It’s Casual Friday! Sam and Emma host Alex Pareene, Contributing Editor at the New Republic and proprietor of the AP newsletter on Substack, to round up the week in news. Then they are joined by Lucas Kunce, candidate for U.S. Senate in Missouri, to give us an update from the campaign trail. Afterwards, they’re joined by comedian Andy Kindler, host of the Thought Spiral podcast! First, Sam and Emma dive into legislative updates from the Senate, from the Manchin-Schumer IRA deal and its backlash, to the GOP putting a stop to healthcare for veteran victims of agent orange, with the latter largely coming from the GOP’s desire to punish democrats for the former (with Same-Sex Marriage reform also a potential right-wing punching bag). Alex Pareene then dives into why he won’t hold his breath until the IRA bill is signed, as he explores the behind-the-scenes surprise at Manchin’s maneuver, the op-ed pieces from the establishment placing the blame on him that pushed him over the edge, and the insanity of that being the final factor. Next, he, Sam, and Emma dive into the climate provisions as a reasonable first step in the right direction, the CHIPS bill as an important turn against globalization and towards a locally resilient supply chain, and the threat of Schedule F as we move into the midterms. They wrap up the interview by tackling the evergreen question of the neoliberal philosopher, “recession or nah?” Sam and Emma are then joined by Lucas Kunce as he walks through his experience running for Senate in Missouri just four days ahead of his primary, what sets him apart from the billionaire heiress running against him, and dives deep into the role of LGBTQ rights, reproductive care, and single-payer healthcare in his platform, before wrapping up with a conversation on his position as a veteran, and what lense that gave him into the oligarchy of defense contractors in the US.

And in the Fun Half: Andy Kindler joins as he, Sam, and Emma parse through Jim Breuer’s hour-long audition tape of him defecating with funny noises and calling it political comedy, before Sam and Emma dive into Jimmy Dore moving from generic reactionary anti-vax rhetoric to full on Scientological dianetics (fully researched, as seen in how well he reads the title of the study). Doocy and Kilmeade get real Fox and Frenemies on the question of trusting a poll that shows both Biden and Trump’s numbers tanking, Justice Alito goes to Rome to complain about foreigners, and John Feal eviscerates the GOP’s blockage of a bill for Veteran healthcare, plus, your IMs!

Check out the AP newsletter here: https://theap.substack.com/

Check out Alex’s “Politics of Everything” podcast here: https://newrepublic.com/podcasts

Check out Lucas’s campaign here: https://lucaskunce.com/