The Seinfeld Shutdown and the Healthcare Time Bomb—The Weekly

Washington just lived through a “Seinfeld shutdown”—a 43-day government closure over… basically nothing. Or was it nothing? This week, Ron Steslow is joined by Peter Suderman (features editor at Reason and host of the Reason Roundtable) to unpack the weirdest shutdown in modern memory and the deeply broken healthcare system underneath it. They dig into why Democrats picked this fight, why they folded even while winning the blame game, and what it says about Obamacare that it now needs emergency subsidies for the emergency subsidies. Then, from World War II wage controls to Hillarycare to the ACA, Peter walks through how America accidentally built three-and-a-half overlapping healthcare systems—and why both parties are in denial about the bill coming due. In Politicology+ they dive into the battle between the Abundance Agenda and the ascendent socialism on the left Not yet a Politicology+ member? Don’t miss all the extra episodes on the private, ad-free version of this podcast. Upgrade now at politicology.com/plus. Listen to The Reason Roundtable: https://reason.com/podcasts/the-reason-roundtable/ Listen to Across the Movie Aisle: https://movieaisle.substack.com/ Check out Cocktails with Suderman: https://cocktailswithsuderman.substack.com/ Contribute to Politicology at politicology.com/donate Find our sponsor links and promo codes here: https://bit.ly/44uAGZ8 Get 15% off OneSkin with the code RON at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod Send your questions and ideas to podcast@politicology.com or leave a voicemail at ‪(703) 239-3068‬ Follow this week’s panel on X (formerly Twitter): https:/x.com/RonSteslow https://x.com/petersuderman Related Reading: Axios - The bill to reopen the government would shut down these THC products Politico - Senators distance themselves from controversial payout provision - POLITICO CNBC - What Democrats are — and aren't — getting in the deal that could end the government shutdown Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices