In this episode we looked at four stories that cut to the heart of what is happening to American workers, American energy, and the integrity of our political debate heading into the midterms. First, the collapse of a viral claim about Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico and an Ohio psychiatric facility—claims built on a short, selective recording that the facility and the candidate have both rejected. Second, the Labor Department’s decision to freeze green-card sponsorship at Microsoft and major IT firms that have long used H-1B visas while American tech workers face layoffs. Third, vulnerable Republicans in Iowa and Michigan who are now publicly calling for an end to the open-ended war with Iran as early voting begins and fuel prices crush farmers and truckers. And fourth, the Trump-Putin diesel arrangement that temporarily opens the door for Russian fuel in an effort to give relief to American families at the pump. These are not abstract policy debates. They are about who gets to work, who pays at the pump, and whether voters are getting the straight facts before they cast their ballots. Then we had a discussion with Evan Barker. Evan Barker is a former Democratic campaign operative and fundraiser who helped raise tens of millions of dollars for progressive candidates before publicly breaking with the party in 2024. She grew up in a blue-collar union family in the Kansas City area and was born with primary ciliary dyskinesia, a rare genetic lung disease. She says The Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare, allowed her to get insurance and become a first-generation college graduate from the University of Kansas. After interning for Obama in 2008 and organizing for Clinton in 2016, she moved into progressive fundraising at firms like Left Rising, working with candidates aligned with Bernie Sanders, AOC, and the Squad. In August 2024 she walked out of the Democratic National Convention during Oprah Winfrey’s speech, posted a viral TikTok explaining her disillusionment, and later voted for Donald Trump, although she does not call herself a Republican. Her book, Nothing Left: Confessions of a Democratic Operative, published by Threshold Editions in July 2026, became an instant New York Times bestseller. It details how, in her view, the party shifted from championing the working class to being dominated by activists, coastal elites, and identity-focused infrastructure.
In this episode we looked at four stories that cut to the heart of what is happening to American workers, American energy, and the integrity of our political debate heading into the midterms. First, the collapse of a viral claim about Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico and an Ohio psychiatric facility—claims built on a short, selective recording that the facility and the candidate have both rejected. Second, the Labor Department’s decision to freeze green-card sponsorship at Microsoft and major IT firms that have long used H-1B visas while American tech workers face layoffs. Third, vulnerable Republicans in Iowa and Michigan who are now publicly calling for an end to the open-ended war with Iran as early voting begins and fuel prices crush farmers and truckers. And fourth, the Trump-Putin diesel arrangement that temporarily opens the door for Russian fuel in an effort to give relief to American families at the pump. These are not abstract policy debates. They are about who gets to work, who pays at the pump, and whether voters are getting the straight facts before they cast their ballots.
Then we had a discussion with Evan Barker. Evan Barker is a former Democratic campaign operative and fundraiser who helped raise tens of millions of dollars for progressive candidates before publicly breaking with the party in 2024. She grew up in a blue-collar union family in the Kansas City area and was born with primary ciliary dyskinesia, a rare genetic lung disease. She says The Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare, allowed her to get insurance and become a first-generation college graduate from the University of Kansas. After interning for Obama in 2008 and organizing for Clinton in 2016, she moved into progressive fundraising at firms like Left Rising, working with candidates aligned with Bernie Sanders, AOC, and the Squad. In August 2024 she walked out of the Democratic National Convention during Oprah Winfrey’s speech, posted a viral TikTok explaining her disillusionment, and later voted for Donald Trump, although she does not call herself a Republican. Her book, Nothing Left: Confessions of a Democratic Operative, published by Threshold Editions in July 2026, became an instant New York Times bestseller. It details how, in her view, the party shifted from championing the working class to being dominated by activists, coastal elites, and identity-focused infrastructure.
SPONSOR:
Head over to https://www.westernrazor.com/orthodoxypod and use code ORTHODOXYPOD at checkout for 10% off your first order.