Beyond Politics

After a third Trump attorney, Jenna Ellis, pled guilty in the Georgia Trump election interference case, the immediate question became: is the wall around Trump crumbling? And is the entire Republican Party descending into an incoherent melee?

The way we communicate in political campaigns, and American politics overall, has changed radically. New media platforms, a fractured media landscape, and innovative techniques for getting political messages across have created opportunities for mischief, misinformation, and misdirection -- along with genuine ways to politicians to engage with voters. Now, artificial intelligence may scramble thin...

This week Mike Morton and I put the Traditional 401k and the Roth 401k in a head-to-head battle of the retirement accounts. If you’ve been following this podcast for a while, you are well aware of what a 401k account is a tax-advantaged way to help fund your retirement. Just in case you need a refresher, a 401k, or 401(k), is a retirement savings plan offered by many employers in the United States...

He's the man who engineered the right wing takeover of the courts. He's sitting on a $1. 6 billion slush fund, and now he says he's coming for the rest of American politics and culture. You may have heard the name Leonard Leo, but you may not know the full impact of what he's done, or the remarkable backstory of his rise to becoming one of the most powerful people in America. Our g...

How mainstream media rushed into a false narrative about the Gaza hospital explosion. Should Joe Biden have gone to Israel? Will an insurrectionist leader become Speaker of the House? What effect will the Trump gag order have?

If you're intrigued by the idea of making the most of your 529 accounts, I have just the podcast for you. This week Mike Morton and I discuss three advanced strategies that can help you get the most out of these versatile financial tools.

In the last 15 years, Republicans have successfully, and quietly, the grabbed a hold on key offices at the state and local level -- often uncontested -- that make critical decisions about Americans' day to day lives. Amanda Litman runs Run for Something, an organization that is working to beat back that tide. And she joins us with some surprisingly good news...it's working.

As we begin to think ahead to the coming days and weeks of war between Israel and Hamas, are there already signs of divisions forming in the US? Democrats are dealing with a long-simmering division on the left about Israel policy, while increasing numbers of Republicans are offering the false choice between Israel and Ukraine. Also: Scalise or Jordan, which is worse? And who does RFK Jr. hurt more...

October 7 has been called Israel's 9/11. There are a few people on Earth that are better able to talk about what's happening now and what may happen next than Dan Perry, former lead reporter for the Associated Press for the Middle East, who is based in Tel Aviv and joins us from the middle of the crisis.

Join Mike Morton and I this week as we discusses 529 to Roth IRA contributions and how you can use it to benefit the financial aspect of your life.

Congressman Jamie Raskin, one of the most capable, incisive, and brilliant members of Congress serving today, joins the show. We wanted to know, now that Kevin McCarthy has been removed as Speaker of the House, what was the real reason Democrats didn't try to save him (1:29)? Is there really a hard-right fringe, or is the fringe actually the real core of the Republican Party today (9:34)? What...

Right wing nuts (i.e. Matt Gaetz) are trying to take down the most powerful Republican in America, Kevin McCarthy, who just pulled off a shocking 11th hour deal to prevent a government shutdown, while Donald Trump goes on unhinged rants about his financial and legal world collapsing around him. And the biggest story might be...Taylor Swift?

Kevin McCarthy maneuvering to try to save his speaker-ship against a Matt Gaetz-led charge to remove him after the surprise weekend deal for a continuing resolution that's keeping the government open. Democrats are trying to figure out whether can they cut a deal here to gain themselves more power and to get rid of this impeachment inquiry. Republicans are scrambling to figure out whether Gaet...

Have some extra cash? Wondering if you should put it toward your mortgage? Join Mike Morton and I this week as we delve into the answer to this FAQ. It’s not as simple as you might think. Why? Because why you shouldn’t is equally as compelling as why you should work to pay down that debt. 

California Senator Dianne Feinstein, a trailblazing icon, has died. In this emergency podcast, writer and political analyst Jason Sattler joins to discuss the remarkable legacy of Senator Feinstein, and also the burning question that will have far-reaching consequences for America: will Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans take advantage of her death to block all Biden judicial appointments for...

The government shut down is upon us. There will be serious effects on people's lives. And of course, the question that everyone inevitably asks is: who will get the political blame? Traditionally, the conventional wisdom is that shutdowns hurt Republicans more. But was that really true and in the past, and is it still the case this time around. Bryan Bennett and Ian Smith of Navigator Research...

Republicans angling to shut down the US Government and preparing to take the debate stage tonight for the Republican Presidential nomination have one thing in common: they can't say what it is they are trying to achieve, what they believe in, or how they would help do anything positive for America. They've made a backward mess of immigration (11:01) and they're afraid to attack Donald...

Part two of our interview with Dr. Daniel Cox. American's attitudes on LGBT issues have shifted significantly, with far more people -- including Democrats -- saying that we have "gone too far." Why is this happening, and what does it really mean? Also, have Americans lost something fundamental that holds us together, and if so, is there anything we can do to revive it? (14:12) Dr. Da...

Ah, estate planning. Such a fun exercise. No one wants to think about the end, but we will all smile , so we might as well plan for it. In this week's podcast, join Mike Morton and I as we explore the importance of planning for your golden years, the ones filled with activity, those that slow down, and even the ones where you may need extra care.

If Republicans are so nutty, then why are Republicans and Democrats tied in popularity (2:05)? Also, why is Ron DeSantis SO darn unpopular? (There's actually a pretty straightforward reason for that) (7:48). And why is Donald Trump maybe a lot weaker than it appears? (14:55). Dr. Daniel Cox is Director of the Center on American Life at the American Enterprise Institute and his work is frequent...

ver the past 20 years, the U. S. Navy has built a vessel that they've nicknamed the "little crappy ship." It barely works and it's costing us taxpayers about 100 billion or about what we'd spend on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in 20 years, the agency that regulates nuclear materials in 100 years or the Peace Corps over the course of 200 years. How did this happen?...

It was too tempting to avoid talking about the strange Lauren Boebert incident over the weekend...so we did. But more seriously, retiring Senator Mitt Romney has leveled some serious accusations at his own party about what Republicans have become, and what it means for America. Also, will Ukraine actually get more US support despite Republican opposition? What to make of the Iran prisoner swap? An...

This week, Matt Robison and I discuss the concept of being aggressive in your investment strategy, especially when you have time on your side. 

Part two of our interview with Rex Huppke, in which we hit what is driving Kevin McCarthy (0:54), what do we know from polling (5:50), are we falling into the Fox News Fallacy (8:30), and can anyone realistically beat Donald Trump for the Republican nomination? (14:10)

USA Today columnist Rex Huppke imagined what Kevin McCarthy's new outgoing voicemail would sound like after launching his desperate, shamefully empty impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden, and wrote it up here (https://t2m.io/rSPhOjY2). So, we start our show with our rendition of his column (0:00) and talk about this ridiculous impeachment inquiry, and then get into whether this is a nake...