Bill and Phil take a lighter look at the wacky week of politics, including stories of an ultra-nationalist presidential candidate in France being put in a headlock, a male senator in Australia growling at a female colleague during her speech, Mark Meadows calling his own book “fake news” after Trump told him so, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis proposing his own military force for Florida, and Representative Thomas Massie’s Christmas card showing his family gathered around the tree with assault rifles.

Bill and Phil examine the disconnect between Biden’s popular policies and his political unpopularity, what nuclear brinkmanship can teach us about the debate over the debt-ceiling, how the shift in self-defense laws can help us understand the result in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial, and Bill and Phil enjoy some Thanksgiving leftovers by announcing their biggest turkeys of the year. 

On this week’s episode, Bill and Phil discuss the seriousness of political rhetoric, the shifting attitudes towards race in America, the growing number of Americans advocating for political violence, and what to make of Steve Bannon’s surrender for contempt of Congress charges.

This week, Bill and Phil discuss whether former President Obama is outshining Joe Biden, if China’s president Xi Jinping is overrated, what the increase in US hostages means for US power, and why Ted Cruz is so mad at Big Bird.

On this week’s episode, Bill and Phil explore the “Let’s Go Brandon” chant, Republican involvement in the January 6th activities, growing concern among US allies about a possible 'no first use' change to nuclear policy, and recent anti-democratic shenanigans in Florida and Illinois.

Welcome to an almost, nearly, might-have-been LIVE episode of The Politics Lab, in which Bill and Phil discuss potential Democratic plans to remove Iowa from it’s privileged position as the first step in the presidential nomination process, consider the possibility of a new Cold War between the US and China, and wrap up the episode by playing a round of “Who’s the More Dangerous Idiot?”

On this week’s episode, Bill and Phil discuss recent revelations about former President Trump’s efforts to get the Justice Department to help overturn the election, a new global agreement on corporate taxes, growing tensions over Taiwan, and trouble at the C.I.A.

Bill and Phil grade Biden’s foreign policy, discuss why bipartisanship is dying in the Senate, contemplate what a shortage of clowns in Northern Ireland suggests about how Brexit is going, and ponder the future of religious exemptions in U.S. law.

This week, Bill and Phil discuss the recent German elections, whether Facebook is an authoritarian nation-state, the federal budget standoff, and play a game of "What’s More Stupid - Trump Edition".

On this week’s episode, Bill and Phil discuss the geostrategic implications of the submarine deal between the US and Australia, recent Trump revelations from Bob Woodward’s latest book, and Jair Bolsonaro’s unvaccinated trip to New York for the opening of the United Nations.

Bill and Phil are joined by Dr. Suzanne Chod, Professor of Political Science at North Central College, to discuss the Texas abortion law, Biden’s vaccine mandate, the Democrats’ struggle to defend democracy, and the significance of the California recall vote.

Bill and Phil reflect on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and assess two decades of US foreign policy that emerged in response to the attack… the good, the bad and the ugly.

On this week’s episode, Bill and Phil reflect on the final US troops leaving Afghanistan and Biden officially ending the nearly 20 year war in Afghanistan. We also take a look at the political dynamics surrounding the Covid surge and mask mandates.

On this week’s episode, Bill and Phil take a deep dive into the situation in Afghanistan. What to make of the chaotic situation on the ground? What does that mean for the overall decision to withdraw? And who ultimately bears responsibility for the tragedy in Afghanistan?

We're on one last summer vacation, so we're reposting our interview with Erica Chenoweth this week. Enjoy!

Erica Chenoweth, the Frank Stanton Professor of the First Amendment at Harvard Kennedy School, joins Bill and Phil this week to discuss the practice of civil resistance.

This week, Bill and Phil uncover what Mauritius can teach us about the international rules-based order, then discuss the recent climate change report, troubling developments in Afghanistan, and the global ethics of booster shots.

On this week’s episode, Bill and Phil reflect on truth and the January 6th Committee, recent covid troubles in Florida and Texas, challenges to US nuclear policy, and what to make of Tucker Carlson broadcasting from Hungary. 

The Lab is on vacation this week, so we’re rebroadcasting our interview with Professor Roland Paris.

Roland Paris, Professor of International Affairs at University of Ottawa and former Senior Advisor on Global Affairs and Defense to the Prime Minister of Canada, joins us to discuss U.S. global leadership, the state of democracy, the rise of China and the difference between the academic and policy world. 

On this week’s episode, Bill and Phil reflect on their experience last week at a summer institute on genocide studies and prevention, and then discuss what political science research can teach us about cults of personality and whether Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan will lead to the world’s next refugee crisis. 

We’re back! On this week’s episode, Bill and Phil discuss the contested history of the country’s founding, Israel ushering in the era of AI-based war, the death of Donald Rumsfeld, India’s use of Covid to undermine democracy, and where historians placed Donald Trump in their latest rankings.