Author: Michael Baranowski

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Mike welcomes a new co-host to the show: political scientist Ryan Teten. (Jay’s not going anywhere – he’s working on a special project for the podcast we hope to unveil sometime this spring.)

Mike & Ryan open with a discussion of Donald Trump’s indictment on charges related to hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels. Neither Mike nor Ryan expect a conviction, and consider the wisdom of Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg seeking an indictment in the first place.

Next they turn to the tragic school shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee and why it seems so unlikely that this time will be any different when it comes to meaningful gun safety legislation.

Following that they consider calls to pause development of AI, the ever growing gap between technological change and government’s response to that change, and whether the future will be the dystopian hellscape some are suggesting or if there might be more optimistic possibilities.

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Trey & Ken continue working through the U.S. Constitution working through the entirety of Article I, Section 9. This section of the constitution, coming immediately after the powers of Congress, outlines the limits on Congressional power.

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Trey & Ken open discussing the major investigations into Trump, focusing on NY’s grand jury and recent developments in the crime and fraud exception for Trump lawyer Corcoran. Relatedly they discuss Ron DeSantis’ commentary on Trump. This leads to a discussion of the Republican primary.

Next is a conversation about Xi Jinping and his visit to Russia and Vladimir Putin. Here Trey & Ken discuss the evolution of U.S. foreign policy in relation to China and how the hostility there has seemingly brought Russia and China closer.

Then the focus turns to the TikTok hearings with CEO Shou Chew. This leads to more conversation about the emergent bipartisan support for a version of isolationism.

The pair end the show with a brief conversation on the ongoing pension crisis in France.

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Mike & Jay open with an extended discussion of the recent failure of three banks, focusing on the largest of the three, Silicon Valley Bank. They discuss why depositors were made whole, banking regulation, and the importance of risk in capitalism.

After that they turn to the growing threat of a US ban of the hugely popular TikTok app due to national security concerns. Jay has his own concerns that this might run afoul of the 1^st Amendment whereas Mike is less inclined to see a platform ban as restricting speech.

Mike’s Recommendation:
Triangle of Sadness

Jay’s Recommendation:
Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 (Cleveland Orchestra)

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Mike & Jay open with a discussion of the use Fox News personality Tucker Carlson has made of the exclusive January 6^th footage given to him by Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy. Carlson did exactly what Mike & Jay predicted he would on the show several weeks back – the guys discuss how much it potentially matters.

Next, they move to President Biden’s recently announced budget for FY 2024. Like most presidential budgets it’s more a political than a policy document, but it does give us some sense of what it says about the priorities of the Biden administration.

Following that is a look at the February jobs report, the state of the economy, and why a number of states are attempting to relax child labor regulations.

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Trey & Ken continue their exploration of the constitution by exploring Article I, Section 8 and Article I, Section 9. What is the extent of Congress’ spending power? What are its limits?

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Trey & Ken start the episode discussing student loan forgiveness and the Supreme Court. The pair discuss the major questions doctrine and disagree over the proper ruling. Next, they discuss the recent revelations from the Dominion lawsuit against Fox News. Following that is an extended conversation on Scott Adams’ comments on race. The pair do precisely what he asks: look at his actual claims and ask him to respond. After that it is a discussion about the Energy Department’s lab leak possibility and the pair close the show discussing the Windsor Framework.

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Mike & Jay open the episode with an update on their segment from last week on candidate cognitive health in the wake of comments from Nikki Haley and Donald Trump this week. Following that is an extended discussion of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine one year in, and then a look at why Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy would give Fox News host Tucker Carlson exclusive access to thousands of hours of January 6^th surveillance footage.

Mike’s Recommendation
We All Got COVID! (Except for Linus)  Nerf Herder

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Mike & Jay open the episode with a discussion of what we know about the conclusions reached by a special grand jury in Fulton County Georgia concerning election interference. It’s yet another win for those who say that the election wasn’t stolen, but it remains to be seen if Donald Trump’s efforts to “find” enough votes to give him Georgia will result in his being indicted.

Next, the Guys consider the train derailment in East Palestine, OH. Mike argues that the government response was fairly good and that railroads have actually been getting safer in recent years. Jay doesn’t dispute that overall trend, but thinks that government agencies could have done more in the aftermath of the disaster.

They close the episode talking about the cognitive health of elected officials in light of California Senator Diane Feinstein’s announcement that she won’t be seeking another term as well as Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman checking himself into Walter Reed to be treated for clinical depression. While a majority of the American public may be in favor of cognitive tests for elected officials, both Mike & Jay end up concluding that it could be a “fix” that creates more problems than it solves.

Jay’s Recommendation
The Conservative Sensibility. George Will

Mike’s Recommendation
Consensus: Evidence- Based Answers, Faster

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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.

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