In this episode of American Angst, Michael Bailey briefly updates us on the apparent breakthrough in the government shutdown. The deal reopens the government and restores furlough pay, but Bailey emphasizes that the underlying fight—especially over Affordable Care Act subsidies—remains unresolved. In his view, the shutdown ended without Democrats gaining meaningful policy concessions, making this more of a pause than a resolution.

The primary focus of the episode, however, is the recent off-year elections. Bailey notes that Democrats performed well in several key statewide and local contests, but he cautions against over-interpreting the results. Rather than signaling a grand defense of democracy, he argues the outcomes likely reflect everyday affordability pressures—housing, groceries, healthcare—more than ideological alignment.

Bailey highlights a divide within the Democratic wins: moderates gaining ground in statewide races and a democratic socialist gaining momentum in a major city. He sees this as a strategic crossroads. While the moral concerns behind social-democratic policy are real, he warns that leaning too far into ideological purity may be risky in a culturally center-right nation. He argues that pragmatic centrism may remain the most broadly viable approach.

Finally, Bailey raises a concern about political character and restraint. In resisting authoritarian tendencies on the right, he stresses that Democrats must avoid mirroring the same “win-at-all-costs” approach. The challenge, he suggests, is to protect democratic norms without becoming what one opposes.

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

Homeownership used to be the on-ramp to the middle-class American Dream. For many young adults, that on-ramp now feels barricaded—by high prices, high mortgage rates, high rents, and student debt. In this episode, Michael Bailey and Dale McConkey trace how the starter-home drought ripples outward, negatively affecting:

• Wealth-building: Years of renting replace decades of equity, widening generational gaps.
• Life milestones: Delayed ownership nudges later marriages, fewer or later kids, and less geographic mobility.
• Community & civic life: Fewer roots can mean lower local engagement and turnout, thinner neighborhood ties, and more loneliness.
• Culture & politics: Rising cynicism (“the game is rigged”) meets nostalgia (“we’ve lost something essential”), fueling new coalitions and tensions.

Michael also proposed some possible solutions: zoning reform (more duplexes, ADUs, mid-rise), YIMBY approaches to mixed-income neighborhoods, right-sized incentives for first-time buyers, and pragmatic “yes-and” policies that different ideologies can actually share. Maybe, just maybe, we can find new pathways to the American Dream.

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

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.

It’s a crossover feast: American Angst meets Church Potluck for a lively, thoughtful dive into religion, politics, and the Founders—setting the table for an upcoming conversation on Christian nationalism. This one leans a bit more American Angst in tone, with Michael Bailey taking the lead while Dale McConkey jumps in with sociological insight and good-humored pushback. In this episode, the focus is squarely on the Christian Commonwealth perspective—the idea that America’s roots lie in Puritan covenant theology, religiously infused language in the Declaration, and early public practices that tied faith and politics together. Along the way, they explore why Americans have long seen themselves as “chosen” and exceptional, and why ownership of the national story still feels contested.

The conversation includes playful banter, a round of “Founding Father Faith Jeopardy,” and even a ranking of which founders were most traditionally religious. And while today’s episode emphasizes the Christian Commonwealth thesis, next time the duo will turn to the Godless Constitution perspective—giving both sides of this ongoing debate their due. Smart, curious, and just spiky enough to keep you listening, this crossover sets up a larger series of conversations on Christian nationalism and American identity.

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

San Francisco is often painted as a city in crisis by conservative politicians and pundits, but does that picture hold up when you actually live there? In this special episode, political scientist Michael Bailey sits down with his daughter, Lydia Bailey, for a wide-ranging father–daughter dialogue about her life in the city. Host Dale McConkey is along for the ride, chiming in from the back seat.

Through their conversation, Lydia helps us see whether the lived reality of San Francisco matches the “angsty” narrative we so often hear. Michael frames the issue with a look at crime data versus political rhetoric, then Lydia brings it down to earth—how people actually navigate the city, what it feels like to live in different neighborhoods, and how the weather itself shapes daily rhythms. From the city’s food culture and parks to its delightfully eccentric bumper stickers, Lydia shares the everyday experiences that give San Francisco its character. And while she doesn’t shy away from the real challenges of housing costs and city governance, the picture she paints is far more textured—and far more hopeful—than the caricature we too often hear.

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

Environmental policy professor Dr. Courtney Cooper joins American Angst to untangle climate science, local vs. federal solutions, and why adaptation and mitigation aren’t either/or options. With Dr. Michael Bailey (our resident “Avatar of Angst”) pressing on partisanship, expertise, and the politics of denial, and host Dr. Dale McConkey steering the conversation, we move from Andean glaciers and wildfire smoke to bike lanes, data centers, and why “co-benefits” (healthier cities, better transit) might be the bridge past stalemate. Expect insights on models and evidence, frank talk about costs and tradeoffs, and a grounded hopefulness: we can’t do everything, but we can do a lot—together.

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