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PODCAST

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:

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All Episodes

73:25

AI Weapons and Mass Surveillance — The Weekly

Politicology ·

2026/04/18

Hagar Chemali (Fmr. spokesperson for the U.S. Mission to the UN) is back in studio with Host Ron Steslow for a conversation about how artificial intelligence is reshaping power, conflict, and accountability in real time.They discuss Ukraine’s first successful capture of a Russian position using only unmanned ground robotic systems and aerial drones and the rapid integration of AI into warfare and national security. They also examine the growing clash between Silicon Valley and the Pentagon after

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45:40

ENCORE: Modeling Victory — Part 2

Politicology ·

2026/04/15

In the second episode of this two part series, Øptimus co-founder and Data Science Director for Decision Desk HQ Scott Tranter joins Ron Steslow to talk about data science, polling, and modeling To unlock more episodes, visit: https://politicology.com/plus (00:59) The non-response bias and how data scientists must deal with it (02:55) The decrease in response rates over time (10:47) Likely vs eligible voters in polls and how to predict who’s likely to vote (15:55) Finding respondents to fill

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90:27

Fortress America — The Weekly

Politicology ·

2026/04/10

Journalist Izabella Kaminska (The Blind Spot, Financial Times, POLITICO Europe) joins Host Ron Steslow for a wide-ranging discussion about what the war with Iran will mean for the global economy, especially America, long after the shooting slows down.They begin with the immediate shockwaves of the temporary ceasefire and the partial reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping chokepoint that remains politically controlled even if technically “open.” Then, Izabella unpacks the end of the

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51:40

ENCORE: Modeling Victory — Part 1

Politicology ·

2026/04/08

In this two part series, Øptimus co-founder and Data Science Director for Decision Desk HQ Scott Tranter joins Ron Steslow to talk about data science, polling, and modelingTo unlock more episodes, visit: https://politicology.com/plus (01:00) The role of a data scientist on a campaign (04:20) What message testing is and how it’s used (11:15) Understanding voters you need to persuade and voters you need to turn out (15:16) Explaining sampling (34:36) Polling vs modeling (37:15) Why pollsters

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68:19

Who Gets to Be an American? — The Weekly

Politicology ·

2026/04/03

Susan Del Percio (Crisis Communications Expert) joins Host Ron Steslow for a wide-ranging conversation about one of the most fundamental questions in American life: who gets to be an American, and who gets to decide?They begin with the Supreme Court oral arguments over Donald Trump’s executive order attempting to end birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants and some temporary legal residents. They then turn to the controversial SAVE Act, a proposed voter registration and

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70:41

ENCORE: Power To The People: Decentralizing Technology

Politicology ·

2026/03/25

Host Ron Steslow welcomes Mike Brock, CEO of TBD, a subsidiary of Block Inc. (formerly Square), the financial technology firm led by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey.The Internet is dominated by massive, corporate walled gardens like Google, Facebook, and Twitter (now X), where centralized control makes their users (us!) vulnerable to censorship and manipulation. In this episode, we explore how the movement to decentralize technology empowers individuals, protects against corporate and government

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71:45

Why the Essay Matters Again — The Weekly

Politicology ·

2026/03/20

Why are essays resonating again in this moment? And what does it mean when writers, not just journalists or politicians, start helping people make sense of America in real time?Guest Host Mike Madrid sits down with Robert Arnold (writer, speaker, and activist) for a wide-ranging conversation about the resurgence of the essay, the responsibility of artists and writers in a fractured political age, and why long-form thinking still matters in an era shaped by algorithms, cable-news conflict, and

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60:03

ENCORE: Secret City with James Kirchick

Politicology ·

2026/03/18

James Kirchick joins Ron Steslow to discuss his book Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington(01:55) Why he wrote the book (06:43) The interwoven political history and gay history in Washington (14:33) The melting pot of the gay community and why it was seen as a threat (19:55) The trope that whatever is bad must be gay (31:51) The Lavender Scare (35:53) The tension between the gay loyal foot soldiers of Ronald Reagan and courting the religious right (49:00) What was challenging

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83:11

What Is the Real Goal of the War in Iran?—The Weekly

Politicology ·

2026/03/13

Ron Steslow is joined by Hagar Chemali (Fmr. spokesperson for the U.S. Mission to the UN) for a wide-ranging conversation on the war in Iran, the confusion surrounding the Trump administration’s goals, and its vision for the United States in the world.Then, in Politicology+, Marc Polymeropoulos joins to discuss the explosive new reporting about the CIA’s coverup of Anomalous Health Incidents—also known as Havana Syndrome—and the dangerous classified weapon that causes them. POLITICOLOGY+ Not yet

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35:20

[+] The Havana Syndrome Coverup [Members Only]

Politicology ·

2026/03/13

Hagar Chemali and Marc Polymeropoulos join Ron Steslow to discuss the explosive new reporting about the CIA’s coverup of Anomalous Health Incidents—also known as Havana Syndrome—and the dangerous classified weapon that causes them. They break down what the latest investigations reveal: evidence that there's a device that could cause these symptoms, growing questions about whether the government tried to discredit victims, and why these revelations could force a broader reckoning inside the

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56:57

ENCORE: The Identity Trap—Part 2

Politicology ·

2026/03/11

Even after historic civil rights progress over the last sixty years, there’s no denying that certain groups of people still face real, serious, and even systemic discrimination. In pursuit of justice, many well-meaning activists have made identity central to their cause—arguing, for example, that in order to right wrongs, rules and laws must treat people differently, not equally, depending on the groups to which they belong. Whatever you think of the term “wokeness,” this new ideology has spread

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47:32

ENCORE: The Identity Trap—Part 1

Politicology ·

2026/03/04

Even after historic civil rights progress over the last sixty years, there’s no denying that certain groups of people still face real, serious, and even systemic discrimination.In pursuit of justice, many well-meaning activists have made identity central to their cause—arguing, for example, that in order to right wrongs, rules and laws must treat people differently, not equally, depending on the groups to which they belong. Whatever you think of the term “wokeness,” this new ideology has spread

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61:58

ENCORE: Briefly, Perfectly Human

Politicology ·

2026/02/25

Alua Arthur (Death Doula) joins host Ron Steslow to discuss the importance of embracing mortality, talking about death, and her new book, Briefly Perfectly Human: Making an Authentic Life and Getting Real About the End. Segments to look forward to: (02:31) What is a death doula? (05:39) Alua’s journey and embracing mortality (07:28) The impact of avoiding conversations about death (10:33) Practical ways to approach contemplating death (26:00) Having conversations about death with your

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66:47

The Epstein Files and the Collapse of Trust—The Weekly

Politicology ·

2026/02/21

The Epstein files were supposed to bring clarity—what happened, who knew, and who was protected. Instead, the slow drip of disclosures, redactions, and missing records has deepened a broader crisis: collapsing trust in institutions in the U.S. and beyond.Guest Host Hagar Chemali and Mike Madrid (Author of The Latino Century) unpack what the files reveal (and what they still don’t), why the rollout feels like a coverup even to Trump’s base, and why the fallout is landing harder overseas than at

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53:27

The Devil’s Advocates—Part 2

Politicology ·

2026/02/18

For the ad-free version of this episode, subscribe to Politicology+ at https://politicology.com/plusIn part two of this series, Ron talks to Rebecca Roiphe (Joseph Solomon Distinguished Professor of Law at New York Law School) about critical legal studies, the attacks on our understanding of what the law is and how it should function from across the political spectrum. They focus on how the chilling actions of the Trump Administration stem from a belief that law is merely an instrument of power,

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58:12

The Nerd Reich—The Weekly

Politicology ·

2026/02/13

What if the “next big thing” out of Silicon Valley isn’t an app—it’s a political project engineered to bypass democracy?In this episode, Guest Host Mike Madrid sits down with Gil Durán (journalist and author of “The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and The War on Democracy”) who’s been tracking an increasingly explicit ideology emerging from venture capital and tech power circles that treats democratic governance as a constraint to be engineered around. Gil explains how what started as odd

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45:33

ENCORE: The Devil’s Advocates—Part 1

Politicology ·

2026/02/11

For the ad-free version of this episode, subscribe to Politicology+ at https://politicology.com/plusIn this two-part episode, Ron talks to Rebecca Roiphe (Joseph Solomon Distinguished Professor of Law at New York Law School) about critical legal studies, the attacks on our understanding of what the law is and how it should function from across the political spectrum. They discuss: (04:57) The challenges the rule of law is facing (07:31) Understanding Critical Legal Studies (10:16)

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52:45

The ICE Blowback—The Weekly

Politicology ·

2026/02/06

Americans largely agree on two immigration goals: securing the border and deporting people here illegally who have committed violent crimes. But inside the United States, enforcement has become a political flashpoint. Guest Host Susan Del Percio is joined by Jeh Johnson (Former Secretary of Homeland Security) to discuss why border crossings can fall quickly based on deterrence and perception and why interior enforcement works very differently. Then, they break down how quota-driven,

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51:31

ENCORE: Democracy’s Christian Enemies — Part 2

Politicology ·

2026/02/05

Are there tendencies within Christian tradition that put some versions of the faith in tension with core principles of democracy?What is “Authoritarian Reactionary Christianity?” How can a pluralistic society guard against the rise of political figures—including Donald Trump—aiming to weaponize this phenomenon? In this two-part conversation, we dive into these provocative questions with the Rev. Prof. David Gushee (Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics at Mercer University) and

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72:26

Doomsday Prep—The Weekly

Politicology ·

2026/01/30

Guest Host Lucy Caldwell and Dmitri Mehlhorn (Founder, The Atoll Society) have a conversation about political risk, institutional blind spots, and what scenario-based thinking reveals that conventional analysis often misses.They discuss the Atoll Society’s simulation salons, which use scenario-based exercises to test assumptions about power, institutions, and the rule of law. Rather than predict outcomes, the goal is to surface blind spots: where existing frameworks for understanding democracy,

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