Dinner Table Politics

For a special Halloween podcast, Abby and Eliza take over Dinner Table Politics and tell ghost stories from the White House. Did the spirit of Abigail Adams truly return to the mortal world to hang laundry from a clothesline? Did Harry Truman really get ding-dong-ditched by the ghost of Andrew Jackson? Did the Great Emancipator startle Winston Churchill on the privy? And when Jim returns to share in the spooky tales, do we discover that real life politics before the 2018 midterms are even scarier than anything Halloween can offer?See our website for privacy information.

The Democrats are poised to ride the "Blue Wave" to retake Congress, but is there a 2016-style upset in the making? Abby and Jim discuss the biggest political surprises in history, notably the hanging chads of Bush v. Gore, and how that relates to one of Abby's favorite episodes of "How I Met Your Mother." Donald Trump, Newt Gingrich, and Rutherford B. Hayes all play a part in the drama, even though Abby does not have a poster of Rutherford B. Hayes hanging on her wall.  See our website for privacy information.

Turning back to Tip O'Neill's adage that "All politics is local," Abby and Jim break down Utah's four ballot initiatives, which focus on school funding, medical marijuana, Medicaid expansion, and an independent redistricting commission to draw legislative boundaries. Which ones does Abby endorse and why?  Also, Abby admits that she has no idea who Tip O'Neill was and assumes he must have been some kind of Muppet. See our website for privacy information.

Both Abby and Jim wish they could talk about anything but the Brett Kavanaugh nomination mess, but the intricacies of Jim's Facebook newsfeed come under scrutiny anyway. How do we navigate our way out of this? What reforms could make future confirmations less of a nuclear war? Abby also names all four Beatles and comes close to naming all the Supreme Court justices. Shout-outs to Abby's law professor uncle Nate Oman, and to Lee Shagin, Jim's high school government teacher.  Also: learn what happens when you call a member of Congress from another state. (Hint: Don't expect much.) See our website for privacy information.

How do natural disasters define a presidency? (And what if the presidency IS a natural disaster?) From Andrew to Katrina to Sandy to Maria to Florence, Abby and Jim discuss how hurricanes and other disasters can make or break the man in the Oval Office - or both, in the case of George W. Bush -  and why Bill Clinton was much better than Donald Trump as a "Consoler in Chief."  Also, why does the musical "Wicked" have an axe to grind against Ronald Reagan? And why doesn't Abby want to be president?See our website for privacy information.

The accusations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh prompt Abby and Jim's discussion about scandals past and present, including Clarence Thomas, Bill Clinton, and presidents stretching all the way back to George Washington. Kennedy, Eisenhower, Roosevelt, Jefferson - even Washington himself were all subjects of salacious rumors, many of which turned out to be facts. When scandal arises, why does who you vote for impact who you believe? What was Gloria Steinem's "One Free Grope" rule? And, on a less important note, what is the proper way to pronounce "harassment?"See our website for privacy information.

Who was the "Senior Trump Official" that write the anonymous Op-Ed in last week's New York Times? Abby and Jim review the list of suspects, including Jon Huntsman, Jr., Larry Kudlow, Mike Pence, Kellyanne Conway, and Melania Trump. (It probably wasn't Melania Trump.)  Also, are we living in a computer simulation? Elon Musk says yes, but Abby only says maybe. See our website for privacy information.

Abby and Jim discuss Climate Change and what's to be done about it. Did Obama do enough? Should Trump do more? How did the problem start? What's to be done about it? And will any of the measures designed to fix it do any good? Bjorn Lomborg and James Hansen get their say, and the Paris Climate Agreement is put under the microscope. Abby also reveals her long-term plans for Jim's funeral. See our website for privacy information.

Abby and Jim discuss the passing of John McCain, an American hero, and then discuss the separation of church and state. What does the Constitution have to say about religion? Is Utah's Proposition 2 a political issue or a moral one? And should Scientology become the state religion of Rhode Island? Sen. Alan Simpson, C.S. Lewis, and Karl Rove all get mentioned, too, for reasons that are better left unexplained. See our website for privacy information.

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Fresh from her internship in Malawi, Eliza returns to Dinner Table Politics to discuss how gender roles affect income and education, as well as other things she learned on the other side of the world. (Spoiler alert: It seems Trump has fans in Africa, too!) Jim and Eliza then discuss the events she missed here in the United States, including the Kavanaugh Supreme Court nomination and whether or not he views Roe vs. Wade as "settled law." Paul Manafort's convictions on eight counts prompts an impeachment discussion, and, in the midst of the podcast recording, Michael Cohen plead guilty to eight more felonies! Could it be that Robert Mueller's "witch hunt" is coming up with more than a few real witches? Also, which member of the Royal Family would Eliza be willing to die for? See our website for privacy information.

Abby and Jim, fresh from a visit to London and France, discuss the history of the British crown and the differences between the governments of the USA and the UK.  Learn why Oliver Cromwell was the LeBron James of his day and whether or not Winnie the Pooh was named after Winston Churchill. Many questions: would America be better if Donald Trump were only the head of state, not head of government? (Or vice versa?) Why does D-Day still matter over seven decades after the fact? And is Disney's animated Robin Hood movie historically accurate?See our website for privacy information.

Jim and Abby discuss free speech, most notably how expensive it is. A political attack from 1800 comes under scrutiny, as does the Citizens United Supreme Court decision. Plus: should James Gunn be rehired as the Guardians of the Galaxy director? Why can't we go back to the moon? (Hint: It's a wardrobe problem.) And is the best proof that no alien life exists the fact that none of it has tried to contact us? See our website for privacy information.

Abby and Jim ask the question: Is Bernie Sanders's "Medicare for All!" proposal a good idea? (Spoiler alert: no.) Also, Bob Woodward's latest book calls to mind "Bobby B's" Watergate history, and Sacha Baron Cohen's "Who Is America?" comes under fire for helping to create the divisions it seeks to expose. Plus - Arthur the Aardvark's sister D.W. needs to tell us what her initials stand for, and a White House version of The Bachelor is an idea whose time has come. See our website for privacy information.

With Donald Trump's approval rating soaring among Republicans and sinking with everyone else, Abby and Jim discuss their picks for the best presidents in history and why Thomas Jefferson left his presidential tenure off his tombstone. Abby doubts that Jim had the word "jowls" in his vocabulary at the time of Nixon's resignation, and she also identifies who was the heaviest president (Taft) and the one with the the best tan (Kennedy), and why weight doesn't necessary correlate with presidential greatness.   Also, who was uglier - Abraham Lincoln or Daniel H. Wells?See our website for privacy information.

Abby and Jim discuss President Trump's disastrous summit in Helsinki and why George Will called the Commander-in-Chief a "sad, embarrassing wreck of a man." That leads to the incredible story of Bill Browder and the 2012 Magnitsky Act, which leads Abby to predict that Melania will likely soon be jumping out of airplanes a la Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible. Also, is the EU really a foe? Why does the difference between integrative and distributive trade matter? And how is Putin's attempt to get vengeance on Bill Browder like the Battle of Hogwarts? See our website for privacy information.

President Trump's nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court leads to a discussion of the history of the Supreme Court, as well as Abby's spontaneous performance of excerpts from the musical "Hamilton" amid scattered Harry Potter references. We also discuss Abe Lincoln playing judicial hardball, FDR's attempt to pack the court, and why "Borking" is now Abby's favorite verb. See our website for privacy information.

Happy Fourth of July! Abby and Jim discuss the conspiracy theory that this year's 4th will be the beginning of a new civil war, as well as a number of other conspiracy theories, both political and non-political, including the one that Jim actually believes. Hear about Jim's 3rd grade Watergate-themed Show-and-Tell, as well as Abby's confidence that Tupac is still out there. Is Anthony Kennedy's retirement from the Supreme Court a conspiracy, too? And should voting machines make funny noises while you're in the booth? See our website for privacy information.

Abby asked that we take a step back from talking about the news of the day and have an in-depth discussion about how government works, including all twelve (sic) articles of the Constitution. As a result, Schoolhouse Rock gets sung more than a few times as we discuss the difference between emanations and penumbras - i.e. what they are and why they makes for bad constitutional law. Plus: Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the travel ban decision, and a very loud dog. See our website for privacy information.

The separation of children at the southern border has launched a new round of "Trump is Hitler" memes. Jim argues that this actually helps Donald Trump, while Abby wonders why no one is comparing Trump to Vlad the Impaler and insists that memes that say "TEMPERED RHETORIC" aren't likely to go viral. See our website for privacy information.