The Majority Report with Sam Seder
Sam and Emma host Wilfred Codrington, Assistant Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School, to discuss President Biden's recent nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. They begin by situating her nomination within the expectations of a SCOTUS Justice’s pedigree, as Judge Jackson’s dual Harvard degrees, three federal clerkships (including for Justice Breyer), and experiences on multiple court circuits provide a resume that fits perfectly with the other Justices, while her work as a public defender sets her apart from the typical corporate pipeline and demonstrates her commitment to constitutional questions. After walking through her work that lead up to the nomination, Sam, Emma, and Professor Codrington posit how her role could impact the court both now, as she is slightly to the left of Breyer, and down the road, as even with a conservative majority her dissents can offer important toe-holds for fights decades from now. Next, Sam and the Professor get to dive into the administrative state, as they unpack the current EPA SCOTUS case and its role in furthering the conservative agenda of completely dismantling the capacity for non-congressional agencies to make American society work, before they wrap up the interview by taking on Sam’s “pre-pack the court” tactic, and the idea of bending the rules of the Court as we unpack its undemocratic nature. Sam and Emma also touch on absentee ballot rejections in Texas primaries, the CDC easing masking guidelines, and the effect of Biden pilfering the entire country of Afghanistan, before they touch on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and how the West loves to react to Christian– I mean white– I mean European– refugees in a way that absolutely demeans and dehumanizes the victims of Western imperialism outside of Europe.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma discuss the importance of emphasizing Russia’s actions as grounded in imperialism, and dive into Putin’s relationship with his oligarchs, and the obvious lack of leverage anyone in his regime has on him. They also look at Zelensky’s effective messaging in the midst of bombings and invasions, and the domestic pushback to Putin’s actions, before John from Minnesota calls in to discuss crypto and reallocation of wealth, and Bro Flamingo jumps off that with a conversation on the “Financialization of Daily Life.” Kowalski takes on the relationships between imperialism and agriculture, Condoleezza Rice takes on acknowledging her past war crimes, before they wrap up with the devolution of Jordan Peterson and Jacob from Alabama situates the current mineworkers strike as the longest one in his state’s history, plus, your calls and IMs!

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Direct download: 2_28_Codrington_-_pub.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:24pm EDT

It's Casual Friday! Emma hosts Derek Davison, author of the Foreign Exchanges newsletter on Substack and co-host of the American Prestige podcast, to discuss the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Then, Emma talks with Luke Savage, staff writer at Jacobin magazine and author of the upcoming book The Dead Center: Reflections On Liberalism And Democracy After The End Of History to round up the week in news! And lastly, Emma is joined by Jayar Jackson, host of The Watchlist on The Young Turks Network!

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sunsetlakecbd is a majority employee owned farm in Vermont, producing 100% pesticide free CBD products. Great company, great product and fans of the show! Use code Leftisbest and get 20% off at http://www.sunsetlakecbd.com. And now Sunset Lake CBD has donated $2500 to the Nurses strike fund, and we encourage MR listeners to help if they can. Here’s a link to where folks can donate: https://forms.massnurses.org/we-stand-with-st-vincents-nurses/

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Direct download: 2_25_Davison_Savage_Jackson_-_pub.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:02pm EDT

Emma hosts Andrew Cockburn, Washington editor at Harper's Magazine, to discuss his recent book The Spoils of War: Power, Profit, and the American War Machine. Then, Emma is joined by Ken Klippenstein, investigative reporter at the Intercept, to discuss his recent piece "SAUDI-RUSSIA COLLUSION IS DRIVING UP GAS PRICES — AND WORSENING UKRAINE CRISIS". However, they begin by taking a step back to look at the developments of recent weeks, leading up to last night’s Russian invasion of Ukraine, looking to how the Biden administration has signaled their response, from guessing correctly at Putin’s aims yet still making every effort to ensure he followed through, to the consistent push for more and more intense sanctions, before Andrew dives into the actual conflicts at hand, in the Donbas region and elsewhere, and explores Putin’s desire to pin everything to Nazis and communists. This fittingly leads them to look at the development of the foreign policy tactic of sanctions, first moving back to its emergence in the 1960s against the Cuban people, hoping to starve them into revolution, before they look at how it developed in a pseudo-technocratic manner, just as drone warfare did, with US officials presenting newer and newer sanctions as “precise” and “targeted,” despite everything about their effects suggesting the opposite. Next, they look at the long-lasting devastation that sanctions have wrought, even if eventually lifted – as we saw in Iran – and dive into their pointlessness as a completely unproductive involvement in this conflict. He and Emma then explore the evolution of the Military-Industrial Complex, which has driven up the Pentagon budget by ~5% per year since 1954 all while it is suggested that our actual “fighting strength” is dropping. Andrew Cockburn makes sense of this by re-situating how we look at the issue, exploring how the MIC and Pentagon are only understandable when viewed as moneymaking machines, as he walks through myriad examples, from the Air Force developing worse planes simply because they’re costlier and employ more technological precision to Korean war tactics that centered on raiding communist trenches for clothing. They wrap up by tracking the consistent reaction to any dips in the Pentagon’s budgetary growth (not budget; growth), alongside warmongering lies from the 60s “missile gap” to nuclear lies in the Middle East. Emma also walks us through the developments in Ukraine last night, tracking the invasion and what little we know about the death toll as she works her way through this tragedy.

And in the Fun Half: Ken Klippenstein joins as he discusses his recent piece on the role of Saudi-Russian collusion in driving up gas prices and enflaming the crisis in Ukraine, from Saudi Arabia bolstering Russia’s role in oil production (starting in 2015) to strengthen Putin’s hand in advancing this conflict, to the easy decisions that the US could make in just moving away from 0il, as well as touching on Biden advancing sanctions against Yemen. Then, Emma is joined by Matt and Brandon as they take a call from Bro Flamingo and admire Laura Ingraham’s Interruption Angle. Binder also takes on certain “leftists” refusal to acknowledge their weirdly pro-war excuses or take accountability for how they disseminate their own opinions, and he, Matt #2, Brandon, and Emma go back and forth on the role NATO should’ve or even could’ve played in the run-up, before Eric Adams, massive proponent of solitary confinement, rants on the importance of socializing in our well being. Lastly, they go off on the active violent incitement against Trans people by the right, from Marjorie Taylor Greene to Eric Prince, plus, your calls and IMs!

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Direct download: 2-24_Cockburn_-_pub.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:38pm EDT

Emma hosts Alex Keyssar, Professor of History and Social Policy at the Kennedy School at Harvard University, to discuss his recent book Why Do We Still Have the Electoral College?, on the consistent pushback to our system of Presidential Election since the start of the 19th Century. Professor Keyssar begins by situating the Electoral College as without a doubt the most unpopular institution in American history, with more constitutional amendments introduced regarding its abolition or revision than any other subject, as well as the obvious reasons behind this, from it simply not conforming to the democratic value of “one person = one vote,” to the constant manipulation it saw over its first half-century in existence. Diving into this element, Professor Keyssar paints a picture of the Electoral College in the first century of the U.S.’s existence, with state legislatures completely in control of electoral votes, some choosing to delegate them out themselves, some looking to statewide elections, and some employing district-specific elections, with the push for winner-take-all elections growing as the two-party system ingrained itself into our political culture, but changing state-to-state based off of the party in power. Next, Alex works through the structure of the EC, with a staunch advantage to the South, originally due to the 3/5 clause – and an important element in the South maintaining the institution of slavery – but even in the wake of the Civil War, as the incredible and immediate disenfranchisement of African Americans across the south meant their “freedom” bolstered the clout of the southern White vote. After briefly touching on the tentative approval of the Electoral College by the framers, alongside their misunderstanding of how hard it would truly be to pass amendments, Professor Keyssar and Emma look to Senator Birch Bayh’s effort in the late ‘60s to bring this battle back to Congress, with the wake of WWII, the passing of the VRA, and the ongoing Cold War all pushing democratic values to the forefront, successfully passing an amendment in with 82% of votes in the House, before a Senate filibuster hosted by White supremacists forced it to a halt. They wrap up the interview with the neoliberal era, and the post-1980 Republican mindset that sees the Electoral College as central to their foothold on minority power. Emma also dives into the horrors of a White supremacist and anti-communist mass shooting at a BLM protest in Portland, and Peter Doocy’s attempt to leverage Russia over the Climate Emergency, all while oil and gas have been central to the conflict.

And in the Fun Half: Emma takes an incredible call from Willow the Wendigo as she grapples with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s declaration that Texas will now treat trans and gender-related healthcare for teenagers as abuse; they walk through the importance of teenage gender-affirming care in myriad aspects, from decreasing suicide, self-harm, and depression rates to the impermanence of puberty-blockers, allowing kids going through puberty to take time with any decision on hormonal transition. Then, Tucker Carlson reminds everyday Americans that people who believe in racism and/or are Chinese are the true enemy in the coming Russian conflict, Kyle Rittenhouse joins him to call out the liars and frauds such as… such as… Whoopi Goldberg? The DC Trucker Convoy turns into an ad for one Bob Bolus, and Phil Mickelson discusses how working WITH authoritarians is the only way for change in the PGA, plus, your calls and IMs!

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Direct download: 2_-_23_Keyssar_-_pub.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:55pm EDT

Emma hosts Alleen Brown, reporter at The Intercept, to discuss her recent article series "Climate and Punishment". Then, Emma is joined by the AMQuickie's very own Jack Crosbie, currently stationed in Kyiv, to give us an update from the ground! Alleen begins by situating the research that led her to this series, with her work as a climate reporter consistently leading her to look at those most vulnerable, and find ways to tell their stories in a meaningful way, before she and Emma walk through the horrors that climate change (alongside a lack of infrastructural response) has wrought on the incarcerated members of society. They start in California with the Dixie Fire of last year still raging, encroaching on the Susanville detention center, with inmates having been locked in their cells with no electricity or lighting, and no knowledge of when the fire will reach their location, diving into the complete lack of care infrastructure that these facilities had to respond to even a generator failure, much less the wildfire that caused it. This lets them briefly touch on the exacerbation of these elements by the COVID-19 pandemic, from failures in the rollouts of vaccines, treatment, or even simple quarantine procedures, to the correlation between pandemics and climate change emphasizing how the imprisonment of these people forces their vulnerability to the climate. Next, they move from California’s fire crises, to DeSantis’ role in Florida’s flooding facilities, looking to the state as the leader in high-flood-risk detention centers, diving through stories of floods pushing water through the sewer systems and into inmates’ cells, leaving them living in human waste for hours until an eventual evacuation can be organized. They wrap up the interview by looking to Gov Abbott’s active push to deter the construction of air-conditioning in his prisons, largely in response to a collection of lawsuits from his time as Texas Attorney General that came in the wake of a multitude of deaths from heat exhaustion, before Alleen dives into why the state of the climate in these regions, as well as their expansive prison systems, served to make them apt study grounds for her research, but that by no means should suggest that this is anything by a problem of carceral states at large.

And in the Fun Half: Jack Crosbie joins Emma as they dive into the state of the Ukrainian-Russian conflict, walking through the instances of both vehemently nationalist pro-Ukrainian groups and vastly pro-Russian separatist groups (both of whom receive lots of outside funding) as well as the more overwhelming desire to have any semblance of stability without bloodshed amongst Ukrainians. They also dive into the historical divide between the Donbas region, Russia, and Ukraine, stemming all the way back to 2014’s annexation of Crimea by Russia, before touching on NATO’s role in it all. Emma also touches on the difference between wanting a USSR 2.0 and wanting another Russian Empire, Kenyan Ambassador Martin Kimani calls for a response to imperialism that aims to build “something greater formed in peace,” Tucker fantasizes about running into AOC at Jackson Hole, and the EmMajority report goes full Emme Woods. They also cover Ben Shapiro running to the defense of Hitler jokes, plus, your calls and IMs!

 
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Check out Jamie’s podcast, The Antifada. https://www.patreon.com/theantifada, on iTunes, or at https://www.twitch.tv/theantifada (streaming every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 7pm ET!)

Subscribe to Discourse Blog, a newsletter and website for progressive essays and related fun partly run by AM Quickie writer Jack Crosbie. https://discourseblog.com/

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Direct download: 2_-_22_Brown_Crosbie_-_pub.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:12pm EDT

Emma hosts Deva Woodly, Associate Professor of Politics at the New School for Social Research, to discuss her recent book Reckoning: Black Lives Matter and the Democratic Necessity of Social Movements, on the growing importance of Radical Black feminist pragmatism in an age where politics are seen exclusively as brokering deals with the powerful, and never about reconfiguring the power itself. They begin with a 2016 Obama quote on BLM needing to capitalize on their opportunity to have a seat at the table to paint this picture of the larger view of activism that Americans had at the time, before working backwards from the start of the neoliberal era to explore how the depoliticization of public life led to a corrosive “end of history” ideology that ignores the role of the people, both in terms of who legitimizes the political institutions, and in terms of who the institutions are accountable to. This leads them to the concept of the politics of care, as Professor Woodly defines it through its role in acknowledging injustice’s widespread and systemic trauma, and how it works to make racial, social, and economic justice to be the characteristics of political systems by centering the care of each other and ourselves. Next, she and Emma take a step back, looking at her progression into abolitionism as a pragmatic one, seeing the defund movement as an obvious response to large-scale municipal mismanagement of funds that works to bolster systemic processes that make black life precarious, rather than to uplift their communities. They then dive into the mythology of American exceptionalism that creates this intense naturalization of our political institutions to the point that we cannot envision alternatives, as Professor Woodly contrasts this with an abolitionist view of the future of politics, as one not about utopianism, but about progressive iterations that emphasize a constantly evolving political system to go with a constantly evolving citizenry. They wrap up the interview with Professor Woodly looking to define radical Black feminist pragmatism, walking through the development of the BLM movement over the last decade to paint a picture of an ideology that works to sustain itself inter-generationally, and pushes institutions and discourse forwards boldly. Emma also touches on the sentencing of an officer for the murder of Daunte Wright, and Kamala Harris’ taking on a Trumpian stance on Russian sanctions, which she dubs the GREATEST SANCTIONS EVER.

And in the Fun Half: Marjorie Taylor Greene dives into the Globalist roots of monopolizing a digital fiat currency… or something like that? Pete calls in from LA to ask what we do with fascist cops in a theoretical post-defund world, and Emma, Matt, and Bradley dive into Alexandra M. Hunt’s killer stance on crime, the importance of uplifting sex workers, and the dangers of reading the New York Post. Kowalski gives some updates on cornfield corruption, Bob Menendez gets SALT-y, and Jordan Peterson perfectly syncs up a high schooler’s cover of Dark Side of the Moon with an insanely out-of-touch academic’s view on individuality. Ian from CO discusses bolstering progressive media, plus, your calls and IMs!
 
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Check out The Letterhack’s upcoming Kickstarter project for his new graphic novel! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/milagrocomic/milagro-heroe-de-las-calles

Check out Jamie’s podcast, The Antifada. https://www.patreon.com/theantifada, on iTunes, or at https://www.twitch.tv/theantifada (streaming every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 7pm ET!)

Subscribe to Discourse Blog, a newsletter and website for progressive essays and related fun partly run by AM Quickie writer Jack Crosbie. https://discourseblog.com/

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Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter:

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The Majority Report with Sam Seder - https://majorityreportradio.com/

Direct download: 2_-_21_Woodly_-_pub.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:32pm EDT

It's Casual Friday! Sam and Emma host Ben Burgis, columnist at Jacobin, host of Give Them An Argument and author of Christopher Hitchens: What He Got Right, How He Went Wrong, and Why He Still Matters, to round up the week in news. Then, Sam and Emma are joined by comedian Jena Friedman, host and director of Indefensible on AMCPlus! Sam, Emma, and Ben begin by – surprise – diving into the legacy of Christopher Hitchens, and how he went from anti-war activist to weirdly pro-US intervention in the Middle East, looking to his slow trickle over to the side of the elite and well-educated, seeing a difference between the Cold War imperialism against peasant armies and the counter-insurrection of the ‘90s and ‘00s. Next, they look to the Ukraine-Russia conflict, the state of the Ukrainian separatists in the Donbas region, the absurd notion of debating false flags, and where the Biden administration actual stands, before they explore the Democratic establishment looking for any reason to blame the progressive agenda for their losses, even with all the money mismanagement, electoral failures, and policy choices stemming from themselves, all the while refusing to acknowledge the skyrocketing child poverty rates in the wake of them stepping away from progressive policy. Then, Jena Friedman tells the crew how she went from stand-up taking on the absurdity of the true-crime genre, to working on a more self-aware take on the category and its role in the hyper-punitive, racist, and sexist culture we live in. They also admire Charlie Kirk clinging to his childhood pediatrician to make fun of vaccines, and debate how comedy’s relationship to politics and progressivism has developed, before Sam and Emma also touch on the terrible Tommy Tuberville.

And in the Fun Half: Ronald Raygun calls in to explore canceling out cancel culture, aka getting back at Disney, Milo from Maine dives into the lack of union-focused education courses, and Sean from Coco Cali takes a crack at the Kennedy assassination and dives into a conversation on the draw of conspiracy theories. Eric Trump has one question for Jesus that boils down to, “so, what’s up with Biden?” and Andrew Yang wants everyone to pay a crypto lobby group to… solve poverty? Sam and Emma discuss the unsurprisingly bipartisan defense authorization bill, plus, your calls and IMs!

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Direct download: 2_-_18_Burgis_-_pub.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:29am EDT

Emma hosts James Kilgore, Research Scholar at the Center for African Studies at the University of Illinois, to discuss his recent book Understanding E-Carceration: Electronic Monitoring, the Surveillance State, and the Future of Mass Incarceration, on the technological advancements in the surveillance state at the hands of unregulated big tech, and the role the state and its neoliberal practices play in that. James begins by walking Emma through his personal experiences with the surveillance state, living as a federal fugitive from the US for 27 years while working for social justice and liberation movements in South Africa and Zimbabwe, before his eventual extradition in 2002 for federal possession of explosive charges stemming from the ‘70s, where he then spent over 6 years in prison, and lived with an ankle monitor tracking his every movement in his later house arrest. This brings us to James’ inspiration to start his research, as he began to explore the regulations on deployment and information extraction, as well as the breakdown of who it is used on, and how it cycles people back through the prison pipeline. He and Emma then take on neoliberalism’s transition to data as the new raw material for making money, allowing for incredible specificity when it comes to the state’s deployment of bio-power, and the role of deregulated big tech in developing and disseminating this surveillance throughout society, garnering just massive swaths of data on citizens worldwide with absolutely no accountability for where it goes. After touching on the mythology of technology and its development over the last two decades, painting a picture of technocratic development that works outside of human biases despite all data suggesting it is deeply ingrained within these systems of prejudice, they look to the sanitization of the US prison system, presenting e-surveillance as an alternative TO, rather than an alternative form OF, incarceration, before James emphasizes the role of US policymakers in actively funding contracts and work with and by these surveillance tech agencies. They wrap up the interview by diving into the global impact of these investments by US officials, looking at how electronic tech adds to the already insanely brutal surveillance of Palestinians, deeply expressing the nature and goal of these systems of control and dominance. Working off of this, Emma also covers the recent revelations on the horrors taking place on an Amazon-owned deportation plane service, before she runs through the positive outlook on the upcoming PA Senate race and John Fetterman’s progressive candidacy.

And in the Fun Half: Emma is joined by Matt and Brandon as they remember the Cosby show, Amber from Northern VA dives into her state’s general assembly, and Binder finds the elusive Charlie Kirk’s original Twitter account, managed by him, of his all-white basketball team, and the incredible boost it gave to his AAU stock! They also dive into the Canadian trucker convoy, walking through Dave Rubin’s identification with “both sides” of the Holocaust, misinformation and how it led to Ilhan Omar’s recent comments, and Nick from Manitoba calls in for a bit of a Canadian perspective. Brandon from TX dives into states across the country trying to manipulate the defund movement that never occurred to boost police funding and Kowalski gives his own updates, plus, your calls and IMs!

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Direct download: 2_17_Kilgore_-_pub.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:18pm EDT

Sam hosts investigative journalist Christopher Leonard to discuss his recent book The Lords of Easy Money: How the Federal Reserve Broke the American Economy, on how the lessons that the US Government took from the 2008 financial crash led to a decade of an asset boom on Wall Street alongside wage stagnation for workers, and the role the COVID-19 pandemic played at the end of it. They begin by essentially situating what the Federal Reserve is and does, and what changed with the Great Recession in 2008, looking to the Feds creation in 1913 to manage our currency, and the Congressional acts of 1978 that dialed down their focus to specifically a mandate of managing inflation and employment, before diving into how the institution effectively printed 3.5x the money from 2008-2014 that they had printed in the near-century before that. Sam and Christopher then look to the relationship between these two mandates, with a generally inverse relationship between their respective solutions and issues, the differences between democratic fiscal policy and unilateral monetary policy solutions, and how the US has recently seen a complete paralysis of fiscal policy during a multi-decade run of Congressional inaction. Thus, Christopher arrives at how the Federal Reserve was left out as the only problem-solving actor in the shadow of the 2008 financial crisis, setting the stage for the revelation for Wall Street that was quantitative easing, in which the Fed effectively funneled billions of dollars into Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan as primary lenders, reducing debt, pushing the interest rate to zero, and forcing the need for riskier investments. Diving into the difference between assets, which hold their value, and material goods, Sam and Christopher dive into how this tactic worked to bump up risky lending practices, pushing for a hyper-trickle down tactic of forcing up asset prices, and effectively bolstering a separate economic boom for the exclusively-wealthy, while continued wage stagnation saw the regular economy falter and forced high-risk investments saw elites trade away job growth for the working class with no accountability for their mistakes. They wrap up the interview by looking to the CARES Act as the US Government finally coming back around on fiscal policy, despite it quite literally being what saved us from the Great Depression, and why, in spite of this, our commitment to hyper-efficient supply lines, logistics, and monopolies meant the fiscal policy would not also see the necessary systemic changes that have been lagging for 15 years. Sam and Emma also dive into Professor Jonathan Turley’s revelation on Fox News that if MLK had been treated like conservative protesters are, he might have been arrested, potentially even multiple times, some of which maybe would’ve resulted in quintessential civil rights texts that are read across the country.

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Direct download: 2_16_Leonard_-_pub-mem.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:25pm EDT

Sam and Emma break down some of the biggest stories from the weekend in news, from the ongoing situation in Ukraine to labor, the courts, COVID, and more! Beginning with updates on the Ukrainian border, Sam and Emma dive into the breaking news that a majority of the breaking news this past week has been false, and simply the US media working to fear and warmonger as tensions build in the US populace, before they look to the role of Ukrainian President Zelensky, both in how he has capitalized on US aid, and how the US media has worked to misunderstand his statements on the build-up of Russian troops. Next, Sam and Emma reflect on the US media, bolstered by Right-wing think tanks, and their inability to see war as a bad thing, almost ever. They then move to the release of the John Durham Report, and do their best to get their takes out over the screams of “Russiagate!” as they cover the falsities of the report, how it may relate to the lawsuits against Trump in NYC right now, and why it so weirdly dropped just days after the statute of limitations had expired. Sam and Emma also touch on the hubris of wealth, news on rising drought levels alongside rising temperature, and the Senate’s failure to agree on Russian sanctions.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma are joined by the one-and-only Nomiki Konst as she shines a light on the candidacy of Nabila Islam for GA State Senator, and developments in regards to Puerto Rico’s teachers' protests. They also look to the Canadian border to explore the impact of the trucker blockade, alongside Matt Walsh somehow undermining his previous statements on traffic protests, and Justin Trudeau’s potentially overboard response as reports of him freezing the protesters' bank accounts trickle in. They wrap up the fun half by touching on the state of the Democratic and Republicans parties moving into 2022, as the Republican establishment seeks to distance themselves from Trump while their candidates do the opposite, and whether Democrats will be able to muster the strength to maintain at least one of the two chambers of Congress. Lastly, Charlie Kirk knows more about your kids than you do (but it's totally not creepy), plus, your IMs!

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Direct download: 2_15_seder_-_Pub.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:15pm EDT

Sam and Emma host writer and filmmaker Rupert Russell to discuss his recent book Price Wars: How the Commodities Markets Made Our Chaotic World, on how the profits in Wall Street come from placing bets on the products most central to our society’s functioning. First, Rupert situates his studies over the past decade, originating with his work on the Arab Spring and studying the cascade of revolution in the wake of one of the biggest spikes in food prices, with millions becoming highly at risk for starvation worldwide at the start of the 2010s. Then, he, Emma, and Sam look to Friedmanomics to explain why we look at pricing the way we do, and dive into the role that finance plays between the seller and buyer binary, bringing in futures trading originally to provide a sense of stability and speculation for necessary production (e.g. food), before Alan Greenspan and Larry Summers came along under Clinton and worked aggressively to cover up the potential risks that had been growing behind the scenes as the math became more and more complicated. This drastically shifts the stage moving into the 2000s, as the finance world moves fully into Quantity Index Funds and derivatives, and cements themselves as the central player in setting future prices, ultimately pushing the profits away from the actual production and selling of commodities, and to the storage of such items with the knowledge of future price booms, thus pushing the prices of important goods higher and higher. Next, Sam, Rupert, and Emma move into how this was set up to compound with the Financial Crisis in 2007, as financiers had to move into a new asset class, looking to commodities in the wake of the collapse of the housing market, and taking the pre-existing price boom to an entirely new level. This, then, brings us back to the Arab Spring, as the broken food pricing wrought horror on the Authoritarian bargains set up by countless regimes in the Middle East, effectively meaning the only regimes that could provide for their people were those bolstered by massive oil reserves, like Saudi Arabia and Libya, setting the stage for the countless crisis of the decade, from ISIS’s rise to the Refugee Crisis to the boom of authoritarian populism. They wrap up the interview by looking at the lessons from the commodity de-stabilization of the 2010s, particularly around oil and drugs, and how we need to genuinely set up new systems that are funded by the banking world, without letting free reign for manipulation of those systems. Sam and Emma also touch on Biden’s frozen aid to Afghanistan, and the moderate position of refusing to support Afghani people.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma cover Lindsay Graham’s desire for drama, Seth from Portland explores electoralism and the two-party system, Emma walks through her Super Bowl experience, and Andrew Yang absolutely TEARS Democrats a new one for having the exact same goals on healthcare as he does (no public option, we will give you nothing). Candace Owens feels a wedge driven between her and her anti-Black fanbase after she enjoyed the halftime show, and then we get calls from John from San Antonio and Kenny from Berkeley. "Bret Weinstein" takes aim at Sam’s disrespect of THE Joe Rogan Experience, and explores the importance of his philosophical bro-downs, just like Thomas Jefferson’s before him, and Jesus’s before that. Hunter from Hampton Roads discusses challenging Rep. Bobby Scott for District 3 in VA, plus, your calls and IMs!

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Direct download: 2_14_Russell_-_pub.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:06pm EDT

It's Casual Friday! Sam and Emma host Heather Digby Parton, contributing writer at Salon.com and proprietor of the blog Hullabaloo, to round up the week in news. Then, Sam and Emma are joined by Matthew Film Guy! Heather, Sam, and Emma dive into the Democratic party’s inability to not react to every single Fox News talking point, no matter how baseless it is or how few people genuinely believe it. This lets them walk through the rapid turnaround on harm-reduction safe smoking kits from the Biden Administration, not only pushing out any concept of promoting safer intake of crack, but then turning around and completely abandoning the policy as a whole, despite its incredible efficacy and support, before they also connect this to Biden’s response to the US’s frozen aid to Afghanistan, only granting half of the funds despite starvation and devastation in the country following our withdrawal. Next, they look to some of the better 180's done by the Dems, exploring Pelosi being bullied from extolling the virtues of lawmaker insider-trading to supporting a bill to put a stop to it, and why this looks to be a good fight heading into the midterms. Lastly, they touch on the state of the Right, exploring why the party might have seen a turn against Trump’s idea of a Vice President having the power to overturn elections, including Pence, McConnell, and Brian Kilmeade all rejecting the idea over the course of this week, before they wrap up with a discussion of the dark money behind the Canadian trucker convoy and the impact it could see on our already fragile supply chain. Sam and Emma also dive a little deeper into the unmitigated cowardice of the Biden Administration over these past two days.

And in the Fun Half: Matthew Film Guy joins Emma and Sam as they take on the Oscars and the CIA’s obvious interference and dive into the beauty of truth that captures the impossibility of truth, as seen in The Lovely Month of May (French) and Chronicles of a Summer (also French). Next, Emma and Sam also dive into the value of Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock’s seats in Georgia, especially in pushing congressional trading laws, a Texas GOP statehouse candidate professes her love for bullying trans children in the classroom, and Lindsey Graham understands that the murder of non-American civilians is simply life, and the murder of American citizens is simply impossibly horrible, plus, your IMs!

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Subscribe to Discourse Blog, a newsletter and website for progressive essays and related fun partly run by AM Quickie writer Jack Crosbie. https://discourseblog.com/

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Direct download: 2_-11_Digby_Film_Guy_pub_mem.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:10pm EDT

Emma hosts journalist Travis Lupick to discuss his recent book Light Up the Night: America's Overdose Crisis and the Drug Users Fighting for Survival. Then, Emma is joined by Jessica Cisneros, candidate for Congress in Texas's 28th District, to give an update from the campaign trail!Travis and Emma begin by situating his story in this week's news regarding the success of and backlash to Biden’s safe smoking kit, including the fact that the existence of clean pipes and needles does not create more demand for opioids, no matter how much that idea supports conservatives’ desire to avoid slight discomfort. Travis dives into his work, which started in Vancouver in the wake of the incredible success of North America’s first needle exchange, and how this represented the importance of taking on the opioid crisis as a public health issue, not a criminal one, before he and Emma work to define the concept of “harm reduction” and the importance of building a system of trust in community health practices, especially when it comes to encouraging future treatment. Next, they look to the Nixon Administration as they dive into the birth of the war on drugs, and John Ehrlichman famously saying the quiet part out loud in pinning their criminalization of heroin and marijuana on an attempt to imprison Black and brown people and hinder the anti-war movements of the era. They wrap up the interview by looking at the current stage of the opioid crisis, moving from one of prescription pills to heroin and now to fentanyl, and this concept of how the “iron law of prohibition,” means the criminalization of illicit substances ultimately pushes for more potent and transportable drugs, rather than putting a stop to their supply, before looking to what legislators and policymakers can and should do moving forwards. Emma also touches on the anti-semitism and anti-worker ideology behind the US-backed Canadian tucker convoy.

And in the Fun Half: Jessica Cisneros comes on to discuss her candidacy for TX-28 in the wake of Henry Cuellar being raided by the FBI, and the progressive agenda she wants to push as San Antonio becomes bluer and bluer, then Chris Leal for HD-114 hops on to explore how he’s riding his union backing in the hopes of winning the first Democratic seat in a statewide Texas election in decades. Emma is also joined by Brandon and Matt Binder as they take on Dave Chappelle leveraging his investments against affordable housing in his town, the absurdity of recent crypto corruption, and Jason Myles from “This is Revolution” calls in to explore the problems of our guest’s representation of drug abuse, and the importance of recognizing the inherent ugliness of the problem and avoiding the need to paint a picture of a “beautiful” victim, plus, your calls and IMs!

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Check out The Letterhack’s upcoming Kickstarter project for his new graphic novel! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/milagrocomic/milagro-heroe-de-las-calles

Check out Jamie’s podcast, The Antifada. https://www.patreon.com/theantifada, on iTunes, or at https://www.twitch.tv/theantifada (streaming every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 7pm ET!)

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The Majority Report with Sam Seder - https://majorityreportradio.com/

Direct download: 2_10_Lupick_Cisneros_-_pub.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:45pm EDT

Sam and Emma host Kellie Carter Jackson, Associate Professor of Africana Studies at Wellesley College, to discuss her recent book Force and Freedom: Black Abolitionists and the Politics of Violence, using the influence of Black leaders to explore the growth of the abolitionist movement from moral suasion to an understanding that intrinsic rights cannot be granted. Professor Carter Jackson begins by situating the abolitionist fight back in the early 19th Century under its prevailing narrative of being a white man’s burden, with few lasting memories of the Black revolutionaries of the time, exploring how White Christian abolitionists attempted to capitalize on religious rhetoric of guilt and shame, while their slave-owning counterparts looked to the New Testament for a defense of their status as masters. After briefly covering the state of Black Christianity and the self-identification with the Israelites of the Old Testament, Prof. Carter Jackson dives into how Black abolitionists saw the institution of slavery as one started and sustained by violence, and thus one that can only be overturned by violence, looking to the story of John Anderson’s escape to Canada, and the rallying of a crowd around his decision to murder a White stalker that followed him in his escape. Next, they dive into the middle of the 19th Century, looking to the Abolitionist papers of the time, and the influence of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act in pushing Black abolitionists well beyond the acceptance of legitimate violence, effectively shifting the line of freedom to the Canadian border, as she dives into the story of William Parker’s Pennsylvania safe house and the Black self-protection societies that worked together to ensure the safety of free folks on the lam. They wrap up the interview by looking to the Haitian Revolution, and the genuine fear it inspired amongst white slave owners, diving into the later white-washing of the Abolitionist and Civil Rights movements away from the legitimacy of violence that actually drove their progress. Sam and Emma also cover Nancy Pelosi finally coming around on legislators not being allowed to act on insider trading, and Rand Paul’s reminder that Afghanistan actually owes the US for the decades of exploitation and disaster that we wrought on the country.

And in the Fun Half: Sam, Emma, and the MR Crew explore Turkish Martha Stewart’s Bitcoin fraud, Greg Gutfeld killing it with the “who’s the real Hitler” jokes, and Dan from the center of the PNW calls in to explore the birth of Air America. They also cover the need for aid to Afghanistan, regardless of how much actually goes to the citizens, the Atlantic hires some more whine moms to cover COVID, and Fox News explores America being thrown into the gutter by toothpaste thieves. Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens discuss drug abuse and anti-semitism with glee, Geraldo stuns Dan Bongino and Sean Hannity by stating that drug overdoses are bad, and Dan from SC bonds with Emma over some 2016 election storytelling. Betty from Southern California dives into the horror of community-enforced anti-vaccination purity practices, especially when it comes to HPV and STD vaccinations for girls, plus, your calls and IMs!

Purchase tickets for the live show in Brooklyn on March 26th HERE:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-majority-report-with-sam-seder-live-tickets-259736848907?aff=odwdwdspacecraft

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Subscribe to Brandon’s show The Discourse on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/ExpandTheDiscourse

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Check out Jamie’s podcast, The Antifada. https://www.patreon.com/theantifada, on iTunes, or at https://www.twitch.tv/theantifada (streaming every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 7pm ET!)

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The Majority Report with Sam Seder - https://majorityreportradio.com/

Direct download: 2_-_9_Jackson_-_pub.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:52pm EDT

Sam and Emma host Mark Joseph Stern, staff writer at Slate, to discuss the potential nominees for Biden's SCOTUS pick. Then, Sam and Emma are joined by Annelle Sheline, Middle East research fellow at the Quincy Institute, to discuss the ongoing situation in Yemen. Mark Joseph Stern begins by situating Breyer’s brief moment as the leader of the Liberal block as a failure to lead his collective in the midst of a serious shift to the right, looking at how his position since Ginsberg’s passing has overseen a Conservative majority that is completely rewriting the rules of the Court. They dive into the contrast we see between Breyer and more activist justices like Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, and how his role reflects the attitude of the Courts at the turn of the century, rather than the one he actually sits on, before looking at the impact this can have on the next couple decades of the legal system, particularly around paving a road for young lawyers looking to find a way to have a genuine impact on Constitutional Law. This, of course, leads them to the role of the Federalist Society in ensuring that Conservatives have a collective of dedicated legal scholars that sign on to an agenda from their entrance into the world of lawyering, which Stern contrasts effectively with the collection of judges supposedly up to fill Breyer’s seat, including Ketanji Brown Jackson, Leondra Kruger, and Michelle Childs, looking to how the favorite of the Democratic corporatists, Childs, dedicated her legal career to anti-union litigation, whereas KBJ has shown a clear dedication to fighting for elements that are genuinely in the future of Democratic activism. They wrap up the interview by touching on the horrific SCOTUS decision that came forward on the Shadow Docket last night, in which Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett pushed through overturning a conservative court’s decision to block Alabama’s obviously racist redistricting, effectively undermining the only remaining element of the VRA. Next, Dr. Annelle Sheline joins as she, Sam, and Emma take on the recent developments with the US’s involvement with Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen, and why Biden suddenly sees increased support of obviously-destructive intervention as good and viable, just a couple of years after Democrats successfully invoked a war powers resolution for Trump’s very similar actions. Sam and Emma also touch on Matt Walsh’s wildly disgusting and exploitative transphobic honeypot endeavor, and updates on Staten Island’s Amazon unionization attempt.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma take on continuing censorship of anti–Israeli beliefs and support, particularly among teachers, and how totally crazy it is that the Bari Weiss’s of the world haven’t touched on it. MR fav Jenna then calls in to give some updates on the incredible euphoria and gender-affirmation she has found post-surgery, and the difficulties of the journey, Fred from the UK takes on his government’s inflation talking points, and Sam from Minnesota lays the road to "stroads". Sam and Emma also touch on Team Youngkin going ad hominem on a High Schooler, Brian Kilmeade sends out his Fox beams to DT, and Worcester and Memphis see some union-busting reversions, plus, your calls and IMs!

Purchase tickets for the live show in Brooklyn on March 26th HERE:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-majority-report-with-sam-seder-live-tickets-259736848907?aff=odwdwdspacecraft

Purchase tickets for the live show in Boston on May 15th HERE:

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Check out The Nomiki Show on YouTube. https://www.patreon.com/thenomikishow

Check out Matt Binder’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/mattbinder

Subscribe to Brandon’s show The Discourse on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/ExpandTheDiscourse

Check out The Letterhack’s upcoming Kickstarter project for his new graphic novel! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/milagrocomic/milagro-heroe-de-las-calles

Check out Jamie’s podcast, The Antifada. https://www.patreon.com/theantifada, on iTunes, or at https://www.twitch.tv/theantifada (streaming every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 7pm ET!)

Subscribe to Discourse Blog, a newsletter and website for progressive essays and related fun partly run by AM Quickie writer Jack Crosbie. https://discourseblog.com/

Subscribe to AM Quickie writer Corey Pein’s podcast News from Nowhere. https://www.patreon.com/newsfromnowhere 

Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter:

@SamSeder

@EmmaVigeland

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@MattLech

@BF1nn

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The Majority Report with Sam Seder - https://majorityreportradio.com/

Direct download: 2_-_8_Stern_Sheline_-_pub.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:06pm EDT

Sam and Emma host Ryan Cooper, national correspondent at The Week, to discuss his new book How Are You Going to Pay For That? Smart Answers to the Dumbest Questions in Politics, on how the self-immolating ideas of the free market have locked us into a vision of government that is impotent in the face of any economic stress on the lower classes, and required to act, often violently, when it is impacting the capitalists. Ryan begins by looking at this question of “how to pay for that,” and how it reflects this view of the economy as a pre-political entity, with liberalism’s and libertarianism's belief that government borrowing on behalf of the economy, alongside most other government regulation, is inherently bad, and that the best government is no government. However, throughout the history of capitalism, all the way back to early industrialization in England, progress has been defined by economic and labor regulations, from child labor to maternity rights, to even simply forty-hour work weeks, and yet all of these developments were pushed back against at the time, as working against natural relations of human society. Moving towards the New Deal era revelations, this brings them to the absolute impossibility of a “self-regulating economy,” as economies are literally products of structures of policy with active management, active redistribution of wealth, and active regulation, and just as those elements had been working to serve and bolster the power and “rights” of the capitalist class they can work to serve the people actually engaging in labor. Ryan, Sam, and Emma then dive into the driving force of property, and the ideology of “properterianism” that has been central to all economic development, viewing property as a sacred object, and foundational to the social order, thus becoming the driving force behind the maintenance of the status quo through violence, and therefore the biggest driver of the state’s monopoly on legitimate force, from the colonial genocides and displacements to contemporary policing. Lastly, they wrap up the interview by touching on correlations between wealth and quantity of work, looking at how the ‘60s saw Europe take their wealth and work towards better privilege for workers, turning it into more free time, with mandatory paid vacation, sick leave, maternity leave, and more, while the US has instead worked to continue to build the wealth more exclusively for the capitalists, meaning more and more hours for less efficient building of wealth. Sam and Emma wrap up with updates on Russia’s building forces on the Ukrainian border, Jim Clyburn’s push for an anti-union Supreme Court Justice, and Mike Pence’s revelation of being a true #2 (this is a Pence-il joke).

And in the Fun Half: Gregory from Oklahoma calls in to explore MR’s impact on his Youtube channel “The Green Corn Rebellion Show,” and the MR crew dive into various responses to Pence's statement on his role in overturning the election, from Bannon’s rejection of his “stone-cold” cowardice, to Rubio jumping right on Mike’s wagon, using the Sinema excuse of “but what if THEY do it to US.” They also cover the Joe Rogan drama from this weekend, and where he fits into “corporate media,” before Michael from Miami discusses Democrats’ inability to ignore bad faith discussions, the Common Sense Cowboy pitches releasing dogs at the border, and Charlie Kirk forgets his Bitcoin password, plus, your calls and IMs!

Purchase tickets for the live show in Boston on May 15th HERE:

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Support the St. Vincent Nurses today! https://action.massnurses.org/we-stand-with-st-vincents-nurses/

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Subscribe to Brandon’s show The Discourse on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/ExpandTheDiscourse

Check out The Letterhack’s upcoming Kickstarter project for his new graphic novel! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/milagrocomic/milagro-heroe-de-las-calles

Check out Jamie’s podcast, The Antifada. https://www.patreon.com/theantifada, on iTunes, or at https://www.twitch.tv/theantifada (streaming every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 7pm ET!)

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Watch Sam on Gregory from Oklahoma's show here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyKh3be23v8&feature=youtu.be

The Majority Report with Sam Seder - https://majorityreportradio.com/

Direct download: 2_-_7__Cooper_-_pub.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:05pm EDT

Sam and Emma are joined by Sen. Nina Turner, candidate for Congress in Ohio's 11th District to give an update from the campaign trail. Then, they are joined by Ben Dixon of The Benjamin Dixon Show to round up the week in news. Lastly, comedian David Cross joins the MR Crew ahead of his new comedy special I'm From The Future premiering on February 12th! Sam, Emma, and Sen. Turner begin by situating her upcoming race for Cleveland’s congressional seat following her loss in last year’s special election for the same seat, diving into her early lead in polling slowly being chopped away through a mass investment of dark money – from out-of-state capitalists to pro-Israel PACs – Democrats pushing to get out the vote for conservatives, and active campaigns to paint Turner, much like the Mayor of Cleveland, in explicitly racist stereotypes. Next, they dive into the divides between Rep. Shontel Brown and herself, particularly along the lines of fighting for and actively pushing a progressive agenda, rather than tailing along behind public opinion, before wrapping up by looking at the state of politics in Cleveland and Ohio at large as it undergoes a new gerrymandering process by Republicans, and exploring the similarities of the fight on local and federal levels. Then, Ben Dixon joins as they take on the state of the Democrats, exploring Sen. Wicker’s response to Biden’s proposal of a Black woman on the Supreme Court, the preparations for Pelosi’s replacement in leadership, and Biden’s proclamation of appreciation for Mitch McConnell and his role in the Senate. They also touch on the revealed footage behind another Minneapolis murder at the hands of Police, and how the hell we can get any material change through Democrats. Sam and Emma also touch on the various foreign policy disasters the US has been wading through, from murdering civilians in Syria to sanctions in Afghanistan, Eastern Europe, and Russia.

And in the Fun Half: David Cross joins as he, Sam, and Emma tackle his upcoming show “Guru Nation,” what a true season of TV means, the difficulties of Shakespearian pronunciation, and discuss his newest special “I’m From the Future,” before Sam finally gets his new, exclusive scoop out of David. Sam and Emma also dive into the continued ravaging of the US by Omicron, Ben Shapiro calling 2,632 deaths per day “a state of mind,” and Adam Carolla’s kindergarten sexism. They also touch on Russia’s amassing of their military on the Ukrainian border alongside reports of a possible false flag by Russia and the absurdity of how the State Department reported it, regardless of truth, plus, your IMs!

Purchase tickets for the live show in Boston on May 15th HERE:

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Support the St. Vincent Nurses today! https://action.massnurses.org/we-stand-with-st-vincents-nurses/

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Check out The Letterhack’s upcoming Kickstarter project for his new graphic novel! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/milagrocomic/milagro-heroe-de-las-calles

Check out Jamie’s podcast, The Antifada. https://www.patreon.com/theantifada, on iTunes, or at https://www.twitch.tv/theantifada (streaming every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 7pm ET!)

Subscribe to Discourse Blog, a newsletter and website for progressive essays and related fun partly run by AM Quickie writer Jack Crosbie. https://discourseblog.com/

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Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter:

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The Majority Report with Sam Seder - https://majorityreportradio.com/

Direct download: 2-4_Turner_Dixon_Cross_-_Pub.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:06pm EDT

Emma hosts Peter Robison, investigative journalist at Bloomberg, to discuss his recent book Flying Blind: The 737 MAX Tragedy and the Fall of Boeing, on the deregulation and the turn to serve the shareholders exclusively that lead up to a six month period a few years ago that saw multiple plane crashes with the 737 MAX. Robison begins by situating the crashes within the last few years, exploring how, in the wake of the first crash, Boeing dove right into a strategy of blaming the piloting of the plane, only for the second crash to affirm the whisperings of Boeing simply failing to properly train and equip their pilots. Next, he and Emma take a step back, exploring how Boeing became the corporation it is today, central to the development of the US Jet Age, working from the mid 20th Century development of the 747 jets up to the 777 in the mid-90s, both of which served as symbols of great American manufacturing in aerospace. This brings them to the massive shift that occurred as the US entered the neoliberal era, starting with Harry Stonecipher’s McDonnell Douglas acquiring Boeing and immediately shifting to the Jack Welsh model of pushing shareholder profits as the driver of the company, as Peter Robison explores in their shifting proxy statements, which went from discussing customer service and safety to cost containment and efficiency over the 90s. Next, they move to the role of the government itself, with 90s Republicans and Bill Clinton teaming up to “reinvent” government into a machine of financialization and deregulation, pushing the Federal Aviation Administration itself towards a business strategy, granting Boeing and other companies self-regulatory authorities to help push planes through manufacturing and onto the runway. Finally, they take on the compounding of these elements into the manufacturing failures of the late 2010s, with their rise parallelled by a union-busting attitude in the industry and a mass shift of profits going directly into the pockets of executives. Emma also touches on the brutality of US foreign policy, including another strike in Syria with mass civilian casualties, and a refusal to even acknowledge that people see Israeli as an apartheid state, before she dives into Rocky Wirtz, owner of the Chicago Blackhawks, and his absurd response to being questioned by someone he isn't paying.

And in the Fun Half: Emma is joined by Matt and Brandon as they take calls on Kermit the Jordan Peterson and the engineer to military defense pipeline, and Candace and Robert Malone claim that diversity of views is easier found at home, with just your family, than at public school, with thousands of different people. Tucker continues his crusade in defense of CNN correspondents who engage in sexually questionable business practices (Zucker, Cuomo, Cuomo), and Jimmy Fallon puts forwards perhaps his most awkward interview yet, as he and Paris Hilton show off their super-personalized, totally not identical apes. Nathan from Chicago discusses Pluto TV and the overlapping of news programs, Alex from NY gives his matchups, and Emma explores misogyny in journalism, sports, sports journalism, and politics… and political journalism, plus, your calls and IMs!

Purchase tickets for the live show in Brooklyn on March 26th HERE:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-majority-report-with-sam-seder-live-tickets-259736848907?aff=odwdwdspacecraft

Purchase tickets for the live show in Boston on May 15th HERE:

Subscribe to the AMQuickie newsletter here:  https://madmimi.com/signups/170390/join

Join the Majority Report Discord! http://majoritydiscord.com/

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Support the St. Vincent Nurses today! https://action.massnurses.org/we-stand-with-st-vincents-nurses/

Check out Matt’s show, Left Reckoning, on Youtube, and subscribe on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/leftreckoning

Subscribe to Matt’s other show Literary Hangover on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/literaryhangover

Check out The Nomiki Show on YouTube. https://www.patreon.com/thenomikishow

Check out Matt Binder’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/mattbinder

Subscribe to Brandon’s show The Discourse on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/ExpandTheDiscourse

Check out The Letterhack’s upcoming Kickstarter project for his new graphic novel! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/milagrocomic/milagro-heroe-de-las-calles

Check out Jamie’s podcast, The Antifada. https://www.patreon.com/theantifada, on iTunes, or at https://www.twitch.tv/theantifada (streaming every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 7pm ET!)

Subscribe to Discourse Blog, a newsletter and website for progressive essays and related fun partly run by AM Quickie writer Jack Crosbie. https://discourseblog.com/

Subscribe to AM Quickie writer Corey Pein’s podcast News from Nowhere. https://www.patreon.com/newsfromnowhere 

Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter:

@SamSeder

@EmmaVigeland

@MattBinder

@MattLech

@BF1nn

@BradKAlsop

The Majority Report with Sam Seder - https://majorityreportradio.com/

Direct download: 2_-_3_rOBISON_-_PUB.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:54pm EDT

Sam and Emma host Kyle T. Mays, Assistant Professor of African American Studies at UCLA, to discuss his recent book An Afro-Indigenous History of the United States, which attempts to reframe a history of US capitalism around as a system built around the dispossession and enslavement of indigenous peoples, from Africa to the Americas. Professor Mays begins by situating land as the starting point of a system birthed by settler-colonialism, not looking to the industrial revolution or the first American plantations as the seeds, but rather to the forced removal and transportation of Indigenous Africans to be exploited in the Americas, where they then began the removal and transportation of indigenous folks there as well. Next, he walks Sam and Emma through a few concepts of indigeneity, looking to the importance of land and culture and history, and the consistent rejection of recognition of it by the US, before they look to stories that are central to an Afro-Indigenous history of the US, exploring folks like Paul Cuffe, Phillis Wheatley, and Olaudah Equiano and how they grappled with mixed indigeneity in a country that was virulent in their oppression of Blackness and staunch in their rejection and manipulation of Indigenous Americans. After looking at the role of the slave trade in Indigenous Nations, they dive into the Universal Race Congress and early attempts to find unity in the dispossession and exploitation of indigenous folks by American capitalism, before looking to the Red- and Black Power coalitions in the ‘60s and 70s. They wrap up with an extended discussion of reparations, and how to grapple with a form of reciprocity that doesn’t reinforce the same system that drove the exploitation that made it necessary. Sam and Emma also touch on former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores filing suit against the NFL and Ron DeSantis reminds us of the most fundamental of human rights: the landlord’s right to rent (not a tenant’s right to bed or shelter or the ability to live or anything.)

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma cover unlikely ally Alex Jones calling out David “Panel-Stealing” "PacMan", Sarah Palin and Ted Cruz take on the problem with having Justices with identity and race, rather than being normal, and Mitch McConnell reminds us that consciously hiring Black women is racist. They also admire the continued Doocy-Kilmeade cold war on vaccinations, Tucker and Jason Whitlock get mad at Black people speaking out against racism in the NFL and it's not even about Brian Flores, and Sean Hannity makes a comparison, very cool. Plus, your IMs!

Purchase tickets for the live show in Brooklyn on March 26th HERE:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-majority-report-with-sam-seder-live-tickets-259736848907?aff=odwdwdspacecraft

Purchase tickets for the live show in Boston on May 15th HERE:

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Check out Jamie’s podcast, The Antifada. https://www.patreon.com/theantifada, on iTunes, or at https://www.twitch.tv/theantifada (streaming every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 7pm ET!)

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Direct download: 2-2_Mays_-_pub.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:06pm EDT

Sam and Emma host David Dayen, executive editor of the American Prospect, to discuss the recent issue of the magazine, entitled "How We Broke the Supply Chain", walking through how the policies of the last forty years, from globalization and monopolization to financialization and deregulation, served to create a fragile supply line that maximizes profits while minimizing production. To begin, David, Sam, and Emma look at the actual structure of the supply chain, emphasizing its rejection of inventory and surplus in favor of just-in-time logistics, with China largely acting as the repository both for necessary components and finished goods, thus meaning any crisis in Chinese production results in a disruption of the entire chain, regardless of what kind of crisis it actually is (pandemic, extreme weather, etc). They then look to how monopolies on shipping have created forced bottlenecks, from providing shipping corporations a decade of profits in one year of the pandemic, to minimizing costs to the point that 40% of ocean imports come in through one US port, and giving mass retailers (Amazon, Walmart, etc) first say in shipping, all of which serve to undermine the capacity of the supply chain while boosting the profits of the corporations that run it. They wrap up by looking at the context of this problem within the last few decades, from Obama’s White House disseminating a 2015 report that a complete supply chain breakdown was imminent, to the central domestic changes that would be needed to give the US any sort of backup plan, before briefly touching on the California Single Payer bill falling through the cracks. Sam and Emma also reveal the newest upcoming live show, and walk through updates on replacing Justice Breyer’s SCOTUS seat.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma are joined by Nomiki as they cover Jen Psaki’s response to Bad Faith talking points as if anyone cares, rather than actually taking on the issue the right is dancing around (very Democrat of her), Joe Rogan’s continued pushback on the concept of misinformation, and why the fight for the right to life cannot just be fought by the oppressed. They also touch on the backlash to Amnesty International’s recognition of Israel’s apartheid state, plus, your IMs!

Purchase tickets for the live show in Boston on May 15th HERE:

Subscribe to the AMQuickie newsletter here:  https://madmimi.com/signups/170390/join

Join the Majority Report Discord! http://majoritydiscord.com/

Get all your MR merch at our store: https://shop.majorityreportradio.com/

Support the St. Vincent Nurses today! https://action.massnurses.org/we-stand-with-st-vincents-nurses/

Check out Matt’s show, Left Reckoning, on Youtube, and subscribe on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/leftreckoning

Subscribe to Matt’s other show Literary Hangover on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/literaryhangover

Check out The Nomiki Show on YouTube. https://www.patreon.com/thenomikishow

Check out Matt Binder’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/mattbinder

Subscribe to Brandon’s show The Discourse on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/ExpandTheDiscourse

Check out The Letterhack’s upcoming Kickstarter project for his new graphic novel! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/milagrocomic/milagro-heroe-de-las-calles

Check out Jamie’s podcast, The Antifada. https://www.patreon.com/theantifada, on iTunes, or at https://www.twitch.tv/theantifada (streaming every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 7pm ET!)

Subscribe to Discourse Blog, a newsletter and website for progressive essays and related fun partly run by AM Quickie writer Jack Crosbie. https://discourseblog.com/

Subscribe to AM Quickie writer Corey Pein’s podcast News from Nowhere. https://www.patreon.com/newsfromnowhere 

Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter:

@SamSeder

@EmmaVigeland

@MattBinder

@MattLech

@BF1nn

@BradKAlsop

The Majority Report with Sam Seder - https://majorityreportradio.com/

Direct download: 2_-1_Dayen_-_pub.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:09pm EDT

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