Welcome back to Beltway Banthas! Swara and Stephen are BOTH moving this week to new homes and this was as good a time as any to share some audio from over the summer. Stephen met up with New York Times op-ed columnist Ross Douthat for a discussion on Star Wars and politics. It's a well rounded conversation with a lot of focus on Star Wars strengths AND weaknesses. We hope you enjoy and aren't distracted by the ambient noise of the conference.
Here are supplemental materials for Douthat's writing about Star Wars
https://www.nationalreview.com/2017/12/star-wars-last-jedi-review-lost-space/
https://douthat.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/12/08/the-politics-of-star-wars-2/
https://douthat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/24/the-politics-of-star-wars/
Interview: Ross Douthat of The New York Times