Australia
Brazil
Canada
Germany
India
Ireland
Japan
Mexico
New Zealand
Philippines
South Africa
United Kingdom
Understanding Congress
From AEI Podcasts
Government
Stubborn Things
by AEI Podcasts
Recently ranked · United States
Last recorded placements from this show’s chart history. These are not current rankings.
Not on the United Kingdom charts we track today.
Not on the Australia charts we track today.
Not on the Germany charts we track today.
Not on the Brazil charts we track today.
Not on the Mexico charts we track today.
Not on the New Zealand charts we track today.
Not on the Ireland charts we track today.
Not on the India charts we track today.
Not on the Japan charts we track today.
Not on the Philippines charts we track today.
Not on the South Africa charts we track today.
If you like Stubborn Things, try…
Presidential
Also in History
A Better Peace: The War Room Podcast
Also in History
Sunday Roast
Also in History
Ulysses S. Grants State of the Union Addresses
Also in History
Beyond Mount Rushmore
Also in History
Ranking history · United States
Latest daily rankings: Oct 27. New rankings will appear after the next update.
Recent history only — this show has no current ranking on the Government chart. These are recorded positions from the last 14 days, not current rankings.
Position on the Government combined chart over the last 14 days. Toggle platforms to compare their positions. Lower rank numbers are better.
View as table
| Date | Combined Rank | Apple Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Castbox |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 27 | — | — | — | — |
| Oct 24 | #187 | #189 | — | — |
| Oct 23 | #105 | #102 | — | — |
| Oct 22 | #80 | #81 | — | #77 |
| Oct 21 | #71 | #71 | — | #71 |
| Oct 20 | #59 | #59 | — | #56 |
| Oct 19 | #46 | #47 | #43 | #44 |
| Oct 18 | #83 | #84 | — | #74 |
| Oct 17 | #85 | #83 | — | — |
| Oct 16 | #193 | #195 | — | — |
Latest episodes
-
Stubborn Facts about the Election of 1800
September 30, 2026 · 1 hr 6 minIn many ways the beginning of the musical Hamilton, is quite historically accurate. But to Sean, the precision gets loose… especially the election of 1800. So today Sean and Jay are here to set the record straight. Start with James…
-
The Perils of Predicting
September 14, 2026 · 1 hr 5 minThe midterms are in view, and Sean and Jay try not to treat the tea leaves like gospel. Although Jay got into the limelight through election blogging, he’s realized that it’s difficult to differentiate what he wants to happen and what will…
-
Why Congress: An interview with Philip Wallach
August 27, 2026 · 1 hr 6 minOur founders did not want all of American governance to diverge from England. In fact, the founders were inspired by Parliament's structure, which attempted to represent the desires of the people. Congress was perhaps well constructed but…
-
Presidential Tiers During a Liberal Turn
August 3, 2026 · 1 hr 9 minFrom 1933 to 1953 we only had two presidents… So we naturally ranked them. When FDR came into office the country was looking bleak, there was a steady economic decline into the Great Depression that could have inspired a revolution…
-
The Rise of the Kooks, the Fall of the Gatekeepers
July 17, 2026 · 58 minSome kooks with sex scandals, securities fraud, and outlandish tweets are winning primaries and even congressional seats. Why are these ideological crackpots winning? And where are the party gatekeepers? On today’s podcast, Jay and Sean…
Show 7 more episodesShow fewer episodes
-
What our founders would love…and what they’d loathe in 2026
July 7, 2026 · 1 hr 0 minOn this week’s episode, Jay and Sean hypothesize about what Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, and even Brutus would have thought about our republic in its 250th year. From Washington’s hatred of partisanship to Hamilton’s…
-
Gordon Wood and the History of the Founding at 250
June 22, 2026 · 1 hr 8 minThis episode of Stubborn Things comes out a week ahead of schedule, and this one’s for the historiography nerds. This week, Jay and Sean discuss the legacy of historian Gordon Wood, who passed away earlier this month, and the…
-
The Identity of the GOP with Patrick Ruffini
June 15, 2026 · 1 hr 3 minThis week, Jay and Sean welcome Echelon Insight’s Patrick Ruffini to Stubborn Things to talk about how the GOP went from the party of Reagan to the party of Trump. Patrick discussed the Republican Party’s demographic shift and how Trump…
-
Return of the Tiers
June 1, 2026 · 1 hr 6 minThe last Stubborn Things episode was so popular that we couldn’t resist doing yet another presidential tiers episode. Take a listen to hear how Sean and Jay rank the first presidents of the twentieth century, from Theodore Roosevelt…
-
More Presidential Tiers!
May 18, 2026 · 1 hr 3 minBack by popular demand, this week, Sean and Jay continue their rankings of America’s presidents. After harshly grading the antebellum presidents, our Stubborn Things hosts sprinkle in a few good grades for the presidents of the latter half…
-
Bayou Ballots
May 4, 2026 · 58 minThis week, Stubborn Things is laser-focused on the Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais. Our hosts discuss the history of the Voting Rights Act, as well as the Gingles test which the majority updated last week. Sean and Jay…
-
The Evolution of the Democratic Party with Ruy Teixeira
April 20, 2026 · 1 hr 3 minJay and Sean are joined this week by Ruy Teixeira, Nonresident Senior Fellow at AEI and longtime analyst of Democratic politics. Our hosts interview Ruy about the evolving relationship between the Democratic Party and organized labor…
About the show
John Adams famously said: “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence." In this era of knee-jerk partisanship and ideological posturing, Adams's warning is as important as ever. Tune in every other week as AEI's Jay Cost and Sean Trende draw on their wide-ranging base of knowledge and stubborn commitment to the evidence to understand what is happening in the world of American politics.