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Matt Mackowiak's Mack On Politics

Smart political talk every week from Austin, Texas political consultant Matt Mackowiak, who has served in senior roles for two U.S. Senators and the Bush administration.
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Matt Mackowiak's Mack On Politics
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Now displaying: September, 2019
Sep 24, 2019

The life and career of Vice President Mike Pence is the subject of the 155th episode.

Our guest is longtime AP reporter for Indiana Tom LoBianco, who has a new biography of Pence out, “Piety and Power: Mike Pence and the Taking of the White House”.

In this conversation, we examine Pence’s first two failed runs for Congress, his time in talk radio, his move up the ladder of Congressional leadership, his decision to run for Governor in 2012, his decision not to run for President in 2016, how he was selected as VP, and what ambitions he still has.

Sep 19, 2019

Medicare-for-All is the subject of the 154th episode.

Chris Jacobs is our guest. He is the founder and CEO of Juniper Research and the author of the new book, “The Case Against Single Payer: How ‘Medicare for All’ will Wreck America’s Health Care System – And Its Economy”.

In this conversation we examine the definition of single payer, how Medicare would change, what the program would cost, how it would affect private insurance, how reimbursement rates affect care, whether middle class tax increases would be required, why California and Vermont scrapped their own single payer plans, how Medicare for All would affect the economy, and what conservatives should be offering as a policy alternative.

Sep 12, 2019

The events of 9/11 are the subject of the 153rd episode.

Our guest is bestselling author Garrett Graff, whose new book is, “The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11,” which instantly hit #1 on Amazon.

In this conversation, we explore the origin of the book and his writing process, the scale of the response to the attack, what surprised him about what he learned, how United 93’s hijackers came to be overtaken, the ‘shoot-down’ order, what questions about 9/11 still remain and where the author was on 9/11.

Sep 3, 2019

Retired U.S. Army Captain Sean Parnell is our guest for the 152nd episode.

After retiring from military service, he became a New York Times bestselling author for his memoir of combat in Afghanistan, Outlaw Platoon.

His new thriller is called, All Out War. It will be released on Sept. 3, 2019.

In this conversation, we begin by discussing his Pittsburgh roots and military background, recount his experiences in Afghanistan, discuss the process he used for his first book, how and why he transitioned from writing nonfiction to writing fiction, give an overview of the new novel, consider whether our veterans are getting the help they have earned, and talk about a nonprofit that he works with that helps veterans transition to civilian life.

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