

The Political Orphanage
Andrew Heaton
Politics minus bile plus jokes. Comedian and avowed independent Andrew Heaton interviews authors and thought leaders about policy and big thinky stuff.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 5, 2020 • 23min
Judge Andrew Napolitano on Natural Law
Judge Andrew Napolitano is a former Judge of the New Jersey Superior Court, a law professor, and prolific author. He's the Senior Judicial Analyst at Fox News. He joins the show to discuss Natural Law, and the idea that the role of the courts is predominantly to protect individual rights from government incursion.

Oct 4, 2020 • 19min
The Role of Judges
It's Judge Week on The Political Orphanage! Where we learn the actual fault lines between judicial theories, and possibly even what "jurisprudence" means. This week we'll hear from preeminent progressive, conservative, and libertarian legal scholars about what actually happens behind the gavel. In this kickoff episode we talk about: * The role of judges * Why it's usually stupid to say "conservative judge" or "progressive judge" * What jurisprudence is * What precedent is

Oct 2, 2020 • 28min
Glorious Asbestos, Quebec (Friday Release Valve)
Andrew Young and John Devore join Heaton to sort out the week's best, underserved headlines, including stories about: Quebec, exhuming a dead president to prove a point, a poorly-named town in New York, and further evidence that New Hampshire is amazing.

Sep 30, 2020 • 1h 11min
The Presidential Debate Was Mostly Heckling
You can't truly understand last night's Trump vs. Biden debate without hearing from comedians, because so much of the train wreck was performative or outright heckling. Comedians Turner Sparks, Andrea Jones-Rooy, Michael Kaplan, and Heaton discuss: Was there an actual strategy behind last night's antics? What's the balance of horror to petulance? The episode is the first joint venture of the brand new World's Smartest Podcasting Network, an alliance of independent comedians with the goal of making politics suck less! Other network shows are: "The Lost in America Podcast" with Turner Sparks & Michael Kaplan, and "Ask a Political Scientist" with Dr. Andrea Jones-Rooy.

Sep 25, 2020 • 31min
We Support Getting Elephants High (Friday Release Valve)
Comedian Darryl Charles and sex expert Dr. Timaree Leigh, hosts of DTF: Darryl & Timaree Fun Hour, join the program to sort out the week's underserved headlines. Including: Snake orgies! In defense of pandas! And penis gun antics

Sep 23, 2020 • 58min
The Neurochemicals of Politics
Dr. Loretta Breuning of the Inner Mammal Institute joins the show to discuss how status and neurochemicals prompt us to fight in politics, and the evolutionary roots of tribalism.

Sep 18, 2020 • 41min
Armed Monkey Scarecrows (Friday Release Valve)
Jeremy Kareken and Joe Terwilliger join Heaton to sort out the week's best, under served headlines, including stories about: * Dennis Rodman * Bear bone vodka * Priests blessing nuclear weapons

Sep 16, 2020 • 46min
PJ O'Rourke On The Deep Middle (Corrected)
Political satirist and personal hero P.J. O'Rourke triumphantly returns to discuss his latest book, "A Cry From the Far Middle: Dispatches from a Divided Land." In which he makes stirring defense of: classical liberalism, temperamental moderates, and governing through math instead of throwing wads of cash at problems. Support the program by going to patreon.com/andrewheaton

Sep 11, 2020 • 53min
Like the Paris Review (For Porn) - Friday Release Valve
(Definitely Not Safe for Kids) Yvette d’Entremont and Alice Vaughn are the hosts of Two Girls One Mic, a podcast that reviews the plots of porn films. They join Heaton to sort out the week's under served headlines, including Swiss chocolate snow, fake languages, and if and when brothels in Berlin will finally reopen.

Sep 9, 2020 • 1h 17min
Thomas Frank Is Sick of Anti-Populists
What is populism and where did it come from? Thomas Frank is the author of "The People, No: A Brief History of Anti-Populism". He joins the show to discuss populism as understood by populists--and specifically the populists who trace their lineage back to the original movement of the late 1800's.