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
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.
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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.
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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
Marc Beckman is a Senior Fellow of Emerging Technology at NYU, adjunct professor Stern, and the author of "Some Future Day: how AI is going to Change Everything." He joins to discuss practical implications of the unfolding AI Revolution.
Why do some people determine an action is racist, and others say nah? What are the mental protocols people use to exonerate or convict someone accused of beings sexist? Jessi Streib is the author of "Is it Racist? Is it Sexist? Why Red and Blue White People Disagree, and How to Decide in the Gray Areas."
Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson are the authors of “Abundance” a book about removing artificial scarcity and embracing a worldview that focuses on end goals, building, growth, and increasing the supply of everything we need and want. He joins to discuss the book, zoning, why America can’t have nice trains, and how we can better lean into federal research funding.
Just what the hell is happening with tariffs? Are we entering a trade war? Are we negotiating? In today's show:
A) An extended introduction about Napoleon III and Otto von Bismarck
B) Austin Padgett, co-host of "History 102" on YouTube joins to discuss Trump's tariffs from the pro-Trump perspective
C) Scott Lincicome of Cato takes a dim view of shenanigans
Cory Doctorow is a journalist, activist, and science fiction author known for his work on digital rights, monopolies, and the future of technology.
He joins to discuss non-compete clauses, IP law, Right of Repair, and copyright regimes.
His most recent book is "Picks and Shovels,” available at www.mightyheaton.com/featured.
Sebastian Junger is a decorated war correspondent and author of books like “The Perfect Storm” and “Tribes: On Coming Home and Belonging.”
Heaton was going to interview him about his last book, “Freedom,” but then Junger very nearly died, and they decided to talk about that instead.
His most recent book is "In My Time of Dying: How I Came Face to Face with the Idea of an Afterlife"
Mahmoud Khalil has been detained, and will be potentially deported, by the Trump administration.
Attorney Anna Gorisch joins to discuss the implications of this case, in terms of national security, immigration law, and the difference between protected and unprotected speech.
Unabridged: https://drive.google.com/file/d/12QlJl8QgTKBffGXgtUjzMfLIrndTf3mW/view?usp=sharing
Andrea Jones-Rooy is a data scientist and former DEI consultant.
She joins to discuss what DEI is, what DEI is not, and where it goes wrong.
What would happen if the Trump administration tried to abolish or defund the Department of Education?
What does it do, and is it a net positive or net negative in terms of tax dollars and dispensing knowledge?
What is the government doing which is irritating, and what is irritating that the government can assist with?
Topics covered today include: paper straws, low-flow toilets, pennies, nickels, mail, and quitting gym membership.
Jeff Maurer, author of “I Might Be Wrong” on Substack joins to discuss.
Jonathan Rauch asserts that as the American Church has become increasingly concerned with the culture war and politics, it has become secularized and unappealing to its members, who are abandoning it. The result is a country increasingly spiritually adrift, churches distracted from their core missions, and a nation turning to politics as a substitute.
He is the author of Cross Purposes: Christianity’s Bro...
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