The Politics Guys Michael Baranowski

Mike talks with Les Leopold, co-founder and executive director of the Labor Institute, a nonprofit organization that develops and conducts education and policy programs for unions, environmental organizations, community groups, and immigrant worker centers on workplace health and safety, the environment, economics, and movement building. He’s also the author of multiple books. His latest is Wall Street’s War on Workers: How Mass Layoffs and Greed are Destroying the Working Class and What to Do About It, which they talk about in this episode.
Topics Mike & Les Discuss Include:
- if Wall Street is really at war with workers
- how to understand ultra-low unemployment rates
- technology, globalization, and US workers
- the economic and psychological toll of mass layoffs
- the decline of public sector unions in the US
- how government policy can make things better for workers
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Check out Mike’s other podcast -  Sustainable Planet.
Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo we’re @PoliticsGuys.
The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
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Mike talks about the The Kevin Rose Show. Hope you enjoy it too.

Mike and Jay open the preview of this supporters’ midweek episode with a discussion of the Supreme Court’s decision in NRA v. Vullo, a case in which Jay submitted an amicus brief to the Court. The Justices unanimously agreed with (most of) Jay’s reasoning, as does Mike.
From there, they move on to the decision by the Biden administration to allow Ukraine to use US weapons to strike inside Russia, which they both agree with, but wish were less limited.
Following that is a discussion of the Libertarian Party presidential nominee Chase Oliver, the fairly extreme planks in the Texas Republican Party’s platform, and how the lack of enthusiasm of Black voters for Biden could affect his reelection chances.
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Check out Mike’s other podcast -  Sustainable Planet.
Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo we’re @PoliticsGuys.
The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike & Jay open with a discussion of Donald Trump’s conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records. Mike isn’t crazy about the law but believes that the prosecutor, judge, and jury acted reasonably in applying it. Jay discusses possible grounds for appeal. They agree that the effect of the conviction won’t be great, but that any small political benefit should be to Biden.
Then they move to calls for Justice Samuel Alito’s recusal. Mike starts with some comments concerning Ken’s characterization of Alito as corrupt and racist on last week’s show with Trey. On the issue of recusal, neither Mike nor Jay think Alito should step back, though Mike is somewhat more troubled by self-recusal at the Supreme Court level.
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Check out How Do We Fix It and Mike’s other podcast - Sustainable Planet.
Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo we’re @PoliticsGuys.
The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike talks with Corey Nathan, host of the most excellent podcast, Talkin’ Politics & Religion Without Killin’ Each Other. Corey shares his unique perspective as a "born-again Christian with a thick Jewish accent" and how his background has influenced his approach to discussing sensitive topics like politics and religion.
Topics Mike & Corey Discuss Include:
- how and why Corey doesn’t fit the ‘Evangelical Christian’ stereotype
- discussing politics with evangelical Christians
- a Biblical approach to political issues like immigration and LGBTQ rights
- searching for the truth, as opposed to trying to ‘win’ every argument
- the value of regularly engaging with people with whom we disagree
Follow Corey on X
The Politics Guys on Facebook | X
Mike’s other podcast is Sustainable Planet.
Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo we’re @PoliticsGuys.
The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trey talks with Becca Block, author of Can You Help Me Give a Sh*t, in which she discusses the surprising policy implications of listening to student's voices in public education.
Topics Trey and Becca Cover Include

are we asking too much of the public school system?

what it means to listen deeply to student voices

the competing policy desires of parents, teachers, and students

the intersection of race and gender on educational policy

are libertarians right when it comes to public education?


Follow Becca on her website, and check out Can You Help Me Give A Sh*t
The Politics Guys on Facebook | X 
Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo we’re @PoliticsGuys.
The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices