The Smerconish Podcast

Who should we support: Russia, Ukraine, or Neither? Michael discusses the question with Admiral James Stavridis, a retired four-star Navy officer who once served as the Supreme Allied Commander of NATO. Now he is Partner and Vice Chairman, Global Affairs of The Carlyle Group, and Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Rockefeller Foundation. Hear his latest analysis of what is happening in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and US President Trump hosting the president of Ukraine in Washington, DC last week. Original air date 4 March 2025.

Jo has served 15 years in the Virginia Army National Guard. Her current rank and job title is Chief Warrant Officer 2 (CW2) – UH60 Black Hawk Pilot. She has served in combat zones in Iraq and other operations overseas. She is a transgender woman and recently transitioned while serving in the military. When not serving her country, she works as an IT Engineer in the private sector and previously worked as the Digital Media Manager for Smerconish.com. She enjoys flying airplanes, racing cars, playing musical instruments, and skateboarding. The views and opinions presented are those of Jo Ellis and do not necessarily represent the views of DoD or the Army.

Today's Poll Question at Smerconish.com: Russia-Ukraine Conflict: Who Do You Support: Russia, Ukraine, or Neither? Listen here to Michael's take, then vote at Smerconish.com, and please leave a rating and review of this podcast! The Daily Poll Question is a thought-provoking query each day at Smerconish.com on a political, social, or other human interest issue. Entirely non-scientific, it always begins a great conversation. Michael talks about it in this podcast each weekday.

Tom Nichols is a professor emeritus of national-security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College, where he taught for 25 years, and an instructor at the Harvard Extension School. Read his Atlantic essay here: It Was an Ambush: Friday marked one of the grimmest days in the history of American diplomacy.

Today's Poll Question at Smerconish.com: Was JD Vance’s confrontation of Zelensky premeditated or spontaneous? Listen here to Michael's take, then vote at Smerconish.com, and please leave a rating and review of this podcast! The Daily Poll Question is a thought-provoking query each day at Smerconish.com on a political, social, or other human interest issue. Entirely non-scientific, it always begins a great conversation. Michael talks about it in this podcast each weekday.

Randall Teague is the Mayor of Haddon Township, New Jersey, the current epicenter of the immigration and deportation debate, where the town is rallying around a married couple who own a restaurant, but are technically not legally in the US - and have been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. After speaking with the Mayor about this major story, Michael hears from listeners, including a caller named Paul, who is in this same situation. He came to the US on a tourist visa in 1999 on his honeymoon, and never left. He has been trying to get a green card ever since, still lives in the country, but not legally. Hear his story in this episode, and ask, what do we do with Paul? Original air date 28 February 2025.

Today's Poll Question at Smerconish.com: Should migrants who entered the U.S. illegally years ago but have since lived law-abiding lives and paid taxes face deportation? Listen here to Michael's take, then vote at Smerconish.com, and please leave a rating and review of this podcast! The Daily Poll Question is a thought-provoking query each day at Smerconish.com on a political, social, or other human interest issue. Entirely non-scientific, it always begins a great conversation. Michael talks about it in this podcast each weekday.

Nick Corasaniti is the author of "I Don't Want to Go Home: The Oral History of the Stone Pony." This is what Michael really wanted to talk to the New York Times correspondent about, as they both share a love of music, especially live music. So yes, listen to a great conversation about that to start, but then, the actual reason Nick comes to talk is on his NY Times piece "The Death of Competition in American Elections." He says a vast majority of 2024 races for Congress and state legislatures were decided by low-turnout or meaningless primaries. It is not a great trend - but a great opportunity here to listen and learn. Original air date 27 February 2025.

Today's Poll Question at Smerconish.com: Is it the prerogative of a newspaper owner to set editorial policy? Listen here to Michael's take, then vote at Smerconish.com, and please leave a rating and review of this podcast! The Daily Poll Question is a thought-provoking query each day at Smerconish.com on a political, social, or other human interest issue. Entirely non-scientific, it always begins a great conversation. Michael talks about it in this podcast each weekday.

Mark Halperin is Editor-in-Chief of 2WAY and Publisher of the Wide World of News Newsletter.Steve Scully hosts "The Briefing" on SiriusXM's POTUS Channel 124, weekdays 12-2PM East.