In this episode, we take on the grim (and increasingly undeniable) question of America’s slide toward authoritarianism, and why naming it plainly isn’t partisan. We talk about how the two-party duopoly keeps forcing every concern into a Coke v. Pepsi “they’re all the same” dead end, making it easier to normalize power grabs with “yeah, but the other side…” logic.

In this episode, we dive into why conspiracy theories feel so irresistible and ubiquitous right now, and why they’re also so corrosive. We talk about motivated reasoning, media bias, and our crumbling trust in experts, from JFK and 9/11 truthers to lab-leak debates, QAnon, RFK Jr., and the evergreen “do your own research” refrain.

In our first Kitchen Sink roundup, we start with the week’s heaviest news: the assassination of Charlie Kirk. We talk frankly about political violence, free speech, and why “bad things are bad” should be a baseline instead of a partisan Rorschach test. From there, we hit a scatter of stories we’ve been tracking.