Beyond Politics

When I read the news that longtime US senator Orrin Hatch at passed away at the age of 88, I thought of only one person: Eric Loomis (@ErikLoomis) Associate Professor of history at the University of Rhode Island. Eric just wrote a deep dive on The Editorial Board on Hatch's complicated legacy, one that was at times surprising for someone with a reputation of being a relative moderate with some real bipartisan accomplishments.  Senator Hatch's career provides a lens into the evolution of the Republican Party. 

Matt Robison joins AJ Kierstead on WKXL's The New England Take to break down why the Taylor Lorenz / Washington Post Vs. "Libs of Tiktok" story became such a fact-free partisan spin cycle of stupid. Also, Matt defends his take on President Biden's first year grade (yep, the grade was A+) in light of continuing revelations about the end of the Trump presidency. 

Today, in America, the system is blinking red. Experts are sounding increasingly dire alarms that our politics have become so distorted by anger, partisanship, lies, manipulation, and disinformation – not to mention deliberate steps to subvert American elections – that American democracy itself is in real peril. There may be no more widely respected expert on election law and the role of disinformation that Rick Hasen. He's a Professor of Law and Political Science at the University of California, Irvine and is Co-Director of the Fair Elections and Free Speech Center. Dr. Hasen also served in 2020 as a CNN Election Law Analyst, and is the author of numerous books and articles, including op-eds and commentaries in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Politico, and Slate. His most recent book is “Cheap Speech: How Disinformation Poisons Our Politics—and How to Cure It.”

Chris Hill of Motley Fool Money, the #1 stock investing radio show in America, joins to look at the biggest business and financial stories including Elon Musk vs. Twitter, the clever things Amazon is doing to position itself, the end of mask mandates on airlines, and the big storylines coming out of earnings season.

Recently, it's been clear that we’ve entered a new phase of the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s just not clear exactly what this phase is, or where we’re going from here. Are we in even worse shape than we thought on Covid, or for the next pandemic that is inevitably coming? Whenever we wonder about questions like this, we think of Donald G. McNeil, Jr. Throughout much of the pandemic, for millions of readers and podcast listeners in the US and around the world, he has been one of the most trusted, thoughtful, and clear explainers on the science of the coronavirus. He was the lead reporter on the Covid-19 pandemic for the New York Times. Today, we welcome him back to discuss his new article: "Better Luck Next Pandemic: Will we do better next time? Not from what I can see now."

Also, even more texts to Mark Meadows come out...how many people were texting this guy about the insurrection?!? The end of mask mandates, but forever? And why are Republicans holding off on Senator Maggie Hassan?

With so much legal news, we're thrilled to finally bring you one of the really bright minds in legal and political commentary, Kimberly Atkins Stohr.  She's a senior opinion writer and columnist for the Boston Globe, an MSNBC contributor, and co-host of the podcast #SistersInLaw (with our previous guest Joyce Vance). We tackle the true impact of Kentanji Brown Jackson, insurrection texts, seditious conspiracy, Merrick Garland, pulling out all the available legal tools on guns, the CROWN Act, and whether the Supreme Court needs to be reined in. 

It's time for one of the most fun, refreshing, and mind-bending recurring segments on this show, where Matt talks with the SKYGUY, John S. Gianforte, an astronomer and Director of the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Observatory.  In this episode, we cover the furthest (and oldest) galaxy ever seen which is right at the very edge of the observable universe, the oldest known star, the thousands of new planets that we have discovered, and much more. 

Michaeleen Crowell was Chief of Staff to US Senator Bernard Sanders, Legislative Director for civil rights icon John Lewis (GA-5) for 8 years and is now Principal at S-3 Group, a bipartisan consulting and communications firm in DC.  We dive in to whether Dems are getting a lot more done than people realize, what the family of Martin Luther King wants people to understand about the civil rights leader, and what the prospects are for voting protection, a BBB successor bill, and getting anything else at all done this year.  Featuring an appearance from "Bernie Sanders" himself!

Yes!  This idea seemed a little...out there...when I saw the headline for an article on The Editorial Board. Then I read it, and I was halfway convinced.  So I had writer Noah Berlatsky on the show today to explain, and he got me fully convinced.  Listen to the episode, and let me know what you think at @MattLRobison on Twitter.