Boo! In this Halloween edition of American Angst, political philosopher Dr. Michael Bailey leads a brisk, illuminating tour of the current government shutdown and what it reveals about our constitutional machinery. Michael lays out why both parties share blame in different ways, but, more importantly, why the structure itself incentivizes brinkmanship over basic governance. He explains how the Senate filibuster concentrates leverage, why “who’s actually in charge?” is maddeningly opaque to voters, and how that erodes democratic accountability.

Moving beyond the headlines, Michael compares the U.S. system to parliamentary models that either compel compromise or trigger new elections—mechanisms that keep the lights on. He analyzes the human stakes (unpaid federal workers, SNAP risks, ACA premium credits) and unpacks why shutdowns persist: party primaries, committee gatekeeping, leadership dynamics, and the political rewards of dysfunction. The result is a clear, digestible framework for understanding not just this shutdown, but our recurring cycles of stalemate.

The views expressed on American Angst are solely those of the participants and do not represent any organization.

We may begin talking about sweater weather and niceties about upstate New York, but we quickly let the angst flow deep and wide. Join us as Sam Call (comparative politics) joins Michael Bailey (political science and philosophy) and host Dale McConkey (sociology) for a fascinating exploration of how democracies erode, or "backslide." Dr. Call explains why today’s threats rarely look like coups; instead, elected leaders chip away at checks and balances, politicize the bureaucracy, blur truth, and normalize “us vs. them.” We contrast the U.S. with Hungary and Turkey, talk courts that are ignored, legislatures that go silent, redistricting as a national power strategy, and why pardoning political violence sends a chilling signal. Then we rank the top 3 warning signs right now, ask where the red lines really are, and close with practical steps: stay informed, have hard conversations, and rebuild community ties. It’s an honest, engaging, and surprisingly hopeful hour—gloom but not doom.

The views expressed on American Angst are solely those of the participants and do not represent any organization.

We’re back with another crossover of American Angst and Church Potluck—and it’s the middle slice of a three-part series. In Part 1, we explored evidence for a religious impulse at the founding of the United States. Today, we flip the coin and examine the “godless constitution” thesis: why the U.S. Constitution reads secular by design, how the framers imagined church–state separation, and what that meant in practice—from oath vs. affirmation options and chaplains, to presidential proclamations and the Treaty of Tripoli’s blunt line that America is “not in any sense founded on the Christian religion.”

Host Dale McConkey and political philosopher Michael Bailey unpack what “secular” meant to the founders (hint: not automatically anti-religious), how federalism complicates easy slogans (a secular federal blueprint alongside evolving state choices), and why many founders still believed private, voluntary faith undergirds public virtue. We trace the gradual disestablishment of state churches as culture and diversity shifted, and we highlight Washington’s move from mere “toleration” to full religious liberty—rights grounded in conscience, not favors from a majority. Along the way: a birthday shout-out, a candy-aisle cold open (defense of the peanut butter cup!), and a game-show callback. We close by teeing up Part 3, where we’ll examine Christian nationalism today and how competing readings of the founding shape modern politics.

The views expressed on American Angst are solely those of the participants and do not represent any organization.