The Politics of New America

The Republican Party is polling poorly. Parts of its coalition are fracturing. Special elections suggest vulnerability. And yet — there is still a path to victory. This episode examines the structural realities that often matter more than approval ratings: Senate geography, turnout asymmetry, voter access laws, and party discipline. Midterms are not referendums on popularity alone. They are shaped...

Welcome back to The Politics of New America. Nathan and Producer Josh are back to talk about America's withdrawal from the world order it created, and how its dependant nations in Europe and beyond are struggling to find a new way forward. The Politics of New America explores the radical new era of American politics and its effects on the world. https://linktr.ee/hauntedmouseproductions

Democrats win big, then cave on the shutdown. Nathan & Josh unpack margins that matter, why affordability could be the only winning play, and what SCOTUS might do to Trump’s tariffs. Final 2025 ep—back in January. Host: Nathan Stone • Producer/Co-host: Josh Carmody A Haunted Mouse Production. Content note: explicit language. 00:00 Cold open 01:30 Election wins (VA, NJ) 07:45 NY: Mamdani &...

America has never been hungrier. Over 42 million citizens struggle to afford enough to eat. For decades, America's food stamp program, now known as SNAP has helped many of those suffering from hunger, now the ongoing government shutdown threatens to fully halt the initiative and leave one out of every eight citizen wondering how they're going to feed themselves and their families.  Special guest G...

There have been few examples of closer relationships between nations than Canada and the United States. The two share common origins, language and culture. Now the Trump administration is using its immense economic influence to punish its northern neighbour for perceived slights large and small.  Join us as we look at the unequal trade war between Canada and the US and discuss the seemingly no-win...

The American attacks on alleged Venezuelan drug cartel boats have killed at least 27 people and launched a wave of international condemnations. How can trump legally deploy America's military to attack foreign civilians at whim? Join us as we uncover America's modern history of extra judicial killings and trace the origins back to the aftermath of 9/11.  The Politics of New America explores and ex...

The Trump administration is attempting to paint the American anti-facist movement as a terrorist threat as dangerous as any the nation has faced.  In a recent presidential roundtable, Trump, his cabinet, and right wing influencers took turns calling for the dismantling and destruction of Antifa. The discussion was high drama political theatre that sought to create a fictional version of the moveme...

Lowering prescription drug costs for Americans was one of Trump's populist campaign promises. Now that promise has taken shape as TrumpRx, a website launching in 2026 that intends to connect American's with direct to consumer prices for prescription drugs. Could this new initiative finally bring down America's sky high prescription drug costs? And will Trump's bullying tactics finally benefit ever...

Trump's speech to the United Nations was bizarre, insulting, and perfectly encapsulated his government's disdain for the organization. Since Trump took office, his administration has slashed UN funding, sometimes in ways that violate the constitution. In this episode we explore the fallout of Trump's speech, the decline of American soft power, and the impact of the massive budget cuts on the worki...

The Supreme Court made use of its controversial Emergency Docket to quash a federal court order that stopped Trump from firing an FTC commissioner. In doing so the judges signalled their willingness to throw out protections that keep Independent Federal Agency heads from being fired without cause by the president. This decision threatens to destroy the independence of dozens of important agencies...

Congress is surrendering more of its power to the president. In this episode we look at two events from last week that illustrate the diminishing roll of the house and senate. The announcement of The Trump Gold Card visa for wealthy immigrants is very on brand for the president. For "a gift" of one million dollars to the federal government, rich immigrants can receive expedited approval to live an...

In the wake of the Charlie Kirk killing, we explore the rising tide of American political violence and how the country is at risk of normalizing such attacks. In the second half of the show we look at the looming threat of a federal government shutdown and explain why these shutdowns are a uniquely American phenomenon. The Politics of New America explores and explains the actions of the American f...

Democrats are sounding the alarm over what they say are Trump’s plans to postpone or cancel the 2026 midterms and 2028 presidential elections.  Join us as we delve into the constitutional legalities around federal elections and America’s history of holding elections in times of crisis to answer the question: What can Trump legally do to interfere with the normal election process? In the second hal...

In a showcase of the limits of presidential power, Trump's executive order titled: "Prosecuting the Burning of The American Flag" does nothing of the sort, as flag burning is a constitutionally protected form of protest. The document descends into absurdity as it pushes the Department of Justice to find other crimes to charge flag burners with. Join us for a discussion on what, if anything, this e...

Created for situations where time is of the essence, the Supreme Court's shadow docket allows the justices to weigh in on matters of extreme urgency without requiring a full trial. Since Trump's first term, the shadow docket is being used more and more frequently to remove obstacles to the president's agenda. New data reveals an overwhelming bias towards conservative rulings through the shadow doc...

Once a fringe belief, the Unitary Executive Theory is being used by the Trump administration and right-wing political analysts to justify handing the president absolute authority over federal agencies. Expansion of presidential power threatens to further marginalize congress, the courts, and American democracy.  In this episode we look at the history of the Unitary Executive Theory and how it’s be...

Gerrymandering is an American tradition dating back to the nation’s founding. Join us as we look back at how Gerrymandering took root in the US, the humorous story of how it got its name, and its continued devastating impact on American democracy.  The Politics of New America explores and explains the American federal government in this age of radical change. 

The US accounts for close to 40% of the world’s military spending, but it never seems to be enough. Maintaining the globe’s mightiest armed force is becoming unsustainably expensive. Join us as we look at the over inflated and fiscally disastrous state of the US military and how the Trump administration is making a big problem even worse.  Welcome to the Politics of New America. We explore and exp...

President Trump's latest Executive Order seeks to institutionalize thousands of Homeless Americans without their consent. It also forces states to abandon their current homelessness initiatives or face funding cuts and criminal investigations. Join us as we break down the order piece by piece to look at the context and consequences of this new aggressive approach toward America's ever worsening ho...

The Supreme Court has given the Trump administration the green light to continue its dismantling of the Department of Education. At the same time the federal government is pulling billions out of school programs. We discuss the effects of these cuts and how the most vulnerable children will face the greatest impact.  The Politics of New America explores and explains the policies of the American Fe...

A key victory that sprung from the Civil Rights Movement, The Voting Rights Act has long protected black and minority voters from racist policies designed to weaken their political power and silence their voices. Now after decades of conservative attacks on the act, the supreme court has the opportunity to kill some of its strongest voter protection measures. Should they succeed, Americans will lo...

People from all over the world have long sought American citizenship as a way towards a better life. The rights, privileges and protections guaranteed by citizenship could only be removed in special and rare circumstances, until now. The federal government is stepping up efforts to strip citizenship from naturalized immigrants for offenses as minor as traffic violations. At the same time, birthrig...

President Trump has used executive orders to weaken enforcement of regulatory crimes and corporate corruption in the name of making American businesses more competitive globally. On this episode we explore Trump's policies around corruption and corporate crimes. We examine two executive orders that weaken the federal government's ability to prosecute companies who violate long standing corruption...

The Supreme Court has quashed a lower court order that sought to make sure the Trump administration wasn't sending deportees to unsafe nations. While the decision isn't final, the SCOTUS judges have made removing detained immigrants much easier for now. Meanwhile the massive detention infrastructure needed to house the ten of thousands of people scooped up in ICE raids is being worked on all over...

War is on everyone's mind this week, so we dive into the Israel-Iran conflict and how it's highlighting tensions among Trump's advisors. Then we discuss the question: How is it the President of the United States can drag the nation into military conflict without congressional approval and is there any check on the president's power as commander and chief? Learn how American presidents have long fo...