Best Toby Buckle Podcasts (2025)

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Eleanore "Ellie" Halverson 43:57

Play Pause

24h ago43:57

43:57

In September 2023, 45-year-old Eleanore "Ellie" Halverson and her mother, Roxanne, drove to a mental health facility in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. She was planning to check in for treatment. Outside the entrance, Ellie said goodbye to her mother and daughter, as neither of them were allowed to accompany her inside. Roxanne expected she would hear fro…

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Do Elections Define Democracy? with Natasha Piano 1:14:59

4d ago1:14:59

1:14:59

What is democracy and why is it failing? Natasha Piano joins the show to discuss her recent book, Democratic Elitism: The Founding Myth of American Political Science.By Toby Buckle

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Jonathan Hoang Part 2: Reappearance 1:07:40

8d ago1:07:40

1:07:40

Last week, you learned about Jonathan Hoang, his quiet and structured life, and how he disappeared from his family’s home in Arlington, Washington, at the end of March 2025. On the evening of March 30, Jonathan asked to sleep in the downstairs guest bedroom because the sound of the treadmill was bothering him. In hindsight, a few details from that …

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Writing the Bible: 1 The First Flood 22:35

10d ago22:35

22:35

The first episode of my new, new format, history series - the Bible in its historic and literary context. We start in 1850 BC in ancient Babylon, with the epics that would evolve into the Genesis flood story.By Toby Buckle

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088: Liberalism's Radical Future (w/ Andy Craig) 47:35

11d ago47:35

47:35

It's difficult to be optimistic about liberalism's future. Certainly in the short to medium term. We're in an acute period of democratic backsliding and authoritarian ascendency. The opposition party, or at least its leadership, has been largely supine in response. A backlash is rising, but it's an open question whether it'll be enough, and soon en…

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Writing the Bible - New Series Preview 4:41

15d ago4:41

4:41

A shot preview of a new series I'll be doing on the podcastBy Toby Buckle

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Jonathan Hoang Part 1: When the Pattern Broke 1:00:40

16d ago1:00:40

1:00:40

Twenty-one-year-old Jonathan Hoang disappeared from his home in Arlington, Washington, sometime between the evening of Sunday, March 30, and the early morning hours of Monday, March 31, 2025. On the night of March 30, Jonathan asked his father if he could sleep in the downstairs guest room, saying the sound of the treadmill was bothering him. A sho…

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UK AMA 1:03:07

19d ago1:03:07

1:03:07

I take a range of questions on all things British politics.By Toby Buckle

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Replay: Case Continued - Ruth Egnoski - Open Secrets 1:04:59

22d ago1:04:59

1:04:59

Ruth Egnoski’s story was difficult to piece together. Between fragmented newspaper archives and fading memories, there were gaps we feared might never be filled. We couldn’t even determine what year Ruth had disappeared. We had submitted records requests to the Delavan Police Department, but at the time we produced the episode, we had received no r…

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Replay: Ruth Egnoski 59:23

23d ago59:23

59:23

Sometime between the summer of 1964 and 1966, a young woman named Ruth Egnoski vanished from Delavan, Wisconsin. The exact year is unclear, but she would have been between 18 and 20 years old at the time. Her family says they reported her missing to local police, but no search was ever conducted. A private investigator later claimed Ruth had boarde…

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087: Classical Liberalism and Michel Foucault (w/ Mark Pennington) 51:44

29d ago51:44

51:44

Liberals, particularly classical liberals and libertarians, have too narrow a view of power. They focus on government force, or the threat of government force, and ignore all the other ways power is exercised in society. And the way classical liberals and libertarians imagine the fully autonomous self is at odds with our deep cultural embeddedness …

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David Shier Part 3: Hollow Answers 1:05:21

1M ago1:05:21

1:05:21

Over the past two weeks, you’ve heard the story of David Shier, who vanished from Trinidad, Colorado, in February 2022, and the exhaustive search that followed. Despite the urgency, no clues surfaced. Dave's family was forced to reexamine every detail, lead, and possibility. On the morning of Dave's disappearance, he asked his wife to drive him to …

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THE NEVERENDING PRIMARY 1:46:54

1M ago1:46:54

1:46:54

Why Hillary vs Bernie still shapes our politics & how we can move past it.By Toby Buckle

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David Shier Part 2: Graveyard of Secrets 1:03:44

1M ago1:03:44

1:03:44

Last week, in Part 1 of David Shier’s story, you heard about his sudden and unexplained disappearance from Trinidad, Colorado, on February 11, 2022. Dave’s wife recalled that he asked her to drive him somewhere because a person had called about a property. She didn’t know more than that, but Dave was frustrated with her because she already had plan…

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086: Reclaiming the Internet (w/ Mike Masnick) 51:24

1M ago51:24

51:24

What's happened to Twitter, or now X, is the clearest example of why it's actually not great that so much of our digital communication is controlled by just a few firms and, through them, the whims of guys like Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg. These single points of control not only mean a product we love today can be unlovable, or just gone, tomorrow…

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David Shier Part 1: A Walk into the Unknown 1:16:42

1M ago1:16:42

1:16:42

On February 11, 2022, David Shier disappeared from his home in Trinidad, Colorado. That morning, his wife, Rosemarie, saw him around 11 a.m. before she left home to run some errands. When she returned later that day, David was gone. She tried calling him, but he didn’t answer. She also reached out to friends and family, but no one had seen or heard…

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THE FAR-RIGHT & CRIMINALITY with Josie Duffy Rice 1:04:59

2M ago1:04:59

1:04:59

Crime and criminality are central concepts in American political discourse - fears of crime, crime as code for race, or illegal immigration are all common issues. Now we have a movement running the country that is obsessed with crime, but also led by criminals, how do we make sense of that? Why is that so appealing to so many, and how do we talk th…

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TECH-BRO DYSTOPIA with Dave Karpf 1:07:03

2M ago1:07:03

1:07:03

What the hell is up with Silicon Valley's lurch to the far-right? Dave Karpf joins to discussBy Toby Buckle

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How Trump is Using the Surveillance State Against Us (w/ Patrick G. Eddington) 34:57

2M ago34:57

34:57

The government's power to see is its power to oppress. The more the state knows about us, the more levers it has to control us. Understanding that connection, its history and its application, is critical if we are to secure our liberties in the face of authoritarian threats, such as the illegal and unconstitutional actions of the federal government…

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Replay: Ian Eckles Part 3 - The Broken Window 1:04:58

2M ago1:04:58

1:04:58

This episode originally aired July 5, 2021. This episode originally aired July 5, 2021. Ian Eckles was last seen on May 16, 2020, as he left his home for a hunting trip in the mountains of Washington. He never met up with his friend as planned, and after days of no contact, a massive search began. The effort intensified when Ian’s vehicle was spott…

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Replay: Ian Eckles Part 2 - The Manhunt 1:02:19

2M ago1:02:19

1:02:19

This episode originally aired on June 29, 2021. By May 23, 2020, 41-year-old Ian Eckles had been missing for a week. He had made plans to go hunting with a friend, but never showed up at their meeting spot. When he failed to report to work the next day, concern quickly turned into alarm. Ian’s family and friends launched a desperate search across t…

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Replay: Ian Eckles Part 1 - The Hunting Trip 52:54

2M ago52:54

52:54

This episode originally aired on June 28, 2021. 41-year-old Ian Eckles was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed hunting and spending time in the wilderness. So when he planned a weekend hunting trip near Liberty, Washington, with a friend, it seemed like nothing out of the ordinary. But when his friend arrived at their meeting spot deep in the national …

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Liberty Means Taking Equality Seriously (w/ Jonathan Blanks) 46:08

2M ago46:08

46:08

Equality is central to the liberal project. Thomas Jefferson failed, dramatically and unforgivably, to live up to this ideal, but he stated in correctly when, in a letter, he wrote that "the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately." Liberalism views us as e…

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John "Brent" McGhee 1:13:12

2M ago1:13:12

1:13:12

On July 11, 2024, 42-year-old John Brent McGhee disappeared from Leachville, Arkansas. Brent was last seen by his mother when she dropped him off at his cousin’s house. A short time later, he left on foot, reportedly to look for his wife. According to eyewitness accounts, Brent made it to the home of his wife’s best friend, but he was not allowed i…

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What the Right Gets Wrong About Men (w/ Toby Buckle) 55:51

2M ago55:51

55:51

The Trumpist right has a very clear picture of what they imagine masculinity to be, and are quite upset that it's not a picture all men find all that appealing. It's one of violence, belligerence, and professions of heavy labor. Anything else, including the whole of the knowledge economy that has made the developed world rich, is inauthentically ma…

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Replay: Jimmy Don Robinson 1:19:37

2M ago1:19:37

1:19:37

On the night of October 1, 1976, just one week after celebrating his 21st birthday, Jimmy Don Robinson vanished from Elmore City, Oklahoma. Though he no longer lived at the family home, Jimmy stopped by around midnight. His mother had just returned from a late shift and was preparing dinner. Jimmy chatted briefly with his family, and during that ti…

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FIRING THE GENERALS with Samantha Hancox-Li 1:01:29

2M ago1:01:29

1:01:29

Why & how the Democratic Party needs to change. Samantha and I discuss our recent articles on what is going wrong for democrats, and what is going wrong for those who want to reform the party. The Crisis of Democratic Governance: https://www.liberalcurrents.com/the-crisis-of-democratic-governance/Roadmap to American Reconstruction: https://www.libe…

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Larry Riegel Part 2: Dusting off the Case 59:23

2M ago59:23

59:23

Last week, we brought you Part 1 of Larry Riegel’s story. You learned about Larry’s life, career, and sudden disappearance from Yakima, Washington, around Christmas in 2009. On Christmas morning, Larry spoke with his mother, and around 4 PM that afternoon, he had a conversation with his son, Brian. But when Brian called back later that evening, Lar…

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Why the Far-Right Pretends to Like Democracy (w/ Zack Beauchamp) 54:14

3M ago54:14

54:14

The authoritarian right loves to talk about how they're upholding democracy. Trump didn't lose the 2020 election, because if he had, democracy would've been against him. So instead it was stolen from him, his loss a subversion of the democratic process. Now, as a deeply unpopular second-term president, he and his loyalists pretend they are executin…

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Larry Riegel Part 1: Shifting Narratives 1:10:04

3M ago1:10:04

1:10:04

It was Christmas 2009 when 57-year-old Lawrence Riegel vanished from Yakima, Washington. Larry had plans to visit his family the day after Christmas, but he never showed up, which was completely out of character for Larry. He was known for always arriving with his famous peach pie in hand. At the time, Larry was living with his girlfriend, Ladena, …

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IT'S THE FASCISM, STUPID with Kevin Elliott 1:34:24

3M ago1:34:24

1:34:24

The debate on if Trump is an existential fascist threat is now over. What, if anything, is to be learnt from it? Yes, It's Fascism https://www.liberalcurrents.com/yes-its-fascism/Trump 'Alarmists' Were Right: https://www.liberalcurrents.com/trump-alarmists-were-right-we-should-say-so/Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/PoliticalPhilosophy…

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Forging an Opposition to Trump (w/ Adam Gurri) 53:22

3M ago53:22

53:22

The first few months of the Trump administration have proven not just how willing much of America was to embrace and celebrate fascism, but how crucial careful, clear-eye, and thoughtful reporting and analysis are to building and sustaining a resistance movement. Few publications have been as essential in this moment as Liberal Currents, which has …

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Nicholas Downey 1:02:12

3M ago1:02:12

1:02:12

In late February 2023, 37-year-old Nicholas Downey rented a car in Florida to visit his wife in Mississippi. While he made it there safely, the visit was brief, as Nick needed to return to Florida and drop off the rental car. During his drive home, he spoke to his wife one last time. After that call, he vanished without a trace. Nick's disappearanc…

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The Crank Theory of Everything (w/ Alysia Ames) 44:05

3M ago44:05

44:05

As we've talked about a fair amount on the show, gender is at the center of the ideological clashes defining our political moment. Trumpism is, at its heart, a misogynistic movement, and the fractious coalition of philosophies within the Trumpist tent all agree that increased freedom and opportunities for women have been very upsetting for right-wi…

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THE EUROPEAN UNION with Simon Hix 1:05:25

3M ago1:05:25

1:05:25

The EU from a political philosophy perspective - How do we justify it, is it legitimate, is there a 'democracy gap', & how will it weather the rising far-right?By Toby Buckle

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Replay: Sandy Rea 1:05:05

3M ago1:05:05

1:05:05

This episode originally aired on April 6, 2020. On the night of September 19, 1984, 17-year-old Sandy Rea was last seen at the Windsor Bowling Alley in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Her cousin, who was working there at the time, had a brief conversation with her. Sandy then made a phone call, though it’s still unclear who she contacted. Sandy mentioned to her…

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ROUSSEAU with Eoin Daly 1:29:10

3M ago1:29:10

1:29:10

Who was Rousseau? What is the 'general will'? What did he think was important when designing constitutions, and what does this tell us about freedom - and the possibility of freedom - today?By Toby Buckle

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Joseph "Joe Lupo" Rulli Part 2: Escape or Execution? 1:04:37

3M ago1:04:37

1:04:37

Last week, we shared Part 1 of Joseph “Joe Lupo” Rulli’s story. You learned about his rise in the boxing world at a young age, his battle with Polio that tragically ended his career too soon, and Joe’s eventual rise within the mafia. For a while, things were looking good for Joe, but by April of 1971, a mafia turf war was raging. Several of Joe’s a…

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Ayn Rand Would've Hated Elon Musk (w/ Paul Crider) 55:13

4M ago55:13

55:13

Many very rich men who support Trump fancy themselves heroes from the novels of Ayn Rand. I've never done an episode of this show on Rand's ideas, because I'm not a Randian, and don't think about political questions through anything like an Objectivist perspective. But the fact that so many men breaking the country believe they are Randian archetyp…