Pantsuit Politics

4.5 (4.9K)
News Commentary
Updated Semiweekly

Pantsuit Politics is the news and politics podcast for people exhausted by outrage. Hosts Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers tackle the week's biggest political stories from genuinely different perspectives, and prove that civility, nuance, and good-faith disagreement are still possible. New episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Distributed by Lemonada Media.

3d ago

Cornell and the Culture that Let it Happen

Sarah and Beth discuss the horror described in Jane Doe's complaint, the campus culture at Cornell, and the challenges of addressing sexual assault in college environments. They cover: The reporting and investigation into the Cornell 7 case and the role of student journalism How campus culture, Greek life, and university responses shape outcomes The complexities of Title IX, criminal investigations, and legal standards in sexual assault cases Broader questions about prevention, parenting, and the ongoing struggle to change campus safety Outside of Politics: Sarah and Beth talk about Derek Thompson's essay on the decline of hosting and why fewer people are having others over. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
6d ago

Viral stories tell us more than headlines do (+ Taylor Swift's Encore)

Sarah and Beth discuss the viral stories that took over the weekend, and what they reveal about conflict, context, and civic life heading into the midterms: - The New York Times report on Alaska Senate candidate Mary Peltola's treatment of staff - The Boston Globe story on Last Ditch, a COVID-cautious lesbian bar in Greenfield, Massachusetts - The Giants game "mom of the year" couple and iced coffee at job interviews - Taylor Swift's four-song encore to The Life of a Showgirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 25

What Eight Years as a University President Taught Robbyn Wacker about Values

Beth talks with Dr. Robbyn Wacker, a former university president (most recently at St. Cloud State University) with a background in gerontology, about the book she's writing on leadership and values in higher education. They cover: Robbyn's path from gerontology and legal aid for older adults into higher-ed leadership, and eight years as a university president The current state of higher education: flipped funding models, the enrollment cliff, cuts to research funding and student loans, restrictions on international students, and a growing public skepticism about the value of a degree Why Robbyn's book centers on values rather than tactics, and how to choose two or three core values as an actual decision-making tool rather than a platitude "Values drift" — how leaders rationalize small departures from their stated values until those values stop driving behavior at all A detour through Lindsey Graham's admission that his real value is "relevance," and what that reveals about naming one value in service of another Whether organizations — and an entire sector like higher education — can meaningfully hold values, and how to navigate different constituencies without seeming inconsistent Beth's own reflection on the three values guiding her work this year: honesty, distinctiveness, and joy A closing story about the real budget dilemmas university presidents face, and how a "North Star" value holds up under pressure Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 22

The AI Conversation, Continued: Kill Switches, Frontier AI, and What to Do About it All

We're picking back up on artificial intelligence — Mustafa Suleyman's warning about conscious AI, the difference between chatbots and frontier models, recursive self-improvement, kill switches, and what policy response should actually look like at every level of government. Outside of Politics: the foods from our childhoods that still hold up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 18

Caitlin Clark, Sydney Sweeney, and the Sports Culture War

Sports, race, gender, religion, cancel culture, and Donald Trump — this week they're all the same conversation. We cover Caitlin Clark's fouls and the House Republicans weighing in, Sophie Cunningham and the trans-athletes-in-sports debate, the Sydney Sweeney ad everyone's arguing about, SF Giants pitchers under DOJ scrutiny for Bible verses on Pride caps, the golf ad that ended a sponsorship, and LIV Golf's bankruptcy. Outside of Politics: which area of law would we actually want to practice? Sports and the culture war, generally Sports' grip on America sparks summer of political warfare – Axios Caitlin Clark / House Republicans RSC Chairman Pfluger Leads Letter to WNBA Demanding Accountability Over Unfair Treatment of Caitlin Clark House Republicans absurdly ask WNBA to investigate fouls against Caitlin Clark – Yahoo Sports Sophie Cunningham / trans athletes / Title IX Inside the disunited United States that shadows the WNBA – ESPN WNBA star Sophie Cunningham defends her views on transgender athletes – The Hill Destroying Women's Sports In Order To Save Them – Matthew Yglesias, Slow Boring Sydney Sweeney ad Sydney Sweeney under fire from athletes over nude sports-prediction ad – CNN Sydney Sweeney Faces Backlash for Sexualized Sports Trading Ad – Hollywood Reporter SF Giants Pride caps / DOJ-EEOC Giants 'Pride Night' cap controversy prompts investigation into MLB for religious discrimination – Yahoo Sports DOJ opens probe into MLB after Pride Night controversy – The Hill Good Good Golf ad / Callaway Golf ad showing man shove woman to ground taken down after backlash – CNN Callaway Golf ends partnership with Good Good Golf after controversial ad – ABC News LIV Golf bankruptcy LIV Golf files for bankruptcy protection; Rahm, Bryson owed millions – ESPN LIV Golf files for bankruptcy protection as it seeks to restart in 2027 – NBC News Trump and the World Cup 2026 Trump–FIFA red card controversy – Wikipedia Trump's FIFA Intervention Draws Global Backlash – Time Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 15

Nobody Trained AI on a Soul

After a weekend when an Anthropic researcher quit and warned AI could wipe out humanity within a decade, Sarah and Beth take on the questions listeners sent them about artificial intelligence, starting with what is actually being made and what it costs. They argue that the flyers-and-water critique is stuck in 2022 while frontier models and agents race ahead, and they take the Doomer scenarios seriously without buying that the doom is just sales copy. Beth explains why "can't we just unplug it" would mean unplugging the internet; Sarah argues nobody trained these models on a soul, and that's where we need to put our chips. They disagree on whether building superintelligence was ever the right call, and agree that fear isn't enough to bring to the table with our kids, our employers, or Congress. Then, Outside of Politics, a conversation about quitting: Jessica Strawser's The Quitters Club, Lindsay Crouse's case for opting out, and the biggest things each of them has walked away from. If you missed our live show in Minneapolis, the full recording is available in our shop for $15: https://pantsuitpolitics.myshopify.com/ Support the show and get access to News Briefs, Spicy Live bonus episodes, and community: https://pantsuitpolitics.substack.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 11

Bush Wasn't a Bad Man. He Was a Bad President.

Twenty-five years ago today, and Sarah and Beth close out the re-share of their 2018 series on September 11 with the two hardest parts. First, the road from 9/11 to Iraq, from "we will wipe terrorism off the face of the earth" to an occupation that hired loyalists over experts, and a real disagreement between the two of them about whether George W. Bush was a bad man or just a bad president. They end at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, where each of them chose one life to be grateful for, Kathy Mazza and CeeCee Lyles, and where the museum asks you to look up at the photos in exactly the way people on the ground had to that day. Parts one through three came out Wednesday. If you missed our live show in Minneapolis, the full recording is available in our shop for $15: https://pantsuitpolitics.myshopify.com/ Support the show and get access to News Briefs, Spicy Live bonus episodes, and community: https://pantsuitpolitics.substack.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 8

9/11 Wasn't Unimaginable. It Was Unprocessed.

This week marks twenty-five years since the September 11 attacks, and Sarah and Beth are re-sharing the five-part series they made in 2018 to do what they felt the country never quite did: process it. Today's episode holds parts one, two, and three. First, a careful, flight-by-flight walk through the morning of September 11, 2001, with attention to the people who improvised when no plan existed for what was happening, from flight attendants Betty Ong and Amy Sweeney to Rick Rescorla to the passengers of Flight 93. Then they travel back eighty years, to the borders drawn after World War I, the Soviet war in Afghanistan, and the conditions that produced al Qaeda, with help from Middle East expert Kerry Anderson. Then they ask how we missed it, and find the answer in an FBI and CIA built to distrust each other, an overcorrection after Watergate that stopped agents from sharing what they knew, and two future hijackers living in the United States that the CIA never told the FBI about. It is a hard listen in places, made with care for everyone who carries the day with them. Parts four and five, the road to Iraq and the Memorial, follow on Friday. If you missed our live show in Minneapolis, the full recording is available in our shop for $15: https://pantsuitpolitics.myshopify.com/ Support the show and get access to News Briefs, Spicy Live bonus episodes, and community: https://pantsuitpolitics.substack.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Trailer • Lemonada Premium Only

Pantsuit Politics Trailer

The home of grace-filled political conversations. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Julia Louis-Dreyfus returns for Season 4 of her award-winning podcast, Wiser Than Me™. Each week, she has funny, touching, personal conversations with iconic older women who are brimming with the kind of unapologetic attitude and wisdom that only comes with age. Julia sits at the feet of some extraordinary teachers this season, and of course her 91-year-old mom, Judith. Tune in to laugh, cry, and get wise. All Hail Old Women! Photo: Ryan Pfluger and August Image

4.7 (10398)

Comedy
Gretchen Rubin is HAPPIER, and she wants you to be happier too. The #1 bestselling author of The Happiness Project and Better Than Before gets more personal than ever as she brings her practical, manageable advice about happiness and good habits to this lively, thought-provoking podcast. Gretchen’s cohost and guinea pig is her younger sister, Elizabeth Craft, a TV writer and producer living in Los Angeles, who (lovingly) refers to Gretchen as her happiness bully. Sales and Distribution by Lemonada Media https://lemonadamedia.com/

4.7 (12509)

Health & Fitness
Scott Aukerman, Lauren Lapkus and Paul F Tompkins abandon their regular formats to focus on the basics of being funny with each other. Can’t wait to hear more episodes? For more info and archive episodes go to www.lemonadamedia.com. Sales and Distribution by Lemonada Media https://lemonadamedia.com/

4.8 (3284)

Comedy
Are you living your best life now? Not always? This is a podcast for you. Duke Professor Kate Bowler is an expert in the stories we tell about success and failure, suffering and happiness. She had Stage IV cancer. Then she didn’t. And since then, all she wants to do is talk to funny and wise people about how to live with the knowledge that, well, everything happens. Find her online at @katecbowler. Sales and Distribution by Lemonada Media https://lemonadamedia.com/

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Society & Culture
Everybody has secret weirdness, Pete Holmes gets comedians to share theirs. Sales and Distribution by Lemonada Media https://lemonadamedia.com/

4.5 (8714)

Comedy Interviews
Everybody seems to be obsessed with sleep. Tracking it. Talking about it. Stressing over it. Losing (more) sleep over it. But what about actually getting better at it? Sleep Doctor Michael Breus combines science, storytelling, and practical advice to leave listeners with the tools they need to improve their sleep and their entire lives. Whether you’re entering menopause, trying to get your kid down for a nap, or overwhelmed by which sleep supplements are worth your money, Dr. Breus and his expert guests are here to help you sleep better. Better in Bed is a new series from Lemonada Media, created in partnership with Sleep Doctor.

3.6 (18)

Health & Fitness

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Sarah Stewart Holland

Host
Beth Silvers

Host
Kerry Boyd Anderson

Guest
Jen Hatmaker

Guest
Nicholas

Guest
Laura Tremaine

Guest
Charlie Klauer

Guest

4.5

out of 5

4,913 Ratings

Just more rage-bait, not less

Sep 13

qwtzl

I was hoping for a podcast that wasn't "everything is terrible, how will we go on?" but this is more of the same brainwashing garbage that is pushed in 99% of all podcasts. Its the same chants, the same bad information and simplistic takes.
Everyone should listen to this podcast

Jul 7

Jace227

I cannot believe I have only just found this podcast. This is GREAT. Two people who don’t always agree but let each other speak, don’t talk over each other, and approach politics with grace. I am so grateful I found this podcast.
Long time listener

Jun 4

Moodle1992

I have been a long time listener for years. I can’t recommend this podcast enough. I listen every week and am so grateful!
Longtime listener turned never again

May 13

UWLeah

I found PP in 2017 and was won over by their down to earth approach paired with fair coverage of both sides. I left in the wake of October 7, 2023 when attacks against Israel were justified and American antisemitism was buried or justified, and mayor Mamdani of NYC has been routinely praised. It seems to be a left leaning podcast, they don’t believe they can want Palestinians to have freedom and also criticize people who seek to kill Israelis or Jews. I felt so betrayed by this podcast, and it’s gotten worse since I left.

Pantsuit Politics is the news and politics podcast for people exhausted by outrage. Hosts Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers tackle the week's biggest political stories from genuinely different perspectives, and prove that civility, nuance, and good-faith disagreement are still possible. New episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Distributed by Lemonada Media.