Circle the Wagons

Josh, Diane, and Joe take on a wide range of topics, from local to international politics and everything in between.

Joel is back ! The gang is reunited, with Joel back from his adventures across the seven seas (or at least one of them). Joel, Josh, Diane "Momma D," and Joe take a circuitous journey around numerous topics, all with political underpinnings. They discuss the Oscars (Joe believes Sinners was robbed), how fiction helps readers gain empathy, healthy male (as opposed to "macho," &q...

Josh, Diane, and Joe discuss local (Texas) politics, early/primary voting, the State of the Union address, Joe's campaign, and more. Vote in our poll: Crockett or Talarico?

With Joel out to sea, Charlie awash in a sea of homework, and Jon lost in sea of diapers, Josh, Mama D, and Joe take on the local election scene in north Texas. In a spicy, sometimes contentious discussion, the trio calls out the mistakes of the Democratic party, acknowledges the effectiveness of the GOP election machine, and try to find the best path forward for moving the nation forward. Josh is...

Charlie, Joel, Josh, Mama D, and Joe kick off 2026 by taking a deep dive --- including a few side trips and tin-foil hat moments --- on Venezuela, the game of global Risk that seems to be going on, and the killing of Renee Nicole Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis. Joe shouts out Haley and the crew at Hive Bakery and a group of Moose shalle henceforth be known as...

Charlie, Joel, Josh, Mama D, and Joe start with the economy, wander through the 12/17/2025 POTUS address/campaign rally speech, before deep diving into the frustrations facing all those involved in the political process...except for the ultra-wealthy, that is.

With Joel away, Diane moderates the episode as the group goes around the horn, deep-diving issues of the day. There's talk of Venezuela, elections, Christian Nationalism (of course), and more. Diane announces that Joe is running for Texas House of Representatives, District 106! You can help !

The Circle the Wagons Coalition -- Josh, Joel, Diane (aka Momma D), and Joe break down the happenings off the coast of Venezuela. An in-depth roundtable discussion wanders from the attacks on the drug runner/fishermen to local politics and the economic effects being felt locally.

Following the somewhat chaotic episode 9, Joel, Josh, Charlie, Mama D, and Smokey Joe are joined by economist and mathematician Jon Mayes to frame the discussion of the economy. They tackle the US economy within the context of the global economy, the costs/benefits of college, Mike Duncan's REVOLUTIONS podcast, and more really nerdy economy topics. Quotes from Matthew McConaughey, Nicholas Cag...

Charlie, Diane, Joel, and Joe participate in a passionate, emotionally-charged discussion of the impact of the economy on individual lives. The first of a 4-6 part series to discuss and better understand the economy, what drives it, what matters (and what doesn't), and how to navigate life while finding a way to improve an increasingly unbalanced economic system.

Joel introduces the topic of bread and circuses. The concept of bread and circuses introduces the idea of superficial appeasement. Diane noted that the name of the sovereign democratic constitutional republic in HUNGER GAMES was Panem, the Latin word for "bread," a not too subtle callout by author Suzanne Collins. Listen as the Circle the Wagons Coalition calls out the manifestation of t...

Charlie and the crew talk Palantir, the tech company that is the center of numerous conspiracy theories -- and government contracts. Listen as the group breaks down Palantir, what some of the concerns are, and why you should care.

The Circle the Wagons Coalition discuss Institutional Capture: what it is, where it's impacting the US today, and what we can do about it.

Joe brings the question of how the General/Flag officers might respond to the Quantico confab this week. The group takes a deep dive into both military and civilian perspectives on the messages from the Secretary of Defense and POTUS.

Diane chairs a spirited discussion of what is -- and isn't -- Christian Nationalism with Joel, Charlie, and Joe (we missed you, Josh!). We chat about Nationalism, Christian Nationalism, White Christian Nationalism, and what our nation's founders *really* meant.

Josh, Joel, Diane, Charlie Forester, and Joe discuss coded language and dog whistles.

Josh, Joel, Diane, and Joe discuss what rebuilding the US after the current administration might look like, in five foundational categories: the Constitution, Social/Health Services, the Military, Gov’t Infrastructure/Agency & Institutions, and Global Standing. They acknowledge 9/11/2001 and the murder of Charlie Kirk.

Meet Josh, Joel, Diane, and Joe of the Circle the Wagons Coalition. In this episode, we discuss how we arrived here and the intersection of religion and politics.