A Gentlemen’s Disagreement

Wow. We run through our biggest takeaways from a historic midterm election. What does this blue wave mean for today, these next two years, 2028, and historically?

The Nostradamus of predicting presidential elections, Professor Lichtman takes us behind his keys: the keys to what makes a great American president and the keys to winning the White House or, in this cycle, winning Capitol Hill.

From district-level analysis to the nationwide trends animating these midterms, nobody breaks it all down better than Steve Kornacki.  

Assuming that people actually vote on issues, what issues do people say are the most important to them heading into these midterm elections? We go through our top issues and compare them to what polling tells us Americans care about.

Data centers have become a political flashpoint heading into the U.S. midterm elections. Dr. Julia R. Cartwright of the American Institute for Economic Research joins us as we attempt to move beyond the headlines and prevailing narratives to examine what the pros and cons of these data centers truly are.

We go through each of the nine questions on the ballot this year, identifying what the proposed laws would do, the pros and cons of each, and then giving our own opinions. 

Massachusetts has nine questions on the ballot this year. Is that a sign of civic enthusiasm or of a deeper problem with our state legislature? Jennifer Nassour, who helped drive a ballot question herself this year, makes the case that it's the latter.

Capitalism in the U.S. has come to several breaking points. FDR and Reagan took different directions in how their administrations brought the country out of those breaking points successfully. It appears that we've come to another breaking point: what are the visions for a capitalist United States moving forward?

On the 25th anniversary of September 11, we discuss what the phrase "never forget" means to us.

At every level in our politics and even in our sports and society, it no longer seems like reputation matters. How did we get here? Is it really different than it used to be? Is it even a bad thing? If it is, how do we get out of this cycle? 

The U.S. deficit continues to set record highs, social security's insolvency date looms in the not-so-distant future, the AI boom is widening inequality, and the ultra-wealthy are buying up sports teams like assets. This doesn't seem sustainable...

We've talked a lot about the need for third parties in our democracy, but what would a democracy with no parties look like? Metin Pekin, author of "Breaking Democracy’s Chains," explains his vision of a democracy truly of and by the people. 

We discussed the movie event of the year, one that has spawned seemingly-endless takes across the spectrum, with TIME's Eliana Dockterman who interviewed Christopher Nolan both before and after the movie's debut.

We discuss two of the main themes of the U.S. political landscape this summer: the increasingly brazen corruption of this presidency and the emergence of the socialist wing of the Democratic Party. 

We run through some of the major cases from the Supreme Court's most recent term including those on the Voting Rights Act, campaign spending, mail-in ballots, tariffs, executive power, and birthright citizenship with Harvard Law Professor Nicholas Stephanopoulos.

We talk about the good and bad of the FIFA World Cup, Lindsey Graham's sudden death, and the totally-not-forever war in Iran. We end with Brendan recapping his trip to Ireland and Northern Ireland.

We discuss what the story of the United States is, what it means, what we're celebrating, and how we're celebrating with Robert Allison, the president of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts and the chair of Revolution 250. 

The U.S. welfare system appears broken, both to those inside and outside of it. After three decades serving across local, state, and federal welfare systems, Clarence Carter has a vision for how to make it better.

We talk soccer with Groundwork Collaborative's Nia Law & Emily DiVito, specifically looking at how FIFA's choices & policies are affecting individuals & communities ahead of the World Cup.

The former Executive Director of the Libertarian Party, Dan Fishman, joins us to discuss what Thomas Massie's primary defeat means for the Republican Party, the liberty movement, and American politics. 

Marine Corps veteran Will Thompson joins us to provide his perspective on our military policy questions, including about U.S. military bases abroad, deploying during peacetimes and wartimes, serving under different administrations, and the military budget.

Amidst all the talk of gerrymandering, a more seismic shift in our democracy looms on a horizon that is growing ever closer. WaPo's Jason Willick helps us unpack where the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact stands and what its passage might portend for the way we elect our president.

We recap a big personal week for the gentlemen before diving into some of the topics (Iran, Trump, the Pope, tax day) that have been dominating the news lately. 

WaPo's climate zeitgeist reporter Shannon Osaka takes us behind the stories of an older issue, a constant issue, and a newer issue, all of which seem to be getting worse at once these days.

We have questions about where on the timeline we are in this AI revolution, what it means for our economy and our society, and what the future might look like; Dave Friedman of the "Buy the Rumor; Sell the News" substack has answers...or at least a recommended approach.