Words & Numbers
Words & Numbers
Free the People
Episode 469: An American King?
54 minutes Posted Nov 4, 2025 at 12:00 pm.
Introduction and Overview
The Smart Vacuum That Spied
Off-Year Elections in California and New York
Polling Bias and the Hidden Republican Vote
Foolishness of the Week: Barack Obama
Race, Identity, and Political Opportunism
Guest Introduction: Historian David Beito
Debunking the FDR Myth
FDR’s Progressive Ideology and Power Mindset
Central Planning and the New Deal
Comparing FDR to Modern Presidents
What If FDR Hadn’t Died in Office?
FDR’s Second Bill of Rights
Why the Great Depression Lasted Longer in America
FDR’s Legacy of Surveillance and Bureaucracy
Emergency Powers and Modern Parallels
Closing Reflections and Book Plug Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Show notes
In this episode, we discuss vacuum espionage, election polling, voter bias, and the persistence of the “hidden Republican” phenomenon, before turning to the Foolishness of the Week on Barack Obama’s shifting racial politics. We then speak with historian David Beito, author of FDR: A New Political Life, about Franklin D. Roosevelt’s lasting impact on American governance. We examine how FDR reshaped the federal government through progressivism, centralized planning, and the expansion of executive power, connecting his presidency to modern debates over welfare, economic rights, and political authority. We also explore the contradictions of FDR’s leadership, his charisma and pragmatism alongside his willingness to suppress dissent, and how his policies continue to influence government and public trust today.
52:26 Closing Reflections and Book Plug Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices