The Political Orphanage
Politics minus bile plus jokes. Comedian and avowed independent Andrew Heaton interviews authors and thought leaders about policy and big thinky stuff.
Episodes
Liberalism was once thought to be triumphant and inevitable, but at the moment it’s losing ground across the globe.
Cass Sunstein joins to discuss what liberalism is, why it’s good, and some of the in-family debates.
LINK: Cass Sunstein on Smarter Regulations
https://www.thepoliticalorphanage.com/p/cass-sunstein-on-smarter-regulations-85e
Well, how do we respond after assassinations and political tragedies? Let's talk about it. Ugh.
Link: Assassins Part II: A Loser Kills Garfield
If Iran’s Islamic Republic collapsed—or got pushed out—who would pick up the pieces?
This week we look at the recent history of Iran, and the coup perpetrated by the CIA and MI6.
To understand Iran’s broader political context, and the power players poised to seize leadership.
Linked Bonus Episode: McKinley Dies and the Empire ...
Is Sweden a socialist paradise? What do they do right and what have they screwed up on? Most importantly, what can Americans steal, replicate, and improve upon?
To find out, I abducted the handsome and urbane intellectual Johan Norberg.
Also I visit the ABBA Museum.
Finland routinely winds up at the top of global happiness surveys. Why?
In this episode, I flew to Helsinki to wander around and chat up locals. Trying to figure out why:
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Their social trust is so teeteringly high
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How their social safety nets work
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How this combines to result in their contentedness.
So that we can steal all that, and replicate it.
Relevant Episode: The Nordic Theory of Every...
It turns out, young voters (under fifty) are openly hostile to political parties, and are most likely to flip from election to election. This means the game is about to change as Millennials displace Baby Boomers as the largest voting bloc. So what happens?
Adam Brandon is a senior advisor at The Independent Center, and the former and final president of FreedomWorks.
He joins the show to discu...
Greg Lukianoff is the President of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, and along with Nadine Strossen, is the author of "The War on Words: 10 Arguments Against Free Speech--And Why They Fail."
Does the Fed achieve its own stated goals? What are underlying ethical or practical issues with it? Soho Forum founder and economist Gene Epstein joins to make the case against the Federal Reserve.
The SoHo Forum: https://www.thesohoforum.org/
Uncut Gene Epstein interview on the Federal Reserve: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1h_8wTj-0VrlMWsrtI6iIsewKvjZworu_/view?usp=sharing
What is the purported aim of the Federal Reserve? Why is it independent, or shoot for 2% targeted inflation? In part one of our series on the Fed, Jeremiah Johnson of the New Liberal podcast joins to explain, discuss, and field objections.
How can an unscrupulous person get elected to high office and make a buck by abusing public trust? To look into this matter we speak with former congressman (and former lobbyist) Scott Klug.
Melissa Chan and Badiucao have both been exiled from the People's Republic of China; the former as a journalist and the latter as an artist and political cartoonist.
They join the show to discuss censorship and authoritarianism in China, and their new book, "You Must Take Part in Revolution: A Graphic Novel."
Ever wonder why Canada didn’t become the 14th colony during the American War of Independence? It turns out, America invited Canada to join.
Then, when they turned down the invitation, invaded.
Then again in 1812.
In this episode we return to States that Weren’t: Canada. Plus, how Nova Scotia and Newfoundland almost became states.
www.ThePoliticalOrphanage.com
America is littered with lots of almost-states, which very nearly joined the Union in their own right, but for some reason did not. In today’s episode we cover Vandalia, Transylvania, Westylvania, Franklin, and N...
This week New York City Democrats held their primary for mayor, and nominated Zohran Kwame Mamdani. Mamdani is a Democratic Socialist who promises to implement free bussing, a $30 per hour minimum wage, universal childcare, and a government-run grocery store program.
Hosts of the World's Smartest Podcast Network hosts, Turner Sparks and Dr. Andrea Jones-Rooy join to discuss.
Iran is accused by Israel of pursuing a nuclear weapons program, and President Trump is weighing US military intervention.
Read more
A terrorist shot William McKinley at a World's Fair in Buffalo in 1901. In this episode, we go over the specter of anarchism in that era, why McKinley embodied the establishment, and how he died.
Andrew Jackson was the first U. S. president who experienced an assassination attempt.
Read more
How does American housing stack up compared to other countries, specifically in terms of full-blown housing communism or free market Japanese housing Nirvana?
In this episode we take a look at what makes housing cheap, what makes housing expensive, and lessons we can steal from foreigners.
LINKS:
Reason TV: "Heaton solves the Housing Crisis" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VmEOgC0CWM
Alain Bertaud: Sim City Was Always Wrong https:...
Conventional wisdom is brimming with economic myths: the Industrial Revolution impoverished the masses; bobber barons were the scourge of the Gilded Age; the Great Recession was caused by irresponsible deregulation.
Senator Phil Gramm and economist Don Boudreaux attempt to set the record straight in their new book, “The Triumph of Economic Freedom: Debunking the Seven Great Myths of American Capitalism.”
Donald Trump is threatening to levy tariffs on films shot elsewhere, and actor John Voight is petitioning the federal government for taxpayer subsidies to protect Hollywood from foreign competition.
Screenwriter C. Robert Cargill joins to discuss.
https://www.scamstuff.com/products/brian-and-matt-june-2025
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