Politicology

Politicology
  • 4.8 (16K)
  • Politics
  • Updated Weekly

Politics in America is transforming. We’re embarking on a new series to deepen our understanding of who we are, how we got here, and how we rebuild without repeating the mistakes of the past. Ron Steslow hosts academics, behavioral economists, social psychologists, politicos, philosophers, anthropologists, journalists, poets, and storytellers—and more—to discuss America’s political present and future and dive into the deeper problems we face as a nation. Email us questions or comments: podcast@politicology.com.

POLITICOLOGY+

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  1. 3d ago

    The Surveillance Revolt — The Weekly

    Katherine Mangu-Ward (Editor in Chief of Reason) joins host Ron Steslow to examine the growing revolt against automated license-plate surveillance company Flock and what it reveals about privacy in the age of AI.  They begin with the backlash against flock: cameras cut down across dozens of states, communities canceling contracts, and an unlikely coalition uniting against the technology.  They dive into what the anger is really about and whether it channels a broader anxiety about losing control.  From there, they turn to what these systems can now do, as leaked code points to tools that track people—not just license plates—and invites comparisons to China’s surveillance state.  Then, they weigh the deeper tension of a company whose only customer is the state, the problem of overcriminalization, and the specter of automated law enforcement.  Finally, they consider the Supreme Court’s geofence ruling, the data-broker loophole it leaves wide open, and what privacy is ultimately for.  In Politicology+, they look at a single case that tests how far privacy itself can be treated as a crime: an American Citizen charged with a felony for deleting his phone’s data.  POLITICOLOGY+ Not yet a Politicology+ member? Don’t miss all the extra episodes on the private, ad-free version of this podcast. Upgrade now at politicology.com/plus. SPONSORS & PROMO CODES: https://bit.ly/44uAGZ8 Send your questions and ideas to podcast@politicology.com Ron Steslow on X: https://x.com/RonSteslow Katherine Mangu-Ward on X: https://x.com/kmanguward Related Reading:  Wired - Flock Has a Powerful New AI Tool for Police. We Got Its Code | WIRED Reason - Flock Safety’s new privacy rules do little to ease concerns over ALPR surveillance Reason - America is building a surveillance state like China's Pirate wires - Flock's Case for the Panopticon Wired - Flock Has a Powerful New AI Tool for Police. We Got Its Code | WIRED ACLU - Surveillance Company Flock Now Using AI to Report Us to Police if it Thinks Our Movement Patterns Are “Suspicious” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  2. 4d ago • Politicology+ Only

    [+] Guilty Privacy [Members Only]

    Ron Steslow and Katherine Mangu-Ward pick up the main show’s surveillance thread with a single case that tests how far privacy itself can be treated as a crime: Samuel Tunick, a US citizen who returned to Atlanta from the Dominican Republic and handed border agents a GrapheneOS "duress" passcode that wiped his phone. They walk through the charge (a rarely used destruction-of-property statute, in what experts believe is the first prosecution of its kind), the questioning his defense calls a pretext, and the widening "border zone" where ordinary travelers face sharply reduced Fourth Amendment protections. Related Reading: The Guardian - US government targets Cop City protester over phone operating system | Atlanta | The Guardian 404 media - ‘The Government Hopes To Set a Precedent’: An Interview With the Man Charged for Allegedly Wiping His GrapheneOS Phone

  3. 4d ago • Politicology+ Only

    The Surveillance Revolt — The Weekly

    Katherine Mangu-Ward (Editor in Chief of Reason) joins host Ron Steslow to examine the growing revolt against automated license-plate surveillance company Flock and what it reveals about privacy in the age of AI. They begin with the backlash against flock: cameras cut down across dozens of states, communities canceling contracts, and an unlikely coalition uniting against the technology. They dive into what the anger is really about and whether it channels a broader anxiety about losing control. From there, they turn to what these systems can now do, as leaked code points to tools that track people—not just license plates—and invites comparisons to China’s surveillance state. Then, they weigh the deeper tension of a company whose only customer is the state, the problem of overcriminalization, and the specter of automated law enforcement. Finally, they consider the Supreme Court’s geofence ruling, the data-broker loophole it leaves wide open, and what privacy is ultimately for. In Politicology+, they look at a single case that tests how far privacy itself can be treated as a crime: an American Citizen charged with a felony for deleting his phone’s data. POLITICOLOGY+ Not yet a Politicology+ member? Don’t miss all the extra episodes on the private, ad-free version of this podcast. Upgrade now at politicology.com/plus. SPONSORS & PROMO CODES: https://bit.ly/44uAGZ8 Send your questions and ideas to podcast@politicology.com Ron Steslow on X: https://x.com/RonSteslow Katherine Mangu-Ward on X: https://x.com/kmanguward Related Reading: Wired - Flock Has a Powerful New AI Tool for Police. We Got Its Code | WIRED Reason - Flock Safety’s new privacy rules do little to ease concerns over ALPR surveillance Reason - America is building a surveillance state like China's Pirate wires - Flock's Case for the Panopticon Wired - Flock Has a Powerful New AI Tool for Police. We Got Its Code | WIRED ACLU - Surveillance Company Flock Now Using AI to Report Us to Police if it Thinks Our Movement Patterns Are “Suspicious”

  4. Aug 22

    Data Center Dissent — The Weekly

    Susan Del Percio (crisis communications expert and political analyst at MS NOW) joins host Ron Steslow to trace how a revolt against data centers opens larger questions into how the AI buildout is financed and who holds the risk.  They begin with the politics of the backlash and the town by town opposition that has turned data centers into a bipartisan populist flashpoint. Then they look at the leaked Republican memo warning the backlash could cost the party a Senate seat in November.  Next, they turn to the real constraint beneath the fight, energy, the race with China, and reporting that foreign actors are attempting to amplify the opposition.  Then, they look at the federal debt and how Washington is betting that AI-led growth is the only survivable way out.  In Politicology+, they break down the DNC’s newly approved 2028 presidential primary calendar and what it means for the factional power struggle within the party. POLITICOLOGY+ Not yet a Politicology+ member? Don’t miss all the extra episodes on the private, ad-free version of this podcast. Upgrade now at politicology.com/plus. SPONSORS & PROMO CODES: https://bit.ly/44uAGZ8 Send your questions and ideas to podcast@politicology.com Ron Steslow on X: https://x.com/RonSteslow Susan Del Percio on X: https://x.com/DelPercioS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  5. Aug 21 • Politicology+ Only

    [+] The Calendar Is the Message [Members Only]

    Ron Steslow and Susan Del Percio break down the DNC’s newly approved 2028 presidential primary calendar and what it means for the factional power struggle within the party.

  6. Aug 15

    Democratic Socialists vs. American Power — The Weekly

    Hagar Chemali (former spokesperson for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations) joins host Ron Steslow to take the Democratic Socialists of America’s foreign policy seriously on their own terms, reading what the movement has written down. They begin with the DSA’s ascent: a run of 2026 primary wins and Democratic leadership inclined to accommodate the energy rather than resist it, echoing MAGA’s takeover of the GOP.  From there, they turn to the left’s foreign policy lineage—the distance from establishment liberalism's alliance and diplomacy to a progressivism warier of American power and rosier about its adversaries.  Then they break down the DSA’s national security strategy: defund the military, close overseas bases, and dissolve what it calls the U.S. empire.  Finally, they weigh the stakes for a shifting party with Israel as the first flashpoint of a weakening alliance and a broader diagnosis of populism without ideology and the institutional decay it accelerates.  In Politicology+, they discuss the recent mass crossing into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta and what it exposes about Europe. POLITICOLOGY+ Not yet a Politicology+ member? Don’t miss all the extra episodes on the private, ad-free version of this podcast. Upgrade now at politicology.com/plus. SPONSORS & PROMO CODES: https://bit.ly/44uAGZ8 Send your questions and ideas to podcast@politicology.com Ron Steslow on X: https://x.com/RonSteslow Hagar Chemali on X: https://x.com/HagarChemali Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  7. Aug 14 • Politicology+ Only

    [+] Europe Is Not a Country [Members Only]

    Ron Steslow and Hagar Chemali unpack the mass crossing into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta and what it exposes about Europe. They trace the pull factors and the social media campaign behind the surge. Then, they turn to the fault lines it reopened: Italy suspending free movement with Spain, a bloc of member states demanding controls, and a populist wave rising across the continent on migration.

  8. Aug 7

    Pax Machina — The Weekly

    Mike Madrid (author of The Latino Century) joins host Ron Steslow to examine how AI is redrawing the machinery of politics and forcing a reckoning with what remains distinctly human.  They begin with campaigns, where operatives now test messages on synthetic electorates, AI agents built to think like real voters, before a word reaches anyone.   From there, they turn to the parties, which are unraveling into digital networks: brands so weak a cultural figure could hijack a nomination like Trump did in 2016.  Then they dive into Pax Machina, a publication arguing powerful AI opens the first stage of institutional invention since the founding, warning that a president commanding loyal AI delegates could hollow out constitutional checks without changing the texts.  Finally, they weigh Gregory Conti’s warning of science without scientists, asking whether choosing which questions matter is foundation enough for a dignity no machine can supply.  In Politicology+, they discuss what a major Bitcoin wallet heist shows about where AI-era security is headed. POLITICOLOGY+ Not yet a Politicology+ member? Don’t miss all the extra episodes on the private, ad-free version of this podcast. Upgrade now at politicology.com/plus. SPONSORS & PROMO CODES: https://bit.ly/44uAGZ8 Send your questions and ideas to podcast@politicology.com Ron Steslow on X: https://x.com/RonSteslow Mike Madrid on X: https://x.com/madrid_mike Related Reading:  AXIOS: We're headed toward the first true AI electionhttps://www.axios.com/2026/08/05/ai-election-bots-simulated-voters-2026-2028 AXIOS: GOP campaigns go all-in on AI — Dems not so muchhttps://www.axios.com/2026/04/14/republicans-ai-campaigns-democrats-2026 The Launch of Pax Machinahttps://paxmachina.ai/welcome-to-pax-machina Clawed by Dean Ball (March 2026) - Dean is now a founding editorial board member at Pax Machina)https://www.hyperdimensional.co/p/clawed Rebuilding our world, with reference to strong AI by Tyler Cowen (Feb 2026)https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/02/rebuilding-our-world-with-reference-to-strong-ai.html The End of Vocation by Gregory Conti (July 2026)https://www.thefp.com/p/ai-human-work-vocation-meaning-obsolete Nothing can stop the AI Revolution by Tyler Cowen (Aug 2026)https://www.thefp.com/p/tyler-cowen-nothing-can-stop-the Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Politics in America is transforming. We’re embarking on a new series to deepen our understanding of who we are, how we got here, and how we rebuild without repeating the mistakes of the past. Ron Steslow hosts academics, behavioral economists, social psychologists, politicos, philosophers, anthropologists, journalists, poets, and storytellers—and more—to discuss America’s political present and future and dive into the deeper problems we face as a nation. Email us questions or comments: podcast@politicology.com.

Information

  • Creator
    Politicology
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    993
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    ℗ & © 2021 Politicology
  • Show Website
    Politicology
  • Provider
    Politicology, LLC

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