OK Talks

In this episode, I look at the 2020 election and who Joe Biden might pick to be Vice President. I also discuss how with the right VP candidate, the Democrats could radically alter the political balance around issues of national security and foreign policy.

In this episode, I describe dual threats posed to small-d democracy by the American Republican Party: their efforts to interfere with democracy by suppressing the vote (through voter ID laws and opposing measures to make voting safe in the context of COVID-19), and the potential that they'll ignore democracy altogether by rejecting the results of the 2020 election.

In this episode, I discuss differences in how conservatives and liberals protest in America, and the disparity between how conservative and liberal protests are responded to. This is highlighted and made especially relevant by the apparent toleration of armed anti-lockdown protests violating social distancing guidelines in the context of COVID-19.

In this episode, I give listeners an overview of Filipino politics under the rule of its colorful, extremely Trump-like President, Rodrigo Duterte. I'm also joined by Dr. Jerry Diaz, a physician in Manila, with whom I discuss the response to COVID-19, and the likely impact to Filipino politics and relations between the Philippines and China.

In this brief intro, I describe my background and qualifications, and what I envision for OK Talks.