Beyond Politics

More and more, we see elected officials in the Republican Party ignoring courts, ignoring votes, and setting up self-reinforcing rules to get what they want -- which usually includes keeping themselves in power. So what do we do when a major political party simply ignores our system of law and government?

Should the Trump trial be televised? Will we see a protective order? Why are Republicans rooting against the Barbie movie and the US World Cup team? And what is up with the Ohio Issue 1 referendum?

We were interviewing Kristy Parker - former federal prosecutor and current attorney at Protect Democracy - about the destruction of protections for our democratic system, when she carefully, methodically, and compellingly dismantled Donald Trump's main defenses in the election fraud/January 6 case. Also: we does it make sense to charge Trump under a statute intended to go after the KKK. And how can we reverse the assault on democracy in the US?

Matt joins legendary West Virginia radio host Howard Monroe on his radio show to talk about the big new set of Trump indictments, especially Matt's new article in Newsweek arguing "No, These Indictments Don't Strengthen Trump. That's Just Media Nonsense." Also, the Trump defenses, and what's the end game here?

Special Prosecutor Jack Smith just dropped four new charges on Donald Trump, indictments for conspiring to overturn American democracy and ultimately causing January 6. Former prosecutor and US Congressman Paul Hodes joins Matt Robison and Republican political consultant Alicia Preston to walk through the three biggest questions from the new charges: how strong are they, can Trump's defense work, and how will all of these mounting legal cases get done before the 2024 election? 0:00 The Charges 1:43 How Strong IS The Case? 4:44 Trump's Defense: Will It Work? 10:11 The Co-Conspirators 11:59 Why No Sedition Charge? 13:41 Republicans' Lame Response 15:50 Trump's Insane Response 18:13 Trump's Other Problem: Money 19:35 Can We Do ALL These Trials? 21:26 Can Trump Still Win?

No one likes money in politics. But the simple truth is, if you want to win and do the things that you believe in, you need to raise campaign cash. And one of the Democratic Party's top experts on how to do it, Josh Handelman, says, we shouldn't feel bad about that. We should embrace it. He also explains how things have changed int he past 17 years in campaigns, what works and what doesn't and Matt and Josh share some of their best secrets for being successful in campaigns.

Following Part One on the Ron DeSantis campaign catastrophe, Kartik Krishnaiyer, one the the nation's leading experts on Florida politics and proprietor of The Florida Squeeze and Matt Robison discuss whether a reboot is possible. ALSO: the biggest Senate race in the country that you probably should be paying more attention to. And another incredible, undemocratic, anti-democracy power grab. And if you want to see Kartik's book, check it out here. And come support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/user?u=7411781

When top elections analysts are asking whether your campaign is the worst in modern political history, you know things have gone south. And that's where things are for Ron DeSantis after a series of disasters, embarrassments, and acts of stubbornly clinging to insane positions. Kartik Krishnaiyer, one the the nation's leading experts on Florida politics and proprietor of The Florida Squeeze joins to walk through this monumental political disaster and what it means for the presidential race. And if you want to see Kartik's book, check it out here. And come support us on ⁠Patreon⁠ to see PART TWO of the video of this episode! https://www.patreon.com/user?u=7411781

It's time for another installment our most fun episode series on space, where we go WAY Beyond Politics. We welcome back UNH Observatory Director John Gianforte to talk about what the James Webb Space Telescope has discovered in it's first year, and run down the top five most mind-blowing images. Find the full video on our Patreon page here, and please support our work! Or if you want to pull up those images yourself, here they are: 5) James Webb Space Telescope time travels billions of years in amazing 3D visualization https://www.space.com/james-webb-space-telescope-3d-video-13-billion-year-journey 4) Neptune's rings https://www.planetary.org/space-images/neptunes-rings-2 3) James Webb Space Telescope celebrates 1st year of science with jaw-dropping view of cosmic nursery  https://www.space.com/james-webb-space-telescope-new-image-rho-ophiuchi-celebrate-year-science-july-12 2) Webb Detects Water Vapor in Rocky Planet-forming Zone  https://webbtelescope.org/contents/news-releases/2023/news-2023-130   AND Exoplanet HIP 65426 b  https://www.planetary.org/space-images/exoplanet-hip-65426-b 1) The deep field. https://www.planetary.org/space-images/jwsts-first-deep-field-image

Three under the radar stories from recent days suggest that Republicans are once again about to kneecap each other and leave a wide open path for Donald Trump. Also, disaster in Israel for democracy, an empty trying to get back to the top in New Hampshire, and what's with the death of sports sections?