Scot Bertram and Jeff Blehar discuss ask guests from the world of politics about their musical passions.
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Scot and Jeff discuss Sleater-Kinney with Nic Rowan. Introducing the Band : Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) with guest Nic Rowan. Nic is managing editor of The Lamp , a Catholic literary journal. You can follow him on Twitter/x @ NicXTempore . Nic’s Music Pick: Sleater-Kinney When people talk about the greatest American rock bands of the past 30 years, the…
Scot and Jeff discuss the second part of XTC’s career (1984-2000) with Andrew Gretes. Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram (@ScotBertram) and Jeff Blehar (@EsotericCD) with guest Andrew Gretes. Andrew is a fiction writer teaching creative rhetoric at Georgetown and George Washington University. You can find his work at andrewgretes.com . Andrew’s Music Pick: XTC, Pt. 2 Awaken you…
Scot and Jeff discuss the first part of XTC’s career (1977-1983) with Andrew Gretes. Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram (@ScotBertram) and Jeff Blehar (@EsotericCD) with guest Andrew Gretes. Andrew is a fiction writer teaching creative rhetoric at Georgetown and George Washington University. You can find his work at andrewgretes.com . Andrew’s Music Pick: XTC There may be no language in…
Scot and Jeff discuss The Apples in Stereo with Jack Butler. Introducing the Band : Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) with guest Jack Butler. Jack is deputy editor for Free Expression , a new newsletter about politics and culture from the Wall Street Journal opinion page. Previously he was submissions editor for National Review Online . You can follow him on…
Scot and Jeff discuss Deep Purple with Ivan Pongracic. Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram (@ScotBertram) and Jeff Blehar (@EsotericCD) are joined by guest Ivan Pongracic, William E. Hibbs & Ludwig von Mises professor of Economics at Hillsdale College. Ivan has a career nearly as storied as Deep Purple’s -- a 1984 immigrant from the former Yugoslavia (Croatia, specifically), an…
Scot and Jeff discuss The Strokes with Christopher Scalia. Introducing the Band : Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) with guest Christopher Scalia. Chris is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and the author of 13 Novels Conservatives Will Love (But Probably Haven't Read) , a perfect Christmas gift for your favorite person. Find him on X at @…
Scot and Jeff discuss Van Halen with Sean Trende. Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) with guest Sean Trende. Sean is senior elections analyst at Real Clear Politics and visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute . His new podcast with co-host (and fellow Political Beats guest) Jay Cost, is Stubborn Things . Find him on X at @…
Scot and Jeff discuss Iggy Pop & the Stooges with Dominic Green. Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram (@ScotBertram) and Jeff Blehar (@EsotericCD) are joined by guest Dominic Green. Dom is a historian and columnist, and he used to be a musician. He is a contributor to the Wall Street Journal and a columnist for the Washington Examiner and Jewish Chronicle . Check him out on Twitter at…
Scot and Jeff discuss the second part of Tom Waits’ career (1983-2011) with Damon Linker. Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are joined by guest Damon Linker. Damon is a senior lecturer in political science at the University of Pennsylvania, and publishes a Substack newsletter titled “ Notes from the Middleground .” Follow him at…
Scot and Jeff discuss the first part of Tom Waits’s career (1973-1982) with Damon Linker. Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are joined by guest Damon Linker. Damon is a senior lecturer in political science at the University of Pennsylvania, and publishes a Substack newsletter titled “ Notes from the Middleground .” Follow him at…
Scot and Jeff discuss Jimmy Buffett with Conor Friedersdorf. Introducing the Band : Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are with guest Conor Friedersdorf. Conor is a staff writer at The Atlantic , where he writes about politics and culture, with a focus on civil liberties, and he's the founding editor of The Best of Journalism , a newsletter on Substack where…
Your Political Beats hosts Scot Bertram (@ ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar (@ EsotericCD ) get the opportunity to spend a little more time with singer/songwriter/bandleader/advocate/professor David Lowery (@ DavidCLowery ) Now-frequent (two times is frequent, right?) Political Beats guest David Lowery returns to the show to talk about his magnificent new solo record Fathers, Sons and Brothers . For…
Scot and Jeff discuss Bob Seger with Tim Constantine. Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) with guest Tim Constantine. Today you see him interviewing presidents and prime ministers on The Capitol Hill Show out of Washington, D.C., but Tim got his broadcasting start in rock radio when he was just 13 years old. Watch Tim Constantine's Capitol…
Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are joined by guest Jeff Pojanowski. Jeff is a professor at Notre Dame Law School, where he teaches and writes about philosophy of law and legal interpretation. He also writes occasional columns for The Pillar . He has been living happily in Northern Indiana after escaping Washington, D.C., 15 years ago.…
Introducing the Band : Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are joined by Andrew Stuttaford. Andrew needs little introduction as the editor of NR's Capital Matters . Find him online right here at National Review or at @AStuttaford on Twitter/X. Andrew’s Music Pick : Brian Eno Here he comes, the boy who tried to vanish to the future or the past. Yes, it's time…
Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are joined by guest Steve Singiser. Steve is formerly a contributing editor at Daily Kos Elections and now is a contributor at The Downballot . Steve’s Music Pick: Def Leppard Do you wanna get rocked? If the answer is yes and the decade was the 1980s, it’s likely Def Leppard was at least partially…
Introducing the Band : Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are joined by guest Eli Lake. Lake is a columnist with the Free Press and also a contributing editor at Commentary. Find him online at the Free Press or @EliLake on Twitter/X. Eli’s Music Pick : Stevie Wonder It’s time to sing some songs in the key of life as we tackle the amazing and iconic second half…
Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are joined by guest Eli Lake. Lake is a columnist with the Free Press and also a contributing editor at Commentary. Find him online at the Free Press or @EliLake on Twitter/X. Eli’s Music Pick: Stevie Wonder Happy New Year, everyone. 2024 was a mess, 2025 looks to be every bit as much of a mess, and…
Introducing the Band : Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are with guest Mary Chastain. Mary is a writer and editor at Legal Insurrection . She's also a sometimes contributor to The Hill , Washington Examiner , and Reason , and FEE . Mary is on X at @ Mchastain81 . Mary’s Music Pick: Stone Temple Pilots: This is another in a series of episodes (think Daryl…
Introducing the Band : Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are with guest Andrew Fink. Andrew lives with his wife Lauren and their five children in Hillsdale County, Mich., and is an attorney, Marine veteran, current state representative, and candidate for Michigan Supreme Court. He's on X at @ AndrewFinkMI , and his website can be found here . Andrew’s Music…
Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are joined by guest Peter Suderman. Suderman is the features editor at Reason magazine. He also writes the Substack Cocktails With Suderman , which is about making better cocktails at home. Find him online at Reason or @petersuderman on Twitter/X. Peter’s Music Pick: The Dismemberment Plan The name might…
Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are with guest Nick Lowe. Nick Lowe is . . . wait, you don’t really need a bio for Nick Lowe, do you? If there’s any questions about who he is, please take the time to listen to our lengthy Political Beats episode with guest Matt Murray. In an interview that has been months in the making, your Political…
Introducing the Band : Your hosts Scot Bertram (@ ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar (@ EsotericCD ) with . . . no guest at all! With Jeff moving his belongings to a new abode while also covering the RNC and DNC for National Review and Scot's vacation schedule creating another hurdle, we felt it was time to break the glass on the window marked "VERY SPECIAL EPISODE." For those relatively new around…
Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are with guest Brad Birzer. Brad is the Russell Amos Kirk Chair in American Studies and Professor of History at Hillsdale College. He is also the co-founder of and senior contributor at The Imaginative Conservative , and the author of a number of books, including Neil Peart: Cultural (Re)Percussions .…
Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are with guest Brad Birzer. Brad is the Russell Amos Kirk Chair in American Studies and Professor of History at Hillsdale College. He is also the co-founder of and Senior Contributor at The Imaginative Conservative , and the author of a number of books, including Neil Peart: Cultural (Re)Percussions .…
Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are with guest Guy Denton. Guy is the co-host of The Wrong Stuff with Matt Lewis, contributor to The Dispatch and National Review , and until recently took Jonah Goldberg's guff over at The Remnant . Find him on Twitter/X . . . nowhere, because he is saner than the rest of us. Guy’s Music Pick: Echo &…
Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are with guest Joshua Treviño. Joshua works and writes at the Texas Public Policy Foundation and spent the entire 1990s listening a lot to Matthew Sweet. Joshua’s Music Pick: Matthew Sweet For listeners of a certain age, just the name Matthew Sweet will evoke a particular memory, and it’s likely one that…
Introducing the Band : Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are with guest Tom Nichols. Tom is a staff writer at The Atlantic and author of The Death of Expertise: The Campaign against Established Knowledge and Why it Matters , with a new second edition out soon. Find him on X/Twitter at @RadioFreeTom . Tom’s Music Pick: Boston This could be our first episode…
Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are with guest Jay Cost. Jay is the Gerald R. Ford senior non-resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and the author of, most recently, James Madison: America’s First Politician . Find him on Twitter/X at @Jay__Cost . Jay’s Music Pick: The Kinks Haven’t we done these guys already? We sure…
Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are with guest Jay Cost. Jay is the Gerald R. Ford senior non-resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and the author of, most recently, James Madison: America's First Politician . Find him on Twitter/X at @Jay__Cost . Jay's Music Pick: The Kinks Haven't we done these guys already? We sure…
Introducing the Band : Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) with guest Mike Long. Mike is a (very) occasional writer for National Review and was one of the originals back in the early 2000s as NRO was launched. He’s the author of the non-fiction bestseller The Molecule of More and its sequel coming in fall of 2024. Mike’s Music Pick: Joe Jackson After running…
Introducing the Band : Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are joined by guest Hannah Rowan. Hannah is the managing editor of Modern Age . You can find her on X at @ Hannah_Cristine and read her review of Debbie Harry's memoir here . Hannah’s Music Pick: Blondie Here's another artist we get to cross off the list of long-awaited episodes. Both Jeff and Scot have…
Introducing the Band : Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are joined by guest Eric Kohn. Eric is the Director of Marketing & Communications at the Acton Institute. Check him out on Twitter at @ iEricKohn . Eric’s Music Pick: Huey Lewis & the News Do you believe in miracles? Yes! After years of lobbying, Jeff has proven that anyone will fold, given enough time…
Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are joined by guest Rory Cooper. He’s a partner at Purple Strategies , a corporate reputation and advocacy agency in Alexandria, Va., a former George W. Bush and Eric Cantor aide, and a longtime Republican strategist. He’s on Twitter at @ rorycooper . Rory’s Music Pick: Simon & Garfunkel If you enjoyed…
Introducing the Band : Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are with guest Matt Murray. Matt is the recently departed editor of the Wall Street Journal , now on assignment for its parent company, News Corp. Check him out on Twitter at @ murraymatt . Matt’s Music Pick: Nick Lowe Okay, it says “Nick Lowe” right there above this line, but we need to be straight…
Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are joined by guest Dave Weigel. Dave is a founding reporter at Semafor , where he covers the 2024 campaign and writes the Americana newsletter. Check his work out here and find him on Twitter at @daveweigel . Dave’s Music Pick: Pet Shop Boys Opportunities are knocking: I've got the brains, and you've…
Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are joined by guest Dominic Green. Dom is a historian and columnist, and he used to be a musician. He is a contributor to the Wall Street Journal and a columnist for the Washington Examiner and Jewish Chronicle . Check him out on Twitter at @DrDominicGreen . Dominic’s Music Pick: The Jam In some ways,…
Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are joined by guest Eric Garcia. Eric is senior Washington writer for the Independent and a columnist at MSNBC. Check him out on Twitter at @EricMGarcia . Eric’s Music Pick: Black Sabbath The storm is upon you; can you hear the peals of thunder in the background, and the bleak clang of the church bell in…
Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are with guest Adam Wollner. Adam is a Washington-based journalist who has covered national politics for CNN, McClatchy, and National Journal. Check him out on Twitter at @ adamwollner . Adam’s Music Pick: My Morning Jacket A reverb-laden, indie-country band? Roots rock? Electro-funk? Jam band? All that…
Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are joined by guest Mark Hemingway. Mark is a writer at RealClearInvestigations and RealClearPolitics and an occasional contributor at The Federalist . Check him out on Twitter at @ heminator . Mark’s Music Pick: Big Star How do you merit an episode of Political Beats when you've released only a handful…
Introducing the Band : Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are joined by Noam Blum. Noam is Chief Technology Officer at Tablet Magazine and co-host of the Ambitious Crossover Attempt podcast and of All Crossed Out on the Callin app, both of which deal with pop culture, media, and politics. Find him on Twitter at @neontaster . Noam’s Music Pick : Tool Since…
Introducing the Band : Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are with guest Phil Wegmann. Phil is White House reporter for RealClearNews and RealClearPolitics . Check him out on Twitter at @ PhilipWegmann . Phil’s Music Pick: The National Let us tell you, we have had *a bunch* of listeners ask us for an episode on The National, and we are nothing if not…
Introducing the Band : Your hosts Scot Bertram (@ScotBertram) and Jeff Blehar (@EsotericCD) are joined by guest Andrew Fink. Andrew is a member of the Michigan House of Representative (District 35 -- Branch & Hillsdale Counties). Prior to that, he was the district director for Senate majority leader Mike Shirkey. Follow him on Twitter at @AndrewFinkMI. Andrew’s Music Pick : Otis Redding Ladies and…
Introducing the Band : Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are with guest Noah Weinrich. Noah is director of communications for Heritage Action , the grassroots and advocacy arm of The Heritage Foundation. Check him out on Twitter at @ weinrich_noah . Noah’s Music Pick : Weezer What kind of a band starts its career with two stone-cold classic albums, takes a…
Introducing the Band : Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are with guest Jesse Walker. Jesse is books editor at Reason and author of two books, The United States of Paranoia and Rebels On the Air . He can be found on Twitter at @ notjessewalker . Jesse’s Music Pick : Willie Nelson In Part Two, we pick up Willie’s story at his commercial breakthrough, Red…
Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are joined by guest Jesse Walker. Jesse is books editor at Reason and author of two books, The United States of Paranoia and Rebels On the Air . He can be found on Twitter at @ notjessewalker . Jesse’s Music Pick: Willie Nelson Sure, in the past here on Political Beats we have dabbled in country-ish…
Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are joined by guest Steve Miller. Steve is a veteran journalist and a reporter at RealClearInvestigations . He's also the author of Detroit Rock City: The Uncensored History of Rock 'n' Roll in America's Loudest City . Steve's Music Pick: Mott The Hoople Do you remember the Saturday gigs? We do, we do!…
Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are joined by guest Andrew Heaton. Andrew is a comedian and political satirist you might know from Reason TV. He is the host of The Political Orphanage , a funny policy analysis show for people tired of tribalism. You can find him on Twitter at @mightyheaton . Andrew Music Pick: “Weird Al” Yankovic You…
Introducing the Band : Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are joined by guest Scott Immergut. Scott is the CEO of Ricochet.com and the Ricochet Audio Network. He is the long-time producer of the Ricochet Podcast and the GLoP Culture podcast with Jonah Goldberg, Rob Long, and John Podhoretz. He’s also the Executive Producer of The Hoover Institution’s Uncommon…
Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram ( @ScotBertram ) and Jeff Blehar ( @EsotericCD ) are joined by Eli Lake. Eli is a contributing editor at Commentary , and fellow at the Clements Center at UT-Austin. Follow him on Twitter at @EliLake . Eli’s Music Pick: Prince, Pt. 3 (1992-2016) Eli rejoins the gang as they resume their discussion of the career of Prince Rogers Nelson, or as he was…
