The Politics Guys

This week, Justin Holmes and Ken Katkin are host. They start off with the firing of the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which seems bad all around, but perhaps won't give Trump what he wants in the end. Next, they move on to trade, as some of Trump's tariffs took effect this week, while China's were delayed yet again. They  finish by talking about  developments in the fight over Texas redi...

Mike talks with Deb Otis, Director of Research and Policy at FairVote, a nonpartisan organization seeking better elections for all.  Topics Mike & Deb discuss include: - problems with our current voting system - the benefits of  ranked choice voting (RCV) - potential issues with RCV - the pushback against RCV in Republican states - the Fair Representation Act - multi-member districts- nonparti...

Mike and Ken kick off this supporters’ midweek episode with a discussion of the dire situation in Gaza, including consideration of what the US can do to help and Netanyahu’s endgame in his fight against Hamas (and to stay out of prison). Next, they look at a novel approach Democrats on the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee are taking to force the release of materials on Jeffrey Epstein. Follow...

Mike and Ken open with a discussion of the Federal Reserve’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged, despite hectoring from President Trump for a major rate cut. The guys consider the case for and against lower interest rates, as well as the effect the Trump tariffs are having on the decision. From there, they consider the likelihood that the Supreme Court will ultimately invalidate most of Pr...

Mike talks with Tim Murphy, a national correspondent at Mother Jones, about the NYC mayoral campaign of Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani. Topics Mike and Tim discuss include: lessons learned from Trump’s NYC gains in 2024 disillusionment and disengagement in Democratic cities Mamdani’s limited experience how much Mamdani benefited from running against Cuomo Mamdani’s affordability platform how...

Justin and Joey open this midweek supporters’ episode by exploring the Democratic Party’s post-2024 crossroads, sparked by a socialist win in New York and Hunter Biden’s provocative media appearances. Justin argues the party’s aging leadership and weak bench leave it vulnerable and fragmented, with no clear 2028 frontrunner. Joey sees a party ideologically fractured between moderates and a resurge...

Joey Ashbrook joins Justin Holmes to talk through the week's issues. They start with the continuing saga of the Epstein Files and the potential political fallout. Next, they turn their attention to the Paramount merger and the Trump Administration's role in it. Finally, they wrap up by talking about Texas doing an unusual (but legal) mid-decade congressional redistricting, along with a bit on the...

Mike talks with LeahDowney,  a junior research fellow at St. John’s College, Cambridge. They discuss her book, Our Money: Monetary Policy as if Democracy Matters. Topics Mike & Leah Cover Include: fiscal vs monetary policy the Federal Reserve’s legal mandate the money neutrality myth Fed dominance as legitimate, but harmful to democracy iterative governance at the Fed auditing or otherwise con...

Mike and Sam open this supporters’ midweek episode with a look at President Trump’s increasing frustration with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and a recent deal in which the US will sell arms to NATO allies who will then give those weapons to Ukraine. Sam sees Trump as a realist and a deal maker who hasn’t changed his mind, but who is simply adjusting to new facts on the ground. Mike’s less certa...

Mike and Sam open with a discussion of the ongoing controversy in MAGAworld about the Epstein files. Mike thought it wouldn’t have the staying power that it has, while Sam isn’t at all surprised that the poor handling of the matter and lack of transparency by the Trump administration have resulted in plenty of anger on the right. Next, they turn to a rarity in Congress - a successful rescissions b...

Trey and Justin are joined by Mike and begin by discussing the Supreme Court’s unsigned opinion on federal workforce reductions. The trio dissects the contrasting views of Justices Jackson and Sotomayor. Next is a look into Trump’s executive order aiming to end subsidies and tax credits for clean energy. The trio discusses the policy’s potential effects on renewable energy and Congress’ reaction,...

Trey and Justin are joined by Mike! In this episode, the trio start by asking if Musk is serious about the America Party. Then they discuss the newest no-client list from the Epstein files along with a longer conversation about conspiracy culture. After that, it is a look at the legal limbo of birthright citizenship, refiled as a class-action lawsuit. Finally, the question of tariffs and trade and...

Trey & Ken continue through the U.S. Constitution, covering the 23rd and 24th Amendments. Topics covered include: The history of the U.S. Capital The origin of the District of Columbia The reasons for granting the District of Columbia electors but not Congresspersons The origin and history of poll taxes The Politics Guys on ⁠Facebook⁠ | ⁠X⁠ Mike’s Substack:⁠ What Fresh Hell is This⁠? Listener...

Happy 4th of July: Trey and Ken are back! They open the show by reading a portion of the Declaration of Independence and commenting on the past and future of the United States on its 249th anniversary. After that, they turn to the biggest news item this week: the passage of the Big Beautiful Bill Act. Because of the complexity of the law, the hosts take this on in two sections. First, they look at...

Mike talks with Greg Lukianoff, attorney, New York Times bestselling author, and President and CEO of FIRE: the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. They discuss Greg’s latest book,  The War on Words: 10 Arguments Against Free Speech - And Why They Fail, with Nadine Strossen. Topics Mike & Greg discuss include: - Why calling words “violence” leads to actual violence - The case agai...

Trey and Justin continue with two more Supreme Court cases from the end of the term. They begin with Mahmoud v. Taylor, which allows parents to opt out their children from pre-K LGBTQ+ books. Here, Trey argues that education is value-driven, and the public sphere can never do what is necessary for education. Justin agrees but believes there is a space in which universal values can be applied. The...

Trey and Justin open this week with the United States bombing of Iran. In this sweeping conversation, the hosts look at not only the legal aspect of President Trump’s bombing order but also the political. This includes conversations about the growing potential rift in MAGA, the debate between Tucker Carlson and Senator Ted Cruz, and an examination of the power of the U.S. President as it relates t...

Mike talks with Joan C. Williams, Distinguished Professor of Law and Hastings Foundation Chair (emerita) at University of California College of Law San Francisco. She’s the author of the recently released book, Outclassed: How the Left Lost the Working Class and How to Win Them Back, which they discuss in this episode. Topics Mike & Joan cover include: - class blindness on the left - the ‘miss...

Mike, Justin, and Joey open this midweek supporters’ episode with a discussion of the Supreme Court’s 6–3 decision upholding Tennessee’s ban on puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender teens. Joey defends the ruling as consistent with constitutional principles and the rule of law, emphasizing the importance of state authority in medical regulation. Justin criticizes the decision as bot...

This week, Mike and Justin are joined by Joey Ashbrook, a new conservative voice on The Politics Guys. They open with a discussion of the escalating hostilities between Israel and Iran. Justin argues that Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal “set the ball in motion” for today’s crisis. Joey contends that Iran’s uranium enrichment past peaceful-use levels justifies Trump’s hardline stance....

Mike, Trey, and Tim open with a look at one part of the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ that could have some bipartisan support - the plan to give every child born in the US a $1,000 investment account. From there, they turn to Elon Musk, who issued a sort of apology for some of the things he said about President Trump, as well as a lawsuit alleging Musk conducted a “brazen scheme to bribe Wisconsin citizens...

Mike and Trey are joined by a new co-host, Tim King, a Professor of Economics at the University of Austin. The guys start off with a discussion of the civil unrest in Los Angeles. Tim argues that Democrats are hurting themselves politically by appearing to side with violent protesters. Trey points out that the administration’s legal justification for deploying troops is on shaky ground. Mike highl...

Trey and Justin begin the show by discussing two Supreme Court cases. The first case resulted in a unanimous decision against Mexico’s lawsuit against gun manufacturers. The case sparked a discussion between the hosts about their own positions on gun rights and the merits of the case. Trey viewed it as a pointless case. Next, the hosts addressed the split decision to allow DOGE access to social se...

Trey and Justin join forces for the first time in this week's episode! The pair begin with a discussion of Trump's new travel ban and its relationship to the attack in Boulder. Then they discuss both the social media battle between Elon Musk and President Donald Trump and whether this is the last gasp for economic conservatives in the Republican Party. They close the show discussing the impact of...

Mike talks with Lura Forcum, president of the Independent Center, an organization that represents people who are fed up with partisan politics and feel politically homeless. Topics Mike & Lura discuss include: how Lura went from a marketing professor to running the Independent Center true independents vs learners if there are enough independents to make a real difference whether partisan polit...