The Majority Report with Sam Seder

Think Progress Justice Editor Ian Millhiser explains what was at stake in the Harris v Quinn decision, how the right wing majority attacked healthcare workers, how the right is "weaponizing" the first amendment, how the Court can do more to destroy unions in the future and the radical departure from precedent in the Hobby Lobby decision.

Writer and activist Katie Klabusich explains how the Hobby Lobby decision will undermine women's health and rights, the shocking misogyny of the Roberts Court and the buffer decision and harassment of women at reproductive clinics.

On The Fun half: Rick Santorum thinks maybe the founders were right to restrict the right to vote, Facebook experiments on its users, Blackwater threatens to murder a State Department investigator and your calls and IMs.

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Direct download: 06-30-14-Ian_Millhiser-Katie_Klabusich-PUB.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:49pm EDT

Rolling Stone's Guy Lawson explains the distinction between Thad Cochran and Chris McDaniel, Mississippi Tea Party leader Mark Mayfield commits suicide, the FBI investigating Rupert Murdoch, the progressive Australian Prime Minister Murdoch destroyed, the tall poppy syndrome, will Murdoch's crimes catch up with him? The game of access journalism and how Donald Rumsfeld created arms dealing loopholes at the Pentagon.

Scott Lemieux of Lawyers, Guns & Money explains the Supreme Court decision on recess appointments, the history of recess appointments, why if the Republicans take control of the Senate they will not enforce labor rights, the McCullen decision and buffer zones, why the Supreme Court did not ban buffer zones outright and why the Supreme Court found that the Massachusetts buffer zone should have been less restrictive of speech.

IKEA raises its workers wages, is IKEA's CEO a Soviet plant? Massachusetts raises minimum wage to $11 an hour and your calls and IMs.

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Direct download: 06-27-14-Guy_Lawson-Scott_Lemieux-PUB.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:03pm EDT

Professor Philip Mirowski author of Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste: How Neoliberalism Survived the Financial Meltdownexplains the intellectual history of Neo-liberalism, what Neo-liberals believe, making capitalists think differently, the role of think tanks in Neo-liberalism, the mythology of market supremacy, how Facebook teaches you to be a Neo-liberal agent, shaming and Neo-liberalism, how policy movements are built, climate and the affordable care act and Neo-liberal power and how the left can respond to Neo-liberal dominance.

On The Fun Half: money and building progressive politics, Ann Coulter says that Soccer is a sign of America's "moral decay" and your calls and IMs.

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Direct download: 06-26-14-Philip_Mirowski-PUB.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:11pm EDT

Thad Cochran wins his Senate Republican Primary against Chris McDaniel, McDaniels refuses to concede, will the media go on another "Tea Party is dead" binge? What Thad Cochran owes African Americans, the epic Tea Party money scheme, Right Wing Mandela launches his own Tea Party group, Supreme Court rules that police need warrants to search cellphones phones.

On The Fun Half: a Scott Walker voter commits serial voter fraud, how hard voting fraud is to get away with, Gary Oldman issues a epically stupid apology for his epically stupid Playboy rant, how to debunk the right, Federal Court strikes down another Gay Marriage ban, Random Rush, Scott Brown cheats on his pickup truck, North Carolina ignores a report on the economic costs of global warming and your calls and IMs.

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Direct download: 06-25-14-Sam_Seder-PUB.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:25pm EDT

Independent journalist Beth Schwartzapfel explains the persistence of American prison labor, how little is provided to prisoners, half of prisoners have full time jobs, invented felonies and the end of slavery, how prison labor is exploited, why OSHA can't intervene to protect prison labor, the economic costs of imprisonment, the return of debtors prisons, is the right shifting on mass incarceration? Why we incentivise prisoners to continue committing crimes, paying prisoners a minimum wage, job training recidivism and private prisons and modern slavery.

On The Fun Half: closing programs that help workers, is Alex Jones shills for Iodine supplements, the Alex Jones strategy, new Chris Christie bridge scandal and more, Gary Oldman's insane Playboy interview and your calls and IMs.

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Direct download: 06-24-14-Beth_Schwartzapfel-PUB.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:50pm EDT

Foreign Policy journalist Ali Gharib explains why President Obama might be planning a drone war in Iraq, Obama's secret wars, the failures of Bush and Obama's foreign policies, why no one is addressing the roots of terrorism and what happens next in Iraq.

Also a Church seeks new members with an assault rifle raffle

On The Fun Half: Dick Cheney implies that President Obama might be guilty of treason but means "no disrespect", Judith Miller says we should no no accountability on Iraq, an Arizona State Senator investigates Chemtrails and the Tea Party not so into African Americans voting in Mississippi and your IMs.

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Direct download: 06-23-14-Ali_Gharib-PUB.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:23pm EDT

Cliff Schecter explains why Dick Cheney needs to be in prison for war crimes now, why Dick Cheney was right about Iraq in 1994, why Dick Cheney is even worse than other war promoters,Cheney's failures as CEO of Halliburton, the Cheney criminal enterprise, Governor Scott Walker accused of engaging in a criminal scheme, how far the Walker accusations could go, how creepy it is to meet Ralph Reed, more Chris Christie criminal investigations and why he is probably headed to jail.

Isabel Gillies debates who is more  tired with Sam, Isabel still does not have the Majority Report App, Isabel promises to listen to Sam's new radio show, Isabel's next book and she recommended the Ken Burns documentary  The Central Park Five and the horrifying racial politics of the Central Park Five.

On The Fun Half: the CIA's Osama Bin Laden devil doll, Rick Perry says " ‘I’m more Jewish than you think I am’ and your calls and IMs. And for Member's Only, an interview with Juan Cole from Ring of Fire.

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Direct download: 06-20-14-Cliff_Schecter-Isabel_Gillies-PUB.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:22pm EDT

Terry Bradshaw does not trust Hillary Clinton on Benghazi, why the anti Muslim video really did play a role in the Benghazi attacks, more accountability for stupidity in today's world, battle for a major oil refinery in Iraq, why Iraq is falling apart, what airstrikes will mean in Iraq, why the Obama Administration wants Maliki to go, the return of Ahmed Chalabi, Megyn Kelly calls Dick Cheney and lets him off the hook and what Jonathan Chait gets wrong about the Iraq war debate today.

On The Fun Half: Glenn Beck's Iraq invasion apology contains a lot of lies, the Supreme Court rules in favor of a Hedge Fund over Argentina, House progressives push to protect net neutrality, Brian Schweitzer makes an ass of himself, debating education reform, Random Rush and your calls and IMs.

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Direct download: 06-19-14-Sam_Seder-PUB.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:17pm EDT

Lina Khan a policy analyst at the New America Foundation explains why Amazon is not accountable to customers in the same way as Target, the tobacco settlement and how evidence is made public, how government regulation and private suits have a symbiotic relationship, why Jury awards hold corporations accountable, how a leading liberal justice began undermining civil torts, Mitsubishi V Soler Chrysler-Plymouth, how arbitration has been increasingly imposed on the legal process, why we need Class Action suits, why Congress, how corporate contracts are imposed and what one anti trust case against American Express tells us about the future of the ability to hold corporations accountable.

On The Fun Half: more information on what really doomed Eric Cantor, Obama captures Benghazi ringleader and Fox says its to help Hillary Clinton's book sales, debating the minimum wage, skills and wages, Alex Jone's Super Female Vitality and your calls and IMs.

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Direct download: 06-18-14-Lina_Khan-PUB.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:08pm EDT

Holy Cross Education Professor Jack Schneider explains the implications and the problems with the Vergara v California decision, how and why do teachers improve? The trouble with standardized test scores, how American teachers are not supported, why we don't invest in professional development for teachers, the complexity of the American education system and why reformers don't like it, what school bureaucracy protects, the "brand: problems with public schools, why anti public school mythology is self fulfilling prophecy, how the idea of Charter Schools mutated and speaking out for Public Schools.

On The Fun Half: Random Rush, North Carolina Senate Candidate Thom Tillis says the "traditional population" in America is fairly stable, Republican Muslim student taunted at Heritage Foundation event on Benghazi, new Benghazi conspiracy theories and your calls and IMs.

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Direct download: 06-17-14-Jack_Schneider-PUB.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:27pm EDT

Matt Duss of the Center For American Progress explains the roots of Iraq's current crisis, why the surge and the Sunni awakening did not create a new political culture in Iraq, how Iraq's Sunni's are repressed, how powerful is ISIS? Internal Sunni divisions in Iraq, why the Kurds are succeeding, remembering the full history of failure in Iraq and what could armed intervention achieve?

Also a Republican journalist look for ways to reduce school shootings without actually reducing them

On The Fun Half: Ari Fleischer forgets what year we invaded Iraq, Judith Miller is still talking about Iraq, all the war hawks who it it wrong and what they want now, a Muslim journalist insulted at a State GOP convention in Texas, , Alex Jones reporter shouts about injustice after being arrested for trying to break into a military base and your calls and IMs.

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Direct download: 06-16-14-Matt_Duss-PUB.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:35pm EDT

Cliff Schecter explains the shocking defeat of Eric Cantor, how David Brat has fused the religions of Christianity and Libertarianism, why Eric Cantor is such an A Hole, why Republicans will be in greater disarray, Elizabeth Warren to campaign for Alison Lundergan Grimes, Cliff's pick in the Kentucky Senate race, the time George H.W. Bush resigned his position at the NRA, Iraq comes apart, the frauds and criminals that brought us the Iraq invasion, does it all go back to Iran Contra? Remember what Thomas Friedman and other wrote about the Iraq invasion, John McCain getting every single thing about Iraq wrong and why Iraq was patient zero for the crisis the the Republicans unleashed on America.

On The Fun Half: Scott Esk a A conservative Christian Tea Party Republican candidate running for the Oklahoma House says that it would be fine to stone Gay people, conservative talks role in beating Eric Cantor, debating UN intervention in Libya, the right's delusions about foreign policy and your calls and IMs.

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Direct download: 06-13-14-Cliff_Schecter-PUB.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:49pm EDT

UN Dispatch's Mark Leon Goldberg explains how Iraq's government Nouri al Maliki, has been unable to stop growing violence in the country, the violent extremism of ISIS and their political and religious goals, Iraq and Syria and the Sunni Shia divide, how wide is support for ISIS? Kurdish independence, will Turkey intervene? How ISIS spread from Syria and the most basic things the Obama Administration can do.

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Direct download: 06-12-14-Mark_Leon_Goldberg-PUB.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:04pm EDT

The Huffington Post's Ryan Grim explains why Eric Cantor may have been upset in his primary, why we shouldn't underestimate the "jerk factor", why Eric Cantor could not control the Tea Party beast, how Eric Cantor beat himself, what Cantor's loss means for Republican leadership, why the next possible Republican Majority Leader, Kevin McCarthy is really bad at his current job and what are the legislative implications of Cantor's loss.

Peter Galuszka a Contributing Editor for Style Weekly in Richmond Virginia explains who the new Republican Primary voters? The resentment against Eric Cantor, how did the anti Cantor message spread? What was the role of far right radio in Brat's win, Eric Cantor's unforced error, the Democratic candidate Jack Trammell, David Brat's position on the minimum wage and is Brat vulnerable because of his far right views on immigration.

David Brat says there are no real differences between Tea Party values and Republican values. He is also funded in his Libertarian work by a bailed out bank and he flubs an easy question to the minimum wage.

On The Fun Half: Scottie Nell Hughes the Chief Correspondent For the Tea Party News Network, the Tea Party response to David Brat's claim that the Tea Party and the Republicans share identical principle, David Brat's position on minimum wage, a Republican Congressman Jeff Miller claims that dinosaurs going extinct prove global warming isn't real, Saint Louis Archbishop designate Robert Carlson claims he didn't know child sexual abuse was illegal in the 1980s and your calls and IMs.

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Direct download: 06-11-14-Ryan_Grim-Peter_Galuszka-Scottie_Nell_Hughes-PUB.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:32pm EDT

6/10/14 

David Huyssen, a Lectuer at Yale University and author of Progressive Inequality: Rich and Poor in New York, 1890–1920the historical mixed records of progressive reformers of the 19th century, the surge in industrial violence in the 1880s and 1890s, modern state violence and inequality, progressives and "instructing" the poor, when the wealthy paid to watch the poor eat in Madison Square Garden, why charity can't deal with poverty, structural poverty in New York in the 1890s and the child mortality rate, arson rings, the goals of the early progressive movement, why the progressives did not advocate for bottom up empowerment, what really created social mobility, privatization and the ongoing failure to address poverty at its root and why serious wealth redistribution is unavoidable to solve problems.

On The Fun Half: Alex Jones spins conspiracy theories after two of his fans go on a killing spree, Alex Jones explains how he would stage a false flag, Alex Jones explains why the killers liked him and the Pauls on Facebook, hint its a Obama/Zuckerberg conspiracy, Las Vegas shooting spree undercuts another dangerous NRA myth, crazy libertarians ideology, why have a concealed carry permit? Family tradition and guns, Random Rush and your calls and IMs.

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Direct download: 06-10-14-David_Huyssen-PUB.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:15pm EDT

Dr. Robert Lustig President of the Institute For Responsible Nutrition explains the food myths that are driving disease in America and around the globe, why not all calories are created equal, the collusion between food industry and government, the myth of individual responsibility and what we need to do to end the American public health crisis.

On The Fun Half: George F. Will calls being a sexual assault victim a "coveted status", Virginia Republicans engage in bribery to block healthcare expansion, Bowe Bergdahl and his family get death threats, Rand Paul says we should trade Democrats instead of Taliban, why President Obama was right to make that prisoner swap and your calls and IMs.

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Direct download: 06-09-14-Robert_Lustig-PUB.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:36pm EDT

Political strategist and weekly guest Cliff Schecter explains Majority Report Matt Binder's massive twitter win, Mississippi Democratic Candidate Travis Childers strikes a populist tone on economics, Chris McDaniels and the GOP move toward the far right, how Republicans disown their policies, why Thad Cochran is in trouble, Chris McDaniels many scandals, McDaniels previous work as a right wing shock jock talking about learning Spanish, does a McDaniels nomination mean Democrats have a chance in Mississippi? The NRA flip flops on Open Carry Texas, the full insanity of the gun movement and separating fact from fiction with Bowe Bergdahl.

Andy Kindler explains why he does not have a movie suggestion, the Andy Kindler and Walter Block voice test, why he loves Stephen Colbert's move to replace Dave Letterman, Andy's Jimmy Fallon impression, Andy also not impressed by Craig Ferguson,  the Marc Maron debate, who Andy likes on MSNBC and who he does not, who he does not and Kindler's backhanded Louie compliments and recommends the documentary Religulous.  

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Direct download: 06-06-14-Cliff_Schecter-Andy_Kindler-PUB.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:01pm EDT

Suresh Naidu an Assistant Professor of Economics and International Affairs at Columbia University explains the public image of economics, the false assumption that economics is right wing, inequality and the trade and technology myth, why income inequality increases, the political uses of the wealth tax, why inequality needs to be addressed globally, understanding the structure of the economy, what Thomas Piketty misses in his critique, robots and middle class jobs, coercive exchange and economic and understanding capital and political power.

On The Fun Half: Rick Perry says President arraigned the Bergdahl prison swap to distract from the VA scandal, "President Obama" responds to Perry, Keith Ablow says President Obama isn't connected to America, how the right distorts economics,  and your calls and IMs.

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Direct download: 06-05-14-Suresh_Naidu-PUB.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:12pm EDT

Ian Millhiser a Senior Constitutional Policy Analyst at the Center for American Progress Action Fund explains the major cases coming before the Supreme Court in June, President Obama's recess appointments to the NLRB and how the Republicans are exploiting federal loopholes to kill regulation, harassment at abortion clinics, the attack on public sector unions at the court, could Scalia save the unions? The case against the Supreme Court and the major implication of the Hobby Lobby case.

Adam Green of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee explains the battle for the soul of the Democratic Party, a big progressive win in New Jersey, the importance of the Iowa Senate race, California progressive Mike Honda wins on expanding Social Security, a major Democratic failure in California and what real centrism really is.

On The Fun Half: Fox News Psychiatrist Keith Ablow calls Bowe Bergdahl a narcissist who is addicted to adventure, Joni Ernst the hog castrating Senate candidate deletes a tweet sending prayers to Bowe Bergdahl, how to actually win Democratic primaries, and your calls and IMs.

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Direct download: 06-04-14-Ian_Millhiser-Adam_Green-PUB.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:50pm EDT

Dave Zirin author of the new book Brazil’s Dance with the Devil: The World Cup, the Olympics, and the Fight for Democracy explains why Brazilians are protesting against the World Cup, the unique style of Brazilian style, the growth of the moment against FIFA and the world cup in Brazil, FIFA as "invisible dictators", celebration capitalism and shock capitalism, how the World Cup is destroying the relationship between Brazilians and Soccer, the anti working class and anti civil liberties measures pushed through ahead of the World Cup, how protests against the World Cup have become more radical, wildcat strikes and direct action, the power of Pele speaking out against the World Cup and the standing in solidarity with Brazilians as they protest neo-liberalism during the cup.

Chiquita Banana opposes the 9/11 first responders bill because they fund terrorism in Columbia.

On The Fun Half: Big Earls restaurant in Texas says they don't want "fags" in their establishment, is Elizabeth Warren opening the door to run for President, how Bowe Bergdahl was released, why the right is trying to turn Bergdahl into the next Benghazi, Brian Kilmeade says Bergdahl's father looks like a member of the Taliban, Arizona Republican pretends to be Hispanic in run for Congress  and your calls and IMs.

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Direct download: 06-03-14-Dave_Zirin-PUB.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:58pm EDT

Journalist Amanda Marcotte explains the "Pick Up artist" community, the junk science behind PUA theory, entitlement and sex, Elliot Rodger's rage and misogyny, how online dating advice for men mirror traditional gender roles, the misogynist context of the Santa Barbra mass shooting and smart advice for dating and relationship.

On The Fun Half: President Obama's bold new push to cut carbon, why natural gas production and global emissions are still a major threat, Bill O'Reilly and Megyn Kelly debate inequality and both get it wrong, Bowe Bergdahl released from Taliban capture and thee right hates it, Game of Thrones reactions and your calls and IMs.

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Direct download: 06-02-14-Amanda_Marcotte-PUB.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:18pm EDT

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