Professor Adam Braus (Elton University) and comedian Scot Maupin (@scotmaupin) meet up each week where Adam brings a new idea to help the world and Scot picks and prods at it with jokes and questions. The result is an informative and entertaining podcast that always gets you thinking.
Solutions from the Multiverse: A Better Way to Police Riots
Episode summary
Adam Braus and Scot Maupin take on the French protests and ask why France keeps seeing violent riots. Adam argues the cause isn't French culture. He says it's how France polices them. He makes the case for the "gold standard" of riot policing: the consent-based model the UK invented and Sweden refined. The episode isn't about brand-new ideas, but Adam says this solution isn't getting any media coverage.
What we cover
Policing by consent vs. statist force: The UK sees police as "citizens in uniform." France treats disorder as a challenge to the state.
How French riot police work: They find agitators, rush the crowd, arrest them, and move crowds out by force.
Dialogue police: The UK's police liaison teams and Sweden's "Dialogue Police" wear visible vests, talk with crowd leaders before, during and after protests, and explain what police are doing and why.
After the riot: Debriefs with protest leaders help prevent the next riot. Adam says the seeds of the next riot are planted at the end of the last one.
Case studies: Sweden's reforms after the 2001 Gothenburg riots, and Vancouver's 2010 Winter Olympics, where police mingled with crowds and the games saw virtually no major public order incidents.
Why France hasn't changed: The state refuses to negotiate with rioters, there's little trusted local policing, and police unions resist.
Not just a French problem: Adam compares it to US polarization and first-past-the-post voting. Scot ties it back to the "us vs. them" dynamic.
America's patchwork: The US has no national police force, so protest policing varies by place.
Mentioned in the episode
The Dialogue Police, a 2025 documentary directed by Susanna Edwards. It follows a Swedish police unit in Stockholm. Adam says it rents on Amazon Prime for about $4.
Timestamps
0:07 Intro and today's solution
3:32 Policing by consent vs. statist force
6:51 How French riot police operate
11:27 Dialogue and communication strategies
15:01 UK liaison teams and Sweden's Dialogue Police
20:40 Why the police, not the culture, are the issue
26:14 Post-riot debriefs
29:19 Why France hasn't adopted this
36:58 Sweden's reform after 2001
37:58 Vancouver Olympics case study
41:03 The Dialogue Police documentary
42:15 Culture vs. systems, and voting
45:21 Wrap-up
22 Oct 2026
Did Trump Get Something Right with Childcare?
Stay-at-home parent childcare subsidies could change family economics
Adam Braus and Scot Maupin discuss a proposed child care subsidy that would pay stay-at-home parents directly, rather than limiting support to outside caregivers. The conversation starts with California’s family, friend, and neighbor care model, then explores how a federal version could help working families, support more flexible parenting arrangements, and ease household pressures.
They also consider what influences birth rates—from housing and neighborhood safety to multigenerational living and the role of grandparents. Along the way, they debate whether the proposal counts as “MAGA communism,” whether it should be called a “tradwife provision,” and why child care support may matter more than simple cash incentives.
Timestamps
00:00 — Introducing Solutions from the Multiverse
00:26 — The hook: a Trump proposal Adam supports
01:47 — California’s family, friend, and neighbor child care subsidy
02:45 — How the existing program works and who may qualify
03:40 — Why Adam thinks parents should be eligible too
04:16 — The proposed federal subsidy for stay-at-home parents
07:05 — The proposal’s political roots and traditional family roles
08:02 — How direct payments could empower the caregiving parent
09:59 — What Adam means by “MAGA communism”
11:55 — The case for including families with part-time work arrangements
12:25 — The proposed benefit: nearly $9,000 per child per year
13:54 — Why birth rates may be difficult to change through subsidies alone
14:23 — Comparing family policy approaches in Hungary and Scandinavia
15:48 — The role of social conditions in family decisions
16:16 — Child-safe neighborhoods and car-free streets
17:16 — Grandparents, multigenerational living, and housing costs
18:29 — Scot on optimism, economics, and family planning
19:40 — Women’s education and fertility rates
20:10 — Artificial wombs, with a “goo tube” detour
21:07 — Why Adam sees traffic safety as a family issue
22:33 — Expanding child care support to parents and informal caregivers
23:02 — A possible bipartisan pitch for the policy
24:21 — Comparing family care with professional child care systems
25:06 — A joke about extending the idea to health care
26:16 — Revisiting California’s existing program
27:27 — Housing affordability and family formation
28:48 — The politics of keeping housing expensive
30:31 — A detour into deflation and price stability
31:32 — Closing thoughts on child care and family support
32:16 — The dinner roller coaster restaurant idea
15 Oct 2026
A Test for Female Psychopaths?
Psychopaths, Gender, and Why a Female Test Might Matter
Adam Braus and Scot Maupin explore the idea of a gender-specific psychopathy test. Adam argues that because the classic Hare-based test was developed from male prison populations, it may not capture how psychopathic traits could present differently in women. They also discuss the challenges of distinguishing those traits from other conditions, and whether some traits may be rewarded in high-pressure roles.
Timestamps
00:00 - Show intro and the episode’s premise
04:04 - Why the current psychopathy test may be male-centered
05:02 - ADHD and autism as examples of differences in presentation
07:41 - The possibility that some forms of psychopathy go underrecognized
09:09 - Traits a future test might examine
10:37 - Psychopathic traits and high-pressure professions
12:09 - Utilitarian thinking and emotional distance
13:01 - Psychopathy as a spectrum
14:10 - The proposed test as a public-awareness tool
15:52 - Where research could begin
17:11 - Possible changes to the test’s criteria
18:59 - Social awareness and masking
20:04 - Debating whether separate tests are needed
21:20 - The challenge of distinguishing psychopathy from borderline personality disorder
24:44 - What identification might be used for
25:04 - How narcissism entered everyday conversation
27:11 - Questions about women in business and leadership
29:57 - Nonviolent expressions of extreme traits
31:55 - Reviewing examples of psychopathy criteria
34:17 - Psychopathy versus narcissism
35:35 - Public figures as debated examples
37:53 - Beauty pageants and other possible research questions
39:28 - Prevalence estimates and the challenge of setting a cutoff
40:42 - Treatment, coping, and awareness
43:48 - Recognizing traits and choosing environments
45:43 - Recapping the episode’s main idea
47:11 - Possible book titles and a debate about a provocative clip
50:09 - Closing remarks
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
13 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
4 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 63 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
96
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
77
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