Episode 24: Gary Trauner

Gary Trauner, three-time Democratic candidate for federal office in Wyoming, joins us again to discuss current politics.  In today’s episode, Dylan Ris interviews Gary.  Topics include:  The latest polls looking good for Democrats, and what issues break through.Gary’s take on corruption as an important campaign issue.Gary thinks Andy Beshear should go hard on the McConnell absence issue.Why Schumer and Jeffries are poor spokesmen for the Democratic Party.Alaska, Wyoming and rural MAGA.

Jonn Elledge is a British author and journalist.  He’s been columnist and assistant editor of the New Statesman, as well as a contributor to publications like The Guardian and I.  He’s also the author of a number of books, including A Brief History of the World in 47 Borders and A Brief History of Cities in 32 Inventions.In this episode, Dylan Ris and Jonn discuss Nigel Farage, his Brexit origin story, and why Reform is doing well.  With that background, the discussion turns to Count Binface, the alien challenging Farage in the Clacton bi-election.  Jonn has been a guest on Count Binface’s Trash Talk podcast, so he’s well-acquainted with Britain’s most famous visitor from the Sigma quadrant.Jonn’s Substack,  The Newsletter of (Not Quite) Everything:  https://jonn.substack.com/ Jonn on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jonnelledge.bsky.socialJonn’s author page at Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B092PS3XJHJonn’s appearance on Count Binface’s podcast:  https://open.spotify.com/episode/2F5Ws9sqB9ysArJukaa1qc

Jonn Elledge is a British author and journalist.  He’s been columnist and assistant editor of the New Statesman, as well as a contributor to publications like The Guardian and I.  He’s also the author of a number of books, including A Brief History of the World in 47 Borders and A Brief History of Cities in 32 Inventions.In this episode, Dylan Ris and Jonn discuss Britain’s new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, and how Burnham might take Labour out of its defensive crouch.  Jonn also discusses the stark economic realities post-Brexit, which “buggered” the economy.Jonn’s Substack,  The Newsletter of (Not Quite) Everything:  https://jonn.substack.com/ Jonn on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jonnelledge.bsky.socialJonn’s author page at Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B092PS3XJH

Steve Vladek is a professor at Georgetown University Law Center.  He’s been thinking and writing about the Supreme Court for over 20 years, both as a law professor and as a Supreme Court analyst for CNN.In this episode, Dylan Ris and Steve discuss Supreme Court reform.  Steve starts with an historical overview of Congressional oversight of the court, how that’s changed in relatively recent times, and how Steve thinks Congress should re-assert its proper Constitutional role over the court. He also addresses court packing and term limits.  Steve’s blog, One First:  https://www.stevevladeck.com/Steve on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/stevevladeck.bsky.socialSteve’s book, The Shadow Docket:  https://tinyurl.com/shadowdocketpb

Steve Vladek is a professor at Georgetown University Law Center.  He’s been thinking and writing about the Supreme Court for over 20 years, both as a law professor and as a Supreme Court analyst for CNN.In this episode, Dylan Ris and Steve discuss yesterday’s ruling from the Court on birthright citizenship, as well as other decisions that the court has handed down this term.  Steve’s blog, One First:  https://www.stevevladeck.com/Steve on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/stevevladeck.bsky.socialSteve’s book, The Shadow Docket:  https://tinyurl.com/shadowdocketpb

Etan Nechin is the New York correspondent for Haaretz.  Born in Israel, he was previously a freelancer whose writing has appeared in The New York Times, Haaretz, Vice, Jacobin, Huffington Post, The Independent, Jewish Currents, Medium, Columbia Journal, and more. In this episode, Etan talks about US/Israeli politics, starting with Netanyahu’s long personal and political relationship with the US.  After that, he explains how Netanyahu was able to make Israel a partisan issue in US politics, his appeal to evangelicals, and the future of Israel in American politics.Etan’s writing at Haaretz:  https://www.haaretz.com/ty-WRITER/0000017f-da5a-d42c-afff-dffa7afc0000Etan’s personal site: https://www.etannechin.com/Etan on X:  http://twitter.com/etanetan23

Etan Nechin is the New York correspondent for Haaretz.  Born in Israel, he was previously a freelancer whose writing has appeared in The New York Times, Haaretz, Vice, Jacobin, Huffington Post, The Independent, Jewish Currents, Medium, Columbia Journal, and more. In this episode, Etan talks about the last 30 years in Israeli politics. If you want to know why the assassinaton of Yitzak Rabin had a similar impact to peace in the Middle East as the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, this is the episode for you.Etan’s writing at Haaretz:  https://www.haaretz.com/ty-WRITER/0000017f-da5a-d42c-afff-dffa7afc0000Etan on X:  https://x.com/Etanetan23Etan’s personal site: https://www.etannechin.com/

Eric Benson began contributing to Texas Monthly in 2014, covering politics, crime, business, and the U.S.-Mexico border and writing cover stories on everything from the supersized gas station chain Buc-ee’s to the Nobel Prize–winning immunologist James P. Allison. His articles and podcasts have won awards from New York University's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute and the City and Regional Magazine Association and have been recognized on best-of-the-year lists in The New Yorker and Vulture. He was the host and executive producer of the Apple TV+ podcast series Project Unabom. He lives in Dallas.In this episode, Eric talks with host Dylan Ris about, what else, Talarico and Paxton. Eric's writing at Texas Monthly:  https://www.texasmonthly.com/contributors/eric-benson/

Alex González Ormerod is the editor/creator of the Mexico Political Economist site.  Listeners will note that he’s got an English accent, but he’s born and raised in Mexico with an English mom and a Mexican dad.  He’s written for, edited, and worked at some of the best outlets covering Mexico both in the US and locally, including Whitepaper, Americas Quarterly, Time Magazine, Rest of World, and more. In the second of two episodes, Alex takes a through a short political history of the current century in Mexican politics, from Vincente Fox through the rise of Morena and López Obrador, to Claudia Sheinbaum’s presidency.  He also gives us his take on the recent, controversial Mexican judicial elections.  Alex’s site:  https://www.mxpe.org/

Alex González Ormerod is the editor/creator of the Mexico Political Economist site.  Listeners will note that he’s got an English accent, but he’s born and raised in Mexico with an English mom and a Mexican dad.  He’s written for, edited, and worked at some of the best outlets covering Mexico both in the US and locally, including Whitepaper, Americas Quarterly, Time Magazine, Rest of World, and more. In this episode, he talks about the critical importance of the Mexico-US economic relationship, the history of that relationship, the re-negotiation of the USMCA and how Mexico isn’t a place with cheap labor, but, instead, is great at product assembly. He also talks about current Mexican economic news, including the Mexican trade surplus and Moody’s downgrade of Mexico’s credit rating.Alex’s site:  https://www.mxpe.org/