In this special episode, Naomi and Brendan say goodbye to Polilogue. After more than 5 years and 291 episodes, we are bidding farewell to the podcast in this bittersweet episode. Thank you to all of our supporters and listeners over the years. We will miss the show but appreciate so much the privilege to speak with you during these interesting times. You can still email us at podcast@polilogue.com or you can send us your feedback @PolilogueCast. You can also follow us at @sotonaomi_ and @bsteidle. Check out some of our other work:  Brendan’s website: www.solvingguns.org ..read more

In the last episode of our Supreme Court series, we discuss the prospect for reform of the Supreme Court. We review the analysis of reform released by the Presidential Commission, suggest some of our own ideas for reforming the court—and then discuss reform of media coverage. Resources You can check out our ongoing research list spreadsheet here Contact us Email us at podcast@polilogue.com or you can send us your feedback @PolilogueCast. You can also follow us at @sotonaomi_ and @bsteidle. Support the show: We produce Polilogue out of our own pocket. If you’d like to support the show with a on ..read more

The Biden administration has tabled their Build Back Better efforts and is onto another legislative priority: voting rights. Today on Polilogue, we discuss whether the Sunday shows succeed in explaining where the bill is in the legislative process and/or if they successfully explained the White House’s strategy in making this happen. We also discuss whether, as a news consumer, one angle is more valuable than another. Shows discussed  State of the Union on CNN Fox News Sunday on FOX This Week on ABC Face the Nation on CBS Meet the Press on NBC Resources Discussed The Blue St ..read more

Happy New Year! And welcome to 2022! It’s a new year—but we are faced with a lot of old news, particularly on the COVID front. In this short episode, we discuss COVID from a more personal perspective. Resources and Links Excellent Film Discussion Questions The Lost Daughter on Netflix Contact us Email us at podcast@polilogue.com or you can send us your feedback @PolilogueCast. You can also follow us at @sotonaomi_ and @bsteidle. Support the show: We produce Polilogue out of our own pocket. If you’d like to support the show with a one-time or recurring donation, please visit our donate page her ..read more

In this final episode of the Solving Guns project, we conclude our discussion of the portrayal of guns in film. This is Part 15 of a multi-part series that we are sharing first with our polilogue listeners—a project that is years in the making.  The goal is to examine every form of gun violence, to go deep on the reasons why people own guns in the first place, and to find solutions without passing gun restricting laws. Whether you love guns or hate them, my hope is that the solutions here can unite those on the left and the right behind one goal: to save lives. Something we can all agree ..read more

Today on Polilogue, we go back to some of our show roots: comparisons of shows and editorial decisions! Both This Week and Meet the Press examined the escalating tensions of US-Russia relations. This Week took the approach of utilizing foreign correspondents and subject matter experts. They provided tons of context of Russia’s encroachment on Ukraine. Meet the Press, on the other hand, did not have much in terms of ground setting or context, but Chuck Todd had an exclusive interview with Secretary of State, Antony Blinken. On State of the Union, Jake Tapper interviewed outgoing NYC mayor Bill ..read more

In this episode we look at a single case—the deadliest mass shooting in US history—and try to understand how we can secure future public spaces to prevent a repeat and ensure safety. This is Part 13 of Brendan’s Solving Guns project. This is a multi-part series that we are sharing first with our polilogue listeners—a project that is years in the making.  The goal is to examine every form of gun violence, to go deep on the reasons why people own guns in the first place, and to find solutions without passing gun restricting laws. Not because these types of laws are a bad idea or a good idea ..read more

There’s no job criteria to be a Supreme Court justice. But then how does someone even get to serve on the highest court — for the rest of their life? In this episode of Polilogue, we look at the Supreme Court pipeline and how national media organizations portray and analyze the very few paths to the court. We also discuss the Federalist Society, an influential outside group that has been extremely successful in developing and mentoring federal judges—shaping the conservative Court we experience today. Resources You can check out our ongoing research list spreadsheet here Contact us Email us at ..read more

In this episode we look at how technology should be used to save lives in mass shootings. We also discuss ways that preparations can be taken to reduce the impact of impulsive mass shootings. This is Part 11 of Brendan’s Solving Guns project. This is a multi-part series that we are sharing first with our polilogue listeners—a project that is years in the making.  The goal is to examine every form of gun violence, to go deep on the reasons why people own guns in the first place, and to find solutions without passing gun restricting laws. Not because these types of laws are a bad idea or a ..read more

In this episode of Polilogue we wonder if a job you can almost never be fired from can have any level of accountability. Congress and the White House have elections to give people the opportunity to “re-hire” their elected officials. But if our top court does not have an election, does that mean they are exempted from any accountability? What’s the role of the media ecosystem to describe and analyze the quality of work that the Supreme Court does every day? What more can they do during the nomination and confirmation process to ensure that only qualified candidates are serving these lifelong a ..read more