The Lincoln Project

Host Reed Galen is joined by Alexander Theodoridis, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. They discuss the current state of polling in the U.S. and how it’s evolved from “the golden age”, why our nation finds itself so politically polarized, and what motivates Americans to show up on election day. Plus, Ron DeSantis is an uninteresting presidential candidate. If you’d like to connect with The Lincoln Project, send an email to podcast@lincolnproject.us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Reed Galen is joined by Ron Insana (Senior Analyst and Commentator at CNBC) to discuss the current state of our nation’s economy, the Republican’s flirtation with the debt ceiling, why the GOP’s latest proposal for a flat tax would prove disastrous, and President Biden’s stewardship (both at home and overseas) during the first two years of his administration. Plus, just because someone is a billionaire…does that make them a genius? If you’d like to connect with The Lincoln Project, send an email to podcast@lincolnproject.us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Reed Galen is joined by Author and Senior Book Editor at The Atlantic, Gal Beckerman. They discuss how radical ideas originate and the workings of the movements that form around them, how social media is not the catch all solution when it comes to messaging, and how in order for an idea to truly take hold…a crucial part of the process is rational dialog/strategy in a quiet, private (not public) place. For more on this be sure to pick up Gal Beckerman’s latest book, The Quiet Before: On the Unexpected Origins of Radical Ideas, wherever fine books are sold. If you’d like to connect with The Lincoln Project, send an email to podcast@lincolnproject.us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Reed Galen is joined by Joshua Zeitz…historian, New York Times bestselling author, and contributing editor to Politico Magazine. They discuss the evolution of Abraham Lincoln’s faith starting from childhood, throughout his early political career, and throughout his presidency. Plus, how during his presidency he was successfully able to use his understanding of Christianity to mobilize the country to abolish slavery, preserve the Union, and win the Civil War. Fast-forward to the present, how does religion influence politics today…and vice versa? Be sure to pre-order Joshua Zeitz’s upcoming book, Lincoln's God: How Faith Transformed a President and a Nation. If you’d like to connect with The Lincoln Project, send an email to podcast@lincolnproject.us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Reed Galen is joined by David Rothkopf (Contributing Columnist for The Daily Beast and Host of Deep State Radio) to discuss where our nation stands two years into the Biden administration, how the rest of the world no longer has an American example to dissuade them from authoritarianism, and how the longer authoritarianism is embraced (in the United States or elsewhere) the greater the irreversible damage to the democracy we hold so dear. Plus, the island nation of Taiwan’s superpower. If you’d like to connect with The Lincoln Project, send an email to podcast@lincolnproject.us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Reed Galen is joined by Juliet Jeske, author of the “Decoding Fox News” newsletter. They discuss how Juliet got her start covering the far right media ecosystem, how she now watches every minute of Fox News and reports on it (all while maintaining her sanity), and the inner workings of Fox News and its personalities. Plus, what drives the bizarre obsessions that so many media personalities and politicians share on the far right? If you’d like to connect with The Lincoln Project, send an email to podcast@lincolnproject.us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Reed Galen is joined by Lincoln Project Senior Advisors Trygve Olson and Jeff Timmer to look back on where our nation was on January 6, 2021 and where we are today, exactly two years later. Will we have a Speaker of the House before the first week of the 118th Congress is over? Will members of the pro-democracy coalition finally start to play the game they're in rather than the game they know? And what are the latest dynamics in Trump’s 2024 run? Plus, we look ahead to what groundwork needs to be laid in 2023. If you’d like to connect with The Lincoln Project, send an email to podcast@lincolnproject.us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode was originally released on October 18, 2022. In this encore presentation, host Reed Galen is joined by former Metropolitan Police Department Officer Michael Fanone. They discuss Fanone’s path to service, his harrowing personal account of January 6, 2021, the aftermath of January 6th and his post-insurrection public appearances, and whether or not the case built by the House Select Committee on January 6th has been effective in proving its case to the American people. Plus, how has policing changed over the course of Fanone’s twenty-year career and what remains to be improved. For more on this, be sure to pick up Michael Fanone's new book, Hold the Line, wherever fine books are sold. If you’d like to connect with The Lincoln Project, send an email to podcast@lincolnproject.us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode was originally released on August 18, 2022. In this encore presentation, host Reed Galen is joined by author, journalist, and QAnon expert Mike Rothschild to discuss how the QAnon conspiracy theory grew to be in the forefront of American political discourse, why it resonated so fervently with such a large percentage of the population, and how it continues to infect our nation’s culture today. Plus, is there a prescription to get the QAnon devout to “snap out of it” and denounce the conspiracy? For more on this, be sure to pick up Mike Rothschild’s latest book, The Storm Is Upon Us: How QAnon Became a Movement, Cult, and Conspiracy Theory of Everything, now available in paperback. If you’d like to connect with The Lincoln Project, send an email to podcast@lincolnproject.us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Reed Galen is joined by multi-Emmy winning filmmaker, Melissa Jo Peltier to discuss her award-winning documentary, The Game Is Up: Disillusioned Trump Voters Tell Their Stories, which studies how hard-core Trump voters turned away from the MAGA cult in 2020. They talk about why it was important to make the film, the transformations experienced by the characters who were profiled, and how those who went against Trump/Trumpism were received by their communities post-rejection. Plus, why do so many Republican politicians continue to support MAGA’s authoritarian movement even though history tells us exactly how it will end? If you’d like to connect with The Lincoln Project, send an email to podcast@lincolnproject.us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices