Fair Game with Dr. Gary Kellner

Dr. Gary Kellner
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  • Society & Culture
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Fair Game is a podcast where politics, faith, and culture get honest questions and zero echo chambers. America’s a messy marriage — and if we want to survive, we need real disagreement. Here, everything’s fair game.

  1. Sep 5

    Little Shop of Horrors: Are Democratic Socialists About to Take Over the Democratic Party?

    Official Website: fairgameshow.comInstagram: instagram.com/fairgameshowFacebook: facebook.com/fairgamefbBlog: fairgameshow.com/#blogX (Twitter): x.com/PodcastFairGameI use the campy old musical Little Shop of Horrors as a way into a very real story unfolding inside the Democratic Party right now. Just like Audrey II, the man-eating plant that keeps demanding to be fed, the Democratic Socialists of America are devouring establishment Democrats one primary at a time, starting with Zohran Mamdani's win in the New York City mayor's race on a platform of free buses, free child care, city-owned grocery stores, and rent freezes, and now spreading into Senate primary wins in Florida and Michigan and House primaries across the country.I walk through what these Democratic Socialist candidates actually believe, defunding the police, abolishing prisons, open borders, and an almost uniformly anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian stance built around slogans like "from the river to the sea," a phrase I push back on given that there are 7.1 million Israeli Jews living in that land. I also trace how this movement grew from a single senator, Bernie Sanders, to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's 2018 upset win, to today's wave of victories, and I place all of this inside the much longer history of American populism, from the colonists rejecting British rule, to Andrew Jackson's fury over the "corrupt bargain" of 1824, to William Jennings Bryan's agrarian revolt, right up through the Tea Party and MAGA. Populism, I argue, isn't inherently left or right, it's what happens when people believe elites aren't listening to them.I close by connecting this movement to the mood of the 2026 electorate, with grocery prices at a 50-year high and gas over four dollars a gallon, and to the Democratic Party's recent track record of offering voters Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Kamala Harris as their idea of "the grassroots." My warning to Democrats is simple: dismiss this movement at your own risk, the same way most people dismissed Donald Trump's chances back in 2015, and if the party's elites don't learn how to actually listen instead of just preaching, they may find themselves handing the keys to the White House to J.D. Vance or Marco Rubio. Thanks for joining me for this episode of Fair Game.10 YouTube Chapters00:00 – The Little Shop of Horrors03:28 – The Socialist Wave Spreads 06:50 – From Bernie and AOC to a National Movement 11:55 – Why Grocery and Gas Prices Are Fueling the Socialist Surge 15:27 – The Warning

  2. Aug 31

    Ever Widening War: Why the U.S. Can Never Seem to Leave the Middle East

    Official Website: fairgameshow.comInstagram: instagram.com/fairgameshowFacebook: facebook.com/fairgamefbBlog: fairgameshow.com/#blogX (Twitter): x.com/PodcastFairGameWe have learned, over and over, that it is easy to get into the Middle East and very hard to get out. In this episode of Fair Game, I break down how the US-Israeli war against Iran has expanded in just the last few weeks. The Houthis have announced a blockade of the Red Sea, the Saudis, who tried hard to stay out of this fight, have now bombed Iraq and signed a new mutual defense pact with Pakistan and Turkey, plus an 18-nation Red Sea Maritime Coalition. I also share sources telling me there have been attacks on the Suez Canal itself, and I walk through why President Trump is reportedly deeply frustrated with the lack of progress in negotiations with Iran during the 60-day window set by his June 17th memorandum of understanding.I put this moment in historical context, because we've been here before. Obama ran against Bush's wars and couldn't get out. Biden ran against them too, and when he finally did exit Afghanistan, it triggered a chaotic debacle eerily reminiscent of the fall of Saigon in 1975. Now this conflict is pulling in Egypt, Jordan, and the UAE, while China sends missile launchers to Iran and Iran sends weapons to Russia for use in Ukraine, a connection President Zelensky pressed directly with Trump. I also go back further, to the Crimean War, and tell the strange true story of how a 19th-century dispute over church keys at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem spiraled into what's sometimes called the first modern war, because the Russians, then and now, excel at making mischief.None of the US options so far, killing Iranian leaders, bombing Iran, rhetoric about obliterating a 5,000-year civilization, or a generous memorandum of understanding, have worked, and I argue part of the problem is that President Trump never sought buy-in from his own party, unlike George H.W. Bush, who painstakingly built an international coalition before the Gulf War in 1990. With midterms approaching and the president's numbers sliding, I draw a sobering parallel to the Balkan wars of 1912 and 1913, and the "sleepwalking" that historians say led the world into World War One and twenty million deaths. Where this widening war goes, nobody knows, and that's exactly why I think we need leaders in Washington who approach these decisions with care and humility. Thank you for joining me for this episode of Fair Game.Chapters:00:00 – Easy to Get In, Hard to Get Out02:32 – Why Obama and Biden Couldn't Escape the Middle East 07:39 – Why Trump's Iran Strategy Hasn't Worked 11:18 – Sleepwalking Into War

  3. Aug 30

    Saudi Arabia, Turkey & Pakistan Just Formed a Historic Military Pact - A New Middle East Alliance!

    Official Website: fairgameshow.comInstagram: instagram.com/fairgameshowFacebook: facebook.com/fairgamefbBlog: fairgameshow.com/#blogX (Twitter): x.com/PodcastFairGameWho replaces the old policeman when the order of things begins to fall apart? That's the question I open with in this episode of Fair Game, and it's not rhetorical. On August 7th, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan signed a mutual defense pact aimed at discouraging Iran's regional ambitions, and there are now signs Egypt may join as well. Just days later, the Saudi story got bigger still, with the announcement of a 13-nation maritime defense alliance. I walk through why serious defense analysts are treating this as a potential new geopolitical alignment in the Middle East, and why the real question isn't just what the Saudis are doing, it's who steps into the role America has held since 1945.To understand where we are, I take you back to the Congress of Vienna after Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo, when Britain took on the job of protecting global maritime trade routes, a role it held until two World Wars bankrupted the empire. I trace how that responsibility passed to the United States through a historic 1945 meeting between FDR and King Ibn Saud, oil for security, and explain why I believe President Trump's skepticism about that arrangement is really a continuation of a shift Obama started when he pivoted American focus to the Pacific. I also break down what's happening right now in the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran-linked drone strikes on UAE tankers have cut daily tanker traffic from roughly 100 ships to three, along with new blockade threats from the Houthis at Bab-el-Mandeb and from Hezbollah at the Suez Canal.I close by connecting the dots between the Middle East and the Pacific, where American allies are asking the same hard questions after the US scaled back joint exercises with South Korea and redeployed a carrier group away from Pacific waters for the first time since 1945. At the end of the day, I argue, most political decisions are driven by fear rather than vision, and every head of state in the region is watching Washington to see whether America will still show up for its commitments. Thanks for joining me for this episode of Fair Game.

  4. Aug 24

    Immigration, Birthright Citizenship & Who Gets to Be an American?

    Official Website: fairgameshow.comInstagram: instagram.com/fairgameshowFacebook: facebook.com/fairgamefbBlog: fairgameshow.com/#blogX (Twitter): x.com/PodcastFairGameHas immigration been a net gain or a net loss for this country? I ask that question at the top of this episode, and if you're a Native American, you'd probably say it's been a disaster. But for almost everyone else in America, the story is a lot messier — and a lot more revealing — than we like to admit. In this episode of Fair Game, I trace the roots of the immigration debate all the way back to the 1790s, when fears of French Revolutionary extremism pushed John Adams to support the Alien and Sedition Acts. I look at how the "Know-Nothing" party tried to exclude Catholics and Jews, and how Abraham Lincoln — who I'd argue is one of the great political philosophers this country has produced — saw exactly where that kind of exclusionary thinking leads.I also walk through some of the most remarkable immigrants in American history, from Enrico Fermi and Albert Einstein to Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, and George Gershwin, who was born Moishe Gershowitz to a Jewish family from Ukraine. Along the way, I get into the strange and honestly kind of absurd history of who America decided was "white" and when — Germans in the 1840s, Italians in the early 1900s — and I share a story about a Mexican-American friend of mine who had to move to Pennsylvania just to be classified as white. It's a reminder that the categories we've used to include and exclude people have never been as fixed or as rational as we pretend.This is a conversation about history, but it's really a conversation about who we are and who gets to decide. Whichever side of today's immigration debate you land on, I'd encourage you to sit with these questions rather than reach for easy answers. Thanks for watching this episode of Fair Game — if it made you think, I'd love to hear your take in the comments, and don't forget to subscribe for more conversations that challenge the easy narratives on both sides.

  5. Aug 17

    American Citizenship: Trump vs. the 14th Amendment & The Fight Over Birthright Citizenship Explained

    Official Website: fairgameshow.comInstagram: instagram.com/fairgameshowFacebook: facebook.com/fairgamefbBlog: fairgameshow.com/#blogX (Twitter): x.com/PodcastFairGameTrump vs. the 14th Amendment: The Fight Over Birthright Citizenship ExplainedWhy the Supreme Court Just Saved Birthright Citizenship — By a Single VoteThe Dred Scott Decision That Still Haunts America's Citizenship Laws TodayIs Your Citizenship Safe? Inside Trump's Challenge to the 14th AmendmentFrom Slavery to Wong Kim Ark: The 130-Year Fight Over Who Counts as AmericanDescriptionIn this episode of Fair Game, I break down a Supreme Court ruling that just reaffirmed one of the most fundamental promises of American citizenship: if you're born here, you're a citizen. It's a promise that came under direct attack when President Trump issued an executive order on his first day back in office, declaring that children born in the U.S. to undocumented immigrants aren't entitled to citizenship — and could be deported. The ACLU sued within hours, and I walk through why this fight is about far more than immigration policy.To understand why this matters, I take you back to the aftermath of the Civil War, when the 14th Amendment was born out of necessity. Lincoln's 13th Amendment ended slavery, but the infamous 1857 Dred Scott decision — which declared that Black Americans could never be citizens — was still settled law. I explain how Southern states responded to emancipation with black codes designed to re-enslave freed people in all but name, and why Congress saw a constitutional guarantee of citizenship as the only way to close that door for good.I also trace how that guarantee was tested decades later — not against Black Americans, but against Chinese immigrants barred by the Chinese Exclusion Act. The 1898 case of Wong Kim Ark settled the question for 130 years: if you're born on U.S. soil, you're a citizen, period. Now that precedent is being challenged again, and I share why I believe the 14th Amendment was never meant to bend to partisan politics — it defines who we are as a republic.Chapters00:00 – Introduction1:56 – Lincoln, the 13th Amendment, and the Second Founding4:51 – Black Codes and the Vulnerability of Freed Slaves7:40 – Trump Challenges 130 Years of Precedent

  6. Aug 10

    Trump & Teddy Roosevelt: The Naval Strategy Connection Nobody's Talking About

    Official Website: fairgameshow.comInstagram: instagram.com/fairgameshowFacebook: facebook.com/fairgamefbBlog: fairgameshow.com/#blogX (Twitter): x.com/PodcastFairGameThis episode was inspired by President Trump's recent visit to Medora, North Dakota for the dedication of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library. Trump has named Roosevelt one of his two favorite presidents, so I sat down with my friend, naval historian Pete Stark, to dig into what actually made Teddy Roosevelt such a distinctive figure in American history: his remarkable grasp of sea power. We trace Roosevelt's fascination back to a history of the War of 1812 he wrote at just 23 years old, and to his close friendship with Admiral Alfred Mahan, the naval strategist whose writings shaped how nations around the world thought about the role of a navy.Pete walks me through how Roosevelt applied Mahan's thinking once he became president, building America's Great White Fleet and sending it around the globe as a declaration that the United States was now a full-fledged world power, not just a country sitting quietly behind two oceans. We talk about how that same naval strength allowed America, the "new kid on the block," to broker peace between Japan and Russia after their brutal war, a role none of the older European empires could claim. From there, we shift gears into the world of Lord Nelson and the brilliant British naval historian Sir Julian Corbett, whose writing reveals that Nelson's famous chase of the French fleet to the Caribbean wasn't some reckless swashbuckling adventure, but a carefully risk-managed campaign built on constant communication and planning.That contrast sets up the heart of this conversation: a look at what happens when modern American leaders, from Lyndon Johnson to George W. Bush to, yes, Donald Trump's recent conflict with Iran, plunge into military action without clearly defined objectives or serious risk management. Pete and I aren't here to pile on any one president, but history offers a pretty clear lesson about the difference between bold leadership and reckless leadership. If you care about naval history, presidential decision-making, or just want to understand the deeper strategic thinking behind today's headlines, this episode is for you. Thanks for joining us for Fair Game.Chapters00:00 – Welcome02:08 – Teddy Roosevelt's Grasp of Sea Power06:16 – Roosevelt's Mentor: Why America Needed a Navy10:29 – Russo-Japanese War: America Brokers the Peace14:46 – Lord Nelson's Daring Chase to the Caribbean18:55 – Not a Swashbuckler: Nelson the Serious Strategist

  7. Aug 9

    Trump's $300 Billion Iran Deal: Why a Naval Historian, Harold "Pete" Stark Is Alarmed

    Official Website: fairgameshow.comInstagram: instagram.com/fairgameshowFacebook: facebook.com/fairgamefbBlog: fairgameshow.com/#blogX (Twitter): x.com/PodcastFairGameToday I'm digging into the memorandum of understanding President Trump announced with Iran on June 17, an agreement that has sparked outrage on both the left and the right. Beyond the headline-grabbing $300 billion in reparations, there's a far less obvious provision that concerns me deeply: the agreement effectively lifts the blockade and leaves the ultimate disposition of the Strait of Hormuz to Iran and Oman. To help me unpack what that really means, I brought in one of my oldest and dearest friends, naval historian Harold "Pete" Stark, someone I've known since high school and who has spent his career studying both the US Navy and the British Navy under Napoleon.Pete and I walk through a piece of history most people have forgotten: America's very first war as a nation was fought over this exact issue, foreign powers seizing control of an international waterway and holding our sailors hostage. We talk about the Barbary Pirates, the capture of the USS Philadelphia and its 300-man crew, the $60,000 ransom it took to get them back, and why Jefferson and Washington understood that building a navy wasn't about projecting power, it was about protecting commerce. Pete draws a striking parallel using a letter from Lord Nelson himself, showing that even Britain's greatest naval hero saw his job the same way: keeping merchant convoys moving so insurance rates didn't spike and goods kept flowing.We bring all of this forward to today, breaking down exactly why letting Iran control tolls and access through the Strait of Hormuz threatens supply chains, gas prices, and the economies of dozens of trading nations, not just the flow of oil. Pete lays out what a real solution looks like: a treaty with clear terms, backed by the consistent presence of the US Navy, not appeasement. And we close on why this moment matters far beyond the Persian Gulf, because how the United States handles Iran right now is being watched closely by China, with direct implications for Taiwan. This is an ongoing story and we want to hear what you think. Thanks for joining us today for Fair Game.Chapters:00:00 – Trump's Iran Deal02:36 – Meet Pete Stark: Naval Historian & Longtime Friend05:11 – The Barbary Pirates: America's First Foreign War07:53 – 300 Americans Held Hostage: The USS Philadelphia Disaster10:36 – Jefferson's Decision: Why America Built a Navy13:13 – Six Frigates & the Fight for Freedom of the Seas15:51 – 2026 Crisis: Iran's Toll Booths on the Strait of Hormuz18:32 – Lord Nelson's Letter: A 200-Year-Old Parallel21:12 – Stark's Solution: A Treaty Backed by Naval Force23:56 – The China-Taiwan Connection: Why Hormuz Matters Globally

  8. Jul 27

    JD Vance Says Nixon Was a Deep State Victim — Here's What He's Missing About Watergate

    Official Website: fairgameshow.comInstagram: instagram.com/fairgameshowFacebook: facebook.com/fairgamefbBlog: fairgameshow.com/#blogX (Twitter): x.com/PodcastFairGameToday I'm taking on a claim that Vice President J.D. Vance made recently on Real Time with Bill Maher, where he declared that Richard Nixon was forced out of office by the "deep state" and that resigning over the Watergate burglary was "crazy." I lived through Watergate. It shaped my entire political worldview as a young adult, and I can tell you the vice president doesn't have a clue what he's talking about. So in this episode, I walk through exactly what Watergate was, how it started with burglars operating out of the White House itself, and how a "third-rate burglary" spiraled into the resignation of a sitting president.Here's the truth Vance conveniently leaves out: Nixon wasn't a victim of the deep state, he was the deep state. He controlled the FBI, the CIA, and the National Security apparatus, and he used them to build an enemies list targeting Democrats, journalists, entertainers, and especially the Kennedys, an obsession that traces all the way back to his razor-thin loss in 1960. I break down how the Washington Post's Woodward and Bernstein cracked the story, how Nixon loyalists like Barry Goldwater and Bob Dole ultimately urged him to resign once they read the White House tapes, and how convicted conspirators Chuck Colson and Jeb Magruder later confirmed their roles in their own memoirs after personal religious conversions.At the end of the day, the person most responsible for Richard Nixon's resignation was Richard Nixon. The tapes proved he knew everything and orchestrated the cover-up himself, a president who violated his sworn duty to faithfully execute the law. Vice President Vance is entitled to his own opinions, but not his own facts, and when any public official plays fast and loose with history, we have an obligation to call it out. Thanks for joining me for this edition of Fair Game.Chapters00:00 – "It's Not the Crime, It's the Cover-Up"01:17 – JD Vance's Deep State Claim on Bill Maher02:45 – The Watergate Break-In: From "Third-Rate Burglary" to Cover-Up04:05 – Nixon WAS the Deep State: FBI, CIA & the Enemies List05:24 – Nixon's Kennedy Obsession & the Stolen 1960 Election06:46 – Chappaquiddick, J. Edgar Hoover & the Hunt for Dirt09:34 – Bob Dole's Loyalty Breaks After Reading the Tapes10:52 – Convicted Conspirators' Memoirs & Nixon's Own Undoing12:18 – The Tapes Don't Lie: Nixon's Downfall & Vance's Wrong Facts

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Fair Game is a podcast where politics, faith, and culture get honest questions and zero echo chambers. America’s a messy marriage — and if we want to survive, we need real disagreement. Here, everything’s fair game.

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