Category: Interviews

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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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Mike talks with Bryan Caplan, Professor of Economics at George Mason University and blogger at Bet on It. He’s the author of multiple books, including four that we’ve previously discussed on the show: The Myth of the Rational Voter, The Case Against Education, Open Borders, and Labor Econ vs The World: Essays on the World’s Greatest Market. On this episode, Mike and Bryan talk about his most recent book, How Evil Are Politicians?: Essays on Demagoguery.

Topics Mike & Brian Discuss Include:

– The meaning of evil – is it more than just self-interest?
– Bryan’s contention that the vast majority of politicians are, in fact, evil
– Why we should hold politicians to a higher standard
– The almost utter lack of “moral due diligence” on the part of politicians
– If people don’t know or just don’t care about evil politicians
– Demagoguery as the politics of social desirability
– Liberal vs Conservative forms of evil
– The extent to which evil politicians are a result of a bad system
– The pragmatic case for pacifism
– If any US hostilities since WWII were justified
– What, if anything, we can do about evil politicians

Bryan Caplan 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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• Why business and politics are inseparable
• How the interaction between business and government is like football
• Policy regulation and deregulation as public goods
• Why living in Florida would be impossible without government subsidies
• Why so many corporations give China a pass on its authoritarian policies
• Why Harley Davidson workers voted to axe their own jobs
• Tony Chocoloney and the problem of moving away from slave labor chocolate
• The instability of the current tri-polar trade bloc system
• The reality that ‘no brand can remain apolitical for too long’
• Markets as essentially political constructs

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