A Gentlemen’s Disagreement

On the 25th anniversary of September 11, we discuss what the phrase "never forget" means to us.

At every level in our politics and even in our sports and society, it no longer seems like reputation matters. How did we get here? Is it really different than it used to be? Is it even a bad thing? If it is, how do we get out of this cycle? 

The U.S. deficit continues to set record highs, social security's insolvency date looms in the not-so-distant future, the AI boom is widening inequality, and the ultra-wealthy are buying up sports teams like assets. This doesn't seem sustainable...

We've talked a lot about the need for third parties in our democracy, but what would a democracy with no parties look like? Metin Pekin, author of "Breaking Democracy’s Chains," explains his vision of a democracy truly of and by the people. 

We discussed the movie event of the year, one that has spawned seemingly-endless takes across the spectrum, with TIME's Eliana Dockterman who interviewed Christopher Nolan both before and after the movie's debut.

We discuss two of the main themes of the U.S. political landscape this summer: the increasingly brazen corruption of this presidency and the emergence of the socialist wing of the Democratic Party. 

We run through some of the major cases from the Supreme Court's most recent term including those on the Voting Rights Act, campaign spending, mail-in ballots, tariffs, executive power, and birthright citizenship with Harvard Law Professor Nicholas Stephanopoulos.

We talk about the good and bad of the FIFA World Cup, Lindsey Graham's sudden death, and the totally-not-forever war in Iran. We end with Brendan recapping his trip to Ireland and Northern Ireland.

We discuss what the story of the United States is, what it means, what we're celebrating, and how we're celebrating with Robert Allison, the president of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts and the chair of Revolution 250. 

The U.S. welfare system appears broken, both to those inside and outside of it. After three decades serving across local, state, and federal welfare systems, Clarence Carter has a vision for how to make it better.

We talk soccer with Groundwork Collaborative's Nia Law & Emily DiVito, specifically looking at how FIFA's choices & policies are affecting individuals & communities ahead of the World Cup.

The former Executive Director of the Libertarian Party, Dan Fishman, joins us to discuss what Thomas Massie's primary defeat means for the Republican Party, the liberty movement, and American politics. 

Marine Corps veteran Will Thompson joins us to provide his perspective on our military policy questions, including about U.S. military bases abroad, deploying during peacetimes and wartimes, serving under different administrations, and the military budget.

Amidst all the talk of gerrymandering, a more seismic shift in our democracy looms on a horizon that is growing ever closer. WaPo's Jason Willick helps us unpack where the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact stands and what its passage might portend for the way we elect our president.

We recap a big personal week for the gentlemen before diving into some of the topics (Iran, Trump, the Pope, tax day) that have been dominating the news lately. 

WaPo's climate zeitgeist reporter Shannon Osaka takes us behind the stories of an older issue, a constant issue, and a newer issue, all of which seem to be getting worse at once these days.

We have questions about where on the timeline we are in this AI revolution, what it means for our economy and our society, and what the future might look like; Dave Friedman of the "Buy the Rumor; Sell the News" substack has answers...or at least a recommended approach. 

Three weeks into this conflict with Iran, polls show that most liberals and independents are against the conflict yet overwhelming majorities of conservatives are in favor of it. How could this be? Why haven't traditional conservative arguments against this type of war soured this generation of conservatives on it? We try to parse these arguments in a buy-or-sell format.

We try to make some sense of the conflicting feelings we have about the latest U.S. strikes. How are we supposed to reconcile not feeling badly about the result but also not feeling good about the process?

Dalia al-Aqidi, a Republican candidate for Congress for Minneapolis, Minnesota joins us to discuss her views from the ground of the city that has been at the center of so much of U.S. culture and conflict over the past few months and years (3:30-38:00). We then reflect on lessons we've learned, favorite episodes and guests, and what we're grateful for through 200 episodes.

In honor of the The United States Semiquincentennial, we select the most significant of the 250 years of the United States in our annual Presidents Day draft.

A year into Manhattan's first-of-its-kind-in-the-U.S. congestion pricing policy, Boston Globe writer (and New York city resident) Abdallah Fayyad dives into the data to tell us how the program has worked and what other cities in the country can learn from it.

Is the U.S. Constitution working? If so, could we make it work better? If not, can we fix it? Tom Teicher makes the case for a 28th Amendment that would mandate Constitutional Conventions every 40 years.

President Trump promised a "new Golden Age" for the U.S., but is his administration just another step further into a second Gilded Age here in the States? Historian, author, and Holy Cross Professor Edward O'Donnell joins us to make the case that we are in, and have been in, a new Gilded Age for years if not decades.

We discuss the tricky balance between regulation, free speech, innovation, safety and more in the era of social media and artificial intelligence with John P. Wihbey, Director of the AI-Media Strategies Lab at Northeastern University and author of "Governing Babel: The Debate over Social Media Platforms and Free Speech – and What Comes Next."

We discuss the stunning--and yet utterly predictable--US invasion of Venezuela and capture of Nicolas Maduro and his wife.

Affordability has been one of the top stories of the past several years; The Washington Post's Julie Weil analyzes the many factors that contribute to this umbrella term, including inflation, housing costs, interest rates, tariffs, and child and healthcare.

Our fifth(!) annual rundown of the stories that captured our attention this calendar year--we break down the domestic and global policies, developments, and ideas that we found ourselves reading, thinking, and talking about the most in 2025.

What is going on with Venezuela? We examine the U.S. strikes on the alleged drug boats over the past few months, the buildup of force in the Caribbean, where this might be headed, and what it means in the context of U.S. foreign policy both under this administration and in the history of U.S. interventionism. 

This is a meandering episode on the importance of conversation, from talks we had on our recent golf trip, to upcoming discussions people often have at Thanksgiving, to recent interactions at the national level involving Tucker, Trump, and Mamdani.

Jackson Lahmeyer, the founder of Pastors for Trump and a member of the White House Faith Council, discusses anti-Christian bias under previous administrations and how President Trump's administration is bringing faith back to the forefront.

Live reactions from election night here in the U.S. We talked Zohran Mamdani's remarkable campaign and what we'll be looking for under his administration, what the Democratic victories in New Jersey and Virginia mean, and what the success of the gerrymandering proposition in California portends for our democracy. We then welcomed Boston political legend Larry DiCara on to discuss all things Boston politics (37:55).

Professor, scholar, and author Matthew Boedy discusses his new book "The Seven Mountains Mandate," in which he details the decades-long movement to remake the pillars of American society into the pillars of a Christian theocracy and how that movement is currently implementing its goals under the Trump administration.  

On the two year anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel, we reflect on all that has transpired since, including the hostages still held by Hamas, the horrific death toll in Gaza, Israel's international standing, the complicity of the U.S. in the destruction of Gaza, and the potential for peace.

We left feudalism, with it's reciprocal obligations, rigid class structures, and lack of social mobility behind hundreds of years ago, right? Jodi Dean, professor of political science at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, argues that we might be headed back to the future into a system she terms as "neofeudalism."

We reflect on the life, death, and legacy of Charlie Kirk, as well as the reactions to his murder. Where do we go from here?

Tucked inside the One Big Beautiful Bill Act was a first-of-its-kind provision establishing a federal tax credit scholarship program that has the chance to greatly expand school choice for families across the country. Shaka Mitchell, Senior Fellow for the American Federation for Children, joins us to analyze the implications of this provision and discuss the school choice movement writ large.

The New York Times's Lydia DePillis discusses how the U.S.-led trade war is playing out across the world from both economic and geopolitical perspectives, why reliable economic data matters, and why, despite the seeming warning sirens, the U.S. economy might not be headed for a come down anytime soon.

We talk the takeover of DC, the stakes in Intel & Nvidia, the redistricting push, the control of The Kennedy Center, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the meeting with Putin.   

Boston University Law Professor Jack Beermann analyzes the major topics, trends, and decisions that came from the Supreme Court's 2024-2025 term. We talked about the Court's relationship with the other two branches of government, with the Trump Administration, and within itself. We looked at specific cases and the emergence of specific judges from this term as well as what might be ahead in the coming term. 

Ansley Skipper of Protect Democracy discusses what the ouster of the president of her alma mater, UVA, after a pressure campaign from the Trump administration tells us about the state of higher education as we head into a new school year.

Is the falling global birthrate the actual existential crisis of our time? The Atlantic's Marc Novicoff joins us to discuss why it's a crisis, why that crisis is even worse than you might've heard, and why you should care.

Critical media scholar Nolan Higdon discusses why being discerning about the news you're consuming is so necessary for you, as a citizen of a democracy, and for democracy, as a system, to succeed. We talk about the history of fake news, its current incarnation, and tips for becoming a more discerning consumer of news and, therefore, a better member of our democracy.

Is the controversy around the Epstein files the straw that broke the back of the MAGA coalition? Or is this just another example in a long line of "this time it's different!" wishful thinking for the anti-Trumpers?

We analyze the "One Big Beautiful Bill" from all the angles: from the process and potential precedent, to the actual impact the bill will have on people's lives, to the messaging of the bill from both parties. We also try to look at the long term effects of the bill: how did it change how our government will work for the people going forward and what does it mean politically for the midterms and beyond?

Lura Forcum of The Independent Center joins us to discuss how we might be able to turn the white whale of many American voters--independent candidates--into a reality.

We had planned to debate whether the U.S. should or shouldn't get involved in the Israeli-Iranian conflict. Well, President Trump did, so the debate turned into whether it was the right move and how it might play out both internationally and domestically.

Two of our great friends, Perry Laberis and Ray Mooney, join us to discuss what the breakdown in the Trump-Musk relationship means for the future of both men, the future of this administration, and the future of politics in the U.S. We also hit on some other items in the news towards the end of the conversation.

The constant barrage of news coming from this administration has been weighing heavily on Ricky. Is it at bad as it seems? Can Brendan offer any hope or simply commiserate? 

Director of the Global Linkages Lab and Brown University professor Dr. Şebnem Kalemli-Özcan makes the case for why tariffs are not the solution to U.S. trade deficits or U.S. job losses and explains why America First might soon mean America Alone.