The Politics Guys

The Politics Guys - Government Democracy & News
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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. 3h ago

    Anarchy vs Tyranny: Federalist Papers No. 17, 18 and 19

    On this midweek supporters-exclusive episode of The Politics Guys, Trey Orndorff (Oklahoma Christian University) and Ken Katkin (NKU Chase College of Law) continue their ongoing deep-dive series through The Federalist Papers, taking on Federalist Nos. 17, 18, and 19.  In this cluster of essays, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison tackle a central Anti-Federalist anxiety pushed by writers like Brutus (Robert Yates), Cato, and Patrick Henry: the fear that the proposed Constitution would create an all-powerful, consolidated national government that absorbs state sovereignty and individual liberty. Publius flips this argument on its head, contending that the real threat to the American republic isn’t central tyranny, but internal anarchy, state fragmentation, and weak federal enforcement. Topics discussed include: Hamilton’s dismissing that a national government will seek to usurp state powers because ambitious national leaders will care about glorious issues such as commerce, finance, negotiations, and war.The draw of state and local governments for the average person Trey and Ken highlight that even today, over 98% of all court cases in the U.S. remain in state courts. Hamilton’s arguments that the true threat is state governments obstructing or interfering with federal law enforcement, anticipating modern disputes like sanctuary cities.The collaborative authorship and unique drafting history of Federalist 18, where Madison incorporated notes and research compiled by Hamilton into his own previous research studies for the constitutional convention.How in an era before modern social science, the Framers looked to ancient history as their primary empirical evidence, and what they left out to persuade readers.The influence of Abbé Mabley on the writing of Madison.The history and background of The Holy Roman Empire and its distinction with the Roman Empire.To dive deeper, read more on Trey'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.

    Anarchy vs Tyranny: Federalist Papers No. 17, 18 and 19

  2. 4h ago

    Introducing Explain Like I'm 5

    Mike talks about the Explain Like I'm 5 podcast. I hope you will enjoy this excellent show as much as we do.

    Introducing Explain Like I'm 5

  3. 3d ago

    Narrowing Birthright Citizenship, Judicial Elections Defeated, and Todd Blanche’s Path to Attorney General

    On this week’s episode, Trey Orndorff (Oklahoma Christian University) and law professor Ken Katkin (NNKU Chase College of Law) tackle as many major stories as possible for the first week of August, breaking down a pair of controversial new executive orders on citizenship, high-stakes primary results out of Kansas and Michigan, and the Senate Judiciary Committee’s vote to advance Todd Blanche for U.S. Attorney General. Trey and Ken begin with the two executive orders signed on August 6, attempting to narrow birthright citizenship following earlier Supreme Court pushback. The first order directs the State Department and Department of Homeland Security to deny visas to pregnant non-citizens to curb "birth tourism". The second order attempts to strip automatic citizenship from specific categories, including children of foreign government employees, those born in U.S. territories like Puerto Rico and Guam, and children born via commercial birth-tourism transactions. The guys unpack the legal hurdles facing both orders, comparing executive immigration authority against statutory protections like the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, analyzing the precedent of Geduldig v. Aiello (1974), and examining how the 14th Amendment’s "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" clause applies to territorial residents. Next, they look to Tuesday’s primary results, especially in Kansas and Michigan. Kansas voters resoundingly rejected (61%–39%) a Republican-backed constitutional amendment that would have replaced the state's merit-based judicial nominating commission with direct partisan elections for state Supreme Court justices. Ken and Trey debate whether the vote was driven by post-Dobbs voter mobilization to protect the court’s abortion rulings or a broader conservative skepticism toward the election of judges.  Affter that, the duo also discuss progressive Abdul El-Sayed ’s narrow victory (48.5% to 47.5%) over establishment favorite Rep. Haley Stevens despite being heavily outspent by outside groups. Trey and Ken discuss what this close result signals about intra-party friction, the debate over "abolishing ICE," and how candidates navigate Middle East policy in Michigan. They also discuss one of the strangest primaries in the cycle: the victory of Thomas J. Smith, a candidate who raised just $1,850, filed his paperwork by hand, and formally suspended his campaign in Michigan’s 8th Congressional District. Smith trounced the Trump-endorsed candidate Amir Haneef Hassan.  Finally, Trey and Ken finish with a discussion of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s 12-10 vote to advance Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s nomination to the full Senate floor. The vote came after Republican Senators Cornyn and Tillis secured written assurances from Blanche formally killing a controversial $1.8 billion executive "weaponization fund" intended for presidential payouts. With Senator Bill Cassidy announcing his floor support, Trey and Ken evaluate whether the Senate exercised meaningful oversight over the Justice Department or simply cleared a path for executive confirmation. 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.

    Narrowing Birthright Citizenship, Judicial Elections Defeated, and Todd Blanche’s Path to Attorney General

  4. Aug 1

    Trump’s Wars, Voting Rules, and Fauci Takes the Fifth

    Mike and Jay debate whether Donald Trump has a coherent strategy for the wars in Ukraine and Iran—or is improvising while weapons stockpiles, alliances, and political pressures narrow his options. They examine a major Russia sanctions bill targeting China and India, Ukraine’s possible license to manufacture Patriot interceptors, and whether the United States can bomb Iran into submission. Then they turn to the courts, where Trump’s executive order tightening mail-voting rules faces serious constitutional obstacles, before asking what Anthony Fauci’s private COVID diaries actually prove—and whether Rand Paul’s investigation is legitimate oversight, political theater, or a perjury trap. 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.

    Trump’s Wars, Voting Rules, and Fauci Takes the Fifth

  5. Jul 29

    Can Open Primaries Break the Two-Party Cartel?

    Open Primaries founder John Opdycke joins Mike to argue that America’s primary system gives political parties too much control while shutting out millions of independent voters. They discuss taxpayer-funded closed primaries, top-two elections, whether open systems actually reduce polarization, the threat of strategic “raiding,” and why third parties so rarely gain traction. Opdycke also explains the 2024 defeats of several election-reform measures, the risks of bundling open primaries with ranked-choice voting, opposition from both major parties, and why changing election rules matters only if reformers also build new political coalitions and persuade voters to participate. Open Primaries 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 Open Primaries Break the Two-Party Cartel?

  6. Jul 28

    Religion as a political ideology

    On this midweek supporters-exclusive episode of The Politics Guys, Trey Orndorff (Oklahoma Christian University) and Justin Holmes (University of Northern Iowa) continue their deep dive into political ideologies by tackling a unique case: religion. Topics covered include: How religion shapes political behaviorJohn Rawls and exorcising faith, and can it be, from the public sphereAn overview of the substantive and functional definitions of religion Is religion just an add-on to other ideologies?What, if anything, makes the values of religion different from other values?Are there true values and how do we exist in a pluralist society if we accept that there are better and worse values?Become a new monthly supporter on Patreon and get your first month nearly free (90% off) with promo code 0943D, or become a new annual supporter and get an additional 10% off on top of the regular 10% annual supporter discount with promo code 9B50C. These offers are good until the end of July at patreon.com/politicsguys 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.

    Religion as a political ideology

  7. Jul 24

    The $37 Billion War, Britain’s Leadership Pivot, Forced-Labor Tariffs, and Arizona’s Primary

    On this week’s episode, political scientist Trey Orndorff (Oklahoma Christian University) is joined by political scientist Justin Holmes (University of Northern Iowa) to break down a packed late-July news cycle spanning a massive war supplemental request on Capitol Hill, a rapid-fire prime ministerial transition across the Atlantic, executive tariff gymnastics, and an electoral shockwave in a premier battleground state. The pair begins by diving into Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's combative appearance before the Senate Appropriations Committee. Hegseth revealed that the U.S. military conflict with Iran has burned through $37.5 billion so far, defending a massive $87.6 billion emergency supplemental request. Trey breaks down the math discovering that the request represents a 9.2% increase over the baseline defense budget.  Next, over in Great Britain, Andy Burnham officially became the UK's 59th Prime Minister. Trey and Justin discuss the mechanics of parliamentary leadership swaps, Burnham's swift shift to authorize U.S. air launches from British bases against Iran, and his appointment of prominent Trump critic Ed Miliband as Foreign Secretary. They also look at polling showing that nearly two-thirds of the British public oppose offensive U.S. strikes and explore the domestic risks Burnham faces as he balances transatlantic relations with a skeptical electorate.   After that the guys analyze the White House's latest trade moves following USTR Jamieson Greer's announcement of new Section 301 tariffs targeting 60 major trading partners under the official justification of combating foreign forced labor. Trey and Justin look past the human-rights framing to reveal the underlying legal timeline: the Section 301 action was timed to seamlessly replace temporary Section 122 tariffs that expired at midnight. They debate President Trump's mercantilist vision, "constitutional whack-a-mole," supply chain realities and why global companies are likely to wait out executive trade directives.   To close the show, Trey and Justin head to Arizona, where primary voters handed a complete sweep to Donald Trump's endorsed slate: Congressman Andy Biggs for Governor, State Rep. Alexander Kolodin for Secretary of State, and State Senate President Warren Petersen for Attorney General. With all three nominees tied directly to post-2020 election challenges, Jan 6 objections, and the Maricopa County Cyber Ninjas audit, the guys debate how this hard-right ticket will fair in November against incumbent Democrats, the median voter theory, and why Democrats consistently struggle with tangible election security messaging. Become a new monthly supporter on Patreon and get your first month nearly free (90% off) with promo code 0943D, or become a new annual supporter and get an additional 10% off on top of the regular 10% annual supporter discount with promo code 9B50C. These offers are good until the end of July at patreon.com/politicsguys 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.

    The $37 Billion War, Britain’s Leadership Pivot, Forced-Labor Tariffs, and Arizona’s Primary

  8. Jul 22

    Who Controls AI—and Who Pays When It Goes Wrong?

    AI is advancing faster than Congress can regulate it—but leaving the industry to police itself carries enormous risks. Mike talks with former congressman and Pentagon official Brad Carson about mandatory safety testing, federal efforts to override state AI laws, liability when AI causes harm, Anthropic’s clash with the government, autonomous weapons, mass surveillance, and why artificial intelligence could upend higher education. They also confront the deeper question: will citizens have any meaningful say over a technology being built by a handful of extraordinarily powerful companies?  Americans for Responsible Innovation Follow Brad Carson on X. The Politics Guys on Facebook | X Become a new monthly supporter on Patreon and get your first month nearly free (90% off) with promo code 0943D, or become a new annual supporter and get an additional 10% off on top of the regular 10% annual supporter discount with promo code 9B50C. These offers are good until the end of July at patreon.com/politicsguys 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.

    Who Controls AI—and Who Pays When It Goes Wrong?
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4.4
out of 5
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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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