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Crashing the Political Party is a podcast for curious but busy people who feel let down by the current political system and are looking for something different. Each episode features conversations with, or about, alternative political candidates, topics, and ideas you won’t hear about on mainstream news. If you're ready to explore fresh voices and real options beyond the usual talking heads and cable news shouting matches, this podcast is for you.

For this episode, we head down to Mississippi to talk with independent senate candidate Ty Pinkins. Ty and AJ talk about Ty's background, leaving the Democratic Party to run as an Independent, what Ty tells voters about supporting an independent over the major parties, policy priorities for Ty's campaign, how Ty's military service and being a father influence how he'd govern, book recommendations, and food!

In our first Research Note mini-episode, AJ walks through one of his academic publications which tests the theory that alternative candidates would perform better in America under ranked choice voting than the current widely used electoral system. He answers questions about why that might be the case, how he and his coauthors went about studying this, what they found, why even small improvements can matter, and possible future extensions of the work.

Lindsay Church, Independent for IL-4 Crashing The Political Party

This week we're pulling back the curtain a bit and showing you a selection of our Patreon-exclusive show Five Minute Briefing, where Dr. AJ Simmons takes 5 minutes to highlight a news story we weren't able to cover on our regular show. This selection is from the first 3 shows. If you want more Five Minute Briefings and more join us at our Patreon!

AJ and Ed talk about his background, who the party is, policy priorities, why the 4th congressional district is drawing so many alternative candidates, lessons learned in Ed's previous campaigns for office, how being a teacher and union organizer will shape his governing style should he win, what success might look like beyond election results, and book recommendations.

For episode 5 of season 5, AJ is joined by Jack Ternan, chairman of the American Solidarity Party. AJ and Jack talk about who the ASP is, what sets them apart from the Democrats and Republicans, what Christian democracy means, some of the major policy positions of the party, the party's stance on the US and Israel attack on Iran, Jack's goals as chairman, party goals in 2026, how Jack came to be part of the ASP, voter skepticism towards a Christian party, and book recommendations.

In this episode, AJ talks with Chicago Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez about his independent campaign for 4th congressional district in Illinois, why he's running as an independent, challenges he's faced going that route, his policy priorities, vying for voter attention in a five way race, what his governing experience in Chicago has taught him, what his children have taught him about governing, books that have influenced him, and more!If you like what you hear please rate, review and subscribe!Join on us on Patreon: https://patreon.com/cppshowAnd for more updates check out our website: https://www.crashingpod.com/

In episode three of season five, AJ sits down with Rich Whitney, chair of the recently formed Independence Party. They talk about who the party is, what some of their policy priorities are, what it looks like to start a new party, issues around collecting voter signatures, lessons learned from Rich's prior experiences in alternative politics, convincing voters to support a new party, and more!

In this episode, AJ talks with Todd Achilles, a former state representative turned independent candidate for the U.S. senate election there. They talk about Todd's background, why he's running as an independent as opposed to one of the major or alternative parties, his policy priorities, what he hopes to achieve in the senate, and how he might try to work with both Democrats and Republicans to get things done.

In this season five premiere, AJ sits down with Justin Magill, Chairman of the Constitution Party. They talk about who the party is, some of their policy priorities, where they've had electoral success, what some of their goals are for 2026, strategies for growing the party, barriers to alternative party successes, what a chairman does exactly, and, of course, books!If you like what you hear please rate, review and subscribe!Join on us on Patreon: https://patreon.com/cppshowAnd for more updates check out our website: https://www.crashingpod.com/