Off The Record With Paul Hodes

In the 1992 presidential race, the Clinton campaign famously came up with what they called a haiku to summarize what they wanted to make everything about. The economy, stupid…change vs. more of the same…and don’t forget health care. 30 years later, that’s also a really good summary of where we find ourselves as a country – and as a region, since we’re broadcast out of New England. Over the last year we’ve seen breathtaking change in our politics and our daily lives. The number one issue on our minds is the economy, and our worries about are far from stupid. And of course, we can’t forget health care…our health is front and center in our lives. Helping to navigate all of these concerns, and connect our businesses, cities, educational institutions and nonprofits with our government…in New England that job falls to the New England Council.  The New England Council is the nation’s oldest regional business organization. But it’s not just business, its an alliance of businesses, academic and health institution

The numbers we hear about in government and politics are often so big that they lose all meaning.  This is a big deal -- we are after all in a democracy, and if we can't understand what we're even talking about in budgets and programs, it's hard to make smart decisions. That's why Cornell University Professor Steven Strogatz and his student Aiyanna Green wrote a New York Times op-ed explaining a smarter way to think about big numbers. Ms. Green is an undergraduate majoring in policy analysis and management in the College of Human Ecology at Cornell University, and she joins us to explain. Photo by Roman Mager on Unsplash

Victor Piniero is the author of Time Villains, an Amazon Best Book of the Month in July 2021. Kirkus Reviews, in a STARRED review says “Piñeiro scores with this tale of friendship, magic, and adventure.…Magnificent.”  Victor joins the show to talk about the book and give advice to other aspiring writers about how to get going and write their dream novel. 

Today we tackle Amazon, Amazon prime, and the many ways both obvious and unseen that Amazon has wormed its way into everything we do.  For many of us, Amazon is just a part of our daily lives. What we buy, what we watch, and what we say… Much of it runs through Amazon‘s computers and marketplaces. And from there of course, it is incorporated into Amazons algorithms, its data, it’s artificial intelligence. In a very real way, Amazon is inside our brains.  So what does that mean? How much control does Amazon really have over the American economy and over the choices we make as individuals? And is it time to take some more aggressive action place some limits on an entity that has really no precedent in human history? Our guess is Dr. Emily West, an associate professor of communication at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She’s the coeditor of The Routledge Companion to Advertising and Promotional Culture, and the author of the forthcoming book "Buy Now: How Amazon Branded Convenience and Normali

What if I told you that there is clear, convincing, peer reviewed, and widely accepted research showing that things in the world around us that run on electric power could be hurting us in ways that we don’t even fully understand? It’s true.  My uncle Dr. Martin Blank -- professor at Columbia University -- was for decades one of the world-leading scientists when it came to the effect of the radiation that comes from all of the things that run on electric power on the cells in our body. After he died, his son (my cousin) decided to carry on his work. He joins the show today to describe the science -- both what we know and what we don't know -- and to offer some practical, common sense (and mostly free) solutions for mitigating risks.  He also hosts the Healthier Tech Podcast, a show about how best to live in balance with our increasing reliance on tech.  Listeners who want to learn more and get free information on the science and what they can do can visit http://shieldyourbody.com/beyondpolitic

With the death of the For the People Act - and Republicans passing more voting laws at the state level aimed that independent analysts say gives them a partisan advantage or could even allow Trump-style factions to overturn election results - we ask Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse what on Earth Democrats can do to ensure fair elections with equal access for everyone. Also, Senator Whitehouse weighs in on the Manchin compromise, what one thing he would persuade Republicans on (if he could only choose one thing), and just how worried he is about the state of the Senate and our country. 

The Executive Director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm's, Neil Levesque, breaks down the results of their latest survey, which chock full of tantalizing insights on why President Biden's approval rating -- and the strength of congressional Democrats -- is falling.  Also, what does each party need to do to get their mojo back for the next election?

Three years ago, when a little-known primary challenger pulled off a surprise win over a congressional veteran in New York, it made national political news. That upstart -- Alexandria Ocasio Cortez -- eventually became well-known for her outspoken embrace of the label “Socialist,” her big Twitter following, and as the star of countless Republican political ads that painted her as the “scary” face of Democratic politics. But what about that veteran congressman? He’s the one that insiders have heard of…because he was, and still is, a huge player inside the Democratic Party…as influential and well-connected as any Democrat in the country, and with the ear of Congressional leadership. Now a Senior Policy Advisor at Squire Patton Boggs, Joe Crowley represented the people of New York's 14th congressional district, including his hometown of Woodside, Queens, in the US Congress for nearly 20 years. There is no one in America with better insights into politics, Congress, the Democratic party, Springsteen, and where to

The covid pandemic has shown us all just how much we rely on science and scientists, just how important the advance of science research can be to our health and our way of life…and also, just how easily the public’s understanding of science can become confused…with real consequences. In recent years, federal support for science has flattened, major science topics have become politicized, and we’ve seen explosion of misinformation, conspiracy theory, and mistrust of scientific expertise, which is slowing down our recovery from the pandemic and making it harder to find solutions for our long-term challenges like global warming. Our guest today is one of our national leaders in trying to navigate us through all of these challenges. Dr. Sudip Parikh is the chief executive officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and executive publisher of the Science family of journals. 

Excerpts from Matt Robison's recent interviews with West Virginia broadcaster Howard Monroe on some of the most controversial topics in the news

In recent weeks, there’s been an abrupt and significant change in the way scientists, political leaders, and the media have talked about the origins of the Covid pandemic. There was once consensus that the virus had come from an animal, but new questions have emerged, and by May 26, even President Biden had called for a new, full, and transparent investigation into whether the virus actually emerged from a lab in Wuhan China. The sudden change has led to questions about the interaction of science and politics, how the media covers science, and how scientists communicate what they think they know. Throughout most of the pandemic, for millions of readers and podcast listeners in the US and around the world, Donald G. McNeil Jr. has been one of the most trusted, thoughtful, and clear explainers on the science of the coronavirus and public health measures to control it. He was the lead reporter on the Covid-19 pandemic for the New York Times and his May 17 article in Medium titled “How I Learned to Stop Worrying

Is there an explanation for the Navy UFO videos, as seen on 60 Minutes? We take a serious, respectful, rational approach in this discussion among former Congressman Paul Hodes, former congressional staffer Matt Robison, and top expert in UFO video analysis, Mick West -- featuring a careful breakdown of the videos and Hodes' own experience.   If you like this kind of lively discussion of current events, subscribe to the Beyond Politics podcast with Paul Hodes and Matt Robison on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/2foIjClIUWCFdJl9ogdMtA or wherever you get your podcasts.

A fascinating discussion with Cliff Schecter - one of President Biden's key campaign consultants and host of the UnPresidented Podcast - about his interviews with Paul Begala and James Carville and the fundamental question confronting the Democratic Party: given all of Donald Trump's insanity, why aren't Democrats winning more? And is there anything they can do about it?

In the days after the violent, seditious attack on Congress on January 6, the American people were briefly aghast and outraged. But barely a week later, Republican voter identification with Trump had “rebounded to pre-election levels." Nowadays, even the most searing national events get sucked down a partisan rabbit hole…and last week, Republican leadership came out against any commission on looking into January 6. Our guest is an expert in political behavior and psychology and how we form political opinions.  We talk about how much the age of hyper-partisanship has changed our understanding of events and reality itself. Alexander G. Theodoridis is an associate professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, he helps to direct the UMass poll, and his work has been featured by the New York Times, Washington Post, Scientific American, Time, CNN, The Hindu, The Economist and many other media outlets.

The big AT&T/Discovery deal is creating a behemoth (CNN, HBO, TLC, Food Network, TNT, TBS, etc.) streaming service. But will it work?  And why don't these combinations work more often?

There's a perception that Congress is totally gridlocked, and that the parties do nothing but bicker. But our expert guest says that maybe we're all being a little too negative, because actually, Congress gets more done while you're not looking than you'd think. And despite the historic problems we've seen recently (think insurrection), the system is kind of holding together. Frances Lee is a Professor of Politics and Public Affairs, and the Associate Chair of the Department of Politics at Princeton University.  Photo by Syed F Hashemi on Unsplash

Matt was a guest on West Virginia radio legend Howard Monroe's morning show, talking about how we got into such a divided place in American politics and what some solutions would look like

Last week's news that the economy added just 266,000 jobs when many economists were expecting closer to 1 million made for a lot of head-scratching. Republicans say that excessive Covid relief benefits are creating a disincentive for people to come back to work. Democrats say that recovery is a long road and that if anything, the anemic jobs numbers show that the economy needs an additional boost. So, what’s really going on? To find out, you have to look at who has gone back to work, who hasn’t, and why they haven’t. Our guest Diane Lim is an economist who over the course of a distinguished 30 year career has worked in the federal government, nonprofit and academic sectors. She writes the EconomistMom blog and has served as an advisory board member of the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia.

In 2020, one thing was clear: as goes African American voters, so goes the Democratic Party.  And as goes the Democratic Party, so goes the balance of power in America.  Understanding the evolving views and priorities of Black Americans -- and what drives their enthusiasm to vote -- will be critical if Democrats are to have any chance in the 2022 midterms (and beyond).  The authors of a new report on African American voter priorities in 2021 -- Promises Made Must Be Promises Kept -- join the show to explain their findings. 

We’ve got something a little different for you: a conversation between Beyond Politics host Matt Robison and PoliticusUSA Editor-in-Chief Sarah Jones, available as a podcast, a video, and an excerpt on PoliticusUSA. Matt and Sarah are both fascinated by the same question: how did we get to this pretty awful place in American politics and society…and how do we get out of it? In other words, what is way back from Trump’s America?