The Politics Guys

Mike and Jay open the episode with a discussion of the first Republican presidential debate, featuring eight GOP presidential hopefuls with runaway favorite Donald Trump noticeably absent. Neither Jay nor Mike thinks what we saw was an actual debate, but they did find some value in hearing what the candidates had to say about supporting Donald Trump, immigration, abortion rights, and Ukraine. They...

Trey and Ken continue their deep dive into the U.S. Constitution with an examination of Article V. The hosts focus on the amendment process for the U.S. Constitution, along with two issues that our Framers kept from being amended. They also discuss the possibility of a Constitutional Convention along with if there will be a 28th Amendment. The Politics Guys on Facebook | Twitter Listener support...

This week Trey and Ken are joined by special guest Liz! The Politics Guys trio start by discussing the most recent charges of racketeering against former president Trump in Georgia. Liz and Ken both see this as a good thing. Further Ken predicts Trump will wind up in jail before the end of the year. Trey thinks Ken is wrong, Trump will not wind up in jail for pragmatic political reasons. He also t...

In this preview of the second midweek supporters’ episode we’re running this week, Mike, Jay, Trey, and a number of Patreon supporters consider the recent David Brooks NYT article, “What if We’re the Bad Guys Here?” in which Brooks asks the mostly liberal elite readership of the Times to consider how they may have contributed to an economic and cultural environment that allowed Donald Trump to com...

In this preview of the supporters' midweek episode, Mike & Jay open with a discussion of President Biden’s recently announced investment restrictions on China. While both of the Guys are free traders, they agree that when it comes to national security it makes sense to put some restrictions on countries that are strategic adversaries. Following that, they look at the Supreme Court’s recent sta...

Mike & Jay open with a discussion of Attorney General Merrick Garland’s appointment of a special counsel in the Hunter Biden investigation after the collapse of a plea bargain between Biden and federal prosecutors. While it may not change much in practical terms, they agree that it makes sense politically. Next is a look at the message Ohio voters sent in resoundingly rejecting a measure that...

Mike & May open the preview of this supporters-exclusive midweek episode by discussing May’s recent testimony before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government’s hearing on gender-affirming care. They get into the legal authority for a recently proposed Department of Education regulation on sports participation as well as the larger issue of gender-affirming ca...

Mike & May open the episode with an in-depth discussion of the latest indictment against Donald Trump. Neither of them sees the case against the former president as particularly strong, with Mike expressing discomfort for using the criminal justice system to punish a political opponent who has done things that may be bad, dumb, and even unethical, but not clearly criminal. May thinks that, con...

In the preview of this supporters’ exclusive midweek episode, MIke & Jay open with a discussion of the recent UFO hearings held by the House Oversight Committee. They get into the credibility and motives of the witnesses, the likelihood of a big government cover-up, and if government should let the public know about signs of alien life (assuming there are any). Then it’s a discussion of the Ci...

Mike & Jay open the episode with a discussion of the new charges and additional defendant in the federal indictment related to Donald Trump’s retention of classified documents and alleged attempts to obstruct the documents investigation. Mike doesn’t think this will have much of an effect on Trump’s strong likelihood of winning the Republican presidential nomination. Jay, who is less certain o...

Mike talks with Rachel Korberg, Executive Director and co-founder of the Families and Workers Fund, a coalition of philanthropies working to build a more equitable U.S. economy. She also serves as President of the Board at the Stonewall Community Foundation, one of the largest funders of LGBTQIA+ causes. Korberg has a Master’s in Public Policy from Yale, executive training in human-centered design...

Trey and Ken continue their journey through the U.S. Constitution. They finish up Article III looking at treason. Then the pair move on to Article IV, Section 1 and discuss full faith and credit. The Politics Guys on Facebook | Twitter Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support....

Trey & Ken start the show discussing Represenative Jayapal's remarks on Israel. It includes a discussion of President Isaac Herzog's speech. There is a historical overview of the modern Israeli state, along with a discussion of Palestine. Trey recognizes the inequality, but sees it coming from a historic battle for survival. Ken, while sympathetic, considers it apartheid.  Next is the ending o...

Trey and Ken continue their journey through the U.S. Constitution. They finish up Article III looking at treason. Then the pair move on to Article IV, Section 1 and discuss full faith and credit. The Politics Guys on Facebook | Twitter Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support....

Trey & Ken admit to taking over the show! After that they get started more seriously with a look at the NATO summit in Lithuania. The two main points of discussion are Turkey, as it relates to Swedish membership, and NATO’s relationship to Ukraine. They also discuss the decision to send cluster bombs to Ukraine. Next it is on to a pair of related stories: Justices Sotomayor and Thomas. Here Tr...

Trey and Ken continue their journey through the U.S. Constitution in Article III. This week they cover Sections 1 and 2 including topics on: Judicial power Judicial review Federal court jurisdiction The Politics Guys on Facebook | Twitter Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/suppor...

Trey and Ken begin the first of a three week show hosting! They get things started with the recent injunction stopping the White House from unduly blocking information on social media in ways that would not pass constitutional muster if it were done via a law. Ken argues it is yet another example of a corrupt court, Trey pushes back that it is selective targeting inconsistent with their user platf...

In this preview of the supporters’ midweek episode, Mike & May open with a discussion of why a number of Republican-controlled states have decided to pull out of ERIC, the formerly bipartisan effort to check for voter registration issues across states and encourage voter registration. Following that they turn to international politics, considering events in Russia and the pros and cons of US s...

Mike and May open this all-SCOTUS episode with a discussion of the Court’s ruling in the big affirmative action case, Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard. Both Mike and May agree with the Court’s decision, with Mike pointing out that while like most liberals, he’s a big proponent of diversity, he doesn’t believe that Harvard and UNC’s diversity plans pass the strict scrutiny test that’s appropr...

Mike talks with Garrett Neiman, author of the recently released book Rich White Men: What it Takes to Uproot the Old Boys’ Club and Transform America. Mr. Neiman has a BA in economics from Stanford, an MBA from Harvard Business School, and a master’s in public policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He was a founding CEO of CollegeSpring, a national college access nonprofit, a co-creat...

In this midweek episode Trey & Jay continue through the U.S. Constitution. The focus: Article II, Sections 3 and 4. The Guys focus on the State of the Union, faithfully executing the law, and the presidential impeachment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices The Politics Guys on Facebook | X Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or...

This week the conservatives, Trey and Jay, take over the show! They begin with the plea deal offered to Hunter Biden. Trey believes it shows that Hunter has engaged in a variety of bad dealings and the Biden’s should have stepped back from his support sooner. Jay goes a step further and things there may still be a smoking gun linking to President Biden. Next, they turn to the recent ProPublica rep...

In the preview of this listener-chosen, listener-participation supporters’ midweek episode, Mike & Jay discuss free expression in America. They look at some important polling data on how Americans view free expression, discuss threats to free expression, consider whether free expression is always a good thing, and look at some big differences in how Democrats and Republicans view the issue. Th...

Mike & Jay open the episode with their views on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Allen v Milligan, the big voting rights case that Trey & Ken discussed last week. They add to the conversation by focusing on the dissent, which Jay largely agrees with. Mike believes Justices Thomas and Alito make a reasonable, but unconvincing case in arguing that Alabama did not violate Section 2 of the Voting...

Mike has another conversation with one of his all-time favorite guests: Bryan Caplan. Bryan is an economist at George Mason University, a prolific author, and blogs at Bet on It. In this episode, they discuss Bryan’s latest collection: Voters as Mad Scientists: Essays on Political Irrationality. Topics Mike & Bryan Discuss Include: - Twitter & Nazis & Meth (oh my!) - why Bryan hates po...