Politix

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.politix.fmThe results from California are (mostly? almost completely?) in. They are mixed, and extremely consistent with pre-election polling. Naturally, Republicans are subjecting the country to a blizzard of lies. In this episode, Matt and Brian discuss:* The results, and the merits of the California election system, which maximizes ballot access, but at the expense of quick ballot counting.* What should California Democrats, and the national party, do about the scourge of GOP election lies?* Would Democrats really have been better off if they’d managed to lock Steve Hilton out of the governor’s race, like they locked Spencer Pratt out of the LA mayor’s race?Then, how do you solve a problem like Graham Platner? How do you catch an oyster, and snarf it down? How embellished is his self-depiction as a blue-collar outsider? How consistent is a clear, chronological recitation of his checkered past with his redemption story? Are we even anywhere near the point where it would make sense for Democratic voters in Maine to stay home or vote for Susan Collins, rather than Vote Blue No Matter Who as a harm-reduction strategy? The answer to the last question is “no,” but the answers to the rest are available in full to paid subscribers—just upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.Further reading:* Matt’s 17 thoughts about Graham Platner, from before the latest developments. * Brian argues California Dems should streamline their election process and simultaneously disqualify proven election liars from ballots in the state. * Andrew Weissmann’s Liar’s Kingdom.* Brian’s 2017 piece on the pitfall of embracing “believe all women” as a political standard (tl;dr, some women are committed Trump loyalists with MAGA ethics).

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.politix.fmDonald Trump went back to the hospital Tuesday for his third “checkup” in just over a year, but faces fewer questions about his age and vitality than Joe Biden. He lost a war of choice, at serious cost to the U.S. and the world, but we don’t hear much about how weak and discredited he is. Why are these critiques missing?In this episode, Matt and Brian discuss:* Jared Polis…what the fuck?! (Redux.)* Jake Auchinchloss…what the fuck?!* Democratic National Committee…what the fuck?!Are all these intraparty recriminations why Dems seem like they’re MIA in the fight against Trump? Or are there structural issues that prevent Democrats from driving attention to GOP weaknesses? Are progressive and mainstream media outlets covering Democratic infighting because that’s where the conflict is? Or are their readers and viewers simply more interested in Democratic factionalism than in the partisan food fight? If Democrats took a page from the GOP and made a big stink about everything—Trump’s physical deterioration, his humiliating defeat in Iran, his impeachable corruption—would media outlets cover it? Or is the media ecosystem really just rigged against them?Answers are available in full to paid subscribers—just upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.Further reading:* David Seligman on Colorado Democrats’ obligation to investigate Jared Polis.* Lauren Egan on why Trump’s failing health isn’t a media or opposition-party obsession, the way Biden’s was. * Josh Barro: Impeach Todd Blanche.* Brian Beutler: Democrats shouldn’t fall for the revisionist history of Trump’s impeachments—it is wrong to say they backfired.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.politix.fmLate in the game, Trump-loyal judges at the federal and state level joined his effort to rig the midterms. Democrats will thus enter this fall’s race for House control at a systemic disadvantage. But for Trump, that’s about the only good news. He’s lost the war he launched against Iran, and keeps falling asleep on the job as an eerie hantavirus outbreak slowly spreads here and abroad. Yet as the public grows more outraged, Trump only seems truly engaged on one highly eccentric suite of issues.In this episode, Matt and Brian discuss:* What the late break of Republican judicial activism means for the midterms, GOP efforts to steal the midterms, and the post-midterm race to gerrymander even more aggressively.* Now that the gerrymandering cycle is cooked for 2026, what more could Democrats do to pad their margins, so that biased maps don’t cost them the House?* Is the hantavirus outbreak something worth treating seriously, or something worth beating Trump over the head with?Then, given the bleak political outlook for the GOP, isn’t it weird that Trump’s only able to sustain focus on building a palace ballroom, and various other monuments to himself? Will Republicans vote to spend a billion dollars on the ballroom? Would it be better (politically, or in schadenfreude terms) for Dems to divide Republicans, so that the ballroom never gets built, or for Republicans to do Trump’s bidding, so that Democrats can tear down the ballroom in 2029? Would Democrats tear down the ballroom? And if they copped out on that, who would be to blame?All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribers—just upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.Further reading:* Brian argues the Democratic surrender in Virginia, after the adverse, partisan gerrymandering ruling, is a very bad omen for November. * Matt argues the hantavirus outbreak is a reminder that the government should be preparing for the next pandemic, rather than dismantling pandemic prevention programs.* Robert Kagan argues Iran has Trump in checkmate.* Nate Silver on the risk that Democrats will underreact to Republican gerrymandering next year, and leave seats on the table.* Brian in December 2024: The New Gilded Age Will Be Streamed

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.politix.fmDonald Trump ate up several weeks and caused tons of damage as he sought to delay further production of the Epstein files. But now the files are right back in the news.In this episode, Matt and Brian discuss:* What’s in this new tranche?* What does it tell us about both the global elite, and Republican elite, leaders of which are overrepresented in the files relative to Democrats?* What can we or others do to pry loose the majority of the files, which Trump’s administration insists it will conceal for all time.Then, is Trump really gonna demolish ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶D̶o̶n̶a̶l̶d̶ ̶J̶.̶ ̶T̶r̶u̶m̶p̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶J̶o̶h̶n̶ ̶F̶.̶ Kennedy Center? Is this something that Congress should try to stop? Or is it better dealt with by protesters putting themselves between the building and the bulldozers? Also, should Democrats’ continued dominance of special elections make members of the party feel more bullish about big demonstrations of resistance?All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribers—just upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.Further reading:* Brian on the meaning of Democrats’ big victory in the Texas state senate special election.* Matt on the turning point in Minnesota.* The New York Times on Elon Musk and other powerful men turning up in the Epstein files.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.politix.fmMany people are asking: Has Donald Trump finally, completely lost his mind?In this episode, Matt and Brian discuss:* The importance of getting your flu shot.* Why this latest episode, complete with rambling missives to allied heads of state, feels more like madness than Trump’s other bad ideas, driven by graft, vengeance, or whatever else. * How his assault on Minneapolis is crystalizing the madness (or at least the bad faith) for the rest of the world.Then, what is to be done? What is Europe doing. What is Congress doing? What should Congress be doing. Is it really impossible to imagine an independent caucus removing the GOP from control of the House, Senate, or both? As Democrats vie for Senate control, are they blinding themselves to the risk that everything comes to pieces well before the election 10 months from now?All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribers—just upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.Further reading:* Brian takes stock a year in.* Matt argues the problems with ICE flow from Stephen Miller and Trump, not from the institutional structure of ICE itself. * The Trump national security strategy from two months ago, which doesn’t mention Greenland.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.politix.fmGotta hand it to Donald Trump, he got the Epstein Files and the January 6 anniversary off the front page, and all it took was a wee little war, plus a threat to conquer the whole hemisphereIn this episode, Matt and Brian discuss:* WTF?* How has this destabilized the globe?* Can the damage be undone?* What’s the right political response, and who in the Democratic Party has risen to the moment?Then, a review of Tim Walz’s late career, and the welfare-fraud spree that did him in. How well or poorly does early Democratic enthusiasm for Walz as veep hold up? Did he do the right thing by resigning, or should he have been more defiant? Is it at all sustainable that our political system holds the parties to such wildly different standards of integrity and competence? And what should Democrats do to even the playing field? All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribers—just upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.Further reading:* Will Sommer on right wing divisions over Trump’s Venezuela war.* New York Times, 2017: “Before taking office, Mr. Trump told top aides to think of each presidential day as an episode in a television show in which he vanquishes rivals.”* New York Times, 2025, on the scope of the Minnesota fraud. * Brian’s 30 thoughts on the Venezuela war. * Matt’s early assessment of Walz.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.politix.fmDonald Trump suddenly faces defections in Congress, from right-wing influencers, and even from his own White House chief of staff.In this episode, Matt and Brian discuss:* Susie Wiles’s…intemperate comments to Vanity Fair about all the incompetents and cynics in the Trump administration; * The challenge of passing the cult following from Trump to JD Vance (or anyone else for that matter).* Why Republican disarray has spread beyond health care.Then, the particularly pitched blowback Trump has faced for pissing on Rob Reiner’s grave. Are we seeing the MAGA alliance crack up? Or are his internal critics limiting themselves to the safe zone of commenting only on Trump’s insensitive social-media posts? And why does the Democratic Party’s strategic outlet turn so heavily on the answers to those two questions? All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribers—just upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.Further reading:* Matt on the Trump-Vance succession. * Brian’s somewhat more optimistic view on the Trump-Vance succession. * Politicize (Trump’s reaction to) Rob Reiner’s murder.* The Susie Wiles profile.