The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich

Friends, Today, Heather and I take a deep dive into the week’s remarkable political news, as Kamala Harris and Tim Walz continue to rise in the polls, and Trump evidently has no idea what he should do. He’s gone on rants about windmills, bacon, trans boxers, Al Capone, and crowd size, and reposted crude racial and sexual slurs about Kamala Harris. We review the Harris-Walz bus tour in rural Americ...

Friends, Many of you ask me what you can do to help ensure that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are elected on November 5, and that the House and Senate have majorities in support of economic and social justice. In previous posts I’ve given you some ammunition — correcting some of Trump’s and Vance’s whoppers (such as Vance’s assertion last week that Trump’s tariffs generated revenue for America and cr...

Friends, Today Heather and I look at the real significance of this week’s Democratic convention — how well did it introduce Kamala Harris and Tim Walz to America? How powerfully did it set them up for the election? How effectively did it trounce Trump? And we look ahead to the debate on September 10 and Trump’s likely strategy between now and Election Day. Please join us, grab a cup, pull up a cha...

Friends, On Thursday, Trump was supposed to have had a press conference on the economy. Instead, it turned into another one of his rambling, incoherent rants against Kamala. On Friday, Kamala pointed the way to a new economy. Trump continues to melt down; she continues to surge upward. Today Heather and I compare Kamalanomics and its focus on corporate power with the garbage economics Trump is ped...

Friends, Today Heather and I examine the extraordinary positive energy released by Kamala Harris and her pick for vice president, Tim Walz. And the apparent inability of Trump and JD Vance to fight back — leading to Trump’s disastrous news conference on Thursday in which he seemed more unhinged than ever. Please pull up a chair, join the discussion, and take our poll. This is a public episode. If...

Friends, This morning, Heather and I drill down into this week’s misogynistic and racial stumbles of Trump and Vance and this second week of Kamala Harris’s extraordinary campaign. We explore whether Trump will dump Vance in favor of Nikki Haley or Elise Stefanik. And whether Kamala Harris will come down against big corporations that continue to keep prices high. Please join us, and take our poll....

Friends, Well, maybe not yet. But he’s on the way to being toast. Today, roughly 100 days before the 2024 election, Heather and I assess the first extraordinary week of Kamala Harris’s remarkable campaign — what she’s done, how she’s done it, what it will mean for Trump and JD Vance, and what it can mean for America and the world. Please join us and take our poll. This is a public episode. If you'...

Friends, Today, Heather and I assess the Democratic and Republican parties at a particularly dispiriting point, when the Republicans have coronated Trump, who is taking a wide lead in polls over Biden. Anything can happen between now and Election Day, but at this point things look grim. Will Biden drop out in favor of Kamala Harris? Will Trump stumble? Will America come to its senses? Please join...

Friends, Today, Heather and I take a deep dive into Biden’s choices now, after last night’s interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos and yesterday’s Biden rallies. Is Biden back on track? Has he recovered from last week’s bad debate performance? Or are the forces within the Democratic Party that want another candidate for president building to the point where he will almost certainly drop out? A...

Friends, Good morning! Between the Supreme Court’s naked power grab and the debate debacle, it’s been a rough week. Heather Lofthouse of Inequality Media Civic Action and I break it all down in this week’s Coffee Klatch. Please pour yourself a cup of coffee (or something stronger) and join us. And if you wish, take our poll. RR This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other sub...

Friends, In today’s klatch, Heather and I begin with the Supreme Court’s “decision” — by making no decision on special counsel Jack Smith’s request for a ruling on presidential immunity — that Trump won’t be held accountable before the 2024 election for engineering an attempted coup on January 6, 2021. We then consider the spike in donations to the Trump campaign immediately following the Manhatta...

Friends, What should we make of this week’s Supreme Court ruling that semi-automatic rifles with bump stocks are not machine guns? Or its ongoing decision to slow-walk the question of presidential immunity, effectively pushing the Trump insurrection trial until after the election — or maybe never? Revelations about more secret cash to Clarence Thomas. Samuel Alito’s views that “differences on fund...

Friends, We decided to do another deep dive today — this one on Trumpism and fascism. With the election less than five months away and Trump escalating his fascist rhetoric and signaling his intent to use federal troops to round up undocumented people inside the United States and put them in camps, we felt it important to show the close parallels between Trumpism and neofascism. Please pull up a c...

Friends, We were tempted to talk about the Trump trial and verdict, and bask in the relief that our system of justice did what it should do to hold people accountable for breaking the law — no matter who they are. But you’ve probably heard everything there is to say about the trial by now. So we decided instead to do a deep dive into Trump politics and big money. It’s been reported that just 50 bi...

Friends, Today, in honor of Memorial Day weekend, we take a deep dive into the common good versus its antithesis — Trumpism. We look at what’s happened to the common good, why Trumpism is attractive to so many these days, and how the common good can be resurrected. Please grab a cup, pull up a chair, and join the conversation. (Also, if so moved, take our poll.) This is a public episode. If you'd...

Friends, Today Heather and I look at the Trump trial and everything it entails, including the moral squalor of Donald J. Trump and all who have sold their integrity to support him — including Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas. Please join us, and, if so moved, take our poll. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visi...

Friends, Today Heather and I take a hard look at the Trump trials, the latest from Gaza, and RFK Junior’s brain-eating parasite, among other things. Please bring up a chair, grab a cup of coffee, and (if so moved) take our poll. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit robertreich.substack.com/subscribe

Friends, Today, Heather and I examine whether the protests against Israel’s slaughter in Gaza, now roiling university campuses across America, will harm Biden’s chances of being reelected next November. We also look at state anti-abortion laws — which now apply to 1 out of 3 American women of childbearing age — and consider how much they’ll harm Trump in November. Please pull up a chair, grab a cu...

Friends, Today Heather and I take a deep dive into why so many Americans are supporting a neofascist for president. Trump is the consequence rather than the cause of several major problems that have worsened over four decades — problems that have undermined the American middle class and caused a substantial number of people to become angry, anxious, and cynical. Please pull up a chair, grab a cup...

Friends, Today, Heather and I discuss what to expect from the Trump trial currently underway in New York, as well as other pending Trump trials. And Speaker Mike Johnson’s newly found discovery of bipartisanship, which is driving the extremist right “Freedom Caucus” crazy. Please pull up a chair and join us, and consider taking our poll. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with...

Friends, Today we have a special guest to help us understand why food prices continue to go through the roof: Michael Pollan. Pollan is author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma , How to Change Your Mind, The Botany of Desire, and other books. He and Eric Schlosser (whose new piece in The Atlantic, “ Do We Really Want a Food Cartel ?” is also a must-read), are just out with a new documentary available for...

Friends, Welcome back to our Saturday coffee klatch, where today Heather and I look at the similarities between Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump, and the importance of Joe Biden’s standing up to both of them. Please pull up a chair, grab a cup, and (if so moved), take our weekly klatch poll: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus ep...

Friends, Welcome back to our Saturday coffee klatch, where Heather and I review the highs and lows of the week. Today we look at the role of big money in the presidential races of both parties. And with Tax Day looming, we also ask what’s in store when the Trump tax cuts (mostly for the wealthy and big corporations) run out next year? What sort of tax reforms are possible if Biden is reelected and...

Dear friends, Today Heather and I examine the potential bankruptcy of Trump’s finances as well as the bankruptcy of his mind. Please pull up a chair, grab a cup of coffee, and join us. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit robertreich.substack.com/subscribe

Friends, Welcome back to the Saturday Coffee Klatch, where today we’ll discuss whether TikTok should remain a Chinese company or be taken over by American billionaires (why would anyone trust billionaires to better guard their privacy and police against dangerous lies?). Which gets us into a discussion about big money in politics, and big money in housing. And what happens if Trump loses but the e...