Dirty Moderate with Adam Epstein cover art

Dirty Moderate with Adam Epstein

Dirty Moderate with Adam Epstein

Written by: Adam Epstein
Listen for free

About this listen

Dirty Moderate showcases the people who cut through the nails-on-a-chalkboard din of the modern-day American political scene. We promote rigorous analysis and lively debate with individuals on both sides of the aisle and beyond.

Our host, Adam Epstein, is a 12 time, Tony Award-winning former Broadway powerhouse producer turned political provocateur. Adam can go toe-to-toe with anyone on politics as he did on Trish Regan Primetime every Thursday night in 2019 as the lone non-conservative panelist, delivering his centrist perspective with grit, intellectual prowess, and undeniable charm.

Guests of the podcast range in perspective by design, and no two conversations are alike, but the one vitally important thing all of our guests have in common is they fight like hell for Democracy. Do you?


Executive Producer Dawn Sorokin, End House Media • Theme Song by @brettgarrisonepstein • Subscribe to the Dirty Moderate Nation Substack at www.dirtymoderate.com • Tweet the Show: @dirty_moderate © 2025 Dirty Moderate with Adam Epstein
Philosophy Political Science Politics & Government Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Shabbos Kestenbaum
    Jun 3 2024

    Shabbos Kestenbaum is a graduate student at Harvard University, researching the intersections between between public policy and contemporary Jewish life in the United States. Shabbos is the lead plaintiff against Harvard University alleging pervasive and systemic antisemitism. Shabbos has appeared on CNN, Fox News, and in The New York Times, and has testified in front of the United States Congress, among other forums, to advocate for the American Jewish community. Currently, Shabbos is working with Congress to pass major pieces of legislation to combat antisemitism.

    Adam and Shabbos sit down to discuss the raging antisemitism on college campuses, what the campus protests are really about and the palpable dread felt by Jewish people everywhere since the pogrom of Oct 7 and what can be done about it. As the world’s oldest hatred flares up yet again, Adam and Shabbos’s discourse is a painful, if potentially healing one that’s indispensable.




    Thanks for helping us save democracy one episode at a time!

    • Join the Dirty Moderate Nation on Substack!
    • Tell us what you think on Twitter!
    • Check out our YouTube channel!
    • Are you registered to VOTE?




    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 1 min
  • Michael Steele
    May 31 2024

    When he was elected Lt. Governor of Maryland in 2003, Michael Steele made history as the first African American elected to statewide office; and again with his subsequent chairmanship of the Republican National Committee in 2009.

    A longtime political analyst and contributor to MSNBC, Michael is currently the co-host of MSNBC’s “The Weekend,” which airs Saturdays and Sundays at 8AM EST.

    Having recently appeared on Michael’s podcast “The Michael Steele Podcast,” Adam turns the tables and is able to ask Michael all about his life , his time as the first black party chairman for the RNC, the racial cross currents of the GOP before it became Trumpified, and why he remains a Republican, *though of the Never Trumper sort.

    This discussion between Adam and Michael is a conversation that might as well have never ended, and we are overjoyed to see these 2 lock arms in the fight to save democracy.

    Listen, Like, and Subscribe to Michael’s fantastic podcast here: https://michaelsteelenetwork.com/podcasts/

    Watch The Weekend on MSNBC: https://www.msnbc.com/the-weekend

    Find Michael on Twitter/X: @michaelsteele



    Thanks for helping us save democracy one episode at a time!

    • Join the Dirty Moderate Nation on Substack!
    • Tell us what you think on Twitter!
    • Check out our YouTube channel!
    • Are you registered to VOTE?




    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 18 mins
  • Ron Reagan
    May 24 2024

    Ron Reagan, the son of former President Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan, grew up in Los Angeles and Sacramento while his father served as Governor of California from 1967-1975.

    After a brief career as a classical ballet dancer, Ron Reagan has spent the past 40 years as a correspondent, host and political commentator in television and radio, chiefly for MSNBC and Air America. He has written for many publications — Esquire, Newsweek, The New Yorker and Playboy among them — and is the author of the New York Times bestseller, My Father at 100. He is a board member of the Freedom from Religion Foundation and has spoken frequently in support of the separation of church and state. Ron and his Italian wife, Federica, divide their time between Seattle and Tuscany.

    Adam sits down with Ron for a deeply personal interview with the son of the 40th president to everything from growing up as a Reagan, differing with his father on politics, being an atheist, and writing a poignant memoir about his father’s formative years called “My Father at 100,” which was published in 2011.

    Of course, Adam and Ron also discuss how the party of sunny optimistic Ronald Regan could devolve into a den of lies, autocracy and a disdain for the rule of law in the thrall to Donald Trump.



    Thanks for helping us save democracy one episode at a time!

    • Join the Dirty Moderate Nation on Substack!
    • Tell us what you think on Twitter!
    • Check out our YouTube channel!
    • Are you registered to VOTE?




    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 16 mins
No reviews yet