Politicology

Inside The White House’s Epstein Crisis—The Weekly

Susan Del Percio (crisis communications expert) joins host Ron Steslow to examine what becomes of a populist movement once it captures the institutions it was built to attack. They begin with the Epstein files and a new book from New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan about the White House’s behind-the-scenes scramble to respond, including a Situation Room damage control meeting, and why the leaked recording of that meeting is more alarming still.  Next, they widen the lens to populism’s paradox, what happens when a movement built to distrust institutions takes them over and whether these movements need a single figurehead to lead them.  Then they turn to Maine, where Democrats nominated Graham Platner, a self-described socialist with a Nazi tattoo and allegations from former romantic partners describing him as volatile and demeaning toward women, including one ex-girlfriend’s accusation that he physically intimidated and restrained her. Finally, they weigh the economics underneath the populist rhetoric, from Platner’s “Epstein class” framing to a leftist turn toward capping growth and redistributing wealth, and why the politics of stagnation is a hard sell.  In Politicology+, they dig into “jawboning”— the way governments lean on private platforms to suppress speech they can’t legally suppress themselves—and a new bipartisan bill to stop it. POLITICOLOGY+ Not yet a Politicology+ member? Don’t miss all the extra episodes on the private, ad-free version of this podcast. Upgrade now at politicology.com/plus. SPONSORS & PROMO CODES: https://bit.ly/44uAGZ8 Send your questions and ideas to podcast@politicology.com Ron Steslow on X: https://x.com/RonSteslow Susan Del Percio on X: https://x.com/DelPercioS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Policing Words — The Weekly

Billy Binion (reporter at Reason Magazine) joins host Ron Steslow to examine how democratic governments are redefining speech as a harm to be managed and who pays the price when they do. They begin with the White House's negotiation with Senator Marsha Blackburn, a deal that would trade federal preemption of state AI laws for the Kids Online Safety Act, the No Fakes Act, and federal age verification, and whether we are “one bad deal away from the era of online government censorship.” Next, Britain's thousands of arrests each year for online posts, its mandate that Apple and Google build content scanning into every device, and Signal's vow to exit the market before that happens. Then they turn to the killing of Henry Novak, whose dying words police discounted in deference to his killer's fabricated racism accusation. Finally, they unpack Minnesota's multibillion-dollar benefits fraud—JD Vance's referral of Tim Walz and Keith Ellison, why warnings went unheeded, and the citizen journalist who made the scandal impossible to ignore. In Politicology+, they discuss the bipartisan push to force UFO disclosure and the legal fight underneath it: whether the government should use eminent domain to seize allegedly recovered non-human technology from private contractors, and whether contractor employees who come forward deserve whistleblower protections. POLITICOLOGY+ Not yet a Politicology+ member? Don’t miss all the extra episodes on the private, ad-free version of this podcast. Upgrade now at politicology.com/plus. Watch Billy’s Documentary about citizen journalist Priscilla Villarreal: https://bit.ly/3S4cuKJ  Read Konstantin Kissin on Henry Nowak’s murder: https://substack.com/home/post/p-200293621  SPONSORS & PROMO CODES: https://bit.ly/44uAGZ8 Send your questions and ideas to podcast@politicology.com Ron Steslow on X: https://x.com/RonSteslow Billy Binion on X: https://x.com/billybinion  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

ENCORE: Worthy of Protection — Part 2

To unlock subscriber-only content, visit: https://politicology.com/plus Géraldine Blanche (Intellectual Property Lawyer and PhD candidate in Intellectual Property Law at the Sciences Po Law School in Paris) joins Ron Steslow to discuss the politics of fashion and intellectual property law (01:26) Fashion in Politics  (05:36) Iteration, interpretation, and inspiration (09:47) The need for time in fashion and democracy (14:24) Environmental impact of fashion (26:42) The impact of AI on fashion Follow Ron on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RonSteslow Follow Géraldine on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/designedbylaw/  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oil & Infowar — The Weekly

Hagar Chemali (Former spokesperson for the U.S. Mission to the UN) is back in studio with host Ron Steslow to map the widening gap between the Trump Administration's declared aims in the Iran war, and the murky reality now shaping the region and the world. First they discuss the state of the war with Iran and the supposed negotiations in which the two governments are describing opposite realities—and what it would mean for the US to “finish the job.” Then, they widen the lens to China, tracing the argument that the campaigns against Iran and Venezuela are less about those countries than about choking off Beijing's energy supply. Finally, they turn to the information domain and the Singham network, a Chinese Communist Party-aligned financing infrastructure that has funneled hundreds of millions of dollars into American left-wing protest infrastructure and the deeper question it raises: how can a liberal society defend itself against foreign information warfare without surrendering the values it is fighting to protect?  In Politicology+, they discuss Trump's appointment of Bill Pulte—a political enforcer with zero intelligence experience—as interim Director of National Intelligence and why it’s essential to understand what was going on behind the scenes in the lead up to Tusli Gabbard’s resignation.  POLITICOLOGY+ Not yet a Politicology+ member? Don’t miss all the extra episodes on the private, ad-free version of this podcast. Upgrade now at politicology.com/plus. Watch Oh My World!: https://www.youtube.com/c/ohmyworldwithhagarchemali SPONSORS & PROMO CODES: https://bit.ly/44uAGZ8 Send your questions and ideas to podcast@politicology.com or leave a voicemail at ‪(703) 239-3068‬ Follow this week’s panel on X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/RonSteslow https://x.com/HagarChemali Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

ENCORE: Worthy of Protection—Part 1

To unlock subscriber-only content, visit: https://politicology.com/plus Géraldine Blanche (Intellectual Property Lawyer and PhD candidate in Intellectual Property Law at the Sciences Po Law School in Paris) joins Ron Steslow to discuss the politics of fashion and intellectual property law (01:25) History of laws protecting creativity  (09:20) What IP lawyers do (12:50) What led Géraldine to fashion IP (20:50) Fashion as political (35:50) How politicians send messages through fashion choices (41:41) Fashion as a signifier of political groups Follow Ron on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RonSteslow Follow Géraldine on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/designedbylaw/  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices