Tim Talks Politics

To help us assess the Trump administration’s first 100 days in power, I’ve called back to the podcast guests who have all been on to talk about different aspects of this administration. Dr. Scott Waller, Dr. Matt Van Hook, and Dustin Steeve all on the podcast on individual prior episodes to discuss Inauguration Day and the GOP platform (Dr. Waller), VP Vance’s Munich speech and the Trump foreign policy (Dr. Matt Van Hook), and the work of Elon Musk and DOGE (Dustin Steeve). In this conversation, we revisit each of these arenas while more broadly discussing the pros and cons of “first 100 days” assessments, the legislative efforts of the Trump administration, and how to think about President Trump’s ongoing conflicts with the judiciary branch. Subscribe to Tim Talks Politics⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://timtalkspolitics.substack.com/pod] for the full show notes (30% for podcast listeners)!

Dr. Andrew Bailey returns to the podcast to talk about Bitcoin, or rather, the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve. Amidst the flurry of President Trump’s executive orders was one that was celebrated by many in the cryptocurrency world, but generally raised, at best, ambivalent eyebrows in the broader policy world: the creation of 1) a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve (BSR) and 2) a cryptocurrency stockpile.  On the surface, this seemed to be a major step forward in mainstreaming cryptocurrency, and Bitcoin in particular, while also fulfilling a Trump campaign promise. But how was such a strategic reserve going to work? How would American governments utilize it? Is it just a holding pen for cryptocurrencies, or is there more to it than that? In this discussion, Andrew walks us through the whats, whys, and hows of the BSR. We talk about the executive order that established the BSR as well as ongoing legislative efforts to make the BSR a permanent feature of American strategic planning.  Subscribe to Tim Talks Politics⁠⁠⁠ on Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://timtalkspolitics.substack.com/pod] for the full show notes (30% for podcast listeners)!

Mark David Hall is back on the podcast to talk about Christian nationalism, only this time, we’re talking about the broader topic of religious nationalism globally. While Christian nationalism has received quite a bit of (inflated) attention in the US, there has been a noticeable trend towards religious nationalism around the world. It was a trend I picked up on and wrote about in a blog post (see below) ten years ago, but Mark and I discuss this trend now because earlier this year, Pew Research published a study on religious nationalism and how America and Christian nationalism measures up with other countries and their dominant religions. The Pew study validates a major claim Mark has been writing and speaking on, namely, that the concerns about Christian nationalism in America are indeed overblown. However, the study does much more than by giving us a window into something I only hinted at in my doctoral dissertation research: political culture influences state action. Religious nationalisms of all stripes and inherently political ideologies that seek to define and shape political culture a particular way, which, proportional to their population size in a country could have large effects on domestic and international politics. This was a groundbreaking and important study by Pew, and well worth taking the time to read and digest. Subscribe to Tim Talks Politics⁠⁠ on Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://timtalkspolitics.substack.com/pod] for the full show notes (30% for podcast listeners)!

For the moment, the press and populace appear to be focused on the Trump administration’s handling of Ukraine, but don’t let that fool you; the lightning rod of controversy in the second Trump administration remains Elon Musk and DOGE. Just what is DOGE doing? What is the method behind Musk’s seeming madness? My guest today is a good friend and longtime Musk watcher, Dustin Steeve.  Dustin, not unlike Musk, sits at the intersection of business, entrepreneurship, and politics, and he’s one of the sharpest culture critics I know. His experience in the world of business leadership and tech entrepreneurship gives him unique insight into understanding the principles that undergird Musk’s (often mistaken) brand of chaotic leadership. In this podcast, Dustin and I walk through Musk’s background and what he’s bringing to the table in terms of assisting the President to find and cut waste and redundancies in the federal government. We then pivot to discussing the work of DOGE, the challenges inherent in any organizational restructuring. Along the way, Dustin provides some excellent contextual background on DOGE, what it is, and what it is not. This is a podcast that cuts through a lot of the hyperbolic noise surrounding Musk and the work of DOGE, and is well worth your time, especially if you, like me, have only been tangentially aware of Musk and his work prior to his emergence as a major player on Team Trump. ⁠ [https://timtalkspolitics.substack.com/] Subscribe to Tim Talks Politics⁠ on Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://timtalkspolitics.substack.com/pod] for the full show notes (30% for podcast listeners)!

Whoa, Nelly! Starting with the Munich Security Conference this past February, Vice President Vance outlined a bracing critique of the emerging political cultures in America’s European allies. As of this posting, US-Europe relations have been on one crazy rollercoaster, careening from Vance’s speech to a two-week whirlwind of Ukrainian diplomacy that culminated in the now mythical dust up in the Oval Office that had critics of the Trump administration wringing their hands over the future of the transatlantic alliance. What is this new dispensation of US diplomacy we seem to be living in? Dr. Matt Van Hook returns to the podcast today to unpack the speech that started it all, VP Vance’s broadside at the Munich Security Conference. Matt and I walk through the speech and its main themes, locate it in the broader context of public diplomacy and (Vice) Presidential rhetoric, and consider whether or not the transatlantic alliance really is in as much trouble as many seem to think. NOTE: This was recorded two days before that Oval Office row, so if you’re wondering why we don’t discuss it, there you go.  https://timtalkspolitics.substack.com/ Subscribe to Tim Talks Politics on Substack⁠⁠⁠ [https://timtalkspolitics.substack.com/pod] (30% for podcast listeners)!