Start Making Sense

The famed economist Larry Summers, not for the first time, finds himself the center of ascandal. He's had to take a leave from Harvard, where he teaches, because of embarrassingemails he had with his late friend Jeffrey Epstein.I talked to economic journalist and Nation contributor Doug Henwood, a long-time Summerswatcher, about the career of this controversial and influential figure. Summers has been one ofthe most influential policy makers of his era, serving as Treasury Secretary and President ofHarvard. He has also embodied the major intellectual and political limitations of the ruling class.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com* Check out BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/THENATIONAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Charlotte overcomes her resistance to novels about sexual abuse in order to read Kate Elizabeth Russell's excellent My Dark Vanessa, after which Jo introduces listeners to the freewheeling criminality of Diane DiMassa's Hothead Paisan: Homicidal Lesbian. The ferociously intelligent Torrey Peters then joins for a conversation about plant consciousness and our relationship with the organic world. Other titles mentioned in this episode: Jamie Hood's Trauma Plot, The Incest Diary by Anonymous, Is a River Alive? by Robert MacFarlane, Melanie Challenger's How To Be Animal, Sunaura Taylor's Beasts of Burden, and Merlin Sheldrake's Entangled Life.The Rabindranath Tagore quote that Charlotte gets wrong at the end (I'm sorry! —CS) is:I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.Torrey Peters is the author of the novel Detransition, Baby, which won the 2021 PEN/Hemingway award for debut fiction and was named a Best Book of the Century by the New York Times. Her second book, Stag Dance, was a national bestseller. Please consider supporting our work on Patreon, where you can access additional materials and send us your guest and book coverage requests! Questions and comments can be directed to readingwriterspod at gmail dot com. Outro music by Marty Sulkow and Joe Valle.Charlotte Shane's most recent book is An Honest Woman. Her essay newsletter, Meant For You, can be subscribed to or read online for free, and her social media handle is @charoshane.  Jo Livingstone is a writer who teaches at Pratt Institute. Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com* Check out BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/THENATIONAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Danny and Derek are praying for Kim Kardashian to pass the bar. In this week's news: Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia visits the White House (1:56); the U.S. pushes a new Ukraine peace deal (8:58); Israel continues killing people in Gaza (12:30), Palestinians' shelters are failing in heavy rain (13:57), the UN votes on Trump's Gaza plan (15:22), and Palestinians seeking relief are put on flights to South Africa, raising ethnic cleansing concerns (18:11); Israel continues to bomb and move borders in Lebanon and Syria (21:50); the U.S. and South Korea agree on a nuclear submarine deal (25:21); an attack on a church in Nigeria draws international attention (27:46); the DRC and M23 sign a new peace framework (29:53); an elections update for Chile (31:17) and Ecuador (33:03); Trump reopens a backchannel to Venezuela (34:47); and an update on Operation Southern Spear (38:14).   Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com* Check out BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/THENATIONAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Paris Marx is joined by Gil Duran to discuss how Peter Thiel's bizarre obsession with the antichrist is really a desperate and embarrassing attempt to divert attention from his own misdeeds.Gil Duran writes The Nerd Reich and is working on his first book, The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Global Democracy.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com* Check out BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/THENATIONAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

After almost a year of Trump stonewalling about the Epstein files, Republicans in the House finally took a stand against him. More than a hundred Republican members were prepared to vote for releasing the files. Facing a dramatic defeat, on Sunday night Trump caved, and Tuesday the vote in the House was nearly unanimous. John Nichols has our analysis.Also: The Americans who fought in World War II have been called “the greatest generation,” but historian David Nasaw argues that it's more appropriate to regard them as “the wounded generation.” That's the title of his new book about vets coming home after WWIIOur Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com* Check out BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/THENATIONAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Danny and Derek speak with political theorist and author Lea Ypi about her new book Indignity: A Life Reimagined, which explores how personal memory intersects with imperial collapse, nationalism, and the surveillance state. They discuss her grandmother's journey from Ottoman Salonika to Albania amid the rise of competing political projects; archives and the stories they erase; the challenge for universalist ideals in a capitalist world; the parallels between the 1930s and today's anti-migrant politics; and whether collective political action remains possible as we're shaped by platforms, algorithms, and anonymous economic power.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com* Check out BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/THENATIONAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The scandal around Jeffrey Epstein, who trafficked and abused children and died in a prison cellin 2019, has never gone away. It continues to explode now that House Democrats havereleased thousands of emails from Epstein and his cronies. But while the political class andmainstream media are understandably focused on the sex scandal, another dimension of thescandal goes uncovered except by independent media outlets such as Drop Site: Epstein's deepties to the national security state. I talked to international relations scholar Van Jackson aboutthis crucial part of the story.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com* Check out BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/THENATIONAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week, Jo discovers the seminal elegance of Sylvia Wynter's Black Metamorphosis: New Natives in a New World, while Charlotte considers how well she would fare if she traveled back in time to the era of Alexander the Great, as depicted in Mary Renault's The Persian Boy. Then, the dazzling Lauren Michele Jackson joins to discuss the chaotic, thrilling, sexually vibrant, and deeply unwell narrator of Nettie Jones' Fish Tales.Also mentioned in this episode: Percival Everett's Glyph, Danzy Senna's Symptomatic, Street Zen by David Schneider, Eve Babitz, and Samuel R. Delany's Times Square Red, Times Square Blue.Lauren Michele Jackson is an assistant professor of English at Northwestern University and contributing writer at The New Yorker. She is the author of White Negroes and the forthcoming essay collection, Back. Please consider supporting our work on Patreon, where you can access additional materials and send us your guest and book coverage requests! Questions and comments can be directed to readingwriterspod at gmail dot com. Outro music by Marty Sulkow and Joe Valle.Charlotte Shane's most recent book is An Honest Woman. Her essay newsletter, Meant For You, can be subscribed to or read online for free, and her social media handle is @charoshane.  Jo Livingstone is a writer who teaches at Pratt Institute.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com* Check out BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/THENATIONAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In this episode of A People's Climate, host Shilpi Chhotray sits down with Elizabeth Yeampierre, veteran organizer and executive director of UPROSE, Brooklyn's oldest Latino community-based organization, to explore how frontline communities are taking climate action into their own hands.In a capitalist world that prioritizes bigger, faster, and more, Elizabeth's work takes a different path. Small, hyper-local solutions like a community-owned solar grid have huge impacts. Residents of Brooklyn's Sunset Park, where UPROSE focuses its work, are seeing lower energy costs, good green jobs, and local ownership. All while creating a blueprint for other communities to follow.Elizabeth also takes us beyond the buzzwords of “green economy" and “clean energy” to show what a Just Transition really looks like. Mainstream environmental efforts often focus on the end goal: shifting to renewable energy. But they fail to ask “at what cost and to whom?” Elizabeth's work ensures community members aren't left behind.This episode is a masterclass in how grassroots power can transition us to a just future.Key TopicsA Just Transition: Shifting to renewable energy while protecting workers and communities historically harmed by pollutionThe community-led renewable energy Grid ProjectResisting extractive economies and reclaiming industrial spaces without displacement or gentrification.The importance of building an intergenerational movementHow Trump-era policies have dismantled climate protections and undermined renewable energy incentivesHow disaster capitalism exploits crises and how community-led responses offer real solutionsResourcesUPROSEThe GRID Sunset Park SolarA new solar project in Brooklyn could offer a model for climate justiceUS Spending On Climate Damage Nears $1 Trillion Per YearThe Shock Doctrine (Naomi Klein)Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com* Check out BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/THENATIONAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Subscribe now to skip the ads and get all of our content!Danny and Derek are vigorously programmed to bring you the news headlines. This week: the Thai-Cambodia ceasefire breaks down as border fire and incidents escalate (0:30); in Gaza, Trump's framework stalls while governments debate the shape and purpose of an international security force (4:27); Syria's President Ahmed al-Shara visits the White House (13:49); Iraq's elections conclude with Prime Minister Sudani claiming victory despite an uncertain coalition (17:37); suicide attacks in Pakistan raise tensions with Afghanistan (20:11) while a constitutional amendment increases military rule (23:00); in Sudan, new reports suggest the RSF is burning bodies and digging mass graves to obscure its actions in al-Fashir (25:30); Russia advances in Ukraine with movement around Kupyansk, Pokrovsk, and Zaporizhia (28:02); Nathaniel Powell returns to the show, this time to delve into the unrest continuing in Cameroon after Paul Biya's contested reelection (29:56); and the U.S. moves the Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier into the Caribbean as international criticism grows over strikes on alleged “drug boats” (50:42).Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com* Check out BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/THENATIONAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Paris Marx is joined by Nathan Grayson to discuss how Saudi Arabia is buying its way into the sports, comedy, and video game industries in order to broaden its investment portfolio and launder its international reputation.Nathan Grayson is a cofounder of Aftermath and the author of Stream Big: The Triumphs and Turmoils of Twitch and the Stars Behind the Screen.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com* Check out BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/THENATIONAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

As mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani will be the first socialist in American history to hold significant power. It's a huge opportunity, and a huge responsibility. Bhaskar Sunkara, president of The Nation and author of “The Socialist Manifesto,” will comment.Also: How a band of visionaries and a million dollars upended America – in the 1920s, which had some remarkable similarities to our own era. Award winning historian John Fabian Witt will explain; his new book is ‘The Radical Fund.'Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com* Check out BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/THENATIONAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Derek is joined by Omar Zahzah, Assistant Professor of Arab Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas Studies at San Francisco State University, to talk about his book Terms of Servitude: Zionism, Silicon Valley, and Digital Settler Colonialism. They discuss the Sheikh Jarrah uprising and the digital front of the Palestinian struggle, the difference between “digital apartheid” and “digital settler colonialism,” Meta's censorship, the IDF Unit 8200—Silicon Valley pipeline, how AI and tech infrastructure are being weaponized, the legacy of Edward Said's “Permission to Narrate,” and how Palestinians have used social media to change the narrative.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com* Check out BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/THENATIONAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Perhaps no single object embodies our dystopian, oligarchical, ugly present more than the Cybertruck—the hulking spacecraft-cum-tank that Elon Musk has foisted on the world.The Cybertruck is unpleasant to look at, unsafe to drive, and, judging from its anemic sales, unwanted by most of the public. It has been described as an even bigger flop than the infamous Ford Edsel.But, as writer Maya Vinokour discovered, none of that seems to matter to the Cybertruck's most loyal fans. In "What Was the Cybertruck," a piece for our November issue, Vinokour journeyed deep into the heart of the small but fierce Cybertruck cult, and found a group of people (or, more accurately, men) eager to defend the car against all enemies, foreign and domestic.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com* Check out BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/THENATIONAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Much has been written about how the Israel/Palestine conflict is dividing the left, but thesame is true of the right. Tucker Carlson's interview with the antisemitic critic of Israel NickFuentes has created an intense debate on the right about anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism,currently playing itself out in turmoil at the Heritage Foundation. I spoke with the historianDavid Austin Walsh, whose book Taking America Back: The Conservative Movement and the FarRight provides a crucial background for this story.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com* Check out BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/THENATIONAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Reading Writers is BACK, and in partnership with Bookforum Magazine!In this first episode of Season 3, hosts Jo and Charlotte delve into the (separate) letter collections of Vincent Van Gogh and D.H. Lawrence before they're joined by superstar novelist Rumaan Alam to reflect on magazine eras of yore via Tina Brown's The Vanity Fair Diaries. Also mentioned: Cat Marnell's How To Murder Your Life, Jean Godfrey June's Free Gift With Purchase, Michael M. Grynbaum's Empire of the Elite, Stet by Diana Athill, the diaries of Helen Garner, and the diaries of Andy Warhol.Rumaan Alam is the author of four novels, including, most recently, Entitlement.Please consider supporting our work on Patreon, where you can access additional materials and send us your guest and book coverage requests! Questions and comments can be directed to readingwriterspod at gmail dot com. Outro music by Marty Sulkow and Joe Valle.Charlotte Shane's most recent book is An Honest Woman. Her essay newsletter, Meant For You, can be subscribed to or read online for free, and her social media handle is @charoshane.  Jo Livingstone is a writer who teaches at Pratt Institute. To support the show, navigate to https://www.patreon.com/ReadingWritersOur Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com* Check out BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/THENATIONAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In this episode of A People's Climate, host Shilpi Chhotray sits down with Vivien Sansour, founder of the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library, for a powerful conversation about resistance in the face of Israeli militarism, occupation, and ecological devastation.For two years, the world watched Israel's genocide in Gaza and ethnic cleansing campaign across Palestine — including the annihilation of Palestinian land, contamination of water, and the carbon-intensive bombardment that has choked the air and scorched the soil. Entire food systems have been erased. And yet, so many environmentalists remain silent. Vivien makes it clear that climate conversations cannot be separated from Western imperialism and genocide.From saving heirloom seeds to ancestral farming practices, Vivien shares how Palestinian farmers and land stewards are not only protecting the environment but also preserving culture, memory, and survival itself.Key Themes & Topics:The intersection of conservation, human rights, and food sovereigntyWhy protecting heirloom seeds is essential for culture, memory, and survivalIsraeli militarism and settler expansion in PalestineAncestral agricultural practices that date back tens of thousands of yearsThe long-standing destructive impact of industrialized agriculture on land and food systemsGlobal solidarity with Palestine  ResourcesPalestine Heirloom Seed LibraryTraveling KitchenSubversive Rebels by Vivien SansourPalestinian Land, Heritage, and Identity - Shilpi Chhotray in conversation with Rania BatriceOur Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com* Check out BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/THENATIONAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Paris Marx is joined by Doug Gordon and Sarah Goodyear to discuss the many ways cars have negatively affected society, how tech companies seek to entrench those problems, and what can really be done to improve mobility in our communities.Doug Gordon is a TV producer and writer. Sarah Goodyear is a journalist and author. They are the co-hosts of The War on Cars and co-authors of Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves from the Tyranny of the Automobile.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com* Check out BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/THENATIONAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Democratic candidates won everywhere they ran on Tuesday – Abagail Spanberger and a Democratic state legislature in Virginia, Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey, Gavin Newsom's redistricting proposition in California, and of course Zohran Mamdani in New York City. Trump didn't even campaign against any them. John Nichols has our analysis.Also: Greil Marcus comments on the new film about Bruce Springsteen writing the songs for his 1982 album “Nebraska”, starring starring Jeremy Allen White of ‘The Bear.” The movie misses the context: working class decline in Reagan's America. Greil Marcus is the author of two dozen books, including “Mystery Train,” which has just been reissued in a special 50th anniversary edition.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com* Check out BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/THENATIONAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Danny and Derek welcome journalist and author John Lechner to discuss his book, Death is Our Business: Russian Mercenaries in the New Era of Warfare. The conversation cuts through the mainstream narrative of the Wagner Group to explore the true history of Yevgeny Prigozhin, from his start as a product of post-Soviet "gangster capitalism" in 1990s St. Petersburg to his ascent as Vladimir Putin's de facto military entrepreneur. They analyze how Prigozhin leveraged the Russian state's grand ambitions with limited resources to create a self-funding war machine in Syria and across Africa, ultimately turning his own military success in Bakhmut into a fatal political challenge to the decadent Moscow bureaucracy—a challenge that ended with a suspiciously accidental plane crash.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com* Check out BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/THENATIONAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

It can be tempting to look away from the Supreme Court. The cases are complicated, the traditions archaic, and these days the decisions are almost always devastating and the reasoning often perverse. But alas, the Court is too important to ignore, particularly as John Roberts and his five ultra- conservative colleagues have turned it into a rubber stamp for Donald Trump. Luckily, we at The Nation are blessed to have perhaps the only person in America who can make following the Supreme Court not only bearable but entertaining — our inimitable justice correspondent, Elie Mystal. Elie's annual roundup of the court's biggest upcoming cases is the cover story in our November issue.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com* Check out BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/THENATIONAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Donald Trump claims he wants to be the peace president and has even lobbied for a NobelPeace Prize. But his foreign policy has been wildly contradictory. While the United States isclearly retrenching from many parts of the world, violence against hemispheric neighbors isincreasing. I talked to Trita Parsi, co-founder and executive vice president of the QuincyInstitute for Responsible Statecraft, for a wide-ranging discussion on why American hegemonyis declining but also why the push for retrenchment hasn't gone far enough.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com* Check out BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/THENATIONAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Host Shilpi Chhotray is joined by Tennessee State Representative Justin J. Pearson, a fierce advocate taking on corporate power — from Big Oil to Big Tech. You may know him as one of the two Black representatives who was expelled for demanding gun reform on the House floor after The Covenant school shooting in Nashville. But long before becoming one of the youngest members of the Tennessee legislature, Rep. Pearson was on the frontlines in South Memphis, organizing against a crude oil pipeline that threatened his hometown.Now, in Rep. Pearson's district, Elon Musk's xAI project is expanding its empire with massive, unregulated data centers that pollute the air, threaten their water, and undermine hard-won environmental protections. This conversation is about fighting against entrenched corruption, unchecked corporate and political power, and billionaires who put profit over people's health and future.Key Topics Covered:Defeating the Valero / Plains All American Byhalia PipelineThe rise of Elon Musk's xAI data center in Memphis and the environmental toll of artificial intelligenceMoney in politics: How corporate lobbying and billionaires shape elections and policyCivil disobedience: The role of protest, direct action, and speaking truth to powerKeeping people power alive in the face of corruption and broken systemsProximity to the fight: Understanding your local representatives, connecting local struggles to federal policies, and focusing energy where it can make the most impactResourcesMemphis Community Against PollutionRep. Justin J. Pearson's Speech on the House floor before being expelled“How Long, Not Long” Martin Luther King Jr. speech after marching from Selma to MontgomeryNAACP and Advocacy Groups Appeal Permit for xAI's South Memphis Data CenterOur Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

What's spookier than international relations? This week in the news roundup: Trump tours Asia to talk trade deals (1:28), a Thai-Cambodia accord (7:11), and to meet with Xi (8:45); the RSF captures of Al-Fashir in Sudan with reports of mass killings (12:19); Gaza sees the deadliest day of Israeli bombardments since the ceasefire began (17:19); the PKK makes more concessions in talks with Ankara (21:53); Afghan-Pakistan ceasefire negotiations collapse in Istanbul (24:34); Myanmar rebel groups agree to a Chinese-brokered ceasefire (26:59); elections in Ivory Coast and Cameroon keep longtime incumbents in power (29:44); Nigeria's military sees a shake-up amid rumors of a coup plot (33:30); Dutch elections sideline Geert Wilders and the far-right (36:26); Trump freezes trade talks with Canada and raises tariffs over an ad (39:50); the UN General Assembly votes to condemn the U.S. embargo on Cuba (42:35); the U.S. expands its boat-bombing campaign in the Pacific and sends a carrier to the Caribbean (44:21); and Trump suggests that the U.S. resume nuclear testing (47:57).Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Paris Marx celebrates the 300th episode of Tech Won't Save Us by sharing his reasons to push for digital sovereignty and get off US tech. On top of explaining how that dependence gives the US governments and its tech companies power over us, Paris also provides tips of alternative services to consider migrating to.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Voters can take a stand against Trump's candidates in next Tuesday's elections in Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, California, and New York City – and move toward redistricting that favors Democrats. Harold Meyerson explains.Also: a new art exhibit in Los Angeles, called ‘Monuments,' displays ten decommissioned Confederate monuments alongside the work of 19 artists responding or relating to them. It's at MOCA, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and at the Brick, an arts nonprofit. Christopher Knight comments -- he's art critic for the LA Times and winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Criticism.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Alex Aviña is back on the podcast, this time to talk about the evolution of ICE and the U.S. security state. They discuss the convergence of the war on terror, the war on drugs, and the war on migrants; the transformation of the border into a domestic counterinsurgency project; ICE's roots in settler colonialism; the role of whiteness and assimilation in immigration politics; the use of surveillance and drones in law enforcement; the privatization and grift at the core of Trumpism; the legacy of Latin American death squads; the erosion of constitutional rights; and migration as the consequence of empire.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On Friday, the self-styled “Secretary of War” Pete Hegseth announced the US was sending anaircraft carrier to bolster its attacks on Venezuelan boats (which the Trump administrationalleges, without evidence, are trafficking drugs). I spoke to international relations scholar VanJackson (whose work can be found here) about the motives for this new war as well as themuted opposition to it from Democrats.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On October 14, Donald Trump announced that the United States had blown up a boat off the coast of Venezuela, killing six people on board. It was the fifth such US strike on a vessel in the Caribbean in the last six weeks. In total, 27 people have been killed in the attacks.Trump has claimed that the bombings are part of a fight against drug cartels. But there is no legal basis for this campaign. We're not at war with cartels, none of the victims had been charged with a crime, and there's no evidence that Americans were under imminent threat from any of them.Longtime Nation contributor Greg Grandin's piece about the strikes, "Trump's Caribbean Killing Spree," is in our November issue.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Solving the climate crisis isn't about reinventing the wheel or the latest tech scheme — it can be as simple as growing food and building community. Host Shilpi Chhotray chats with Leah Penniman, farmer, educator, and co-founder of Soul Fire Farm, about the intersection of land, food justice, and racial equity. Leah shares how Afro-Indigenous farming practices offer solutions to the climate crisis— but also serve as a tool for personal and community healing. From the legacy of Black farmers in the U.S. to the ongoing exploitation of agricultural workers, this conversation reveals how land is not only the foundation of sustenance but the basis of revolution, independence, and justice.Key Topics Covered:Farming as a spiritual and ecological practice that reconnects humans to the earth.Pitfalls of Industrial agriculture, from soil degradation, pesticide contamination, and contributions to the climate crisis Afro-Indigenous farming practices that sequester carbon, restore soil, and increase resilience to extreme weather.Land justice and reparations: Historical land theft, racialized wealth disparities, and efforts to build Black land commons.The Trump Administration's impact on Black Farmers and the agri-food industry.How modern food systems continue to exploit the most vulnerable, including undocumented farmworkers and incarcerated individuals, whose labor produces the food we eatResourcesSoul Fire FarmFarming While Black by Lean PennimanBlack Earth Wisdom by Leah PennimanAP investigation “Prisoners in the US are part of a hidden workforce linked to hundreds of popular food brands”Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Rest assured, no one on the AP team has any undeclared tattoos. In this week's news roundup: In Israel-Palestine, Gaza's so-called ceasefire holds after another weekend of Israeli strikes (1:36), the International Court of Justice (ICJ) orders Israel to allow more humanitarian aid (8:16), and reports emerge of a plan to partition Gaza (11:48) as J.D. Vance arrives in Israel and the Knesset advances West Bank annexation votes (14:21); Donald Trump looks set to host Mohammed bin Salman for the Saudi crown prince's first U.S. visit since the Jamal Khashoggi murder (18:36); Afghanistan and Pakistan agree to a fragile ceasefire after cross-border clashes (21:16); Myanmar's junta retakes a key commercial town and resumes its offensive (23:47); Japan elects hard-right Takaichi Sanae as its first female prime minister (27:27); in Sudan, drone strikes delay the reopening of Khartoum's airport (29:59); new data shows jihadist groups tightening their grip across West Africa (31:19); the Trump-Putin-Zelensky saga takes several new turns, with canceled summits and contradictory sanctions (34:52); Rodrigo Paz wins Bolivia's presidency and pledges to restore ties with Washington (41:28); the U.S. reportedly trades MS-13 informants for access to Nayib Bukele's mega-prison in El Salvador (43:39); two more U.S. drone attacks hit alleged “drug boats,” one in the Pacific, as the head of Southern Command steps down (45:44); and the U.S. and Australia seal a new minerals deal to counter China (50:28).Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Paris Marx is joined by Joanne McNeil to discuss the proliferation of delivery bots and robotaxis and how they recycle disproven claims about how technology will improve transportation.Joanne McNeil is a freelance writer and the author of Wrong Way and Lurking: How a Person Became a User.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

No Kings Day on Oct. 18 was the largest peaceful protest in American history. Rebecca Solnit comments, and refutes Republican statements about violence on the left. Her most recent book is “Orwell's Roses.”Also: the fight to control the LA police: a decades long effort that culminated in 1992, after the Rodney King riots, when longtime police chief Darryl Gates was forced out. Danny Goldberg comments – at the time he was board chair of the ACLU of Southern California Foundation, and his new book is “Liberals With Attitude.” Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Danny and Derek speak with historian Fara Dabhoiwala, author of What Is Free Speech? The History of a Dangerous Idea, about the complex history of one of liberalism's proudest ideals, and how it largely emerged from hypocrisy and self-interest. They trace its 18th-century birth in the polemics of corrupt British journalists, its exclusion of women and colonized peoples, the U.S. founders' rejection of France's more balanced model, and the later reappropriation of the slogan by abolitionists and reformers. The group also traces free speech's evolution through the Cold War and into the age of Big Tech, revealing how a principle meant to liberate became a tool of power and a license for unaccountable media.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

"Are Trump and Trumpism best understood as the consolidation of an elite economic program, as a nostalgia-­laced brew of prejudice and rage, or as a coherent, forceful new style of authoritarian rule—and if it's the latter, why is this happening now?" That's the question that historian and Columbia professor Kim Phillips-Fein asks in her latest piece for The Nation, which you can read in our November issue.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The fragile ceasefire negotiated between Israel and Hamas hasn't ended the violence, but it hasfor now lessened it. But even if the ceasefire holds, the need for a political solution toPalestinian dispossession remains. To discuss the issue of accountability, I spoke to YousefMunayyer, who is the head of the Palestine/Israel Program and Senior Fellow at Arab CenterWashington DC. We talked about how the shocking events of the last two years have shiftedglobal public opinion, including in the United States. Both parties are heading towards a long-delayed debate about the value of the US/Israel relation.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

For the first time in over a century, the Klamath River flows free again—thanks to the vision, courage, and determination of the Yurok Tribe. In this episode of A People's Climate, Shilpi Chhotray talks with Amy Bowers Cordalis, a member of the Yurok Tribe and leader in the largest dam removal project in U.S. history. From devastating fish kills and lost salmon runs to confronting corporations and navigating the law, Amy shares a story of environmental restoration, Indigenous sovereignty, and the power of nature-based solutions. This is a story of rivers, resistance, and the multi-layered fight—legal, political, and cultural—to heal the land and its people.Learn more at apeoplesclimate.org Resources:- “The Water Remembers” by Amy Bowers Cordalis (Bookshop) (Amazon)- Yurok Tribe Celebrates 50-year Anniversary of Mattz v. ArnettPresented by Counterstream Media and The NationPowered by Wildseeds FundAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Lead might be in our protein supplements, but Danny and Derek bring you the news free of most heavy metals. This week: the ceasefire in Gaza begins with prisoner exchanges (1:38), but controversy arises over deceased captives (5:30), plus Israeli violations and Hamas clashes with armed factions (9:35), and a summit in Sharm El Sheikh (14:36); a United Nations report shows a record-breaking spike in atmospheric carbon levels and growing evidence that natural feedback loops are worsening climate collapse (17:14); border clashes escalate between Afghanistan and Pakistan following a failed Pakistani airstrike on a Taliban leader (19:39); Japan's ruling coalition collapses after Komeito breaks with the LDP (23:06); Nathaniel Powell joins Derek to break down the military coup in Madagascar sparked by Gen Z-led protests and a mutiny within the elite CAPSAT unit (25:16); in France, Macron re-appoints PM Lecornu and the government survives no-confidence votes (45:04); Peruvian president Dina Boluarte is impeached amid corruption scandals and rising crime (48:59); Trump authorizes CIA covert action inside Venezuela and bombs another boat in the Caribbean (50:35); the U.S.-China trade war re-escalates as Beijing restricts rare earth exports and Trump responds with tariff threats and diplomatic chaos (54:27); and finally, Trump's bid for the Nobel Peace Prize fails while the winner dedicates her win to him (59:04).Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Paris Marx is joined by Chris Gilliard to discuss how tech CEOs are pushing a new generation of AI-powered smart glasses by promising they'll be stylish and indispensable to workers in a desperate attempt to convince us we should want their luxury surveillance gadgets.Chris Gilliard is the co-director of the Critical Internet Studies Institute and is working on a book called Luxury Surveillance.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Saturday is the second No Kings Day – it should be the biggest single day of protest in American history, with more than 2,500 events planned. Leah Greenberg will explain the preparations – she's co-founder of Indivisible, the group that called the first No Kings day, June 14 – five million people participated in that one, held the same day as Trump's birthday parade – the one no one came to.Also: there's “a forthrightly antifascist film” that critics call “wild and thrilling” -- of course, that's “One Battle After Another,” the Paul Thomas Anderson movie starring Leonardo di Caprio as a burnt out left wing bomber, targeted by an ICE captain played by Sean Penn. John Powers will comment—he's critic at large on Fresh Air with Terry Gross.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Danny and Derek speak with sociologist Charles Derber about how American society is tearing itself apart, as explored in his book Bonfire: American Sociocide, Broken Relations, and the Quest for Democracy. They discuss the decline of civic trust, the rise of atomized “me” culture, the tech-driven Gilded Age, neoliberalism and loneliness, Silicon Valley's alliance with the national security state, how a country built on expansion and individualism turned those forces inward, and what, if anything, can stop us from destroying the relationships that hold this society together.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Few movies have ever been as timely as Paul Thomas Anderson's latest film One Battle AfterAnother, which traces the battle between revolutionary resistance groups trying to protectimmigrants and an authoritarian government run by racists. There are scenes from the moviethat feel like they are being played out right now on the streets of Chicago, Los Angeles andPortland. Although it presents a stylized version of reality, the film raises important questionsabout different strategies of resistance. David Klion, a frequent guest, wrote about the moviefor The New Republic. David and I talked about the film, its roots in actual history but alsovariance with that history as well as its relationship with the Thomas Pynchon novel Vineland.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

What does true climate justice look like when it's rooted in sovereignty, resistance, and liberation? In this powerful episode of A People's Climate, Shilpi Chhotray sits down with Nick Tilsen—Oglala Lakota land defender and CEO of NDN Collective—to unpack the meaning of LandBack, the historic fight for the Black Hills, the release of political prisoner Leonard Peltier, and the deep ties between Indigenous struggles and Palestinian resistance. From direct action at Mount Rushmore to building legal strategies against unjust laws, this conversation is a call for big, bad bold courage.Learn more at apeoplesclimate.org Resources:- NDN Collective- Nick Tilsen's Podcast: LandBack for The People- LandBack- The Fallout From The Greenpeace Verdict (The Nation)Presented by Counterstream Media and The NationPowered by Wildseeds FundAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Yes, we will be releasing 25 subtle variations of this news roundup in order to catapult ourselves to the top of the podcast charts, and no, we are not sorry. This week: a ceasefire agreement was reached for Gaza, but there was too much information for us to cover in the news, so please check out our special here. Syria's interim government handpicks a new “parliament” under tight presidential control (1:01); Iran debates moving its capital from Tehran as drought and other ecological issues worsen (3:24); Myanmar's junta carries out a deadly airstrike on civilians celebrating a Buddhist festival (6:32); Japan's ruling LDP turns to hard-right Takahichi to become Japan's first female prime minister (9:03); Sudan's RSF shells Al-Fashir's last functioning hospital amid a deepening siege (12:22); Ethiopia accuses Eritrea and the TPLF of funding militias in the Amhara region, raising fears of another war (14:23); Rwanda-DRC peace efforts stall over mineral deals and a lingering occupation (17:31); Trump muses on sending Tomahawks to Ukraine while cutting a drone-tech swap with Kyiv (20:05); another French prime minister resigns (24:24); the U.S. sinks another “narco-boat” of the coast of Venezuela, then cuts diplomatic ties with Maduro (28:27), and moves to expand the president's war powers at home and abroad (32:54; and Donald Trump flirts with invoking the 1807 Insurrection Act (35:14).  Our Sponsors:* this is a paid advertisement from BetterHelp. Check out BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/THENATIONAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Paris Marx is joined by Jacob Silverman to discuss Jacob's new book Gilded Rage, which explores the radicalization of Silicon Valley leaders, who are exerting their growing influence to shape our society for the worse.Jacob Silverman is an independent journalist and the author of ⁠Gilded Rage: Elon Musk and the Radicalization of Silicon Valley⁠.Our Sponsors:* this is a paid advertisement from BetterHelp. Check out BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/THENATIONAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

As the Supreme Court begins its new term, Trump lost six different cases in district courts just last week, ranging from bans on deploying the National Guard, to defending freedom of speech for noncitizens, to yet another court rejecting his executive order abolishing birthright citizenship. At the same time, Trump is claiming an illegitimate legal basis for ordering the murder of civilians he claims are trafficing in drugs. David Cole will comment—he's former national legal director of the ACLU.Also, There's a wonderful new history of New York City from the Depression thru WWII, out now - It's called “Gotham at War,” written by Mike Wallace. He won the Pulitzer Prize in History for the first volume in his “Gotham” series. To talk about ‘Gotham at War,' we'll turn to Brenda Wineapple, who writes for the New York Review and the New York Times Book Review; her most recent book is the Scopes trial--it's called ‘Keeping the Faith.'Our Sponsors:* this is a paid advertisement from BetterHelp. Check out BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/THENATIONAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Donald Trump has plunged the nation into another government shutdown. I spoke with my Nation colleague Chris Lehmann about the larger political stakes. We take up Trump's shifting rhetoric, which has started with false and racist claims about undocumented immigrants receiving benefits and now seems to be about gloating over austerity. We also discuss the Democratic Party's response, and the way the base of the party has forced the leadership to take a stronger stance. Chris's article on the shutdown can be found here.Our Sponsors:* this is a paid advertisement from BetterHelp. Check out BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/THENATIONAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This is when people-powered movements matter most.In this episode of A People's Climate, host Shilpi Chhotray sits down with Patrisse Cullors, co-founder of Black Lives Matter, artist, abolitionist, and author. They explore the deep connections between racial justice, environmental justice, and the fight for a more just and caring world. From her childhood experiences in Los Angeles to organizing around police brutality, climate justice, and cultural work, Patrisse shares why her vision is rooted in care, creativity, and nonviolent action. Together, they unpack what it means to build coalitions across movements, resist systemic violence, and imagine a future beyond just survival.Learn more at apeoplesclimate.org Resources:- Patrisse Cullors DEI Manifesto- Patrisse Cullors Website- Dignity and Power Now- Learn more about Cop City in the Shilpi Chhotray hosted “People over Plastic” podcast episode: The Hot Seat.- Learn more about Cancer Alley in the Shilpi Chhotray hosted  “People over Plastic” podcast episode: Secret SaucePresented by Counterstream Media and The NationPowered by Wildseeds FundOur Sponsors:* this is a paid advertisement from BetterHelp. Check out BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/THENATIONAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Subscribe now to skip the ads and get more content.Don't forget to vote for AP in the 2025 Signal Awards!Danny is back on American soil and joins Derek to bring you the news. This week: Trump circulates a Gaza ceasefire proposal with Hamas' response pending (2:39), Israel issues its final evacuation notice for Gaza City (9:30), and the Samud flotilla is intercepted (11:04); Trump forces Netanyahu to apologize to Qatar while also giving Doha a NATO-style defense pledge (14:06); the UN reimposes sanctions on Iran (16:55); Trump pushes to retake Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan as the country briefly loses internet access (20:49); starvation worsens in Sudan's al-Fashir (27:02); “Gen Z protests” erupt in Madagascar and Morocco (29:56); Trump declares Ukraine can retake all lost territory (33:13) while the EU eyes frozen Russian assets (37:04); Argentina's Milei seeks a U.S. bailout (39:51); Washington considers strikes inside Venezuela (42:51); and Pete Hegseth's generals' rally falls flat as Trump muses about using the military in U.S. cities (44:01).Our Sponsors:* this is a paid advertisement from BetterHelp. Check out BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/THENATIONAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Paris Marx is joined by Tina Nguyen to discuss the divisions within the American far-right between the Trump administration, the wider MAGA movement, and the tech executives trying to show they're on their side. Tina Nguyen is a senior reporter at The Verge and author of The MAGA Diaries: My Surreal Adventures Inside the Right-Wing (And How I Got Out).Our Sponsors:* this is a paid advertisement from BetterHelp. Check out BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/THENATIONAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

For the Senate Democrats this is a big week for defiance. At last they are making popular demands as part of a deal to pass a budget and avoid a government shutdown. But Trump still holds a lot of cards. Harold Meyerson will comment.Also: None of us were prepared for the double whammy of last week's White House press conference, where Trump made false claims not only about vaccines, but also about Tylenol causing autism. We'll have analysis from Gregg Gonsalves. He teaches at the Yale School of Public Health; he's been an AIDS activist for 30 years; and he's also a MacArthur Fellow -- class of 2018. And he's The Nation's public health correspondent. Our Sponsors:* this is a paid advertisement from BetterHelp. Check out BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/THENATIONAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy