The Compass of Power

Who are the 20 Republicans holding a first-in-a-century block on Republican House Leader Kevin McCarthy's bid to become Speaker? We look at WHERE each of these "far right" politicians come from to better understand their motivations.   Almost all are from regional cultures that form the Southern coalition, which mainstream American media and politicos view as the conservative coalit...

No sooner did I record an episode about the unsolved quadruple homicide at the University of Idaho, than I returned to my old home on the Palouse. I talk about what folks there told me about the murders, the national media and the investigation into the killings. It seems like everyone knows a little something about the case, but what no one can quite grasp is why they happened. And, as someone wh...

The murder of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21,  Xana Kernodle, 20, and Kernodle's boyfriend Ethan Chapin, 20, in the early hours of Nov. 13 has shocked and fascinated the nation. They all seemed like fun-loving college kids in a quaint little college town -- Moscow, Idaho, home of the University of Idaho. In this episode, we look at how both the University of Idaho and Washington Stat...

The one thing Donald Trump talks about consistently is winning.  People like winning. And when you beat expectations -- even low expectations -- you come out looking like a winner. Which is what happened for Democrats in 2022. Guess that, and Trump's campaign, takes us straight to election 2024.

If you look at the 2022 midterms from the perspective of place, it was a resounding victory for the elites. In the North, Democrats booted Republicans in places like Massachusetts, Maine and Minnesota. But in the South Republican Govs. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Greg Abbott of Texas did the kicking. 

Why can't Democrats win in Texas? Former Congressman Beto O'Rourke has been running for one office or another for years, first challenging Sen. Ted Cruz, then running for president, now challenging Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. But while O'Rourke comes close, he hasn't found a platform that can build a majority coalition in American's second-most-populous state. This episod...

To the progress/liberal/Northen set, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is closely related to the Devil. President Biden called him "Trump incarnate." In this episode, I try to consider DeSantis from the Republican perspective, and find a politician who has bet on his own ideas repeatedly and come out ahead. Now he faces former Governor Charlie Crist in the governor's race, the first test of...

US Senator Raphael Warnock faces Republican challenger Hershel Walker in Georgia. As the South grows, this race could be a preview of future Democratic successes, building on the history of liberalism in the South. Or Walker could demonstrate that traditional Southern views can win even as Georgia urbanizes. Midterms 2022 Georgia Senate Race