Republicans Have the Money. Democrats Have the Momentum.
Oct 10, 2026 · 34m
Summary
Hosts Robert Siegel, E.J. Dionne, and Carlos Lozada analyze the 2024 midterms, debating whether record-breaking campaign spending can overcome voter fatigue and a strong Democratic backlash against Trump. They explore the shifting definition of political moderation, noting that Democrats are increasingly uniting around economic inequality and class issues. The conversation then pivots to the ethics of artificial intelligence, discussing Anthropic’s engagement with religious thinkers and the dangers of anthropomorphizing AI models. The episode concludes with personal reflections on family mi…
Topics discussed
Promo for Lincoln in the Bardo opera
Introduction and episode topics
Record-breaking campaign spending and megadonors
Does money guarantee political victory?
Impact of Citizens United and voter exhaustion
Corruption and quid pro quo in politics
What Democrats are selling in the midterms
Moving beyond left-right and division
Which version of the Democratic Party wins?
The changing definition of moderation and class
Inequality as a mainstream concern
Potential 2028 Democratic candidates
Promos for events and PopCast
AI ethics and religious thinkers
The problem of AI alignment and responsibility
AI consciousness and the tree of knowledge
Pope Leo's encyclical on AI and humanity
Public backlash and the soul of technology
Sources of joy: family and theater
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