thebruenigs

The Spectrum

Hello folks! 

Over the years Matt and I have produced (I use this term extremely loosely) this podcast, one thing I've heard over and over again from longtime fans and incidental listeners is an interest in our discussion of autism.

Sometimes I hear from parents of autistic kids who are grateful to hear about an adult with autism who leads a happy, fairly ordinary (save for the internet shenanigans and thinktank bullshit and, you know, you get the point) life, with a spouse a...

Our 6th Wedding Anniversary; Riffing on Internet Insanities

The gang is back. The ep starts with some talk of our wedding anniversary and then we move on to riffing on various internet insanities, including an incredible update in the WaPo blackface saga.

All rise, the cancel court is now in session

The gang presides as judges over the cancellations of the day, sort of. Topics include: wapo black face story, age gap cancellations, and robin diangelo of white fragility fame.

The Bubonic Plague

Liz here with a solo episode finally on the Bubonic Plague and what it meant for the world.

Matt Tackles Questions About 8 Can't Wait, Police Unions, etc.

A solo episode treat in which Matt discusses the numbers behind the 8 Can't Wait agenda, Police Unions and the labor radicalism of police more generally, and then reflects on what we might learn from the incredible mobilization success of the George Floyd protests.

The George Floyd Riots; Marriage Questions

The gang is here with a discussion of the George Floyd riots and then they turn towards answering reader questions on marriage and related.

MARRIED LOVELINE: SUBMIT YOUR Q'S NOW

Hello Bruheads! 

Since Liz (well, me) is having surgery next week, we wanted to lay down a #bonuscast (trend it) tonight for your listening pleasure. We also thought everybody could use something light and funny, since things are very tense and stressful at the moment. 

So we are opening up a MARRIAGE ADVICE LINE, where we, married people of roughly six years, will offer our advice on getting married, being married, staying married, etc. Also, M...

Amy Cooper & DC Urban Moms

The gang is back.

Meltdown May Update; Religious Left; Tara Reade Update

The gang is back with some fresh content.

Liz and Matt on It's Just Banter

Greetings everyone. I know we are a bit behind on 'casting. This is because we were in Texas last week to report on the Texas reopening (Liz was reporting, Matt was driving). We will get that fresh content very soon, and much of it.

But for now, please enjoy our appearance on It's Just Banter, DFW's preeminent podcast. The show is a great North Texas experience.

IJB is a great podcast. Check it out over at h...

Tara Reade Update; Matt's Unfair Labor Practice Charge; Movie Recs

The gang is back, first with an update of the Tara Reade situation. We also talk about Matt's unfair labor practice charge against Federalist head, Ben Domenech, which became an object of much attention this week. We close out with some movie recommendations.

The Tara Reade Situation

The gang is back with a whole hour about Tara Reade and the MeToo movement more generally.

Bernie Post-Mortems; Newlywed Game; Library Rant

The gang is back talking about the various Bernie Sanders post-mortems floating in the discourse. In the middle of the episode, they do the Newlywed Game using listener prompts. And in the last 20 minutes, Matt goes on some kind of spontaneous rant about the library's video streaming service and the absurdity of capitalism.

Bernie Sanders Drops Out

The gang is back. with an episode about how Bernie Sanders dropped out.

Guest Marshall Steinbaum On Recent Developments in Tax Credit Discourse

Matt is here with a special midweek bonus episode, talking to returning guest Marshall Steinbaum about the advanced tax rebate in the Coronavirus emergency legislation and the interesting ways in which that rebate was handled in the discourse. Ultimately we learn the EITC is bad, once again.

!!Newlywed Game!!

Hello hello! We here at The Bruenigs are bored and stressed under lockdown, and we'd like to make a funny piece of bonus content for you, our best friends of the pod. So, we're recording a special Newlywed Game episode, where we will use your questions to play this classic gameshow game.

If you haven't seen the Newlywed Game, it's a simple premise: A married couple is presented with a question ("if you/ your spouse won a million dollars, what would you/they spend it on?") and each perso...

M4A and Coronavirus; Biden v. Rogan; Tiger King

The gang is back, firstly talking about the current debate around whether Medicare for All is vindicated as an idea by the coronavirus situation (it is). Then they turn to the Biden v. Rogan situation. Finally a brief talk of Tiger King.

Can Libs Convince Left-Wing Swing Voters to Support Biden? Also Robert Hale.

Matt with the solo ep.

The Bailout & Listener Questions

The gang is back. The first 30 minutes are spent discussing the bailout, mostly just explaining what it is and taking on some common questions and misconceptions. The rest of the episode is answering listener queries of all sorts.

Listener questions

By popular demand, we are going to do an episode where we answer questions or address topics submitted by the listeners. Sound off in the comments on this thread and we'll do Q&A show based on the queries.

Coronavirus and Social Transformation

The gang is back with a sprawling episode about the Coronavirus crisis and the social transformation it has currently caused and will possibly cause well into the future.

Super Tuesday; Michigan; Coronavirus; Warren

The gang is back with the up to date take on the events of the day.

Biden Wins South Carolina; The Postal Museum; Intersectional Warren

The gang is back!

Bernie Wins Nevada; Wit and Wisdom of Bloomberg

The full gang is back, this time with a dispatch about the Nevada caucus results and what it means for the race and a reading series of the Wit and Wisdom of Michael Bloomberg, a collection of weird quotes that are both offensive and unfunny. The last bit of the episode is a bit of a digression into some of the identity political developments of the race especially around attacks on Nina Turner.

Bernie Up 16 In Nevada; Awful Bloomberg Rising

The leader of the gang, Matt, is back with some discussions of the horse race, starting with Nevada, the Culinary Union kerfuffle, and polling developments in the state. Then on to Bloomberg, the cartoon villain type character that has entered in the Democratic race late and risen in the polls dramatically.

Bernie Wins New Hampshire. Legitimacy Crises.

The gang is back talking about Sanders's triumphant victory in New Hampshire. They also talk about Warren and Biden's collapse and the race to the come. The latter half of the episode is a meditation on various legitimacy questions. Is People's Policy Project a legitimate think tank? Are any think tanks legitimate? Is Michael Bloomberg a legitimate candidate if he merely spends his way to victory? What are the obligations of a media to promote legitimate outcomes?

Bernie Wins Iowa, Leads New Hampshire

The gang is back, talking Iowa, New Hampshire, the "Bruenig Argument" as some are calling it (Matt's troll that people have to nominate Bernie because his supporters are so toxic). The gang talks impeachment, state of the union, grifting off these things, etc.

Bernie Rising; Iowa; George Wallace; NLRB

The Matt is back, with a discussion of Bernie Sanders rising fates and Iowa in particular, a detour into discussing George Wallace, which came up this week in connection to Bernie (including a clip of George Wallace on The Firing Line). Then the episode closes out with a discussion of the National Labor Relations Board, some strange legal theories and administrative strategies Matt has developed about the agency, and the Barstool Sports case plus a story about a funny case Matt worked on when...

Lyin' Liz; Joe Biden Wants to Cut Social Security

The full gang is back (liz and matt) with some fresh content. The first half is Matt melting down over fact checking about Joe Biden's Social Security record. The second half is a discussion of the Warren saga, mostly led by Liz (as Matt discussed his take earlier).

Dem Primary Heats Up; Theories of Distributive Justice

Matt is here with a solo episode (gang ep coming soon) in which he discusses the recent Bernie-Warren Dem primary drama and then spends the latter half of the episode discussing philosophies of distributive justice, a topic of much interest to him over the years.