Podcasts about New Republic

Refried Beans | GUILTY (feat. John Fugelsang) | May 31, 2024Friday, May 31st, 2024Donald Trump has been found GUILTY on all 34 felony counts in the election interference trial; John Roberts rejects Senators Whitehouse and Durbin's request for a meeting over the Alito flags; a former Apprentice producer says Trump used the N word during production and it's on tape; the New Republic has gotten it's hands on an Erik Prince group chat; a Republican has blocked the confirmation of the first Native American federal judge in Montana; Molly Cook holds on to her Houston-based Texas Senate seat; the MLB has integrated the Negro League statistics into the record book; Biden secretly gave permission to Ukraine to strike inside Russia; plus Allison delivers your Good News.John Fugelsanghttps://www.johnfugelsang.com/tmehttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-john-fugelsang-podcast/id1464094232StoriesThe Donald Trump I Saw on The Apprentice (Slate Op Ed)Chief Justice John Roberts declines to meet with Democrats about ethics concerns amid Alito flag flap (NBC News)Ex-Blackwater CEO Erik Prince's group chat brings together far-right 'cranks' (Alternet)Republican blocks confirmation of first Native American federal judge for Montana (AP News)Molly Cook holds on to Houston-based Texas Senate seat in Democratic primary runoff (Texas Tribune)Biden secretly gave Ukraine permission to strike inside Russia with US weapons (Politico)MLB integrates Negro League statistics into all-time record book with Josh Gibson now career batting average leader (CNN) Federal workers - feel free to email me at fedoath@pm.me and let me know what you're going to do, or just vent. I'm always here to listen.Share your Good News or Good Trouble:https://www.dailybeanspod.com/good/ Check out other MSW Media podcastshttps://mswmedia.com/shows/Subscribe for free to MuellerSheWrote on Substackhttps://muellershewrote.substack.comFollow AG and Dana on Social MediaDr. Allison Gill Substack|Muellershewrote, BlueSky|@muellershewrote , Threads|@muellershewrote, TikTok|@muellershewrote, IG|muellershewrote, Twitter|@MuellerSheWrote,Dana GoldbergTwitter|@DGComedy, IG|dgcomedy, facebook|dgcomedy, IG|dgcomedy, danagoldberg.com, BlueSky|@dgcomedyHave some good news; a confession; or a correction to share?Good News & Confessions - The Daily Beanshttps://www.dailybeanspod.com/confessional/ Listener Survey:http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=BffJOlI7qQcF&ver=shortFollow the Podcast on Apple:The Daily Beans on Apple PodcastsWant to support the show and get it ad-free and early?Supercasthttps://dailybeans.supercast.com/Patreon https://patreon.com/thedailybeansOr subscribe on Apple Podcasts with our affiliate linkThe Daily Beans on Apple Podcasts

After President Donald Trump threatened to single out Apple with tariffs, he offered remarks to reporters that undercut his case. First he seemed to say this would apply to many iPhone makers, but then reiterated he'd said this straight to Apple CEO Tim Cook, a potentially serious abuse of power. Then Trump said U.S.-manufactured jobs would not result in higher prices due to automation, but this concedes that the manufacturing work he hopes tariffs will create are low-level jobs that might get replaced. And then he all-but-admitted that his threat to get companies to “eat” the cost of his tariffs really could mean potentially higher prices for consumers. All these oddities taken together wreck the fraudulent arguments he's been making. We talked to Monica Potts, the new class politics reporter at The New Republic, who usefully synthesizes all of it to explain what's wrong with Trump-MAGA manufacturing nostalgia and why the Trump-GOP agenda comprehensively works against his stated goal of creating good American jobs. Looking for More from the DSR Network? Click Here: https://linktr.ee/deepstateradio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After President Donald Trump threatened to single out Apple with tariffs, he offered remarks to reporters that undercut his case. First he seemed to say this would apply to many iPhone makers, but then reiterated he'd said this straight to Apple CEO Tim Cook, a potentially serious abuse of power. Then Trump said U.S.-manufactured jobs would not result in higher prices due to automation, but this concedes that the manufacturing work he hopes tariffs will create are low-level jobs that might get replaced. And then he all-but-admitted that his threat to get companies to “eat” the cost of his tariffs really could mean potentially higher prices for consumers. All these oddities taken together wreck the fraudulent arguments he's been making. We talked to Monica Potts, the new class politics reporter at The New Republic, who usefully synthesizes all of it to explain what's wrong with Trump-MAGA manufacturing nostalgia and why the Trump-GOP agenda comprehensively works against his stated goal of creating good American jobs. Looking for More from the DSR Network? Click Here: https://linktr.ee/deepstateradio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nicole O'Byrne speaks with Eric Andrew-Gee about his book, The Mind Mappers. This powerful dual biography tells the true story of two neurosurgeons—Wilder Penfield and the lesser-known William Cone—whose partnership revolutionized brain science in the early 20th century. In the 1920s, when brain surgery was still highly risky, the two men joined forces, united by a fascination with the mind's inner workings. Together, they founded the Montreal Neurological Institute, which quickly became a world-renowned center for neurological research. Penfield gained fame for developing the Montreal procedure to treat epilepsy, a breakthrough that revealed key brain functions related to speech, memory, and consciousness. Cone, meanwhile, worked tirelessly in the operating room and at patients' bedsides, quietly enabling Penfield's success. Though their achievements were shared, Cone's contributions went largely unrecognized. Over time, the strain between them grew. Penfield pursued scientific glory, while Cone remained grounded in patient care. Their friendship deteriorated, ending abruptly with Cone's sudden death at age sixty-two. Eric Andrew-Gee explores the founding of The Neuro and the complex bond between two men at the heart of modern neuroscience. The book restores Cone to his rightful place in history, illuminating the human cost of scientific progress. Eric Andrew-Gee is the Quebec correspondent for The Globe and Mail, based in Montreal, and a former staff reporter for the Toronto Star. He is the winner of two National Newspaper Awards. His work has appeared in magazines including The Walrus, Toronto Life and The New Republic. This is his first book. Image Credit: Penguin Random House If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society's mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada's past.

Why are the Democrats losing the American working class? According to Joan Williams, it's because they are failing to prioritize economic concerns of working-class Americans. In her new book Outclassed: How the Left Lost the Working Class and How to Win Them Back, Williams argues that Democrats lost the 2024 election because of their over-preoccupation with the interests of college educated Americans. Williams notes significant shifts among non-college voters of color toward Republicans and believes Democrats must develop what she calls "cultural competence" to connect with working-class voters. She emphasizes that economic struggle, and not just racism, drove Trump's victory. Williams advocates for a messaging that resonates with working-class values while maintaining progressive goals on issues like climate change. Democrats, she suggests, must return to their traditional language and prioritize economic stability for all Americans if they are to win back power in 2028. Five Key Takeaways * Democrats lost working-class voters across racial groups in 2024, with significant shifts among non-college voters of color (35-point shift among Latinos and 30-point shift among Black voters) and even larger shifts among younger voters of color.* Williams argues that economic factors, not just racism, drove Trump's victory. She believes Democrats failed to prioritize inflation and economic issues that matter most to working-class Americans, focusing instead on issues that primarily resonate with college-educated elites.* The "class-culture gap" between college-educated elites and working-class Americans requires Democrats to develop "cultural competence" - understanding and connecting with the values, communication styles, and priorities of non-college educated voters.* Williams believes Democrats must center economic messaging on the principle that "anybody who works hard in America deserves a stable middle-class standard of living" while connecting progressive policies to working-class values.* Unlike some critics, Williams doesn't believe Democrats must abandon identity politics or progressive causes, but rather must present these causes in ways that connect with working-class values while prioritizing economic issues.Keen On America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Described as having "something approaching rock star status” in her field by The New York Times Magazine, Joan C. Williams is an award-winning scholar of social inequality. She is the author of White Working Class, and has published on class dynamics in The New York Times, Washington Post, The Atlantic, The New Republic and more. She is Distinguished Professor of Law and Hastings Foundation Chair (emerita) at University of California College of the Law San Francisco. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

We recently went on the For a New Republic podcast to talk about Trump, fascism, and rebuilding the workers' movement in the United States. For a New Republic is the official podcast of Éirígí For A New Republic, an Irish socialist republican party that seeks the reunification of Ireland and the establishment of a workers' republic. Éirígí For A New RepublicFor a New Republic PodcastSend us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show

Dane Huckelbridge discusses the settings in his novels and his research--from Africa for No Beast So Fierce to the plains of Oklahoma for his latest, Queen of All Mayhem--the tale of the most dangerous woman of the American west, Belle Starr. Dane was born and raised in the American Middle West. He holds a degree from Princeton University, and his fiction and essays have appeared in a variety of journals, including Tin House, Literary Hub, The Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, and The New Republic. His debut novel CASTLE OF WATER was published by St. Martin's Press in 2017, and his book NO BEAST SO FIERCE was published by HarperCollins in 2019. He currently lives in Paris, France, although he goes back to New York whenever he can. Learn more at Danehuckelbridge.comSpecial thanks to NetGalley for advancing early copies of novels to the Writing Table. Intro reel, Writing Table Podcast 2024 Outro RecordingFollow the Writing Table:On Twitter/X: @writingtablepcEverywhere else: @writingtablepodcastEmail questions or tell us who you'd like us to invite to the Writing Table: writingtablepodcast@gmail.com.

In Part 1 of our discussion on Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, we welcome editor Sarah Blackwood to discuss the importance of Alcott's family background; her distinct authorial voice in books, journals, and letters; and how her time as a Civil War nurse led to her emergence into the publishing world. Sarah Blackwood is Professor of English at Pace University, where she teaches courses on nineteenth-century US literature, visual culture, and representations of selfhood. She is the author of The Portrait's Subject: Inventing Inner Life in the Nineteenth-Century United States (2019), as well as the introductions to the Penguin Classics editions of Edith Wharton's The Custom of the Country (1913) and The Age of Innocence (1920). Her criticism has appeared in The New York Review of Books, The New Yorker, The New Republic, and elsewhere. She lives with her family in Brooklyn, New York.To learn more or purchase a copy of the Norton Library edition of Little Women, go to https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393876734.Learn more about the Norton Library series at https://wwnorton.com/norton-library.Have questions or suggestions for the podcast? Email us at nortonlibrary@wwnorton.com or find us on Twitter at @TNL_WWN and Bluesky at @nortonlibrary.bsky.social. 

Original air date: May 31, 2024 Following on the heels of a Manhattan jury convicting twice-impeached disgraced former president Donald Trump on 34 felony counts, we sit down with the Washington Post's Jen Rubin and Mike Tomasky of the New Republic and try to figure out what to make of these recent events. One conclusion: Apparently we would be better off if everyone actually read some news every day. We discuss that and much more in a must listen episode. Join us. Looking for More from the DSR Network? Click Here: https://linktr.ee/deepstateradio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Howard Amos is a writer and journalist, who has been published by outlets including The Guardian, Newsweek, Foreign Policy, The Associated Press and The New Republic. Raised in London, he spent a year living in Russia's Pskov Region before working for almost a decade as a correspondent in Moscow. He left Russia in the days after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and, based out of Armenia, did a year-long stint as editor-in-chief of The Moscow Times in exile. He now lives in Edinburgh.----------LINKS:https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/russia-starts-here-9781472991348/ ----------Your support is massively appreciated! SILICON CURTAIN LIVE EVENTS - FUNDRAISER CAMPAIGN Events in 2025 - Advocacy for a Ukrainian victory with Silicon CurtainNEXT EVENTS - LVIV, KYIV AND ODESA THIS MAY.https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extrasOur first live events this year in Lviv and Kyiv were a huge success. Now we need to maintain this momentum, and change the tide towards a Ukrainian victory. The Silicon Curtain Roadshow is an ambitious campaign to run a minimum of 12 events in 2025, and potentially many more. We may add more venues to the program, depending on the success of the fundraising campaign. https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extrasWe need to scale up our support for Ukraine, and these events are designed to have a major impact. Your support in making it happen is greatly appreciated. All events will be recorded professionally and published for free on the Silicon Curtain channel. Where possible, we will also live-stream events.https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras----------SILICON CURTAIN FILM FUNDRAISERA project to make a documentary film in Ukraine, to raise awareness of Ukraine's struggle and in supporting a team running aid convoys to Ukraine's front-line towns.https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND:Save Ukrainehttps://www.saveukraineua.org/Superhumans - Hospital for war traumashttps://superhumans.com/en/UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukrainehttps://unbroken.org.ua/Come Back Alivehttps://savelife.in.ua/en/Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchenhttps://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraineUNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyyhttps://u24.gov.ua/Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundationhttps://prytulafoundation.orgNGO “Herojam Slava”https://heroiamslava.org/kharpp - Reconstruction project supporting communities in Kharkiv and Przemyślhttps://kharpp.com/NOR DOG Animal Rescuehttps://www.nor-dog.org/home/----------PLATFORMS:Twitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSiliconInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/siliconcurtain/Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqmLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------Welcome to the Silicon Curtain podcast. Please like and subscribe if you like the content we produce. It will really help to increase the popularity of our content in YouTube's algorithm. Our material is now being made available on popular podcasting platforms as well, such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Original air date: May 31, 2024 Following on the heels of a Manhattan jury convicting twice-impeached disgraced former president Donald Trump on 34 felony counts, we sit down with the Washington Post's Jen Rubin and Mike Tomasky of the New Republic and try to figure out what to make of these recent events. One conclusion: Apparently we would be better off if everyone actually read some news every day. We discuss that and much more in a must listen episode. Join us. Looking for More from the DSR Network? Click Here: https://linktr.ee/deepstateradio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's peace in the New Republic, but a new danger is stirring in the Deep Core. Can Leia hold her government together, or will an alien threat tear it apart?

On Thursday's Football Daily, Phil Egan brings you news from the world of football as Johnny Kenny gets off the mark for the Celts, and Robbie Keane misses out on a first trophy in Hungary.New Republic of Ireland call up Josh Keeley delights Leyton Orient as they're off to Wembley.Bologna create history, as Barca look to wrap up the title.Liverpool look set to sign Jeremie Frimpong, as Manchester United chase Liam Delap and Antoine Semenyo.Dean Huijsen looks like he could be off to Real Madrid.And drama in Holland as Ajax look to complete one of the all time great bottlings of a league title.Become a member and subscribe at offtheball.com/join

On Thursday's Football Daily, Phil Egan brings you news from the world of football as Johnny Kenny gets off the mark for the Celts, and Robbie Keane misses out on a first trophy in Hungary.New Republic of Ireland call up Josh Keeley delights Leyton Orient as they're off to Wembley.Bologna create history, as Barca look to wrap up the title.Liverpool look set to sign Jeremie Frimpong, as Manchester United chase Liam Delap and Antoine Semenyo.Dean Huijsen looks like he could be off to Real Madrid.And drama in Holland as Ajax look to complete one of the all time great bottlings of a league title.Become a member and subscribe at offtheball.com/join

From Xenomorphs to ETs: Which Alien Species is the Best? This week on the podcast, Brian and Darryl boldly go into the sci-fi vault to debate the most creative alien species in the galaxy. Think Na'vi spirituality meets Xenomorph acid vomit. From hive-minded cybernetic zombies to fire-based art snobs, it's time to crown the weirdest, wildest, most wonderful extraterrestrials in fiction. Episode Index Intro: 0:07 Alien, Mine: Alien Showdown… Who’s the Best? Darryl Heptapods (from Arrival) Physical Traits – Appearance: Heptapods are seven-limbed (hence the name “hepta-” meaning seven) creatures with a large, oval-shaped head and a body that appears to be semi-transparent2. – Eyes: They have thousands of small, dime-sized eyes in clusters, which are actually patches of photosensitive skin. – Sensory Perception: They use sophisticated sonar to perceive their environment, allowing them to detect even minute details. Culture – Non-linear Perception of Time: Heptapods experience time non-linearly, meaning they perceive past, present, and future simultaneously. This is reflected in their language and behavior3. – Patience and Long-term Thinking: Their non-linear perception of time gives them a unique perspective on patience and long-term consequences. They are willing to wait for humans to understand their language and purpose4. – Purpose of Arrival: They arrive on Earth to share their language, Heptapod B, which they believe will help humanity understand their non-linear perception of time and potentially aid them in the future. Language – Heptapod A: This is their spoken language, which sounds very organic and is designed to be heard rather than spoken. – Heptapod B: This is their written language, consisting of circular logograms that represent entire concepts or sentences rather than individual words. The meaning of these logograms depends on the tendrils and splotches branching out from their circular rings2. – Impact on Humans: Learning Heptapod B alters the human perception of time, allowing them to experience events out of sequence, similar to how Heptapods perceive time. MorningLightMountain (Commonwealth Saga by Peter F. Hamilton) Physical Traits: – Prime Bodies: MorningLightMountain’s consciousness inhabits billions of distinct Prime bodies. These bodies are divided into two types: motiles and immotiles1. – Motiles: Motiles can see and move but are relatively unintelligent on their own. – Immotiles: Immotiles are blind and immobile but highly intelligent. They can breed motiles, and four motiles can merge to form a new immotile1. – Wormhole Technology: MorningLightMountain possesses wormhole technology, allowing its bodies to communicate over arbitrarily large distances. Mental Traits: – Hive Mind: MorningLightMountain operates as a hive mind, with a single united consciousness spread across billions of bodies. – Xenophobic and Expansionist: The Primes, including MorningLightMountain, are highly xenophobic and expansionist, seeking to subsume or destroy other species. – Highly Intelligent: Immotiles can link to each other for greater processing power, making MorningLightMountain one of the most powerful Primes. Linguistic Traits: – Non-Verbal Communication: MorningLightMountain primarily communicates non-verbally through its network of bodies. – Radio Transmitters: Primes use implanted radio transmitters to stay wirelessly connected, allowing for long-range communication. Saga of the Seven Suns series (Kevin J Anderson) Hydrogues – Physical Traits: Elemental beings composed of water and gas, often appearing as massive, swirling masses of liquid and vapor. – Culture: Highly territorial and aggressive, especially when their habitats are threatened. They have a deep connection to water and gas. – Language: Communicate through complex patterns of vibrations and waves. Faeros – Physical Traits: Elemental beings associated with fire and light, emitting a warm glow and capable of producing flames. – Culture: Passionate and energetic, valuing creativity and expression. They are often involved in artistic and spiritual pursuits. – Language: Communicate through a combination of spoken language and visual symbols, using their fiery abilities to create intricate patterns and displays. Borg Physical Traits: – Cybernetic Enhancements: The Borg are a collective of various species that have been assimilated and augmented with cybernetic implants. This results in a mix of biological and mechanical features. – Pale Skin: Their skin tends to be pale or grayish due to the integration of technology and loss of individuality. – Mechanical Limbs and Eyes: Many Borg drones have mechanical limbs and/or eyes, often replacing their original biological parts with more efficient cybernetic versions. Culture: – Collective Consciousness: The Borg operate as a hive mind, known as the Collective. Individuality is suppressed, and all drones are connected through a central consciousness. – Assimilation: The primary goal of the Borg is to assimilate other species to enhance their own collective knowledge and capabilities. This is often done forcibly, with the mantra “Resistance is futile.” – Efficient and Methodical: The Borg are highly efficient and methodical in their actions, driven by their collective purpose of achieving perfection. Language: – Communal Communication: The Borg communicate internally through their collective consciousness, sharing thoughts and information instantaneously. – Distinctive Speech Patterns: When speaking externally, the Borg often use a collective “we” to represent their hive mind and have a monotone, emotionless speech pattern. Changelings (Founders) Physical Traits: – Shapeshifters: Changelings are highly advanced shapeshifters capable of assuming any form, from humanoid figures to inanimate objects. – Gelatinous State: In their natural form, Changelings exist as a gelatinous mass, which they revert to when at rest or regenerating. – Golden Hue: Their gelatinous form has a distinctive golden hue. Culture: – Great Link: The Changelings share a deep connection through the Great Link, a shared state where they merge together in their natural form, exchanging thoughts and experiences. – Isolation and Control: Historically, Changelings have sought to isolate themselves from solids (non-shapeshifting species) and control them to protect themselves from persecution and harm. – Founders of the Dominion: Changelings are the ruling species of the Dominion, a powerful political and military alliance in the Gamma Quadrant. They employ the Vorta and Jem’Hadar as their loyal servants to enforce their will. Language: – Universal Communication: Changelings typically communicate in the languages of the species they interact with. Their ability to shapeshift allows them to perfectly mimic speech. – Telepathic Connection: Within the Great Link, communication is telepathic and intuitive, allowing for an exchange of complex ideas and emotions without words. Na’vi (James Cameron Avatar movies) Physical Traits – Height and Build: The Na’vi are tall, standing about 10 feet (3 meters) in height, and have a slender, graceful build. – Blue Skin: They have blue skin with bioluminescent patterns that glow in the dark, helping them blend into their environment. – Four-Fingered Hands: Unlike humans, the Na’vi have four fingers on each hand and four toes on each foot. – Cat-like Features: They have large, expressive, golden eyes, pointed ears, and tails, giving them a feline appearance. – Braid with Neural Queue: Each Na’vi has a long braid called a “tswin,” which contains a neural queue that allows them to connect with other creatures and the environment on Pandora. Culture – Deep Connection with Nature: The Na’vi live in harmony with the natural world of Pandora. They have a deep spiritual connection with the flora, fauna, and the planet itself. – Clans and Tribes: The Na’vi are organized into various clans and tribes, each with its own customs and traditions. The Omaticaya clan, for example, resides in the Hometree. – Eywa: The Na’vi worship Eywa, the Great Mother, a deity representing the interconnectedness of all life on Pandora. They believe that Eywa maintains the balance of life. – Rites of Passage: Na’vi culture includes several rites of passage, such as the bonding with a direhorse (pa’li) and a mountain banshee (ikran), which signify one’s transition into adulthood. – Hunting and Gathering: The Na’vi are skilled hunters and gatherers, relying on their environment for sustenance while respecting the creatures they hunt. Language – Na’vi Language: The Na’vi have their own language, developed specifically for the film by linguist Dr. Paul Frommer. It is a fully functional language with its own grammar, syntax, and vocabulary. – Tsaheylu: The neural bond, called “tsaheylu,” allows the Na’vi to connect with other creatures and their environment. This connection is a form of communication that transcends spoken language. Xenomorphs (Alien Franchise) Physical Traits: – Exoskeleton: Xenomorphs have a biomechanical, black exoskeleton that provides them with great durability and a fearsome appearance. – Elongated Skull: They possess an elongated, ridged skull with a lack of visible eyes, giving them a terrifying, eyeless visage. – Inner Jaws: Equipped with a secondary, inner jaw that can extend from their mouths for lethal attacks. – Tail: Their long, muscular tails end in a sharp blade, which they use for both balance and as a weapon. – Acidic Blood: Their blood is highly acidic, capable of burning through metal and other materials. Culture: – Hive Structure: Xenomorphs have a hive-based social structure, with a Queen at the center, responsible for laying eggs and maintaining the population. – Instinct-Driven: They operate primarily on instinct, driven by a need to propagate their species. This includes capturing hosts for their Facehuggers to implant embryos. – Parasitic Life Cycle: Their life cycle involves multiple stages: Egg, Facehugger, Chestburster, and Adult. The Facehugger attaches to a host, implanting an embryo that later emerges violently from the host’s chest as a Chestburster. – Adaptive and Versatile: They can adapt to different environments and hosts, resulting in various Xenomorph types with specific traits influenced by their host species. Language: – Non-Verbal Communication: Xenomorphs communicate non-verbally through body language, pheromones, and hisses or screeches. Their interactions are primarily based on their hive hierarchy and instinctual behaviors. Species 8472 (Undine) — Honorable Mention Physical Traits: – Tripedal and Non-Humanoid: Species 8472, also known as Undine, are tripedal beings with a non-humanoid appearance. – Fluidic Space Origin: They originate from a dimension called fluidic space, which is accessible through quantum singularities. – Biological Technology: Their highly developed biology and organic technology make them tactically superior to the Borg. Culture: – War with the Borg: Species 8472 engaged in a war with the Borg after the Borg invaded their realm of fluidic space. They proved immune to assimilation and launched a counter-invasion of the galaxy2. – Genocidal Intentions: They have a genocidal intent towards other species, considering them a threat. – Negotiations with the Federation: Captain Kathryn Janeway of the USS Voyager negotiated peace with Species 8472, using a weapon developed from Borg nanoprobes to force them to retreat. Language: – Telepathic Communication: Species 8472 communicate telepathically, using their telepathic abilities to convey thoughts and intentions. – Unknown Name: Their name for themselves is unknown, as they are referred to by their Borg designation. Brian Farscape Luxans – Tall, warrior-like humanoids with a warrior code of honor. – Recognizable by their facial tendrils and thick-skinned appearance. – Can heal themselves through a process called “battlefield transfusion.” – Notable Character: Ka D'Argo – A fierce but noble warrior with a tragic past. Delvians – A sentient plant-based species with blue skin and photokinetic abilities. – Capable of deep meditation and powerful telepathic abilities. – Often have a spiritual or religious focus. – Notable Character: Pa'u Zotoh Zhaan – A Delvian priestess who can use her mind and biochemistry to heal or harm. Scarrans – Reptilian, highly aggressive, and among the most physically powerful species. – Possess natural heat-based abilities, allowing them to intimidate or harm opponents. – Scarrans view themselves as the superior species and often engage in genetic experimentation. – Notable Character: Emperor Staleek – A ruthless leader of the Scarran Empire. Pilots – Large, multi-limbed creatures that are biologically bonded to Leviathans (living ships). – They have a deep connection with their Leviathan and can control their functions. – Notable Character: Pilot – The pilot of Moya, who communicates with the crew and the ship. Leviathans – Living, biomechanical starships that possess sentience. – Generally peaceful but can be forced into servitude by Peacekeeper “Control Collars.” – Notable Character: Moya – The Leviathan that serves as the home and transport for Crichton and his crew. Star Wars (Expanded Universe) Yuuzhan Vong Who Are the Yuuzhan Vong? The Yuuzhan Vong are an extragalactic warrior species who invaded the Star Wars galaxy, triggering the Yuuzhan Vong War (25–29 ABY). Unlike most species in Star Wars, they: – Are immune to the Force – Jedi cannot sense them, and their presence in the galaxy caused major upheaval in the Force itself. – Use only organic technology – They abhor droids and mechanical technology, instead using genetically engineered living creatures as weapons, ships, and tools. – Are deeply religious and fanatical – They follow a strict caste system and worship pain as a path to enlightenment. Biology & Appearance – Humanoid, but with ritualistic scarring and tattooing that marks their status in society. – They believe in self-mutilation and pain as a form of religious devotion. – Have a higher pain tolerance than most species. – They view cybernetics and machines as heretical and replace body parts with living biotechnological organisms. Society & Culture The Yuuzhan Vong are organized into a rigid caste system: – The Supreme Overlord – The absolute ruler of their species. – Notable Character: Supreme Overlord Shimrra, who led the invasion of the galaxy. – The Warrior Caste – Devoted soldiers who follow a strict code of honor. – The Priest Caste – Religious leaders who interpret the will of the gods. – The Shaper Caste – Scientists responsible for bioengineering their weapons and technology. – The Intendant Caste – Bureaucrats and administrators. – The Worker Caste – The lowest rank, responsible for labor. Their entire culture revolves around pain, sacrifice, and religious zeal, believing that their gods command them to conquer and purify the galaxy. Yuuzhan Vong Technology (All Organic) – Living Starships (Coralskippers & Worldships) – Instead of metal ships, they use bio-engineered living vessels. – Vonduun Crab Armor – Grown, not manufactured, and is resistant to lightsabers. – Amphistaffs – Living snake-like weapons that function as both swords and whips. – Dovin Basals – Creatures that create miniature black holes to absorb attacks (even deflecting turbolaser fire). – Yorik Coral – Used to construct buildings, ships, and even restrain captives. The Yuuzhan Vong War (25–29 ABY) – The Yuuzhan Vong invaded the New Republic, launching a brutal war. – They captured and terraformed many worlds, including turning Coruscant into a massive Yuuzhan Vong ecosystem. – The Jedi, New Republic, and remnants of the Empire had to unite to fight them. – The war ended when Supreme Overlord Shimrra was killed, and his second-in-command, Onimi, was revealed as the real mastermind. – After their defeat, the surviving Yuuzhan Vong were relocated to Zonama Sekot, a living planet. Why Are They So Unique? – They stand out from all other Star Wars villains because they don't use the Force and their biology/technology is completely different from the rest of the galaxy. – They pushed the Jedi to their limits—without the ability to sense them in the Force, traditional Jedi tactics were ineffective. – Their brutality and disregard for machines made them unlike the Sith, the Empire, or any other major villains in Star Wars. Legacy in Star Wars While the Yuuzhan Vong were a major part of Legends, they have not appeared in the Disney canon yet. However, The Clone Wars animated series almost introduced them in a scrapped episode. Falling Skies Espheni (Overlords) – The main antagonists for most of the series. – An advanced, insectoid-like species with a strict hierarchical society. – Possess telepathic abilities and are highly intelligent strategists. – Use a combination of biotechnology and mechanical technology for warfare. – Consider humans an inferior species and attempt to enslave them. – They have an imperialistic nature, having conquered multiple planets before Earth. Notable Espheni: – The Espheni Overlords – Tall, slender, and powerful commanders of the invasion. – The Espheni Queen – The true leader of the invasion, revealed in the final season. Skitters (Arachnids) – Multi-limbed, insectoid creatures used as foot soldiers by the Espheni. – Originally another enslaved species, controlled through neural harnesses attached to their spines. – Many Skitters are loyal to the Espheni, but a rebel faction exists. – Known for high mobility, leaping abilities, and brutal combat skills. Notable Skitters: – Red-Eye – A rebel Skitter who aids the human resistance. – Harnessed Children – Human children forcibly enslaved by the Espheni using a similar mind-controlling harness. The Harnessed – Human (mainly children) captives of the Espheni, controlled through a biomechanical harness attached to their spines. – The harness allows the Espheni to control their minds and enhance their physical abilities. – Over time, harnessed children begin to transform into Skitters themselves. – Ben Mason, the son of protagonist Tom Mason, is partially harnessed but later freed. The Volm – A technologically advanced, humanoid alien species that arrives in Season 3 to help humanity. – They have been at war with the Espheni for generations and seek to liberate Earth. – Use energy-based weapons and powerful war machines. – While allied with humans, their leader, Cochise, warns that they have their own agenda. Notable Volm: – Cochise – The main Volm character, who forms a bond with the humans and helps them fight the Espheni. The Dornia (The Ancient Enemy) – Introduced late in the series as a mysterious aquatic species. – The original victims of the Espheni, nearly wiped out in the past. – Offer limited aid to the human resistance but provide key knowledge for defeating the Espheni Queen. – Their advanced biology allows them to manipulate water-based environments. Final Thoughts – The Espheni are classic conquerors, much like the Yuuzhan Vong (Star Wars) or Scarrans (Farscape), but with an added layer of biotechnology. – The Skitters are tragic figures, originally a peaceful species enslaved by the Espheni. – The Volm act as reluctant saviors, assisting humanity while maintaining their own goals. – The show played with themes of resistance, survival, and moral ambiguity, especially when it came to dealing with harnessed humans. Contact Us The Infamous Podcast can be found wherever podcasts are found on the Interwebs, feel free to subscribe and follow along on social media. And don't be shy about helping out the show with a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts to help us move up in the ratings. @infamouspodcast facebook/infamouspodcast instagram/infamouspodcast stitcher Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Play iHeart Radio contact@infamouspodcast.com Our theme music is ‘Skate Beat’ provided by Michael Henry, with additional music provided by Michael Henry. Find more at MeetMichaelHenry.com. The Infamous Podcast is hosted by Brian Tudor and Darryl Jasper, is recorded in Cincinnati, Ohio. The show is produced and edited by Brian Tudor. Subscribe today!

Kenny, Sam, & Matt review the changes to Galactic Republic Units in the May 12, 2025 balance update for Star Wars: Shatterpoint.You can also watch this episode on Youtube.Please join the Slack! We are having a blast yelling at each other about the changes and would love for you to join us.

Part 1:We talk with Jeet Heer.Jeet Heer is a national affairs correspondent forThe Nationand host of the weeklyNation podcast,The Time of Monsters. He also pens the monthly column Morbid Symptoms. The author ofIn Love with Art: Francoise Moulys Adventures in Comics with Art Spiegelman(2013) andSweet Lechery: Reviews, Essays and Profiles(2014), Heer has written for numerous publications, includingThe New Yorker,The Paris Review,Virginia Quarterly Review,The American Prospect,The Guardian,The New Republic,andThe Boston Globe.We discuss the adoption of crypto currency funds, first, by Trump, for the nation, and by the governor of New Hampshire for New Hampshire. More states will likely follow.We note that most of the crypto investment is from the Middle East. It may destabilize the US dollar, and has many other problems. Unfortunately, both Republicans and Democrats are buying into crypto. We discuss the implications for the future.Part 2:We talk with Professor Peter Rutland.Peter Rutland has taught at Wesleyan since 1989. Before that he taught at the University of Texas at Austin, and at the University of York and London University in the UK. He has a BA from Oxford and a D. Phil from York. He has also been a visiting professor at Columbia University, and is an associate of the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University. His research interests focus on all things Russian and places where the Russian boot has trod (Nicholas II) in the former Soviet Union and the former East Europe. He started off studying workers and the Communist Party, moving on to broader questions of economic policy in the socialist and post-socialist economies. Along the way he developed an interest in nationalism and ethnic conflict. Since 2013 he has been editor in chief of Nationalities Papers, the journal of the Association for the Study of Nationalities along with serving as associate editor of Russian Review.We discuss the image that Putin is creating of himself in Russia. His control of all media in Russia allows him to present whatever facet he likes to give the Russians the image of a 'humble man of the people', and his propaganda is framed in such a way to make him seem to be 'defending' Russia. We also look at how Trump has also adopted this strategy to present himself to US voters. WNHNFM.ORG  productionMusic: David Rovics

This is a panel discussion. Our guests discuss important issues of the day.Stephen Pimpare is Professor of Public Policy at Vermont Law and Graduate School. He is the author of four books, including A Peoples History of Poverty and, most recently, ,Politics for Social Workers: A Practical Guide to Effecting ChangeSusan Milligan is a political writer and former White House and congressional correspondent for the Boston ,Globe,U.S. News and World Report, and the New York Daily News.Lincoln Mitchell teaches political science and public policy at Columbia University. He is the author of nine books and his writings have appeared at CNN, Reuters, the New York Times, NBC, the San Francisco Examiner and numerous other media platforms.    My new bookThree Years Our Mayor:George Moscone and the Making of Modern San Franciscois now available. For more of Lincolns work you can subscribe to his Substack Kibitzing with Lincoln at/lincolnmitchell.substack.com/.Laura Jedeed is a freelance journalist who primarily focuses on the American conservative movement. Her bylines include The New Republic, Rolling Stone, and Politico, and you can find her newsletter at BannedInYourState.comThe discussion :- There is a new pope, and he is American-born- Former Justice Souter has died- Trump is making new promises: tariff reduction, taxing the rich- Trump wants to shift from the dollar to crypto currencyWhat effect will this have on the value of US currency worldwide?- The panelists agree that what is happening now is destruction of the US: a) elimination of USAID has lost the US many friends, b) Universities and research institutions are under attack, and we now have "research refugees" who are leaving the country, thus preventing leadership in development, c)Media is under control of the administration, d) the rule of laws has been abandoned, since court rulings are being ignored, with no consequence, e) the US dollar is less important, since some countries are switching to other currencies. All of this is part of the "network state" playbook.- The US is trending to be a "christian" stateWNHNFM.ORG  productionMusic: David Rovics

Glennon's son, Chase, joins Glennon for a special conversation with his hero, author Ocean Vuong, to discuss: 1. Chase shares with Ocean the impact his work has had in his life–and Glennon thanks Ocean for helping mother her son. 2. What Ocean learned from his mother about how to navigate being an Asian boy in America–and Glennon's recognition that she did not prepare Chase for the same realities. 3. Ocean's new book, Time is a Mother, and why watching his own mother die gave Ocean a deep empathy and connection to every person. 4. His relationship to maleness–and why Ocean is interested in “staying and complicating” masculinity. About Ocean: Ocean Vuong, author of the critically acclaimed poetry collection Night Sky with Exit Wounds, and the New York Times bestselling novel On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous is a recipient of the 2019 MacArthur "Genius Grant" and the winner of the Whiting Award and the T. S. Eliot Prize. In Time Is a Mother, Ocean's newest poetry collection available now, he reckons with his mother's death, embodying the paradox of sitting within grief while being determined to survive beyond it. His writings have been featured in The Atlantic, Harper's Magazine, The Nation, The New Republic, The New Yorker, and The New York Times. Born in Saigon, Vietnam, he currently lives in Northampton, Massachusetts. IG: ⁠ocean_vuong To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's a new era of Star Wars and Star Wars comic storytelling as Marvel debuts Star Wars (Vol. 4) #1 featuring the Original Trilogy characters in the aftermath of the Return of the Jedi and the Battle of Jakku maxi-series that focuses on the New Republic attempting to rebuild and restore the galaxy. But where there's hope, despair cannot be far behind.In Hyperspace Stories: The Bad Batch -- Ghost Agents #3 (of 5), Task Force 99 and Aurra Sing realize who's behind the mask and it's a devious foe in the service of the separatists.Free Comic Book Day featured a pair of titles from Dark Horse and Marvel, with Young Jedi Adventures delivering yet another whimsical and fun all-ages story, while FCBD: Star Wars #1 provides a very solid foundation for Marvel's current monthly titles -- Star Wars, Legacy of Vader and Jedi Knights.Comics Discussed This Week:Hyperspace Stories: The Bad Batch -- Ghost Agents #3 (of 5)Young Jedi Adventures Free Comic Book Day 2025Free Comic Book Day 2025: Star Wars #1Star Wars (Vol. 4) #1Star Wars Comics New to Marvel Unlimited This Week:Free Comic Book Day 2025: Star Wars #1News: Cavan Scott and Bram Stoker Award-winning artist Soo Lee, Vincenzo Riccardi and Robert Hack are taking Dark Horse Star Wars comics readers to the Nightlands in a three-issue mini-series in association with Fangoria. First issue is available in September.Free Comic Book Day is May 3 and features titles from Marvel (Star Wars) and Dark Horse (Young Jedi Adventures).Capes & Tights has an interview with Alyssa Wong and Liana Kangas.There's a profile of Marvel Star Wars UK artist Howard Bender at Down the Tubes.Check out the documentary "In the Lone Star Wars States" on YouTube and you'll get to see, and hear, our very own Count Jeff McGee.If you're so inclined, you can subscribe directly to get July 30's Star Wars: The High Republic -- The Finale one-shot from Marvel.Upcoming Star Wars comics, graphic novels and omnibuses:May 14 _ Jedi Knights #3May 20 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III Vol. 3 TPB (Collects 11-13, Wedding Spectacular One-Shot)May 21 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #18, Legacy of Vader #4, The High Republic — Fear of the Jedi #4 (of 5)May 28 _ The Rise of Skywalker Adaptation #4 (of 5)June 3 _ The Battle of Jakku TPB (Collects Insurgency Rising 1-4,  Republic Under Seige 1-4, Last Stand 1-4)June 4 _ Jedi Knights #4, The High Republic — Fear of the Jedi #5 (of 5)June 11 _ Star Wars #2, The Rise of Skywalker adapation #5 (of 5), The Bad Batch -- Ghost Agents #4 (of 5)June 17 _ Star Wars Legends: The Rebellion Omnibus Vol. 3 (Collects Star Wars: Shadow Stalker (1997) 1, Star Wars: Rebel Heist (2014) 1-4, Star Wars: A Valentine Story (2003) 1, Classic Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1994) 1-2, Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire (1996) 1-6, Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire Mini-comic (1996) 1-2, Star Wars: Tales From Mos Eisley (1996) 1, Star Wars: The Bounty Hunters – Scoundrel's Wages (1999) 1, Classic Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1994) 1-2, Star Wars: Tag & Bink Are Dead (2001) 2, Star Wars: Tag & Bink II (2006) 1, Sergio Aragones Stomps Star Wars (2000) 1, Star Wars Infinities: The Empire Strikes Back (2002) 1-4, Star Wars Infinities: Return of the Jedi (2003) 1-4; material from Star Wars Kids (1997) 12; Star Wars Visionaries (2005); Star Wars Tales (1999) 2, 4-8, 10, 12, 15-17, 20)June 18 _ Doctor Aphra — Chaos Agent #1June 24 _ Star Wars Modern Era Epic Collection: Yoda's Secret War (Collects Star Wars 15-30, Annual 1-2); June 25 _ Legacy of Vader #5, The High Republic Adventures Phase III #19, Codebreaker #2 (of 4)July 1 _ Dispatches From the Occlusion Zone TPB (Collects 1-4)July 2 _ Jedi Knights #5, The Bad Batch -- Ghost Agents #5 (of 5), Codebreaker #3 (of 4)July 8 _ Ewoks TPB (Collects 1-4)July 9 _ Legacy of Vader #6July 16 _ Star Wars (Vol. 4) #3, he High Republic Adventures Phase III #20July 22 _ Star Wars Modern Era Epic Collection: Yoda's War (Collects Star Wars 15-30, Annual 1, 2)July 23 _ Doctor Aphra — Chaos Agent #2July 30 _ The High Republic — The Finale: The Beacon #1 One-ShotAug. 5 _ Star Wars: Visions Treasury Edition (Collects Visions: Peach Momoko, Visions: Takeshi Okazaki and material from Darth Vader: Black, White & Red #1)Aug. 6 _ Jedi Knights #6, Codebreaker #4 (of 4)Aug. 19 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III TPB Vol. 4 (Collects 14-16, Battle of Eriadu one-shot)Aug. 26 _ Star Wars: Kanan Modern Era Epic Collection (Collects 1-12)Aug. 27 _ Hyperspace Stories: Tides of Terror #2 (of 4)Sept. 3 _ Tales From the Nightlands #1 (of 3)Sept. 9 _ Jedi Knights #7Oct. 7 _ Legacy of Vader Vol. 1 TPB (Collects 1-6)Oct. 14 _ The High Republic -- Fear of the Jedi TPB (Collects 1-5) and The High Republic -- The Finale one-shot Oct. 21 _ The Rise of Skywalker Adaptation TPB (Collects 1-5); Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic Omnibus Vol. 2 (Collects The Old Republic (2010) 1-6, The Old Republic - The Lost Suns 1-5, Lost Tribe of the Sith - Spiral 1-5, Knight Errant 1-5, Knight Errant - Deluge 1-5, Knight Errant - Escape 1-5, Jedi vs. Sith 1-6; material from Star Wars Tales 16-17, 24; Star Wars Visionaries); Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories Library Edition (Collects 1-12)Oct. 28 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III Vol. 5 TPB (Collects 17-20), Hyperspace Stories: The Bad Batch - Ghost Agents TPB (Collects 1-5)Nov. 4 _ Jedi Knights Vol. 1 TPB (Collects 1-5)Nov. 25 _ Star Wars: Darth Vader Modern Era Epic Collection: Vader Down (Collects 13-25, Star Wars 13-14 and Vader Down #1)Dec. 2 _ Star Wars: Doctor Aphra — Friends and Enemies OmnibusDec. 9 _ Codebreaker TPB (Collects 1-4)Jan. 6 _ Star Wars (2025) TPB Vol. 1 (Collects 1-6), Darth Maul: Black, White & Red TPB (Collects 1-4)

Sometimes we have a guest who needs no introduction. You know Dana Perino. She took on the job of White House press secretary when President George W. Bush was at his most unpopular—back in 2007 and 2008, as the Iraq War dragged on. She did not receive a warm welcome from those covering the White House—outlets like The New Republic called her clueless, and she was even injured after an Iraqi reporter threw his shoes at Bush. It was not an easy job, but, as anyone who served in the press corps back then will tell you, she did it masterfully. Then she went to Fox News, where she quickly became a fixture. Today, she co-hosts America's Newsroom in the morning and also co-hosts the highest-rated show on cable—Fox News' The Five—where she is both the moral arbiter and the straight man. Today on Honestly, Bari asks Dana about the moments of great tumult at Fox News and in news media more broadly. She asks Dana what she makes of Trump's media strategy—including the administration's open mocking of deportees. On top of that, Dana's also pretty well-known for being a mentor, and she has a new book that allows those who don't know her to access her wisdom. It's called I Wish Someone Had Told Me . . . : The Best Advice for Building a Great Career and a Meaningful Life, and it just hit bookstores. It's full of practical advice from Dana and her friends, including many of her news colleagues. Her book covers everything from starting off in the workplace to keeping your career afloat during all the ups and downs that will inevitably come your way. Dana talks about how to stay healthy, keeping yourself financially secure, dealing with bosses and coworkers, handling your personal relationships, and the endless struggle of balancing work and life. From her time at Fox and Republican politics, Dana knows quite a bit about navigating through total chaos and keeping your head above water—you're going to learn a lot from this one. The Free Press earns a commission from any purchases made through all book links in this article. Visit ⁠clearme.com/honestly⁠ for two months free! Go to ⁠groundnews.com/Honestly⁠ to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and unlock world-wide perspectives on today's biggest news stories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Part 1:We talk with Alex Sammon, Slate Features writer.We discuss how the administration has been treating people imprisoned because of immigration policies, and because of thought crimes that are critical of Trump. Specifically, we discuss the case of Mahmoud Khalil, a legal immigrant and graduate student, who has been held in Louisiana since his kidnapping by ICE. We discuss the prison, which is private, and its conditions. We also discuss the environment there and the local economy's dependence on this private prison. The prisoners there have not been convicted of any crimes.Part 2:We talk with MIchael Tomasky, the editor of The New Republic and the author of five books, including his latest and critically acclaimed The Middle Out: The Rise of Progressive Economics and a Return to Shared Prosperity. With extensive experience as an editor, columnist, progressive commentator, and special correspondent for renowned publications such as The Guardian, The Washington Post, The New York Times, the Daily Beast, and many others, Tomasky has been a trusted voice in political journalism for more than three decades.We discuss Trump and Musk.The president is peddling hot nonsense on what tariffs can do for America and the person he's conned the most seems to be himself. https://newrepublic.com/article/194821/trump-tariffs-income-tax-innumeracyElon Musk Is an Evil Piece of Garbage" and an A-Level Fraud Too  He is stupid. He is incompetent. He is cruel. He is sinister. And people will die because of what he has done.https://newrepublic.com/article/194769/elon-musk-evil-garbage-fraudMusic: David RovicsWNHNFM.ORG    production

The Trump administration is hoping tariffs will spur companies to bring manufacturing back to the United States. But a new survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas found that most companies are planning to deal with tariffs another way. (Spoiler alert: we totally saw this coming!) We'll also discuss how the Department of Homeland Security is hoping to cut the cost of mass deportations. Plus, did Trump get the idea to reopen Alcatraz from a movie?Here's everything we talked about today:-Post on Bluesky from Carl Quintanilla-"Tariff Politics; Rent-Stabilized Tenants May See a Rent Hike; Surviving Wall Street; Celebrating NYC's Mexican Communities" from The Brian Lehrer Show -"DHS Announces Historic Travel Assistance and Stipend for Voluntary Self-Deportation" from Department of Homeland Security -"US offers $1,000 stipend to encourage migrants to self-deport" from Reuters-"Mass Deportation: Devastating Costs to America, Its Budget and Economy" from American Immigration Council-"Trump Seems to Have Decided to Reopen Alcatraz Because of a Movie" from The New Republic-"Trump Says He Wants to Reopen Alcatraz as a Functioning Prison" from The New York Times-"Met Gala 2025: Highlights from exhibit of Black style and designers" from AP News  -​"'Tailoring Black Style': Dandyism shines at the 2025 Met Gala" from NPRGot a question for the hosts? Email makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.

The Trump administration is hoping tariffs will spur companies to bring manufacturing back to the United States. But a new survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas found that most companies are planning to deal with tariffs another way. (Spoiler alert: we totally saw this coming!) We'll also discuss how the Department of Homeland Security is hoping to cut the cost of mass deportations. Plus, did Trump get the idea to reopen Alcatraz from a movie?Here's everything we talked about today:-Post on Bluesky from Carl Quintanilla-"Tariff Politics; Rent-Stabilized Tenants May See a Rent Hike; Surviving Wall Street; Celebrating NYC's Mexican Communities" from The Brian Lehrer Show -"DHS Announces Historic Travel Assistance and Stipend for Voluntary Self-Deportation" from Department of Homeland Security -"US offers $1,000 stipend to encourage migrants to self-deport" from Reuters-"Mass Deportation: Devastating Costs to America, Its Budget and Economy" from American Immigration Council-"Trump Seems to Have Decided to Reopen Alcatraz Because of a Movie" from The New Republic-"Trump Says He Wants to Reopen Alcatraz as a Functioning Prison" from The New York Times-"Met Gala 2025: Highlights from exhibit of Black style and designers" from AP News  -​"'Tailoring Black Style': Dandyism shines at the 2025 Met Gala" from NPRGot a question for the hosts? Email makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.

The first 100 days of Donald Trump's second administration have been turbulent, controversial, and transformative. Today we're joined by Alex Shephard, a senior editor at the New Republic, to take stock of the most consequential changes, their impact on the United States and its place in the world, and to what extent they are irreversible.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Part 1:We talk with Harvey Kronberg, Publisher of the Texas Quorum Report.We discuss how Gov. Abbott has characterized criticism of Israel as 'anti-Israel' policies, and therefore 'anti-Texas' policies.We also discuss the latest Texas Senate-adopted criminalizing the 'morning-after' pill. This, despite Texas having a high maternal mortality rate. Since the Dobbs decision, the number of abortions has increased nationwide.We discuss the upcoming elections in Texas. Cornyn, Paxton, and possible candidates for the governorship.The Texas economy is contracting. The amounts collected by sales taxes have declined. Texas has no income tax. Small business owners are worried because of the tariffs.Part 2:We talk with Bill Curry and Ryan Cooper.Bill Curry was a Connecticut state senator, comptroller and two time Democratic nominee for governor who served as Counselor to the President in the Clinton White House. He has written for Salon, the Daily Beast, the Huffington Post and the Hartford Courant and has provided commentary on National Public Radio, MSNBC and many other news outlets.Ryan Cooper is the Prospects managing editor, and author of How Are You Going to Pay for That?: Smart Answers to the Dumbest Question in Politics. He was previously a national correspondent for The Week. His work has also appeared in The Nation, The New Republic, and Current Affairs.We discuss the speech recently by Gov. Pritzker (D-Ill). We note that Democrats MUST fight every fight. We discuss various methods to bring together most of the American voters: their own lives as they struggle in this economy. What is the divide between people? How can it be overcome?Music: David RovicsWNHNFM.ORG  production 

Our guest tonight is Lew Daly, Senior Fellow for Climate and Energy Policy at Just Solutions, where he works in partnership with state and federal organizations and networks in pursuit of a just and equitable clean energy transition. His previous 15 years work in the public policy field includes appointments such as:Director of Policy and Research and Senior Policy Analyst for Climate Equity at DemosDeputy Director of Climate Policy at the Roosevelt Institute Lew is a lifelong resident of New York State--Born and raised in Onondaga County, Central New York State, and has been based with his family in Wester Harlem, New York City, since 1999. His New York service in the field includes:Steering Committee member of the New York Renews Coalition from 2017-2020.Co-coordinator: New York Renews Policy Development Committee, supporting the development and passage of the nation-leading Climate Leadership and Community Protection act in 2019.Member of the New York City Offshore Wind Advisory Council in 2022 and 2023.He has also worked internationally as a US member of the Global Well-Being Lab of the Presencing Institute and Germany's Global Leadership Academy, and as an International Advisory Board Member of the Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation at the University of Pretoria.With Doug Koplow of Earth Track, Lew is the author most recently of the report, Taxpayer Costs for Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage, just out from Just Solutions and Earth Track. In addition to his extensive policy work, Lew's commentaries and feature articles have appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Republic, Democracy Journal, Boston Review, Grist, and many other publications. Support the showVisit us at climatemoneywatchdog.org!

Want to get someone to like you – or like you more? If so, there is a simple thing you can do that can work wonders to improve your likeability. This episode begins with this simple technique. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/let-their-words-do-the-talking/201608/people-will-you-if-you-make-them-laugh Why are we here? You must have thought about this question. I mean, here we are, intelligent creatures hurtling through the universe on this tiny little planet. Why? What's the point of it all? What had to happen for us to be here? These are questions that science has struggled with but is now finding more and more insight into the real reasons we exist. Here to reveal what we do know is Tim Coulson, a professor of zoology at Oxford University whose teaching and research have earned him multiple awards. He is author of the book The Science of Why We Exist: A History of the Universe from the Big Bang to Consciousness (https://amzn.to/4jLgb0n). There is a growing type of relationship that doesn't even have a proper name. It's 2 people in a partnership and they are not romantically connected but they are more than friends. They are more than best friends. They often live together, are in each other's wills, travel together and essentially live as partners. How do these partnerships begin? Who are the people in them? Why is this a growing arrangement? The first person to really look at this is my guest, Rhaina Cohen. She is an award-winning producer and editor for NPR's documentary podcast, Embedded and her writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The New Republic and elsewhere. She is author of the book The Other Significant Other (https://amzn.to/42unjsn). You probably have no idea what all is involved when you sneeze. It's really quite something! And it involves a lot of different muscles to make it happen. Listen and you will learn things about why and how you sneeze and when you can and cannot sneeze. https://www.medicinenet.com/11_facts_about_sneezes_and_sneezing/article.htm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We just learned that President Donald Trump's economy contracted in the first quarter. Trump unloaded twice over this bad news, attempting to blame Joe Biden for it. Meanwhile, some of Trump's aides went full North Korea, bowing down before him and offering adulation in shockingly abject terms. So how long do Trump's advisers think they can keep him in a protective cocoon, shielding him from the realities of his disastrous reign? We talked to New Republic senior editor Alex Shephard, who has a good new piece arguing that Trump's unpopularity will only get worse, due to basic structural facts about his presidency. He explains why the sycophancy of Trump's aides is only working against him—and why insulating him against outside facts will only get harder and more damaging. Looking for More from the DSR Network? Click Here: https://linktr.ee/deepstateradio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We just learned that President Donald Trump's economy contracted in the first quarter. Trump unloaded twice over this bad news, attempting to blame Joe Biden for it. Meanwhile, some of Trump's aides went full North Korea, bowing down before him and offering adulation in shockingly abject terms. So how long do Trump's advisers think they can keep him in a protective cocoon, shielding him from the realities of his disastrous reign? We talked to New Republic senior editor Alex Shephard, who has a good new piece arguing that Trump's unpopularity will only get worse, due to basic structural facts about his presidency. He explains why the sycophancy of Trump's aides is only working against him—and why insulating him against outside facts will only get harder and more damaging. Looking for More from the DSR Network? Click Here: https://linktr.ee/deepstateradio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Part one: Susan Milligan is a contributing editor for The New Republic. She is a former White House and congressional correspondent for the Boston Globe, U.S. News and World Report, and the New York Daily News.s America Pissed Off Enough at Trump and Musk for a General Strike?The United States hasnt seen such a massive labor action in 78 years. But the oligarchic wreckage of this administration is fueling multiple movements toward that goal.https://newrepublic.com/article/193370/general-strike-trump-musk-sara-nelson-labor-unionsWe note that Canada's election was yesterday, and results are that Canadians voted AGAINST what Trump represents. He made himself an issue in their election. "In the US, healthcare is an industry, in Canada, it is a right." Trump's poor approval ratings are evidence of dislike for him and his policies here in the US, and we discuss whether a general strike is likely in the US to show this. What do we have left to lose?Part two:Carrie N. Baker, JD, PhD, is the Bauman Professor of American Studies and chair of the Program for the Study of Women, Gender and Sexuality at Smith College. She is the author of Abortion Pills: U.S. History and Politics, available through open access from Amherst College Press.How Reproductive Freedom Advocates Outsmarted the Anti-Abortion Movement Since the reversal of Roe v. Wade, the number of abortions is up because of telehealth and the free sharing of mifepristone and misoprostol.https://washingtonmonthly.com/2025/04/25/how-reproductive-freedom-advocates-outsmarted-the-anti-abortion-movement/- Music: David RovicsWNHNFM.ORG  production

Stand Up is a daily podcast that I book,host,edit, post and promote new episodes with brilliant guests every day. Please subscribe now for as little as 5$ and gain access to a community of over 700 awesome, curious, kind, funny, brilliant, generous souls Check out StandUpwithPete.com to learn more Greg Grandin, who received his doctorate at Yale University under the direction of Emilia Viotti da Costa and Gilbert Joseph, previously taught at New York University for nineteen years.  He is the author of seven books, including The Blood of Guatemala, which won the Latin American Studies Association's Bryce Wood Award for best book published on Latin America in any discipline, The Last Colonial Massacre, Empire's Workshop, Fordlandia, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the National Book Critics Award, The Empire of Necessity, which won the Bancroft and Beveridge awards in American history, Kissinger's Shadow, and The End of the Myth, which won the Pulitzer Prize for general non-fiction and was a finalist in the history category.  Grandin is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Society of American Historians.  He has co-edited, with Gil Joseph, A Century of Revolution, and, with Deborah Levenson and Elizabeth Oglesby, The Guatemala Reader.  Grandin has published widely, in The Nation, where he is a member of the editorial board,the London Review of Books, the New Republic, NACLA's Report on the Americas, and the New York Times, among other venues.  He is a regular guest on Democracy Now!  A revised edition of Empire's Workshop is forthcoming.  Join us Thursday's at 8EST for our Weekly Happy Hour Hangout!  Pete on Blue Sky Pete on Threads Pete on Tik Tok Pete on YouTube  Pete on Twitter Pete On Instagram Pete Personal FB page Stand Up with Pete FB page All things Jon Carroll  Follow and Support Pete Coe Buy Ava's Art  Hire DJ Monzyk to build your website or help you with Marketing

Today Dr. Scott Spillman joins in to talk about how historians have conceptualized slavery and its role in the development of the United States. Get ready for a history of the history of slavery.About our guest:Scott Spillman is an American historian and the author of the book Making Sense of Slavery: America's Long Reckoning, from the Founding Era to Today (2025). His essays and reviews have appeared in The Point, Liberties, The New Yorker, The New Republic, n+1, the Chronicle Review, and the Los Angeles Review of Books, and he has published academic articles in Reviews in American History, History of Education Quarterly, and North Carolina Historical Review.Scott has a PhD in history from Stanford University, and before that he studied history, English, and political philosophy at the University of North Carolina (and Duke University) as a Robertson Scholar. Originally from Atlanta, he now lives in Denver with his partner and their twin daughters. He also spends part of his time in Leadville, where he serves as chair of the city's historic preservation commission. When he is not reading and writing, he enjoys running in the mountains.

I am delighted to have another conversation with James Crews, a return guest who is joining me for a conversation about his book, Unlocking the Heart: Writing for Mindfulness, Courage, and Self-Compassion. James is the author of the essay collection, Kindness Will Save the World, and editor of several bestselling poetry anthologies, including The Wonder of Small Things (winner of the New England Book Award), Healing the Divide, The Path to Kindness (winner of the Nautilus Books for a Better Life Award), and How to Love the World, which has over 140,000 copies in print. He has been featured on NPR's Morning Edition, and in People Magazine, The Boston Globe, The New York Times Magazine, The Sun Magazine, and The Washington Post. He is the author of five prize-winning books of poetry, including Unlocking the Heart, and his poems have appeared in Ploughshares, The New Republic, and other journals. James lives with his husband in the woods of Southern Vermont. At the end of September, James surprised me with the gift of his book, Unlocking the Heart and what a gift it was! I'll talk more about it in our conversation, but the book really did help unlock my heart. During February and a time of reflection on my transformative experience after falling and time in the hospital in December, I worked with the book, reflecting on the poems and James' thoughts about them, and using the writing prompts to journal. Being opened to vulnerability and held by the poems in the book was a special gift. As you will no doubt hear, James is a gentle soul whose conversation about poetry, spirituality, and life is healing. Both the words he uses and the tender way he speaks them is a balm for our painful and anxious times. Among other things, we talked about: How we are all poets … And, as James said, "We are all going around having moments and those moments are asking for expression. Our materially focused culture has caused us to be separated from spiritual practice and poetry can help us build a practice if we keep showing up. Writing poetry is about noticing and giving space to what you're noticing. Reading poetry trains you in the practice of noticing. Take some time to ease into this episode. I promise you will be soothed and come away craving more poetry in your life….   Learn more about James & to sign up for free weekly poems & writing prompts, visit: https://www.jamescrews.net/.   Buy his books, including, Unlocking the Heart: Writing for Mindfulness, Courage, and Self-Compassion.All books: Amazon Author page Unlocking the Heart: Unlocking the Heart   Substack / Podcast: https://substack.com/@jamescrews   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/james.crews.poet   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crewspoet       Become a patron to support this podcast and get special member benefits, including a membership community, a virtual sangha, and a subscription to my Everyday Buddhism Substack:https://www.patreon.com/EverydayBuddhism     Check out my Substack for ongoing chapter releases of my new serial book, Living Life As It Is and the weekly podcast, Words From My Teachers: https://wendyshinyohaylett.substack.com/   If this podcast has helped you understand Buddhism or help in your everyday life, consider making a one-time donation here: https://donorbox.org/podcast-donations   Support the podcast through the affiliate link to buy the book, Everyday Buddhism: Real-Life Buddhist Teachings & Practices for Real Change: Buy the book, Everyday Buddhism   Support the podcast and show your support through the purchase of Everyday Buddhism merch: https://www.zazzle.com/store/everyday_buddhism   NOTE: Free shipping on ALL (unlimited) items (Everyday Buddhism merch or gifts from other stores) if you join Zazzle Plus for $19.95/year: https://www.zazzle.com/zazzleplus

Watch on Philo! - Philo.tv/DTHLuke Skywalker has vanished!And the First Order has taken control. All that's left is to find Luke and destroy him. Leia, Luke's sister, is searching for him. If she can find him, then there's still hope to bring some order and peace to the galaxy.That takes us to the planet Jakku. We meet a pilot named Poe who is on a mission to retrieve a map. He has the map—something the First Order finds out. So they show up and start blasting, all "pew pew." Kylo Ren arrives, and he's clearly the one in charge. He's even got a voice thing like Darth Vader. He's awesome. He captures Poe, convinced he has the map. But Poe already gave it to his droid, BB-8.We see one stormtrooper who seems to be struggling—maybe starting to doubt if he's on the right side of history. His name is FN-2187, but we'll call him Finn.Then we meet Rey. She's out there grinding, scavenging for quarter portions. It's tough out there. One evening, she finds BB-8 and likes him enough that she turns down an offer of 60 portions just to keep him.Meanwhile, Kylo Ren uses the Force to learn more about BB-8. Finn decides he's had enough and helps Poe escape—they steal a ship, but it's shot down. Finn survives and assumes Poe was killed when the ship sinks into quicksand. All that's left is Poe's jacket.Finn meets Rey and BB-8. The First Order is hot on their trail, so they steal the Millennium Falcon and escape.Han Solo and Chewbacca track the Falcon and agree to team up with them.We start to see Kylo Ren struggling with the pull of the light side. When Supreme Leader Snoke orders an attack on the New Republic, he senses Kylo's hesitation. He suspects it's because of Kylo's father… HAN SOLO! Kylo says it won't be a problem, but then we see him speaking to Darth Vader's helmet, asking for strength to stay on the dark side.Aboard the Falcon, Han realizes that BB-8's map is incomplete. He explains that Luke tried to rebuild the Jedi Order but went into exile after an apprentice turned to the dark side.Han takes the group to meet Maz, a cantina owner, who offers to help get BB-8 to the Resistance. The Force draws Rey to an underground vault where she finds Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber. When she touches it, she has disturbing visions and decides not to take it. Maz gives the lightsaber to Finn for safekeeping.The First Order attacks and tracks down the Falcon. They're hunting for BB-8. Kylo captures Rey because he knows she's seen the map.Resistance fighters led by Poe arrive to save the others. And guess what—LEIA IS BACK, BABY!Rey resists Kylo's mind-reading attempts and realizes she may have the Force. She tries a Jedi mind trick on a stormtrooper—and it works. She escapes just before Kylo comes to take her to Snoke, who is not pleased.The Resistance devises a plan to destroy the First Order's new superweapon by targeting its weakness—because seriously, these guys never learn. Using the Falcon, Han, Chewbacca, and Finn infiltrate the base. Finn finds Rey, who's already working on escaping, and they plant explosives.Han confronts Kylo, calling him by his real name—Ben—and pleads with him to leave the dark side. Kylo, with tears on his cheeks, seems tempted… but then stabs Han through the chest with a lightsaber and lets him fall to his death. Chewbacca, enraged, shoots Kylo and injures him. They manage to escape while Rey and Finn head into the snowy woods.Kylo follows. He knocks Rey out with the Force and duels Finn, eventually defeating him. Rey regains consciousness, uses the Force to call the lightsaber to her, and fights Kylo. She wins.Chewbacca rescues Rey and the injured Finn, and they escape aboard the Falcon just as the First Order base explodes.Back at the Resistance base, R2-D2 wakes up and reveals he has the missing piece of the map to Luke.Rey travels to a remote island and finds Luke atop a cliff. She holds out his lightsaber.

Award-winning author, founder, and editor-in-chief of the Los Angeles Review of Books, Tom Lutz, took a timeout to talk with me about his early years as a literary ne'er-do-well, what it's like to hang out with your heroes, and why you can assume every writer is faking it just a little bit. "Writing has never felt like a chore to me. It always feels like the space of freedom, and that I'm stealing the time from my job to do something I love." – Tom Lutz In addition to editing the Los Angeles Review of Books, "... a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and disseminating ... engaging writing on every aspect of literature, culture, and the arts," Tom also founded The LARB Radio Hour, The LARB Quarterly Journal, The LARB/USC Publishing Workshop, and LARB Books. He's a Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing at UC Riverside, and the author of multiple bestselling and award-winning nonfiction titles – translated into dozens of languages – including Doing Nothing (American Book Award winner), Crying, and American Nervousness, 1903 (both New York Times Notables). His fiction debut is, “A literary thriller that wanders the globe,” novel Born Slippy is described as part "... literary thriller, noir and political satire ... a darkly comic and honest meditation on modern life under global capitalism.” Bestselling novelist James Ellroy said of the book, "Lutz has the seven deadly sins nailed and rethought for our 2020 world. You've got to dig this book!" Tom's writing has appeared in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, New Republic, Chicago Tribune, ZYZZYVA, and many other newspapers and literary venues, as well as in dozens of books and academic journals. He previously taught at Stanford University, University of Iowa, CalArts, and the University of Copenhagen. [Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm] [If you're a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen] In this file Tom Lutz and I discussed: His early years as a juvenile delinquent and the teacher that duped him into becoming a writer Why "... if you want something done, ask a busy person to do it." How he's happiest (and most creative) when playing hooky On impostor syndrome and sneaking in the back door of an exclusive club of writers What it's like to hang out with Salman Rushdie and Margaret Atwood And why you may not be the type of writer you think you are Show Notes: TomLutzWriter.com All things LARB Born Slippy by Tom Lutz [Amazon] Tom Lutz's Amazon Author Page Tom Lutz on Facebook Tom Lutz on Instagram Tom Lutz on Twitter Kelton Reid on Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#podcast #politics #Michigan #progressives #Democrats #Line5 #Trump #MAGA #Economy #CorporateGreed #Oligarchy #WorkingClass #Environment #CorporateCorruption #GovernmentCorruption #LeftOfLansing Here's Episode 130 of Michigan's Premier Progressive Podcast! 00:00-20:03: MAGA MI Cowards/Stevens Runs For U.S. Senate LOL's Pat Johnston describes how the "empty chair" town halls for MAGA Michigan Republican Congressmen John James and Tom Barrett shows the cowardice of these so-called tough MAGA men. How can John James run for governor if he's too afraid to face his own constituents who are angry with how Dear Leader Trump & Republicans are gutting Social Security and Medicaid while passing massive tax breaks for the corporate donor base. And Pat isn't real enthused by Democratic Congresswoman Haley Stevens's U.S. Senate run, and he explains why. 20:04-44:56: Dr. Jeffrey Insko Line 5 Interview Dr. Jeffrey Insko of The Current joins Pat to discuss the Trump Regime's fast-tracking of a tunnel project designed to keep the Line 5 pipeline operational for Canadian energy company Enbridge. The 72-year old pipeline is in poor shape, and a major leak or spill could spell doom for the health of the Great Lakes and Michigan's economy. Dr. Insko explains the decades of corporate and government corruption keeping Line 5 operating, and putting Michiganders at risk. 44:57-50:13: Last Call-MAGA Wants Tax On Rich? In the "Last Call," Pat explains why some MAGA Republicans, like former Trump strategist Steve Bannon, are pushing Republicans to pass a tax on millionaires and billionaires. It's obvious that AOC * Bernie Sanders' "anti-oligarchy" tour is resonating with millions across the country. 50:14-52:13: Ending Please, subscribe to the podcast, download each episode, and give it a good review if you can! leftoflansing@gmail.com Left of Lansing is now on YouTube as well! leftoflansing.com NOTES: "Trump administration to fast-track Line 5 tunnel, calling project 'emergency.'" By Kelly House of Bridge Michigan "Absent Tom Barrett, 7th District town hall meeting lets constituents express concerns, frustrations." By Erick Diaz Valiz of Michigan Advance "Michigan Republicans praise Trump, Army Corps for fast-tracking Line 5 tunnel." By SooLeader Staff at SooLeader.com "Line 5, a Trump donor, is profiting off a pipeline deal threatening pollution." By Tom Perkins of The Guardian-Detroit "In default on your student loans? Trump's team says they will garnish wages, take your tax refunds." By Matt Durr of MLive.com "Steve Bannon (Yes, Really!) Just Had a Good Idea for Trump." By Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling of The New Republic

The New Republic’s Michael Tomasky examines where Trump’s lawlessness is headed. Strength In Numbers newsletter’s G. Elliott Morris details what polls can tell us about Trump’s agenda.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Virtual Sentiments, host Kristen Collins chats with Hannah Gais on the far-right rallies and social media presence on platforms like Telegram and X. Hannah explores the events of the Unite the Right rally, the storming of the capital on January 6th, the far-right in the wake of the first and second Trump presidencies, and the dangers of expanding domestic terrorism laws. **This episode was recorded in December 2024.Hannah Gais is a journalist and researcher focused on the radical right at the Southern Poverty Law Center.Read more work from Kristen Collins.Show Notes:Hannah's work with Cassie Miller, "Capitol Insurrection Shows How Trends On The Far-Right's Fringe Have Become Mainstream"Hannah's 2021 New Republic article, "A New 'War on Terrorism' Is the Wrong Way to Fight Domestic Extremists"Brennan Center report co-authored by Mike German, "Fighting Far-Right Violence and Hate Crimes"Hannah's work drawing connections between more extreme figures and more mainstream figures like Tucker Carlson, "In Rural Pennsylvania, Extremists Declare ‘Victory is Ours'" and "For CPAC Attendees, ‘America Is Under Attack'"Hannah's article, "welcome to america"On Terrorgram indictments, "That's three strikes, run for your life"If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgramLearn more about Academic & Student ProgramsFollow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatus

Notes and Links to Alexander Chee's Work          Alexander Chee is the bestselling author of the novels Edinburgh and The Queen of the Night, and the essay collection How To Write An Autobiographical Novel, all from Mariner Books. A contributing editor at The New Republic and an editor at large at VQR, his essays and stories have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, T Magazine, The Sewanee Review, and the 2016 and 2019 Best American Essays. He was guest-editor for The Best American Essays of 2022.    He is a 2021 United States Artists Fellow, a 2021 Guggenheim Fellow in Nonfiction, and the recipient of a Whiting Award, a NEA Fellowship, an MCCA Fellowship, the Randy Shilts Prize in gay nonfiction, the Paul Engle Prize, the Lambda Editor's Choice Prize, and residency fellowships from the MacDowell Colony, the VCCA, Leidig House, Civitella Ranieri and Amtrak.    He is a full professor of English and Creative Writing at Dartmouth College and lives in Vermont. Buy How To Write an Autobiographical Novel   Alexander's Website   Book Review for How To Write an Autobiographical Novel from The New York Times   At about 2:00, Alexander details his Amtrak residency, later written about in The New Yorker At about 6:00, Alexander outlines some interesting characters that he met during his Amtrak residency  At about 12:00, Alexander reflects on a book project inspired by an interesting encounter with a former detective and British and American sensibilities  At about 16:30, Pete shares his own Amtrak story, possible fodder for essays and short stories, as Alexander remarks on “immediate friendship”  At about 18:50, Alexander talks about upcoming novel and short story projects and the process of picking a title; he recounts how he arrived at his essay collection's title, through a Buzzfeed publication  At about 26:30, Alexander highlights Kirkus Review naming How to Write an Autobiographical Novel one  At about 27:35, Alexander gives background on his essay collection's cover photo At about 34:10, Alexander talks about the composition of the previous essay collection and his upcoming one, with regards to placement and focuses on his “rose garden”- “The Rosary”-essay's development At about 39:00, Alexander responds to Pete's questions about the order of the essays in the collections and any throughlines-Garnette Cadogan and Naomi Gibbs are shouted out At about 43:40, Alexander talks about a manuscript that he has been working At about 44:45, Pete is complimentary of Alexander's “The Rosary” essay, and Alexander tells a story of an interested and poignant conversation with   At about 48:00, Pete shouts  At about 49:00, Pete and Alexander talk about the essay collection's first piece, and Alexander talks about being “Alejandro from Oaxaca” for a short time-he references Yiyun Li's powerful essay, “To Speak is to Blunder” At about 55:10, Pete compliments Alexander's powerful advocacy work and asks him about perspective and time, and how Alexander looks back at the essays from the collection so many years later (for some of the essays) At about 1:02:00, In talking about modern protest and activist culture, mutual aid, etc., Alexander shouts out Sarah Thankam Mathews' powerful All This Could Be Different At about 1:04:30, Alexander discusses a dynamic class that he has mentored at Dartmouth At about 1:05:30, Alexander responds to Pete's questions about what fiction allows him to do with his writing At about 1:06:30, Alexander reflects on ideas of catharsis in his writing      You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow Pete on IG, where he is @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where he is @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both the YouTube Channel and the podcast while you're checking out this episode.       Pete is very excited to have one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. His conversation with Episode 270 guest Jason De León is up on the website this week. A big thanks to Rachel León and Michael Welch at Chicago Review.     Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl      Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting Pete's one-man show, his DIY podcast and his extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!    This month's Patreon bonus episode will feature an exploration of the wonderful poetry of Khalil Gibran. Pete has added a $1 a month tier for “Well-Wishers” and Cheerleaders of the Show.    This is a passion project, a DIY operation, and Pete would love for your help in promoting what he's convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.     Please tune in for Episode 282 with Emely Rumble, a licensed clinical social worker, school social worker, and seasoned biblio/psychotherapist who specializes in bibliotherapy, the use of literature and expressive writing to heal. Pub Day and episode air day are April 29 for her wonderful book, Bibliotherapy in The Bronx.

With one mysterious smile, Jod's story ends—for now—and we sweep into Skeleton Crew's storybook ending. The real question is what happens next.This week, we talk through all the implications of Skeleton Crew's final moments. What will happen to At Attin? And all of its meticulously trained employees? What does this mean for Jod? And the New Republic?We're also getting HYPED (!!!) for Andor Season 2. Our recap of the first episode, “One Year Later,” will drop next week.

So what, exactly, was “The Enlightenment”? According to the Princeton historian David A. Bell, it was an intellectual movement roughly spanning the early 18th century through to the French Revolution. In his Spring 2025 Liberties Quarterly piece “The Enlightenment, Then and Now”, Bell charts the Enlightenment as a complex intellectual movement centered in Paris but with hubs across Europe and America. He highlights key figures like Montesquieu, Voltaire, Kant, and Franklin, discussing their contributions to concepts of religious tolerance, free speech, and rationality. In our conversation, Bell addresses criticisms of the Enlightenment, including its complicated relationship with colonialism and slavery, while arguing that its principles of freedom and reason remain relevant today. 5 Key Takeaways* The Enlightenment emerged in the early 18th century (around 1720s) and was characterized by intellectual inquiry, skepticism toward religion, and a growing sense among thinkers that they were living in an "enlightened century."* While Paris was the central hub, the Enlightenment had multiple centers including Scotland, Germany, and America, with thinkers like Voltaire, Rousseau, Kant, Hume, and Franklin contributing to its development.* The Enlightenment introduced the concept of "society" as a sphere of human existence separate from religion and politics, forming the basis of modern social sciences.* The movement had a complex relationship with colonialism and slavery - many Enlightenment thinkers criticized slavery, but some of their ideas about human progress were later used to justify imperialism.* According to Bell, rather than trying to "return to the Enlightenment," modern society should selectively adopt and adapt its valuable principles of free speech, religious tolerance, and education to create our "own Enlightenment."David Avrom Bell is a historian of early modern and modern Europe at Princeton University. His most recent book, published in 2020 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, is Men on Horseback: The Power of Charisma in the Age of Revolution. Described in the Journal of Modern History as an "instant classic," it is available in paperback from Picador, in French translation from Fayard, and in Italian translation from Viella. A study of how new forms of political charisma arose in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the book shows that charismatic authoritarianism is as modern a political form as liberal democracy, and shares many of the same origins. Based on exhaustive research in original sources, the book includes case studies of the careers of George Washington, Napoleon Bonaparte, Toussaint Louverture and Simon Bolivar. The book's Introduction can be read here. An online conversation about the book with Annette Gordon-Reed, hosted by the Cullman Center of the New York Public Library, can be viewed here. Links to material about the book, including reviews in The New York Review of Books, The Guardian, Harper's, The New Republic, The Nation, Le Monde, The Los Angeles Review of Books and other venues can be found here. Bell is also the author of six previous books. He has published academic articles in both English and French and contributes regularly to general interest publications on a variety of subjects, ranging from modern warfare, to contemporary French politics, to the impact of digital technology on learning and scholarship, and of course French history. A list of his publications from 2023 and 2024 can be found here. His Substack newsletter can be found here. His writings have been translated into French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Hebrew, Swedish, Polish, Russian, German, Croatian, Italian, Turkish and Japanese. At the History Department at Princeton University, he holds the Sidney and Ruth Lapidus Chair in the Era of North Atlantic Revolutions, and offers courses on early modern Europe, on military history, and on the early modern French empire. Previously, he spent fourteen years at Johns Hopkins University, including three as Dean of Faculty in its School of Arts and Sciences. From 2020 to 2024 he served as Director of the Shelby Cullom Davis Center for Historical Studies at Princeton. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a corresponding fellow of the British Academy. Bell's new project is a history of the Enlightenment. A preliminary article from the project was published in early 2022 by Modern Intellectual History. Another is now out in French History.Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting the daily KEEN ON show, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy interview series. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children. FULL TRANSCRIPTAndrew Keen: Hello everybody, in these supposedly dark times, the E word comes up a lot, the Enlightenment. Are we at the end of the Enlightenment or the beginning? Was there even an Enlightenment? My guest today, David Bell, a professor of history, very distinguished professor of history at Princeton University, has an interesting piece in the spring issue of It is One of our, our favorite quarterlies here on Keen on America, Bell's piece is The Enlightenment Then and Now, and David is joining us from the home of the Enlightenment, perhaps Paris in France, where he's on sabbatical hard life. David being an academic these days, isn't it?David Bell: Very difficult. I'm having to suffer the Parisian bread and croissant. It's terrible.Andrew Keen: Yeah. Well, I won't keep you too long. Is Paris then, or France? Is it the home of the Enlightenment? I know there are many Enlightenments, the French, the Scottish, maybe even the English, perhaps even the American.David Bell: It's certainly one of the homes of the Enlightenment, and it's probably the closest that the Enlightened had to a center, absolutely. But as you say, there were Edinburgh, Glasgow, plenty of places in Germany, Philadelphia, all those places have good claims to being centers of the enlightenment as well.Andrew Keen: All the same David, is it like one of those sports games in California where everyone gets a medal?David Bell: Well, they're different metals, right, but I think certainly Paris is where everybody went. I mean, if you look at the figures from the German Enlightenment, from the Scottish Enlightenment from the American Enlightenment they all tended to congregate in Paris and the Parisians didn't tend to go anywhere else unless they were forced to. So that gives you a pretty good sense of where the most important center was.Andrew Keen: So David, before we get to specifics, map out for us, because everyone is perhaps as familiar or comfortable with the history of the Enlightenment, and certainly as you are. When did it happen? What years? And who are the leaders of this thing called the Enlightenment?David Bell: Well, that's a big question. And I'm afraid, of course, that if you ask 10 historians, you'll get 10 different answers.Andrew Keen: Well, I'm only asking you, so I only want one answer.David Bell: So I would say that the Enlightenment really gets going around the first couple of decades of the 18th century. And that's when people really start to think that they are actually living in what they start to call an Enlightenment century. There are a lot of reasons for this. They are seeing what we now call the scientific revolution. They're looking at the progress that has been made with that. They are experiencing the changes in the religious sphere, including the end of religious wars, coming with a great deal of skepticism about religion. They are living in a relative period of peace where they're able to speculate much more broadly and daringly than before. But it's really in those first couple of decades that they start thinking of themselves as living in an enlightened century. They start defining themselves as something that would later be called the enlightenment. So I would say that it's, really, really there between maybe the end of the 17th century and 1720s that it really gets started.Andrew Keen: So let's have some names, David, of philosophers, I guess. I mean, if those are the right words. I know that there was a term in French. There is a term called philosoph. Were they the founders, the leaders of the Enlightenment?David Bell: Well, there is a... Again, I don't want to descend into academic quibbling here, but there were lots of leaders. Let me give an example, though. So the year 1721 is a remarkable year. So in the year, 1721, two amazing events happened within a couple of months of each other. So in May, Montesquieu, one of the great philosophers by any definition, publishes his novel called Persian Letters. And this is an incredible novel. Still, I think one of greatest novels ever written, and it's very daring. It is the account, it is supposedly a an account written by two Persian travelers to Europe who are writing back to people in Isfahan about what they're seeing. And it is very critical of French society. It is very of religion. It is, as I said, very daring philosophically. It is a product in part of the increasing contact between Europe and the rest of the world that is also very central to the Enlightenment. So that novel comes out. So it's immediately, you know, the police try to suppress it. But they don't have much success because it's incredibly popular and Montesquieu doesn't suffer any particular problems because...Andrew Keen: And the French police have never been the most efficient police force in the world, have they?David Bell: Oh, they could be, but not in this case. And then two months later, after Montesquieu published this novel, there's a German philosopher much less well-known than Montesqiu, than Christian Bolz, who is a professor at the Universität Haller in Prussia, and he gives an oration in Latin, a very typical university oration for the time, about Chinese philosophy, in which he says that the Chinese have sort of proved to the world, particularly through the writings of Confucius and others, that you can have a virtuous society without religion. Obviously very controversial. Statement for the time it actually gets him fired from his job, he has to leave the Kingdom of Prussia within 48 hours on penalty of death, starts an enormous controversy. But here are two events, both of which involving non-European people, involving the way in which Europeans are starting to look out at the rest of the world and starting to imagine Europe as just one part of a larger humanity, and at the same time they are starting to speculate very daringly about whether you can have. You know, what it means to have a society, do you need to have religion in order to have morality in society? Do you need the proper, what kind of government do you need to to have virtuous conduct and a proper society? So all of these things get, you know, really crystallize, I think, around these two incidents as much as anything. So if I had to pick a single date for when the enlightenment starts, I'd probably pick that 1721.Andrew Keen: And when was, David, I thought you were going to tell me about the earthquake in Lisbon, when was that earthquake?David Bell: That earthquake comes quite a bit later. That comes, and now historians should be better with dates than I am. It's in the 1750s, I think it's the late 1750's. Again, this historian is proving he's getting a very bad grade for forgetting the exact date, but it's in 1750. So that's a different kind of event, which sparks off a great deal of commentary, because it's a terrible earthquake. It destroys most of the city of Lisbon, it destroys other cities throughout Portugal, and it leads a lot of the philosophy to philosophers at the time to be speculating very daringly again on whether there is any kind of real purpose to the universe and whether there's any kind divine purpose. Why would such a terrible thing happen? Why would God do such a thing to his followers? And certainly VoltaireAndrew Keen: Yeah, Votav, of course, comes to mind of questioning.David Bell: And Condit, Voltaire's novel Condit gives a very good description of the earthquake in Lisbon and uses that as a centerpiece. Voltair also read other things about the earthquake, a poem about Lisbon earthquake. But in Condit he gives a lasting, very scathing portrait of the Catholic Church in general and then of what happens in Portugal. And so the Lisbon Earthquake is certainly another one of the events, but it happens considerably later. Really in the middle of the end of life.Andrew Keen: So, David, you believe in this idea of the Enlightenment. I take your point that there are more than one Enlightenment in more than one center, but in broad historical terms, the 18th century could be defined at least in Western and Northern Europe as the period of the Enlightenment, would that be a fair generalization?David Bell: I think it's perfectly fair generalization. Of course, there are historians who say that it never happened. There's a conservative British historian, J.C.D. Clark, who published a book last summer, saying that the Enlightenment is a kind of myth, that there was a lot of intellectual activity in Europe, obviously, but that the idea that it formed a coherent Enlightenment was really invented in the 20th century by a bunch of progressive reformers who wanted to claim a kind of venerable and august pedigree for their own reform, liberal reform plans. I think that's an exaggeration. People in the 18th century defined very clearly what was going on, both people who were in favor of it and people who are against it. And while you can, if you look very closely at it, of course it gets a bit fuzzy. Of course it's gets, there's no single, you can't define a single enlightenment project or a single enlightened ideology. But then, I think people would be hard pressed to define any intellectual movement. You know, in perfect, incoherent terms. So the enlightenment is, you know by compared with almost any other intellectual movement certainly existed.Andrew Keen: In terms of a philosophy of the Enlightenment, the German thinker, Immanuel Kant, seems to be often, and when you describe him as the conscience or the brain or a mixture of the conscience and brain of the enlightenment, why is Kant and Kantian thinking so important in the development of the Enlightenment.David Bell: Well, that's a really interesting question. And one reason is because most of the Enlightenment was not very rigorously philosophical. A lot of the major figures of the enlightenment before Kant tended to be writing for a general public. And they often were writing with a very specific agenda. We look at Voltaire, Diderot, Rousseau. Now you look at Adam Smith in Scotland. We look David Hume or Adam Ferguson. You look at Benjamin Franklin in the United States. These people wrote in all sorts of different genres. They wrote in, they wrote all sorts of different kinds of books. They have many different purposes and very few of them did a lot of what we would call rigorous academic philosophy. And Kant was different. Kant was very much an academic philosopher. Kant was nothing if not rigorous. He came at the end of the enlightenment by most people's measure. He wrote these very, very difficult, very rigorous, very brilliant works, such as The Creek of Pure Reason. And so, it's certainly been the case that people who wanted to describe the Enlightenment as a philosophy have tended to look to Kant. So for example, there's a great German philosopher and intellectual historian of the early 20th century named Ernst Kassirer, who had to leave Germany because of the Nazis. And he wrote a great book called The Philosophy of the Enlightened. And that leads directly to Immanuel Kant. And of course, Casir himself was a Kantian, identified with Kant. And so he wanted to make Kant, in a sense, the telos, the end point, the culmination, the fulfillment of the Enlightenment. But so I think that's why Kant has such a particularly important position. You're defining it both ways.Andrew Keen: I've always struggled to understand what Kant was trying to say. I'm certainly not alone there. Might it be fair to say that he was trying to transform the universe and certainly traditional Christian notions into the Enlightenment, so the entire universe, the world, God, whatever that means, that they were all somehow according to Kant enlightened.David Bell: Well, I think that I'm certainly no expert on Immanuel Kant. And I would say that he is trying to, I mean, his major philosophical works are trying to put together a system of philosophical thinking which will justify why people have to act morally, why people act rationally, without the need for Christian revelation to bolster them. That's a very, very crude and reductionist way of putting it, but that's essentially at the heart of it. At the same time, Kant was very much aware of his own place in history. So Kant didn't simply write these very difficult, thick, dense philosophical works. He also wrote things that were more like journalism or like tablets. He wrote a famous essay called What is Enlightenment? And in that, he said that the 18th century was the period in which humankind was simply beginning to. Reach a period of enlightenment. And he said, he starts the essay by saying, this is the period when humankind is being released from its self-imposed tutelage. And we are still, and he said we do not yet live in the midst of a completely enlightened century, but we are getting there. We are living in a century that is enlightening.Andrew Keen: So the seeds, the seeds of Hegel and maybe even Marx are incant in that German thinking, that historical thinking.David Bell: In some ways, in some ways of course Hegel very much reacts against Kant and so and then Marx reacts against Hegel. So it's not exactly.Andrew Keen: Well, that's the dialectic, isn't it, David?David Bell: A simple easy path from one to the other, no, but Hegel is unimaginable without Kant of course and Marx is unimagineable without Hegel.Andrew Keen: You note that Kant represents a shift in some ways into the university and the walls of the universities were going up, and that some of the other figures associated with the the Enlightenment and Scottish Enlightenment, human and Smith and the French Enlightenment Voltaire and the others, they were more generalist writers. Should we be nostalgic for the pre-university period in the Enlightenment, or? Did things start getting serious once the heavyweights, the academic heavyweighs like Emmanuel Kant got into this thing?David Bell: I think it depends on where we're talking about. I mean, Adam Smith was a professor at Glasgow in Edinburgh, so Smith, the Scottish Enlightenment was definitely at least partly in the universities. The German Enlightenment took place very heavily in universities. Christian Vodafoy I just mentioned was the most important German philosopher of the 18th century before Kant, and he had positions in university. Even the French university system, for a while, what's interesting about the French University system, particularly the Sorbonne, which was the theology faculty, It was that. Throughout the first half of the 18th century, there were very vigorous, very interesting philosophical debates going on there, in which the people there, particularly even Jesuits there, were very open to a lot of the ideas we now call enlightenment. They were reading John Locke, they were reading Mel Pench, they were read Dekalb. What happened though in the French universities was that as more daring stuff was getting published elsewhere. Church, the Catholic Church, started to say, all right, these philosophers, these philosophies, these are our enemies, these are people we have to get at. And so at that point, anybody who was in the university, who was still in dialog with these people was basically purged. And the universities became much less interesting after that. But to come back to your question, I do think that I am very nostalgic for that period. I think that the Enlightenment was an extraordinary period, because if you look between. In the 17th century, not all, but a great deal of the most interesting intellectual work is happening in the so-called Republic of Letters. It's happening in Latin language. It is happening on a very small circle of RUD, of scholars. By the 19th century following Kant and Hegel and then the birth of the research university in Germany, which is copied everywhere, philosophy and the most advanced thinking goes back into the university. And the 18th century, particularly in France, I will say, is a time when the most advanced thought is being written for a general public. It is being in the form of novels, of dialogs, of stories, of reference works, and it is very, very accessible. The most profound thought of the West has never been as accessible overall as in the 18 century.Andrew Keen: Again, excuse this question, it might seem a bit naive, but there's a lot of pre-Enlightenment work, books, thinking that we read now that's very accessible from Erasmus and Thomas More to Machiavelli. Why weren't characters like, or are characters like Erasmuus, More's Utopia, Machiavell's prints and discourses, why aren't they considered part of the Enlightenment? What's the difference between? Enlightened thinkers or the supposedly enlightened thinkers of the 18th century and thinkers and writers of the 16th and 17th centuries.David Bell: That's a good question, you know, I think you have to, you, you know, again, one has to draw a line somewhere. That's not a very good answer, of course. All these people that you just mentioned are, in one way or another, predecessors to the Enlightenment. And of course, there were lots of people. I don't mean to say that nobody wrote in an accessible way before 1700. Obviously, lots of the people you mentioned did. Although a lot of them originally wrote in Latin, Erasmus, also Thomas More. But I think what makes the Enlightened different is that you have, again, you have a sense. These people have have a sense that they are themselves engaged in a collective project, that it is a collective project of enlightenment, of enlightening the world. They believe that they live in a century of progress. And there are certain principles. They don't agree on everything by any means. The philosophy of enlightenment is like nothing more than ripping each other to shreds, like any decent group of intellectuals. But that said, they generally did believe That people needed to have freedom of speech. They believed that you needed to have toleration of different religions. They believed in education and the need for a broadly educated public that could be as broad as possible. They generally believed in keeping religion out of the public sphere as much as possible, so all those principles came together into a program that we can consider at least a kind of... You know, not that everybody read it at every moment by any means, but there is an identifiable enlightenment program there, and in this case an identifiable enlightenment mindset. One other thing, I think, which is crucial to the Enlightenment, is that it was the attention they started to pay to something that we now take almost entirely for granted, which is the idea of society. The word society is so entirely ubiquitous, we assume it's always been there, and in one sense it has, because the word societas is a Latin word. But until... The 18th century, the word society generally had a much narrower meaning. It referred to, you know, particular institution most often, like when we talk about the society of, you know, the American philosophical society or something like that. And the idea that there exists something called society, which is the general sphere of human existence that is separate from religion and is separate from the political sphere, that's actually something which only really emerged at the end of the 1600s. And it became really the focus of you know, much, if not most, of enlightenment thinking. When you look at someone like Montesquieu and you look something, somebody like Rousseau or Voltaire or Adam Smith, probably above all, they were concerned with understanding how society works, not how government works only, but how society, what social interactions are like beginning of what we would now call social science. So that's yet another thing that distinguishes the enlightened from people like Machiavelli, often people like Thomas More, and people like bonuses.Andrew Keen: You noted earlier that the idea of progress is somehow baked in, in part, and certainly when it comes to Kant, certainly the French Enlightenment, although, of course, Rousseau challenged that. I'm not sure whether Rousseaut, as always, is both in and out of the Enlightenment and he seems to be in and out of everything. How did the Enlightement, though, make sense of itself in the context of antiquity, as it was, of Terms, it was the Renaissance that supposedly discovered or rediscovered antiquity. How did many of the leading Enlightenment thinkers, writers, how did they think of their own society in the context of not just antiquity, but even the idea of a European or Western society?David Bell: Well, there was a great book, one of the great histories of the Enlightenment was written about more than 50 years ago by the Yale professor named Peter Gay, and the first part of that book was called The Modern Paganism. So it was about the, you know, it was very much about the relationship between the Enlightenment and the ancient Greek synonyms. And certainly the writers of the enlightenment felt a great deal of kinship with the ancient Greek synonymous. They felt a common bond, particularly in the posing. Christianity and opposing what they believed the Christian Church had wrought on Europe in suppressing freedom and suppressing free thought and suppassing free inquiry. And so they felt that they were both recovering but also going beyond antiquity at the same time. And of course they were all, I mean everybody at the time, every single major figure of the Enlightenment, their education consisted in large part of what we would now call classics, right? I mean, there was an educational reformer in France in the 1760s who said, you know, our educational system is great if the purpose is to train Roman centurions, if it's to train modern people who are not doing both so well. And it's true. I mean they would spend, certainly, you know in Germany, in much of Europe, in the Netherlands, even in France, I mean people were trained not simply to read Latin, but to write in Latin. In Germany, university courses took part in the Latin language. So there's an enormous, you know, so they're certainly very, very conversant with the Greek and Roman classics, and they identify with them to a very great extent. Someone like Rousseau, I mean, and many others, and what's his first reading? How did he learn to read by reading Plutarch? In translation, but he learns to read reading Plutach. He sees from the beginning by this enormous admiration for the ancients that we get from Bhutan.Andrew Keen: Was Socrates relevant here? Was the Enlightenment somehow replacing Aristotle with Socrates and making him and his spirit of Enlightenment, of asking questions rather than answering questions, the symbol of a new way of thinking?David Bell: I would say to a certain extent, so I mean, much of the Enlightenment criticizes scholasticism, medieval scholastic, very, very sharply, and medieval scholasticism is founded philosophically very heavily upon Aristotle, so to that extent. And the spirit of skepticism that Socrates embodied, the idea of taking nothing for granted and asking questions about everything, including questions of oneself, yes, absolutely. That said, while the great figures of the Red Plato, you know, Socrates was generally I mean, it was not all that present as they come. But certainly have people with people with red play-doh in the entire virus.Andrew Keen: You mentioned Benjamin Franklin earlier, David. Most of the Enlightenment, of course, seems to be centered in France and Scotland, Germany, England. But America, many Europeans went to America then as a, what some people would call a settler colonial society, or certainly an offshoot of the European world. Was the settling of America and the American Revolution Was it the quintessential Enlightenment project?David Bell: Another very good question, and again, it depends a bit on who you talk to. I just mentioned this book by Peter Gay, and the last part of his book is called The Science of Freedom, and it's all about the American Revolution. So certainly a lot of interpreters of the Enlightenment have said that, yes, the American revolution represents in a sense the best possible outcome of the American Revolution, it was the best, possible outcome of the enlightened. Certainly there you look at the founding fathers of the United States and there's a great deal that they took from me like Certainly, they took a great great number of political ideas from Obviously Madison was very much inspired and drafting the edifice of the Constitution by Montesquieu to see himself Was happy to admit in addition most of the founding Fathers of the united states were you know had kind of you know We still had we were still definitely Christians, but we're also but we were also very much influenced by deism were very much against the idea of making the United States a kind of confessional country where Christianity was dominant. They wanted to believe in the enlightenment principles of free speech, religious toleration and so on and so forth. So in all those senses and very much the gun was probably more inspired than Franklin was somebody who was very conversant with the European Enlightenment. He spent a large part of his life in London. Where he was in contact with figures of the Enlightenment. He also, during the American Revolution, of course, he was mostly in France, where he is vetted by some of the surviving fellows and were very much in contact for them as well. So yes, I would say the American revolution is certainly... And then the American revolutionary scene, of course by the Europeans, very much as a kind of offshoot of the enlightenment. So one of the great books of the late Enlightenment is by Condor Say, which he wrote while he was hiding actually in the future evolution of the chariot. It's called a historical sketch of the progress of the human spirit, or the human mind, and you know he writes about the American Revolution as being, basically owing its existence to being like...Andrew Keen: Franklin is of course an example of your pre-academic enlightenment, a generalist, inventor, scientist, entrepreneur, political thinker. What about the role of science and indeed economics in the Enlightenment? David, we're going to talk of course about the Marxist interpretation, perhaps the Marxist interpretation which sees The Enlightenment is just a euphemism, perhaps, for exploitative capitalism. How central was the growth and development of the market, of economics, and innovation, and capitalism in your reading of The Enlightened?David Bell: Well, in my reading, it was very important, but not in the way that the Marxists used to say. So Friedrich Engels once said that the Enlightenment was basically the idealized kingdom of the bourgeoisie, and there was whole strain of Marxist thinking that followed the assumption that, and then Karl Marx himself argued that the documents like the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, which obviously were inspired by the Enlightment, were simply kind of the near, or kind of. Way that the bourgeoisie was able to advance itself ideologically, and I don't think that holds much water, which is very little indication that any particular economic class motivated the Enlightenment or was using the Enlightment in any way. That said, I think it's very difficult to imagine the Enlightement without the social and economic changes that come in with the 18th century. To begin with globalization. If you read the great works of the Enlightenment, it's remarkable just how open they are to talking about humanity in general. So one of Voltaire's largest works, one of his most important works, is something called Essay on Customs and the Spirit of Nations, which is actually History of the World, where he talks learnedly not simply about Europe, but about the Americas, about China, about Africa, about India. Montesquieu writes Persian letters. Christian Volpe writes about Chinese philosophy. You know, Rousseau writes about... You know, the earliest days of humankind talks about Africa. All the great figures of the Enlightenment are writing about the rest of the world, and this is a period in which contacts between Europe and the rest the world are exploding along with international trade. So by the end of the 18th century, there are 4,000 to 5,000 ships a year crossing the Atlantic. It's an enormous number. And that's one context in which the enlightenment takes place. Another is what we call the consumer revolution. So in the 18th century, certainly in the major cities of Western Europe, people of a wide range of social classes, including even artisans, sort of somewhat wealthy artisians, shopkeepers, are suddenly able to buy a much larger range of products than they were before. They're able to choose how to basically furnish their own lives, if you will, how they're gonna dress, what they're going to eat, what they gonna put on the walls of their apartments and so on and so forth. And so they become accustomed to exercising a great deal more personal choice than their ancestors have done. And the Enlightenment really develops in tandem with this. Most of the great works of the Enlightment, they're not really written to, they're treatises, they're like Kant, they're written to persuade you to think in a single way. Really written to make you ask questions yourself, to force you to ponder things. They're written in the form of puzzles and riddles. Voltaire had a great line there, he wrote that the best kind of books are the books that readers write half of themselves as they read, and that's sort of the quintessence of the Enlightenment as far as I'm concerned.Andrew Keen: Yeah, Voltaire might have been comfortable on YouTube or Facebook. David, you mentioned all those ships going from Europe across the Atlantic. Of course, many of those ships were filled with African slaves. You mentioned this in your piece. I mean, this is no secret, of course. You also mentioned a couple of times Montesquieu's Persian letters. To what extent is... The enlightenment then perhaps the birth of Western power, of Western colonialism, of going to Africa, seizing people, selling them in North America, the French, the English, Dutch colonization of the rest of the world. Of course, later more sophisticated Marxist thinkers from the Frankfurt School, you mentioned these in your essay, Odorno and Horkheimer in particular, See the Enlightenment as... A project, if you like, of Western domination. I remember reading many years ago when I was in graduate school, Edward Said, his analysis of books like The Persian Letters, which is a form of cultural Western power. How much of this is simply bound up in the profound, perhaps, injustice of the Western achievement? And of course, some of the justice as well. We haven't talked about Jefferson, but perhaps in Jefferson's life and his thinking and his enlightened principles and his... Life as a slave owner, these contradictions are most self-evident.David Bell: Well, there are certainly contradictions, and there's certainly... I think what's remarkable, if you think about it, is that if you read through works of the Enlightenment, you would be hard-pressed to find a justification for slavery. You do find a lot of critiques of slavery, and I think that's something very important to keep in mind. Obviously, the chattel slavery of Africans in the Americas began well before the Enlightment, it began in 1500. The Enlightenment doesn't have the credit for being the first movement to oppose slavery. That really goes back to various religious groups, especially the Fakers. But that said, you have in France, you had in Britain, in America even, you'd have a lot of figures associated with the Enlightenment who were pretty sure of becoming very forceful opponents of slavery very early. Now, when it comes to imperialism, that's a tricky issue. What I think you'd find in these light bulbs, you'd different sorts of tendencies and different sorts of writings. So there are certainly a lot of writers of the Enlightenment who are deeply opposed to European authorities. One of the most popular works of the late Enlightenment was a collective work edited by the man named the Abbe Rinal, which is called The History of the Two Indies. And that is a book which is deeply, deeply critical of European imperialism. At the same time, at the same of the enlightenment, a lot the works of history written during the Enlightment. Tended, such as Voltaire's essay on customs, which I just mentioned, tend to give a kind of very linear version of history. They suggest that all societies follow the same path, from sort of primitive savagery, hunter-gatherers, through early agriculture, feudal stages, and on into sort of modern commercial society and civilization. And so they're basically saying, okay, we, the Europeans, are the most advanced. People like the Africans and the Native Americans are the least advanced, and so perhaps we're justified in going and quote, bringing our civilization to them, what later generations would call the civilizing missions, or possibly just, you know, going over and exploiting them because we are stronger and we are more, and again, we are the best. And then there's another thing that the Enlightenment did. The Enlightenment tended to destroy an older Christian view of humankind, which in some ways militated against modern racism. Christians believed, of course, that everyone was the same from Adam and Eve, which meant that there was an essential similarity in the world. And the Enlightenment challenged this by challenging the biblical kind of creation. The Enlightenment challenges this. Voltaire, for instance, believed that there had actually been several different human species that had different origins, and that can very easily become a justification for racism. Buffon, one of the most Figures of the French Enlightenment, one of the early naturalists, was crucial for trying to show that in fact nature is not static, that nature is always changing, that species are changing, including human beings. And so again, that allowed people to think in terms of human beings at different stages of evolution, and perhaps this would be a justification for privileging the more advanced humans over the less advanced. In the 18th century itself, most of these things remain potential, rather than really being acted upon. But in the 19th century, figures of writers who would draw upon these things certainly went much further, and these became justifications for slavery, imperialism, and other things. So again, the Enlightenment is the source of a great deal of stuff here, and you can't simply put it into one box or more.Andrew Keen: You mentioned earlier, David, that Concorda wrote one of the later classics of the... Condorcet? Sorry, Condorcets, excuse my French. Condorcès wrote one the later Classics of the Enlightenment when he was hiding from the French Revolution. In your mind, was the revolution itself the natural conclusion, climax? Perhaps anti-climax of the Enlightenment. Certainly, it seems as if a lot of the critiques of the French Revolution, particularly the more conservative ones, Burke comes to mind, suggested that perhaps the principles of in the Enlightment inevitably led to the guillotine, or is that an unfair way of thinking of it?David Bell: Well, there are a lot of people who have thought like that. Edmund Burke already, writing in 1790, in his reflections on the revolution in France, he said that everything which was great in the old regime is being dissolved and, quoting, dissolved by this new conquering empire of light and reason. And then he said about the French that in the groves of their academy at the end of every vista, you see nothing but the gallows. Nothing but the Gallows. So there, in 1780, he already seemed to be predicting the reign of terror and blaming it. A certain extent from the Enlightenment. That said, I think, you know, again, the French Revolution is incredibly complicated event. I mean, you certainly have, you know, an explosion of what we could call Enlightenment thinking all over the place. In France, it happened in France. What happened there was that you had a, you know, the collapse of an extraordinarily inefficient government and a very, you know, in a very antiquated, paralyzed system of government kind of collapsed, created a kind of political vacuum. Into that vacuum stepped a lot of figures who were definitely readers of the Enlightenment. Oh so um but again the Enlightment had I said I don't think you can call the Enlightement a single thing so to say that the Enlightiment inspired the French Revolution rather than the There you go.Andrew Keen: Although your essay on liberties is the Enlightenment then and now you probably didn't write is always these lazy editors who come up with inaccurate and inaccurate titles. So for you, there is no such thing as the Enlighten.David Bell: No, there is. There is. But still, it's a complex thing. It contains multitudes.Andrew Keen: So it's the Enlightenment rather than the United States.David Bell: Conflicting tendencies, it has contradictions within it. There's enough unity to refer to it as a singular noun, but it doesn't mean that it all went in one single direction.Andrew Keen: But in historical terms, did the failure of the French Revolution, its descent into Robespierre and then Bonaparte, did it mark the end in historical terms a kind of bookend of history? You began in 1720 by 1820. Was the age of the Enlightenment pretty much over?David Bell: I would say yes. I think that, again, one of the things about the French Revolution is that people who are reading these books and they're reading these ideas and they are discussing things really start to act on them in a very different way from what it did before the French revolution. You have a lot of absolute monarchs who are trying to bring certain enlightenment principles to bear in their form of government, but they're not. But it's difficult to talk about a full-fledged attempt to enact a kind of enlightenment program. Certainly a lot of the people in the French Revolution saw themselves as doing that. But as they did it, they ran into reality, I would say. I mean, now Tocqueville, when he writes his old regime in the revolution, talks about how the French philosophes were full of these abstract ideas that were divorced from reality. And while that's an exaggeration, there was a certain truth to them. And as soon as you start having the age of revolutions, as soon you start people having to devise systems of government that will actually last, and as you have people, democratic representative systems that will last, and as they start revising these systems under the pressure of actual events, then you're not simply talking about an intellectual movement anymore, you're talking about something very different. And so I would say that, well, obviously the ideas of the Enlightenment continue to inspire people, the books continue to be read, debated. They lead on to figures like Kant, and as we talked about earlier, Kant leads to Hegel, Hegel leads to Marx in a certain sense. Nonetheless, by the time you're getting into the 19th century, what you have, you know, has connections to the Enlightenment, but can we really still call it the Enlightment? I would sayAndrew Keen: And Tocqueville, of course, found democracy in America. Is democracy itself? I know it's a big question. But is it? Bound up in the Enlightenment. You've written extensively, David, both for liberties and elsewhere on liberalism. Is the promise of democracy, democratic systems, the one born in the American Revolution, promised in the French Revolution, not realized? Are they products of the Enlightment, or is the 19th century and the democratic systems that in the 19th century, is that just a separate historical track?David Bell: Again, I would say there are certain things in the Enlightenment that do lead in that direction. Certainly, I think most figures in the enlightenment in one general sense or another accepted the idea of a kind of general notion of popular sovereignty. It didn't mean that they always felt that this was going to be something that could necessarily be acted upon or implemented in their own day. And they didn't necessarily associate generalized popular sovereignty with what we would now call democracy with people being able to actually govern themselves. Would be certain figures, certainly Diderot and some of his essays, what we saw very much in the social contract, you know, were sketching out, you knows, models for possible democratic system. Condorcet, who actually lived into the French Revolution, wrote one of the most draft constitutions for France, that's one of most democratic documents ever proposed. But of course there were lots of figures in the Enlightenment, Voltaire, and others who actually believed much more in absolute monarchy, who believed that you just, you know, you should have. Freedom of speech and freedom of discussion, out of which the best ideas would emerge, but then you had to give those ideas to the prince who imposed them by poor sicknesses.Andrew Keen: And of course, Rousseau himself, his social contract, some historians have seen that as the foundations of totalitarian, modern totalitarianism. Finally, David, your wonderful essay in Liberties in the spring quarterly 2025 is The Enlightenment, Then and Now. What about now? You work at Princeton, your president has very bravely stood up to the new presidential regime in the United States, in defense of academic intellectual freedom. Does the word and the movement, does it have any relevance in the 2020s, particularly in an age of neo-authoritarianism around the world?David Bell: I think it does. I think we have to be careful about it. I always get a little nervous when people say, well, we should simply go back to the Enlightenment, because the Enlightenments is history. We don't go back the 18th century. I think what we need to do is to recover certain principles, certain ideals from the 18 century, the ones that matter to us, the ones we think are right, and make our own Enlightenment better. I don't think we need be governed by the 18 century. Thomas Paine once said that no generation should necessarily rule over every generation to come, and I think that's probably right. Unfortunately in the United States, we have a constitution which is now essentially unamendable, so we're doomed to live by a constitution largely from the 18th century. But are there many things in the Enlightenment that we should look back to, absolutely?Andrew Keen: Well, David, I am going to free you for your own French Enlightenment. You can go and have some croissant now in your local cafe in Paris. Thank you so much for a very, I excuse the pun, enlightening conversation on the Enlightenment then and now, Essential Essay in Liberties. I'd love to get you back on the show. Talk more history. Thank you. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

Original air date: April 24, 2024 The latest in our series of Bernard L. Schwartz PolicyForum events is here. In conjunction with the New Republic, we host Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg for an insightful conversation with DSR Network CEO David Rothkopf and The New Republic Editor Michael Tomasky. Don't miss this fascinating conversation as Secretary Buttigieg gives his unique insight into some of the greatest challenges facing our country today. Looking for More from the DSR Network? Click Here: https://linktr.ee/deepstateradio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original air date: April 24, 2024 The latest in our series of Bernard L. Schwartz PolicyForum events is here. In conjunction with the New Republic, we host Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg for an insightful conversation with DSR Network CEO David Rothkopf and The New Republic Editor Michael Tomasky. Don't miss this fascinating conversation as Secretary Buttigieg gives his unique insight into some of the greatest challenges facing our country today. Looking for More from the DSR Network? Click Here: https://linktr.ee/deepstateradio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump's illegal deportations are running into more trouble. A federal judge just declared there's probable cause to find the administration in criminal contempt over the removal of Venezuelans to El Salvador. Meanwhile, a Democratic Senator went to El Salvador to check on Kilmar Abrego Garcia and got a shocking response. And a new polling analysis has a warning for Trump: On immigration, he's significantly weaker than he appears. We think all this has the makings of a fiasco for Trump: He is heading toward defying the courts on this issue, in a way that could provoke a large backlash. We talked to New Republic staff writer Melissa Gira Grant, author of a good piece on Trump's use of spectacle on immigration. She deciphers the new ruling, why it's pushing us toward a crisis, and how Democrats can try to make it all backfire on Trump. Looking for More from the DSR Network? Click Here: https://linktr.ee/deepstateradio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump's illegal deportations are running into more trouble. A federal judge just declared there's probable cause to find the administration in criminal contempt over the removal of Venezuelans to El Salvador. Meanwhile, a Democratic Senator went to El Salvador to check on Kilmar Abrego Garcia and got a shocking response. And a new polling analysis has a warning for Trump: On immigration, he's significantly weaker than he appears. We think all this has the makings of a fiasco for Trump: He is heading toward defying the courts on this issue, in a way that could provoke a large backlash. We talked to New Republic staff writer Melissa Gira Grant, author of a good piece on Trump's use of spectacle on immigration. She deciphers the new ruling, why it's pushing us toward a crisis, and how Democrats can try to make it all backfire on Trump.  Looking for More from the DSR Network? Click Here: https://linktr.ee/deepstateradio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump's illegal deportations are running into more trouble. A federal judge just declared there's probable cause to find the administration in criminal contempt over the removal of Venezuelans to El Salvador. Meanwhile, a Democratic Senator went to El Salvador to check on Kilmar Abrego Garcia and got a shocking response. And a new polling analysis has a warning for Trump: On immigration, he's significantly weaker than he appears. We think all this has the makings of a fiasco for Trump: He is heading toward defying the courts on this issue, in a way that could provoke a large backlash. We talked to New Republic staff writer Melissa Gira Grant, author of a good piece on Trump's use of spectacle on immigration. She deciphers the new ruling, why it's pushing us toward a crisis, and how Democrats can try to make it all backfire on Trump. Looking for More from the DSR Network? Click Here: https://linktr.ee/deepstateradio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. T and Truth Fairy welcome Greg Wrenn, a former Alabama state representative and long-time health policy advocate, who shares insights into how he became interested in the therapeutic use of psychedelics through personal research and professional exposure. Greg recently wrote a book called “Mothership” about coral reef research, ecological crisis, and his personal PTSD healing journey with ayahuasca. He discusses portions of the book and his experiences with Truth and Dr. T.  Greg explores the growing interest in psychedelic-assisted therapy, particularly its potential to help individuals who struggle with mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD. He addresses the shift from viewing psychedelics as taboo to recognizing their potential under controlled, clinical settings. His personal stories, alongside those shared by Truth, highlight the positive impact psychedelic therapy can have and how his passion for the issue has been fueled. Truth Fairy, Dr. T, and Greg share concerns about the challenges of implementing beneficial psychedelic healing sessions, and they celebrate Greg's integration of tribal and liberating dance into the ayahuasca ceremony. They talk about the importance of regulation, ethical safeguards, and integration of Indigenous practices, and caution against the risks of commercialization. The episode is both vulnerable and informative, painting a hopeful picture of potential healing even in the face of difficult times.“You know, I'm no psychedelic evangelist. I don't think everyone should drink ayahuasca or work with psychedelics. I know I should, I know I need to. And so this is really important for my mission, which is to, I guess, spread a message of love and spread a message of the possibility of planetary healing, because planetary healing happens, at least with humanity, one brain at a time.” - Greg Wrenn__About Greg Wrenn:A former Stegner Fellow and Jones Lecturer at Stanford University, GREG WRENN is the author of the ayahuasca eco-memoir Mothership: A Memoir of Wonder and Crisis, an evidence-based account of his turning to coral reefs and psychedelic plants to heal from childhood trauma, and Centaur (U of Wisconsin Press 2013), which National Book Award-winning poet Terrance Hayes awarded the Brittingham Prize. ​Greg's work has appeared or is forthcoming in HuffPost, The New Republic, Al Jazeera, The Rumpus, LitHub, Writer's Digest, Kenyon Review, New England Review, The Iowa Review, and elsewhere. He has received awards and fellowships from the James Merrill House, the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, the Vermont Studio Center, the Poetry Society of America, the Hermitage Artist Retreat, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and the Spiro Arts Center. On his Mothership book tour, he spoke to audiences around the world, including at Yale School of Medicine, the University of Utah School of Medicine, Vancouver Island University, and the University of Virginia School of Nursing. Greg has also been on numerous podcasts, including Levi Chambers's PRIDE, and was recently interviewed by Emmy Award-winning journalist Elizabeth Vargas on NewsNation​ and by Jane Garvey on Times Radio (UK). ​As an associate English professor at James Madison University, he teaches creative nonfiction, poetry, and environmental literature and directs the JMU Creative Writing Minor. He also teaches in the Memoir Certificate Program at Stanford Continuing Studies. He was educated at Harvard University and Washington University in St. Louis.Greg is currently at work on a follow-up book to Mothership and sending out Homesick, his second poetry collection. A student of ayahuasca since 2019, he is a trained yoga teacher and a PADI Advanced Open Water diver, having explored coral reefs around the world for over 25 years. He and his husband divide their time between the mountains of Virginia and Atlantic Beach, Florida.Website: GregWrenn.comBook: “Mothership: A Memoir of Wonder and Crisis” by Greg Wrenn__Contact Punk Therapy:Patreon: Patreon.com/PunkTherapyWebsite: PunkTherapy.comEmail: info@punktherapy.com Contact Truth Fairy: Email: Truth@PunkTherapy.com

Who are the most symbolic mid 20th century American Jews? In Eminent Jews, New Yorker staff writer David Denby tells the remarkable stories of Leonard Bernstein, Mel Brooks, Betty Friedan, and Norman Mailer. He explains how each embodied a new Jewish confidence after WWII, contrasting with earlier generations' restraint. Each figure pushed boundaries in their own way - Bernstein through his musical versatility, Brooks through his boundary-pushing humor about Jewish experiences, Friedan through her feminist theories, and Mailer through his provocative writing style. Five key takeaways * Post-WWII Jewish Americans displayed a newfound confidence and willingness to stand out publicly, unlike previous generations who were more cautious about drawing attention to their Jewishness.* The four figures in Denby's book (Bernstein, Brooks, Friedan, and Mailer) each embraced their Jewish identity differently, while becoming prominent in American culture in their respective fields.* Mel Brooks used humor, particularly about Jewish experiences and historical trauma, as both a defense mechanism and a way to assert Jewish presence and resilience.* Each figure pushed against the restraint of previous Jewish generations - Bernstein through his expressive conducting and openness about his complex sexuality, Friedan through her feminist activism, and Mailer through his aggressive literary style.* Rejecting the notion that a Jewish "golden age" has ended, Denby believes that despite current challenges including campus anti-Semitism, American Jews continue to thrive and excel disproportionately to their population size.David Denby is a staff writer at The New Yorker. He served as a film critic for the magazine from 1998 to 2014. His first article for The New Yorker, “Does Homer Have Legs?,” published in 1993, grew into a book, “Great Books: My Adventures with Homer, Rousseau, Woolf, and Other Indestructible Writers of the Western World,” about reading the literary canon at Columbia University. His other subjects for the magazine have included the Scottish Enlightenment, the writers Susan Sontag and James Agee, and the movie directors Clint Eastwood and the Coen brothers. In 1991, he received a National Magazine Award for three of his articles on high-end audio. Before joining The New Yorker, he was the film critic at New York magazine for twenty years; his writing has also appeared in The Atlantic, The New York Review of Books, and The New Republic. He is the editor of “Awake in the Dark: An Anthology of Film Criticism, 1915 to the Present” and the author of “American Sucker”; “Snark”; “Do the Movies Have a Future?,” a collection that includes his film criticism from the magazine; and “Lit Up,” a study of high-school English teaching. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

Faced with President Trump's shakedown, the Paul Weiss law firm agreed to a “deal” with Trump that sure looks like a ransom payment. Trump then told reporters that firms like these have the option to make similar “deals” to avoid getting targeted—a straight-up extortion threat right in public. We keep hearing that voters don't care about this kind of thing. But the White House's top political adviser is warning that Democratic anger could be a big problem in the midterms—and Trump's lawlessness is a key driver of it. We talked to New Republic editor Michael Tomasky, who's been arguing that we're actually facing multiple constitutional crises and that Democrats must find their footing in this moment. He explains what all this says about Trump's escalating lawlessness, how Democrats can harness public anger over it, and why real heroics are needed to resist it.  Looking for More from the DSR Network? Click Here: https://linktr.ee/deepstateradio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices