The political world is fast-paced and chaotic, and often, it's just too much to keep up with. That's where Make It Make Sense comes in.

My name is Grant Hermes. I’ve been a journalist for over a decade on the ground covering the biggest US political stories, scandals, and elections. I’ve lived in red and blue states, in coastal and landlocked states, in urban and rural communities, and the thing that I’ve found is that most people just want to know what the hell is going on.

I’m like you. I want to know what’s going on, but it’s a lot lately.

Make It Make Sense is all about that. My approach is simple: breaking down the political headlines of the week and giving you some context for why things are the way they are in a smart, relatable way, with one extra thing: I really do care about you.

There are a lot of people out there breaking down the news, but I look at it with people in mind, instead of the back and forth of politics. Is this policy going to hurt people when it could be avoided? Are we talking enough about that?

I call it my “harm principle.”

It honestly makes things simpler. Lies are lies. When experts tell you someone is behaving like an authoritarian, you listen and report it. The actual harm being done to someone or a group of people is more important than the political or perceived harm someone else is shouting about.

Politics isn’t a game, and the way we talk about it shouldn’t be one either.

As a free subscriber, you get three podcast episodes a week. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, a quick explainer of the biggest stories, just long enough for your drive home from work. On Fridays, you get a longer interview with an expert or interesting thinker about a major issue of the day in feed, just in time for the weekend.

Paid subscribers get all that plus deeper diving and investigative articles on Wednesdays about an issue that’s been stuck in my head.

It’s never been more important to have a place to make the world make a little more sense, and I’m so grateful to have you here!