Stubborn Things podcast artwork
Government

Stubborn Things

by AEI Podcasts

Today: #43 in Government on our combined chart.

Chart positions today

If you like Stubborn Things, try…

5-4 podcast artwork
5-4
Prologue Projects

Ranking history

History builds daily. We started tracking this show on the Government chart recently, so the trend line appears after a second day of data.
View as table
DateApple PodcastsPocket CastsCastbox
Oct 3#43#42#42

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.

Latest episodes

  • Stubborn Facts about the Election of 1800

    September 30, 2026 · 1 hr 6 min

    In 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 min

    The 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 min

    Our 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 min

    From 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 min

    Some 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…

  • What our founders would love…and what they’d loathe in 2026

    July 7, 2026 · 1 hr 0 min

    On 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 min

    This 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 min

    This 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…