Politics Chat, June 24, 2025

In which I try to answer your questions about modern politics.... 00:00 – Welcome + heat wave check-in 01:03 – What I'm thinking about: dominance politics in America 04:24 – The cowboy myth and anti-government ideology 07:04 – Trump, masculinity, and the illusion of control 08:20 – U.S.–Iran history: coup, Shah, and nuclear beginnings 10:09 – 1979 Revolution and fallout from hostage crisis 11:20 – Rise of U.S. neocon foreign policy and regime change 12:37 – Obama’s Iran deal (JCPOA) and how it came together 13:22 – Republican backlash + Trump tears up the deal 15:00 – Trump bombs Iran to get in on Fox News glory 16:55 – Trump’s Truth Social meltdown 18:19 – What happens when dominance politics hits reality 19:42 – RFK Jr. and rejection of germ theory 22:11 – Tariffs, inflation, and the myth of easy solutions 23:00 – Senate parliamentarian vs. GOP budget overreach 26:08 – Supreme Court’s shadow docket & cruel migrant ruling 27:25 – Summer of chaos: Trump’s decline, budget crisis 30:22 – Public land cuts, missing budgets, and Burgum grilled 32:02 – What do we want from our government? 34:24 – Closing: hold the vision, stay engaged, keep cool Daily letters on Substack found here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/