Hello friends, Sometimes I feel like screaming at the mainstream media for failing to alert people to crucial (although complicated) issues affecting our democracy coming from different parts of government simultaneously. Case in point: Moore vs. Harper, argued yesterday before the Supreme Court, and the Electoral Reform Act, which must be enacted before the end of this Congress because Republicans won’t touch it once they control the House. The two are intimately connected but you wouldn’t know...
Dec 08, 2022•6 min•Transcript available on Metacast Freinds, Welcome back to my Saturday coffee klatch with Heather Lofthouse, Executive Director of Inequality Media Civic Action (and my former student, years ago). Grab a cup and pull cup a chair. Today, we talk about: — Biden and the Democrat’s decision to stop railway workers from striking. — Elon Musk’s decision to allow almost every hateful, deceptive person in the world to spew poison on Twitter (except Kanye West). — House Republican’s upcoming decision over whether they’ll try to do seriou...
Dec 04, 2022•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast A producer at ABC recently asked if I’d be willing to be interviewed for a documentary they’re making about Bill Clinton. I agreed. Then I asked when they’re planning to show it. “After he dies,” they said. “What!? Is he dying?” I asked, shocked. “Oh, no,” they said. “It’s for the archive.” “You mean, it’s for whenever he dies, even if that’s twenty years from now?” “Exactly.” “Even if you and I are long gone by then?” “Yup.” I was relieved, but flummoxed. Was I supposed to talk about Clinton in...
Dec 02, 2022•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast Friends, Today is Giving Tuesday — a day to focus on personal charitable giving to worthy causes. But what I really want to talk about today is something quite different from charitable giving, although often confused with it: It’s called “effective altruism.” Known as EA to its practitioners, effective altruism urges people to give away a large share of their incomes. Fine as far as it goes. But EA has been going much further. One of EA’s most influential proponents is the Oxford philosopher Wi...
Nov 29, 2022•4 min•Transcript available on Metacast Welcome back to my Saturday coffee klatch with Heather Lofthouse, executive director of Inequality Media (and my former student), where we talk about the highs and lows of the week. Please grab a cup and pull up a chair. Today we’re still recovering from Thanksgiving, so we thought we’d change pace a bit and talk a bit about what we’re doing in our “spare” time — what we’re reading, what we’re watching, how we’re trying to get a break. And, of course, our weekly poll. — Heather is reading: Anyth...
Nov 27, 2022•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Friends, Thanksgiving often brings up one of the central dilemmas in my life — trying to find a better balance between work and family, and failing miserably. It’s the word “balance” that’s always thrown me. I used to assume that a better balance meant more of what you really wanted and less of what you didn’t. For me, and perhaps many of you, that metaphor doesn’t help. Sure, I’ve met lots of people who find a better balance by doing less work and having more time for family. But that’s hard to...
Nov 24, 2022•4 min•Transcript available on Metacast When Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion, he clearly didn’t know that the key assets he was buying lay in Twitter’s 7,500 workers’ heads. On corporate balance sheets, the assets of a corporation are its factories, equipment, patents, and brand name. Workers aren’t considered assets. They appear as costs. In fact, payrolls are typically two-thirds of a corporation’s total costs. Which is why companies often cut payrolls to increase profits. The reason for this is simple. Corporations have tr...
Nov 21, 2022•6 min•Transcript available on Metacast Welcome to another of my Saturday coffee klatches with Heather Lofthouse, my colleague at Inequality Media Civic Action (and my former student), where we talk about the highs and lows of the week. Grab a cup and pull up a chair. Today we talked about: — Nancy Pelosi bows out of the Speakership and Kevin McCarthy bows in. Ugh. — Donald Trump declares his candidacy for president. Double ugh. — Elon Musk is on the way to destroying Twitter. Ugh and a half. Plus a few positive developments. And plea...
Nov 20, 2022•12 min•Transcript available on Metacast Welcome to another of my Saturday coffee klatches with Heather Lofthouse, my colleague at Inequality Media Civic Action (and my former student). Grab a cup and pull up a chair. This week we discuss: — Why Democrats exceeded expectations in the midterm elections. — What will happen during the lame duck session? — What can we expect for the 2024 presidential race? — Why is Elon Musk warning that Twitter may go bankrupt? (Thanks to this week’s jingle composers, Corey Kaup, Deirdre Broderick, and Pe...
Nov 13, 2022•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Friends, Veterans Day is a time to honor those who have fought to protect American democracy, especially those who gave their lives so that our democracy can endure. We have just emerged from midterm elections that have tested that democracy as it has not been tested since the Civil War. In large part, our democracy passed that test. We are indebted to all candidates who peacefully and responsibly conceded defeat, and to all election workers who worked so diligently (and in several states are st...
Nov 11, 2022•5 min•Transcript available on Metacast Friends, Apart from specific issues and candidates that motivated voters on Tuesday, two contrasting parties continue to emerge in America – one, pro-democracy; the other, anti-democracy or neofascist. The hallmarks of the neofascist party are its cruel nastiness and unwillingness to abide by election results. In other words: Trumpism. Both were on full display election night as Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake assailed the “cheaters and crooks” whom she claimed were running elections, ...
Nov 10, 2022•5 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hello friends, Welcome back to my Saturday coffee klatch with my colleague Heather Lofthouse (Executive Director of Inequality Media Civic Action — and my former student), where we talk about the highs and lows of the past week over morning coffee. I’m delighted to be back. And many thanks to Michael Lahanas-Calderón for filling in for me. Today we cover: — What gives us the most hope and what worries us most about the upcoming midterm elections. — Elon Musk’s wild takeover of Twitter. — Jerome ...
Nov 05, 2022•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast I really don’t want to write about him any more. I’d rather not even think about him. Honestly, I’d rather forget he existed. But he looms over the 2022 elections like a sword of Damocles. Trump continues to dominate all political coverage. In many respects, he is still the center of American politics — if anything, bigger and more dangerous than he was when he left the White House. First, consider all the action in federal and state courts. Just within the last two weeks, Trump has been subpoen...
Oct 24, 2022•4 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hello friends, Welcome back to my Saturday coffee klatch with my colleague Heather Lofthouse (Executive Director of Inequality Media Civic Action — and my former student), where we talk about the highs and lows of the week over morning coffee. I’m off this week but have invited Heather and Michael Lahanas-Calderón (Director of Digital Strategy at Inequality Media Civic Action) to chat in my absence. Michael, a member of Gen Z, leads our work on TikTok. He and the team at IMCA have been using vid...
Oct 22, 2022•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast The culture wars now ripping through American politics — especially noticeable in these last few weeks before the midterm elections, when Trump is trying to lay the groundwork for an authoritarian takeover — arguably began on May 8, 1970 in New York City. That day happened to be the 25th anniversary of the Allied victory over Germany in World War II. It was also weeks after Richard Nixon expanded the Vietnam War into Cambodia. And it was just four days after Ohio National Guardsmen shot dead fou...
Oct 21, 2022•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast Sincere question: How are you doing these days? I ask because almost everyone I talk with is feeling overwhelmed. Putin’s war in Ukraine and his threats to use nuclear weapons, Trump and his henchmen’s (and henchwomen’s) ongoing threats to democracy, the upcoming midterm elections, the bizarre economy, the climate crisis and the natural disasters it’s spawning. And much more. It’s impossible to block all this out because we’re inevitably affected by it every day –from the prices we’re paying for...
Oct 20, 2022•4 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s not just the Big Lie. Republicans are telling three other lies they hope will swing the midterms. They involve crime, inflation, and taxes. Here are the GOP’s claims, followed by the facts. 1. They claim crime is rising because Democrats have been “soft” on crime. Rubbish. Rising crime rates are due to the proliferation of guns, which Republicans refuse to control. While violent crime rose 28 percent from 2019 to 2020, gun homicides rose 35 percent . States that have weakened gun laws have ...
Oct 17, 2022•6 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hello friends, Welcome back to my Saturday coffee klatch with my colleague Heather Lofthouse (Executive Director of Inequality Media Civic Action — and my former student), where we talk about the highs and lows of the week over morning coffee. Pull up a chair. Today we cover: — The (potentially last) January 6 committee hearing, and where do things go from here? — The new bad inflation number, and why the Fed’s rate hikes don’t seem to be working (and what Democrats should be saying about inflat...
Oct 16, 2022•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Want some good news? With 27 days until Election Day, polling averages suggest Democrats could retain control of the Senate and even gain a few seats there, and are within sight of keeping the House. Last week, the Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election forecaster, shifted its forecast in 10 House races, seven of them in favor of Democrats. A day later, analysts at Sabato’s Crystal Ball, an election handicapper based at the University of Virginia, shifted six House seats, four favoring De...
Oct 13, 2022•4 min•Transcript available on Metacast Twitter and Instagram just removed antisemitic posts from Kanye West and temporarily banned him from their platforms. It’s the latest illustration of … um, what? How good these tech companies are at content moderation? Or how irresponsible they are for “muzzling” controversial views from the extreme right? (Defenders of West, such as Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita , are incensed that he’s been banned.) Or how arbitrary these giant megaphones are in making these decisions? (What would Elon ...
Oct 11, 2022•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast Within weeks of taking office, Britain’s new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, and her chancellor of the Exchequer, Kwasi Kwarteng, proposed a radical new set of economic measures that echoed the trickle-down policies of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan — heavy on tax cuts for the rich and deregulation. Last Monday, after a backlash from investors, economists and members of his own party, Mr. Kwarteng reversed one of the proposals, deciding against abolishing the tax rate of 45 percent on the highes...
Oct 10, 2022•5 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hello friends, Welcome back to my Saturday coffee klatch with my colleague Heather Lofthouse (Executive Director of Inequality Media Civic Action — and my former student), where we talk about the highs and lows of the week over morning coffee. Pull up a chair. Today we cover: — Friday’s jobs report, and why the media is getting it wrong. — Billionaire influence over the midterm elections. — Saudi’s stabbing America in the back on oil. — Why we need a monthly report on corporate profits. — Why He...
Oct 08, 2022•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast Gallup reports that a whopping (and record) 72 percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 34 approve of labor unions. That’s especially remarkable given that a bare 3 percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 34 belong to one. Despite the recent victories of Starbucks workers and noteworthy efforts by Amazon warehouse workers, the rate of union membership in America has fallen to its lowest in seventy years: now a bare 6 percent of private-sector employees. Republicans hate unions. De...
Oct 06, 2022•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast Conservative economists shrug their shoulders at the record accumulation of wealth at the very top of America. They claim it’s not a problem because wealth is not a zero-sum game: A huge amount at the top doesn’t necessarily reduce the wealth (or potential wealth) of anyone else. They fail to see that wealth begets power. And power is a zero-sum game. Its possession by certain people means others don’t have it. Substantial power in the hands of a few people can dramatically reduce everyone else’...
Oct 05, 2022•6 min•Transcript available on Metacast Elon Musk just revived his bid for Twitter Inc. at his original offering price of $44 billion — or $54.20 a share — thereby avoiding a courtroom fight. (Musk made the proposal in a letter to Twitter on Monday, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.) So, after six months of brainless brawling bedlam, it looks like Twitter now goes to Elon. But should this critical social platform go to someone with the attention span of a fruit fly and the impetuousness of Donald Trump...
Oct 05, 2022•4 min•Transcript available on Metacast One of my goals in this newsletter is to help you uncover the ways wealth and power shape public policy. Today, I’m going to focus on a topic that may seem wonky to you — but that’s exactly the point. Its very wonkiness disguises the power dynamic lying behind it. The issue is how we measure the economy. Start with the rate of inflation — how fast prices are rising. That number is now driving the Federal Reserve, our central bank, to raise interest rates — which in turn is causing mortgage and b...
Oct 04, 2022•6 min•Transcript available on Metacast Friends, Sorry to intrude on your day once again, but I can’t remain silent in the face of Trump’s tirade against Mitch McConnell. On Friday, Trump criticized McConnell for approving Democratic bills, and asked rhetorically if McConnell has done so “because he hates Donald J. Trump, and he knows I am strongly opposed to them.” Trump concluded by asserting that McConnell “has a DEATH WISH.” These are ugly and dangerous words even by Trump’s own rock-bottom standard of indecency. They could be int...
Oct 03, 2022•4 min•Transcript available on Metacast My friends, Make no mistake: Donald Trump is effectively on the ballot in the midterm elections, five weeks from tomorrow (voting has already begun in several states). Even if he decides not to run, he’s laying the groundwork for authoritarianism. In the upcoming midterms, 60 percent of us will have an election denier on our ballot , most of them endorsed by Trump. In the key battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania, Republican candidates who embrace Trump’s...
Oct 03, 2022•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hello friends, Welcome back to my Saturday coffee klatch with my colleague Heather Lofthouse (Executive Director of Inequality Media Civic Action — and my former student), where we talk about the highs and lows of the week over morning coffee. Pull up a chair. Today we cover: — Hurricane Ian and Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis’s demonizing of “socialism.” — The Republican Party’s traditional harangue about federal spending (except when their states are under water). — The “Disclose Act” — requir...
Oct 01, 2022•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast No Republican governor has been more vocal in his opposition to what he describes as “socialism” than Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis. “I stand against socialism,” DeSantis thundered in Florida’s 2018 gubernatorial election. “Socialist policies have failed time and time again.” In June, DeSantis signed an education bill directing Florida’s Department of Education to develop a curriculum educating students on the evils of socialism (as well as communism). But how exactly does DeSantis define “soc...
Sep 30, 2022•6 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
