Episodes
-
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.politix.fm
This week, Matt and Brian discuss the unexpected final (?) twist of the 2024 campaign: The immense backlash to Donald Trumpâs rally at Madison Square Garden.
* Why did a bad comedianâs offensive comments about Puerto Rico break through, when he and other speakers made equally racist comments about black people, Jews, Palestinians, and others?
* After a campaign in which Democrats largely downplayed race politics in favor of cross-cutting democracy, abortion, and health care appeals, how did racism become the disqualifying thing that broke through the MAGA din?
* Are Democrats like Pete Buttigieg right that the Madison Square Garden controversy is âbait,â and a distraction from those other issues, when itâs visibly tearing Republicans apart, and theyâre desperate to change the subject?
Then, behind the paywall, Matt and Brian take a comprehensive look at the immense, organic backlash to Jeff Bezos and the Washington Post after Bezos scuttled the paperâs endorsement of Kamala Harris to preemptively appease Donald Trump. To what extent was this a canary in the coal mine of for the countryâs drift into authoritarianism? Is the boycott itself a leading indicator that the anti-Trump resistance is a sleeping giant awakened? Will campaign reporters push back against Bezos-style thinking by closing out the election with the kind of adversarial coverage that Trump deserved all along.
All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribersâjust upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.
Further reading:
* Mattâs 27 takes on the election, one week out.
* Brian on the awakening of Americaâs pro-democracy majority.
* Kamala Harris, For Men! by Sarah Lazarus.
* Jeff Bezos âexplainsâ himself.
* Michelle Obamaâs plea to male voters.
-
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.politix.fm
This week, Matt and Brian discuss the merits and drawbacks of field organizing, and why itâs worth knocking on doors or making calls if you care about the outcome of the election. They tackle questions including:
* Can feel your own contribution to turnout, even if canvassing operations are expensive for the campaign? (Spoiler: Yes.)
* Where to volunteer depending on your demographic traits.
* How talking to real, marginal voters who donât live and breathe politics will humble even the most self-assured ideologue.
Then, behind the paywall, Matt and Brian muse about what they hope and expect to see from the campaigns in the closing days of election. Will Donald Trump fill more news holes with Arnold Palmerâs fleshy hog (to avoid more discourse about January 6 and his dictatorial ambitions)? What can Kamala Harris do to keep national attention where it belongs? How can everyone from lowly issue advocates to retired four-star generals do to make sure the campaign ends on a helpful note?
All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribersâjust upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.
Further reading:
* Brianâs reflections on his first canvassing experience.
* Matt on why Democrats should talk about their good issues.
* A right-leaning think tank concludes Trumpâs fiscal agenda will dramatically hasten Social Security insolvency and the severity of the automatic benefit cuts seniors will experience if we reach that point.
-
Episodes manquant?
-
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.politix.fm
This week, Matt and Brian examine the quadrennial liberal October panic, and think through practical ways for Democrats to close strong:
* Is it possible to increase the salience of Democratsâ top issues (abortion, democracy, and health care) when Trump is hoovering up attention to his fascist freakshow?
* Might the fascist freakshow, for perverse reasons, be helping Trump keep the race close?
* To what extent should working the media refs to focus on Trump outrages fit into the plan?
SPOILERS:
Matt answers those questions: Yes, maybe, and very little.
Brian answers them: Maybe, no, quite a bit.
Then, behind the paywall, a granular look at why Democrats shouldnât fear racial depolarization. Have Democrats (wrongly) convinced themselves that they canât increase their share of the white vote? Does it matter if homing in on issues like abortion and anti-fascism makes the Democratic coalition a little less rainbow? Are these issues resonant enough to deliver Kamala Harris a victory if Trump and his corrupt allies stage a rat fuck late in October?
All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribersâjust upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.
Further reading:
* The Our Brand Is Crisis documentary.
* Brian on Barack Obama doing asking the Joseph Welch question of our generation.
* Matt on how Harris can, should, and does appeal to Trump-curious male voters.
-
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.politix.fm
This week, Matt and Brian take a big-picture view of Republicans for Kamala, including:
* Why the Emerging Democratic Majority thesis of the aughts and early 2010s made people assume that outreach to Republicans would lead to betrayal on policy grounds.
* The academic basis for Harris to view support from influential conservatives as a critical safeguard against Democratic backsliding.
* How a more concerted Trump-accountability effort at the outset of Joe Bidenâs presidency might have mooted the whole need for a unified front.
Then, behind the paywall, a more nuts-and-bolts look at how this kind of third-party validation works in practice: Are Harrisâs critics really mystified by why Democrats keep citing state-level Republican praise for the Biden administrationâs response to Hurricane Helene? Would we be talking about January 6 so much, all of a sudden, were it not for the fact that it drove so many influential Republicans into the anti-Trump camp? If this kind of thing is suspicious, or of dubious value, why is Trump trying so hard to pretend Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, and Elon Musk reflect significant Democratic defections?
All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribersâjust upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.
Further reading:
* How Democracies Die, by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt
* Brian on creeping Democratic fatalism and the role Republicans for Kamala mightâmightâbe playing in it.
* Matt on how Harris can, should, and does appeal to Trump-curious male voters.
-
JD Vance is the more polished debater. And whether it was because he was jittery or prepped not to take a wrecking ball to anyone except Donald Trump, Tim Walz wasnât generally able to convey that Vance is much more extreme than he pretended to be on stage Tuesday night.
So how did he win?
In this free post-VP debate episode, Matt and Brian discuss:
* Whether Vanceâs polish is really more appealing to a general audience than Walzâs plain-spoken delivery.
* Was Vance able to simultaneously rehabilitate his tattered image, focus on attacking Harris instead of Walz, and kiss up to Donald Trump?
* Most importantly, will Walzâs best momentâcornering Vance who was unwilling to admit that Trump lost the 2020 electionâbe the defining moment of the debate that establishes Walz as the clear winner.
* Also, what about the moderators?
If youâre new to Politix, welcome! We hope youâll continue to listen, and consider upgrading to a paid subscription.
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.politix.fm/subscribe -
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.politix.fm
This week, Matt and Brian take stock of Donald Trumpâs late pitch to young male voters, who are significantly more Republican curious than young men were in the Bush and Obama years:
* Are young men really drifting in a more conservative direction? Or are they mostly attracted to Trumpâs teflon libertinism?
* Is America swinging back to a pre-Bush norm when partisanship wasnât so stratified by age?
* Will these voters turn out? Are they even registered?
Then, behind the paywall, Matt and Brian debate the theoretical merits of pandering to young voters with policy appeals. Are Trumpâs weird promises around vaping and cryptocurrency really the kind of thing that can mobilize voters without partisan commitments or apolitical young people? Does the fact that he fully reversed himself, in exchange for money, to adopt these new positions undermine the appeal at all? And to what extent is the Harris campaign also microtargeting young voters?
All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribersâjust upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.
Further reading:
* Brian on the deficiencies of Trumpâs pandering, young-male voter Hail Mary.
* Matt on whether the influx of women into the workforce (and, in parallel, the Democratic Party) help explain new norms around sensitivity (or young menâs new openness to MAGA).
* Jessica Valenti on how Kamala Harris doesnât just defend abortion but has started to normalize it.
* The Harvard Institute of Politics fall youth poll.
-
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.politix.fm
This week, Matt and Brian take stock of the many ways Republicans have flailed since Donald Trump lost last weekâs debate against Kamala Harris:
* If theyâre trying to change the topic, or convince people Trump won, why are so many MAGA influencers still trying to âproveâ ABC rigged the debate for Harris?
* Is the discourse theyâve provoked by terrorizing Haitians in Springfield, OH, actually better for Trump than some stories about how he lost?
* Where does Trumpâs, um, weird relationship with the bigoted conspiracy-theorist Laura Loomer fit into all this?
Then, behind the paywall, Matt and Brian debate the nature of racist political demagoguery when the progenitor is as erratic and undisciplined as Donald Trump. Are Democrats too traumatized by the Trumpian immigration politics to recognize when Trump veers into politically toxic territory? Is it a political emergency when Trump manages to drag discourse back to immigration? Even when he does so by saying outrageous and unpopular things? Should Democrats be more chill, pressing their advantages on whatever issue happens to be in the newsâor should they always anxiously try to steer the conversation back to safer terrain?
All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribersâjust upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.
Further reading:
* Matt on Karl Lueger, George Wallace, Donald Trump and the tired dance of the demagogue.
* Brian on how Democrats can compete with this Trumpian incitement machine instead of running a conventional campaign and getting drowned out.
* The James Fallows and Deborah Fallows Our Towns foundation, book, and documentary.
-
That was way better than the first one! In what may be their only debate Kamala Harris reduced Donald Trump to a smoldering mass of anger, deranged lies, and incoherent rambling. Itâs fair to say everyone agrees she won, because pro-Trump influencers are already attacking the moderators.
In this free post-debate episode, Matt and Brian discuss:
* How Harris pivoted away from Bidenâs failed debate strategy toward one designed successfully to provoke Trump into making big mistakes.
* Why her polls slipped a couple points between the Democratic convention and the debate.
* What a longer run strategy to rebuild and maintain her pre-convention lead might look like.
* Will she get a measurable bump from her debate victory on Tuesday? And, if so, how long will it last?
If youâre new to Politix, welcome! We hope youâll continue to listen, and consider upgrading to a paid subscription.
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.politix.fm/subscribe -
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.politix.fm
This week, Brian takes a much needed vacation and Matt is joined by The Atlanticâs Jerusalem Demsas to talk about housing and the 2024 campaign.
* Barack Obamaâs striking and unexpected embrace of the YIMBY diagnosis of the housing issue at the Democratic National Convention.
* Kamala Harrisâ more equivocal embrace of the same formula along with some other âŠ
-
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.politix.fm
This week, Matt and Brian look back at what went right at last weekâs Democratic National Convention, how it maps on to the lead Harris built in her first month on the campaign trail, and what it augurs for the fall campaign:
* How exactly did Harris build a lead so quickly?
* Is maintaining or growing it really as simple as âkeep on doing what youâre doing?â Is that even possible given how the dynamics of the race will change in the home stretch?
* What does peak performance look like, if not this?
Then, behind the paywall, Matt and Brian break down why her acceptance speech was such a big hit across the party. How did she manage to convince centrists and progressives alike that the speech reflected their values? Is she demonstrating the same kinds of political finesse that made Barack Obama such a successful candidate? Or are people mostly just excited to rally behind someone who seems to know how to beat Trump? Plus a granular look at why the polls are probably pretty close to the markâmeaning Harris has a better than even chance of winning, but the election will likely be close, as in 2020 and (gulp) 2016.
All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribersâjust upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.
Further reading:
* Brian on Democrats balancing confidence with non-complacency.
* Matt on how Harris can ride happy warrior anti-Trump vibes to victory.
* Joe Lieberman (???) had a pretty good acceptance speech, too?
-
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.politix.fm
This week, Semaforâs Dave Weigel joins Matt and Brian from Chicago to assess the Dem convention in Chicago:
* Is DNCâs treatment of credentialed journalists another sign that Democrats are consciously decoupling from the mainstream media?
* Are there any politically meaningful differences between how the convention is playing out on national television and how people are experiencing it in person?
* Can Harris get a polling bump out of the festivities, above and beyond the spike her post-launch campaign blitz generated?
Then, behind the paywall, Matt and Brian pick up where they left off last week in their debate over whether Harris has improved economic sentiment simply by restoring optimism to the anti-Trump coalition. What does the data suggest? Will she come to regret her policy rollout if it turns out public opinion about the economy is already on the mend? Can she appeal to skeptical voters without staking out views on issues like price controls or deficit reduction that could prove to be unnecessary?
All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribersâjust upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.
Further reading:
* Brian argues the Harris campaign is purpose built to reassmble the national anti-Trump majority.
* Matt argues this approach is too complacent.
* Dave on how Harris has driven third-party polling into the ground.
-
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.politix.fm
This week, Matt and Brian survey the news periphery for various black swans and Chekhovâs guns that might change the trajectory of the race. They discuss:
* How Kamala Harrisâs joy-themed campaign might affect economic sentiment, and whether the economy itself is at risk of contraction;
* Donald Trumpâs coverup of a $10 million bribe (or attempted bribe) dangled during the 2016 campaign by the Egyptian government;
* The campaign press corpsâ increasing impatience with Harris over press access.
Then, behind the paywall, a deep dive into the apparent hack and theft of Trump campaign emails, and why the news outlets that have obtained them have so far not published any stories about their contents. Is the political media establishing a new set of rules meant to benefit Donald Trump? Will these emails eventually appear online, unfiltered, just as Clinton campaign emails did eight years ago? Can mainstream outlets quietly decide to show restraint over Trump emails, without bothering to explain to the public why their standards changed and what they got wrong in 2016?
All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribersâjust upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.
Further reading:
* Brian on what the New York Times and other outlets that drove the EMAILS frenzy in 2016 owe their readers now.
* Matt on whether Harris should talk to the press, and how the press can do a better job with their access.
* Brian on why Joe Biden should declassify the governmentâs Trump files.
-
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.politix.fm
This week, Matt and Brian offer near-instant reaction to the news that Kamala Harris has nominated Minnesota Governor Tim Walz for the vice presidency. They discuss:
* The pros and cons of this decision;
* The factors that likely persuaded Harris to select Walz rather than a swing-state or red-state governor;
* How adding Walz to the ticket might shape the race and the future of the Democratic Party.
Then, behind the paywall, Politix looks at the veepstakes in a wider context of developments that might shape affect the outcome of the election. Will anything about this decision really matter if economic headwinds weaken the U.S. economy over the next three months? Is it more or less significant to domestic politics than a potential regional conflict in the Middle East? If itâs ultimately insignificant to politics, why did people factionalize around various vice-presidential contenders?
All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribersâjust upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.
Further reading:
* Brianâs 24 thoughts on the Harris veepstakes.
* Matt on the politics of weirdness.
* Walzâs interview with Ezra Klein.
-
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.politix.fm
This week, Matt and Brian delve into the new discourse, ignited by vice-presidential shortlister Tim Walz, about the inherent weirdness of MAGA leaders.
* What do Democrats mean when they say Republicans like Donald Trump and JD Vance are âweirdâ?
* How normal are Democrats, actually?
* Having drawn this line, can Democrats now concede anything to âweirdâ Republicans as they appeal to swing voters?
Then, behind the paywall, a wide-ranging discussion about whether this salvo, which has put Republicans back on their heels, entitles Walz to special consideration as Kamala Harris considers her running mate. Would Walzâs gruff, non-nonsense vibe more effectively balance the ticket than other, more moderate contenders? Does he offer lasting coalition unity, or just a bandaid on factional rifts that are bound to burst back open? Do data-rooted, Pennsylvania-centric considerations dwarf hazier ideas about which ticket makes the best avatar for the Democratic Party?
All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribersâjust upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.
Further reading:
* Greg Sargent on how the politics of immigration donât all work to Republicansâ advantage.
* Brian on the downward (and likely very weird) spiral Republicans will enter if Harris claims a meaningful lead.
* Matt on how Harris can and should position herself as more moderate than Biden.
-
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.politix.fm
This week, Matt and Brian discuss the Democrats brand new presumptive presidential nominee, Kamala Harris, and how she might end up on top after the dust from this shakeup settles.
* What can and should Harris do to broaden her appeal relative to Joe Biden, given that sheâs both inheriting his campaign and is viewed to be more left wing than he is.
* Can she maintain renewed youth and non-white voter enthusiasm and disarm skeptical swing voters simultaneously?
* Are Democrats ready for coming Republican attacks on Harrisâthe ones that might actually do some damage?
Then, a whole lot more behind the paywall. Is the lesson of Hillary Clinton and now Joe Biden that the Republican smear machine has grown so big and unchallenged that it can make any leading Democrat politically unviable in a short amount of time? What kinds of structural changes to the progressive firmament might help Democrats weather these attacks and land agenda-setting attacks of their own? How can any Democrat succeed in this environment if Democrats doât change anything?
All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribersâjust upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.
Further reading:
* Brian wonders whether weâve entered a new period where Democrats will have to get used to their presidents serving a single term, during which they'll be cannon fodder in right-wing dominated media.
* Mattâs 17 thoughts on the newly transformed race.
* Ron Brownstein on whether Harrisâs coalition will look more like Bidenâs, Barack Obamaâs, or somewhere in between.
-
After weeks of internal recriminations over the Democratic Partyâs crisis of confidence in Joe Bidenâs ability to mount a winning campaign against Donald Trump Biden announced that he will not accept the Democratic nomination for president. In short order, he announced his endorsement of Kamala Harris, making her the runaway favorite to top the Democratic ticket.
In this emergency episode, Brian and Matt discuss:
* Whether a contested convention would do more harm than good, even if it resulted in the nomination of a more popular ticket.
* Why progressive stalwarts like Bernie Sanders and AOC stuck by Biden to the end.
* Who would make the Harrisâs best running mate?
* How Harris should parry against inevitable sexist and racist attacks from the right.
Itâs a brand new election! This episode is free to all, but if youâre interested in our follow on coverage and in accessing our full archive, we hope youâll consider upgrading your subscription.
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.politix.fm/subscribe -
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.politix.fm
This week, Matt and Brian assess a shocking week in politics.
* Are we really going to move on from the Trump shooting attempt if it turns out, as seems possible, that the shooter was an accelerationist right-wing fanatic?
* Will Democratic leaders use the attempted shooting as an offramp from their efforts to find a stronger presidential candidate?
* Does Nancy Pelosi still have the clout and skill to help get Joe Biden to think beyond his ego?
Then, behind the paywallâa whole bunch more. Does Pelosiâs emergence as the leader of the Demsâ replace-Biden effort make Brian reconsider his long misgivings about Pelosiâs leadership? Does Bidenâs political failures make Matt reconsider his assessment of Bidenâs political instinct and the wisdom of the centrist establishment? How was the public more clear eyed about Joe Bidenâs limitations than liberal elites? Also, whatâs the significance of JD Vanceâs rise and potential vice presidency?
All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribersâjust upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.
Further reading:
* Pelosi lieutenant Adam Schiff: âI think if [Biden] is our nominee, I think we lose. And we may very, very well lose the Senate and lose our chance to take back the House.â
* Brian takes stock, after three disorienting week, of the bleak new political landscape.
* Matt on how we (including Joe Biden and current Democratic leaders) have more agency to shape future events than weâre comfortable with.
-
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.politix.fm
This week, Matt and Brian assess the downward spiral of the Biden campaign and look for signs that Democrats wonât just give up on the race.
* Has Biden really ruled out suspending his campaign, or is he just being pragmatic: 100 percent in until heâs 100 percent out?
* Are the influential Democrats whoâve rallied to Bidenâs side speaking definitively, or have they left themselves enough wiggle room to revisit the question in the days ahead, after this weekâs NATO summit?
* Is Biden world deluding itself with bad arguments and data analysis, or his advisers just vying for time while they evaluate their options?
Then, behind the paywall, we look at recent historical evidence suggesting Dems, and an alternate presidential candidate, would get a bounce simply by heeding public opinion and swapping Biden out for someone younger and in control of their rhetorical faculties. Are public impressions of Kamala Harris that formed five years ago really frozen in place? Would she be able to hold the anti-Trump coalition together better than Biden simply by dint of being able to attack, defend, and inspire extemporaneously? Could Democrats organize a heroâs exit for Biden appealing enough to tempt him off the path to world historical disgrace?
All that, plus the full Politix archive and Thursdayâs live chat are available to paid subscribersâjust upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.
Further reading:
* Brian on how coffee-table historians might suddenly be the most influential people in America.
* Matt: âI was wrong about Joe Biden.â
* James Fallows writes the remarks Biden should deliver.
-
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.politix.fm
Just days after the first presidential debate, which has plunged Democrats into a crisis of confidence, the Supreme Court has intervened to declare that presidents have absolute immunity from criminal prosecutions for any actions they take with their exclusive and plenary powers, and even presumptive immunity for their other official acts.
Weâd viewed this case mainly with an eye to its impact on the criminal prosecution of Donald Trump for trying to overturn the 2020 election. But thatâs only because we (like most people) imagined the Supreme Court might delay the trial without radically altering the balance of power between the branches. They instead went much, much further.
With Matt on vacation, Brian welcomes former Solicitor General Don Verrilli as this weekâs special guest. Brian and Don discuss:
* How the courtâs ruling creates two sets of rules: One for law-abiding presidents and one for Donald Trump and his imitators;
* Whether and how Joe Biden can use this new ruling for good;
* What if anything Congress can do about it short of amending the constitution or packing the Supreme Court.
If you arenât yet a paid subscriber to Politix, you can listen to the whole conversation by upgrading to a paid subscription.
-
Folks, it did not go well. Joe Biden definitively lost the first of two scheduled presidential debates against Donald Trump. Worse, he did so in a way that will inevitably rekindle questions about his candidacy, and not just from bloggers and columnists, but likely from some of the most influential Democrats in America.
In this free post-debate episode, Matt and Brian discuss:
* Who swapped out Bidenâs PEDs for sugar pill?
* Is there anything Biden, his campaign, the White House, and leading Democrats can do to steady the ship, given the magnitude of the fuck up?
* What would the process of convincing Biden to end his campaign out of patriotic duty look like in practice.
* Would he necessarily have to hand the baton to Kamala Harris, or would he be able to anoint an entirely new ticket.
If youâre new to Politix, welcome! We hope youâll continue to listen, and consider upgrading to a paid subscription.
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.politix.fm/subscribe - Montre plus
