Hosted by Gerry Shields
Gerry is a former longtime Washington correspondent and political writer for The New York Post, Baltimore Sun, and Philadelphia Inquirer and author of the new book: The Front Row: My Jagged Journey Recording American History from Reagan to Trump.
Episodes
Welcome to the Retail Politics Podcast. Without enough hand sanitizer for candidates to shake hands, let alone kiss voter babies, we redefine Retail Politics for the digital world, reaching you one download at a time. We’ll speak weekly for 30 minutes to politicians, academics, and reporters on the front lines of American political issues to help you choose best how your government should function.
S02E22 The Politics of Ketanji
First Black female U.S. Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson will face criticism this week from Senate Republicans for serving as a public defender.
“You’ve got a few guys up there running for president in 2024,” USA Today Supreme Court Correspondent John Fritze says. “They care about firing up the Trump base of the party.”
S02E19 The Politics of the Putin
Russia may capture the Ukraine capital, but the well-armed opponent could become Vladimir Putin’s Afghanistan.
“He’s asking for trouble,” former longtime Russian correspondent Will Englund says. “You’ll have a guerilla war.”
S02E18 The Politics of the Robert T. Lincoln
Our President’s Day edition focuses on how Abraham Lincoln’s son, Robert T., detested politics after his father’s assassination.
“The Republican Party tried five times to run him for president,” Robert T.’s biographer Jason Emerson says. “He said ‘To me the presidency is nothing but a gilded prison.’”
S02E17 The Politics of Ukraine
Communist Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threat to invade the Ukraine to prevent it from aligning with the Democratic west hearkens back to the east-west battle of a half-century ago.
“A lot of Cold War ghosts have been resurrected and scattered about,” Los Angeles Times Foreign Editor Jeffrey Fleishman said. “Is he willing to breach war to collect what the past has already taken from him?”
S02E16 The Politics of Bashing Biden
America’s liberal media is starting to criticize President Joe Biden’s handling of national and international affairs. Is it wiping out his chances for reelection in 2024?
“Some of it is deserved,” said Bill Straub, a former White House correspondent. “The withdrawal from Afghanistan was just a bloody mess.”
S02E15 The Politics of Killing Police
An increasing number of American police officers are being gunned down in a wave not seen in a quarter of a century.
“There’s a variety of reasons, and most of them most of them can be laid at the feet of our elected officials and police leaders,” said a former Baltimore police union leader. They have emboldened criminals in this country by the de-policing.”
S02E14 The Politics of Bob Dole
Bob Dole died last month at 98 and left a legacy of a tough, grim Congressional curmudgeon who failed to achieve the presidency three times but quietly helped the poor, including creating a key economic lifeline: food stamps.
“He had a very tough outside,” said author and Dole researcher Mark Zwonitzer. “He has a really soft core inside.”
S02E13 The Politics of Racial Reckoning
In the wake of the George Floyd killing, American companies are engaging in a racial reckoning not seen since the Civil Rights struggle of the 1960s. But is the inclusion of more Black Americans in news stories, TV ads, and hiring sincere?
“I think there are some companies that have leadership that realizes there has to be a change and are making the best effort,” said Phyllis Alexander of the National Coalition Building Institute. “The majority of our corporations are in the business of making money...not to do social justice.”
S02E12 The Politics of Christmas Songs
From war to nuclear holocaust, Christmas attracts songs with a purpose, in addition to those you wish remained a silent night.
“There are a billion hours of recorded Christmas music in the world that most people do not hear,” says technical producer, Brad Maybe, organizer of The Eggnog Playlist.
S02E11 The Politics of Homlessness
As the number of billionaires in America has risen to 614 so has the population of our nation’s most unfortunate residents: the homeless. Many communities are enforcing public nuisance laws to rid them from their streets.
“Being homeless is not protected under our anti-discrimination laws and therefore many forms of what is blatant discrimination against unhoused people are very difficult for us to challenge using legal advocacy,” said Eve Garrow of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California.
S02E10 The Politics of Build Back Better
President Biden’s ambitious Build Back Better legislation that he says will make historic improvements to affordable housing, childcare, education, and tax equity faces derailment in the Senate.
“Any one member can unilaterally impose their will,” said Kevin Fogarty, former chief of staff for Republican Congressman Peter King. “When you’re dealing with such a narrow majority, it hard to get some of these things done. It’s like herding cats.”
S02E09 Rabbi Josh Yuter, The Politics of Kosher
Israel’s new governing coalition does not include ultra-Orthodox parties for the first time in a half-century, causing a push to loosen longstanding food certification, religious and social policies.
“In America, you have no guidelines on who says what is kosher,” said Rabbi Josh Yuter, considered the world’s largest Jewish influence. “In Israel, it’s completely different, in order for you to claim your establishment was kosher, you had to have the official Rabbinut body certify you.”
S02E08 Edward Nordskog, The Politics of Arson
Footage of heartbreaking California wildfires consuming gorgeous homes seems to be a regular segment on the nightly news. But one in 10 of those devastating blazes are intentionally set, destroying communities, forests, and lives.
“The wildland arsonist, in particular, is the most dangerous criminal that there is,” says the nation’s leading arson investigator, Edward Nordskog. “They can burn a town or a county down with just a match.”
S02E7 Kerry Hawk Lessard, The Politics of Native Americans
Native Americans lead the nation among ethnic groups in COVID outbreaks and death while also ranking first in methamphetamine drug abuse.
“There are decades of Native people not being heard,” said Kerry Hawk Lessard, executive director of Native American Lifelines, a Baltimore health center. “The identities of Native American people are so often asserted through stereotypes.”
S02E06 Jane Friedman, Politics of Holiday Publishing
A paper shortage threatens to disrupt holiday book sales, and independent bookstores gain a small COVID victory over the nation’s book-selling king, Amazon.
“During the pandemic, people have started to shop more consciously, looking at their local and retail businesses,” said book industry analyst Jane Friedman. “They want them to survive.”
S02E5 Tim Kelly, Politics of VA
Health care provided to 9.1 million American veterans is exceptional though improvements are needed in patient access, ranging from answering the phones to providing adequate parking.
“In a word, I would say the care we provide is outstanding,” said Tim Kelly, a recently retired Customer Care Coordinator with the agency. “But if I call, and nobody answers the phone, I’m not going to remember the care; I’m going to remember that someone didn’t answer the phone.”
S02E04 Dr. Erin O’Brien, the Politics of Boston
White men have served as Boston mayors since its founding, but on Tuesday, voters will elect one of two women of color in a city scarred with a national reputation for vehemently fighting busing and housing integration.
“That’s a reputation Boston maintains, but it’s one that the city wants to move away from,” said Dr. Erin O’Brien of the University of Massachusetts Boston political science department.
S02E3 Alex Mahadevan, Politics of the Nobel Peace Prize
For only the third time in its 126-year history, the Norwegian Prize Committee gave the world’s most coveted award to journalists, hailing their efforts to beat back the rise in rogue world leaders jailing, killing, and exiling the media.
“Given that we’re in the modern age, it’s 2021, the fact that we see a slide away from democratic behaviors from leaders around the world is pretty scary,” said Alex Mahadevan, program manager for Poynter Institute’s Media Wise.
S02E02 Kristen Brengel, The Politics of National Parks
Are Americans loving their National Parks to death? Tourism has hit a historic peak, wearing on our national treasures through crushing traffic, mounds of litter, and damage to nature.
“Of course, during COVID, parks are hugely popular because people can’t travel outside of the country,” said Kristen Brengel, senior vice president of the National Parks Conservation Association. “Everyone is visiting these wonderful places.”
S02E01 John Fritze, The Politics of the U.S. Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court has embarked on its most-watched term in two decades, facing low approval ratings and handling volatile cases from gun rights to abortion, making it the Greatest Show on Earth.
“This term, everybody’s paying attention,” USA Today Supreme Court Correspondent John Fritze says. “People are fired up.”