Hey folks,
Katie Phang and I jumped into this episode thinking we’d talk Colbert and the FCC—and ended up in a full-on, no-BS debate about primaries, party control, Trump voters, and what it actually takes to win a state like Texas. It was messy in the best way. Honest. A little uncomfortable. Exactly the kind of conversation we should be having.
Here’s where it went:
[00:01:07] We kick off with Obama nostalgia, Netflix rabbit holes, and why it weirdly felt good to see Barack and Michelle back in the mix. Energy shift. You could feel it.
[00:04:09] The Colbert–Tallarico showdown: CBS tries to block the interview, the FCC flexes, and Colbert basically says “nope” and runs it anyway. We break down why this censorship attempt completely backfired.
[00:09:54] The Texas primary fight gets real. Tallarico vs. Crockett. Electability vs. authenticity. Who actually expands the map in a Trump +10 state?
[00:13:36] Competitive primaries: Are they healthy or self-sabotage? We dig into the Democratic discomfort with messy contests—and why avoiding them might be costing us.
[00:24:02] The hardest question of all: Do Democrats need to win back Trump voters? Or is that the wrong frame entirely? This is where it got raw. Strategy vs. values. Movement vs. persuasion.
This episode is for anyone who’s tired of surface-level political takes. We talked about what it means to actually believe in a candidate. About being wrong. About listening. About the tension between wanting to win and wanting to stand for something. And yeah—we disagreed in places. That’s the point. If you value conversations that don’t dodge the hard stuff—if you believe we get stronger by wrestling with the strategy instead of pretending it’s settled—help me keep building this space.
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With urgency,
—Mike
