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Alex Kopytko is a ”radical centrist” that wants to understand the extremes. He has worked in politics and has studied public policy and political science. Alex argues that centrism is less about being a contrarian, it is about being able to change your mind and embrace an openness to new ideas. He is concerned about where the United States is headed and through conversations with people from all sides of the political spectrum, he wants to know how Americans can limit the tribalism that is flourishing. As someone that dances along the center-right of the political spectrum, Alex thinks the country needs to come together and talk to one another before it could be too late. This podcast covers domestic politics, as well as political philosophy, and international issues.
Episodes
Sunday Mar 31, 2024
Sunday Mar 31, 2024
In this episode, Alex sits down with his returning guest, Jon, to talk about a plethora of topics. In this long episode, they chat about TikTok bans, Ukraine, a waning US role in the world, the shooting in Moscow, security dilemmas, meaning vs. political partisanship, and why the Biden-Trump election is a disaster no matter what happens.
Thursday Mar 21, 2024
Thursday Mar 21, 2024
In this episode, Alex starts with some thoughts on decisionmaking and randomness. Next, he goes over a bombshell New York Times article that talks about how Jared Kushner and Richard Grenell (Trump’s former Ambassador to Germany) have been working with the Albanian and Serbian government to build luxury hotels and residential units on government land using the influence they built during their time in the Trump Administration. Finally, Alex talks about Kanye West and what his recent number one song tells him about trying to decouple the artist from the art.
Tuesday Mar 19, 2024
TikTok Bans, Trump Rants & Threats of Bloodbaths
Tuesday Mar 19, 2024
Tuesday Mar 19, 2024
After a bit of a hiatus, Alex returns ready to talk about the growing darkness at Trump rallies and why the media has failed to cover his rallies over the years as they have increasingly become more extreme and illiberal. He worries that the left and mainstream media have ignored some of Trump’s growing threats and danger even as his base has become more accepting of them. Next, Alex talks about the Ohio Rally where Trump salutes the J6 “hostages” and then says there will be a bloodbath if he loses to Biden. Later, Alex talks about the House of Representatives passing a bill that would force the sale of TikTok (or ban the app if a sale can’t happen). The bill is now in the Senate, but Donald Trump is calling Republican Senators and urging them to vote against it as President Biden has said he will sign the bill into law. Alex goes over both sides of this argument and feels that TikTok is a problematic app but he does not like the precedent of banning/forcing the sale of one app while not setting specified criteria for other companies as well.
Saturday Mar 09, 2024
A State of Two Unions: Analyzing the SOTU
Saturday Mar 09, 2024
Saturday Mar 09, 2024
In this episode, Alex provides his analysis of President Joe Biden’’s State of the Union speech, as well as GOP Representative, Katie Britt’s, insane response. Alex gives Biden a B+ and thinks Britt is far from an Oscar for her performance. He argues that the SOTU is officially dead and instead, both parties have their own State of their Own Party that directly opposes the other. Alex analyzes both and tries to provide remedies for the partisan rot.
Tuesday Mar 05, 2024
A Unanimous SCOTUS Decision & A Woke Google Chatbot (?)
Tuesday Mar 05, 2024
Tuesday Mar 05, 2024
In this episode, Alex starts by talking about the unanimous, 9-0 decision that the Supreme Court just released regarding the Anderson v Griswold case in Colorado that barred Donald Trump from being on the ballot in the state’s ballot for the national election. Though the court agreed that Colorado could not barr Trump from the ballot for a national election, Alex argues that it seems like this is a 5-4 decision masquerading as a 9-0 decision. All four of the women on the court (including a Trump appointee) disagreed with how far the other five wanted to go in the decision. It seems like the courts are now setting a precedent regarding section three of the fourtneeth amendment that will limit future cases regarding insurrectionist behavaior under this amendment. Finally, Alex looks at how Google’s AI chatbot, Gemini, appears to be generating skewed responses and images that are incorrect and show bias. Some on the right are calling Gemini woke.
Friday Mar 01, 2024
Friday Mar 01, 2024
In this episode, Alex starts by debunking the idea that Donald Trump is an isolationist in foreign policy. He argues that Trump is actually quite involved in foreign policy, he just doesn’t agree with the current alliance-based system. Next, Alex dives into the economic changes happening in the United States’ skiing industries. After boom or bust seasons based on snowpack, large corporations like Vail Resorts ended up learning that they could charge different prices to different customers and make record profits. This led to overselling the Epic Pass (at a decent price), while also rising the average cost of day tickets. In a good season, this can lead to chaos and overcrowding (but profits), and in bad seasons, the passholders still feel obligated to ski. Basically, the ski industry has been able to increase output and demand (which is difficult in economics). Alex argues that this is why skiing feels less accessible than ever before but also more accessible at the same time. At the same time, price discrimination seems to be a new trend in the US economy and shows how the ski industry, the airline industry, and restaurants can make profits. Finally, Alex talks about how the Supreme Court has decided to hear Trump’s immunity case. It seems like SCOTUS is trying to stall a trial and it will help Trump in the election.
Wednesday Feb 28, 2024
Biden 2024: Warnings Out of Michigan as GOP Turnout Rises (and Some Good News)
Wednesday Feb 28, 2024
Wednesday Feb 28, 2024
In this episode, Alex talks about how the warning calls directed towards the Biden 2024 Campaign are now coming from inside of the party, as well as outside of it. The Michigan Primary has wrapped up and Biden won the vote of 81% of Democrats; however, turnout was down and the “uncommitted” vote came in second with 13.3% of the vote. At the same time, Donald Trump saw higher turnout, even though he only got a bit over 68% against Nikki Haley’s 26%. In a state as crucial as Michigan, Alex worries that the Biden Campaign should be worried about the left’s fracturing politics and the internal opposition to his own presidency that exists within the party.
Sunday Feb 25, 2024
Sunday Feb 25, 2024
In this episode, Alex starts by talking about how Taco Bell may be the last great unifier in the United States and how cartwheels are a dangerous abomination. Then he gets into an interesting case surrounding Air Canada, a chatbot that gave a customer false information, and a Canadian court ruling that the airline was responsible for the chatbot’s behavior. Alex argues this is a landmark case. Finally, Alex talks about the Alabama Supreme Court ruling that the embryos used in In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) are a life and harming these embryos is equivalent to taking a life. The GOP is all over the place on responding to this issue and Alex thinks the hypocrisy and ignorance is insane.
Monday Feb 19, 2024
The Slow Motion Murder of Alexei Navalny & Tucker's Potemkin Tour of Moscow
Monday Feb 19, 2024
Monday Feb 19, 2024
In this episode, Alex talks the death of Alexei Navalny and about his legacy. He discusses why he was such an important opposition figure to Putin that held a mirror up to the Kremlin’s moral hypocrisy. Alex also talks about why Navalny was a complex and controversial figure, and while he was an imperfect opposition figure, he was necessary to unify Russians against Putin’s kleptocratic regime. Later, Alex talks about Tucker Carlson’s insane compliments about Russian infrastructure and supermarkets. He asks why question — is Tucker a useful idiot or a fellow traveler? Or could be be a bit of both?
Wednesday Feb 14, 2024
Wednesday Feb 14, 2024
In this episode, Alex starts with a dark rant about the origins of Valentine’s Day. Then he hesitantly celebrates the results of a special election held in New York following the expulsion of George Santos. In the special election, Tom Suozzi (the Democrat) beat Mazi Pilip (the Republican) in a crucial seat that could help Democrats take back the house in the 2024 election. For the rest of the episode, Alex talks about the Enhanced Games. The games have been funded by venture capitalists like Peter Thiel and are arguing that the Olympics is flawed and that performance enhancing drugs should be embraced, not banned. The games also are solely funded through private organizations with questionable motives. Alex finds that the games showcase a nightmarish intersection between ethical issues, anarcho-capitalism, flawed science, reactionary politics, and skepticism of international non-profits.