KCRW's Left, Right & Center

Left, Right & Center has been running for over two decades, making it one of the longest-standing political discussion shows in American media. The premise is right there in the name: bring together people from different ideological perspectives and let them hash out the week's biggest stories. Current host David Greene moderates alongside regulars like Josh Barro and Rich Lowry, with rotating guests from think tanks and newsrooms. Each weekly episode runs about 50 minutes and typically tackles three or four major political topics -- immigration, economic policy, elections, foreign affairs. The discussions are substantive and pointed. The panelists genuinely disagree with each other, and Greene doesn't smooth over the friction. That's the whole point. You hear smart people making their best case from different starting points, and you get to weigh those arguments yourself. The show has amassed nearly 5,000 ratings on Apple Podcasts, with a 3.9-star average. That rating partly reflects how polarized the audience is -- some listeners think the panel leans too far left, others think it leans right, which might actually be a sign they're doing something right. Regular guests include Mo Elleithee from Georgetown's Institute of Politics and Sarah Isgur from The Dispatch. From KCRW, the Santa Monica-based public radio station, the show brings a West Coast sensibility to national politics without being parochial about it. If you want a weekly political discussion that actually features real disagreement instead of people nodding at each other, this is one of the few places that consistently delivers that.