Zipcode Zero

Was the U.S. Constitution really the product of a group of visionaries creating the world's greatest democracy, or was it, at least in part, an effort to restrain popular rule? In this episode, Kevin is joined by Harvard Law professor and historian Michael Klarman to discuss his acclaimed book, The Framers' Coup: The Making of the United States Constitution . They explore the economic tu...

Sean Dempsey returns to Zipcode Zero for a wide-ranging conversation on the state of American politics and the growing crisis of political tribalism. We discuss why Sean no longer identifies as a libertarian, the fall of Congressman Thomas Massie, foreign policy, government surveillance, artificial intelligence, and the future of the Republican Party. Along the way, we explore whether America&apos...

The Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, meets annually, usually in Washington DC, and is a key gathering of conservative policymakers, media and officials from all over the country.  Over the last decade it has also become ground zero for the Trump wing of the Republican Party. This year the line-up of speakers included Trump himself, JD Vance, Elon Musk, Steve Bannon, various Repub...

Famed libertarian activist and author Sean Dempsey returns to discuss early takes on Trump 2.0. We discuss Trump's attempts to sledge-hammer parts of the government (CFPD, U.S.AID, Dept of Education), potential attempts to cut military spending, assessments of Tulsi Gabbard and RFK Jr., the legacy of COVID, Ukraine, Gaza, trilateral talks with China and Russia, and more. You can find Sean&apo...

Today I'm joined by John Strand, a man who participated in the January 6 protests on Capitol Hill. John committed no violence nor was he ever *charged* with any violence. Prosecutors don't dispute that he simply walked in and out of the building that day. For that offense he was facing almost a quarter century in prison. Is that justice? I hope everyone, especially those who are on the p...

As the Biden administration winds down, the mainstream/corporate media is assessing the impact of his presidency and the legacy he leads. Unfortunately, the media is largely whitewashing that legacy - largely concluding that Biden may have made mistakes but was always acting with noble intentions to promote freedom and a "rules based order" around the world. Substack writer "The Dis...

Connor Echols is the managing editor of NonZero. Connor came to NonZero by way of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, where he worked as a reporter covering global conflicts, the arms trade, and other fun stuff. His work has also appeared in the New Arab, the Intercept, and Injustice Watch, among other outlets. Based in Washington, DC, Connor writes about the people and ideas that dri...

Donald Trump and the Republican Party pulled off a pretty remarkable win on Tuesday. Not only did Trump sweep almost every swing state and clinch a popular vote win, he made substantial gains or outright victories with almost every demographic group in the country. How did Trump do it? Or to put it another way, how did Democrats fuck this up? There are a lot of different explanations being bantere...

Michael Baharaeen is the chief political analyst at The Liberal Patriot Substack as well as writer of the Checks and Balances Substack. He's recently published two posts on things to look out for this election, including major trends and key races, which you can find at:  https://www.liberalpatriot.com/p/the-trends-im-watching-during-election Michael and I delve into the significance of Ann S...

Dr. Zachary Foster is a historian of Palestine, having gotten his PhD in Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University. He’s a distinguished fellow at the Rutgers Center for Security, Race and Rights. He also runs the PalestineNexus.com, which offers an invaluable newsletter, accessible research and even courses you can enroll to learn more. He returns to Zipcode Zero to talk about where things sta...

Sean Dempsey is an acclaimed author, entrepreneur and Libertarian Party activist.  In this conversation, Sean Dempsey discusses his background in the Libertarian Party, his views on the current political landscape, and the moral framework of libertarianism. He expresses disenchantment with the political choices available, particularly in the context of the upcoming elections. Dempsey emphasizes th...

Clinton Friedrichs is a former Republican Hill staffer who worked for Representative Will Hurt (R-TX), Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) and Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE). He joins Zipcode Zero to talk about his perspective on the presidential and down ballot elections. Topics include:  - JD Vance and a (possibly) changing GOP - Kamala Harris's strategy and vision vs. that of Donald Trump - The impact...

 The Federal Republic of Germany is a country with a long and rich history. It’s a country that is best known in the West as central to the dominant geopolitical struggles of the 20th century – namely the two World Wars and the Cold War. Today, it is one of the largest economies in the world and the economic powerhouse of Europe – having risen from the ashes of destruction and an artificial divisi...

Yesterday Minnesota governor Tim Walz was announced as Kamala Harris’s running mate for the Democratic ticket in the 2024 presidential election.  To discuss that pick, and the state of the race, I’m joined today by Michael Baharaeen, chief political analyst at The Liberal Patriot Substack as well as writer of the Checks and Balances Substack. Michael and I discuss the Walz selection, key issues an...

Donald Trump vs. Joe Biden. Who will win? Sean Dempsey is dedicated libertarian stalwart and party member from the great state of New Hampshire. As a stalwart leftist (me) and dedicated libertarian (Sean) we breakdown the first 2024 presidential debate. God help us all.  Show Info ----- Twitter @KevinAMaley ----- Email ZipcodeZeroPodcast@gmail.com  ----- Music Urban Deer Hunt:  https://linktr.ee/u...

“Today, every inhabitant of this planet must contemplate the day when this planet may no longa be habitable. Every man, woman and child lives under a nuclear sword of Damocles, hanging by the slenderest of threads, capable of being cut at any moment by accident or miscalculation or by madness. " - John F. Kennedy, 1961 For over half a century, from the end of the Second World War to the turn...

Today’s guest is Ryan Grim, author of the new book “The Squad – AOC and the Hope of a Political Revolution”.    Ryan Grim is the Intercept’s Washington bureau chief and cohost of the show Counter Points. He was previously the DC bureau chief for HuffPost, where we led a team that won a Pulitzer Prize. Grim has been a staff reporter for Politico and the Washington City Paper as well as a contributo...

We’re now in two months of the Israel-Gaza War and after a brief ceasefire, the fighting has erupted again.    I think its hard to understand this current conflict without understanding the history of Israel and Palestine, and how it led to where we are today   To help with that understanding, today’s guest is Dr Zachary Foster   Zach is a historian of Palestine, having gotten his PhD in Near East...

Foreign policy is all over the news these days as wars rage from The Middle East to Eastern Europe. To help get a better sense of those issues, as well as what a better, more values based U.S. Foreign Policy could look like, I am joined today by Matt Duess.  Matt is the Executive Vice President at the Center for International Foreign Policy. In the past Matt has served as a visiting scholar at the...

Today’s guest is former Congressman Mike Capuano, who represented Massachuetts’s 7th Congressional District from 1999 to 2019.  I pick Mike’s brain on a wide range of issues, including, of course, Israel and Gaza, Ukraine, what he thinks of Matt Gaetz’s demands, whether or not we should abolish the Senate and what he thinks of an old proposal to combine Boston, Cambridge and Somerville This Thanks...

 In an economy with steady growth, low unemployment and core inflation down to 3.2%, why do so many Americans say that the Biden Administration has left them worse off economically? How is Trump winning or tied with voters under 30?  And why are the Democrats, once the party of the common man,  continuing to lose the support the working class, not just among white voters but increasingly among non...

Over the last decade we’ve seen the rise of a wide range of social justice movements, from Occupy Wall Street to Me Too to Black Lives Matter. Where are those movements now and what impact have they had?  In his new book “How the Elites Ate the Social Justice Movement” Freddie DeBoer explores these questions. Freddie argues that in the digital age, social movements flare up but then lose steam thr...

On October 7, Israel suffered a brutal attack as Hamas militants from Gaza rampaged across the south,  massacring up to 1,500 Jews and taking 200 more captive. Israel’s response has been to unleash a massive bombing campaign on the Gaza strip, home to 2.2 million people who have nowhere to go to escape the carnage. As of this recording, the bombardment of Gaza continues, with thousands dead and up...

While all eyes were on Congress this week, the Republican presidential primary continued to unfold across the country. I’ve found that primary a little bizarre and a little boring – especially the last debate. With Trump ahead by 40 or 50 points it seems like the race is already over. But I’ve been wrong before. To bring in some outside perspective, today’s guest is Taylor Svehlak – a friend of th...

Liam Cosgrove is a DC-based correspondent for The Grayzone, an independent news website dedicated to original investigative journalism and analysis on politics and empire.  With much of the mainstream media being pretty aggressively pro-war in its coverage of Ukraine, Liam has stood out for pressing both the Administration as well as Members of Congress on the conflict in a way that tries to get t...