Shows / Pantsuit Politics
Pantsuit Politics
Pantsuit Politics is the news and politics podcast for people exhausted by outrage. Hosts Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers tackle the week's biggest political stories from genuinely different perspectives, and prove that civility, nuance, and good-faith disagreement are still possible. New episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Distributed by Lemonada Media.
Episodes
Pantsuit PoliticsNobody is worried about Jon Ossoff anymore
We're waiting on the midterms like everyone else. Instead of reading polls, Sarah and Beth draft their personal midterm 'Avengers' team, spotlighting Jon…
Pantsuit PoliticsWhen Corruption is Everywhere, it Starts to Disappear
Sarah and Beth break down the pervasive corruption in the Trump administration, from White House renovations to rare earth mineral deals, and cover: Alina…
Pantsuit PoliticsIt Doesn't Have to Be Like This
With the midterms close, Sarah and Beth step back to ask how a profit-first mindset came to shape so much of public life and what might replace it. Inspired by…
Pantsuit Politics"If you can imagine it, we're ready for it"
California Attorney General Rob Bonta joins Beth to talk about how state attorneys general are preparing for this election and pushing back on federal…
Pantsuit PoliticsA Failed Execution in Tennessee and a Livestream Firing Squad
We did not expect to be discussing the death penalty less than a month before midterm elections, but here we are. Today, Sarah and Beth discuss: Our individual…
Pantsuit PoliticsWhy this Federal Prosecutor Resigned and is Running for Congress in Kentucky
Beth talks with Zach Dembo, the Democratic candidate for Kentucky's 6th Congressional District, running against Republican Ralph Alvarado in one of the closest…
Pantsuit PoliticsLive, Laugh, Love was never just a sign
Sarah and Beth talk with Kristin Kobes Du Mez about her new book Live, Laugh, Love, exploring the history and influence of white Christian women's culture in…
Pantsuit PoliticsCornell and the Culture that Let it Happen
Sarah and Beth discuss the horror described in Jane Doe's complaint, the campus culture at Cornell, and the challenges of addressing sexual assault in college…
Pantsuit PoliticsViral stories tell us more than headlines do (+ Taylor Swift's Encore)
Sarah and Beth discuss the viral stories that took over the weekend, and what they reveal about conflict, context, and civic life heading into the midterms: -…
Pantsuit PoliticsWhat Eight Years as a University President Taught Robbyn Wacker about Values
Beth talks with Dr. Robbyn Wacker, a former university president (most recently at St. Cloud State University) with a background in gerontology, about the book…
Pantsuit PoliticsThe AI Conversation, Continued: Kill Switches, Frontier AI, and What to Do About it All
We're picking back up on artificial intelligence — Mustafa Suleyman's warning about conscious AI, the difference between chatbots and frontier models…
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Caitlin Clark, Sydney Sweeney, and the Sports Culture War
Sports, race, gender, religion, cancel culture, and Donald Trump — this week they're all the same conversation. We cover Caitlin Clark's fouls and the House…
Pantsuit PoliticsNobody Trained AI on a Soul
After a weekend when an Anthropic researcher quit and warned AI could wipe out humanity within a decade, Sarah and Beth take on the questions listeners sent…
Pantsuit PoliticsBush Wasn't a Bad Man. He Was a Bad President.
Twenty-five years ago today, and Sarah and Beth close out the re-share of their 2018 series on September 11 with the two hardest parts. First, the road from…
Pantsuit Politics9/11 Wasn't Unimaginable. It Was Unprocessed.
This week marks twenty-five years since the September 11 attacks, and Sarah and Beth are re-sharing the five-part series they made in 2018 to do what they felt…
Pantsuit PoliticsMailbag: The Lindsay Clancy Trial, Tariffs, and Evangelicalism in Politics
It's a mailbag day, and Sarah and Beth work through everything the Substack Premium community sent in — starting with the Lindsay Clancy jury deadlock and…
Pantsuit PoliticsMeta's $17 Billion Settlement and Flock Cameras
Meta just settled with 47 states for roughly $17 billion over claims it built a product designed to addict teenagers, and Flock cameras are facing a backlash…
Pantsuit PoliticsMake America Unvaccinated Again
Sarah and Beth dig into the new executive order on childhood vaccines and the request for information the Department of Health and Human Services issued on…
Pantsuit PoliticsDolly Parton Was Never Afraid of Change
Sarah opens by calling it what it is — a national day of mourning — and she and Beth spend the hour on the only thing anybody's feed is showing them: Dolly…
Pantsuit PoliticsWhy Everything Feels Unhinged for Women
Sarah opens with a simple question — what's going on with the ladies? — and she and Beth spend the hour discovering that you can't answer it without first…
Pantsuit PoliticsHas America's Time Come? The Odyssey, the $40 Trillion Debt, and a New World Order
Beth watched Christopher Nolan's Odyssey this summer and could not stop thinking about it as an extensive metaphor for American politics. We ended up talking…
Pantsuit PoliticsWas This Summer the Worst?
Sarah and Beth are back together after summer break, and they're starting with the question everyone seems to be asking: was this summer the worst? They work…
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Feeling Powerless in a Red State? Meet the Mulligans
Beth is out this week, but we're sharing a conversation we both had with John and Cindy Mulligan of Owensboro, Kentucky. After years of feeling like all they…
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Democratic Socialists Are Winning. Now What?
Beth is still on vacation, so Sarah drafted a guest co-host she's been married to for 23 years. Sarah and Nicholas run through the headlines — Iran's "low-key"…
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My Hometown Is Getting a $100 Billion Data Center
The breaking news in Sarah's hometown is the breaking news everywhere: Paducah, Kentucky is getting a $100 billion data center. Sarah is joined by Lacey…
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Talking Ourselves Into Gavin Newsom?
Beth is out for two more weeks, so I've got a guest host: Laura Tremaine, my co-host over at Slow Read. We start in California, where Laura has lived for 25…
Pantsuit PoliticsTrust But Verify: Teen Driving with Dr. Charlie Klauer
Teen driving is the leading cause of death among adolescents — and most of us are completely winging it when we hand over the keys. Dr. Charlie Klauer is a…
Pantsuit PoliticsInside the Organ Donation System with NYT's Brian Rosenthal
It's easy to check the organ donor box on your driver's license without thinking too much about how organs are treated and routed to people who need them. NYT…
Pantsuit PoliticsWhat Kids Actually Need When the News is Scary
Kids who are anxious about the news might not need to hear less — they might need to know more. Tracy Kaplan, creator of The 10 News (a podcast for kids and…
Pantsuit PoliticsVinok Libraries: Bringing Books to Ukraine's Children
One of the hardest parts of paying attention to international news is wondering: what can I, one person, do about this? Today's guest, Gwyn Ridenhour, asked…
Pantsuit PoliticsBuilding Cities (and Lives) Kids Can Actually Move Through
While Sarah's on summer break, Beth talks with writer and urban planner Angie Schmitt about giving yourself permission to feel lighter about the news this…
Pantsuit PoliticsGraham Platner's Collapse, the Progressive Movement, and AI's Accountability Gap
Beth is joined by guest host Alex McCoy, a progressive organizer focused on holding Big Tech accountable, for a conversation about what breaks trust and how to…
Pantsuit PoliticsWhat Elected Officials Owe Us with Lauren Pinkston
Beth sits down with Lauren Pinkston, an independent candidate for governor of Tennessee, on the same day Governor Beshear sent Senator Mitch McConnell a letter…
Pantsuit PoliticsWhat Food Can Teach Us About Power, Land, and Belonging
Sarah's on summer break this week, so Beth sits down with chef, culinary historian, and seventh-grade history teacher Mica Chavez to trace how food actually…
Pantsuit PoliticsAmerica's Next 250 with Ezra Klein
For America's 250th, we asked Ezra Klein what freedom actually requires of us — and he took us somewhere we didn't expect: attention. We get into why the older…
Pantsuit PoliticsRick Atkinson on the Revolution We Misremember
We're celebrating America 250 with three-time Pulitzer winner Rick Atkinson, whose Revolution Trilogy strips the reverence off the founding to show what was…
Pantsuit PoliticsThe Mamdani Effect: Is Democratic Socialism Really on the Rise?
After a wave of June primaries, the question isn't just whether democratic socialism is winning — it's what it's actually offering. Beth and Sarah pull apart…
Pantsuit PoliticsTulsi Gabbard, JD Vance, and Faith in Politics
From a $14.5 million paint job peeling off the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to a sitting vice president's conversion memoir, this episode is…
Pantsuit PoliticsWhich of the Nine Political Types Are You?
The President announced a "deal" with Iran on his birthday, between a UFC fight and a crypto promotion — except it isn't a deal, it's a memorandum of…
Pantsuit PoliticsWhy America 250 Is Worth Celebrating
The country got an invitation to its own 250th birthday and hesitated — do we even feel like celebrating right now? Sarah and Beth make the case that the…
Pantsuit PoliticsAI Goes Public: Should America Own a Piece?
SpaceX's IPO begins trading today, with OpenAI and Anthropic close behind. The rules of going public seem to be changing by the day. We talk about why this IPO…
Pantsuit PoliticsNegotiation, Networking, and the New Job Search
The headlines about this job market are frightening, and the advice often feels contradictory, particularly for young people. Sarah sits down with professor…
Pantsuit PoliticsIs Congress Finally Pushing Back on Trump?
This week's primary results gave Democrats and independents a few reasons to pay attention — and behind closed doors, the Republican caucus is finally showing…
Pantsuit PoliticsThe Normie Problem: Can Democrats Win with Platner?
Graham Platner is running for Senate in Maine and trailing a string of controversies — a tattoo with Nazi-era symbolism, old Reddit posts, and now a Wall…
Pantsuit PoliticsKen Paxton, Redistricting, and the Midterms Map
On today's Pantsuit Politics: Ken Paxton defeats John Cornyn by 28 points — the widest primary margin against a sitting senator in nearly 50 years — and we dig…
Pantsuit PoliticsShaky Ceasefires, Pope Leo’s Leadership, and the School Year’s Biggest Lessons
Over the weekend, I started a “lessons learned” Google doc. I love the stark, in-your-face, no-hedging clarity that comes from a bullet point list: “Here are…
Pantsuit PoliticsConsumption Is Eating Art
Beth’s daughter, Ellen, asked why our books aren’t on the bestseller list, and honestly? Great question, Ellen. That one question opens up the whole can of…
Pantsuit PoliticsTrump's China Trip, the $1.7 Billion Slush Fund, and the AI Backlash
Trump's China trip barely makes a headline, a $1.7 billion taxpayer-funded slush fund raises alarms, and we check in on where we're really at with AI — as…
Pantsuit PoliticsJacqueline Coleman is Running for Governor
As Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman launches her run for governor of Kentucky, we were honored to sit down with her and discuss her path to public service and hopes…
Pantsuit PoliticsGerrymandering, Iran, Ukraine & the Future of the American Family
This weekend, the Virginia Supreme Court struck down the voter-approved congressional maps, while the Tennessee legislature eliminated its only Democratic…
Pantsuit PoliticsThe Abortion Pill, the Courts, and the Mess They Made
The Fifth Circuit ruled again on mifepristone and the legal, political, and medical mess that followed is anything but settled. Sarah and Beth break down what…
Pantsuit PoliticsThe Gerrymandering Death Spiral
Sarah and Beth break down the Supreme Court's decision gutting the Voting Rights Act and what it means for the gerrymandering arms race reshaping our electoral…
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The Education Crisis Nobody Wants to Fix
Rahm Emanuel came ready to talk — and y'all, we were ready. This conversation covers the education crisis in America (which I don’t think a single person in…
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The WHCD shooting and the Anti-Authority Era
Sarah and Beth respond to the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, examining what it — alongside a pervasive anti-authority mood across American…
Pantsuit PoliticsSharon McMahon, Antifa, and the Self-Care We Don’t Regret
What does it mean to truly value free speech? Sarah and Beth discuss the controversy around Sharon McMahon speaking at Utah Valley University, the EO…
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Who’s at the Wheel?
Sarah and Beth unpack the bombshell New York Times investigation linking the shadow docket to Chief Justice John Roberts, assess the erratic messaging around…
Pantsuit PoliticsWhat Zohran Mamdani Gets Right
We spent Tuesday’s episode talking about headline national and global news, and it felt pretty bleak. Today, we’re zooming in on a bright spot, New York City…
Pantsuit PoliticsSpaceship Earth and the Capricious Kings
Sarah and Beth return from spring break to catch up on a packed news week — from Eric Swalwell's campaign collapse and the stalled Iran negotiations, to…
Pantsuit PoliticsAmerica's Pastime, Up Close
Aaron Barrett shares his inspiring journey through baseball, including his battles with Tommy John surgery, resilience, and his new role as a manager. He…
Pantsuit PoliticsDoes the Democratic Party Have a Big Idea Problem? With Jason Kander
Jason Kander joins Pantsuit Politics to break down Missouri's redistricting fight and what Democrats need to do to win in 2026 and beyond — including why the…