The Politics Guys is an independent, ideologically diverse American politics and policy podcast hosted by experts: political scientists, law professors, and practicing attorneys with government experience. Our mission is to give listeners a much-needed break from conservative and liberal echo chambers through civil, rational, and evidence-based discussion of American politics and policy from multiple perspectives.
Subscribe:.rss.atom.json.md.m3u.pls
Live Last read · last published · next check
Saves to your Listen queue, to pick up on another day or another device.
On this midweek supporters-exclusive episode of The Politics Guys , Trey Orndorff (subbing for Mike Baranowski) is joined once again by political scientist Michael Levy to go down a pair of deep policy and academic "rabbit holes" that they couldn't fit into the main weekend show. The guys start by analyzing German energy giant RWE’s $1.22 billion settlement with the Department of the Interior to…
On this week’s episode of The Politics Guys , Trey Orndorff (subbing for Mike) is joined by political scientist Michael Levy for their first show together. They begin with Michael breaking down the August 11 primaries. This includes discussing David Crowley’s narrow victory over Democratic Socialist Francesca Hong in Wisconsin, along with races in Minnesota and South Carolina. The pair discuss why…
Mike talks with political scientists Kirby and Spencer Goidel about their new book, The Trump Realignment , and their argument that Donald Trump didn’t simply take over the Republican Party—he fundamentally changed the American party system. They discuss how Trump exploited divisions over trade, immigration, education, and distrust of elites; why the GOP’s transformation began well before 2016;…
This bonus midweek episode begins with the Democratic National Committee’s precarious finances: the DNC is spending heavily on state parties, organizers, and long-term infrastructure while the Republican National Committee sits on a formidable cash advantage heading into the 2026 midterms. Mike and Jay debate whether DNC Chair Ken Martin is making a disciplined investment—or leaving Democrats…
On this midweek supporters-exclusive episode of The Politics Guys , Trey Orndorff (Oklahoma Christian University) and Ken Katkin (NKU Chase College of Law) continue their ongoing deep-dive series through The Federalist Papers , taking on Federalist Nos. 17, 18, and 19. In this cluster of essays, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison tackle a central Anti-Federalist anxiety pushed by writers like…
On this week’s episode, Trey Orndorff (Oklahoma Christian University) and law professor Ken Katkin (NNKU Chase College of Law) tackle as many major stories as possible for the first week of August, breaking down a pair of controversial new executive orders on citizenship, high-stakes primary results out of Kansas and Michigan, and the Senate Judiciary Committee’s vote to advance Todd Blanche for…
Mike and Jay debate whether Donald Trump has a coherent strategy for the wars in Ukraine and Iran—or is improvising while weapons stockpiles, alliances, and political pressures narrow his options. They examine a major Russia sanctions bill targeting China and India, Ukraine’s possible license to manufacture Patriot interceptors, and whether the United States can bomb Iran into submission. Then…
Open Primaries founder John Opdycke joins Mike to argue that America’s primary system gives political parties too much control while shutting out millions of independent voters. They discuss taxpayer-funded closed primaries, top-two elections, whether open systems actually reduce polarization, the threat of strategic “raiding,” and why third parties so rarely gain traction. Opdycke also explains…
On this midweek supporters-exclusive episode of The Politics Guys , Trey Orndorff (Oklahoma Christian University) and Justin Holmes (University of Northern Iowa) continue their deep dive into political ideologies by tackling a unique case: religion. Topics covered include: How religion shapes political behavior John Rawls and exorcising faith, and can it be, from the public sphere An overview of…
On this week’s episode, political scientist Trey Orndorff (Oklahoma Christian University) is joined by political scientist Justin Holmes (University of Northern Iowa) to break down a packed late-July news cycle spanning a massive war supplemental request on Capitol Hill, a rapid-fire prime ministerial transition across the Atlantic, executive tariff gymnastics, and an electoral shockwave in a…
