Politics + Media 101

John and Justin sit down with Curt Mills, Executive Director of The American Conservative magazine. Curt, a former college classmate of John's, is an influential voice in the conservative intelligentsia's restrainer camp, advocating against the use of US military force abroad. The group discuss whether Donald Trump fits into this camp and what his nominations and appointments signal about his foreign policy goals.

On this episode, John and Justin discuss why Donald Trump won the election, Where VP Harris and Democrats went wrong, and how they can improve their messaging and approaches to campaigning to win back working class voters. Please subscribe and rate our podcast wherever you listen.Justin's X: https://x.com/Justin_Higgins2Justin's BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/justinhiggins.bsky.socialJohn's X: https://x.com/johnwgunnison

John and Justin discuss the state of the presidential election, the racist comments at Trump's Madison Square Garden rally, how Puerto Rican voters will impact the election for the White House, and Trump's lies about his anti-war record. 

John and Justin host Mother Jones' Kat Abu to discuss political social media, the DNC, state of the Harris-Walz campaign and its approach to Israel-Palestine 

The 2024 Democratic National Convention came to Chicago amid a series of strange parallels to the 1968 convention in the same city: the incumbent president withdrew from his reelection campaign, the vice president was nominated without running in the primaries, students organized a national protest movement against a war, a major candidate was shot, someone named Robert F. Kennedy was running for president.Justin and John sit down with Michael Koncewicz, a historian at New York University, to discuss these overlaps. Michael is currently working on a biography of Tom Hayden, the anti-war activist who stood trial as one of the "Chicago 7" blamed for violence at the 1968 convention.

Justin and John sit down with journalist David Corn, Washington Bureau Chief for Mother Jones and author of several books, most recently American Psychosis.David is an expert on the history of the Republican Party and its relationship with right-wing populism. He assesses the choice of Ohio Senator JD Vance as Donald Trump's vice presidential running mate and what it means for the direction of the GOP.

Justin and John discuss the state of the presidential campaign after an incredible month of news: the Republican convention, an assassination attempt on Donald Trump, JD Vance becoming Trump's running mate, Joe Biden's retirement, and Kamala Harris's ascension to the top of the Democratic ticket.In particular, they review the choice of Governor Tim Walz to run for vice president. Harris chose Walz ahead of Governor Josh Shapiro, who many pundits favored.

Justin sits down with Andrew Lawrence, Deputy Director of Rapid Response at Media Matters to discuss the state of the presidential election, and why labeling Trump Republicans as weird has been effective for Democrats. 

After watching the Thursday night debate, Justin and John tackle the difficult question of whether Joe Biden should withdraw as a candidate for the 2024 presidential election.

Justin and John sit down with Tara McGowen, a former political strategist, former journalist, and founder of Courier Newsroom. Tara is an expert on digital media strategy, and she assesses the strengths of Republicans and Democrats in the ever-evolving online information landscape.

John sits down Ken Moriyasu, Washington correspondent for Japan-based news magazine Nikkei Asia. A returning guest to PM101, Ken joins the program to discuss the U.S.-Japan alliance, a fitting topic after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's recent state visit to Washington. Ken describes the shifts in Japan's military strategy, Japanese policy towards Ukraine and Israel, how Japan is preparing for the potential return of Donald Trump, and the impact of Joe Biden's unconventional new ambassador to Tokyo, Rahm Emanuel.Read more from Ken here: https://muckrack.com/kenmoriyasu

Justin and John sit down with Dmitri Mehlhorn, an entrepreneur, financier and political strategist. Dmitri teamed with LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman to launch Investing in US, a fund that supports advocacy organizations dedicated to defeating the MAGA movement. The group discuss the campaign landscape and propose creative strategies for the coming election.

Justin and John sit down with political analyst Rachel Bitecofer. Rachel is the author of a new book titled Hit 'Em Where It Hurts, which offers advice for how Democrats can exploit negative partisanship to win in 2024.For more on the book, visit Rachel's website: https://www.hitemwhereithurts.com/

John sits down with journalist and author Joshua Green, author of The Rebels, a new book on left-wing American populism. Joshua previously wrote The Devil's Bargain, which profiled Steve Bannon and the populist movement in the Republican Party. John and Joshua discuss the overlap between these two populist camps, the differences among key leaders of the progressive movement, and whether a left-wing populist candidate can win a presidential election.Get the book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/586025/the-rebels-by-joshua-green/

Justin & John sit down with Yaroslav Trofimov, chief foreign-affairs correspondent at The Wall Street Journal. Yaroslav has covered wars and terrorism in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq, and now reports on a war in his own home country, Ukraine. Yaroslav's new book Our Enemies Will Vanish offers stories and lessons from the first year after Russia's massive escalation against the country.Buy the book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/731521/our-enemies-will-vanish-by-yaroslav-trofimov/

To learn more about presidential impeachment, Justin and John sit down with Professor Michael J. Gerhardt, the leading scholar of American impeachment law. Gerhardt appeared as an expert witness in the impeachments of both President Trump and President Clinton, and he recently appeared as a witness in the impeachment inquiry of President Biden.Gerhardt is the author of many books on impeachment. His latest book on the subject, The Law of Presidential Impeachment: A Guide for the Engaged Citizen was released on January 9th, 2024. Find the book at the link below.https://nyupress.org/9781479824694/the-law-of-presidential-impeachment/

Journalist Aaron Rupar joins Justin and John to discuss President Biden's accomplishments, Trump's legal troubles and what to expect in 2024. If this conversation interests you, please check out Aaron's newsletter Public Notice here: https://www.publicnotice.co/

On Sunday, December 10th, Argentina inaugurated a new president, the eccentric "anarcho-capitalist" Javier Milei. To learn about this new chapter in South American history, Justin and John sit down with Ariel González Levaggi, an academic at the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina and senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).Ariel describes Argentina's journey from a global economic powerhouse to a stagnant, indebted nation, explaining why voters have turned to the colorful Milei for radical solutions. He also offers some commentary on Venezuela's threats to invade Guyana in the north of the continent.Read more from Ariel here: https://www.csis.org/people/ariel-gonzalez-levaggi

Justin and John sit down with  Astead Herdon, national politics reporter for The New York Times and host of the podcast “The Run-Up.” Astead recently published a major profile of Kamala Harris, including an exclusive interview he conducted with the vice president herself. With the PM101 team, he discusses his reporting on Harris, describing her difficulty building a national public persona despite her successful career as a prosecutor in California.Find more of Astead's work here: https://www.nytimes.com/by/astead-w-herndon

In a special crossover episode, Justin and John sit down for a wide-ranging conversation with the hosts of Beyond Politics, Paul Hodes and Matt Robison. Paul is a former U.S. Congressman who represented Justin and John's home district in New Hampshire. Matt is a senior political strategist who served as Paul's chief of staff. Together, the group talk about the changes to the American political system that they've observed over their careers, with shifts in media and technology dramatically reshaping how the public understand and respond to news events.For Part 2 of this discussion, listen to the Beyond Politics podcast here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-politics/id1369437819

A month into the devastating war between Israel and Hamas, Justin and John sit down with diplomat and analyst Aaron David Miller. An expert on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Aaron spent 25 years at the U.S. State Department advising Republican and Democratic secretaries of state on Middle East policy.Aaron describes how the horrific terror attacks on October 7th have affected Israel, how Israel and the United States perceive the increasing criticism of civilian deaths in Gaza, and how the conflict may unfold in both the immediate and long term.Find more of Aaron's analysis at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: https://carnegieendowment.org/experts/1744

India and Canada are engaged in a heated diplomatic dispute after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Indian government of planning the killing of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, near Vancouver. Indian officials deny the allegation and accuse Canada of harboring terrorists affiliated with the secessionist Khalistan movement.To discuss these events, John sits down with Sadanand Dhume, Wall Street Journal columnist and fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Sadanand describes the perspectives of different players and assesses how the feud might affect India's standing in Western capitals.Read more from Sadanand here: https://www.aei.org/profile/sadanand-dhume/

Justin and John discuss the efforts to normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel. The two countries have been moving steadily towards strategic convergence, but Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has requested major concessions from the United States before formally establishing ties. John explains the Saudi approach and the reasons that American political figures - including Joe Biden, Donald Trump, and Jared Kushner - have treated the issue as a priority.

Justin and John discuss the drama on Capitol Hill over government funding, as Speaker Kevin McCarthy works to avoid a government shutdown. McCarthy faces intransigence from renegade members in his own Republican caucus, including media lightning rod Matt Gaetz. Justin Higgins, a veteran of GOP congressional offices, explains the dysfunction engulfing the Republican faction.

After recent health scares for Senator Mitch McConnell, Justin and John discuss the difficult issues of age and health in political leaders. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Chuck Grassley are often criticized for delaying retirement, as is President Joe Biden. Justin recalls his experiences working with the office of Senator Thad Cochran, a powerful Senator who handed his responsibilities to his staff when his health declined. John offers some international comparisons, noting the trend of young leaders in Europe and elderly leaders in Africa.

After the first Republican primary debate, Justin and John try ranking the candidates according to their performances. Burgum, Christie, DeSantis, Haley, Hutchinson, Pence, Ramaswamy, and Scott are each evaluated, with Donald Trump looming outside the field.

Justin and John sit with Evan Drellich, senior writer at The Athletic. The group discuss baseball's major changes to game rules, assessing whether the sport can regain its place as the most popular pastime in American culture. Despite momentum with attendance and ratings, baseball faces challenges in a fragmented media system.Evan is the author of Winning Fixes Everything, a recent book about the Houston Astros cheating scandal. His articles for The Athletic can be found here: https://theathletic.com/author/evan-drellich/

A recent Wall Street Journal article reports that China and Cuba are working to establish a spy facility 100 miles from Florida.  To understand this development, John sits down with Dr. Evan Ellis, a research professor of Latin American studies at the U.S. Army War College and a Senior Associate at CSIS. Dr. Ellis describes China's activities in Latin America, assesses the level of threat, and evaluates the Biden administration response.Read more from Evan Ellis here: https://www.csis.org/people/evan-ellis

Justin and John sit down with technology reporter Katie Notopolous to discuss the new app Threads, launched in July by Mark Zuckerberg's Meta. The app seeks to supplant Twitter, now owned by Elon Musk, as the leading platform for microblogging and text-based social media. Katie gives her assessment of the new app's strengths and weaknesses, addresses the rivalry between the two enigmatic founders, and offers her thoughts about the shape of the digital industries today.

Justin discusses China's military ambitions and 2027 timeline, and how Taiwan and the US are responding with Tingting Liu of TVBS.This is the second part of their discussion on Taiwan. 

The Daily Beast's Matt Lewis sits down with John and Justin to discuss his new book, Filthy Rich Politicians. Matt explains how politicians get rich through leveraging their position as elected officials -- legalized corruptions of sorts, including book deals and stock trading. Matt examines Marjorie Taylor Greene, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, and many more politicians in this interview. You can buy Matt's book here:  https://www.centerstreet.blog/filthy-rich-politicians 

Justin and John discuss the recent discord in the House Freedom Caucus, as members move to punish Marjorie Taylor Greene for embracing GOP Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The Republican conference may move to oust McCarthy from leadership before the end of the year.The pair then discuss the differences in leadership style between Republicans and Democrats. They also offer first thoughts on the new Meta app Threads, launched to rival Twitter.

Justin sits down with Tingting Liu, News Anchor, Foreign affairs and military correspondent for TVBS to discuss Taiwan's domestic politics ahead of the 2024 Presidential election. Tingting provides analysis on how the three leading political parties approach the cross-straight relations (Taiwan - China), the ongoing Me Too movement on the island, and what we should look forward to during the next six months of the campaign. Follow Tingting on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/tingtingliuTVBS?s=20 

Justin and John sit down with Gregory B. Poling, director of the Southeast Asia Program and Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.Greg recently returned from the Shangri-La Dialogue, a defense forum held in Singapore and attended by the United States, China, and other key players in the Asia-Pacific. He describes the arguments made in the American and Chinese presentations and assesses how they were perceived by crucial Southeast Asian states. More from Greg here: https://www.csis.org/people/gregory-b-poling

After an explosive expose, CNN's CEO Chris Licht was fired by his bosses at Warner Bros Discovery. This came after a year of disappointing ratings and head-scratching programming decisions.Justin and John sit down with Meg James, senior entertainment industry writer for the Los Angeles Times. Meg helps explain the crisis at CNN, based on her own reporting from the company. They also discuss the macro forces threatening the very existence of cable news.Read more from Meg here: https://www.latimes.com/people/meg-james

Justin and John discuss the surprise deal reached between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), who had backed the upstart rival LIV Tour. John draws on his experience working on public investment projects in the Arab Gulf States.

Justin and John discuss Ron DeSantis's presidential campaign launch, which was held on Twitter Spaces with Elon Musk and David Sacks. The PM101 hosts draw on their extensive experience in social audio to critique the unusual launch event.

In this episode, John and Justin breakdown former President Trump's recent CNN townhall, how the media approaches Trump and more.

Justin and John address two media controversies that unfolded in previous weeks, Donald Trump's indictment on 34 criminal counts by New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg and the social media boycott of beer brand Bud Lite. They discuss how public figures have responded to these stories and whether wading in these controversies is truly necessary.

In this episode John and Justin discuss Silicon Valley Bank and the state of the US banking system with Aaron Klein, the Brookings Institution's  Miriam K. Carliner Chair and senior fellow in Economic Studies. This discussion also gets into the Biden Administration's response and what policymakers and regulators must do in the future to ensure a strong US banking system.

Justin and John sit down with Amir Tibon, a journalist at Israel's Haaretz newspaper. Amir explains the controversial proposals for judicial reform that have sparked the largest protest movement in recent Israeli history. With Israeli democracy in a precarious position, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces unprecedented international criticism, including from crucial security partners such as the United States.Read more from Amir: https://www.haaretz.com/ty-WRITER/0000017f-da25-d42c-afff-dff77f020000

Justin and John sit down with Shadi Hamid, author of The Problem of Democracy. Shadi's book explores the "democracy dilemma," the challenge of accepting democratic outcomes that may be illiberal or alarming but win public support. He explains how the experience of the Egyptian Revolution informs his concern that elites are often unwilling to allow religiously conservative voters a chance to determine public policy. The group discuss "liberal backstops" on democracy and when those may be appropriate to protect social pluralism.Shadi is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, contributing writer at The Atlantic, research professor of Islamic studies at Fuller Seminary.Find the book here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-problem-of-democracy-9780197579466

With the deadly mercenary organization Wagner Group playing a key role in the Ukraine war, Justin and John sit down with Catrina Doxsee, associate director and associate fellow for the Transnational Threats Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).Catrina explains Wagner's opaque structure and murky dealings in countries from Mali and Madagascar to Ukraine. She describes the rise of Yevgeny Prigozhin from a restaurant owner to global mass murderer, evaluating his ties to Vladmir Putin and his agenda in openly mocking Russia's military elite.More from Catrina here: https://www.csis.org/people/catrina-doxsee

After U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visits to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, Justin and John sit down with Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh and an expert on Central Asia.Jen describes Central Asia's rich history and dynamic politics, noting the efforts of regional leaders to move beyond the Soviet legacy and build a globally-connected future. Though Central Asian countries have refused to support Russia's aggression against Ukraine, the United States has a limited ability to influence events in the region.More from Jen here: https://www.murtazashvili.org/

Justin and John discuss the newly-announced candidacy of Nikki Haley for U.S. President. The former governor of South Carolina, Haley enters the Republican Party primary with little support and record of conflicting statements on key issues. Still, her successful record in electoral politics and unique biographical narrative are assets in a competitive race.Subscribe, rate, and review if you enjoyed the conversation.

As we approach the one-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Justin sits down with Congressman Don Bacon, a decorated Air Force veteran who represents Nebraska's 2nd District in the U.S. House.Congressman Bacon makes a case for robust U.S. support for Ukraine. He comments on divisions within the Republican Party on this topic, providing insight into how the new House majority will approach governing.More from Congressman Bacon here: https://bacon.house.gov/news/

Justin and John sit down with Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace who served for 24 years as a U.S. diplomat.The group discuss the twin crises unfolding as Israel inaugurates a new right-wing government: heightening tensions over West Bank settlements and a controversial proposal for judicial reforms. Aaron assesses the roles of the United States and other powers amid fears of renewed violence and anti-democratic drift.Find more from Aaron here: https://carnegieendowment.org/experts/1744

Justin and John discuss the recent controversies over the Republican positions towards popular entitlement programs. New debates around Medicare and Social Security, longstanding fault lines in American politics, were sparked by a dispute at President Biden's State of the Union address and comments from Senator Rick Scott.The two also discuss the sudden uptick in flying objects shot down by U.S. armed forces, including the infamous Chinese balloon.Subscribe, rate, and review if you enjoyed the conversation.

Justin and John sit down with Max Bergmann, director of the Europe Program at CSIS. Max joins after weeks of controversy over German and American provision of tanks to Ukraine. The group discuss whether arms provisions will continue, whether Russia considers this an "escalation," and what the consequences of that could be. They also address Turkey's moves to block the accession of Sweden to NATO, the state of populist politics on the European continent, and how European leaders view Joe Biden's performance as U.S. president.Read more from Max here: https://www.csis.org/people/max-bergmann

Ahead of the Super Bowl, Sports columnist Nancy Armour joins Justin and John to discuss the irreplaceable role of the NFL in American life. Football may be the only universally popular cultural product remaining, but it is not without controversies. The group address player advocacy, ownership responsibility, and the differences between the NFL and other sports leagues like the MLB and NBA.Read Nancy's work here: https://www.usatoday.com/staff/2646753001/nancy-armour/

Columnist Noah Smith joins Justin and John to discuss major issues in the global economy. They address the current challenges in the technology sector, which Noah characterizes as a popping bubble. Noah also advocates for a strong distrust of China in a new phase of U.S. strategic competition.Read Noah's work at noahpinion.substack.com.