Central Air

Josh Barro, Megan McArdle & Ben Dreyfuss
  • 4.3 (11)
  • POLITICS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Central Air, the show where the temperature is always just right. Join Josh Barro, Megan McArdle and Ben Dreyfuss every week for a well-centered conversation on American politics. www.centralairpodcast.com

Episodes

  1. Don't Tear Up Your Lawn

    2025-12-17

    Don't Tear Up Your Lawn

    Listeners: join Josh, Megan and Ben on Friday at 1pm Eastern/10am Pacific for a video chat on Substack. Go to centralairpodcast.com for more details. This week: we discuss President Trump’s gross and remarkably self-centered response to the murder of Rob and Michele Reiner, and the strangely candid interview that Trump’s chief of staff Susie Wiles granted to Vanity Fair. We look at reporting from The New York Times on how Jeffrey Epstein rose to prominence and success on Wall Street, despite very early signs that he shouldn’t be trusted, and we consider an essay in Compact arguing that diversity mandates at academic, arts and media institutions have been designed by older generations to fall solely on the backs of white men who are millennial and younger, producing institutions staffed by old white guys and very few young white guys. Plus: bad ideas about backyard gardening, and our predictions for 2026. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.centralairpodcast.com/subscribe

    1h 14m

  2. 2025-12-11

    We Judge Because We Love

    On this week's show: Warner Brothers Discovery is up for sale, and Netflix and Paramount are fighting over the opportunity to buy it. We discuss the fate of CNN, the future of moviemaking and theaters, the Trump administration’s apparent intent to interfere on Paramount’s behalf, and who's really competing with the streamers for our attention. Next we talk about Ezra Klein’s search for “the good”: a framework that will allow liberals to say — without reference to charts and statistics — that building a community is better than staring at your phone all day or, replacing your spouse and your therapist with an AI chatbot, or, God help us, living in the “goon cave.” Is it better to more freely pass moral judgement on each other, or should we trust individuals to figure out what’s good for them? Finally, we discuss a report that almost 40% of undergraduates at Stanford are officially “disabled." Join our comments section and sign up for updates about the show at centralairpodcast.com. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.centralairpodcast.com/subscribe

    1h 24m

  3. 2025-12-03

    $140,000 Is Not Poor, $400,000 Is Not Middle Class

    On this week’s show: is $140,000 a year the new poverty line? Is $400,000 a moderate income? Is the softening in car buying an indication that middle-income Americans have grown more financially pressed in recent months? Plus: we revisit the “you must refuse illegal orders” video in light of news reports about an awfully illegal-sounding “double tap” strike on a suspected drug boat off Venezuela, and we discuss the Trump administration’s crackdown on Afghan migrants. We also talk about casinos in New York City and two environments that bring Americans together: the craps table, and the Benihana table. Finally: Josh angers people on the internet. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.centralairpodcast.com/subscribe

    1h 25m

  4. 2025-11-26

    Bring Your Husband to Work Day

    In the spirit of Thanksgiving gatherings, Megan brought her husband to visit with us this week. Peter Suderman joins us to discuss holiday cocktails, an overly sympathetic story about an illegal immigrant who stole a man’s identity so he could work, the controversy over the “illegal orders” video from Democratic members of Congress (with reference to a useful op-ed by David French), and your dad/Sean Duffy’s campaign to get air travelers to behave themselves. About those holiday cocktails: go to centralairpodcast.com for a special Christmas-y mai tai recipe Peter helped Josh develop, and other links to holiday libations (and you can sign up for our newsletter there too). This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.centralairpodcast.com/subscribe

    1h 11m

  5. 2025-11-19

    Conceal the Epstein Files!

    We finally have word that the Epstein files will be made public, but is that a mistake? Ben and Megan offer their arguments for keeping the secrets secret, and Josh isn't sure about that — what is in there? And doesn't President Trump, who campaigned on releasing the files, deserve whatever happens once that happens? Also this week: the effort to rehabilitate the reputation of price controls (ew), a celebration of the end of the penny, and the TikTok proposition that “the new American dream is to leave.” Sign up for updates from us (and support the show) and www.centralairpodcast.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.centralairpodcast.com/subscribe

    1h 6m

  6. 2025-11-12

    Shutdown Fold 'Em, with Nate Silver

    Josh, Ben, Megan and special guest Nate Silver stress-test alternative ends to the government shutdown. What outcomes were actually available to Democrats? Then: Donald Trump’s poll numbers have materially deteriorated in the last month, and Democrats way outran their polls in elections last week. Are national polls understating Democrats’ national strength? Also in this episode: Nate’s take on the strange debate over whether moderate candidates win more elections, and yet another pro-sports betting scandal. Is gambling undermining sports as a civic institution? And finally: Teen Vogue. Feedback? Questions? Leave a comment at centralairpodcast.com or email us at centralair@substack.com. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.centralairpodcast.com/subscribe

    1h 30m

  7. 2025-11-06

    Neither Glee Nor Panic: Our Moderate Take on Zohran Mamdani

    Josh, Ben and Megan take stock of the lessons for Democrats from Tuesday’s strong election result — and a look at how Republicans failed to speak to voters’ concerns about the cost of living. Also this week: hopes and fears for Zohran Mamdani, the ongoing meltdown at the Heritage Foundation, the ongoing meltdown on Nancy Mace’s Twitter feed over her treatment by TSA and airport staff at the Charleston airport, and a couple of stories about Ben and Josh's less-than-finest hours at the airport. Feedback? Questions? Leave a comment at centralairpodcast.com or email us at centralair@substack.com. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.centralairpodcast.com/subscribe

    1h 12m

  8. 2025-10-29

    Deciding to Win, with Liam Kerr

    This week, we’re Deciding to Win, or at least talking about a new manifesto about how to improve and moderate the Democratic Party’s image. Liam Kerr, one of the report’s authors joins us to talk about it. Also this week: the demolition of the East Wing of the White House and those who are very offended by it (not us), Karine Jean-Pierre’s very weird interview with The New Yorker, some lessons from an election in Argentina, and signs that the president’s trade war is starting to do significant economic damage in at least some parts of the country. Feedback? Questions? Leave a comment at centralairpodcast.com or email us at centralair@substack.com. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.centralairpodcast.com/subscribe

    1h 13m

  9. 2025-10-22

    Immigration, with Matt Yglesias

    Matt Yglesias joins Josh, Megan and Ben to discuss immigration: why (and how) the Biden administration bungled the issue so badly and how the Democratic party could start to regain voters' trust on the issue. Also in this episode: the problem of “the algorithm” and how it's really a problem of the audience with its bias toward negativity; Helen Andrews’ essay for Compact, which alleges that key institutions are suffering from an epidemic of “feminization”; the efficacy of the “No Kings” protests; and ...does Italy have too many restaurants? Sign up for updates from Central Air here. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.centralairpodcast.com/subscribe

    1h 22m

  10. 2025-10-15

    Welcome to Central Air!

    This is the first episode of Central Air, a weekly politics podcast from and for the political center. Every other part of the political spectrum has a podcast — so, why not us? Josh Barro, Megan McArdle and Ben Dreyfuss talk about the state of the political center, and the exciting new initiatives that focus on what centrists are for, not just what we think is too extreme. Also this week: The oddly low-key government shutdown, and Democrats’ uphill fight to use the shutdown to get voters to focus on expiring Obamacare subsidies, naked cyclists in Oregon and the political trap of fighting Donald Trump over immigration, the overwrought freakout over Bari Weiss’s installation at CBS, and finally, did it make any sense that the Nakatomi Corporation would have had $640 million worth of bearer bonds in a vault in its new Los Angeles skyscraper? Learn more about Central Air — leave comments, sign up to support the show and receive updates on this new podcast — at www.centralairpodcast.com. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.centralairpodcast.com/subscribe

    1h 31m
  • 10 Episodes

Hosts & Guests

4.3
out of 5
11 Ratings

About

Central Air, the show where the temperature is always just right. Join Josh Barro, Megan McArdle and Ben Dreyfuss every week for a well-centered conversation on American politics. www.centralairpodcast.com

Information

  • Creator
    Josh Barro, Megan McArdle & Ben Dreyfuss
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2025
  • Episodes
    10
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Very Serious Media
  • Show Website
    Central Air

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