A Gentlemen’s Disagreement

Episode 150 - A Court unlike any other with Kevin J. McMahon

With the election behind us, we turn our attention to the Supreme Court, which is sure to have a say in what happens over the next four years. Kevin J, McMahon, Trinity College professor and author of a trilogy of books examining the relationship between democracy and the Court, joins us to put this Court in historical context, analyze what the current composition of the Court says about the state of our democracy, and debate some potential Court reforms.

Episode 149 - Making the case for a national popular vote with Patrick Rosenstiel

In the wake of another U.S. presidential election dominated by discussion of the electoral college, we are joined by Patrick Rosenstiel, senior consultant to the National Popular Vote campaign, who makes the case that the switching from the current electoral college system to a national popular vote would be the single biggest improvement we could make to our democracy--and that this election proves that we are ready for it.

Episode 148 - Reactions to the 2024 election results with Ray Mooney

We try to make sense of the election results, including what it says about our country now and what it means for our country moving forward, before we are joined by our good friend Ray Mooney to provide the Trump-voter perspective.

Episode 147 - It's the economy, stupid with TIME's Alana Semuels

We wanted to fit in one more episode before the election looking at the state of the economy. Alana spent time on the ground of the swing states and told us what the vibes were like heading into election day. 

Episode 146 - A psychiatrist's take on psychedelics with Dr. John Fromson

We were joined by Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School psychiatrist Dr. John Fromson to discuss the potential and pitfalls of the legalization of psychedelics. We debated legalization through ballot initiatives versus legislatively, the hopes versus dangers medically, freedom versus safety, and much more.

Episode 145 - Breaking down the Massachusetts ballot questions

We dive into each of the five questions on the Massachusetts ballot, explaining what a "yes" or "no" vote means and exploring the pros and cons of each measure. We also look at ballot questions nationally to identify trends we are seeing across the country and discuss how these questions might impact races up the ballot in the upcoming elections.

Episode 144 - Analyzing the 2024 elections with Steve Kornacki

Steve Kornacki joined us this week for a deep dive into the upcoming U.S. elections. Steve broke down the battleground states for the presidency, the races that will decide the Senate and the House, and the overall demographic and issues-based trends that will ultimately impact the results in November.

Episode 143 - A conversation with the Libertarian Presidential Ticket: Chase Oliver & Mike ter Maat

We are joined this week by the Libertarian Party's candidate for President, Chase Oliver (4:02-40:38), and Vice President, Mike ter Maat (40:46-1:29:42), for wide-ranging conversations about third-parties, policies an Oliver-ter Maat administration would pursue, what success in November would look like, and much, much more.

Episode 142 - The wild west: the landscape of college athletics with Austin Jackson

We are joined this week by lobbyist Austin Jackson to try to examine the present and future of college athletics in the time of NIL, the transfer portal, and shifting conferences. We analyze the roles that Congress, the NLRB, and the courts will play in defining the future of college sports.

Episode 141 - Reactions to the second first presidential debate

We stayed up past Ricky's bedtime to discuss our immediate reactions to and takeaways from the debate between former President Trump and Vice-President Harris.