Plain Talk

3.8 (86)
Politics
Semiweekly

Plain Talk is a podcast hosted by Rob Port and Chad Oban focusing on political news and current events in North Dakota. Port is a columnist for the Forum News Service published in papers including the Fargo Forum, Grand Forks Herald, Jamestown Sun, and the Dickinson Press. Oban is a long-time political consultant.

1d ago · Video

757: 'It was a bloodbath last night'

The morning after an election that reshaped national politics, Gov. Kelly Armstrong joined Plain Talk for a blunt debrief on a midterm had a couple of surprises, but largely left the status quo in place in North Dakota. While Democrats swept into comfortable majorities in both the U.S. House and Senate, Armstrong didn't sugarcoat the national drubbing for Republicans nationally. "People say blue wave, people say tsunami—it was a bloodbath last night," Armstrong said. "There's no other way to describe it. You lose a ton of your thought leaders. You lose your policy leaders, you lose your political minds." He pointed to economic pain and widespread fatigue with political noise. "Turns out the polls were wrong," he said. The bias, though, was in favor of Republicans in that it understated the breadth of support for Democrats. "When you control all three branches of government, the midterms aren't particularly great," Armstrong noted. "When you put the president involved in that, you turn the volume up to 11. A lot of Republicans stayed home, and Democrats across the country were very, very motivated to vote." Yet while states like Texas saw major Democratic shifts, the wave missed North Dakota, where statewide Republicans won by about the same margins they usually do. We asked Armstron why. "One, because I don't think North Dakota lives on outrage culture the same way everywhere else does, which is really a great, positive thing," he said. "When you try and tell everybody that the world in North Dakota just absolutely sucks, I don't feel that on the ground." On ballot measures, Armstrong reflected on the defeat of Measure 1, which he championed to raise the constitutional amendment threshold to 60%. Despite the loss, the governor said he was glad he pursued it. "The best advice I ever got when I was a starting lawyer was from my law partner's father in Dickinson," Armstrong said. "He said, 'If you're winning every case you're taking to trial, you're not trying enough cases.'" He also argued the fight over Measure 1 helped sink Measure 2's universal school meals mandate. "Measure 1 helped Measure 2 go down, so we don't have any constitutionally mandated spending yet, is the way I would put it," Armstrong said. He threw cold water on lawmakers passing it in statute this winter: "The laws of political gravity don't go away...I'd be hard-pressed to see a ton of motivation to move something this session on that." Armstrong also took aim at far-right legislative candidates backed by the Citizens Alliance who lost on election night. "I am not particularly upset when Citizens Alliance has a bad night," Armstrong said bluntly, "because I think they're bad for the Republican Party and bad for North Dakota." For Congresswoman-elect Julie Fedorchak entering a Democratic-controlled House, his advice was pragmatic. "The math is the math in the House," Armstrong said. "Any bill that the Democrats want to move through in D.C. is going to move. You're trying to get a semicolon changed to a comma in a CR so you can just survive." And his warning to incoming congressional Democrats? Don't spend the next two years impeaching cabinet members instead of tackling permitting and costs. "Listen to your Democratic governors that are begging for infrastructure reform," Armstrong said. "They need to walk and chew gum at the same time." After the interview, Chad and I briefly reviewed our election predictions. While we both correctly forecast the defeat of Measures 1 and 2, the sheer scale of the national Democratic wave blew past our expectations. If you want to participate in Plain Talk, just give us a call or text at 701-587-3141. It's super easy — leave your message, tell us your name and where you're from, and we might feature it on an upcoming episode. To subscribe to Plain Talk, search for the show wherever you get your podcasts or use one of the links below. Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Pocket Casts | Episode Archive
1d ago

757: 'It was a bloodbath last night'

The morning after an election that reshaped national politics, Gov. Kelly Armstrong joined Plain Talk for a blunt debrief on a midterm had a couple of surprises, but largely left the status quo in place in North Dakota. While Democrats swept into comfortable majorities in both the U.S. House and Senate, Armstrong didn't sugarcoat the national drubbing for Republicans nationally. "People say blue wave, people say tsunami—it was a bloodbath last night," Armstrong said. "There's no other way to describe it. You lose a ton of your thought leaders. You lose your policy leaders, you lose your political minds." He pointed to economic pain and widespread fatigue with political noise. "Turns out the polls were wrong," he said. The bias, though, was in favor of Republicans in that it understated the breadth of support for Democrats. "When you control all three branches of government, the midterms aren't particularly great," Armstrong noted. "When you put the president involved in that, you turn the volume up to 11. A lot of Republicans stayed home, and Democrats across the country were very, very motivated to vote." Yet while states like Texas saw major Democratic shifts, the wave missed North Dakota, where statewide Republicans won by about the same margins they usually do. We asked Armstron why. "One, because I don't think North Dakota lives on outrage culture the same way everywhere else does, which is really a great, positive thing," he said. "When you try and tell everybody that the world in North Dakota just absolutely sucks, I don't feel that on the ground." On ballot measures, Armstrong reflected on the defeat of Measure 1, which he championed to raise the constitutional amendment threshold to 60%. Despite the loss, the governor said he was glad he pursued it. "The best advice I ever got when I was a starting lawyer was from my law partner's father in Dickinson," Armstrong said. "He said, 'If you're winning every case you're taking to trial, you're not trying enough cases.'" He also argued the fight over Measure 1 helped sink Measure 2's universal school meals mandate. "Measure 1 helped Measure 2 go down, so we don't have any constitutionally mandated spending yet, is the way I would put it," Armstrong said. He threw cold water on lawmakers passing it in statute this winter: "The laws of political gravity don't go away...I'd be hard-pressed to see a ton of motivation to move something this session on that." Armstrong also took aim at far-right legislative candidates backed by the Citizens Alliance who lost on election night. "I am not particularly upset when Citizens Alliance has a bad night," Armstrong said bluntly, "because I think they're bad for the Republican Party and bad for North Dakota." For Congresswoman-elect Julie Fedorchak entering a Democratic-controlled House, his advice was pragmatic. "The math is the math in the House," Armstrong said. "Any bill that the Democrats want to move through in D.C. is going to move. You're trying to get a semicolon changed to a comma in a CR so you can just survive." And his warning to incoming congressional Democrats? Don't spend the next two years impeaching cabinet members instead of tackling permitting and costs. "Listen to your Democratic governors that are begging for infrastructure reform," Armstrong said. "They need to walk and chew gum at the same time." After the interview, Chad and I briefly reviewed our election predictions. While we both correctly forecast the defeat of Measures 1 and 2, the sheer scale of the national Democratic wave blew past our expectations. If you want to participate in Plain Talk, just give us a call or text at 701-587-3141. It's super easy — leave your message, tell us your name and where you're from, and we might feature it on an upcoming episode. To subscribe to Plain Talk, search for the show wherever you get your podcasts or use one of the links below. Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Pocket Casts | Episode Archive
6d ago · Video

756: Teacher of the Year Frannie Tunseth sounds off, plus our final ND election predictions (Video)

It is easy for politicians and voters to talk about education from thirty thousand feet, but the view from the front of a classroom looks a whole lot different. On the latest episode of Plain Talk, we were joined by Frannie Tunseth, a reading and math teacher at Mayville-Portland-Clifford-Galesburg and the 2026 North Dakota Teacher of the Year. She brought a grounded, candid perspective on what educators and kids are actually dealing with. Tunseth has spent the past year inviting decision-makers into her classroom—including Sen. Kevin Cramer, Lt. Gov. Michelle Strinden, and local lawmakers. "Advocacy without a relationship is simply noise," Tunseth told us. "It's not come and watch me teach. That's not what this is about at all. Come and talk to my students. Come and have conversations and see what are their lived experiences." The conversation quickly turned to the state's mounting teacher shortage. In an informal survey of more than 1,000 teachers over the past year, Tunseth found that 86% have actively looked for jobs outside of education. "That number should make us all pause and have some very serious conversations," she said. When asked to quantify the cumulative weight driving educators away, her response was simple: "We're tired." She pointed to rising health insurance deductibles, stagnant pay scales, and students arriving with complex social and mental health needs. "Teachers don't leave jobs that they're happy in," she added. Addressing the proposed "STAYS" initiative to provide recurring retention bonuses, Tunseth called it a "historic, long-overdue legislative acknowledgment" of the crisis. But she warned against viewing bonuses as a cure-all. "The thing that gives me just a little bit of pause is I think we can't let that be like a band-aid where then we don't talk about base pay," she said. "It cannot be a substitute for raising the fundamental base salaries, because that's very critical for pension calculations, for mortgage approvals, for just basic economic stability." Tunseth also made a forceful case for Measure 2, the initiated measure to fund universal school meals. "My mind doesn't go to the statistics or to the state budget; it goes straight to my classroom," she said. "There's one obstacle that no amount of teaching can overcome, and that's an empty stomach. In my eyes, Measure 2 comes down to a very simple truth: You cannot teach a hungry mind. A hungry kid is not going to learn." "In education, we provide textbooks, technology, bussing, because they are essential to learning, and I don't see nutrition any different," she noted. After the interview, Chad and I reflected on why schools cannot keep functioning as "Batman"—expected to swoop in and single-handedly solve every societal issue that starts at home. Then, with Election Day just around the corner, we laid our official election predictions on the line. We went through the entire ballot, breaking down the national fight for the U.S. House and Senate, North Dakota's congressional and statewide races, key legislative matchups in Fargo and Grand Forks, and the high-stakes showdowns on Measures 1 and 2. Chad and I didn't see eye-to-eye on several of the biggest races and ballot questions. If you want to know which way we think the chips will fall on Tuesday night, you'll have to tune in to the episode to find out. If you want to participate in Plain Talk, just give us a call or text at 701-587-3141. It's super easy — leave your message, tell us your name and where you're from, and we might feature it on an upcoming episode. To subscribe to Plain Talk, search for the show wherever you get your podcasts or use one of the links below. Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Pocket Casts | Episode Archive
6d ago

756: Teacher of the Year Frannie Tunseth sounds off, plus our final ND election predictions

It is easy for politicians and voters to talk about education from thirty thousand feet, but the view from the front of a classroom looks a whole lot different. On the latest episode of Plain Talk, we were joined by Frannie Tunseth, a reading and math teacher at Mayville-Portland-Clifford-Galesburg and the 2026 North Dakota Teacher of the Year. She brought a grounded, candid perspective on what educators and kids are actually dealing with. Tunseth has spent the past year inviting decision-makers into her classroom—including Sen. Kevin Cramer, Lt. Gov. Michelle Strinden, and local lawmakers. "Advocacy without a relationship is simply noise," Tunseth told us. "It's not come and watch me teach. That's not what this is about at all. Come and talk to my students. Come and have conversations and see what are their lived experiences." The conversation quickly turned to the state's mounting teacher shortage. In an informal survey of more than 1,000 teachers over the past year, Tunseth found that 86% have actively looked for jobs outside of education. "That number should make us all pause and have some very serious conversations," she said. When asked to quantify the cumulative weight driving educators away, her response was simple: "We're tired." She pointed to rising health insurance deductibles, stagnant pay scales, and students arriving with complex social and mental health needs. "Teachers don't leave jobs that they're happy in," she added. Addressing the proposed "STAYS" initiative to provide recurring retention bonuses, Tunseth called it a "historic, long-overdue legislative acknowledgment" of the crisis. But she warned against viewing bonuses as a cure-all. "The thing that gives me just a little bit of pause is I think we can't let that be like a band-aid where then we don't talk about base pay," she said. "It cannot be a substitute for raising the fundamental base salaries, because that's very critical for pension calculations, for mortgage approvals, for just basic economic stability." Tunseth also made a forceful case for Measure 2, the initiated measure to fund universal school meals. "My mind doesn't go to the statistics or to the state budget; it goes straight to my classroom," she said. "There's one obstacle that no amount of teaching can overcome, and that's an empty stomach. In my eyes, Measure 2 comes down to a very simple truth: You cannot teach a hungry mind. A hungry kid is not going to learn." "In education, we provide textbooks, technology, bussing, because they are essential to learning, and I don't see nutrition any different," she noted. After the interview, Chad and I reflected on why schools cannot keep functioning as "Batman"—expected to swoop in and single-handedly solve every societal issue that starts at home. Then, with Election Day just around the corner, we laid our official election predictions on the line. We went through the entire ballot, breaking down the national fight for the U.S. House and Senate, North Dakota's congressional and statewide races, key legislative matchups in Fargo and Grand Forks, and the high-stakes showdowns on Measures 1 and 2. Chad and I didn't see eye-to-eye on several of the biggest races and ballot questions. If you want to know which way we think the chips will fall on Tuesday night, you'll have to tune in to the episode to find out. If you want to participate in Plain Talk, just give us a call or text at 701-587-3141. It's super easy — leave your message, tell us your name and where you're from, and we might feature it on an upcoming episode. To subscribe to Plain Talk, search for the show wherever you get your podcasts or use one of the links below. Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Pocket Casts | Episode Archive
6d ago · Video

755: North Dakota early voting ahead of last midterm's pace (Video)

With the November general election right around the corner, North Dakota is in the thick of what I described on the latest episode of Plain Talk as the "Super Bowl" for the Secretary of State's office . Michael Howe, who is on the ballot seeking reelection this year, joined my co-host Chad Oban and me to break down voting trends, election security, and what his office is doing to maintain public trust in an era of national skepticism . A look at the numbers seven days out from the election reveals an interesting shift in how North Dakotans are choosing to cast their ballots . According to Howe, absentee mail-in voting has dipped slightly compared to the last midterm cycle, with about 4,000 fewer absentee ballots returned at this point compared to 2022 . However, in-person early voting is surging . "There's almost 9,000 more early votes cast in 2026 at this point in the election than there was four years ago in 2022," Howe noted . He attributed the shift to the fading shadow of the pandemic . "In 2022 we were coming off COVID. A lot of people voted by mail in 2020. They thought, hey, that wasn't so bad," Howe said . "Now we're in 2026, COVID is in the rearview mirror, and people feel more comfortable voting in person early ." Howe predicted overall turnout will look similar to 2022, perhaps ticking up slightly . He pointed to the intense, highly engaged debate over Measure 2's property tax elimination effort and the open U.S. House race as primary drivers bringing voters to the polls . Of course, the elephant in the room during any modern election cycle is public trust, which has become a heavily politicized target . When asked how confident North Dakotans should be that their votes will be counted accurately next week, Howe did not mince words . "Very confident," he said . "We have a paper ballot system in North Dakota. Every voter fills out a paper ballot. It is fed into a tabulator. That tabulator is never connected to the internet. It is air-gapped ." Howe explained that the state's post-election audits—where random precincts are selected to hand-count paper ballots to ensure they match the machine tally—have not revealed a single discrepancy that would change an election outcome . He also directly addressed national talking points about non-citizens voting . "We have zero evidence of widespread non-citizen voting in North Dakota," Howe said, noting that state law requires voters to prove legal presence to obtain the ID required at the polls . "We're talking one or two isolated instances over the course of decades, usually due to a misunderstanding, not some coordinated fraud effort ." As for election night, North Dakotans won't be kept waiting for weeks like voters in some other states . Because the state has two time zones, statewide results will begin dropping at 8 p.m. Central Time, starting with early and absentee votes . "Generally, by 10:00 or 11:00 PM, we have a very clear picture of almost every race," Howe said . "We don't mess around in North Dakota. We get it done ." If you want to participate in Plain Talk, just give us a call or text at 701-587-3141. It's super easy — leave your message, tell us your name and where you're from, and we might feature it on an upcoming episode. To subscribe to Plain Talk, search for the show wherever you get your podcasts or use one of the links below. Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Pocket Casts | Episode Archive
Oct 28

755: North Dakota early voting ahead of last midterm's pace

With the November general election right around the corner, North Dakota is in the thick of what I described on the latest episode of Plain Talk as the "Super Bowl" for the Secretary of State's office . Michael Howe, who is on the ballot seeking reelection this year, joined my co-host Chad Oban and me to break down voting trends, election security, and what his office is doing to maintain public trust in an era of national skepticism . A look at the numbers seven days out from the election reveals an interesting shift in how North Dakotans are choosing to cast their ballots . According to Howe, absentee mail-in voting has dipped slightly compared to the last midterm cycle, with about 4,000 fewer absentee ballots returned at this point compared to 2022 . However, in-person early voting is surging . "There's almost 9,000 more early votes cast in 2026 at this point in the election than there was four years ago in 2022," Howe noted . He attributed the shift to the fading shadow of the pandemic . "In 2022 we were coming off COVID. A lot of people voted by mail in 2020. They thought, hey, that wasn't so bad," Howe said . "Now we're in 2026, COVID is in the rearview mirror, and people feel more comfortable voting in person early ." Howe predicted overall turnout will look similar to 2022, perhaps ticking up slightly . He pointed to the intense, highly engaged debate over Measure 2's property tax elimination effort and the open U.S. House race as primary drivers bringing voters to the polls . Of course, the elephant in the room during any modern election cycle is public trust, which has become a heavily politicized target . When asked how confident North Dakotans should be that their votes will be counted accurately next week, Howe did not mince words . "Very confident," he said . "We have a paper ballot system in North Dakota. Every voter fills out a paper ballot. It is fed into a tabulator. That tabulator is never connected to the internet. It is air-gapped ." Howe explained that the state's post-election audits—where random precincts are selected to hand-count paper ballots to ensure they match the machine tally—have not revealed a single discrepancy that would change an election outcome . He also directly addressed national talking points about non-citizens voting . "We have zero evidence of widespread non-citizen voting in North Dakota," Howe said, noting that state law requires voters to prove legal presence to obtain the ID required at the polls . "We're talking one or two isolated instances over the course of decades, usually due to a misunderstanding, not some coordinated fraud effort ." As for election night, North Dakotans won't be kept waiting for weeks like voters in some other states . Because the state has two time zones, statewide results will begin dropping at 8 p.m. Central Time, starting with early and absentee votes . "Generally, by 10:00 or 11:00 PM, we have a very clear picture of almost every race," Howe said . "We don't mess around in North Dakota. We get it done ." If you want to participate in Plain Talk, just give us a call or text at 701-587-3141. It's super easy — leave your message, tell us your name and where you're from, and we might feature it on an upcoming episode. To subscribe to Plain Talk, search for the show wherever you get your podcasts or use one of the links below. Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Pocket Casts | Episode Archive
Oct 23 · Video

754: 'You may have insurance, but can you afford to actually use it?' (Video)

"You may have insurance, but can you afford to actually use it?" That simple, devastating question from North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread cuts straight to the core of an escalating crisis facing families across our state. It feels like every time North Dakotans turn around, another necessity has gotten more expensive. But few price hikes are quite as stomach-churning as what's happening to health insurance, where double-digit premium increases are landing on kitchen tables like an anvil. Newly approved rate filings for 2027 from the Insurance Department show small group and individual plans facing eye-watering jumps, with some carriers seeing maximum approved increases topping 25% and 26%. Godfread joined us on the latest episode of Plain Talk to unpack those numbers and the broken system driving them. While North Dakota has "prior rate approval"—giving Godfread's office authority to review proposed hikes before they hit the market—the underlying claims data leaves regulators with little room to maneuver. "It's not a fun press release to put out," Godfread told us. "It's a lot more fun to be insurance commissioner when rates are going down or things are stable. But it also is important to be transparent and have these conversations." Godfread pointed out that while North Dakota aggressively audits insurance carriers, state regulators have virtually no oversight over the actual prices charged by hospitals and medical providers. "We've got some pretty stringent regulations on that side of the coin," Godfread said. "But we don't have that same set of regulations or oversight on the provider side." That dynamic leaves consumers trapped in a shell game where hospitals and insurers point fingers while bills spiral out of control. "We spend an awful lot of time arguing who's paying that bill, not saying why is this bill so high," Godfread said. "I've been in the middle of this for a decade now where you've got the insurers saying, 'Everything's too expensive, our claims are going through the roof.' You've got the hospitals saying, 'If we don't get higher reimbursement, we're going to have to close our doors.' And it's the consumers that are caught in the middle." With deductibles climbing to keep premiums from exploding even higher, Godfread warned that having a card in your wallet is no longer enough. "We're in a trajectory that isn't good. It's not sustainable," he said. "We have to put some sunlight on the system. If we can inform the conversation, if we can have the data to actually have the conversation, we might be able to make some movement." Following our interview with Godfread, Chad and I dug into the human toll of these runaway costs—the existential dread that keeps working parents awake at night wondering how an emergency room visit would wreck their finances, and the growing threat of hospital-insurer vertical integration where choices vanish. We also turned our attention to the latest state audit hitting the Commerce Department, where the North Dakota Development Fund is facing blistering scrutiny over self-dealing and conflicts of interest. With state leaders pledging to take Commerce "down to the studs," we discussed why real accountability is urgently needed before public trust in state economic development completely collapses. If you want to participate in Plain Talk, just give us a call or text at 701-587-3141. It's super easy — leave your message, tell us your name and where you're from, and we might feature it on an upcoming episode. To subscribe to Plain Talk, search for the show wherever you get your podcasts or use one of the links below. Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Pocket Casts | Episode Archive
Oct 23

754: 'You may have insurance, but can you afford to actually use it?'

"You may have insurance, but can you afford to actually use it?" That simple, devastating question from North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread cuts straight to the core of an escalating crisis facing families across our state. It feels like every time North Dakotans turn around, another necessity has gotten more expensive. But few price hikes are quite as stomach-churning as what's happening to health insurance, where double-digit premium increases are landing on kitchen tables like an anvil. Newly approved rate filings for 2027 from the Insurance Department show small group and individual plans facing eye-watering jumps, with some carriers seeing maximum approved increases topping 25% and 26%. Godfread joined us on the latest episode of Plain Talk to unpack those numbers and the broken system driving them. While North Dakota has "prior rate approval"—giving Godfread's office authority to review proposed hikes before they hit the market—the underlying claims data leaves regulators with little room to maneuver. "It's not a fun press release to put out," Godfread told us. "It's a lot more fun to be insurance commissioner when rates are going down or things are stable. But it also is important to be transparent and have these conversations." Godfread pointed out that while North Dakota aggressively audits insurance carriers, state regulators have virtually no oversight over the actual prices charged by hospitals and medical providers. "We've got some pretty stringent regulations on that side of the coin," Godfread said. "But we don't have that same set of regulations or oversight on the provider side." That dynamic leaves consumers trapped in a shell game where hospitals and insurers point fingers while bills spiral out of control. "We spend an awful lot of time arguing who's paying that bill, not saying why is this bill so high," Godfread said. "I've been in the middle of this for a decade now where you've got the insurers saying, 'Everything's too expensive, our claims are going through the roof.' You've got the hospitals saying, 'If we don't get higher reimbursement, we're going to have to close our doors.' And it's the consumers that are caught in the middle." With deductibles climbing to keep premiums from exploding even higher, Godfread warned that having a card in your wallet is no longer enough. "We're in a trajectory that isn't good. It's not sustainable," he said. "We have to put some sunlight on the system. If we can inform the conversation, if we can have the data to actually have the conversation, we might be able to make some movement." Following our interview with Godfread, Chad and I dug into the human toll of these runaway costs—the existential dread that keeps working parents awake at night wondering how an emergency room visit would wreck their finances, and the growing threat of hospital-insurer vertical integration where choices vanish. We also turned our attention to the latest state audit hitting the Commerce Department, where the North Dakota Development Fund is facing blistering scrutiny over self-dealing and conflicts of interest. With state leaders pledging to take Commerce "down to the studs," we discussed why real accountability is urgently needed before public trust in state economic development completely collapses. If you want to participate in Plain Talk, just give us a call or text at 701-587-3141. It's super easy — leave your message, tell us your name and where you're from, and we might feature it on an upcoming episode. To subscribe to Plain Talk, search for the show wherever you get your podcasts or use one of the links below. Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Pocket Casts | Episode Archive

See All (988)

3.8

out of 5

86 Ratings

Recommend!

01/25/2025

ND4everandevers

A great way to learn about North Dakota government. I learn things every episode and recommend it to my friends regularly.
The thoughtfulness we need

01/24/2025

Astrukel

I’m so grateful to have found this podcast last fall during election season. I was tired of the presidential news cycle and wanted to hear about candidates and issues that will affect me in my day-to-day life. I find Chad and Rob to be thoughtful with their questions, knowledgeable about how the government works (or should work) and willing to change their minds. I have also appreciated getting to know public figures who are important in my state. Definitely recommend!
10/10 would recommend

10/02/2024

truthseekerz69

In a world of civil discourse being almost nonexistent its nice to finally find a podcast where two opposing sides can come together and have a civil discourse about the issues facing not only our country but our state as well. Rob sounds very knowledgeable and keeps the peace very well between two opposing side who normally couldn't talk civilly if their lives depended on it. 10/10 would recommend this podcast to anyone who enjoy politics or simply wants to learn more about the issues we citizens face on a daily basis
Appreciate the Discussion

07/25/2024

Phantom_FLHS

I enjoy the banter on the program between the hosts, but I most appreciate that they can have a conversation about just about any topic and it doesn’t degenerate into a shouting match about who is right and wrong. I like that there are people of all points of view. Civil discussion is always necessary and important to demonstrate, and I think that is an extremely valuable lesson that the hosts share.