Living in the USA

California's next Governor will likely be Xavier Becerra – as a former California Attorney General, he has a record of suing Trump; but is also known to be a corporate-friendly Democrat. Still, ​with California's notoriously slow count, it is too soon to call. Meanwhile, the 35% Karen Bass has in the LA mayoral race, "reflects the lack of enthusiasm" among LA voters – Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: Primaries in Iowa, New Jersey and elsewhere tested the strength of progressives in the party. John Nichols has our analysis.

Plus: From the Archives: Girl Groups of the Sixties: Raw emotion, youthful energy, and teenage angst in a 4-CD Rhino box set: One Kiss Can Lead To Another: Girl Group Sounds Lost & Found. Jon Pareles of the New York Times wrote, "to hear all these long-suffering voices is to realize that feminism didn’t arrive an instant too soon." Gary Stewart, who died in 2019, produced the 120-track collection along with Cheryl Farber, in 2005. PLAYLIST: “Needle in a Haystack,” The Velvelettes (1964); Nobody Knows What's Going on in my Mind but Me, The Chiffons (1965); Nothing but a Heartache, The Flirtations (1968); I Never Dreamed, The Cookies (1964); “I’m Blue (The Gong-Gong Song),” The Ikettes (1961). (Originally recorded in 2005.)

The big picture of national politics: Trump is not just sinking in the polls, he's accelerating into the most unpopular and toxic parts of his presidency. People are focused on the economy, they want the war in Iran finished – instead, Trump is pushing his billion-dollar ballroom and his slush fund to pay-off the white-supremacist insurrectionists – Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: Trump’s Billion-Dollar Ballroom is a familiar kind of corruption, but his slush fund to pay the insurrectionists and paramilitary groups that commit violence in his name is an unprecedented attack on democracy. Rob Weissman of Public Citizen explains, and also talks about the immense, and immensely unpopular, proposed Arc d’Trump.

Plus: I met Elmore Leonard, who died on August 20, 2013 at age 87, only a couple of times, but he was a memorable guy, totally unpretentious about his massive accomplishments: 45 novels, including many best-sellers, almost a dozen made into movies and TV shows, and a reputation among the literati as one of the great writers of dialogue in our time. When I spoke with him in 2000, he had just published Pagan Babies, a comic novel on the unlikely subject of genocide in Rwanda. (Originally recorded in October, 2000 and later published in LARB on August 20, 2013.)

The primary elections results this week show the success of Trump's revenge campaign — and the limits of that campaign. Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: History on the March: The American Historical Society has filed a lawsuit and a federal judge has ordered the Trump White House to comply with the Presidential Records Act.

Next: State legislatures have a lot of power in America—the States Project focuses on expanding that. Daniel Squadron explains. His new book is The Fourth Branch: How State Government can Save Our Union.

Plus: Your Minnesota Moment: Today, Minneapolis prosecutors charge an ICE agent with assault and lying.

Last week was one of the roughest for Democrats since Trump won the election in 2024: The Supreme Court ended Black congressional representation in most of the South and opened the door to the creation of several more Republican House seats, and then the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that the state’s initiative that created four more Democratic House seats was invalid. Nevertheless, Trump is so unpopular that Democrats remain strong favorites to retake the House in November. Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: During the first part of the 20th century, 100,000 Eastern European Jews joined a socialist organization that opposed Zionism. Their organization we call the Bund, and they believed that Jews should fight for full rights wherever they were, not for a new homeland somewhere else. Their motto was “Here, where we live, is our country”—that’s the title of a new book about them by Molly Crabapple. Adam Hochschild comments.

Plus: Historians on the March: Tennessee's anti-communist curriculum.

Fifty-nine percent of Americans believe Trump does not have the mental sharpness necessary to lead the country; 55 percent think Trump does not have the physical health to serve as president; and 67 percent think Trump does not carefully consider important decisions – according to a new Washington Post/ABC News Ipsos poll. And, in a time when energy costs are soaring and many Americans are losing their healthcare, Trump continues to talk about his ballroom — with ​a $1 billion price tag ​of taxpayer​ money. Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: History on the march: The battle over our understanding of our American past. The history profession had a big win in federal court this week when a federal judge ruled that DOGE did not have the authority to cancel grants awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities; which totaled $100 million this year.

Plus: Trump’s efforts to block Democratic voting in the midterms, or overturn the results, is not going to work—Ian Bassin explains the widespread preparations underway for defending the election in November. Ian is co-founder of the organization Protect Democracy and winner of a MacArthur genius grant.

What Democrats need to do to counter the Supreme Court abolishing Black congressional districts: Harold Meyerson comments on the continuing reapportionment wars and the upcoming elections.

Also: John Nichols explains why Trump may never succeed at building any of his ICE prison camps, and how this Friday’s May Day strike is a test of our power to resist.

Plus: MOCA’s “Monuments” show in LA critiques Confederate monuments that have been taken down in response to protests. Critic Christopher Knight has our evaluation. The show closes Sunday. (Originally broadcast October 31, 2024.)

Trump’s support continues to decline on everything he does, especially the war with Iran. But as he becomes weaker, he becomes more dangerous. Harold Meyerson comments; he’s editor-at-large of The American Prospect.

Also: We need an AI revolution that works for the people, not just the billionaires. That’s Ro Khanna’s “AI Manifesto.” He’s the member of Congress who represents Silicon Valley, and also a leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. His manifesto is the cover story in The Nation magazine’s new issue.

Plus: The one bit of good news coming out of Trump’s disastrous Iran War - the global energy crisis, the oil shortages caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has made the case for alternative energy much stronger and more urgent – and solar power has now become much cheaper, for its own reasons. Bill McKibben will explain – his new book is “Here Comes the Sun: A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for Civilization” (originally broadcast in September, 2025).

Trump's terrible week started Sunday when he attacked the Pope and then presented himself in an AI image as Jesus Christ; he then took control of the Strait of Hormuz, making sure that oil and gas prices continue to rise; and then Victor Orbán, Trump's MAGA ally in Hungary, lost his election to Peter Magyar – Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: It’s been only a couple of weeks since the No Kings 3 protests, but we can see now how protest and resistance are changing in America: that one it wasn't just bigger than the previous No Kings. It was different: Deeper and more connected. Rebecca Solnit argues that to understand resistance and change today, we need a much longer perspective than a couple of years. Her new book is The Beginning Comes After the End.

Plus: Minneapolis made history with its mobilization against ICE. But what about the rest of the state, where the immigrant population has been growing for a couple of decades? What kind of resistance has developed there? Emma Janssen went to small town Minnesota to find out. She’s a writing fellow at The American Prospect.

The War in Iran: A lot of people on both sides are saying Iran won – that the Iranian regime has emerged stronger than it was before the war; while the US has emerged weaker, unable to force the surrender of a 4th-rate military, demonstrating our strategic ineptitude, and then there is the TACO factor, Trump Always Chickens Out – Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: Minnesota changed everything: how Minnesota’s resistance to ICE provides a model and inspiration for a national pro-democracy movement. Deepak Bhargava will explains; he’s president of the Freedom Together Foundation.

Plus: July 4 will mark the 250th anniversary of the United States, which Trump is celebrating with a campaign to “eliminate” what he calls “divisive anti-American ideology” from American’s historic sites, national parks, and the National Zoo. Historian Beverly Gage has another idea – a road trip to visit some of those places where history happened. Her new book is This Land is Your Land: A Road Trip Through US History.

Trump's failed Iran war speech, and his firing of Pam Bondi: a big week in Washington. Harold Meyerson comments.

Plus: We’re still thinking about No Kings 3 day on Saturday: 8 million people. 3,300 events. ‘No Kings’ protests in almost every city and town in the country. 100 towns in Texas alone had No Kings protests! It was the largest single-day nonviolent protest in American history. John Nichols analyzes the possibilities for what comes next.

Also: No one expected that revoking the constitutional right to abortion would wind up expanding access to it. But ever since the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision in 2022 allowed more than a dozen states to ban abortion outright, the number of abortions in this country has actually risen every year. How did that happen? Amy Littlefield explains; her new book is Killers of Roe: My investigation into the mysterious death of abortion rights.

Trump's approval rating has hit an all-time low for a modern president. Jimmy Carter had the same rating on the economy – 29% – back in 1979. And what was happening in 1979? An oil embargo and revolution in Iran. Next: Trump is trying to limit voting by mail and SCOTUS will make a ruling soon. Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: The No Kings 3 protests this Saturday are going to be big – maybe the biggest day of protest in American history. Leah Greenberg, co-founder and co-director of Indivisible, will explain—starting with the plans for St. Paul, site of the day's flagship event.

Plus: Trump has renewed his year-long campaign against universities that have been resisting his authoritarian rule - he’s focused his attacks on the most prestigious private university, Harvard, and the most prestigious public university, UCLA, suing each of them in the past week for – “antisemitism.” David Myers, who teaches Jewish history at UCLA, comments.

Why is the US at war with Iran? "It's entirely a war based on Trump's whim and his apparent desire to do what Bibi Netanyahu has asked him to do". Next up: Elections in Illinois, where AIPAC, AI and Crypto money did not win. Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: The Working Families Party is organizing voters not just to win a Democratic majority in Congress but for a movement election, a historic expansion of the electorate that includes a demand for significant change. Maurice Mitchell, the party’s National Director, explains.

Plus: Trump’s war in Iran is bringing economic chaos and suffering to much of the world, but for American voters, the biggest effect is the soaring price of gasoline – and the political implications for Republicans in the midterms are clear to everyone. Meanwhile Minneapolis has shown how Americans can resist unjust and illegitimate power. John Nichols comments.

Tom Stevenson analyzes the latest news and long-term prospects of Trump's Iran war, for both Iran and the US. Tom is a contributing editor for the London Review of Books, where he writes about, among other things, politics in the Mideast.

Also: what news are people getting these days, and where are they getting it? Especially the people we call “news avoidant” & “low information” voters – the ones we want to vote for Democrats in November: what are the big stories for them? Tara McGowan explains – she’s founder and CEO of Courier Newsroom, a digital media company that operates a network of local news outlets.

Plus: the hidden politics of the New York Times crossword puzzle: Natan Last explains; his new book is Across the Universe: the Past, Present, and Future of the Crossword Puzzle.(Originally published 12-17-2025)

59% of Americans disapprove of the war in Iran, according to a CNN poll. Democrats offered a War Powers resolution that would have set some limits on Trump's war in Iran; it lost in the Senate on Wednesday with one Republican – Rand Paul – voting in favor. Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: After Senate Democrats block the SAVE act, Trump is likely to declare a national security emergency – claiming China could interfere in the midterms – as a basis for restricting voting. David Cole comments; he’s former legal director of the ACLU.

Plus: Congress must challenge Trump’s war on Iran and assert its constitutional duty to take up War Powers resolutions and assert its primacy over matters of war and peace. John Nichols explains.

Trump's State of the Union speech was the expected firehose of lies – and went on at an unprecedented length. Meanwhile, the foremost issue of concern on the minds of most Americans was the Epstein files. And, what did Trump say about the Epstein files during the speech? "Nada." The other issues of great concern are the actions of ICE. Again, Trump did not say anything about that either. So, what DID Trump talk about? Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: In 1949 when Jackie Robinson appeared before HUAC, the House Un-American Activities Committee, to discredit Paul Robeson. Howard Bryant talks about why that happened, and what happened afterwards - to each of them. His new book is “Kings and Pawns.”

Trump, facing the wave of popular opposition to pretty much everything he’s doing, is working to block Democrats from voting in the midterms, and “election protection” has become a key part of the preparations underway from blue state attorneys general and from voting rights groups like the Brennan Center and the ACLU. Harold Meyerson explains.

Also: A large proportion of slaves who escaped from slavery in the South escaped not on foot, but by boat. Marcus Rediker tells their story – his new book is ​"Freedom Ship: The Uncharted History of Escaping Slavery by Sea.​"

Plus: The Battle for Black History: On February 1, 1976 President Gerald Ford – a Republican – asked the public to "seize the opportunity to honor the too often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history" – commemorating the first Black History Month. Fifty years later, February 1, 2026, Trump sent workers with crowbars who pried off all 30 interpretive signs about slavery from the walls of the Presidents' House in Philadelphia. The city sued and a federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to restore the displays about slavery, stating that Trump did not "have the power to erase or alter historical truths."

Your Minnesota Moment: Today, ICE is pulling out of Minneapolis after a massive and sustained resistance movement – demonstrating that when you fight Trump you CAN win. Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: The size and scale of the resistance to ICE in Minneapolis is too vast to fully comprehend. John Nichols has our report – he’s The Nation’s executive editor, and he’s just spent several days talking to the city’s leaders and activists.

Plus: Democrats could win a Senate seat in Texas this November. Texas is not so much a red state as it is a low-turnout state. Steve Phillips analyzes Jasmine Crockett’s campaign for the Democratic nomination, which relies on organizing non-voters and reluctant voters.

Congress is debating restrictions for ICE this week, we'll go into the funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security; it seems the real negotiations are not between the Democrats and the Republican senators, but between the Democrats and Trump. The "Big Beautiful Bill" provided an additional $75 billion to ICE last July so, if no funding deal is made next week, the Coast Guard and FEMA will be shut down while ICE will continue to operate. Harold Meyerson comments.

Next: The Super Bowl is by far the biggest entertainment event of the year in the US, and this Sunday the halftime show will feature Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny, who has been demanding “ICE Out!” How did the Super Bowl halftime show become the center of resistance to ICE? Dave Zirin​ will explain.

Also: On February 1, 1960 four students sat down on stools at Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina and ordered coffee and donuts, challenging the rules of segregation with non-violent resistance. They were refused service but were joined the next day by a group of people – sparking a movement to desegregate with sit-ins nationwide.

As the Trump administration works to replace multiculturalism with white nationalism – this February – America's 50th observance – Black History month is especially important. From the archives, we revisit an interview with Isabel Wilkerson on her book about the great migration of Black people out of the South: “The Warmth of Other Suns” (originally recorded in 2010).

Plus: Your Minnesota Moment: A first-hand account of anti-ICE demonstrations in Minnesota​, and attending Bruce Springsteen's First Avenue performance of "Streets of Minneapolis" – the No. 1 song in America this week.

Eyes on Minneapolis: three-quarters of Americans have seen all or some of the video of the murder of Alex Pretti. With this attention, we have the power to challenge ICE; where do we stand on the Democrats' bill proposing to enforce restrictions? Harold Meyerson comments.

Next: The Nation nominates Minneapolis for the Nobel Peace Prize; the first time a city and its people have been nominated for the prize.

Also: We have the power to rein in ICE and protect our neighbors, Leah Greenberg argues – she’s co-founder and co-executive director of Indivisible, the group that organized No Kings 2 last October, the largest demonstration in American history. The key right now, she says, is for Senate Democrats to refuse to fund Homeland Security in this week’s budget vote, unless Republicans agree to put meaningful restrictions on that lawless agency.

Plus: The group Standing Together says it is still possible for Israelis and Palestinians to live side by side with full equality and justice for everyone. The are the largest Jewish-Arab grassroots movement in Israel, working to create an alternative to the existing reality by building political power. Sally Abed explains -- she’s a Palestinian citizen of Israel, a leader of Standing Together, and she was elected to the Haifa city council in February 2024.

Trump's first year has seen a collapse of support in DC and among voters nationwide, huge losses in the lower courts, and the rise of a massive opposition movement. Meanwhile, as Trump year two begins and the midterms approach, it's looking very good for the Democrats. Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: The landscape of resistance in Minneapolis, John Nichols reports, includes surprisingly powerful and effective faith groups, plus unions, neighborhood mutual aid and community safety networks, ICE observer teams, and direct action groups, plus the ACLU and its allies, as well as the outspoken mayor and the fighting state attorney general.

Plus: DOGE did NOT reduce spending – at all. But it did reduce federal employment; 271,000 people lost their jobs in the federal government, according to CATO. Sasha Abramsky set out to find out what it was like for some of those people -- his new book reports on the experiences of eleven fired federal workers: American Carnage: How Trump, Musk, and DOGE butchered the US Government.

As Trump’s support collapses, he has lashed out in two directions–sending an unprecedented number of ICE agents to Minneapolis, where one of them murdered Renee Good, and sending the military to Venezuela, where he says he has seized control of the oil industry. Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: Twenty Minutes Without Trump: There’s a new TV series about how capitalism came to Communist China: 30 episodes made for Chinese TV by the great Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai, running now on the Criterion Channel. John Powers, critic-at-large on Fresh Air with Terry Gross, explains.

Plus: Rick Perlstein talks about the rise of Reagan, from what seemed like a career-ending defeat in the 1976 GOP primary, to his narrow victory in the popular vote in 1980–and how the darkness of the culture war has shaped the Republican Party that Trump came to dominate. Rick’s long-awaited book, 1100 pages long, is “Reaganland: America’s Right Turn, 1976-1980.”

What is to be done about that ICE agent murdering a woman in Minneapolis, Renée Good, who was a peaceful legal observer trying to drive away from him? Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem called the murder "self defense" – the mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey said that was "bullshit" and to ICE he said, "Get the fuck out of Minneapolis" – and Minnesota Senator Tina Smith said to ICE "Leave us the fuck alone" – Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered the VA to provide housing for disabled vets on its land in Los Angeles, something they have refused to do for more than a decade. The ruling should end homelessness among disabled vets everywhere – Mark Rosenbaum of Public Counsel, who won the case, explains.

Plus: How a small group of people challenged an unjust law and changed history: Eric Foner, historian and author of “Gateway to Freedom: The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad,” talks about the Underground Railroad and its challenge to the Fugitive Slave Act in the years leading up to the Civil War (first broadcast in January, 2015).

The year in politics: Harold Meyerson of The American Prospect comments on Trump’s collapsing support in 2025, and the rise of the resistance—in both the unprecedented national mobilizations culminating in the second No Kings Day, and the Democratic triumph in virtually all elections in 2025.

Also: the year in court: David Cole, who stepped down this year as national legal director of the ACLU, reviews the 149 rulings against Trump in federal courts this past year, and the 21 times the Supreme Court has supported his attacks on democracy.

Plus: From the archives: Ricky Jay was one of the world’s great sleight-of-hand artists, distinguished by the remarkable variety of his accomplishments as an author, actor, and historian. In Jay’s Journal of Anomalies he described some of his favorite strange entertainments through the ages: throwing cards into watermelons, how to run a flea circus, the art of dental performance and much more – we remember master magician Ricky Jay (first recorded in 2002; he died in 2018).

In June, Trump sent more than 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to occupy Los Angeles and terrorize the immigrant population. But by the end of July, almost all the Guard and the Marines were gone. Bill Gallegos explains how that happened and what other cities can learn from it.

Also: From the archives: The Romans captured and killed Jesus because the revolutionary movement he launched challenged the most powerful empire the world had ever known: That’s what Reza Aslan says – his New York Times bestselling book ZEALOT: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazarethshot to #1 on Amazon when a Fox News interviewer asked him 'why a Muslim would write a book about Jesus?' (originally broadcast July 2013)

Plus: It’s time to listen again to BOB DYLAN’s 2009 Christmas album! Is this a joke — or a tragedy? Sean Wilentz explains. PLAYLIST: “Here Comes Santa Claus”; “I’ll Be Home for Xmas”; “Must Be Santa,” “Winter Wonderland”; “O Little Town of Bethlehem” (originally broadcast November 11, 2009).

Last week, the Indiana state legislature voted down Trump's redistricting demands that would've created more Republican seats in the House; now, four Republicans have joined the Democrats in forcing a vote on extending Obamacare subsidies, AND, 20 House Republicans are supporting the federal workers union — Trump's grip on the Republican party is slipping — Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: Today, Friday, is the deadline for the Justice Department to turn over the Epstein files to Congress. But we already know the key fact about Epstein’s famous friends—they didn’t care that he had hired a 14-year-old girl for sex—and gone to jail for it. But why was that? Katha Pollitt comments.

In this week's special elections, a Democrat got elected mayor of Miami for the first time in almost 30 years — by a 19-point margin; and, even Trump country in Georgia is not safe from Democratic wins – Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: How did we end up with Trump back in the White House? We got here in part because Republicans built a movement over several decades centered on what are called “the culture wars.” But there’s a long history behind the culture wars, going back at least a century to the Scopes Trial, in 1925, about teaching evolution. It’s still an issue today. Adam Hochschild is on the show to explain. (First recorded February 18, 2025)

Trump on Wednesday declared that Democrats who say we are in an affordability crisis are "pulling a con job" – he said prices are "falling across the country, just about everything is down." But the statistics show the opposite, prices have NOT been falling; another key factor of affordability is stagnation of wages – Harold Meyerson comments.

On Bob Dylan's earliest recordings "Through the Open Window: A bootleg Series vol. 18" – they start in 1956 when he was 15 years old up through 1963, his historic performance in Carnegie Hall – "Bob Dylan in America" author Sean Wilentz comments.

Last Friday Marjorie Taylor Greene announced she was quitting after Trump excommunicated her from MAGA, while the same day Trump welcomed Zohran Mamdani to the White House with open arms and high praise. What’s going on with Trump? Harold Meyerson comments - he's editor at large of The American Prospect.

Also: Alice Waters, the legendary founder of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, winner of the National Humanities Medal, awarded by Obama, talks about how to make school lunch delicious, affordable, organic, and beautiful - and locally sourced from regenerative farmers. Her new book is A School Lunch Revolution.

Plus: The Republicans call it ‘illegal immigration’: Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist Sonia Nazario recounts the journey of a 16-year-old Honduran boy who fought immense obstacles and dangers to reach his mother in the US, who he hadn’t seen since he was five. Sonia’s book is Enrique’s Journey.   (Originally broadcast in March, 2006)

On Wednesday night, Trump signed the bill requiring release of the Epstein Files; something he devoted all of his political power to preventing. What does this mean for Trump, for MAGA, and for the rest of us? Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: After almost a year of Trump stonewalling about the Epstein files, Republicans in the House finally took a stand against him. More than a hundred Republican members were prepared to vote for releasing the files. Facing a dramatic defeat, on Sunday night Trump caved, and Tuesday the vote in the House was nearly unanimous. John Nichols has our analysis.

Plus: The Americans who fought in World War II have been called “the greatest generation,” but historian David Nasaw argues that it’s more appropriate to regard them as “the wounded generation.” That’s the title of his new book about vets coming home after WWII.

Last week ended with the Democrats triumphant after huge wins with voters across the country; then at the start of this week the Republicans were triumphant when eight Senate Democrats caved on the shutdown; but then, since Wednesday, Trump and the Republicans have been reeling since Democrats on the House oversight committee released devastating emails from the Epstein files – Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: As mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani will be the first socialist in American history to hold significant power. It’s a huge opportunity, and a huge responsibility. Bhaskar Sunkara, president of The Nation and author of “The Socialist Manifesto,” will comment.

Plus: How a band of visionaries and a million dollars upended America – in the 1920s, which had some remarkable similarities to our own era. Award winning historian John Fabian Witt will explain; his new book is ‘The Radical Fund.’

The blue wave – or "blue tsunami" – this week restored the Democrats' winning coalition: people of color, young people and women. Harold Meyerson on how Tuesday shows us that while "candidate Trump is good for Republican turnout, President Trump is good for Democratic turnout".

Also: Greil Marcus comments on the new film about Bruce Springsteen writing the songs for his 1982 album “Nebraska”, starring starring Jeremy Allen White of ‘The Bear.” The movie misses the context: working class decline in Reagan’s America. Greil Marcus is the author of two dozen books, including “Mystery Train,” which has just been reissued in a special 50th anniversary edition.

Plus: From the archives: William Randolph Hearst: the media mogul the left loved to hate. David Nasaw discuses his biography "The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst" (first recorded by 2001).

Voters can take a stand against Trump’s candidates in next Tuesday’s elections in Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, California, and New York City—and move toward redistricting that favors Democrats. Harold Meyerson of The American Prospect explains.

Also: A new art exhibit in Los Angeles, called Monuments, displays 10 decommissioned Confederate monuments alongside the work of 19 artists responding or relating to them. It’s at MOCA, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and at the Brick, an arts nonprofit. Christopher Knight comments—he’s the art critic for the Los Angeles Times and a winner of the Pulitzer Prize in criticism.

Plus: From the archives, Rebecca Solnit talks about how "Men Explain Things To Me." (originally broadcast in 2014).

From the biggest single day of protest in American history – 7 million people demonstrating against Trump – to his worst major poll since he took office in January – it hasn't been a good week for Trump – unless you count the tearing down of the east wing of the White House. Harold Meyerson comments.

No Kings Day on Oct. 18 was the largest peaceful protest in American history. Rebecca Solnit comments, and refutes Republican statements about violence on the left. Her most recent book is “Orwell’s Roses.”

Also: the fight to control the LA police: a decades long effort that culminated in 1992, after the Rodney King riots, when longtime police chief Darryl Gates was forced out. Danny Goldberg comments – at the time he was board chair of the ACLU of Southern California Foundation, and his new book is “Liberals With Attitude.” 

The Supreme Court vs. The Voting Rights Act: The conservative majority of SCOTUS plans to eliminate 12 Democratic seats in the House, currently held by Black representatives. What are the implications for the 2026 midterms; and, what can the Democrats do to counter this latest gerrymandering nightmare? Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: Saturday is the second No Kings Day – it should be the biggest single day of protest in American history, with more than 2,500 events planned. Leah Greenberg will explain the preparations – she’s co-founder of Indivisible, the group that called the first No Kings day, June 14 – five million people participated in that one, held the same day as Trump’s birthday parade – the one no one came to.

Plus: There’s “a forthrightly antifascist film” that critics call “wild and thrilling” -- of course, that’s “One Battle After Another,” the Paul Thomas Anderson movie starring Leonardo di Caprio as a burnt out left wing bomber, targeted by an ICE captain played by Sean Penn. John Powers will comment—he’s critic at large on Fresh Air with Terry Gross.

Harold Meyerson comments on what remains to be done for genuine peace in Gaza; he also reviews the National Guard deployments to Portland and Chicago, the upcoming elections in California and elsewhere, and Trump's lastest attacks on universities.

Also: as the Supreme Court begins its new term, Trump lost six different cases in district courts just last week, ranging from bans on deploying the National Guard to defending freedom of speech for noncitizens, to yet another court rejecting his executive order abolishing birthright citizenship. At the same time, Trump is claiming an illegitimate legal basis for ordering the murder of civilians he claims are trafficing in drugs. David Cole will comment—he’s a former national legal director of the ACLU and The Nation’s legal affairs correspondent.

For Senate Democrats this is a big week for defiance. At last they are making popular demands as part of a deal to pass a budget and avoid a government shutdown. But Trump still holds a lot of cards. Harold Meyerson will comment.

Also: None of us were prepared for the double whammy of last week’s White House press conference, where Trump made false claims not only about vaccines but also about Tylenol causing autism. We’ll have analysis from Gregg Gonsalves. He teaches at the Yale School of Public Health; he’s been an AIDS activist for 30 years; and he’s also a MacArthur Fellow—class of 2018. And he’s The Nation’s public health correspondent. 

And Steve Almond talks about the trouble with football - the thousands of concussions from "hits" that leave players with brain damage - for our entertainment. His book is "Against Football." (originally broadcast in 2015)

Trump is trying to stop speech that criticizes him and his administration. Last week began with JD Vance complaining about an article in The Nationthat criticized the ideas of Charlie Kirk. Two days after that, ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel. And a few days after that, a protest movement forced ABC to put him back on the air. Bhaskar Sunkara comments on the fight over freedom of speech—he’s president of The Nationmagazine.

Also: Attacking Harvard is not unique to Trump. For decades, indeed for centuries, American politicians have made hay by going after Harvard. Historian Beverely Gage talks about what’s familiar, and what’s new, in Trump’s efforts—based on a reconsideration of Richard Hofstadter’s classic 1963 book, Anti-Intellectualism in American Life.

Also: Bill McKibben's 'Here comes the sun' - and the KPFK fund drive.

With his attacks on late-night comedians, Trump is practicing the "cancel culture" he pledged to eliminate. Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: Democrats have been winning big victories in special elections in diverse places across the country. John Nichols comments.

Plus: Why fascists fear teachers - starting in L.A. Randi Weingarten, president of the AFT, explains - her new book is "Why Fascists Fear Teachers."

Who is the real mainstream of the Democratic party? Bernie Sanders and Zohran Mamdani? Or Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries? Some recent polls might have the answer – Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: Trump had four major court decisions against him in a single week last week: on tariffs, defunding Harvard, sending troops to LA, and deporting Venezuelans, different courts and appellate panels said he was violating the law. Erwin Chemerinsky comments – he’s Dean of the Law School at Berkeley.

Plus: The new film “Caught by the Tides” by Jia Zhangke, considered worldwide to be the most important director in China: Over the last 30 years, his great project has been to tell stories that show the radical transformation of Chinese life by capitalism and the state. John Powers explains – he’s critic at large on Fresh Air with Terry Gross. The film is streaming now on the Criterion Channel.

At a time when almost everything seems to be going wrong, Bill McKibben sees one thing that is suddenly going right – a really big thing: solar power, and wind, which now provide cheaper electricity than fossil fuels. Bill’s new book has the wonderful title “Here Comes the Sun” – he says solar is “A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for civilization.”

Also: Historian Eric Foner provides some historical perspective on what seems like the unique threat Trump poses to our freedoms. His new book, a collection of almost 60 essays, is titled “Our Fragile Freedoms.”

Plus: ‘Huckleberry Finn’ is America's great anti-slavery novel, but there's a secret behind it: Mark Twain, the author, wasn't always anti-slavery and anti-racist; in fact he fought, briefly, for the Confederacy. Adam Hochschild explains how Twain changed his mind.

While Labor Unions are more popular than ever in America, a federal appeals court has ruled the NLRB itself is unconstitutional - which, if upheld, means it's up to the states to do what the NLRB did. Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: What is Trump’s strategy in deploying the National Guard to LA, then DC, and now probably Chicago and New York? Does he want the military in the streets of blue cities for the midterms next year? They will still elect Democrats to the House. John Nichols comments.

Plus: It’s time to take a step back from the daily barrage of bad news to look at the big picture of the strategy Trump has been following. David Cole explains how he’s exploited the power of the federal government, not just to attack his political opponents in the Democratic Party, but also weaken the institutions of civil society that form the bedrock of democracy.

The National Guard, still in DC, bolstered by units from southern Red states, remains overwhelmingly unpopular, especially ICE's deportation efforts – Harold Meyerson reports.

Also: In The Nation’s interview with Zohran Mamdani, he talks how he won the New York City Democratic primary for mayor, by addressing the city’s affordability crisis—and what the Democrats can learn from his victory. Katrina vanden Heuvel and John Nichols, who conducted the interview, introduce our excerpts and set the stage.

Plus: In WWII, Denmark rescued a larger proportion of their Jewish population than any other country – 95%. How they did it suggests how we can resist Trump’s attacks on undocumented residents. Sarah Sophie Flicker explains – she’s an organizer who’s a co-founder of the Women’s March on Washington.

Report from Washington D.C. – where Trump has deployed the National Guard, ICE and FBI agents. He has also federalized the D.C. Police Department​ – this requires them to cooperate with ICE. These operations contrast with Trump's deployment of the National Guard in LA, which, has a "different political topology"– Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: Donald Trump is demanding that UCLA pay a $1 billion fine for antisemitism on campus – in addition to the $584 million in cuts to medical and scientific research already imposed by his administration. But one Billion? Why not one Trillon? David Myers will comment – He’s a distinguished professor at UCLA who teaches Jewish history.

Plus: From the Archives: Adam Hochschild on guns in Trump’s America after the Parkland shootings. He talks about armed militias, about the law in Iowa that permits the carrying of loaded guns in public by people who are blind, and about why the Koch Brothers are major funders of the NRA—even though they are not especially enthusiastic about guns. (Originally recorded April 20, 2018.)

Trump's scheme to maintain control in the House in the midterms? Eliminate Democratic seats in Texas by redistricting. Texas House Democrats have responded by fleeing the state to block the necessary quorum on the proposed district map – now, the FBI might be deployed to arrest those Democrats; but, for what crime? Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: Robert Reich says the origin of our troubles with Trump and MAGA go back to the sixties; he says it started with the sixties movements – which created “a giant political void that would eventually be filled by Donald Trump’s angry, bigoted cultural populism.” His new memoir is “Coming Up Short.”

Plus: "From Dictatorship to Democracy" by Gene Sharp, the world's top scholar on peaceful protest, seems to be all about Trump but was published a decade before Trump appeared on the scene. For example: "Dictatorships are never as strong as they think they are. And people are never as weak as they think they are" – the book is our thank you gift for donations during today's KPFK fund drive – Alan Minsky comments.

Six million Democrats who voted for Joe Biden in 2020 did not vote in 2024. What’s wrong with them? Pollster and strategist Celinda Lake explains who they are, and what it would take to get them back to the polls in the 2026 midterms – and in 2028.

Also: a suggestion for summer reading: M: Son of the Century is a 750-page historical novel about the rise of Mussolini, by Antonio Scurati. John Powers, critic-at-large for NPR’s Fresh Air, says the book suggests some parallels between 1920s Italy and Trump’s America. The book is out now in paperback.

Plus: "In my home, the America I love, the America I've written about, that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration." - Bruce Springsteen, May 14, 2025, during his European tour – Alan Minsky comments.

There’s trouble in Trump world: Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, is launching a Third Party to challenge Trump’s Republicans in the midterms and maybe in 2028. Maurice Mitchell, national director of the Working Families Party, explains why Musk will fail - and how Mamdani succeeded at winning the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City.

Also: How does a movement build support when large parts of the country are opposed to its goals? How do you connect with people who disagree with you?  For some answers, we’ll turn to longtime organizer Michael Ansara. His new book is The Hard Work of Hope.

A federal court in LA has ordered ICE to stop arresting people because they look Latino—because that's racial discrimination, and it's unconstitutional. Mark Rosenbaum of Public Counsel explains.

Also, MAGA has accepted every one of Trump's lies, until the Jeffrey Epstein files—what makes this one different? Harold Meyerson explains.

Plus: Trump’s executive order abolishing birthright citizenship—guaranteed by the 14th  Amendment—has been blocked for a second time, this time because of a class-action suit.  David Cole explains why Trump will lose this case when it gets to the Supreme Court.

Trump’s ICE is attacking undocumented people in LA County because there are a lot of them -- maybe a million, out of a total of almost 5 million Latinos, and also because LA is one of the most Democratic counties in the country. And LA has a big and militant alliance of immigrants rights groups that are fighting Trump. Harold Meyerson will explain the deportation battle in Southern California at this point. 

Plus: Elon Musk’s obsession with rockets and robots sounds futuristic, but “few figures in public life are more shackled to the past” – that’s what Jill Lepore has found. His ideas at DOGE seem to come from his grandfather, a founder of the anti-democratic Technocracy movement of the 1930s. Jill Lepore teaches history and law at Harvard, and writes for The New Yorker.

Also: Rachel Kushner will talk about the informant and provacateur who infiltrates an anarchist eco-commune in rural France – the central character in her award-winning novel, “Creation Lake” - it’s out now, in paperback.

Now that Republicans have done immense damage to working class and poor people, the Democrats are mobilizing to win the House next year and possibly also the Senate - Harold Meyerson comments.

Plus: The surprise victory of democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani in New York City’s Democratic mayor primary over a well-funded establishment candidate shows that progressive politics, when pursued with discipline, vision and vigor, can win broad support. Bhaskar Sukara, President of The Nation and author of The Socialist Manifesto, has our analysis.

Also: After going to court to challenge Trump’s cut of $2 billion in federal grants, Harvard is now in negotiations with the administration, seeking “common ground” – raising fears that even the most established and wealthy university will submit to his demands. E.J. Dionne argues that authoritarians everywhere target universities, which everywhere are centers of resistance and defenders of democratic freedoms.

The Supreme Court has issued a major victory for Trump, ending the ability of judges to issue nationwide injunctions – Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: Donald Trump, found guilty of sexual assault and defamation, owes E. Jean Carroll $88 million. She explains how she beat him in court, twice, proving that he attacked her in a Bergdorf dressing room and then lied about it. Her new book is Not My Type: One Woman vs. a President. 

Plus: The leading autopsies on the 2024 defeat of Democrats are missing two big things, Steve Phillips argues: the centrality of racial hostility and of gender resentment as central organizing forces in American politics.

Trump's deportation plans have always faced a contradiction: he couldn't deport millions of immigrants without crippling essential industries and Republican business whose owners supported him. So Trump started granting exceptions; but that was before Saturday, the biggest one-day political protest in American history, protesting against him. On that same day, nobody came to his birthday parade, and in the middle of that night, Trump made an announcement on Truth Social, targeting blue cities – Harold Meyerson explains.

Also: Saturday’s ‘No Kings’ protests, with 5 million people at 2100 events, was the largest single day of protest in American history. Leah Greenberg of Indivisible will talk about how the event was organized, and what comes next. 

Plus: The Medicaid cuts provide a lifetime opportunity for us to reach the 70 million people who did not vote and the 60 per cent of Trump voters who are not MAGA -- that's what Ai-jen Poo says. She's director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance and President of Care in Action, and a key labor organizer and strategist

With tanks rolling down the street in DC on Saturday and troops being deployed to LA, it’s never been more important to come together in nonviolent action to exercise our First Amendment right to peaceful protest. That’s what the organization Indivisible says about Saturday’s National Day of Defiance – the nationwide “No Kings” protests – go to nokings.org to find one near you. Ezra Levin will explain; he’s co-founder and co-executive director of Indivisible.

Also: Who, exactly, is being arrested by ICE agents in Los Angeles? Why is the National Guard downtown LA? And What are the 700 marines Trump sent to LA supposed to do? Harold Meyerson will comment - he’s editor at large of The American Prospect.

Plus: Trump is not the worst president when it comes to constitutional rights and civil liberties; Woodrow Wilson was worse. Adam Hochschild explains why – starting with jailing thousands of people whose only crime was speaking out against the president. Adam’s most recent book is 'American Midnight: The Great War, A Violent Peace, and Democracy's Forgotten Crisis.' (First recorded April 23, 2025.)

The Musk Report: The world's richest man and donor of the largest amount of money in the history of the world ever spent by one person on a US presidency. What will the Trump-Musk feud mean for Congress and the future of the GOP? Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: Forget the midterms next year, at least for now. The fight against Trump runs through the elections this November—starting with Virginia and New Jersey. The Nation's national affairs correspondent John Nichols explains.

Plus: J. Hoberman, the long-time film critic for The Village Voice, talks about the happenings, the underground movies, and the radical art and music— from Bob Dylan to Andy Warhol to Yoko Ono. His new book is Everything is Now: The 1960s New York Avant-Garde.

Trump claimed that he could bypass Congress to impose tariffs under IEEPA due to a trade deficit emergency over the last 40 years; but, a federal panel blocked him from imposing those tariffs on China, Mexico, Canada and 50 other countries. Now it's on its way to the Supreme Court – Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: Rural America is Trump country. Last November Trump carried 93 percent of rural counties.. How can Democrats change that? Anthony Flaccavento and Erica Etelson, co-founders of the Rural Urban Bridge Initiative, have a strategy to accomplish that.

Plus: After serving 18 years in the Senate, and losing last November, Sherrod Brown analyzes what it will take for Democrats to recover from the defeats of 2024, and comments on his own political future – he could run for senator or for governor in 2026. (Originally recorded May 7, 2025)

Harold Meyerson comments on the GOP's "grotesquely cruel" budget – starting with the impossible work requirements for Medicaid, and then Trump's broken campaign promise NOT to cut Medicare.

Also: “A rally a day keeps the fascists away” – that’s what Jamie Raskin says. He’s the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, and he talks about Trump’s “world historical grift,” and why we shouldn’t be pessimistic about defeating his efforts.

Plus: 20 minutes without Trump: 1925 is being celebrated this year as the centenary of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald -- but we’re interested in some of the other books published that year. So we turn to Tom Lutz – his new book is titled “1925: A Literary Encyclopedia.” It’s 800 pages long, and only 7 are on “Gatsby."

What obligations do colleges and universities have to protect students from anti-Semitism and Islamophobia? What obligations do they have to let students speak freely about issues they care about? David Cole just testified before Congress about that—he’s the former National Legal Director of the ACLU, and The Nation’s legal affairs correspondent.​ 

Also: Trump’s partnership in Washington with his biggest donor, Elon Musk, is coming to an end. The richest man in the world, who made the biggest campaign contribution in history, is going home the clear loser in this affair. Historian David Nasaw comments.

Next: In 1948, Alger Hiss, a prominent New Deal Democrat, was convicted of perjury for testifying that he had not been a Soviet spy. The conventional wisdom is that he was probably guilty. Now, Jeff Kisseloff says it’s not hard to show that Hiss was innocent; the hard part is figuring out who framed him. Jeff’s new book is “Rewriting Hisstory: A Fifty-Year Journey to Uncover the Truth About Alger Hiss” (originally recorded April 30, 2025).

Plus: Your Minnesota Moment: In St. Francis, a small town north of Minneapolis, a high school got hit with a book banning policy. The Minnesota ACLU and the Teachers' Union both filed lawsuits; inspiring author Dave Eggers to host an event there. Students sat outside of the school and read from some of the banned books that included "The Kite Runner" by Afghan-American Khaled Hosseini – small town high school kids stand up to book burners.

So much good news in the last few days – first up: in North Carolina, a Trump-appointed federal judge ruled on the contested state supreme court race that "you don't change voter qualifications AFTER the election" and so, the winner of the state supreme court race, a Democrat, must be certified – Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: Dahlia Lithwick explains three key court cases where Trump suffered major defeats, which, she argues, are likely to have an “exponential effect” on other judges. Meanwhile we are seeing a rising tide of activism in the streets. Dahlia writes about the law and the courts for Slate and hosts the ‘Amicus’ podcast.

Plus: Your Minnesota Moment – from the archives: Our interview with Al Franken, when Fox News sued him for the title of his book “Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right” (first recorded in 2003).

This May Day, there were big demonstrations everywhere – more than 900 cities and towns – participants included Bernie Sanders and many notable unions; and the banner for this organized national protest targeted not just Trump: "For the workers, not the billionaires" – Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: Donald Trump is "the greatest threat to American universities since the Red Scare of the 1950s"—that’s what Princeton’s president Christopher Eisgruber said. Others say that what Trump is doing is worse. Beverly Gage comments – she wrote “G-Man,” the award-winning biography of J. Edgar Hoover.

Plus: Twenty Minutes without Trump: The Museum of Jurassic Technology is one of the treasures of Los Angeles – it’s a weird and wonderful place on Venice Boulevard that attracts art fanatics from around the world. Founder and director David Wilson raises big questions about really small art. (originally broadcast 6-19-2001)

At 100 days, Trump's approval ratings are his worst yet – starting with Pew Research poll 40% approve 59% disapprove. And Trump has the worst ratings of any other president approaching the 100 day mark in history – Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: J D Vance said it most clearly: for the Trump people, “The universities are the enemy.” That’s why Trump is cutting billions of federal funding and making impossible demands that threaten dozens of universities. But universities have begun to resist. Michael Roth comments – he's president of Wesleyan, and was the first university president to speak out against Trump’s attacks.

Plus: 62 years ago this week, in April, 1963, the Birmingham civil rights campaign directed by Martin Luther King was reaching a climax. April 7, Palm Sunday, police used dogs to attack Black people at a march. the dramatic photos appeared on front pages around the world. Then, 4 Black girls were killed at a church bombing, and then Congress passed the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Diane McWhorter wrote the definitive history of that crucial campaign–her book is called “Carry Me Home: Birmingham, Alabama, the climatic battle of the civil rights revolution.” (broadcast originally in 2001.)

The Fighting Oligarchy tour of Bernie Sanders and AOC has had amazing turnouts: 36,000 people in Los Angeles, 100,000 people in Coachella, and huge crowds in red districts across the country; followed by big campaign donations as Bernie and AOC become "the personification of the resistance" against the Trump administration. Also, Trump continues to defy court orders, including those issued after the unanimous Supreme Court ruling to return Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia to the US from El Salvador after an illegal deportation – the defiance of such a court order by a US president is the first of its kind in history – Harold Meyerson comments.

Next: While Trump’s attacks on the universities have broadened, and while Columbia is submitting to his requirements, Harvard’s president has declared that Harvard will not comply with Trump’s demands in exchange for keeping its federal funding. David Cole comments - he recently stepped down as National Legal Director of the ACLU to return to teaching law at Georgetown.

Plus: The illegal detention of Palestinian students attending US universities: the detention of Mohsen Madawi seems to be the most outrageous of all the cases of detained students opposing Israel's war in Gaza; UCLA Professor of Jewish History David Meyers reports.

Trump is weaker after caving on tariffs - Harold Meyerson analyzes the new political landscape - and assesses the economic damage.

Also: Trump’s tariffs are not really about trade, they’re a form of blackmail – but the alternative is not a return to the free trade policies introduced by Clinton and Obama. Lori Wallach of the Rethink Trade program at the American Economic Liberties Project explains what kind of tariffs we need, combined with government support for reindustrialization.

Plus: A major lawsuit challenging Trump over his efforts to deport pro-Gaza campus activists has been brought by faculty members at their universities. Jameel Jaffer reports on the AAUP case; he's executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University and a former deputy legal director of the ACLU.

Last Tuesday, the Democrats made striking gains in districts that were solid red – and Wisconsin's State Supreme Court maintained its liberal majority. Meanwhile, Trump claims that his sweeping tariffs are to restore US manufacturing; but Paul Krugman says it's all based on ridiculous, totally false statistics – Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: The Wisconsin Supreme Court election tested the political power of Musk’s money, and voters rejected his candidate. The results have huge implications for the midterms. John Nichols has our analysis.

Plus: A big victory in federal district court: Trump cannot shut down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – and, April 5th will be Hands Off! – a National Day of Action to stand up against the Trump administration – Rob Weissman of Public Citizen will explain.

Thursday night, Trump signed an Executive order abolishing union rights at more than two dozen federal agencies – part of his campaign to destroy the government. Harold Meyerson comments on this "ultimate form of union busting".

Also: Bernie Sanders and AOC are on their “fighting oligarchy” tour, and in Denver last weekend they had the biggest political event there since Obama in 2008. It was also the biggest rally of Bernie’s life – bigger than anything in his presidential campaigns. And the first big election of the year is underway in Wisconsin. John Nichols has our analysis.

Plus: Elie Mystal talks about popular laws that are ruining America – starting with our voter registration requirements. But despite the obstacles and disappointments, he argues that it’s always necessary to vote. His new book is Bad Laws.

A key source of opposition to authoritarian regimes in recent history has come from universities and colleges. Trump has been attacking the independence of American universities, demanding they submit to his requirements and using massive funding cuts as his weapon. David Cole, formerly National Legal Director of the ACLU, has our analysis. 

Also: Mahmoud Khalil is the Palestinian student activist at Columbia arrested and jailed by ICE. The Trump administration intends to revoke his status as a permanent resident—a green-card holder – and deport him – they say, to protect Jewish students on campus. That’s clearly a violation of freedom of speech. But is deporting Palestinian student activists a good way to protect Jewish students? David Myers comments – he teaches Jewish history at UCLA.

Plus: Katha Pollitt comments on The Right to Sex, a provocative title by the feminist philosopher Amia Srinivasan. Does anyone have a right to sex? Who does? Who doesn’t? (First recorded 2-3-2022)

As the Senate prepares to vote on the Republican budget, Harold Meyerson talks about what's at stake for Democrats who join Chuck Schumer in voting with Republicans, and the great majority in the opposition. Plus: unions take Trump to court over firings.

Also: The Supreme Court ruled against Trump last week in the first test of his refusal to release money appropriated by Congress, and more than a dozen more similar cases are likely to come before the court –– probably including a challenge to his withholding hundreds of millions from research universities on the grounds that they have failed to protect Jewish students from antisemitism. Erwin Chemerinsky comments –– he’s dean of the Law School at UC Berkeley.

Plus: from the archives: Oliver Sacks recalls Tripping in Topanga (recorded in 2012, he died three years later).

Trump's forgettable State of the Union speech shows he remains in campaign mode, rather than governing: Harold Meyerson comments.

Plus: Trump suffered a big loss at The Supreme Court in the first challenge to his unconstitutional seizure of power: an order to release USAID funding appropriated by Congress. The suit was brought by Public Citizen; their co-president, Robert Weissman, will explain.

Also: John Nichols with our protest update for the week. Topics include: includes Tesla dealer showroom picketing; Ukraine support demonstrating; national park protesting, and Town Hall yelling.

"The Coup Has Failed" writes David Dayen in The American Prospect; no president has been less popular than Trump after his first month in office, and "the thing about populism is you have to be popular" – Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: House Progressive leader Ro Khanna says “economic empowerment” for the working class should become the Democrats’ “defining cause.” And he comments on this week’s battle in the House over the Republican budget.

Plus: Thomas Geoghegan argues that, to win back the working class, Democrats need to “promise something big – and keep it simple.” His suggestions: a bigger and better Social Security program, and an end to employers’ freedom to fire workers for any reason.

The House budget plan could see deep cuts to Medicaid but, "the political basis for cutting Medicaid because 'this can only hurt the Democrats' is really no longer the case;" also, on Kash Patel's confirmation as the new director of the FBI: "there's nothing like reconfiguring the FBI so it carries out whatever Donald Trump wants, which is what Kash Patel would do" – Harold Meyerson has our political update.

Plus: The first big election of 2025 will be in Wisconsin, which elects a new Supreme Court Justice on April 1. Elon Musk is spending hundreds of millions in that race. That’s both a threat, and an opportunity for Democrats. John Nichols will comment.

Churches are coming together to fight Trump – the lawsuit filed challenges ICE raids in places of worship on First Amendment Freedom of Religion grounds. Also, what does it tell us that both Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins voted 'Yes' for two terrible Trump nominees (Tulsi Gabbard and RFK Jr.) when they didn't have to? Harold Meyerson comments.

Plus: Trump has lost a series of major legal battles in the last week, where courts have ruled that key executive orders of his are unconstitutional. But what happens if Trump defies the courts? David Cole comments—he recently stepped down as national legal director of the ACLU to return to teaching law at Georgetown University.

The Democrats have become more active in trying to stop the worst of Trump - and Musk - Harold Meyerson of The American Prospect comments on Senate and House leaders - and on the recent administration attacks on the NLRB.

Also: Trump’s strategy of flooding the zone with executive actions is intended to paralyze the opposition. But there’s lots of grassroots mobilization underway right now, and one of the biggest organizers of that mobilization is Indivisible. Leah Greenberg will explain the group’s strategy and tactics -- and this week’s work assignments -- to get four Republicans to vote “No” on Trump’s terrible nominees. Leah is one of the co-founders and co-executive directors of Indivisible.

This week's popular outrage over Trump's stopping funding of all social programs forced him to throw in the towel after just a few hours - demonstrating how weak he is, and how powerful the opposition can be. John Nichols comments.

Also: The battle to get us to pay attention: Chris Hayes explains--His new book is "The Siren's Call."

Plus: Your Minnesota Moment - Trump attacks small town sanctuaries for undocumented residents.

How did we get here, with Trump returning to the White House?  Harold Meyerson of The American Prospect comments on the 93 million people who could have voted – but didn’t –and on Trump’s Day One executive orders.

Also: Now that Trump is preparing to round up and deport undocumented residents, we want to thank them for everything they’ve done to make America good. Gustavo Arellano will explain – he’s a columnist for the LA Times whose father came to the US in the 1960s in the trunk of a Chevy.

Plus: Twenty Minutes without Trump. Today:  J. Edgar Hoover: We know a lot about the bad things he did, but it turns out there’s a lot we didn’t know. Historian Beverly Gage will explain. Her award-winning book is “G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover & the Making of the American Century.” (originally broadcast in December, 2022.)

As we prepare for Trump to take office next week, we're getting ready to challenge him and his people in the upcoming elections later this year. But before that, we have an important election in the next few weeks: the Democratic National Committee will elect a new chair on February 1 to prepare for the battles and the campaigns to come – John Nichols comments.

Also: Trump promises to deport millions of undocumented residents, while Republicans in Congress threaten a nationwide abortion ban. Meanwhile parts of the mainstream media are caving in to Trump. How can individuals help at this point? Katha Pollit has some suggestions about groups that deserve support.

Plus: Not everything is about Donald Trump. The Geneva Freeport, for example – where it doesn’t matter who is president of the US. The Freeport is a place where the world’s richest people hide art, jewelry, and other wealth from tax officials, creditors, and sometimes spouses. Atossa Araxia Abrahamian discusses her new book: “The Hidden Globe: How Wealth Hacks the World.”

Trump has come out in favor of combining many of his biggest priorities into one big budget reconciliation bill – because the budget reconciliation impacts the economy, this bill is not subject to filibuster by the Democrats; so, it could pass the Senate with 50 Republican votes. But some Republicans are likely to resist – Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: Trump’s “dictatorship on day one” will feature executive orders to deport undocumented residents. Ahilan Arulanantham, co-director of the Center for Immigration Law & Policy at UCLA Law School, explains the legal strategy to be deployed by the sanctuary states and cities to challenge Trump’s orders.

Plus: Trump & Golf: The Saudi-backed LIV golf league will return to Trump's Doral Resort in April 2025 – the clearest sign yet that Trump family business deals using Saudi government financing will continue into the new presidency. The legendary sportswriter Robert Lipsyte comments on Trump and golf. (broadcast originally in August 2017) 

A fight has broken out between Elon Musk and the MAGA activists and base about immigration – specifically, over H-1B visas. But what exactly IS an H-1B visa; and why is there so much heat around the issue? Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s famous 900 page book, is partly “too dumb to accomplish anything at all”– the rest, can be read as a useful catalog of how we should focus our resistance – Rick Perlstein explains.

Plus: The ever-elusive Bob Dylan seems an unlikely candidate for a Hollywood biopic. John Powers, a critic-at-large on NPR’s Fresh Air, talks about how the new movie "A Complete Unknown" captures a defining moment in his career and in American culture.

Donald Trump has been bad for America but good for American book publishers. Now that Trump is coming back we look at what the best of those books had to say about him, also, the worst: Also, Melania has published a memoir: “Melania,” where she revisits plagiarizing Michelle Obama for her 2016 RNC convention speech, and wearing that jacket that said “I don’t care, do U?” when she visited INS detention camps for children separated from their parents at the border. Amy Wilentz comments on her explanations—and on the rest of the book. (Originally recorded 10-26-2024.)

Next: Kamala Harris lost not because Democratic voters switched to Trump, Steve Phillips shows, but because of a massive failure of the Democrats to turn out their base. (Originally recorded 12-11-2024.)

Plus: Joshua Holland explains why people in Denmark are so much happier than people in the USA. (Originally recorded 1-19-2023.)

Disney unions won the biggest ever back pay settlement, and Amazon drivers in the Southland are going on strike this week - Harold Meyerson reports on the class struggle in Southern California.

Also: Bob Dylan fans have been puzzled and troubled by his Christmas album ever since he released it in 2009. To help figure out what Dylan was doing, we turn to Sean Wilentz. He’s the official historian at BobDylan.com, and he also teaches history at Princeton. (Originally recorded in January, 2005.)​ 

Workers in Los Angeles and Wisconsin made major gains this week, while the NLRB is falling into Trump's hands, thanks to Joe Manchin & Kyrsten Sinema -- Harold Meyerson reports.

Also: a new episode of “The Children’s Hour,” Amy Wilentz reports on “Lives of the In-Laws”—Ivanka’s father-in-law, and Tiffany’s -- and comments also on the rise of Trump's daughter-in-law Lara, the wife of Eric.

The GOP majority in the House will be 217-to 215 Dems – for months, until special elections in April bring it up to 220. What are the odds odds that House Republicans will be 100% united when Trump sends them his key legislation? Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: “Our worst enemy right now is not Trump himself, but fatalism about our ability to stop him.” That’s what David Cole says – he recently stepped down as National Legal Director of the ACLU, after 8 years and hundreds of lawsuits against the first Trump administration.

Trump's terrible cabinet picks – what if the Democrats use these remaining two months to hold their own confirmation hirings? Also, are Democrats out of touch with the American people? Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: A lot of people who voted for abortion rights referenda this year also voted for Trump. What were they thinking? How do they understand politics? Amy Littlefield spent election day in Amarillo, Texas, trying to find out.

Plus: From the archives: Bob Dylan in 1964, when he was 23; Sean Wilentz, historian and author of a Grammy-nominated essay about Bob Dylan, comments (originally recorded in January, 2005).

Trump's initial nominees include Matt Gaetz for Attorney General – "the group that is probably most elated by this are his fellow Republican House members who hate his guts" – Harold Meyerson discusses Trump's crazy cabinet.

Also: Hope does not mean saying ‘this is not bad,’ Rebecca Solnit argues; it just means we will not give up—because we know that what we do matters, and we also know we’ve been surprised by good things we never expected.

Plus: Melania has been absent from Trump's side; and, is reported to have no intention of living in the White House for Trump's second term; so, where ​IS Melania?​ 

Big Picture: Trump won a landslide in the electoral college and control of the Senate; control of the House is unclear at this point. So much good work went into fighting Trump; but, a majority of voters know who Trump is and chose him. So, how did we get here? And, what do we do next? Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: John Nichols looks at the elections results: For starters: Trump got fewer votes than 4 years ago; 55% of voters in the CNN exit poll said he was “too extreme.”

Plus: Harriet Tubman escaped from slavery and returned again and again to lead others north to freedom. Now her story is being told in a wonderful new book, with the wonderful title “Night Flyer” –​ the author is Harvard historian Tiya Miles​ (originally recorded June, 2024).

If Harris wins Pennsylvania – a predominately working-class state – she probably wins the election; so, what could be the most effective closing argument to convince working-class voters there to vote for Harris? New research by The Center for Working-Class Politics tested messages and found that the strongest one singles out corporations for raising prices — Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: Melania has published a memoir, Melania, where she revisits plagiarizing Michelle Obama for her 2016 RNC convention speech, and wearing that jacket that said “I don’t care, do U?” when she visited INS detention camps for children separated from their parents at the border. Amy Wilentz comments on her explanations—and on the rest of the book.

Plus: Part of Michelle Obama's speech in Kalamazoo last weekend where she said "to the men who love us, let me just try to paint a picture of what it will feel like if America, the wealthiest nation on earth, keeps revoking basic care from its women; and how it will effect every single woman in your life"; and about Trump: "a vote for him is a vote against us."

World famous gambling and entertainment hub Las Vegas, Nevada is also home to one of the "the most politically potent" unions in the United States, representing hotel casino workers there: Culinary Union Local 226 -- Harold Meyerson traveled to Las Vegas to find out what this powerful union is doing to help "push Kamala over the top".

Also: Latino and Black voters in swing states, we are told by the New York Times, are “drifting away from the Democrats.” But how good is the evidence here? Steve Phillips has our analysis.

Plus: From the Archives: The final years of Martin Luther King Jr. -- Taylor Branch discusses his book At Canaan’s Edge: America in the King Years, 1965-68 (originally recorded in March 2006).

One in six voters, pollsters say, are “still unsure of their choice.” What do people mean when they say they are “undecided”? Rick Perlstein says political writers have failed to understand the undecideds—and what Kamala might do to win their votes.

Also: Democrat Marie Gleusenkamp Perez won a House seat in a Trump district, pointing the way for others. Marc Cooper analyzes her current reelection campaign in southwestern Washington State, starting from the fact that she’s a working class woman in a rural area.

Plus: Kamala’s campaign is challenging the Republican conception of “freedom” as freedom from government regulation, advancing instead a positive conception of the government’s ability to protect and expand freedom. Eric Foner explains the history, and significance, of this conflict.