America Adrift — The Weekly

Mike Madrid (Author of The Latino Century) joins Host Ron Steslow to examine America’s growing crisis of purpose and how that crisis is showing up across politics, technology, corruption, religion, and war They begin with Justice Clarence Thomas’s recent speech on the Declaration of Independence, natural rights, progressivism, and the proper role of government. From there, they turn to Palantir CEO Alex Karp’s vision of a “technological republic,” Silicon Valley’s moral obligations to national defense, and the dangerous temptation to sacrifice individual rights in the name of preserving the West. Next, they examine the normalization of corruption, from tariff refund profiteering and market manipulation to political betting and the broader cultural shift toward “get yours before the system collapses.” Then they discuss President Trump’s clash with Pope Leo XIV over the war in Iran, the use of religious language to justify military action, and the battle inside American Christianity over nationalism, moral authority, and political power. In Politicology+, they discuss Virginia as the latest front in America’s redistricting wars and what it reveals about the deeper rot in our politics. POLITICOLOGY+ Not yet a Politicology+ member? Don’t miss all the extra episodes on the private, ad-free version of this podcast. Upgrade now at politicology.com/plus. CONTRIBUTE TO POLITICOLOGY politicology.com/donate SPONSORS & PROMO CODES Send your questions and ideas to podcast@politicology.com or leave a voicemail at ‪(703) 239-3068‬ Follow this week’s panel on X (formerly Twitter): Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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America Adrift — The Weekly is an episode from Politicology by Politicology.

This episode is 83:54 long.

This episode was published on Apr 24, 2026.

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