The Smerconish Podcast

Michael lays out today's Daily Poll Question at Smerconish.com: Should pro-Palestinian groups be banned from state colleges? Listen here, then vote! Original air date 30 October 2023. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Eric Cheyfitz is the Ernest I. White Professor of American Studies and Humane Letters at Cornell University. Michael was uncomfortable publishing an essay from Eric about the war in Gaza at Smerconish.com, but willing to have the conversation on radio. Original air date 27 October 2023. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and u...

In the wake of the shooting massacre in Lewiston, Maine this week, Michael asks this Daily Poll Question at Smerconish.com today: Occasional mass murder is an unfortunate reality of American life that is not going to change. Agree, or Disagree? Listen here, then vote. Original air date 27 October 2023. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our...

Michael talks to Dante Chinni, Wall Street Journal Columnist and Director of the American Communities Project at Michigan State University. They discuss his latest WSJ piece "Grand Old Party: How Aging Makes You More Conservative." Original air date 26 October 2023. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data f...

Michael lays out today's Daily Poll Question at Smerconish.com: Which has the greatest likelihood of reining in addictive aspects of social media? Platforms, Parents, Legislators, or Litigators? Original air date 26 October 2023. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Political analyst Mark Halperin at Wide World of News parses through his latest "Fake Ron Klain Memo" with Michael. Original air date 25 October 2023. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

As protests are happening on college campuses across the country on what's happening in the Middle East, and some of those schools are taking stances as institutions, Michael offers today's Daily Poll Question at Smerconish.com: Should major university donors have a say in the schools' stance on geopolitical issues? Listen here, then vote! Original air date 25 October 2023. Hosted by Simplecast, a...

It's a case of city versus state, and it has to do with pot. Michael talks to Steven Fulop, the Mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey, who does not want officers on his police force to be able to use marijuana during their personal, off-duty time. However, with cannabis being legal in NJ, he's now fighting the state in court, as they say, yes, officers can partake when not on the job. Original air date...

Michael discusses the latest Daily Poll Question at Smerconish.com. It is an Agree-or-Disagree option today, stating: There should be no ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza war until the hostages are released. Listen, then vote! Original air date 24 October 2023. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for adverti...

16 days since the war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7, Michael examines the protests - what are they protesting about and where? And, a look at columnist Thomas Friedman's take in the New York Times on how this could and should end. Original air date 23 October 2023. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of pe...

Michael asks today's Daily Poll Question at Smerconish.com: Do you agree with Thomas Friedman that any Israeli move into Gaza must be paired with a new Israeli commitment to a two-state solution? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Michael talks to Graeme Wood, staff writer at The Atlantic and co-author of "The Way of the Strangers: Encounters With The Islamic State." He obtained a handbook that tells Hamas's members how to take hostages. His piece is "Hamas's Hostage-Taking Handbook Says to 'Kill the Difficult Ones' and Use Hostages as 'Human Shields'." Original air date 20 October 2023. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz com...

Following the address to the nation from the Oval Office last night, Michael asks today's Daily Poll Question at Smerconish.com: Do you support President Biden’s anticipated request for $100 Billion in military aid primarily for Ukraine and Israel? Listen here, then vote! Original air date 20 October 2023. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about...

A possible third party candidate no one has really talked about yet: Admiral William McRaven. Michael talks to NBC News Political Director Chuck Todd about his column, "The search for a winner behind Door No. 3." Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

As the fighting escalates in Israel and Gaza, and after Biden visited Israel, Michael asks today's Daily Poll Question at Smerconish.com: Should the U.S. become directly involved if Hezbollah joins the war in Gaza? Listen here, then vote! Original air date 19 October 2023. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal...

Michael welcomes political analyst Mark Halperin at Wide World of News to talk about possible shifts in the 2024 presidential race due to the Israel-Hamas conflict. Good for Biden or Trump? Or...Nikki Haley? Lots to discuss in today's episode. Original air date 18 October 2023. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of per...

With the war seemingly escalating in the Middle East and President Biden arriving in Israel overnight, Michael offers up today's Daily Poll Question at Smerconish.com: "Will we ever know definitively who/what caused the strike on the Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza?" Listen, then vote! Original air date 18 October 2023. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for inform...

Every Tuesday, Michael talks with Retired Navy Admiral James Stavridis, the former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO. He is currently vice chair, global affairs and managing director of the global investment firm the Carlyle Group, and chair of the board of trustees of the Rockefeller Foundation. Original air date 17 October 2023. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.co...

Michael offers up today's Daily Poll Question at Smerconish.com: Does the attack on Israel suddenly make Joe Biden's age and experience more an asset than liability in the 2024 election? Listen here, then vote! Original air date 17 October 2023. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Bill Maher says social media is helping us be anything BUT social...it is increasing loneliness and isolation, and Michael agrees. Original air date 16 October 2023. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Michael offers today's Daily Poll Question at Smerconish.com: Should the U.S. accept refugees from Gaza? Listen, then vote. Original air date 16 October 2023. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Michael talks to J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami on what's happening in Israel. From their website, "J Street organizes pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans to promote US policies that embody our deeply held Jewish and democratic values and that help secure the State of Israel as a democratic homeland for the Jewish people. We believe that only a negotiated resolution agreed to by Israelis and Palest...

Michael asks today's Smerconish.com Daily Poll Question: Should the news media publish the horrifying images resulting from the Hamas attack on Israel? Listen, then vote. Original air date 13 October 2023. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Michael welcomes David McCullough III (grandson of '1776' author David McCullough, to talk about the AEP, where he is co-founder and CEO of the organization that sends high school seniors on a free, week-long trip, after they graduate, to a hometown very different from their own. Original air date 11 October 2023. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for informatio...

Michael offers thoughts on today's Daily Poll Question at Smerconish.com: Should students who blame Israel for the Saturday Hamas attack be blacklisted by prospective employers? Listen and vote. Original air date 12 October 2023. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.