Politicology
Politics in America is transforming. We’re embarking on a new series to deepen our understanding of who we are, how we got here, and how we rebuild without repeating the mistakes of the past. Ron Steslow hosts academics, behavioral economists, social psychologists, politicos, philosophers, anthropologists, journalists, poets, and storytellers—and more—to discuss America’s political present and future and dive into the deeper problems we face as a nation. Email us questions or comments: podcast@politicology.com.
Episodes
January 16, 2026 • 62 mins
Iran is erupting in protests—and the regime is cracking down with extraordinary violence.
Guest Host Hagar Chemali sits down with Jay Solomon (investigative reporter at The Free Press) to unpack why protests are surging nationwide, what the regime’s economic rot reveals about its fragility, and what (if anything) the U.S. and Israel might do next.
They dig into a bank-collapse story that helped ignite the unrest, the regime’s de...
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January 15, 2026 • 52 mins
For the ad-free version of this episode, subscribe to Politicology+ at https://politicology.com/plus
For most Americans, losing access to a bank account sounds like a customer-service hassle—not a political problem. But what if your ability to get paid, pay bills, run a business, donate to a cause, or even shop online or just withdraw cash at an ATM can be shut off quietly, without a trial, without an explanation, and without a me...
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January 14, 2026 • 48 mins
For most Americans, losing access to a bank account sounds like a customer-service hassle—not a political problem. But what if your ability to get paid, pay bills, run a business, donate to a cause, or even shop online or withdraw cash at an ATM can be shut off quietly, without a trial, without an explanation, and without a meaningful way to appeal?
In this two-part episode, Ron Steslow is joined by economist Jorge Jraissati, Pres...
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January 9, 2026 • 61 mins
Ron Steslow kicks off 2026 with a “Smash Brothers” weekly featuring Lucy Caldwell, Hagar Chemali, Susan Del Percio, and Mike Madrid to look at the forces they think will define the year ahead—geopolitical disruption, institutional failure, civil dysfunction—and the transformational period we’re living through.
Then they share some exciting news about The Weekly in 2026.
Finally, in Politicology+, they dive into the values that wi...
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January 7, 2026 • 70 mins
In the first week of the new year, the U.S. launches a dramatic operation in Venezuela that ends with Nicolás Maduro (and Cilia Flores) in U.S. custody, transported to New York to face narco-terorism charges.
Ron and Hagar Chemali (Fmr. spokesperson for the U.S. Mission to the UN) unpack what we know about the raid, why the administration says it happened, and why the real motive may be bigger than oil or drugs.
Then they turn ...
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January 2, 2026 • 40 mins
Ron Steslow and Olivier Knox discuss whether thinking is becoming a luxury good. They explore the alarming trend of declining literacy and the implications of digital media and AI on human thought and social interaction. Later, they discuss how the shift towards a post-literate society, characterized by short-form content and algorithmic reading, threatens the foundations of democracy and critical thinking.Related Reading: NYT - Th...
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January 2, 2026 • 33 mins
Ron Steslow and Lucy Caldwell talk about the current healthcare landscape and the ongoing debate about how we pay for healthcare. They critique the ACA’s effectiveness, the challenges of health insurance coverage and explore market-based solutions. They also highlight the importance of personal advocacy in navigating healthcare and the evolving discourse around health and wellness, particularly in the context of AI's role in health...
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December 31, 2025 • 45 mins
You can pre-order Testimony: Inside the Evangelical Movement That Failed a Generation now at https://www.jonwardwrites.org/
Jon Ward (Journalist and author of Testimony: Inside the Evangelical Movement That Failed a Generation) joins Ron Steslow to discuss growing up in the Evangelical Church, “Christian Trumpism,” and his new memoir.
(06:05) Why Sarah Palin resonated with so many Christians
(10:36) What having difficult conve...
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December 31, 2025 • 50 mins
You can pre-order Testimony: Inside the Evangelical Movement That Failed a Generation now at https://www.jonwardwrites.org/
Jon Ward (Journalist and author of Testimony: Inside the Evangelical Movement That Failed a Generation) joins Ron Steslow to discuss growing up in the Evangelical Church, “Christian Trumpism,” and his new memoir.
(03:28) Why Jon wrote the book
(08:10) Being a “border-stalker”
(14:36) The Jesus Mo...
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December 26, 2025 • 36 mins
Not yet a Politicology+ member? Don’t miss all the extra episodes on the private, ad-free version of this podcast. Upgrade now at politicology.com/plus.
Ron Steslow and Mike Madrid discuss the redistricting wars, the Supreme Court case that could upend a central part of the Voting Rights Act, how Latinos becoming the largest minority group will make us rethink what being a “minority” even means, and how partisanship is becoming ou...
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December 26, 2025 • 38 mins
Not yet a Politicology+ member? Don’t miss all the extra episodes on the private, ad-free version of this podcast. Upgrade now at politicology.com/plus.
Ron Steslow and Mike Madrid unpack historian Gordon S. Wood’s recent Wall Street Journal op-ed arguing that the United States is built on shared ideas, not shared bloodlines—and what that means in an era of rising “blood and soil” nationalism and demographic change.
They dig into...
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December 19, 2025 • 68 mins
In this episode, Ron is joined by Hagar Chemali (Fmr. spokesperson for the U.S. Mission to the UN) to break down the Trump administration’s 2025 National Security Strategy—and why it reads like multiple agendas stitched together.
They dig into the document’s big shift toward the Western Hemisphere, what “partnership without shared values” really implies, and how the administration’s internal split—isolationists vs. international...
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December 12, 2025 • 72 mins
In this episode, Ron is joined by Lucy Caldwell (Board Advisor to the Renew Democracy Initiative) to confront the question hanging over Democratic politics: Can the Democratic Party keep pretending we’re not in a populist era?
Lucy breaks down the party’s internal struggle between centrists and insurgents—and why both sides are wildly overinterpreting recent election results. Using the Maine Senate race as a case study, they exam...
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December 11, 2025 • 46 mins
For the ad-free version of this episode, subscribe to Politicology+ at https://politicology.com/plus
Last weekend, eleven Politicology listeners from all over the country joined Ron and Mike in person for a salon style retreat called Unscripted: A Politicology Gathering.
They explored big questions like “What is the point of America?” and “What does it mean to be a citizen in the digital age?”
In this episode, those same listen...
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December 5, 2025 • 54 mins
Have you ever thought about what it means to be anonymous?
Have you considered what it means that you can walk down the street or go to the grocery store or out to dinner without someone you’ve never met knowing your name, everything you’ve posted online, or your political leanings?
Or when you go on a first date with someone, they’d walk in knowing your dating history, your political affiliations, your credit score or what groc...
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December 5, 2025 • 39 mins
Have you ever thought about what it means to be anonymous?
Have you considered what it means that you can walk down the street or go to the grocery store or out to dinner without someone you’ve never met knowing your name, everything you’ve posted online, or your political leanings?
Or when you go on a first date with someone, they’d walk in knowing your dating history, your political affiliations, your credit score or what groc...
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December 4, 2025 • 43 mins
For the ad-free version of this episode, subscribe to Politicology+ at https://politicology.com/plus
Molly McKew (writer and lecturer on Russian influence and information warfare) joins Ron to break down a whirlwind of revelations about Trumpworld’s back-channel contacts with the Kremlin—and what they mean for Ukraine’s survival.
Molly explains the leaked call where envoy Steve Witkoff coached the Kremlin on how to influence Don...
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November 28, 2025 • 76 mins
In a special Thanksgiving-week episode of The Weekly, Ron Steslow and Mike Madrid sit down to answer your questions — about the deep fractures emerging inside the Republican Party, the escalating ICE raids in smaller cities, the boundary between sharp-elbowed politics and institutional destruction, the rise of AI, and the future of American civic life.
In Politicology+ they unpack historian Gordon S. Wood’s recent Wall Street ...
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November 25, 2025 • 67 mins
For the ad-free version of this episode, subscribe to Politicology+ at https://politicology.com/plus
Last week, a “peace plan” to end the war in Ukraine leaked to the press. It would force Kyiv to abandon its NATO ambitions, cap its armed forces and shower Moscow with concessions.
In this episode Ron talks to Gabrielius Landsbergis (former Foreign Minister of Lithuania ) and Molly McKew (writer and lecturer on Russian influence a...
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November 21, 2025 • 75 mins
This week, Ron Steslow and Hagar Chemali (Fmr. spokesperson for the U.S. Mission to the UN) break down the newly released Epstein emails, what they show, what they don’t and why the national security implications are far bigger than the headlines.
They dig into Epstein’s attempts to insert himself into global politics including offering Russia “insight” on Donald Trump and the strange connection between Larry Summers and China’s B...
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