The Political Orphanage

Jen Briney is host of "Congressional Dish," a podcast that deep dives Congress, its legislation, and its shenanigans. She comes on to discuss what the election means for the next few months, and the gambits lawmakers employ to push their agendas through without actually having to publicly debate them.

Jack Helmuth and Brian Sack of "Questionable Material" return in neon glory to unpack the week's best headlines, including noctiginarian shootouts, the global importance of Belgian fishing adventures, and soliciting sex workers in graveyards.

Last night had a significant tell you can't gleam from polling or minute-by-minute vote counts. We don't know who's going to win, but I can tell you who both candidates think will. Plus: what the next few days of legal trench warfare are gonna look like.

If Trump wins, does he become the standard model for GOP candidates? If he loses, do Romneyites tiptoe back? Does a Biden victory forestall the ascent of his party's activist wing, or is he the last gasp of Democratic centrism, regardless? Justin Robert Young joins the program to talk about the long-term consequences of either outcome.

The World's Smartest Podcast Network roundtable convenes to bring you a guide to state ballot initiatives happening around the country: Reintroducing wolves to Colorado, reintroducing ethnic discrimination to California, voting and involuntary labor for felons, and Ranked Choice Voting in Massachusetts. The Roundtable includes: Turner Sparks and Michael Kaplan of the "Lost in America" podcast and Dr. Andrea Jones-Rooy of "Ask a Political Scientist". Go to worldssmartestpodcastnetwork.com to check them out!

Comedians Brian Parise and Andrew Young join the show to discuss the week's best, underserved headlines. Including: how to bribe your way to superior wine, vampire swing voters, and newspaper heists. Brian's new comedy album is "Last Wishes," available here: https://800pgr.lnk.to/pariseWE

The Alliance Party is positioning itself to scoop up disaffected centrists from the two major parties, rather than establishing itself as a third ideological core. They're in the process of absorbing the Reform Party, which had the most successful third party track record since Teddy Roosevelt. Jim Rex is the founder and National Chairman of the Alliance Party, and Michelle Griffith is party Vice Chair.

The Libertarian Party is the only minor party that will be on all fifty state ballots this year, and Jo Jorgensen and Spike Cohen are its presidential and vice presidential nominees. They join the show to discuss free market health care, not bombing people, and libertarianism as an alternative to Republicans and Democrats. Jo Jorgensen at 12:20 Spike Cohen at 25:28

Don Blankenship is primarily concerned with protectionist trade and immigration policy, and federal spending--as well as fidelity to constitutional principles. He's running as the 2020 Constitution Party presidential candidate, a minor party more typically known for its socially conservative positions.

Howie Hawkins is the 2020 Green Party presidential nominee. He joins the program to talk to Heaton about the Green Party's environmental and economic agenda, non-interventionist foreign policy, and why he thinks running as an outsider is more effective than operating within a major party.

Kyle Mann and Ethan Nicolle, the Editor-in-Chief and Creative Director of The Babylon Bee, join Heaton to discuss political satire, why Christians are suddenly funny, and the week's best underserved headlines. Including: kidney drones, censored parrots, and why the planet Venus might lead to our total destruction.

John Fund is National Review's national-affairs editor, and the author of two books on voter fraud. He joins Heaton to discuss its prevalence and potential to effect election outcomes.

Brian Sack and Jack Helmuth of "Questionable Material with Jack and Brian" triumphantly return to the show to discuss the week's best, underserved headlines including: dinosaur statues, the worst dentist in America, and robot promises to not murder us all!

Jack Goldstone, an expert in revolutions and why and when they happen, joins the program to talk about the possibility of uprisings or civil unrest in the United States in the wake of the November 3rd election. He discusses what form revolutions would take in America, how likely such a movement is now or in our lifetimes, and why a calm election outcome on November 4th is all but impossible. Dr. Goldstone is a Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University, author of "Revolutions: A Very Short Introduction," and a 2020 Carnegie Fellow.

This episode is mostly about political graffiti in Oakland, as a means by which to explore the politics of the Bay Area, a progressive beacon in a Democratic state. However this travelogue has been overshadowed somewhat by getting robbed.

It's time for another installment of Friday Release Valve to wrap up Judge Week, including asking a former law professor about laws pertaining to crocodile ransom money! Comedians Myq Kaplan and Liz Glaser join the show to discuss that plus: formal hazmat suits, naked golf carts, and Alabama. Enjoy!

Is judicial activism bad if it's focused on protecting civil liberties from government incursion? Where do libertarians and conservatives diverge in jurisprudence? Tim Sandefur is Vice President of Litigation at the Goldwater Institute, and makes the case for judicial engagement in the defense of individual rights.

Originalism is the favored jurisprudence of conservative scions like Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. It's predicated on the notion that laws have fixed meanings, determined at the moment of their ratification according to the language of their day. Professor Green is the H.L.A. Hart Scholar of Law & Philosophy at the University of Mississippi. A graduate of Princeton, Yale, and Notre Dame, he has clerked for the U.S. Court of Appeals on the Fifth Circuit, practiced as a private litigator, is the author of multiple books, and is a sought-after speaker about Originalism, executive power, and the 14th Amendment.

When the Constitution says "cruel and unusual punishment" does it mean by the standards of the 18th century, or our own? How much latitude should jurists take when interpreting the law? Professor David Strauss of the University of Chicago has argued nineteen cases before the United States Supreme Court, formerly served as Special Counsel to the Committee on the Judiciary of the United States Senate, and sits on the Board of Directors of the American Constitution Society. He joins Heaton to discuss Living Constitutionalism: the school of jurisprudence favored by progressive judges.

Judge Andrew Napolitano is a former Judge of the New Jersey Superior Court, a law professor, and prolific author. He's the Senior Judicial Analyst at Fox News. He joins the show to discuss Natural Law, and the idea that the role of the courts is predominantly to protect individual rights from government incursion.

It's Judge Week on The Political Orphanage! Where we learn the actual fault lines between judicial theories, and possibly even what "jurisprudence" means. This week we'll hear from preeminent progressive, conservative, and libertarian legal scholars about what actually happens behind the gavel. In this kickoff episode we talk about: * The role of judges * Why it's usually stupid to say "conservative judge" or "progressive judge" * What jurisprudence is * What precedent is

Andrew Young and John Devore join Heaton to sort out the week's best, underserved headlines, including stories about: Quebec, exhuming a dead president to prove a point, a poorly-named town in New York, and further evidence that New Hampshire is amazing.

You can't truly understand last night's Trump vs. Biden debate without hearing from comedians, because so much of the train wreck was performative or outright heckling. Comedians Turner Sparks, Andrea Jones-Rooy, Michael Kaplan, and Heaton discuss: Was there an actual strategy behind last night's antics? What's the balance of horror to petulance? The episode is the first joint venture of the brand new World's Smartest Podcasting Network, an alliance of independent comedians with the goal of making politics suck less! Other network shows are: "The Lost in America Podcast" with Turner Sparks & Michael Kaplan, and "Ask a Political Scientist" with Dr. Andrea Jones-Rooy.

Comedian Darryl Charles and sex expert Dr. Timaree Leigh, hosts of DTF: Darryl & Timaree Fun Hour, join the program to sort out the week's underserved headlines. Including: Snake orgies! In defense of pandas! And penis gun antics

Dr. Loretta Breuning of the Inner Mammal Institute joins the show to discuss how status and neurochemicals prompt us to fight in politics, and the evolutionary roots of tribalism.

Jeremy Kareken and Joe Terwilliger join Heaton to sort out the week's best, under served headlines, including stories about: * Dennis Rodman * Bear bone vodka * Priests blessing nuclear weapons

Political satirist and personal hero P.J. O'Rourke triumphantly returns to discuss his latest book, "A Cry From the Far Middle: Dispatches from a Divided Land." In which he makes stirring defense of: classical liberalism, temperamental moderates, and governing through math instead of throwing wads of cash at problems. Support the program by going to patreon.com/andrewheaton

(Definitely Not Safe for Kids) Yvette d'Entremont and Alice Vaughn are the hosts of Two Girls One Mic, a podcast that reviews the plots of porn films. They join Heaton to sort out the week's under served headlines, including Swiss chocolate snow, fake languages, and if and when brothels in Berlin will finally reopen.

What is populism and where did it come from? Thomas Frank is the author of "The People, No: A Brief History of Anti-Populism". He joins the show to discuss populism as understood by populists--and specifically the populists who trace their lineage back to the original movement of the late 1800's.

An abandoned tank! A guy with an axe on a horse! Faulty psychics! Andrew Young joins Heaton to sort out the week's best, underserved headlines, and their attendance mysteries.

The New York Times is running stories about recovered extraterrestrial spaceships, the Navy has confirmed UFOs are real, and the Pentagon says it's preparing to disclose further information to the public. Is the government about to reveal the existence of aliens... or is this all click bait? If so... where's it coming from and how has it seeped into legacy media?

Comedians Turner Sparks and Mike Kaplan return to discuss the week's best, under served headlines, including: Hookers for Jesus, capturing George R. R. Martin, and dogs as car salesmen

Political parties aren't written into the Constitution, but they definitely effect it. How do parties alter the balance of power in American politics? Do they precipitate or stall revolution?Economist Antony Davies and political scientist James R. Harrigan of FEE's Words & Numbers podcast join to discuss.

Comedians Brian Sack and Jack Helmuth of the podcast Questionable Material join Heaton to sort out the week's underserved headlines, including a goose who runs for mayor, and municipal wizard subsidies.

Sparks fly as pundits debate whether or not the US Postmaster General is rigging the election on behalf of Trump! Meanwhile, the USPS asks Congress for a bailout. In this episode we: * Tackle the USPS election conspiracy theory * Discuss how to save the Postal Service from insolvency

Travis Irvine joins Heaton to sort out the week's best, underserved headlines, including musical bratwurst, robot dolphins, and the greatest film you will never ever see!

Kamala Harris just won the veepstakes to become Joe Biden's running mate. How's she going to shake up the election? Where does she stand ideologically and on policy? Justin Robert Young of "Politics Politics Politics" joins to suss out the California senator.

(NSFK) Matt Donnelly and Paul Mattingly of "Matt and Mattingly's Ice Cream Social" join Heaton to unpack the best headlines of the week, including a goat that refuses to wear a mask and whether or not Planet of the Apes is actually set to begin in Surrey, England.

Cass Sunstein gained international notoriety for his book "Nudge," about habits and choice architecture. He then worked as the regulatory czar for the Obama administration--the regulator who regulates regulations. His latest book is "Conformity: The Power of Social Influences." He joins Heaton to discuss how behavioral economics can shape smart policy without limiting individual freedom, and how conformity makes groups collectively dumber.

(NSKF) Comedians Turner Sparks and Andrea Jones-Rooy return to make sense of the week's best, funniest, underserved headlines, from solving neighbor disputes with a chains, to the biggest threat to Venetian gondolas, to how water balloons can be productively used in deliberative bodies.

Gerrymandering is a fun, time-honored way to rig elections on behalf of incumbents and political parties over irritants like competitive democracy. In 2010 it became industrialized. Or, rather, digitized--which had far-reaching impacts on American politics. Heaton speaks with Barak Goodman and Chris Durrance, co-directors of "Slay The Dragon," a film about a major coup in American political history.

After much personal thought and rank media speculation, I have at last decided to run in 2020. This episode includes: -My campaign kickoff -One of the finest spontaneous vice presidential stump speeches in all of human history -My official campaign announcement and subsequent interview with Justin Robert Young on "Politics Politics Politics"

The Culture War isn't between the Left and the Right--it's just portrayed that way because most people have been taught to understand all conflicts as Red Team vs. Blue Team. There's definitely a Culture War afoot, but the flashpoint and fault lines aren't between liberals and conservatives.

(SNFK) Comedian Mahesh Kotagi and playwright Jeremy Kareken join Friday Release Valve to sort out the week's funnier headlines, including a scientific report on the maximum amount of hot dogs one human could conceivably consume in ten minutes, what to do if your town is overwhelmed by polar bears, and the lengths Queen Elizabeth II will go to shore up her finances during a sluggish tourism season.

Rutger Bregman is the author of "Humankind: A Hopeful History," which refutes the central premise of Thomas Hobbes and countless pessimistic legislative agendas: that human beings are, deep down, selfish monsters. He joins Heaton to discuss how to build society for the majority of its cooperative people, instead of to counteract the few fringe sociopaths.

(NSFK) Comedians Brian Brushwood and Justin Robert Young join the show to go over the week's funniest, least-scrutinized headlines, including: *A Jeffrey Epstein statue *Fight over a wooden yard phallus *The Fembot actress *News from Russia

Daryl Davis is an African American musician responsible for de-radicalizing over 200 Klansmen and Neo-Nazis in his attempts to understand racism. He joins Heaton to talk about his experience, contact science, and the best ways to overcome bigotry. This episode has been corrected for an audio error which previously occurred. If you see two episodes in your player, go with this one!

(NSFK) Who steals an 800 pound Canadian radar camera? How can we combine foliage with opera? Comedians Turner Sparks and Mike Kaplan of the Lost in America podcast join Heaton to make sense of the week's underserved headlines.

How often do climate change discussions get sidetracked by doomsday porn or hoax talk? Sheril Kirshenbaum is the host of "Serving Up Science" at PBS Digital Studios, and a contributor at Scientific American. She joins Heaton to talk about tackling the subject of climate change scientifically, and coming up with rational policy objectives in response.

(NSFK) Leo Kearse, Scottish Comedian of the Year 2018, rejoins the program to suss out the week's better underserved headlines, from British citizens asking New Zealand to invade it to even more things that can get you arrested in Cambodia. You can follow Leo on his YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCp1hRBGoDHKSn4HiHIzkXAw