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10 April 2026

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Oct 24, 2013 — Bill Scher & Matt K. Lewis
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The DMZ

On The DMZ, Matt says that the Obamacare website failures give the GOP a chance to make a larger argument about big government. Bill and Matt take different sides in the debate between Joan Walsh and Ezra Klein over how liberal pundits should react to healthcare.gov’s glitches. Matt wants conservatives to realize that a Reagan-like savior will be not coming to rescue the movement. Will Republicans leave Reagan nostalgia behind in 2016? They ponder whether immigration reform is coming back from the dead. Plus: The meaning of Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s embrace of Medicaid expansion.

Oct 23, 2013 — Robert Wright & Joshua Greene
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Nonzero (The Wright Show)
Oct 22, 2013 — Kevin Glass & Betsy Woodruff
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Rational Actors
On Rational Actors, Kevin and Betsy discuss the political fallout from the technical failures of healthcare.gov, and consider rhetorical and political parallels between Obamacare and the Iraq war. If the website woes continue, will Obama delay the individual mandate? Kevin notes that the conservative base supports the intransigence of politicians like Sen. Ted Cruz. Could the shutdown cost the GOP the House in 2014? Finally, Betsy disputes the dominant media narrative that evangelicals are enthusiastic about immigration reform.
Oct 19, 2013 — Robert Wright & Hooman Majd
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Worldwise
Oct 18, 2013 — Robert Farley & Stephen M. Saideman
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Foreign Entanglements
On an unfortunately truncated Foreign Entanglements, Rob and Stephen reflect on the legacy of Tom Clancy, who died recently at 66, and explore how his books have affected contemporary views of the military. Have advancements in defense strategy made it harder to be a hero?
Oct 17, 2013 — Bill Scher & Matt K. Lewis
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The DMZ
On The DMZ: The federal government is back in action! Matt grudgingly respects how Boehner played a tough hand to end the shutdown. Noting the Shelbyville-Springfield–style split among Republicans, Bill wonders if the Tea Party will launch more primary challenges against RINOs. Then they applaud Robert Costa for covering the shutdown negotiations, and list the three game-changing reporters of 2013. Matt worries that political dysfunction is driving some mentally ill people over the edge, and Bill disagrees with cynics on the left who think Obama got a raw deal.
Oct 16, 2013 — Jillian C. York & Katherine Maher
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Interrobang‽
On the debut episode of Interrobang‽, Jillian and Katherine discuss how the government shutdown is affecting national security, especially in airports. Are we witnessing the end of the nation-state in the Middle East? Why is the emerging culture of tech intellectuals so dominated by white men? How did Brazil become the front line of resistance to NSA surveillance? And why is it so hard to mobilize the American public on this issue? Plus: Glenn Greenwald‘s big news.
Oct 12, 2013 — Glenn Loury & Steven Teles
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The Glenn Show
On The Glenn Show, Steve and Glenn begin with small talk about the government shutdown, and then launch into a vigorous debate on the current state of economics as an academic discipline. Steve uses history and politics to explain why economics in America has become so highly technical and narrowly focused, but Glenn pushes back. Is there beauty in the mathematical rigor of American economics? Can we learn anything from the refutation of certain economic ideas? They conclude by reviewing the methods that economists have borrowed from medical researchers.
Oct 11, 2013 — Greg Marx & Corey Hutchins
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Democracy in America
In the debut of Democracy in America, Greg talks to Corey about how the shutdown is playing on the ground in the Carolinas, home to “man behind the shutdown” Congressman Mark Meadows. Are the Republicans who supported the shutdown starting to have second thoughts? Is the business lobby pressuring Congress to end the shutdown? They reflect on Mark Sanford, the former South Carolina governor now serving in Congress and dealing with shutdown politics. How has Senator Lindsey Graham managed to survive the rise of the Tea Party? Finally, how is the shutdown affecting the local economy in the Carolinas?
Oct 10, 2013 — Kevin Glass & Alex Seitz-Wald
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Rational Actors
On Rational Actors, Kevin and Alex discuss the GOP’s tactics vs. its strategy on the shutdown and debt ceiling. Are Republicans just grandstanding over the debt limit, as Obama did when he was a senator? What would happen if the debt ceiling was actually breached? They discuss public reaction to the shutdown, and fault the White House’s media strategy. Alex argues that good government reforms, like banning earmarks, have unintentionally created Congressional dysfunction. But is this crisis actually the fault of American democracy itself?

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