Why We Do Politics. With Charlie Sykes

Why We Do Politics. With Charlie Sykes

Charlie Sykes and I taped this show shortly after Trump, Brendan Carr and a host of corporate interests censored Jimmy Kimmel. But this was before I set up the podcast stream, so coming off the second No Kings weekend (which seems to have pissed off the president enough to ask ChatGPT to make a short video) seems like a good time to finally publish our chat here. Charlie's wit and wisdom are elevated by the gravity of this moment. He's in rare form: call a fascist what they are, when authoritarians would try to silence you speak more than ever and the great lessons of Charles Krauthammer, who refused the money wagon of Trumpism in favor of principle and integrity in recognizing the threat of Trumpism. His lesson, and John Adams', channeled by Charlie here: we must engage in politics so that our children our can engage in math and art, in culture and joy. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. (And just a note that my audio was a bit rough indeed. I forgot to switch the board to the good studio mic, so it's tinny. Charlie's audio is excellent.) Cheers, Tom *** Tom LoBianco is the author of the Mike Pence biography "Piety & Power: Mike Pence and the Taking of the White House" and a veteran reporter, who's covered the White House, Congress, three presidential races and more for CNN, The Associated Press, Yahoo News and other outlets. He launched the independent news site 24sight News in January 2024 and is a widely recognized pioneer in the growing world of independent journalism. His work has been cited in The New York Times, CNN, CBS News, The Reddit Front Page, Vanity Fair, The Drudge Report and many others. He has appeared regularly on CNN, MSNBC, NPR, C-SPAN, SIriusXM, CBS News and many other outlets as an expert on national politics. If you have someone you'd like to see on the show, for booking requests or more, email: tom@24sight.news [tom@24sight.news] Tom LoBianco Reports airs Monday through Friday at Noon ET on Substack and YouTube at 8p ET on Political Voices Network Created by veteran reporter and author Tom LoBianco and veteran communicator and radio producer Ian Walters, Tom LoBianco Reports goes beyond the rage bait and screaming to report the news, clearly and concisely, with top guests and a balanced, yet hard-hitting approach. Subscribe to get each new episode and support independent journalism: Substack: www.24sight.news/subscribe [http://www.24sight.news/subscribe] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@24sight [https://www.youtube.com/@24sight] Political Voices Network: https://www.youtube.com/@PoliticalVoicesNetwork [https://www.youtube.com/@PoliticalVoicesNetwork]

A 'Seismic Shift' in the Christian Right, w/ Matthew Taylor Ph.D.

Why did so many people think the world would end Sept. 23? How have charismatic Pentecostals inserted themselves as the new gatekeepers between God and their followers? What is the New Apostolic Reformation?? How did it become the de facto state religion of Donald Trump? And has it completely supplanted conservative evangelicals as the dominant power on the right? Matthew Taylor, Ph. D., author and podcast host on the show today to tell us how this group grew from a small offshoot of the Hippie Jesus crowd decades ago into possibly the most powerful "religious" group in America. (Scare quotes are there for a reason! Gotta watch to find out why) From Matt's bio at ICJS: Matthew D. Taylor is the senior Christian scholar at the Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies in Baltimore, where he specializes in American Christianity, American Islam, Christian extremism, and religious politics. His book, The Violent Take It by Force: The Christian Movement that is Threatening Our Democracy (Broadleaf, 2024), tracks how a loose network of charismatic Christian leaders called the New Apostolic Reformation was a major instigating force for the January 6th Insurrection and is currently reshaping the culture of the religious right in the U.S. He is also the author of Scripture People: Salafi Muslims in Evangelical Christians' America (Cambridge, 2023). He is currently at work on a new book, Defying Tyrants: Following Jesus in a World of Christian Antichrists (Broadleaf), as well as a 10-episode podcast series on understanding and resisting religious nationalism around the world. Taylor holds a PhD in religious studies and Muslim-Christian relations from Georgetown University and an MA in theology from Fuller Theological Seminary. He also serves as an associate fellow at the Center for Peace Diplomacy in New Orleans, where he works on preventing religion-related violence surrounding U.S. elections. *** Tom LoBianco is the author of the Mike Pence biography "Piety & Power: Mike Pence and the Taking of the White House" and a veteran reporter, who's covered the White House, Congress, three presidential races and more for CNN, The Associated Press, Yahoo News and other outlets. He launched the independent news site 24sight News in January 2024 and is a widely recognized pioneer in the growing world of independent journalism. His work has been cited in The New York Times, CNN, CBS News, The Reddit Front Page, Vanity Fair, The Drudge Report and many others. He has appeared regularly on CNN, MSNBC, NPR, C-SPAN, SIriusXM, CBS News and many other outlets as an expert on national politics. If you have someone you'd like to see on the show, for booking requests or more, email: tom@24sight.news [tom@24sight.news] Tom LoBianco Reports airs Monday through Friday at Noon ET on Substack and YouTube at 8p ET on Political Voices Network Created by veteran reporter and author Tom LoBianco and veteran communicator and radio producer Ian Walters, Tom LoBianco Reports goes beyond the rage bait and screaming to report the news, clearly and concisely, with top guests and a balanced, yet hard-hitting approach. Subscribe to get each new episode and support independent journalism: Substack: www.24sight.news/subscribe [http://www.24sight.news/subscribe] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@24sight [https://www.youtube.com/@24sight] Political Voices Network: https://www.youtube.com/@PoliticalVoicesNetwork [https://www.youtube.com/@PoliticalVoicesNetwork]

American Healing, C-SPAN's "Ceasefire" w/ E.P. Michele Remillard

Years ago, "Crossfire" set the tone for partisan combat on-air, foreshadowing a transformed media environment in which hyperpartisan is now the norm instead of an edgy new thing. Now, C-SPAN, helmed by former CNN Washington bureau chief Sam Feist, is debuting the opposite of "Crossfire", a new show which reveals just how much perceived "enemies" actually have in common. It's called "Ceasefire" and it premieres tonight (Friday) at 7p ET, with as unlikely a pairing as you'd expect to break bread — the former head of hand-to-hand combat for Barack Obama, Rahm Emanuel, and an archconservative crusader who's never been known to curse, at least not in public, former Vice President Mike Pence. On today's show, the woman who turned it into a reality at a time when America could use some healing, "Ceasefire" executive producer Michele Remillard. She takes us behind the scenes of the program's creation (with a new focus on showing the realness and human interaction in D.C., which has been presumed dead for years now) and teases a few scoops before the show's launch tonight at 7p ET. Pence offering up presidential campaign advice for "Rahmbo"?? Indeed, though as Michele notes in the show, Emanuel does demur — 2028 is a long way away. Make sure to watch live when it debuts at 7p ET! (I'll be tuning in!) 12'20 - The genesis of Cease Fire! 13'10 - Sneak peak at the Cease Fire premier tonight on C-SPAN at 7p ET Convos w/ Emanuel and Mike Pence, former House office neighbors 14'50 - Pence gave some advice to Emanuel on running for president (14'20) Candid talk between former Bernie Sanders campaign manager Faiz Shakir and former Trump White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer 17'55 - The new tone in uncovering and showing authenticity it's a different discipline as we were crafting our 19'50 - A wild start at the McLaughlin group 23'20 - House Speaker Mike Johnson and the crowd-sourced wisdom of C-SPAN's callers 24'20 - C-SPAN in talks w/ Jeffries for a Ceasefire w/ Mike Johnson and Jeffries 26'10 - The authenticity and trends in C-SPAN's callers, including a wave of voters in 2020 deciding between Trump and Bernie *** Tom LoBianco is the author of the Mike Pence biography "Piety & Power: Mike Pence and the Taking of the White House" and a veteran reporter, who's covered the White House, Congress, three presidential races and more for CNN, The Associated Press, Yahoo News and other outlets. He launched the independent news site 24sight News in January 2024 and is a widely recognized pioneer in the growing world of independent journalism. His work has been cited in The New York Times, CNN, CBS News, The Reddit Front Page, Vanity Fair, The Drudge Report and many others. He has appeared regularly on CNN, MSNBC, NPR, C-SPAN, SIriusXM, CBS News and many other outlets as an expert on national politics. If you have someone you'd like to see on the show, for booking requests or more, email: tom@24sight.news Tom LoBianco Reports airs Monday through Friday at Noon ET on Substack and YouTube at 8p ET on Political Voices Network Created by veteran reporter and author Tom LoBianco and veteran communicator and radio producer Ian Walters, Tom LoBianco Reports goes beyond the rage bait and screaming to report the news, clearly and concisely, with top guests and a balanced, yet hard-hitting approach. Subscribe to get each new episode and support independent journalism: Substack: www.24sight.news/subscribe [http://www.24sight.news/subscribe] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@24sight [https://www.youtube.com/@24sight] Political Voices Network: https://www.youtube.com/@PoliticalVoicesNetwork [https://www.youtube.com/@PoliticalVoicesNetwork]

Ben Cohen Scoops! w/ Ben of Ben & Jerry's

Longtime social justice warrior and ice cream legend Ben Cohen joins me on the show today. The Ben in Ben & Jerry's went deep on everything from military spending and George Floyd to the ascendant populist left, Bernie Sanders and the secret process for developing a new flavor of Ben & Jerry's! This was a wild one, to get the flavor, I point you to the show notes: 0'00 Ben Cohen agrees with Trump??? 4'10 The world's worst ice cream flavor 6'30 Why Jerry Greenfield left the company … Jerry has a really big heart, but we all have different tolerance for conflict 8'40 What's going on now is authoritarian. In the US we used to look at other countries doing this and say oh that's really horrible stuff 11'10 DOGE was subterfuge 19'10 Trump just plays the room … but if you look at his actual actions, it's just enriching the elites at the expense of everyday regular people 23'20 Incredibly proud of Ben & Jerry's statement after the George Floyd murder, we must dismantle white supremacy … I think about all those companies that jettisoned their DEI programs 24'50 When the DNC put their foot on the scale against Bernie Sanders, I think the country would have elected Bernie 28'20 Ben Cohen's interview w/ Tucker Carlson and the surprising amount they agreed on, like wasteful spending by the Pentagon. The power of finding common ground. 32'30 How did Hippies turn into RFK Jr MAHA? On eliminating food chemicals and the fight against bovine growth hormones 38'00 The secret process of developing a new ice cream flavor … Cherry Garcia took a year to develop! Tom LoBianco is the author of the Mike Pence biography "Piety & Power: Mike Pence and the Taking of the White House" and a veteran reporter, who's covered the White House, Congress, three presidential races and more for CNN, The Associated Press, Yahoo News and other outlets. He launched the independent news site 24sight News in January 2024 and is a widely recognized pioneer in the growing world of independent journalism. His work has been cited in The New York Times, CNN, CBS News, The Reddit Front Page, Vanity Fair, The Drudge Report and many others. He has appeared regularly on CNN, MSNBC, NPR, C-SPAN, SIriusXM, CBS News and many other outlets as an expert on national politics. If you have someone you'd like to see on the show, for booking requests or more, email: tom@24sight.news [tom@24sight.news] Tom LoBianco Reports airs Monday through Friday at Noon ET on Substack and YouTube at 8p ET on Political Voices Network Created by veteran reporter and author Tom LoBianco and veteran communicator and radio producer Ian Walters, Tom LoBianco Reports goes beyond the rage bait and screaming to report the news, clearly and concisely, with top guests and a balanced, yet hard-hitting approach. Subscribe to get each new episode and support independent journalism: Substack: www.24sight.news/subscribe [http://www.24sight.news/subscribe] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@24sight [https://www.youtube.com/@24sight] Political Voices Network: https://www.youtube.com/@PoliticalVoicesNetwork [https://www.youtube.com/@PoliticalVoicesNetwork]

The Long, Slow Road to Dictatorship, w/ S.V. Dáte

The frog in boiling water, it doesn't know until it's too late. That is the experience that victims and refugees of dictatorships around the world have long described and this Dictator Creep (TM) of censoring Americans, posting military in our streets, weaponizing the Justice Department and more sure has the feel of what we've seen elsewhere. (It's not supposed to happen here, but it is.) I'm honored to have S.V. Dáte on the show today, he's the longtime White House correspondent for HuffPost, a veteran reporter whose byline you may know from NPR and the Associated Press. He's in the trenches every day and has some sage observations on just what the hell the second Trump White House is doing. We talk Venezuelan strikes, the folly of Republicans who assumed after Jan 6th that Trump would just disappear, why living in a dictatorship legit sucks (which is why so many global refugees typically flee to come here.) Tune in *** Tom LoBianco is the author of the Mike Pence biography "Piety & Power: Mike Pence and the Taking of the White House" and a veteran reporter, who's covered the White House, Congress, three presidential races and more for CNN, The Associated Press, Yahoo News and other outlets. He launched the independent news site 24sight News in January 2024 and is a widely recognized pioneer in the growing world of independent journalism. His work has been cited in The New York Times, CNN, CBS News, The Reddit Front Page, Vanity Fair, The Drudge Report and many others. He has appeared regularly on CNN, MSNBC, NPR, C-SPAN, SIriusXM, CBS News and many other outlets as an expert on national politics. If you have someone you'd like to see on the show, for booking requests or more, email: tom@24sight.news [tom@24sight.news] Tom LoBianco Reports airs Monday through Friday at Noon ET on Substack and YouTube at 8p ET on Political Voices Network Created by veteran reporter and author Tom LoBianco and veteran communicator and radio producer Ian Walters, Tom LoBianco Reports goes beyond the rage bait and screaming to report the news, clearly and concisely, with top guests and a balanced, yet hard-hitting approach. Subscribe to get each new episode and support independent journalism: Substack: www.24sight.news/subscribe [http://www.24sight.news/subscribe] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@24sight [https://www.youtube.com/@24sight] Political Voices Network: https://www.youtube.com/@PoliticalVoicesNetwork [https://www.youtube.com/@PoliticalVoicesNetwork]