Common Sense with Dan Carlin

The U.S. political stage has long been primed for an American nightmare. Faction loyalists can argue over who'll end up pulling the constitutional trigger, but the metaphorical gun has been loaded for decades.

Transcribed - Published: 23 March 2025

Vladimir Putin has instantaneously reignited the Cold War by savagely attacking Ukraine this week. In response to requests, Dan shares a few thoughts.

Transcribed - Published: 1 March 2022

After 20 years in Afghanistan the U.S. exits the country thus ending the longest war in American history. Are there any lessons to be learned?

Transcribed - Published: 31 August 2021

In a show recorded before the recent House impeachment vote, Dan examines the damage caused by the iceberg we recently hit when Americans stormed the U.S. Capitol and tries to suggest how we might avoid hitting another one.

Transcribed - Published: 13 January 2021

To paraphrase John Lennon, So you say you want a civil war? With the U.S. facing one of the most consequential elections in its history, Dan has some thoughts about us all, our choices and the times in which we live.

Transcribed - Published: 20 September 2020

Does a global pandemic help break the spell of our bitter partisan conflict, or does it just raise the stakes? In the first CS show in years Dan wrestles with the Zeitgeist.

Transcribed - Published: 31 March 2020

You never know when you might get a little common sense unexpectedly out of nowhere.This is one of those times.

Transcribed - Published: 25 May 2018

Dan is finding is hard to operate in a Black and White, Good and Evil cultural environment where everyone is outraged all the time about everything and where Americans hate each other. Where's the Common Sense?

Transcribed - Published: 27 October 2017

Politically-related violence in the U.S. heats up as talk of "Civil War" goes mainstream. What would a "Civil War" in the U.S. even look like? Dan has some thoughts on this and ways to potentially avoid such a fate.

Transcribed - Published: 18 June 2017

There's a lot in this show subject-wise, but it's really supposed to be about War Powers in the USA and how events in Syria and North Korea play into the issue.

Transcribed - Published: 30 April 2017

As the GOP attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Dan ponders the dichotomy between what Americans spend on health care versus what they get in return.

Transcribed - Published: 15 March 2017

Dan is in an introspective mental place in this show...but he may just drag you in there with him.

Transcribed - Published: 14 February 2017

Dan has another visit with the always fascinating science historian and TV host James Burke. He also catches up a bit on early Trump cabinet picks and the Dakota pipeline protests.

Transcribed - Published: 7 December 2016

Post-2016 election analysis and discussion from a Martian political perspective.

Transcribed - Published: 10 November 2016

What happens if our nation's problems become too large to realistically imagine our politicians solving? What if voting doesn't help? Dan reminds us that he's not a moderate, and that you probably aren't either.

Transcribed - Published: 13 October 2016

Secrecy, hacking, information leaks, whistle-blowers, foreign-operative propaganda pushers, disinformation, election tampering and the search for any truth in cyberspace occupy Dan's thoughts in this show.

Transcribed - Published: 9 September 2016

After a brief hiatus to finish his other podcast, Dan has a huge backlog of material to cover. The presidential race, foreign affairs and racial and cultural questions take center stage.

Transcribed - Published: 14 August 2016

This show has a "chickens coming home to roost" feel to it, but maybe in a positive way. It was supposed to be about the recent British vote to leave the EU, but evolved into something larger. Surprise, surprise.

Transcribed - Published: 26 June 2016

Hate is a very strong word, but increasing numbers of Americans hate their countrymen. Is this a danger to the stability of the country? If it were deemed such, what can be done about it?

Transcribed - Published: 4 June 2016

Dan finds the idea of a Donald Trump presidency to be inconceivable. He also thinks a fundamental change in U.S. Foreign Policy is also inconceivable. Could one inconceivable outcome lead to another?

Transcribed - Published: 7 May 2016

As the U.S. Presidential campaign veers into unprecedented territory Dan sees opportunity in the unusual circumstances. "Anger is an Energy" he says. And he says it AGAIN and AGAIN.

Transcribed - Published: 16 April 2016

It's not easy to get under Dan's normally flexible, see-things-from-multiple-angles skin, but Donald Trump's stated willingness to cross traditional American moral fault lines has done just that.

Transcribed - Published: 31 March 2016

Justice Scalia of the Supreme Court dies and CEO Tim Cook and Apple go toe-to-toe with the U.S. Government over privacy.

Transcribed - Published: 26 February 2016

In an election where political outsiders are exceeding all expectations, who better than a political outsider to break down the situation? Dan gives his Martian-style post-Iowa analysis and looks ahead to 2020.

Transcribed - Published: 6 February 2016

Fantasies about electoral chaos, calls for political prudence and martian thoughts on an anti-federal government standoff in Oregon help stuff this episode chock full of what most of you love about this show.

Published: 7 January 2016