Category: Interviews

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Mike talks with Garrett Neiman, author of the recently released book Rich White Men: What it Takes to Uproot the Old Boys’ Club and Transform America. Mr. Neiman has a BA in economics from Stanford, an MBA from Harvard Business School, and a master’s in public policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He was a founding CEO of CollegeSpring, a national college access nonprofit, a co-creator of Liberation Ventures (a philanthropic fund focused on building power toward reparations), a Senior Fellow at Prosperity Now, and an Adjunct Lecturer at Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality.

Topics Mike & Garrett Discuss Include:
– the problem with rich white men (is there one?)
– inequality and standards of living
– the role of personal responsibility & culture
– reverse discrimination and a colorblind Constitution
– the reparations movement

Garrett Neiman on Twitter

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Mike has another conversation with one of his all-time favorite guests: Bryan Caplan. Bryan is an economist at George Mason University, a prolific author, and blogs at Bet on It. In this episode, they discuss Bryan’s latest collection: Voters as Mad Scientists: Essays on Political Irrationality.

Topics Mike & Bryan Discuss Include:
– Twitter & Nazis & Meth (oh my!)
– why Bryan hates politics
– social desirability bias
– hyperbole and overconfidence
– innumeracy
– the irrationality of voters
– if irrationality has gotten worse
– why Bryan doesn’t vote
– the case for DEI being worse than McCarthyism
– politics as not utterly hopeless but “mostly hopeless”
– some small reasons for cautious optimism

Bryan Caplan on Twitter

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Mike talks with Dr. Jonathan Ward, an internationally recognized expert on Chinese global strategy and US-China competition. He has a Ph.D. in China-India relations from the University of Oxford, has consulted for the Department of Defense, and is the founder of the Atlas Organization, a strategic advisory group on US-China global competition for business and government. Dr. Ward is the author of China’s Vision of Victory, as well as the recently released book The Decisive Decade: American Grand Strategy for Triumph Over China, which Jonathan and Mike discuss in this episode.

Topics Covered Include:
– what makes this the decisive decade
– if it’s already too late to slow China’s advance
– why we should view China as an adversary
– if fears of Chinese dominance are overblown
– the Chinese economic and military threat
– what the US should be doing to counter China

Jonathan Ward on Twitter

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Mike talks with Kevin Munger, an assistant professor of political science and social data analytics at Penn State University about his book Generation Gap: Why the Baby Boomers Still Dominate American Politics and Culture.

Topics Mike & Kevin discuss include:
– if generational cohorts really matter
– the enduring power of the Boomers
– when Boomer power peaked and when it will decline
– social media, generational cohorts, and shared identity
– political differences between Boomers, Millennials, and Gen Z

Kevin Munger on Substack

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Mike talks with Harvard historian of science Naomi Oreskes, and Cal Tech historian of science Erik Conway. They’ve -coauthored a number of books including Merchants of Doubt, and The Collapse of Western Civilization. Their latest book is The Big Myth: How American Business Taught Us to Loathe Government and Love the Free Market, which is the focus of this discussion.

Topics Mike, Naomi, and Erik discuss include:

– the Big Myth and the Tripod of Freedom
– why power companies once argued against electric power
– government regulation and fears of communism
– Friedrich Hayek and the influence of The Road to Serfdom
– fear of government vs fear of markets
– the Big Myth and our response to COVID-19
– the Big Myth and climate change
– combatting the Big Myth (for those who believe it’s a myth)

Naomi Oreskes on Twitter
Erik Conway on Twitter

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Mike talks with Bryan Caplan, Professor of Economics at George Mason University, prolific author, and blogger at Bet on It. He’s the author of multiple books and essay collections – five of which we’ve previously discussed on the show. Today, they talk about Professor Caplan’s latest collection, Don’t Be A Feminist: Essays on Genuine Justice.

Topics Mike & Bryan cover include:

– what it means to be a feminist
– underrepresentation of women in top political & business roles
– pay differentials between men and women
– sexism, objectification, and sexual violence
– if unequal treatment is necessarily unfair treatment
– diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training
– if the ‘non-woke’ market is being underserved

Bryan Caplan on Twitter

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Mike talks with former federal prosecutor and CNN Senior Legal Analyst Elie Honig about his just released book, Untouchable: How Powerful People Get Away With It.

Topics Mike & Elie Cover Include:
– the tactics powerful people use to avoid prosecution
– the legal strategies of Donald Trump and The Trump Organization
– using cutouts and innuendo to avoid direct responsibility
– how fear of reprisal helps to protect the powerful
– the use and abuse of presidential pardons
– the cases against Donald Trump and the likelihood of convictions

Elie Honig on Twitter

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Mike talks with Pierre Bergeron, a judge on Ohio’s 1^st District Court of Appeals about judicial elections, state constitutional interpretation & abortion rights, the lack of good sentencing data & why it matters, and Judge Bergeron’s concerns about how few cases result in trials by jury.

Measures for Justice

How a Spreadsheet Could Change the Criminal Justice System. Pierre Bergeron and Michael Donnelly. The Atlantic, December 14, 2020.

The Missing American Jury. Suja Thomas

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Trey talks with Robb Willer and Jan Voelkel about their research on the interventions that increase Americans’ democratic attitudes.

Topics Trey, Robb, and Jan discuss include:
– What led to studying democratic attitudes?
– How can we decrease partisanship?
– What are antidemocratic behaviors?
– Democratic backsliding
– Relating to those who are not like us

Follow Robb Willer and Jan Voelkel on Twitter

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Mike talks with Michelle Wilde Anderson, professor of property, local government, and environmental justice at Stanford Law School, about her recently released book, The Fight to Save the Town: Reimagining Discarded America.

Topics Mike & Michelle Cover Include:

• the problem of citywide poverty
• poor cities and gateway cities
• ineffective “solutions” to citywide poverty
• how pathologizing poor cities as failed and corrupt makes things worse
• the importance of rebuilding trust in tackling citywide poverty
• poverty & hope in Stockton California; Josephine County, Oregon; Lawrence, Massachusetts; and Detroit Michigan

Michelle Wilde Anderson on Twitter

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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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