Today we've got Dr. Abdul El-Sayed and Dr. Micah Johnson on to talk about their new book Medicare for All: A Citizen's Guide . We talk about what the pandemic revealed about the broken American health care system, and how universal Medicare could fix both the immediate problem and help us be more prepared for future heath disasters. Abdul's newsletter The Incision can be found here ....
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Why did the Texas electricity system collapse during the recent cold snap? We've got Kate Aronoff, co-author of A Planet to Win and sole author of the forthcoming book Overheated , on to discuss what went wrong. It turns out that carbon power is screwing up human society in basically every imaginable way, who knew? Enjoy!
Today we've got writer John Ganz on to discuss what relationship fascism has to Trump and the U.S. far right, and the bizarre spectacle of people trying to work up a red-brown alliance. (This has not worked out well in the past!) Check out John's Substack here .
Thanks to popular demand, we are unlocking this one. We've got Doug Henwood , author of the excellent book Wall Street , on to talk about GAMESTONK and what it all means. While it may be funny to see a couple hedge funds getting pantsed by Reddit, the fact is that financial speculation is no way to provide material security to the working class.
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We've got Mike on to discuss Freedom from the Market , a great book that examines how the "free" market has in fact been a source of tyranny and oppression throughout American history, and how Americans have mobilized in many since-forgotten ways to expand their freedom by protecting themselves from the market. Enjoy!
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Today we are hoisting up an episode from the archives in celebration of MLK Day. We discuss King's advocacy of democratic socialism and his argument that civil rights were inadequate without an equal share of economic production. Then we turn to his foreign policy views, including his speech attacking the Vietnam War , and how his argument for a brotherhood of nations is more vital than ever in the age of climate change. The MLK Nation article " Let Justice Roll Down " can be found here ....
Today we're bringing back Peter Cole to talk about the second edition of his book Ben Fletcher: The Life and Times of a Black Wobbly . Fletcher was one of the most impressive labor organizers of the early 20th century -- a guy who successfully organized the very diverse workforce of the Philadelphia docks into one of the keystone unions of the IWW. If you've heard of Fred Hampton, you should know about him. Enjoy!
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Alexi is out, so Ryan briefly discusses how the coronavirus pandemic blows apart the conservative/libertarian conception of freedom, and illustrates the value of a socialist version of same. Hope you all had a good holiday, and enjoy!
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Thanks to popular demand, we are unlocking this one for everyone. We couldn't decide how we wanted to tackle such a gigantic book, so we decided we'd each pick out 10 quotes that drove us furthest up the wall, and talk about them. Enjoy! Support the show here!
Today we are talking with Steven Klein , a professor of political theory at King's College London, about his book The Work of Politics . How does the welfare state interact with traditional conceptions of political activity and struggle? Klein has complex and interesting answers to this question. Enjoy!...
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Today we've got philosopher David Livingstone Smith on to discuss his book On Inhumanity . We discuss how people can come to believe others are less than human, how that is related to various atrocities, whether the entire idea of "races" should be abolished, and more. Enjoy!
What happens after Trump? We've got The New Republic's Osita Nwanevu on to discuss his recent article on why the left should take to the streets immediately, broader questions of political possibility, how American democracy might be defended, and more. Enjoy!
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Today we've got Matt Sitman , who is co-host of the excellent Know Your Enemy podcast , associate editor at Commonweal , and editorial board member of Dissent , on to discuss the quite remarkable papal encyclical from a few weeks ago. We talk the politics of Catholicism, how Pope Francis relates to his predecessors, how to live well in such a terrible age, and more. Enjoy!...
On this episode we discuss the LARB symposium on Martin Hägglund's book This Life. Subscribe now to hear the whole thing !
Today we've got Professor Robert Vitalis on to discuss his book Oilcraft , and how a mistaken understanding of how the oil supply works has bedeviled both imperialists and anti-imperialists. Enjoy! PS: Alas, despite our best efforts we once again had a few audio glitches, thanks it seems this time to internet connection problems. Apologies!
In the second half of our latest bonus episode we discuss the presidential debate, the Amy Coney Barrett nomination, and judicial theories of originalism. Subscribe now to hear the whole thing !
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Today we've got Daniel Bessner , University of Washington professor and recently inaugurated Foreign Exchanges columnist , on to discuss various foreign policy topics: the motivations and functioning of the American empire, how we should think about China regarding the Uyghur abuses and climate change, and how one might go about rolling back the imperial system. Enjoy!
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Today we've got Marshall Steinbaum from the University of Utah to discuss whether socialism and antitrust (or antimonopoly) inherently trade off, or can complement each other. The Gabriel Winant review of Goliath we discuss can be found here . Enjoy! PS: Unfortunately we had some more technical glitches during recording. Apologies, but everything should be reasonably comprehensible....
Today we've got Professor Harvey Kaye on to discuss his book The Fight for the Four Freedoms: What Made FDR and the Greatest Generation Truly Great . We discuss the radical content of this doctrine, how the Democratic Party has forgotten its own history, and how the "Greatest Generation" has been sanitized by morons like Tom Brokaw. Enjoy!
Today we've got Dr. Abdul El-Sayed on to talk about his new book, Healing Politics . We discuss the coronavirus pandemic, health care reform, the experience growing up in an immigrant community, what he's learned from his faith, and more. Enjoy!
