Common Sense with Dan Carlin
24 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 11K ratingsLoud, fast-talking and deceptively funny, this politically-independent "forward-thinking pragmatist" looks at the events shaping our world through a uniquely American lens. It's smarter than you think, and faster than you expect.
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Episodes
Show 323 - Gas Up the Cold War
March 01, 2022 23:20 - 28.3 MBVladimir Putin has instantaneously reignited the Cold War by savagely attacking Ukraine this week. In response to requests, Dan shares a few thoughts.
Show 322 - Betting on Long Shots
September 01, 2021 04:08 - 38.7 MBAfter 20 years in Afghanistan the U.S. exits the country thus ending the longest war in American history. Are there any lessons to be learned?
Show 321 - Garbage In, Garbage Out
January 14, 2021 01:44 - 32.6 MBIn a show recorded before the recent House impeachment vote, Dan examines the damage caused by the iceberg we recently hit when Americans stormed the U.S. Capitol and tries to suggest how we might avoid hitting another one.
Show 320 - Steering Into the Iceberg
September 20, 2020 20:10 - 50.8 MBTo paraphrase John Lennon, So you say you want a civil war? With the U.S. facing one of the most consequential elections in its history, Dan has some thoughts about us all, our choices and the times in which we live.
Show 319 - A Recipe for Caesar
April 01, 2020 06:04 - 59.9 MBDoes a global pandemic help break the spell of our bitter partisan conflict, or does it just raise the stakes? In the first CS show in years Dan wrestles with the Zeitgeist.
Show 318 - For Whom the Bell Trolls
May 26, 2018 01:53 - 32.3 MBYou never know when you might get a little common sense unexpectedly out of nowhere.This is one of those times.
Show 317 - Shades of Grey
October 28, 2017 01:26 - 35.7 MBDan is finding is hard to operate in a Black and White, Good and Evil cultural environment where everyone is outraged all the time about everything and where Americans hate each other. Where's the Common Sense?
Show 316 - The Day of the Dove
June 19, 2017 07:30 - 43.6 MBPolitically-related violence in the U.S. heats up as talk of "Civil War" goes mainstream. What would a "Civil War" in the U.S. even look like? Dan has some thoughts on this and ways to potentially avoid such a fate.
Show 315 - War on a Whim?
May 01, 2017 03:40 - 47.4 MBThere's a lot in this show subject-wise, but it's really supposed to be about War Powers in the USA and how events in Syria and North Korea play into the issue.
Show 314 - Unhealthy Numbers
March 16, 2017 04:40 - 45.4 MBAs the GOP attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Dan ponders the dichotomy between what Americans spend on health care versus what they get in return.
Show 313 - Get Me A Glass of Water
February 14, 2017 16:08 - 38.9 MBDan is in an introspective mental place in this show...but he may just drag you in there with him.
Show 312 - Re-Connections with James Burke
December 07, 2016 23:20 - 59.2 MBDan has another visit with the always fascinating science historian and TV host James Burke. He also catches up a bit on early Trump cabinet picks and the Dakota pipeline protests.
Show 311 - Trumped
November 11, 2016 07:30 - 46 MBPost-2016 election analysis and discussion from a Martian political perspective.
Show 310 - Or Else
October 13, 2016 20:50 - 33.5 MBWhat happens if our nation's problems become too large to realistically imagine our politicians solving? What if voting doesn't help? Dan reminds us that he's not a moderate, and that you probably aren't either.
Show 309 - A Bodyguard of Lies
September 10, 2016 00:10 - 41.8 MBSecrecy, hacking, information leaks, whistle-blowers, foreign-operative propaganda pushers, disinformation, election tampering and the search for any truth in cyberspace occupy Dan's thoughts in this show.
Show 308 - Return of the Podcaster
August 14, 2016 23:20 - 51 MBAfter a brief hiatus to finish his other podcast, Dan has a huge backlog of material to cover. The presidential race, foreign affairs and racial and cultural questions take center stage.
Show 307 - Revenge of the Gangrenous Finger
June 27, 2016 05:05 - 34.7 MBThis show has a "chickens coming home to roost" feel to it, but maybe in a positive way. It was supposed to be about the recent British vote to leave the EU, but evolved into something larger. Surprise, surprise.
Show 306 - Disengaging the Lizard Brain
June 05, 2016 06:22 - 31 MBHate is a very strong word, but increasing numbers of Americans hate their countrymen. Is this a danger to the stability of the country? If it were deemed such, what can be done about it?
Show 305 - A Catalyst for the Inconceivable
May 07, 2016 19:51 - 50 MBDan finds the idea of a Donald Trump presidency to be inconceivable. He also thinks a fundamental change in U.S. Foreign Policy is also inconceivable. Could one inconceivable outcome lead to another?
Show 304 - Speed Dating For Delegates
April 17, 2016 01:53 - 31.1 MBAs the U.S. Presidential campaign veers into unprecedented territory Dan sees opportunity in the unusual circumstances. "Anger is an Energy" he says. And he says it AGAIN and AGAIN.
Show 303 - The Way You Play The Game Redux
April 01, 2016 05:50 - 33.5 MBIt's not easy to get under Dan's normally flexible, see-things-from-multiple-angles skin, but Donald Trump's stated willingness to cross traditional American moral fault lines has done just that.
Show 302 - Of Courts, Cooks and Apples
February 26, 2016 21:04 - 39.2 MBJustice Scalia of the Supreme Court dies and CEO Tim Cook and Apple go toe-to-toe with the U.S. Government over privacy.
Show 301 - Martian Perspectives
February 06, 2016 22:30 - 36.4 MBIn an election where political outsiders are exceeding all expectations, who better than a political outsider to break down the situation? Dan gives his Martian-style post-Iowa analysis and looks ahead to 2020.
Show 300 - Trecenti
January 08, 2016 00:01 - 54.8 MBFantasies about electoral chaos, calls for political prudence and martian thoughts on an anti-federal government standoff in Oregon help stuff this episode chock full of what most of you love about this show.