Start Making Sense

Danny and Derek return from their holiday retreat at Bohemian Grove to bring you news from around the world. This week: Delcy Rodríguez assumes Venezuela's presidency following Nicolás Maduro's U.S. rendition (1:31), as questions mount over the indictment (3:51) and Washington moves toward de facto control of Venezuelan oil exports (6:36); Saudi-backed forces push back Southern Transitional Council gains in southern Yemen, with STC leader Aidarous al-Zubaidi fleeing to the UAE and facing treason charges (11:10); Israel bans 37 humanitarian organizations, including Doctors Without Borders (15:33), and advances the E-1 settlement project in the West Bank (17:49); protests spread across Iran amid currency collapse and renewed sanctions (21:05); Thailand and Cambodia's December ceasefire largely holds despite a reported accidental mortar incident (25:33); U.S. airstrikes in northwestern Nigeria raise questions about targets and objectives (27:52); Israel becomes the first country to recognize Somaliland, prompting regional backlash and speculation about military basing and Gaza resettlement plans (30:44); European leaders discuss security guarantees for Ukraine as part of potential peace negotiations with Russia (36:00); Trump escalates rhetoric and planning around annexing or purchasing Greenland (37:54); the Trump administration pushes for a $1.5 trillion U.S. military budget (42:12); and Trump orders a U.S. withdrawal from dozens of UN and international institutions, particularly those related to climate governance (44:30).Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Trump's attack on Venezuela is likely to weaken his political support even further, because it does nothing about affordability or health care. And it's not at all clear the big oil companies want to spend billions restoring Venezuelan production. John Nichols comments.Also: the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered the VA to provide housing for disabled vets on its land in Los Angeles, something they have refused to do for more than a decade. The ruling should end homelessness among disabled vets everywhere – Mark Rosenbaum of Public Counsel, who won the case, explains.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Subscribe now to skip the ads and get all of our episodes.Danny and Derek are joined by historian Greg Grandin to go in depth on the recent U.S. operation in Venezuela. They talk about the removal of Nicolás Maduro while leaving the existing state structure intact, implying America's preference for coercion over governance; the role of oil in U.S. rhetoric; internal divisions within the Trump administration; comparisons to past interventions in the region; and the weakening of regional resistance to U.S. dominance. The group also looks at Venezuela amid a shifting global order with declining hegemony, rising multipolarity, and limited state capacity for the U.S.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Danny and Derek are joined by journalist Seth Harp to discuss his book The Fort Bragg Cartel, which covers murder and drug trafficking around the North Carolina military installation. They talk about the rise and institutionalization of U.S. special operations after 9/11, how JSOC and related units expanded their role, permanent war reshaping military culture, special forces' role in assassination campaigns, the end of the draft, reporting on drug trafficking networks, and the social effects of special operations culture on the families and communities connected to Fort Bragg.Read Seth's piece in Harper's, “Mission Impossible.”Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The year in politics: Harold Meyerson of The American Prospect comments on Trump's collapsing support in 2025, and the rise of the resistance—in both the unprecendented national mobilizations culminating in the second No Kings Day, and the Democratic triumph in virtually all elections in 2025.Also: the year in court: David Cole, who stepped down this year as national legal director of the ACLU, reviews the 149 rulings against Trump in federal courts this past year, and the 21 times the Supreme Court has supported his attacks on democracy.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Danny and Derek speak with journalist and cultural critic Daniel Waite Penny to discuss the relationship between masculinity, the manosphere, and climate politics, as explored in the new season of Drilled, Carbon Bros. They talk about the “manosphere,” libertarians promoting techno-fixes, and Silicon Valley elites pushing solutions like space colonization; how gendered ideas about strength, autonomy, and grievance have fused with climate denial and hostility toward environmental regulation; where these dynamics fit within broader shifts in political economy and the interests of fossil capital; and the roots of these alignments, their role in contemporary right-wing politics, and what they mean for efforts to build public support for climate action. Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In June, Trump sent more than 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to occupy Los Angeles and terrorize the immigrant population. But by the end of July, almost all the Guard and the Marines were gone. Bill Gallegos explains how that happened and what other cities can learn from it. Also: Bob Dylan fans have been puzzled and troubled by his Christmas album ever since he released it in 2009. To help figure out what Dylan was doing, we turn to Sean Wilentz. He's author of Bob Dylan in America, and he also teaches history at Princeton. (Originally recorded in January, 2005.)​ Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Norman Podhoretz, one of the founding fathers of neoconservatism, died on December 16 atage 95. His legacy is a complex one, since in recent decades neoconservatism has beensupplanted in many ways by American First conservatism. But many aspects of Podhoretz'sinfluence still play a shaping role on right. I take up Podhoretz's career with David Klion (whowrote an obituary for the pundit for The Nation) and the historian Ronnie Grinberg, who haddiscussed Podhoretz in her book Write Like a Man.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Subscribe now to skip the ads and get all of our episodes.Use the holiday discount code XMAS2025 for a $45 annual subscription (offer valid through 1/1/26)! Jolly Saint Nick is giving the U.S. government lots of coal this year, a boon to fossil fuel companies. In this week's news: Thailand–Cambodia fighting resumes despite Trump's ceasefire claim (1:52); an Israeli airstrike in Gaza threatens what remains of the ceasefire (6:00), and a winter storm devastates Gaza as Israel continues blocking shelter materials and aid (9:10); Yemen's Southern Transitional Council prepares to declare a new government amid Saudi threats (12:08); the U.S. approves the largest-ever arms package to Taiwan (16:10); China reportedly unveils a prototype advanced chipmaking tool (18:18); the Bondi Beach attack in Australia has possible Islamic State links (19:48); a New America Foundation report documents extensive U.S. airstrikes in Somalia (22:01); M23 announces its withdrawal from Uvira in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (24:49); Ukraine peace talks continue as the war nears its fourth year, including disputes over Kupiansk (27:59); Chile elects far-right president José Antonio Kast (32:23); the U.S. escalates pressure on Venezuela with military deployments and a partial oil blockade (33:27); and Congress passes a $901 billion National Defense Authorization Act, including a repeal of Syria's Caesar Act and changes to Selective Service registration (41:40).Listen to our special with Annelle Sheline on what's going on in Yemen.Don't forget to listen to our Chinese Prestige miniseries.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Paris Marx is joined by Cam Wilson to discuss the new social media age limit in Australia, including how successful the rollout has been so far and the missed opportunities of taking a more nuanced regulatory approach.Cam Wilson is an associate editor at ⁠Crikey⁠ and writes ⁠The Sizzle⁠ newsletter. He's a co-author of ⁠Conspiracy Nation⁠: Exposing the Dangerous World of Australian Conspiracy Theories.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Ths coming Friday is the deadline for the Justice Department to turn over the Epstein files to Congress. But we already know the key fact about Epstein's famous friends--they didn't care that he had hired a 14-year-old girl for sex—and gone to jail for it. But why was that? Katha Pollitt comments.Also: the hidden politics of the New York Times crossword puzzle: Natan Last explains; his new book is Across the Universe: the Past, Present, and Future of the Crossword Puzzle.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Danny and Derek welcome to the show Julia Gledhill and Van Jackson, co-hosts of the Un-Diplomatic podcast, to talk about the Trump administration's newly released National Security Strategy. They discuss how the document leans on civilizational framing, portrays competition as existential conflict, omits diplomacy and institutions in favor of coercion and deal-making, and deemphasizes democracy promotion. They also touch on the strategy's treatment of Europe and Latin America, its assumptions about American power, and what the new NSS suggests about the direction of U.S. foreign policy.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In its heyday, the Bush Terminal industrial complex spanned several city blocks along Brooklyn's waterfront and employed more than 35,000 people. Built by Irving Bush in the late nineteenth century, it was an "early intermodal shipping hub." Goods arrived by water and left by rail. Bananas, coffee, and cotton came in through doors on one side of the warehouses and were loaded onto trains on the other.But after World War II, as trucks replaced rail and shipping patterns changed, the Terminal's purpose faded and the vast complex slipped into disuse.Today, Bush Terminal is again at the center of New York's vision for urban reinvention— and a debate around development, displacement, and the future of work in the city.Joining us on a deep dive into Bush Terminal is veteran architecture critic and writer Karrie Jacobs. Her essay, “On the Waterfront,” appears in our December issue of the Nation.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The Trump administration has released a new National Security Strategy that is a marked shiftnot only from earlier administrations but also Trump's first term in office. While the new policystatement eschews the goal of global hegemony, it promotes culture war in Europe bypromising support of anti-immigration political parties, economic rivalry in Asia with China, anda renewal of US military hegemony in the Western hemisphere. To survey this document andTrump's often contradictory foreign policy, I spoke to frequent guest of the show StephenWertheim who is American Statecraft senior fellow, Carnegie Endowment for InternationalPeace.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Subscribe now to skip the ads and get all of our episodes.Listen to our Chinese Prestige miniseries!Danny and Derek will sadly not be doing a CBS News town hall event. This week in the news: the Thailand–Cambodia conflict resumes (1:47); the DRC–M23 conflict also resumes as M23 makes new advances (7:05); in Gaza, questions remain over the “second phase” of the ceasefire as a winter storm hits (10:38); separatists in Yemen gain control of the country's south (17:18); the RSF takes Sudan's largest oilfield (21:02); an attempted coup is foiled in Benin (23:31); Trump gives NATO a 2027 ultimatum on defense spending (26:05); Ukraine responds to the U.S. peace plan while Trump expresses frustration (29:46); controversy erupts in Honduras over election ballot-counting snafus (35:56); and in these great United States, Congress removes “right to repair” from the NDAA after contractors lobby against it (38:53).Don't forget to join our Discord.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Paris Marx is joined by Ben Wray to discuss Europe's capitulation to pressure from the United States on Nexperia, as well as on digital protections and labor rights that could have big implications for the future of work.Ben Wray is a researcher specializing in the platform economy. He writes the Gig Economy Project newsletter and his most recent report for the ETUC is called Uberisation.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Republicans are about to end Obamcare subsidies, driving up premiums for 20 million people during the year of the midterm elections. How have they managed to end up after all these years with no health insurance plan of their own? John Nichols comments.Also: Bob Dylan's earliest recordings have just been released—the first is from 1956 when he was 15 years old—on the 8-CD set ‘Through the Open Window: The Bootleg Series vol. 18” – which ends in 1963, with his historic performance at Carnegie Hall. Sean Wilentz explains – he wrote the 120 page book that accompanies the release. Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Derek and journalist Mat Nashed assess the state of Sudan's ongoing civil war, particularly the fall of Al-Fasher and the Rapid Support Forces' consolidation of control across much of Darfur. They discuss the throughline from the 2003 genocide to today; the wider humanitarian catastrophe; the shifting battlefield in Kordofan; the growing role of drones; the RSF's political gambits; the international dimension of the war, including the UAE's backing of the RSF and the Sudanese army's search for external patrons; and they examine why accountability remains elusive as Sudan's rival powers continue a war that hurts civilians above all else.Follow Mat on Twitter and Instagram. Read Abdel Fattah al-Burhan's WSJ opinion piece.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On one side of the world, a major corporate landlord is evicting tenants by jacking up rents by hundreds of dollars.On the other, its parent company is linked to Israeli bombs, genocide, and illegal settlements.This is the multibillion-dollar story of American Landmark — one of the country's most eviction-happy landlords — and Elco, a corporate powerhouse whose subsidiaries are tied to the Israeli military and far-right settler movements. It's even been cited by the UN for facilitating human rights violations.Thomas Birmingham spent months meeting the families at the mercy of American Landmark, interrogating the corporate landlords profiting off them, and examining the connection between one kind of displacement here in America and another thousands of miles away, in the West Bank and Gaza.His feature, "The Eviction Kings," is in the December issue of The Nation. Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Only a few years ago, European elites were patting themselves on the back for fending off thetide of right-wing anti-system parties (often styled as populists). But recent polls in France,Germany and the United Kingdom show that that the far right is once again gaining traction,thanks in no small part centrist governments that have demoralized the population andlegitimized xenophobia. David Broder, author of Mussolini's Grandchildren and European editorof Jacobin, wrote a wide-ranging essay on this for The New York Times. I spoke to David aboutboth the dismal decisions of mainstream parties and also possible alternatives.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Charlotte delves into Ecclesiastes through the work of liberation theologist Elsa Támez (When the Horizons Close) before Jo shares some of Pierre Guyotat's horny, rapturous literary memoir, Idiocy. Icon of many RW conversations past, the thoughtful Jackie Ess then joins to discuss Tolstoy's crank-inflected final novel, Resurrection.Jackie Ess is the author of a novel called Darryl, and more recently of a long short-story length chapbook called Eugene. 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.comAdvertising 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 download our Chinese Prestige miniseries, currently on sale for $5. Annual subscribers get the series free! Despite sitting on a large surplus of Labubus, Danny and Derek work hard to bring you the news. This week: in Russia-Ukraine, new US diplomacy goes nowhere (1:08), Ukraine is now attacking Russian commercial ships (5:55), and the EU moves to phase out Russian natural gas (8:35); in the DRC-Rwanda conflict, Trump hosts a peace deal signing as fighting resumes with M23 in the eastern DRC (11:17); new fighting erupts in southern Yemen (14:19); Lebanon and Israel hold ceasefire talks as the IDF resumes strikes (17:08); in Gaza, new clashes leave a gang leader dead (19:45), the ceasefire implementation sees minimal progress (23:48), and Israel reopens the the Rafah checkpoint (26:24); Sudan's RSF claims a new advance in the Kordofan region (28:40); a bizarre coup unfolds in Guinea-Bissau (30:40); Trump moves closer to military action against Venezuela (36:55); Honduras heads toward a contentious election (40:17); the US pauses entry from 19 countries after the DC National Guard shooting (43:46); and a double-tap strike on a boat in the Caribbean raises new legal questions (45:43).Join the Discord (subscribers get access to all channels).Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Paris Marx is joined by Aline Blankertz to discuss how right-wing governments and international corporations in the European Union are pushing to gut tech regulations with the goal of boosting AI development in hope of improving economic growth and geopolitical standing.Aline Blankertz is a cofounder of Structural Integrity.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Zorhan Mamdani takes office in four weeks as the first socialist mayor of New York City. How should we understand the constraints he faces, without accepting those constraints? Bhaskar Sunkara has our analysis; he's president of The Nation and author of ‘The Socialist Manifesto.'Plus: Sports Talk on The Nation podcast! Of course Thanksgiving was a big weekend for football on TV - a weekend where millions of viewers got to see a festival of brain injuries -- concussions after receiving blows to the head. Dave Zirin will comment - he's the long-time sports editor of The Nation and host of the Edge of Sports podcast.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Danny and Derek welcome to the show Molly Lambert, creator of the JENNAWORLD podcast, to talk about the rise of the modern porn industry and its roots in L.A.'s San Fernando Valley. They discuss the medium's origins in underground stag films and the porno chic era; the shift to home video and the corporate studio model; breakout stars like Ginger Lynn Allen and Jenna Jameson; porn as an outsider industry mirroring Hollywood; gender, labor, and power in late-20th-century media; the relationship between pornography and evolving feminist politics; porn's role in the VHS–Betamax war; and how the internet, OnlyFans, and content platforms have affected a formerly professionalized industry.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

It's no surprise that liberal philanthropy — a longtime pillar of the Democratic establishment — has become one of the Trump administration's latest targets. As David Callahan writes in our December issue, liberal foundations “have often been depicted as the great puppet masters of the left, bankrolling and directing a who's who of progressive groups intent on destroying the American way of life.” In other words, catnip for MAGA madness.But as Callahan points out, the reality of how these institutions operate is far from radical. As powerbrokers of the elite, liberal philanthropists are averse to challenging “the systems that spawned them.”How have liberal foundations failed to mobilize working-class Americans? And how can they ramp up the fight to defend the democracy they claim to care so much about saving?Joining us to discuss this is David Callahan, founder and editor of Inside Philanthropy, and author of The Givers: Wealth, Power and Philanthropy in a New Gilded Age.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

For this special season finale, recorded live during NYC Climate Week, host Shilpi Chhotray convenes a powerful storytelling event with three frontline media makers: Chantel Comardelle, Alexandra Norris, and B. Preston Lyles.This is more than a conversation about films or campaigns — it's an intimate window into the lived realities of climate and environmental injustice. From Indigenous land loss in Louisiana, to the ongoing fight against the petrochemical buildout in Cancer Alley, to exposing the violence of toxic prisons, this discussion centers the human stories too often sidelined in mainstream climate narratives.Our guests speak candidly about their experiences, what sustains them in the face of systemic harm, why frontline voices must lead solutions, and how storytelling itself becomes a vital tool of resistance, survival, and collective power.This live storytelling event was made possible in partnership with Dr. Margot Brown, Senior Vice President of Justice and Equity at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and the Frontline Resource Institute. Special thanks to Chess Jakobs, Counterstream Media's Impact Producer, who produced this event.Key TopicsFrontline climate and environmental justice: Stories from communities directly impacted by the climate crisis and extractive industries.Indigenous displacement: The Isle de Jean Charles Choctaw Nation and climate-driven migration.Sharon Lavigne's fight against petrochemical expansion in Cancer AlleyToxic prisons: The intersection of mass incarceration, environmental harm, and systemic injustice.How spiritual grounding and faith sustains organizing. Using film and media to reclaim narratives and highlight underrepresented stories.Narrative power: How media shapes perception, policy, and the climate movement's priorities.ResourcesLet No One Lose HeartToxic Prisons CampaignRise St. JamesPreserving Our PlaceIsle de Jean Charles Choctaw NationFrontline Resources InstituteEnvironmental Defense FundOur Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Jo and Charlotte discuss secret gardens, indoor kids, and Peter Pan's baby teeth before they're joined by culture-shaping Annelise Ogaard, who introduces listeners to the lavish, creepy world of Gabrielle Wittkop's fiction.Annelise Ogaard is a writer, translator, filmmaker, vibesmith, area woman, and friend of the pod. She has translated a variety of Japanese manga, including Hauntress, (one of the NYPL's top ten graphic novels of the year

Paris Marx is joined by Ketan Joshi to discuss how hyperscale data centers are fueling the consumption of more oil and gas, what that means for climate targets, and the insidious relationship between the tech and fossil fuel industries.Ketan Joshi is a climate writer and data analyst based in Oslo working with climate and environmental groups.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Last Friday Marjorie Taylor Greene announced she was quitting after Trump excommunicated her from MAGA, while the same day Trump welcomed Zohran Mamdani to the White House with open arms and high praise. What's going on with Trump? Harold Meyerson comments - he's editor at large of The American Prospect.Also: Alice Waters, the legendary founder of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, winner of the National Humanities Medal, awarded by Obama, talks about how to make school lunch delicious, affordable, organic, and beautiful - and locally sourced from regenerative farmers. Her new book is A School Lunch Revolution.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In lieu of a typical Tuesday episode this week, we are releasing the first episode of our new miniseries Chinese Prestige. Annual subscribers already have access, while everyone else can get the 8 episodes for a whopping $5 for two weeks only. Enjoy!In this first episode of Chinese Prestige, Yidi, Danny, and Derek trace the origins of the Chinese Communist Party from the May Fourth Movement to the civil war with the Nationalists. They explore the party's strategic shift from cities to the countryside, the role of land reform and mass mobilization, the impact of the Japanese invasion and World War II, and the rise of Mao Zedong. The episode follows the party through its victory in 1949, the founding of the People's Republic of China, early state-building, and China's entry into the Korean War. The group concludes in 1953 with the launch of the first five-year plan and its push for rapid industrial development.Theme music performed by Jake Aron, based on the song “The East is Red.”Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Angelo Herndon was a Black coal miner turned Communist activist who was repeatedly “arrested, convicted of vagrancy, and incarcerated” for his efforts to educate and mobilize workers. In 1932, he helped organize an interracial protest against a county decision to cut off relief for the poor. But it wasn't simply the protest that led to his chain-gang sentence — it was Herndon's possession and distribution of Communist literature, which authorities used to charge him with inciting insurrection.Herndon's prosecution, and the wrongful conviction that followed, ultimately gave rise to Herndon v. Lowry — one of the most important civil-rights and free-speech cases of the twentieth century.Herndon is also the subject of a recent book: Brad Snyder's You Can't Kill a Man Because of the Books He Reads.Joining us this episode of the Nation Podcast to discuss his review of Snyder's book is Randall Kennedy, professor at Harvard Law School and author of Say It Loud: On Race, Law, History and Culture. You can find Randall's review in our December issue of the Nation.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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