Current Affairs

The panel debates whether art has been over-moralized, argues the benefits of short-selling, and airs their petty grievances. At one point, someone triggers the Dialectics Calypso. The panel this week consisted of amusements and managing editor Lyta Gold, finance editor Sparky Abraham, and editor-in-chief Nathan J. Robinson. Your temporary host is Aisling McCrea. "Beyond the Guilt Tax": https://th...

This episode was originally posted on the bonus feed, but we're releasing it for everyone today! Sparky speaks to Sam Yang (@StuffFromSam) of Southpaw, a radical podcast about combat sports. In the first of this two-parter, Sam explains why he's building an alternative to the Joe Rogan universe, labor issues in the world of MMA, and exploitation and liberation in the Western practice of martial ar...

Sparky and Pete took a little break from the MMT series over the holidays. (You can see one of the reasons at the link below.) But don't worry—more episodes are on their way. https://www.currentaffairs.org/2021/01/welcome-babies

Finance editor Sparky Abraham is joined by contributing editor Eli Massey, activist and filmmaker Astra Taylor, and journalist Elizabeth Bruenig to discuss the American medical debt crisis—who's behind it, what's being done about it, and potential paths to eradicating it. "Churches Step In Where Politicians Will Not": https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/27/opinion/covid-medical-debt-church-charity.htm...

We dip once again into your voicemails! Topics include expectations for the Biden administration, anarchic education, and aliens. Stay tuned to the end so you can be sad. The panel this week was business manager Allegra Silcox, contributing editor Eli Massey, legal editor Oren Nimni, and editor-in-chief Nathan J. Robinson. Your host was, for the final time...Pete Davis. "Education Gamification": h...

Eli speaks to assistant professor at Michigan State University and writer for In These Times, Shireen Al-Adeimi, about the ongoing war in Yemen—its causes, its human cost, and the role of the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations. This episode is also available as a transcript: https://www.currentaffairs.org/2021/01/interview-shireen-al-adeimi-on-the-u-s-backed-war-in-yemen This transcript may va...

Aisling speaks to journalist Libby Watson (@libbycwatson), formerly of The New Republic and Splinter, about her new Substack newsletter, Sick Note. Towards the end, Aisling gets very enthusiastic about Libby's cat, Digby. Sick Note has launched! Read it here: sicknote.co This episode was edited by Dan Thorn of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA.

With the Supreme Court very much in the news cycle, Oren speaks to Yale professor of law and history, Samuel Moyn, about why we should not "pack the court", as many leftists call for, but instead end the court as we know it. scotusreform.com Articles by Moyn: https://newrepublic.com/article/159710/supreme-court-reform-court-packing-diminish-power https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/the-c...

The team discuss the ensmallening of culture, women in science fiction, and reveal which things they suspect may not be real. The panel this week was senior editor Brianna Rennix, amusements & managing editor Lyta Gold, and business manager Allegra Silcox. Your host is Oren Nimni. Music, as ever, is by Current Affairs musician-in-residence Danny Bradley. If you so wish, you can support Danny by pu...

Hello all! We took a week off for the holidays, but now we're back—and we've brought presents! To ring in the new year, we're bringing everyone five free episodes throughout the week. Some of them will be brand-new, some will be former Patreon exclusives; some will be new episodes that would usually be Patreon-only, but that we want to share with you because we just like you that much. If you enjo...

This week, Lyta Gold had an extra-long, two-part conversation with Current Affairs editor-at-large Yasmin Nair, in which they dissect the arts industry, media gossip, creative labor, why writing doesn't pay, and why the arts culture today feels so stagnant. This is a preview of two episodes available in full to our $5 Patreon subscribers. To listen to the whole episode, as well as lots of other br...

This episode was originally on our bonus feed, but we've released it so everyone can listen for free! Associate editor and real-life French person Vanessa A. Bee speaks to Paris-based journalist Cole Stangler about the recent French protests against police brutality and racism, as well as the broader context of protest and power in France. Some of Cole's work: https://jacobinmag.com/2020/06/france...

The panel dissects Obama's new memoir and what it says about his legacy, investigate the concept of 'cabals', and share their favorite competitive reality shows. The panel this week was made up of newsletter editor Nick Slater, lieutenant editor Brianna Rennix, poet-at-large Cate Root, and editor-in-chief Nathan Robinson. Your temporary host is Sparky Abraham. This episode was edited by Dan Thorn...

Associate editor and real-life French person Vanessa A. Bee speaks to Paris-based journalist Cole Stangler about the recent French protests against police brutality and racism, as well as the broader context of protest and power in France. This is a preview of an episode available in full to our $5 Patreon subscribers. To listen to the whole episode, as well as lots of other brilliant bonus episod...

Modern Monetary Theory—three simple words that are tearing apart the left. Pete Davis and Sparky Abraham have spent the last few years feeling curious and confused about this highly contentious theory, which posits that the U.S. government can deficit spend much more than it currently believes it can. (Or maybe it doesn't posit that. We're not sure.) Together, they've decided to launch a new serie...

Lyta and Brianna discuss Star Trek—its utopias, its assumptions, it fun parts, and its hot people. This is a preview of an episode available in full to our $5 Patreon subscribers. To listen to the whole episode, as well as lots of other brilliant bonus episodes, please consider becoming one of our subscribers at www.patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!

Did you know we can build wind turbines that don't stand on the ground? That, in fact, we can catapult wind turbines into high altitude and collect energy from them as they fly? Current Affairs resident infrastructure enthusiast Sparky Abraham and business manager Allegra Silcox speak to Christof Beaupoil about his passion for the strange new world of flying wind turbines, and his vision for the f...

Nathan, Pete and Sparky discuss the book Cult of Smart: How Our Broken Education System Perpetuates Social Injustice, and education more broadly. Should there be a curriculum? Should twelve-year-olds be allowed to drop out? Is it possible to have a radically democratic school? Is there such a thing as "intelligence"? What is "education" anyway? We answer all these questions and more. Full episode...

Pete speaks to journalist Talia Lavin about her new book Culture Warlords: My Journey Into the Dark Web of White Supremacy. This is a preview of an episode available in full to our $5 Patreon subscribers. To listen to the whole episode, as well as lots of other brilliant bonus episodes, please consider becoming one of our subscribers at www.patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!

The team responds and reflects to the Biden win, ruminate on conservative octogenarians, and look forward to a vaccinated future. The panel this week is made up of associate editor Vanessa A. Bee, finance editor Sparky Abraham, managing editor Lyta Gold, and editor-in-chief Nathan J. Robinson. Your host is newsletter editor Nick Slater. This episode was edited by Dan Thorn of Pink Noise Studios in...

As the US prepares for its second ever Catholic president, Rennix is joined by Current Affairs contributor Daniel Walden for an in-depth discussion on Catholicism: its liberatory side, its troubling side, its complicated side, and the side that says the best gender is "sphere". This is a preview of an episode available in full to our $5 Patreon subscribers. To listen to the whole episode, as well...

Nathan and Oren discuss William B. Fu—sorry, William F. Buckley, the "most important conservative intellectual of the postwar era", and possessor of the second-most ridiculous mid-Atlantic accent in politics. This is a preview of an episode available in full to our $5 Patreon subscribers. To listen to the whole episode, as well as lots of other brilliant bonus episodes, please consider becoming on...

Infrastructure enthusiast Sparky Abraham is joined by Dr. Magnus Jamieson, an expert in electrical power systems, to discuss the fire which destroyed the town of Paradise, California in November 2018—the most destructive wildfire in California's history, caused by a single faulty electrical line and a whole bunch of systemic problems. This is a preview of an episode available in full to our $5 Pat...

The team discusses the past, the present and the future. Along the way, they get distracted by their favorite election conspiracy theories and the mysteries of New Orleans politics. The panel this week is made up of administrative Cajun Kate Gauthreaux, poet-at-large Cate Root, legal editor Oren Nimni and editor-in-chief Nathan J. Robinson. Your temporary host is Aisling McCrea. Kate joined us cla...

Nathan speaks to Michael Moore about his thoughts on the 2020 election. This episode also has a transcript: https://www.currentaffairs.org/2020/11/17106