Host of "The Political Orphanage” podcast and guy who makes funny videos
Joined August 2009
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Sure am amazed at how many of these helpful politician text message lists I apparently signed up for! Weird I have no recollection of ever doing so for any of the 70 lists I’m on.
Why did America close its psychiatric hospitals, and what happened to the people who needed them?
Writer and cultural critic Freddie deBoer joins TPO and explores the ideas, political decisions, and good intentions behind deinstitutionalization:
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas…
From the influence of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest to the promise of community care, the conversation examines how efforts to end psychiatric abuse left profound gaps in treatment. open.spotify.com/episode/2We…
It also asks what humane care should look like for people who cannot recognize their own illness. thepoliticalorphanage.com/p/…
Why Did We Close the Asylums?
The latest TPO, on YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=er477X7p…
The Political Orphanage is now on Instagram!
Give the new account a follow: instagram.com/orphpod
The Political Orphanage (October 29, 2026): Why Did We Close the Asylums?—Freddie deBoer on Deinstitutionalization thepoliticalorphanage.com/p/…
The Political Orphanage (October 22, 2026): Why Corporations Are People thepoliticalorphanage.com/p/…
Corporate personhood is one of the most misunderstood concepts in American law.
From ancient Rome and medieval universities to William Blackstone and the modern Supreme Court, this episode explores why corporations have legal identities: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas…
It also explores how limited liability works, why companies can be prosecuted for crimes, and whether they can receive the corporate equivalent of the death penalty!
Here it is on Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/54O…
Andrew Heaton 🎩 retweeted
A good primer from @MightyHeaton on gerrymandering.
This video may help everyone on the beach in Treasure Island or on their ranch 80 miles away in Wauchula figure out what happened to their now-shared Florida CD16.
PS: Vote @KellyKirschner for CD16!
reason.com/video/2026/10/25/… via @reason
Why is Germany's anti-immigration AfD surging in popularity?
And why does immigration seem to work better in America than in Europe?
A Bosnian refugee, turned American citizen, who now lives in Germany, joins us to explore Europe's immigration backlash: open.spotify.com/episode/38h…
We discuss Germany's sprawling welfare state, bureaucratic obstacles to integration, immigrant crime statistics, the challenges of assimilating refugees, and the difference between civic and ethnic nationalism.
Here it is on Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas…
Along the way, we examine whether the AfD's rise reflects legitimate grievances, xenophobia, economic stagnation, or a growing sense that Germany's political establishment has lost control. youtube.com/watch?v=IuoPMjvQ…
Andrew Heaton 🎩 retweeted
broken up with staccato bursts of static as I try to identify where the emergency transponder beacon is sending from within a haunted nebula.
I'm also on YouTube: youtube.com/@AndrewHeatonTPO
And so are some episodes of The Political Orphanage!
Politics minus bile plus jokes plus bile jokes
How Immigration Broke German Politics: youtube.com/watch?v=IuoPMjvQ…