Beyond Politics

With this week's drop the S&P 500 is officially in bear market territory. Why? And why are major business leaders warning of an “economic hurricane”? Chris Hill of Motley Fool Money explains.

The top issue on everyone’s minds these days is the economy, and especially the fast-rising prices that we’re all feeling at the grocery store and the gas pump. Of course, the economy is almost always the top issue for Americans….in 1992 the Bill Clinton campaign boiled down their whole message to its “the economy, stupid.” So to understand what’s happening in the American economy, inflation, and most important, what’s likely to happen next, we simply couldn’t have a better guest than Dr. Mark Zandi. He’s chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, where he directs economic research, and he’s a recognized and trusted voice through his many appearances on major news media outlets like CNBC, NPR, Meet the Press, CNN, not to mention frequent testimony before Congress.

The Editorial Board, edited by longtime newspaper veteran John Stoehr (@johnastoehr), publishes articles designed to make you think. You may agree, disagree, or find yourself alternating between the two. And that's the idea. John and Matt talk about what the recall of Chesa Boudin really means, why the media narrative about it (and a lot of things) isn't quite right, whether more democracy is the cure for what ails many of our failing government systems, and our ambivalent relationship with Twitter. 

Before and after our great discussion with legal expert Kim Wehle about her new book featured in our last pod, we talked a bit about the January 6 investigation (which Kim has written extensively about) and whether the Administration can deem the Equal Rights Amendment as enacted right now (and whether they should!) which Matt is writing about in an article due out this week. 

Our guest today may be the bravest woman in America, because she has the gumption to argue that we could all learn a thing or two from lawyers, and in fact, if YOU could think more like a lawyer, you’d make better decisions and be happier. Her new book is called “How to Think Like a Lawyer – and Why.” Kim Wehle is a law professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law and a former Assistant US Attorney and you may recognize her not only from her work as a CBS News legal analyst, but also her appearances on CNN, MSNBC, NBC, BBC, NPR and here as our previous guest on Beyond Politics. 

Matt joins legendary West Virginia radio host Howard Monroe to talk about the public hearings starting this week about the insurrection.  What can we expect, will evidence come out that leads to indicting Donald Trump, and if not, what will the committee actually accomplish when they take this to prime time?

Chris Hill, the host of Motley Fool Money, joins to explain why the market suddenly turned around for no apparent reason, what the success of Top Gun: Maverick means, and what he learned from his recent interview with famed author Michael Lewis about expertise and CEO pay. 

Prolific and insightful writer Anne Kim is a Washington Monthly contributing editor and the author of Abandoned: America’s Lost Youth and the Crisis of Disconnection. She does in her writing what we do on this show: dive down below the surface into areas we often don't think enough about.  We touch on the glib cruelty beneath Senator Rick Scott's plan for America, her in-depth report on women and minorities in STEM fields, and the lost generation of millions of young people in America neither working nor in school.

Aquick podcast bonus taken from Matt's recent radio interview with John Howell on WLS 890-AM in Chicago on why the usual question about the midterms -- "will Democrats lose" -- is the wrong thing to be asking. Check out the full Newsweek article here.

Former USA Today Contributing Editor Jason Sattler (known to legions of fans on Twitter as @LOLGOP) has a smart new article out this week on The Editorial Board explaining why if you want to understand what's happening in American politics -- if you want to save democracy itself -- look to Michigan.  Time and again, it all comes back there.  Matt and Jason take a closer look at why Michigan is so pivotal and how you can use it as a lens into winning in the critical upper Midwest swing states and the entire current political dynamic. Follow Jason on twitter at @LOLGOP and Matt at @MattLRobison.