Tim Russert used to say that to make tough decisions, you have to be able to answer tough questions. We noticed, however, that several interviews were inconsistent in their rigor when talking about the Supreme Court vacancy. Certain senators experienced intense follow up questions, whereas other senators sailed on by with barely an inquiry.

Show hosts did voice their frustration and impatience with Rudy Giuliani, President Trump’s personal attorney. Giuliani has been on the shows frequently the last few months, however, it seems as if the hosts are over his lies, misconception, and shifting "recollection."

And as always, our show chapters:

• Introduction
• Highlight/Lowlight
• Supreme Court expectations
• Giuliani lies
• Rankings
• Closing

Email us at podcast@polilogue.com or you can send us your feedback @PolilogueCast. You can also follow us at @sotonaomi_ and @bsteidle.

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Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com 
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The Sunday morning shows focused on the upcoming changes of a different branch of government: the Supreme Court. After three 5-4 conservative SCOTUS decisions this week, swing justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement. In just a few days, Trump will nominate a second justice to the Supreme Court. Senator Mitch McConnell will ignore his own Senate rules to confirm another justice. And Democrats, with very limited control, will struggle to find any meaningful way to resist Trump’ second SCOTUS pick.

We also discuss the missing perspectives in all immigrant debate. Most notable, we reflect on journalists’ responsibility to explain the the #AbolishICE movement and to report the stories of immigrant communities that are currently impacted and devastated by ICE actions under President Trump.

If you would like to learn more about why people are talking about #AbolishICE

• Moria Whelan explains ICE’s origin story 
• #AbolishICE explained (Vox)
• The new immigration rallying cry (NY magazine)

And as always, our show chapters:

• Introduction
• Highlight/Lowlight
• The SCOTUS decision  
• The lost immigrant perspective
• A new left 
• Rankings
• Closing

Email us at podcast@polilogue.com or you can send us your feedback @PolilogueCast. You can also follow us at @sotonaomi_ and @bsteidle.

Want to stalk us some more? Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com 
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On today’s episode, we focus heavily on the single topic that has been rightfully dominating the news cycle: the separation of  migrant families at the border due to President Trump’s Zero Tolerance policy.

In the first segment, we look at the fractions within the Republican Party that make compromise impossible for any legislative achievement. In the second segment, we compare George Stephanopoulos and Chuck Todd’s language when talking about a sensitive issue like the migrant crisis. 

There’s a lot to say about this topic. Unfortunately, we can’t talk about it all. If you would like to catch up on this story and understand the impact of Trump’s Zero Tolerance policy, we encourage spending some time on the following news articles. Or you can do a basic Google search of the issue and see how you can best support organizations working on this issue. But definitely do something:

• Trump Calls for Depriving Immigrants Who Illegally Cross Border of Due Process Rights (NYT)
• Trump doesn’t need to put families in detention centers to enforce his immigration policy. There are better options. (Vox)
• 500 migrant kids have been reunited with their parents. More than a thousand are still caught in the system. (Vox)
• We Owe Central American Migrants Much More Than This (NY Magazine)

And as always, our show chapters:

• Introduction
• Highlight/Lowlight
• Divided Republicans 
• The language of the hosts
• Rankings
• Closing

Email us at podcast@polilogue.com or you can send us your feedback @PolilogueCast. You can also follow us at @sotonaomi_ and @bsteidle.

Want to stalk us some more? Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com 
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The Sunday political shows discussed this week:  

• This Week
• Face the Nation
• Meet the Press
• State of the Union

Some weeks when we watch the shows, one show will blend onto the next show— and we struggle to remember each unique moment. During those repetitive weeks, we lean on our notes to find trends and moments of distinction. This Sunday was not one of those instances. 

Meet the Press delivered a fascinating and riveting episode. The strongest moment on the show was when host Chuck Todd had a singular focus and provided consistent and clear follow up questions during his interview with White House Special Counselor, Kellyanne Conway. 

In comparison, This Week delivered a fire dumpster of an episode. Jonathan Karl allowed one man with no authority or political power to demean the value of the Sunday political shows when Steve Bannon rambled for 30+ minutes. 

• Introduction
• Highlight/Lowlight
• Chuck Todd shines
• Jon Karl blows it
• Rankings
• Closing

Email us at podcast@polilogue.com or you can send us your feedback @PolilogueCast. You can also follow us at @sotonaomi_ and @bsteidle.

Want to stalk us some more? Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com 
Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org

The Sunday political shows discussed this week:  

• This Week
• Face the Nation
• Meet the Press
• State of the Union

On the eve of the historic North Korea summit, President Trump had someone else in his crosshairs: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.  On a series of appearances this Sunday, Trump economic advisor Larry Kudlow turned the rhetoric up to ten—grilling Canada while striking a conciliatory tone with Russia and holding out hope for negotiations with North Korea's Kim Jung Un.  

It was a striking stance—and we cover it all on this week's episode of Polilogue.  First, we examine the fallout from Trump's disastrous G7 meeting—and all of the finger-pointing and name calling from Kudlow.  Then, we follow the lead of ABC News and record our second segment directly from Singapore...well, not really.  But our hearts (and hopes) are there!  

• Introduction
• Highlight/Lowlight
• Trump Goes to War...with Canada
• On the Eve of the North Korea Summit
• Show Rankings
• Closing

Email us at podcast@polilogue.com or you can send us your feedback by tweeting @PolilogueCast. You can also follow us at @sotonaomi_ and @bsteidle.

Want to stalk us some more? Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com 
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The Sunday political shows discussed this week:  

• This Week
• Face the Nation
• Meet the Press  (actually, MTP wasn't on this week!) 
• State of the Union

The global response to President Trump’s unilateral tariffs on steel and aluminum is deafening. In particular, allies like Canada, Mexico, and the EU have announced tariffs against the United States in response. Both Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland were on the shows to express their disappointment and frustration with President Trump’s tariffs.

This week on Polilogue, we explore the outrage around the world and the various responses from the Republican party on Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs. We also discuss the latest leak about the Mueller investigation and ask ourselves: “What are the limits of Trump's authority?” 

• Introduction
• Highlight/Lowlight
• Tariff Tempers Flare
• Trump Exceeds Authority
• Rankings
• Closing

Email us at podcast@polilogue.com or you can send us your feedback by tweeting @PolilogueCast. You can also follow us at @sotonaomi_ and @bsteidle.

Want to stalk us some more? Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com 
Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org

The Sunday political shows discussed this week:  

• This Week
• Face the Nation
• Meet the Press
• State of the Union

Instead of reviewing all four political shows, in today’s episode of Polilogue, we focus on State of the Union. Dana Bash filled in for Jake Tapper and had two important interviews: the current attorney for President Trump, Rudy Guiliani, and former Director of National lntelligence, James Clapper.  Each man demonstrates very different levels of decorum and competence.

• Introduction
• Highlight/Lowlight
• Guiliani Strategy
• Closing

Email us at podcast@polilogue.com or you can send us your feedback @PolilogueCast. You can also follow us at @sotonaomi_ and @bsteidle.

Want to stalk us some more? Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com 
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In this special episode of Polilogue we look back to an important conversation that took place on This Week on April 22.  The panel conversation was half-inspired by the upcoming mid-term elections and half-inspired by New York Times journalist Amy Chozick’s new book: Chasing Hillary.

The media has always been instrumental in educating voters about their choices in presidential elections. But all the rules and expectations were thrown out the window in 2016 and now everyone— journalist, politicians, and voters— must reexamine the role of the media in all elections.

• Introduction
• Highlight/Lowlight
• The state of political reporting
• The future of political reporting
• Closing

Email us at podcast@polilogue.com or you can send us your feedback @PolilogueCast. You can also follow us at @sotonaomi_ and @bsteidle.

Want to stalk us some more? Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com 
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In this episode of Polilogue, we discuss America’s relationship with two countries: North Korea and Iran. First, we talk about President Trump’s upcoming summit with Kim Jong-Un in Singapore on June 12. Two of his top foreign affairs officials— Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Advisor John Bolton— have different tones on the upcoming meeting. 

We also discuss Trump’s announcement to get out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or as its more commonly known: the Iran Nuclear Deal. The decision will huge ramifications for America, Iran, and all the other nation states who are/were participating in this multilateral deal. 

• Introduction
• Highlight/Lowlight
• Preparing for North Korea 
• Reneging on the Iran Deal 
• New Studio for Face the Nation
• Rankings
• Closing

Email us at podcast@polilogue.com or you can send us your feedback @PolilogueCast. You can also follow us at @sotonaomi_ and @bsteidle.

Want to stalk us some more? Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com 
Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org

The Sunday political shows discussed this week:  

• This Week
• Face the Nation
• Meet the Press
• State of the Union

After a series of explosive television appearances by President Trump’s new attorney, Rudy Guiliani, the White House struggles to maintain credibility and integrity. There seems to be a  giant gap between Trump’s legal team and those that represent the White House— neither knows how to explain the other. This was most evident in three distinct interviews on the Sunday Morning talk shows. 

First, George Stephanopoulos dissects Guiliani’s arguments on This Week. Guiliani tries to wiggle his away from the truth— but George holds him accountable and demands clarity. Later, White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway is interviewed by Jake Tapper on State of the Union and Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation. The two journalists take very different approaches when examining President Trump’s missteps and mistruths.

• Introduction
• Highlight/Lowlight
• Guiliani’s Rumors, George’s Facts 
• Comparing Kellyanne Interviews
• Rankings
• Closing

Email us at podcast@polilogue.com or you can send us your feedback @PolilogueCast. You can also follow us at @sotonaomi_ and @bsteidle.

Want to stalk us some more? Check out some of our other work: 

• Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com 
• Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org

The Sunday political shows discussed this week:  

• This Week
• Face the Nation
• Meet the Press
• State of the Union 

After the truly historic meeting with South Korea President Moon Jae-in and North Korea president Kim Jong Un last week, the tone of negotiations on the peninsula feels starkly different. The White House is even cautiously optimistic that President Trump’s meeting with Kim Jong Un could finally change the relationship between the two countries. 

This week on Polilogue we explore the narrative beneath this conversation. What is the American strategy? Who gets credit if North Korea finally gives up it nuclear weapons? Who gets the blame if North Korea doesn’t? 

In our other segments, we found several praiseworthy moments in James Comey’s interview on Meet the Press— and we also found frustrating moments whenever journalists discussed the White House Correspondent dinner.

• Introduction
• Highlight/Lowlight
• North Korea negotiations 
• A surprising Comey interview 
• Journalists don't get the joke 
• Rankings
• Closing

Email us at podcast@polilogue.com or you can send us your feedback @PolilogueCast. You can also follow us at @sotonaomi_ and @bsteidle.

Want to stalk us some more? Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com 
Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org

The Sunday political shows discussed this week:  

• This Week
• Face the Nation
• Meet the Press
• State of the Union 

Helpful news articles

• Could North Korea really open up? 
• Chaos surrounds the Missouri governor
• Melissa Wolf’s speech at the White House Correspondent Dinner

Two conversations stood out on the Sunday talk shows. First: three legal experts on ABC’s This Week discuss the Southern District of New York’s (SDNY) investigation into Michael Cohen, President Trump’s personal attorney. The panel included Alan Dershowitz,  professor emeritus at Harvard Law School; ABC chief legal analyst Dan Abrams; and Mimi Rocah, former federal SDNY prosecutor. We question the value of having a voice like Alan Dershowitz on the shows— and the effectiveness of counter perspectives. 

Second, we spend time dissecting the bizarre State of the Union interview with Kellyanne Conway. Both journalist and guest bungled up their questions and answers— but who came off worse? That’s a hard contest with no winners.      

• Introduction
• Highlight/Lowlight
• Divisive legal panel 
• Kellyanne and Dana get angry 
• Rankings
• Closing

Email us at podcast@polilogue.com or you can send us your feedback @PolilogueCast. You can also follow us at @sotonaomi_ and @bsteidle.

Want to stalk us some more? Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com 
Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org

The Sunday political shows discussed this week:  

• This Week
• Face the Nation
• Meet the Press
• State of the Union 

Helpful news articles:

• CNN summarizes confrontation
• Kellyanne talks about other spouses (Vox)
• Literally, George Conway’s twitter feed.

News agencies were not short for content last week. In a single week: criticism against EPA Director Scott Pruitt grew, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg testified in front of Congress, Speaker Paul Ryan announced he was not going to run for reelection, snippets from Former FBI Director Jim Comey’s new book was released, the offices of President Trump’s personal attorney were raided by the FBI, and America launched a limited military strike against President Bashar Hafez al-Assad in response to a chemical  weapon attack in Syria. 

This week on Polilogue, we examine the last three topics and let Zuckerberg, Pruitt, and Ryan save their talking points for another day. Between Comey’s new book and the attorney-client privilege President Trump shares with Michael Cohen being challenged, President Trump seems more erratic and volatile than ever. Nonetheless, important foreign policy decisions in Syria are still demanded of him. 

How much can Trump handle at once? How will the media cover it? Listen to the latest episode of Polilogue to hear our take. You can also jump to any chapter of the shows by clicking any of the links below: 

• Introduction
• Highlight/Lowlight
• Comey opens the floodgates
• Closing in on Cohen 
• Trumps responds to Syria 
• Rankings
• Closing

Email us at podcast@polilogue.com or you can send us your feedback @PolilogueCast. You can also follow us at @sotonaomi_ and @bsteidle.

Want to stalk us some more? Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com 
Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org

The Sunday political shows discussed this week:  

• This Week
• Face the Nation
• Meet the Press
• State of the Union 

Other helpful articles: 

• Syria’s war: Who is fighting and why (Vox)
• 6 basic questions about the war in Syria (Washington Post)
• Exclusive: Inside the GOP plan to discredit Comey (CNN) 
• Brian Stelter’s Reliable Sources for Sunday, April 16, 2018

Last month, President Trump imposed unpopular steel and aluminum tariff threats. At 24 and 7.7 percent respectively, the steel and aluminum tariffs left Americans nervous and global markets holding their breath.

However, economic anxiety over a possible trade war between the US and China significantly increased in the last week. China announced $53 billion in tariffs, with a special focus on American agriculture like soybeans and pork. President Trump announced $150 in tariffs as well.  This tit for tat shook American stock markets.

On Sunday morning, the White House sent several representatives to do damage control: including the new Director of the National Economic Council, Larry Kudlow; Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin; and Director of Trade and Industrial Policy, Peter Navarro.  

But the full bench of White House representatives did not get the same game plan: they spoke about trade tariffs as if they had different intentions, different frustrations. The same could also be true for several Republican Senators and their thoughts about the tariffs and EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s precarious position. 

• Introduction
• Highlight/Lowlight
• The trade war begins
• Scott Pruitt hangs by a thread 
• DC demands Facebook explanations 
• Syria aside 
• Rankings
• Closing

Email us at podcast@polilogue.com or you can send us your feedback @PolilogueCast. You can also follow us at @sotonaomi_ and @bsteidle.

Want to stalk us some more? Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com 
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The Sunday political shows discussed this week:  

• This Week
• Face the Nation
• Meet the Press
• State of the Union 

Other helpful articles: 

• CNN tariff explainer
• Facebook’s Apology Tour

On most weeks, the Sunday talk shows struggle to fully cover the deluge of political news stories. However, this weekend of Easter and Passover: there was only one big story: the firing of Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin with Dr. Ronny Jackson.

The Sunday shows chose to fill the remaining time in very different ways: meandering panel conversations, shallow book reviews, foreign affairs deep dives, and many other ways. This week on Polilogue, we explore how the hosts chose evergreen topics to fill up their hour. We see that you don’t always need a frantic news week to have an important discussion.    

• Introduction
• New Polilogue website!
• Highlight/lowlight
• Who pushed the VA Secretary out? 
• Evergreen segments on Sunday
• Rankings
• Closing

Don't forget to check out our new website! You can email us at podcast@polilogue.com or send us your feedback @PolilogueCast on Twitter.

You can also follow us at @sotonaomi_ and @bsteidle.

Want to stalk us some more? Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com 
Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org

The Sunday political shows discussed this week:  

• This Week
• Face the Nation
• Meet the Press
• State of the Union 

This week on the Sunday talk shows, there was dichotomy of conversations with domestic and foreign implications. On the domestic side, after weeks of buildup, we saw hundreds of thousands students, parents, educators, and other activists march the streets of Washington DC. They were motivated and passionate and united on one cause: to address American gun violence. There were also almost 900 marches around the world. It was extremely moving to see— and frustrating to see the effort undervalued on some of the talk shows.  

On the foreign side, HR McMaster is being removed from his post as National Security Advisor and is being replaced by John Bolton. Bolton was an UN Ambassador from 2005 to 2006. He is staunch war hawk— he was supporter for the Iraq War and is supportive of regime change in both North Korea and Iran. And given that both of those nation states are in delicate diplomatic negotiations… his appointment has lots of people feeling uneasy.

• Introduction
• Highlight/lowlight
• Young people take command
• Bolton in the White House   
• Rankings
• Closing

Email us at polilogue.podcast@gmail.com or you can send us your feedback on Twitter: @sotonaomi_ and @bsteidle.

Want to stalk us some more? Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com 
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The Sunday political shows discussed this week:  

• This Week
• Face the Nation
• Meet the Press
• State of the Union 

Fifteen months into his presidency, Donald J. Trump has made it clear that he prefers perpetual chaos—when it is his own doing. After months of speculation, he fired Rex Tillerson via tweet and appointed two Iraq War hawks to lead the State Department and the CIA. Some in Congress, including Republican Senator Rand Paul, are determined to halt the confirmations, even if it means filibustering. Trump also fired the Deputy Director of the FBI two days before Andrew McCabe would have been eligible for his full retirement.

The President, however, seems less inclined to appreciate the political chaos that lingers from his 2016 presidential campaign. In the last few days, both Trump and his personal lawyer demanded for the Mueller investigation to end. And lastly, The Guardian and the New York Times released explosive reports about Cambridge Analytica. Cambridge Analytica was the digital arm of the Trump campaign and was reported to have used hacked Facebook data from more than 50 million users to define Trump’s winning digital strategy. Cambridge Analytica was funded by one of Trump’s biggest supporters: the Mercers, and led by campaign strategist: Stephen Bannon. 

• Introduction
• Highlight/lowlight
• Firing Spree 
• Cambridge Analytica   
• The blue wave builds
• Rankings
• Closing

Email us at polilogue.podcast@gmail.com or you can send us your feedback on Twitter: @sotonaomi_ and @bsteidle.

Want to stalk us some more? Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com 
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A few resources that helped us understand North Korea. 

• The Guardian exposes Cambridge Analytica system 
• New York Times on Trump consultants & Cambridge Analytica
• Rand Paul editorial about Gina Haspel

The Sunday political shows discussed this week:  

• This Week
• Face the Nation
• Meet the Press
• State of the Union

More often than not,  ABC’s This Week, takes the #1 slot in Polilogue’s show rankings. That's still true, but this time for a different reason. On the latest episode of This Week, Jonathan Karl hosted. Karl is a the Chief White House Correspondent for ABC. He doesn’t normally fill in, because if George Stephanopoulos can’t host, usually Martha Raddatz can.  But this time, Karl hosted— and he was great! Karl brought the richness of his career and a new tone to each interview. 

For the first segment, we look at Jonathan Karl’s unique qualities. We also discuss Trump’s decision to meet with the North Korea dictator, Kim Jong-Un, and what is at stake for this controversial meeting. 

• Introduction
• Highlight/lowlight
• Jonathan Karl on This Week
• A North Korea meeting?
• Rankings
• Closing

Email us at polilogue.podcast@gmail.com or you can send us your feedback on Twitter: @sotonaomi_ and @bsteidle.

Want to stalk us some more? Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com 
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A few resources that helped us understand this week's important stories. 

• Dodd Frank bill
• This American Life
• The Daily with the NYT
• Reuters: North Korea meeting
• Chuck Todd on Global Politico

The Sunday political shows discussed this week:  

• This Week
• Face the Nation
• Meet the Press
• State of the Union

Last week President Trump announced that he was going to impose tariffs of 25 percent and 10 percent for steel and aluminum, respectively. While these tariffs are designed to address China’s steel dumping, the tariffs are broad and affect every nation that trades with the United States: thus raising the likelihood for an ill-advised trade war. 

Two economic advisors of the White House who have previously never been on the Sunday talk shows came on to defend the President’s new and unvetted decision: Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Director White House Office of Trade & Manufacturing Policy Peter Navarro. We also hear from two former Trump advisors on their impressions of the never-ending White House chaos. 

• Introduction
• Highlight/lowlight
• Tempting a trade war 
• Family Strife in the White House 
• Rankings
• Closing

Email us at polilogue.podcast@gmail.com or you can send us your feedback on Twitter: @sotonaomi_ and @bsteidle.

Want to stalk us some more? Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com 
Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org

The Sunday political shows discussed this week:  

• This Week
• Face the Nation
• Meet the Press
• State of the Union 

A few of our research links:  

• Background on Trump’s Tariffs and Section 232
• Russ Roberts on Trade
• A Brief History of Mercantilism
• Info on the Smoot Hawley Tariff

In this extended episode of Polilogue, we dive deep into Jake Tapper’s interview with Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel. According to Twitter and other immediate media hot takes, Tapper was on fire. He demanded that Sheriff Israel explain to him and the audience how the Parkland shooter slipped through the cracks. Much of the praise online noted Tapper’s tough and hostile interview approach. But we found that Tapper’s interview was also extremely unfair and prosecutorial. We explore this disappointment and break down the missteps of Jake Tapper as a journalist and Sheriff Joe Israel as a law enforcement leader.

We also explore the gun control conversation from multiple angles— including NRA lobbyist Dana Loesch and the student activists. We find the dialogue around gun reform may lead to action as young people lead the conversation. 

• Introduction
• Highlight/lowlight
• Tapper’s big interview
• Republicans explore measures
• Democrats demand action
• Activists lead conversation 
• Short note about Mueller 
• Rankings
• Closing

Email us at polilogue.podcast@gmail.com or you can send us your feedback on Twitter: @sotonaomi_ and @bsteidle.

Want to stalk us some more? Check out some of our other work: 

Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com 
Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org

The Sunday political shows discussed this week:  

• This Week
• Face the Nation
• Meet the Press
• State of the Union