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Rethinking Politics

135 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 1 year ago -

Finding Truth Beyond The Rhetoric

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Episodes

107: Current News & Pandemic Amnesty?

November 08, 2022 03:42 - 1 hour - 76.5 MB

In this episode we hit a variety of topics: Thanks to the Fed, interest rates are going up and yet Inflation remains very high. The housing market is on the brink of collapse. The midterm elections are happening right now and the Supreme Court is back in session. Paul Pelosi was injured and there is a lot of speculation around it. Then finally we spend a lot of time discussing an Atlantic article calling for "Pandemic Amnesty".    CNN Article:    https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cn...

106: Critical Theory Is Critically Flawed

October 25, 2022 01:22 - 1 hour - 74.1 MB

Everyone has heard about the rise of CRT or Critical Race Theory which is often vaguely defined as the "Woke" version of viewing racism. But there is much more to Critical Theory than just the race aspect. It is in fact a much broader umbrella with a surprisingly lengthy origin story and many iterations that have crept into almost every nook and cranny of the modern western world. We discuss the flaws in its methods that will help you deal with critical theory wherever you find it. Music: B...

105: Current News & Marijuana Law Reform

October 09, 2022 03:21 - 1 hour - 71.3 MB

We are back!! And we have so many current events to discuss that we didn't have time to discuss them all, but we still managed to hit big ticket items like Elon Musk's ongoing bid to buy twitter and updates on the war in Ukraine. Then we focus most of our time on President Biden's announcement on Marijuana and the ramifications of such an unexpected move.  Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: manish panghal on Unsplash

104: Immigration Revisited

September 25, 2022 02:18 - 55 minutes - 61.8 MB

Last week Governor DeSantis sent a plane of 50 immigrants to the island of Martha's Vineyard.  This led to a myriad of media responses and political grandstanding. But while many have taken the time to throw the opposing party under the bus, too few have focused on why this happened in the first place. So we went ahead and looked at what is going on at our southern border and whether or not there really is an immigration crisis.     Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Greg Bulla on ...

103: Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook, and The Era of Fact Checkers

September 18, 2022 01:24 - 1 hour - 78.6 MB

Who decides what's true? That's a nuanced question, but who decides what people get to share is much clearer. We talk about social media companies and the role they play in controlling information and how they go about it. We also discuss the high-profile issue where they got it horribly wrong with Covid-19. Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Deeksha Pahariya on Unsplash

102: Biden, Trump, and the Collapse of our Economic Bubble?

September 11, 2022 02:43 - 55 minutes - 61.5 MB

Is President Biden making a PR comeback? Will Trump face criminal charges after the FBI raid? Are we heading towards a housing and financial crisis that will make 2008 look small in comparison? Is Brad actually funny? In this episode we discuss all of this except the last one, which we already knew the answer to.  Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Zdeněk Macháček on Unsplash

No Episode This Week

September 03, 2022 23:27 - 20 seconds - 573 KB

Sorry guys but we will be back next week! -Brad & Dan

101: Student Loan Forgiveness

August 28, 2022 03:04 - 55 minutes - 62.9 MB

Back in episode 30 we discussed the systemic problems with the student loan system and what could be done to fix it. In this episode, we talk about the specifics of the student loan forgiveness plan (including several parts that are more important than the 10,000-20,000 that is forgiven), and whether or not these changes will fix or make the systemic problems worse. Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

100: Climate Change Philosophy

August 21, 2022 02:44 - 1 hour - 129 MB

In this 100th episode of our podcast, we take a look at another eternally divisive subject: Climate Change. Of course we do this in the way everyone will expect: we focus on the philosophy and principles behind the rhetoric and the prejudice stopping us from having a real conversation about the issue.  Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Markus Spiske on Unsplash

99: Dutch Farmers & The Coming Famine

August 14, 2022 02:05 - 1 hour - 105 MB

The people in Sri Lanka are starving and just ousted their President. In Argentina, inflation is over 70% and their interest rate is 69%. The Netherlands new environmental policy is set to force over 10,000 Dutch farmers to close up shop. If you are somewhere relatively prosperous and productive, be grateful. Today we look at why these events are happening and the disasters they may cause in the near future.  Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Carmen Meurer on Unsplash Sources: ht...

Alas, No Content This Week.

August 06, 2022 17:34 - 24 seconds - 547 KB

I'm bummed too guys, but we will be back next week! -Brad 

98: The Inflation Reduction Act

July 31, 2022 00:59 - 1 hour - 100 MB

Remember when President Biden's three trillion dollar "Build Back Better" died in congress? Well after some closed door deals with Senator Joe Manchin and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, it looks like a much smaller 700 billion dollar climate change bill has a chance in congress. In this episode we break down what is in the bill going through the main changes to environmental policy, healthcare, and (the biggest surprise in the bill), innovative new taxes.    Music: Beauty Flow by ...

97: The Federal Budget & Social Security

July 27, 2022 18:37 - 1 hour - 89 MB

In this episode Brad and Dan discuss the current federal budget and the deficit. We focus on why the budget and deficit grow every year and why no reasonable solutions have been successful. One key part of this is the infamous Social security dilemma as well as all the mandatory spending in the entitlement programs. Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash

96: January 6th Hearings

July 17, 2022 03:31 - 1 hour - 124 MB

For several weeks the United States House Select Committee has been holding public hearings as part of an ongoing investigation into the events of January 6th 2021. In this episode we discuss what these hearings have been about, why they are being held, and how effective they have been so far. We also discuss a couple of news items involving Elon Musk and Hunter Biden.    Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Kurt Kaiser on Wikimedia  Resources: WSJ Article Less Good But Free CNN Ar...

95: Austrian Economics Part 3

July 10, 2022 04:38 - 57 minutes - 83.6 MB

In episode 92 we discussed the rise of the new theory of greedflation and the need for a new economic theory. In the next episode, we examined human action, value scales, and how they applied to free exchange in the economy. In this final part of the trilogy, we discuss production and capital within the context of time preference and how these principles apply when looking at the economy today.    Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: carlos aranda on Unsplash

94: The Supreme Court’s Rulings

July 03, 2022 03:27 - 1 hour - 99.1 MB

We promised to finish our discussion of Austrian economics, but first we have to address the rulings of the Supreme Court from this Summer term and consider their ramifications. We discuss the overturn of Roe v. Wade, the striking down of New York gun laws, changes to prayer in school, and a change in criminal appeals. Then we talk about the future and what it may look like under this supreme court. Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Ian Hutchinson on Unsplash   Links to discussed...

93: Rothbard & Austrian Economics

June 18, 2022 19:10 - 1 hour - 112 MB

We promised a full episode discussing some of the principles and precepts of Austrian Economics. This week we delivered. You're welcome. Austrian economics lays a foundation for understanding the current economy including inflation and the market crash. We start with the basics of human action and go through the logic of free exchange. We also learn all kinds of interesting things like Brad's hierarchy of candy bars, marginal utility, and how to maximize your Halloween candy. Music: Beauty ...

92: Greedflation

June 12, 2022 01:25 - 45 minutes - 69.1 MB

In the beginning of 2022 we were told that inflation would be temporary, but it stuck around. Then the Fed jumped in and raised interest rates in order to lower inflation, and that didn't work either. So as pundits and economists struggle to explain, a new theory is being proposed to explain our current situation: greedflation. In this episode we dissect an article about this term and offer our take on the current inadequacy of mainstream economic models to explain the current situation.  M...

91: The Uvalde School Shooting

June 04, 2022 22:26 - 1 hour - 142 MB

In this episode we discuss the recent horrific school shooting that took place in Uvalde, Texas. In particular we try to answer two questions: 1. Why did this happen? 2. How do we stop it from happening again? We discuss the pros and cons of several possible solutions including gun control, school security, and mental health support.  Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: The Guardian

Episode Update

June 02, 2022 19:12 - 23 seconds - 468 KB

An Episode is coming this week guys don't you worry! We are just a little delayed, but should have it up on Saturday. Thanks for your patience and for listening!  -Brad & Dan

90: Twitter Exposed & Political Markets

May 19, 2022 20:27 - 1 hour - 116 MB

In this episode, Dan discusses the shifting tide of politics in business alone while Brad welcomes his second child. For a few years now, the politics of Ibram X Kendi and others have dominated the business world. Boardrooms have become increasingly "woke" as they capitulate to noisy employees and Twitter users. That tide is changing. We can see it in the success of the Daily Wire at selling razors, the cultural stance of Netflix, and even in the future of CNN. But nowhere is this more clear...

89: Are Things Just Really Bad Right Now?

May 13, 2022 04:53 - 1 hour - 112 MB

In this episode we look at frightening trends and problems in the US. While there are always problems in the world, some of these problems group together in frightening ways. Baby formula shortages, the stock market tanking, inflation still going up, crime rates going up, and much more.  Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Wesley Tingey on Unsplash

88: The Overturning of Roe V. Wade

May 06, 2022 03:56 - 1 hour - 99.6 MB

Earlier this week there was a leaked opinion that indicated that the Supreme Court is going to overturn the landmark abortion case Roe V. Wade. We take a look at what this decision would actually do if it remains unchanged. We also look at how people have responded to this news, and how it is already being weaponized in the ongoing war of party politics. We also discuss how this leak is a manifestation of the increasing degradation of institutions in favor of ideology. If you want an in dep...

87: Twitter, China, Disney & More

April 29, 2022 02:00 - 1 hour - 118 MB

In this episode we cover several news stories of interest. 1. California’s four day work week bill. 2. China Covid Lockdown’s & Ensuing Economic Issues 3. Disney vs. The State of Florida 4. Twitter & Elon Musk. All of these tie into ongoing themes that we’ve been discussing such as corporate law madness, labor movement stuff, economics, the strange legal framework behind our society, and more. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/25/business/china-covid-zero-economy.html  https://nypost.com/2022...

86: Elon & Twitter, Amazon & Unions

April 21, 2022 22:30 - 49 minutes - 72.6 MB

Elon is trying to buy Twitter, an Amazon facility in New York unionized, and others might follow suit. In this episode we discuss these two events, and how they reveal an illogical and counterintuitive world that is modern corporate and union law. Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Heisenberg Media on Wikimedia 

85: Rising Prices & Price Gouging

April 15, 2022 06:43 - 1 hour - 108 MB

With soaring inflation and rising gas prices, everyone agrees that the rising prices are terrible. One of the common causes that people point to is greedy corporations that are raising prices when they don’t need to. We discuss this theory and the economic principles at play in the price gouging and consider profit vs profiteering. Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Yassine Khalfalli on Unsplash

84: Seth Radwell & American Schism

April 07, 2022 22:01 - 1 hour - 96.1 MB

In our first interview episode, we get the extraordinary opportunity to speak with author Seth Radwell and discuss his Amazon bestselling book American Schism: How the Two Enlightenments Hold the Secret to Healing Our Nation. We discuss with Seth why he felt compelled to take a hiatus from a very successful career in business and the lessons we can draw from his reading of philosophy and history. We then dive into how those ideas can be applied today to understand our current situation and t...

83: Did Trump try to overturn the 2020 Election?

March 31, 2022 22:37 - 50 minutes - 77.7 MB

There's the question, if you want to know our answer just listen to the episode, I'm not going to give it away here.            Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod        Photo: Donald Trump swearing in ceremony: The White House        

82: Our Economy Post-Covid

March 24, 2022 23:54 - 1 hour - 105 MB

It's been two years since Covid arrived and the accompanying lockdowns brought a portion of the US economy to a standstill. Now we take a look at where our economy is today in light of shipping issues, inflation, Fed-interest-rate hikes, gas prices, and more. We also discuss the partisan question: “How much of the good and bad are Biden’s fault.” Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash

81.5 Break for Family

March 17, 2022 17:49 - 1 minute - 1.5 MB

No episode this week! See you next week!

81: Ukraine & Russia Part 2

March 11, 2022 07:40 - 1 hour - 101 MB

Oil Embargo, Russian Advance, Nuclear War. These are just a few of the topics we discuss as we look at the continued conflict in Ukraine.  Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Zbynek Burival on Unsplash

80: Ukraine & Russia

March 04, 2022 01:59 - 1 hour - 92.5 MB

What is happening? Why is it happening? What will happen going forward? These are the questions that everyone is asking about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In this episode, we discuss these questions and the political fallout of the war so far.  Photo:  Kharkiv Oblast after shelling (State Emergency Service of Ukraine) Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod.

79: Sandy Hook, Remington, and Gun Control

February 25, 2022 04:13 - 1 hour - 90.6 MB

In 2012 there was a mass shooting at an elementary school in Newtown Connecticut where one shooter killed 26 people, most of whom were children. Just last week the gun manufacturer Remington settled for 73 million dollars with the families and survivors who sued them almost a decade ago. The question is: what responsibility if any falls on manufacturers for the misuse of their products? In this episode, we discuss the practical details of the lawsuit and the ramifications on both gun control...

78: Russia & Ukraine

February 18, 2022 00:30 - 55 minutes - 81.5 MB

As the tension between Russia and Ukraine peaks (again), we attempt to make heads or tails of the current conflict. In addition, we discuss the Olympic drug scandal and how that stems from the politicization of the Olympics.  Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Diego González on Unsplash

77: Project Veritas: Search for Truth vs Right to Privacy

February 11, 2022 02:08 - 1 hour - 119 MB

In the last episode, we discussed Joe Rogan in the context of the degradation of news media. In this episode, we look at James O'Keefe, another controversial individual who is challenging the current narratives. We discuss what Project Veritas is doing, why it is necessary, and address some of the concerns raised by their somewhat unusual methods.  Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Bernard Hermant on Unsplash

76:  Current Events & The News vs Joe Rogan

February 04, 2022 02:28 - 1 hour - 90.1 MB

In this episode we cover several of the current major news stories, from the Freedom Convoy in Canada to Justice Brayer retiring. Then we focus on the the recent controversy surrounding Joe Rogan.  Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: The Verge theverge.com

75: The Criminal Justice System

January 28, 2022 00:22 - 1 hour - 98.6 MB

The past year we have covered many criminal trials and discussed various flaws with the current system. In this episode, we take time to discuss the current criminal justice system broadly, principles of criminal justice theory, and specific ways they can be applied to improve the system.                     Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod.   Photo: Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash  

74: Crazy Polling Numbers, The Supreme Court, & The Future of the Fourth Branch

January 21, 2022 03:19 - 57 minutes - 83 MB

The Supreme Court recently ruled on two "agency created'' vaccine mandates. One of them was upheld, the other was struck down. In this episode we delve into why they ruled the way they did and what that means for the future of the largest growing branch of government: The Administrative State. In addition, we also cover some wild polling numbers that demonstrate a major shift in party alignment in 2021.  Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Fred Schilling, Collection of the Supreme Co...

73: Why The CDC Messaging Changed

January 14, 2022 23:25 - 1 hour - 97.1 MB

For almost two years we've been told the goal was to prevent as many people as possible from getting. For many, the only acceptable number was zero cases. We were told that preventing even one death was worth almost any cost. Now Fauci says "just about everybody" will get it. Now, the CDC says that the quarantine should be shortened to 5 days out of the blue.  For many, these changes can be explained away by the emergence of Omicron. But the reality is that these policy and messaging changes...

72: The Year in Review

January 07, 2022 03:38 - 1 hour - 99.8 MB

From the Covid Vaccine to Omicron, George Floyd to Kyle Rittenhouse, and Trump to Biden, we cover some of the biggest stories of this year and how they have progressed over time. We also take a look at some of our past predictions and make some new ones.  Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Moritz Knöringer on Unsplash

71: Trans Vs Parental Rights

December 31, 2021 03:56 - 1 hour - 138 MB

Starting with a discussion of Abigail Shrier and her book Irreversible Damage, Brad and Dan discuss various Trans issues and related political principles. In particular, we focus on the question of of parental authority vs state authority vs the rights of the child. We also touch on all kinds of related issues such as what constitutes abuse. Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Caleb Woods on Unsplash

70: Sam Harris & Trust In The Institutions

December 23, 2021 20:13 - 1 hour - 121 MB

We've discussed the intellectual Cold War between Sam Harris and Bret Weinstein. Both Bret and Sam have addressed the societal response to Covid and hold opposing positions. The main problem is that Bret wants to get together and discuss the data while Sam doesn't. In the latest salvo from Sam, we were hoping to see a change in tactics. After all, Sam himself admits that his approach hasn't been persuasive. Instead, we saw more of the same: appeals to authority, an unwillingness to treat the...

69: What’s Wrong With The World?

December 17, 2021 02:01 - 1 hour - 96.5 MB

Ask just about anyone and they will agree that something is wrong with the world, but they won't agree on what is wrong or what caused it. The pandemic/response has messed a lot of things up, but that is only a part of the puzzle. In this episode, Brad and Dan have an open ended discussion on what is wrong, how it got that way, and what if anything we can do about it. While doing so we discuss things like Twitter, Abortion, Gun Laws and even Federalism. Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod P...

68: The Omicron Variant, Lockdowns, & Mandates

December 10, 2021 04:07 - 1 hour - 108 MB

2021 is almost over, but with the spread of Omicron it appears like we have at least a few more months of Covid dominated news cycles ahead of us. The good news is that the new variant appears less deadly. The bad news is that reasonable risk assessments don’t drive news. Fear of the variant is already being channeled into support for vaccine mandates. In this episode, we discuss what this variant actually means as well as several of the illogical and inconsistent Covid narratives.  Music, ...

67:  Bail Reform, Domestic Abuse. & Justice

December 03, 2021 04:45 - 1 hour - 101 MB

What does Chrystal Kizer have in common with Darrel Brooks? Not much honestly. One killed her trafficker when she was seventeen, the other was a repeat offender who ran over and killed several people while injuring many others. But they are both getting attention because their cases are glaring examples of serious flaws in our current criminal justice system.In this episode we look at these cases as well as several others to see how we can get more justice from the criminal justice system. ...

66: The Kyle Rittenhouse Verdict

November 25, 2021 19:31 - 1 hour - 104 MB

After three days of deliberations, the jury found Kyle Rittenhouse not guilty on all counts. Which for the most part, puts an end to this case. But the political fallout from this case has just started. So in this episode we discuss what should be straightforward facts of the case that are constantly confused and how so many are drawing their own conclusions based on political ideology rather than reality. We also cover what self defense actually means, and how it applies in this case.    ...

65: The Rittenhouse Trial, Herd Immunity, & Higher Education.

November 18, 2021 03:52 - 1 hour - 104 MB

With the jury still deliberating and the nation holding its breath, we discuss the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse. We also discuss the CDC's change in goal posts for Covid 19 and the newly announced University of Austin.  Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Sean Krajacic/The Kenosha News via AP, Pool Resources: https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2021-11-12/cdc-shifts-pandemic-goals-away-from-reaching-herd-immunity  https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2021/new-data-on-covid-19-transmission-...

64: Infrastructure, Vaccine Mandate, & The Republican Resurgence

November 12, 2021 03:03 - 1 hour - 111 MB

We are less than halfway through, yet November has already been a crazy month for politics. The House finally passed the Infrastructure Bill that Biden had been struggling to get through, OSHA finally released the Vaccine Mandate for businesses, and the November 2nd elections were a Republican tidal wave. In this episode, we take a look at these developments and offer our analysis of where all of this is going. We also discuss the factions within both parties and specifically what a future R...

63: Singapore & Other Market Economies

November 05, 2021 04:16 - 52 minutes - 76.6 MB

In this episode Brad and Dan take a look at an argument that is frequently used in favor of central planning as opposed to an unrestricted market. That argument is this: look at all of the well off and successful socialist modern utopia like Singapore and Sweden, they are much better off than the US using a free market system. To answer this we use a couple of data sets to analyze the differences in the economies of several different nations and consider the causes of their prosperity. Musi...

62: Stagflation & The Shipping Crisis

October 28, 2021 20:09 - 1 hour - 109 MB

We are back!!! We began by catching up on a few current events we've missed. We go through everything from Trump's media company to Joe Rogen duking it out with CNN. Then we get to the meat of the episode where we discussed the current "stagflation" and supply chain issues with shipping.   Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Dominik Lückmann on Unsplash https://cei.org/blog/why-dont-u-s-ports-operate-24-7-ask-the-unions/ https://fee.org/articles/biden-thanks-unions-for-promising-t...

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