Stubborn Things

The Perils of Predicting

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

Why Congress: An interview with Philip Wallach

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

Presidential Tiers During a Liberal Turn

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 in

The Rise of the Kooks, the Fall of the Gatekeepers

Some kooks with sex scandals, securities fraud, and outlandish tweets are winning primaries and even congressional seats. Why are these ideological crackpots winning? And

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

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

Gordon Wood and the History of the Founding at 250

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 G

The Identity of the GOP with Patrick Ruffini

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. Patric

Return of the Tiers

The last Stubborn Things episode was so popular that we couldn’t resist doing yet another presidential tiers episode. Take a listen to hear how Sean and Jay rank the firs

More Presidential Tiers!

Back by popular demand, this week, Sean and Jay continue their rankings of America’s presidents. After harshly grading the antebellum presidents, our Stubborn Things host

Bayou Ballots

This week, Stubborn Things is laser-focused on the Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais. Our hosts discuss the history of the Voting Rights Act, as well as th

The Evolution of the Democratic Party with Ruy Teixeira

Jay and Sean are joined this week by Ruy Teixeira, Nonresident Senior Fellow at AEI and longtime analyst of Democratic politics. Our hosts interview Ruy about the evolvin

Special Edition: Presidential Tiers

This week, our hosts take a break from talking about the drama of 21st century American politics and turn back the clock. In this very special edition of Stubborn Things,

SAVEing the Voting Discourse

Our Stubborn Things hosts this week talk voting and the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, a.k.a. the SAVE Act, a.k.a. the SAVE America Act, currently making its w

Can Talarico Turn Texas Blue?

This week, Jay and Sean tackle the results of the Senate primary in Texas. They discuss James Talarico’s victory in the Democratic primary and the religious dimension of

Major Questions About the Supreme Court

AEI’s Jay Cost and Sean Trende talk about the topic on everyone’s mind this week: the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Learning Resources v. Trump, which struck down Pr

In Defense of the Filibuster

On this week’s episode, Jay and Sean continue their focus on the Senate. In particular, they talk about the formation, history, and modern uses of the filibuster. Our hos

Radicalism, Instability, and a Dysfunctional Senate

This week, Jay and Sean zoom out from the ongoing immigration enforcement debate to talk about the history and politics of immigration. In the spirit of Stubborn Things,

From the Halls of Caracas to the Shores of Tripoli

This week, Jay and Sean talk the Donroe Doctrine. They address the centuries-old historical precedent of American military intervention in the Western Hemisphere and anal

Elections Galore

On Stubborn Things’ first episode of 2026, Jay and Sean talk about elections both past and future. How will President Trump’s approval rating, partisan redistricting, and

How Much Executive Power Will President Stephen A. Smith Have?

On this week’s episode of Stubborn Things, Jay Cost and Sean Trende recap the oral argument before the Supreme Court in Trump v. Slaughter and present an overview of the