The Politics Guys

The Politics Guys - Government Democracy & News
  • 4.4 (752)
  • Politics
  • Updated Weekly

The Politics Guys is an independent, ideologically diverse American politics and policy podcast hosted by experts: political scientists, law professors, and practicing attorneys with government experience. Our mission is to give listeners a much-needed break from conservative and liberal echo chambers through civil, rational, and evidence-based discussion of American politics and policy from multiple perspectives.

  1. 2d ago

    Midterm Money, Botched Executions, Trump Ads & Measles

    With the 2026 midterms less than four weeks away, Republicans still hold a major financial advantage—but increasingly have to decide which House and Senate races are worth saving. Mike and his fellow political scientist Michael Levy look at GOP spending pullbacks, Democratic opportunities, whether polls may still underestimate Republican support, and what it could all mean for control of the Senate. Next, Tennessee’s second botched execution this year raises a larger question: is the problem lethal injection, or the death penalty itself? The guys discuss wrongful convictions, the economics and deterrent value of capital punishment, whether executions should be public, and the moral distance between supporting an execution and actually carrying one out. Then they turn to the Trump administration’s use of taxpayer money for ads promoting the president and his policies. Mike argues the spending was almost certainly illegal regardless of whether the ads qualify as propaganda, while the two consider why Trump picked this fight—and whether Democratic outrage plays directly into his political strategy. Finally, Pennsylvania’s massive measles outbreak leads to a broader discussion of falling childhood vaccination rates, growing vaccine skepticism, RFK Jr., Trump’s false claims about the MMR vaccine, and Ken Paxton’s investigation of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Michael’s Substack The Politics Guys on Facebook | X Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo, we’re @PoliticsGuys. The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

    Midterm Money, Botched Executions, Trump Ads & Measles

  2. 4d ago

    Can Congress Still Govern? Tim Ryan on Crypto and the CLARITY Act

    Former Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan joins Mike to discuss why Congress has become less capable of governing—and whether it can still handle complex issues like cryptocurrency regulation. They talk about congressional dysfunction, concentrated leadership power, the decline of congressional expertise, earmarks, and the incentives that discourage lawmakers from taking political risks. Then they turn to the CLARITY Act and the future of crypto regulation. Ryan makes the case for Congress setting clear rules for digital assets, while Mike presses him on an understaffed CFTC, Trump’s crypto interests, Democratic opposition in the Senate, industry campaign spending, community banks, and whether a lame-duck session may be the best chance to get legislation passed. Tim Ryan on X The Politics Guys on Facebook | X Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo, we’re @PoliticsGuys. The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

    Can Congress Still Govern? Tim Ryan on Crypto and the CLARITY Act

  3. 5d ago

    Major Political Events: The 2000 Election Part 1

    On this midweek supporters-exclusive episode of The Politics Guys, Trey Orndorff (Oklahoma Christian University) and Justin Holmes (University of Northern Iowa) launch a brand-new miniseries examining key structural, legal, and constitutional turning points in contemporary American politics. In Part 1 of a three-part retrospective on the 2000 Presidential Election, Trey and Justin bypass the immediate impulse to jump straight to the Florida recounts and Bush v. Gore. Instead, they analyze the campaign fundamentals, economic voting models, strategic messaging blunders, third-party dynamics, and election night anomalies that turned a booming 1990s economy into a dead-heat coin toss between Al Gore and George W. Bush. The Politics Guys on Facebook | X Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo, we’re @PoliticsGuys. The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

    Major Political Events: The 2000 Election Part 1

  4. Oct 2

    Article I Spending Battles, Performative Oversight Memes, Midterm Campaign Realities, and Fiscal Federalism

    On this week’s episode of The Politics Guys, Trey Orndorff (Oklahoma Christian University) is joined by Justin Holmes (University of Northern Iowa). The hosts open with a discussion on an impoundment or recession request to House Speaker Mike Johnson proposing budget cuts just days before the fiscal year ends. Trey and Justin explain how such recessions have happened before and how they clash with Article I spending power, before agreeing that despite the Government Accountability Office’s standing to sue, this creates a new precedent for power for all presidents.  Next, the pair examine the viral oversight blunder during Special Counsel Jack Smith’s Senate Judiciary Committee testimony where Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) accused Smith of perjury for allegedly attending an Atlanta Hawks NBA game to coordinate prosecutions with Fani Willis. The guys walk through the viral fallout, including Senator Katie Britt’s reaction, but even more importantly how modern media incentives encourage politicians to double down on false accusations and distract from the larger substantive issues that could be investigated.  After that, Trey and Justin look at the fresh economic indicators, including Federal Reserve interest rates and below-average September job growth, as being headwinds to Republicans in the midterm. This includes a conversation on the deeply flawed campaigns of Democrats. The pair closes the show by looking at a federal district judge blocking the White House from withholding counterterrorism and FEMA security grants from municipalities (including Nashville and Harris County) that refused to adopt new federal election rules requiring citizenship verification for voters and poll workers. This leads to an extended conversation on President Trump’s use of the judicial system. The Politics Guys on Facebook | X Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo, we’re @PoliticsGuys. The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

    Article I Spending Battles, Performative Oversight Memes, Midterm Campaign Realities, and Fiscal Federalism

  5. Sep 30

    How Algorithms Are Gouging Us

    Mike talks with Lindsay Owens, president and CEO of the Groundwork Collaborative and author of Gouged: The End of a Fair Price and What That Means for Your Wallet, about how new technologies are changing what companies know about consumers—and how much they can charge them. They discuss an Instacart experiment that found shoppers being shown different prices for identical groceries, the RealPage controversy over algorithmic rent-setting, and the growing use of dynamic and surveillance pricing. Lindsay explains why the shift from posted prices toward individualized “willingness to pay” pricing could fundamentally change how markets work. Mike and Lindsay also dig into junk fees and all-in pricing, right-to-repair restrictions, deliberately difficult subscription cancellations, and “algorithmic wages” that may allow companies to pay workers different amounts for essentially identical work. They close with Lindsay’s proposed “shopper’s bill of rights,” the political prospects for stronger consumer protections, and why consumer backlash may be one of the most effective checks on increasingly sophisticated pricing technology. Lindsay Owens on X The Politics Guys on Facebook | X Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo, we’re @PoliticsGuys. The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

    How Algorithms Are Gouging Us

  6. Sep 29

    Media Power, College Sports, and Crypto

    Mike and Jay open this supporters’ exclusive midweek episode with California’s settlement of its antitrust lawsuit challenging Paramount Skydance’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. They debate whether California extracted meaningful concessions or folded under pressure, how the relevant media market should be defined, and whether concerns about David Ellison’s growing influence over CBS and CNN really belong in an antitrust case at all. Next, they turn to the Protect College Sports Act and Congress’s attempt to bring order to the chaotic post-NIL world of college athletics. Mike and Jay discuss federal rules for NIL deals, transfers and eligibility, limited antitrust protection for the NCAA, athlete compensation, and whether big-time college football and basketball should finally acknowledge that their players function more like employees than traditional student-athletes. Then it’s cryptocurrency and the stalled CLARITY Act. Why did Senate Democrats block debate on legislation that had strong bipartisan support in the House—and that several Democratic senators helped negotiate? Mike and Jay examine the fight over whether crypto should be regulated primarily as securities or commodities, concerns about the Trump family’s crypto interests, stablecoin interest payments, and the electoral politics complicating any deal before the midterms. The Politics Guys on Facebook | X Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo, we’re @PoliticsGuys. The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

    Media Power, College Sports, and Crypto

  7. Sep 26

    A Blue Wave?, Xi’s Visit, Trump vs. the Press, Diesel Prices

    With just over a month until the midterms, Mike and Jay look at the increasingly difficult electoral environment for Republicans. They discuss Democrats’ generic-ballot advantage, unexpectedly competitive Senate and gubernatorial races, the GOP’s major fundraising edge, Trump’s effect on Republican candidates, and why campaign spending may reveal more than the polls. Next, they turn to Xi Jinping’s state visit and the striking contrast between the elaborate White House pageantry and the summit’s limited substantive results. The guys discuss the temporary tariff truce, Taiwan, Trump’s treatment of a $14 billion arms package as a negotiating chip, China’s purchases of Russian and Iranian oil, and the limits of personal diplomacy between great powers.   Then it’s Trump’s attempt to ban CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House. Mike and Jay examine the court ruling temporarily restoring reporters’ press passes, the due-process and First Amendment questions, the administration’s national-security justification, and how much power presidents have to decide who gets access to the White House. Finally, diesel prices have hit record highs, prompting calls for a temporary ban on U.S. diesel exports. Mike and Jay consider whether Trump has the legal authority to impose a ban, whether it would actually lower prices, the logistical problems it could create, and what Trump’s growing willingness to intervene in markets—including government equity stakes in private companies—says about his economic policy. The Politics Guys on Facebook | X Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo, we’re @PoliticsGuys. The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

    A Blue Wave?, Xi’s Visit, Trump vs. the Press, Diesel Prices

  8. Sep 23

    Why Democrats Keep Losing Working-Class Voters

    Mike talks with Joan C. Williams and Jared Abbott, authors of The Left’s Coalition Crisis, about why Democrats have struggled with working-class voters and what they can do about it. Williams and Abbott argue that the familiar progressive-versus-moderate debate misses the point: successful candidates need “class competence”—an understanding of working-class values around hard work, security, family, and respect. They discuss striking survey findings on affordability, immigration, crime, abortion, childcare, expertise, and defending democracy; why anti-corruption may resonate more than warnings about authoritarianism; how progressive policies can gain support when framed around everyday concerns; and whether Democratic donors and activists are capable of building the cross-class coalition the party needs. The Politics Guys on Facebook | X Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo, we’re @PoliticsGuys. The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

    Why Democrats Keep Losing Working-Class Voters
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4.4
out of 5
752 Ratings

About

The Politics Guys is an independent, ideologically diverse American politics and policy podcast hosted by experts: political scientists, law professors, and practicing attorneys with government experience. Our mission is to give listeners a much-needed break from conservative and liberal echo chambers through civil, rational, and evidence-based discussion of American politics and policy from multiple perspectives.

Information

  • Creator
    The Politics Guys - Government Democracy & News
  • Years Active
    2015 - 2026
  • Episodes
    1K
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright Michael Baranowski
  • Show Website
    The Politics Guys

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