Politics: Meet Me in the Middle

Join Bill Curtis and Jane Albrecht as they speak with Former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci about 2022 elections, Republican tactics, and some of the most divisive political topics in the United States. What if Trump decides to run again? How will The Mooch plan to stop him? They cover politics, voting rights, bit coin, abortion, Biden, and vaccines…all as we close out year two of the pandemic with the death toll still rising.

Episode Timestamps:

03:26- Were you always a Republican?

03:50 - Is Trump the same you knew?

04:31 -  Republican Party Tactics are working

08:28 -  Is the Republican party healable?

10:21 - The Mooch’s Assessment of Trump

12:23 - What if Trump runs again?

16:19 - 2022 and The House

20:00 - How do Trump supporters think?

21:13 - It’s too early to know who can replace Trump

22:51 - Vaccines

23:19 - The U.S. and China

24:52 - Abortion

27:19 – Brief explanation of how Crypto works

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What will it take for Dems to connect with black & brown voters? How can Democrats keep Republicans from branding them, radicals? What can Democrats do better to keep the house? All this and more is discussed on the season finale of Politics: Meet Me in the Middle. Bill and Jane are joined by Lanae Erickson (Senior Vice President for the Social Policy Program at The Third Way) and Quentin James (founder and president of The Collective) to explore their six month study and report that was praised by The NY Times.

Episode Timestamps:

5:52 Defining The Third Way, The Collective, and The Latino Victory Fund

7:54 The Origins of coming together

8:51 The Democratic Coalition

11:05 Black Voters

15:51 The Failure of “Defund the Police” messaging

17:26 The Trump Effect

19:14 Learning from the report

22:44 The Democratic Brand

26:45 Dems -The Less Racist Party?

29:36 What do Democrats stand for?

31:17 Full disclosure

33:30 Advice for the moderates

34:27 Closing statements to the Democratic party 

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There are ways to improve the relationship between Russia and the United States, but it's going to be a long road. This week Timothy Frye continues his look at the possibilities of joint gains and the mutual benefits of better political relations between the two countries.

Timothy Frye is the Marshall D. Shulman Professor in Political Science at Columbia University and Co-Director of a research laboratory at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow. He worked for the US Information Agency in the Soviet Union in the late 1980s, advised the Russian Securities and Exchange Commission in the 1990s, and directed the Harriman Institute at Columbia from 2009 to 2015. Born in Utica, New York, he earned a BA in Russian Language and Literature from Middlebury College and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Columbia University. He is the editor of Post-Soviet Affairs and the author of 4 books. He lives in New York City.

Episode Timestamps:

:30 Next steps to a better US/Russia relationship

2:31 Putin in Power until 2036?

7:12 Putin and Hillary Clinton

9:33 Trump’s Idol: Putin

11:34 What did Putin have on Trump?

13:08 Trump’s a Putin Wannabe

16:55 Putin – Biden Relationship

23:15 Should the US appease or help Putin?

28:00 The Path Forward for a Better US/Russia relationship

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Timothy Frye kicks off our series on US-Russia relations.

Timothy Frye is the Marshall D. Shulman Professor in Political Science at Columbia University and Co-Director of a research laboratory at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow. He worked for the US Information Agency in the Soviet Union in the late 1980s, advised the Russian Securities and Exchange Commission in the 1990s, and directed the Harriman Institute at Columbia from 2009 to 2015. Born in Utica, New York, he earned a B.A. in Russian Language and Literature from Middlebury College and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Columbia University. He is the editor of Post-Soviet Affairs and the author of four books. He lives in New York City.

Episode Timestamps:

2:55 The U.S. view of Russia and Russia's view of the US

8:51 Russian Backgrounds and Diversity

11:14 Power distribution in Russia

14:10 Experiencing 911 from Russia

21:20 Putin’s Rise to Power 

Additional Links:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08KWP9X92/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i0 

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Bill Curtis, Jane Albrecht, and Ted Lieu continue their discussion with Congressman Ted Lieu about cybersecurity and the potential threats to America’s infrastructure. According to Lieu, the Trump Administration did not take cybersecurity as seriously as it should have, even eliminating government cybersecurity positions. The new administration seems to be taking the issue of cybersecurity with more gravity. He wants more people to realize that the severity of an attack could go well beyond individual businesses and affect the quality of the lives of many Americans. Then, he speaks about cryptocurrency and the potential dangers of not being able to monitor it and control it. He also speaks about the spam and scams people receive and how to protect yourself.

This term, Ted was elected Co-Chair of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee. Ted was also appointed as an Assistant Democratic Whip. He serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Judiciary Committee. Ted has taken a leadership role in Congress on a number of vital policy issues.

Episode Timestamps:

3:51 Cryptocurrency and Bitcoin Abuse

7:51 Is this problem of cyber-attacks accelerating?

9:02 Nuclear Power Plants

9:37 Break 1

10:10 Personal Cyber security Advice from Ted Lieu

16:43 Break 2

17:06 Spam and Scams

21:06 Email and Wire Instructions

23:17 Closing Thoughts 

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Bill Curtis, Jane Albrecht, and Congressman Ted Lieu discuss computer hackers, cyber warfare, America's infrastructure, and how we can keep our country safe from these attacks. This is part one of our two-part series on cyber security with Representative Ted Lieu.

Congressman Ted W. Lieu represents California’s 33rd Congressional District. Serving his fourth term in Congress, Ted has already made a significant impact in Washington. He was elected President of the Democratic Freshman Class by his colleagues during his first term. Last term, after being elected Vice Chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Ted led efforts to take back the House, helping Democrats win 9 Republican-held house seats in his region. This term, Ted was elected Co-Chair of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee. Ted was also appointed as an Assistant Democratic Whip. He serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Judiciary Committee. Ted has taken a leadership role in Congress on a number of vital policy issues.

Episode Timestamps:

3:22 Ted’s Cybersecurity Background

4:20 Biggest Cybersecurity Threats to the USA

7:12 Types of Hackers

11:13 Russia Aggression

15:08 Microsoft and Hacking

20:21 The Space Infrastructure Act

26:06 Digital Gorilla War

30:07 Final Words: Is there universal Goodwill?

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Nowadays there's not much that enflames passions more than a conversation about gun safety, the NRA, and the "right to bear arms." In this episode, Constitutional law professor Eugene Volokh goes toe-to-toe with Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Ed Larson and host Bill Curtis as they argue what the framers meant when they crafted the second amendment on this encore edition of Politics: Meet Me in the Middle.

Episode Timestamps:

2:10 2nd Amendment Lesson
4:06 Deeper Dive into the 2nd Amendment
5:39 What is the militia?
6:25 Individual Rights
7:40 The right to bear arms

8:07 break 1

8:32 The Changing View of the 2nd Amendment
10:05 Types of Arms Allowed
13:00 Cars as Weapons vs Guns and background checks

16:10 break 2

16:54 The NRA Influence and reasonable purpose
18:20 Defining Assault weapons
21:20 Protecting rights strategy
22:36 Do we need protection from our government
24:00 Is it really a 2nd Amendment issue?
27:32 Closing Remarks

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Bill Curtis and Jane Albrecht continue their discussion on cybersecurity with author and tech-wiz, David Holtzman. What’s a Zombie Bot? Has a Trojan attacked your computer? How can we protect ourselves from Hackers?

This episode will both scare and enlighten you to all matters of personal and business cybersecurity. David Holtzman is a world-class information technologist, currently working with global block chain companies, with deep expertise in privacy, encryption, ethics, cybersecurity, digital registries and intellectual property.

Episode Timestamps:

00:52 Hacking, Phishing, and Personal Attacks

1:52 How Hackers Attack YOU

4:07 Antivirus Software

5:34 No Real Protection Against Hacking

6:55 Real Life Hacking Examples

7:43 Things you can check before being Hacked

10:37 Hacking Cases during Covid

11:48 What not to do to stay safe from Hackers and VPN

13:07 Passwords

15:07 Password Lockers and Hacks

15:52 Positive Takeaways and Hacking

19:42 Insider Threats and Business

21:48 Individual Responsibility and Old-World Business Tactics

24:06 Final Words 

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Bill Curtis and Jane Albrecht discuss cybersecurity with author and tech-wiz, David Holtzman. They dive deep into the Colonial Pipeline Hack, ransomware, and Solar Winds. You’ll learn about the capabilities of Russia, China, and other nations in the cyber-wars. Do you want to know what Zero Day means, who’s DarkSide, Fancy Bear and Cozy Bear?... which software is the safest, Apple or Microsoft? And how wars will be fought in the future? This two-part series on cyber-intelligence will certainly deliver.

Episode Timestamps:

3:16 Why do countries get hacked? David Holtzman is a world-class information technologist, currently working with global block chain companies, with deep expertise in privacy, encryption, ethics, cybersecurity, digital registries and intellectual property.

5:05 The Colonial Pipeline Hack

6:16 Panic Buying and Hacks (DarkSide)

9:19 Two Types of Hackers

10:30 Negotiating with Hackers

11:08 The Solar Winds Hack and Russia

12:54 Deduction and knowing who’s the Hacker

14:34 Tracking what information was hacked

16:16 How to handle the backdoor second hack attack

17:45 Lessons Learned from Hackers and USA Cyber intelligence

20:36 Trump and classified intelligence

21:36 Do we have proof that Trump passed info onto the Russians?

23:36 What is Zero Day?

24:54 Apple vs Microsoft and Hacking

28:02 Mutual assured annihilation

29:50 Ramifications of Hacking

32:44 Cold War References and destruction

34:00 Defending against Russian Aggression 

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This episode is going to be a little different. We're going to focus on trending topics in the news and social media, mostly political Twitter, and then ask our host, who'll be playing a guest this episode, about his thoughts, feelings and opinions on some of these topics. Plus, later, we'll do a get to know Bill a bit more with the producers Lightning Round.

Episode Timestamps:

1:13 Social Media Platform

2:19 The Recent Biden Poll
3:29 The Covid unemployment benefits effect
7:52 Biden Putin vs Trump Putin Dynamic
9:29 Mass Shootings and Gun Laws

14:44 Break one
15:14 The GOP is A Cult
16:53 Governance VS Politics
18:59 What went wrong with the Republican Party?
22:38 Biden’s Tax Mistake

26:24 Break Two
27:20 Get to know more about our host, Bill Curtis with a lightning Round
31:34 Bringing it back to Social Media Good or Bad?

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Bill and Jane sit down with economist, Stephanie Kelton for a comprehensive conversation about the federal budget, inflation, jobs, revamping the debt system, the power of the purse, and the US economy.

Stephanie is a leading authority on Modern Monetary Theory, a new approach to economics that is taking the world by storm. She is considered one of the most important voices influencing the policy debate today. Her New York Times bestseller, The Deficit Myth: Modern Monetary Theory and the Birth of the People’s Economy, shows how to break free of the flawed thinking that has hamstrung policymakers around the world. 

Episode Timestamps:

- 3:24 The Federal Government will never run out of money
- 4:16 Difference between a household and fed budget and the Power of the purse
- 6:20 Raising Taxes for debt
- 8:06 Paying the debt and interest
- 9:00 The Mechanics of Government Finance
- 11:21 Biden and Revamping the Debt system
- 14:15 Fear of inflation
- 16:23 The Essence of inflation
- 18:07 Can we predict inflation?
- 21:49 Inflation expectations
- 22:28 Driving up prices
- 23:54 Government managing people
- 27:19 Jobs
- 33:11 Power of the purse

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It's the second half of Bill Curtis and Jane Albrecht's conversation with Bill Kristol, and they cover just about everything under the political sun. Jane and Bill ask about the Republican's inability to think for themselves when it comes to outlandish conspiracy theories, getting rid of the filibuster, and dissecting Biden's infrastructure plan... all while the verdict comes down on the murder of George Floyd. Plus, we also have a riveting "Lighting Round" with our guest!

William Kristol is editor-at-large of The Bulwark. He was a founder of The Weekly Standard and is a regular guest on leading political commentary shows. Prior to his work at The Weekly Standard, Kristol led the Project for the Republican Future, an organization that helped shape the strategy that produced the 1994 Republican congressional victory. From 1985 to 1993, Kristol served as chief of staff to Education Secretary William Bennett in the Reagan Administration and as chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle in the George H. W. Bush administration. Before coming to Washington, Kristol taught politics at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University.

Episode Timestamps

1:09 Republicans, The Big Lie, believing in absurd reports, and not forgiving any wrongdoings
3:30 Fake News and the media
5:10 Do Republicans really believe what they’re saying and the ultimate con
6:52 Trump, The Cash Cow
8:24 Voting your Tax-Rate
9:18 The Bill Kristol Ball and 2022 Elections
10:05 Kristol gives political advice to both Democrats and Republicans

13:26 BREAK

13:29 Getting rid of the filibuster
14:53 A Potential Third Party
16:14 Can the Democrats maintain control
17:03 On the “real-time” guilty verdict, George Floyd, police reform, and gun control
18:45 Will the democrats have the courage to lose the filibuster
21:15 The Biden Infrastructure Plan
26:19 BREAK
26:22 The Lighting Round:
26:29 Iran Nuke Deal
26:51 The Vaccine Issue
27:07 Pulling Out of Afghanistan
27:40 Gun Laws
27:50 Racism in the Republican Party
28:13 Little Marco and Lying Ted
29:06 MTG
29:19 Mitch
29:31 Tea Party

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Bill Curtis and Jane Albrecht discuss the insurrection, Trump-ism, and the Biden infrastructure plan with political commentator, Bill Kristol. 

William Kristol is Editor-at-Large of The Bulwark. He was a founder of The Weekly Standard, and is a regular guest on leading political commentary shows. Prior to his work at The Weekly Standard, Kristol led the Project for the Republican Future, an organization that helped shape the strategy that produced the 1994 Republican congressional victory. From 1985 to 1993, Kristol served as Chief of Staff to Education Secretary William Bennett in the Reagan Administration and as Chief of Staff to Vice President Dan Quayle in the George H. W. Bush administration. Before coming to Washington, Kristol taught politics at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University.

Episode Timestamps:

1:45 A path to a Republican party that focuses on governing.

2:24 How we can get to a Republican party we can appreciate.

3:32 Republican tactics

5:04 Republican “Recovery”

7:04 Trump wasn’t always radical

8:41 How it progressed (The Trump Agenda)

11:20 Trump was a Cash Cow

12:27 Break One

12:51 Where we are today

16:57 Bill Kristol “Do Overs”

19:30 How we got here

22:05 The Present Trump Party

25:30 The Loss of Political Integrity

27:45 Break Two

28:40 For Biden or Against Trump?

30:04 The Capitol Storming and Republican Accountability Project

35:57 Changing a Political Party

38:42 Politicians and Governing

40:04 Closing Comments for Part One

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Michael Steele joins Bill Curtis and Jane Albrecht to discuss what changes need to be made in the Republican (and Democratic) Party. Michael Steele the former RNC Chairman, former Lt. Gov. Maryland, political analyst for MSNBC,  and host of The Michael Steele Podcast.

When he was elected Lt. Governor of Maryland in 2003, Michael Steele made history as the first African American elected to statewide office; and again with his subsequent chairmanship of the Republican National Committee in 2009.

Episode Timestamps:

1:42 Still a Republican
2:57 What if you were the chair again?
4:40 Is the Republican Party Beyond help?
6:42 The Southern Strategy
9:41 All About the Voters
11:06 Break 1
12:02 The Radicalization of the Republicans
14:25 The Republican Game plan
17:40 A Huge Task to Change the Party
18:16 Republicans are not leading
19:46 The Insurrection
21:43 Lies
24:48 Break 2
25:09 The Biden Plan
26: 55 HR1
29:06 Guns
30:52 Gerrymandering
31:24 Hope for the Republican Party? http://michaelsteelenetwork.com

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CEO of Liberty Hill Foundation, Shane Murphy Goldsmith, joins Bill Curtis and Jane Albrecht to talk about her story, dream job as an activist, reforming the police, social imbalance, what brought her to her current position in life, and how LHF is making LA a better place for all.

Episode Timestamps

2:05 Shane’s Origin Story

4:41 Community

5:36 Gang Life

6:00 The Police State

7:58 Reasons SMG joined the LAPD Commission

11:08 Making a Difference

12:53 Some of the things SMG learned about the police

15:00 The Reckoning of 2020

17:31 Good Cops

21:06 Appropriate Punishment and How Police respond

24:22 Adopted Strategies and pretext stops

26:03 What is Liberty Hill Foundation

27:07 The Process from Police Commission to LHF

29:45 Raising Funds

32:28 LHF Success Metrics https://www.libertyhill.org

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Bill Curtis and Jane Albrecht invite Congressman Ted Lieu to the show to discuss the aftermath of the insurrection, his personal feelings on January 6th, 2021, and breaking down the Biden Infrastructure Plan. 

Episode Timestamps:

1:57 Following up after the storming of the Capitol 

3:00 Details on the day of the insurrection

3:57 The fear Ted felt

4:41 How the insurrection changed Ted

5:46 Feelings about the impeachment process

7:35 Diving into the decision not to convict the president

8:20 On two-thirds vote

9:14 14th Amendment Section 3

11:00 The second impeachment and not having enough bipartisan support

12:11 The effects on congress in the aftermath of the insurrection

13:19 A Less friendly congress

13:50 A deeper look into the actual feelings about “The Big Lie” and republicans from Ted’s POV

15:48 The Pivotal Aspects of HR1

17:43 Addressing the filibuster rule

18:38 The Next election, the filibuster, and consequences

20:12 The republicans didn’t stop the filibuster when they were in power

22:33 How much time does this congress have to get things done

24:38 The Biden Infrastructure Plan

26:14 Private Sector Bidding and charging the government

28:50 Electric Cars and Incentives

30:00 Home Care

32:33 Manufacturing

34:15 Federal Purchases

34:48 Housing

36:03 Research and development

37:13 Education and schools

39:39 Workforce development

41:17 Paying for the Biden Plan

43:19 Global Minimum Tax

44:39 Asian American Discrimination

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Economist and Professor Ioana Elena Marinescu returns for part 2, with hosts Bill Curtis and International Trade Attorney Jane Albrecht, to discuss where the US currently stands economically, where it will stand in a post-COVID world, and the arguments for and against raising the minimum wage.

Episode Timestamps: 

- :30 Minimum Wage
- 1:54 Difference between a federal and state minimum wage
- 2:36 Why we need a federal minimum wage
- 3:33 Why a new minimum wage won’t lose jobs
- 5:45 Places of business that underpay
- 7:30 Public vs Private
- 7:50 Companies who influence politicians to vote against minimum wage
- 9:40 Adjusting Minimum Wage for inflation
- 11:48 UBI and Minimum Wage
- 12:48 What’s ahead Post Covid, economically?
- 15:45 Credit to both Trump and Biden
- 16:24 Jobs most likely to recover
- 18:27 AI, Automation, and replacing humans
- 19:30 Working from home and real estate
- 21:36 Adjustments, progress, and change
- 23:06 Lightning Round Segment (National Debt, China, Creating value for all, Capital Gains Tax Advantages, government efficiency and spending, UBI and the border

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What are the pros and cons for Universal Basic Income, the Andrew Yang Plan, and ending poverty in the United States once and for all? Ioana Elena Marinescu, assistant professor of public policy at the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice, joins Bill Curtis and Jane Albrecht in Part 1 of 2 of an in-depth discussion on these topics and more.

Universal Basic Income (UBI) is a periodic cash payment unconditionally delivered to all on an individual basis, without any work requirement. A growing number of people believe that UBI could be a viable and powerful strategy for addressing many of the U.S.' current issues including poverty, social mobility, economic inequality, and labor market instability. Individuals across the political spectrum, whether Libertarians, Progressives, Conservatives, and Liberals are finding strong reasons to support UBI. The growing popularity of implementing UBI has led to a resurgence of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Poor People’s Campaign, of which UBI was a cornerstone, leading thousands to protest in the streets.  For profit, non-profits, as well as local to federal governments in the U.S. and around the world are planning on and conducting large-scale trials of the system. Many politicians are starting to promote UBI on their platforms.

To learn more about UBI, check out this online calculator to see how it might affect you and your family: https://ubicalculator.com.

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Are we living through a "crisis of facts"? Poppy MacDonald, President of USA Facts.org, a non-profit, non-partisan civic initiative aimed at making verified government numbers more available, and understandable, joins Bill Curtis and Jane Albrecht to discuss “Nothing but the facts!” and how data might be the one thing that brings our divisive country together. Poppy is leading an effort to help Americans ground their democratic debate in real, backed up facts.

Episode Timestamps:

2:22 How did Poppy meet Steve Ballmer, and begin working with USA-Facts.org?
4:26 Is this a long-term plan?
6:25 Diving into USAFacts.org and living through a crisis of facts.
8:00 Talk about Steve Ballmer and the conflicting views of facts
9:40 Meeting with government in DC and even schools about facts.
10:30 Being committed to data and how it will bring us together
12:21 Data and Covid
14:04 Who are the sources for data and covid
16:08 How many people are on your USA Facts Team and on Partisanship?
17:00 Are reports reviewed by the team? 
19:45 Stats and facts on Covid
20:26 Pandemic Job loss stats and facts
21:44 How do you choose what to report?
22:56 Covid death stats and age demo
24:30 Stats and data that is out of date
26:48 Diving into the 2020 report
31:17 Believing in misinformation

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Producer Joey Salvia tosses out subjects for our hosts, Bill Curtis and Jane Albrecht, to tackle, and possibly solve, including poverty, divisiveness, and fake news. Topics discussed include the nursing home scandal in NYC, Ted Cruz, why the media needs Trump, taxes, the rich, the poor, and other hot news topics.

Episode Timestamps:

1:47 Governor Cuomo and NY Nursing Home Scandal. Managing a pandemic

9:11 Damn Lies and the people who choose to believe (and act on) them. Misinformation and strange conspiracy theories. Taxes, cults, social media, and Fox News.

19:10 Politics over governance: the next election, Ted Cruz, and what governance is supposed to be.

24:30 The widening gap between the super-rich and everyone else

35:30 What’s our goal here in America: Our vision. One America that takes care of its own.

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