Beyond Politics Matt Robison and Paul Hodes

This week, politics has been kind of amazing because there's been such a strange mix of ultra serious issues filled with moments that are just hilarious. We unpack the latest developments in the Trump trial and how Donald Trump's own lawyer ended up introducing some really humiliating evidence about him. Also, the crackdown on student protesters and how Lauren Boebert managed to beclown herself. And then of course, we had to talk about the most bizarre story of political self destruction that any of us have ever seen, which happened to a prominent Republican this week.

01:00 The Trump Trial: Legal Analysis and Hilarity

04:01 The Gag Order Debate: Trump's Legal Challenges and Strategies

17:56 Campus Protests: A Mix of Serious and Ridiculous

20:34 The Quirky Protesters and Their Demands

21:20 The Satirical Take on Modern Protests

23:06 Lauren Boebert's Campus Stunt Goes Viral

26:04 Christy Noem's Controversial Animal Stories

32:41 The Debate Over Marijuana Legalization

36:30 Closing Thoughts and Goodbyes

Is there actually a light at the end of the tunnel, a way out of MAGA domination for the Republican Party? Jonathan Rauch of the Brookings Institution and Peter Wehner of the Trinity Forum, walk us through their much-discussed plan outlined in a recent New York Times opinion piece for a new movement to return to a rational, conservative Republican Party in America. ***Please remember to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.***



00:59 Exploring the Roots and Reasons for a GOP Split

05:05 The Exile Strategy: Overcoming MAGA's Grip

09:12 The Moral and Strategic Imperatives of Overthrowing MAGA

14:34 Potential Leaders and the Path Forward

26:55 The Psychological Battle Against MAGA Dominance

As protests over the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, reignite and turn violent, the panel ask whether a line has been crossed and what universities that have been paralyzed for so long should do now. We also mark the historic passage of the foreign aid bill, which included long overdue money for Ukraine. And at the end, we ask whether a quote from Mitt Romney this week was a great one or the greatest one ever given. But we start off with the tsunami of Trump legal news, including yesterday's massive Supreme court hearing, new indictments in Arizona, and Paul's evaluation as a former prosecutor of how effective this week's testimony in the New York trial really was

01:07 Analyzing the Prosecution's Strategy in Trump's Trial

05:07 The Intricacies of Legal and Ethical Boundaries in Media Collaboration

14:27 Breaking Down the New Indictments and Supreme Court's Role

18:01 Addressing Anti-Semitic Protests at Elite Universities

24:43 Comparing Past and Present Campus Protests

36:22 Political Achievements and Bipartisanship

37:47 The Mitt Romney Quote

The biggest right-wing news sites are seeing cratering traffic and influence. But why? And is that all good news for the rest of the anti-Trump world? Veteran reporter Paul Farhi joins to discuss his recent blockbuster article in The Atlantic on what's happening, and why it's significant.

00:59 How Big is the Collapse of Right-Wing Media Traffic

03:46 Exploring the Causes

10:38 The Financial Impact and Future of Right-Wing Media

18:17 The Broader Implications: Misinformation, Fracturing, and the Future of Media

22:33 The Controversy Around NPR's Alleged Leftward Shift

35:13 Analyzing the Impact of Conservative Media

What would you say is the biggest threat to America today? It might not be what you think. Many of America's senior leaders, especially the ones in the Democratic Party, believe that it's the insidious, intentional assault on our brains, from people using technology to pump them full of misinformation and disinformation. The torrent of lies may be making it impossible for democracy to function anymore, and is putting some of the worst possible people in power.

Journalist Sasha Issenberg takes us inside this world in his new book The Lie Detectives, and joins us to explain what they've found out about how to fight this new war for information, truth, and democracy.



01:13 The Oh Gosh Moment: Realizing the Scale of Disinformation

16:18 Jiore Craig's Mission: Adapting Political Strategies for the Digital Age

30:49 Understanding the Ecosystem of Disinformation

41:25 The Future of Fighting Disinformation: Challenges and Optimism

Former prosecutor Paul Hodes walks us through one of the most important jury selection processes ever, as jurors are added - and removed - from trump's fraud trial in New York. We also probe the impact of having two lawyers on the jury, and is the Biden White House taking the right approach politically by staying totally silent about the trial.

Also, the sham Mayorkas impeachment. And is Mike Johnson actually doing a GOOD job? And a wild closing story that involves escaped zoo animals and a huge metaphor for politics in America.

00:53 The Trump Trial: Jury Selection and Legal Drama

05:27 The Role of Lawyers in the Jury

14:51 Biden's White House: A Silent Strategy on Trump's Trial

17:13 The Mayorkas Impeachment: A Partisan Stunt Dismissed

20:12 The Impact of C SPAN on Politics

25:21 Mike Johnson: Good Leadership on Ukraine?

34:41 Closing Segment: The ACTUAL Political Circus