North Korea, the EPA, and cool podcasts for a hot summer day
If you like baseball and comedy (I do!), then NPR's Fresh Air has had a couple of interesting guests of late.
This episode combines two of the best: Former New York Mets star Keith Hernandez, and Parks & Recreation actor Nick Offerman.
Both men discuss the obstacles they had to overcome on their way to the top. In the case of Hernandez, it involved driving thousands of miles on a bus while playing in the Texas league (and probably getting heckled by much worse than these guys). In the case of Nick Offerman, it involved embracing the hobby of woodworking as a way to bring balance to his life (and quit feeling so desperate during auditions).
If you're looking to get away from politics, the Keith Hernandez interview is a complete diversion, while the Nick Offerman part discusses his Parks & Recreation character's libertarian politics (and if you're interested in this, you might enjoy my previous discussion with Bill Scher about "Ron Swanson Republicans").
The Week in Matt
In the last week, I've written about Scott Pruitt's scandal-plagued tenure at the EPA (and how conservatives are starting to turn on him), the problem with separating families at the border, and how Corey Stewart (the GOP nominee for U.S. Senate in Virginia) embraced the dark side.
I also appeared on CNN Tonight with Don Lemon to discuss Donald Trump's attacks on the media--as well as on why Trump saluted a North Korean general.
On The Podcast
Jay Cost, a Visiting Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, and a columnist at National Review Online, talked about his new book: The Price of Greatness: Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and the Creation of American Oligarchy.
We also talked to Lee Drutman, a senior fellow in the Political Reform program at New America, to discuss political parties, the case for proportional voting, ranked-choice voting, and why size matters (in terms of Congress, at least).
Another thought: One of the great things about podcasts is that you can revisit them. It strikes me that there are two past podcasts that might come in handy: My interview with Gordon Chang about North Korea (basically, this was a crash-course in understanding the history of the regime), and my interview with retired FBI supervisory special agent James Gagliano, are both relevant (again) today.
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