Beyond Politics

Matt joins legendary West Virginia radio host Howard Monroe on his morning show to discuss the arguments around statehood for Washington D.C., why the arguments against should remind you of "My Cousin Vinny," and what the real holdup is. Also, what the government should actually do to keep people from migrating out of rural states. 

And other tantalizing bread crumbs for investors from Chris Hill of Motley Fool Money. Photo by Georgia Vagim on Unsplash

Pia Carusone is the managing director at SKDKnickerbocker (SKDK), a top national communications and political consulting firm. She was Chief of Staff for Congresswoman Gabby Giffords during 2011 shooting that left six dead and injured Congresswoman Giffords and 12 others. Carusone helped to start Giffords’ organization that advocates for solutions to prevent gun violence, and later served as the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the Department of Homeland Security. She talks about how Americans views on gun safety and gun violence have changed in the last two decades, how gun safety advocates are making slow progress, and what the future of the issue might look like. We also touch on Democratic messaging and whiskey, and Pia's role in creating both... Photo by Roman Poberezhnik on Unsplash

Today, we've got a wild story for you. It’s definitely Beyond Politics...but trust us on this one, it'll make you think. Our guest Dr. Brandy Schillace is the Editor-in-Chief for BMJ’s Medical Humanities Journal and the author of MR. HUMBLE AND DR. BUTCHER: A Monkey’s Head, the Pope’s Neuroscientist, and the Quest to Transplant the Soul, which the New York Times called “delightfully macabre.” A fascinating look at what makes us...us...and whether we could ever move ourselves to another body.  Photo by Syed Ahmad on Unsplash

Matt joins legendary West Virginia radio host Howard Monroe on his morning show to discuss the Georgia voting law jockeying, why the Dems' legislative strategy shifted this week, why Joe Manchin is even more in the catbird seat, and what Mary Poppins has to do with passing laws in Congress.

Chris Hill, the host of Motley Fool Money, the #1 stock investing radio show in America, discusses the Atlantic article arguing that the growth of index funds could be changing everything: the way companies behave, people invest, and the whole market operates.  Also, why is good economic news in the Great Reopening a mix bag for many companies?  And what can Godzilla teach us about the entertainment industry right now?

2020 was not a great year for pollsters, at least the ones who release their work to the public: in the final three weeks of the election, national surveys of the presidential race were wrong by an average of more than six points, the same as 2016. Is something fundamentally wrong here? And what do we do if there’s problem with one of the major tools we use to understand public opinion and guide election campaigns in our democracy? Recently, the think tank Third Way convened a panel of top experts to address this question. That panel was presented mostly to political insiders…but one of those top experts joins us to bring the discussion to our listeners. Angie Kuefler is Senior Vice President of Research at the Global Strategy Group. She has done extensive political research for local, state, and federal candidates, including many members of congress, governors, and issue advocacy campaigns.

In the 1970s, conservatives began to believe that the places where people in government got their information - their basic facts -- were inherently liberal. They didn’t like the answers they were hearing from universities, scientists, and research groups on what government should do…what policies we should follow. So some of them decided that they needed a whole different regime of knowledge and analysis – a different way of looking at the world – that would justify the policies that they wanted to see. They started new institutions – led by the Heritage Foundation – that would be the vanguard of a new, conservative ecosystem of ideas all aimed at explicitly justifying conservative policy. Eventually, as these institutions grew more successful, liberals followed suit. Today, we live a world of deep polarization. Our two political tribes don’t seem to agree on anything, and nowadays, they sometimes can’t even agree on what is reality is.  Can we trace it, or at least a big part of it, back to this moment when the fundamental way each party came to view reality began to be so consciously engineered?  EJ Fagan, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Illinois at Chicago, traces these threads back to explain how we got here.

Building the stuff we rely on in America -- roads, broadband, the electric grid -- is something that both parties say is important.  Donald Trump pushed a giant investment in it for years. So why were Republicans dead set against the Biden Administration's infrastructure plan even before it was released?   Also, is the media full of it these days, why vaccine passports won't work in America, and what to make of Deborah Birx and other Trump administration health officials sudden finger-pointing campaign on Covid.  Photo by Denys Nevozhai on Unsplash

Would the answer "Appalachia" surprise you? Maybe...but consider that the senior-most Republican leader in America is from Kentucky, while the Democrat who wields the most power in the Senate is Joe Manchin of West Virginia.  They come from a region that is often misunderstood...and too often looked down on.  But Appalachian issues are American issues -- and the priorities of Appalachian leaders echo throughout our country.  Today, we welcome the hosts of the outstanding podcast Appodlachia onto the show to share some insights into the region's politics, economy, and lessons for America.  Check it out, and subscribe to their show (and ours!) if you want more of their great content.