The Political Orphanage

Comedian and attorney Andrea Coleman joins Heaton to talk about ways to improve bail bonds to make sure people get detained for flight risks, not lack of cash. Heaton reveals several ways he might one day be arrested and also gives some pretty good gardening tips.

Tensions are escalating with Iran. Are we cruising towards war or just blustering? Jason Buttrill joins Heaton to explain the Trump Doctrine and whether or not you should bet on "we're going to bomb Iran" on a game show.

Comedian Kevin Seefried joins Heaton to suss out the week's better headlines, from shark thieves to legally-mandated polygamy to why psychics should be paid more for plane crashes. It's the Friday Release Valve!

In the era of radical identitarian politics, where unthinking vitriol and sometimes even violence abounds, more and more we are in need of sane voices in political discourse. Robby Soave, author of 'Panic Attack: Young Radicals in the Age of Trump' joins Heaton in the studio to talk about the future of politics in the new generation.

It's time for an industrial helping of high-grade nerd chat about Game of Thrones. Heaton talks to policy wonk and lifelong nerd Grant Carlisle about the deeper meaning of George R. R. Martin's books and HBO series.

How much do you have to pay to swing an ambassadorship? What is Citizens United and why do people loathe it? Heaton talks with Dave Levinthal, senior reporter at the Center for Public Integrity, about campaign finance and how money shapes politics.

It's that time of year again! The mistletoe is hanging in the doorway, all the snow has been shoveled, and there's a glass of wine just waiting on the kitchen counter for that special person. Snuffy's Diner is proud to sponsor this year's Mother's Day Special!

Comedian Lou Perez joins Heaton for a Friday Release Valve episode to discuss the silliest headlines of the week: Some sheep go to school, chicken nugget ice cream, a guy crossing the ocean in a barrel, and a lot more fun on this week's episode!

What if history isn't a string of great man biopics or a struggle between conservatives and progressives? What if it's a battle of disciplinarians against drunks and harlots? Thaddeus Russell comes on to talk about his book, "A Renegade History of the United States."

The market tumbled yesterday after Donald Trump threatened to double down on tariffs. Heaton explains Comparative Advantage with a brilliant scotch analogy, and is then joined by playwright and comedian Jeremy Kareken to rant about protectionism.

It's expensive maintaining the largest prison population on the entire planet, but we've managed to do it for several decades. German Lopez, senior correspondent at Vox, joins Heaton to talk about criminal justice reform and how the 2020 candidates stack up on drug policy and sentencing.

Comedian and primatologist Natalia Reagan joins Heaton to talk about hominids, the human family tree, and the time when Homo sapiens weren't the only smart bipedal hominids running around.

Comedy writer Brian Sack joins Heaton for a Friday Release Valve episode to sort the world's better headlines: from the worst use of parking spaces ever, to a great education game about cow tuberculosis, to an effortless but irritating way to get abs.

What's in the DNA of a conspiracy theory, and when does it go from benign to dangerous? Jesse Walker is author of "The United States of Paranoia: A Conspiracy Theory," which identifies the different types of conspiracy theories and charts them from the Salem witch trials through Barack Obama's birth certificate.

People don't really like pointing to Venezuela, Cambodia, Cuba, or the Soviet Union when they talk about socialism. (What with the deaths.) They like to mention cute sweater-vest countries, like Denmark, that aren't actually socialist. Justin Haskins, executive editor at the Heartland Institute, joins Heaton to talk about what socialism is and isn't, and also when it occasionally gets out of hand and murders hundreds of millions of people.

Student loan debt has surpassed $1.5 trillion dollars — more than credit card debt — prompting some ascendant Democrats to push for loan cancellation and tax-funded university tuition. Heaton figures out what's making it so expensive with filmmaker and friend Royce Sharp.

Deanna Easley rejoins Heaton to talk about welfare: when it works, when it traps, and her experiences on it. Plus, Heaton explains a Biden vs. Trump election through ostrich racing, and producer Jennings comes on with timely feedback.

Comedian Bridget Phetasy joins Heaton for a Friday Release Valve episode to sort out the week's better headlines, from how the Philippines might trigger World War III, to man-killing birds, to black-market colonoscopies.

Did Trump win the election because economically displaced Rust Belt workers wanted a shake-up, or because old white guys can't handle change? Tim Carney rejects that dichotomy and says that the 2016 election had more to do with the nature of the community you hail from: whether it's connected, upwardly mobile, and optimistic, or pessimistic, disconnected, and lonely. His book, "Alienated America: Why Some Places Thrive While Others Collapse," dives into the nature of American communities and why the disappearance of clubs, churches, and diners is hurting the nation economically and psychologically.

Gene Epstein is the director and moderator of the New York-based debate society the Soho Forum and formerly the economics editor at Barron's. He's also Heaton's mentor in economics. He comes on the program to chastise Heaton for his ideological foibles, then to talk about why the Federal Reserve Board is horrible and we should scrap it entirely.

Stu Burguiere joins Heaton to weigh in on climate change as a conservative — how alarmed we should be and what good and bad policies look like.

Jerry Taylor, formerly of the Cato Institute and now president of the Niskanen Center, joins Heaton to talk about what pro-market solutions to global warming look like. Plus, Heaton spices up the Mueller report, and a new whisky-based sponsor.

Back by popular acclaim, Andrea Jones-Rooy joins Heaton to sift through the week's better headlines, from Pennsylvania's new state amphibian, to dog catchers in tanks, to the Japanese version of "Breaking Bad." Plus, why comedians don't need to worry about getting replaced by robots anytime soon.

Neil Howe is the historian and demographer who coined the term "millennial." He also developed the Strauss-Howe generational theory — the idea that America has four types of generations which go through cycles of history together. He joins Heaton to explain a different way to look at history and to pinpoint where we are in it.

Hate is big business right now. So is fear. Arthur Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute, joins Heaton to talk about his book Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contempt. As well as his new film, "The Pursuit," about the power of markets to solve poverty.

Bernie Sanders just held a town hall with Fox News...and came out on top. Brian Brushwood joins Heaton to slap socialism around, but also point out the surprising policies where Sanders and Trump converge.

Is a U.S. Space Force an inevitable step to protecting satellites and commercial space activities, or just an expensive exercise in shuffling Pentagon bureaucracies? Military and aerospace expert Anthony Colangelo joins Heaton to sort things out.

Comedian Jaron Myers joins Heaton to probe the more obscure headlines of the week, from an incredibly polite Canadian car theft mystery, to robot burglars, to the world's most ominous potatoes.

Poverty and low standards of living are often thought to be the outcome of those at the financial and social top standing on the backs of everyone else. But what are some other possibilities? Theodore Dalrymple, author of "Life at the Bottom: The Worldview that Makes the Underclass," comes on the program to talk to Andrew about the influence of a generational welfare state and its impoverishment of stable, family-based values.

We've been to the moon a couple of times to collect rocks and go golfing, but what benefits would we get from building a permanent colony? Robert Zubrin is the author of "The Case for Space," founder of the Mars Society, and president of Pioneer Astronautics. He joins Heaton to talk about how to build a moon base and how to get the private sector to do it cheap.

Comedian and comic book guru Megan Sass joins Heaton on "Alienating the Audience" to talk about superhero politics. How do Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman play out ideologically?

Every election, we're told we can either vote for the lesser of two besuited sociopaths or throw our vote away on a doomed third-party candidate. (At which point, you may well spoil the election for everyone.) Dan Fishman is the incoming executive director of the Libertarian Party, and he has a solution for shifting our elections away from exercises in fear and hate toward logic and values.

Comedian Jimmy Failla returns to help sort out the week's more obscure headlines: from marathon endurance singing, to football skulls, to why Uri Geller is a threat to us all!

Heaton goes on a melange-fueled sci-fi plunge in this special installment of "Alienating the Audience" about the politics and economics of Frank Herbert's "Dune." He's joined by fellow nerd and possible mentat Benjamin Brockschmidt to discuss feudalism in space, the future of humanity, technology, and the nature of power.

Can Uncle Joe climb out of the vat of #MeToo he seems to have fallen into? What are his policy priorities, and can he win the Democratic nomination despite being an old white guy? Comedian Negin Farsad of "Fake the Nation" joins Heaton to get the rundown on Uncle Joe.

Heaton invites on BlazeTV's Phil Robertson, of "Duck Dynasty" fame, to talk about how secular and spiritual people can get along and, to a lesser extent, to run Heaton's reality TV show ideas by him.

Poland is part of NATO and an EU member state, but it's veering towards nationalism and populism and some other unsavory developments. Brian Sack, comedian and Polish expert, joins to discuss.

Comedian Turner Sparks climbs aboard the podcast to discuss the week's more obscure headlines, from calls in Ireland to use the army to fight deer overpopulation, to a Supreme Court decision over hoverboard moose hunting, to Siberan slap fights.

Adam Smith got the party started, alternately lambasting feudalists and mercantilists and paving the way for a more free and prosperous world. Legendary humorist and author of "On The Wealth of Nations" P.J. O'Rourke joins Heaton to discuss the plucky Scotsman's contributions to society.

When do corporations go from valid money-making operations to amoral schemers living off the public dole? What obligations do companies have to their employees? Rick Ungar joins Heaton to discuss the proper role of capitalism and what solutions can and should be attempted by government. PLUS: Introducing Fr. Michael O'Grimsly, vicar at the Church of Woke.

Mike May is a business strategist in Washington, D.C. He joins Heaton to discuss how major corporations are embracing tribalism, either to promote change or to simply grab headlines and customers. But it turns out there's also an unexpected free market upside to tribalism.

After two years, the Russian collusion investigation has come up empty, so it looks like Robert Mueller won't be frog-marching Donald Trump out of the White House. Political commentator Justin Robert Young joins Heaton to sort things out.

Remy, musical comedian and Reason heartthrob, joins Heaton to work through the week's more obscure headlines, including alligators on ketamine, communism setting the laws of reincarnation, and Australia's onerous disco ball laws.

"Dear Reader: An Unauthorized Autobiography of Kim Jong Il" combined North Korean propaganda and history, from the perspective of its most infamous dictator. Author Michael Malice joins Heaton to discuss the reality of North Korea, its options moving forward, and what Americans get wrong about the Hermit Kingdom.

Democrats are kicking around the idea of lowering the voting age to 16. Meanwhile, you can join the army at 18 and drink when you're 21. When should government age of consent kick in? Matt Kibbe, president of Free the People and host of BlazeTV's "Kibbe on Liberty" joins Heaton to discuss.

Documentary filmmaker Rob Montz joins Heaton to discuss how the American presidency has expanded in power and religious adulation and the huge downside to electing messiahs instead of bureaucrats.

"Alienating the Audience" returns for a deep dive on science fiction, this time with former congressman and current commissioner of the the Federal Maritime Commission Dan Maffei. Heaton and the commissioner discuss "Majority Rule," from Season 1 of "The Orville," regarding absolute democracy, freedom of speech, and social media mobs. Plus how "The Orville" stacks up to Star Trek and hopes for the forthcoming series "Picard."

Comedian and BlazeTV host Chad Prather joins Heaton to make sense of the week's better headlines, from a goat mayor in Vermont, to whales, ambien, and conspiracy theories about marketing.

Twitter nabbed Trump an eager pool of followers in 2016, and millions of unearned media attention from his detractors. How is Twitter uniquely suited to his temperament, and how does a 280-character limit shape discourse? Dr. Brian L. Ott is the author of "The Twitter Presidency: Donald J. Trump and the Politics of White Rage." He joins Heaton to discuss.

California's death row inmates got a reprieve this week from Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom, who issued a moratorium on executions. It's kicked the issue of the death penalty back into the national spotlight, so Heaton brings on Jason Buttrill to discuss its efficacy and morality.