Politics + Media 101

After the first Republican primary debate, Justin and John try ranking the candidates according to their performances. Burgum, Christie, DeSantis, Haley, Hutchinson, Pence, Ramaswamy, and Scott are each evaluated, with Donald Trump looming outside the field.

Justin and John sit with Evan Drellich, senior writer at The Athletic . The group discuss baseball's major changes to game rules, assessing whether the sport can regain its place as the most popular pastime in American culture. Despite momentum with attendance and ratings, baseball faces challenges in a fragmented media system. Evan is the author of Winning Fixes Everything,  a recent book ab...

A recent Wall Street Journal article reports that China and Cuba are working to establish a spy facility 100 miles from Florida.  To understand this development, John sits down with Dr. Evan Ellis, a research professor of Latin American studies at the U.S. Army War College and a Senior Associate at CSIS. Dr. Ellis describes China's activities in Latin America, assesses the level of threat, an...

Justin and John sit down with technology reporter Katie Notopolous to discuss the new app Threads, launched in July by Mark Zuckerberg's Meta. The app seeks to supplant Twitter, now owned by Elon Musk, as the leading platform for microblogging and text-based social media. Katie gives her assessment of the new app's strengths and weaknesses, addresses the rivalry between the two enigmatic...

Justin discusses China’s military ambitions and 2027 timeline, and how Taiwan and the US are responding with Tingting Liu of TVBS. This is the second part of their discussion on Taiwan. 

The Daily Beast's Matt Lewis sits down with John and Justin to discuss his new book, Filthy Rich Politicians. Matt explains how politicians get rich through leveraging their position as elected officials -- legalized corruptions of sorts, including book deals and stock trading. Matt examines Marjorie Taylor Greene, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, and many more politicians in this interview.  You ca...

Justin and John discuss the recent discord in the House Freedom Caucus, as members move to punish Marjorie Taylor Greene for embracing GOP Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The Republican conference may move to oust McCarthy from leadership before the end of the year. The pair then discuss the differences in leadership style between Republicans and Democrats. They also offer first thoughts on the new Meta a...

Justin sits down with Tingting Liu, News Anchor, Foreign affairs and military correspondent for TVBS to discuss Taiwan's domestic politics ahead of the 2024 Presidential election.  Tingting provides analysis on how the three leading political parties approach the cross-straight relations (Taiwan - China), the ongoing Me Too movement on the island, and what we should look forward to during the...

Justin and John sit down with Gregory B. Poling, director of the Southeast Asia Program and Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Greg recently returned from the Shangri-La Dialogue, a defense forum held in Singapore and attended by the United States, China, and other key players in the Asia-Pacific. He describes the arguments made in the Amer...

After an explosive expose, CNN's CEO Chris Licht was fired by his bosses at Warner Bros Discovery. This came after a year of disappointing ratings and head-scratching programming decisions. Justin and John sit down with Meg James, senior entertainment industry writer for the Los Angeles Times. Meg helps explain the crisis at CNN, based on her own reporting from the company. They also discuss...

Justin and John discuss the surprise deal reached between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), who had backed the upstart rival LIV Tour. John draws on his experience working on public investment projects in the Arab Gulf States.

Justin and John discuss Ron DeSantis's presidential campaign launch, which was held on Twitter Spaces with Elon Musk and David Sacks. The PM101 hosts draw on their extensive experience in social audio to critique the unusual launch event.

In this episode, John and Justin breakdown former President Trump's recent CNN townhall, how the media approaches Trump and more.

Justin and John address two media controversies that unfolded in previous weeks, Donald Trump's indictment on 34 criminal counts by New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg and the social media boycott of beer brand Bud Lite. They discuss how public figures have responded to these stories and whether wading in these controversies is truly necessary.

In this episode John and Justin discuss Silicon Valley Bank and the state of the US banking system with Aaron Klein, the Brookings Institution's  Miriam K. Carliner Chair and senior fellow in Economic Studies. This discussion also gets into the Biden Administration's response and what policymakers and regulators must do in the future to ensure a strong US banking system.

Justin and John sit down with Amir Tibon, a journalist at Israel's Haaretz newspaper. Amir explains the controversial proposals for judicial reform that have sparked the largest protest movement in recent Israeli history. With Israeli democracy in a precarious position, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces unprecedented international criticism, including from crucial security partners such...

Justin and John sit down with Shadi Hamid, author of  The Problem of Democracy . Shadi's book explores the "democracy dilemma," the challenge of accepting democratic outcomes that may be illiberal or alarming but win public support. He explains how the experience of the Egyptian Revolution informs his concern that elites are often unwilling to allow religiously conservative voters a...

With the deadly mercenary organization Wagner Group playing a key role in the Ukraine war, Justin and John sit down with Catrina Doxsee, associate director and associate fellow for the Transnational Threats Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Catrina explains Wagner's opaque structure and murky dealings in countries from Mali and Madagascar to Ukraine. She de...

After U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visits to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, Justin and John sit down with Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh and an expert on Central Asia. Jen describes Central Asia's rich history and dynamic politics, noting the efforts of regional leaders to move beyond the Soviet legacy and build a globally-connected futu...

Justin and John discuss the newly-announced candidacy of Nikki Haley for U.S. President. The former governor of South Carolina, Haley enters the Republican Party primary with little support and record of conflicting statements on key issues. Still, her successful record in electoral politics and unique biographical narrative are assets in a competitive race. Subscribe, rate, and review if you enjo...

As we approach the one-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Justin sits down with Congressman Don Bacon, a decorated Air Force veteran who represents Nebraska's 2nd District in the U.S. House. Congressman Bacon makes a case for robust U.S. support for Ukraine. He comments on divisions within the Republican Party on this topic, providing insight into how the new Ho...

Justin and John sit down with Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace who served for 24 years as a U.S. diplomat. The group discuss the twin crises unfolding as Israel inaugurates a new right-wing government: heightening tensions over West Bank settlements and a controversial proposal for judicial reforms. Aaron assesses the roles of the United States...

Justin and John discuss the recent controversies over the Republican positions towards popular entitlement programs. New debates around Medicare and Social Security, longstanding fault lines in American politics, were sparked by a dispute at President Biden's State of the Union address and comments from Senator Rick Scott. The two also discuss the sudden uptick in flying objects shot down by...

Justin and John sit down with Max Bergmann, director of the Europe Program at CSIS. Max joins after weeks of controversy over German and American provision of tanks to Ukraine. The group discuss whether arms provisions will continue, whether Russia considers this an "escalation," and what the consequences of that could be. They also address Turkey's moves to block the accession of S...

Ahead of the Super Bowl, Sports columnist Nancy Armour joins Justin and John to discuss the irreplaceable role of the NFL in American life. Football may be the only universally popular cultural product remaining, but it is not without controversies. The group address player advocacy, ownership responsibility, and the differences between the NFL and other sports leagues like the MLB and NBA. Read N...