the US this week: the dismal poll numbers for President Biden that caused the entire Democratic Party to go into a meltdown to begin the week, and then the very good showing barely a day later in the elections in a number of states. I consider the intersection of these two stories, what it means for the next elections, and what it say...

After weeks of chaos and dysfunction, the Republicans in the House have finally settled on a new Speaker after turfing out Trump stooge Kevin McCarthy. The new guy is a little-known relative newcomer to Congress, but it turns out he is basically Gym Jordan with an inside voice. I explore how we got here and the implications. Views my own.

In this episode, I follow up on various themes explored in Episode 54 re the latest Israel-Hamas conflict, with a particular focus on the atrocious media coverage of the hospital explosion. I also have a look at the chaos in American domestic politics as Republicans fail yet again to pick a Speaker of the House. Views my own.

In this episode, I'm joined by Polish political organizing strategist and co-founder of Akcja Demokracja Weronika Paszewska to discuss the political earthquake that just took place in Eastern Europe. Poland just to oust the far-right authoritarian Law and Justice Party, which has spent nearly the last decade undermining democracy in one of the most important countries in the EU. Views our own.