Afleveringen
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Susan Del Percio (crisis communications expert) joins host Ron Steslow to examine what becomes of a populist movement once it captures the institutions it was built to attack.
They begin with the Epstein files and a new book from New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan about the White House’s behind-the-scenes scramble to respond, including a Situation Room damage control meeting, and why the leaked recording of that meeting is more alarming still.
Next, they widen the lens to populism’s paradox, what happens when a movement built to distrust institutions takes them over and whether these movements need a single figurehead to lead them.
Then they turn to Maine, where Democrats nominated Graham Platner, a self-described socialist with a Nazi tattoo and allegations from former romantic partners describing him as volatile and demeaning toward women, including one ex-girlfriend’s accusation that he physically intimidated and restrained her.
Finally, they weigh the economics underneath the populist rhetoric, from Platner’s “Epstein class” framing to a leftist turn toward capping growth and redistributing wealth, and why the politics of stagnation is a hard sell.
In Politicology+, they dig into “jawboning”— the way governments lean on private platforms to suppress speech they can’t legally suppress themselves—and a new bipartisan bill to stop it.
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Billy Binion (reporter at Reason Magazine) joins host Ron Steslow to examine how democratic governments are redefining speech as a harm to be managed and who pays the price when they do.
They begin with the White House's negotiation with Senator Marsha Blackburn, a deal that would trade federal preemption of state AI laws for the Kids Online Safety Act, the No Fakes Act, and federal age verification, and whether we are “one bad deal away from the era of online government censorship.”
Next, Britain's thousands of arrests each year for online posts, its mandate that Apple and Google build content scanning into every device, and Signal's vow to exit the market before that happens.
Then they turn to the killing of Henry Novak, whose dying words police discounted in deference to his killer's fabricated racism accusation.
Finally, they unpack Minnesota's multibillion-dollar benefits fraud—JD Vance's referral of Tim Walz and Keith Ellison, why warnings went unheeded, and the citizen journalist who made the scandal impossible to ignore.
In Politicology+, they discuss the bipartisan push to force UFO disclosure and the legal fight underneath it: whether the government should use eminent domain to seize allegedly recovered non-human technology from private contractors, and whether contractor employees who come forward deserve whistleblower protections.
POLITICOLOGY+
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Watch Billy’s Documentary about citizen journalist Priscilla Villarreal: https://bit.ly/3S4cuKJ
Read Konstantin Kissin on Henry Nowak’s murder: https://substack.com/home/post/p-200293621
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Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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Géraldine Blanche (Intellectual Property Lawyer and PhD candidate in Intellectual Property Law at the Sciences Po Law School in Paris) joins Ron Steslow to discuss the politics of fashion and intellectual property law
(01:26) Fashion in Politics
(05:36) Iteration, interpretation, and inspiration
(09:47) The need for time in fashion and democracy
(14:24) Environmental impact of fashion
(26:42) The impact of AI on fashion
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Hagar Chemali (Former spokesperson for the U.S. Mission to the UN) is back in studio with host Ron Steslow to map the widening gap between the Trump Administration's declared aims in the Iran war, and the murky reality now shaping the region and the world.
First they discuss the state of the war with Iran and the supposed negotiations in which the two governments are describing opposite realities—and what it would mean for the US to “finish the job.”
Then, they widen the lens to China, tracing the argument that the campaigns against Iran and Venezuela are less about those countries than about choking off Beijing's energy supply.
Finally, they turn to the information domain and the Singham network, a Chinese Communist Party-aligned financing infrastructure that has funneled hundreds of millions of dollars into American left-wing protest infrastructure and the deeper question it raises: how can a liberal society defend itself against foreign information warfare without surrendering the values it is fighting to protect?
In Politicology+, they discuss Trump's appointment of Bill Pulte—a political enforcer with zero intelligence experience—as interim Director of National Intelligence and why it’s essential to understand what was going on behind the scenes in the lead up to Tusli Gabbard’s resignation.
POLITICOLOGY+
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Watch Oh My World!: https://www.youtube.com/c/ohmyworldwithhagarchemali
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Géraldine Blanche (Intellectual Property Lawyer and PhD candidate in Intellectual Property Law at the Sciences Po Law School in Paris) joins Ron Steslow to discuss the politics of fashion and intellectual property law
(01:25) History of laws protecting creativity
(09:20) What IP lawyers do
(12:50) What led Géraldine to fashion IP
(20:50) Fashion as political
(35:50) How politicians send messages through fashion choices
(41:41) Fashion as a signifier of political groups
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Molly McKew is raising urgent funds for Ukrainian units that need help replacing critical equipment destroyed in a Russian strike and building a mobile rehabilitation hub for wounded soldiers near the front lines.
Donate directly at: PayPal.me/MollyKMcKew
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In this mailbag episode of The Weekly, Ron Steslow and Mike Madrid sit down to answer listener questions, on Latino dealignment, whether states should call a second constitutional convention, whether a hot war with China is coming, and whether a future administration could prosecute its predecessor without sliding into retribution.
In Politicology+, they dig into Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas and use the Pope's choice between "constructing Babel" and "rebuilding Jerusalem" to confront what happens when we hand life-and-death decisions to machines that can't be held accountable.
POLITICOLOGY+
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Send your questions and ideas to [email protected] or leave a voicemail at (703) 239-3068
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What are the psychological forces driving that partisan animosity?
What’s causing Americans to vote for anti-democracy candidates?
Are there any interventions that might actually work to turn down the heat and save our democracy?
Robb Willer, professor of sociology, psychology, and organizational behavior at Stanford University talks with Ron Steslow about Stanford’s Strengthening Democracy Challenge, reducing partisan animosity and support for anti-democracy candidates .
(01:31) Robb’s background
(02:46) The growth of polarization and partisan animosity
(15:08) The Strengthening Democracy Challenge
(22:40) Negative partisanship and support for undemocratic candidates
(29:46) How cues from leaders can reduce support for anti-democracy candidates
(32:17) Working together and respectfully discussing differences reduces partisan animosity
(37:47) Misperceptions about how how you’re viewed by members of another party fuels animosity
(46:47) Is there hope for overcoming animosity and acceptance of undemocratic candidates?
(53:16) How to implement these ideas
(59:23) The role of emotions in decision making
You should check out the interventions we discussed:
Elite Cues: https://bit.ly/3TEeS6Z
Positive Contact (Heineken Ad): https://bit.ly/3N74PEM
Misperceptions: https://bit.ly/3W4iMaN
Fear of Democratic Collapse: https://bit.ly/3W4awHO
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https://twitter.com/RonSteslow
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Ron Steslow talks to journalist Brady Dale about the U.S. government's unprecedented UFO/UAP disclosure: from the Pentagon's new PURSUE archive and President Trump's directive to declassify, to David Grusch's whistleblower testimony about crash retrieval programs, the bipartisan congressional fight over eminent domain and "non-human intelligence," the five observables, and how classified programs were stovepiped into private defense contractors beyond congressional oversight. They land on a bigger point — if non-human intelligence is real, the ontological shock may hit the institutions guarding the secret far harder than the rest of us.
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Brady Dale (Author of Front Stage Exit) joins Host Ron Steslow to examine the booming gray market for therapeutic peptides and what it reveals about medical freedom, institutional trust, and our resistance to the unfamiliar.
They begin with the market itself, which Brady compares to the early crypto era he covered: people eager to risk their own money against regulators in the way.
Next, they examine the cultural backlash, the moralism that casts GLP-1 weight loss as cheating, and a MAHA coalition at once wary of pharma yet drawn to gray-market compounds.
Then, they turn to safety, where Brady argues the real hazard lies not in the peptides, but in contaminated manufacturing and careless injection. They also weigh the trouble of funding trials for compounds no one can patent.
Finally, they consider bodily autonomy and whether medicine should restore a baseline health or enhance it.
In Politicology+, they turn to a story Ron has been eager to bring to the show: the U.S. government has begun a historic effort to disclose its UFO files, and the officials behind the push say this is just the beginning. From whistleblower testimony about crash retrieval programs to a bipartisan Senate bill referencing "non-human intelligence" 22 times to the growing ranks of elite scientists taking it seriously, they dig into how we got here and why Congress can't get answers from its own government.
POLITICOLOGY+
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Follow Brady’s work at Front Stage Exit: https://www.frontstageexit.com/
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How does murder during a robbery-gone-wrong become an international conspiracy theory?
What even is a true crime story in the post-truth era?
Andy Kroll (Investigative Reporter at ProPublica, former DC Bureau Chief for Rolling Stone) joins host Ron Steslow to discuss his new book, A Death on W Street: The Murder of Seth Rich and the Age of Conspiracy.
(01:34) What drew Andy to the Seth Rich story
(08:48) The facts of the Seth Rich case
(12:44) How conspiracy theories have changed in the 21st Century
(21:08) Russia, the DNC leak, and the need for a scapegoat
(24:22) The intersection of conspiracy theories
(29:06) The conspiracy theory economy
You should read A Death on W Street: https://andy-kroll.com/
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Molly McKew (writer and lecturer on Russian influence and information warfare) joins Host Ron Steslow to take stock of the war shifting beneath the surface.
They begin with the state of the fighting: Putin’s nuclear theater around Victory Day and the quiet vibe shift on the battlefield as Ukrainian resilience compounds.
From there, they turn to Ukraine as a laboratory for the future of war: unmanned systems, data hubs, and the battlefield coordination American defense companies are scrambling to get their hands on.
They also weigh the dual-use dilemma of companies like Palantir, whose tools help Ukraine target Russian commanders abroad while building surveillance architecture at home.
Then, they examine Europe’s slow awakening from its post-World War II illusions and the persistent reach of Russian hybrid influence.
Finally, they unpack the pro-Russian talking points that are proliferating on both ends of the political spectrum and refuse to die.
In Politicology+, they dig into what Viktor Orbán’s defeat means for European unity on Ukraine, the differences between healthy and toxic nationalism, and how Europe is quietly rebuilding its defense planning where Article 5 can’t be assumed.
POLITICOLOGY+
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Check out Molly’s Newsletter: https://www.greatpower.us/
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Ron Steslow and Mike Madrid discuss the redistricting wars, the Supreme Court case that could upend a central part of the Voting Rights Act, how Latinos becoming the largest minority group will make us rethink what being a “minority” even means, and how partisanship is becoming our primary identity.
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Related Reading:
Axios - Virginia judge lets Democrats' redistricting plan move forward - Axios Richmond
Politico - The Republicans thwarting the White House’s redistricting hopes - POLITICO
Sac Bee - Prop. 50 in California is trivial compared to this U.S. Supreme Court case | Opinion
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Nicholas Anthony (Research Fellow at the Cato Institute's Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives) joins Host Ron Steslow to examine how the stablecoin legislation moving through Congress is quietly remaking the financial system and expanding the surveillance state in the process.
They dig into the Bank Secrecy Act and the third-party doctrine, the legal architecture that lets the government access Americans' financial records without a warrant.
Next, they examine how AI is turning mass financial surveillance from aspiration into operational reality, and how political designations can be weaponized against ordinary Americans through their banks.
Then they unpack the contradictions in the Trump administration's posture—anti-CBDC in name, enthusiastically pro-stablecoin in practice—and why programmable private money is functionally a central bank digital currency at arm's length.
Finally, they discuss the prosecutions of open-source developers behind privacy tools like Tornado Cash and Samurai Wallet, and what's at stake if the precedent that code is protected speech gets tested in the Supreme Court.
In Politicology+, they unpack a 2021 federal mandate that will require every new car sold in America to passively monitor its driver for "impairment" by next year.
POLITICOLOGY+
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Mike Madrid and Susan Del Percio dig into why housing affordability has become the central economic and political problem heading into the midterms.
They discuss how housing and cost of living concerns are driving the anxiety voters are feeling.
Then, they look at populism on both sides of the aisle, from Trump’s embrace of “no tax on tips” and credit card caps to Mamdani’s promises to freeze the rent, and why neither party is being honest about the long-term supply problem at the heart of the housing crisis.
Then, they break down what actually moves the needle—regulation, infrastructure, public housing maintenance, and local governance—and why Democrats are ceding the affordability debate while Republicans struggle to reconcile Trump-era rhetoric with conservative orthodoxy.
Finally, Susan lays out the tactical reality: national messaging won’t fix this, the economy won’t turn around quickly, and the candidates who win will be the ones who can translate affordability into concrete, local results voters can actually feel.
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Ron Steslow continues his discussion with Izabella Kaminska to unpack one of the biggest assumptions behind the AI boom: that it will generate enough growth to justify the enormous capital being poured into it. Also, how much does America’s enormous national debt really matter? And, what’s really going on with gold and the new efforts—by China and private corporations—to remonetize it?
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Mike Madrid (Author of The Latino Century) joins Host Ron Steslow to examine America’s growing crisis of purpose and how that crisis is showing up across politics, technology, corruption, religion, and war
They begin with Justice Clarence Thomas’s recent speech on the Declaration of Independence, natural rights, progressivism, and the proper role of government.
From there, they turn to Palantir CEO Alex Karp’s vision of a “technological republic,” Silicon Valley’s moral obligations to national defense, and the dangerous temptation to sacrifice individual rights in the name of preserving the West.
Next, they examine the normalization of corruption, from tariff refund profiteering and market manipulation to political betting and the broader cultural shift toward “get yours before the system collapses.”
Then they discuss President Trump’s clash with Pope Leo XIV over the war in Iran, the use of religious language to justify military action, and the battle inside American Christianity over nationalism, moral authority, and political power.
In Politicology+, they discuss Virginia as the latest front in America’s redistricting wars and what it reveals about the deeper rot in our politics.
POLITICOLOGY+
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You may know him from his dazzling dishes showcased on the hit Netflix TV series, “Chef’s Table,” but three-Star Michelin Chef Dan Barber (Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Blue Hill NYC) has a relationship with ingredients far deeper and more complex than pretty plates of food. In this episode, Chef Dan joins Ron Steslow to discuss the politics and future of food and the consequences of how America feeds itself.
To unlock exclusive content, visit: https://politicology.com/plus
(02:32) The current state of American agriculture
(06:15) What is the Third Plate?
(11:44) The connection between flavor and nutrition
(14:24) The importance of crop rotation
(34:14) Lab grown meat
Politicology is supported by listeners like you. Can you pitch in right now at https://politicology.com/donate?
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Hagar Chemali (Fmr. spokesperson for the U.S. Mission to the UN) is back in studio with Host Ron Steslow for a conversation about how artificial intelligence is reshaping power, conflict, and accountability in real time.
They discuss Ukraine’s first successful capture of a Russian position using only unmanned ground robotic systems and aerial drones and the rapid integration of AI into warfare and national security.
They also examine the growing clash between Silicon Valley and the Pentagon after Anthropic refused to allow its AI tools to be used for autonomous weapons or domestic surveillance, and the Trump administration responded by labeling the company a supply chain risk.
Then, they dive into a new AI model that can discover and weaponize previously unknown software vulnerabilities and what that will mean for the government, banks and businesses.
Finally, they debate the future of AI-powered mass surveillance and the looming reauthorization of FISA Section 702.
In Politicology+ they dive into several big corruption stories: Viktor Orbán’s election loss, suspicious oil-futures trading, and the Trump family using World Liberty Coin as their personal ATM.
POLITICOLOGY+
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Listen to Hagar’s new podcast, The Threat: https://bit.ly/4cRf2DO
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In the second episode of this two part series, Øptimus co-founder and Data Science Director for Decision Desk HQ Scott Tranter joins Ron Steslow to talk about data science, polling, and modeling
To unlock more episodes, visit: https://politicology.com/plus
(00:59) The non-response bias and how data scientists must deal with it
(02:55) The decrease in response rates over time
(10:47) Likely vs eligible voters in polls and how to predict who’s likely to vote
(15:55) Finding respondents to fill cohorts
(28:05 ) Innovations in data science
(31:14) The numbers Scott is watching
My conversation with Mike Madrid about Latino Voting Trends: https://link.chtbl.com/CgkltIhG
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