When Attorney General Bill Barr told the House Judiciary Committee recently that voting by mail on a large scale presented a “high risk” for “massive voter fraud,” Pramila Jayapal challenged him—with evidence. She’s co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, she represents Seattle, and she talks about the fight against Trump for voting by mail. Her new book is Her new book is "Use the Power You Have: A Brown Woman’s Guide to Politics and Political Change." Plus: The new Aaron Sorkin film,...
Oct 16, 2020•45 min
Pence faced an impossible task in the VP debate Wednesday night - defending Trump's inaction on the pandemic; but Kamala Harris also faced challenges: she couldn't be an angry black woman. Harold Meyerson comments. also: Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown talks politics and history, and the lessons Biden should learn from his recent reelection in Ohio, where he won by 8 points in a state Hillary lost by 6. plus: "Totally Under Control" is Alex Gibney's powerful new documentary on Trump's Covid-19 failur...
Oct 09, 2020•1 hr 4 min
Trump made no attempt in the first debate to win over undecideds- so what WAS his plan? And what is to be done to make future debates more bearable? Harold Meyerson comments. Plus: Ella Taylor on women in politics on TV this week: "Mrs. America" with Cate Blanchett as Phyllis Schlafly; "The Glorias," with Julianne Moore as Gloria Steinem, and "All In," a voting rights documentary featuring Stacey Abrams.
Oct 02, 2020•37 min
Trump’s rush to fill the Supreme Court vacancy will help Biden in several ways, Harold Meyerson says--first of all, by making the Republican threat to Obamacare an urgent issue. Harold is editor-at-large of The American Prospect. Also: Refugees—after World War II in Europe, and today. Historian David Nasaw explains—his new book is The Last Million: Europe’s Displaced Persons, from World War to Cold War. Plus: Hacking your mind: We make many of our decisions, including political ones, NOT on the ...
Sep 25, 2020•58 min
We are in “one of the most perilous and fraught moments for American democracy since the mid-nineteenth century,” says Chris Hayes; what’s hopeful is that “the movement we’ve seen in the streets is the largest protest movement in American history.” Chris of course hosts “All In” weeknights on MSNBC; he’s also editor-at-large of The Nation, and he spoke recently with Katrina vanden Heuvel at a Nation magazine online event. Plus: Covid-19 is the disease that reflects all our social and economic il...
Sep 18, 2020•57 min
Rick Perlstein talks about the rise of Reagan, from what seemed like a career-ending defeat in the 1976 GOP primary, to his narrow victory in the popular vote in 1980--and how the darkness of the culture war has shaped the Republican Party that Trump came to dominate. Rick's long-awaited book, 1100 pages long, is "Reaganland: America's Right Turn, 1976-1980." Also: Katie Porter, the new member of Congress who flipped a longtime Republican district in Orange County, talks about defending the post...
Sep 11, 2020•58 min
After Kenosha: will Trump’s efforts to mobilize white backlash voters succeed, the way Nixon did in 1968? “No,” says Harold Meyerson. Also: Radically changing our broken criminal justice system—Jody Armour's visionary radicalism. He teaches law at USC and he’s a prominent defender of Black Lives Matter—and his new book has just been published—it’s called “N*gger Theory: Race, Language, Unequal Justice, and the Law.” Plus: Ella Taylor recommends “Epicentro,” sort of a documentary about Cuba—it’s ...
Sep 04, 2020•56 min
The Republican National Convention is hard to watch, but Harold Meyerson is doing it for us. He reports on the highlights (Melania), and the low moments (Kimberly Gilfoyle). Also: The Children's Hour, stories about Don Jr., Ivanka, Little Eric, and Tiffany, told by Amy Wilentz. Today: the kids go to the convention! Plus: Our TV critic Ella Taylor recommends the six-part documentary "Immigration Nation" on Netflix, and the 72-episode drama "A French Village," about collaboration and resistance in...
Aug 28, 2020•57 min
The Democratic National Convention featured several Republicans but almost no Bernie supporters: Harold Meyerson comments. Plus: A Black Lives Matter leader in LA confronts the LAPD—outside her house. Melina Abdullah is a co-founder of Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles; she’s also professor of Pan-African studies at Cal State Los Angeles—and last week she was on the front page of the paper in LA. We asked her what happened. Also: Virus-time TV with Ella Taylor – today Ella recommends “the 24th” - a...
Aug 21, 2020•57 min
The pandemic has slowed the speed of life under capitalism, Naomi Klein suggests in her recent conversation with Katrina vanden Heuvel—and that has created greater empathy and solidarity, expressed in the unprecedented support for the Movement for Black Lives. But the “Screen New Deal”—the virtual classroom and workplace—are bringing greater isolation and increasing corporate power. Also: Trump’s rushing to develop a vaccine and declare victory over Covid-19 just before the November election – w...
Aug 14, 2020•56 min
We’ve been told many times that Trump won the 2016 election because his populist appeal won the white working class. Populism is the problem, in this view -- populism mobilized the irrationality, bigotry, & authoritarianism of the white working class. Tom Frank say that’s all wrong -- he wrote the classic “What’s the Matter with Kansas?,” and now he has a new book out: “The People, NO: A Brief History of anti-Populism.” And Ella Taylor reviews a documentary about fascism in the Philippines – whe...
Aug 07, 2020•48 min
The Feds vs the Protests in Portland: David Cole, National Legal Director of the ACLU, explains what's at stake there. And Ella Taylor reviews a documentary on the ACLU’s legal battles of the past few years--the fight for immigrant rights, voting rights, abortion rights and LGBTQ rights. Also, Mike Davis talks about LA in the Sixties –the fight in those years against the LAPD and for black lives continues today
Jul 31, 2020•46 min
Trump’s “performative authoritarianism” as a campaign ploy designed for Fox News—that’s what Harold Meyerson says. He’s Editor at large of The American Prospect. Plus: it’s time to disarm the police—that’s what Don Guttenplan argues. He’s editor of The Nation. And film critic Ella Taylor is back with virus-time TV recommendations: this week, two Netflix shows about Brazil: an animated feature on migrant labor, and a documentary about the crisis of democracy there.
Jul 24, 2020•56 min
Black Lives Matter-L.A. says “defund the LAPD.” And the sherriffs, and the school police. Kelly Lytle Hernandez explains – she teaches history at UCLA, and she’s the recipient of a MacArthur ‘Genius” grant. Also: Black Lives Matter protests are everywhere, including some fo the most unlikely places: Zoe Carpenter reports on what’s been happening in Laramie, Wyoming; Florence, Alabama; and even Vidor, Texas—it’s a former Ku Klux Klan haven that Texas Monthly described as the state’s “most hate-fi...
Jul 17, 2020•58 min
The US accounts for 4 per cent of the world’s population, but 25 per cent of the people who have come down with COVID-19 and 25 percent of those who’ve died from it. How did the richest country in the world --that spends the most on health care--become the sickest? Harold Meyerson comments. Also: in our 'news you can use' segment, Ella Taylor talks about the new L.A. noir detective show, “Perry Mason”--and about the wonderful HBO series "My Brilliant Friend," about two girls growing up poor in N...
Jul 10, 2020•57 min
As new cases of Covid-19 continue to climb, the price of the drug Remsidivir, which helps reduce hospital stays, was announced: $3,120. Cost to Gilead Pharmaceuticals of production: $10. David Dayen talks about how Biden could cut the price--he's executive editor of The American Prospect, and writes the daily "Unsanitized" blog. Also: UC Irvine law prof Michelle Goodwin talks about her experience of racism in Minneapolis. And film critic Ella Taylor discusses "Babylon Berlin," the German series ...
Jul 03, 2020•57 min
The Trump campaign said that a million people had requested tickets but the Tulsa arena seated only 17,000, so, they set up a big stage outside for the overflow, but only 6,200 people showed up. Is Trump's base turning away from him, at last? Harold Meyerson of The American Prospect comments. Next up: UCLA Historian Robin Kelley on the Police vs. the People and how so many communities continue to suffer under police violence. Plus: News you can use -- film critic Ella Taylor on films about bad c...
Jun 26, 2020•53 min
Today's number one topic is the people and the police. The Democrats have unveiled a new law to reform police everywhere. Jody Armour, professor of Law at USC, comments -- his new book is "N*GGA THEORY: RACE, LANGUAGE, UNEQUAL JUSTICE and the LAW" forthcoming in August. Next up: Ivanka Watch -- after using pepper balls and flash bang grenades to clear demonstrators for Trump's bible photo-op, the White House said that it was Ivanka's idea -- Amy Wilentz reports. Plus, We can't go to the movie th...
Jun 19, 2020•49 min
"The best thing about the protests during the last few weeks is that they are NOT about Donald Trump," says Dahlia Lithwick, "they are about us." She writes about courts and the law for Slate and she hosts the podcast "Amicus". Next up: Protests against police violence have been met with more police violence -- and Democratic mayors in deep-blue states have failed to stop them -- Elie Mystal comments. Plus: The Criterion Collection has taken down its paywall for a series of films by black filmma...
Jun 12, 2020•48 min
In almost all of our big cities we've seen massive protest against racist police violence after the murder of George Floyd by that Minneapolis cop -- in almost every city the police response to protest against police violence has been more police violence. For comment we turn to Harold Meyerson of The American Prospect. Next up, can Trump do what Nixon did with white backlash -- when it comes to backlash, will America in 2020 be like America in 1968, or Reagan in 1980? We talk with Rick Perlstei...
Jun 05, 2020•50 min
Did Joe Biden sexually assault Tara Reade in 1993? Katha Pollitt examines the evidence—and concludes that it supports Biden’s denial. Especially significant: the PBS NewsHour interviews with 74 former Biden staffers, of whom 62 were women; none said they had experienced sexual harassment, assault or misconduct by Biden. All said they never heard any rumors or allegations of Biden engaging in sexual misconduct, until the recent assault allegation made by Tara Reade. Also: Film critic Ella Taylor ...
May 29, 2020•49 min
High unemployment usually hurts working class organizing--"except when it doesn't," Harold Meyerson says. He looks a the possible futures for the labor movement when the virus is finished. Harold is executive editor of The American Prospect. Also: Greil Marcus has a new book out--it’s about The Great Gatsby and its place in American culture and American life--including on Saturday Night Live with Andy Kaufman. Greil of course has written many books, Starting with the classic “Mystery Train” and ...
May 22, 2020•47 min
Before Bernie and AOC, before Jesse Jackson and George McGovern, there was Henry Wallace, FDR’s vice president, who fought for the soul of the Democratic party in the 1940s. John Nichols tells that story, and links it to today’s battles between progressives and Wall Street Democrats—his new book, out now, is “The Fight for the Soul of the Democratic Party." Next up: One of the key forces making inequality greater in America has been the Supreme Court -- Adam Cohen will explain -- his new book is...
May 15, 2020•50 min
As parts of the US reopened their economies, the Trump Administration defunded the W.H.O., and Dr. Micheal Osterholm reminded that the point of flattening the curve was not to keep everyone from getting the virus, it was to spread-out the infection-rate over time – Mike Davis reports. Next up, we talk with David Dayen of the American Prospect about the need to save the United States Postal Service; he also reports on reasons for the shortage of hospital beds in New York City, the US healthcare s...
May 07, 2020•54 min
Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz says the US has “one of the poorest systems of unemployment insurance in the world”—and that our number one priority should be to keep workers connected to their jobs. His book "People, Power and Profits: Progressive Capitalism for an Age of Discontent" is out now in paperback, with a new preface. Plus: Harold Meyerson has today’s update in the politics of the coronavirus--and we’ll also talk about about the future of labor after the pandemic. Also: ...
May 01, 2020•56 min
Mike Davis argues that the coronavirus crisis is bringing about the fragmentation of Europe and the marginalization of the WHO; he also considers the danger to Africa, and whether China will emerge less powerful in the world economy because of the rise of economic nationalism. Mike wrote about the avian flu in 'The Monster at Our Door.' Plus Harold Meyerson comments on southern states reopening for business--and also surveys the possible Democratic candidates for vice president. Also Barbara Ehr...
Apr 24, 2020•58 min
Despite massive Republican efforts to prevent Democrats from voting in the Wisconsin primary, the Democrats won--by a huge margin. John Nichols explains how they did it -- and the implications for November. Also: Harold Meyerson comments on Bernie's endorsement of Biden on Sunday - and the skepticism of some of Bernie's supporters about Biden, as well as the apparent reluctance of some progressive leaders to join Bernie in the endorsement.
Apr 17, 2020•37 min
Republicans forced Wisconsin to go ahead with an election on Tuesday, despite the coronavirus, after rejecting the proposals to extend voting by mail. John Nichols reports -- he says it's a frightening example of what they will try to do in November to reduce the Democratic vote. Also: The Cold War was fought in many ways: it was a traditional political and military confrontation, but it was also a cultural contest, on a global scale – and one of the most important arenas in the cultural contest...
Apr 10, 2020•58 min
Harold Meyerson reports that Republicans in the Senate voted against expanded unemployment benefits almost unanimously. And the bailout support for big banks and corporations has many fewer restrictions than the small business funding support. But moments of crisis are also moments of opportunity, and number one on the Dem's list should be Medicare for All. Also: E. J. Dionne, the Washington Post columnist, talks about what it’s going to take to beat Trump in the Age of the Coronavirus – his new...
Apr 03, 2020•57 min
David Dayen of The American Prospect analyzes all the ways the economic stimulus bill passed by the Senate rewards the big corporations and doesn't do enough, or won't work well enough, for the unemployed, small businesses, and everybody hoping to receive a direct payment. David writes "Unsanitized" daily at Prospect.org. Also: Paul Krugman, the New York Times columnist and Nobel-prize winning economist, says that we don’t have an easy way of responding to the economic threats posed by the coron...
Mar 27, 2020•59 min
