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Rebekah, Ismail, and Michael introduce the upcoming Platypus International Convention, featuring Bill Ayers, Chris Cutrone, Alex Higgins, Michael Kazin, Branko Marcetic, Dave McKerracher, and Pamela Nogales among many more speakers, teach-ins, and social events. Is There a Left in the 21st Century? April 3rd-5th Chicago, IL Full line-up available at https://www.platypus.events --- Check out our past events at https://platypus1917.org
Suspicious foreigners arrested without warrants. The suppression of free speech in the name of national security. Civil liberties shredded in a climate of hysteria. During and immediately after the First World War, the federal government under President Woodrow Wilson and ordinary patriotic Americans enforced conformity and loyalty while hunting for dangerous subversives and radical anarchists. Today, the Trump administration is abrogating the First Amendment for foreign students and deporting suspected Latin American gang members without due process. In this episode, historian Michael Kazin delves into parallels between past and present, the continuities in the American tradition of repression of civil liberties. Further reading: War Against War: The American Fight for Peace, 1914-1918 by Michael Kazin
Both major political parties claim to be the true champions of the working class at a time when excessive concentrations of wealth and power are eroding the foundations of American democracy. Unions are not a reality for most workers, especially in the private sector where the unionization rate is about 6 percent. So it is no surprise that worker solidarity -- a collective sense that working-class people have a shared interest in fighting for a greater share of the wealth and more control over their working lives -- is at a low point. In this episode, Georgetown University historian Michael Kazin traces the rise and fall of worker solidarity in America. Further reading: What It Took To Win: A History of the Democratic Party by Michael Kazin Structure and Solidarity by Leo Casey in Dissent (article)
Avi Shlaim is a celebrated "New Historian” whose earlier work established him as an influential historian of Middle Eastern politics and especially of Israel's relations with the Arab world. Most recently he has turned to his own Iraqi/Israeli/British past in Three Worlds: Memoirs of an Arab-Jew–which he refers to as an "impersonal autobiography." He speaks today to John and his Brandeis colleague Yuval Evri, the Marash and Ocuin Chair in Ottoman, Mizrahi and Sephardic Jewish Studies. Yuval's 2020 The Return to Al-Andalus: Disputes Over Sephardic Culture and Identity Between Arabic and Hebrew explores how fluidity in such categories as the "Arab-Jew" becomes a source of resistance to exclusive claims of ownership of land, texts, traditions, or languages. The three quickly agree that the crucial category for understanding Avi's latest work is that of the Arab Jew: "I am a problem for Zionists, an ontological impossibility....[as] a living breathing standing Arab Jew. A problem for them but not for me." Coexistence for him is not remote, but something that the Iraqi Jewish community experienced and touched on a daily basis. In describing the factors that sped migration from Iraq to Israel in its early years, Shlaim lays bare some evidence for Mossad involvement in three for the Baghdad bombs that hastened the flight from Baghdad. That bombing forms part of the “Cruel Zionism” that Avi sees having gravely damaged the possibilities of Middle Eastern religious coexistence. He also discusses the 1954 Lavon affair, and more generally reflects on the way that Zionism ("an Ashkenazi thing") conscripted Arab Jews into its political formation (This is a topic also discussed extensively in RTB"s conversation with Natasha Roth-Richardson and Lori Allen, in Violent Majorities). True, there is a much-discussed 1941 Baghdadi pogrom, The Farhud. It stands alone in the area and by Shlaim's account was largely a product of British colonialism in Iraq, with its divisive elevation of Christians and Jews over Muslims. Yuval asks Avi to discuss the power (or permission) to narrate stories told from below. Avi's tales of his own mother's resourcefulness and his father's struggles betoken the range of poignant response to what for so many Arab Jews was not aliyah (ascent) but a yerida, a descent into marginality, unemployment, and cultural exclusion. To Avi, a single state of Israel/Palestine seems the best hope to ward off the worst that may come from the accelerated ethnic cleansing of both Gaza and the West Bank, which may lead to a second Nakba. Mentioned in the podcast Avi Shlaim, Collusion across the Jordan: King Abdullah, the Zionist Movement, and the Partition of Palestine (1988) Avi Shlaim, The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World (1988) The New Historians of Israel/Palestine. Joel Beinin, The Dispersion of Egyptian Jewry (1998) Alliance Israelite Universelle Salo Baron anatomizes the "lachrymose version of Jewish history"; e.g. in his 1928 “Ghetto and Emancipation: Shall We Revise the Traditional View?” Noam Chomsky called settler colonialism the most extreme and vicious form of imperialism. Recallable Books Avi credits the influential work of Ella Shohat on the idea of the Arab Jew and "cruel Zionism." One pathbreaking article was her 1988 "Sephardim in Israel: Zionism from the Standpoint of Its Jewish Victims." but he recommends On the Arab Jew. In her work the hyphen unites rather than divides Arab and Jew. Yehoudah Shinhav, The Arab Jews (2006). Sami Michael Shimon Ballas, Outcast (1991). Michael Kazin, A Walker in the City (1951) and the rest of his New York trilogy. Listen and Read here. 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
Avi Shlaim is a celebrated "New Historian” whose earlier work established him as an influential historian of Middle Eastern politics and especially of Israel's relations with the Arab world. Most recently he has turned to his own Iraqi/Israeli/British past in Three Worlds: Memoirs of an Arab-Jew–which he refers to as an "impersonal autobiography." He speaks today to John and his Brandeis colleague Yuval Evri, the Marash and Ocuin Chair in Ottoman, Mizrahi and Sephardic Jewish Studies. Yuval's 2020 The Return to Al-Andalus: Disputes Over Sephardic Culture and Identity Between Arabic and Hebrew explores how fluidity in such categories as the "Arab-Jew" becomes a source of resistance to exclusive claims of ownership of land, texts, traditions, or languages. The three quickly agree that the crucial category for understanding Avi's latest work is that of the Arab Jew: "I am a problem for Zionists, an ontological impossibility....[as] a living breathing standing Arab Jew. A problem for them but not for me." Coexistence for him is not remote, but something that the Iraqi Jewish community experienced and touched on a daily basis. In describing the factors that sped migration from Iraq to Israel in its early years, Shlaim lays bare some evidence for Mossad involvement in three for the Baghdad bombs that hastened the flight from Baghdad. That bombing forms part of the “Cruel Zionism” that Avi sees having gravely damaged the possibilities of Middle Eastern religious coexistence. He also discusses the 1954 Lavon affair, and more generally reflects on the way that Zionism ("an Ashkenazi thing") conscripted Arab Jews into its political formation (This is a topic also discussed extensively in RTB"s conversation with Natasha Roth-Richardson and Lori Allen, in Violent Majorities). True, there is a much-discussed 1941 Baghdadi pogrom, The Farhud. It stands alone in the area and by Shlaim's account was largely a product of British colonialism in Iraq, with its divisive elevation of Christians and Jews over Muslims. Yuval asks Avi to discuss the power (or permission) to narrate stories told from below. Avi's tales of his own mother's resourcefulness and his father's struggles betoken the range of poignant response to what for so many Arab Jews was not aliyah (ascent) but a yerida, a descent into marginality, unemployment, and cultural exclusion. To Avi, a single state of Israel/Palestine seems the best hope to ward off the worst that may come from the accelerated ethnic cleansing of both Gaza and the West Bank, which may lead to a second Nakba. Mentioned in the podcast Avi Shlaim, Collusion across the Jordan: King Abdullah, the Zionist Movement, and the Partition of Palestine (1988) Avi Shlaim, The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World (1988) The New Historians of Israel/Palestine. Joel Beinin, The Dispersion of Egyptian Jewry (1998) Alliance Israelite Universelle Salo Baron anatomizes the "lachrymose version of Jewish history"; e.g. in his 1928 “Ghetto and Emancipation: Shall We Revise the Traditional View?” Noam Chomsky called settler colonialism the most extreme and vicious form of imperialism. Recallable Books Avi credits the influential work of Ella Shohat on the idea of the Arab Jew and "cruel Zionism." One pathbreaking article was her 1988 "Sephardim in Israel: Zionism from the Standpoint of Its Jewish Victims." but he recommends On the Arab Jew. In her work the hyphen unites rather than divides Arab and Jew. Yehoudah Shinhav, The Arab Jews (2006). Sami Michael Shimon Ballas, Outcast (1991). Michael Kazin, A Walker in the City (1951) and the rest of his New York trilogy. Listen and Read here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history
Avi Shlaim is a celebrated "New Historian” whose earlier work established him as an influential historian of Middle Eastern politics and especially of Israel's relations with the Arab world. Most recently he has turned to his own Iraqi/Israeli/British past in Three Worlds: Memoirs of an Arab-Jew–which he refers to as an "impersonal autobiography." He speaks today to John and his Brandeis colleague Yuval Evri, the Marash and Ocuin Chair in Ottoman, Mizrahi and Sephardic Jewish Studies. Yuval's 2020 The Return to Al-Andalus: Disputes Over Sephardic Culture and Identity Between Arabic and Hebrew explores how fluidity in such categories as the "Arab-Jew" becomes a source of resistance to exclusive claims of ownership of land, texts, traditions, or languages. The three quickly agree that the crucial category for understanding Avi's latest work is that of the Arab Jew: "I am a problem for Zionists, an ontological impossibility....[as] a living breathing standing Arab Jew. A problem for them but not for me." Coexistence for him is not remote, but something that the Iraqi Jewish community experienced and touched on a daily basis. In describing the factors that sped migration from Iraq to Israel in its early years, Shlaim lays bare some evidence for Mossad involvement in three for the Baghdad bombs that hastened the flight from Baghdad. That bombing forms part of the “Cruel Zionism” that Avi sees having gravely damaged the possibilities of Middle Eastern religious coexistence. He also discusses the 1954 Lavon affair, and more generally reflects on the way that Zionism ("an Ashkenazi thing") conscripted Arab Jews into its political formation (This is a topic also discussed extensively in RTB"s conversation with Natasha Roth-Richardson and Lori Allen, in Violent Majorities). True, there is a much-discussed 1941 Baghdadi pogrom, The Farhud. It stands alone in the area and by Shlaim's account was largely a product of British colonialism in Iraq, with its divisive elevation of Christians and Jews over Muslims. Yuval asks Avi to discuss the power (or permission) to narrate stories told from below. Avi's tales of his own mother's resourcefulness and his father's struggles betoken the range of poignant response to what for so many Arab Jews was not aliyah (ascent) but a yerida, a descent into marginality, unemployment, and cultural exclusion. To Avi, a single state of Israel/Palestine seems the best hope to ward off the worst that may come from the accelerated ethnic cleansing of both Gaza and the West Bank, which may lead to a second Nakba. Mentioned in the podcast Avi Shlaim, Collusion across the Jordan: King Abdullah, the Zionist Movement, and the Partition of Palestine (1988) Avi Shlaim, The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World (1988) The New Historians of Israel/Palestine. Joel Beinin, The Dispersion of Egyptian Jewry (1998) Alliance Israelite Universelle Salo Baron anatomizes the "lachrymose version of Jewish history"; e.g. in his 1928 “Ghetto and Emancipation: Shall We Revise the Traditional View?” Noam Chomsky called settler colonialism the most extreme and vicious form of imperialism. Recallable Books Avi credits the influential work of Ella Shohat on the idea of the Arab Jew and "cruel Zionism." One pathbreaking article was her 1988 "Sephardim in Israel: Zionism from the Standpoint of Its Jewish Victims." but he recommends On the Arab Jew. In her work the hyphen unites rather than divides Arab and Jew. Yehoudah Shinhav, The Arab Jews (2006). Sami Michael Shimon Ballas, Outcast (1991). Michael Kazin, A Walker in the City (1951) and the rest of his New York trilogy. Listen and Read here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/jewish-studies
Avi Shlaim is a celebrated "New Historian” whose earlier work established him as an influential historian of Middle Eastern politics and especially of Israel's relations with the Arab world. Most recently he has turned to his own Iraqi/Israeli/British past in Three Worlds: Memoirs of an Arab-Jew–which he refers to as an "impersonal autobiography." He speaks today to John and his Brandeis colleague Yuval Evri, the Marash and Ocuin Chair in Ottoman, Mizrahi and Sephardic Jewish Studies. Yuval's 2020 The Return to Al-Andalus: Disputes Over Sephardic Culture and Identity Between Arabic and Hebrew explores how fluidity in such categories as the "Arab-Jew" becomes a source of resistance to exclusive claims of ownership of land, texts, traditions, or languages. The three quickly agree that the crucial category for understanding Avi's latest work is that of the Arab Jew: "I am a problem for Zionists, an ontological impossibility....[as] a living breathing standing Arab Jew. A problem for them but not for me." Coexistence for him is not remote, but something that the Iraqi Jewish community experienced and touched on a daily basis. In describing the factors that sped migration from Iraq to Israel in its early years, Shlaim lays bare some evidence for Mossad involvement in three for the Baghdad bombs that hastened the flight from Baghdad. That bombing forms part of the “Cruel Zionism” that Avi sees having gravely damaged the possibilities of Middle Eastern religious coexistence. He also discusses the 1954 Lavon affair, and more generally reflects on the way that Zionism ("an Ashkenazi thing") conscripted Arab Jews into its political formation (This is a topic also discussed extensively in RTB"s conversation with Natasha Roth-Richardson and Lori Allen, in Violent Majorities). True, there is a much-discussed 1941 Baghdadi pogrom, The Farhud. It stands alone in the area and by Shlaim's account was largely a product of British colonialism in Iraq, with its divisive elevation of Christians and Jews over Muslims. Yuval asks Avi to discuss the power (or permission) to narrate stories told from below. Avi's tales of his own mother's resourcefulness and his father's struggles betoken the range of poignant response to what for so many Arab Jews was not aliyah (ascent) but a yerida, a descent into marginality, unemployment, and cultural exclusion. To Avi, a single state of Israel/Palestine seems the best hope to ward off the worst that may come from the accelerated ethnic cleansing of both Gaza and the West Bank, which may lead to a second Nakba. Mentioned in the podcast Avi Shlaim, Collusion across the Jordan: King Abdullah, the Zionist Movement, and the Partition of Palestine (1988) Avi Shlaim, The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World (1988) The New Historians of Israel/Palestine. Joel Beinin, The Dispersion of Egyptian Jewry (1998) Alliance Israelite Universelle Salo Baron anatomizes the "lachrymose version of Jewish history"; e.g. in his 1928 “Ghetto and Emancipation: Shall We Revise the Traditional View?” Noam Chomsky called settler colonialism the most extreme and vicious form of imperialism. Recallable Books Avi credits the influential work of Ella Shohat on the idea of the Arab Jew and "cruel Zionism." One pathbreaking article was her 1988 "Sephardim in Israel: Zionism from the Standpoint of Its Jewish Victims." but he recommends On the Arab Jew. In her work the hyphen unites rather than divides Arab and Jew. Yehoudah Shinhav, The Arab Jews (2006). Sami Michael Shimon Ballas, Outcast (1991). Michael Kazin, A Walker in the City (1951) and the rest of his New York trilogy. Listen and Read here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/middle-eastern-studies
Avi Shlaim is a celebrated "New Historian” whose earlier work established him as an influential historian of Middle Eastern politics and especially of Israel's relations with the Arab world. Most recently he has turned to his own Iraqi/Israeli/British past in Three Worlds: Memoirs of an Arab-Jew–which he refers to as an "impersonal autobiography." He speaks today to John and his Brandeis colleague Yuval Evri, the Marash and Ocuin Chair in Ottoman, Mizrahi and Sephardic Jewish Studies. Yuval's 2020 The Return to Al-Andalus: Disputes Over Sephardic Culture and Identity Between Arabic and Hebrew explores how fluidity in such categories as the "Arab-Jew" becomes a source of resistance to exclusive claims of ownership of land, texts, traditions, or languages. The three quickly agree that the crucial category for understanding Avi's latest work is that of the Arab Jew: "I am a problem for Zionists, an ontological impossibility....[as] a living breathing standing Arab Jew. A problem for them but not for me." Coexistence for him is not remote, but something that the Iraqi Jewish community experienced and touched on a daily basis. In describing the factors that sped migration from Iraq to Israel in its early years, Shlaim lays bare some evidence for Mossad involvement in three for the Baghdad bombs that hastened the flight from Baghdad. That bombing forms part of the “Cruel Zionism” that Avi sees having gravely damaged the possibilities of Middle Eastern religious coexistence. He also discusses the 1954 Lavon affair, and more generally reflects on the way that Zionism ("an Ashkenazi thing") conscripted Arab Jews into its political formation (This is a topic also discussed extensively in RTB"s conversation with Natasha Roth-Richardson and Lori Allen, in Violent Majorities). True, there is a much-discussed 1941 Baghdadi pogrom, The Farhud. It stands alone in the area and by Shlaim's account was largely a product of British colonialism in Iraq, with its divisive elevation of Christians and Jews over Muslims. Yuval asks Avi to discuss the power (or permission) to narrate stories told from below. Avi's tales of his own mother's resourcefulness and his father's struggles betoken the range of poignant response to what for so many Arab Jews was not aliyah (ascent) but a yerida, a descent into marginality, unemployment, and cultural exclusion. To Avi, a single state of Israel/Palestine seems the best hope to ward off the worst that may come from the accelerated ethnic cleansing of both Gaza and the West Bank, which may lead to a second Nakba. Mentioned in the podcast Avi Shlaim, Collusion across the Jordan: King Abdullah, the Zionist Movement, and the Partition of Palestine (1988) Avi Shlaim, The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World (1988) The New Historians of Israel/Palestine. Joel Beinin, The Dispersion of Egyptian Jewry (1998) Alliance Israelite Universelle Salo Baron anatomizes the "lachrymose version of Jewish history"; e.g. in his 1928 “Ghetto and Emancipation: Shall We Revise the Traditional View?” Noam Chomsky called settler colonialism the most extreme and vicious form of imperialism. Recallable Books Avi credits the influential work of Ella Shohat on the idea of the Arab Jew and "cruel Zionism." One pathbreaking article was her 1988 "Sephardim in Israel: Zionism from the Standpoint of Its Jewish Victims." but he recommends On the Arab Jew. In her work the hyphen unites rather than divides Arab and Jew. Yehoudah Shinhav, The Arab Jews (2006). Sami Michael Shimon Ballas, Outcast (1991). Michael Kazin, A Walker in the City (1951) and the rest of his New York trilogy. Listen and Read here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history
Avi Shlaim is a celebrated "New Historian” whose earlier work established him as an influential historian of Middle Eastern politics and especially of Israel's relations with the Arab world. Most recently he has turned to his own Iraqi/Israeli/British past in Three Worlds: Memoirs of an Arab-Jew–which he refers to as an "impersonal autobiography." He speaks today to John and his Brandeis colleague Yuval Evri, the Marash and Ocuin Chair in Ottoman, Mizrahi and Sephardic Jewish Studies. Yuval's 2020 The Return to Al-Andalus: Disputes Over Sephardic Culture and Identity Between Arabic and Hebrew explores how fluidity in such categories as the "Arab-Jew" becomes a source of resistance to exclusive claims of ownership of land, texts, traditions, or languages. The three quickly agree that the crucial category for understanding Avi's latest work is that of the Arab Jew: "I am a problem for Zionists, an ontological impossibility....[as] a living breathing standing Arab Jew. A problem for them but not for me." Coexistence for him is not remote, but something that the Iraqi Jewish community experienced and touched on a daily basis. In describing the factors that sped migration from Iraq to Israel in its early years, Shlaim lays bare some evidence for Mossad involvement in three for the Baghdad bombs that hastened the flight from Baghdad. That bombing forms part of the “Cruel Zionism” that Avi sees having gravely damaged the possibilities of Middle Eastern religious coexistence. He also discusses the 1954 Lavon affair, and more generally reflects on the way that Zionism ("an Ashkenazi thing") conscripted Arab Jews into its political formation (This is a topic also discussed extensively in RTB"s conversation with Natasha Roth-Richardson and Lori Allen, in Violent Majorities). True, there is a much-discussed 1941 Baghdadi pogrom, The Farhud. It stands alone in the area and by Shlaim's account was largely a product of British colonialism in Iraq, with its divisive elevation of Christians and Jews over Muslims. Yuval asks Avi to discuss the power (or permission) to narrate stories told from below. Avi's tales of his own mother's resourcefulness and his father's struggles betoken the range of poignant response to what for so many Arab Jews was not aliyah (ascent) but a yerida, a descent into marginality, unemployment, and cultural exclusion. To Avi, a single state of Israel/Palestine seems the best hope to ward off the worst that may come from the accelerated ethnic cleansing of both Gaza and the West Bank, which may lead to a second Nakba. Mentioned in the podcast Avi Shlaim, Collusion across the Jordan: King Abdullah, the Zionist Movement, and the Partition of Palestine (1988) Avi Shlaim, The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World (1988) The New Historians of Israel/Palestine. Joel Beinin, The Dispersion of Egyptian Jewry (1998) Alliance Israelite Universelle Salo Baron anatomizes the "lachrymose version of Jewish history"; e.g. in his 1928 “Ghetto and Emancipation: Shall We Revise the Traditional View?” Noam Chomsky called settler colonialism the most extreme and vicious form of imperialism. Recallable Books Avi credits the influential work of Ella Shohat on the idea of the Arab Jew and "cruel Zionism." One pathbreaking article was her 1988 "Sephardim in Israel: Zionism from the Standpoint of Its Jewish Victims." but he recommends On the Arab Jew. In her work the hyphen unites rather than divides Arab and Jew. Yehoudah Shinhav, The Arab Jews (2006). Sami Michael Shimon Ballas, Outcast (1991). Michael Kazin, A Walker in the City (1951) and the rest of his New York trilogy. Listen and Read here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/israel-studies
On this day of many holidays, enjoy some of our favorite recent conversations:As part of our centennial series Michael Kazin, professor of history at Georgetown University, editor emeritus of Dissent and the author of several books, including What It Took to Win: A History of the Democratic Party (FSG, 2022) and American Dreamers: How the Left Changed a Nation (Knopf, 2011), traces the history of socialism in America.As our centennial series continues, Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel laureate in economics, university professor at Columbia University, chief economist at the Roosevelt Institute, and author of The Road to Freedom: Economics and the Good Society (W.W.Norton, 2024), reviews the history of American capitalism and the ebb and flow of regulation.John Marks, social entrepreneur, founder of Search for Common Ground and Common Ground Productions, founder and managing director of Confluence International, visiting scholar at Leiden University and the author of From Vision to Action: Remaking the World Through Social Entrepreneurship (Columbia University Press, 2024), talks about his work in conflict resolution and finding common ground.Jim O'Grady, freelance podcast reporter, producer, and editor, talks about how he looks to a Catholic saint for spiritual guidance, and listeners call in to share their favorite saint or other spiritual guide. These interviews were lightly edited for time and clarity; the original web versions are available here:100 Years of Things: American Socialism (October 28, 2024)100 Years of 100 Things: American Capitalism (November 1, 2024)The Business of Peace-Building (October 1, 2024)How Saints Can Help Us Sinners (September 16, 2024)
Populism is the common language of America. Author and Georgetown University historian Michael Kazin notes people were not inspired by Harris’s “opportunity economy” talk. People feel disconnected and want a sense of membership, a sense of power, which unions used The post Toward a Revival of Left Populism: What It Takes To WIn appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
With Republicans Needing 7 and Democrats Needing 15 Seats to Flip the House, Will Trump End Up With the Trifecta of White House, Senate and House? | The Frightening and Less Frightening Contenders for Trump's White House and Cabinet Positions | Democrats Have Joined the Global Trend of Left and Social Democratic Parties Losing to the Far Right backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
As part of our centennial series "100 Years of 100 Things," Michael Kazin, professor of history at Georgetown University, editor emeritus of Dissent and the author of several books, including What It Took to Win: A History of the Democratic Party (FSG, 2022) and American Dreamers: How the Left Changed a Nation (Knopf, 2011), traces the history of socialism in America.
To discuss whether the Electoral College is out of date and in need of reform, Freddy Gray is join by Michael Kazin – a professor of history at Georgetown University and emeritus coeditor of Dissent. His most recent book, What It Took to Win: A History of the Democratic Party, has just been released in paperback. Join Freddy Gray a special live recording of Americano on Thursday 24 October. You can buy tickets at www.spectator.co.uk/electionspecial.
Listen to this week's No Spin News interviews with Bernie Goldberg, Michael Kazin and Laurence Kotlikoff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Hey BillOReilly.com Premium and Concierge Members, welcome to the No Spin News for Wednesday September 11, 2024. Stand Up for Your Country. Talking Points Memo: Breaking down last night's Harris-Trump Debate. You won't want to miss Bill's analysis. Leaders from both parties unite in NYC for the 9/11 memorial. Bill goes head-to-head with Professor Michael Kazin in a No Spin interview. Taylor Swift releases statement showing her full support for Kamala Harris. Are we surprised? Smart Life: Challenging unexpected medical bills. This Day in History: The September 11th terror attacks. Final Thought: Why Trump has to do another debate. In Case You Missed It: Read Bill's latest column, The Kamala Mystery For a limited time, get our three latest Political Memorabilia mugs at a 25% discount. Our Political Memorabilia 2.0 bundle includes a Not Woke mug in navy, a Team Normal mug in white and our newest mug, No Socialism in navy. ORDER TODAY! Election season is here! Now's the time to get a Premium or Concierge Membership to BillOReilly.com, the only place for honest news analysis. Get Bill's latest book, CONFRONTING THE PRESIDENTS, out NOW! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The 20th Century is up and running and the next President in our series, Woodrow Wilson, is in for a challenge. Reconstruction is over, Europe is on the precipice of war, and women are campaigning for suffrage. So how does this two term presidency play out?From granting women the right to vote to segregating the Federal Government, how progressive was the 27th President? Where did Wilson stand on American isolationism during the First World War? And where did the League of Nations come from?Don is joined by Dr Michael Kazin for this episode. Michael is a professor of History at Georgetown and author of several acclaimed books including 'What It Took to Win: A History of the Democratic Party' and 'War Against War: The American Fight for Peace, 1914-1918'.Produced by Freddy Chick and Sophie Gee. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for $1 per month for 3 months with code AMERICANHISTORY sign up at https://historyhit.com/subscription/ You can take part in our listener survey here.
Subscribe to The Realignment to access our exclusive Q&A episodes and support the show: https://realignment.supercast.com/REALIGNMENT NEWSLETTER: https://therealignment.substack.com/PURCHASE BOOKS AT OUR BOOKSHOP: https://bookshop.org/shop/therealignmentEmail Us: realignmentpod@gmail.comFoundation for American Innovation: https://www.thefai.org/posts/lincoln-becomes-faiMichael Kazin, author of What It Took to Win: A History of the Democratic Party, joins The Realignment. Marshall and Michael review the 2024 Democratic National Convention, discuss the Democratic Party's evolution since 2016, fight for working-class voters, why the party is swinging left on economics, but moving to the center on crime and immigration, and the prospects for economic and cultural populism moving forward.
As our centennial series continues, Michael Kazin, professor of history at Georgetown University, editor emeritus of Dissent and the author of several books, including What It Took to Win: A History of the Democratic Party (FSG, 2022), reviews the past century of Democratic conventions and presidential candidates.
As the Democratic Party faces a critical juncture following Joe Biden's withdrawal from the presidential race, we are reminded of the cyclical nature of political crises and recoveries throughout history. Michael Kazin from Georgetown University reflects on the lessons of the past and the complexities of the present and how party members can create potential paths forward for the Democratic party seeking to redefine its vision and appeal to a diverse electorate. How might the Democrats navigate this transition to not only win an election but to forge a durable and inclusive majority?
Join Boyd Matheson in dissecting Thursday’s headlines. Jonah Goldberg joins Boyd to discuss how the media is separate from political parties and are not another instrument in the political toolbox to get their agendas and narratives across. Dig into the latest economic growth report with economic expert, Jeff Cox. Rep. Celeste Maloy shares how the federal government is abusing the Antiquities Act and how it is directly impacting Utahns. Look into the Democratic party’s past to find ways they can see success today with Michael Kazin and More!
With President Joe Biden out of the race, prominent Democrats and donors are coalescing around Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor, making it unlikely there will be a truly open nominating convention in Chicago next month. For most of American history, open conventions were the norm. Some ended in chaos, with the party and its chosen nominee weakened heading into the general election. In this episode, Georgetown University historian Michael Kazin delves into the fascinating, rough-and-tumble history of political conventions in presidential election years, and he explains why the major parties did away with them in the early 1970s. Recommended reading: What It Took To Win: A History of the Democratic Party by Michael Kazin
THE ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION OF DONALD J. TRUMP When President Ronald Reagan was shot by an attention-seeking drifter in 1981, the country united behind its injured leader. The teary-eyed Democratic speaker of the House, Thomas P. O'Neill Jr., went to the hospital room of the Republican president, held his hands, kissed his head and got on his knees to pray for him. But the assassination attempt against former President Donald J. Trump seems more likely to tear America further apart than to bring it together. Within minutes of the shooting, the air was filled with anger, bitterness, suspicion and recrimination. Fingers were pointed, conspiracy theories advanced and a country already bristling with animosity fractured even more. The fact that the shooting in Butler, Pa., on Saturday night was two days before Republicans were set to gather in Milwaukee for their nominating convention invariably put the event in a partisan context. While Democrats bemoaned political violence, which they have long faulted Mr. Trump for encouraging, Republicans instantly blamed President Biden and his allies for the attack, which they argued stemmed from incendiary language labeling the former president a proto-fascist who would destroy democracy. Mr. Trump's eldest son, his campaign strategist and a running mate finalist all attacked the political left within hours of the shooting even before the gunman was identified or his motive determined. “Well of course they tried to keep him off the ballot, they tried to put him in jail and now you see this,” wrote Chris LaCivita, a senior adviser to the former president. But the Trump campaign seemed to think better of it, and the post was deleted. A memo sent out on Sunday by Mr. LaCivita and Susie Wiles, another senior adviser, instructed Trump team members not to comment on the shooting. Either way, the episode could fuel Mr. Trump's narrative about being the victim of persecution by Democrats. Impeached, indicted, sued and convicted, Mr. Trump even before Saturday had accused Democrats of seeking to have him shot by F.B.I. agents or even executed for crimes that do not carry the death penalty. After being wounded at the rally, Mr. Trump, with blood staining his face, pumped his fist at the crowd and shouted, “Fight! Fight! Fight!” What exactly drove the gunman, who was quickly killed by Secret Service counter snipers, remained a matter of speculation. Identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, from Bethel Park, Pa., he was a registered Republican but had also given $15 to a progressive group on Mr. Biden's Inauguration Day, more than three years ago. The authorities said they were still investigating his motive. The shooting came at a time when the United States was already deeply polarized along ideological, cultural and partisan lines — split, it often seems, into two countries, even two realities. More than at any time in generations, Americans do not see themselves in a collective enterprise but perceive themselves on opposite sides of modern ramparts. The divisions have grown so stark that a Marist poll in May found that 47 percent of Americans considered a second civil war likely or very likely in their lifetime, a notion that prompted Hollywood to release a movie imagining what that could look like. The propulsive crescendo of disruptive events lately has led many to compare 2024 to 1968, a year of racial strife, riots in the cities and the assassinations of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy. Protests over the Vietnam War helped prompt President Lyndon B. Johnson to drop out of his race for re-election that year. Until now, there had been one important difference. “Of all the similarities between 1968 and 2024, the lack of political violence this year has been one of the key areas where the years diverge,” said Luke A. Nichter, a historian at Chapman University and the author of “The Year That Broke Politics,” a history of 1968. “That is no more.” Michael Kazin, a historian at Georgetown University, said political violence had a long history in America. “As in 1968 — or 1919 or 1886 or 1861 — the violence that just occurred is rather inevitable in a society as bitterly divided as ours,” he said. “And of course there's actually less violence in politics now than there was in those other years.” Republicans turned the tables on Democrats this weekend, arguing that if Mr. Trump was responsible for provocative rhetoric, then Mr. Biden should be as well. Speaking with donors on Monday, the president said he wanted to stop talking about his poor debate performance and instead “put Trump in a bull's-eye.” He described his strategy as “attack, attack, attack.” “The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs,” Senator J.D. Vance, Republican of Ohio and a front-runner to be named Mr. Trump's running mate, wrote on social media two hours after the attack on Saturday. “That rhetoric directly led to President Trump's attempted assassination.”
When President Ronald Reagan was shot by an attention-seeking drifter in 1981, the country united behind its injured leader. The teary-eyed Democratic speaker of the House, Thomas P. O'Neill Jr., went to the hospital room of the Republican president, held his hands, kissed his head and got on his knees to pray for him. But the assassination attempt against former President Donald J. Trump seems more likely to tear America further apart than to bring it together. Within minutes of the shooting, the air was filled with anger, bitterness, suspicion and recrimination. Fingers were pointed, conspiracy theories advanced and a country already bristling with animosity fractured even more. The fact that the shooting in Butler, Pa., on Saturday night was two days before Republicans were set to gather in Milwaukee for their nominating convention invariably put the event in a partisan context. While Democrats bemoaned political violence, which they have long faulted Mr. Trump for encouraging, Republicans instantly blamed President Biden and his allies for the attack, which they argued stemmed from incendiary language labeling the former president a proto-fascist who would destroy democracy. Mr. Trump's eldest son, his campaign strategist and a running mate finalist all attacked the political left within hours of the shooting even before the gunman was identified or his motive determined. “Well of course they tried to keep him off the ballot, they tried to put him in jail and now you see this,” wrote Chris LaCivita, a senior adviser to the former president. But the Trump campaign seemed to think better of it, and the post was deleted. A memo sent out on Sunday by Mr. LaCivita and Susie Wiles, another senior adviser, instructed Trump team members not to comment on the shooting. Either way, the episode could fuel Mr. Trump's narrative about being the victim of persecution by Democrats. Impeached, indicted, sued and convicted, Mr. Trump even before Saturday had accused Democrats of seeking to have him shot by F.B.I. agents or even executed for crimes that do not carry the death penalty. After being wounded at the rally, Mr. Trump, with blood staining his face, pumped his fist at the crowd and shouted, “Fight! Fight! Fight!” What exactly drove the gunman, who was quickly killed by Secret Service counter snipers, remained a matter of speculation. Identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, from Bethel Park, Pa., he was a registered Republican but had also given $15 to a progressive group on Mr. Biden's Inauguration Day, more than three years ago. The authorities said they were still investigating his motive. The shooting came at a time when the United States was already deeply polarized along ideological, cultural and partisan lines — split, it often seems, into two countries, even two realities. More than at any time in generations, Americans do not see themselves in a collective enterprise but perceive themselves on opposite sides of modern ramparts. The divisions have grown so stark that a Marist poll in May found that 47 percent of Americans considered a second civil war likely or very likely in their lifetime, a notion that prompted Hollywood to release a movie imagining what that could look like. The propulsive crescendo of disruptive events lately has led many to compare 2024 to 1968, a year of racial strife, riots in the cities and the assassinations of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy. Protests over the Vietnam War helped prompt President Lyndon B. Johnson to drop out of his race for re-election that year. Until now, there had been one important difference. “Of all the similarities between 1968 and 2024, the lack of political violence this year has been one of the key areas where the years diverge,” said Luke A. Nichter, a historian at Chapman University and the author of “The Year That Broke Politics,” a history of 1968. “That is no more.” Michael Kazin, a historian at Georgetown University, said political violence had a long history in America. “As in 1968 — or 1919 or 1886 or 1861 — the violence that just occurred is rather inevitable in a society as bitterly divided as ours,” he said. “And of course there's actually less violence in politics now than there was in those other years.” Republicans turned the tables on Democrats this weekend, arguing that if Mr. Trump was responsible for provocative rhetoric, then Mr. Biden should be as well. Speaking with donors on Monday, the president said he wanted to stop talking about his poor debate performance and instead “put Trump in a bull's-eye.” He described his strategy as “attack, attack, attack.” “The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs,” Senator J.D. Vance, Republican of Ohio and a front-runner to be named Mr. Trump's running mate, wrote on social media two hours after the attack on Saturday. “That rhetoric directly led to President Trump's attempted assassination.”
The Right gets it; where are Democrats? In his new book What it Took to Win, author and history professor Michael Kazin looks at the last hundred or so years and says it's clear what has and still works. Whether The post Trumpism is a Movement; Movements Are How Democrats Have Won appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
Originally Recorded November 23rd, 2023About Professor Michael Kazin: https://gufaculty360.georgetown.edu/s/contact/00336000014RfPKAA0/michael-kazinCheck out Professor Kazin's biography of William Jennings Bryan, titled A Godly Hero: https://www.amazon.com/Godly-Hero-William-Jennings-Bryan/dp/0385720564 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit musicallyspeaking.substack.com
At a campaign rally in Ohio, Donald Trump said some things that, depending on your perspective, were either appalling or patriotic. He defended the Jan. 6 rioters as "hostages," called some migrants crossing the southern border "animals," and warned there would be a "bloodbath" if he isn't elected in November -- although his defenders pointed out he was referring to the U.S. auto industry which, according to Trump, needs tariff protection from Chinese imports. Whatever one thinks of Trump's latest demagoguery, it wasn't illegal. One-hundred-six years ago in Ohio, an antiwar speech delivered by Eugene V. Debs did break the law -- by violating the Espionage Act. Debs was arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Yet Debs still ran for president as the Socialist Party candidate in 1920. If Trump were to find himself in a similar situation come November (if any of his pending criminal trials are held by then), he too could campaign from behind bars. But this is where the similarities between Trump and Debs end. In this episode, Michael Kazin, a distinguished historian of political and social movements at Georgetown University, discusses the other reasons Eugene V. Debs is an American worth remembering.
America today is not the America of the past. But in his new book What it Took to Win, author and history professor Michael Kazin, it's clear what has and still works. This fear of popular movements has fed the The post What it Takes for Democrats to Win: Historian Michael Kazin appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
In 1968 the antiwar left punished Vice President Hubert Humphrey for supporting his boss Lyndon Johnson's war in Vietnam. Many young activists either withheld their votes from or gave reluctant support to the Democrat who ultimately lost to Richard Nixon. Then Nixon prolonged the Vietnam War four more years. The distinguished Georgetown University historian Michael Kazin says young leftists today who are considering not voting for President Joe Biden because he refuses to chastise Israel for the war in Gaza, may want to absorb the lesson of '68 or risk helping Donald Trump return to the White House. Kazin, who was a self-described radical in the 1960s, explores the parallels between '68 and the 2024 election cycle with a focus on the genuine dilemma faced by the antiwar left.
The Casual Cruelty of the Recently Impeached Texas AG in Delaying a Life-Threatening Abortion | The Emerging Campaign Issue of Dictatorship and What a Second Trump Term Could Look Like | Biden Vetoes a Ceasefire Sticking With Netanyahu Like VP Humphrey Stuck With LBJ in 1968 Host: Ian Masters Producer: Graham FitzGibbon Assistant Producer: Evan Green
In 2023 labor is striking back. In a resurgence of labor militancy after decades of dormancy, tens of thousands of American workers are walking off their jobs as they demand better pay, conditions, protections, and dignity from their employers -- from Hollywood to hotels. In this episode, Michael Kazin, a distinguished historian of social movements at Georgetown University, discusses the long fight for economic rights that is central to American labor history. Unions existed before the Great Depression and New Deal, but it was not until the cataclysms of the 1930s that industrial workers in steel and autos achieved recognition of their right to organize, framing their demands in language that would fit today's conflicts.
The 1960s were a period of economic prosperity. But according to historian Michael Kazin, that economic growth had a side effect, setting in motion today's culture wars. Binge all episodes early and ad-free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App https://wondery.app.link/americanscandalPlease support us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The legendary New Leftist and historian Michael Kazin joins the pod to talk about his recent essay in Dissent, "Reject the Left-Right Alliance in Ukraine." We also talk he ended up on the New Left, socialism in the Democratic Party, why he supported Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, the politics of being anti-war, the role of World War I in leftist historical memory, and his recent book What It Took To Win: A History of the Democratic Party.Dissent Essay: https://www.dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/reject-the-left-right-alliance-against-ukraineWhat It Took To Win Book: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374200237/whatittooktowinWar Against War Book: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/War-Against-War/Michael-Kazin/9781476705910Follow Michael Kazin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mkazinSubscribe to the Un-Diplomatic Newsletter: https://www.un-diplomatic.comBuy Me A Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/undiplomaticNow on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/@un-diplomaticpodcast
Trump's First 2024 Presidential Rally Shouts Out to the Far Right, Militias and Insurrectionists That He is Their Fuhrer and They Are Coming After You | The Massive Protest in France to Protect a Social Safety Net Americans Could Only Dream Of | How Foreign Wars Test the Moral Convictions of American Leftists backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
Authoritarians that they are, it’s not a huge surprise today’s Trump/DeSantis Republicans are pro-Putin. But as noted historian Michael Kazin points out, some alleged leftists are linking up with the far right on the war in Ukraine. Though there’s a The post A Left-Right Pro-Putin Alliance? appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
For forty-eight years, American presidents came and went, but J. Edgar Hoover remained as the powerful director of the FBI. In her authoritative new biography, G-Man, Yale historian Beverly Gage brings Hoover to life, uncovering the all-too-human man who played such an outsized role in twentieth-century U.S. political history. Gage's decade of research provides fascinating insights into the troubles that impinged on Hoover's childhood; his formative time in a white supremacist, Southern fraternity at George Washington University, Kappa Alpha; his early years in what was then the Bureau of Investigation and eventual rise to running it; Hoover's personal life and sexuality, including his longterm relationship with Clyde Tolson; and the transformation of the FBI across the 1930s and 1940s, and the ways it drew Hoover into a number of controversies that followed, from the Kennedy assassination to COINTELPRO and the FBI's attacks on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Sources:Beverly Gage, G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century (Viking, 2022)Michael Kazin, "J. Edgar Hoover's Long Shadow," New Republic, Dec 9, 2022Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, trans. Harvey Mansfield and Delba Winthrop (1835, 2002)Please consider making an end-of-year donation to Dissent this holiday season, Know Your Enemy's beloved sponsor. And don't forget to subscribe to KYE on Patreon for access to all of our bonus episodes.
Love Truce? Donate to help Chris make the show! Send checks to: Truce Media LLC PO Box 3434 Jackson, WY 83001 The modernish/ fundamentalist controversy was heating up in the early 1900s. Conservatives saw this coming a long way off but could not stop modernism from taking control of seminaries and popular pulpits. It was everywhere. It all came to a head with WWI. Theological conservatives saw WWI as evidence that the world was getting worse. To them, it was a chance to fight for patriotic reasons. Modernists were also pro-war because they thought this was the "war to end all wars". There would be no more war after this and democracy would take over the world. The liberals fired the first shots in this theological battle because they thought that premillennialism encouraged people to root for the end of the world. William Jennings Bryan was Secretary of State in the US during this time and did his best to keep us out of the war. This episode features the voices of George Marsden (author of "Fundamentalism and American Culture") and Michael Kazin, professor at Georgetown University and author of "What it Took to Win". Sources: Fundamentalism and American Culture by George Marsden The Evangelicals by Frances Fitzgerald A Godly Hero by Michael Kazin What it Took to Win by Michael Kazin These Truths by Jill Lepore To End All Wars by Adam Hochschild Dead Wake by Erik Larson (about The Lusitania) Woodrow Wilson's second inauguration Short article about Billy Sunday Discussion Questions: What was the purpose of WWI? What caused it? Would you have been for or against the war in the 1900s? How can pre and post-millenniallism shape a person's view of the world? Does it have to? How does social Darwinism tie into WWI and WWII? Is WWI an outcome of changing morality? How would you tell a large audience of Christians to adapt to changing morality? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
America today is not the America of the past. But in his new book What it Took to Win, author and history professor Michael Kazin, it’s clear what has and still works. Today's right plays on a sense that it The post Wake Up Now Democrats! Do What History Shows Works! appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
For decades neither side in the abortion debate had to test its position in the democratic arena. The Supreme Court in 1973 had settled it: the Constitution guaranteed a right to an abortion. But now, in post-Roe America, opponents of abortion rights must convince public majorities that the procedure must be severely restricted or banned entirely. In conservative Kansas, the pro-life movement was decisively defeated when nearly 60 percent voted to uphold abortion rights as enumerated in the state constitution. The conflict over abortion will likely take years to play out in legislative elections or public referenda. But one important aspect is already coming into focus. That is, now that the possibility of criminalizing abortions has moved out of the abstract, ambivalent Americans may recoil at laws aimed at imprisoning doctors, or fencing women into their home states by punishing them for traveling to where abortion is legal. In this episode, Georgetown historian Michael Kazin, an expert on American political and social movements, compares today's conservative Christian movement to outlaw abortion to the temperance crusaders of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, armies of Christian evangelists who convinced a large majority of voters to outlaw booze in the Eighteenth Amendment. Prohibition, an attempt to enforce a strict moral code on millions of unwilling people, was a disaster.
America today is not the America of the past. The Republican Party is unrecognizable. But in his new book What it Took to Win, author and history professor Michael Kazin, discerns a theme that still works as we head into The post What It Took–and Still Does–For Democrats to Win appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
Former 60s radical and longtime editor of Dissent, MICHAEL KAZIN, has written a history of the Democratic Party. Acknowledging their challenging mix of constituencies and their messaging and policy failures, he believes they are at their best – and the US is the better for it – when they articulate and deliver on what he terms “moral capitalism” - an economy and a society that works for working and middle class Americans. The high point was the New Deal era of the 1930s-1960s. Can they win elections by playing that role again? Can they do it soon enough and well enough to save democracy and deal with the major crises we face?
With the midterm elections approaching and Democrats expecting to be drubbed, it's time to ask whether the party has made any progress fixing its white working-class voter problem. But something that took decades to develop, caused in part by massive structural changes in the global economy, cannot be undone in a few short years. In this episode, Georgetown University historian Michael Kazin, author of "What It Took To Win: A History of the Democratic Party," discusses the rise and fall of the Democrats' working-class dominance from the triumphs of the New Deal to emergence of Trumpism.
SUBSCRIBE & SUPPORT THE SHOW: realignment.supercast.comThis episode and our expanded coverage are made possible thanks to our Supercast subscribers. If you can, please support the show above.REALIGNMENT NEWSLETTER: https://therealignment.substack.com/BOOKSHOP: https://bookshop.org/shop/therealignmentEmail us at: realignmentpod@gmail.comMichael Kazin, Georgetown professor and author of What It Took to Win: A History of the Democratic Party, American Dreamers: How the Left Changed a Nation, and The Populist Persuasion: An American History, joins The Realignment to discuss the future of the Democratic Party, how economics can trump culture wars, how to build a majority coalition in a divided America, and the long-running battle between liberals and progressives.
Give to help Truce. www,trucepodcast.com/donate Populism is a tricky subject. We use it these days as a slur, but populism can be a useful phenomenon. History professor and author Michael Kazin says that populism is an important tool when it comes to regulating power. In the late 1800s, railroads and banks were out of control. Industrialists like John D. Rockefeller had uninhibited control of their markets. Rockefeller believed in social Darwinism and didn't mind using dirty tactics to undermine his competition. The Populist Party sprouted out of frustrations women had with the political machines of their day. Republicans and Democrats were not yet willing to accept women and the issues they cared about. Women were slowly becoming a force within politics, but neither party had the guts to accept them. So women and others decided to form their own party. But in the election of 1896, the Populist Party was worried about a split vote. They worried that if they were to run a candidate of their own then they might split the vote. So the Populist Party backed Democratic nominee William Jennings Bryan. Bryan was a man of God. He quoted the Bible extensively, talked about the example of Jesus. But he was soundly defeated by the Republicans and William McKinley. He had only about 4% of the budget of his opponents. The story of Bryan is an interesting one because it contains the building blocks of fundamentalism. Discussion Questions: What is a populist? Can you name some populists? What are the advantages of populism? The drawbacks? How are Donald Trump, Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders similar? William Jennings Bryan was one of the first presidential hopefuls from a major party to tour the country. How has this shaped American politics? Why do we like to see politicians in our home states? What do populism and fundamentalism have in common? Do you think that fundamentalism relies on strong figures as populism does? Why or why not? Helpful Resources: "A Godly Hero" and "What It Took to Win" by Michael Kazin Library of Congress collection of Chautauqua materials Bernie Sanders Clip from C-SPAN Elizabeth Warren Clip from C-SPAN Donald Trump clip from C-SPAN Article about Mary Lease "These Truths" by Jill Lepore Library of Congress collection of McKinley/Bryan campaign materials. It's worth searching the site in general for images from both of them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The Presidency of Donald J. Trump: A First Historical Assessment (Princeton University Press, 2022) presents a first draft of history by offering needed perspective on one of the nation's most divisive presidencies. Acclaimed political historian Julian Zelizer brings together many of today's top scholars to provide balanced and strikingly original assessments of the major issues that shaped the Trump presidency. When Trump took office in 2017, he quickly carved out a loyal base within an increasingly radicalized Republican Party, dominated the news cycle with an endless stream of controversies, and presided over one of the most contentious one-term presidencies in American history. These essays cover the crucial aspects of Trump's time in office, including his administration's close relationship with conservative media, his war on feminism, the solidification of a conservative women's movement, his response to COVID-19, the border wall, growing tensions with China and NATO allies, white nationalism in an era of Black Lives Matter, and how the high-tech sector flourished. The Presidency of Donald J. Trump reveals how Trump was not the cause of the political divisions that defined his term in office but rather was a product of long-term trends in Republican politics and American polarization more broadly. With contributions by Kathleen Belew, Angus Burgin, Geraldo Cadava, Merlin Chowkwanyun, Bathsheba Demuth, Gregory Downs, Jeffrey Engel, Beverly Gage, Nicole Hemmer, Michael Kazin, Daniel C. Kurtzer, James Mann, Mae Ngai, Margaret O'Mara, Jason Scott Smith, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, and Leandra Zarnow. Julian E. Zelizer is the Malcolm Stevenson Forbes, Class of 1941 Professor of History and Public Affairs at Princeton University. A CNN political analyst and a regular guest on NPR, he is the author of many books, including Burning Down the House, The Fierce Urgency of Now, and Abraham Joshua Heschel: A Life of Radical Amazement. Twitter @julianzelizer Caleb Zakarin is the Assistant Editor of the New Books Network (Twitter: @caleb_zakarin). 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
The Presidency of Donald J. Trump: A First Historical Assessment (Princeton University Press, 2022) presents a first draft of history by offering needed perspective on one of the nation's most divisive presidencies. Acclaimed political historian Julian Zelizer brings together many of today's top scholars to provide balanced and strikingly original assessments of the major issues that shaped the Trump presidency. When Trump took office in 2017, he quickly carved out a loyal base within an increasingly radicalized Republican Party, dominated the news cycle with an endless stream of controversies, and presided over one of the most contentious one-term presidencies in American history. These essays cover the crucial aspects of Trump's time in office, including his administration's close relationship with conservative media, his war on feminism, the solidification of a conservative women's movement, his response to COVID-19, the border wall, growing tensions with China and NATO allies, white nationalism in an era of Black Lives Matter, and how the high-tech sector flourished. The Presidency of Donald J. Trump reveals how Trump was not the cause of the political divisions that defined his term in office but rather was a product of long-term trends in Republican politics and American polarization more broadly. With contributions by Kathleen Belew, Angus Burgin, Geraldo Cadava, Merlin Chowkwanyun, Bathsheba Demuth, Gregory Downs, Jeffrey Engel, Beverly Gage, Nicole Hemmer, Michael Kazin, Daniel C. Kurtzer, James Mann, Mae Ngai, Margaret O'Mara, Jason Scott Smith, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, and Leandra Zarnow. Julian E. Zelizer is the Malcolm Stevenson Forbes, Class of 1941 Professor of History and Public Affairs at Princeton University. A CNN political analyst and a regular guest on NPR, he is the author of many books, including Burning Down the House, The Fierce Urgency of Now, and Abraham Joshua Heschel: A Life of Radical Amazement. Twitter @julianzelizer Caleb Zakarin is the Assistant Editor of the New Books Network (Twitter: @caleb_zakarin). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history
There was a time not so long ago when the value of an ounce of gold cost $20.67. That was true not just in one moment or one year. It was true in the 1880s, 1890s, 1900s, 1920s... This was the gold standard. A person could take $20.67 to a federal bank and receive an ounce of gold in return. This system worked really well... for a while. But by the 1890s the constant deflation caused by the increasing value of gold meant that people with loans had to work harder and harder to pay them back. The value of gold and the value of goods had an inverse relationship, like a seesaw. One side went up and the other went down. This is the topic William Jennings Bryan chose to discuss at the 1896 Democratic Convention. And it was that speech that won him the presidential nomination that year. Imagine that! Someone so passionate about inflating the cost of goods that they are chosen to be president! His bimetallism (he wanted to add silver into the mix to devalue the specie) stance came out of his social gospel leanings and his Christian faith. This was a high point for the social gospel. As the evangelical world was about to turn to the darker premillennialist view, Bryan made an impassioned plea that we could, in fact, make this world a better place. My guest for this episode is the amazing Jacob Goldstein. He's the author of the book “Money: the True Story of a Made-Up Thing”. He's also a former co-host of the Planet Money podcast and now hosts "What's Your Problem?", a show where he interviews guests about the issues in their industries. You'll also hear from Michael Kazin, professor of history from Georgetown and author of "A Godly Hero". Helpful Links "Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing" by Jacob Goldstein (makes a great gift!) "A Godly Hero" by Michael Kazin "The Cross of Gold" speech Discussion Questions Have you ever gotten so excited at a political speech that you would gladly carry the politician around the room? What is money? Why do some of us want our money to be backed by something else? Why gold? Is there something inherent in gold that you think makes it forever valuable? Do politicians and government officials have some responsibility to consider how monetary policy impacts those in the lower classes? What does that look like? How has your life been impacted by monetary policy? How do you feel about things like the FDIC? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Matt and Sam are joined by Georgetown University historian and co-editor emeritus of Dissent, Michael Kazin, to discuss his new book, What It Took to Win: A History of the Democratic Party. They discuss the origins of the Democratic Party, the alliance between its urban North and segregationist South, the party's turn toward using government to help ordinary people, and the eventual crack-up of the New Deal coalition—and the rise of the right, and the Republican Party, that followed. Why did people whose relative comfort and prosperity had been made possible by policies championed by Democrats turn against them? How did Democrats respond to Ronald Reagan winning 49 states in 1984? Did it have to turn out the way it did? Sources:Michael Kazin, What It Took To Win: A History of the Democratic Party (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2022) A Godly Hero: The Life of William Jennings Bryan (Anchor, 2007)Michael Kazin, "Whatever Happened to Moral Capitalism?" New York Times, June 24, 2019Nathaniel Hawthorne, "Earth's Holocaust" (1844)Sam Rosenfeld, "What Defines the Democratic Party?" New Republic, February 15, 2022Matthew Sitman, "Tribute to Michael Kazin," Dissent, October 6, 2020...don't forget to subscribe to Know Your Enemy on Patreon for access to all of our bonus episodes!
Jamie Raskin, member of the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 insurrection, talks about the committee's evidence against Trump–and the committee's future if Republicans prevail in the midterms. He represents Maryland's 8th District in the House, and was manager of Trump's second impeachment trial. His new book is “Unthinkable: Trauma, Truth, and the Trials of American Democracy.”Also: Historian Michael Kazin joins us to explain what the Democrats have done wrong ––and what they've done right–– not just in the last week, but in the last century. His new book is “What It Took to Win: A History of the Democratic Party."Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Putin's Strategy to Weaponize Refugees | The Fascist Autocrat and Leader of the Global Far-right is Trying to Restore Soviet Power in a Fascist Form | As Ukrainians Suffer the GOP Blames it all on Biden's Alleged "Weakness" backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia facebook.com/ianmastersmedia