Politix

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit <a href="https://www.politix.fm?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_7">www.politix.fm</a><br/><br/><p>Donald Trump is suddenly mired in a huge war-crimes scandal, complicating his desire to launch an actual war (also illegal) against Venezuela. </p><p>In this episode, Matt and Brian discuss:</p><p>* All the things that make the circumstances surrounding the order to murder shipwreck survivors so strange and suspicious; </p><p>* How it all gels with Trump’s broader, corrupt foreign policy;</p><p>* Whether the so-called Seditious Six Democrats, who first elevated the issue of illegal orders, laid a trap for Trump.</p><p>* Also, is Pete Hegseth doomed?</p><p>Then, what’s all that got to do with the midterms? Did left-wing politics doom Democrats in last week’s Tennessee special election? Was the outcome there actually bullish for Democrats? Could it be both things at once? And why is the Democratic establishment <em>really</em> so up in arms about Jasmine Crockett entering the Texas Senate Democratic primary?</p><p>All that, plus the full <em>Politix</em> 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.</p><p>Further reading:</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://substack.com/profile/650143-todd-zwillich">Todd Zwillich</a> on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.offmessage.net/p/mark-kellys-double-tap">what Democrats in Congress did (and didn’t) know about Trump administration war crimes</a> before they made a ruckus about it. </p><p>* Matt on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.slowboring.com/p/the-bizarre-march-to-war-with-venezuela">the bizarre march to war with Venezuela</a>. </p><p>* Brian on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.offmessage.net/p/no-kings-venezuela">the problem of the missing antiwar movement</a>.</p>

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit <a href="https://www.politix.fm?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_7">www.politix.fm</a><br/><br/><p>Brian is adventuring in South America, so Matt is joined by <a target="_blank" href="https://substack.com/@lakshyajain">Lakshya Jain</a> of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theargumentmag.com">The Argument</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://split-ticket.org">Split Ticket</a> to talk about his Wins Above Replacement calculations, which politicians are good at winning, and what we know about them. </p><p>In the episode, Matt and Lakshya discuss:</p><p>* The importance of “downballot lag” in assessing candidate quality.</p><p>* Why AOC and Ritchie Torres are both overrated by their fans. </p><p>* While highly viral members of congress tend to underperform, while many electoral superstars are relatively anonymous. </p><p>Then, for paid subscribers, what can really be learned from Zohran Mamdani, a politician who won a difficult race despite being less popular than many of the people he bested in his primary? What’s the point of identifying over performing politicians in the first place? What’s Rashida Tlaib doing right? </p><p>All that, plus the full <em>Politix</em> 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.</p><p></p>

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit <a href="https://www.politix.fm?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_7">www.politix.fm</a><br/><br/><p>Donald Trump has lost his grip, and it’s making him prone to a variety of political errors, some of which we enjoy with pure schadenfreude, others of which could cause tremendous collateral damage. </p><p>In this episode, Matt and Brian discuss:</p><p>* What if anything makes Marjorie Taylor Greene’s early exit from the House of Representatives different from past Trump purges?</p><p>* Why did he blow up his party’s big plan to make Zohran Mamdani the face of the Democratic Party?</p><p>* How on Earth does it make sense for him to pick a fight with, and try to court martial, an extremely popular astronaut war hero?</p><p>Then, for paid subscribers, should we be careful what we wish for? After blowing the vindictive prosecutions of James Comey and Letitia James, should Mark Kelly put himself in harms way and demand his day in military court? Should Democrats be even bolder and clearer about Trump’s general commitment to illegal conduct, and his the specific illegality of his policy toward Venezuela? Is he really just going to blunder us into a destabilizing and terribly unpopular war there?</p><p>All that, plus the full <em>Politix</em> 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.</p><p>Further reading:</p><p>* Brian notes that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.offmessage.net/p/maga-disarray-and-the-accumulated">MAGA disarray will paradoxically make Trump and his loyalists more determined to mount a coup d’etat</a>. </p><p>* Matt argues <a target="_blank" href="https://www.slowboring.com/p/the-strange-new-respect-for-marjorie">against the Strange New Respect on the left for Marjorie Taylor Greene</a>.</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.offmessage.net/p/differing-views-on-how-persuasion">Brian’s conversation with Pat Dennis about public opinion formation</a>.</p>

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit <a href="https://www.politix.fm?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_7">www.politix.fm</a><br/><br/><p>Donald Trump’s Epstein coverup has faltered. Jeffrey Epstein’s estate has produced tens of thousands of emails implicating scads of U.S. elites, Trump foremost among them, but including famed economist Larry Summers and other prominent Democrats. Meanwhile, Congress has now voted overwhelmingly to compel the Justice Department to release its Epstein case files.</p><p>In this episode, Matt and Brian discuss:</p><p>* What do the recent disclosures actually reveal?</p><p>* What the fuck Larry Summers?! And, also, ew!</p><p>* Should erstwhile Summers allies throw him under the bus, even though he’s announced his withdrawal from public life?</p><p>Then, for paid subscribers, what now? Will Trump sign the Epstein disclosure bill without delay? If so, how will he endeavor to obstruct disclosure once it becomes law? Is the evidence in the case file safe from tampering or destruction? And why has <em>this </em>issue, rather than tariffs or health care or even war in Venezuela, the one that has blown the coalition wide open? (Hint: It has something to do with all the antisemites in MAGA). </p><p>All that, plus the full <em>Politix</em> 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.</p><p>Further reading:</p><p>* Brian argues <a target="_blank" href="https://www.offmessage.net/p/force-a-referendum-on-the-epstein">Dems should lean into Epstein politics at least as hard as party strategists want them to lean into “affordability.”</a> </p><p>* Matt argues <a target="_blank" href="https://www.slowboring.com/p/folding-a-winning-hand-isnt-moderation">moderation shouldn’t be synonymous with throwing a winning hand</a>—possibly relevant to forthcoming Epstein politics.</p><p>* Emily Catalano on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQrr1ctj00j/?igsh=cWJwNmRnazJ4cWF5">Epstein truthers coming full circle</a>. </p>

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit <a href="https://www.politix.fm?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_7">www.politix.fm</a><br/><br/><p>After notching huge victories in last week’s off-year elections, Senate Democrats were overcome by a failure of nerve, and agreed to reopen the government without restoring anyone’s health insurance or securing any legal mechanism to rein in Donald Trump’s lawlessness</p><p>In this episode, Matt and Brian discuss:</p><p>* What the fuck?</p><p>* Why did the standoff end the way it did?</p><p>* How could the eight capitulators plus Chuck Schumer have engineered a better outcome, whether it brought the shutdown to an end or not?</p><p>Then, for paid subscribers, how will the recriminations play out inside the party? Could it feed a constructive conversation about what a better opposition party might look like? Will they put up <em>any </em>resistance at all when the next deadline looms at the end of January? Are memories long enough that the cave might have an impact on the 2026 midterms? Will Trump interpret this as a mandate to use the infliction of pain to bend Democrats? Or will we all move on when the House votes to release the Epstein files?</p><p>All that, plus the full <em>Politix</em> 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.</p><p>Further reading:</p><p>* Brian has <a target="_blank" href="https://www.offmessage.net/p/16-thoughts-on-the-dem-shutdown-cave">16 thoughts on the surrender</a>. </p><p>* Matt <a target="_blank" href="https://www.slowboring.com/p/13-thoughts-on-the-end-of-the-shutdown">only has 13</a>.</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://substack.com/profile/148391517-chris-murphy">Chris Murphy</a>’s <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzDmYIciJ0I">interview with </a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzDmYIciJ0I"><em>Punchbowl</em></a><em>.</em></p>