Compact Podcast – "MAiD in Manhattan"

Date: January 22, 2026
Hosts: Matthew Schmitz and Ashley Frawley
Theme: Discussion on Trump's Greenland deal and the rise and rhetoric of assisted dying legislation in the UK, US, and more broadly, Western society.

Episode Overview

This episode delves into two weighty issues: the continuing shockwaves caused by Donald Trump's Greenland policy, and the progression of assisted dying (Medical Assistance in Dying - MAiD) laws in the United Kingdom and beyond. Host Matthew Schmitz and guest Ashley Frawley critically examine elite attitudes from Davos and how trends at the top, like “managed decline” and “decline by design,” permeate policymaking—including the expansion of euthanasia rights.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trump, Davos, and the Greenland “Fiasco”

(Timestamps: 02:04–09:19)

• Trump’s Greenland Deal:

  • Trump’s push to acquire Greenland stirred confusion, allegations of cognitive decline, and bemusement among elites at Davos.
    • Ashley: “He kept confusing Iceland and Greenland… But how would you know if he was facing cognitive decline?” (04:19)
  • Ashley suggests Trump’s pattern is to “escalate in order to de-escalate,” frightening people with wild proposals before settling for less dramatic actions.
    • Ashley: “He has that madman kind of tactic where I might just follow through. And then all of a sudden taking Greenland not by force sounds like a great idea.” (06:06)
  • Despite appearances, the Greenland move has strategic logic—resource competition in a warming Arctic is real, and US interests in expansion are long-standing.
  • Schmitz observes that many Americans and the global elite see Trump's moves as disruptive, questioning the value and reality of the “rules-based international order.”
    • Matthew: “Trump just mistrusts what some people call the liberal international order… he thinks it’s fake… So he wants to tear that up.” (09:19)

• Davos & Elite Attitudes:

  • Ashley recounts the vibe at Davos this year: world leaders, especially Carney, struggling with the “managed decline” of Western prosperity; sessions openly questioning, “Can we afford longevity?”
    • Ashley: “It has been for a long time, in my opinion … an institution that represents the aspiration for managed decline. How can we keep this declining world system orderly.” (15:11)
  • Suggests a shift from dreams of progress to triage—between AI, longevity, and euthanasia debates, many proposed “solutions” are desperate.
  • The supposed “adults in the room” try to preserve a fraying world order, even if it means “bleeding out humanity drop by drop.”
    • “Y’know, either you’re going to work until you’re 75 or you see yourself out.” (31:34)

2. The Rhetoric and Politics of Assisted Dying (MAiD)

(Timestamps: 23:23–39:40)

• UK Assisted Dying Bill:

  • The “Terminally Ill Adults End of Life Bill” is moving through the House of Lords, introduced as a private member’s bill (i.e., not put to a public vote or party manifesto).
    • Ashley: “They took this opportunity to say as little as possible during the election… when they’re in government, they bring in all of these awful, like, anti-human developments and one of these is assisted dying.” (24:09)
  • The bill’s passage has been deliberately rushed and shielded from public debate. Lords are now debating and slowing (if not stopping) it.
    • “At the very least, they're slowing it down... as of today... it's near impossible for it to pass the House of Lords, at least by the end of the current parliamentary session.” (24:56)

• Arguments & Rhetorical Strategies:

  • Initial claims were about severe suffering, last six months of life, and strong safeguards—rhetoric has shifted as proponents admit cost-saving motives and minimizing “burdens.”
  • Frawley details alarming statements made in the Lords:
    • Ashley: “There’s only so much money to go around, literally that was said in a speech.” (26:02)
    • On patient motives: “If they seek it because they're a burden, that's none of our business.” (26:11)

• Comparison to Trans Medicalization:

  • Frawley explains the parallel: both movements medicalize complex social/individual issues, demand access as a right, and bypass public scrutiny until law is entrenched.
    • “They have conceptualized it so much as a medically necessary treatment that literally nothing can stop you from prescribing it. That would be a form of discrimination.” (27:08)
  • Notes that once “treatment” is enshrined, the criteria always expand.
    • “Once something is united in law, no man shall part it, essentially.” (32:41)

• The Social Cost:

  • Euthanasia’s advocates increasingly see old age and incapacity as costly burdens rather than natural parts of life and social solidarity.
    • Ashley: “Why are we going to keep these people alive when they're not doing anything for us? ... That's the cold economic logic at the bottom of this.” (32:22)
  • Raises concerns about the social consequences—how the logic of “managed decline” erodes the very idea of care-based relationships.

3. Memorable Quotes and Moments

• On Managed Decline:

  • Ashley: “This is the negative abolition of capitalism. This is capitalism kind of undermining itself but not producing anything new.” (18:00)

• On Difference Between Trump and Davos:

  • Matthew: “The idea that we would annex this huge piece of territory where something might happen, maybe not extensive settlement, though, who knows, with global warming, but development, mining, as you say, a kind of frontier... seems to open, you know, possibility once again.” (19:49)

• On Assisted Dying and Freedom:

  • Matthew: “Giving a speech in the House of Lords saying, oh, assisted dying. This is the ethic of the Romans. This is the true expression of the Western belief in freedom. This is what we need.” (34:53)

• On Social Cost of MAiD:

  • Ashley: “This idea that you just take that away, that this is just worthless, this is a life unworthy of life, is so disgusting and... concerning.” (38:19)
  • On cultural change: “People say that all the time. They don't even realize, like, my mom... took care of her mother in her last year where she was very, very ill. Was she a burden on you? And she was horrified. No, of course not. These were really important... times.” (37:08)

Segment Timestamps

• 02:04—Introduction / Trump & Davos
• 03:40—Trump’s Behavior and Greenland Deal
• 09:19—Analysis of the Liberal International Order
• 12:47—Carney at Davos, AI, Longevity, “Managed Decline”
• 23:23—Transition: Decline & Assisted Death
• 24:09—UK Assisted Dying Bill, Process, Pushback
• 26:30—Medicalization, Expansion, Parallels to Trans Issue
• 32:22—Economic Motives & Managed Decline
• 34:43—US/EU Trends, Mainstreaming of MAiD
• 37:01—Personal Story, Changing Values
• 39:40—Episode closes; content ends

Tone & Approach

Both hosts maintain a skeptical, critical, and at times wry tone as they discuss the shift from expansionist, dynamic capitalism (represented by Trump) to elite technocratic management of decline and human surplus (represented by Davos and the euthanasia debate). Frawley in particular stresses the way rhetoric, process, and economic logics are used to fast-track controversial social policies.

Summary Takeaways

• The so-called “adults in the room”—global elites—have gone from planning for growth to anxiously managing a slow decline, often through controversial policies like assisted dying.
• Trump is seen as a disruptive force, challenging both the status quo and the ideology of managed decline, with actions like the Greenland deal simultaneously exposing and destabilizing elite narratives.
• The UK’s assisted dying bill exemplifies how radical changes can be introduced with minimal democratic scrutiny, cloaked in humanitarian language but underpinned by cost-saving and utilitarian logic.
• The medicalization of complex social problems allows advocates to push far-reaching legal changes by framing them as “necessary treatments”—a process also seen in transgender policy debates.
• Fundamental questions about human life, care, autonomy, and value are at stake, with Frawley and Schmitz urging skepticism toward the cold logic and rhetoric now mainstream among Western policymakers.

For more in-depth analysis:

• Charles Murray, "Why I Changed My Mind on Assisted Suicide" (Compact Magazine)
• Ashley Frawley’s writings on MAiD and policy rhetoric at Compact
• Coverage of WPATH policy evolution and social/medical medicalization in Compact archives

This summary remains faithful to the speakers’ language, skepticism, and the episode’s questioning tone, foregrounding the real-world relevance and urgency of the issues discussed.