Bernie sits down with three leading economists and a top trade union leader to discuss how the government should respond to the coronavirus pandemic. Stephanie Kelton is a professor of economics and public policy at Stony Brook University. She is a leading expert on Modern Monetary Theory and a former Chief Economist on the U.S. Senate Budget Committee. She was named by POLITICO as one of the 50 people most influencing the policy debate in America. Jeffrey Sachs is a professor, author, and advis...
Apr 16, 2020•Season 4Ep. 53
Since the start of the Democratic primary more than a year ago, we have seen the field dwindle from 20-some candidates to just two. On the one-year anniversary of our first episode, former Warren supporters make the case for progressives to rally around Bernie now that the choice is between him and Joe Biden. Ryan Knight is a progressive activist and political analyst who hosts the podcast Amped Up with Proud Resister. Blair Imani is an activist, historian, and author of, most recently, Making O...
Apr 07, 2020•Season 3Ep. 52
Economist Stephanie Kelton gives Briahna a crash course in monetary policy and why the United States would actually benefit from increased deficit spending - so long as it flows toward working people, not stock buybacks. Stephanie makes the case that, in the midst of the historic economic crash that COVID-19 is causing, the federal government could go much farther than last week's stimulus package to ease economic pain and prevent mass layoffs. Stephanie on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Stephanie...
Mar 31, 2020•Season 3Ep. 51
Recording from home, Briahna speaks with YouTuber Natalie Wynn about how COVID-19 underscores the need for Bernie's policies and talking to the political other. Under her YouTube alias ContraPoints, Natalie tackles topics like incels, cancel culture, and classism in stylish video essays. ContraPoints on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNvsIonJdJ5E4EXMa65VYpA ContraPoints on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/contrapoints
Mar 24, 2020•Season 3Ep. 50
As COVID-19 reshapes American life in unprecedented ways, Briahna examines how Bernie's health care and housing proposals would help protect American workers during a global pandemic. In two interviews recorded late last week, Briahna talks to professor Jeffrey Sachs about how Medicare for All would do much to prepare the U.S. for outbreaks like COVID-19 and to George Gardner III, supervising attorney at the Housing Rights Unit of Legal Services NYC, about Bernie's call for a moratorium on housi...
Mar 17, 2020•Season 3Ep. 49
With the race down to Bernie versus Joe, Briahna digs into the specifics (or lack thereof) of Biden's health care plan with Matt Bruenig of the People's Policy Project. The People's Policy Project: https://www.peoplespolicyproject.org/ The Bruenigs Podcast: https://www.patreon.com/thebruenigs Matt on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MattBruenig
Mar 10, 2020•Season 3Ep. 48
Airplane delays kept Briahna from a joint live show in Boston with Daniel Denvir's The Dig podcast and the Michael Brooks Show last weekend, but we're including a portion of that show featuring Natalie Shure here. Listen to the full show: https://www.thedigradio.com/podcast/bernie-2020-with-michael-brooks-and-natalie-shure/ Then, a short clip of Briahna's conversation with Karen Hunter from the Karen Hunter Show in which they discuss billionaires, poverty, and talking to those with whom you disa...
Mar 03, 2020•Season 3Ep. 47
Fresh from his massive win in Nevada, which confirmed his status as front-runner for the Democratic nomination, Bernie has come under attack for being "divisive." Strange, then, that Bernie's support is the most diverse of any campaign in the race, and he routinely wins head-to-head match-ups against both Donald Trump and the other Democratic candidates. Briahna explains why efforts by the establishment to tear down this multiracial, working-class coalition will fail. Then, in our final episode ...
Feb 25, 2020•Season 3Ep. 46
Briahna on why we cannot allow Michael Bloomberg to buy the Democratic primary, Tim Black on the role of independent media in the growing left movement, and Justin Jackson on posting as praxis. Tim on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/TimsTakeLive And Twitter: https://twitter.com/RealTimBlack Justin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/J_ManPrime21...
Feb 18, 2020•Season 3Ep. 45
Briahna explains why Bernie won Iowa despite efforts to discount predominantly minority and working-class voters. Victoria Rodriguez-Roldán, a transgender and disability activist, argues that the concerns of her communities cannot be separated from universal programs like Medicare for All. Journalist and professor Dr. Steven Thrasher explains why LGBTQIA+ communities are often the first and worst affected by scourges like HIV/AIDS. Christine Hallquist, an entrepreneur and the first openly transg...
Feb 11, 2020•Season 3Ep. 44
Is there any term more vilified on the right than "identity politics"? Supposedly, "IDpol" is all about creating hierarchies of oppression, and the lower down the ranks you fall, the less value your voice has. On this episode, Briahna talks to Barbara Smith, who as part of the Combahee River Collective - a radical, black, feminist organization based in Boston - coined the term in the late 1970s. Barbara explains that, far from excluding people, her group meant to include everyone in a common str...
Feb 03, 2020•Season 3Ep. 43
With less than a week until Iowa caucuses, Briahna sits down with economist Jeffrey Sachs to talk about the decades-long project to ward off popular, commonsense policies like Medicare for All. Then, deputy campaign manager Ari Rabin-Havt offers a glimpse behind the scenes of a Bernie rally. Jeffrey Sachs on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeffdsachs Ari's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onajourneywithbernie/...
Jan 28, 2020•Season 3Ep. 42
Pundits were left scratching their heads last fall when Foreign Policy reported that Bernie is the top recipient of donations from the military. But to supporters, it was no surprise: Bernie has a long record of fighting for the rights of US troops to health care, housing, and education - as well as keeping them out of endless, counterproductive wars in the first place. In this week's episode, Briahna sits down with Kyle Bibby, co-founder of the Black Veterans Project and an organizer with progr...
Jan 21, 2020•Season 3Ep. 41
Briahna sits down with the Hill's Krystal Ball and filmmaker Josh Fox to dissect Joe Biden's record on criminal justice, climate change, foreign policy, trade, and more. Rising at the Hill: https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising Josh's show The Truth Has Changed: http://www.internationalwow.com/tthc.php
Jan 14, 2020•Season 2Ep. 40
Briahna explores how Bernie's Jewish roots shaped his politics with Joel Rubin, the campaign's new director of Jewish outreach, and reporter, podcaster, and comedian Katie Halper. Briahna and Katie also dig into some of the anti-Semitic attacks that unscrupulous media types throw at Bernie. Joel on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoelMartinRubin Katie on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kthalps
Jan 07, 2020•Season 2Ep. 39
On the eve of 2020, we're re-upping one of our favorite early episodes (number 11, "Bogeyman: Democratic Socialism"), which features a conversation between Bernie staffer Bianca Marquez and her father, Jaime, on whether we should embrace the term "democratic socialism" to describe Bernie's brand of people-first, progressive politics. We'll be back with fresh episodes next week!
Dec 30, 2019
A recent national poll found 52 percent of 18 to 34-year-old voters support Bernie in the Democratic primary, compared to just 2 percent for Pete Buttigieg, a millennial himself. Why do young people overwhelmingly support a 78-year-old Senator for president? To find out, Briahna spoke to some of the most politically engaged young people around, including the leadership of US Youth Climate Strike, the teenage masterminds of Mike Gravel's progressive presidential campaign, and Bernie 2020's own in...
Dec 24, 2019•Season 2Ep. 38
Current Affairs editor Nathan J. Robinson stopped by the DC office for a conversation with Briahna about socialism and putting people back at the heart of politics. Nathan's book, Why You Should Be a Socialist: us.macmillan.com/books/9781250200877
Dec 17, 2019•Season 2Ep. 37
Belén Sisa, Latino Press Secretary for the campaign, talks to actor Kal Penn about his time in the White House, that time she got arrested in Chuck Schumer's office, and making the US immigration system funny on Kal's latest show, Sunnyside. Then, Briahna sits down with the teenage leadership of US Youth Climate Strike for a quick conversation spanning TikTok, ASMR, and hot pickles. Kal on Twitter: twitter.com/kalpenn Sunnyside on NBC: www.nbc.com/sunnyside
Dec 10, 2019•Season 2Ep. 36
Briahna talks to author Grace Blakeley about our era of hyper-capitalism, characterized by the growing dominance of the financial sector and weakened labor. Then, Hear the Bern producer Ben Dalton interviews an anonymous Amazon worker, who describes the company's union busting, mandatory overtime, and relentless monitoring of workers. Grace's book, Stolen: How to Save the World from Financialisation: https://repeaterbooks.com/product/stolen-how-to-save-the-world-from-financialisation...
Dec 03, 2019•Season 2Ep. 35
As millions of us head home for the holidays, Briahna sits down with Bernie and former sparring partner Peter Daou for lessons on talking across our rancorous political divides. Peter on Twitter: https://twitter.com/peterdaou
Nov 26, 2019•Season 2Ep. 34
Briahna talks to protesters outside the Supreme Court on the day that the justices hear arguments on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program. Bernie hits the campaign trail with AOC and stops by Desus & Mero to guess (badly) how much sneakers cost.
Nov 19, 2019•Season 2Ep. 33
Next time someone asks you what Bernie has accomplished in his career, send them this podcast and tell them that we had to leave the better part on the cutting room floor just to get it under an hour. Featuring veteran policy advisor to the Senator, Warren Gunnels.
Nov 12, 2019•Season 2Ep. 32
Briahna stopped by Politicon for a live show of Hear the Bern featuring Kyle Kulinski, James Adomian, and Anthony Atamanuik. The four talked the current state of the 2020 race, celebrity impressions, and, of course, why Bernie beats Trump. Kyle Kulinski is the host of the show Secular Talk and co-founder of Justice Democrats. James Adomian is a comedian, host of the podcast The Underculture, and the Bernie half of "Trump vs. Bernie." Anthony Atamanuik is a comedian, author of American Tantrum: T...
Nov 05, 2019•Season 2Ep. 31
Life under unfettered capitalism is tough, and in a thousand ways, big and small, mainstream figures tell us that our failures are our own, alone. Briahna talks to acclaimed filmmaker Michael Moore and Jacobin writer Meagan Day about why so many of our struggles result from the system in which we live - and how we can change it for the better. Michael's site: https://michaelmoore.com/ Meagan's writing at Jacobin: https://jacobinmag.com/author/meagan-day
Oct 29, 2019•Season 2Ep. 30
In one of the most exciting weeks of the campaign yet, Briahna heads to New York for Bernie's massive rally in Queens with Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who along with Rep. Ilhan Omar endorsed Bernie for president last week. Then, Briahna sits down with campaign research director Tyson Brody to react to some of Bernie's spiciest moments from the debate.
Oct 22, 2019•Season 2Ep. 29
What does it feel like to have the full, diverse spectrum of your political concerns reduced to a single issue? Briahna takes on the media and political establishment's habit of essentializing voters from two different angles. First, she talks to the Analilia Mejia, the campaign's national political director, about why Bernie's agenda appeals to Latinx voters in part because of its holistic approach. Then, Tom Sexton of the Trillbilly Worker's Party podcast explains why the notion of "Trump coun...
Oct 15, 2019•Season 2Ep. 28
Briahna talks to Matt Orfalea, creator of the viral "Rising Up" video, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor delivers some fiery remarks on racial justice under a Sanders administration, and Bernie talks to Virgil Texas of Chapo Trap House about what the point of an economy even is. Matt's "Rising Up" video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZhkKATtqtU Nathan J. Robinson's "Why Bernie Has to Win" article: https://www.currentaffairs.org/2019/10/why-bernie-has-to-win Cosmopolitan interview: https://www.cosmopoli...
Oct 08, 2019•Season 2Ep. 27
Briahna lays out why the notion that "everyone sounds like Bernie now" isn't really true at all, and nowhere is that more evident than Bernie's plan for combating climate change. Activist and musician Xiuhtezcatl Martinez shares Gen Z's frustration at the inaction of older generations in the face of an existential threat. Author Naomi Klein explains why small-bore, market-led solutions are too little, too late. Xiuhtezcatl's NOW platform: https://www.generation-now.com/ Naomi's book This Changes...
Oct 01, 2019•Season 2Ep. 26
Veterans share their stories of fighting for essential medical care at recent campaign town halls. Bernie unveils his housing-for-all plan, gets personal in an NPR interview, and explains how he would fight for a progressive agenda, whether or not he faces a supportive Congress.
Sep 24, 2019•Season 2Ep. 25