A Gentlemen’s Disagreement

Episode 97 - Debating term & age limits

We touch on the touchy subject of how old is too old, following the recent health episodes of two prominent and long-serving senators, Mitch McConnell and Diane Fienstein (6:58-33:14). We switch gears to another story that's made headline news recently out of North Carolina State House of Representatives. A pro-reproductive rights Democrat shocked her party and crossed the aisle, delivering Republicans super-majorities in both the State House and Senate. She cast a decisive vote, overriding the Governor's veto of a bill limiting access to abortion. We debate the savoriness of her actions and pose the question: Do voters go to the polls to elect people or the ideas those people represent? 

Episode 96 - Six in Sixty: NATO, Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Greece, & Sudan

We've got an international version of "six in sixty" this week, as we discuss the takeaways from last week's NATO summit (5:15-17:02), the fallout from the Russian coup (17:02-24:14), the Biden Administration's decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine (24:24-35:57), Israel's military operations in the West Bank (36:03-46:34), the migrant boat that sank off the coast of Greece (46:39-56:41), and the conflicts ravaging Sudan (56:42-1:07:33).

Episode 95 - Reflections on the Supreme Court’s ’22-’23 Term

With the Supreme Court's latest term in the books, we spent this week discussing how some of their major decisions will affect American society and politics moving forward. We began by looking at the Court's term from a high level perspective, and then dug into their decision in the Harvard and UNC affirmative action cases (5:52-32:58). We then discussed the fallout from the Court's decision on President Biden's student debt relief plan (33:03-46:54), and concluded by looking at the decisions involving Freedom of Speech and LGBTQ+ rights and voting rights (46:59-1:04:45).

Episode 94 - Opportunity & Agency: a conversation with St. Louis Treasurer Adam Layne

We are joined this week by St. Louis Treasurer Adam Layne for a wide-ranging conversation about his path from growing up in Boston, to going to college in Washington D.C., to teaching and then working in and for the city of St. Louis. We also discuss the sometimes competing ideas of opportunity and agency, particularly in the wake of SCOTUS ending affirmative action in higher education, get Adam's thoughts on equity and equality, and hear what he is doing in his role as Treasurer to create more of both in his city.

Episode 93 - The things we thought we knew: Juneteenth, reparations, & the idea of a meritocracy

This week we use the celebration of Juneteenth to take a hard look at our history. We discuss and debate the merits of reparations, whether the U.S. is a land of opportunity or oppression or both, and why it is so difficult for us to tell the full story of U.S. history. We conclude by highlighting two Black American figures who may have fallen through the cracks of that story.

Episode 92 - LIV-PGA merger, debt ceiling crisis averted, & more

We discussed the two big stories of the week: the stunning LIV-PGA merger and the deal to raise the debt ceiling.

Episode 91 - Academic freedom in higher education with Dr. Bertha Madras

We are joined this week by Dr. Bertha Madras who is a Professor of Psychobiology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Madras is one of the founders of the new "Council on Academic Freedom" at Harvard University, which is a faculty-led organization that is devoted to free inquiry, intellectual diversity, and civil discourse. Dr. Madras discusses why she felt like this Council was necessary at Harvard, in particular, and why she thinks protecting academic freedom and freedom of expression at institutions of higher education is so critical, in general.

 

 

 

Episode 90 - Social media & mental health with Wendy-Myrbell Napoleon

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and, in that spirit, we were joined by graduate student Wendy-Myrbell Napoleon who has been researching the intersection of social media and mental health among adolescents and young adults (5:10-43:05). We used her research as a foundation to have a larger conversation about mental health issues in our society, and she provided some policy recommendations our elected officials should consider to address the growing mental health crisis in our particularly vulnerable populations.

Episode 89 - A draft of Republican presidential candidates

We are joined this week by Nicaela Chinnaswamy and Maureen McInerney for a draft of sixteen potential Republican presidential candidates. We run through the true favorites, the outside contenders, the dark horses and the longshots for the nomination. Fun conversation and a great primer of the 2024 Republican presidential field.

Episode 88 - Six in Sixty: Fox, SCOTUS, Debt Ceiling, First Republic, Biden, & Guns

We hit six topics (plus a bonus topic!) that have been in the news lately in (roughly) ten minute segments. We begin by talking about all of the goings-on at Fox News (8:05-22:26), the ethics of the Supreme Court (22:30-32:00), JPMorgan buying First Republic Bank (32:04-43:35), the impending debt ceiling (43:39-55:53), President Biden's re-election campaign (55:58-1:03:10), and recent incidents of gun violence (1:03:14-1:13:05), plus a bonus topic for those of you who stick with us.