Start Making Sense with Jon Wiener

Drew Faust grew up in Virginia in the ’50’s, in the segregated south, in a family that was part of the white elite—and went on to make “necessary trouble” as a college student and activist in the ’60’s. The first woman to serve as president of Harvard University, Faust comes on the  Start Making Sense  podcast to talk about her memoir, “ Necessary Trouble: Growing up at Midcentury. ” Also on this...

Public Libraries are often wonderful places, but they have become targets of right-wing attack in the culture war. On this episode of the  Start Making Sense  podcast, Sasha Abramsky talks about his reporting on the battle in one small town in Washington state.  Also on this episode: Peter Mattheson’s exploration of suffering, impermanence, and beauty in his book “The Snow Leopard,” an account of...

Should Trump have been charged with incitement of insurrection, or at least violence? What’s the line between free speech and incitement? If Trump sincerely believed he’d won the election, can he still be prosecuted for conspiracy? Erwin Chemerinsky explains – he’s dean of the law school at UC Berkeley. Also: What’s bad about Barbie the doll, and what’s good about “Barbie” the movie—Katha Pollitt...

This month, Donald Trump will be facing four indictments in four different jurisdictions at the same time, each for multiple felonies. Yet, Republicans still want him as their candidate. On this episode of the Start Making Sense podcast, Joan Walsh comments on the former President's latest legal developments, and the latest poll numbers. Also on this episode: Barbie is one of the most feminist...

The Teamsters reached a historic agreement for UPS workers this week, protecting and rewarding more than 340,000 UPS Teamsters nationwide. We had been headed for the biggest strike in decades, scheduled to start next week, but now we have what looks like one of the biggest labor victories in decades.  The Nation ’s John Nichols is on the  Start Making Sense  podcast to report. Also on this episode...

Remember how the state of Florida banned the African-American studies curriculum proposed by the College Board on the grounds that it might cause guilt, anguish or other forms of psychological distress in students? Now, teachers, scholars, and activists have been fighting back. Historian Robin D.G. Kelley explains. Also: last week the actors joined screenwriters on the picket lines outside film an...

Cornel West is running for president as the Green Party candidate. On this episode of  Start Making Sense,  editor in chief, D.D. Guttenplan, explains why he ought to run in the Democratic primaries, instead. Also: The Supreme Court, in the term that just ended, was not completely terrible. It surprised us all by doing  some  good things, especially with regard to voting rights. David Cole, the Na...

Two nationwide strikes may be in the works right now. The Teamsters have been negotiating with UPS for a new contract, and the Auto Workers have been preparing to strike at least one of the Detroit auto makers. These have the potential to provide swing-state voters with a political education in the lead-up to the 2024 election.  The Nation's  Strikes Correspondent, Jane McAlevey joins the podc...

Crossing the abortion borderland from Texas to New Mexico: Amy Littlefield  describes  the heroic work being done in both states to provide help to people seeking abortions, one year after the repeal of Roe, and reports on the new obstacles being raised by anti-abortion forces. Also on this episode of  Start Making Sense,  20 percent of likely Democratic voters tell pollsters they support Robert F...

How can Democrats win back at least some white working class swing voters? We have some striking new research about that. Katie Rader joins the Start Making Sense podcast to discuss the issues that are most likely to mobilize them. Also on this episode: Doctors these days are caught between caught between the Hippocratic oath--“first, do no harm” -- and “the realities of making a profit from peopl...

Cornel West is running for president as a third party candidate, so he’s not going to get many votes. Nevertheless, Joan Walsh argues, he could discourage Democrats from voting, which would make Trump’s election more likely.  Also on this episode of  Start Making Sense:  you might think Republicans would take a breather after banning abortion in the states they control, but no! Instead, they’ve se...

The polls about the 2024 election are not good. Democrats lack enthusiasm for Biden, especially after his debt limit deal. The Nation's editor in chief, D.D. Guttenplan  argues  that the president needs to remake his candidacy—now. Also on this episode of  Start Making Sense: Climate change is raising sea levels, and soon low-lying coastal areas will be under water. But the most severe threat,...

Has Planned Parenthood gotten too cautious and too corporate? Are the risk managers running the organization? Eyal Press reports on the courage of independent abortion services, and the failures of Planned Parenthood. Also on this episode of  Start Making Sense : What does it mean to be a politically committed writer? That's the central question of Adam Shatz's talks new book, “Writers and...

The ideological roots of the January 6 insurrection go back decades before Trump entered politics -- back to the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995. Jeffrey Toobin joins the podcast to explain. His new book is  Homegrown: Timothy McVeigh and the Rise of Right-Wing Extremism. Also on this episode of  Start Making Sense : Ron DeSantis is campaigning for president promising to “sto...

Progressives and Biden: what is to be done—about the 2024 election? Bhaskar Sunkara, president of The Nation , comments. Also: 11,500 members of the Writers Union are on strike against the film, TV and streaming companies, with picket lines up in L.A. and New York. Both sides of the fight have prepared for a months-long conflict. Award-winning TV writer Josh Gondelman is on the show to explain  th...

On this episode of the  Start Making Sense  podcast, D.D. Guttenplan, editor of  The Nation , argues that it’s time to impeach Clarence Thomas, on the grounds of misconduct. He also says it’s time to remove and replace Diane Feinstein, on the grounds of her inability to perform her duties, especially on the Judiciary Committee, where her absence has denied the Democrats a majority. Also on this ep...

Anatol Lieven is back after three weeks in Ukraine, where he found soldiers determined to win, and Russian bombardment doing surprisingly little damage. Also on this episode of  Start Making Sense:  A neighborhood in Port-au-Prince fights back against the gangs. Amy Wilentz comments on the news from Haiti. Subscribe to  The Nation  to support all of our podcasts:  thenation.com/podcastsubscribe ....

It’s getting late to take action about the climate emergency, but it’s not too late: that’s what Rebecca Solnit and Thelma Young Lutunatabua say in their new book, “Not Too Late: Changing the Climate Story from Despair to Possibility.” Also: abortion rights will be a key issue for Democrats in the 2024 election, especially after Republican judges have tried to ban medication abortions. John Nichol...

Donald Trump and his 34 felonies: can he really be brought to justice for paying off Stormy Daniels? We feature highlights of The Nation’s roundtable discussion among Elie Mystal, Justice Correspondent, Joan Walsh, National Affairs Correspondent, and Chris Lehmann, D.C. Editor. Also: Afghan girls who escaped from the Taliban. The story of a boarding school that evacuated its students from Kabul du...

In Los Angeles last week, a three-day strike by 30,000 public school custodians, food service workers, bus drivers and teacher's aides ended with a 30% pay increase. Harold Meyerson, the editor-at-large of  The American Prospect,  joins the podcast to discuss. Also: For a century, thousands of young baseball players have lived with low wages, overcrowded housing, and all-night rides in uncomfo...

American women in 2023: the news is bad, but it’s not all bad. Katha Pollitt is on the Start Making Sense podcast to explain. Also: the largest anti-war demonstrations in American history were the protests in the fall of 1969--with more than two million people in the streets demanding “End the War in Vietnam.” But did those demonstrations help end the war? Historian Chris Appy comments on the new...

Since the collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank last week, we need to understand how and why medium-sized banks have been allowed to avoid strict supervision from federal banking authorities and avoid safety requirements. John Nichols comments. Also: Do masks work to help stop the spread of COVID-19? A  New York Times  columnist recently said that they don’t, and cited an authorit...

Ron DeSantis has written a political autobiography, “The Courage to be Free.”  The Nation's  DC Bureau Chief, Chris Lehmann calls it “a paranoid rant disguised as campaign memoir.” Chris joins us on this episode of  Start Making Sense  to discuss it. Also: Sunday is Oscar night in America and, as usual, we have a lot of complaints about the nominations. So does John Powers, Critic at Large on...