The Rational Nationalist

A democracy is only as strong as its people, and the American people kind of suck right now. At least we aren't Europeans, I guess. In this episode, we'll look at how the moral fabric of the people, i.e., their willingness to put aside individual interests to work for the common good, is an underrated and often overlooked part of what makes nations great.

Why do smart people so often act stupidly? As is often the case, we’ve known the answer since the time of the Greeks – it’s hubris, dummy. We’ll talk about how smart people are often so in love with their own intellectual superiority that it nullifies whatever epistemic edge they may have (I just learned the word ‘epistemic’ and, thus, am using/misusing it all over the place).

Power is what it's all about - all of politics is nothing more than the pursuit of power. On this episode, we'll look at why power is so alluring and get a little bit more judgmental than usual, looking at why people SHOULD pursue power.    Then, because what people SHOULD do doesn't matter, we'll look at what they actually do.

The Iranian people are at it again, rising up against the ayatollahs. How far will they take it this time, and what can/should we do to help? Also, how much should the US care about democracy and democratic principles in our foreign policy approach?   Note: There is a quip about Davos that was accurate as of the time of the recording; however, they have since expelled the Iranian minister.

We take a look at Trump's foreign policy and what we can extrapolate from the Maduro raid, Iran strikes, and the National Security Strategy. Basically, Trump loves a good bargain, likes to stay flexible, and isn't a fan of either Europeans or Congress.

A lot of people are saying that Maduro's kidnapping/capture/extradition/etc. violates international law; others say that international law is a joke and it's naive to care. On this episode, we'll look at this argument, where international law comes from, and how it coincides with basic social norms such as not farting in an elevator.

With Trump's push to redistrict everything under the sun controlled by Republicans - and Newsom's attempt to establish himself as the Democratic frontrunner by outdoing him - gerrymandering is more relevant in 2026 than ever before. Here's a look at how the process leads directly to our hyper-partisan political environment.

How do you know your boss is having an affair with his secretary? We talk about how we use our senses to form the reality we live in, which ultimately is nothing more than a mental construction of our minds, and the impact that communications with others have on this reality.

Facts may be facts, but they can be interpreted very differently. These differences account for the fact that Republicans and Democrats often seem to live in different worlds. Also, I'll take half an hour to discuss a single question and spend a lot of time insulting someone who probably doesn't deserve it.

What would happen in a world with no racism and no sexism? For one thing, a lot of people (activists, NGOs, academics, pundits, etc.) would be out of work. This episode looks at an industry of individuals making their living off fighting social injustice and the perverse incentives this creates.

We look at how Americans have divided political discourse into right- and left-wing silos, and how this makes it more convenient to hate one another with optimal efficiency.

We examine the importance of making decisions based on how things are, rather than how we think they should be, using the Russia-Ukraine peace plan as a case study.

On this episode, we'll consider whether it matters what other countries think of the US (it does), whether we should care (we should), and how much we should care (not THAT much).

We'll take a look at how President Trump has expanded executive authority, how his expansion of executive power compares with similar expansions under previous presidents, and the long-term implications for our country of ever-expanding executive power.

We'll examine how Trump has shifted the paradigm on trade, and the pluses and minuses of his tariff gambit

We'll examine how a bipartisan consensus on trade led to the rise of Donald Trump, focusing specifically on how the political class ignored the impacts globalization had on the working class.

We'll examine why people feel the need to have an opinion on every single topic, even when they're completely clueless on said topic.

A brief overview of Rational Nationalism, the philosophical framework used on this show.