Start Making Sense with Jon Wiener

J.D. Vance’s remark about “childless cat ladies” who “want to make the rest of the country miserable” continues to reverberate in the news. Katha Pollitt has our analysis of Vance and his opponent Tim Walz, and takes up Vance’s argument that people who don’t have children don’t have a stake in the country’s future. Also: It’s August and that means it’s time for summer beach reading. We asked John...

Kamala Harris is likely to be the next president of the United States—that’s what Steve Phillips says. He's on this episode of Start Making Sense analyzing changes in the electorate and suggests what the Democrats need to do to create majorities in the swing states. Also on this episode: Los Angeles has 4,000 homeless vets, living on the streets. Now, a class action suit demanding the VA fulfi...

John Nichols examines the tasks facing Kamala Harris – the opportunities, and the obstacles to be overcome.  Also: Democrats in Arizona are engaged in massive organizing to win an abortion rights referendum, elect a senator and flip a House Seat--and they are facing an Arizona Republican party that is pretty crazy. Sasha Abramsky has our report. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands...

Will the assassination attempt change Trump’s campaign—make it more a call for unity and less a demand for retribution? Harold Meyerson reports on the evidence from the Republican National Convention. Also: The Nation’s Joan Walsh has been following Kamala Harris for months, as she campaigns for Biden -- but also provides evidence of her own potential as a presidential candidate. Advertising Inqui...

Biden’s efforts to renew his candidacy are “risk-averse, uninspired, and dangerously misguided” – that’s what John Nichols says, as we review the efforts to persuade him to drop out of the race. Also: During the Supreme Court term that just ended, the conservative majority granted new constitutional rights to hedge fund managers, big business—and Donald Trump. David Cole explains the shocking deci...

Marc Cooper argues that the narrative for Joe Biden’s presidency has now been set – he’s “too old.” And the Supreme Court decision on immunity for Trump makes it essential that he be defeated. Kamala Harris would be the choice of the Party establishment, if he agreed to step aside; at the convention, she might be nominated by acclamation, without a vote among alternative choices. Also: Harold Meye...

What should the Democrats do about white voters? Most of them have voted for Trump, twice. How much of that can be changed? Steve Phillips reports on new research that should reshape Democratic strategy. Also: Harriet Tubman escaped from slavery and returned again and again to lead others north to freedom. Now her story is being told in a wonderful new book, with the wonderful title “Night Flyer.”...

“1974,” the new memoir by Francine Prose, recalls the year when “the sixties” came to a definitive end, when it became clear that the changes we’d wanted, the changes we’d fought for, were not going to happen. She spent that year in San Francisco, where she got to know Tony Russo of the Pentagon Papers case. Also: On May 31, Joe Biden declared, “It is time for this war to end.” But the leaders of...

The Israel lobby AIPAC is spending millions to defeat Representative Jamaal Bowman in the New York state Democratic primary. That’s because he called for a permanent ceasefire back in October, and describes what’s happening in Gaza now as “an ongoing genocide.” Alan Minsky has our analysis fo the campaign--he’s Executive Director of Progressive Democrats of America. Also: at a time when Republican...

The punditocracy has been arguing that the guilty verdicts in the Trump trial won’t matter much in the election – Marc Cooper disagrees, and explains what’s wrong about the conventional wisdom.  Also: The Trump verdict and women voters: Exit polls have consistently shown women voting Democratic, and men voting Republican – especially with Trump. How much wider will the Gender Gap get, now that Tru...

As campus protests continue against American support for Israel’s war in Gaza, universities and colleges have legal obligations to combat discrimination and a responsibility to maintain order. But they must not sacrifice the principles of free speech that are core to their educational mission. Ben Wizner of the ACLU will explain. Also: Kenya finally is sending 1000 police officers to Haiti on what...

Since Roe was overturned, pregnant people seeking abortions in Red states have found help from providers operating at the edge of the law. Amy Littlefield reports. Also: Democrats in the Senate are going to lose the seat vacated by Joe Manchin in West Virginia -- can they hold all the others in November? John Nichols has our analysis, starting with Maryland, where Democrat Angela Alsobrooks will f...

The most important event in the history of Israel and Palestine was not the 1948 founding of Israel and the Nakba, or Israel’s 1967 occupation of Palestinian territories. It was the outlawing of immigration of Jews (and others) to the US from Russia, Poland, and Eastern and Southern Europe. That was the purpose of the immigration restriction act passed by Congress in May, 1924, 100 years ago this...

Lots of pro-Palestine encampments on college campuses have been attacked by local police, but UCLA was different: a pro-Israel mob attacked the encampment on April 30. The attack continued for three hours before police stepped in, and they didn’t arrest any of the attackers. The next night, the police themselves attacked and shut down the encampment. David Myers has our report. Also: There’s no do...

Rural America is Trump country. In 2016, Hillary got barely 30 percent of the rural vote. Biden did only a little better in 2020. But he can do a lot better than that this year—and he needs to, if he’s going to carry some of the swing states. Anthony Flaccavento will explain – he’s co-founder and executive director of the Rural Urban Bridge Initiative. Also: Judith Butler may be the most famous fe...

Transforming the two-state solution for Palestine and Israel to meet today’s realities: a federation, something like the European Union. That’s the project of the visionary group A Land for All. May Pundak, co-executive director, explains. Also: History was made last Friday in Chattanooga, when workers at Volkswagen’s factory there voted to join the United Auto Workers -- by an overwhelming margin...

Donald Trump on Monday became the first president in history to face trial on criminal charges; his polls are down, and the stock price of Trump Media fallen has 60 percent. John Nichols comments – he’s National Affairs Correspondent for The Nation. Also: TV right now is featuring several prestige historical dramas. John Powers compares and contrasts “The Sympathizer,” centering on a spy for the C...

The issues and the language that win for Democrats: research shows it’s not just “jobs,” but attacking the rich. Bhaskar Sunkara, President of The Nation and author of The Socialist Manifesto , explains. Also: why did Hamas decide to provoke massive Israeli retaliation now? Hussein Ibish, who writes for The Atlantic, the New York Times, and Daily Beast, says Hamas had a clear political goal on Oct...

Standing Together, Israel’s biggest Jewish-Palestinian grassroots movement, is organizing against the war and for a Palestinian state. Sally Abed, one of the group’s founders, explains their vision, their strategy, and their recent actions. Also: Cities everywhere in America are Democratic, and often raising minimum wages and strengthening rent control. But in states where Republicans hold uncheck...

Minimum wage initiatives on the ballot in battleground states could mobilize potential Democratic voters who are unenthusiastic about Biden. Saru Jayaraman of One Fair Wage explains the strategy for Arizona, Michigan, and Ohio. Also: 100 American cities and towns have formally called for a ceasefire in Gaza. John Nichols has our report. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy &...

In the campaign to end American funding for Israel’s war in Gaza, a key front is the fight against AIPAC. This week, more than a hundred prominent American Jews have joined in a statement opposing AIPAC and its efforts to defeat Democratic candidates who have criticized Israeli government policy toward Palestinians. The signers include author Ariel Dorfman, actors Elliott Gould and Wallace Shawn,...

After gangs took over most of Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s acting prime minister, Ariel Henry, agreed to step aside. Long-time Haiti observer Amy Wilentz analyzes the forces at work shaping the country’s next steps. Also: the polls and the pollsters are missing the political potential in 9 million people who have turned 18 since the last election. Steve Phillips explains – his book, ‘How We Win the Civ...

The Nation's national affairs correspondent John Nichols reports on the evidence of weaknesses of both Biden and Trump—as well as some signs of strength—after the primary elections in 16 states .Also on this episode: It’s time to add the real right to vote to the constitution. That’s what Richard Hasen says. Hasen is professor of law and political science at UCLA and author of the new book, A...

An abortion rights amendment to Florida’s constitution has gotten enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot. Now it’s up to the state’s supreme court to decide whether people will get to vote on it, potentially transforming the electorate there in November.  The Nation ’s abortion access correspondent, Amy Littlefield, is on the podcast to report. Also on this episode of  Start Making S...

A political battle is underway in Los Angeles, where landlords, multi-millionaires, and the police are trying to defeat the leading progressive on the city council. Their key issues are protection for renters and new taxes on mansions. Also on this episode of  Start Making Sense : A new podcast brings us stories from the early days of HIV & AIDS. It's about how the epidemic decimated poor...