-Important References-Adam's Article-Table of Contents-00:00— Getting started, a note on Uvalde02:00— What are "lawfulness" and "constitutionality"?05:04— How about "law and order"?13:11— Can we reform our way forward?23:42— What about the role of violence in order?35:12— Is bureaucracy a challenge to lawfulness?42:00— Wrapping up-Usual Links-Leave a comment!Subscribe to our newsletter!Listen to Spectacles Out Loud!Follow our Twitter! // Follow our TikTok!

We sit down to discuss how to effectively combat authoritarianism, assist the spread of democracy, and learn from our past foreign policy mistakes.-Table of Contents-00:00 — Getting started01:01 — How should we deal (or not deal) economically with authoritarian powers?06:46 — Are we comfortable being as sanguine about China as we are about Russia?12:32 — What should we do about crucial strategic partners who may be less-than-democratic (or worse)?18:55 — You said we could have done nation-building in Afghanistan successfully. How?28:33 — How can we formulate an attractive economic policy package to partners in Asia?33:52 — What motivates mass shootings? Is it ideology or something else?42:47 — Wrapping up-Important References-NYT Solar ArticleGermany/Russia explainer #1Explainer #2Anne Applebaum's article + our discussion of itBrent's post on AfghanistanBrent's LA Times on QAnon & ISILBrent's Twitter-Share If You Care-Share via TwitterShare via FacebookShare via LinkedInShare via Email-Usual Links-Leave a comment!Subscribe to our newsletter!Listen to Spectacles Out...

Professor Slaboch joins us to discuss his book and the topic of "progress." Is it real? If not, what are we to do?-Important References-Professor Slaboch's book, A Road to Nowhere-Share If You Care-Share via TwitterShare via FacebookShare via LinkedInShare via Email-Usual Links-Leave a comment!Subscribe to our newsletter!Listen to Spectacles Out Loud!Follow our Twitter! // Follow our TikTok!

Professor Daniel Aldrich sits down with us to discuss his most recent book, Black Wave: How Networks and Governance Shaped Japan’s 3/11 Disasters.(Table of contents below.)-Important References-Check out Black Wave-Usual Links-Leave a comment!Subscribe to our newsletter!Listen to Spectacles Out Loud!Follow our Twitter! // Follow our TikTok!-Table of Contents-00:00 — Getting started01:08 — Summarizing the entire triple disaster, as it played out on 3/11/1105:42 — Why doesn't Aldrich say "natural disaster" & what do "Networks and Governance" have to do with all this? 10:15 — Does Japan's one-party(-ish) democracy have a "clientelism" problem?18:10 — Is liberal democracy too individualistic to develop the strong communities necessary for disaster resilience?28:45 — Do democracy's strengths still apply to Covid? Have authoritarian regimes managed the pandemic better?38:40 — Nuclear energy: is it a matter of bad regulation or just bad technology?45:45 — Wrapping up

Former Mayor of Kansas City Sly James sits down with us to discuss political leadership, local government, and how to restore faith in American politics.-Important References-The Opportunity Agenda-Usual Links-Subscribe to our newsletter!Read or comment on this article!Write with us!Listen to Spectacles In Conversation!Follow our Twitter! // Follow our TikTok!

-Important References-Angelica's blog, TaipologyListen to the article we're discussing-Usual Links-Leave a comment!Subscribe to our newsletter!Listen to Spectacles Out Loud!Follow our Twitter! // Follow our TikTok!

We're joined by former Ambassador to Portugal Allan Katz to discuss civil discourse, polarization, and how this all applies to the situation in Ukraine right now.-Important References-American Public Square's websiteOur interview with author Thomas Main-Usual Links-Leave a comment!Subscribe to our newsletter!Listen to Spectacles Out Loud!Follow our Twitter! // Follow our TikTok!

Harry and Philip sit down with Bryce to discuss today's article from him, "The Power of the Dollar," how CBDCs are promising, who's displacing the dollar, and why China may be facing an uphill battle in popularizing the Yuan.-Important References-Listen to the article we're discussing.Bryce's previous piece for Spectacles, on CBDCs-Usual Links-Leave a comment!Subscribe to our newsletter!Listen to Spectacles Out Loud!Follow our Twitter! // Follow our TikTok!

Harry and Philip discuss today's Insight, "The Disease of Medical Lobbying." We talk the nature of policy fights with lobbyists, cost disease socialism, and more!-Important References-Listen to the article we're discussing!-Usual Links-Leave a comment!Subscribe to our newsletter!Listen to Spectacles Out Loud!Follow our Twitter! // Follow our TikTok!

Today, we’re joined by Professor Thomas J. Main to discuss his recently released book, The Rise of Illiberalism.-Important References-The book, The Rise of IlliberalismProfessor Main's Twitter-Usual Links-Leave a comment on this interview!Subscribe to our newsletter!Listen to Spectacles Out Loud!Follow our Twitter! // Follow our TikTok!

Last year, we thought California had killed single-family zoning. But this Bay Area enclave would rather have mountain lions than new homes.Read, listen to, or comment on this article here!Correction: Woodside has dropped this claim to a wildlife habitat to prevent SB9, though I would still predict other communities making other legal attempts to exempt themselves, and legal battles will probably follow.-Important References-Harry's previous Insight on SB9 and 10-Usual Links-Subscribe to our newsletter!Listen to Spectacles Out Loud!Follow our Twitter! // Follow our TikTok!

Today, we're joined by a very special guest who's with us to discuss healthcare policy, democracy reform, the filibuster, campaign finance, and her dream policy for her home state of Wisconsin. Tune in for our conversation.-Important References-Campaign WebsiteFacebookTwitterInstagram-Usual Links-Subscribe to our newsletter!Comment on this interview!Follow our Twitter! // Follow our TikTok!

Harry and Philip wrap up their series on international institutions and the future of peace by discussing the decline of American hegemony and what it means for international order. Can international institutions pick up the slack? What does the future hold?--Visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter!To comment on this episode, click here!To listen to written articles from Spectacles read aloud, click here!Follow us on Twitter!--Further Reading"Why did Trump end the WTO's Appellate Body? Tariffs.," by Chad P. Brown, for Peterson Institute for International Economics."What Are the Trends in Armed Conflicts, and What Do They Mean for U.S. Defense Policy?" by Thomas S. Szayna et. al., for RAND."The Unipolar Moment," by Charles Krauthammer in Foreign Affairs.Harry's Insight explaining the impact of domestic politics on US foreign policyPhilip's Focus on China's admission to the WTO

Join Harry and Philip as they break down three major theories of international relations. From dark and scary to bright and beautiful, they'll discuss which seems to have the best grip on things.--Visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter!To comment on this episode, click here! Let us know your thoughts about these theories!To listen to written articles from Spectacles read aloud, click here!Follow us on Twitter!--Further Reading"Anarchy Is What States Make of It: The Social Construction of Power Politics," by Alexander Wendt, in International Organization."The False Promise of International Institutions," by John Mearsheimer, in Interntational Security."International Institutions: Two Approaches," by Robert Keohane, in International Studies Quarterly.The Focus article Philip definitely wrote the day before Mearsheimer said the same thing

Join Harry and Philip as they begin a discussion of international institutions and how they contribute (or fail to contribute) to global peace.What are institutions? How do they emerge at the international level? What do international institutions promise?--Visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter!To comment on this episode, click here!To listen to written articles from Spectacles read aloud, click here!Follow us on Twitter!--Further Reading"Institutions," by Douglass North in Journal of Economic Perspectives."Judicialization and the Construction of Governance," by Alec Stone-Sweet in Comparative Political Studies.

Join Harry and Philip as they wade into a current debate about the global competition between autocracy and democracy. Is this really happening? Is it a decisive feature of democratic decline? Or are our problems mostly domestically rooted?We will be looking at three articles on the subject from Anne Applebaum in Atlantic Magazine, Max Fisher in The New York Times, and Damon Linker in The Week, all linked below.--Visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter!To comment on this episode, click here!To listen to written articles from Spectacles read aloud, click here!Follow us on Twitter!--Further Reading"The Bad Guys Are Winning," by Anne Applebaum in Atlantic Magazine."U.S. Allies Drive Much of World’s Democratic Decline, Data Shows," by Max Fisher in The New York Times."The outdated thinking confusing our talk about autocracy," by Damon Linker in The Week.Harry's Focus on the supposed democracy/autocracy struggleHarry's Insights on TunisiaHarry's Insight breaking down the war in YemenPhilip's Insight explaining the coup in SudanBird's Eye episode on SalazarPhilip's Focus on China and the globalization of autocracy

Harry and Philip discuss today's Insight, "Beyond Gerrymandering" to dive deeper into an explanation of what's wrong with America's single-member district system. On the other hand, it turns out there are some benefits.-Important References-Our chat with Benjamin Singer of Show Me Integrity, about approval votingThe recent Bird's Eye about Hungary's democratic backsliding-Usual Links-Visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter!To read, comment on, or listen to the article we're discussing, click here.Follow us on Twitter!

Join Harry and Philip as they discuss today's Insight, "A Different Perspective on Inflation" and talk over the role of the media in this situation, how poll-chasing is bankrupt, and much more.-Important References-Harry's recent article on popularism and poll-chasing-Usual Links-Visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter!To read, comment on, or listen to the article we're discussing, click here.Follow us on Twitter!

Join the Harry and Philip as they wrap up their discussion of democratic backsliding. Today, we're on the home turf—the United States. We discuss executive aggrandizement, how Congress let this happen, and what it will mean in the future.-Important References-The Bird's Eye episode on partisan sorting and voting systemsHarry's Insight on the lack of military accountabilityPhilip's Insight explaining how DACA worked-Usual Links-Visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter!To comment on this episode, click here!To listen to written articles from Spectacles read aloud, click here!Follow us on Twitter!--Further Reading"On Democratic Backsliding," by Nancy Bermeo in Journal of Democracy.Congress: The Electoral Connection, by David Mayhew.

Harry and Philip discuss today's Insight, "Ortega’s Propaganda Peddlers," and talk about Nicaragua's example of how modern election-rigging works.-Important References-The recent Bird's Eye episode discussing Hungary's example of similar behavior-Usual Links-Visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter!To read, comment on, or listen to the article we're discussing, click here.Follow us on Twitter!