Diemer & DiBello · Matthew Diemer: Politics, Cleveland, Congress, Senate, Ohio, News, Commentary

Navigating Leadership, Crises, and Global Challenges

·1 hr 34 min·5 clips

The hosts say Karen Bass's response to the Los Angeles fires shows a deeper competence problem in government.

1. Diemer & DiBello opens with Sunday banter, a Mojo's croissant and egg-and-cheese sandwich, and a complaint about the internet. 2. One host explains his trial work, including jury instructions, stipulations, and pretrial motions when a civil case will not settle. 3. The episode's core question is whether political leaders can handle crises better than the people currently getting picked for office. 4. Amy Acton is introduced as Ohio's former health director during COVID and a new Democratic candidate for governor. 5. The hosts say she used daily 2 p.m. COVID briefings with the governor to communicate deaths, vaccinations, and hospital updates. 6. They describe those briefings as organized and responsible, then contrast that with Acton's later exit from public life. 7. The race is framed against Trump's 11-point win in Ohio and the Republican hold on statewide offices. 8. The hosts argue that Acton has little chance unless she attacks the for-profit medical and insurance system directly. 9. They also say she would need to apologize for parts of the COVID response if she wants to compete with Republican candidates. 10. Karen Bass becomes the second major example, because the hosts tie the Los Angeles mayor to the wildfire response. 11. They criticize her for being out of state in Ghana and for ignoring reporters when she returned to the airport. 12. The discussion says a mayor of Los Angeles should be able to give a press statement, even from a plane or Zoom call. 13. The hosts compare Bass's response with Mike DeWine's daily COVID updates and argue that public communication matters. 14. The California fires also lead to a discussion of insurance companies dropping Palisades homes before the blaze. 15. The hosts note that many houses in the Palisades sit in the $4 million to $100 million range and still represent families' savings. 16. They argue that people with home equity can still be financially wrecked because rebuilding after taxes and losses is hard. 17. The tone is conversational, argumentative, and local, with legal anecdotes mixed into political commentary. 18. The format is two-host back-and-forth, with one host pressing and the other answering in a quick debate style. 19. Listeners interested in Ohio politics, wildfire response, and civil trials. 20. Listeners wanting light banter without partisan argument.

As heard by us

A loose, grounded political hangout that keeps bringing big events back to ordinary life.

The episode starts like a Sunday catch up and keeps drifting, usefully, from trial prep to fire talk, then to Jimmy Carter and the Trump-Obama funeral moment.

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Why you'd press play

For when a Sunday chat starts with trial prep and wanders into Jimmy Carter, the Trump-Obama funeral moment, fires, and social media censorship.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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