Can a modern journalistic enterprise provide information and better analysis rather than merely affirmation for its audience? Steve Hayes, CEO and Editor of The Dispatch, believes it's not only possible, there's an overwhelming appetite for it. What was it like to be in the room with Donald Trump when he asserted that John McCain was not a war hero? Steve was there and even got to ask him several hard follow up questions. We asked Steve if, as a conservative, he could have a political mulligan between the early 90s and 2015, right up to Trump's entry into the presidential race, what would it be? What did Steve and the founding partners of The Dispatch see in the public square and the marketplace that motivated them to launch an independent media outlet that is informed by conservative principles? What were the major factors that led to Steve's decision to leave Fox News as a contributor? And we had to ask him for some recommendations for good Spanish wine!
 
Steve Hayes is CEO and Editor of The Dispatch, one of our favorite media outlets. The Dispatch provides “Fact-based reporting and commentary on politics, policy and culture – informed by conservative principles.” Prior to The Dispatch, Steve succeeded friend of the pod, Bill Kristol as editor-in-chief of The Weekly Standard. Steve was also a senior writer for National Journal’s Hotline and served as Director of the Institute on Political Journalism at Georgetown University for six years. He has written for such publications as the Los Angeles Times, the New York Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times, National Review, and Reason. He has been a commentator and appeared on such television shows as the Today show, Meet the Press, CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, CNBC, and C-SPAN.
 
Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. 
 
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