The FourFiftyOne

It has been roughly 300 years since our last podcast and for that we apologize. Summer has been working in Paris, Jonathan has a new child, and Jesse has been taking a long nap. This is an apology and explanation episode, for our die-hard listeners and friends. Consider it an indefinite break...but not forever!

This week your hosts ask existential questions about the 451's purpose in a broad media landscape (spoiler: not a breaking news podcast!). They also discuss infighting on the left, how to pronounce covfefe (it's cuv-feffay, trust us), redistricting North Carolina, "theory" vs. "conspiracy theory", policing the Internet, and Jonathan reveals his cartoon voices for conservatives and liberals.

This week your hosts marvel at the sheer enormity of news and information we're all contending with right now. They dive into climate, Chaffetz, Comey, our dwindling ability to process new information, and...lobsters. Plus Jonathan gives us some hopeful things to focus on!

The 451 is back! And it feels so good. This week -- with the help of new producer Hank -- your hosts discuss new babies, whether there is such a thing as the ~Final Trump Straw~, Handmaid's Tale, our 100 days of tears, Macron's election, Medicare for all, and so much more.

In this special short episode, Jesse interviews James Thompson, a civil rights attorney and decorated war veteran. Thompson is the Democratic candidate running for Congress in a special election on Tuesday, April 11th, in Kansas. Thompson once seemed like a long shot (his district went for Trump by 27 points) but the race has been closing in recent weeks. In this interview, Thompson discusses his platform, the nasty campaigning of his opponent, and how you can help his campaign in the 11th hour (visit votejamesthompson.com!)

This week our hosts talk about the monster Mike Cernovich, flipping Congressional districts, finding ways to channel our scattered political energies, and Summer's exciting book project. They also want everyone to know that Jonathan's soon-to-arrive baby will likely put the podcast on a hiatus (updates on Twitter).

Climate change. Have you thought about it today? How about yesterday? How about tomorrow? Not to put too fine a point on it, but what's your plan? This week, your hosts discuss climate change stories in the news (and more importantly, the lack of them), Summer's Twitter polling, Jesse's adventures with science fiction meat substitution products, wondering if we need to be vegan, the dead-for-the-moment AHCA bill (bye!), one host's possible impending trip to Russia (yes really), and finally, Jonathan's awesome and catchy ode to Flippin' Flynn.

This week, it's just your folksy, friendly hosts, sitting around and talking the talk. Summer, Jonathan and Jesse got together during the snowstorm to record their thoughts about affordable health care, the welfare state, the Overton window, and switching Trump and Clinton's genders. A special shout-out to cosplay wizard Ginny McQueen, who sent us all some resistance t-shirts!

This week on The 451, your hosts aren't ashamed that they skipped out on the Congressional Address. That speech is still a good lead-in to talking about punditry, the old Malaysian Airlines 24/7 news cycle, Twitter conspiracies and uh, Russia. Their guest is the estimable Janai Nelson, associate director-general of the NAACP LDF, who has been down in Texas (with a broken leg!) fighting a court battle over some ugly voter ID laws.

This week on The 451, your hosts mull over how happy they should feel about Flynn's departure, panicking about rumors, enacting change on the micro level, and Trump's gastrointestinal health. Their guest is conservative professor, author and expert on Russia/nuclear proliferation, Tom Nichols. Check out Adam Gopnik's Talk of the Town from last week, looking at Trump's radical anti-Americanism. Find out if there is a Showing Up For Racial Justice (SURJ) chapter in your area (or start one if there isn't). And check out the latest book from this week's guest, The Death of Expertise (couldn't be more relevant!)

This week on The 451, Jonathan and Summer talk about work/life/activism balance, Sessions and DeVos, and the current status of the Muslim ban. Jesse shows up in time to chat about hopes and fears, including nuclear meltdown and the prospect of a Koch-backed move to amend the Constitution. Also: what makes Bannon tick?

This week on The 451, your hosts record their show at 7:30 am, and aren't trying to brag or anything, but check out how coherent they are! Our discussion centers around unlikely pockets of resistance, cabinet nominees and Supreme Court concessions, the Muslim ban, and what it means to be an Amercian. And Summer talks with fact checker Talia Lavin, who gives a good crash course on media -- and information -- literacy.

Trump is now the President. It happened, and on the heels of the ever-so-empowering Women's March, your 451 hosts are figuring out how to deal. This may not be the most hopeful episode you've heard, but hey. Sometimes we all just need to navigate unpleasant truths together. Luckily this week we spoke to someone with a phenomenal message of hope, Brooklyn rabbi and social justice activist Rachel Timoner. Let her sage words give you a boost.

This week on The FourFiftyOne we come to grips with a hard truth: Tomorrow is the inauguration of that guy, and it seems to really be happening. Still, the future is unwritten and giving up isn't an option. Our guest this week is the outspoken Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, who is boycotting inauguration and has some words of hope and inspiration for our listeners.

Welcome to The 451's first "minisode", as we transition our weekly release day from Mondays to Thursdays. This week Jesse, Jonathan and Summer each give their favorite lists of resistance actions, talk about how hard it is to use words, and they kick off The Official 451 Book Club. (Don't shop at Amazon, okay?) The episode ends with a call to action from none other than Martin Luther King Jr. Talia Levin (aka Chick in Kiev), a fact-checker for the New Yorker, has a daily tinyletter with concrete resistance actions for your inbox. Another fact-checking wiz is Susan Rogan, who emails out her Rogan's List of ways to resist each day. If you'd rather get your marching orders in one weekly lump email, Wall of Us sends out a quartet of resistance actions every Sunday night. And one of our listeners called in to share her new collective of Brooklyn artists called the Everyday Project, giving "simple daily actions to prepare for a Trump presidency." Also, if you want to read a powerful (and highly relevant) book along with your podcast hosts, check out Dark Money, which we will be discussing on the show in the not-too-distant future. Like what you hear? Consider giving just one dollar a month so we can keep bringing you The 451 podcast each and every week. We have a Patreon, it's so easy, we love you!

This week on The 451, hosts Summer, Jonathan and Jesse kibitz about locking down your cybersecurity, saving Congressional ethics, the ACA, jerks on Twitter, and Jesse's houseboat dreams. They also take a pause to remember that Republicans are human beings who might hold the door open or let you merge into oncoming traffic. The guest this week is Emily Ellsworth, editor and former Congressional aide whose post-election Twitter advice was read by upwards of 25 million citizens. As always, hope springs eternal. Visit http://thefourfiftyone.com for the show notes. Visit http://patreon.com/thefourfiftyone to donate.

So 2016 is over, and your podcast hosts have hope for the new year; hope that there won't be mutually assured nuclear destruction in 2017, hope that there won't be Muslim internment camps, and hope that...our future selves won't look back at 2016 and think, "That year was pretty decent by comparison." This week Summer, Jesse and Jonathan discuss the real things that provide them that hope (Spoiler: Republican politicians, again), nuclear nightmares, what Bernie is up to, preserving your sanity when it's pushed to the limits, and delicious hot chocolate. We also have esteemed scholar Samir Chopra on the show to talk about what active resistance needs to look like (Spoiler 2: you'll need to leave your house).

So, how 'bout them politics goin' on? This week, hosts Summer, Jesse and Jonathan discuss the electoral college vote, the abnormality of Trump, and the case for hope. Authoritarian scholar Dr. Sarah Kendzior joins to talk about the dangers of rising autocracy, and California Congressman Eric Swalwell explains his bill to investigate Russian hacking of the 2016 election. (Artax is the name of the horse who dies in the Swamps of Sadness in the 1984 fantasy film The NeverEnding Story.)

What is 'the Resistance?' What does it mean to resist in the age of Trump and what are we resisting? In our first episode, hosts Summer, Jesse and Jonathan discuss what's happened in America since the presidential election, our worst fears and greatest hopes, and what we might be facing next.