The Political Orphanage

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

CROSSOVER EPISODE from Alienating the Audience When does science fiction get "too political"? What separates a film with a strong point of view from stale publum or Woke pulpitry? Josh Jennings joins to discuss how political messaging can derail or suffocate good storytelling.   

America has one educational path: go get a university degree! If you stray from it, you're in trouble. Could shifting the education system towards apprenticeships be a more effective way to help prepare students for life and careers?   Noel Ginsburg is the Founder and CEO of CareerWise, following the 41-year stint as the founder and CEO of the manufacturing company Intertech Plastics. He's a national advocate for apprenticeships, and has testified to the U.S. Senate on their effectiveness.

A new study shows that “affective polarization” is on the upswing: negative feelings about enemy parties is on the increase, even if policy positions and ideology are not. What’s the main drive behind the increase? Dr. Andrea Jones-Rooy joins to discuss the primary factor in partisan rancor.  Morris Fiorina: The Country Isn’t Polarized https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com/ep-28-the-country-isnt-polarized-guest-morris-fiorina-0  Tim Carney: Loneliness is Worse for Cities Than Godzilla https://podcasts.apple.com/ng/podcast/ep-109-loneliness-is-worse-for-cities-than-godzilla/id1439837349?i=1000436493673  Amusing Ourselves to Death https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com/amusing-ourselves-to-death  “The Origins and Consequences of Affective Polarization in the United States” https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev-polisci-051117-073034  Heaton on Andrea’s show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-kKDkeauj4&list=PLoGqAxLE0kqxeilRQgba67-b45UCE9tQw&index=18 

Generative AI like ChatGPT and Dall-E 2 are poised to change… everything.   Tom Merritt of the Daily Tech News Show and Darren Kitchen of Hak5 join to discuss its ramification, and how automation will free up everybody… or put everyone out of a job.   See Heaton’s AI artwork from Lensa and Dall-E 2 at www.mightyheaton.com/aiart SUPPORT THE SHOW! www.patreon.com/andrewheaton

Joel Kotkin worries that we're careening into a new bout of feudalism.   He sees a resurgence of intellectual dogmatism, coupled with inequality and lack of mobility, pushing civilization back into a feudalistic power structure of lords, peasants, and priests.   He joins to discuss his book "The Coming Neo-Feudalism: A Warning to the Global Middle Class"

It's the fifth annual comedy Christmas special! All underwritten by Snuffy's (Off Route 44).   This year's Christmas special includes: Inappropriate curse words; World War I; discussions about bats; hilarity; gluten   Enjoy!   PRIOR SPECIALS:   A Rather Snuffy's Christmas - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-political-orphanage/id1439837349?i=1000545755269 A Grander Snuffy's Christmas - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/a-grander-snuffys-christmas/id1439837349?i=1000503286243 Another Snuffy's Christmas - https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/another-snuffys-christmas/id1439837349?i=1000460559897 A Very Snuffy's Christsmas - https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com/ep-30-a-very-snuffys-christmas-0

Scott Horton wants America to go home. He does not think we should be the world’s policeman. And when we try to be, our foreign policy incites blowback, foreign chaos, and unnecessary bloodshed. He joins to discuss isolationism and non-interventionism.   His Soho Forum Debate with Bill Kristol Bill Kristol interview IR Theory: How to Prevent and Provoke Stupid Wars

Phil Gramm is the author of “The Myth of Inequality: How Government Biases Policy Debates.” He joins to discuss the metrics by which we identify poverty, and how otherwise sound data is frequently misinterpreted.