The Political Orphanage

David Holt is Mayor of Oklahoma City, one of the top twenty largest cities in the United States. He joins to discuss the nature of his position, and the issues facing major cities. SUPPORT THE SHOW! www.patreon.com/andrewheaton

American cities are prioritizing big box stores over small businesses, in a model predicated on permanent growth. But when growth hits a snag, will suburbs collapse?  Charles Marohn is the founder and president of Strong Towns. He is a land use planner and (retired) professional engineer. He is the author of Strong Towns: A Bottom-Up Revolution to Rebuild American Prosperity SUPPORT THE SHOW! Patreon.com/andrewheaton  

What are the underlying economics and origins of tipping? Is the practice expanding to new sectors, and if so, is this good or just irritating? The World’s Smartest Podcast Network joins to discuss! Kristaps Andrejsons’ PayPal address: ihatebalrog@gmail.com

We’re Not Wrong is my other political podcast, with host fellows Justin Robert Young and Jen Briney. On this episode we discuss “national divorce,” the rise and fall of James O'Keefe of Project Veritas, and the difference between journalism and activism.  If you enjoy it, check out the podcast WE'RE NOT WRONG! 

Why is addiction (booze, drugs, and more) on the rise in the United States? Dr. Anna Lembke is a professor of psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine, and chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic. She is the author of “Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence.” Book at: www.mightyheaton.com/featured Support the show! Patreon.com/andrewheaton

Alistair Smith proposes that the only real thing governments differ on is how many selectors are needed for a leader to gain and keep power–everything is window dressing. He advocates for understanding politics realistically and strategically, and designing our systems around the idea that leaders are self interested. Also Relevant: “Dr. Jeffrey Pfeiffer on The Rules of Getting and Keeping Power” https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com/the-rules-of-getting-and-keeping-power SUPPORT THE SHOW! www.patreon.com/andrewheaton

Kristaps Andrejsons is the host of "Eastern Borders" podcast, which formerly explored Soviet History, and is now an in-the-field news report on the conflict in Ukraine.  Kristaps is a big NATO proponent and promotes strong American intervention in Ukraine. I've brought him on to contrast with the positions of this week's guest, Ben Abelow.  Also--Kristaps got banned from Twitter when an argument about Ukraine and Russia got out of hand. We discuss the circumstances.

We're almost a year into the conflict in Ukraine. What does a conclusion look like? How much is costing in terms of money and lives, and to what end?   Author Ben Abelow joins to discuss the situation and his book, "How the West Brought War to Ukraine: Understanding How U.S. and NATO Policies Led to the Crisis, War, and the Risk of Nuclear Catastrophe."

What's the optimum size of a country? As countries get bigger, does the nature of governance necessarily change?   In this episode, we explore scaling—how an increasingly large nation-state adapts, or fails, to deliver services competently.

Stanford’s Elimination of Harmful Language Initiative includes everything from the words “brave” to “crazy.” The World’s Smartest Podcast Network assembles to read the list and mercilessly laugh at it. Then, turn their attention to the astonishing and hilarious lies of freshman representative George Soros. LINKS:  SUPPORT THE SHOW! www.Patreon.com/andrewheaton Episode: “When To Scrap Politically Incorrect Words” https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com/when-to-scrap-politically-offensive-words Stanford’s Elimination of Harmful Language Initiative https://stanforddaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Stanford-EHLI-Harmful-Language-List.pdf