As an intellectual exercise, we each offer our case to vote for the presidential candidate most opposed to our views.

We talk about what gives us hope for America, regardless of the election outcome.

A listener answers John’s trivia question and John offers another.

Tim’s whack-job is a bad sport about sports and John praises foster parents as his heroes of the week.

Referred to in this podcast:

Wisconsin Sends Embarrassing Tweet After Beating Northwestern | OutKick

Love Actually starring Hugh Grant

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We’d love to hear from you. Send ideas, comments, criticisms, recipes, or trivia answers to IDEASFIRST@SUBSTACK.COM.

We address skepticism about institutions ranging from the betting markets to FEMA.

John worries that a case is being built to undermine the election results.

We briefly review the history of the death penalty. We address its costs, discuss how it may impact victims’ families, and muse on whether a state should sanction the taking of citizens’ lives.

We answer last week’s sporting trivia question and John offers another.

John calls out Marco Rubio for questioning labor statistics.

Tim’s heroes are a dog who helped save a life and a deputy who took the time to be curious.

Plus, a word from our sponsor.

Related to this podcast

The Jobs Numbers Don’t Lie, But Politicians Do - Bloomberg

Dog leads deputy to injured owner near WA cabin, cops say | Tacoma News Tribune

Donate to Hurricane Helene Relief | American Red Cross

Democrats Perplexed Why Candidate Nobody Ever Voted For Is Slipping In The Polls | Babylon Bee

Don’t forget to share, review and subscribe.

We would love to hear from you. Send comments, suggestions, show ideas, guest pitches, or trivia answers to ideasfirst@substack.com

If people from the 2024 campaign spoke coherently and substantively, would it matter.

We discuss our impressions of the candidates, try to deconvolute a quote from Tim Walz, and review J.D. Vance’s failure in a litmus test.

We look back fondly to debates moderated by single individuals and remark on the media trying to do “fact checking.”

We remember Pete Rose and mull over whether union endorsements mean what they used to.

We call out enablers who look the other way while evil happens and heroes who go out of their way to help. Plus, our new sponsor does crypto in a new way.

Referred to in this podcast:

Study: Watching Fox News makes you stupid

Charlie Hustle: the rise and fall of Pete Rose, and the last glory days of baseball by O'Brien, Keith

John McCain and Sarah Palin Do QVC - SNL

Donate to Hurricane Helene Relief | American Red Cross

Our first guest, Ben Siders provides insights into what machine intelligence is. We wonder how to use it effectively and ponder what it may be doing to us. We consider related issues of copyright and liability.

We consider lawfare in the cases of Eric Adams and Donald Trump.

We discuss Notre Dame football and Ben uses his computer model to predict the game.

John offers a trivia question.

We hear about a new game from our sponsor. Ben shares an everyday hero, and John calls out Melania Trump.

Referred to in this podcast:

UPS driver helps save a woman’s life, now visits her weekly - The Washington Post

Melania Trump, in rare interview, blames others for ‘toxic atmosphere’

With your thoughts, ideas, or questions, reach out to ideasfirst@substack.com.

Please, share, review and subscribe.

We explore the appeal of tariffs which are a featured part of the Trump campaign and element of Biden administration policies, using the Chicken Tax as a case study. We review cases where tariffs might be helpful, and the danger when government tries to influence prices with tariffs and subsidies. John gives a history lesson on The Economist.

A listener chimes in to answer our trivia question and John offers another for next week.

We hear a poem from our sponsor, call out the value of getting the basics right, and applaud a politician for direct, decisive action.

Related to this podcast:

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu saves choking man in lobster roll eating competition - ABC News

Chicken Tax: What it is and how it got the name

Biden Administration Proposes Ban on Chinese Software in Vehicles - The New York Times

We’d love to hear from you. Send your trivia answers, questions, comments, complaints, suggestions, or favorite recipes to ideasfirst@substack.com.

Don’t forget to write a review, subscribe, and share. Sharing is caring after all.

We review the presidential debate from last Tuesday. Tim and John use football, boxing, and used car analogies to try to capture what we’ve learned. Tim tries to intuit the policies of a Harris administration from her debate content. Meanwhile, John expounds on the wisdom of picking fights with Swifties.

We hear from Left, a new force in childcare.

Dr. Robin DiAngelo is our whack-job of the week, and John praises John Bon Jovi for being there in a moment of need.

References from this podcast:

Index of Economic Freedom

Author Robin DiAngelo accused of plagiarism over her doctoral thesis

John Bon Jovi Praised for Talking Woman off of Bridge in Nashville

988: National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline

We begin with a quick impression of the Reagan movie and biopics. Then, we review our lessons from the first 20 podcasts including three things we’ve learned from each other. This would be a great place for new listeners to start.

We hear from our long-time sponsor Pro-Taste.

We gush over giving homes to aging shelter dogs, and Tim is finally fed up with J.D. Vance.

“Learn from yesterday. Live for today. Hope for tomorrow.” –Albert Einstein

Referred to in this episode:

Reagan starring Dennis Quaid

The Beadle and Decker show on XM radio

We’d love to hear from you. With questions, comments, suggestions, or topics, contact us at ideasfirst@substack.com.

We take a break from current events to share lists of our top three modern presidents finding more common ground than expected. Tim finds solace in the unlikely success of Harry Truman. We muse on which president we’d like to have dinner with and why.

John offers another presidential trivia question and gives the answer to last week’s query.

We explore the nuances of wearing a blindfold.

We call out inappropriate behavior from the Trump campaign and appreciate the DOJ this week.

Referred to in this podcast.

Reagan: His Life and Legend by Max Boot

Truman by David McCullough

The Situation Room by George Stephanopoulos

We want to create an opportunity podcast, so with questions, suggested topics, or comments reach out to ideasfirst@substack.com.