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Political Beats

National Review

Scot Bertram and Jeff Blehar discuss ask guests from the world of politics about their musical passions.

music music history

All Episodes

02:17:04

Episode 152: Dominic Green / Iggy Pop & the Stooges

Political Beats ·

2025/11/03

Scot and Jeff discuss Iggy Pop & the Stooges with Dominic Green.Introducing the Band:Your hosts Scot Bertram (@ScotBertram) and Jeff Blehar (@EsotericCD) are joined by guest Dominic Green. Dom is a historian and columnist, and he used to be a musician. He is a contributor to the Wall Street Journal and a columnist for the Washington Examiner and Jewish Chronicle. Check him out on Twitter at @DrDominicGreen.Dominic’s Music Pick: Iggy Pop & the StoogesLooooooooooord! When Dominic last joined us on

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03:12:11

Episode 151: Damon Linker / Tom Waits [Part 2]

Political Beats ·

2025/09/29

Scot and Jeff discuss the second part of Tom Waits’ career (1983-2011) with Damon Linker.Introducing the Band:Your hosts Scot Bertram (@ScotBertram) and Jeff Blehar (@EsotericCD) are joined by guest Damon Linker. Damon is a senior lecturer in political science at the University of Pennsylvania, and publishes a Substack newsletter titled “Notes from the Middleground.” Follow him at @DamonLinker on Twitter.Damon’s Music Pick: Tom WaitsWe sail tonight for Singapore and we’re all as mad as hatters here

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02:43:52

Episode 150: Damon Linker / Tom Waits [Part 1]

Political Beats ·

2025/09/04

Scot and Jeff discuss the first part of Tom Waits’s career (1973-1982) with Damon Linker.Introducing the Band:Your hosts Scot Bertram (@ScotBertram) and Jeff Blehar (@EsotericCD) are joined by guest Damon Linker. Damon is a senior lecturer in political science at the University of Pennsylvania, and publishes a Substack newsletter titled “Notes from the Middleground.” Follow him at @DamonLinker on Twitter.Damon’s Music Pick: Tom WaitsThere’s a world going on underground, and Political Beats is here

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03:11:50

Episode 149: Conor Friedersdorf / Jimmy Buffett

Political Beats ·

2025/08/05

Scot and Jeff discuss Jimmy Buffett with Conor Friedersdorf.Introducing the Band:Your hosts Scot Bertram (@ScotBertram) and Jeff Blehar (@EsotericCD) are with guest Conor Friedersdorf. Conor is a staff writer atThe Atlantic, where he writes about politics and culture, with a focus on civil liberties, and he's the founding editor ofThe Best of Journalism, a newsletter on Substack where he highlights the best nonfiction that he encounters each week. Find him on X at @conor64.Conor’s Music Pick: Jimmy

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00:59:46

Episode 148: David Lowery Interview

Political Beats ·

2025/07/09

Your Political Beats hosts Scot Bertram (@ScotBertram) and Jeff Blehar (@EsotericCD) get the opportunity to spend a little more time with singer/songwriter/bandleader/advocate/professor David Lowery (@DavidCLowery)Now-frequent (two times is frequent, right?) Political Beats guest David Lowery returns to the show to talk about his magnificent new solo record Fathers, Sons and Brothers.For those unaware, David is the founder of Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker as well as a long-time advocate for

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03:40:46

Episode 147: Tim Constantine / Bob Seger

Political Beats ·

2025/07/02

Scot and Jeff discuss Bob Seger with Tim Constantine.Introducing the Band:Your hosts Scot Bertram (@ScotBertram) and Jeff Blehar (@EsotericCD) with guest Tim Constantine. Today you see him interviewing presidents and prime ministers on The Capitol Hill Show out of Washington, D.C., but Tim got his broadcasting start in rock radio when he was just 13 years old. Watch Tim Constantine's Capitol Hill Show and find him on X at @timconstantine1.Tim’s Music Pick: Bob SegerBursting out of the Detroit rock

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02:38:04

Episode 146: Jeff Pojanowski / Turnpike Troubadours

Political Beats ·

2025/06/03

Introducing the Band:Your hosts Scot Bertram (@ScotBertram) and Jeff Blehar (@EsotericCD) are joined by guest Jeff Pojanowski. Jeff is a professor at Notre Dame Law School, where he teaches and writes about philosophy of law and legal interpretation. He also writes occasional columns for The Pillar. He has been living happily in Northern Indiana after escaping Washington, D.C., 15 years ago.Jeff’s Music Pick: Turnpike TroubadoursThis is a rarity for Political Beats, in which we present a show driven

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03:21:35

Episode 145: Andrew Stuttaford / Brian Eno

Political Beats ·

2025/04/29

Introducing the Band:Your hosts Scot Bertram (@ScotBertram) and Jeff Blehar (@EsotericCD) are joined by Andrew Stuttaford. Andrew needs little introduction as the editor of NR's Capital Matters. Find him online right here at National Review or at @AStuttaford on Twitter/X.Andrew’s Music Pick: Brian EnoHere he comes, the boy who tried to vanish to the future or the past. Yes, it's time for Political Beats to celebrate one of the most influential musicians in the history of modern recorded sound -- a

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02:51:42

Episode 144: Steve Singiser / Def Leppard

Political Beats ·

2025/03/10

Introducing the Band:Your hosts Scot Bertram (@ScotBertram) and Jeff Blehar (@EsotericCD) are joined by guest Steve Singiser. Steve is formerly a contributing editor at Daily Kos Elections and now is a contributor at The Downballot.Steve’s Music Pick: Def LeppardDo you wanna get rocked?If the answer is yes and the decade was the 1980s, it’s likely Def Leppard was at least partially responsible for the rocking. With two massive albums released four years apart, the band’s songs provided the

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02:46:38

Episode: 143: Eli Lake / Stevie Wonder [Part 2]

Political Beats ·

2025/02/05

Introducing the Band:Your hosts Scot Bertram (@ScotBertram) and Jeff Blehar (@EsotericCD) are joined by guest Eli Lake. Lake is a columnist with the Free Press and also a contributing editor at Commentary. Find him online at the Free Press or @EliLake on Twitter/X.Eli’s Music Pick: Stevie WonderIt’s time to sing some songs in the key of life as we tackle the amazing and iconic second half of Stevie Wonder’s career. From his emergence as Motown’s first truly singular independent artist in in 1972,

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02:17:04

Episode 142: Eli Lake / Stevie Wonder [Part 1]

Political Beats ·

2025/01/02

Introducing the Band:Your hosts Scot Bertram (@ScotBertram) and Jeff Blehar (@EsotericCD) are joined by guest Eli Lake. Lake is a columnist with the Free Press and also a contributing editor at Commentary. Find him online at the Free Press or @EliLake on Twitter/X.Eli’s Music Pick: Stevie WonderHappy New Year, everyone. 2024 was a mess, 2025 looks to be every bit as much of a mess, and gloom pervades the national mood. Therefore, it is high time for Political Beats to turn to Stevie Wonder and

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02:48:06

Episode 141: Mary Chastain / Stone Temple Pilots

Political Beats ·

2024/11/25

Introducing the Band:Your hosts Scot Bertram (@ScotBertram) and Jeff Blehar (@EsotericCD) are with guest Mary Chastain. Mary is a writer and editor at Legal Insurrection. She's also a sometimes contributor to The Hill, Washington Examiner, and Reason, and FEE. Mary is on X at @Mchastain81. Mary’s Music Pick: Stone Temple Pilots:This is another in a series of episodes (think Daryl Hall & John Oates and The Monkees) in which your hosts believe there is a reputation to be restored or repaired. In this

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04:03:32

Episode 140: Andrew Fink / ZZ Top

Political Beats ·

2024/10/14

Introducing the Band:Your hosts Scot Bertram (@ScotBertram) and Jeff Blehar (@EsotericCD) are with guest Andrew Fink. Andrew lives with his wife Lauren and their five children in Hillsdale County, Mich., and is an attorney, Marine veteran, current state representative, and candidate for Michigan Supreme Court. He's on X at @AndrewFinkMI, and his website can be found here.Andrew’s Music Pick: ZZ TopNo matter how far into the future this show might run, when you stack Political Beats episodes

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03:13:46

Episode 139: Peter Suderman / Dismemberment Plan

Political Beats ·

2024/09/23

Introducing the Band:Your hosts Scot Bertram (@ScotBertram) and Jeff Blehar (@EsotericCD) are joined by guest Peter Suderman. Suderman is the features editor at Reason magazine. He also writes the Substack Cocktails With Suderman, which is about making better cocktails at home. Find him online at Reason or @petersuderman on Twitter/X.Peter’s Music Pick: The Dismemberment PlanThe name might sound like you’re in for a three-and-a-half hour barrage of trendily obscure post-punk music with this episode,

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01:08:07

Episode 138: Nick Lowe

Political Beats ·

2024/09/17

Introducing the Band:Your hosts Scot Bertram (@ScotBertram) and Jeff Blehar (@EsotericCD) are with guest Nick Lowe. Nick Lowe is . . . wait, you don’t really need a bio for Nick Lowe, do you? If there’s any questions about who he is, please take the time to listen to our lengthy Political Beats episode with guest Matt Murray.In an interview that has been months in the making, your Political Beats hosts get the opportunity to spend a little more than an hour with the legendary Nick Lowe. Cards on the

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02:28:12

Very Special Episode: Most Essential/Necessary...

Political Beats ·

2024/08/19

Introducing the Band:Your hosts Scot Bertram (@ScotBertram) and Jeff Blehar (@EsotericCD) with . . . no guest at all! With Jeff moving his belongings to a new abode while also covering the RNC and DNC for National Review and Scot's vacation schedule creating another hurdle, we felt it was time to break the glass on the window marked "VERY SPECIAL EPISODE."For those relatively new around here, we've done two VSEs in the past, both when schedules were getting out of control. One compiled our Best

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02:43:10

Episode 136: Brad Birzer / Yes [Part 2]

Political Beats ·

2024/07/01

Introducing the Band:Your hosts Scot Bertram (@ScotBertram) and Jeff Blehar (@EsotericCD) are with guest Brad Birzer. Brad is the Russell Amos Kirk Chair in American Studies and Professor of History at Hillsdale College. He is also the co-founder of and senior contributor at The Imaginative Conservative, and the author of a number of books, including Neil Peart: Cultural (Re)Percussions. Find him online at bradbirzer.com or @bradleybirzer on Twitter.Brad’s Music Pick: YesWell, the buses outside

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02:58:05

Episode 135: Brad Birzer / Yes [Part 1]

Political Beats ·

2024/06/03

Introducing the Band:Your hosts Scot Bertram (@ScotBertram) and Jeff Blehar (@EsotericCD) are with guest Brad Birzer. Brad is the Russell Amos Kirk Chair in American Studies and Professor of History at Hillsdale College. He is also the co-founder of and Senior Contributor at The Imaginative Conservative, and the author of a number of books, including Neil Peart: Cultural (Re)Percussions. Find him online at bradbirzer.com or @bradleybirzer on Twitter.Brad’s Music Pick: YesTell the moon dog, tell the

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03:27:20

Episode 134: Guy Denton / Echo & The Bunnymen

Political Beats ·

2024/05/06

Introducing the Band:Your hosts Scot Bertram (@ScotBertram) and Jeff Blehar (@EsotericCD) are with guest Guy Denton. Guy is the co-host of The Wrong Stuff with Matt Lewis, contributor to The Dispatch and National Review, and until recently took Jonah Goldberg's guff over at The Remnant. Find him on Twitter/X . . . nowhere, because he is saner than the rest of us.Guy’s Music Pick: Echo & the BunnymenThere's really not much to say about this episode other than that it is the greatest and most

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02:47:54

Episode 133: Joshua Treviño / Matthew Sweet

Political Beats ·

2024/04/08

Introducing the Band:Your hosts Scot Bertram (@ScotBertram) and Jeff Blehar (@EsotericCD) are with guest Joshua Treviño. Joshua works and writes at the Texas Public Policy Foundation and spent the entire 1990s listening a lot to Matthew Sweet. Joshua’s Music Pick: Matthew SweetFor listeners of a certain age, just the name Matthew Sweet will evoke a particular memory, and it’s likely one that involves heartbreak. Breaking through with the power-pop masterpiece, Girlfriend, Sweet channeled the inner

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