Start Making Sense with Jon Wiener

A federal court in LA has stopped ICE from detaining people for deportation because they look Latino – that’s racial discrimination, and it’s unconstitutional, the court said. Mark Rosenbaum of Public Counsel will explain what’s next as he government appeals the case to the Ninth Circuit. Also: How does a movement build support when large parts of the country are opposed to its goals? How do you c...

There’s trouble in Trump world: Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, is launching a Third Party to challenge Trump’s Republicans in the midterms and maybe in 2028. Maurice Mitchell, National Director of the Working Families Party, explains why Musk will fail. Also: Trump’s executive order abolishing birthright citizenship – guaranteed by the 14 th Amendment – has been blocked for a second time, thi...

Trump’s ICE is attacking undocumented people in LA County because there are a lot of them -- maybe a million, out of a total of 3.3 million Latinos, and also because LA is one of the most Democratic counties in the country. And LA has a big and militant alliance of immigrants rights groups that are fighting Trump. Harold Meyerson will explain the deportation battle in Southern California at this p...

The surprise victory of democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani in New York City’s Democratic mayor primary over a well-funded establishment candidate shows that progressive politics, when pursued with discipline, vision and vigor, can win broad support. Bhaskar Sukara, President of The Nation and author of The Socialist Manifesto , has our analysis. Also: After going to court to challenge Trump’s cut...

Donald Trump, found guilty of sexual assault and defamation, owes E. Jean Carroll $88 million. She explains how she beat him in court, twice, proving that he attacked her in a Bergdorf dressing room and then lied about it. Her new book is Not My Type: One Woman vs. a President.   Also, the leading autopsies on the 2024 defeat of Democrats are missing two big things, Steve Phillips argues: the cent...

Saturday’s ‘No Kings’ protests, with 5 million people at 2100 events, was the largest single day of protest in American history. Leah Greenberg of Indivisible will talk about how the event was organized, and what comes next.  Also: The Medicaid cuts provide a lifetime opportunity for us to reach the 70 million people who did not vote and the 60 per cent of Trump voters who are not MAGA -- that&#39...

With tanks rolling down the street in DC on Saturday and troops being deployed to LA, it’s never been more important to come together in nonviolent action to exercise our First Amendment right to peaceful protest. That’s what the organization Indivisible says about Saturday’s National Day of Defiance – the nationwide “No Kings” protests. Ezra Levin will explain; he’s co-founder and co-executive di...

With tanks rolling down the street in DC on Saturday and troops being deployed to LA, it’s never been more important to come together in nonviolent action to exercise our First Amendment right to peaceful protest. That’s what the organization Indivisible says about Saturday’s National Day of Defiance – the nationwide “No Kings” protests. Ezra Levin will explain; he’s co-founder and co-executive di...

Forget the midterms next year, at least for now. The fight against Trump runs through the elections this November—starting with Virginia and New Jersey.  The Nation 's national affairs correspondent John Nichols explains. Also: J. Hoberman, the long-time film critic for The Village Voice , talks about the happenings, the underground movies, and the radical art and music— from Bob Dylan to Andy...

Rural America is Trump country. Last November Trump carried 93 percent of rural counties.. How can Democrats change that? Anthony Flaccavento and Erica Etelson, co-founders of the Rural Urban Bridge Initiative, have a strategy to accomplish that.  Also: 20 minutes without Trump: We know a lot about the bad things J. Edgar Hoover did, but it turns out there’s a lot we didn’t know. In this episode f...

 “A rally a day keeps the fascists away” – that’s what Jamie Raskin says. He’s the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, and he talks about Trump’s “world historical grift,” and why we shouldn’t be pessimistic about defeating his efforts. Also: 20 minutes without Trump: 1925 is being celebrated this year as the centenary of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzerald -- but we’re interest...

What obligations do colleges and universities have to protect students from antisemitism and Islamophobia? What obligations do they have to let students speak freely about issues they care about? David Cole just testified before Congress about that—he’s the former National Legal Director of the ACLU, and The Nation’s legal affairs correspondent.  Also: Trump’s partnership in Washington with his bi...

After serving 18 years in the Senate, and losing last November, Sherrod Brown analyzes what it will take for Democrats to recover from the defeats of 2024, and comments on his own political future – he could run for senator or for governor in 2026. Also on this episode: Dahlia Lithwick explains three key court cases where Trump suffered major defeats, which, she argues, are likely to have an “expo...

Donald Trump is "the greatest threat to American universities since the Red Scare of the 1950s"—that’s what Princeton’s president Christopher Eisgruber said. Others say that what Trump is doing is worse. Beverly Gage comments – she wrote “G-Man,” the award-winning biography of J. Edgar Hoover. Also on this episode: In 1948, Alger Hiss, a prominent New Deal Democrat, was convicted of perjur...

J D Vance said it most clearly: for the Trump people, “The universities are the enemy.” That’s why Trump is cutting billions of federal funding and making impossible demands that threaten dozens of universities. But universities have begun to resist. Michael Roth comments-- he's president of Wesleyan, and was the first university president to speak out against Trump’s attacks. Also: Trump is n...

While Trump’s attacks on the universities have broadened, and while Columbia is submitting to his requirements, Harvard’s president has declared that Harvard will not comply with Trump’s demands in exchange for keeping its federal funding. David Cole comments - he recently stepped down as National Legal Director of the ACLU to return to teaching law at Georgetown. Also: Elon Musk’s obsession with...

Trump’s tariffs are not really about trade, they’re a form of blackmail – but the alternative is not a return to the free trade policies introduced by Clinton and Obama. Lori Wallach of the Rethink Trade program at the American Economic Liberties Project explains what kind of tariffs we need, combined with government support for reindustrialization. Also on this episode: A major lawsuit challengin...

The Wisconsin Supreme Court election tested the political power of Musk’s money, and voters rejected his candidate. The results have huge implications for the midterms. John Nichols has our analysis.  Also: A big victory in federal district court: Trump cannot shut down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Rob Weissman of Public Citizen will explain. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.c...

Bernie Sanders and AOC are on their “fighting oligarchy” tour, and in Denver last weekend they had the biggest political event there since Obama in 2008. It was also the biggest rally of Bernie’s life--bigger than anything in his presidential campaigns. And the first big election of the year is underway in Wisconsin. John Nichols has our analysis. Also: Elie Mystal, The Nation’s Justice Correspond...

A key source of opposition to authoritarian regimes in recent history has come from universities and colleges. Trump has been attacking the independence of American universities, demanding they submit to his requirements and using massive funding cuts as his weapon. David Cole, formerly National Legal Director of the ACLU, has our analysis.  Also: Mahmoud Khalil is the Palestinian student activist...

The Supreme Court ruled against Trump last week in the first test of his refusal to release money appropriated by Congress, and more than a dozen more similar cases are likely to come before the court –– probably including a challenge to his withholding hundreds of millions from research universities on the grounds that they have failed to protect Jewish students from antisemitism. But what if Tru...

On this week's episode of Start Making Sense : Trump suffered a big loss at The Supreme Court in the first challenge to his unconstitutional seizure of power: an order to release USAID funding appropriated by Congress. The suit was brought by Public Citizen; their co-president, Robert Weissman, will explain. Also: John Nichols with our protest update for the week. Topics include Tesla dealer s...

House Progressive leader Ro Khanna says “economic empowerment” for the working class should become the Democrats’ “defining cause.” And he comments on this week’s battle in the House over the Republican budget. Also: Thomas Geoghegan argues that, to win back the working class, Democrats need to “promise something big – and keep it simple.” His suggestions: a bigger and better Social Security progr...

The first big election of 2025 will be in Wisconsin, which elects a new Supreme Court Justice on April 1. Elon Musk is spending hundreds of millions in that race. That’s both a threat, and an opportunity for Democrats. On this episode of Start Making Sense , John Nichols will comment. Also: How did we end up with Trump back in the White House? We got here in part because Republicans built a moveme...

Trump has lost a series of major legal battles in the last week, where courts have ruled that key executive orders of his are unconstitutional. But what happens if Trump defies the courts? David Cole comments—he recently stepped down as national legal director of the ACLU to return to teaching law at Georgetown University. Also: “One of the most important lawsuits in the history of the United Stat...