Category: Interviews

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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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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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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

Adam Swart on X

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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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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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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 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

Adam Chandler on X

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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 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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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 Jason Read, a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Southern Maine, about his book The Double Shift: Spinoza and Marx on the Politics of Work.

Topics Mike & Jason discuss include:
– work as a source of meaning and identity
– what Spinoza adds to Marx’s views on work
– what Fight Club, Breaking Bad, and Better Call Saul can tell us about work
– Gen X and the death of slacker culture
– why ‘selling out’ isn’t seen as such a bad thing anymore
– mythocracy and negative solidarity

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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 welcomes back George Mason University economist Bryan Caplan to talk about his latest collection, Self Help is Like a Vaccine: Essays on Living Better.

Topics Mike & Bryan discuss include:
– obese people and anti-vaxxers
– Bryan’s life of appeasement
– the value of betting on politics
– poverty and substance abuse
– reasons to spend more time in a bubble
– quality vs quantity in converts

Bryan’s Substack: Bet on It

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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 Kurt Gray, a Professor in Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he directs the Deepest Beliefs Lab and the Center for the Science of Moral Understanding. They talk about his recently released book, Outraged: Why We Fight About Morality and Politics and How to Find Common Ground.

Topics Mike and Kurt discuss include:
– what Jonathan Haidt gets wrong
– myths of human nature
– dehumanization and moral conflict
– social media as a Godzilla movie
– why people only want ‘their’ facts
– the importance of perceived harm
– how to connect, invite, and validate

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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.