Ep 78 | You Can’t Undo a Hanging | Guest: Jason Buttrill
California’s death row inmates got a reprieve this week from Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom, who issued a moratorium on executions. It’s kicked the issue of the death penalty back into the national spotlight, so Heaton brings on Jason Buttrill to discuss its efficacy and morality.
13 Mar 201935min
Ep 77 | The Least and Most Partisan Counties in America | Guest: Andrea Jones-Rooy
Where do non-partisan people tend to live? What factors are most associated with political prejudice? Comedian and political scientist Dr. Andrea Jones-Rooy joins Heaton to a discuss a recent PredictWise survey trying to quantify each of America’s 3,000 counties according to partisanship. (Plus, Heaton ranks world leaders according to who he would want to vacation with).
12 Mar 201944min
Ep 76 | The FDA Mirage | Guest: Stu Burguiere
The head of the Food & Drug Administration, Scott Gottlieb, is leaving, so Heaton is officially nominating Stu Burguiere to be its new commissioner. He talks with Heaton about the false sense of security the FDA brings the public, and the ways it can be counterproductive for life-saving pharmaceuticals.
11 Mar 201943min
Ep 75 | Who Has the Biggest Moose? | Guest: Kevin Seefried
Why we should rename Mt. Everest, what hipsters are and aren’t, when cemeteries become yoga studios, and the best legislation to come out of Utah—all this on another installment of Friday Release Valve.
9 Mar 201929min
Ep 74 | The Government's Nuclear Doomsday Plans | Guest: Garrett M. Graff
Garrett Graff, author of Raven Rock: The Story of the U.S. Government's Secret Plan to Save ItselfÑWhile the Rest of Us Die joins Heaton to discuss the presidential succession, secret military bunkers, and the history of the cold warÑfrom the perspective of doomsday plans.
7 Mar 201950min
Ep 73 | Who’s The Next Jeb? | Guests: Justin Robert Young & Brian Brushwood
Bernie Sanders John Hickenlooper and (probably soon) Beto O’Rourke have jumped into the already crowded Democratic 2020 primary. Meanwhile Donald Trump has his own challenger in the GOP. Will Weld help or hobble the Donald? Who’s the Democrat’s Jeb of the 2020 election well-positioned but destined to flame out? Justin Robert Young and Brian Brushwood join Heaton for industrial-strength rampant political speculation.
6 Mar 201946min
Ep 72 | The Engorged Presidency | Senator Mike Lee
Senator Mike Lee of Utah joins Heaton to talk about how federalism has become out of whack, and ways to restore balance to the Force.
5 Mar 201923min
Ep 71 | Marie Kondo: An Alternative to Bernie and Tucker | Guest: Katherine Mangu-Ward
Bernie Sanders and Tucker Carlson have both settled onto a single big problem in America—stuff. Katherine Mangu-Ward the Editor-in-Chief of Reason Magazine joins Heaton to explain how an adorable Japanese tidying celebrity provides an alternative mindset.
4 Mar 201939min
