Episode 61 – Taxing Wall Street, Going for the Gold

Glenn and Jeff engage in a healthy debate about the value of Britain’s new plan to levy a one-time 50% tax on bankers’ bonuses. Glenn argues that this unprecedented move is better solved by first changing the regulations surrounding the financial industry. Jeff argues that these bankers wouldn’t have bonuses without taxpayer money, and that taxpayers deserve a fair share of the bonus income for the year in which Wall St. profited so handsomely from the government bailouts. Glenn and Jeff strongly agree on the need for banks to start acting like banks again, providing credit to small businesses and entrepreneurs, which can be done by restoring Glass-Steagal — a little known law whose repeal had an enormous impact on the financial crisis. Glenn also explains why some radio personalities are strongly advocating investments in gold, and Jeff takes on Glenn Beck for  backing these investments while not revealing his unethical relationship with advertisers pushing investments in…gold! Always entertaining and informative, it’s PoliTalk, your weekly political podcast.

CORRECTION from Glenn – In this episode I mention that the US was losing 600K jobs per month. The actual figure is  closer to 600K per week… which further strengthens my argument. 

You can get the PoliTalk Podcast on  iTunes and Zune

Episode 60 – War! What is it good for? Afghan Troop Surge Examined

The great Bruce Springsteen song comes to mind in thinking about this week’s episode. Glenn and Jeff tell you the things you need to know about the President’s speech on the Afghanistan troop surge but didn’t hear from him or some of the other political pundits. While the President was clear about his goals and objectives, are we missing the point? Is the premise flawed, the objectives off-base and the effort too costly during these difficult economic times? What would Senator Obama think about what President Obama is doing? You need to come to your own conclusion about the war in Afghanistan, and the PoliTalk guys give you the information you need in an engaging and informative way. It’s PoliTalk, your weekly political podcast.

You can get the PoliTalk Podcast on  iTunes and Zune

Episode 59 – The Politics of Process

Did you ever think it was possible to argue about arguing? Well, that’s what the Senate just did in voting to start the health care reform debate. Jeff and Glenn explain the politics of this vote and how the arcane Senate rules can impact the likelihood of reform. Always entertaining and informative, its PoliTalk, the weekly political podcast.

Check out the Senate Health Care Reform Bill for yourself. Click here to get the .pdf.

You can get the PoliTalk Podcast on  iTunes and Zune

Episode 58 – Debating Debt, Deficits and Job Creation

In this episode, Jeff and Glenn continue to the spirit of their National Debate Series and have a constructive argument over the national debt, annual deficits and how more jobs can be created. Is the Stimulus working as promised? Can it be expected to create jobs, or does that burden fall to the private sector? Are the banks, flush with cash from the bailouts and a record year on Wall Street, lending to small businesses or are they hoarding the money and making risky bets on financial instruments? In the end, they find common ground…and then wade into the politically explosive abortion issue.  Always entertaining and informative, it’s PoliTalk, your weekly political podcast.

You can get the PoliTalk Podcast on  iTunes and Zune

Debate Series Aims to Inform Discourse

The Fairfield Citizen just did a story on our upcoming debate event, the National Debate Series. Check it out here.

Here are some of our favorite quotes from the story:

Kimball and Gaudet have a singular mission: to bring civility and intelligence back to political conversation.

“It’s so much easier to spew rage than to engage in intelligent conversation,” Kimball said. “There are a lot of people who are fed up.”

When Kimball says “a lot of people,” he refers, in part, to the growing audience he and Gaudet get for their weekly podcast, “PoliTalk.” Available at iTunes and other online podcast hosts, PoliTalk is typically an hour-long conversation between the two men, both of whom name the weekly National Public Radio show “Car Talk” as their chief inspiration.

“We’re trying to inform and entertain,” Gaudet said, “when I think others are trying to inflame and entertain. Rush (Limbaugh) makes $30 million a year. I’d like to have that. Anger sells. But if we can change the tone of the discussion, I think we all benefit.”

“We get a lot of good information that we bring to the show, without making it sound like insider baseball,” said Gaudet, whose career has been spent mostly in marketing, technology and media. “We can have conversations that appeal to a broad audience, and, in a sense, an under served audience. [Other, more partisan shows] are preaching to the converted. We’re preaching to the convertible. That’s always your swing vote.”

Episode 57 – Pick an Option… Any Option

This episode of PoliTalk offers lots of options for listeners. The first half of the show features a discussion of the options facing the President for the war in Afghanistan. Glenn explains why there are no good options, and Jeff tries to completely change the discussion by offering up a totally different option. The options get more clear when it comes to health care reform and the future of the public option. Glenn explains why the public option, as positioned now, will ultimately work for the President…and Jeff explains why it might not…and why Hillary Clinton may have been a better option to lead this debate. Always entertaining and informative, it’s PoliTalk, your  weekly political podcast.

Join us in Boston on November 10, 2009! Register now, visit http://nationaldebateseries.com

You can get the PoliTalk Podcast on  iTunes and Zune

Episode 56 – Goldman Sachs and the State of Financial Regulation

2009 is proving to be a very good year for Wall Street, but times are still tough for people on Main Street. While the Dow passed the 10,000 mark and Wall Street bonuses will be very big, unemployment remains very high and businesses, especially small ones, are hurting. Jeff and Glenn explain why financial reforms may hold the key to encouraging economic recovery helping Main Street! And why the Administration needs to focus more on helping small business and less on Wall Street pay packages and Fox news. Always entertaining and informative, it’s PoliTalk, your weekly political podcast.

Join us in Boston on November 10, 2009! Register now, visit http://nationaldebateseries.com

You can get the PoliTalk Podcast on  iTunes and Zune

Episode 55 – Politics of Afghanistan, Health Care Reform and Las Vegas Room Rates

Following up on last week’s in-depth discussion of Afghanistan, the PoliTalk boys turn their sights back home to talk about the political implications of what’s happening over there. They wonder what our end game is, and how various options will play politically back home. Moving to discuss the politics of another hot button issue, they explain how room rates at Las Vegas hotels are tied to the fate of health care reform.  They also explain why they are on a crusade to counter the hate-filled sensational bombastic rhetoric found on most political talk shows, and encourage their listeners to invest in and help re-brand the nature of political discourse. Always entertaining and informative, it’s PoliTalk, your weekly political podcast.

Join us in Boston on November 10, 2009! Register now, visit http://nationaldebateseries.com

You can get the PoliTalk Podcast on  iTunes and Zune

Episode 54 – Afghanistan Explained

In what might be the most substantive and engaging episode of PoliTalk, Lt. Col. Joseph Alessi Ph.D., chair and professor of Military Science at the University of Pittsburgh, walks us through what is really going on in Afghanistan. To understand the current political decisions, you have to understand the complex history of this country, and to do that, you need to listen to Joe. The McCain campaign had “Joe the Plumber.” At PoliTalk, we have Joe the Scholar, who offers a fair, balanced view of the region and explains why if you don’t learn from history, you’re doomed to repeat it…and nowhere is that lesson more vital than Afghanistan. Always engaging and informative, it’s PoliTalk — your weekly political podcast.

Join us in Boston on November 10, 2009! Register now, visit http://nationaldebateseries.com

You can get the PoliTalk Podcast from  iTunes and Zune

Episode 53 – Iran Goes Nuclear

Just when you thought it was safe to talk about the Middle East, Iran drops a bombshell… almost literally. Between the announcement of a new nuclear plant and the testing short and medium distance ballistic missles, Iran has put itself back on the world stage. Join Jeff and Glenn as they discuss the region, the implications of Iranian actions and their take on possible outcomes.Always informative and entertaining, it’s straight-forward political analysis on PoliTalk, your weekly political podcast.

Join us in Boston on November 10, 2009! Register now, visit http://nationaldebateseries.com

You can get the PoliTalk Podcast from  iTunes and Zune