

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

Jun 26, 2020 • 30min
Don't Use Artillery Shells as Doorstops (Friday Release Valve)
(NSFK) Leo Kearse, Scottish Comedian of the Year 2018, rejoins the program to suss out the week's better underserved headlines, from British citizens asking New Zealand to invade it to even more things that can get you arrested in Cambodia. You can follow Leo on his YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCp1hRBGoDHKSn4HiHIzkXAw

Jun 24, 2020 • 50min
So What Would Happen if We Legalized Heroin?
Jeffrey Miron is an economist at Harvard University, and joins Heaton to discuss the Drug War. If we legalized the hard stuff, would usage spike? Would overdoses? What's the balance of disruption to society against revenue reclaimed from law enforcement? Also: did Coca-Cola ever really contain cocaine?

Jun 19, 2020 • 31min
Pneumatic Parrot Tubes & German Trains (Friday Release Valve)
(NSKF) Brian Sack and Jack Helmuth of the Questionable Material podcast join Heaton to go through the week's underserved headlines, from funeral planning involving elephants to an inexplicably nude death in Arizona.

Jun 17, 2020 • 1h 14min
Universal Basic Income vs. Sprawling Bureaucracy
Universal Basic Income (UBI) has been advocated in various forms by Thomas Paine, Andrew Yang, Milton Friedman, and Richard Nixon: a minimum income floor available to all Americans. How does it stack up compared to our existing welfare state? How would it work, and can we afford it? Scott Santens is a UBI proponent who has advised Andrew Yang on UBI, and is now senior policy advisor to Mike Broihier. He sits on the Board of Directors for the Gerald Huff Fund For Humanity.

Jun 12, 2020 • 32min
Bidding on Souls, and Australian Sex Mishaps (Friday Release Valve)
NSFK - Comedian Myq Kaplan and professor/humor scholar Dannagal Goldthwaite Young join the show to plumb the week's underserved headlines, from flying turtles to Outback sex work awkwardness to the going rate for human souls at an auction. The latest installment of Friday Release Valve.

Jun 11, 2020 • 1h 4min
What's all this "Defund the Police" stuff about?
"Defund the Police" is the rallying cry of protestors and social media this week. Does it mean abolishing the police, replacing them, or reforming them? Scott Shackford of Reason joins to explain what the phrase actually means, as well as the looming role of police unions in the status quo.

Jun 4, 2020 • 48min
What the Hell Is Happening, and How Can We Help?
Riots! Looting! The National Guard! Black Lives Matter! In the first half of a special two-part episode we explore: What's happening? What are the problems erupting at present? And, if we can pin them down, how do we bring actual solutions to the table instead?

May 29, 2020 • 34min
Lockdown is Awkward for Polygamists (Friday Release Valve)
Comedians Marie Connor and Kevin Seefried join the show to discuss the week's underserved headlines, from jury selections on Zoom to night clubs that prohibit dancing to New Zealand's sheep hostages.

May 28, 2020 • 52min
How Money Actually Works in Congress
Dan Boren is a former member of Congress--as well as Heaton's old boss. He joins the program to talk about what life is like as a representative, pressures congressmen face from leadership and lobbyists, and how influential money is to the legislative process.

May 22, 2020 • 32min
French Serial Killers, Prince Harry, and Strip Club Law (Friday Comedy Headlines)
NSFK - Joe DeVito and Lou Perez join Heaton to sort out the week's underserved headlines, including the horrifying way a South Carolina restaurant has decided to make its facility appear more full, what videos to avoid while serving in Japan's legislature, and the best thing on the Internet involving ant hill thespians!