The Politics Guys

Trey welcomes Lee Drutman, Vanessa Williamson and Felcia Wong to the show to discuss their latest report and study through the democracy fund voter study group: On the Money. Topics discussed include: why study voter’s economic policy preferences why Republicans do not share an economic policy position the difference for people’s individual policy preferences and their overall policy goals the rol...

Mike and Jay kick off the show by looking at the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision allowing construction of a Mexico border wall to move forward pending litigation. The Court’s five conservatives didn’t rule on the substance of President Trump’s action but indicated that the plaintiffs were unlikely to have standing to sue. Jay feels that the court got it right, though Mike is more inclined to side wit...

Will and Brian begin by discussing Mayor Peter as a Democratic candidate this week given his last quarter fundraising showing. While Will argues that Mayor Pete is an intriguing candidate—even for someone who leans right—he also suggests his polling numbers with African-American voters could be problematic in the primaries. Brian suggests Mayor Pete may be quick to collapse in the race given that...

Will and Brian begin by discussing the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. Brian sees great value in space and exploration as a means to advance scientific knowledge and understanding. Even more importantly, he finds that interest in STEM can help motivate children to pursue careers that will continue to move the world forward. Will also sees value in space exploration but wants to remind everyo...

Now for something a little different and fun – Mike and Kristin take a test! Before they take the Pew Research Center’s Political Typology Quiz, Kristin responds to a question from listener Martin about why she plans to vote for President Trump in 2020. After that, Mike and Kristin get right down to business and take the test, which consists of choosing between a series of two statements on a vari...

Mike and Kristin kick things off by discussing the latest twists and turns in the Jeffrey Epstein case, new sex trafficking charges, and his former friendships with high-powered political types. They agree on the reprehensible nature of the charges and discuss the idea that money can “get you out of trouble”. Both say that there is obvious disparity between rich evil-doers and regular folks who do...

Mike welcomes George Mason University economist Tyler Cowen back to the show to discuss his latest book, Big Business: A Love Letter to an American Anti-Hero. As you may know, Tyler is a very busy guy - in addition to his academic position, he runs the Marginal Revolution blog  and Conversations with Tyler podcast. He's also regular contributor at Bloomberg Opinion and has written multiple books,...

Trey and Mike open the show outlining the latest developments on the inclusion of a citizenship question on the 2020 census. Trey focuses on the larger picture that an executive order circumventing a court order would mean for presidential power. Mike considers the actual immediate policy implication and sees it unlikely that an executive order is feasible. Next, they turn Trump’s push for lower d...

In this episode, Mike & Jay respond to listeners on: whether changes to the Democrats’ superdelegate rules will have a big impact on who their 2020 nominee will be what Democrats can do to win back the Midwest if Joe Biden is out of touch and past his prime if the Politics Guys are out of touch and past their primes story selection bias in the mainstream media Listener support helps make The P...

Jay and Mike open the show with a discussion of the first two Democratic presidential debates. Instead of looking at the debates in terms of ‘winners and losers’ they step back and talk about the nature of the debate format and the sort of qualities it rewards and punishes. Mike lets loose on his general disgust with these multi-person debates, and while Jay isn’t quite as impassioned he agrees th...

Mike talks with Helena Rosenblatt, a professor of history at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York about her latest book, The Lost History of Liberalism: From Ancient Rome to the Twenty-First Century. Topics Mike & Helena discuss include: the meaning of liberalism in ancient Greece and Rome liberalism as an aristocratic virtue the connection between liberalism and education th...

  Will and Brian begin with a discussion about Trump’s official re-election announcement. Both agree that Trump has better odds than the average pundit gives him to keep his position, but they differ slightly on why he could win. Will argues that the base will be enough to see him through while Brian posits that Democrats could likely unseat him if they spent less time debating one another and ins...

Mike talks with University of Missouri St. Louis economist David Rose about his book Why Culture Matters Most. Topics they discuss include: why democratic capitalism is the only reliable way to achieve mass flourishing the relationship between culture, trust, institutions, and mass flourishing small group vs large group trust the role of religion in building a high-trust society why trust in the s...

Mike and Kristin begin with a discussion about the recent immigration agreement between the U.S. and Mexico. They go into some depth about the details of the agreement, President Trump’s stance, the concerns about the short timeline for Mexico, and some of the larger issues that the U.S. may face down the road. Both agree to take a “wait and see” approach. They also question whether it would be wi...

Will and Alexandra begin today’s show by discussing the state of impeachment talks. Will argues that impeachment at this moment would do nothing by divide Democrats and solidify Trump support. With the DCC publicly split already, it would just draw focus off of 2020 and risk alienating potential moderate voters. Alexandra, on the other hand, has shifted her views since the Barr performance and lac...

Will and Alexandra begin by discussing President Trump’s trip this week to Europe. While Will believes the trip got off to a rocky start thanks to the tweets directed at Mayor Kahn, he also argues that the Normandy Address was the highlight of Trump’s presidency thus far. Alexandra posits that there were a number of concerns about the trip, including the inclusion of Trump’s extended family on the...

Trey and Ken take on listen questions in this midweek episode. First the pair answer a question on why liberals seemingly support Israel. Second they weigh in on if the Democrats have a successful electoral strategy to create a new “blue wall.” Third they address a question on the changes in climate change language coming from the White House. Specifically what they think of the term “freedom mole...

This week Trey & Ken start the show by analyzing Robert Mueller’s brief statement to the press. Specifically they address why Mueller spoke and why there were no charges brought. They also parse his words on the question of crimes and the lack of support he offered to Barr. Trey thinks that Mueller has opened a greater possibility of impeachment proceedings. Next is a discussion of Mexico tari...

Mike talks with Beth Silvers and Sarah Stewart Holland, hosts of the Pantsuit Politics podcast about their new book, I Think You’re Wrong (But I’m Listening): a Guide To Grace-Filled Political Conversations. In this conversation, Mike, Sarah, and Beth discuss: why they became political podcasters the role of faith in political discussion ‘taking off your jersey’ before talking politics why the lef...

Mike & Jay open the show with a look at the latest development in the various investigations and requests for information surrounding President Trump. They agree that while the president’s legal strategy isn’t the strongest, his political strategy - delaying until after the 2020 election and goading the Democrats into impeachment - is a smart one. They also discuss New York’s recently passed l...

Mike talks with political scientist Matt Grossmann, Director of Michigan State University's Institute for Public Policy and Social Research, about his book Artists of the Possible: Governing Networks and American Policy Change Since 1945. Topics Mike & Matt discuss include: how much of a role the public has in policy change the flaws in our standard notions of how policy change happens how Mat...

Mike & Jay start this week’s show by talking about the escalating tensions between the United States and China. Mike actually agrees with President Trump that China may pose a significant security threat and that the time to act is now. But Mike feels that the US can’t act unilaterally and hope to succeed. Jay, as a committed free-trader, views trade wars as ultimately self-defeating and belie...

Will and Alexandra open the show discussing Trump’s current approval numbers and potential reasons they have reached a high during his administration. They then discuss the state of the Democratic field for 2020 and how the number of candidates could impact the electability of the eventual nominee. Next, they discuss Alexandra’s research on in-group control and leadership and how it relates to the...

Will and Alexandra open the show discussing the contempt charges brought against Attorney General Barr and it's possible impact. Will argues this is little more than political theater while Alexandra points to the parallels and differences between this and when Republicans found Eric Holder in contempt during the Obama Administration. Both believe the struggle for power between Congress and the Pr...

In this episode, Mike & Jay respond to listener questions on: ‘electability’ vs highlighting differences with Trump why Mike thinks Jay’s view of Net Neutrality is outdated funding for cathedrals vs. funding to fight homelessness possible indictments in the Obama spying scandal if impeachment talk is bad for the country what information presidential candidates should have to release Listener s...