Burn the Boats

Stacey Abrams talks about her new book, Rogue Justice, and the systems that influence American life from the shadows. Stacey Abrams is a politician, author, and voting rights activist. She served in the Georgia House of Representatives for 10 years, she fought two closely contested gubernatorial races, and has been at the forefront of expanding voting rights in Georgia and beyond, with her organization, Fair Fight Action. Head to https://TryFum.com and use code BOATS to save 10% off when you get the journey pack today! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mary Trump is a clinical psychologist and host of the podcast The Mary Trump Show. She is also a bestselling author, and her most recent book, The Reckoning, talks about national trauma and finding ways to heal. Her first book, Too Much and Never Enough, analyzes how the toxic Trump household created the Donald Trump we know today. Here’s the mashed potatoes story that Mary and Ken reference during the episode. Athletic Greens is giving you a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D AND 5 free travel packs with your first purchase at athleticgreens.com/BURNTHEBOATS Head to tryfum.com/BOATS to save an additional 10% off your order today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mila Atmos is the host of Future Hindsight, a podcast about civic engagement that gives listeners action items so that they can better participate in our democracy. In this episode, Mila discusses voter engagement and persuasion. Go to magicspoon.com/BOATS to grab a variety pack and try it today! And be sure to use our promo code BOATS at checkout to save five dollars off your order! Go to FastGrowingTrees.com/BOATS NOW to get FIFTEEN PERCENT OFF your entire order. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Angela Denker is a Lutheran pastor and journalist. Her book Red State Christians takes a hard look at White Christian Nationalism and the evangelicals who voted for Trump. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sarah Longwell discusses the 2024 presidential race and its potential candidates. Sarah is a longtime Republican political strategist who has broken with her party to defend democracy. She is the publisher of The Bulwark, and has been monitoring the opinions of voters for years by hosting weekly focus groups. She discusses these groups on her podcast, The Focus Group. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at https://betterhelp.com/BOATS and get on your way to being your best self. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fred Wellman is a Senior Advisor to Voters of Tomorrow, an organization dedicated to building political power for Gen-Z. He’s also an Army combat veteran, a West Point and Harvard graduate, a former republican, the former Executive Director of the Lincoln Project, and the host of the podcast On Democracy. Fred was on the show back in 2021, and you can find that interview here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike Breen is the President and CEO of Human Rights First. He’s been on the ground in Ukraine documenting Russian war crimes, and he joins us from Kyiv. Human Rights First is an organization that defends human rights and democracy around the globe. They’ve been active in Ukraine since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, and now after Russia’s invasion, have provided technical and logistical support, training, and other aid. They’ve issued dozens of reports and commentaries, and work to hold Russian leaders and war criminals accountable. Mike served in the US Army, deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan. He also co-founded the International Refugee Assistance Project, a global legal aid and advocacy organization that fights for the right of refugees to freely move and have a path towards lasting refuge. To support Human Rights First and the people of Ukraine, visit humanrightsfirst.org. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/BOATS and get on your way to being your best self. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan talks about the quality of American life, divisions within both parties, and how American culture has made a turn for the worse over the last few decades. Tim spent 20 years in the House of Representatives, rising to a prominent leadership position. He ran for president in 2020, and recently lost a tough Senate race during the 2022 Midterms. Head to https://rhone.com/BOATS and use code BOATS to save 20% off your entire order! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brett Jones served as a Navy SEAL during ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’. He was forcefully outed, and was subjected to an interrogation and investigation about his sexuality. He fought back, and was given the opportunity to continue to serve as a SEAL, but he left in fear of further discrimination. Brett continued to serve in the CIA, but was the victim of vicious harassment. He’s spent the last three years as a police officer in Alabama, where he lives with his husband and son. In Pride: The Story of the First Openly Gay Navy SEAL, Brett tells his life story, from being kicked out of his house for being gay, to the intense Navy SEAL training, to almost being ousted from the SEALs. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/BOATS and get on your way to being your best self. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former leading Republican Bill Kristol discusses media echo chambers and anti-democratic enablers within the Republican Party Bill served in two presidential administrations and founded The Weekly Standard, an influential conservative magazine. After leaving the Republican Party, he helped launch Defending Democracy Together, an organization created by Republicans with the goal of preserving democratic institutions. He also is the host of Conversations with Bill Kristol, a video and podcast series. Upgrade your closet with Rhone and use BOATS to save 20% at https://www.rhone.com/BOATS This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/BOATS and get on your way to being your best self. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Will Sommer is a political reporter for The Daily Beast and host of the podcast Fever Dreams. His new book, Trust the Plan, details QAnon’s journey into the mainstream, the threat it poses to democracy, and how we can reach out to those who have embraced the conspiracy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former Navy SEAL and founder of Veterans for Responsible Leadership Dr. Dan Barkhuff discusses the relationship between toxic masculinity and gun culture. Dan is a former Navy SEAL with multiple combat deployments. After returning home, he attended Harvard Medical School and became an Emergency Medicine doctor at the University of Vermont. Dan is a conservative, but was appalled by Trump’s comments and messages during the 2016 election. Dan did not vote for Trump in that election, but decided to give him a chance. After a year of the Trump Presidency, Dan said Trump was “worse than I thought he would be—and I thought he was going to be terrible.” In response, Dan created Veterans for Responsible Leadership, an organization that is dedicated to holding public officials accountable and helping to defeat candidates like Trump. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lucas Kunce talks about his run against Josh Hawley for the 2024 Missouri Senate Seat. Lucas is a Marine Corps veteran who served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, and eventually went on to become an international negotiations officer at the Pentagon. He ran for Missouri’s open Senate seat in 2022, but lost the primary to multi-millionaire Trudy Busch Valentine after her last-minute entrance into the race. She went on to lose the general by 13 points. Lucas believes he’s the right person to take on Josh Hawley, who he refers to as a “Corporate, Country Club Republican.” Lucas is running a populist campaign that focuses on taking power out of the hands of corporate monopolies, and putting it back in the hands of working people. He refuses to take corporate donations, and instead is completely funded by small-dollar grassroots donors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joe Walsh represented Illinois’ 8th district in the house from 2011 to 2013, and ran against Trump in the 2020 presidential race. He hosts the podcast White Flag with Joe Walsh and has been increasingly critical of the extremism within his former party, as well as the part he played in stoking that extremism. You can find Joe on Twitter at @WalshFreedom. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Rachel Kleinfeld discusses political violence, the possibility of a Civil War, and extremism. Rachel is an expert on democracy, security, and international relations. She’s currently a senior fellow in Carnegie’s Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program, where she regularly briefs the governments of the United States and allied democracies on issues of conflict, the rule of law, and policing and security sector reform. Her most recent book, A Savage Order, examines ‘why democracies are crippled by extreme violence and how they can regain security.’ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat describes the similarities between current authoritarian movements and those of the past. Ruth is a historian who specializes in authoritarianism and propaganda. She’s a professor of History and Italian Studies, as well as an MSNBC Opinion Columnist and frequent guest commentator on CNN, MSNBC, and other media channels. Her most recent book, Strongmen: From Mussolini to the Present, examines how authoritarians use propaganda, virility, corruption, and violence to stay in power, and how they can be opposed. Ruth also authored Fascist Modernities, about how Mussolini presented fascism as a unique solution to his people, and Italian Fascism’s Empire Cinema, about the propaganda films created in Mussolini’s Italy. If you’d like to hear more from Ruth, you can subscribe to her weekly newsletter Lucid for free. Also, make sure to check out her website, ruthbenghiat.com, and follow her on Twitter @ruthbenghiat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Andrew Hartzler, nephew of fmr. Representative Vicky Hartzler, talks about his viral video and how he has faced discrimination as a gay man. In early January, Andrew Hartzler went viral on TikTok for calling out his aunt, fmr. Representative Vicky Hartzler, for her homophobic comments on the house floor. As a result of that video, Andrew received national attention, and was invited to the White House to watch president Biden sign the Respect for Marriage act. For Andrew, his Aunt's comments did not come as much of a surprise. Most of his family, including Rep. Hartzler, have not accepted him for who he is. Andrew came out to his family as gay when he was fourteen, and as a result, he was sent to conversion therapy. His father also forced him to attend Oral Roberts University, a homophobic, christian private school. During the interview, Andrew had this to say about the discrimination he faced at ORU: “I'm grateful that I was able to experience that firsthand. So, now, I can hopefully make a difference for others.” To learn more about Andrew, visit his website, andrewhartzler.com. There you’ll find his post, Fix Him. You can also find Andrew on TikTok and Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ken Mayer is a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an expert on elections and campaign finance. His current research focuses on evaluating recent state-level campaign finance reforms. In this episode, he discusses the chances of Republicans in 2024, and current campaign finance reform efforts: “Well, the explanation for that is that the Republican Party is in a little bit of a bind. And a lot of the leaders, Pence and McConnell and Pompeo and others, have indicated that they think Trump is old news, that they think the party should move beyond him.” Find Ken on Twitter at @uwkenmayer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Senator from Illinois Tammy Duckworth reflects on her first term in office, the current issues facing the Senate, and what she hopes to accomplish in her second term. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Russian politics expert Olga Lautman discusses Russia’s failure to defeat Ukraine, the instability of the Russian political system, and more. Olga is a researcher and analyst who has been monitoring Russian and Ukrainian internal politics for years. She’s a Senior Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, and the co-host of the Kremlin File, a podcast that details the rise of Putin and the spread of authoritarianism across the globe, including the Trump White House. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices