Reflector

Reflector

We investigate the surprising stories behind the most fascinating debates and pressing issues facing society today. By looking into how we got here, we aim to understand more deeply where we may be headed next.

Episodes

Paid Protesters

March 3, 2026 • 41 mins
From abolitionists to the Tea Party, accusations of “paid protesters” have shadowed American political movements for centuries. But what if the reality is more nuanced (and more interesting) than the talking points suggest? In this episode, Andy Mills sits down with Adam Swart, founder and CEO of Crowds on Demand, a company that quite literally pays people to demonstrate. Swart pulls back the curtain on an industry most people enc...
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Propaganda of the Deed (Part 2)

February 13, 2026 • 44 mins
Political tensions across the country continue to rise. Today, we spoke with protesters who believe the time for debate, peaceful protest, and civil disobedience has passed, asking what they think must now be done to defend their values. From the anti-ICE protests to the fans of Luigi Mangione, we also explore the similarities—and the key differences—between this moment and the anarchist wave that swept America more than a century...
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Propaganda of the Deed (Part 1)

February 6, 2026 • 46 mins
As demonstrators openly debate whether violence is justified to resist the Trump administration, we step back to ask: Have we been here before?  This episode traces a largely forgotten chapter of American history – from the Haymarket Riot to anarchist assassinations, government crackdowns, and the birth of the FBI and the ACLU – to show how cycles of political violence and state power have shaped the American left for more than a ...
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The Hallelujah

December 26, 2025 • 31 mins
After leaving the church that both defined and destroyed her family, Megan Phelps-Roper turned away from the Bible. In this episode, she returns to one of its dark tales to ask what still endures when belief is gone – and why some stories refuse to let us go. CREDITS: This episode of Reflector was written by Megan Phelps-Roper and produced by Andy Mills and Matthew Boll Music for this episode was composed by Cobey Bienert⁠⁠ The...
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The Last Invention

October 3, 2025 • 38 mins
Listen to our new show The Last Invention Apple  Spotify Order Katie Herzog’s new book: Drink Yourself Sober Sign up for our newsletter on Substack and become a Longview subscriber at our website.  Thank you to our sponsors Ground News and FIRE GROUND.NEWS FIRE This is a paid sponsorship link. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Extra! Extra! We Have An Announcement

March 17, 2025 • 7 mins
We are living through one of the most unpredictable periods in recent history. A time of profound, destabilizing social upheaval. A time of barely-imaginable technological advancements. A time of emerging new philosophies that will reshape the world around us (for better or for worse).  And, it’s a very exciting time to be a curiosity-driven, non-ideological journalist. But there's a problem: trust in journalism—especially in journ...
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Breaking USAID

February 15, 2025 • 50 mins
Should the U.S. stop giving foreign aid? This is a question many have been asking long before Elon Musk and Donald Trump launched DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) and began dismantling USAID and its work around the globe. Critics of foreign aid, like Bill Easterly, author of The White Man’s Burden, and Dambisa Moyo, author of Dead Aid, argue that foreign aid often does more harm than good. They contend that the U.S. and o...
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A Nation of Immigrants Votes for Deportations

January 7, 2025 • 75 mins
Despite its reputation among many on the political left, the United States has welcomed more immigrants than any other nation in history. Today, the U.S. is home to more immigrants than any other country in the world. Even amid a heated political battle over the future of immigration, it’s undeniable that a core part of America’s national identity is its image as “a nation of immigrants.” Many Americans proudly trace their ancestry...
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Why Doesn't Anyone Trust The Media?

November 21, 2024 • 58 mins
In the wake of the election results, many Democrats are doing some serious soul-searching (and a fair amount of blame-gaming) to understand why they lost. But it’s not just Democrats reckoning with their loss of trust from the American people. New polling from places like Gallup shows historically high levels of distrust in journalists. Meaning that a profession built on the delivery of trusted information is now in the midst of a ...
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The Comeback of Donald Trump

October 30, 2024 • 66 mins
Here comes the much-anticipated (maybe dreaded? Obnoxiously over-covered?) 2024 US presidential election, and no one knows who will emerge as the next President of the United States. Today’s episode was inspired by a conversation I had last week with a former colleague from The New York Times. She shared her concern that we in the media might have done it again. That just like in 2016, we may have failed to capture why Donald Trump...
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Growing Support at American Universities for Violent Palestinian Resistance

October 10, 2024 • 48 mins
Wars—like the one between Israel and Hamas—are not only fought on the battlefield, but they are also fought through stories. In today’s episode, I interview Eman Abdelhadi, an American academic, activist, and organizer in the Free Palestine movement. Abdelhadi shares a perspective on Israel that, while controversial, is gaining influence across the United States, particularly on college campuses. A recent Pew survey revealed that 3...
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The Whole World Is Watching

October 3, 2024 • 47 mins
Today: Fears of another world war, a high stakes presidential election and the very divisive subject of American support for Israel. We speak with progressive voters who are considering staying home in November, even if it could lead to another Trump presidency. We unpack our reporting from the 2024 March on the DNC, examining the ways it compares—and doesn’t—to the 1968 March on the DNC. We also mention that a short video I took a...
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Why Do Politicians Lie?

September 16, 2024 • 48 mins
We are hard at work on several stories that we hope to share with you soon, but today we’re trying something a bit different. We're bringing you a roundtable discussion with Sarah Isgur and Mike Pesca on why politicians and world leaders lie—and what those lies reveal about the state of our society. Sarah Isgur is a lawyer, senior editor at The Dispatch, host of the legal podcast Advisory Opinions, and co-host of Left, Right & Cent...
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Hindsight: Emily Bazelon on Election Denial 2024

August 29, 2024 • 30 mins
In today’s Hindsight we are looking back on our coverage of stolen election claims (No, You Stole the Election!) with journalist, lawyer, and podcast royalty, Emily Bazelon. We discuss gerrymandering, voter ID laws, growing distrust in institutions, and we debate the power of elites and whether we should be worried about Election Day 2024. We have a lot of new listeners here, and we’re very excited to have you with us! If you want ...
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No, You Stole the Election! (Part 3)

August 15, 2024 • 43 mins
Today in our third and final installment of this series, we delve into what may be the most contested election in American history. We also take stock of the already historic and unprecedented 2024 presidential campaign season. What happens when both sides of our political divide increasingly view the other as an anti-democratic threat? Our aim with these episodes is to listen carefully to those who feel cheated, move beyond the da...
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No, You Stole the Election! (Part 2)

August 8, 2024 • 47 mins
Here in our second installment into the recent history of stolen election claims, we’ve got angry voters, disappointed politicians, and a few tech-savvy democrats who see signs of hacking, fraud, and illegitimacy in three different elections. We’ll discuss the allegations about hacked voting machines in Ohio in 2004, claims that the 2016 election was stolen from Hillary Clinton, and how stolen election claims in the 2018 gubernator...
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No, You Stole the Election! (Part 1)

August 1, 2024 • 46 mins
Claims that a US election was rigged, fraudulent, illegitimate, or stolen are not new. But in recent years—despite the fact that our elections have grown increasingly secure—these claims have grown louder and more impassioned. Today, we begin our look back on past claims of stolen elections in American history, in the hopes that understanding them in their context will help shed light on our current political moment—and where we mi...
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Hindsight: Stagger Lee & Killer Mike

July 18, 2024 • 51 mins
Today we’ve got a very special Hindsight episode that revisits the themes explored in our "Filthy Slime" episodes (Parts 1 & 2). We’re delighted to be joined by living legend and recent Grammy winner Killer Mike. He discusses his view of "rap on trial" and the complex relationship between art, crime, and life for young people in some of America’s toughest neighborhoods. We also explore the legend of Stack Lee – AKA Stagger Lee – an...
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You Can't Say That (Part 2)

July 9, 2024 • 64 mins
Today, we continue our examination of difficult public debates, one year after concluding our series, The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling. In Part 1, we provided updates on women's sports, women-only spaces, and transition medicine for minors. This week, we hear from three different trans individuals who share their perspectives on the state of the debate, J.K. Rowling in particular, and the larger idea that good-faith debates are nec...
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You Can't Say That (Part 1)

July 2, 2024 • 63 mins
About a year ago, the team that makes this show (Matt Boll and me, Andy Mills) along with our dear friend Megan Phelps-Roper (who also helps with each episode of Reflector), put out the final installment of The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling.  The show was a big hit with millions of listeners, even as it split — and in some cases enraged — media critics. Our aim was to tell the story of Rowling’s two major public controversies — both...
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