Political Beats

Eli’s Music Pick: Prince Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called Life. Electric word, "Life," and it's a mighty long time, but I'm here to tell you, there's something else: Prince Rogers Nelson. Known to the world by his first name, Prince was a self-made musical polymath who performed the singular trick of somehow altering the world to accommodate his eccentric...

Introducing the Band : Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are joined by guest Mike Long. He wrote the sort-of-bestselling book The Molecule of More and he teaches writing at Georgetown University, but mostly he writes things for other people to put their name on. He’s on Twitter at @ mikewrites . Mike’s Music Pick : Robbie Fulks This is almost certainly the mo...

Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are joined by guest Rory Cooper. He’s a partner at Purple Strategies , a corporate reputation and advocacy agency in Alexandria, Va., a former George W. Bush and Eric Cantor aide, and a longtime Republican strategist. He’s on Twitter at @ rorycooper . Rory’s Music Pick: Paul Simon Here comes rhymin' Simo...

Introducing the Band : Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are joined by Andrew Prokop. Andrew is Senior Politics Correspondent for Vox,  and you can find his work here . Follow him on Twitter at @awprokop . Andrew's Music Pick: Kate Bush Who? Unless you're an art-rocker, Englishman, or Lisa Simpsonesque girl-poet-dreamer, the name "Kate Bush" quite likely mean...

Introducing the Band : Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) with guest Bruce Edward Walker. He’s Midwest Regional Editor for The Center Square . He has written extensively on popular culture, literature and public policy for reference books, newspapers, magazines, and websites. He’s on Twitter at @ bruceedwalker . Bruce’s Music Pick : Warren Zevon The show begin...

Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are joined by our old friend Charles C. W. Cooke. Charlie is a Senior Writer for  National Review,  and you can find his work wherever quality Charles C. W. Cooke products are sold (i.e. mostly right here on this website). Follow him on Twitter at  @charlescwcooke . Charlie's Music Pick: Fleetwood Mac "O...

Scot and Jeff discuss the first part of Fleetwood Mac’s career (1967-1974) with Charles C. W. Cooke. Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are joined by our old friend Charles C. W. Cooke. Charlie is a senior writer for  National Review,  and you can find his work wherever quality Charles C. W. Cooke products are sold (i.e. mostly right here...

Scot and Jeff discuss Michael Jackson with Daniel Gullotta. Introducing the Band : Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are joined by guest Daniel Gullotta. Daniel N. Gullotta is a Ph. D. candidate (ABD) in American Religious History at Stanford University. He is completing a dissertation on how religious politics influenced the rise of Andrew Jackson and the fo...

Scot and Jeff discuss John Mellencamp with Matt Lewis. Introducing the Band : Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are joined by guest Matt Lewis. He’s a senior columnist for The Daily Beast , author of the book Too Dumb to Fail , and host of the podcast “ Matt Lewis & The News ”. Follow him on Twitter at @ mattklewis . Matt’s Music Pick: John Mellencamp In an e...

Scot and Jeff discuss The Allman Brothers Band with Andrew Fink. Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are joined by guest Andrew Fink. Andrew is a member of the Michigan House of Representative (District 58 – Branch & Hillsdale Counties). Prior to that he was the district director for Senate majority leader Mike Shirkey. Follow him on Twitt...

Scot and Jeff discuss Traffic/Steve Winwood with Randy Barnett. Introducing the Band : Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are joined by guest Randy Barnett. He’s the Patrick Hotung Professor of Constitutional Law at the Georgetown University Law Center where he directs the Georgetown Center for the Constitution. His most recent book, The Original Meaning of th...

Scot and Jeff discuss the third part of Neil Young’s career (1980–2021) with Jeff Dufour. Introducing the Band:  Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are joined by guest Jeff Dufour. Jeff is the editor in chief of National Journal . Find him on Twitter at  @dcdufour . Jeff’s Music Pick: Neil Young (Part 3) If you need a podcast to sample and hold or feel rockin’...

Scot and Jeff discuss the second part of Neil Young’s career (1973–1979) with Jeff Dufour. Introducing the Band:  Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are joined by guest Jeff Dufour. Jeff is the editor-in-chief of  National Journal . Find him on Twitter at  @dcdufour . Jeff’s Music Pick: Neil Young (Part 2) Grab a bottle of tequila, an inflatable palm tree, and...

Scot and Jeff discuss the first part of Neil Young’s career (1963–1973) with Jeff Dufour. Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are joined by guest Jeff Dufour. Jeff is the editor-in-chief of  National Journal . Find him on Twitter at  @dcdufour . Jeff’s Music Pick: Neil Young Step aside and open wide as we begin a long journey through the p...

Scot and Jeff discuss Rilo Kiley/Jenny Lewis with Helaine Olen. Introducing the Band : Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are with guest Helaine Olen. Helaine is an opinion writer at the Washington Post . Find her on Twitter at @ HelaineOlen . Helaine’s Music Pick: Rilo Kiley/Jenny Lewis So it turns out Hannah Nefler from Troop Beverly Hills and Ronnie Pinsky...

Scot and Jeff discuss The Afghan Whigs/The Twilight Singers with John J. Miller. Introducing the Band : Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are with guest John J. Miller. John is director of the Dow Journalism Program at Hillsdale College and national correspondent for National Review, plus host of the NR podcasts The Great Books and The Bookmonger . Find him o...

Scot and Jeff discuss Spoon with Christopher Scalia. Introducing the Band : Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are with guest Christopher Scalia . Christopher is co-editor of Scalia Speaks: Reflections on Law, Faith, and Life Well Lived and On Faith: Lessons from an American Believer . He’s also the Director of Academic Programs at the American Enterprise Inst...

Scot and Jeff discuss Nirvana with Mark Hemingway. Introducing the Band : Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) with guest Mark Hemingway . Mark is is a writer at RealClearInvestigations and RealClearPolitics . Find him on Twitter at @ heminator . Mark’s Music Pick: Nirvana Perhaps you’ve heard of these guys. With a single song, Nirvana knocked Michael Jackson of...

Scot and Jeff discuss the third and final part of David Bowie’s career (1982-2016) with Damon Linker. Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @E sotericCD ) with guest Damon Linker, Senior Columnist for  The Week . Read Damon’s work  here  and follow him at  @DamonLinker  on Twitter. Damon’s Music Pick: David Bowie Political Beats knows when to go out, and...

Scot and Jeff discuss the second part of David Bowie’s career (1974–1981) with Damon Linker. Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @E sotericCD ) with guest Damon Linker, Senior Columnist for  The Week . Read Damon’s work  here  and follow him at  @DamonLinker  on Twitter. Damon’s Music Pick: David Bowie It’s not the side effects of the cocaine, Political...

Scot and Jeff discuss the first part of David Bowie’s career (1967–1974) with Damon Linker. Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @E sotericCD ) with guest Damon Linker, Senior Columnist for  The Week . Read Damon’s work  here  and follow him at  @DamonLinker  on Twitter. Damon’s Music Pick: David Bowie Look out, you rock ‘n’ rollers! Pretty soon now, you...

Scot and Jeff discuss Living Colour with Steve Singiser. Introducing the Band : Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) with guest Steve Singiser . Steve is a contributing editor at Daily Kos Elections . Find him on Twitter at @ stevesingiser . Steve’s Music Pick: Living Colour That riff is indelibly inked on your brain. You know the one. The first musical notes pu...

Scot and Jeff discuss second part of Genesis’s career (the Phil Collins years) with Brad Birzer. Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) with guest Dr. Brad Birzer. Brad is the Russell Amos Kirk Chair in American Studies and Professor of History at Hillsdale College. He’s the co-founder of, and Senior Contributor at,  The Imaginative Conservat...

Scot and Jeff discuss Genesis (1967-1975) with Patrick Frey. Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) with guest Patrick Frey. Patrick has been a blogger of national repute since 2003 and is still committed to the form, even though it has been dead for years. Read his work at Patterico’s Pontifications  and follow Patrick on Twitter at  @Patter...

Scot and Jeff discuss Ramones with Christian Schneider. Introducing the Band : Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) with guest Christian Schneider . Christian is a reporter for The College Fix, contributor to The Dispatch, The Bulwark, USA Today , and sometimes National Review , and author of 1916: The Blog . Find him on Twitter at @Schneider_CM Christian’s Musi...