Politics with Paul #41: Knowledge Gaps in Politics Part 1: How They are Exploited

We all have gaps in our political knowledge regardless of how well-versed we are in politics. Unfortunately, that opens the door for those with a strongly vested interest in political outcomes to exploit knowledge gaps. How exactly do these exploits happen? What determines an “exploiter”? How are our biases preyed upon? How do artificial intelligence, the fragmentation of mass media into silos, and more factor in? Today talks about the most common ways and reasons our knowledge gaps are exploited. Next week will look at how we can counteract some of those attempts to exploit.

Politics with Paul #40: Are Congress and State Legislatures Productive...or "Do-Nothing"?

We often lament our Congress as a “do-nothing” body, but are they truly unproductive? What about state legislatures? “Productivity” in legislatures is often thought of as simply how many bills they get passed or whether they address certain issues. However, “productivity” is not a clearly defined term, and there are some complications that arise when trying to define it. Today’s episode of Politics with Paul delves into both data and philosophical considerations of the productivity of Congress and state legislatures. How often do congressional and state legislative bills get passed? Why do so many bills die so early in the legislative process? Is the failure of so much legislation a good or bad thing? How should we define “productivity”?

Politics with Paul #39: Open Primaries w/ Guest Sila Avcil

New Mexico is the latest state to shift away from a closed primary in its elections, the primary election type where only members of a party can vote in that respective party's primary. Now, voters not affiliated with a party can vote in either the Democratic or Republican Primaries for the first time in the state's history. Playing a major role in that shift is today's guest Sila Avcil, the executive director of New Mexico Voters First and New Mexico Open Elections. She discusses the effort to implement semi-open primaries, including why this specific format, nitty-gritty details of New Mexico's state legislative process, her case for the open primary, and whether this could trigger more states to move away from the closed primary. Thank you to Sila for coming on the show!

Politics with Paul #38: The Funnel of Causality - Why We Vote the Way We Vote

Why do we make the vote choices that we do? How we fill out our ballots is inevitably shaped by a series of forces that we consciously (and subconsciously) think about. These influences are internal and external, group-based and individual-based, long-term and short-term. The interactions between these things are often represented as the Funnel of Causality, where they all filter into what our vote choice is at the narrow end of the funnel. Today's episode dives deep into this funnel: the history behind its development, how it has shaped our understanding of voter behavior, what it looks like...and why you should even care about it. Ultimately, the funnel is a representation of empathy for why people make the choices they make, including when we don't agree with them.

Politics with Paul #37: Home Rule Part 2 - Challenges Facing it, and Why You Should Care About the Debate

Last week on PwP, we dove into home rule, which is a local government's capacity to administer its affairs without state government involvement. We took a look at what parameters home rule encompasses, its historical development, its antithesis known as Dillon's Rule, and the debate over home rule vs. Dillon's Rule. This week looks at recent developments regarding home rule and some of the biggest challenges (and opportunities) facing its expansion. At the end, we discuss why you should care about home rule vs. Dillon's Rule. Knowing about the topic is one thing, but it's also important to discuss why it should matter to you. After all, local government is the most impactful on your day-to-day life.

Politics with Paul #36: Home Rule Part 1 - How Much Autonomy Should Local Governments Have?

The interactions between the federal and state governments get the bulk of the attention and study, but the interactions between state and local governments are just as important. At the heart of the discussion is the concept of "home rule," which refers to how much autonomy local governments have to administer their affairs independent of their state government's involvement. How independent should these local governments be of state government? How is home rule different and similar to the debates over federal vs. state government jurisdiction? How has the concept developed over time? Tune into today's episode of Politics with Paul for a dive into the history and debate over home rule.

Politics with Paul #35: The John F. Kennedy Assassination and the New Files w/ Guest Jack Moore

The John F. Kennedy assassination has remained one of the most enduring, fascinating flashpoints in American history more than 60 years since it happened. Countless books, podcasts, TV shows, and more have spawned in the decades since. Yet there is still plenty of mystery and mystique surround the events…giving rise to some prominent conspiracy theories. The recent release of more files related to the murder of JFK has only further added interest to the mystery. What makes the JFK assassination and its context so compelling? What do we definitively know about what happened. What's still unexplained? What do the newly released files tell us? What are some things you may not know about how it all happened? Here to talk about those topics and more on today's episode is Jack Moore, a former prosecutor turned baseball pitching coach and host of his own podcast, Moore to Consider. His passions include history, Constitutional law, and sports, and the JFK assassination has been a lifelong fascination of his.

Politics With Paul #34: US Voting Policy Reforms Part 3 - Potential Future Changes

There's a lot that has changed about US voting policy over nearly 240 years: The expansion of voting rights, more times and methods that we can vote by, accessibility of voting, and so on. But now we look towards the future. What will be different about voting in US elections in the near and not-so-near future? Today, we tackle the following topics as to where we will likely see at least a little change in the coming years: What offices we vote on, what times of the year we vote, what our primaries look like, early and absentee voting regulations, voter identification laws, and current and ex-felons' ability to vote. We examine some of the arguments surrounding these debates and where we see current legislation relevant to these changes being discussed.

Politics with Paul #33: Psychology and Viewpoints of Independents w/ Guest Lura Forcum

What do independent voters really think? My special guest today is Lura Forcum, president of the Independent Center, and she gives her insights into this question from research she's done and discussions she's had with other independents. Lura gives her take on what are common traits of independents, how cohesive a group they are, how they can address the polarization gap in America, and more. Big thanks to Lura for coming on the show! Today's random question of the day: Would you rather be able to play every musical instrument or speak every language?

Politics with Paul #32: US Voting Policy Reforms Part 2 - Voting Access

Reforms to voting in US elections include monumental changes in access to voting. Much of this includes the expansion of voting rights (suffrage), removing restrictions to voting based on property ownership, race, gender, and age. Yet there are other major modifications to voting access that include the times we can vote and the candidate nomination process. Today's episode covers all these topics, including some developments in voting rights expansion that you may not have heard of, the development of primaries, and the emergence of early and absentee voting.

Politics with Paul #31: US Voting Policy Reforms Part 1 - The Voting Process

There's a lot that we take for granted about how voting works in US elections these days, but there has been a lot of trial and error over time in administering them. Significant changes in how voting works have occurred over the 235+ years since the US Constitution was ratified. This series takes a look at many of the changes in US voting policy. Today's episode covers how the voting process has been refined over time: WHEN we vote, WHO we vote for, and HOW our vote is counted. This includes how we came to decide when Election Day is held, the changes in which officials have been directly elected and appointed, and the technology improvements in counting votes. Some of the ways elections were administered in the olden days are bizarre to think about from today's point of the view.

Politics With Paul #30: How Should We Compensate Our Elected Officials?

How we pay our elected officials can be a touchy subject ,  especially when those officials themselves propose pay raises ,  but it's more important to discuss than most citizens realize. It's a difficult job and there are a lot of factors at play. How we compensate officials plays a big role in their efficiency, representativeness of voters, capability of performing their role, ability to hire staff, capability of devoting themselves to their role, and more. Yet there is no easy way to determine what we should be paying elected officials or what benefits should be available to them. And being government officials, that means their pay comes from our taxpayer dollars. The level of compensation can also vary dramatically based on which elected position it is, what state and locality it is in, and more. Today's episode of Politics with Paul covers the factors that go into deciding elected officials' pay, examples of compensation that we already see, and the methods we use to decide how to compensate officials.

Politics with Paul #29: Gerrymandering w/ Special Guest Mary Noone

Gerrymandering, the deliberate redrawing of legislative district lines to unfairly benefit a party or politician, is a serious problem that negatively impacts Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike. It is often described as "politicians choosing voters" instead of the way it should be, "voters choosing politicians." On today's episode, our guest Mary Noone, a seasoned campaign strategist and advocate, discusses her insight into the issue of gerrymandering, including how it impacts voter participation, how the courts have handled it, and steps we can start taking to mitigate the problem. Today's random question of the day: What superpower would you choose?

Politics with Paul #28: Political Efficacy: How Well We Know and Impact Politics (And Think We Do)

Political efficacy - how well citizens understand politics (internal efficacy) and impact politics (external efficacy) - is a crucial aspect of American politics. Efficacy is needed to ensure government responsiveness and accountability, a well-informed electorate, electoral competitiveness, and helpful public discourse. Unfortunately, however, there are many threats to political efficacy, and efficacy levels are arguably at some of the lowest they have ever been. Today's episode of Politics with Paul covers the nature of political efficacy, the ways efficacy is measured, the aforementioned threats to efficacy, why efficacy is so important to the health of our political culture, and some beginning questions and steps toward improving efficacy.

Politics with Paul #27: Separation of Powers, Its Debates, and How Trump Factors in

The separation of powers is a fundamental component to the American system of government. In general, the executive branch executes laws, the legislative branch writes laws, and the judicial branch interprets laws. But while the absolute basics are straightforward, there are many nuances to the debate as to what responsibilities and powers are within each branch's sphere, how each branch can and should check and balance the other two, and whether the separation of powers is being threatened by the actions (or inaction) or one or more branches. Today's episode gives a rundown of what separation of powers is and why we have it. It also discusses various general debates as to what each of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches is allowed to do, whether one branch is taking too much power, whether the other branches are allowing another to take too much power, and how Donald Trump (particularly in his 2nd term) factors into the equation. Buckle up!

Politics with Paul #26: What Really is a Political Independent?

Voters identifying as "independent" are a fast-growing bloc of voters, yet there are a lot of misunderstandings about the label. "What is an independent?" seems like a straightforward question. Yet if you ask 5 different independents what it means to be independent, you could very well get 5 different definitions. Today's episode delves into how "independent" is defined, how many independents are registered to vote, and more. Today's Random Fact of the Day that this episode also explores: Did you know that the US Senate, and some states' governors, used to be selected by state legislatures instead of a popular vote by citizens?

Politics with Paul #25: Consequential Presidential Elections in US History

Every presidential election is important, but some have more long-lasting impacts than others. These include changes to the political landscape, fundamentally reshaping the executive branch and the presidency's power, establishing precedents, and establishing long-lasting programs. Today's episode covers some of the most consequential presidential elections in this regard, focusing on both the elections themselves and the results thereafter. (In some cases, the loser of the election had a monumental impact, too.) Then, at the end, we examine how Donald Trump's elections could potentially compare to those impactful elections of years past.

Politics with Paul #24: Is There a 2nd Term Curse on US Presidencies?

It has sometimes been remarked upon a president’s reelection that there is a “2nd term curse,” where presidential records and legacies take a hit due to lesser success than the 1st term. But are 2nd terms really less successful than 1st terms? What factors can we look at to examine the theory’s validity? What do other political observers have to say about the idea? Today’s episode covers these questions and more, including how Donald Trump (currently) compares to previous two-term presidents? Today’s Random Fact of the Day: Donald Trump and Grover Cleveland are the two presidents to serve nonconsecutive terms, but did you know that there a bunch of other prominent offices in the US that have seen people serve nonconsecutive terms?

Politics with Paul #23: When Party Affiliations Change

As strong as political party attachments can be, there are times where elected officials, candidates, and voters can drift away to a different party or go independent. What are some of the reasons for this? Is it a fast or slow process? How have party affiliations shifted by demographics and region over time? Do we have statistics on elected officials that have changed party affiliation? All these questions and more are part of today's topic. Today's Random Fact of the Day: Did you know that Inauguration Day for president was not always January 20th?

Politics with Paul #22: Variations Within the Democratic and Republican Parties

The Democratic and Republican Parties are often treated as monoliths that think almost if not entirely the same way on all issues. While Democrats are becoming more uniformly liberal and Republicans are becoming more uniformly conservative, you can find some noticeable differences within the parties in different parts of the country based on political necessity, upbringing and environment, and factional struggles to lead county and state-level affiliates of the two main parties. Today’s episode discusses why we see these variations, how we measure differences within the parties, and specific examples of state-level parties that differ from their counterparts and the national parties at large. Today is our first iteration of Random Fact of the Day: Did you know that not every state has counties? Check out the episode for more details on this fact, including differences in county governments.