Left Anchor

We've got author  Tara Isabella Burton on to talk about her forthcoming book Strange Rites: New Religions for a Godless World , to talk about spirituality and belief in an age when traditional religious forms are collapsing. We discuss the faith-like activities and beliefs of the religious "nones," the blasphemous theology of the Prosperity Gospel, how people might discover collective moral views...

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We're talking with Rohan Grey today about a proposal he worked on with Rep. Rashida Tlaib on funding massive cash aid to Americans funded with two $1 trillion platinum coins. We talk about the balance of power between the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department, what it would mean for the Treasury to reclaim the authority to print money, a UBI versus a job guarantee, and more. Enjoy! PS: This...

This time we've got a bit of an off-beat interview, talking with Anne Orchier about the effort to stop Los Angeles from hosting the Olympic Games in 2028. It's not directly relevant to the coronavirus pandemic, but it does have a lot of the same themes, in that the Olympics have become a locus of disaster capitalism where rich elites wreak terrible social carnage to make a quick buck. Enjoy!

Once again we're talking coronavirus, with returning guest Manu Saadia . We talk about what is to be learned from the various approaches different countries have taken, how Democrats are bungling the crisis, and how we might seize the moment to change prevailing ideological orthodoxy, and push through vital reforms. Enjoy! You can find Manu's book Trekonomics here .

Today we've got A.C. Grayling on to talk about his book The Good State , which provides his model of how an ideal democratic system should be set up. It's a bit off the news but we thought it would be a nice break for people worried about the coronavirus pandemic. Enjoy!

Today we do a deep dive into Joe Biden's terrible record in the Senate, and marginally-less terrible record as vice president. Then we turn to electability, and why a Biden nomination would screw up almost all of the strongest arguments against Trump -- on protecting Social Security and Medicare, on trade, on #MeToo, on abuse of immigrants, on corruption, and on mental fitness. Links to stuff ment...

In this excerpt we discuss how to help Democratic voters realize that a Biden nomination is the risk it is. Subscribe here to hear the whole thing!

Today we've got Jeff Dempsey, who is running a progressive campaign in the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania's 175th House district -- our first in-person interview and our first with a live audience! We discuss the characteristics of the 175th (which is part of Philadelphia), why he's running, and the troubles he has had with the local Democratic machine. Enjoy! You can find Jeff's campaign web...

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Today we take a break from exhausting primary news to have writer and University of Michigan lecturer Phil Christman on to discuss his upcoming book Midwest Futures (you can pre-order here ). We discuss the history and nature of the Midwest, what he learned growing up there, how the Trump era has changed his political thinking, and more. Enjoy! Also, you can subscribe to Phil's newsletter here .

Here we discuss why we won't vote for Michael Bloomberg if he is nominated. Subscribe here to hear the full episode!

Just Ryan today with a quick pre-New Hampshire episode going through Reed Hundt's excellent book A Crisis Wasted about the presidential transition in 2007-8 and Obama's consequential early decisions as president. We go through how Obama allowed Bush Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson to set the priorities for the bank bailout (thus ensuring Wall Street would not be cut down to size), how Obama allowe...

Ryan is back from vacation so we return with a discussion of the Iowa clusterfuck: How Bernie edged out Pete Buttigieg in the popular vote and tied in pleged delegates, how Biden collapsed, how and why the caucus was bungled so horribly, and what it maybe means for the next few primaries. Enjoy!

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Today we have the Brothers Alvarez -- Maximillian and Zak -- of the Working People Podcast on with a crossover episode. We discuss what Zak learned from his time in the University of Chicago economics department, how they were both radicalized by the financial crisis, and more. Enjoy!

With New Hampshire coming up, we've unlocked our episode on the Bernie-Warren competition.

Bit of a different episode today: Ryan reads a very long 1997 essay about the Second World War by the late Lee Sandlin called " Losing the War " (with permission from Nina Sandlin). Though it takes three hours to finish, it's a remarkable piece about the way the nature of the war was obscured from public view, why wars happen, and what we should remember about it today. Enjoy!

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Today we've got UC Davis Professor of History Eric Rauchway on to talk the history of the New Deal, particularly the transition period in the winter of 1932-33 covered in his book Winter War . We take apart the common false belief, held by both Republicans and Democrats (including Barack Obama) that FDR deliberately refused to help Herbert Hoover fix the Great Depression so he could get the New De...

Today we've got two professional union organizers on to talk about the state of labor organizing in 2019 -- the tactics of the union busters, the hostility of the Trump administration, and the brushfire labor militancy that has sprung up across the country.  Read more about Google's union-busting tactics here , and find the essay about progressive union-busters here . 

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We've got Professor Nicole Fabricant from Towson University to discuss what's going on in Bolivia. We talk about Evo Morales' flawed but decent record, the source of right-wing authoritarian sentiment, and the military coup that displaced him. Enjoy! Her book  Mobilizing Bolivia's Displaced can be found here.

Today we've got Ezra Levin, co-author of the book We Are Indivisible (along with his wife Leah Greenberg) to talk about how he fell, by his own account, ass-backwards into leading a national political movement. We discuss the nature of political organizing in the online age, what objectives Indivisible is focusing on, and what lessons others might learn from them. Enjoy!

We have on Nicholas Buccola to talk about his book The Fire Is Upon Us , which is a history of the famous debate between James Baldwin and William F. Buckley. We discuss why Baldwin whipped Buckley so handily, how Buckley's rhetoric of racial resentment and anti-democratic views continue to hold sway on the right, and more! You can watch the debate here , and find Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor's book  F...