-Important References- Adam's Article -Table of Contents- 00:00— Getting started, a note on Uvalde 02:00— What are "lawfulness" and "constitutionality"? 05:04— How about "law and order"? 13:11— Can we reform our way forward? 23:42— What about the role of violence in order? 35:12— Is bureaucracy a challenge to lawfulness? 42:00— Wrapping up -Usual L…

We sit down to discuss how to effectively combat authoritarianism, assist the spread of democracy, and learn from our past foreign policy mistakes. -Table of Contents- 00:00 — Getting started 01:01 — How should we deal (or not deal) economically with authoritarian powers? 06:46 — Are we comfortable being as sanguine about China as we are about Russ…

Professor Slaboch joins us to discuss his book and the topic of "progress." Is it real? If not, what are we to do? -Important References- Professor Slaboch's book, A Road to Nowhere -Share If You Care- Share via Twitter Share via Facebook Share via LinkedIn Share via Email -Usual Links- Leave a comment! Subscribe to our newsletter! Listen to Specta…

Professor Daniel Aldrich sits down with us to discuss his most recent book, Black Wave: How Networks and Governance Shaped Japan’s 3/11 Disasters. (Table of contents below.) -Important References- Check out Black Wave -Usual Links- Leave a comment! Subscribe to our newsletter! Listen to Spectacles Out Loud! Follow our Twitter! // Follow our TikTok!…

Former Mayor of Kansas City Sly James sits down with us to discuss political leadership, local government, and how to restore faith in American politics. -Important References- The Opportunity Agenda -Usual Links- Subscribe to our newsletter! Read or comment on this article! Write with us! Listen to Spectacles In Conversation! Follow our Twitter! /…

-Important References- Angelica's blog, Taipology Listen to the article we're discussing -Usual Links- Leave a comment! Subscribe to our newsletter! Listen to Spectacles Out Loud! Follow our Twitter! // Follow our TikTok!Spectacles Media által

We're joined by former Ambassador to Portugal Allan Katz to discuss civil discourse, polarization, and how this all applies to the situation in Ukraine right now. -Important References- American Public Square's website Our interview with author Thomas Main -Usual Links- Leave a comment! Subscribe to our newsletter! Listen to Spectacles Out Loud! Fo…

Harry and Philip sit down with Bryce to discuss today's article from him, "The Power of the Dollar," how CBDCs are promising, who's displacing the dollar, and why China may be facing an uphill battle in popularizing the Yuan. -Important References- Listen to the article we're discussing. Bryce's previous piece for Spectacles, on CBDCs -Usual Links-…

Harry and Philip discuss today's Insight, "The Disease of Medical Lobbying." We talk the nature of policy fights with lobbyists, cost disease socialism, and more! -Important References- Listen to the article we're discussing! -Usual Links- Leave a comment! Subscribe to our newsletter! Listen to Spectacles Out Loud! Follow our Twitter! // Follow our…

Today, we’re joined by Professor Thomas J. Main to discuss his recently released book, The Rise of Illiberalism. -Important References- The book, The Rise of Illiberalism Professor Main's Twitter -Usual Links- Leave a comment on this interview! Subscribe to our newsletter! Listen to Spectacles Out Loud! Follow our Twitter! // Follow our TikTok!…

Last year, we thought California had killed single-family zoning. But this Bay Area enclave would rather have mountain lions than new homes. Read, listen to, or comment on this article here! Correction: Woodside has dropped this claim to a wildlife habitat to prevent SB9, though I would still predict other communities making other legal attempts to…

Today, we're joined by a very special guest who's with us to discuss healthcare policy, democracy reform, the filibuster, campaign finance, and her dream policy for her home state of Wisconsin. Tune in for our conversation. -Important References- Campaign Website Facebook Twitter Instagram -Usual Links- Subscribe to our newsletter! Comment on this …

Harry and Philip wrap up their series on international institutions and the future of peace by discussing the decline of American hegemony and what it means for international order. Can international institutions pick up the slack? What does the future hold? -- Visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter! To comment on this episode, click her…

Join Harry and Philip as they break down three major theories of international relations. From dark and scary to bright and beautiful, they'll discuss which seems to have the best grip on things. -- Visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter! To comment on this episode, click here! Let us know your thoughts about these theories! To listen to…

Join Harry and Philip as they begin a discussion of international institutions and how they contribute (or fail to contribute) to global peace. What are institutions? How do they emerge at the international level? What do international institutions promise? -- Visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter! To comment on this episode, click here…

Join Harry and Philip as they wade into a current debate about the global competition between autocracy and democracy. Is this really happening? Is it a decisive feature of democratic decline? Or are our problems mostly domestically rooted? We will be looking at three articles on the subject from Anne Applebaum in Atlantic Magazine, Max Fisher in T…

Harry and Philip discuss today's Insight, "Beyond Gerrymandering" to dive deeper into an explanation of what's wrong with America's single-member district system. On the other hand, it turns out there are some benefits. -Important References- Our chat with Benjamin Singer of Show Me Integrity, about approval voting The recent Bird's Eye about Hunga…

Join Harry and Philip as they discuss today's Insight, "A Different Perspective on Inflation" and talk over the role of the media in this situation, how poll-chasing is bankrupt, and much more. -Important References- Harry's recent article on popularism and poll-chasing -Usual Links- Visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter! To read, comme…

Join the Harry and Philip as they wrap up their discussion of democratic backsliding. Today, we're on the home turf—the United States. We discuss executive aggrandizement, how Congress let this happen, and what it will mean in the future. -Important References- The Bird's Eye episode on partisan sorting and voting systems Harry's Insight on the lac…

Harry and Philip discuss today's Insight, "Ortega’s Propaganda Peddlers," and talk about Nicaragua's example of how modern election-rigging works. -Important References- The recent Bird's Eye episode discussing Hungary's example of similar behavior -Usual Links- Visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter! To read, comment on, or listen to th…

Join the editors as they discuss backsliding in Hungary under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. How did Viktor Orbán find himself in a position to dismantle Hungarian democracy? What are the precise mechanism's that he is using to undermine rule of law and popular government? Tune in! -- Visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter! To comment on t…

Join Harry and Philip for a discussion of today's Insight, "The Post-Liberal Roller Coaster," about the national conservatism movement. It's a lively one full of Twitter beefs, poking fun at Philip's high school's alum Mr. Hawley, and some disagreements between the editors. Tune in! -- Visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter! To read, com…

Join the editors as they discuss professor Nancy Bermeo's article "On Democratic Backsliding." What is democratic backsliding? Why do today's aspiring autocrats use different tactics than their predecessors? -- Visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter! To comment on this episode, click here! To listen to written articles from Spectacles re…

Join the editors as they apply the theoretical and historical lessons from our past two episodes on the "stationary bandit" to the United States! Are there latent authoritarian characteristics in the political and economic institutions of the US? To what extent have we eliminated them, and to what extent to authoritarian legacies persist? How can d…

Join Harry and Philip as they discuss today's Insight, "Time for Europe to Get Serious," and talk through some errors of European leadership, the shortcomings of the promises of European integration, and how this connects to our other recent articles. -Important References- Philip's article on "sleepwalking" German foreign policy Harry's article fr…

Join Harry and Philip as they discuss today's Insight, "Putin's 'Power' Politics," and how globalization has empowered some autocratic regimes. -Important References- Episode 1 on the 'Stationary Bandit' theory Episode 2 on Portugal's Salazar, including a brief discussion of this topic & China -Usual links- Visit our website and subscribe to our ne…

Join Harry and Philip as they continue their analysis of dictatorship! This week, we turn to midcentury Portugal to apply the "stationary bandit" theory from our last Bird's Eye. Was António de Oliveira Salazar, the autocratic ruler of Portugal from 1932 to 1968, an example of the stationary bandit? How well does Olson's theory hold up in a histori…

Join the editors for the first episode of our newest series, on dictatorship, democracy, and development! As an introduction, we discuss political scientist Mancur Olson's paper of the same name. Americans are increasingly wondering just how democratic their country is, and whether dictatorship might be a better fit. Next week, we'll be looking mor…

Join Harry and Philip as they talk over today's Insight, "Squamish First Nation Provides a Glimpse at The City of Tomorrow." They go over housing policy, anti-development motivations and confusions, and the tensions (or lack thereof) between smart regulation and free, competitive markets. -Important References- Recent article on California SB 9 & 1…

Join Harry and Philip as they talk over how we got our current state of global trade and finance, its virtues, and its vices. It's a fascinating conversation in which you will certainly learn a lot. -- Read or listen to Philip's Focus on Estonia Read or listen to the Bird's Eye episode on "Small Government Visions of Liberal Democracy" Visit our we…

Join Harry and Philip as they welcome their first guest to Bird's Eye! Benjamin Singer, the executive director of the Missouri-based voting reform organization Show Me Integrity, sits down with the editors. We discuss "approval runoff," an alternative electoral system that Show Me Integrity helped enact in St. Louis, the value of political parties,…

Join Harry and Philip as they discuss today's Insight, "Tunisian Democracy Sheds the Burden of Reciprocity," to learn about how Tunisian leaders made the decisions they did and why. -- Visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter! To read, comment on, or listen to the article we discussed, click here. Read or listen to our previous coverage of…

Join Harry and Philip as they discuss today's Insight, "As Shortages Abound, What Can We Do?", to learn some interesting things about supply chains, trucking, freight rail, global trade relations, flat screen TVs, debt peonage, and security dilemmas. It's a fun one. -- Visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter! To read, comment on, or liste…

Join Harry and Philip to learn more about the two-party system and alternative multi-party political set-ups. We discuss what they each are, how they come about, advantages, disadvantages, and American lessons. Next week, you don't want to miss our conversation with Benjamin Singer, Executive Director at Show Me Integrity, as we talk over possible …

Join the editors as they begin an exploration of the political spectrum, the way citizens align themselves with political parties, and the nature of the two party system. Is a single-axis political spectrum the best way to conceptualize American politics? What are the effects of more disciplined political parties? How can we best understand what vo…

Join Harry and Philip as they discuss today's Insight, "The Promises and Perils of Australia’s New Submarines." Is the buildup of tensions China or America's fault? Are we right to respond by arming our allies, and how do we pick those allies anyways? -- To read or comment on the Insight discussed in this episode, click here. To listen to that same…

Join Harry and Philip as they discuss today's Insight: Disastrous Developments in Haiti. The conversation ranges from a critique of media over-simplification of current events in the country to a consideration of the strategic value of democratic friendship rather than big-stick bullying. -- To read or comment on the Insight discussed in this episo…

Join Harry and Philip as they conclude their discussion of myth and politics, re-examining the relationship between belief and material reality, and evaluating the prospects for a global social narrative. What is the relationship between material conditions and myth or belief in myth? Is a global myth or universal human social identity possible? Wh…

Join Harry and Philip as they discuss today's Insight on housing crises and legislation against single-family zoning, to learn more about interest groups and stakeholder theory in democracy. -- To read or comment on the Insight discussed in this episode, click here. To listen to that same article in Spectacles Out Loud, click here.…

Join the editors as they continue their discussion of the role of myth in political life, examining the "QAnon" conspiracy theory. What does Q tell us about myth and its role in politics? Is there precedent for conspiracy theories like Q in the American past? How is Q different from past conspiracy theories? Next week, we will conclude our discussi…

Join Harry and Philip for a discussion of the dissatisfying settlement for an admittedly corrupt establishment politician in Brazil. It turns out democracy is messy, and being blind to that can cause a lot more problems than you might imagine. -- To read or comment on the Insight discussed in this episode, click here. To listen to that same article…

Join Harry and Philip for an especially long (and excellent) discussion about today's Insight on the increasingly discouraging situation in Tunisia and the utility of mainline American foreign policy strategies, like sanctions, in addressing it. P.S. It's so long, because we couldn't find a thing to cut. This one is jam-packed with great thoughts a…

Join Harry and Philip as they expand on today's Focus, discussing the politicization of the court and what it would take for Congress to do what needs to be done. -- To read or comment on the Insight discussed in this episode, click here. To listen to that same article in Spectacles Out Loud, click here.…

Join Harry and Philip as they continue an exploration of the role of myth in political life by looking more closely at the myths which have historically underpinned American politics. What is the relevance of historical American myth to today’s controversies and culture wars? How does history help illuminate current challenges? Most importantly, wh…

Join Harry and Philip for a discussion of today's Insight, "Voting Rights Bill a Dead End for Democracy," and what the future of American elections is shaping up to look like without voting rights action taken yesterday. -- To read or comment on the Insight discussed in this episode, click here. To listen to that same article in Spectacles Out Loud…

Today, Harry and Philip sit down to discuss today's Insight, "The Big Fail Isn't in Kabul. It's on Our TVs," and talk in more depth about the problems today's media is causing in democracy and how our criticism differs from the Trumpian attack on the free press. -- To read or comment on the article we are discussing, click here. To listen to that a…

On this episode, Harry and Philip begin a month-long exploration of myth & politics. First up for discussion - What is myth? What does it have to do with politics? Why is myth important? How does it work? What would life be like without it? Next week we will be taking a look at the history of American political myths and where we may be headed, so …

Today, Harry and Philip sit down to discuss today's Insight, "The Misadventure of Nation-Building in Afghanistan," and talk in more depth about just what exactly doesn't work about nation-building and why we can't be looking to the examples of Germany and Japan for guidance. -- To read or comment on the article we are discussing, click here. To lis…

On this episode, Harry and Philip dive into the big questions, "How can we balance liberalism and democracy?" and "Can a big government aimed at protecting equality keep the system alive?" If you've ever wondered about the strengths and weaknesses of big government in building a healthy democratic society, join us and tune in! Click here to visit t…

On this episode, Harry and Philip dive into the big questions, "How can we balance liberalism and democracy?" and "Can a small government aimed only at protecting liberal freedom keep the system alive?" If you've ever wondered about the strengths and weaknesses of small government in building a healthy democratic society, join us and tune in! If yo…