Political Playlist Happy Hour

In this Episode of Political Playlist Happy Hour, Anna and Michael raise a glass to the dearly departed Queen Elizabeth II as they remark on her place within American History--having met 13 of the last 14 U.S Presidents, dating back to Harry Truman. But after a few here-heres, we quickly pivot back to legislative matters on this side of the pond, specifically surrounding legalization of marijuana,...

On this episode of Political Playlist Happy Hour, Anna, Michael and Anthony dive into the latest issue of Student Debt Forgiveness. On the heels of the President's Executive Order, canceling of up to $10,000.00 worth of student loan debt, it's no surprise to see that the Democrats and Republicans are on completely different sides of this issue. The gang reads tweets from young lawmakers on both si...

Finally! The Political Playlist Happy Hour returns from its summer recess and boy has it been a busy last few weeks. On this episode, Anna, Anthony and Michael breakdown the latest goings-on in Gov under-45 and common theme: BILLS. Congress has passed a handful of major legislation in the last few weeks, including the Inflation Reduction Act, The CHIPS Act, and The PACT Act. These bills were signe...

The issue is Saudi Arabia and the question is what did the US truly gain from President Biden's recent trip to Saudi Arabia? On this episode of the Political Happy Hour Anna, Anthony and Michael dive into the second leg of President' Biden's recent trip to the Middle East and discuss what the administration is hoping to achieve from the trip to Saudia Arabia, and how dealing with MBS (The Crown Pr...

The issue is the Middle East and the question is what does Biden's trip to Israel tell us about the future of Middle East relations? On this episode of the Political Happy Hour Anna, Anthony and Michael dive into the first leg of President' Biden's recent trip to the Middle East and discuss what the administration is hoping to achieve from the trip. The gang breaks down what out young leaders unde...

The issue is change and the question is will the Supreme Court's decision on the EPA reduce our advances in combating climate change? On this episode of the political Happy Hour Anna, Anthony and Michael dive into the 3rd mega-decision from the supreme court in as many weeks, and discuss what impact it will have, if any, on meaningful advances toward curbing harmful greenhouse gases. The gang brea...

The issue is foreign detainees and the question is what can we learn from Brittany Griner's detention in Russia? On this episode of the political Happy Hour Anna, Anthony and Michael dive into the wrongful detention of WNBA star Brittany Griner, who's being held in a Russian prison on what many believe to be bogus drug charges. The gang breaks down how it all happened, why she's over in Russia in...

The issue is abortion and the question is what are our young lawmakers in Congress saying about the recent Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade? This episode of the political Happy Hour gets personal as Anna, Anthony and Michael dive into this hotly contested issue and subsequent court ruling in an effort to try and understand how this still remains perhaps the most polarizing issue in o...

The issue of this week's Political Happy Hour is The January 6th Committee and the question is, what is a more effective messaging approach for the committee: Anti-Trump, or Pro-Democracy? Anthony decides to sashay back into the happy hour as the gang breakdown the January 6th Committee's recent primetime hearing and discuss how the 3 lawmakers from Political Playlist who sit on the committee are...

The issue of this week's Political Happy Hour is Party Loyalty and the question is, is there room for a so-called political maverick in today's hyper-partisan politics? Anthony sits out this episode of Political Playlist Happy Hour, letting fellow east-coasters Michael and Anna hash out the viability of today's leading political maverick: Adam Kinzinger. You may know him as the Republican who vote...

It is with profound sadness that the issue of this week's Political Happy Hour is, yet again, Mass Shootings. The question we're asking this week is in the wake of the most recent school shooting, is now the time for community healing or legislative action? On this episode of Political Playlist Happy Hour, Michael, Anna and Anthony quite frankly get a little worked up over this blatant epidemic an...

The issue is Domestic Terrorism and the question is does Congress passing legislation to combat domestic terrorism feel like government overreach or necessary surveillance? On this episode of Political Playlist Happy Hour, Michael, Anna and Anthony address the recent mass-shooting tragedy in Buffalo by examining it through the lens of the recent Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2022. The Democ...

The issue is The War In Ukraine and the question is now that Congress is set to approve $40 Billion in military aid to Ukraine, what comes next? On this episode of Political Playlist Happy Hour, Michael, Anna and Anthony dive into the latest pen strokes out of the ol' Congressional check book with the latest Tsunami of funds headed for Ukraine and for good reason, damnit! The gang sips coffee on t...

The issue is Abortion and the question is does the potential of overturning Roe v. Wade invigorate Democrats, Republicans, or both? On this episode of Political Playlist Happy Hour, Michael, Anna and Anthony break down the latest media maelstrom surrounding Justice Alito's leaked draft decision regarding whether or not the Supreme Court may be poised to overturn the landmark abortion rights case....

The issue is Free Speech and the question is Elon Musk buying Twitter really the win for free speech that Republicans are claiming it to be? On this episode of Political Playlist Happy Hour, Michael, Anna and Anthony break down the latest social media bombshell surround Elon Musk buying twitter and look at how and why Republicans have almost unanimously leapt for free speech joy while the Democrat...

The issue is Student Debt and the question is what are the consequences of student debt relief for young Americans? On this episode of Political Playlist Happy Hour, Michael, Anna and Anthony break down the Biden Administration's recent decision to extend the student loan moratorium until August, effectively sending each party racing back to their political corners on this issue. And it is one tha...

The issue is immigration and the question is will doing away with Title 42 create a disaster at our southern border? On this episode of Political Playlist Happy Hour, the gang pours a glass, and dives into a specific immigration policy known as Title 42 that was instated early on during the pandemic. Just recently, the Biden Administration announced it would be ending it, which has caused a stir a...

The issue is legalizing marijuana and the question is will Congress finally pass legislation to federally legalize weed? On this episode of Political Playlist Happy Hour, the gang pours a glass, and pops a gummy, to discuss the recent passing of the MORE Act in the House. Passed mostly along party lines save for a few of our leaders on the platform, most notably Republicans Matt Gaetz and Brian Ma...

The issue is Electability and the question is, does Madison Cawthorn's blatant, exaggerated media stunt help his re-election? Oh my, indeed! Where to begin, with this latest Happy Hour taking a turn towards the provocative as Michael, Anna and Anthony discuss the North Carolinian's recent comments that have Washington and the Republican Party fuming. But in today's day and age, will any of this hu...

The issue is Cryptocurrency Regulation and the question is, can young lawmakers bring our financial regulatory system into the 21st Century? In this episode, Anna needs every last drop of her organic, locally-sourced, hand-foraged Kombucha Margarita for teaching Michael and Anthony all about Crypto and bitcoin and AnthonyCoin (coming soon)...and unpacking the myriad legislation proposed around thi...

The issue is THE BUDAPEST MEMORANDUM and the question is, why isn't anyone talking about this? In this episode, the boys are still left to their own devices as Michael and Anthony take a deep dive into The Budapest Memorandum, a denuclearization agreement signed back in 1994 between the US, UK, Russia and Ukraine. Tune in to find out what exactly this was and how Russia is in clear violation of it...

With war raging in Ukraine, Anthony and Michael tackle the President's recent decision to ban imports of Russian oil and ask the hard questions of what the costs of this will be. Spoiler: it's going to be pricey. They also read various tweets from our young leaders of congress and try to guess what party they're from and who said it. As always, they pour a few cocktail and try to unpack all the pr...

Or as we discovered in this segment of the Happy Hour, "Run Ruben Run" would have been a more apt title as the gang discuss the possibility--err, likelihood that Arizona Congressman Ruben Gallego (D; AZ-7) will challenge Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) in the 2024 Arizona Senate Primary. As always, Anna, Anthony and Michael pour a few cocktail and try to unpack all the pressing political issues of o...

In this segment of the Happy Hour, Anna talks...and talks...and talks... about the US's China Policy and specifically the new COMPETES Act in Congress, which looks to make the US more competitive with China in a number of areas. Anthony and Michael try to compete for air time but like the Republican opposition to this bill, they haven't quite mustered a winning strategy against it yet. As always,...

In this segment of the Happy Hour, Anna, Anthony and Michael tackle the economy and specifically how the Tech Sector can help boost it. They break down California Congressman Ro Khanna's plan to expand the tech sector to rural areas by creating tech hubs in cities and towns far from Silicon Valley. As always, the gang pours a friendly cocktail and tries to unpack all the pressing political issues...