Golden Sour

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.politix.fm It’s getting so bad out there for Republicans that some of them are even pretending to oppose war and corruption! So naturally moderate Democrats are endorsing Republicans, and one of them might switch parties! In this episode, Matt and Brian discuss: * The nature and extent of Republican peril; * Whether Democrats are optimally capitalizing on Republican weakness and Donald Trump’s toxically unpopular agenda; * Is the Democratic Party too solicitous of frontline members, or not solicitous enough? Then, thanks to Matt’s dying laptop battery and lack of charger, a packed overview of the sudden controversy surrounding effective altruism. What is E.A.? Why is it weird? Why is it suddenly at the epicenter of political debates over whether and how to regulate artificial intelligence? And, quite apart from efforts to scapegoat them, is it a good idea to put people who have immense faith in the power to optimize systems in charge of a technology that leaves no room for error? Answers are available in full to paid subscribers. Only the first half’s available to freeloaders and viewers on YouTube. Upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed. Further reading: * Matt on whether there’s reason to doubt the blue wave forecast. * Brian’s 30 thoughts on the (valid) A.I. freakout. * Carolyn Fiddler runs the math on how many statehouse seats Democrats need to win to build new trifectas. (Spoiler: 22 seats to win five trifectas.) * Jared Golden endorses Mike Lawler. (🖕) * Joe Manchin endorses Susan Collins. (🖕)