That's Politics

Elections are expensive. Since the 2010 Citizens United case, the amount of money funneled into elections has grown drastically. In this episode I talk about PACs/SuperPACs, the Citizens United case and some solutins to the campaign finance issue. To look at campaign contribution information click the links below: Federal Election Commission Campaign finaance data OpenSecrets.org To give feedback...

n this episode I bring Salih Hudayar onto the podcast to talk about the genocide being carried out by the Chinese government in East Turkistan and to talk about their push for independence. Salih is the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Security for the East Turkistan Government in Exile. If you would like to see the full video interview you can subscribe to the podcast Patreon here! To view souce m...

In this episode my dad and I debate the Epstein files, and more specifically President Trump's alleged involvement. To listen to this episode ad free subscribe to the podcast Patreon here! If you would like to give feedback or to add to the conversation you can email me at mackenzieatkinson@thatspoliticspodcast.com or you can dm me on our Facebook and Instagram. To view source or reference materia...

This epsiode contains details of sexual abuse. Listener discretion is advised. This episode is a long time coming... In this epsiode you'll hear me tell you who Jeffrey Epstein was, the attrocities he committed and the handling of the Epstein files. To listen to this episode ad free you can subscribe to the podcast Patreon here ! To give feedback on this episode or to recommend an episode topic yo...

With the war in Iran paused currently (April 20), we need to take a look at their nuclear capabilities and the nuclear capabilities of the world. In this episode I define the nuclear dilemma, nuclear proliferation and non-proliferation, the science of nuclear weapon development and I wrap up talking about Iran's nuclear program. To view source material used in this episode visit the blog post on t...

In this episode I bring my best friend and fellow WCU political science alum Ryder Newell on to the show to talk about the shift of Appalachia's political alignment from blue to red. To view source material used or referenced in this episode you can visit the blog post here . If you want to avoid the ads, you can subscribe to the official podcast Patreon here . Make sure to follow the podcast on F...

As we prepare for the 2026 midterms we need to talk about the power of the vote. Voter suppression is nothing new, we talked about gerrymandering in a previous episode and this episode dives into polling locations, voter ID laws and voting machines. If you experience voter suppression use this resource for reporting: To find your representatives and for contact information use these links below. U...

I continue my conversations on immigration with my dad. We talk about Renee Good and Alex Pretti's deaths, immigration enforcement tactics, immigration messaging and much more. To listen to this episode ad free you can subscribe to the podcast Patreon here! For a list of sources referenced in this episode visit the blog post for this episode here . To give feedback on this episode or recommend an...

Sam returns in another Talking Politics episode where, of course, we talk about ICE and CBP in Minneapolis. To view sources related to thing we talks about in the episode you can visit the blog post . To hear this episode ad free you can subscribe to the Patreon here ! If you want to give feedback on this episode or recommend an episode you can dm me on Facebook or you can email me at mackenzieatk...

As we go into the midterm we need to understand how votes can be manipulated. Gerrymandering has been used to keep those in power long before the term was coined. In this episode I look at South Carolina's 2020 redistricting effort and Texas and California's mid-decade partisan gerrymandering. To listen to this episode ad free subscribe to the podcast Patreon! (You also get exclusive content too!)...

As we go into the 2026 election let's recap some basic election knowledge and take a peek at which races we should pay attention to. Election Resources: Voter Guide Look up: https://www.vote411.org/ballot State Primary Election Dates: https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/2026-state-primary-election-dates Campaign Finance Information - https://www.opensecrets.org To view source material use...

Welcome to the new series called That's Politics Unfiltered ! In this episode you'll hear me talk about the news of the week and you get my unfiltered perspective on current events. This is a sneak peek of some of the content that will be published on the Patreon! To continue to hear more episodes like this you can subscribe here! To view source material used for this episode you can visit the pod...

In the last episode of Season 1, I talk about the resignation of MTG and what that might mean for the upcoming midterm elections. To view source material used for this episode you can visit the blog post for this episode on the podcast website. To recommend an episode topic or to give feedback you can email me at mackenzieatkinson@thatspoliticspodcast.com or you can dm me on the official podcast F...

We continue our conversation about political extremism by talking about right wing extremism. It comes in all shapes and sizes but I look at the alt-right and anti-government movements in particular. To recommend an episode topic or to give feedback on the episode you can email me at mackenzieatkinson@thatspoliticspodcast.com or you can DM me on the official podcast Facebook page . To view source...

There is so much in the news about what Antifa is and is not. What is the truth? Is Antifa just an ideology or a highly organized terrorist organization? In this episode I walk through what Antifa is, where it comes from, the tactics used and each side of the aisle's perspective on Antifa. To recommend an episode or give feedback you can email me at mackenzieatkinson@thatspoliticspodcast.com or yo...

This episode is part two of a series with my dad where we talk about the two hour long Department of War meeting on September 30. In this part we break down President Donald Trump's speech to the top brass of the U.S. military. To view source material in this episode visit the podcast website! To recommend an episode topic you can dm us on the official Facebook page or you can email me at mackenzi...

This episode kicks off the two part series with my dad where we talk about the two hour long Department of War meeting on September 30. In this part we break down Secretary Pete Hegseth's speech where he set the stage for the next three years of military policy. To view source material in this episode visit the podcast website! To recommend an episode topic you can dm us on the official Facebook p...

My sister and I hit the streets Saturday, October 18th and talked with some people at our local No Kings protest. In this episode you hear us talk about what this protest is and what it is about and clips of the interviews with protesters. To view source material visit the blog post for this episode. To recommend an episode topic, you can DM us on the official Facebook page or you can email me at...

Media literacy is a very complicated thing. We are confronted with media every day and it is important to be able to understand what we are seeing and why we are seeing it. I talk about what media literacy is, how the news world runs and wrap up with giving you tips and tricks to being media literate. To view source material used in this episode visit the podcast website.

In the conclusion to the immigration conversation with my sister, we talk about the criminality of immigrants, ICE and their many controversies currently, due process and why immigrants receive so much hate. To view source material for this episode visit the podcast website. To recommend an episode you can email me the idea at mackenzieatkinson@thatspoliticspodcast.com. Make sure to follow us on F...

Welcome to Talking Politics with Sam! My sister joins me on this series where she brings me political topics that she is interested in learning about and I walk her through understanding what she is seeing on social media. Today we kick off the series with talking about immigration and why it is such a hot topic. This is a longer episode because there is so much to talk about. Part II of this we w...

We find ourselves in a time of great political divide. I take a step back and look at the foundations of the conservative ideology and see where I can agree with the foundational goals. I want to demonstrate that even though there are different opinions about policies there can be moderation even in a time of deep polarization. This episode was recommended by Maria on Facebook. To view source mate...

Introducing Debates with Dad ! My dad and I are on opposite sides of the political spectrum and have interesting conversations about various topics. To keep things balanced, my dad brings his perspective on the most recent episode of That's Politics. Click here to listen to the Autocracy vs. democracy episode .

There is an ongoing debate on if President Trump wants to be a dictator. Let's take a look at these claims but to understand what we are talking about we need to understand the difference between autocracies (dictatorships) and democracies. There are four main parts to this episode. Part one talks about characteristics of democracies. Part two details types of autocracies and characteristics of di...

Last installment of this series we talked about academic freedom, this week we take it a step further and look at the role of education in democracy. I talk with Vincent Russell, Ph. D., a communication professor at WCU. I had him as a professor for intercultural communication and have heard him stress the importance of education and wanted to share his perspective with you. To view source materia...