Welcome back to Episode 48 of the Rational Policy Podcast! Join your stalwart hosts Mike Coté and Art Vandelay for another whirlwind tour around the world of news and politics, this time without a stop in the Middle East - we could all use a break at this point. Instead, we talk about three issues where the biggest problems are entirely internal.
First, we dive into some rank punditry on the 2026 midterm elections, centered around the far-left antisemitic and anti-American socialist candidates who have seemingly grabbed the reins of the Democratic Party. We discuss the primary victory of Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, as well as some other recent DSA-aligned triumphs, and debate what it means for the future of the Democrats; will they embrace the radicals or defenestrate them? And what will the voters think? Next, we shift to the political right, focusing on the nascent postliberal movement, a major debate over the “common good,” and what conservativism really means in the American context. We detail how this fringe movement could go mainstream and why that would be a terrible outcome for both the political right and America writ large. Finally, we sail across the Atlantic to talk about the evocative and powerful images coming out of Spain, where Moroccan migrants invaded the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla in North Africa, causing mass chaos and sparking an internal debate in the European Union over migration policy. We explore why this event occurred, why it matters, and how it exposed the deep rot in the very foundation of the EU.
Check it out, follow us on Twitter/X (Mike / Art), and share the podcast with anyone you think might appreciate it. Thanks for listening. We’ll be back next week, barring another bout of the plague. Until then, get outside and enjoy the summer!
