Off The Record With Paul Hodes

In 1989, Elaine Kamarck wrote a blunt wake-up call to Democrats, saying: “Too many Americans have come to see the party as inattentive to their economic interests, indifferent if not hostile to their moral sentiments, and ineffective in defense of their national security.” That missive helped steer the party back Presidential success. She has now published a widely circulated and much discussed follow-up called “The New Politics of Evasion: How Ignoring Swing Voters Could Reopen the Door for Donald Trump and Threaten American Democracy.” Elaine Kamarck is a contributing author for the Progressive Policy Institute, the Director of the Center for Effective Public Management at the Brookings Institution, and a Lecturer in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. 

Chris Hill, host of Motley Fool Money, the #1 stock investing radio show in America, explains why the down market won't be like March 2020 this time around.  Also, why is Disney+ adding a subscription with ads, and are baseball owners the dumbest business leaders in America?

Max Bergmann (@maxbergmann) is a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress and a former senior State Department official who is an expert on US-Europe-Russia relations. He takes us inside what is probably going on in the State Department, the White House, and other agencies right now as they make major decisions on issues like the Russian oil ban, no fly zone, and other moves to counter Russia in its war with Ukraine.  How does the process work, who does what, and how much more have government leaders worked out behind the scenes than they let on to the public?

Jim Clyburn is the Majority Whip in the United States House of Representatives, the third-ranking Democrat, and one of the top leaders of our country.  In 2020, his decision to endorse then-candidate Joe Biden was probably more responsible than any other single act for Biden winning the nomination, defeating Donald Trump, and saving America.  Congressman Clyburn takes us behind the scenes of that dramatic moment and through some other great stories that you've never heard before. 

In 2017 Congressman Steve Israel left Capitol Hill – unindicted and undefeated – at the very pinnacle of politics. He was one of the top ranking Democrats in Congress, widely respected, and on a path to even greater influence. President Bill Clinton called him “one of the most thoughtful Members of Congress.”  So why did he give it up? And how did the reality of Congressional fundraising factor in? By the way, if you like what you hear, Congressman Israel’s latest literary venture is his new bookstore in Oyster Bay, Long Island called Theodore’s. You can order a range of great books online, including the two satires he penned since leaving Congress. 

Why this war? Why now? And are there fractures behind the scenes within the Kremlin? Sean Carberry served as NPR’s international correspondent based in Kabul, Afghanistan after reporting for NPR from more than two dozen middle eastern and African countries.  He shares what top analysts are thinking about the state of the war in Ukraine, what his colleagues on the ground are focusing on right now, and what the future might hold. A crossover episode with the Beyond Politics Podcast. Photo by Max Kukurudziak on Unsplash

I recently wrote an article for Newsweek in which I pleaded with Democrats to refocus. When we lost the effort to save American democracy in the Senate at the beginning of the month, it was demoralizing. And Democrats shouldn't give up on the federal level. But there's a lot more to government and making change in America than the federal level. Earlier this month when the Ohio Supreme Court threw out the Republican legislature's ludicrously gerrymandered congressional maps, there was a lesson there...and if Democrats can pick their chins up and pause outrage-tweeting for a moment, they will see that the Ohio win didn't just fall out of the sky. It happened because Dems focused on overlooked, smaller, state and local races that make a huge difference in power. Democrats may not be able to pass a big, sweeping federal law to comprehensively stop all election abuses, or to fix all of our problems. But that doesn't mean they can't grit and grind their way to achieve many similar protections and advances in the s

Chris Hill of Motley Fool Money walks through how to think about (and how much to worry about) recent volatility, as well as the drops of some high performers, and the counterintuitive performance of the lodging industry.

Democratic political and media consultant Mark Bergman has a message for Democrats...we're right about a lot of things, including striving for equality, supporting working families on needs like child care, and following science on Covid. But the the voters are not seeing things the same way.  It's partly the message, partly the priorities we talk about, partly the brand of the entire party...and there's a healthy dose of distortion from right wing media. But the bottom line is, we're losing the middle, and we can't win elections in 2022 or 2024 with just our activist base, because the Republican base is even more fired up.  We need to appeal to persuadable working class voters again. The good news is that it ain't over yet. "That's why you play the whole ball game...the Cincinnati Bengals thought they were going to win the Super Bowl until the final two minutes," Mark says.  In this episode, Mark gives a dose of reality, but also some helpful pointers about how to fight back against the headwi

Matt joins legendary West Virginia radio broadcaster Howard Monroe to talk about why school issues - including mask mandates, closures, curriculum, "transparency," and critical race theory - have become such a huge focus in politics these days.  And are Republicans winning on these issues?

The agreement from gun manufacturer Remington to settle a civil court case brought by Sandy Hook families marks the first time a gun company in America has been held liable for a mass shooting.  The case revolved around the marketing campaign for the rifle used by the Newtown shooter and whether it targeted teenage boys and young adults through ad placement in violent video games. The fact that the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case could open the door to many more state-based lawsuits, while the settlement award could put financial pressure on other manufacturers across the industry. So is the $73 million settlement a turning point for gun reform efforts? We wanted to ask one of the top veterans of the gun reform advocacy community, Cliff Schecter, who has worked for Mike Bloomberg’s Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Everytown for Gun Safety, and the Brady Campaign, and has written widely about gun safety.  Photo by Bexar Arms on Unsplash

No...not that Michael Cohen.  This Michael Cohen is one of the most thoughtful, analytic, and interesting minds in the Republican Party. Mike has worked in politics for 25 years, primarily in polling, and he also teaches at Johns Hopkins University’s graduate communications program and has appeared on numerous media outlets.  He had the number one opinion piece in The Hill this weekend, making the case that Mike Pence should run for President.  He is "out" on the Republican Party right now.  So I asked him, what would it take to get him back in?  We also cover both parties' prospects for the midterms, his book "Modern Political Campaigns" and whether America is simply depressed. 

Dr. Roderick Graham is Associate Professor in Sociology & Criminal Justice at Old Dominion University who writes social critique through a sociological lens.  We tackle affirmative action, immigration, harm reduction centers, "hate launderers" and why America has become so culturally unhealthy. Make sure to check Rod out on YouTube, Twitter, Substack, and at The Editorial Board.

Moundsville, directed by David Bernabo and John W. Miller and currently playing on PBS, is the biography of a classic American town: Moundsville, WV (pop. 8,400), on the Ohio River, where Appalachia hits the Midwest. Told through the voices of residents, the film diverts from the well-trod paths – opioids, coal, Trump – to trace the many forces that have buffeted this proud town, diminishing it but also offering new promise and opportunities. In this crossover episode with the Great Ideas Podcast -- which we hope you'll subscribe to -- director and former Wall Street Journal reporter John Miller joins the show to tell us what he learned after a year talking to the people of Moundsville, and what they can teach all of us about the future of America.

Chris Hill, the host of Motley Fool Money, the number one stock investing radio show in America, explains what the heck is going on with successful big tech companies that continue to grow steadily while Facebook hits the skids.  Also, we dive into the future of Peloton, and are all those expensive Super Bowl ads actually worth it?

Four months ago, our co-host Matt Robison wrote an article in Newsweek arguing that it was time for America to panic. He quoted from the government scholar Robert Kagan: "the United States is heading into its greatest political and constitutional crisis since the Civil War, with a reasonable chance over the next three to four years of incidents of mass violence, a breakdown of federal authority, and the division of the country into warring red and blue enclaves." Last week, a powerful and respected Washington voice published a comprehensive and detailed breakdown of how all of this is unfolding right before our eyes, and what we must start doing right now to stop it. He's Matt Bennett, the Executive Vice President at Third Way, a leading Washington, DC think tank that aims to develop fresh thinking and moderate ideas. Matt joins the podcast (also available on video) to share the stunning details. 

Today, we wanted to bring you portions of a conversation that Matt Robison had on the Healthier Tech Podcast with host R Blank. Some of you may recognize that name from my previous conversation with him in which we talked about the science behind electromagnetic radiation and some of the effects that that type of radiation -- which comes from everything in the world around us that runs on electricity -- has on our bodies, our brains, and our health. There is some pretty compelling science that suggests it's a problem. There are direct effects that are measurable in the cells inside our body, and there's a lot more research that's needed on the association with various diseases.  So what can we do to get government to take this on? The show is also about other intersections between our health and technology.  That includes mental health and social health, the kinds of issues that have been raised by the Facebook whistleblower Francis Haugen, and some of the documents that she's brought to light about

Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement raises a number of significant questions about the future of the Supreme Court. To understand what has been happening on the Court, the implications of losing Justice Breyer, and what’s coming next as President Biden decides on a nominee, we’re very pleased to have one of the country’s top legal analysts, Joyce White Vance. She’s a frequent legal commentator on MSNBC and other media outlets, a Distinguished Professor of the Practice of Law at the University of Alabama School of Law and served eight years as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama.

Americans are sad, angry, and fed up these days...and with the lingering pandemic, high prices, and continued partisan bitterness, it's understandable.  So what is that doing to elected officeholders, voter perceptions of the two parties, and re-election prospects for everyone on the ballot in 2022? Neil Levesque of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics who oversees the top-rated St. Anselm's poll walks through their latest findings, and what they mean for the direction of public opinion and politics as we head toward the mid-term elections. 

With the eyes of the world on Ukraine, we look today at why Russia has pushed the world to the brink of war.  Max Bergmann is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, where he focuses on Europe, Russia, and U.S. security cooperation. From 2011 to 2017, he served in the U.S. Department of State in a number of different positions, including as a member of the secretary of state’s policy planning staff, where he focused on political-military affairs and nonproliferation; special assistant to the undersecretary for arms control and international security; speechwriter to then-Secretary of State John Kerry; and senior adviser to the assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs.  He helps us understand why there is a brewing conflict, what the options are, and what the path ahead should be. Photo by Snowscat on Unsplash