The Politics Guys

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Mike & Jay open the show with a discussion of multiple developments concerning the events of January 6^th, including Ginni Thomas’s text messages and Justice Thomas’s refusal to recuse, White House communication records on that date, and whether Donald Trump should be investigated and potentially prosecuted for his role in the events of that day.

After that they turn to Russia’s war against Ukraine, focusing on President Biden’s remarks about Putin remaining in power as well as Biden’s authorization of the largest ever release of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

That’s followed by a look at the almost completely bipartisan Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Law (and why Jay would have voted against it, if he had the political courage to do so), President Biden’s first full-fledged budget, and the wisdom and constitutionality of the response to state “anti-trans” laws being planned by the Department of Education.

They close by addressing listener questions, including one in which they recommend some possibly under the radar sources of political information.

Andrew Sullivan

Joseph Epstein

Thomas Edsall

Matt Grossmann

Adam Tooze

Chris Blattman

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Trey and Mike host this week’s show and start with the confirmation hearings for Ketanji Brown Jackson. Topics include the importance of position taking over substantive conversations, the questions of sentencing in child pornography cases and judicial philosophy.

Next the pair take on the newest revelations on Hunter Biden and his laptops. Trey and Mike discuss why the story took the time it did to be confirmed, the unlikely nature of the source, and delve a bit into the question of understanding the nature of sources and the tabloid nature of the New York Post.

After that it is an update on the war in Ukraine with specific focus on a piece by Brian Klaas in The Atlantic and the fallacy of assuming dictators have better long term strategies than elected officials.

Then Trey and Mike discuss the Texas style abortion ban passed in Idaho, in the similar bill working its way through Oklahoma. Do the ends justify the means?

Next is Indiana and Utah’s Republican governors vetoing anti-trans athlete bills. Trey and Mike have a long conversation on biologic sex and gender and how the complications of the conversation.

After that they tackle a question from Isaac Saul from their interview this week: how and when have we changed our minds? Each reflects on some of the moments of when they have altered their beliefs and the process by which they change their beliefs. The pair end with a brief update on inflation.

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Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. If you’re interested in supporting the podcast, go to patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo, we’re @PoliticsGuys.

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Mentioned on the Show

Vladimir Putin Has Fallen Into the Dictator Trap

This War of Mine (also on iOS)

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Mike & Jay open the show with a look at the latest in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, now in its third week. They discuss whether the United States should be doing more to help Ukraine, some military realities, whether or not Putin is a war criminal, revoking Russia’s Most Favored Nation trade status, what to expect of China, and a lot more.

Following that is a discussion of two Federal Reserve stories from the last week. The first is the widely expected rate hike (the first since 2018) which both Mike and Jay favored. The second is President Biden withdrawing the nomination of Sarah Bloom Raskin to serve as the Fed’s vice chair for supervision, largely over her views on the Fed’s role on climate change. Jay thinks there is no role for the central bank and Senate Republicans and Democrat Joe Manchin were right to torpedo Raskin’s nomination. Mike things that climate change does connect with the Fed’s role, and believes Raskin should have been confirmed.

Next, they consider the potential for a new COVID wave in the United States, why Congress hasn’t approved funding to mitigate the effects of the next wave (assuming it comes), who’s playing politics with the issue, and what we should be doing domestically and globally to minimize the spread of COVID variants.

That’s followed by a discussion of the permanent Daylight Savings Time bill that passed the Senate unopposed, President Biden’s unusual interest in the 9^th Amendment, and what, exactly, it means to “win” in the culture wars.

Mike & Jay’s Recommendations

The Tempting of America. Robert Bork

The Closing of the American Mind. Allan Bloom

The Decline of the West. Oswald Spengler

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Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. If you’re interested in supporting the podcast, go to patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo, we’re @PoliticsGuys.

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Mike & Jay open with a look at the flurry of activity surrounding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – the death toll and human cost, Russia’s cratering economy, energy policy ramifications, and much more. They also take a look at President Biden’s new Executive Order on cryptocurrencies, which some believe Russia may be using to at least partially evade sanctions.

After that it’s two verified sightings of bipartisanship in Congress: the Fiscal Year 2022 budget and the even more bipartisan Postal Service Reform legislation. Mike & Jay join in the love-fest, though they don’t completely agree on everything in these two bills.

Next they discuss two laws that have been seen by many as anti-LGBTQ+. The first is Texas’ decision to classify sex reassignment procedures for minors as child abuse, with the second being Florida’s so called “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Their discussion gets into, among other things,  parental rights, school board vs state control, the significant rise in no-traditional gender identity, and even a  risqué report that high school junior Jay did on this 1973 John Updike short story.  

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Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. If you’re interested in supporting the podcast, go to patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo, we’re @PoliticsGuys.

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This week Trey and Ken host the show and start by bringing updates on Russia and Ken’s perspective to the ongoing crisis. Specifically the pair discuss the recent attack on a nuclear power plant and the Congressional resolution condemning Russia.

Next the pair talk about client, attorney privilege as it may or may not apply to John Eastman, which apparently opens Trump to the possibility of criminal investigation.

After that it is a discussion of Biden’s State of the Union and how State of the Union addresses might be reimagined to better help the populace and president communicate.

Then Trey and Ken discuss the new White House COVID strategy. They move south to talk about he Texas primary and the ongoing difficulties Democrats had. Trey again argues it might be time for Democrats to not think that demographics necessarily run in their favor. The pair close the show looking at the cases of Egbert v Boule and the U.S. v Abu Zubaydah.

Trey’s Recommendation Severance

Ken’s Recommendations The Case of Richard Sorge

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Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. If you’re interested in supporting the podcast, go to patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo, we’re @PoliticsGuys.

Interested in starting your own podcast? Check out RedCircle, home of The Politics Guys.

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Mike & Jay are joined by Trey on this episode of the podcast, which starts off with an extended discussion of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The guys get into likely outcomes, Putin’s strategic savvy, the ineffectiveness of sanctions, democratic vs authoritarian regimes, prospects for energy policy in Europe, the GOP split in reactions to Putin and Russia, how Russia’s actions might affect China’s view of a Taiwan, and a lot more.

Then it’s a look at Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Biden’s nominee to fill the Supreme Court seat of retiring Justice Stephen Breyer. Nobody is surprised by Biden’s choice, and the guys expect Jackson to be confirmed on a narrow, mostly party line vote. Jay suggests that a more consensus-building nominee might have been shortlisted candidate J. Michelle Childs, though Mike argues that we’re in an age where almost no conceivable Supreme Court nominee would be confirmed with any significant bipartisan support.

After that is a discussion of the Supreme Court’s announcement that it will be hearing 303 Creative v. Elenis, in which a Christian website designer argues that Colorado’s LGBTQ+ anti-discrimination law violates her 1st amendment free expression and free exercise of religion rights. The Court declined to consider the religious freedom implications, but Jay, Mike, and Trey all agree that a majority of the Justices are likely to see that law as unconstitutionally compelling speech.

Next, they talk about why a Democratic House member would want to deliver a response to Democrat Joe Biden’s upcoming State of the Union Address, as Michigan Representative and “Squad” member Rashida Tlaib plans to do for the progressive group Working Families Party. Following that, they discuss the launch of Donald Trump’s Truth Social app, as well as a federal court ruling that pits deference to administrative regulations against the Court’s role in determining the meaning of major legal questions.

Mike’s Recommendations
The Hitman’s Bodyguard & The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard

Trey’s Recommendations
The Constitution, An Introduction.  Michael Stokes Paulsen and Luke Paulsen

The Least of Us, Part II (video game)

Jay’s Recommendations
The NRPLUS Facebook Group

A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal. Ben Macintyre

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Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. If you’re interested in supporting the podcast, go to patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo, we’re @PoliticsGuys.

Interested in starting your own podcast? Check out RedCircle, home of The Politics Guys.

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