Beyond Politics

Was last night's set of Democratic Convention speeches a game changer for Dems? Paul, Alicia and Matt think it quite possibly was, and got into such a heated discussion about it over text that they decided to take it right to the podcast. We cover why Doug Emhoff hit a grand slam, what Michelle did that worked so well, and why Barack Obama's speech marked a critical shift in Kamala's s...

Today, an unvarnished and unbiased deep dive into the numbers and the scenarios for the 2024 election with former executive director of the Republican Party in Florida, Jamie Miller. We ask what are the best strategies and likeliest potential outcomes for the presidential race as well as down-ballot races? And we try to step outside either party's partisan perspective to see where the opportun...

With polling data showing Kamala Harris bursting into the lead ahead of Donald Trump, what do they need to do at the upcoming conversation to keep the momentum going and propel them into November. Also, why are voters suddenly rating Harris ahead of Trump on the economy? Also, the controversy surrounding Olympic gymnast Jordan Childs and the governing body's decision to take away her medal. 01...

Alicia Prestonhas reached a stunning conclusion: Trump's chances for 2024 are over, and Republicans' only hope is for every Senate, Congress, and gubernatorial candidate to fend for themselves. We talk about Trump’s blunders, the rise of Kamala Harris in the polls, and the weird attack on Tim Walz’s military record. 01:05 Trump's Mar-a-Lago Press Conference 02:41 Alicia's Bold Pred...

Matt was getting interviewed live on the radio when the news broke that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz was the surprise VP pick for the dems. Here's the analysis getting worked out in real time. And here is the Newsweek article that Matt wrote right after describing what we can read between the lines about this pick, and why it might be sneaky good news for Democrats. https://www.newsweek.com/3-t...

With Kamala-mentum becoming very real, we dive into Donald Trump's pretty insane strategy to put out that fire with gasoline by questioning whether Kamala Harris is actually Black. Is there any chance it could help him? Also, a massive deal that gained the release of 16 unjustly imprisoned people in Russia. And the "weird" wave sweeps America. 00:00 Introduction and Trump's Contr...

Dan Perry, former Middle East editor for the Associated Press, unpacks the complex, unfolding situation surrounding the assassination of both Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, including the potential "good news" scenario that this could create an off-ramp to end the war and bring Israeli hostages home, or the possibility that things could escalate. Perry writes "Ask Questions Later"...

We tend to think about American politics as being driven by the fight between the two major parties. But what if the conventional view of political polarization in America is missing the true divide: between elites and the working class. Batya Ungar-Sargon, Opinion Editor at Newsweek, discusses insights from her book ' Second Class ,' in which she interviews hundreds of Americans and posit...

Is Kamala Harris in an even better position than initial indications would seem to suggest, and can the Dem's big surge this week get even better? Also, were Joe Biden's limitations as a communicator really a legit demerit on how effectively he could do the job as president? Who should get the Dem VP nod? And did JD Vance say the most insulting and politically destructive thing in American...

The surging beginning of Kamala Harris' presidential campaign is exactly what anxious Democrats were hoping for. Matt joins radio legend Howard Monroe to discuss all the new angles: the fundraising, the maneuvering, the messaging, and the polling. 03:00 Kamala Harris's Campaign Momentum 07:28 Debate on Biden's Resignation 17:35 Kamala Harris vs. Donald Trump Winning Messages 22:39 Poll...

The Pivot to Kamala: Trump, Biden, and the Divide in America. Matt is joined by Batya Ungar-Sargon, Opinion Editor at Newsweek, to discuss the sudden ascension of Vice President Kamala Harris, Donald Trump's influence, and whether Joe Biden should resign. 02:18 Boiling it All Down: Has This Been a Great Week? 07:18 Biden's Withdrawal and Kamala Harris 12:01 Economic Models and the American...

President Joe Biden has withdrawn from the 2024 presidential race. He's already a hero who saved America once. Now, will his selfless move increased the Democratic Party's chances of beating Donald Trump? And, Matt just wrote in Newsweek on SATURDAY that Biden should also resign in order to help Kamala Harris defeat Trump. Is the case now even stronger? 00:00 Breaking News: Biden Withdraws...

We tried to boil down one of the most eventual weeks in American political history into two questions: Is there really a new Trump following the assassination attempt, and if this is the end of the political road for Joe Biden as looks increasingly likely, what will happen next for the Democrats? 00:46 Assassination Attempt and Trump's New Promise 01:51 Analyzing Trump's Convention Speech...

Voters consistently say the economic is the most important issue to them. Which is why it's baffling that there's been so little attention on Donald Trump's economic ideas, which would be an unspeakable disaster for the American economy, and especially for the middle class. Brian Riedl, a conservative economist from the Manhattan Institute breaks down why proposals like replacing the i...

Is the turmoil surrounding Joe Biden's potential dropout from the presidential race wrapping up, or ramping up? Is it even possible that the media is simply fueling this narrative for drama and traffic, obscuring where their focus should be on Donald Trump's controversial plans for America? Check out Matt's newest Newsweek article on the exceedingly dangerous Trump plan for a second te...

It's one of the biggest questions looming over American politics: what will the centrists do? There are as many as 71 million self-identified centrists in America - people who don't feel entirely comfortable with either major political party, and largely agree on most issues - and these are the people who are probably going to decide which of two very different paths America follows. So wh...

President Biden's candidacy is in what's increasingly looking like a death spiral. But "should he stick it out or should he drop out" is the wrong question. There is a much better and a much more important question that Democrats really need to ask. Also, is the Supreme Court's presidential immunity decision as bad as it seemed; should Russian athletes should be banned from i...

"The president is now a king above the law. With fear for our democracy, I dissent." Those were the words of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor about yesterday's Supreme court decision conferring what the press described as "partial immunity" on Donald Trump and future presidents for crimes they may commit in office. But the reality goes much deeper than that. Legal scho...

BONUS EPISODE: There are two paths in the road ahead for Biden and the Democrats after President Joe Biden's rough debate. There is a roadmap for how he can recover--but can Biden pull it off? And if he can't, what does the unprecedented pathway of him dropping out look like? CHECK OUT MATT'S NEWSWEEK ARTICLE COVERING THIS ISSUE IN DEPTH: https://www.newsweek.com/disastrous-debate-bide...

The debate went very badly for Joe Biden. And whether it's fair or not, the reality is that Biden's path to stopping Trump has gotten much harder. Matt, Paul, and Alicia delve into the key question of what happens next. Can Biden recover? What would that take? And if his team concludes that he can't, what would that look like? 01:32 Analyzing Biden's Performance 04:13 Media Percept...

We're in the middle of a fight, as president Biden put it, for the soul of America. We face diametrically opposing visions of the future, and a ton of difficult questions. Even if we win the election, do we just have the bigger threat of everything Donald Trump has unleashed looming ahead of us? What about the way we're waging this fight? I just wrote an article in Washington Monthly argui...

Why did the Biden campaign decide to launch a blistering new line of attack right now? And what does it tell us about what his closest advisers are seeing from the inside? We connected a few dots to try to figure out the answer. Also, a flood of big news from the tech and political world, including. And, has the Trump campaign figured out how to manipulate the media as laziness and in attention. A...

With Donald Trump's sentencing in New York rapidly approaching, we ask, what should we want out of the judges sentencing? It's really not that clear cut, since the answer invokes issues of justice, precedent and practical politics. What will this mean for the 2024 election? How would different sentences change voters' perceptions and each sides' message? 03:38 Trump's Legal Tro...

So what happened when Donald Trump went back to the scene of the crime? We're talking of course, about his visit to Congress, the independent branch of government that he urged his supporters to attack as he inspired them to attempted insurrection. We also got into the hunter Biden verdict, and the question of whether Members of Congress really misplayed the political messaging about it. We al...

Today, we look at the source of power that has driven the Republican Party for the last five decades, and has shaped the policies, politics, and politicians who in turn shape our lives. Political scientist EJ Fagan's new book 'The Thinkers ,' dives into the origins, methods, and extensive power that these institutions quietly wield. 01:07 The Power Behind the Throne 03:41 The Garbage C...