Politicology

Mike Madrid (author of The Latino Century) joins host Ron Steslow trace how eroding trust, the kind that backs the electoral map and the dollar, is reshaping American politics and everyday affordability.  They start with the redistricting wars and how they eroded trust in institutions and how both parties traded credibility by using zero-sum tactics. Next, they turn to dealignment, the generation of Americans untethering from both parties, and how younger voters’ belief that the American dream was stolen shows their lack of trust in the stewards, not the republic.  Then they examine affordability through the bond market, where rising yields price mortgages and loans, and why the crisis can’t be understood without it.  Finally, they weigh the dollars fading neutrality, gold leaving U.S. vaults, reserves diversifying, and a world reorganizing around an America it trusts less.  In Politicology+, they discuss why some of the biggest AI companies are begging to be regulated and an essay by a Franciscan sister about why our fear of AI is really a fear of confronting what it means to be human.  POLITICOLOGY+ Not yet a Politicology+ member? Don’t miss all the extra episodes on the private, ad-free version of this podcast. Upgrade now at politicology.com/plus. SPONSORS & PROMO CODES: https://bit.ly/44uAGZ8 Send your questions and ideas to [email protected] Ron Steslow on X: https://x.com/RonSteslow Mike Madrid on X: https://x.com/madrid_mike Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hagar Chemali (former spokesperson for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations) and Nick Anthony (Policy Analyst at the Cato Institute and a Fellow at the Human Rights Foundation) join host Ron Steslow to trace how the financial surveillance regime born after 9/11 is being rebuilt for programmable money. They begin with the machinery of financial surveillance: reporting, identification, blocking, seizing, and exclusion powers banks and payment companies wield on the government’s behalf, without warrants or recourse.  Next, they examine how private institutions became the system’s front line with millions of suspicious-activity reports a year, billions in compliance costs, and a public that wrongly assumes Fourth Amendment protection.   Then they turn to the shift underway, as stablecoins move those controls off intermediaries and onto individual digital dollars that can be frozen, seized, or burned coin by coin.  Finally, they weigh whether Americans still hold a right to transact privately, and what permissioned money would mean.  In Politicology+, they discuss an unspoken contradiction in the human rights movement: it backs sanctions that rely on centralized financial choke points while also championing Bitcoin, a currency built to erase that system.  POLITICOLOGY+ Not yet a Politicology+ member? Don’t miss all the extra episodes on the private, ad-free version of this podcast. Upgrade now at politicology.com/plus. SPONSORS & PROMO CODES: https://bit.ly/44uAGZ8 Send your questions and ideas to [email protected] Ron Steslow on X: https://x.com/RonSteslow Hagar Chemali on X: https://x.com/HagarChemali Nick Anthony on X: https://x.com/EconWithNick Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Zack Czajkowski (co-founder of Civly) joins host Ron Steslow to map the first election of the chatbot era and to ask why the party that once led on campaign technology is now the one recoiling from it.  They begin with voters already asking chatbots how to vote, perhaps millions directly and tens of millions more nudged by AI summaries without even realizing it.  Next, they turn to how campaigns are adapting, the next era of search-engine optimization, a fight over how a candidate appears across major AI models, and why Republican operatives have leaned in faster.  Then they discuss the cultural resistance on the left, from a reflexive disdain for AI-assisted work to the class fault lines beneath the “slop” discourse in prestige media.  In Politicology+, they break down the abrupt resignation of Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and the bipartisan praise trailing him out the door. POLITICOLOGY+ Not yet a Politicology+ member? Don’t miss all the extra episodes on the private, ad-free version of this podcast. Upgrade now at politicology.com/plus. Read Pax Machina: https://paxmachina.ai/welcome-to-pax-machina  SPONSORS & PROMO CODES: https://bit.ly/44uAGZ8 Send your questions and ideas to [email protected] Ron Steslow on X: https://x.com/RonSteslow Zack Czajkowski on X: https://x.com/ZackCz Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Katherine Mangu-Ward (Editor in Chief of Reason) joins host Ron Steslow to examine the growing revolt against automated license-plate surveillance company Flock and what it reveals about privacy in the age of AI.  They begin with the backlash against flock: cameras cut down across dozens of states, communities canceling contracts, and an unlikely coalition uniting against the technology.  They dive into what the anger is really about and whether it channels a broader anxiety about losing control.  From there, they turn to what these systems can now do, as leaked code points to tools that track people—not just license plates—and invites comparisons to China’s surveillance state.  Then, they weigh the deeper tension of a company whose only customer is the state, the problem of overcriminalization, and the specter of automated law enforcement.  Finally, they consider the Supreme Court’s geofence ruling, the data-broker loophole it leaves wide open, and what privacy is ultimately for.  In Politicology+, they look at a single case that tests how far privacy itself can be treated as a crime: an American Citizen charged with a felony for deleting his phone’s data.  POLITICOLOGY+ Not yet a Politicology+ member? Don’t miss all the extra episodes on the private, ad-free version of this podcast. Upgrade now at politicology.com/plus. SPONSORS & PROMO CODES: https://bit.ly/44uAGZ8 Send your questions and ideas to [email protected] Ron Steslow on X: https://x.com/RonSteslow Katherine Mangu-Ward on X: https://x.com/kmanguward Related Reading:  Wired - Flock Has a Powerful New AI Tool for Police. We Got Its Code | WIRED Reason - Flock Safety’s new privacy rules do little to ease concerns over ALPR surveillance Reason - America is building a surveillance state like China's Pirate wires - Flock's Case for the Panopticon Wired - Flock Has a Powerful New AI Tool for Police. We Got Its Code | WIRED ACLU - Surveillance Company Flock Now Using AI to Report Us to Police if it Thinks Our Movement Patterns Are “Suspicious” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Susan Del Percio (crisis communications expert and political analyst at MS NOW) joins host Ron Steslow to trace how a revolt against data centers opens larger questions into how the AI buildout is financed and who holds the risk.  They begin with the politics of the backlash and the town by town opposition that has turned data centers into a bipartisan populist flashpoint. Then they look at the leaked Republican memo warning the backlash could cost the party a Senate seat in November.  Next, they turn to the real constraint beneath the fight, energy, the race with China, and reporting that foreign actors are attempting to amplify the opposition.  Then, they look at the federal debt and how Washington is betting that AI-led growth is the only survivable way out.  In Politicology+, they break down the DNC’s newly approved 2028 presidential primary calendar and what it means for the factional power struggle within the party. POLITICOLOGY+ Not yet a Politicology+ member? Don’t miss all the extra episodes on the private, ad-free version of this podcast. Upgrade now at politicology.com/plus. SPONSORS & PROMO CODES: https://bit.ly/44uAGZ8 Send your questions and ideas to [email protected] Ron Steslow on X: https://x.com/RonSteslow Susan Del Percio on X: https://x.com/DelPercioS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices