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PODCAST

The Political Orphanage

Politics minus bile plus jokes. Comedian and avowed independent Andrew Heaton interviews authors and thought leaders about policy and big thinky stuff.

news politics

All Episodes

59:46

Heaton and Monkey: Yuletide Spysolvers

The Political Orphanage ·

2025/12/23

Our Annual Christmas Comedy Special. In which, our intrepid heroes must save Christmas from a debauched algorithm, navigate treacherous honeypots, and escape a federal penitentiary in this modern yuletide spy epic. Happy Holidays! Starring: Andrew Heaton Josh Jennings Andrew Young Austin Bragg Justin Robert Young Kourtni Beebe Brian Brushwood Anna Gorisch Brett Weaver Brian Sack Jack Helmuth

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01:22:15

Jason Pargin on Internet Addiction and Algorithmic...

The Political Orphanage ·

2025/12/17

Former Cracked.com editor Jason Pargin explores the subject of how social media makes us insane and warps the universe we're in, in his new book "I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom." He joins to discuss.

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59:03

The Secret Map of Supreme Court Justices

The Political Orphanage ·

2025/12/11

Sarah Isgur is a senior editor at SCOTUS Blog, host of the Advisory Opinions podcast, and a contributor at ABC News. She is the author of the forthcoming book "Last Branch Standing," which available for pre-order on Amazon. She joins to discuss the recent oral arguments before the Supreme Court on whether or not the Trump administration can invoke IEEPA to levy emergency tariffs.

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01:09:24

Freddie deBoer: What It's Like to Have a Mental...

The Political Orphanage ·

2025/12/03

Freddie deBoer is a writer, academic, and cultural critic. He is a widely-read author on Substack, an old-school Marxist, who has previously been on the program to explain what Marxists actually think. He's struggled with mental health issues and frequently discusses the intersection of culture and mental health. And he has a new book out which explores those issues, his debut novel, "The Mind Reels." LINK: "What Do Marxists Actually Think?"

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01:32:09

Squanto the Power Broker

The Political Orphanage ·

2025/11/26

The real story of Thanksgiving is stranger, darker, and far more interesting than what you learned in kindergarten (or college). It's a tale of slavery, plagues, ecological engineering, diplomacy, betrayal, and realpolitik—and yes, an actual feast where everyone sucked down eel while negotiating an alliance that would hold for fifty years. We dive into the world of Tisquantum—better known as Squanto—a kidnapped teenager who crossed the Atlantic twice, lived among Spanish friars and English

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01:13:37

Cash for Kidneys

The Political Orphanage ·

2025/11/20

Thousands of people need kidneys, right now. They are either on the precipice of death, or suffering through dialysis and low quality of life. Jeremiah Johnson of the New Liberal Podcast joins to discuss the End Kidney Deaths Act, introduced to the House by Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis of New York, and Democratic Rep. Josh Harder of California.

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55:13

"The Walking Dead" and Pagan Values

The Political Orphanage ·

2025/11/12

Tim Sandefur joins to discuss individualism in American culture. In this fun (but weird) conversation, we go through zombie shows, Westerns, and Star Trek, while invoking Hobbes, Ayn Rand, Epicurus, the Stoics, Plato and Aristotle. He is the author of the new book "You Don't Own Me: Individualism and the Culture of Liberty." Past Sandefur chats: ATA: The Last Policeman https://alienating.libsyn.com/the-last-policeman ATA: Let's Fight About the Undiscovered Country

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49:56

SHUTDOWN: The Musical

The Political Orphanage ·

2025/11/05

Theater critic Clive Kripson of BBC Bolton joins to review "Shutdown: The Musical" in what is now the longest-running revival of the landmark Broadway favorite.

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51:32

How to Start Your Own Country: No Man's Land

The Political Orphanage ·

2025/10/29

Legal and geographic quirks sometimes create "Terra Nullius"—land which no sovereign nation lays claim to. Literally, No Man's Land. In this weird geographic episode, we explore: Iceland, the Oklahoma Panhandle, Kowloon Walled City, Liberland, and the Kingdom of North Sudan.

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01:20:26

America’s Two Angry Dads: Jefferson and Hamilton

The Political Orphanage ·

2025/10/23

Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton offered two contrasting visions of what America should be and how the Constitution applies to it. Jeffrey Rosen is a legal scholar and the President of the National Constitution Center. He’s the author “The Pursuit of Liberty: How Hamilton vs. Jefferson Ignited the Lasting Battle over Power in America."

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01:07:22

The Ethics of Performing for Dictators

The Political Orphanage ·

2025/10/16

Can comedians ethically perform standup for a despotic regime without endorsing it? Recently the Riyadh Comedy Festival invited furor when some comics schlepped to Saudi Arabia to perform–at great expense–while others declined in protest of supporting human rights abuses. Turner Sparks and Michael Ira Kaplan join to discuss. Space Tractor: And Other Short Stories, by Josh Jennings

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27:23

(Sneak Peak) From Branding to the Electric Chair

The Political Orphanage ·

2025/10/10

Okay, so what constitutes "cruel and unusual"? Why was it okay to brand horse thieves in the face in old timey days, but it's barbaric now? In the final installment of this year's Judge Week, we go over the history of cruel and unusual punishments; what scared the English into outlawing it in their Bill of Rights, and how America interpreted it for the first century of the Constitution. Then, landmark decisions which have further modified, narrowed, and evolved what constitutes as "cruel" in the

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01:44:18

How Texas Blocked Pornhub

The Political Orphanage ·

2025/10/09

Pornhub ceased operating in the Lone Star State after Texas implemented an age verification law. Pornhub, and other adult websites, said the compliance was too onerous, and the potential fines too staggering. In response, the Free Speech Coalition sued Texas in court for an injunction to block the law, on the grounds that by burdening protected (if offensive) speech it violated the first amendment. Texas responded by saying that requiring age verification online is no different than asking to see ID

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51:25

The Fight Over Gay Characters in Public Schools

The Political Orphanage ·

2025/10/08

In Mahmoud v. Taylor the Supreme Court affirmed parents rights to remove their children from LGBTQ material used in public schools. The Court ruled that opt-outs preserve separation of church and state, and protect parental rights. The Dissent maintains that exposure is not the same thing as indoctrination, and opt-outs are at best going to be an administrative nightmare, at worst a religious veto on acceptable content. Anastasia Boden of PLF joins to discuss.

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01:18:52

Rogue Judges and Birthright Citizenship

The Political Orphanage ·

2025/10/06

In Trump v. Casa the Supreme Court ruled that district judges cannot issue “universal injunctions” against the federal government… Well, what the hell does that mean? The ruling comes in regard to Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship. Is the Trump administration accurately “rediscovering” the true meaning of the Constitution, or just twisting and mangling it to make sure nobody here illegally can confer citizenship on their kids? Tim Sandefur of the Goldwater Institute joins to

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01:07:26

Katie Herzog Gives Me Advice On My Drinking Problem

The Political Orphanage ·

2025/10/01

I think I probably drink too much, and I ought to curb that before I wrinkle prematurely. Fortunately, there is Katie Herzog. You may know her as the host of the Blocked & Reported podcast, but she is also the author of “Drink Yourself Sober: The Science-Based Method to Break Free from Alcohol.” LINKS: Addicted to Dopamine https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/addicted-to-dopamine/id1439837349?i=1000601229295

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01:28:50

Daryl Davis Attends Klan Rallies (Rebroadcast)

The Political Orphanage ·

2025/09/29

Daryl Davis is an African American musician responsible for de-radicalizing over 200 Klansmen and Neo-Nazis in his attempts to understand racism. He joins Heaton to talk about his experience, contact science, and the best ways to overcome bigotry. This episode has been corrected for an audio error which previously occurred. If you see two episodes in your player, go with this one! Original air date: July 8, 2020

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01:40:20

Why Europe is Poorer than America

The Political Orphanage ·

2025/09/24

Europe’s GDP and purchasing power lag behind that of the United States. Why? Sam Bowman is the Editor of Works in Progress at Stripe, and the former Executive Director of the Adam Smith Institute. He recently wrote an article for Reason Magazine entitled "The Europoors Are Choosing to Have Less Then Americans. It Doesn't Have to Be this Way." He joins to discuss if Europe is actually poorer, and why.

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01:04:02

Does Liberalism Eat Itself?

The Political Orphanage ·

2025/09/17

Liberalism was once thought to be triumphant and inevitable, but at the moment it’s losing ground across the globe. Cass Sunstein joins to discuss what liberalism is, why it’s good, and some of the in-family debates. LINK: Cass Sunstein on Smarter Regulations https://www.thepoliticalorphanage.com/p/cass-sunstein-on-smarter-regulations-85e

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39:49

Charlie Kirk and the Heinous "Other"

The Political Orphanage ·

2025/09/12

Well, how do we respond after assassinations and political tragedies? Let's talk about it. Ugh. Link: Assassins Part II: A Loser Kills Garfield https://www.patreon.com/posts/130642450

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