Living in the USA

Trump says his favorite Supreme Court justice is Clarence Thomas – but Thomas is not a conventional right-wing thinker, Corey Robin says—he’s a conservative black nationalist. Corey’s new book is “The Enigma of Clarence Thomas.” Plus: The political promise of the abortion pill: Despite the fact that more than 75% of Americans favor Roe v. Wade, abortion rights face increasing jeopardy at the Supre...

Twelve Democrats debated for 3 hours on TV Tuesday night -- John Nichols says Bernie looked great--and Biden didn't. Also: The Supreme Court term began its fall term this week--and even though Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed at the start of last year’s court term, this year the Supremes’ decisions will be worse – a lot worse. Elie Mystal explains why—he’s the executive editor of Above the Law and a...

Trump's base among white nationalists goes back to at least the Reagan era. The recent El Paso killings have been treated as an isolated event carried out by a loner. But the attacks in Charleston, Charlottesville, Christchurch, El Paso and elsewhere are connected; they are all part of the White Power movement, with roots going back to the 1970s. That’s what Kathleen Belew says -- she writes for t...

Could the Republican defense of Trump in the impeachment proceedings open the door to a watershed victory for Democrats across the board? Even before Nancy Pelosi finally agreed that it was time to begin impeachment proceedings, the Democrats’ prospects for a sweep of the 202 elections were good. That’s what Stan Greenberg says -- he’s a longtime pollster and adviser to Democratic presidents from...

After months of resisting calls for impeachment, Nancy Pelosi has authorized beginning the proceedings--and the whistleblowers' complaint became public today -- it's devastating for Trump. John Nichols comments on the latest. Next up: Edward Snowden has published an new memoir called "Permanent Record" -- for comment we turn to DD Guttenplan, editor of The Nation, which has published an excerpt. P...

The Working Families Party has just endorsed Elizebeth Warren – not Bernie Sanders. For comment and analysis we turn to John Nichols, host of the Nation podcast “Next Left”. Next Up: Fifty-thousand auto workers went out on strike Sunday night against General Motors – we hear from Jane McAlevey, the new Strikes Correspondent at The Nation. Plus: The Tories and Boris v. the GOP and Trump: DD Guttenp...

How will the American war in Afghanistan end? Probably like the American war in Southeast Asia--that's what Andrew Bacevich says-- he's Professor Emeritus of International Relations and History at Boston University. Next up: A new labor law has passed in the state of California, requiring that gig workers at Uber, Lyft and elsewhere be classified as employees -- how big a deal is it? Harold Meyers...

Democratic candidates debated climate change last night on CNN and we're especially interested in what the front-runner in the polls, Joe Biden, had to say; also, a new labor bill that could determine the future of the gig economy -- for comment, we turn to Harold Meyerson. Next up: Is Melania Trump a secret hero of the people--or an accomplice of evil? Amy Wilentz explains. Also: Sola means "peac...

The Green New Deal and Unions; plus: Elizabeth Warren in Minnesota -- Harold Meyerson reports on labor opposition to fighting global warming--mostly in the building trades and a few other locals. Next: Trump is trailing badly in the polls--so how does he think he can win? Jeet Heer explains. Plus: Star Wars, Ghost Busters, Rocky and Dirty Harry -- we talk with J. Hoberman author of "Make My Day: M...

Aug 14, 3:00 PM If Bernie does NOT get the nomination, the Democratic Socialists of America will not endorse the Democrat who does. “Bernie or Bust” was what they decided at their recent convention – but is that a good idea? Harold Meyerson comments--he’s editor-at-large of The American Prospect and a regular contributor to the LA Times op-ed page. Also: Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted pedophile an...

Trump gets worse every week. Two years ago we had massive nationwide protest demonstrations -- so why don’t more people take it to the streets these days? Nation columnist Katha Pollitt has been thinking about that. Plus: last month was the 50th anniversary of Americans walking on the moon-what would it take to get a similar mobilization today of money & effort—and vision–-to combat climate change...

The best responses to Trump on the El Paso killings came from Beto O'Rourke: “He’s not tolerating violence, he’s inciting racism and violence in this country.” Joan Walsh, National Affairs Correspondent for The Nation, examines the mainstream media’s failures in covering Trump. Beto, of course, represented El Paso in Congress. Plus: Seymour Hersh—he’s won dozens of awards for his reporting on My L...

Trump’s target in the 2020 election will be immigrants, ‘The Other Americans’—that’s the title of the new novel by Laila Lalami. Her last novel, “The Moor’s Account,” won the American book award and was a Pulitzer finalist. She’s written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, Harper’s, and The Guardian, and she’s a columnist for The Nation. Plus: we talk about organizing to defeat Trump--abo...

Democracy is not doing well these days – we have Trump, and Brexit, and a host of other examples. Astra Taylor has been thinking about that: she talks about the paradoxes of rule by the people, the many ways it’s being frustrated, and why it remains at the center of our hopes for the future. Her new book is “Democracy may not exist, but we’ll miss it when it’s gone.” Also: Trump will make hatred a...

Racial anxiety was more important than economic anxiety in motivating Trump’s voters, Joy Reid of MSNBC argues. A key factor in Trump’s victory was nostalgia for a white, Christian America where men were still in charge. And of course Hillary fell short not only with male voters but with voters of color overall. Joy’s new book is The Man Who Sold America: Trump and the Unraveling of the American S...

Today, Trump admitted defeat on is effort to add a citizenship question to the 2020 United States Census -- as he addressed cameras live from the White House Rose Garden, we turned to John Nichols for comment. Next: Walls have been used against immigrants to the US before -- historian Linda Gordon talks about the 1920s, when anti-immigrant hostility conquered Congress. Plus: MAD Magazine (1952 - 2...

Campaigning in Iowa, Elizabeth Warren has made her story an American story, Joan Walsh says, and thereby found a good way to connect her policy proposals to her own life, and thereby to other people’s lives--and also to refute critics who say she’s an out-of-touch policy wonk. Also: Joe Biden and his friends: he says some of them were segregationist senators – and he thinks that was a good thing,...

The Supremes gave the green light to gerrymandering--a disaster, but blocked the census citizenship question; and, the first round of 2020 Democratic nominees debated last night -- John Nichols reports. Next up, Trump and war with Iran: not this week: comment from Jeet Heer, the newly-appointed national-affairs correspondent at The Nation. Plus: The re-enfranchisement of felons who have served the...

For most Americans, the question “Which is worse: Trump or Brexit?” has an easy answer: of course it’s Trump! But D. D. Guttenplan, The Nation’s new Editor, says it’s more complicated than that: for starters, Americans can get rid of Trump in next November’s elections, but it’s almost impossible now for the Brits to get rid of Brexit. Next up, Elon Musk wants us to go to Mars. Should we join him?...

During Bernie's speech in Washington yesterday he defined democratic socialism as: "Requiring and achieving political and economic freedom in every community in this country." He also proposed a 21st century economic bill of rights -- for comment we turn to Harold Meyerson. Next up, the Democrats in California: Joe Biden was MIA -- David Dayen reports. 6/13/19 Also: The Indivisible Pledge; what is...

Over 8,000 names are engraved on the Middle East Conflicts Wall Memorial, and each year, more are added. The wall is unlike any other war memorial in the US -- particularly because of its location: not in Washington DC but in Marseilles, Illinois, a small prairie town with a population of about 5,000. We talk with historian Andrew Bacevich about his recent visit to the memorial. Also: Isn't aborti...

May 22, 3:00 PM Bernie is back on Page One of the New York Times, but their report last weekend was not about his new plan to save public schools–the most progressive education program in modern American history–or his proposal to end all subsidies for oil and gas companies. Instead, it was about a trip he made to Nicaragua in 1985, more than 30 years ago. They didn’t like it. How do we explain th...

Joe Biden has one thing in common with Donald Trump: a campaign promising “restoration” of a lost past, rather than the kind of transformation we need to deal with our current problems—that’s what Harold Meyerson says. Of course, the past Biden wants to restore is not the white man’s 1950s, but rather the pre-Trump America of the Clintons and Obama. Harold is executive editor of The American Prosp...

The ‘debate’ over global warming was always phony. Bill McKibben says the fossil fuel industry knew everything there was to know about climate change back in the 1980s. And they believed what their scientists were telling them. Exxon started building all its drilling rigs to compensate for the rise in sea level it knew was coming. But of course the thing they didn’t do was tell any of the rest of...

When Joe Biden finally declared his candidacy, he immediately pulled way out in front in the polls of Democratic candidates. The polls also show him the one most likely to beat Trump. Joan Walsh points to some of the problems with Biden—a centrist who is focusing on older white male voters--and considers the alternatives. Also: the case for impeachment—starting with the Mueller Report, and what Tr...