Finding Common Battle Grounds
66 episodes - English - Latest episode: 2 days ago - ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsFinding Common Battle Grounds is an attempt by two brothers - one conservative, the other progressive - to have civil conversations about politics, with a little help from their friends.
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Episodes
S01E14 - Does the mainstream media have a liberal bias?
October 02, 2021 15:32 - 1 hour - 30.7 MBIn this episode of Finding Common Battle Grounds, Josh, Ryan, and Tom explore whether there is a liberal bias in the mainstream media. We begin by detailing what we understand the mainstream media to be - major television networks ABC, NBC, and CBS, major newspapers and reporting agencies like Reuters, Associated Press, Newsweek, the New York times, and certain cable and radio stations. We note that there are different ways that bias can manifest in media - in how the news is reported and in...
S01E13 - Are conservatives anti-science?
September 24, 2021 19:16 - 1 hour - 26.9 MBIn this episode of the Finding Common Battle Grounds podcast, we examine the question of whether conservatives are anti-science. We agree on what science is (a method for investigating the natural world), on the roles of conservatives and progressives, and that there are some scientific findings that are erroneous. But we also agree that science is self-correcting. Finally, we agree that both conservatives and progressives cherry-pick science, rejecting some scientific findings that disag...
S01E12 - Should abortion be legal?
September 07, 2021 14:31 - 52 minutes - 22.2 MBIn this issue of Finding Common Battle Grounds we discuss abortion. We chose this topic because of the recently passed law in Texas (Senate Bill 8) restricting abortions to within the first 6 weeks. We find agreement that there should be access to abortions for women who have been raped or when a mother's life is in danger. We even agree that there should be abortions available for others, though we disagree over when access should be cut off. Most of the disagreement in this discussion lies...
S01E11b - Should the US have left Afghanistan - ADDENDUM
August 26, 2021 14:03 - 24 minutes - 10.8 MBIn our first addendum episode, Josh and Ryan revisit their discussion about Afghanistan and whether the US should be leaving. Both admit to being very conflicted about the whole situation. There is clearly a lack of information about what is happening and what has happened in Afghanistan. Josh raises some important questions: Was the Afghan military capable of fighting? And, if the US has hundreds of permanent military bases around the world, why couldn't they keep one in Afghanistan? We end...
S01E11 - Should the US have left Afghanistan?
August 24, 2021 14:40 - 52 minutes - 22.3 MBIn this episode, Josh, Ryan, and Tom discuss whether the US should have left Afghanistan. In a strange role reversal, Josh makes a plea to consider the atrocities that are going to result from the disastrous exit while Ryan insists that the Afghan people didn't stand up to the Taliban and it is not the US's responsibility to stay forever and protect the Afghan people from the Taliban. While we don't find a lot of agreement in this podcast, it's clear that both sides are sympathetic to...
S01E10 - Should there be vaccine mandates?
August 10, 2021 14:23 - 1 hour - 25.7 MBIn this episode of Finding Common Battle Grounds, Josh and Ryan discuss whether there should be vaccine mandates. Both agree that COVID-19 is real and serious and both are strong advocates for vaccines. While there is general agreement that giving up freedoms is never a good idea, there is subtle disagreement about actual mandates. The issue revolves around the harm that results from individuals who choose not to get the vaccine and whether they infect others who are more vulnerable. Ultimat...
S01E09 - Should transwomen be allowed to compete in sports?
July 15, 2021 16:39 - 1 hour - 27.9 MBIn this episode of Finding Common Battle Grounds, Josh, Ryan, and Tom discuss whether transwomen should be allowed to compete in sports. There is agreement that there are biological differences between men and women (and even agreement that variation is a continuum and not a dichotomy). There is also agreement that there is a greater risk of physical harm to transgender individuals when marginalized and that physical harm is likely more detrimental than the emotional or psychological ...
S01E08 - Should we build a border wall?
July 01, 2021 18:16 - 1 hour - 29.1 MBJosh and Ryan, with Tom as moderator, discuss whether we should build a border wall with Mexico. The discussion is wide-ranging, covering immigration, global inequality, and political incompetence. There are some twists and turns in this one - Josh takes a meta approach while Ryan gets into the weeds. In the end, there is general agreement that a border wall isn't a solution to the real problems that are leading to the desire to migrate to the United States.
S01E07 - Is the two party system broken?
June 25, 2021 14:33 - 45 minutes - 20.6 MBIn this episode of Finding Common Battle Grounds, Josh, Jake, and Ryan discuss first past the post or winner take all elections, why they tend to lead to a two-party system, and how two-party systems are ultimately bad for democracy and the United States. They discuss alternatives, like proportional representation and ranked-choice voting. And, they agree on practically everything - the two party system of the US favors the parties but doesn't benefit voters or the country.
S01E06 - Should there be more restrictions on guns in the US?
June 09, 2021 15:24 - 59 minutes - 25.1 MBIn this episode of Finding Common Battle Grounds, Ryan and Josh with Jake Cragun as moderator, consider whether there should be more restrictions on guns. There is a substantial amount of agreement on issues like: universal background checks (including on private sales), restricting gun access to specific people, more training for gun owners, that guns can serve as a form of protection and an equalizer for people, and even that homicides from guns are more common in larger, Democrat-led citi...
Is capitalism bad?
May 14, 2021 14:56 - 55 minutes - 22.1 MBIn this episode of Finding Common Battle Grounds, Josh and Ryan discuss capitalism and socialism. Both agree that laissez-faire capitalism (i.e., completely unregulated capitalism) and Soviet-style communism are not the answer. There is agreement that something in between those two economic systems is ideal. There is just minor disagreement about how much regulation and socialism should exist in the US.
S01E05 - Is capitalism bad?
May 14, 2021 14:56 - 55 minutes - 22.1 MBIn this episode of Finding Common Battle Grounds, Josh and Ryan discuss capitalism and socialism. Both agree that laissez-faire capitalism (i.e., completely unregulated capitalism) and Soviet-style communism are not the answer. There is agreement that something in between those two economic systems is ideal. There is just minor disagreement about how much regulation and socialism should exist in the US.
S01E04 - Are voter restriction laws good?
April 24, 2021 13:09 - 55 minutes - 24.1 MBIn the latest episode of the Finding Common Battle Grounds podcast, we discuss the push by Republicans across the US to enact stricter voter laws and voting regulations. While the focus is on voting laws generally, we also discuss some of the specifics, including requiring IDs and the laws enacted in Georgia. We ultimately agree that these laws are openly intended to benefit Republicans in future outcomes while also recognizing that fewer restrictions to voting benefit Democrats. We a...
S01E03 - Are Twitter bans good?
April 10, 2021 11:40 - 50 minutes - 21.3 MBIn this episode of Finding Common Battle Grounds, Josh and Ryan discuss whether Twitter bans are good. Both agree that Twitter, as a private company, has the right to restrict speech on its platform. Both also agree that it seems as though conservatives have been more likely to be banned from Twitter. However, there is also general agreement that conservatives have long been the promulgaters of censorship, from banning and burning books to imprisoning communists, atheists, and LGBTQ individu...
S01E02 - Did the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests/riots help?
April 03, 2021 20:54 - 47 minutes - 20.3 MBIn episode 2 of season 1 of the Finding Common Battle Grounds podcast, we tackle the question: Did the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests/riots help black people and communities in the US? On the major question, Josh and Ryan disagree. However, on a lot of other points, there is a lot of agreement - most of the protests were not violent, the media exaggerated the violence, riots in minority neighborhoods hurt those neighborhoods, and it appears as though racism, white supremacy, nationa...
S01E01 - Is college worth it?
March 23, 2021 21:04 - 45 minutes - 22.5 MBIn this inaugural episode of the Finding Common Battle Grounds podcast, Josh and Ryan Cragun try to find common ground over whether college is worth the expense. They are joined by moderator, Tommy Triplett.