Podcasts about democracy now

Democracy Now! Tuesday, June 30, 2026

Democracy Now! Tuesday, June 30, 2026

Democracy Now! Monday, June 29, 2026

Democracy Now! Monday, June 29, 2026

Democracy Now! Thursday, June 25, 2026

Air Date: 6/24/2026 The Monthly-ish Mix™ is here to get you caught up on recent news without being overwhelming! If you've been pulling back from the news for your own sanity, this one's built for you — a quick recap and reference guide to the past month or two, organized around a single idea: when power can't earn legitimacy, it manufactures it. The performance. Spectacle, religion, and health branding standing in for real consent: Trump collecting a FIFA "peace prize," Christian nationalism worn as a costume the actual church refuses to bless, and RFK Jr. dressing up a gutted vaccine agenda as "moderate," scapegoating immigrants as he goes, while the USAID cuts run up a body count. The machinery. The infrastructure that keeps the performance going while real consent drains away underneath: a legal system bent toward self-dealing and a $1.8 billion slush fund, billionaire money rewriting the rules since Citizens United, an AI gold rush sold as inevitable before anyone voted on it, and an economy booming on paper while the ground shifts under everyone's feet. The vacuum and the reclaiming. What rushes in when legitimacy collapses, from normalized political violence to a manifesto born of that collapse — and then the democratic answer: why the rupture hasn't come, why revolutions tend to devour themselves, and why the slower work wins. Nonviolent movements draw eleven times the participation, and the ballot box the Supreme Court is fighting hardest to narrow is the same one that just turned out 78% of Hungary to remove Orbán. Full Show Notes Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Use our links to shop Bookshop.org and Libro.fm for a non-evil book and audiobook purchasing experience! Join our Discord community! SECTION 1: THE PERFORMANCE OF LEGITIMACY (00:01:31) #1798 - FIFA Sportswashing Fascism: The World Cup from Mussolini to Trump 1: Trump Is a 'master Marketer' Symone Reacts to President Getting FIFA Peace Prize - Chris Jansing Reports - Air Date 12-5-25 2: Jules Boykoff on World Cup and Sportswashing Part 1 - CounterSpin - Air Date 5-15-26 3: Trump LOSES IT as FIFA SUFFERS MAJOR CRISIS!! Part 1 - MeidasTouch - Air Date 5-6-26 (00:23:20) #1787 - The American President vs The American Pope: Leo XIV, Trump, and the MAGA-Catholic Rift 4: Someone Tell Pete Hegseth That "Pulp Fiction" Isn't in the Bible - Takes™ by Jamelle Bouie - Air Date 4-18-26 5: "Two Versions of Christianity": Pope Leo Calls for Peace as U.S. Uses Religion to Justify Iran War - Democracy Now! - Air Date 4-1-26 6: Why America and the Vatican Have Fallen Out - TLDR News Global - Air Date 4-11-26 (00:46:03) #1794 - From MAHA to Measles: RFK's Public Health Purge Will Make America Sick Again 7: Why RFK Jr. Is Projecting a More 'Moderate' MAHA Stance - The Brian Lehrer Show - Air Date 4-27-26 8: RFK Jr Goes Full Eugenics to Congress; IMMIGRANTS BRING DISEASE - Brittany Page - Air Date 4-22-26 9: As WHO Declares Ebola Outbreak a Global Health Emergency, Did USAID Cuts Worsen the Crisis - Democracy Now! - Air Date 5-18-26 SECTION 2: THE MACHINERY & THE LEAK (01:13:10) #1796 - 1.8 Billion for the Mob and a Kill List for Dissent: Trump's payout fund and counterterrorism strategy, decoded 10: We Will Find You and We Will Kill You Part 1 - The Intercept Briefing - Air Date 5-15-26 11: Congress Strikes Back as Trump Rushes $1.8 Billion Scam - Legal AF by MeidasTouch - Air Date 5-18-26 12: Dictatorship in Action David Cay Johnston on $1.8B Slush Fund Part 2 - Democracy Now! - Air Date 5-20-26 (01:34:00) #1792 - Capitalist Class Warfare: AI, Billionaire Capture, and the How to Fight Back 13: The Case Against Billionaires | Chuck Collins - Washington Monthly - Air Date 1-5-26 14: How Oligarchs Hijacked America in Just 16 Year - Benaminute - Air Date 4-30-26 15: It Will Be 17 Times Worse Than the .com Crash - Upper Echelon - Air Date 5-7-26 (02:04:29) #1797 - AI Spent $540 Billion to Make You Lonelier: Betting Against Jobs, Art, and Community 16: Will SpaceX and OpenAI Starve the Market? - UNFTR Media - Air Date 5-26-26 17: Astra Taylor on AI Data Center Resistance & Fighting "Billionaire Big Tech Agenda"- Democracy Now! - Air Date 5-13-26 18: The AI Backlash Just Got VERY Public - House of El - AI - Air Date 5-24-26 (02:33:22) #1789 - Boomcession: Why the Economy Looks Great on Paper and Hurts in Real Life 19: Monday Morning Economy Politics Inflation Soars Part 1 - The Brian Lehrer Show - Air Date 4-13-26 20: Economic Implications of the U.S. War on Iran Part 1 - Economic Update with Richard Wolff - Air Date 4-14-26 21: These Georgia Swing Voters Do Not Like the Iran War - The NPR Politics Podcast - Air Date 4-16-26 (02:58:12) #1793 - Anti-Immigrant Brutality Costs Countries More Than Their Morals: ICE, Mass Deportation, and the Global Far-Right 22: Trumps Brutal Immigration Crackdown Continues Part 1 - Velshi - Air Date 3-21-26 23: 'Buyer's Remorse' This Trump Stronghold TURNS on Massive ICE Facility Part 1 - MS Now - Air Date 4-20-26 SECTION 3: THE VACUUM & THE RECLAIMING (03:15:42) #1790 - Assassin Nation: How Political Violence Got Normalized And How To Reverse It 24: "Slow Civil War" Author Jeff Sharlet on the Growing NormalAation of Violence at Home & Abroad - Democracy Now! - Air Date 4-27-26 25: The Cole Hard Truth - The Muckrake Political Podcast - Air Date 4-28-26 26: The White House Correspondents Dinner Shooting: What the "Political Violence" Framing Is Hiding - Resistance History with Tad Stoermer - Air Date 4-26-26 (03:42:14) #1795 - You Say You Want A Revolution: Successful Revolutions are the Boring Ones 27: Why the Epstein Files Didn't Start a Revolution - Uncivilized - Air Date 4-21-26 28: Is The US In Its French Revolution Era? - Leeja Miller - Air Date 5-13-26 29: Why Nonviolence Wins - Degenerate Art by Andrea Pitzer - Air Date 5-14-26 (04:14:56) #1791 - Jim Crow 2.0 — SCOTUS Kills the Voting Rights Act and Unleashes the Gerrymandering War 30: Louisiana Is Ground Zero for Voting Rights, Abortion Pill Access Part 1 - Boom! Lawyered - Air Date 5-7-26 31: Elie Mystal Supreme Court Gutting Voting Rights Act Is About Again Making US an Apartheid State Part 1 - The Dean Obeidallah Show - Air Date 5-1-26 32: What Stacey Abrams Thinks About a Recent SCOTUS Decision and the Voting Rights Amendment Part 2 - Soundside - Air Date 5-526   Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Listen Anywhere! Follow BotL: Bluesky | Mastodon | Threads | X Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com

Democracy Now! Thursday, June 25, 2026

Democracy Now! Wednesday, June 24, 2026

Democracy Now! Tuesday, June 23, 2026

Democracy Now! titulares en español de 23 de junio de 2026

On today's show: Headlines Remembering Ahmed Wishah, the Latest Palestinian Journalist Killed by Israel in Gaza Remembering Mona Khalil, Beloved Lebanese Sea Turtle Conservationist Killed in Israeli Airstrike DSA vs. Establishment: New York Primary Tests Growing Antiwar Split in Democratic Party “MAGA Inc.”: CorpWatch on Trump's World of Tech Titans, Crypto Czars & Prison Profiteers   Democracy Now! is a daily national independent award-winning news program, hosted by journalists Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez. The post Democracy Now! – June 23, 2026 appeared first on KPFA.

Democracy Now! Monday, June 22, 2026

Democracy Now! titulares en español de 22 de junio de 2026

On today's show: Headlines “Document of Capitulation”: Spencer Ackerman & Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi on the U.S.-Iran Deal U.K. Political Crisis: PM Keir Starmer Resigns & Palestine Action “Terrorism” Sentencing of “Elbit 4” “Criminal Approach to Politics”: Trump Ally Abelardo de la Espriella Wins Colombian Presidency Democracy Now! is a daily independent award-winning news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez. The post Democracy Now! – June 22, 2026 appeared first on KPFA.

Air Date: 6–20-2026 Today we explore how political revenge became official government policy. The Department of Justice has dropped fraud cases while opening vindictive investigations into Trump's critics. Judges who rule against him face death threats at home with no federal protection and thousands of DOJ lawyers have walked out the door, leaving the agency hollowed out by loyalty tests and bent toward retribution. Full Show Notes Transcript Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Use our links to shop Bookshop.org and Libro.fm for a non-evil book and audiobook purchasing experience! Join our Discord community! TOP TAKES KP 1: Trump Eyes Personal Lawyer to Run DOJ Part 1 - The Beat W Ari Melber - Air Date 6-4-26 KP 2: This Federal Judge Ruled Against Trump. Then the Death Threats Rolled in Part 1 - 60 Minutes - Air Date 3-1-26 KP 3: Judges Call Out Rising Acts of Violence Against the Judiciary, Slam Trump's 'irresponsible Rhetoric' - NBC News - Air Date 6-3-26 KP 4: How Low Can the DOJ Go - Strict Scrutiny - Air Date 4-27-26 KP 5: Fraud on the Court Even as DOJ Drops $1.8B Settlement Fund, Judge Reopens Case Over Collusion Part 1 - Democracy Now! - Air Date 6-3-26 KP 6: 'The Audacity' DOJ Turns to X to Recruit as Prosecutors Flee Trump's Politicization of Department - MS Now - Air Date 2-1-26 KP 7: DOJ in Crisis - Stay Tuned with Preet - Air Date 2-10-26 (00:53:44) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR Trump Built a One-Way Ratchet to Tyranny. Here's How We Break It. My commentaries on YouTube - Share them! DEEPER DIVES (01:08:06) SECTION A: A DEPARTMENT OF REVENGE A1: 'The Department of Revenge' Explores Trump's Use of DOJ to Settle Political Scores - PBS Newshour - Air Date 6-11-26 A2: This Federal Judge Ruled Against Trump. Then the Death Threats Rolled in Part 2 - 60 Minutes - Air Date 3-1-26 A3: Trump Eyes Personal Lawyer to Run DOJ Part 2 - The Beat W Ari Melber - Air Date 6-4-26 (01:27:12) SECTION B: MALICIOUS PROSECUTIONS B1: Small DoJ Energy - Opening Arguments - Air Date 2-20-26 B2: The Vindictive DOJ Part 1 - Law and Chaos - Air Date 6-4-26 B3: The Malicious Incompetence of Trump's DOJ - Strict Scrutiny - Air Date 6-15-25 B4: The Vindictive DOJ Part 2 - Law and Chaos - Air Date 6-4-26 (02:02:38) SECTION C: WEAPONIZED DEPARTMENT C1: Zero Intelligence Part 1 - UnJustified - Air Date 6-7-26 C2: Fraud on the Court Even as DOJ Drops $1.8B Settlement Fund, Judge Reopens Case Over Collusion Part 2 - Democracy Now! - Air Date 6-3-26 C3: 35 Judges Say Trump's DOJ Committed Fraud on the Court - Opening Arguments - Air Date 6-5-26 C4: Trump Rewards Criminals with Latest Pardons - The Mary Trump Podcast - Air Date 11-11-25 C5: ICYMI Trump Pardons Top Jan. 6 Conspirators - 1A - Air Date 11-11-25 C6: Zero Intelligence Part 2 - UnJustified - Air Date 6-7-26 (02:45:46) SECTION D: HOLLOWED OUT D1: More Frustrated Prosecutors at the U.S Attorney's Office in Minnesota Call It Quits - All Things Considered - Air Date 2-5-26 D2: 2900 DOJ Lawyers SUDDENLY QUIT on Trump IN MASS EXODUS - MeidasTouch - Air Date 12-25-25   Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Listen Anywhere! Follow BotL: Bluesky | Mastodon | Threads | X Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com  

Democracy Now! Friday, June 19, 2026

Democracy Now! Friday, June 19, 2026

On today's show: Juneteenth Special: Historian Clint Smith on Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America Rhiannon Giddens on Pulitzer-Winning Opera “Omar” About Enslaved Muslim Scholar Omar ibn Said “Another Wasted Life”: Rhiannon Giddens on How Death of Kalief Browder Inspired Her Song Democracy Now! is a daily national independent award-winning news program, hosted by journalists Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez. The post Democracy Now! – June 19, 2026 appeared first on KPFA.

Democracy Now! titulares en español de 18 de junio de 2026

On today's show: Headlines Trump's War on Iran Ends with a “Triumphant” Tehran and a Diminished U.S.: Vali Nasr G7 Summit Highlights Global Economic System “Captured” by Billionaires: Oxfam DOJ Takes Elon Musk's Side in NAACP Lawsuit Against xAI for Polluting Black Neighborhoods “Shoot the People”: Meet Misan Harriman, Celebrated Photographer & Outspoken Advocate for Palestine   Democracy Now! is a daily independent award-winning news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez. The post Democracy Now! – June 18, 2026 appeared first on KPFA.

Democracy Now! titulares en español de 17 de junio de 2026

On today's show: Headlines “The Point Is to Spread Fear”: DOJ Charges 15 with Conspiracy for Anti-ICE Protests in Minnesota Has Trump Had Enough of Netanyahu? Israel Defies U.S., Vows to Continue War in Lebanon “Journacide: The War on Truth.” New Film Investigates Israel's Killing of Reporters in Lebanon   Democracy Now! is a daily national independent award-winning news program, hosted by journalists Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez.     The post Democracy Now! – June 17, 2026 appeared first on KPFA.

For 30 years, journalist Amy Goodman has been “going to where the silence is” to report stories that the powerful would rather you not know about and the corporate media have often ignored. She has stared down armed soldiers in Nigeria, survived a massacre in East Timor, documented dogs attacking indigenous pipeline protesters in North Dakota, and been manhandled and arrested while covering the 2008 Republican National Convention. Amy Goodman is the host and executive producer of “Democracy Now!” — the award-winning independent daily news program that she co-founded in 1996. She is also my sister, and we co-wrote four bestselling books. She is the first journalist to receive the Right Livelihood Award, widely known as the “Alternative Nobel Prize,” for “developing an innovative model of truly independent grassroots political journalism that brings to millions of people the alternative voices that are often excluded by the mainstream media.” Now a new documentary film called “Steal This Story, Please!” traces Amy's career and the growth of “Democracy Now!” from a radio broadcast on nine stations into one of the leading U.S.-based independent daily news broadcasts in the world on television, radio and online. The film is directed by Oscar-nominated filmmakers Carl Deal and Tia Lessin. This week, “Steal This Story, Please!” is showing in Vermont in Burlington, Brattleboro, St. Johnsbury and Montpelier.Amy has gone to some of the places around the world where the light is dimmest, often putting herself in danger, and has been persistent in her belief that our freedom of the press is critical to a meaningful democracy at home. “The idea that movements matter, that we have to go to where the silence is as journalists. … It's often not silent. It's raucous, it's rowdy, people are organizing, but it doesn't hit the corporate media radar screen,” she said. “That's where ‘Democracy Now!' lives, and that's really where the hope is.”Last week came the development that the U.S. Department of Justice is closing its antitrust investigation into a merger that would allow Paramount Skydance to buy Warner Bros. Discovery for $110 billion, and with it countless media properties that include CBS and CNN.“People who care about war and peace, climate change, reproductive rights, LGBTQ issues, racial and economic equality are not a fringe minority, not even a silent majority, but the silenced majority — silenced by the corporate media, which is why we have to take the media back,” she said. “The media can be the greatest force for peace on Earth.”

Democracy Now! titulares en español de 16 de junio de 2026

On today's show: Headlines Trita Parsi on What May Be in the U.S.-Iran Peace Deal & Being Threatened with Deportation “Land Grab”: Trillionaire Elon Musk Sued in South Texas to Block SpaceX's Takeover of Wildlife Refuge Hands Off the Arts: Fired Kennedy Center Artist Marc Bamuthi Joseph Speaks Out as Trump Name Removed Democracy Now! is a daily independent award-winning news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez. The post Democracy Now! – June 16, 2026 appeared first on KPFA.

My Summer Lair host Sammy Younan talks to Amy Goodman host and journalist of Democracy Now! and the directors of Amy's documentary Steal This Story, Please!: Carl Deal and Tia Lessin. My Summer Lair Chapter #358: Does Good Journalism Inspire You To Press On? Recorded: Monday, April 20, 2026 at 6:30 pm (EST) For more show notes visit MySummerLair.com. Bonus Fun? Sign up for my newsletter because the F in FOMO doesn't stand for Fun. Stress free pop culture (TV shows! Books! Movies! Music! So Many Recommendations!!) tastefully harvested for your divine delight. Once a week a carefully curated edition of My Pal Sammy goes directly to your inbox. Magic or Science? You decide.

Democracy Now! Monday, June 15, 2026

Democracy Now! titulares en español de 15 de junio de 2026

Democracy Now! is a daily independent award-winning news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez. The post Democracy Now! – June 15, 2026 appeared first on KPFA.

Democracy Now! Friday, June 12, 2026

Democracy Now! titulares en español de 12 de junio de 2026

On today's show: Headlines “New Form of Imperialism”: Renowned U.N. Scientist on AI Boom's Huge Water, Carbon & Land Footprint U.S. Attacks Iranian Water Reservoirs Amid “Normalization” of Targeting Civilian Infrastructure “Cautionary Tale”: NYC's The New School Guts Faculty & Staff as Colleges Intensify Austerity Palestinian Activist Mohsen Mahdawi: Trump Admin “Weaponizing Immigration Laws” to Deport Me “Hell's Army”: New Film Tracks Russia's Wagner Group & Rise of Mercenary Armies   Democracy Now! is a daily national independent award-winning news program, hosted by journalists Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez. The post Democracy Now! – June 12, 2026 appeared first on KPFA.

Democracy Now! titulares en español de 11 de junio de 2026

On today's show: Headlines “They Have Never Faced an Adversary Like Iran”: Rami Khouri on Latest U.S.-Iran Strikes “World Cup of Exclusion”: Games Begin Amid U.S. Visa Restrictions, High Ticket Costs & Iran War World Cup Kicks Off in Mexico Amid Protests Against Austerity and Forced Disappearances “Keep the Game Beautiful”: Why ICE Crackdown & FIFA Greed Could Spoil the World Cup Will Congress Renew Controversial Surveillance Law? Electronic Frontier Foundation's Cindy Cohn   Democracy Now! is a daily independent award-winning news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez. The post Democracy Now! – June 11, 2026 appeared first on KPFA.

Democracy Now! titulares en español de 10 de junio de 2026

On Today's Show: Headlines Report from Tehran: Amid More U.S./Iran Bombing, Trump Warns Iran Is ”DEAD…Will Pay the Price” The Shocking Secrets of MSG's Surveillance Machine: Noah Shachtman on Knicks' Owner James Dolan Trump Admin Guts Vital Sea Monitoring, “Tears Out the Eyes and Ears of Science”: David Helvarg “I Was Just Forced to Resign from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory”: Climate Scientist Peter Kalmus Democracy Now! is a daily independent award-winning news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez. The post Democracy Now! – June 10, 2026 appeared first on KPFA.

Democracy Now! titulares en español de 09 de junio de 2026

On today's show: Headlines “The Word ‘Ceasefire' Has Lost Its Meaning”: Lylla Younes on Israel's Ethnic Cleansing of South Lebanon SpaceX IPO Could Make Musk a Trillionaire at Your Expense in “Massive Wealth Transfer”: Eric Gardner “Tech-Driven Prosperity & Right-Wing Racist Politics”: Quinn Slobodian on Elon Musk and SpaceX IPO Why New Yorkers “Thunderously Booed” Trump at Knicks-Spurs Game: Sportswriter David Zirin   Democracy Now! is a daily independent award-winning news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez. The post Democracy Now! – June 9, 2026 appeared first on KPFA.

This episode features a conversation with Prachi and Ram, organizers with Savera, a multiracial, interfaith, anti-caste coalition of Indian Americans and partners standing together in the fight against the rise of the transnational far right. After laying out Hindu supremacy as an ideology, we considered the different phases of consolidation of the Hindu right in the United States from its late 20th century orientation around homeland politics to its 21st century effort to forge a Hindu American identity, first through an alignment with U.S. civil rights organizations and then through a realignment with white supremacist forces. We delved more deeply into the role of caste within this formation, in particular the longstanding efforts of the Hindu right in both India and the U.S. to forge Hindu unity by opposing anticaste politics. This took us to a discussion of the Hindu right's embrace of the pro-Israel lobby's tactics, especially its weaponization of Hinduphobia as an echo of the weaponization of antisemitism, to battle criticisms of the Modi government in India, and the need to distinguish this from the real rise in both anti-Hindu and antisemitic sentiment. We ended with Savera's efforts to forge a broad-based antiracist, left majority as a counterweight to the multiracial far right. Read the transcript Guests Prachi Patankar is a writer and activist based in New York. Her speaking and organizing is grounded in feminist, anti-caste, and solidarity commitments. Her writing has appeared in outlets including The Guardian, Indian Express, Al Jazeera, Women's Studies Quarterly, and Jacobin. She has been interviewed in media including Democracy Now, Jewish Currents, and National Public Radio. Ram Vishwanathan is an organizer with the Savera coalition based in New York City. References Savera, “The Global VHP's Trail of Violence,” January 2024. Savera, “Cut From the Same Cloth: the VHP-A's Ties To Its Indian Counterpart,” April 2024. Savera and Political Research Associates, “HAF Way to Supremacy: How the Hindu American Foundation Rebrands Bigotry As Minority Rights,” October 2024. Jyotiba Phule: an anti-caste social reformer and writer from Maharashtra. Satyashodhak Sangh: a social reform society founded by Jyotiba Phule in Pune, Maharashtra in 1873 that addressed caste and gender injustices. Golwalkar: M.S. Golwalkar was the second supreme leader of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing paramilitary organization that advanced the ideology of Hindu supremacy and mobilized around the transformation of India into a Hindu nation. Pracharak: refers to a full-time organizer of the RSS. Houston 2019: “Howdy Modi” was an event organized by the Texas India Forum to welcome Narendra Modi to Houston and featured a joint address by Modi and Donald Trump. Ahmedabad 2020: designed as a reciprocal counterpart to Howdy Modi, “Namaste Trump” was an event organized to celebrate Donald Trump's official state visit to India and hosted by Narendra Modi in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Article 370: article of the Indian Constitution that granted a special autonomous status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. This status was abrogated by the Modi government in 2019. CAA/NRC: the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) are policies introduced by the Modi government. The 2019 CAA fast-tracks the naturalization of populations identified as victims of persecution by Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan and explicitly excludes the eligibility of Muslims. The 2019 NRC aims to create an official record of legal citizens of India. Critics and human rights organizations argue that the policies together discriminate against Muslims. If a nationwide NRC is implemented, individuals who lack the required documentation to prove their citizenship could be excluded from the final registry. Because the CAA allows non-Muslims to claim citizenship if they fall through the cracks, Muslims left off the NRC list would face disproportionate risks of statelessness, detention, or deportation. Edward Blum: a conservative legal strategist and the president of the American Alliance for Equal Rights and Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), an organization that fought to overturn affirmative action on the grounds that it constitutes "reverse discrimination" against white and Asian applicants. Dan HoSang: professor of American Studies at Yale University. “Violent Majorities: Indian and Israeli Ethnonationalism,” Recall this Book/New Books Network, Episodes 118, 119, 120, 143, 144, 145. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

This episode features a conversation with Prachi and Ram, organizers with Savera, a multiracial, interfaith, anti-caste coalition of Indian Americans and partners standing together in the fight against the rise of the transnational far right. After laying out Hindu supremacy as an ideology, we considered the different phases of consolidation of the Hindu right in the United States from its late 20th century orientation around homeland politics to its 21st century effort to forge a Hindu American identity, first through an alignment with U.S. civil rights organizations and then through a realignment with white supremacist forces. We delved more deeply into the role of caste within this formation, in particular the longstanding efforts of the Hindu right in both India and the U.S. to forge Hindu unity by opposing anticaste politics. This took us to a discussion of the Hindu right's embrace of the pro-Israel lobby's tactics, especially its weaponization of Hinduphobia as an echo of the weaponization of antisemitism, to battle criticisms of the Modi government in India, and the need to distinguish this from the real rise in both anti-Hindu and antisemitic sentiment. We ended with Savera's efforts to forge a broad-based antiracist, left majority as a counterweight to the multiracial far right. Read the transcript Guests Prachi Patankar is a writer and activist based in New York. Her speaking and organizing is grounded in feminist, anti-caste, and solidarity commitments. Her writing has appeared in outlets including The Guardian, Indian Express, Al Jazeera, Women's Studies Quarterly, and Jacobin. She has been interviewed in media including Democracy Now, Jewish Currents, and National Public Radio. Ram Vishwanathan is an organizer with the Savera coalition based in New York City. References Savera, “The Global VHP's Trail of Violence,” January 2024. Savera, “Cut From the Same Cloth: the VHP-A's Ties To Its Indian Counterpart,” April 2024. Savera and Political Research Associates, “HAF Way to Supremacy: How the Hindu American Foundation Rebrands Bigotry As Minority Rights,” October 2024. Jyotiba Phule: an anti-caste social reformer and writer from Maharashtra. Satyashodhak Sangh: a social reform society founded by Jyotiba Phule in Pune, Maharashtra in 1873 that addressed caste and gender injustices. Golwalkar: M.S. Golwalkar was the second supreme leader of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing paramilitary organization that advanced the ideology of Hindu supremacy and mobilized around the transformation of India into a Hindu nation. Pracharak: refers to a full-time organizer of the RSS. Houston 2019: “Howdy Modi” was an event organized by the Texas India Forum to welcome Narendra Modi to Houston and featured a joint address by Modi and Donald Trump. Ahmedabad 2020: designed as a reciprocal counterpart to Howdy Modi, “Namaste Trump” was an event organized to celebrate Donald Trump's official state visit to India and hosted by Narendra Modi in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Article 370: article of the Indian Constitution that granted a special autonomous status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. This status was abrogated by the Modi government in 2019. CAA/NRC: the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) are policies introduced by the Modi government. The 2019 CAA fast-tracks the naturalization of populations identified as victims of persecution by Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan and explicitly excludes the eligibility of Muslims. The 2019 NRC aims to create an official record of legal citizens of India. Critics and human rights organizations argue that the policies together discriminate against Muslims. If a nationwide NRC is implemented, individuals who lack the required documentation to prove their citizenship could be excluded from the final registry. Because the CAA allows non-Muslims to claim citizenship if they fall through the cracks, Muslims left off the NRC list would face disproportionate risks of statelessness, detention, or deportation. Edward Blum: a conservative legal strategist and the president of the American Alliance for Equal Rights and Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), an organization that fought to overturn affirmative action on the grounds that it constitutes "reverse discrimination" against white and Asian applicants. Dan HoSang: professor of American Studies at Yale University. “Violent Majorities: Indian and Israeli Ethnonationalism,” Recall this Book/New Books Network, Episodes 118, 119, 120, 143, 144, 145. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/asian-american-studies

Democracy Now! titulares en español de 08 de junio de 2026

This episode features a conversation with Prachi and Ram, organizers with Savera, a multiracial, interfaith, anti-caste coalition of Indian Americans and partners standing together in the fight against the rise of the transnational far right. After laying out Hindu supremacy as an ideology, we considered the different phases of consolidation of the Hindu right in the United States from its late 20th century orientation around homeland politics to its 21st century effort to forge a Hindu American identity, first through an alignment with U.S. civil rights organizations and then through a realignment with white supremacist forces. We delved more deeply into the role of caste within this formation, in particular the longstanding efforts of the Hindu right in both India and the U.S. to forge Hindu unity by opposing anticaste politics. This took us to a discussion of the Hindu right's embrace of the pro-Israel lobby's tactics, especially its weaponization of Hinduphobia as an echo of the weaponization of antisemitism, to battle criticisms of the Modi government in India, and the need to distinguish this from the real rise in both anti-Hindu and antisemitic sentiment. We ended with Savera's efforts to forge a broad-based antiracist, left majority as a counterweight to the multiracial far right. Read the transcript Guests Prachi Patankar is a writer and activist based in New York. Her speaking and organizing is grounded in feminist, anti-caste, and solidarity commitments. Her writing has appeared in outlets including The Guardian, Indian Express, Al Jazeera, Women's Studies Quarterly, and Jacobin. She has been interviewed in media including Democracy Now, Jewish Currents, and National Public Radio. Ram Vishwanathan is an organizer with the Savera coalition based in New York City. References Savera, “The Global VHP's Trail of Violence,” January 2024. Savera, “Cut From the Same Cloth: the VHP-A's Ties To Its Indian Counterpart,” April 2024. Savera and Political Research Associates, “HAF Way to Supremacy: How the Hindu American Foundation Rebrands Bigotry As Minority Rights,” October 2024. Jyotiba Phule: an anti-caste social reformer and writer from Maharashtra. Satyashodhak Sangh: a social reform society founded by Jyotiba Phule in Pune, Maharashtra in 1873 that addressed caste and gender injustices. Golwalkar: M.S. Golwalkar was the second supreme leader of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing paramilitary organization that advanced the ideology of Hindu supremacy and mobilized around the transformation of India into a Hindu nation. Pracharak: refers to a full-time organizer of the RSS. Houston 2019: “Howdy Modi” was an event organized by the Texas India Forum to welcome Narendra Modi to Houston and featured a joint address by Modi and Donald Trump. Ahmedabad 2020: designed as a reciprocal counterpart to Howdy Modi, “Namaste Trump” was an event organized to celebrate Donald Trump's official state visit to India and hosted by Narendra Modi in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Article 370: article of the Indian Constitution that granted a special autonomous status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. This status was abrogated by the Modi government in 2019. CAA/NRC: the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) are policies introduced by the Modi government. The 2019 CAA fast-tracks the naturalization of populations identified as victims of persecution by Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan and explicitly excludes the eligibility of Muslims. The 2019 NRC aims to create an official record of legal citizens of India. Critics and human rights organizations argue that the policies together discriminate against Muslims. If a nationwide NRC is implemented, individuals who lack the required documentation to prove their citizenship could be excluded from the final registry. Because the CAA allows non-Muslims to claim citizenship if they fall through the cracks, Muslims left off the NRC list would face disproportionate risks of statelessness, detention, or deportation. Edward Blum: a conservative legal strategist and the president of the American Alliance for Equal Rights and Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), an organization that fought to overturn affirmative action on the grounds that it constitutes "reverse discrimination" against white and Asian applicants. Dan HoSang: professor of American Studies at Yale University. “Violent Majorities: Indian and Israeli Ethnonationalism,” Recall this Book/New Books Network, Episodes 118, 119, 120, 143, 144, 145. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science

Democracy Now! Wednesday, June 3, 2026

Democracy Now! Wednesday, June 3, 2026

Democracy Now! Tuesday, June 2, 2026

Democracy Now! Monday, June 1, 2026

Democracy Now! Monday, June 1, 2026

Air Date: 5–30-2026 Today we examine how Trump turned a sham lawsuit into a $1.8 billion reward fund for his political allies who attacked the Capitol on January 6th while implementing a counterterrorism strategy that erases right-wing extremism from the threat landscape, refocuses on left-wing violence that hardly exists and threatens to "find and kill" those they deem enemies. Full Show Notes Transcript Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Use our links to shop Bookshop.org and Libro.fm for a non-evil book and audiobook purchasing experience! Join our Discord community! TOP TAKES KP 1: Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche Defends New $1.8B Anti-Weaponization Fund - Trump's Terms - Air Date 5-20-26 KP 2: Congress Strikes Back as Trump Rushes $1.8 Billion Scam - Legal AF by MeidasTouch - Air Date 5-18-26 KP 3: Dictatorship in Action David Cay Johnston on $1.8B Slush Fund Part 1 - Democracy Now! - Air Date 5-20-26 KP 4: Some Republicans in Congress Are Standing up to Trump - The NPR Politics Podcast - Air Date 5-22-26 KP 5: Why Jan. 6 Officers Are Suing to Stop Trump's $1.8 Billion Allies Fund - Here & Now Anytime - Air Date 5-21-26 KP 6: We Will Find You and We Will Kill You Part 1 - The Intercept Briefing - Air Date 5-15-26 KP 7: Daily Take Republicans Found $1.8 Billion Overnight for Trumps Thugs — So Why Are Seniors Choosing Between Food and Medicine - The Hartmann Report - Air Date 5-22-26 KP 8: Dictatorship in Action David Cay Johnston on $1.8B Slush Fund Part 2 - Democracy Now! - Air Date 5-20-26 (00:53:15) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR Trump's $1.8B Slush Fund & the Corruption We Saw Coming My commentaries on YouTube - Share them! DEEPER DIVES (01:11:48) SECTION A: ANATOMY OF THE HEIST A1: Andrew Weissman on Trumps $1.8 Billion Settlement with Himself Part 1 - Brian Lehrer: A Daily Podcast - Air Date 5-20-26 A2: Trump's $1.8 Billion DOJ-Facilitated Taxpayer Heist; Guest Robert Weissman of Public Citizen Part 1 - The BradCast - Air Date 5-18-26 A3: McConnell RIPS Trumps Jan. 6 Slush Fund as Utterly Stupid, Morally Wrong - All In W Chris Hayes - Air Date 5-21-26 (01:34:28) SECTION B: THE BIGGER PATTERN B1: Trump's $1.8 Billion DOJ-Facilitated Taxpayer Heist; Guest Robert Weissman of Public Citizen Part 2 - The BradCast - Air Date 5-18-26 B2: Andrew Weissman on Trumps $1.8 Billion Settlement with Himself Part 2 - Brian Lehrer A Daily Podcast - Air Date 5-20-26 B3: Craven Corruption - The Practivist Pod - Air Date 5-21-26 (01:57:06) SECTION C: ENEMIES OF THE STATE C1: Sources & Methods Trump's Counterterrorism Plan Part 1 - The NPR Politics Podcast - Air Date 5-25-26 C2: Trumps New Counterterrorism Strategy and the Spectre of Left-Wing Violence Part 1 - It Could Happen Here - Air Date 5-12-26 C3: Sources & Methods Trump's Counterterrorism Plan Part 2 - The NPR Politics Podcast - Air Date 5-25-26 C4: We Will Find You and We Will Kill You Part 2 - The Intercept Briefing - Air Date 5-15-26 C5: Trumps New Counterterrorism Strategy and the Spectre of Left-Wing Violence - It Could Happen Here - Air Date 5-12-26   Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Listen Anywhere! Follow BotL: Bluesky | Mastodon | Threads | X Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com

Air Date: 5–26-2026 Today we examine what separates successful revolutions from failed ones, ask why so many revolutions of the 2010s fell short, understand how revolutionary energy gets neutralized, and explore the strategic case for nonviolent resistance. Full Show Notes Transcript Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Use our links to shop Bookshop.org and Libro.fm for a non-evil book and audiobook purchasing experience! Join our Discord community! TOP TAKES KP 1: What Makes a Revolution Successful? - The Inquiry - Air Date 5-16-18 KP 2: Left Behind: the Failed Revolutions of the 2010s - The Politics Show - Air Date 2-5-24 KP 3: Is The US In Its French Revolution Era? - Leeja Miller - Air Date 5-13-26 KP 4: How Progress Erases Itself - Dan Harumi - Air Date 5-18-26 KP 5: Why Nonviolence Wins - Degenerate Art by Andrea Pitzer - Air Date 5-14-26 (00:54:11) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR Why the Left Keeps Losing to the Right DEEPER DIVES (01:13:12) SECTION A: ANATOMY OF FAILURE A1: Lessons From a Decade of Failed Revolutions - Front Burner - Air Date 1-2-24 A2: Why Revolutions Fail - Hello Future Me - Air Date 9-9-23 A3: How and Why Revolutions Occur - LegalKimchi - Air Date 12-12-22 A4: Difference Between a Coup and a Revolution? - Sean Munger - Air Date 1-12-21 (01:54:11) SECTION B: REVISITING THE RECORD B1: What Was the Iranian Revolution Really About? With Scott Anderson - Intelligence Squared - Air Date 11-2-25 B2: "Counter-Revolution of 1776": Was U.S. Independence War a Conservative Revolt in Favor of Slavery? - Democracy Now! - Air Date 6-27-14 B3: In Defense of Che Guevara (How the Media Lies to You) - Overzealots - Air Date 1-26-25 B4: The Warriors of a Failed Revolution - Narratively Out Loud - Air Date 9-30-20 (02:32:02) SECTION C: THE CURRENT MOMENT C1: Why Fascism Fails - Then & Now - Air Date 5-18-26 C2: What Is the Relevance of the Russian Revolution Today? A Debate with Kshama Sawant & Eric Blanc - Haymarket Books Live - Air Date 9-26-22 C3: To Save The World, Stop Working - Extra Andrewism - Air Date 5-19-26 C4: Why the Epstein Files Didn't Start a Revolution - Uncivilized - Air Date 4-21-26 C5: "Forget What The Ruling Class Deems Unacceptable. Revolution Is Illegal" - Ed Mead On A Life In Struggle - Millennials Are Killing Capitalism - Air Date 5-26-22 (03:25:38) SECTION D: STRATEGY AND PRACTICE D1: How To Start A Revolution Part 1 - Andrewism - Air Date 12-7-22 D2: Revolution: A How-To Guide - Hakim - Air Date 5-29-21 D3: How To Start A Revolution Part 2 - Andrewism - Air Date 12-7-22   Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Listen Anywhere! Follow BotL: Bluesky | Mastodon | Threads | X Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com    

Democracy Now! Marks 30 Years with Angela Davis, Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith, Michael Stipe & More