Beyond Politics

There were two significant deaths in the news on Wednesday: one got all the headlines, but the other one changed the world. And that's the one thing to pay attention to: how Daniel Kahneman led a quiet revolution in understanding how people think that is still rippling through the world and will for decades to come. He's even likely influenced the things you say and do. We really want to k...

Donald Trump just made billions by taking his media company built on Truth Social public. Is that really going to change anything politically? Or in terms of the fact that he seemed to be nearly bankrupt at the beginning of the week? (01:09). Then the Ronna McDaniel saga at NBC where she got hired and promptly fired. Alicia Preston shuts down the Republican counter backlash in one line. (12:51) Al...

Today, we're testing a new concept: 10 minute daily episodes highlighting the things happening in the news that are worthy of your attention, but that don't make the headline skim. The kind of important number or idea that somehow slips down 8 paragraphs in the story, or onto the back pages. Something that might make you think about the world a little differently, or help connect some dots...

Joe Khan was the lawyer for a critical swing county in Pennsylvania in 2020 when he noticed something...odd. He joins us to tell the story of how he and a group of lawyers banded together to defend the Pennsylvania election outcome - and ultimately American democracy - from the Trump onslaught. And now that he's running for Attorney General of Pennsylvania, what lessons will he apply in 2024,...

There is a sneaky huge shift happening in American music right now right under our very noses (or ears). Private equity's takeover of the music business could have major consequences for what we hear and whether we hear anything new at all. Whitney Houston's catalog acquisition, Taylor Swift's battle over her masters, and the fight over Pink Floyd's music are just a handful of exam...

A Chaotic Republican Hearing and Trump's Legal and Financial Woes: the round table runs through a tumultuous Republican hearing meant to highlight Republicans' fantasy of wrongdoing by President Biden, which backfired spectacularly on themselves and Donald Trump. Also, Judge Aileen Cannon's ham-handed slow-walking of the Trump documents case, and the incredible shrinking Trump fundrais...

How on earth is Trump beating Biden right now? It's the question that has baffled and enraged Democrats for months. And it's the question that Matt Robison tackled in his new article for Washington Monthly. Matt lays out one of the biggest reasons, something that analysts tend to overlook, and adds material that didn't make it into the article. 00:05 The Puzzling Popularity of Donald T...

Three charges were just dismissed against Donald Trump in Georgia. Will this make a major, lasting difference in his legal peril? Also, Never Trump Republicans fold bigly, is a MAGA takeover bid for TikTok a good thing, and is the AI apocalypse here? 00:46 Analyzing the Legal Implications and Prosecutorial Missteps 11:16 The Political and Legal Ramifications of the Case 12:46 Trump's New Never...

We look back today at the biggest, and probably most forgotten scandal in the whole Trump-Russia web of corruption. When Charles McGonigal, former head of counterintelligence at the FBI, was recently convicted for money laundering and working for Russia, the media barely took notice. In this interview recorded a year ago just after McGonigal's arrest, our expert guest Craig Unger laid out just...

Beyond Politics: Biden's Impact, Trump's Troubles, and Democratic Strategies Biden's recent turn in tone, language, and strategy that he started at the State of the Union seems ripped from the pages of a Hollywood script. Political analyst Cliff Schecter thinks it comes right out of "The American President," but Matt Robison has a couple other movie moments in mind. Also, doe...

President Joe Biden's fiery, fiesty State of the Union drew raves from analysts, with Politico writing "it’s hard to imagine how the SOTU could’ve gone much better for Biden." But what impact did it actually have with the swing voters that will decide the 2024 election? And will it reset a race that's been looking dangerous for the President? Pollsters Ian Smith and Gabi Parra of...

With major polls showing President Joe Biden continuing to trail Donald Trump, Democratic insiders believe that the State of the Union speech this week has now become a make-or-break moment for the President. But is it? And what does he need to accomplish for it to be successful? Also, the hidden significance of Super Tuesday that could be sneaky good news for Democrats, major rulings from the Sup...

When Alabama's Supreme Court redefined the legal status of stored embryos, equating them to children under a law from 1872, it unleashed a tidal wave of outrage, fear, and recriminations. Sabrina Talukder, Director of the Women's Initiative at the Center for American Progress, joins to talk through the continuing repercussions of the ruling, whether all the concern is warranted, and how th...

***PLEASE leave us a rating/review on Apple podcast app!*** What is the meaning of the Haley vote in South Carolina and the "uncommitted" vote in Michigan? Is Trump or Biden more vulnerable to weakness in his own party? Also, how should the Biden campaign shift strategy after the Supreme Court took up the Trump immunity case and pushed back the election subversion trial indefinitely? And...

The Supreme Court's decision to consider Donald Trump's claim of absolute immunity could massively change the course and the outcome of the presidential election. With this decision, the Court seems to be taking away the biggest driver of voters turning away from Trump. Guest Andy Kroll of ProPublica helps examine why the Court did this, what the political implications are, and what might...

Today, we revisit an interview with Justin Elliot from ProPublica on his groundbreaking investigation into corruption allegations against Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. We cover the financial ties between Thomas, his wife, and right-wing billionaire Harlan Crow, which included expensive vacations and significant contributions to private school tuition. And we go inside the world of investi...

There's a shadow healthcare crisis looming for 20 million, and you probably haven't heard about it. That's because it largely affects a group of people who have been swept up in the politics of immigration and border policy -- even though the vast majority of them are naturalized citizens, documented permanent residents, or Americans born in this country. Adriana Cadena, Director of th...

Tell me if you heard this before--the whole impeachment case against President Biden was based on a Russian disinformation operation. AGAIN. Also, what is the impact of an Alabama State Supreme Court ruling regarding in-vitro fertilization? 00:00 Introduction: The Russian Disinformation Operation 01:12 The FBI's Role and Suspicion 01:59 The Hillary Clinton Investigation and Russian Intelligenc...

***Please share our show with a friend!*** What do you do if you disagree with your boss, when your boss is one of the most powerful people in the world? Recently, 17 Biden campaign staffers publicly wrote a letter to the president disagreeing with his position on the war in Gaza, which followed a letter anonymously sent by over 500 staffers back in November. Our guest Jim Papa is a former White H...

Republicans have officially broken the US Congress to the most dysfunctional, dangerous, and even absurd degree in American history. Congressional expert Laura Rodriguez of the Center for American Politics Action Fund joins to Matt Robison to run down just how severe the madness has gotten, and why people should care about how much damage they are doing. ***Please leave us a great review in Apple...

Could Fani Willis' relationship kill the Georgia Trump case? Also, Trump's total meltdown on NATO and Putin, MAGA Republicans try to kill Ukraine aid, gun violence in Kansas City, and an easy solution for the patriarchy. ***Don't forget to rate and review us!!*** Check out another great podcast at ⁠⁠Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other⁠ *** 02:03 Introduci...

US political campaigns are expected to spent $17 billion on ads in 2024. But there's little evidence about how much of it works, if any does at all. John Halpin, Executive Editor of The Liberal Patriot, explains what we know and what we don't know about political advertising, and why the best solution for winning campaigns in 2024 might be a back-to-the-future approach. ***Don't forget...

ProPublica's star investigative reporter Andy Kroll takes us behind the scenes, inside the issues and internal debates within the Supreme Court as it hears the 14th Amendment case against former President Donald Trump. ***Don't forget to rate and review us!!*** ***Check out another great podcast at ⁠⁠Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other⁠ *** 01:17 Case Overvie...

A Bad Day for Democrats, the 14th Amendment, and Questions about Joe Biden's Fitness for Office. A special Sunday bonus roundtable discussion with Matt, Paul, and Alicia on how the Supreme Court is crushing Democrats dreams of getting saved from Trump, while the Special Counsel crushed Biden's age and memory in a way that could have lasting echoes throughout the Presidential race. ***Don&#...

Two cases in the federal courts this week had very different outcomes for Donald Trump. A Federal Appeals Court demolished Trump's claims of immunity from prosecution, but the US Supreme Court seemed poised to allow him to remain on the ballot despite a constitutional challenge over his role in the Insurrection. Matt Robison joins radio legend Howard Monroe to break it down. ***Don't forge...