Trump's Business Record (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)

Beyond his flash and brash appeal, Donald Trump’s big claim to readiness for the presidency is his business record. Trump the builder. Trump the dealmaker. Trump the multi-billionaire. So how good is he, really, on the business front? His name is all over, that’s for sure. There are successes. But also failures. Those bankruptcies and more. What does that record tell us about the man and how he works in the world? This hour On Point, the business record of Donald J. Trump. — Tom Ashbrook
Interview:
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2016/02/18/donald-trump-business-record

New Hampshire Primary 2016: The Economy (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)

Coming to you today from snowy Manchester, New Hampshire and the first in the nation primary vote. Sanders and Cruz. Clinton and Trump. Kasich and Rubio and Christie and more. For months they have been criss-crossing this state laying out their themes, their vision and – when pressed – their economic plans. The span of what’s on offer for the economy here is wide, from Sanders’ socialism to Trump’s towering promises. This hour On Point, from the thick of New Hampshire’s primary voting, the candidates and the American economy. — Tom Ashbrook
Interview:
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2016/02/09/election-2016-new-hampshire-economy

New Hampshire Primary 2016: The Politics (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)

And we are in Manchester, New Hampshire for today’s first in the nation primary vote. Iowa had its caucuses. In New Hampshire, it’s a full, formal vote. Polling places, early returns, the works. And of course, every presidential candidate wants to win it or at least get a bump, a boost, keep their hopes alive. The snow is fresh and it’s crunchy cold here, and we’ve been out in it, up close and personal with the contenders, with voters. It’s a scene. This hour On Point, we are in the thick of New Hampshire’s primary vote. — Tom Ashbrook
Interview:
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2016/02/09/new-hampshire-2016-presidential-primary

Real Time with Bill Maher: Overtime – March 4, 2016 (HBO)

Bill Maher and his guests – Raheel Raza, Rep. Donna Edwards, Ari Shapiro, Matt Lewis and Sarah Silverman – answer viewer questions after the show.
Interview:
https://youtu.be/FdW5OkizEto

Presidential race exposes growing divisions among evangelicals - LA Times

As older, predominantly white churchgoers age and a younger generation thinks differently about faith, evangelicals are fracturing as a voting bloc and the power of pastors to all but endorse candidates from the pulpit is fading.
http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-gop-evangelicals-divide-20160214-story.html

The Sad Truth About Donald Trump (Penn Jillette, Penn's Sunday School)

Director's Cut screens at Slamdance, & the Donald Trump conundrum.
Interview:
http://www.podcastone.com/pg/jsp/program/episode.jsp?programID=336&pid=100600355

Politicians Will Ignore Secular Americans Until We Give Them a Reason to Listen

Author Susan Jacoby has a wonderful op-ed in the New York Times wondering why politicians choose to ignore millions of Secular Americans while pandering to an ever-decreasing religious crowd...
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2016/02/06/politicians-will-ignore-secular-americans-until-we-give-them-a-reason-to-listen/

Mark Smith on Secular Faith: How Culture Has Trumped Religion in American Politics (The Humanist Hour, #186)

In this episode, Kim Ellington welcomes new Humanist Hour co-host Jenn Wilson to the podcast and they both speak with author Dr. Mark Smith about his new book, Secular Faith: How Culture Has Trumped Religion in American Politics.

Mark A. Smith provocatively argues that religion is not nearly the unchanging conservative influence in American politics that we have come to think it is. In fact, in the long run, religion is best understood as responding to changing political and cultural values rather than shaping them. Smith makes his case by charting five contentious issues in America’s history: slavery, divorce, homosexuality, abortion, and women’s rights. For each, he shows how the political views of even the most conservative Christians evolved in the same direction as the rest of society—perhaps not as swiftly, but always on the same arc. During periods of cultural transition, Christian leaders do resist prevailing values and behaviors, but those same leaders inevitably acquiesce—often by reinterpreting the Bible—if their positions become no longer tenable. Secular ideas and influences thereby shape the ways Christians read and interpret their scriptures.
Interview:
http://thehumanist.com/multimedia/podcast/humanist-hour-186-mark-smith-secular-faith-culture-trumped-religion-american-politics

Is Bernie Sanders Lying? (David Smalley, Dogma Debate #220)

Fact Checking Democrats and Republicans from the recent debates, and looking over the tax plans from Sanders, Cruz, Carson, and Trump.
Interview:
http://login.dogmadebate.com/podcast/220-is-bernie-sanders-lying/

The Left, Right And Center Of 2016 Politics (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)

We are in it now. Twenty-sixteen. The year of the election. And the politics will just get louder. My guests today are listening to the big political movement behind the daily reports from the campaign trail. Conservative David Frum says the GOP is cracking up, in revolt with itself. Its base versus its elites. Liberal Peter Beinart says that while Donald Trump pounds the podium, the country’s political center is going powerfully left. This hour On Point, to start 2016, a big look at the country’s political mega-trends now. — Tom Ashbrook
Interview:
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2016/01/07/the-left-right-and-center-of-2016-politics

President Obama's Final State Of The Union (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)

There was the President, appealing to the better angels of our nature in his last State of the Union address. To an America clear-eyed, big-hearted, optimistic and strong. And there was the divided chamber before him, half cheering, half largely silent. Weighing the soaring language of the outgoing leader before them, and how it lands on the ears of the country that will decide the next presidency. This hour On Point, history, politics, reality – and President Obama’s last State of the Union address. — Tom Ashbrook
Interview:
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2016/01/13/state-of-the-union-recap-barack-obama

Real Time with Bill Maher: The War on Drugs...and Voters (HBO)

Bill Maher and his guests – former Rep. Trey Radel, Adam McKay, Thom Hartmann and Kristen Soltis Anderson – discuss the voter suppression taking place under the guise of the War on Drugs in this clip from January 29, 2016.
https://youtu.be/abVd1KkTWlU

Real Time with Bill Maher: Overtime – January 29, 2016 (HBO)

Bill Maher and his guests – Kristen Soltis Anderson, Thom Hartmann and former Rep. Trey Radel – answer viewer questions after the show.
https://youtu.be/bxaZcjLtGVg

Real Time with Bill Maher: New Rule – Lies Are the New Truth (HBO)

In his editorial New Rule, Bill Maher discusses the "fact-free lifestyle" politicians are leading and addresses the Internet's role in enabling it. Original air date: January 29, 2016.
https://youtu.be/I8bihhjH3nI

Energizing Young Voters: They Will Sway This Election If They Simply Show Up

Young voters are going to make up the largest voting demographic in this year’s elections, but getting this group to vote is no easy task. And when it comes to college aged students, the task becomes even more difficult. But there are several groups out there that are making a very big difference and they’ve been hugely successful in getting young voters energized and engaged...
https://youtu.be/6hMue08HrAA

Cathy Lynn Grossman, Journalist for Religion News Service (Hemant Mehta, The Friendly Atheist)

"Cathy Lynn Grossman is a senior national correspondent for Religion News Service, a wire service for faith-based news. She often writes stories involving research and statistics. She also worked for more than two decades with USA Today.

I spoke with Grossman about the toughest story she’s ever written, what the Internet is doing to religion, and whether the amount of religion currently in politics is a new phenomenon."
Interview:
http://friendlyatheistpodcast.com/2015/10/18/cathy-lynn-grossman-journalist-for-religion-news-service/

What I’m Doing to Make Sure Atheists Have a Voice in the Iowa Caucuses

I’ve agreed to help the Secular Coalition for America launch the Secular Coalition for Iowa in order to make sure we have a presence in politics in this state...
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2015/12/30/what-im-doing-to-make-sure-atheists-have-a-voice-in-the-iowa-caucuses/

You Can't Understand American Politics Without Reading This Study

...As you would expect, every age and ethnic/racial grouping has continued to see a steady reduction of morbidity (disease) and increase in lifespans for decades. But there's one major exception: middle aged (45-54) white people. Since roughly 1998, disease and death rates for middle aged white men and women has begun to rise...
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/you-can-t-understand-american-politics-without-reading-this-study

How America’s Demographic Revolution Reached The Church

Next America’s analysis of Pew data reveals that religious divergence characterizes today’s Republican and Democratic coalitions.

http://www.nationaljournal.com/next-america/newsdesk/white-christians-dominate-gop-shrinking-among-democrats

Real Time with Bill Maher: New Rules – November 20, 2015 (HBO)

Bill Maher issues his latest decrees for society and makes the case against electing politicians who believe we are living in the End Times.
Interview:
https://youtu.be/db9T5Bct3F0