Left Anchor

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!

Today we've got political philosopher Meena Krishnamurthy on to talk about her writings on Martin Luther King, Jr. We discuss distrust and solidarity, how individualism strangles American government, how his thought bears on the Black Lives Matter movement, and more. Enjoy! Her article on the democratic value of distrust can be found here . (PS: Apologies for the occasionally scratchy audio, there...

We discuss Peter Beinart's argument that black politicians can't be as progressive as white ones in this preview. To hear the whole thing, subscribe here !

Today we've got Dave Dayen of The American Prospect on to talk about his new book Monopolized: Life in the Age of Corporate Power . Enjoy!

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Here we've got Tobi Olowe , host of the Impressions of America podcast , on to talk about the life and legacy of Ayn Rand, and her eponymous institute's decision to get on the coronavirus welfare train. Enjoy!   PS: The very funny Whittaker Chambers review of Atlas Shrugged can be found here .

Subscribe here to listen to our full discussion of Martin Hägglund's book This Life.

Today we've got an interview with Bill Humphrey , a city councilor for Newton, Massachusetts. We ask him about how he got into politics, how he ran his successful campaign, and what it's like being a leftist in government during pandemic times. Enjoy! You can find Bill's radio show Arsenal for Democracy  here .

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Today we've got Arati Kreibich , who is running in the Democratic primary for New Jersey's 5th District against Josh Gottheimer, one of the most pro-Trump Democrats in the House . (New Jersey voters take note, the primary is July 7.) Enjoy!

Today we continue our discussion of what a post-police society might look like with David Kaib , who has taught some DC DSA night school classes on the subject. Links to articles we mentioned: Ryan on the Nordic style of policing , Alex Vitale's book The End of Policing , and this Jacobin article on the abolition of police and prisons. Enjoy!

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Today we've got Nikil Saval , candidate for the upcoming primary in the Pennsylvania First Senate District on June 2nd. We talk about how he got into organizing and politics, what it's like interacting with the Philadelphia Democratic machine, his advice for others considering a run for office, and more. Enjoy!

We've got journalist Zach Carter on to talk about his new book The Price of Peace: Money, Democracy, and the Life of John Maynard Keynes -- an intellectual biography that he's been working on for years. We talk about Keynes' fascinating personal life, the development of Keynesian doctrine, and how "bastard Keynesianism" stripped of most of its interesting elements took root in American economics d...

We've got David Dayen, the executive editor of the The American Prospect, on to discuss his latest coverage of the pandemic -- the utter failure of the national government response, the timidity of congressional Democrats, why monopolist agribusiness is spreading the virus, and more. Enjoy! Here are links to subscribe or donate to support the Prospect's excellent work.

Subscribe now to hear the full episode! Also subscribe or donate to The American Prospect to support the great work of David and his colleagues!

We've got religion reporter Jack Jenkins on to talk about his forthcoming book American Prophets: The Religious Roots of Progressive Politics and the Ongoing Fight for the Soul of the Country . We talk about the struggles of the religious left to counter the religious right, whether evangelical Christianity is really a cult of Mammon, why Jeremiah Wright was way ahead of his time, and more. Enjoy!

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We've got former Bernie Sanders speechwriter David Sirota on to talk about why the Democratic establishment ultimately defeated Bernie Sanders. We ask whether he could have done anything differently, how much of it came down to luck, and what lessons the left can take away for the future. Enjoy! PS: We'll have an extended discussion of this question coming up soon for subscribers , so stay tuned!

Enjoy this preview of our latest bonus episode , where we talk with Jeff Spross about our previous episode with Rohan Grey . To hear the whole thing, subscribe here !

Today we are talking with Harvey Kaye about his new book FDR on Democracy: The Greatest Speeches and Writings of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt . We discuss how Roosevelt's radical politics can be discerned well before he became president, his extraordinary political agility and boldness, how he used history to paint a new picture of America, and more. Enjoy!