Electing to Drink

David and Michael speak with University of Maryland political scientist Lilliana Mason, who drinks a Groove City Hefeweizen and shares her insights about political polarization in America. Did you know that the least informed voters are the ones most likely to be persuadable in an election? Did you know that Americans now fear their kids marrying someone from the opposite political party more than almost anything else? If you’re wondering how we got into this mess and maybe how we get out, this is your episode.

Special guest Dave Karpf talks about the tweet that drove New York Times columnist Bret Stephens off Twitter and ignited a national conversation about civility and bedbugs. We also talk about the responsibilities of fame, why a certain kind of white guy is so fragile, why Dave and David love Dogfish Head beers so intensely and how Michael won’t drink one if it’s warm.

An errant tweet from a Republican strategist forces Ashley, David & Michael to ask themselves whether they live in a cultural bubble of fussy craft beer and corner-window Peletons. Michael expounds on the great capitalist success story of craft brewing, David talks about the origins of the right-wing 'real America' discourse, Ashley shreds the so-called Bubble Quiz and everyone dunks on Patrick Ruffini.

Michael and David recap the first two Democratic debates and look forward to the next one over two bourbon-barrel-aged stout variants from Temperance Beer Co in Evanston, Illinois. Will Kamala Harris and Joe Biden tussle again? Will Biden be prepared this time, and will Harris back up her jabs with policy? How will Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren handle being on the same stage together? David argues that this is a 5-person field with 20-person debates, but the large field isn’t going away anytime soon (with apologies to Eric Swalwell). If you’re looking to get hooked on the debates – and why not, there’s a whole year of them coming up! – tune in for another episode of Debate Prep.

In the shadow of a new assault on legal abortion in states like Alabama, Georgia and Missouri, Ashley and David drink some Founders Rubaeus and talk Supreme Court politics and Roe v. Wade with Loyola University Chicago professor Amanda Bryan, who shares her thoughts on how public opinion influences court decisions, how much danger Roe is in, and what the hell is up with Mayor Pete's bizarre court expansion plan. If you want to feel just a little bit better about the odds of Roe being upheld, you should definitely tune in.

Michael interviews David about the upcoming Democratic primary debates—two mind-numbing nights of 10-person cattle calls and desperate attempts to break through the huge field. Are such large debates unprecedented? Do they even matter? Is it bad for Elizabeth Warren that she's marooned with a bunch of also-rans on the first night while Bernie Sanders and Kamala Harris get to take it right to frontrunner Joe Biden on the second night? We've got all your primary debate questions covered.

What would you do if you found yourself waiting on the man who was more responsible than any other civilian in America for starting the disastrous Iraq War? Michael and David join writer Luke O'Neil, who wrote a column for the Boston Globe in which he imagined pissing in Bill Kristol's salmon, then watched as he became the Fox News outrage du jour and a national target of right-wing rage. O'Neil's insane story raises important questions about journalism, civility and how we deal with monsters when we see them at the grocery store.

It’s Summer Shandy time! While the weather is still brutal in the Midwest, David and Ashley speak with Bo Schuff of DC Vote to talk about the virtues of Leinenkugel, how voters in the nation’s capitol are disenfranchised and why they need and want to become the 51st state. Basically, all of the objections to DC statehood are dumb and Bo is here to tell you why.

Joe Biden—is it inevitable? We explore the former VP's recent announcement that he'll be running for President in 2020 with Robyn Pennacchia, writer for Wonkette and early denizen of the the internet. Robyn, who wrote a piece about Biden’s run, talks to David and Michael about why Biden's biggest selling point is attacking Trump and questions how the media seems to have forgotten about the slew of female politicians running for the top office. Robyn also definitively proves why she's been right about everything since the seventh grade while drinking Totally Roasted from Vander Mill Cider.

Gabe Roth, Executive Director of Fix the Court, brings some Uinta Baba to a conversation with Michael and David about why 18-year term limits are the way to reform the Supreme Court, how reform will lower the partisan temperature around appointments, why the Court's decision to strike down parts of the Voting Rights Act was so bananas, and why David is wrong about court packing.

David and Michael sample some Dovetail Rauchbier with Chicago social studies teacher Derick Loafman and talk about his role in the first charter school strike in American history.

David and Michael have a very “confronting” conversation with writer Linda Tirado, who talks about what it's really like to be poor, shreds meritocracy, talks about how Chicago is more racist than Ferguson, and explains why you're both right and wrong about who Trump voters are.

David and Michael open up some Revolution Eugene Porter with Illinois State Rep. and progressive leader Will Guzzardi to talk about what Democrats will do with their supermajorities in the state legislature, how Will survived opposing J.B. Pritzker in the primary and most importantly, when we can expect to see legal weed in Illinois.

Hosted by author + professor David Faris, produced by Good Beer Hunting, exploring progressive politics, personalities + policies over a guest’s favorite beer.