This episode, which should be seen as a spin-off of the last, discusses the patterns of mistakes made in the coverage of Israel's war in Gaza, and examines the consequences of those mistakes. Views my own. As mentioned in the episode, linked here is a piece by Chair of Urban Warfare Studies at West Point John Spencer: https://www.newsweek.com/israe…

This episode takes apart the idea that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the broader Israel-Palestine conflict can be broken down into "two sides," and discusses the alarming rise in antisemitism around the world. Views my own.Oliver Kendall

In this episode, we cover and analyze several more events that unfolded over the last week: - The very different way in which Brazil is handling the aftermath of its version of January 6th- The star-studded Biden campaign fundraiser last week in the context of the Democrats' very real need for a huge cash advantage in order to have a fair fight - T…

After the unplanned hiatus, I'm back with takes on several of the leading stories over the past week or so. In this episode, we discuss: - The nonsense scandal around the prosecutor of Trump's election interference case in Georgia- The broader issue of justice delayed when it comes Trump- The ISIS attack in Russia, what it means, and some ties to t…

Another year come and gone - one I believe will go down in the history books as not-great overall. In this episode, I look at a couple of reasons why I believe the last calendar year was bad specifically vis-à-vis the promotion and preservation of democracy, from the effective return of Trump, to the Middle East, to the war in Ukraine. Views my own…

While the US has yet to elect a woman president (despite Hillary Clinton having received by far the most votes in 2016) and Republican states race each other to enact the most restrictive abortion laws they can conceive of, the neighbors south of the border are going in a rather different direction on both counts. In this episode I'm joined by Mart…

In this episode, I look at the two big political stories out of the US this week: the dismal poll numbers for President Biden that caused the entire Democratic Party to go into a meltdown to begin the week, and then the very good showing barely a day later in the elections in a number of states. I consider the intersection of these two stories, wha…

After weeks of chaos and dysfunction, the Republicans in the House have finally settled on a new Speaker after turfing out Trump stooge Kevin McCarthy. The new guy is a little-known relative newcomer to Congress, but it turns out he is basically Gym Jordan with an inside voice. I explore how we got here and the implications. Views my own.…

In this episode, I follow up on various themes explored in Episode 54 re the latest Israel-Hamas conflict, with a particular focus on the atrocious media coverage of the hospital explosion. I also have a look at the chaos in American domestic politics as Republicans fail yet again to pick a Speaker of the House. Views my own.…

In this episode, I'm joined by Polish political organizing strategist and co-founder of Akcja Demokracja Weronika Paszewska to discuss the political earthquake that just took place in Eastern Europe. Poland just to oust the far-right authoritarian Law and Justice Party, which has spent nearly the last decade undermining democracy in one of the most…

On October 7th, the Palestinian Islamic extremist organization Hamas carried out the worst mass-killing of Jews since the Holocaust. In this episode, I look at some of the tragic realities of the attack, what it means for Israelis and Palestinians, and what could happen next locally and at the broader regional level. Views my own. Oh - here, by the…

This week, America avoided one crisis (a government shutdown) but faced another (albeit hilarious) one: the tragic fall of Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy. In this episode, I dig into the increasing problem in the U.S. of government-by-crisis, and take a look at the end of Kevin McCarthy, some of the absurd attempts by Republicans to apportion …

It looks almost inevitable that the Republicans are going to drive the US off a cliff this week with a government shutdown. In this episode I explain what this means in practical and theoretical terms, and how this whole ridiculous exercise came into being. I also have a look at some of the most absurd stories to come out of Trumpworld this week. V…

In this episode I swing back to the theme of Republican hypocrisy, focusing in on the question of the proper handling of classified information, and profound irony of a man who won the Presidency by demagoguing Hillary Clinton's alleged mishandling of a few classified documents having then turned around and used highly classified materials as scrat…

Another day, another story of breathless speculation about the President's age. Speaking (views very much my own) as a member of the generation that coined the phrase "ok boomer," I, for one, would like a little more focus on what Biden has actually done as President, and a little less on the fact that he was born during WWII.…

In this episode, I discuss several unrelated but important stories from the past week: - The implications of the end of Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin- The early implementation of Uganda's vicious anti-LGBT law (known universally as the "kill the gays" bill), the role of American evangelicals in the passage of the law, and the need for liberals to s…

This week Trump was indicted for a fourth time, the second set of indictments around his efforts to overthrow the results of the 2020 elections. There are a number of implications to this latest round of charges - I examine them and how they might play out in this latest episode. Views my own.Oliver Kendall

This week, an underhanded Republican attempt to block Ohio voters from protecting abortion rights later this year failed. In this episode I discuss what that means for Ohio, for abortion rights, and for democracy more broadly. Views my own. Oh, yeah, and here's that piece I mention in the episode I said I'd link to: https://www.politico.com/news/ma…

More than two years after leading an insurrection and undermining the peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 election, Donald Trump is finally facing charges for the crimes he committed in trying to fraudulently overturn an American election. In this episode I discuss why it took so long to get here, the impact that will have, and what might hap…

In this episode I weigh in on a couple topics - the weird and seemingly endless pursuit of Hunter Biden, the latest antics of the Alabama GOP, bad news out of Israel, further bad news for the world out of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and some promising news stemming from Spain's recent elections. Views my own.…

Spain is holding national elections THIS SUNDAY! In this episode I give an overview of Spanish government and politics, and am joined by Júlia Juan to discuss potential outcomes, and what it would mean for Spain and Europe more broadly. Views our own.Oliver Kendall

Saying they're strongly for something while doing the opposite in practice has long been a Republican superpower - but with a few of the things they've been doing over the last few weeks, they've reached hitherto untouched levels of hypocrisy. In this episode, I look at a few areas where that's the case. Views my own.…

The direct follow up to the last episode (wherein I address whining about Biden's age, charisma, etc, crystallized in an interview with former HUD Secretary Julian Castro in the New York Times), here I address further arguments made by Castro, along with broader analysis of what Biden has gotten done as President, and the profound stupidity of sugg…

Despite getting more done in his first term than any American president since the '60's, Joe Biden faces griping from various quarters within the Democratic Party (including two, uhh, eccentric primary challengers). This griping was crystalized in a New York Times interview with former HUD Secretary Julian Castro (linked below). In this episode, pa…

Yet again the global economy is at risk due 100 percent to the shameless and nihilistic political gamesmanship of the American Republican Party. A default on America's debt would be catastrophic, but a bunch of them seem legitimately excited about it. In this episode I explore what the debt ceiling is, where it came from, what damage blowing throug…

Turkey holds its first round of elections in less than a week - elections that represent the last best chance to stop the authoritarian backslide personified by the country's Sultan-wannabe President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. I share a bit of background as to the damage Erdogan has done, and am joined by Gökhan Dilek to discuss the upcoming elections. …

In the last 24 hours, Tucker Carlson, the most dangerous purveyor of conspiracy theories, xenophobia, white supremacy, and pro-Russia propaganda at a network full of dangerous purveyors of those things, was pushed out of Fox News, and then Joe Biden, easily the most effective American president since 1968, officially announced he's running for reel…

In this episode I'm joined by Omri Lavi, an Israeli pro-democracy activist and Major in the IDF Intelligence Corps reserves, to discuss the massive protests in Israel responding to the brazen attack on democracy in that country by the most dangerously rightwing government in the history of the Jewish state. Views very much our own.…

Multiple sources are reporting that Donald Trump is quite possibly for the first time in his life going to be held accountable for breaking the law. I discuss why it is so important that this coming indictment be the first of many, and that subsequent ones follow quickly. Views very much my own.Oliver Kendall

In this episode, I'm joined by Edgar Lopez to discuss, well, wtf is happening in Mexico around that country's President's attempts to "reform" the institution that protects free and fair elections there. Views very much our own.Oliver Kendall

Peru has had a turbulent few years politically - over the last few years, that country has produced more Presidents than Disney has produced Marvel movies. I'm joined in this episode I'm joined by Peruvian former journalist Darwin Cruz to discuss the chaos and protests that have dominated Peru since the failed auto-coup carried out by former Peruvi…

A year into Putin's three-day "special military operation" to subjugate the free people of Ukraine, we have to ask ourselves... is Russia just bad at this? In this episode, I reflect on implications of a year of Russia's vicious and unjustifiable full-scale invasion of its democratic neighbor. Views very much my own.…

Those who follow American politics snicker at Kevin McCarthy (even now that he has managed to cobble together the ricketiest of coalitions to allow him to achieve his goal of being Speaker of the House). Those who follow American politics less closely don't know who he is, but are starting to hear his name. In this episode, I explain a bit about wh…

After years of being a Democratic Senator in little more than name, Kyrsten Sinema has decided to drop the name part as well. Who is Kyrsten Sinema? What has she been doing as a (as of a few hours ago, former) Democratic Senator? What will her leaving the party mean for the balance of power in the US? I discuss all this and a bit more in this (poor…

In this episode, I'm joined by Khatere Gorji to discuss the ongoing women-led protests in Iran. We cover life for women under Iran's brutal theocracy, how the protests got started, where they might go, the potential fate of those the regime has arrested for participating, and a number of other topics. Views are our own. Please share this episode wi…

In this episode, I summarize some of the early results of the 2022 midterm elections (and why I'm less depressed about them than I expected to be), and analyze some of the implications (again, mostly negative, but not as bad as anticipated) of those results. Views very much my own.Oliver Kendall

In this episode, a sick and tired Oliver recaps several global bad news stories for the future of Democracy, including Ukraine, Israel, Brazil, and the US in the context of the midterms. I also engage in some unsubtle eye-rolling at the state of the debate around inflation. Views very much my own.Oliver Kendall

2022 has been a rough year for women’s rights. In this second of a two-part episode in which I discuss this fact, I wrap up the US side of things, and look at a few other flashpoints around the world this year re women’s rights – Iran, Afghanistan, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Views very much my own. For those who have listened looking for …

2022 has, in many ways, been a rough year for women's rights. In this episode, I begin that discussion, to be continued into a future part II, addressing the end of a nationally-protected right to abortion in the United States, the radicalism of the anti-abortion movement, and a bit of the background of how opposition to abortion became a galvanizi…

As the Russians formally annex four regions in Ukraine, I'm joined by Katya Firsova, who, hailing from one of those four regions which has been occupied by the Russians for the last eight years, shares her experience of what it's like living in a territory that's been illegally occupied by a hostile foreign power. Views are our own.…

In a typically deranged speech complete with unsubtle nuclear saber-rattling, the Russian leader announced sham referendums in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories, and the mobilization of 300,000 additional Russian soldiers to escalate his vicious, illegal, and thoroughly unjustified invasion of Ukraine. I discuss this breaking news, some of its…

In this episode, I discuss another batch of good news for fans of liberal democracy, starting with good economic news in the US and how that relates to slightly less dim prospects for the upcoming midterm elections, President Biden's broadside against fascism in America, and Ukraine's stunning victories in taking back parts of their northeastern te…

In this episode, I reflect on the tragic significance of Mikhail Gorbachev's recent passing - his impaction the world (particularly those parts whose fate is in someway attached to that of Russia), and how that looks now. Views very much my own.Oliver Kendall

Sorry for the absence! In this episode I explain why I disappeared, and that I'm hoping to bring OK Talks back in some form. I also reflect on some positive recent developments in the news. The views expressed on OK Talks are very much just my own.Oliver Kendall

In this episode, I look at Democrats narrow loss in last week's elections in Virginia. I discuss the context for that defeat, ranging from President Biden's temporarily low approval numbers (I go especially into detail on the Afghanistan of it all), to the Republican candidate's success in channeling what I think is voters broad concern about the e…

In this episode, I channel a bit of personal resentment grounded in some facts of life in Barcelona, where I live, to discuss why crime hurts the left and center-left politically in the US and in other democracies around the world. I focus on the importance of addressing the deep need for police reform while also taking crime seriously and proposin…

In this episode, I discuss the reality that America's two political parties are held to a drastically different set of standards. From willingness to tank the US economy just to make their opponents look bad while claiming to be SuperPatriots, to complete disregard for the moral standards they set in their frequent pronouncements of extreme religio…

Despite clearly being in the majority in the US voting populace, the Democrats are often frustratingly bad at getting power, and then wielding it when they manage to. In contrast, the Republicans are ruthless and creative in the pursuit and exercise of power to implement their (mainly bad) policy ideas. ...that's terrible, and I basically complain …

In this brief episode, I reflect on 9/11, where we are 20 years later, and the tragic loss and sacrifice that started that day and has continued since.Oliver Kendall

In this episode, I discuss the laws, politics, and culture around paid vacation time in the U.S. versus most of the rest of the world, and the impact that has on the travel habits of Americans, with implications for our politics and collective psychology.Oliver Kendall