Political Reality

Political Reality
  • 4.8 (107)
  • Politics
  • Updated Weekly

Our daily lives seem increasingly overwhelmed by polarization, misinformation, and dubious culture wars, while we face countless serious problems that require thoughtful and evidence-based solutions. To move forward, we need a shared reality of facts and reason with an equally shared dedication to democracy and fairness. The Political Reality podcast is here to fill that void – diving into how politics and governments work, how to make them work better, how to navigate the dizzying world of political information, and how to better understand and approach the “other side”.  We can find a shared political reality if we are willing.

  1. 5d ago

    What good is the electoral college anyway?

    ## Show Notes for Electoral College Ep. ### 🏛️ History & background 1. https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Great_Compromise.htm 2. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/connecticut-compromise-great-compromise 3. https://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/US-Constitution/Connecticut-Compromise 4. https://constitutioncenter.org/education/classroom-resource-library/classroom/4.4-info-brief-compromises-of-the-convention 5. https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/art/common/generic/Connecticut_Compromise_Unveiling.htm 6. http://www.federalism.org/encyclopedia/no-topic/connecticut-compromise/ 7. https://www.jud.ct.gov/lawlib/history/sherman.htm 8. https://connecticuthistory.org/the-connecticut-compromise/ ### ✅ Key arguments for the electoral college: 🛡️ **Prevents “tyranny of the majority”** 10. https://www.thoughtco.com/electoral-college-pros-and-cons-4686409 11. https://www.kqed.org/w/youdecide/election2008/electoral_college/02.html 12. https://www.arlnow.com/2026/02/12/bill-to-support-popular-vote-in-presidential-elections-passes-virginia-senate/ 13. https://www.sightline.org/2020/11/24/afraid-cities-would-rule-with-a-national-popular-vote-dont-be/ 🏘️ **Protects the voice of small states** 14. https://www.thepolicycircle.org/understanding-the-electoral-college/ 15. https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-11-22/electoral-college-popular-vote-founders-james-madison-great-compromise 16. https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/the-importance-of-the-electoral-college/ 17. https://theconversation.com/the-electoral-college-system-isnt-one-person-one-vote-150342 🇺🇸 **Preserves federalism** 18. https://riponsociety.org/article/why-the-electoral-college-should-be-preserved/ 🏆 **Creates decisive mandates** 19. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-government-and-civics/american-civics-parent/american-civics/v/electoral-college 20. https://www.heritage.org/the-essential-electoral-college/the-benefits 🔎 **Localizes recounts** 21. https://legislature.maine.gov/testimony/resources/VLA20210511Ross132651777911040076.pdf 22. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11127-005-3210-4 23. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_United_States_presidential_election 24. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_United_States_presidential_election ### ❌ Key arguments against the electoral college: 🗳️ **Conflict with popular vote** 25. https://www.dailyjournal.com/articles/380960-understanding-the-us-electoral-college-who-what-why-when-and-how-we-elect-our-presidents 26. https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/local/virginia/virginia-bill-electoral-college-votes-national-popular-vote/291-fb82926e-ca20-4441-927b-97c491c4cdc1?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_13News_Now_-_WVEC 27. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_presidential_elections_in_which_the_winner_lost_the_popular_vote 🎯 **Hyper-focus on swing states** 28. https://www.polyas.com/election-glossary/electoral-college 29. https://foley.wsu.edu/research/ask-the-foley-institute/afi-electoral-college/ 30. https://www.albert.io/blog/electoral-college-ap-us-government-crash-course/ ⚖️ **Unequal vote weight** 31. https://www.nytimes.com/article/the-electoral-college.html 32. https://www.monmouth.edu/magazine/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-about-the-electoral-college/ 33. https://www.kare11.com/article/news/nation-world/electoral-college-how-it-works-history/507-90d314dd-1e0d-4d85-b336-d2612dd1ef38 📊 **Winner-take-all distortion** 34. https://ash.harvard.edu/articles/the-electoral-college-and-our-broken-presidential-election-system/ 35. https://www.lwvme.org/NPVmyths 36. https://www.uchscommander.com/opinions/2025/01/31/electoral-college-disrupts-democracy/ 37. https://indianacitizen.org/kennedy-commentary-the-electoral-college/ 📉 **Depresses local turnout** 38. https://virginiahistory.org/sites/default/files/2024-09/7.4-Activity-3-Persuasive Writing.pdf 39. https://medium.com/@dukepolis/your-vote-does-not-count-why-the-electoral-college-erodes-the-foundations-of-democracy-3bc7632d3283 ### 🔧 Possible reforms 40. https://www.insidepolitics.org/brookingsreports/AbolishElectoralCollege.pdf 41. https://news.gallup.com/poll/2323/Americans-Historically-Favored-Changing-Way-Presidents-Elected.aspx 42. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Popular_Vote_Interstate_Compact#cite_note-FOOTNOTENealeNolan20191-104 43. https://fairvote.org/archives/the_electoral_college-past_attempts_at_reform/ 44. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-to-get-rid-of-the-electoral-college/ 45. https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/essays/different-ways-reforming-electoral-college-past-and-present 46. https://effectivegov.uchicago.edu/primers/the-electoral-college

  2. Jun 17

    What We Hope You Learned

    Thank you for watching/listening to this season. We hope you find the show informative and will join us in Season 2

  3. Jun 11

    Season 1 Recap - What We Learned

    Thanks for joining on this new endeavor.

  4. Jun 3

    How Does Democracy Score

    Political Reality

  5. Season 1, Episode 20 Trailer

    PREVIEW: Being in Congress

    Full Episode https://www.patreon.com/posts/being-in-s01e21-159335999 Thanks to Derek Kilmer for joining us!

  6. May 20

    How to Talk Politics with Prof. Lindsay Cormack

    Prof. Cormack’s excellent book, How to Raise a Citizen (And Why It’s Up to You to Do It): https://howtoraiseacitizen.com/ Her DC Inbox searchable database of e-newsletters from members of Congress (well worth exploring): https://www.dcinbox.com/ More of her research and writing: https://www.lindseycormack.com/ Follow Prof. Cormack: https://www.instagram.com/howtoraiseacitizen/

  7. Season 1, Episode 19 Trailer

    European Affective Polarization

    🌍 Primary studies discussed in the episode: 1. 📄 Wagner, Markus (2024), “Affective polarization in Europe,” European Political Science Reviewhttps://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/european-political-science-review/article/affective-polarization-in-europe/36BDBF804365FE0B350E610E9E7C714E 2. 📄 Boxell et al. (2024), “Cross-country trends in affective polarization,” The Review of Economics and Statisticshttps://direct.mit.edu/rest/article-abstract/106/2/557/109262/Cross-Country-Trends-in-Affective-Polarization 3. 📚 Reiljan, Andres (2025), “Affective polarization in Europe,” ch. 8 of the Handbook of Affective Polarizationhttps://www.elgaronline.com/edcollchap-oa/book/9781035310609/chapter8.xml 📘 Handbook of Affective Polarizationhttps://www.elgaronline.com/edcollbook-oa/book/9781035310609/9781035310609.xml 4. 📄 Iyengar et al. (2012), “Affect, not ideology: A social identity perspective on polarization,” Public Opinion Quarterlyhttps://pcl.sites.stanford.edu/sites/g/files/sbiybj22066/files/media/file/iyengar-poq-affect-not-ideology.pdf 5. 📄 Iyengar et al. (2019), “The origins and consequences of affective polarization in the United States,” Annual Review of Political Sciencehttps://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-polisci-051117-073034 6. 📄 Druckman & Levy (2022), “Affective polarization in the American public,” ch. 18 of the Handbook on Politics and Public Opinionhttps://www.elgaronline.com/edcollchap/book/9781800379619/book-part-9781800379619-30.xml 7. 🎙️ And, of course, see our previous episode on this :).https://politicalrealitypodcast.com/videos/is-polarization-actually-a-problem-s01e05-teaser/ Finally, you may be surprised to see that Turkey is included as a European country. We were also surprised! While only 3% of Turkey’s landmass (or 15% of its population) is in Europe (the rest is considered to be in Asia), it is relatively standard practice in global measures to categorize it along with other European countries. For example, see also the latest Economist Intelligence Unit 2025 democracy index report:https://www.eiu.com/n/campaigns/democracy-index-2025/ Or their Wikipedia page if you don’t feel like downloading it!:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Economist_Democracy_Index Turkey is also a NATO member, member of the Council of Europe, and an EU candidate (though negotiations are currently frozen), among other European memberships. Most importantly, it’s also part of Eurovision ;). All of that said, this is an excellent example of how the “simple” act of classification, never mind quantification, is an enduring challenge in political science! You could certainly imagine a valid case for analyzing, say, aggregate European data both with and without Turkey included (as well as Russia, and some others). 🧠 For a primer/refresher on affective polarization in general, see:🇹🇷 A quick note on Turkey and “Europe”

  8. May 7

    Damage to Science Under Trump

    https://www.npr.org/2025/12/22/nx-s1-5642965/what-cuts-to-research-under-trump-have-meant-for-science-in-2025⁠ ⁠https://www.nature.com/immersive/d41586-026-00088-9/index.html⁠ ⁠https://www.science.org/content/article/how-trump-administration-dismantling-science-u-s⁠ ⁠https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/23/opinion/doge-hiv-funding.html⁠ ⁠https://scienceimpacts.org⁠ ⁠https://www.cgdev.org/blog/update-lives-lost-usaid-cuts⁠

See All (25)

Trailers

4.8
out of 5
107 Ratings

About

Our daily lives seem increasingly overwhelmed by polarization, misinformation, and dubious culture wars, while we face countless serious problems that require thoughtful and evidence-based solutions. To move forward, we need a shared reality of facts and reason with an equally shared dedication to democracy and fairness. The Political Reality podcast is here to fill that void – diving into how politics and governments work, how to make them work better, how to navigate the dizzying world of political information, and how to better understand and approach the “other side”.  We can find a shared political reality if we are willing.

Information

  • Creator
    Political Reality
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    25
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Political Reality
  • Show Website
    Political Reality

You Might Also Like