Labor Statistics, Tariffs, Texas Redistricting

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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 redistricting, and Trump’s social media posts about the census, and the likelihood there could be an extra census before 2030, and of excluding non-citizens.

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FairVote and Reforming Voting

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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
– nonpartisan redistricting
– expanding the House of Representatives
– Senate representation and the Electoral College

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The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

The Fed Holds, Redistricting Wars, DOGE’s New AI Tool

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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 President Trump’s tariffs.

Next is a look at Texas’ mid-decade redistricting and the possibility that Democratic-controlled states (like California, most notably) may conduct their own between-Censuses redistricting in retaliation. Along the way, Ken convinces Mike that walking out of a mid-decade redistricting, as Texas Democrats are considering, is a reasonable response to the situation.

They close with a discussion of DOGE’s new  “AI Deregulation Decision Tool”, which is intended to be a key component in the agency’s goal of cutting 100,000 federal regulations by the one-year anniversary of President Trump’s second term. Mike sees the possibilities – and the peril – with Ken being highly skeptical that this tool won’t be used for highly partisan ends.

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The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

Zohran Mamdani: The Next Big Thing, Or A Democratic Dead End?

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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 he plans to pay for everything he wants to do
– an attempt to revoke Mamdani’s citizenship
– the ‘globalize the Intifada’ controversy

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The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

Conspiracy Theories, Paramount Merger, TX Redistricting

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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 history of gerrymandering. 

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The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

Our Money: Monetary Policy as if Democracy Matters

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Mike talks with Leah Downey,  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 constraining the Fed’s independence
– why the Fed should be regularly rechartered

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The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

Epstein Files, Rescissions Bill, Education Firings

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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 bill. Mike points out that the $9.4 billion cut is a drop in the bucket and that NPR, in particular, might be better off without the small amount of government funding that this will deny them. Sam feels that while it might not be much,  it’s a step in the right direction.

They close with a look at a recent Supreme Court decision that allowed mass firings and reorganization at the Department of Education to go forward. Mike believes that the administration ignored a clear legal provision in carrying out the firings, though Sam doesn’t see things that way. He does agree with Mike that at some point, an ostensible restructuring/efficiency measure becomes a de facto illegal agency closure, but that we’re not there yet.

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The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

America Party, Epstein, Birthright Citizenship, Tariffs

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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 the newest extension and rhetoric from Trump’s tariff letters.

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The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

The 4th Of July, The Big Beautiful Bill Act

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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 the politics of the Big Beautiful Bill, including the end of the Republican Party as the party of deficit reduction. Second, they turn to the actual policies of the bill, including a deep rundown of most of its provisions and possible effects

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The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

The War on Words

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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 against hate speech laws
– Free speech lessons from Nazi Germany and Rwanda
– Shoutdowns as mob censorship on campus
– Whether the internet makes speech protections obsolete
– Mill’s trident and the case for truth through debate
– Who really benefits from free speech protections
– The limits of regulating misinformation and disinformation

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Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo, we’re @PoliticsGuys.

The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.