Category: Interviews

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Mike talks with Lura Forcum, president of the Independent Center, an organization that represents people who are fed up with partisan politics and feel politically homeless.

Topics Mike & Lura discuss include:

• how Lura went from a marketing professor to running the Independent Center
• true independents vs learners
• if there are enough independents to make a real difference
• whether partisan politics is such a bad thing
• the two-party stranglehold on political power
• how the Independent Center hopes to change things

Check out Lura’s podcast, We Made This Political

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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.

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Mike talks with Eric Heinze, professor at Queen Mary University of London and author of Coming Clean: The Rise of Critical Theory and the Future of the Left. 

Topics Mike and Eric discuss include:

• why critical theory resists a single definition
• the Radical Critique of Western Liberal Democracy
  the left’s greatest legacy: redefining history as collective self-scrutiny
• the left’s big blind spot
• prospects for change

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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.

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Mike talks with Eva Posner, founder and CEO of Evinco Strategies, a political consulting firm specializing in first-time candidates from diverse backgrounds who face barriers in traditional campaigns. 

Topics Mike & Eva discuss include:

• why you have to be weird to run for office
• the importance of ‘Rolodexing’
• the power of relatability
• the value of ‘hard asks’
• challenges first-time candidates face
• the importance of call time
• getting potential donors to open their wallets
  

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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.

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Mike talks with David Graham, a staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of The Project: How Project 2025 is Reshaping America.

Topics Mike and David discuss include:
– what makes Project 2025 different from previous policy blueprints
– how closely connected President Trump is to Project 2025
– personnel policies in Project 2025
– Project 2025 and the Unitary Executive theory
– how Christian Nationalism ties in to Project 2025
– implementation of Project 2025
– best and worst case scenarios

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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.

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Mike talks with attorney, former law school dean, and current Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. In 2022, Secretary Benson was recognized for her refusal to back down in the face of threats and harassment in the wake of the 2020 presidential election with the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. She’s running for governor of Michigan in 2026 and is the author of the recently released book The Purposeful Warrior: Standing Up for What’s Right When the Stakes Are High.

Topics Mike & Secretary Benson discuss include:
– why Donald Trump called Secretary Benson a ‘rogue secretary of state’
– why we need more warriors in our already-contentious politics
– how politics awards risk-averse behavior
– why more Republicans in Congress aren’t challenging President Trump
– if states should roll back their COVID-era election changes
– the importance of fixing things that aren’t broken (yet)

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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.

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Mike talks with Mike Nellis, former Senior Advisor to Kamala Harris and Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Authentic, a digital marketing agency that’s raised over a billion dollars for campaigns and had a 77% client win rate in 2024. 

Topics Mike & Mike discuss include:
– the evolution of political fundraising
– how AI is being used in political marketing
– White Dudes for Harris
– what went wrong for Democrats in 2024
– the authenticity of Donald Trump
– working class voters and the Diploma Divide
– The Rock for President
– Pete Buttegieg – the best Democratic communicator?

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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.

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Mike talks with Adam Swart, the founder of Crowds on Demand, the original paid protesting firm, and a leading expert on protests, political optics, and narrative strategy. A lifelong liberal, Adam now finds himself increasingly “not liberal enough” for many in the modern Left.

Topics Mike and Adam discuss include:
– the false dichotomy between ‘real’ and ‘fake’ protests
– why every significant protest is a paid protest
– the left’s protest advantage over the right
– throwing tantrums vs getting things done
– the importance of barking up the right tree
– making geeky issues exciting
– if short-sellers could have been behind the Tesla protests

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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.

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castbox | PocketCasts | Overcast

Travis talks with political scientist, Johns Hopkins professor, and CEO of Cohen Research Group, Dr. Michael Cohen about his new book, Modern Political Campaigns: How Professionalism, Technology, and Speed Have Revolutionized Elections, in which he provides insight into the practical nature of managing political campaigns and an insider’s advice on breaking into careers in the field of political consulting. 

Topics Travis and Michael cover include:

• Why professionalism, technology, and speed are the hallmark features of modern political campaigns
• The role of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in political campaigning and the ethical considerations campaign managers must make when using AI
• What the permanent campaign is and its impact on American democracy and representation

Follow Dr. Michael Cohen on LinkedIn.
 

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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.

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castbox | PocketCasts | Overcast

Mike talks with Adam Chandler, a former staff writer at The Atlantic whose work has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and a bunch of other places. They discuss his recently released book, 99% Perspiration: A New Working History of the American Way of Life.

Topics Mike & Adam discuss include:
– the “American Abracadabra”
– Columbus, the Puritans, and Ben Franklin
– if the United States is still the “Land of Opportunity”
– the downside of hustle culture
– universal basic income
– how workplace culture has changed over time
– what we might learn from the French about work
– the economic costs of a more laid-back approach to work
– work and a New Patriotism

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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.

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castbox | PocketCasts | Overcast

Mike talks with Monica Hopkins, the executive director of the ACLU of the District of Columbia. Given all of the legal challenges to Trump administration actions, this seemed like an ideal time for a discussion with someone on the front lines.

Topics Mike and Monica discuss include:
– if the ACLU is a progressive-left organization
– Trump, DOGE, and threats to federal employees
– deportation of undocumented immigrants
– ending birthright citizenship
– DC statehood

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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.