Rethinking Politics
135 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 1 year ago -Finding Truth Beyond The Rhetoric
Homepage Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
Vacation Confirmation
October 15, 2021 19:49 - 51 seconds - 1.25 MBA brief announcement confirming that we are on vacation for a couple weeks. Looking forward to being back and making new content.
61: Afghanistan & Those Left Behind
October 07, 2021 22:23 - 1 hour - 93.1 MBWhether or not we should have left Afghanistan, we certainly should not have left in the way that we did. And we especially should not be actively trying to stop those who want to get out like the US state department has done. In this episode, we discuss some of the stories of those who have escaped, the massive failure of the bureaucracy to allow others to get out, and some of the heinous acts the State Department may have committed to prevent private efforts to help. Music: Beauty Flow...
60: The Rise of China?
September 30, 2021 22:50 - 1 hour - 102 MBIf you're listening to any of the most popular political commentaries today, you've probably heard about the rising threat of modern China. In this episode, we take a look at recent events in the Chinese economy like Evergrande and how their system will affect their power as a player in the international scene in the future. Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Hanny Naibaho on Unsplash
59: The Vaccine Mandate & Why It Has Anything To Do With OSHA
September 23, 2021 20:36 - 1 hour - 114 MBEveryone is familiar with Biden's proposed vaccine mandate and the arguments about the pros and cons are already pretty well laid out. So today we discuss how we got to this point. How haver we reached a place where an organization like OSHA is issuing vaccine mandates and the CDC creates rental policy? We then discuss what is so dangerous about this bureaucratic system and some of the alternatives. Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Pop & Zebra on Unsplash
58: Is Abortion Murder?
September 17, 2021 01:55 - 1 hour - 146 MBWith the new Texas abortion law going into effect, abortion is once again a hot topic. In this episode, we look at this new Texas law and the history of Roe v. Wade. While we cover the constitutional questions, we focus on the moral questions beyond the political rhetoric and explore where the legal system could develop these ideas further. Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Camylla Battani on Unsplash
57: US Foreign Policy & The Propaganda of War
September 10, 2021 00:55 - 1 hour - 110 MB"Why, of course, the people don't want war," - Hermann Göring. Since the fallout from our disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan and the ongoing cleanup, we have heard a lot from various pundits about “the will” to win wars and the failure of politicians to explain American interests in the Middle East. The result, or so the reasoning goes, is that we clearly should have stayed but our presence there was wildly unpopular with voters. Some pundits have gone so far as to say that we ought to ...
56: History, Politics, & The American Founding
September 03, 2021 00:17 - 1 hour - 94.5 MBHistory has always had a significant role in politics. Since the rise of the 1619 project, and the subsequent controversy, the role of American history is increasingly a mainstream concern. What we believe about history is at least as important as what actually happened. In this episode, we discuss historical narratives and their profound effect on shaping our worldview. To illustrate this connection, we do some myth busting of common conservative and liberal interpretations of the founding....
55: Covid & The Ethics of Infectious Diseases
August 26, 2021 21:07 - 1 hour - 104 MBAs the FDA approves the Pfizer vaccine, people are reconsidering Vaccine Mandates. Even though such mandates are unlikely in the United States, it's a good time to revisit a major question that we have only touched on: What are our social obligations to protect others from infectious disease? Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Steven Saphore AP News
54: Afghanistan
August 20, 2021 01:57 - 1 hour - 93.2 MBAfter 20 years of direct U.S. military involvement, it only took days for the Taliban to take over Afghanistan. And as both Americans and Afghans struggle to flee Kabul, many in the American Media have condemned Biden for causing this whole mess. But like most things the answer is not so simple. Brad and Dan attempt to make sense of what happened and see if we can start to glean any lessons from this tragedy. Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Jim Huylebroek for The New York Times
53: The Great Resignation
August 12, 2021 20:17 - 59 minutes - 91.2 MBAfter the initial surge of businesses and employees returning back to work, the economy has stalled. In this episode we take a look at some of the causes of this phenomenon and why it’s been called “The Great Resignation”. We consider the role of bargaining power, unemployment incentives, and more. Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Benjamin Child on Unsplash
52: The Delta Variant & The Changing Narrative
August 06, 2021 04:22 - 54 minutes - 111 MBOnce again the narrative on Covid has shifted, this time from "Get the vaccine and this will all be over," to "Even if you have the vaccine we might have to re-implement last year's restrictions in order to stop the spread of variants." Combine this with the fact that they simultaneously suggest that vaccination is more important than ever, and also that the vaccine is not as effective against the variants that are the very reason for their increased need, and you might start to scratch your...
51: Jordan Peterson & The World Outside of Politics
July 30, 2021 04:26 - 1 hour - 76.7 MBOf all of the people discussing politics, Jordan Peterson is among the most unique. We discuss some of our thoughts on Jordan Peterson and how his ideas are primarily apolitical in a world where most people see politics as the primary instrument of change. We also discuss the severe limitations of viewing the problems of the world through an exclusively political lens. Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Ravi Roshan
Summer Travels
July 22, 2021 23:36 - 1 minute - 1.55 MBDue to a combination of summer travels and family emergency, there is no episode this week. But there are many to look forward to in the future. Send us future topics you want us to consider! Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod
50: The Dark Horse Podcast & The Search for Truth
July 15, 2021 20:15 - 1 hour - 80.8 MBAs the stakes of politics increase, the number of people willing to act immorally to obtain power increases. The result is that, as time goes on, it becomes more and more difficult to find sources that discuss politics worth listening to. The Dark Horse Podcast is one of those sources. With a background in Evolutionary Biology, Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying discuss science and politics using evolutionary principles to understand the world. Their recent conversations regarding Covid-19 h...
49: Healthcare: Costs, Incentives, & Solutions
July 08, 2021 22:45 - 1 hour - 104 MBEveryone agrees that there are serious problems with Healthcare but it’s difficult to see what exactly causes those problems. The healthcare system in the US does not operate like any other industry, but who is making the rules and why is it so confusing? In this episode we delve into incentives within the healthcare system and try to reach the fundamental problems. Thankfully, there are some good examples out there of innovators who are bypassing the system and which provide some insight fo...
48: China, Uyghurs, & Human Rights vs Utilitarianism
July 01, 2021 20:53 - 1 hour - 76.1 MBFor several years the government of China has had internment camps in which they have incarcerated over one million of the Uyghur people without those people committing any crime. This has resulted in an international debate about the nature of Human Rights and what governments are justified in doing for the greater good. So we take this chance to look at what happens when Human Rights and Utilitarianism goes head to head. Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Wikimedia
47: 1984 & The Dangers of Doublethink
June 24, 2021 17:40 - 1 hour - 121 MBIn the 70 years since George Orwell's 1984 was published, its ideas have become a staple of American high schools and universities. In our very first video episode, we dive into the principles of 1984 and how much of it’s dystopian world has become a reality. With concepts like doublethink, thought police, and Big Brother, Orwell’s warnings are more pertinent today than ever. Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Arno Senoner on Unsplash Youtube Link: https://youtu.be/TOEyDCf_DLU
46: The Appeal of Socialism
June 17, 2021 19:34 - 1 hour - 102 MBToday, there is a rising popularity for the economic theory known broadly as socialism. In this episode, we dive into not only why it has become popular again, but also what socialism actually is and, just as importantly, what it is not. We also explore why we are seeing resurgence in these ideas. Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Wikimedia Commons
45: The Dehumanizing Nature of Partisanship
June 10, 2021 21:03 - 49 minutes - 80.2 MBIn a follow up to our last episode, we dive further into the deeply disturbing sources of partisanship. In particular we look at the basis for the intellectual arrogance of Liberals that causes them to confirm their own biases while completely dismissing Conservative. We also address what we as individuals can do to avoid dehumanizing and disregarding those who disagree with us. Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Meritt Thomas on Unsplash
44: Conspiracy Theories & The Breakdown of Trust
June 03, 2021 20:45 - 52 minutes - 79.9 MBSince we first started this podcast we've been talking about how ugly the relationship between the two parties has been. And in the last year, that has only gotten worse. As part of that decline, there has been a rise in distrust and an increase in our willingness to believe the worst of each other. Today we dive into some of the deep rooted reasons that lead to some to distrust everything and disengage completely and why some people tend to see what they want to see. Music: Beauty Flow by ...
43: The Coronavirus Vaccine
May 27, 2021 22:07 - 57 minutes - 93.4 MBBecause of the complexity of the issues around it, because of the misinformation politics adds to the mix, and because of requests from listeners, we are once again addressing Covid 19 and how to weigh the benefits of the vaccine. [Data that we reference in the episode] https://www.acsh.org/news/2020/11/18/covid-infection-fatality-rates-sex-and-age-15163 Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Daniel Schludi on Unsplash
42: Israel & Gaza
May 20, 2021 18:41 - 53 minutes - 86.3 MBThe conflict between Israel and Gaza has been going on for several days now with no end in sight. Everyone and their dog here in the US has offered their simple one sentence solutions to solve it. But this conflict is not just weeks or decades old, and in order to have real solutions we need to first understand the whole picture. In this episode we do a little of that by looking at the history of Israel as well as some of the history and current factors that play into the current struggle. ...
41: The Housing Crisis
May 13, 2021 18:07 - 53 minutes - 96.7 MBEveryone can see that the housing market is going crazy, but is this going to be another crash like in 08? To answer this and other related questions, we dig into why the market is acting the way it is, what could happen in the future, and what can be done to make that future better. All of these are wrapped up in economic principles that, when understood, can be used to interpret many other other events. Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Paul Brennan on Pixabay
40: Biden's Plan & The Hidden Costs of Government Action
May 07, 2021 02:39 - 1 hour - 94.9 MBIn this episode, we discuss Biden's speech to Congress marking 100 days in office. In this speech, Biden announces two bills that replace the Infrastructure Bill: The American Jobs Bill and the American Families Bill. These bills and the language Biden uses to try and persuade Congress to pass them show one of the main problems with modern politics. Politicians and the voters who select them do not understand economics. And because they don't understand economics, they fail to fully realize ...
39: The Derek Chauvin Trial & How We Approach Racism
April 29, 2021 18:59 - 53 minutes - 87.6 MBRacism is undoubtedly the hot button topic of this last year. For some time now, this topic has been so hot that many of us feel uncomfortable having more than a superficial conversation about race. In this episode we confront that reality. We discuss the role of emotions like anger and the need to direct those emotions justly. Then we discuss the data on police racism so that we can see where we should focus our time and effort to improve things. We also reference three studies on police ra...
38: Foreign Policy & The Russia Sanctions
April 22, 2021 18:46 - 56 minutes - 94.4 MBLast week, the White House officially sanctioned Russia for their interference in the 2020 election. This was touted as a strong stance by President Biden and a clear breakaway from Trump's pro-Russia Policy. In this episode we take a look at why that is misleading and how politics drives so much of foreign policy. We also discuss the moral standard of foreign policy, how close America has been to that standard, and some of the major players on the international scene. Music: Beauty Flow by...
37: Derek Chauvin, Infrastructure, Border Crisis, & More
April 15, 2021 19:58 - 52 minutes - 87.3 MBOnce again, we had too much to cover in a week and not enough time to dedicate an episode to each topic. We analyze the hottest political topics and recent events while providing you with our most controversial view yet: Joe Biden is actually doing almost none of the things that people were afraid/hoping he would do. Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Josh Hild on Pexels
36: Equality, The American Dream, & The Power of Words
April 08, 2021 18:57 - 1 hour - 103 MBThis is an odd episode title, but a fantastic episode. We look at how our vocabulary shapes the way we talk about important issues which in turn shapes the very way we think about those issues. We then expound on how one word: equality, has actually shaped the political culture that we live and breathe today. The culture war today is dominated by assumptions about equality that have shaped the American Dream, Nature, Justice, and Merit. Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Luke Stack...
35: Gun Control
April 01, 2021 19:13 - 58 minutes - 94.6 MBIn the wake of the recent shootings, the question of gun control is once again pushed to the front of the pack. In this episode, we throw in our two cents. Rather than assuming that the ends justify the means, we look first at whether or not gun control can be justified on a principled basis. We then look at what the practical ramifications of gun control are and how that impacts the efficacy of gun control policies. Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Thomas Def on Unsplash
34: The Atlanta Shootings & Racism
March 25, 2021 18:09 - 44 minutes - 68.7 MBThere was a shooting spree in Atlanta Georgia on March 16th. Eight people were killed and more injured before the suspect was arrested later that night. But within a day, a large number of headlines were not about the shootings, but racism. We ask: why is the new definition of racism the default lens through which so many see the world? How does focusing primarily on racism change how we see things and does it help us see the world more clearly? Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: ...
33: Crypto Currencies & The Origins of Money
March 18, 2021 19:59 - 1 hour - 107 MBAs Crypto currencies and other alternative currencies rise in popularity, the dollar becomes less and less secure. In today's episode we take a look at why the dollar is struggling, what the alternatives are, and how we got here in the first place. You can’t answer these questions without knowing something about the nature of money itself. So we answer questions like: what is the history of money, why do societies use money, why do certain goods become money vs others, and what that means fo...
32: Energy Policy & The Texas Outage
March 11, 2021 18:58 - 56 minutes - 92.5 MBThe Texas Power outage was a massive failure of some kind, but what exactly caused it? While every Op-ed on the subject seems to already have their partisan answer, a closer look reveals just how messy it is. All of the simple answers for what caused this catastrophe; Wind Power, Fossil Fuels, Deregulation, and Texas’ Power Independence do not address just how inept the modern power grid really is. In this episode we discuss what went wrong, why the system is set up the way it is, and why po...
31: Minimum Wage & The Poor
March 04, 2021 19:59 - 57 minutes - 110 MBIn this episode, we take a look at the now tabled proposal to increase the federal minimum wage to 15 dollars an hour. The main reason people want to increase the minimum wage is to help the poor. The first half of our discussion focuses on sorting through the evidence to determine whether minimum wage does in fact help the poor at the expense of businesses as its advocates hope. In the latter half, our discussion shifts focus towards understanding poverty better by addressing the many misco...
30: Loan Forgiveness & Student Debt
February 25, 2021 16:56 - 1 hour - 111 MBAs the question of student loan forgiveness is being discussed on the federal level, we thought it would be a good time to take a look at student debt. With almost 50 million people currently holding student debt in the US, this issue is a big one. But the underlying issues are more complicated than the existence of debt, and simply forgiving that debt will not solve the problem. Instead of debating student loan forgiveness, we focus on the underlying reasons for the current student debt cr...
Texas Storm Update
February 18, 2021 23:31 - 1 minute - 2.43 MBWell everyone, Dan has been stranded in Texas during the crazy storms and outages in Texas, so there will be no episode this week. The good news is that it will only be this week as power and water are stabilizing. We look forward to speaking with you again Thursday!
29: Impeachment, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Gamestop, Covid, & More
February 11, 2021 18:31 - 1 hour - 109 MBA lot has happened so far this month, and in this catch-all episode we try to hit on as many of them as we can. And as always, we bring our own take and offer some insight into the implications and importance of these many issues. We cover the impeachment trial, Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Stimulus Bill, Covid lockdowns, Gamestop, and Robinhood. Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: AhmadArdity on Pixabay
28: Big Tech & Free Speech
February 04, 2021 18:18 - 1 hour - 108 MB(Episode Description Censored) Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: dole777 on Unsplash
27: The Future of the GOP
January 28, 2021 18:02 - 46 minutes - 80.3 MBNow that Trump is out of the White House and the Democrats have at least marginal control of Congress, what happens to the GOP? Normally, the next four years would be a chance for the party out of power to rally against the incumbent for the next election. But this time things are different. This time the GOP has fractured into two distinct groups that are going to have a hard time cooperating, even for an election. The likely result of this division is that the Republican party will not win...
26: Bias & The Information War
January 21, 2021 19:40 - 1 hour - 137 MBAfter the capitol riot and the ensuing media frenzy, wildly different accounts of the events have sprouted up like weeds. The problem today is not access to information, but discerning which information is accurate. In this episode, we discuss how to find reliable information in a world of information saturation. First, we need to understand our own biases and how they influence our thinking. We also need to understand the biases of our sources in order to assess the validity of their claims...
25. Secession
January 15, 2021 00:35 - 59 minutes - 111 MBGiven the recent events at the capitol building and the growing divide between Americans of different political persuasions, it is time to rethink power at the national level. As it is now, more power is centralized with every new president and we see more and more anger, despair, and violence as that power is exercised by each side in turn. This is a cycle that can only end with national civil war.. Months ago, we proposed a solution to this problem in the form of Federalism. In this episod...
25: Secession
January 15, 2021 00:35 - 59 minutes - 111 MBGiven the recent events at the capitol building and the growing divide between Americans of different political persuasions, it is time to rethink power at the national level. As it is now, more power is centralized with every new president and we see more and more anger, despair, and violence as that power is exercised by each side in turn. This is a cycle that can only end with national civil war.. Months ago, we proposed a solution to this problem in the form of Federalism. In this episod...
Christmas Update
December 18, 2020 19:25 - 47 seconds - 1.31 MBWe will be taking a short holiday hiatus, but we will be back with more episodes after the new year so stay tuned! Photo: Chad Madden on Unsplash
24: Patents & Intellectual Property
December 11, 2020 00:13 - 46 minutes - 83.8 MBPatents - Why talk about such a boring subject you ask? Because sometimes the most mundane things can have a large impact on your everyday life, and Patents are one of those things. Patents have extensive effects on things like the features and types of phones you can buy, the monopoly prices of medicine, and the scope of scientific progress. We start with the moral defense of patents and weigh the idea of knowledge as defensible property. Then we address the practical claim that patents enc...
Patents & Intellectual Property
December 11, 2020 00:13 - 46 minutes - 83.8 MBPatents - Why talk about such a boring subject you ask? Because sometimes the most mundane things can have a large impact on your everyday life, and Patents are one of those things. Patents have extensive effects on things like the features and types of phones you can buy, the monopoly prices of medicine, and the scope of scientific progress. We start with the moral defense of patents and weigh the idea of knowledge as defensible property. Then we address the practical claim that patents enc...
23: Covid-19 & Our Pandemic Response
December 03, 2020 15:24 - 1 hour - 105 MBIn our first ever follow up episode, we return to Covid-19. In this episode, we recap our previous discussion of individual risk assessment and offer some numbers to help you begin to assess yourself and those around you. We then consider a theory of viral behavior we hadn’t heard fully until recently that accounts for the trends of the virus we have seen thus far, including otherwise odd downturns or spikes and the second wave that is happening now in many places. Though this explanation is...
22: Free Trade, Fair Trade, & The Trade War
November 26, 2020 16:55 - 1 hour - 101 MBThis is a topic that is usually discussed in superficial terms and misleading data. There are countless historical examples and many ways to calculate the effects of trade deals. Rather than give the standard talking points with cherry picked statistics, we dig under the common talking points and discuss the logical implications of the ideas on exchange. We discuss the trade war with China, international deficits, the effects of trade deals on jobs and industries, the purpose of fair trade a...
21: The Case For Open Immigration
November 19, 2020 14:25 - 1 hour - 109 MBHere it is, the episode topic you've been waiting for this entire election: Immigration. Instead of delving into common debate topics like who built what or trying to win partisan points by blaming parties for problems, we focus on the ideas and principles behind immigration policy. Primarily, we focus on the moral justification for open immigration and the myriad concerns against it such as immigrants: taking advantage of health care and welfare, taking jobs, increasing crime, overwhelming ...
Voting Trends & The Future of the Parties
November 12, 2020 15:10 - 48 minutes - 82.1 MBExit Polls are the last poll of an election and the most important poll to predict future elections. We analyze trends and anomalies in voting revealed by the exit polls which point to significant shifts in the two parties. This election is not like previous elections in major ways. These shifts will be followed by ideological changes in the party platforms that could significantly restructure the political landscape over the next few years. These trends also show the degree to which popular...
20: Voting Trends & The Future of the Parties
November 12, 2020 15:10 - 48 minutes - 82.1 MBExit Polls are the last poll of an election and the most important poll to predict future elections. We analyze trends and anomalies in voting revealed by the exit polls which point to significant shifts in the two parties. This election is not like previous elections in major ways. These shifts will be followed by ideological changes in the party platforms that could significantly restructure the political landscape over the next few years. These trends also show the degree to which popular...
2020 Election Week Update
November 04, 2020 16:58 - 12 minutes - 21.5 MB2020 Election Update Although we were not able to record a full episode this week, we wanted to share a brief update on the unfolding election. As the vote counting continues into day two, we discuss the fact that although annoying, this isn't that unusual. Also, given the divided house and senate, the winner will have his hands tied. So as the country holds its collective breath, we don't have to fear a civil war or large scale changes. Hang in there and tune in next week for our full epi...