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Video: Andrew Yang and Charlie Dent on the future of America's political parties

Andrew Yang and Charlie Dent on the future of America's political parties

Andrew Yang and Charlie Dent agree that something needs to change when it comes to America's political parties and its two-party system, but have different ideas about what that change should be. They discuss those ideas in a conversation moderated by McCourtney Institute for Democracy Communications Specialist Jenna Spinelle.

Charlie Dent is the McCourtney Institute for Democracy’s fall 2021 visiting fellow and spent seven terms in Congress representing Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley. Andrew Yang ran for president in 2020 and mayor of New York City earlier this year. Most recently, he founded the Forward Party, a movement that brings together people interested in solving America’s problems, debating ideas in good faith, and advocating for policies like open primaries and ranked-choice voting.


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Naloxone displayed on a table.

An addiction medicine physician explores how policy changes could reverse progress and increase preventable deaths.

Getty Images, Cappi Thompson

Why Is Harm Reduction on the Chopping Block?

“Do you lick your needles when you inject?” This is one of the questions that I, an addiction medicine doctor, regularly ask my patients. The answer is often yes. Their reasons vary: checking needle patency, enacting an entrenched ritual, or, most poignantly, “cleaning” the needle.

I explain to my patients that licking introduces oral bacteria that can lead to life-altering complications, including sepsis, heart infections, paralysis, and death. Every day, I see the devastating complications that arise not just from inadequate access to sterile supplies but from a misunderstanding of how to reduce harm.

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A Lesson on “Matters of Morality” for the Vice President

American Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost presides over his first Holy Mass as Pope Leo XIV with cardinals in the Sistine Chapel at the conclusion of the Conclave on May 09, 2025 in Vatican City, Vatican.

(Photo by Simone Risoluti - Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images)

A Lesson on “Matters of Morality” for the Vice President

The Vice President has stepped into the fray between the President and Pope Leo. For those of you who have not been following this, Pope Leo has been critical of various things that Trump has said regarding his war with Iran, including his statement that he was ready to wipe out the civilization. In response, Trump called Pope Leo too liberal and easy on crime. He also said that the Pope was only elected because he was an American, in response to Trump having been elected President. In response, the Pope said that he had no fear of the Trump administration and that his job was to preach the gospel. He said in response to Secretary of War Hegseth's invoking the name of Jesus for support in battle, that Jesus “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.”

Into this exchange steps the Vice President, who says he thinks the Pope should stick to "matters of morality" and let the President of the United States dictate American public policy. The Vice President obviously doesn't understand the meaning of morality and its scope.

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