Flux Podcasts (Formerly Theory of Change)
263 episodes - English - Latest episode: 2 months ago - ★★★★★ - 38 ratingsFlux is a media platform for change, with smart and fun podcasts like Theory of Change, Doomscroll, and So This Just Happened.
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Episodes
Theory of Change #034: Heather Digby Parton on Joe Biden's first year as president
January 23, 2022 07:00 - 1 hour - 62.3 MBThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit theoryofchange.flux.community It’s a bit hard to believe that one year ago, Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States. A lot has happened during that timespan but a lot has also not happened. As of this week, Biden and the Democratic majority in the Senate have confirmed 41 federal judges, the most ever for a president’s first year in office. He also led a successful effort to make vaccines against Covid-...
Theory of Change #033: Bruce Wilson on January 6th and right-wing anti-Americanism
January 09, 2022 03:14 - 55 minutes - 50.9 MBIt’s now been a full year since a violent mob stormed the U.S. Capitol with the intent of overthrowing the 2020 election so that then-president Donald Trump could illegally remain in office against the wishes of the American people. During the intervening 12 months, while hundreds of people have been indicted and convicted for their role in the events, almost nothing has emerged from the law enforcement investigations as to what Trump and his inner circle of aides were doing that tragic day...
Theory of Change #032: Matthew Boedy on the cult of Turning Point USA and Charlie Kirk
January 03, 2022 23:09 - 51 minutes - 46.9 MBThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit theoryofchange.flux.community Polling over the decades has shown that most Republican voters are heavily motivated by white Christian identity politics. But Republican elites– politicians, writers, and many donors– were more interested in cutting spending and giving tax cuts to job creators, or rich people in other words. Over the past 60 years or so, GOP politics has been an imbalance where the base of voters wanted an agenda th...
Theory of Change #031: Farah Stockman on the meaning of work and what elites missed on free trade
December 19, 2021 00:49 - 1 hour - 55.7 MBThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit theoryofchange.flux.community All of us are much more than what we do for a living. And yet, when we lose a job or have trouble finding another one, we feel like we’re missing something important. But work is about more than just something to do with your time or to feed your family. For many people, work is an entry point into larger society. It’s how many of us meet friends and form families. It’s also often the only way that w...
Theory of Change #030: Edward H. Miller on the John Birch Society and the roots of Republican rage
December 11, 2021 06:51 - 1 hour - 58.5 MBThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit theoryofchange.flux.community William Faulkner’s line that “the past isn’t dead. It isn’t even past,” is certainly true in regards to today’s Republican Party, which, quite literally, is an outgrowth of a conspiracy revolution that began in the 1940s and fifties, and never really stopped. A key figure in the through-line of American reaction is Robert Welch, the founder of the John Birch Society, a conspiracy group that he founde...
Theory of Change #029: Former libertarian Will Wilkinson on the right's epistemic crisis
December 03, 2021 23:41 - 1 hour - 72 MBMisinformation, incorrect beliefs about the world, and disinformation, deliberately constructed falsehoods, have always been a part of human history, but they are playing an increasingly important role in politics around the globe now, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. Research is showing that people on the political right and people who are inclined toward religious traditionalism are more likely to believe falsehoods about science and the world. What does that mean about the future?...
Theory of Change #028: David Adams on how technology repeats itself
November 23, 2021 00:39 - 1 hour - 58.2 MBThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit theoryofchange.flux.community We don’t think enough about just how much our lives have changed because of technology. If you’re a millennial or older, chances are you can remember a time when payphones existed, everyone went to the movie theater, and lots of people didn’t have an email address. A lot has changed for us along the way. The technology world itself has changed a lot from those early days in the late 90s as well. It’s...
Theory of Change #027: Barry Meier on the 'Steele Dossier' and private spy agencies
November 20, 2021 03:35 - 57 minutes - 52.3 MBThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit theoryofchange.flux.community Five years after it was written, the so-called Steele dossier, a collection of memos compiled by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, alleging extensive ties between Donald Trump and various Russians, is still one of the most heavily discussed pieces of writing about the ex-president. The document has come under intense scrutiny by American law enforcement and intelligence official...
Theory of Change #026: Nandini Jammi and Claire Atkin on the economics of disinformation
November 12, 2021 09:46 - 53 minutes - 48.7 MBThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit theoryofchange.flux.community By now, a lot of people are aware of and concerned about the lies, hatred, and rumors that are so rampant on social media. The social media companies are definitely responsible to a large degree for letting this happen. But they don’t deserve all the blame. There’s another sector of the internet economy that has been promoting and even paying the merchants of hatred and lies—the advertising technology...
Theory of Change #025: Jim Swift on Glenn Youngkin and ‘Never Trump’
November 05, 2021 18:48 - 1 hour - 54.9 MBEvery four years, the United States holds its presidential elections. But one year afterward, the states of New Jersey and Virginia hold their own gubernatorial elections. And for decades, the overwhelming trend in both states has been that the vote for the governor is opposite from the current president’s party. So in other words, if the current president is a Democrat, then usually the Republicans win in both Virginia and New Jersey. Not all the votes are counted yet, but it looks like i...
Theory of Change #024: Moustafa Ayad on jihadist and white nationalist fusion
November 02, 2021 04:23 - 44 minutes - 40.8 MBThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit theoryofchange.flux.community Extremist Muslims and extremist Christians hate each other, or at least they did before the meme wars began. It’s hard to believe, but extremist Muslims and Christians are actually starting to cheer each other online. After presidents Trump and Biden ended the U.S. occupation of Afghanistan, white nationalists in this country cheered on what they called the “Chadliban” as it took back control of the ...
Theory of Change #023: Christopher Douglas on Satan and far-right Christianity's daily apocalypses
October 22, 2021 07:22 - 1 hour - 57.9 MBMost people aren’t preoccupied with Satan, demons, or the end of the world. But like it or not, many Americans are greatly concerned with these topics. A 2010 poll from the Pew Research Center found that 58 percent of white evangelical Christian adults surveyed believed that Jesus Christ would return to the earth within the next 40 years. That was significantly higher than any other religious group. Just 32 percent of Catholic respondents agreed, for instance. Speculating about how the worl...
Theory of Change #022: Greg Sargent on Republican obstructionism and the Biden policy agenda
October 16, 2021 19:01 - 1 hour - 57.9 MBThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit theoryofchange.flux.community Democrats have the narrowest of majorities in the House and Senate. And after a few months of a presidential honeymoon for Joe Biden, they really are feeling the constraints of their tiny margin for error. The Senate is split 50 50 with a tie breaking vote going to Vice President Kamala Harris, which means the Democrats there have to reach unanimous agreement in order to do anything that Republicans i...
Theory of Change #022: Greg Sargent on far-right obstructionism and the Biden policy agenda
October 16, 2021 19:01 - 1 hour - 57.9 MBDemocrats have the narrowest of majorities in the House and Senate. And after a few months of a presidential honeymoon for Joe Biden, they really are feeling the constraints of their tiny margin for error. The Senate is split 50 50 with a tie breaking vote going to Vice President Kamala Harris, which means the Democrats there have to reach unanimous agreement in order to do anything that Republicans in the chamber are against. And with Mitch McConnell as their leader, Republican senators are...
Theory of Change #021: Nimmi Gowrinathan on political extremism and female fighters
October 09, 2021 03:38 - 49 minutes - 45.5 MBAs technology has given extremist movements a much greater ability to spread their views and carry out violence, researchers are studying radicalization now more than ever. But one area that hasn't received enough attention is an examination of women who become radicalized. Understanding radicalization is important in the United States as well, which is seeing the emergence of a far-right Christian tradition that has already carried out a number of violent acts. What makes them want to risk...
Theory of Change #021: Nimmi Gowrinathan on political extremism and women militants
October 09, 2021 03:38 - 49 minutes - 45.5 MBThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit theoryofchange.flux.community As technology has given extremist movements a much greater ability to spread their views and carry out violence, researchers are studying radicalization now more than ever. But one area that hasn’t received enough attention is an examination of women who become militants. Understanding radicalization is important in the United States as well, which is seeing the emergence of a far-right Christian tra...
Theory of Change #020: Miguel de Icaza on 30 years of Linux & open source
October 02, 2021 09:17 - 49 minutes - 44.9 MBThirty years ago, Linux began as a college student’s hobby operating system project. Today, it’s a critical piece of software that powers the majority of the world’s smartphones and the most powerful servers and supercomputers. Along the way, Linux managed to displace much more established versions of the Unix operating system that it was designed to be compatible with. But Linux as a technological phenomenon has been about more than what it makes computers do. It also popularized the conce...
Theory of Change #20: Miguel de Icaza on 30 years of Linux and open source
October 02, 2021 09:17 - 49 minutes - 44.9 MBAlthough we usually talk about political and religious trends at Theory of Change, technological trends are also very much worth paying attention to. One of the biggest recent technology developments has been the emergence of Linux, an operating system that has taken the computing industry by storm. 30 years ago, Linux began as a college student's hobby operating system project. Today, it's a critical piece of software that powers the majority of the world's smartphones and the most powerful...
Theory of Change #019: Matthew Harris on Ezra Taft Benson and Mormon and evangelical extremisms
September 25, 2021 00:03 - 1 hour - 62.2 MBThe 1960s are famous in the American political memory as a time of leftist revolution. Millions marched against racial segregation and the Vietnam War. Women’s liberation went mainstream, and the fight for lesbian and gay rights began. But the sixties were also a time of counter-revolution, a moment when many of the radical forces that became prominent on January 6th, 2021 really began to gain momentum. In episode 15 of this program, we talked with historian Angie Maxwell about how fundamen...
Theory of Change #19: Matthew Harris on Ezra Taft Benson and Mormon and evangelical extremisms
September 25, 2021 00:03 - 1 hour - 62.2 MBThe 1960s are famous in the American political memory as a time of leftist revolution. Millions marched against racial segregation and the Vietnam War, women’s liberation went mainstream, and the fight for lesbian and gay rights began. But the 60s were also a time of counter-revolution, a moment when many of the radical forces that became prominent on January 6, 2021 really began to gain momentum. In Episode 15, we talked with historian Angie Maxwell about how fundamentalist white Southerner...
Theory of Change #18: Brooke Binkowski on fact-checking and fighting disinformation
September 19, 2021 22:01 - 57 minutes - 52.5 MBIn a 24/7 news environment, we're all surrounded by information, some of it true, some of it false, and much of it somewhere in the middle. As social media has become universalized, we've seen a new type of journalist emerge, fact-checkers. That's a fascinating commentary on their importance because the commercial media industry has been shrinking as a whole. On this episode, we'll be speaking with Brooke Binkowski, she's the managing editor of Truth or Fiction.com, a fact-checking website...
Theory of Change #018: Brooke Binkowski on fact-checking and fighting disinformation
September 19, 2021 22:01 - 57 minutes - 52.5 MBIn a 24/7 news environment, everyone is surrounded by information. Some of it is true. Some of it’s false and much of it is somewhere in the middle. It’s often hard to tell what’s true because no one is an expert at everything. And that’s why social media has become universal. Now we’ve seen a new type of journalist emerge, fact checkers, and that’s a fascinating commentary on their importance to society because the commercial media industry, as a whole has been shrinking. In this episode, ...
Theory of Change #17: Melanie Trecek-King on teaching critical thinking and science literacy
September 11, 2021 17:54 - 51 minutes - 47.5 MBPeople often say that we live in the Information Age. But what does that mean? It means that people living today on Earth truly do have the world's knowledge at our fingertips. We can read high-quality scientific research, even before it's published in academic journals. We can look up everything from great lasagna recipes to the latest news about Malaysian politics--and everything in-between. Having the world's knowledge digitized and made available to everyone has truly been a great thing....
Theory of Change #017: Melanie Trecek-King on teaching critical thinking and science literacy
September 11, 2021 17:54 - 51 minutes - 47.5 MBPeople often say that we live in the “information age.” But what does that mean? It means that people living today on earth have the world’s knowledge at our fingertips. All of us can read high quality scientific research, even before it’s published in academic journals. You can look up everything from great lasagna recipes to the latest news about Malaysian politics, and everything in between. Having the world’s knowledge digitized and made available to everyone has truly been a great thin...
Theory of Change #16: Michele Mitchell on the "anger industrial complex"
September 03, 2021 16:50 - 54 minutes - 49.8 MBAmerican politics is broken in a lot of ways. There are many reasons for this. A big one is what podcaster and former CNN host Michele Mitchell calls the "anger industrial complex," the way that media companies are constantly working to keep their audiences angry all the time. It's no grand conspiracy, rather it's managers pursuing the natural incentives of for-profit media to keep ratings up, no matter the cost to society. This process basically on a grand scale with the arrival of Newt ...
Theory of Change #016: Michele Mitchell on the "anger industrial complex"
September 03, 2021 16:50 - 54 minutes - 49.8 MBAmerican politics is broken in a lot of ways. There are many reasons for this. A big one is what podcaster and former CNN host Michele Mitchell calls the “anger industrial complex,” the way that media companies are constantly working to keep their audiences angry all the time. It’s no grand conspiracy, rather it’s managers pursuing the natural incentives of for-profit media to keep ratings up, no matter the cost to society. This process basically on a grand scale with the arrival of Newt...
Theory of Change #015: Angie Maxwell on white Southern grievance and how it changed U.S. politics
August 28, 2021 07:59 - 1 hour - 63.1 MBA lot of people know about the “Southern Strategy,” the multi-year plan of 20th century Republicans like Barry Goldwater and Richard Nixon to get white voters in the South to stop voting for Democrats. But what isn’t widely known is that the GOP itself was changed by the electoral coalition that it attracted. While lingering support for racial segregation played an important role in flipping the South toward the Republican Party, the voters who changed their partisanship and the ones who fo...
Theory of Change #15: Angie Maxwell on white Southern grievance and how it changed American politics
August 28, 2021 07:59 - 1 hour - 63.1 MBA lot of people know about "The Southern Strategy," the multi-year plan of 20th century Republicans like Richard Nixon to get white voters in the South to stop voting for Democrats, but what isn't widely known is that the GOP itself was changed by the electoral coalition that it attracted. Angie Maxwell, a professor at the University of Arkansas, takes a deep look at how Republicans incorporated many aspects of Southern white Protestantism in her book "The Long Southern Strategy: How Chasing...
Theory of Change #014: Paul Glastris on Democrats' identity crisis
August 21, 2021 06:32 - 58 minutes - 40.4 MBWhile the Republican Party’s embrace of authoritarianism has attracted a lot of media attention in recent years, the Democratic Party’s inability to build a real political majority is a big reason that American conservatives haven’t had to drop their unpopular views about government. After all, if Democrats were better at diagnosing and meeting the needs of the public, anti-government Republicans wouldn’t be able to use cultural or religious controversies to win. For decades, polls have s...
Theory of Change #014: Paul Glastris on how Democrats changed
August 21, 2021 06:32 - 58 minutes - 53.8 MBWhile the Republican Party's embrace of authoritarianism has attracted a lot of media attention in recent years, the Democratic Party's inability to build a real political majority is a big reason that American conservatives haven't had to drop their unpopular views about government. After all, if Democrats were better at diagnosing and meeting the needs of the public, anti-government Republicans wouldn't be able to use cultural or religious controversies to win. For decades, polls have sho...
Theory of Change #14: Paul Glastris on how Democrats changed
August 21, 2021 06:32 - 58 minutes - 53.8 MBWhile the Republican Party's embrace of authoritarianism has attracted a lot of media attention in recent years, the Democratic Party's inability to build a real political majority is a big reason that American conservatives haven't had to drop their unpopular views about government. After all, if Democrats were better at diagnosing and meeting the needs of the public, anti-government Republicans wouldn't be able to use cultural or religious controversies to win. For decades, polls have sho...
Theory of Change #014: Paul Glastris on Democrats' identity crisis
August 21, 2021 06:32 - 58 minutes - 53.8 MBWhile the Republican Party’s embrace of authoritarianism has attracted a lot of media attention in recent years, the Democratic Party’s inability to build a real political majority is a big reason that American conservatives haven’t had to drop their unpopular views about government. After all, if Democrats were better at diagnosing and meeting the needs of the public, anti-government Republicans wouldn’t be able to use cultural or religious controversies to win. For decades, polls have s...
Theory of Change #013: Eric Boehlert on ‘both sides’ journalism and the return of Fox News liberals
August 13, 2021 00:37 - 1 hour - 56.8 MBIn recent American history, the mainstream media has adhered to a “both sides” approach to covering politics. But as the Republican party has increasingly become skeptical of democracy and public participation in policy formation, this method is no longer useful as a way of determining the truth. In this episode, Eric Boehlert, founder and editor of PressRun.Media, talks with host Matthew Sheffield about where this attitude originated and why it persists.Boehlert also talks about how the ris...
Theory of Change #13: Eric Boehlert on ‘both sides’ journalism and the return of Fox News liberals
August 13, 2021 00:37 - 1 hour - 56.8 MBIn recent American history, the mainstream media has adhered to a "both sides" approach to covering politics. But as the Republican party has increasingly become skeptical of democracy and public participation in policy formation, this method is no longer useful as a way of determining the truth. In this episode, Eric Boehlert, founder and editor of PressRun.Media, talks with host Matthew Sheffield about where this attitude originated and why it persists. Boehlert also talks about how the ri...
Theory of Change #012: Richard Carpiano on Covid misinformers and vaccine conspiracies
August 07, 2021 02:03 - 1 hour - 60.8 MBAs the Covid-19 infections continue to rise among non-vaccinated people, it’s worth taking a look at the history of anti-vaccine conspiracy theories and unqualified media medical advice. In this episode, Theory of Change host Matthew Sheffield is joined by Richard Carpiano, a Professor of Public Policy at the University of California, Riverside. Carpiano is a medical sociologist and public and population health scientist who studies how social factors, such as education, income, race-ethni...
Theory of Change #12: Richard Carpiano on Covid misinformers and vaccine conspiracies
August 07, 2021 02:03 - 1 hour - 60.8 MBAs the Covid-19 infections continue to rise among non-vaccinated people, it's worth taking a look at the history of anti-vaccine conspiracy theories and unqualified media medical advice. In this episode, Theory of Change host Matthew Sheffield is joined by Richard Carpiano, a Professor of Public Policy at the University of California, Riverside. Carpiano is a medical sociologist and public and population health scientist who studies how social factors, such as education, income, race-ethni...
Theory of Change #11: Pat Bagley on politics, Mormonism, and Utah
July 31, 2021 03:02 - 50 minutes - 46.1 MBPat Bagley has become a fixture in Utah politics and one of America's best-known editorial cartoonists. In this episode of Theory of Change, he joins Matthew Sheffield to discuss American politics, the changing face of the moderate-dominated Republican Party he once knew, and how the LDS Mormon religion has changed during his lifetime.
Theory of Change #011: Pat Bagley on politics, Mormonism, and Utah
July 31, 2021 03:02 - 50 minutes - 46.1 MBPat Bagley has become a fixture in Utah politics and one of America’s best-known editorial cartoonists. In this episode of Theory of Change, he joins Matthew Sheffield to discuss how the LDS Mormon faith he was raised in has changed over his career and how it’s become much more similar to the Protestant evangelicalism it once despised. They also discuss Bagley’s earlier career as a Mormon children’s author and how his attitudes toward the faith developed. View Bagley’s Salt Lake Tribune ar...
Theory of Change #10: Misogyny, the Christian Right, and Brandi Love (Featuring Robyn Pennacchia)
July 22, 2021 00:02 - 1 hour - 56.7 MBAmong American conservatives who came of age in the 20th century, Christian fundamentalism seems to serve as the unifying force. But among younger Republicans, is opposition to feminism what keeps the coalition together? Matthew Sheffield is joined in this episode by Robyn Pennacchia, a writer at Wonkette.com who has been covering the online misogyny space since 2012. Robyn's Twitter: https://twitter.com/RobynElyse Matthew's Twitter: https://twitter.com/mattsheffield Show website: https://...
Theory of Change #010: Misogyny, the Christian Right, and Brandi Love (Featuring Robyn Pennacchia)
July 22, 2021 00:02 - 1 hour - 56.7 MBAmong American conservatives who came of age in the 20th century, Christian fundamentalism seems to serve as the unifying force. But among younger Republicans, is opposition to feminism what keeps the coalition together? Matthew Sheffield is joined in this episode by Robyn Pennacchia, a writer at Wonkette.com who has been covering the online misogyny space since 2012. Robyn’s Twitter: twitter.com/RobynElyse MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS The deep conversations we bring you about politics, religion,...
Theory of Change #9: What happened to American media? (Featuring Parker Molloy)
July 16, 2021 07:20 - 1 hour - 67.1 MBA huge part of why American politics is so messed up today is the country's for-profit media ecosystem that prioritizes controversy, eschews policy discussions, and has no understanding of how important Christian fundamentalism is to conservative ideologues. In the first video stream episode of Theory of Change, Matthew Sheffield speaks with Parker Molloy, founder of The Present Age about how bad things are and how it happened. Parker Molloy is an independent writer and podcaster who previo...
Theory of Change #009: What happened to American media? (Featuring Parker Molloy)
July 16, 2021 07:20 - 1 hour - 67.1 MBA huge part of why American politics is in crisis today is the country’s for-profit media ecosystem that prioritizes controversy, eschews policy discussions, and has no understanding of how important Christian fundamentalism is to conservative ideologues. In the first video stream episode of Theory of Change, Matthew Sheffield speaks with Parker Molloy, founder of The Present Age about how bad things are and how it happened. Parker Molloy is an independent writer and podcaster who previousl...
Theory of Change #008: Aaron Smith on how Twitter users see politics differently
January 20, 2020 08:36 - 37 minutes - 34.4 MBEvery podcast has its “lost episodes.” Or at least that’s what podcasters tell themselves. But booking, producing, and hosting a podcast all by yourself is a lot of work--and technical issues can make that especially difficult. I started “Theory of Change” in 2019 but suspended it for about a year and a half due to some problems with my recording and editing setup. In 2021, I brought the show back with a live video setup to help prevent technical problems from blocking episode from being p...
Theory of Change #6: Editorial cartoons in the age of the meme (Nick Anderson and Nate Beeler)
December 13, 2019 23:39 - 42 minutes - 38.8 MBThe internet and the explosion of free political content that it created has had a dramatic effect on the media industry. One sector of journalism that’s been particularly harmed in recent years is editorial cartooning. Ten years ago, most major-city daily newspapers employed artists to draw their takes on the news of the day. Now, however, the ranks of editorial cartoonists have shrunk drastically. That’s why several of America’s top editorial cartoonists have joined together to form thei...
Theory of Change #006: Editorial cartoons in the age of the meme (Nick Anderson and Nate Beeler)
December 13, 2019 23:39 - 42 minutes - 38.8 MBThe internet and the explosion of free political content that it created has had a dramatic effect on the media industry. One sector of journalism that’s been particularly harmed in recent years is editorial cartooning. Ten years ago, most major-city daily newspapers employed artists to draw their takes on the news of the day. Now, however, the ranks of editorial cartoonists have shrunk drastically. That’s why several of America’s top editorial cartoonists have joined together to form thei...
Theory of Change #005: Can polls be trusted? (With Courtney Kennedy of the Pew Research Center)
November 26, 2019 19:02 - 45 minutes - 42 MBIf you read, listen or watch the news today it’s impossible to avoid public opinion polls. They are literally everywhere. The president’s approval rating, what people think about impeachment, even what the best fast food restaurant is. But as omnipresent as opinion surveys are, a lot of the math and science that goes into them is relatively unknown to many people. There are also a lot of questions about how polls work and how they should work. Why do most polls include more Democrats than R...
Theory of Change #5: Can we trust opinion polls? (With Courtney Kennedy of the Pew Research Center)
November 26, 2019 19:02 - 45 minutes - 42 MBIf you read, listen or watch the news today it’s impossible to avoid public opinion polls. They are literally everywhere. The president’s approval rating, what people think about impeachment, even what the best fast food restaurant is. But as omnipresent as opinion surveys are, a lot of the math and science that goes into them is relatively unknown to many people. There are also a lot of questions about how polls work and how they should work. Why do most polls include more Democrats than Re...
Episode 5: Can we trust opinion polls? Courtney Kennedy of the Pew Research Center discusses
November 26, 2019 19:02 - 45 minutesIf you read, listen or watch the news today it’s impossible to avoid public opinion polls. They are literally everywhere. The president’s approval rating, what people think about impeachment, even what the best fast food restaurant is. But as omnipresent as opinion surveys are, a lot of the math and science that goes into them is relatively unknown to many people. There are also a lot of questions about how polls work and how they should work. Why do most polls include more Democrats than Re...
Episode 4: Has Trump really changed the GOP all that much?
November 06, 2019 03:57 - 50 minutesThere’s been a lot of commentary about how Donald Trump is changing the Republican Party. There’s even a cottage industry of former Republicans who often write about how Trump has ruined the GOP they once knew and loved. But according to Bruce Bartlett, a former senior White House economic adviser to President Bush 41, most of what today’s Trump skeptics point to as something new in the party was there long ago. Bartlett had a falling out with the GOP in the early 2000s when he realized tha...
Theory of Change #4: Has Trump really changed the GOP all that much?
November 06, 2019 03:57 - 50 minutes - 46.1 MBThere’s been a lot of commentary about how Donald Trump is changing the Republican Party. There’s even a cottage industry of former Republicans who often write about how Trump has ruined the GOP they once knew and loved. But according to Bruce Bartlett, a former senior White House economic adviser to President Bush 41, most of what today’s Trump skeptics point to as something new in the party was there long ago. Bartlett had a falling out with the GOP in the early 2000s when he realized tha...