This week, Karpf and Loge dissect the remains of the DNC's leaked 2024 autopsy report and lament the consultant who wrote it. They also chat about how recent GOP primary results affect the 2026 midterm elections, Arsenal, and the new Minions movie.

Episode Sources

• Read the DNC's 2024 Autopsy Report | New York Times
• Here's What I Told the DNC Autopsy | The Bulwark
• Where Things Stand in the Battleground | The Navigator
• The political polarization of health outcomes in the USA | Nature

This week, Karpf and Loge discuss how worried they are about Hantavirus, the redistricting fight following SCOTUS's decision Louisiana v. Callais, and how elected officials can ethically play hardball.

Footnotes:

• ⁠⁠Elite rhetoric can undermine democratic norms | Ethan Porter et al⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠Federalist 1 | Alexander Hamilton⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠The hidden effects of the Voting Rights Act | Good Authority⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠Elon Did Some Securities Fraud | Matt Levine

Office Hours is back, and Washington looks more like the Trump Taj Mahal every day. Karpf and Loge talk the logic of the Trump administration, what is and isn't breaking under Trump 2.0, and the White House Correspondent's Dinner.

Footnotes:

• ⁠Everyone Has Trump's Phone Number Now | The Atlantic⁠
• ⁠Killing in the name of....nothing | The Verge

Finally a hot take on Biden, Harris and what comes next from a couple of middle-aged guys in Washington. In a special, one-time, emergency podcast Karpf and Loge talk Biden, Harris, possible VPs, Karpf plugs Pete Buttigieg, and Loge name-checks Roland Barthes and Philip Tetlock.

AI is more, and less, terrifying than you thoughtKaprf and Loge return for a live reunion episode recorded at the Buzz Advocacy Summit. Karpf rants about generative AI, tech and politics while Loge name-checks Aristotle, and they both agree AI more - and less - alarming than you probably thought.

On the final episode of before an extended hiatus, Karpf and Loge talk APSA and a hotel strike, ethics of deciding whose money to take, and critical need to not only defend democratic institutions, but also to pro-actively promote them. Hiatus note: We're available for conferences, weddings, Arbor Day parties, or whatever special occasion calls for hot takes with footnotes. TTFN.

Karpf and Loge encourage academics and researchers to keep focusing on challenges facing society, and for universities and funders to make a loud and consistent case for the importance of that research. It's past time to play offense. Plus we make fun of Elon Musk.

Thoughts on Threads, Post, Blue Sky, podcasts and what strategic comms professionals should do about all of it. Dave is also still concerned about climate change and the end of the world.