The Political Orphanage

Stephen Kent, host of the "Beltway Banthas" podcast, joins Heaton to discuss droid slavery, imperial apologists, and the galaxy's fascist dark age. Plus: how to expose children to the proper film sequence to avoid emotional trauma.

Comedian Michael Loftus has written for "Anger Management" with Charlie Sheen and "Kevin Can Wait" on CBS. He's also the former host of the conservative political satire show "The Flipside". He joins Heaton to talk about working in Hollywood as a conservative, and how he hopes the next few years will shake out culturally.

Gerrymandering is a time-honored and artistic craft wherein politicians get to pick their voters instead of having an actual competitive election. Reason's Eric Boehm joins Heaton to discuss ways to neuter the skullduggery. (Possibly involving robots.)

Heaton tries to convince comedian Chad Prather to run against Representative Steve King in Iowa. King has been removed from committee assignments (and presumably GOP happy hours) after his latest dip into white nationalism.   

Deanna Easley, host of the "Black in the Day" podcast, returns to talk about microaggressions, and also to tell Heaton specific words and phrases he should quit using.

Jonathan Haidt is a social psychologist and the author of several books, including "The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion." He joins Heaton to talk about how progressives, conservatives, and libertarians have different "moral tastebuds," and about his concerns for the future of academia. Plus, Heaton takes a morality test and is revealed to be a deeply empathetic...

Is congressional gridlock related to trench warfare? Apparently. Andrea Jones-Rooy returns to discuss. Plus, Heaton invents a new chamber of Congress

Commander Dale Brown is the founder and operations director of the Detroit Threat Management Center, a private security firm. He talks to Heaton about the difference between the police and private security, why he doesn't use guns at work, and common misperceptions about urban crime.   

The first Movie Club episode! Brian Brushwood and Heaton review "Vice," the Dick Cheney biopic. Brian makes the case that it's a great film, if understood as a ghost story told inside of an echo chamber.

Justin Young of "Politics Politics Politics" joins to discuss the government shutdown, how alarmed and/or irritated citizens should be, and what can be done to fix it. Plus a brand new show sponsor!

The show's principle sponsor funds an entire holiday special, in exchange for allowing its waitstaff to write the entire script.

Comedian Chad Prather and Heaton try to stay on topic about Facebook and shenanigans involving privacy and Russia, but mostly meander into talking about accents and identity politics.  

There's a standard narrative that America has become hyper-polarized, and people only consume media they agree with. Dr. Morris Fiorina joins Heaton to explain why both assumptions are incorrect--parties are getting more homogenous, but voters themselves haven't significantly changed.

Top Ten finalist Vicki Barbolak joins Heaton to talk about starting comedy in her forties, America's Got Talent, and the in's and out's of trailer park humor.  

The show's sponsor unveils new and practical gift ideas, plus a peak into Snuffy's yuletide charity. Then Reason's Christian Britschgi joins to discuss the Farm Bill boondoggle and how it really benefits landowners (and not farmers).

Brian Brushwood joins Heaton to discuss New York's minimum wage increase for Uber drivers, and to hate on civil asset forfeiture. Plus Heaton gives unsolicited advice to the new White House Chief of Staff.

Heaton's economics mentor Gene Epstein (moderator of the SOHO forum) joins to discuss how socialism can comfortably exist within a capitalist framework, and also to relentlessly yell at Heaton for his ongoing support of NASA.

Comedian and host of "Lost in America" podcast Turner Sparks returns to discuss who's heading to prison and who's not. Criminals include: Trump's former fixer Michael Cohen, sex offender billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, and a Chinese heiress who might be hostage for trade negotiations. Plus: Nick of Nick's Horseless Diner comes on with a horrifying story about a murderous horse.

Britain and Europe are getting a divorced, and nobody seems very pleased with how it's going. Telegraph columnist Juliet Samuel joins Heaton to make sense of things. Plus, fake robot news!

Dr. Andrea Jones-Rooy returns to discuss bias, cognitive traps, and the difference between tokenism and intellectual diversity. Plus, on Animal News, Heaton does a deep dive on the story of endangered Hawaiian monk seals getting eels stuck in their nostrils.

France has moved from its normal recreational protesting to prolonged riots. Populism is on the rise there, in America, and throughout Europe. What is populism and what's inflaming it? Jason Buttrill, chief researcher and headwriter at The Blaze, joins Heaton to discuss.

Greg Lukianoff, president of Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, joins Heaton to discuss his book "The Coddling of the American Mind" on outrage culture and free speech on American college campuses. 

Musical comedian Remy (from Reason) joins Heaton to talk about how, empirically, everything is getting better. So why is everyone mad? Plus Austin Bragg brings news from Westeros.

Comedian Joe Leonardo and tech ethicist David Ryan Polgar join Heaton to talk about automation, wireless cars, and how turning everything into robots can be awesome and terrifying simultaneously.

Comedy writer and verified British person Zoe Samuel joins Heaton to talk about English politics, political mindsets, and the Prime Minister's Questions. Heaton explains why Betty White should be Queen of America.