Why Is This Happening? with Chris Hayes

While openly admitting he is left-wing in his political leanings, Why Is This Happening? with Chris Hayes does a good job of presenting balanced viewpoints for all of the stories he brings on his show. His guests include people like Stacey Abrams, but they also include people like Ted Cruz.

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The real strength of Why Is This Happening is the freedom it gives Hayes to go in depth on the stories that might only get a brief few moments of notice. While the individual guests week-to-week might not seem to have a specific theme, they do speak to the issues either in the news or at the foundation of what is in the news at the time.

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The topics aren’t always easy, Hayes seems to seek out the opportunity to challenge not just the listener, but himself as well, picking topics and guests who are addressing complex and nuanced subjects like prison reform, the rebuilding of Puerto Rico, and the rising political tribalism in the US. You can often hear him working through ideas and concepts right along with you as a guest explains them – it makes the show often feel like listening in to a conversation among friends rather than a formal podcast.

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A strong storyteller, Hayes picks guests that compliment his style and that work well in the podcast format – while episodes can often be close to an hour (or even slightly longer) in length, they typically feel much shorter. This isn’t the type of podcast you listen to on a coffee break, but I find them great for a trip to the gym as the stories are engrossing and the occasional passionate political discussion help motivate me to better performance on the treadmill.