In the final episode of 2019, Chuckles joins Jaye for a countdown and discussion of the five most downloaded episodes of 2019. They also talk about the 2020 presidential election, including the Trump impeachment, predictions for the Democratic nomination, and if Trump will be re-elected.
NOTE: Potstirrer Podcast will be on break in the month of January, to prepare for the 2020 election cycle, but will be back in early February!
In the penultimate installment of America’s Drug War, President Ronald Reagan and his successors take the mantle of drug warrior in the 1980s and 1990s. Jaye discusses campaigns and programs designed to reduce drug use in children, such as Just Say No and DARE, as well as the crack epidemic of the 80s, and the shift to punitive measures that the federal government took to win the War on Drugs. Were these efforts successful – and what did “success” truly mean?
CONTENT WARNING – This episode discusses mature themes, including detailed discussion of illicit drug use. Listener discretion is advised.
In the third installment of America’s Drug War, Richard Nixon makes good on his second chance at becoming president of the United States in 1968, instituting his “law and order” policies during his president, chief among them sweeping anti-drug policy. These policies concentrated mostly on cannabis and opiates such as heroin, but also overhauled the way the federal government addressed drugs. Jaye provides context to the America of the 1960s, and discusses Nixon’s War on Drugs as key to his crusade to end the social and political change the 1960s represented.
CONTENT WARNING – This episode discusses mature themes, including illicit drug use and political assassinations. Listener discretion is advised.
With the rash of mass shootings in the United States, including ones such as the El Paso, TX shooting that are linked to domestic terror, what is leading to these mass shooting incidents, and domestic terrorism generally? Jaye discusses a possible culprit, stochastic terrorism. What is stochastic terrorism, and can the violent rhetoric of politicians lead to radicalization and extremist violence? Jaye also examines the demagoguery of Donald Trump, the appeal of white evangelicals to Trump and to gun culture, and how these are connected.
CONTENT WARNING – This episode includes discussion of gun violence. Listener discretion is advised.
In the aftermath of the US Supreme Court ruling effectively declaring political gerrymandering legal, Jaye discusses the challenges Democrats face in mitigating the damage of an increasingly right-leaning SCOTUS. In this episode, Jaye focuses on the novel Supreme Court plan touted by Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, which is intended to neutralize the ideological and partisan slant of the court. What are the pros and cons of the plan? Jaye makes the case that the challenges this Supreme Court plan would face reflects the issues the Democrats face in general as they attempt to gain ground lost to the Republican Party by taking the Court for granted.
Jaye is joined by her husband Chuckles as they discuss free speech versus calls to violence and terrorism, as well as if Donald Trump’s rhetoric and actions in support of gun control will upset his supporters enough to turn against him in 2020. Chuckles stans Candace Owens and sees her temporary ban on Twitter as an example of a conspiracy by the social media giant against conservative voices. Jaye points out that white supremacists run rampant on Twitter despite the ability to filter them out just like they filter out Islamic terror groups – because Twitter doesn’t want to ban Republican politicians.
As several states are passing extremely restrictive anti-abortion laws, and civil rights are increasingly being denied to a number of groups in the United States, Jaye discusses the conservative evangelical Christianity that got us here. Is conservative evangelicalism “real Christianity” and why does the answer to that question matter? How does evangelicalism lead its adherents to support authoritarian, regressive, and cruel politicians and public policies? Jaye shares her personal experience in evangelical Christianity for first-person insight into the methods and teachings that lead evangelical Christians to extreme stances on issues that may have little to no basis in the Bible they claim is inerrant.
