It's Casual Friday! Sam and Emma host Dave Weigel, author of the "Americana" newsletter at Semafor, to discuss the state of play less than 2 weeks out from the midterm elections. Then, they're joined by Matthew Film Guy! Emma and Sam first run through updates on the midterms, including Schumer’s statement to Biden on the PA Senatorial Debate, and Don Bolduc’s pivot against his pivot against election denial. Dave Weigel then joins as he dives right into the disconnect between polling and the actual state of democratic candidates heading into the midterms, exploring how the last few weeks have slowly revealed failures in the democratic messaging leading up to November. Stepping back, Dave, Emma, and Sam explore the particular failures of letting Republicans pretend the future of abortion isn’t actually at risk (when Roe was actually overturned) while also allowing them to fearmonger around crime (when no major police departments were actually defunded). Parsing through the house races in New York, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, Dave looks at where and against whom the GOP was able to successfully center crime, before they shift the conversation to the Democrats’ failure to consistently hit on any of their inflation talking points. Wrapping up the interview, Dave walks through the Democratic House seats that are seriously endangered, and why beyond losing the House, they’re likely to drop the Senate as well. Matthew Film Guy then joins as he explores his recent bouts with Shingles and Marc Maron, before diving into his movie recommendations of Larisa Shepitko’s “The Ascent” and “Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar” from Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma watch Charlie Kirk praise Elon Musk’s liberation of Twitter before diving into why the profit incentive in a world that isn’t super pro-bigotry might not let that happen. Sam discusses his shadow ban from the Right Stuff (hopefully isn’t plaguing other Divorcées like Prager), and Tyler from Washington discusses the Right’s fear of debating Sam and why that fear doesn’t extend to women and people of color. David from Atlanta discusses the GA senate race, the crew discusses the home invasion of the Pelosi estate, and Stephen Crowder says ableism is the new racism, as if they haven’t gone hand in hand for centuries, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Semafor here: https://www.semafor.com/

Check out Matthew's Letterboxd here: https://letterboxd.com/langdonboom/

Check out Matthew's film discussion group here: https://www.commonpointqueens.org/program/cultural-arts-and-jewish-heritage-classes/

Check out Matthew's eBay auction here! https://www.ebay.com/itm/115464749223

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Emma hosts Dan Bouk, associate professor of history at Colgate University, to discuss his recent book Democracy's Data: The Hidden Stories in the U.S. Census and How to Read Them.Then, Emma's joined by Akela Lacy, politics reporter for The Intercept, to discuss her recent reporting on the Pennsylvania State Legislature's attempts to impeach Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner. Emma begins by running through updates on the Fed’s continued interest rate hikes, Democratic pessimism as we approach the midterms, and the upholding of Brittney Griner’s sentence in Russia, before diving deeper into the second pressured-abortion allegation against Herschel Walker as well as his recent appearance alongside Lindsey Graham. Professor Dan Bouk then joins, getting right into the central importance of the US Census in the delegation of power across the various branches and levels of federalism, with its inception in the first article of the US Constitution. Bouk then walks through the state of the Census bureau over the first century of the American experiment, with this mass mobilization driven by US Marshals organizing law enforcement to get people out for the count, with the infrastructure of the bureau slowly growing through the early 1900s – becoming an institution made up of hundreds of thousands of workers. Emma and Dan then explore how this massive bloat of the bureau brought forwards greater scholarly work (even within the bureau) on the failures of the census methodology, with a segregated office of Black census workers first revealing the mass undercount of various marginalized communities – including Black and brown folks, immigrants, those in poverty and without housing, and more. Next, Professor Bouk walks through the various factors that push this miscount in the census, and how these factors developed over the 20th Century, with certain aspects (like having representatives that actually want to count you, living in a house, etc) continuing to present an issue, while new ones (being part of a racial group being put in internment camps, having an atypical family structure) arose alongside developing social issues. Emma is then joined by Akela Lacy as they dive right into the 5-year campaign by the Pennsylvania GOP against DA Larry Krasner, taking up the mantle of other state-level GOP impeachment attempts by pushing rhetoric on Krasner’s failure to address violent crime while simultaneously undermining his actual ability to act as state DA. They wrap up the interview by tackling the specific relationship between DA Krasner and PA Attorney General Josh Shapiro, and the short-term benefits and long-term costs of meeting the GOP in the middle on tough-on-crime policy. Emma also touches on the LA mayoral election between Rick Caruso and Karen Bass, and why a progressive movement behind billionaire real estate tycoon Caruso would be a mistake.

And in the Fun Half: Emma is joined by Matt Binder and Brandon Sutton as they chat with Ben from Virginia on relating to conservative family members, be they 9-month-old AnCaps or 90-year-old theocratic fascists, before diving into the recent coverage of the Dr. Oz v. Fetterman race in PA. Candace Owens continues her bit about Hitler’s trans-inclusive regime (he included them in his extermination plans, and that’s about it), and Owen from LA talks about Kanye and anti-semitism. Binder parses through his recent investigation into a poorly-hidden Jimmy Dore sockpuppet account, and Ryan from NC discusses voting for school boards, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Dan's book here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/democracy-s-data-the-hidden-stories-in-the-u-s-census-and-how-to-read-them-dan-bouk/18721705?ean=9780374602543

Check out Akela's reporting here: https://theintercept.com/staff/akelalacy/

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Subscribe to the ESVN YouTube channel here (OT STREAMING THERE TODAY!): https://www.youtube.com/esvnshow

Sam and Emma break down the day's biggest headlines. Then they are joined by adult film actors Xander Corvus, Summer Hart, and Queen Ava to discuss their work with Sex Workers Mutual Aid Las Vegas (SWAID), a worker collective for sex workers. Emma and Sam first run through updates on the Congressional Progressive Caucus’ statement on diplomatic efforts to end Russia’s invasion, Ron Johnson’s big ROI on trust fund tax cuts, and why the White House should get rid of the debt ceiling, before diving deep into an MSNBC sit down with Pittsburgh-area Trump voters to discuss January 6th – which they see as a “Reichstag” moment. Next, they cover Bernie’s recent tour through his wheelhouse (Ohio, Nevada, Texas, Michigan, etc) to build the progressive hype train as the rest of the Democratic party flounders, also parsing through the importance of shifting the conversation to the GOP’s cuts to Social Security and Medicare, and why Fox News is working their asses off to pretend that the conversation doesn’t actually exist. Continuing the conversation on Social Security and Medicare, Sam dives into the nature of discretionary and non-discretionary funding, the massive impact of a payroll tax cap with inflamed wealth disparity, and how the right actually plans to take these institutions down. Then, Xander, Summer, and Ava join as they get right into the impetus for the creation of a mutual aid organization in the sex work community, starting in Las Vegas at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic as studios and clubs shut down and consumers had less and less money to spend, and leveraging the aim and reach of the community to pool resources to best reduce harm in their community. They explore the myriad elements of SWAID’s work, including microgrants and providing myriad harm reduction supplies – from internal/external condoms and plan b to clean needles, Narcan, and fentanyl test strips – as well as building networks of solidarity and support within a largely marginalized community. Xander, Summer, and Ava also explore the importance of mutual aid’s emphasis on solidarity over charity in a community where outside engagement is so commonly rooted in a savior complex, before they wrap up the interview by tackling the biggest obstacles SWAID faces, what the MR audience can do to help them in their efforts, and how their project hopes to promote the cultivation of these networks nationwide.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma watch Bernie sit down with a Finnish Ambassador to discuss Finland’s suspicious lack of student debt. Marjorie Taylor Greene disrespects her elders and promotes murder, and Sam dives into what, exactly, makes the effective tax rate so effective. They also parse through Mike Johnson’s Federal “Don’t Say Gay Bill” as the right begins to target ANY sexually-oriented material. Dylan from Oregon talks about local gubernatorial races and the right’s exploitation of the homelessness crisis, the CPC revokes their statement on being pro-diplomacy, and Jen from Nebraska talks Herschel Walker and dubious medicinal practices. Plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out SWAID here: https://swaidvegas.org/

Subscribe to the ESVN YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/esvnshow

Sam and Emma host Raymond Craib, Professor of History of Cornell University, to discuss his recent book Adventure Capitalism: A History of Libertarian Exit, from the Era of Decolonization to the Digital Age. First, Sam and Emma dive into updates on early voting and the GOP’s abandonment of New Hampshire, before diving into Biden finally centering GOP cuts to Social Security and Medicare in his talking points. Professor Raymond Craib then joins as he jumps right into his “big tent” definition of libertarianism, ranging from the neoliberal politics of Hayek and Friedman to Murray Rothbard’s complete reliance on private contracts in his theory, with the Ayn Rands and Ludwig von Miseses falling somewhere in between. After walking through the distinct roles the state can play along this spectrum – particularly in protecting individuals from direct violence and in their private property rights – Sam, Emma, and Professor Craib tackle the disregard for the inherent violence and expropriation of primitive accumulation that sets the stage for the rights libertarians supposedly respect. This brings Professor Craib to the progression of attempts at libertarian Utopia and the constant need for colonial measures of expropriation to begin these attempts, first taking on Michael Oliver’s experiments attempting to lay claim to foreign lands for his new utopia via domestic law and insurrectionist attempts at secession, before diving into the more contemporary version of this libertarian colonial utopia, Sam, Emma, and Raymond parse through Paul Romer’s “Charter Cities,” and how he essentially created a system of finance-backed feudalism that inevitably created an incredibly precarious system. They wrap up the interview by assessing the future of these mass-scale speculative real estate grifts, and what role the Big Tech monopolists will play when these grifts are right in their wheelhouse.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma dive into Bob Woodward’s continuing leaks from the Trump years, as Trump claims to be the only one to look into Kim Jong un’s eyes and truly understand him, and Nicholas from Silicon Valley explores the disappointing conclusion to the January 6th hearings. Olivia from Las Vegas discusses the recent bout of mail-in-ballot-related crime in the city, and launches a greater conversation on voter intimidation, Kowalski celebrates MR as the Holidays approach, and Dr. Oz continues to dig his own grave. Dylan from New Mexico talks about Santa Fe’s housing crisis, and Tucker Carlson cackles as Kari Lake #owns a CNN reporter, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Raymond's book here: https://pmpress.org/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1242

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FUN HALF LINK HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3hRlEYOOek&ab_channel=TheMajorityReportw%2FSamSeder

Sam hosts former New York State Senator Daniel Squadron, co-founder and executive director of the States Project, to discuss Moore v. Harper, the election law case regarding "independent state legislature theory", as well as the battle for state legislatures going into the midterm elections. Then he is joined by Amanda Bock, museum curator and shop steward of the Philadelphia Museum of Art Union (PMA Union), to discuss the union's successful efforts striking for better conditions!

Check out the States Project here: https://statesproject.org/

Check out the PMA Union here: https://twitter.com/pma_union

Sam and Emma break down the biggest headlines of the day as we get into the final weeks before the 2022 Midterm elections. They begin by running through updates on the Oklahoma City governor’s race, the Fed’s labor crunch and subsequent recession, and student loan relief, before talking protest, discourse, and soup in relation to great art. Emma and Sam briefly dive into updates on early voting polling (and how the Right is already cultivating doubt behind it), then watch a Swing Voters Project video that perfectly illustrates the success of John Fetterman’s campaign, seeing the bipartisan view of Dr. Oz as an out-of-touch elite, and a lack of issue with Fetterman’s health issues and approach to criminal justice, before jumping to the Ohio Senate race as Tim Ryan takes a page out of the Fetterman book, targeting JD Vance’s complete lack of beliefs outside of subservience to Donald Trump. Wrapping up the midterm review, Sam and Emma watch the recent Senate debate as pro-lifer Evan McMullin calls out Senator Mike Lee’s role in the special electors’ scheme.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma cover the censorship of Katie Halper’s coverage of Israeli apartheid by the Hill (and the minimal response in support of her), David from North Carolina discusses his state’s senate race, and the crew discusses the role of “threat to democracy” actually will play in this election. Mark Fincham, notorious actual Secretary of State candidate calls out Hugo Chavez and AntiFa, Jordan Peterson displays wonderfully the shortcomings of his weird post-modern fundamentalist ideology, and Jordan (caller) discusses the backlash faced by women who question Jimmy Dore and other Intellectual Dark Webbers, and Mitch in Dallas gives a very important update on the politics being played with semiconductors, plus, your calls and IMs!

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Donate to Gregory from Oklahoma's campaign for Statehouse here! https://gregoryforhd26.com/

Sam and Emma host Daniel Medwed, Professor of Law and Criminal Justice at Northeastern University, to discuss his recent book Barred: Why the Innocent Can't Get Out of Prison. First, Sam and Emma run through updates on Russian escalation, JD Vance’s relationship to a big opioid pill mill physician, and Oklahoma City’s Apple Store unionization, also touching on the Georgia senate race and Herschel’s ongoing press debacle. Daniel Medwed then joins as he dives right into the commonness of wrongful convictions in the US criminal justice system, and the rarity of that being addressed, with luck being the primary factor of having your case readdressed. Professor Medwed then dives into the role of plea bargains in creating this issue, having effectively made the trial extinct (only taking place in 5% of criminal cases) in favor of making the judicial system more efficient for those involved (as in the lawyers, prosecutors, and judges), with minimal sentence differences being viewed as a “discount” for not making a hassle. Next, Daniel walks Sam and Emma through the stories of two wrongful convictions, and how the judicial system made it effectively impossible to get a decision overturned, first looking at the imprisonment of Stephen Schultz over a $32 mugging where the two eyewitnesses were split and then turning to the conviction of Bobby Finell for murder despite his supposed “accomplice” admitting to doing it alone, with only Schultz getting any time cut. After Professor Medwed walks through the other big factors that keep these systems moving (such as the election of DAs and Judges with tough-on-crime platforms), they wrap up the interview by tackling potential solutions to get more transparency on the issue of wrongful conviction and make exoneration more accessible.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma cover Bret Weinstein’s accusation of Joe Biden surreptitiously degrading the US military, Damon from KY discusses censorship of the left discussing the bigotry of the right, and Jack from Long Island dives into a recent story on the removal of a Progress Pride flag from a High School. JD Vance and Joe Rogan can’t believe that we’re letting kids piss and shit in the classroom without parental consent and Tulsi Gabbard agrees, Ilaria from Seattle celebrates the incredible work of reproductive care providers, Dave from Jamaica talks about Kanye and Black Capitalism, and the crew covers the Van Gogh protest and the disappearance of Alaskan Snow Crabs. Wyatt Parsons calls in to discuss his campaign in Missouri’s Fourth Congressional District, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Daniel's book here: https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/daniel-s-medwed/barred/9781541675902/

Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join

FULL SHOW HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuJbB18O-Wc&ab_channel=TheMajorityReportw%2FSamSeder

It's Day 2 of Sam reporting from the Mass Torts Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada! He and Emma begin by running through updates on the 2022 midterm debate season, footage from Pelosi and Schumer on January 6th, before Sam meets with Ring of Fire Radio host Farron Cousins as they walk through the ten big senate races to watch in the 2022 midterms, watching Ron Johnson respond to his opponent’s genuine compliment with outright vitriol, discussing the Florida DNC’s tactic of running the same losing candidates year after year, and contextualizing the failing Trump legal battles. Then, Sam is joined by tort lawyer and early Air-America investor Mike Papantonio as they discuss the role of tort law in holding corporations accountable in both the legal and public realms at a point in American politics where everything from Congress and the Courts to the Media is driven by the profit incentive, walking through his biggest cases in tort law, and the constant presence of internal corporate documents from actuaries walking through the necessary profits to offset the legal costs of future injuries and harm they KNOW their product will cause. They also touch on the cases on HSBC’s money laundering for terrorists and cartels (resulting in solely corporate fines), the Camp Lejeune water contamination, and more, walking through the myriad levels of awareness from inside the corporation to the highest levels of the executive branch. Next, lawyer Michael Watts joins to dive into his work studying potential causes in the exponential increase in autism diagnosis over the last few decades, including the clear lack of evidence around the impact of certain vaccine ingredients, and the growing evidence of a correlation between the use of acetaminophen during pregnancy and an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis later in life. Sarah Papantonio then joins as she explores her recent case taking on the impact of baby formula companies causing premature babies to develop necrotizing enterocolitis by misadvertising their products as human milk, rather than the cow’s milk base it actually used. They also tackle the greater exploitative history of the baby formula industry, before parsing through the difference between multi-district legislation (mass tort suits) and class action, and exploring how federal governments can get involved in tort cases.

Sam and Emma wrap up the show by diving deeper into various midterm debates including Ron Johnson being pushed around by Mandela Barnes (yet still looking worse) and Tudor Dixon’s transphobic closing remarks, also looking at Charlie Kirk’s response to Alex Jones’ Sandy Hook case, and Ben Shapiro dancing around the intense antisemitism of his conservative colleagues.

Check out Farron Cousins on "Ring of Fire" and "Farron Balanced" here:

https://fans.fm/ringoffire

https://www.youtube.com/c/farronbalanced

Sam is coming to us LIVE from the Mass Torts Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada! Sam is coming to us LIVE from the Mass Torts Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada! He and Emma quickly run through updates on the $1 Billion in damages for Sandy Hook parents suing Alex Jones and his recent appearance on Crowder detailing why he thinks it won’t matter. Then, Sam has three separate sit-downs with tort lawyers from the law firm Levin Papantonio Rafferty to discuss what cases they’re bringing against what corporations, and how they plan to argue against these businesses’ feigned ignorance. First, Kimberly Adams joins as she dives into her defense of human trafficking victims against the businesses that consciously profited off of their exploitation, including hotel and motel chains and social media companies like Twitter and Snapchat. Adams then tackles how these businesses get wrapped up in the trade of human beings, how it becomes a consistent source of profit, and how she plans to establish that there is truly no reason these companies would have been ignorant of the ongoing violence against minors and other humans, before wrapping up by walking through the Communications Decency Act (CDA) and how social media platforms use it to shield themselves from accountability for the content they profit off of. Next, Sam is joined by Chelsie Green as she contextualizes her case against the manufacturers of Pure Follical Substances (PFoS, known as a “forever chemical”) within her firm’s history of challenging this public health issue that was known about internally since as early as the 1970s. They also tackle the mass proliferation of the use of these chemicals over the next few decades, particularly in the firefighting and military industries, before concluding by discussing the long-term process that this case will entail and what stages are next up. Lastly, Sam talks with Emmie Paulos about her suit against Meta/Facebook and their side companies like Instagram (though also likely to involve other platforms in the future) for knowingly channeling children into social media addiction with the knowledge that there were massive long-term detriments to their mental health – from eating disorders and self-harm to suicidal ideation and attempts. Next, they walk through the process through which these companies internally acknowledge the extreme nature of their algorithms and the impact they were having – not to combat it but rather to further exploit it – and the impact of last year’s Meta whistle-blower on moving this case forwards. They finish off their discussion with a greater analysis of the CDA and how to combat the exploitation of children by Big Tech.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma discuss the astonishingly late news of Tulsi Gabbard’s exit from the Democratic Party, appearing on Joe Rogan to discuss the democratic cult insisting on passing nonexistent legislation to trans your kids, Dennis Prager defends incest from secular monsters, and Blake Masters gets questioned by Fox on his election allegiances. They also tackle the wildly ableist bipartisan hit pieces from CNN, MSNBC, and Fox on progressive John Fetterman, watching notoriously anti-progressive Chris Matthews return to NBC to ridicule his auditory processing issues and Tucker Carlson’s proclamation that Fetterman will be hacked. Ben Shapiro continues his nuanced takes on anti-semitism from conservatives, plus, your IMs!

Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join

Emma hosts Indi Dutta-Gupta, President and Executive Director of The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) to discuss recent polling showing that 2/3rds of parents who stopped receiving the Child Tax Credit in late 2021 reported difficulties obtaining enough food for their children. Then, Emma is joined by Danielle Carr, Assistant Professor at the Institute for Society and Genetics at UCLA, to discuss her recent Op-Ed piece for the New York Times "Mental Health Is Political". First, Emma dives into updates on the White House’s response to the leaked racist LA City Council audio and the return of legal (for now) abortions in Arizona, before diving deeper into Biden’s response to OPEC’s price gauging and criticisms of his relationship to Saudi Arabia (particularly in the wake of his campaigning on making them a “Pariah” state). Then, Indi Dutta-Gupta joins as he gets right into the work that he does with the Center for Law and Social Policy, exploring how child poverty is largely a choice made by policy-makers when they ignore the already demonstrated social policy that can reduce it, with the Child Tax Credit and American Rescue plan more than proving the impact they can have both on poverty, and in flushing the economy with money (seeing a 9:1 return on the investment of the tax credit). Next, they tackle the greater cultural and political elements that reject these policies, with the bootstraps mentality leading to Manchin becoming the one vote that prevented the CTC from becoming a permanent policy, and how we see similar elements embedded in pre-existing policies such as SNAP. Dutta-Gupta wraps up the interview by parsing through the work CLASP has done to tackle a more anti-racist and community-driven SNAP,  and exploring how we can support the center from the outside. Danielle Carr then walks through the problem of medicalizing our view of mental health without also understanding the greater systemic and political intersections that can often be underlying causes. Next, they explore the rise of telepsychotherapy as an exploitative gig-economy institution that works to further medicalize the issue and detach it from social issues, before wrapping up the interview by exploring what kind of diseases mental health issues really are, and the failure of the DSM-type medical perspective in actually understanding how to approach them.

And in the Fun Half: Emma and Bradley discuss the recent bipartisan hit pieces against John Fetterman in the wake of his return to the campaign trail after his stroke earlier this year, watching NBC’s Dasha Burns and Lester Holt frame a recent interview around auditory and vocal issues making him a poor fit for office. They also dive into greater issues of mental health, as they tackle the exploitation of Kanye West and Hershel Walker by Tucker Carlson and the Georgia GOP, respectively, and Ben Shapiro responds with some real nuance on anti-Semitic threats. Ben from Virginia discusses the invasion of Ukraine and the importance of Katie Halper, Lucas from Minneapolis talks Dr. Oz’s puppy murdering, and Emma tackled Tulsi Gabbard officially lefting the left plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out CLASP's polling here: https://www.clasp.org/publications/report/brief/child-tax-credit-poll-3/

Check out Danielle's piece here: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/20/opinion/us-mental-health-politics.html?smid=tw-nytopinion&smtyp=cur

Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join

Check out Aziz Rana's "Left Internationalism in the Heart of Empire" here: https://www.dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/left-internationalism-in-the-heart-of-empire

Emma is joined by David Dayen, executive editor at the American Prospect to discuss 2 of his recent pieces: "The Political Impacts of Rising Gas Prices". Emma begins by diving into updates on the Russian escalation as they strike civilian infrastructure in response to the bombing of the Crimea bridge, another lawsuit over Biden’s student loan relief, and the recent Tim Ryan-JD Vance debate. David Dayen then joins as he dives right into the chaotic story of gas prices over the last year, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February led to mass spikes with the expectation of a disrupted oil supply line, only for Russia to largely get around sanctions and other obstacles, pushing prices back down starting in the summer, leading up to the recent announcement by OPEC that they would, once again, be cutting production to push prices back up. David and Emma walk through the power structure behind these decisions (and the role the Saudis play in particular), before also touching on the moves being made by democrats from the State level (with Newsome’s recent initiatives) to the federal level to push back against this gouging. They conclude that discussion by tackling the oxymoronic idea of an energy-independent AND fossil-fuel-based nation, before Dayen wraps up the interview by tackling expectations heading into the midterms, exploring where the Democrats should turn their support, the success of the GOP’s crime-based fear-mongering, and Trump’s continued turn towards Q.

And in the Fun Half: Emma is joined by Brandon and Matt as they talk with Joe from Minneapolis on the role of the police in defunding other public institutions, discuss Matt’s interview with Vaush on MR, and dive into Tulsi finally reaching the climax of her “why I left the left” campaign (after just years of bigoted edging). Owen from LA explores the rebranding of TPUSA, Dave from Jamaica discusses the concept of diplomacy in a world with vast power imbalance, and Candace Owens defends Kanye by reminding us he was just trying to DEFEND himself FROM the Jewish people. The crew dives into Jon Stewart’s killer confrontation with Arkansas AG Leslie Rutledge over her state’s abusively transphobic policy, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out David's work here: https://prospect.org/topics/david-dayen/

Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join

Happy Indigenous People's Day! Sam and Emma host Claudio Saunt, professor of American History at the University of Georgia, to discuss his book Unworthy Republic: The Dispossession of Native Americans and the Road to Indian Territory. Sam and Emma first run through updates on Russia’s response to the bombing of the Crimean bridge and more news from this weekend, before diving into Marjorie Taylor Greene’s great “Theory” on how Americans are being “Replaced.” Claudio Saunt then joins as he dives right into the Indian Removal Act of 1830, contextualizing it within the first half-century of American existence, with the vigilante-esque dispossession and deportation of Indigenous communities beginning with European arrival on the continent, but settling into a more formalized form of imperialism by the early 19th Century until the Indian Removal act arrived on the House floor and became perhaps the most controversial legislation in US History. Zooming out, Saunt, Sam, and Emma walk through the state of Indigenous communities in America at the start of the 1800s, with the south largely dominated by peoples including the Choctaws, Chickasaws, Seminoles, and Cherokees, with their communities built along the soil of the black belt, where their ancestors have cultivated their land and culture for ages, while the colonizing force of southern slave owners grew in their greed and desire for domination and expansion. This brings them to the role of the slave owners in the passage of the Indian Removal Act, with a relentless push from the institutions of the south (from state governments to newspapers and more) to promote this vision of a southern slave-owning empire, beginning with the expansions into GA, AL, and MS, before moving towards pacific, Mexico, and the Caribbean, not only becoming masters of those within the southern borders but dominating the American union writ large. Moving into the election of Andrew Jackson, Claudio, Sam, and Emma dive into the pressure campaign from the South (Jackson’s base) that centered the passage of the IRA only two years into his administration, balancing political threats with a fig-leaf of Christian imperialism (emphasizing “deportation as salvation”) to force the final five votes across the aisle to pass the act. They also parse through the atrocities of the greed of southern slave owners, deporting over 80k people via tactics of starvation, famine, mob violence, and general genocidal rule, as the federal government grew to a size unseen in the US before, recording every inch of people, property, and land that they claimed for themselves, and keeping track of the massive finances they spent in the process, enflamed by the multiple wars fought against the Seminoles and others. They wrap up the interview by tackling the role of the north in investing in these southern institutions, cementing their role in US society, and transforming the national economy for good.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma parse through the complexity of an anti-war approach to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as Rachel from Kyiv calls in to discuss the need to focus on Ukrainian lives and the failure that would be forcing negotiations with a bad faith actor. Donald Trump lets Jimmy Carter off the hook for being alive, Sam and Emma walk through Kanye’s recent appearance on Tucker Carlson leading up to his anti-Semitic rants this weekend, David from OKC discusses COVID and masking, and Lauren from Chicago dives into the likely hood of Putin engaging in nuclear warfare. Leaked LA City Council audio puts their president at the forefront of an institutional racism discussion, and Michael from Miami discusses DeSantis, democratic challengers, and the failures of the Florida DNC, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Claudio's book here: https://wwnorton.com/books/unworthy-republic

Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join

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, they're joined by author and documentary filmmaker Greg Mitchell to discuss his newest work "The First Attack Ads: Hollywood vs. Upton Sinclair," out on PBS and streaming now! Sam and Emma first run through updates on Biden’s Cannabis pardons, setting weed on the road to decriminalization, the escalating nuclear tensions in Ukraine, and more, before diving deeper into the Right funneling out their drug fearmongering on CNN to paint Biden’s executive action as radical (despite mass support in public opinion). Then Digby joins as they parse through Biden’s recent comments on nearing “nuclear armageddon” with Putin’s continued aggression in Ukraine centering more and more on the threat of nuclear action, discussing the various channels of diplomacy between Biden and Putin, before exploring the greater role the United States has begun to play in this conflict, capitalizing on this opportunity to engage in a proxy war where our opponent is already severely weakened and likely to lose, and what a practically anti-war foreign policy would look like. They then reflect on the classic GOP fear-mongering tactics in the leadup to midterms, from the four-year buildup of ACA fear-mongering from 2010-14 to the 2018 “Caravan” that had Minnesotans worried, looking at the recent impact of Fox’s “Fentanyl in the Halloween Candy” as a return to a small-scale classic. Then, Greg Mitchell joins as he dives into the story of Upton Sinclair, a writer and early muckraker who published an exposé on Chicago’s Stock Yards, before using the success of FDR to jumpstart a mass socialist movement in California heading into the 1934 governor election, where he appeared likely to emerge on top. However, Mitchell then dives into the bipartisan and Hollywood-backed coalition that came together against him, essentially becoming the first example of a modern negative campaign, featuring cinematic attack ads, outside political parties, the use of political consultants, national fundraising, and the outsourcing of advertising to Madison Ave and Hollywood Boulevard. Mitchell, Sam, and Emma walk through the major electoral archetypes that came out of this movement against Sinclair, where we still see them today, and how the backlash to this campaign lead to the liberalization of Hollywood.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma dive deeper into the nuances around being anti-war and pro-Ukrainians, why the Hitler comparison is nonsense, and why Putin’s nuclear capabilities have to be taken seriously. They also explore the GOP’s withdrawal from Herschel Walker, with Georgia’s Lt. Gov coming out against his credentials, tackle the impact of the current economic moment and the role of recession discourse, and watch Mark Kelly call out Blake Masters’ resting rich face. Greg Gutfeld talks about the attractiveness of college students, Matt Walsh cares more about consent in cancel culture than in sex-with-minors, and the crew touches on Dr. Oz the puppy-killer, plus, your IMs!

Check out Digby's work on Salon here: https://www.salon.com/writer/heather_digby_parton

Check out Greg's movie here: https://www.pbs.org/show/first-attack-ads-hollywood-vs-upton-sinclair/

Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join

Emma hosts author Ed Burmila to discuss his recent book Chaotic Neutral: How the Democrats Lost Their Soul in the Center. Emma first dives into updates on OPEC continuing their price gouging (and the Biden Administration’s response), a renewed attack on DACA by the right, progressive action in the UK, and Putin claiming control over a Ukrainian nuclear power plant, before diving deeper into the ever-developing Herschel Walker controversies, as he doubles down on not knowing the mother of one of his children (whom he also purchased an abortion for) in a speech on how he is “forgiven” and not ashamed. Then Ed Burmila joins as he dives right into his concept of “chaotic neutral” as a guiding element of Democratic governance, as they publically flail for solutions while always settling on the same prescription of moving to the center. Next, he dives into how the Democratic party got here, less than a century after their New Deal glory days, exploring how the progressive social movements of the 1960s and ‘70s supposedly pushed out the hard-hat white-working-class from the party, whereas their simultaneous response to these movements – following the conservative economics of the Democratic Leadership Council and leaving behind the New Deal policy bolstering the power of the working class – had absolutely nothing to do with such a phenomenon. This, of course, was cemented with the rise of DLC Democrats like Gore and Clinton, icing out any social welfare or big gov policy, despite that being what gave them their working-class base in the first place. After a brief conversation on the misguided nature of Pelosi’s statements on a “strong Republican Party,” they tackle the Democratic Party’s selective relationship to public opinion, their obsession with institutionalism (as seen particularly in the Senate and Supreme Court), and their fear of alienating the theoretical white-working-class-moderate. Wrapping up, they explore how the 2016 elections have not changed Democratic messaging nearly as much as it should have, and the generally ossified state of the Democratic leadership.

And in the Fun Half: Emma is joined by Brandon and Matt as they discuss the US’ refusal to discuss the reveal that, yes, it was Israel that killed Shireen Abu Akleh, the rise of inceldom with the disappearance of the public sphere, and dive deep into the great (but very obvious) reveal of Velma’s sexual orientation, exploring the blow-ups on the right before diving into the cultural impact and evolution of the Scooby-Doo franchise. Ron Johnson continues to tip top around gay marriage, Steven from West Virginia talks modernist art and Jordan Peterson, and Cue from Georgia calls in for a very created Halloween costume workshopping session. Donald Trump and Herschel Walker’s frenemies-to-lovers ship is revealed, Matt from Salt Lake City discusses the dry-up of said lake, and the crew has an extended discussion on how to approach the Russian invasion of Ukraine from a genuinely anti-war perspective, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Ed's book here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/chaotic-neutral-how-the-democrats-lost-their-soul-in-the-center-ed-burmila/18687576?ean=9781645030027&sscid=a1k6_4qmgk&utm_source=ShareASale&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=389818&utm_term=1535322

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Emma hosts Brian Mier, correspondent for teleSUR English, to discuss the upcoming 2nd round of Brazilian elections between former President Lula Da Silva and current President Jair Bolsonaro. Then, Emma is joined by Aaron Kleinman, director of research for the States Project at Future Now, to discuss the current projections for the control of state legislatures across the country as the midterm elections approach. Emma first runs through updates on the first week of the new SCOTUS term – likely as they are to uphold Alabama’s racial gerrymandering – Trump’s request to reverse the circuit 11 rulings opening up his stolen documents to the DOJ, and union-busting efforts by Apple and Amazon before diving deeper into this weekend’s Herschel Walker news, as Right-Wing nutjobs come out of the woodworks to defending voting for a hypocrite. Brian Mier then joins as he and Emma get right into contextualizing the results of the first round of the Brazilian presidential election, with Lula’s PT workers party actually becoming the first example of an incumbent losing the first round of a presidential election, and likely to keep the steam going with the third and fourth parties rallying behind him, despite the undermining coverage he and his party have gotten from the Right-Wing Brazilian press. Next, they tackle the role of the other parties in the first round of the election, with Ciro Gomes largely funneling his voters to Bolsonaro (despite his party’s post-election affiliation to Lula), and why they seemed to be more intent on taking down Lula than Bolsonaro, also touching on the down-ballot success of the workers’ party, particularly when it comes to the victories of Afro-Brazilian candidates. Wrapping up they explore the role of voting fraud in the election, and where US-Brazilian relations are likely to go from here. Aaron Kleinman and Emma then give the midterms a heat check as we enter October, exploring how the Dobbs decision bolstered Americans’ fears of Right-Wing legislatures, walking through the massive importance of elections in Arizona and Pennsylvania (featuring two of the more heavily anti-democracy legislatures), and emphasizing the importance of on-the-ground organizing in these efforts. They also tackle what to expect in Michigan (and whether the Dems can flip their legislature) and why Maine’s incredibly progressive agenda could be challenged by a return of Governor LePage.

And in the Fun Half: Emma tackles the pseudo-artsy voyeurism of “Blonde,” Jon calls in to discuss the American coverage of Iran, misinformation, and whom the American left should engage with to learn about this issue. Megan Kelly and Dave Rubin discuss whether it matters that Herschel Walker was an incredibly abusive parent/husband/member of society, and Brian Kilmeade stretches out his Fox-News softball arm in an interview with Herschel himself. Margaret discusses helping introverts to Get Out the Vote, and Emma and the crew dive into updates on Amazon’s work stoppage over fire safety issues and the union-busting that followed, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Brian's latest piece here: https://www.brasilwire.com/media-spins-lula-victory-as-defeat/

Check out the States Project here: https://statesproject.org/

Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join

Sam breaks down the biggest headlines of the day. Sam begins by tackling the neck-and-neck midterm polling in Wisconsin and Nevada, Peter Thiel shifting his funding from JD Vance back to Blake Masters, and Dr. Oz and Herschel Walker both giving their opponents a boost in Pennsylvania and Georgia, respectively. He also dives into the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development making a statement against the US’ crackdown on labor via Federal interest rate hikes, the still-hazy information around the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, and Pelosi officially sinking the stock trading ban. Marco Rubio finds himself in a real Florida-politician moment as he has to justify federal funds for disaster relief when he’s voted against such funds going anywhere else, Herschel Walker’s past funding of abortions comes to the fore as his son, Christian, finally speaks out against the years of abuse under Herschel’s reign as family patriarch. Similarly, Mila speaks out against recent statements made by one Saul Seder, and Sam and the crew dive deep into updates on unionization efforts including an Amazon work stoppage in Staten Island, the successful organizing effort at SFO (San Francisco/Oakland) airport, and the ongoing Graduate Union effort at Clark University in Worcester.

And in the Fun Half: Sam dives a little deeper into the UNCTD’s statement on the Fed hiking interest rates, the GOP candidate for Governor of Minnesota speaks out about Furries totally combining two different kinds of grooming, and John from San Antonio comes for Dave Weigel and Sam as he explores the confusing polling around the midterms. Wade from Minneapolis discusses the new CIA Podcast, the crew dives into the London climate protests and another abortion-ban horror story coming out of Arizona, before Vaugn from DC gives some updates on Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition, Shahab from Nashville discusses US reporting on Iran and the greater impacts of sanctions, and Ben from Worcester talks WooSox, plus, your calls and IMs!

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Sam and Emma host Donald Yacovone, Associate at the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University, to discuss his recent book Teaching White Supremacy: America's Democratic Ordeal and the Forging of Our National Identity. First Emma dives into Lula taking a lead in the Brazilian Presidential election heading into the Runoffs, SCOTUS starting up a new term, and details emerging about the “Perla” character who led DeSantis’ human trafficking stunt apparently working as a Counter Intelligence agent for the US army, before diving deeper into the massive movement that has brought Lula to this moment in Brazilian history. Donald Yacovone then joins as he dives right into the history of American erasure of African (and African-American) History all the way up to the recent Christian Right’s struggle against “Critical Race Theory.” He and Emma begin by exploring the election of Obama as a clear marker of how far we have come in race relations in the US, and how little has changed within the forces of White Supremacy, before jumping back to explore how an entire American identity came to be founded on a fictitious creation (race). Yacovone then explores how, despite slavery largely being an institution of the Southern US, the ideology of White Supremacy was born in the North, with abolitionist activists grounding their personal beliefs in the fact that Black people are of a lower level of human, while some of the most innovative New York City capitalists capitalized on the belief that Black folks were designed by nature and god to do white man’s work. They then dive into how the post-reconstruction era cemented the role of White Supremacist ideology in United States’ education, as a reactionary impulse to seeing Black folks integrate into society and become successful led to the White Elite in the US pushing textbooks that espoused the “Lost Cause” ideology (yes, coined in the North) and denounced integration, before they wrap up the interview by exploring how this element of American education continues to this day – with makeshift “slave auctions” still occurring as part of “lesson plans,” – and the importance of addressing this corruption in one of our most integral institution on a national level.

And in the Fun Half: Emma takes a call with Jesse from the Hudson Valley on the Right’s exploitation of certain insecurities, explores DeSantis’ takes on the non-existent looking occurring in Florida as he attempts to turn ire away from natural disasters and towards Black and poor people, and dives deeper into the story of DeSantis’ “Perla.” A caller discusses meeting the GOP at their Bad Faith, Candace Owens says all gay people were abused, just like furries, and the crew explores Marjorie Taylor Greene’s role in pushing the fake story on the murder of a conservative teen, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Donald's book here: https://www.harvard.com/book/teaching_white_supremacy/

Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join

It's Casual Friday! Sam speaks with David Dayen, executive editor at the American Prospect, to break down the week in news. Then, Sam and Emma are joined by Francesca Fiorentini, host of The Bitchuation Room podcast! Sam and Emma first run through updates on Hurricane Ian’s path of devastation, leaving millions of Floridians without power, the passing of a continuing resolution, Pelosi’s poison pill on the stock trading ban, and updates on the Pentagon’s funding of Ukraine. David Dayen then joins as he gets right into his recent piece breaking down the legislative process that led us to the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act, starting with the Democrats packing their entire agenda into Biden’s Build Back Better plan, only for it to get widdled and widdled down into the Manchin-endorsed IRA. They parse through the unifying factors of the policies that made it through the process, looking at how their longer pedigree and presence in Congress and consultant spheres separated them from other (but largely as pressing) policies, making it incredibly difficult to govern for the present when any potential legislation must have been building up for decades, before looking to what got left on the cutting room floor, with childcare, education, college, housing, and child poverty all remaining unaddressed. After summarizing the central elements of the IRA (climate change policy, prescription drug pricing, and general tax reform), Dayen walks through the story of these policy initiatives, with the climate policy stemming from discussions at the beginning of Manchin’s reign in the senate between him and Ron Wyden and evolving in the wake of the failures of the Waxman-Markey bill under Obama, also exploring the history behind prescription drug pricing and touching on the role of the 2020 Primaries as a rolling thinktank for much of this policy, before wrapping up with the history the wealth taxes and the importance of introducing legislation (even if it isn’t ready to pass).

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma are joined by Francesca Fiorentini of the Bitchuation Room as they dive into a new right-wing dating app where Sam can find the AnCap of his dreams, the reactions of Ben Shapiro, Matt Walsh, and the likes to seeing a talented classical (Black) musician dance with a flute, and the continued horror stories coming from the Right’s crackdown on reproductive rights. They also discuss the Student Debt Relief lawsuits coming from the right, the state of Putin’s failing invasion, plus, your IMs!

Check out David's piece at the Prospect here: https://prospect.org/politics/how-policy-got-done-in-2022/

Check out the Bitchuation Room here: https://www.youtube.com/franifio

Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join

Emma hosts State Senator Chloe Maxmin of Maine's 13th District and political activist Canyon Woodward to discuss their recent book Dirt Road Revival: How to Rebuild Rural Politics and Why Our Future Depends On It. Then, Emma is joined by Ruth Ben-Ghiat, professor of history and Italian studies at New York University, to discuss the recent Italian election results and what they mean for Europe and the rest of the world. First, Emma runs through updates on Hurricane Ian’s path of devastation, Schumer’s Continuing Resolution, the White House finally waiving the Jones Act, the DoD joining the DHS and Secret Service in covering up 1/6 texts, and more, before diving into Ron DeSantis’ comments on ANOTHER “once in a century” disaster hitting Florida. Then, she’s joined by Senator Chloe Maxim and Canyon Woodward as they dive into their roots in rural organizing, with Maxim growing up in Maine and Woodward in North Carolina, and meeting during the inception of the Fossil Fuel Divestment Movement at Harvard, moving from there to running Maxim’s progressive campaigns (first for Maine Statehouse then State Senate) with a focus on grassroots rural organizing. Maxim and Woodward then dive into the tactics that grounded their victories in Maine, with a focus on tailoring their discussions and policy focuses to the interest of the community they were representing, including having strong disagreements with her constituents and working to understand where it comes from, and grounding her programs (such as establishing a Green New Deal for Maine) in the tackling the anxieties and pressures that most concern them (farming, fishing infrastructure, etc). Wrapping up, they tackle how the Democrats lost their foothold on rural voters over the last three decades, with complete disinvestment from the communities, and Democratic leadership (particularly in the wake of the 2010 midterms) shifting any electoral focus to exclusively urban and suburban areas, and exploring what we can learn about Maine (and Maine’s rural voters) from Sarah Giddeon’s loss to Susan Collins. Ruth Ben-Ghiat and Emma then tackle the rise of Giorgia Meloni through Italy’s fascist remnants in the 20th Century and to the top of the new Alt-Right neofascist party Fratelli d’Italia. They tackle the difference between her politics and that of other Italian far-right parties such as La Lega and Forza Italia, Meloni’s history of anti-Semitic neonazi conspiracy theory, and the greater hyper-nationalist yet transnational movement of the far right today, where Meloni sees the GOP as central to the project. They also explore where Meloni’s reign is likely to go next, and what institutional elements of Italian politics can do to fight back.

And in the Fun Half: Emma is joined by Matt and Binder as they tackle the Right Wing reaction to Meloni’s victory, with Jimmy Dore aligning himself with Hillary Clinton and Dave Rubin attempting to put the rise of fascism at the feet of queer people, exploring the uniting features of fascism and the GOP that are preoccupation with (white) community “decline” and an obsession with victimhood. In keeping with right-wing-reactionary insanity, they also touch on reactions from Ben Shaprio and Pedro Gonzalez to Lizzo’s humiliation of the founding fathers by… playing the flute. Sandy from Ontario calls in to discuss the rise of Pierre Poilievre on the Canadian right, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Sen. Maxmin and Canyon's book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/691154/dirt-road-revival-by-chloe-maxmin-and-canyon-woodward/

Check out the upcoming movie "Rural Runners" that features Sen. Maxmin and Canyon's campaign here: https://vimeo.com/663434221/cc2be85c42

Check out Ruth on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/ruthbenghiat?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join

Sam and Emma host Timothy Jost, Emeritus Professor at Washington & Lee University Law School, to discuss the upcoming Supreme Court Case Talevski v. Health and Hospital Corps of Marion County. Then, they are joined by Nick Weiner, Senior Campaign Lead for the Committee for Better Banks at the Communications Workers of America, to discuss Wells Fargo's recent unionization efforts.

Check out Tim's writing on the case here: https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2022/supreme-court-could-strip-protections-millions-federal-program-beneficiaries

Check out this video from More Perfect Union on Wells Fargo worker's efforts here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASi7INcnSXA&t=36s&ab_channel=MorePerfectUnion

Check out the Committee on Better Banks here: https://betterbanks.org/

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Sam is back, and he and Emma break down the biggest headlines of the day. Then they are joined by Trita Parsi, Executive Vice President at the Quincy Institute, to discuss the recent widespread demonstrations in Iran. First, Emma and Sam walk through updates on the upcoming Fed-induced recession, the Secret Service’s secret dealings in the wake of January 6th, and the mass walkouts among Virginia High Schools in opposition to Youngkin’s anti-trans legislation, before diving deeper into the contents of the Continuing Resolution, whether Manchin’s permitting reform will end up on the cutting room floor, and parse through the details of AG Ken Paxton’s great escape from being subpoenaed. Trita Parsi then joins as he situates the current uprising in Iran, beginning with the story of Mahsa Amini, who died in the custody of the regime’s “Morality Police,” why her death struck such a nerve, and touching on the greater economic disaster, general repression, and wide-scale corruption that pushed the population to this point, before walking through the various groups that make up the protests, exploring why the role of young people and the aid of the middle class has been central to the developments of these last few weeks. Next, they discuss where this departs from other large-scale protests in Iran that we’ve seen, between 1979 and 2009, parsing through the absence of a real leadership structure today alongside a regime very unlikely to flee. After a discussion of the failure of the regime to garner the faith of their populace, focusing solely on fear and control, and why the state wants to make the murder of Amini about her Kurdish identity, they wrap up the interview by looking at the differences between how Obama’s Administration reacted in 2009 and how Biden’s has today, and establishing whether or not we could see this effect the future of a nuclear deal.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma talk with Sergeant Marx of Atlanta on the suspicious rerelease of Elijah McClain’s autopsy report, why it tries to pin the fault on the paramedics, and what the role of ketamine actually could’ve played. Bernie is confronted with the GOP’s priorities (as listed by Rick Scott), starting with saluting the flag, of course, and the crew watches Fox News hosts rally behind the election of Italian Fascist Giorgia Meloni, with Tucker, Trey Gowdy, and Ben Domenech bringing up points such as “she won an election, that makes her a moderate.” Zach from Illinois talks MAGA-Communism and why fascists are courting kids with leftist tendencies, Stephen Crowder continues his demented tirades on the side of rape culture, and Don Bolduc discusses the difference between his views today, and his views when he declared without a doubt that the 2020 election was stolen, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Trita's piece on Iran here: https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2022/09/22/iranian-regimes-allergy-to-reform-breeds-violence-for-change/

Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join

Emma hosts Destin Jenkins, assistant professor of history at Stanford University, to discuss his recent book The Bonds of Inequality: Debt and the Making of the American City. Emma starts off by re-capping the troubling election results out of Italy showing that Giorgia Meloni and Italy's far-right parties have most likely held enough seats to form a coalition, bringing Meloni into executive power. She then takes a look at Rep. Nancy Mace heavily implying to Chuck Todd (with no push back!) that Republicans, if they take the House back, will essentially impeach President Biden for no reason, and she may go along with it. Emma is then joined by Destin, and they discuss the origins of his scholarship, namely how he was able to identify the "brick and mortar of inequality" through the 2008 financial crisis and the bankruptcy of the city of Detroit. They then discuss the concepts of emergency managers and control board structures, and how instances of these leadership structures perpetuating, from the Flint water crisis to the bankruptcy in New York City in the 1970's, show how they served to shield municipal financing from the scrutiny of any sort of democratic or popular input. They then touch on how exactly municipal debt structures work, who decides who is worthy of debt and who isn't, as well as the prototypes to what former President Trump referred to as "opportunity zones": federal projects that valued economic growth and opportunity over any semblance of infrastructural benefit to the community. They then get into some specific examples, namely that of San Francisco, and how there are some misconceptions as to the city's reputation as a progressive bohemia sullied by the influences of Big Tech. Jenkins runs through how, due to the way many of the infrastructural upgrades and projects manifested themselves, San Francisco's projects mostly affected a wealthier commuter into the city as opposed to a citizen of the city itself. They wrap up the conversation by re-emphasizing how something like budgeting and municipal debt can seem value neutral, when in fact these structural issues like redlining, environmental racism, and others directly stem from these allocations of resources by unelected bureaucrats.

And in the Fun Half, Emma and the MR crew take a look at Michigan gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon bravely joking about the kidnapping of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, the Gainesville Pride center getting vandalized in Florida, Kyrsten Sinema coming out into the open to...talk about her love of the filibuster at the Mitch McConnell Center in Louisville Kentucky, as well as a recap from the House GOP's agenda rollout in Pennsylvania last week, where a "mama bear" talks about what's really hurting kids: anti-bullying initiatives, among other "Marxist" plots. Plus, your calls & IM's!

Check out Destin's book here: https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/B/bo52825170.html

Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join

It's Casual Friday! Sam and Emma host Alex Pareene, Contributing Editor at the New Republic and proprietor of the AP newsletter on Substack, to round up the week in news. Then they are joined by Judy Gold, host of the Kill Me Now podcast! First, Emma and Sam run through Donald Trump’s crumbling defenses, DeSantis canceling his second human trafficking stunt, updates on the continuing resolution, and more, before diving into Gustavo Petro’s speech at the UN General Assembly on the climate crisis, diving into the plague of US and western consumption, imperialism, and exploitative practices that continue with the belief that “the market will save us from what the market itself has created.” Then Alex Pareene joins as they dive right into the Russian disaster that has been Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, as he calls in the final reserves and begins a draft of Russian citizens with anti-war protests breaking out left and right, also holding a conversation on assessing the failures of Putin’s goals, with NATO bigger and more popular than ever, and wrapping up the topic by assessing how it will develop next, with a depleted Russian officer class to be joined by unwilling draftees. Next, they tackle Manchin’s whining about Republicans joining Bernie in taking his permitting out of the continuing resolution, exploring the animosity existing between the two, why the GOP shares in the anti-Manchin sentiment, and why none of that matters when it comes to Bernie’s political action. Wrapping up the interview, they turn to the topic of Donald Trump, parsing through Trump Inc v Letitia James and whether the IRS will get involved, Trump v DeSantis and the rallying of Fox hosts behind their leader, what will happen with a Trump indictment (and why it might make him more likely to run), and how Trump’s turn to Q might develop.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma are joined by Judy Gold as she flaunts her son’s athletic prowess, explores why the gays and literates love Sam, and assesses the state of the Stand-Up form as it feels the after-effects of social media’s form of entrepreneurship. They also tackle the evolution of the form and safe (and creative) spaces for comedians. Sam and Emma watch Trey Hollingsworth’s cordial meeting with US Banks as part of their oversight, the reveal that JR Majewski has actually been lying about his military experience, and Alex Jones flails angrily when being confronted with the families of Sandy Hook and what he’s done to them. Tucker Carlson continues his tirade of stochastic terrorism as it continues to earn him the big bucks, 2x Divorcée Dennis Prager talks about being in the upper echelon of radio talk show hosts in his debate with Ana Kasparian, plus, your IMs!

Check out the AP newsletter here: https://theap.substack.com/

Check out the Politics of Everything podcast here: https://newrepublic.com/podcasts

Check out the Kill Me Now podcast here: https://www.stitcher.com/show/kill-me-now-with-judy-gold

Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join

Emma hosts Dr. Steven Thrasher, assistant professor of journalism at Northwestern University, to discuss his recent book The Viral Underclass: The Human Toll When Inequality And Disease Collide. Then, Emma is joined by filmmaker Dominique Remy to discuss her work on an upcoming documentary regarding maternal mortality, and the sobering data surrounding the issue that just came out from a study by the CDC. First, Emma runs through updates on Ginni Thomas’ decision to speak in front of the 1/6 committee, Russian anti-war protests, and the Electoral Reform Bill, before diving into Donald Trump’s legal woes, with Tish James coming for his property and an 11th Circuit panel overturning (and mocking) the decision by Aileen Cannon to grant him a Special Master. Emma and Dr. Thrasher then dive into where his term “viral underclass” came from, coined by queer activist Sean Strub during the AIDS epidemic, and a central theme of Thrasher’s thesis on the sentencing of Michael Johnson, a college wrestler who was living HIV/AIDS and convicted of supposedly not disclosing his status (despite maintaining his innocence through to his successful appeal), before exploring what role this term can play as a tool of greater social analysis, with public health crises often funneling certain social groups into the role of scapegoat for social anxieties (be they based on race, sexual orientation, class, or other). Next, they look at the role of this “underclass” in helping maintain greater systemic issues of a for-profit healthcare system, deflecting the blame down to the individuals rather than the institutions in charge of regulating public health measures and information dissemination, before they jump to exploring the various stigmatized spaces through which diseases travel, looking at the spaces of colonialism and slavery as central to pathogen spread over the last few centuries, queer spaces during the AIDS epidemic, and more. Wrapping up, Dr. Thrasher and Emma tackle how looking at a “viral underclass” helps us explore the COVID pandemic, and why setting up preventative measures for crisis, including social welfare, pandemic preparation, and other institutions for public wellbeing, is a necessary step for both successful pandemic-response and ensuring an equitable solution. Dominique Remy then joins as she dives into her work on the Canary Film Project around the mass stratification in maternal mortality rates in the US between racially marginalized and more affluent, white communities, looking at how discussions of reproductive justice often exclude those impacted by maternal mortality and ignore any solution that attempts to look to systemic failures. Wrapping up, Remy dives into the incredible discussions she was able to learn from in the production of Canary, what the project entails writ large, and how those outside of the project can help.

And in the Fun Half: Emma is joined by Matt and Brandon as Eric Trump pops on a podcast to discuss how much people love his family, the Democratic establishment lashes back at Rashida Tlaib for attacking the oh-so-vulnerable state of Israel, Ed from Fort Worth talks Republican white nationalism, and inspires a discussion on reactionarianism and why it can never escape its own standpoint. Tucker Carlson dives into why straight pedophilia is good but gay anything is pedophilia, and Brian from DC reflects on yesterday’s libertarian debater, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Steven's book here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250796639/theviralunderclass

Check out Dominique's upcoming film project here: https://www.thecanaryfilmproject.com/

Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join

Sam and Emma host Jonah Furman of Labor Notes and author of the Who Gets The Bird? newsletter on SubStack to discuss the recent negotiations between rail workers, railroad companies, and the Biden administration. Then they are joined by investigative reporter Seth Harp to discuss his recent reporting surrounding the recent deaths and opioid abuse at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Emma and Sam first run through updates on the Fed’s plan to discipline labor by tanking the economy into a recession, migrants file a class-action suit against DeSantis for his stunt, and DeSantis discusses his “Ultimate Solution.” Jonah Furman then joins as they get right into the three-year leadup to last Thursday’s sudden climax of a potential rail strike in the US, walking through separate processes for labor organizing in the rail industry, the need for a 30-day cool-off period, and why Biden got involved, before parsing through the federal deal recommended and why it got so much pushback from the various railway unions. Next, he, Sam, and Emma explore how the rail industry came to be under different processes, with 19th Century unrest leading to the 1926 Railway Labor Act that works to keep the country’s infrastructure moving, and leading up to the conditions we see today, where workers are expected to constantly be on call with no right to call out for an emergency and the workforce getting cut more and more while production increases. After a brief conversation on the role of monopoly and the leverage that the federal government could hold in this situation, they wrap up by tackling the state of their strike fund, and where this action is likely to head next. Emma is then joined by Seth Harp to get into the developing controversy coming out of the Fort Bragg military base, with a series of murders and executions piling up from 2020 through 2021 alongside increased overdoses and various drug possession and dealing charges all coming out of an institution that was supposedly the pinnacle of US Special Operations, with JSOC, Green Berets, and more all stationed there. They tackle the history of the US Military and Special Operations in mass drug trafficking, the incredible autonomy and power held by these unelected officials, and how this controversy encapsulates the myriad failures of the US Wars on Terror and Drugs.

And in the Fun Half: Sam hosts Brad Polumbo, journalist and policy correspondent at the Foundation for Economic Education, on the immorality of student debt forgiveness, whether debt cancellation is debt transfer, the benefits of college, why daddy paying for college is okay but big brother doing so is bad, and how to grapple with being anti-regressive policy and anti-taxation. Sam and Emma also touch on Ronna McDaniel responding to accusations of Republican fear-mongering by pointing out how scary the world is, Matt DePerno on Michigan’s potential abortion ban, and Stephen Crowder talks with a gay guy about how much women SUCK, plus, your IMs!

Check out Jonah's newsletter here: https://whogetsthebird.substack.com/

Check out Seth's on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/sethharpesq?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join

Check out ESVN's YouTube channel here! https://www.youtube.com/c/ESVNShow

Sam and Emma break down the biggest headlines of the day, and are joined by Dave Weigel, national political correspondent for the Washington Post, to discuss the hotly approaching midterm elections in November. First, Sam and Emma dive into the devastation in the wake of Hurricane Fiona’s continued warpath, with Puerto Rico’s power completely out and the Dominican Republic’s water supply shot, also touching on a Bexar County PD’s investigation into DeSantis’ kidnapping stunt and the greater conspiracy around this ploy. Dave Weigel then joins Sam and Emma as they take on the not-so-bellwether election of NY-19, and the growth of suburban Democratic voters in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and explore a greater assessment of the Democratic voting block heading into the midterms. They also walk through the backlash to Lindsey Graham’s abortion ban from both sides, with Democrats capitalizing on this departure from the “States’ Rights” argument and Republicans collapsing on Graham’s betrayal, and touch on the similar elements around DeSantis’ horrifying stunt using migrants, before Weigel parses through his pessimism around Democrats’ chances in the House, why they likely won’t end up with more than +1 in the Senate, and what makes certain races (ranging from North Carolina and Pennsylvania to Nevada, Colorado, and Wisconsin) so engaging heading into the Midterm season.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma cover the devastation of Hurricane Fiona, Ethan from Nevada comments on Weigel’s coverage of the Nevada Democratic Party, Daniel from St. Louis talks Adam Kokesh, and the crew covers the supposed “Leftists” and their anti-IRS push. Jackson Hinkle talks MAGA-Communism’s love for private property and “business for the people” on OAN, Tom discusses ongoings in non-unionized Starbucks, and Fox and Friends confront Lindsey Graham. Raygun discusses DeSantis’ stunt, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Dave on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/daveweigel?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

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Sam and Emma host writer Shon Faye to discuss her recent book The Transgender Issue: Trans Justice Is Justice For All. Then, Sam and Emma are joined by Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota's 5th Congressional District to discuss President Biden's recent student loan debt forgiveness plan, as well as many of the other crazy goings-on on Capitol Hill. Emma and Sam first run through updates on Hurricane Fiona’s devastation of Puerto Rico’s electric grid, confirmation that DHS agents falsified information for DeSantis’ human trafficking stunt, where the “Independent State Legislature” theory really comes from, and Donald Trump’s invocation of a Q-Anon anthem, coming with full salutes from the audience. Shon Faye then joins as she gets right into why she chose to take on the discourse trojan horse of the “Trans Issue,” walking through how it abstracts the complex role of being a minority in society in favor of the anxiety that their existence supposedly promotes, and looking at how its role in the UK, contrary to the US’ Christian-nationalist lead fight, was fronted by coalescence of conservative transphobia and liberal “respectability” claims of paternalist protection of women and children, with these reactionary ideologies coming together to campaign against even the most gentle of pro-trans legislation. Next, Faye walks through the belief that guides her book; why the liberation of trans people would benefit everyone in society – exploring the institutional paths through which trans people are materially oppressed, and how tackling poor housing, medical inequality, and discrimination would benefit classes and social groups well beyond the LGBTQ+ community. She, Sam, and Emma, then parse through the specifics of trans oppression in the “west,” carefully taking on how trans people are pushed out of legitimate occupations and into black-market economies, erased from community-oriented spaces by state-backed legislation, used as complications in the prison industry despite the violence they face in mass incarceration, and constantly pathologized when attempting to secure potentially life-saving medical procedures. Wrapping up, they tackle the growing role of “children” in transphobic and homophobic discourse, why kids face much bigger risks in being exposed to bigotry than “being queer,” and the absurdity of “trans-ing” as a concept. Then, Ilhan Omar joins as she gives some behind-the-scenes insight and progressive foresight on various topics from Biden’s student debt relief, an upcoming vote on marriage equality, the potential of a government shutdown in the wake of the upcoming continuing resolution, the future of Democratic and progressive leadership and intra-party dealmaking, and more!

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma talk with John from San Antonio as we head into our last 50 days before the midterms, Ro Khanna goes on Counterpoints, and JR Majewski celebrates Predator Trump. Ted Cruz and Sean Hannity discuss Ron DeSantis’ “human trafficking,” and Bill Maher gets pissy with people for judging humanity’s past (lest we forget, we’ve all stolen gum, eaten dirt, and did a triangle slave trade), plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Shon's book here: https://www.versobooks.com/books/4061-the-transgender-issue

Follow Rep. Omar on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/ilhanmn

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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 they are joined by David Feldman of The David Feldman Show! Sam and Emma begin by tackling updates on Trump’s special master, the state of the Freight Rail strike, and the horrendous stunts by GOP Governors with migrants, also diving into Trump’s appearance with Hugh Hewitt. Then, Digby joins as they get into situating Trump’s relationship to the rest of the GOP heading into the midterms, particularly in the wake of backlash to 1/6 and the Dobbs decision, and dive into what Trump’s role in the Republican party agenda might be (contrasted with DeSantis’). They also look at the long-term progress of the Republican agenda, with folks like Cheney and Chief Justice Roberts developing their neocon theories under Nixon and Reagan respectively, before diving deeper into the potential Presidential aspirations of Abbott and DeSantis (as shown by their human trafficking stunts), and looking at the wide-scale Republican backlash to Lindsey Graham advancing their agenda, with talking heads from Kirk to Walsh complaining that America just isn’t read. Wrapping up, they establish why the progression of the GOP agenda is working against its own progress (because it’s horrific), and what their play will be heading into the midterms.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma are joined by David Feldman as they tackle the devastating state of London, England in the wake of the Queen’s funeral, also discussing the dangers of the Windsor Bosom, and anti-semitism on a broader level. Sam and Emma also reflect on the GOP’s rapid backtrack, watching JD Vance’s self-immolation on abortion, and Don Bolduc’s 4-week 180º on the biggest part of the Trump agenda (the Big Lie), before watching Dave Rubin fantasize about the horrors of his children’s future, and Matt Walsh wistfully wax about the Hollywood standards that brought us such classics as “Friends,” and “Seinfeld,” plus, your IMs!

Check out Digby's work at Salon here: https://www.salon.com/writer/heather_digby_parton

Check out the David Feldman show here: https://www.youtube.com/c/DavidFeldman/featured

Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join

Check out ESVN's YouTube channel here! https://www.youtube.com/c/ESVNShow

Emma hosts Katherine Blunt, reporter for the Wall Street Journal, to discuss her recent book California Burning: The Fall Of Pacific Gas And Electric-And What It Means For America's Power Grid. First, Emma dives into updates on the Freight Rail strike, the unionization of Minor League Baseball, and DeSantis’ human trafficking stunt, also diving into the backlash to Lindsey Graham’s abortion ban as Jesse Watters criticizes him for giving away their game. Katherine Blunt then joins as she and Emma dive right into what PG&E (Pacific Gas and Electric) is (a California utility company), and how they came to achieve the status of gas and electric monopoly in the state. Next, they get into the disasters around this company, starting with the 2018 wildfire caused by their reckless negligence that destroyed the town of Paradise, killing 84 people, as they dive into the corporate failures that lead to a 100-year-old hook holding up transmission lines with no awareness from the company. Parsing through this, Emma and Katherine tackle the role of the profit motive in supporting disinvestment from self-regulation, with actual profit coming from the rate of return on capital investments that improve their overall value, also diving into the state and federal regulations that shaped the mass deregulation of the energy sector from the 1990s on. After an extended conversation on the role of climate change (and thus drought, wildfires, hurricanes, extreme cold, and more) in inflaming the already dysfunctioning grids across the US, and how California has put the liability on the shoulders of the utility companies, they wrap up the interview by assessing the role of Biden’s infrastructure package in rebuilding and reinforcing our electricity grids.

And in the Fun Half: Emma is joined by Brandon and Matt as they tackle the absurdity of the British royal family and watch their police crackdown on someone pointing out that Prince Andrew is a pedophile, also watching a Newsmax host come around to see the horrible working conditions of Freight Rail workers and having another small discussion on Tim Pool’s music with Spencer from Utah. Ronald Raygun discusses Ron DeSantis’ disgusting human trafficking stunt, Matt Walsh breaks down trying to do a scientific racism on the live-action Little Mermaid, and Candace Owens discusses why Black people must take responsibility for slavery, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Katherine's book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/670012/california-burning-by-katherine-blunt/

Check out ESVN's YouTube channel here! https://www.youtube.com/c/ESVNShow

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Sam and Emma host Jane McAlevey, Senior Policy Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley's Labor Center, to discuss her recent video for The Nation "You Voted To Form A Union. Now What?" Then they are joined by T.J. Kitchen, Organizing Director for the Teamsters Joint Council #43, to discuss the recent organizing efforts at a Chipotle franchise in Lansing, Michigan. Sam and Emma begin by running through updates on early Russia-Ukraine negotiations (including Putin rejecting a No-NATO pledge), WV’s new abortion ban, and Starbucks’ firing of organizer Jaz Brisack, also touching on Lindsey Graham launching his bill to finally lead America out of the wacko dark ages of “Bodily Autonomy.” Then Jane McAlevey joins as she, Sam, and Emma get right into contextualizing the growth of the American labor movement over the last two years (since McAlevey’s last appearance on MR), exploring the mass growth in organized labor action in the wake of the heightened tensions of 2020 and the labor exploitation of the COVID-19 pandemic, and how the Biden administration’s NLRB has failed (and occasionally succeeded) in capturing that rage. Following up on that discussion, Jane gets into the next iteration of challenges facing new US unions, looking at how the rise of independent unions (Starbucks Workers United, Amazon Labor Union, etc), fails to capitalize on the preexisting organizing expertise and experience found in national unions (and preferably in the NLRB) or to mobilize for demands on a larger-scale. After they get into the continuing complicity of the Democratic Party in undermining labor power in the US, also covering their response to the recent Freight Rail strike, they wrap up by assessing how the US working class became so overworked and under-compensated while rent and healthcare prices continue to skyrocket, and what we can do to close that gap. TJ Kitchen then joins to dive into the recent organizing at a Lansing Chipotle, discussing how the workers there reached out to the Teamsters Joint Council #43, how they were able to prepare the workers and strategize for the union-busting that would surely come (and did), and how this action can grow moving forwards.

And in the Fun Half: Emma and Sam take a call from Penny on Organizing with UFCW-300, Owen from LA discusses European power policy as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, Mitch McConnell sends some warning shots Lindsey Graham’s way, and Routers reveals Putin was offered a No-NATO pledge from Ukraine. Jenna from Freemont discusses fighting for the Trans community, Hannah from Kansas City discusses the “Tucker Carlson Left” and why fighting for healthcare is NOT antithetical to fighting for trans healthcare, and the crew remembers Ken Starr. Chris from Mass explores the role of the White House Press Corp, and Chris Rufo calls teenagers he’s not attracted to “demonic,” plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Jane's video at the nation here: https://www.thenation.com/article/activism/video-nation-explains-negotiations-mcalevey/

Get more info on the Lansing Chipotle's organizing efforts here: https://teamster.org/2022/08/chipotle-workers-in-michigan-vote-to-join-teamsters/?fbclid=IwAR3tnJphLVQAc6Q-L9R-Kv5evf-thbbjIMjnixN8Wn-1S_MquWsi5F9RHzw

Go see Mike Duncan on tour! https://www.newmediatouring.com/artist/mike-duncan/

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Emma is back! Sam and her break down the biggest headlines of the day. Then they are joined by Mike Duncan, host of the Revolutions podcast, and author of the recent book Hero of Two Worlds: The Marquis de Lafayette in the Age of Revolution. Sam and Emma run through updates on the Nurses’ strike in Minnesota, the DOJ going Oprah-mode with their subpoenas (you get one!), and what state primaries we will see today, before diving deeper into the GOP’s history of pushing the DOJ towards corrupting their reporting of voter fraud, exploring how Trump and Barr took a page out of George W. Bush’s book in their treatment of a US Attorney in the Southern District of New York. Next, they jump into the recent freight rail strike across multiple unions in the US, exploring the horrendous working conditions (including NO sick leave) that spurred this action, and debating where Biden’s NLRB will fall on this fight (and the massive impact that could have). They also discuss Lindsey Graham’s federal abortion ban proposal, the absurdly stupid timing of it, and how it gives away the game in the GOP’s long-term plans to get rid of reproductive care, taking on the impact it might have in the leadup to the midterms, what the goals of the two parties are in these elections, and why the discourse around abortion has so benefitted the Democrats. They wrap up the news day by touching on the recent case accepted by the Supreme Court, Talevski v Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County, and the impact it might have on Medicaid and the administrative state. Mike Duncan then joins, as he situates how his study of the Democratic revolutions of the 18th and 19th Centuries brought to the fore the role of THEE Marquis de Lafayette in these wars, traveling from revolution to revolution to deploy his expertise against the British and French ruling class. Duncan explores the patterns the revolutions of this era saw, the importance of a divided working class, and how Lafayette fits into these systems, before a smaller conversation on what the revolutions of these eras actually entailed. Wrapping up, they have a broader discussion of revolutions, including those Duncan has written about in the past, and the systems and structures that lead to them, situating where the current US

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma watch Glenn Greenwald continue to pitch Democrats caring about the rise of fascism as “Leftist Hypocrisy” and an attempt to “punish dissent,” with Tucker and Hannity clinging to the danger of “investigating” things, and have a greater conversation about the corrupt role of American intelligence and the necessary role of the IRS. Multi-Ivy alum Ron DeSantis comes out against four-year private education (presumably in preference of the 8-year Yale-Harvard track that he took) and a Minnesota republican asks for more nuance in his ability to vote “Yes” or “No, struggles to add it (largely due to “Maybe” votes not existing), and Don Bolduc, NH Senate GOP Favorite, takes “abolishing the Senate” to a whole new level of “abolishing the right to vote for your Senator,” plus, your calls and IMs!

MIKE IS ON TOUR! Check him out here: https://www.newmediatouring.com/artist/mike-duncan/

Check out Mike's podcast here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/revolutions/id703889772

Check out Mike's book here: https://www.publicaffairsbooks.com/titles/mike-duncan/hero-of-two-worlds/9781541730328/

Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join

Check out ESVN's YouTube channel here! https://www.youtube.com/c/ESVNShow

It's Casual Friday! Sam hosts Ben Dixon of The Benjamin Dixon Show to round up the week in news. Then he is joined by Matthew Film Guy! First, Sam runs through updates on the DOJ’s appeal on Trump’s Special Master ruling, more investigations into the Save America PAC and Steve Bannon’s fraud charges, the DNC’s love for Dark Money, Gorsuch’s statement on a public report surrounding the Dobbs leak, and the beautiful reactions to the Queen’s death, ranging from indifferent to ecstatic. Ben Dixon then joins as he and Sam walk through a recent viral clip of his juxtaposition of viral Black pastors and hardcore Christian nationalists, exploring how the Christian right has colonized Christ and gentrified Jesus on the stage of national discourse. Next, they take on the state of the strain of White Supremacist Christianity that has overtaken the US after a few decades in hiding, pitching dominionist theology with crackdowns on queer folks and an uplifting of White idols, from Trump to MTG, and ingraining themselves in all factions of the GOP. Dixon then explores why these White Supremacists don’t get more pushback from their religious communities, diving into the organizing Ben has done in the south, from allowing congregations to dictate the politics of their pastors to the preoccupation of Black pastors with a full-on conservative assault on their communities. After a brief conversation on how this fundamentalist sect slipped under the radar from the mid-2000s up until the emergence of Donald Trump, they dive deeper into the state of the GOP’s agenda as an appeal to this Christian dominionism, touching on the Oathkeepers leak, January 6th, and the Right’s full-scale attack on government.

And in the Fun Half: Matthew Film Guy joins Sam as he discusses the Brittany Snow movie that has become his recent passion project, his appearance on little-known podcast WTF, and his Sam-backed recommendations of Joachim Trier’s “The Worst Person in the World” and Bo Burham’s “Eighth Grade.” Sam also dives into Ron Johnson’s frantic escape from a vote on the upcoming Marriage Equality Bill, Greg Gutfeld talks about his need for attractive male specimens in a political base, and Alabama's imprisonment of pregnant folks. Dave Rubin pulls his support for Sam Harris on account of his falling into Trump Derangement Syndrome, plus, your IMs!

Check out Ben's show here: https://www.youtube.com/c/thebenjamindixonshow

Check out Matthew's Letterboxd here: https://letterboxd.com/langdonboom/

Check out Matthew's film discussion group here: https://www.commonpointqueens.org/program/cultural-arts-and-jewish-heritage-classes/

Check out Matthew's eBay auction here! https://www.ebay.com/itm/115464749223

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Check out ESVN's YouTube channel here! https://www.youtube.com/c/ESVNShow

It's a special Matt Binder edition of the Majority Report! But first, we have a pre-taped interview from Emma. Emma speaks with Will Bunch, national opinion columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer, to discuss his new book After the Ivory Tower Falls: How College Broke the American Dream and Blew Up Our Politics-and How to Fix It.  Matt Binder begins by running through updates on the Queen’s not-so-wellbeing, a Las Vegas public official’s arrest in the case of the murder of a journalist, Gov. Hochul lifting the NYC mask mandate, and Ron Johnson’s response to the public’s response to his response in support of same-sex marriage. Then, Emma is joined by Will Bunch as he dives right into the history of the privatization of higher education, first painting an image of the general arc from the golden age of college in the mid-1900s, emphasizing an educated and socially-developed populace, to the neoliberal era that leverages tuition and debt as a means of social control, thus shifting the purpose of education from developing one’s personal philosophy to conditioning young adults for the workforce. Next, they step back to the 1940s with the introduction of the GI bill coming out of the Second World War seeking to give veterans a beneficial reintroduction to society, only for their presence to revolutionize the college system, opening up the elites in charge of the institutions to bringing in those outside of their social sphere (poorer, non-WASP), and leading right into the baby boom of the mid-20th Century, cementing a college education’s role in the middle-class journey. Bunch then parses through what made the three decades in the middle of the 1900s so different from what came after it, with state tax coffers full to the brim allowing them to fund a diverse array of studies, supporting myriad studies and passions with no fear of it hindering one’s entrance to the workforce, only for older capitalist elites to turn around and resent a more-educated population for attempting to change their political systems for the better (particularly with the rise of HBCU enrollment, college integration, and university activism). This begins the era of neoliberal deregulation and austerity, with Nixon advisors openly admitting to the threat of an “educated proletariat,” and starting the trend that Ronald Reagan would cement, reducing the use of pell grants, unshackling creditors, and guaranteeing loan payments, all helping the push tuitions higher and higher, and pushing more and more investment towards superfluous amenities to draw in wealthier students, and pushing non-elite families deeper and deeper in debt. Wrapping up, they tackle the impact of the 2008 financial crash on pushing the student debt crisis over the edge, look at the ironic myth of meritocracy, discuss the importance of universality in any solution, and explore the increasing divide between college-educated and non-college-educated Americans.

And in the Fun Half: Matt Binder is joined by Brandon Sutton as they tackle Tucker’s feature on Fox & Friends (the expert on creepy laughs and weird AOC takes that he is), Kowalski then calls to explore the most influential moments in his education, and Ben from Texas discusses work in sports radio. Jordan Peterson continues his descent into sorrowful madness and spiteful transphobia, Sadie from Texas explores teaching while queer in a conservative state, and Sarah Palin complains about not being popular. Plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Will's book here: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/after-the-ivory-tower-falls-will-bunch?variant=40088708907042

Check out ESVN's YouTube channel here! https://www.youtube.com/c/ESVNShow

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Sam and Emma host journalist John Bartlett to discuss the recent constitutional referendum in Chile. Then, they are joined by Nsombi Lambright, executive director of OneVoiceMS, to discuss the recent water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi's capital city. They begin by diving into updates on the Mar-a-Lago raid, the Seattle teacher strike, Texas and South Carolina abortion bans, a Texas judge deciding requiring HIV medical care is unconstitutional, and the state of climate catastrophe that we find ourselves in, before watching Jackson Hinkle and Tucker Carlson explore the Jews behind the Nazis behind Joe Biden’s fascist lighting. John Bartlett joins, diving right into the results of Chile’s constitutional referendum, with the constitution – a rewrite of the binding legislation of Pinochet’s dictatorial regime – failing by a wide margin, before jumping back to Pinochet’s coup that supplied the first failing constitution, walking through the hyper-privatization and rejection of indigenous communities that framed this quintessential neoliberal shock doctrine document. Next, he, Emma, and Sam walk through the recent social uprising that lead to the rewriting of the document, starting in 2019 after protests saw overwhelming support among Chileans for a new constitutional convention, and slowly developing over the last three years. Bartlett then dives into what elements led this new, rather progressive constitution to fail, parsing through the social welfare policies and emphasis on gender parity and indigenous rights, before exploring the greater systemic changes in their legislative and judicial wings. Wrapping up, they cover the overarching theme of mis- and disinformation around the constitutional campaign and explore the role of industry (particularly the already privatized variety) in the pushback. Then, Nsombi Lambright joins in the wake of a meeting with the federal EPA, jumping right into where the federal government is at with intervening in the Jackson, Mississippi water crisis, before situating where the city is at, having recently gotten running water back but still lacking potability. Lambright, Sam, and Emma then explore the lasting impact of the austerity measures of the Reagan era on Jackson, looking at the mass disinvestment from public infrastructure combined with white-flight seeing business and recreation vanishing from the city, leaving it to slowly disintegrate over the last three decades, with the city only able to slap the occasional bandage on it. They conclude the interview by exploring what Jackson is trying to do right now, as the Mississippi governor attempts to set up his own shock-doctrine implementation of privatized infrastructure, and what those outside of Mississippi can do to help.

And in the Fun Half: Ronald Raygun has a quick check-in with a certain commenter in defense of John from San Antonio before Anarcho-Capitalist Mike from Liberty 412 calls in as he debates with Sam and Emma on all things libertarian, walking through the absurdity of private courts, presuming a constant non-aggression principle, and much more. They also touch on Donald Trump’s (former) lawyer Alina Habba and Trump’s “invisible” documents, and reflect on the industry-shifting debut of the  E-S-V-N podcast.

Check out OneVoiceMS here: http://onevoicems.org/

Find ways to help out Jackson Mississippi here: https://formississippi.org/ways-to-help-jackson-water-crisis/

Check out John's work here: https://www.bartlettj.com/

Check out John's podcast here: https://www.miradaspodcast.com/

Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join

Check out ESVN's YouTube channel here! https://www.youtube.com/c/ESVNShow

The MR Crew is back after the long weekend! Sam & Emma break down the biggest headlines of the week. First, they run through updates on Israel admitting to the murder of Shireen Abu Akleh, and Emma’s upcoming E-S-V-N program, before diving into Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves’ tone-deaf response to the complete breakdown of Jackson’s water infrastructure, uplifting the exact path of privatization that got them here and consistently results in a lack of accountability to the people being served (as seen in Flint). Next, Emma and Sam dive into Judge Aileen Cannon putting a spoke in the wheel of the DOJ’s investigation into Trump’s removal of top-secret documents from the White House, walking through the absurdity of Donald Trump’s argument for a “special master,” why that role is just redundant in the wake of the FBI’s filtration, and where the case is likely to go from here, before wrapping up that discussion by tackling the DOJ’s 60-day-rule and how this change will hinder the investigation’s development before the midterms. They also look at Trump’s glowing endorsement of “that guy for representative” (he means Dr. Oz) and his beef with Howard Schultz over who hates democracy more, the Senate’s return to session and the possibility of upcoming shutdowns and reconciliation, and the devolution of the Russian invasion of Ukraine into a war of attrition, much to the appreciation of liberal hawks.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emm take a call with John from San Antonio as they run through various updates on the midterms, looking at the biggest flips for Democrats, which seats they have to save, and what races are in the bag, and Jason from Minnesota explores how MR avoids the grift ™. They also discuss the trajectory of fascism in the US and abroad, whether calling fascists fascist is the true fascism, and the inflammatory nature of climate change when it comes to this problem. Lauren Boebert reflects on her well-paying childhood jobs, Ren from Oregon dives into the beautiful and overwhelming success of the #DropKiwiFarms campaign. Plus, your calls and IMs!

Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join

Today our annual compilation of labor speeches from FDR, Mario Savio, John Lewis, Bernie reading from the speech that sent Eugene Debs to jail.

8:15 - Bernie Sanders reads Eugene Debs

11:20 - FDR's Four Freedoms Speech

21:40 - John L. Lewis

35:20 - Mineworkers song

40:45 - Mario Savio

It's Casual Friday! As summer winds down, Sam and Emma take the first hour to do a big call-in show! They first touch on Biden's speech on keeping the flame of liberty alight, calling out the extremists that dominate and drive the GOP, while still saving time to remind us of the good Republicans that he worked with back in the day. Sam and Emma also dive into Ron Johnson’s statements on solving labor shortage with the elderly, the Republican scramble to make up for the inauthenticity and lackluster charisma of their Thiel candidates, the GOP’s coordinatedly stupid response to Student Loan relief, and the next children’s hospital to be a target of Matt Walsh and Chaya Raichik’s stochastic terrorism. With fans calling in at 646-257-3920 to chat with the MR Crew, they then tackle topics including student loans, the falling GOP support ahead of the midterms, bringing in more support for the left, gun control failures on both the right and left, and critiques of how yesterday’s interview positioned rural farms owners’ relationship to their undocumented workers. They also enjoy discussions with callers over the capitalist achievement of ice cream cake, Emma’s new sports show (ESVN airing Tuesday at 4 pm!), the #DropKiwiFarms initiative, and overcoming the blackpill.

Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join

Emma hosts Ruth Conniff, editor-in-chief of the Wisconsin Examiner, to discuss her recent book Milked: How an American Crisis Brought Together Midwestern Dairy Farmers and Mexican Workers. Emma also runs through recent news on Palin’s loss in Alaska’s special election (to Alaska’s first Native representative!), Mississippi legislators failing Jackson as it continues to go without running water, Israel’s crackdowns on allowing NGOs in Palestine, and Peter Theil and Mitch McConnell bicker over who has to fund their pasty white puppets, Vance and Masters. Ruth Conniff then joins as she dives into the genesis of her study of the agrarian ties between Wisconsin and Mexico, beginning with her move from the former to the latter in the wake of Trump’s election, only to discover countless Mexican families in Veracruz who – either themselves or their family members – had spent years on Wisconsin dairy farms. After situating the current state of undocumented labor in the Wisconsin dairy industry (approximately 80% of the labor!), Conniff and Emma explore how this came to be, with neoliberal policies like NAFTA bolstering the preexisting issue of mass-scale corporate farms overtaking family farms across North America, and particularly decimating the family agricultural industry in Mexico, forcing the workers up north to the US. With this migration, small-scale farmers in Wisconsin clamored to bring them in to help with their labor – a form of labor practically rejected by American citizens, and not covered by US Visas as it’s considered “low skill” – which brings Ruth to the story of how they found themselves oddly united against these global economic forces of corporatization. Next, Ruth and Emma tackle the contradictions of a state relying on undocumented labor when its representatives are some of the most vitriolic anti-immigrant candidates, resulting in hotbeds of ICE action endorsed by the state that actively oppresses those who make the local businesses function, before wrapping up with a conversation on the future of a path to citizenship that supports programs like DACA and more at-will migration, as well as more industry-specific work visas.

Check out Ruth's book here: https://thenewpress.com/books/milked

Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join

Sam and Emma host freelance journalist Chris Pomorski to discuss his recent piece in The New Republic "When Innocence Isn't Enough." Then they are joined by Amjad Iraqi, editor at 972 Magazine, to discuss the recent violence in the Gaza Strip. Emma and Sam begin by covering updates on the DOJ search warrant for Mar-a-Lago, the continuing emergency in Jackson, the success of South Carolina’s abortion ban and the fall of Arkansas’ trans healthcare ban, before tackling the continued Fox & Frenemies infighting between Doocy and Kilmeade. Chris Pomorski then dives into the story of Christopher Dunn’s wrongful imprisonment, beginning in St. Louis, 1990 when an 18-year-old Christopher Dunn was charged and convicted for the murder of a 14-year-old boy based solely on the eyewitness testimony of two other children that would later recant, citing pressure and intimidation from the police. After tackling the failures of Dunn’s public defender (largely grounded in racism), Pomorski then dives into what happened in the wake of Dunn’s innocence becoming clear, why the judge determining his case believe him to be wrongfully convicted, and how Missouri law prohibits overturning convictions that aren’t death sentences. Wrapping up, they look at where Dunn can go from here, as Missouri executive representatives (Governor and AG) refused to step in while the legislature passed a law putting his future exclusively in the hands of the prosecutors that incarcerated him in the first place. Then, Amjad Iraqi parses through the lasting effects of last May’s Palestinian uprising in the face of heightened Israeli violence and oppression, first walking through the two core struggles that arose during Ramadan as Israeli police assaulted worshipers in Jerusalem and at key religious locations like Damascus Gate and Al-Aqsa mosque, and Israeli and American Jewish settlers began forcibly removing Palestinians and their belongings from their houses as part of their genocidal gentrification project. Next, Amjad, Emma, and Sam, discuss the solidarity among Palestinians that this inspired, how it bolsters a growing nascent collective consciousness among Palestinian youth, and where Palestinian organizing might go from here. Wrapping up, they also cover the evolution of Israel’s genocidal project, from periods of more front-facing violence to attempts to obscure the blood they shed, with the latter coming back to the fore as Israel attempts to force NGOs and journalists out of Gaza.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma tease a surprise for this Friday, before diving deep into Jordan Peterson’s ridiculous, violent, and obviously hypocritical reasoning behind his recent “controversial” tweets, the shameless man he is, also walking through the effects of this stochastic rhetoric from the likes of him, Matt Walsh, and Libs of TikTok, as Boston Children’s Hospital was forced to clear out in the wake of bomb threats over its trans-inclusive care. They also cover Rob Schneider’s World War II allegory to express his willingness to be canceled, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Chris's piece here: https://newrepublic.com/article/166767/christopher-dunn-missouri-murder-innocent

Check out Amjad's work at 972 Magazine here: https://www.972mag.com/writer/amjad/

Sam is back! He and Emma are joined by Jamie Martin, Assistant Professor of History at Harvard University, to discuss his recent book The Meddlers: Sovereignty, Empire, and the Birth of Economic Global Governance. First, Sam and Emma dive into developments in Ukraine as the UN sends in Nuclear Inspectors, a massive flood in Pakistan displacing millions, and the clear public support behind Biden’s student debt relief. Jamie Moran then joins as he gets right into the story of liberalism’s international systems based on sovereign encroachment, and why the conventional narrative begins with the Bretton-Woods conference in 1944 that saw the creation of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, aligning with the United States emerging from its isolationism to the peak of a globalized liberal order, and being followed (with the failure of the Bretton-Woods system in the ‘70s) by a new project of neoliberal hyper globalization, forcing austere reform on what they saw as “developing economies.” Next, Professor Martin dives into why HIS history of the subject started well before Bretton-Woods, seeing the leveraging of sovereign states by international economic coalitions into painful domestic reform as a tale as old as capitalism, burgeoning in the middle of the 19th Century with the nation-state boom bringing countless new governments onto the international stage, and the lasting European empires (largely France and England) granting these nations “sovereignty” under conditions of severe extraction by their former colonizers. These systems largely continued in the wake of the colonial expansions of the 18th and 19th Centuries, leading up to the first World War which saw Europe and the US create wartime international bodies that actually exercise their colonial power collectively, and translated (however poorly) into the post-war systems such as the League of Nations. Looking at the next couple of decades, Professor Martin explores how Britain (and France to a lesser extent) came to largely dominate the economic discourse of the League of Nations, employing imperial creditor arrangements in the wake of the 1920s’ depression to bolster their international leverage, and why the US’ isolation from the League was due to this very reason of protecting their own sovereignty. Walking through the years following World War II, Sam, Emma, and Jamie Martin discuss how the lack of borders allowed US creditors to overtake the Bank of England and other EU creditors by containing extortion to the financial realm, and putting them in peak position going into the Bretton-Wood conference, and ensuring the IMF and World Bank functioned under their control. Wrapping up, they explore other translations of these colonial practices around sovereignty (including the Cold War’s emphasis on anti-communism), and reflect on why a fetishized nostalgia for these systems is severely misplaced.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma watch Marco Rubio struggle over how “unfair” Joe Biden is being, Sam waits with beta – I mean bated –  breath for the rest of Tim Pool’s album, Mike from South Carolina calls in to discuss the GI Bill as a Vet, and Ryan from Arizona explores his states’ recent elections. Dave Rubin thanks Liberty U students for praying his gay away, Eamon from California discusses the fire hazards prevalent in the critiques of the Uvalde teachers, and Sam and Emma explore the destruction in Pakistan, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Jamie's book here: https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674976542

Emma hosts Alex Pareene, Contributing Editor at the New Republic and proprietor of the AP newsletter on Substack, to round up the week in news. Then, Emma is joined by Astra Taylor, co-founder of the Debt Collective and author of the recent book Remake the World: Essays, Reflections, Rebellions, to discuss Biden's student loan forgiveness program. Then, Emma is joined by Astra Taylor, co-founder of the Debt Collective and author of the recent book, “Remake the World: Essays, Reflections, Rebellions,” to discuss Biden's student loan forgiveness program. Emma also touches on the likelihood of the Mar-a-Lago affidavit’s release today, Biden’s BOOMING (44%) approval rating, and recent appearances in the wake of electoral Ws having much more energy. Then, Alex Pareene drops by as he and Emma get right into the rising charisma of supposed “Dark Brandon,” as he begins feeling himself coming out of the success of the IRA, January 6th Committee, and canceling student debt, as Democrats finally come along on the whole “actually, getting things done is a good thing” idea (with months until the midterms we can only hope it wasn’t too little too late). Next, they dive into the mixed bag of the NY election results, discussing the Democrats absolutely blowing the bag with redistricting, employing the weight of that failure to push progressives into infighting, and why the lesson to be learned from this is to upset the first-past-the-post electoral system, employing ranked voting and other experimental policies, and to either detach from or completely reinvent Congressional Electoral Committees like the DCCC. Wrapping up they dive into the intensifying 1/6 Committee, walking through the foolish institutionalism that would have Merrick Garland believe that following DOJ requisites would shield him from backlash, assessing his base entering the midterms, and the importance of actually putting forwards multiple issues beyond “they’re being unfair to me” in winning an election (See: Hillary 2016). Astra Taylor and Emma then conclude the free half by walking through the story of student debt relief, beginning during the Occupy Wall Street movement, met with the typical media dismissiveness, only to evolve over the next decade (with help from Congressional progressives like Warren, Sanders, and even Schumer) into a political movement that not only has viability but even practical implementation, wrapping up by taking on the legitimacy of the “minimal relief” critiques on the debt forgiveness.

And in the Fun Half: Emma watches as Blake Masters starts a to-thiel coverup of his anti-abortion past, Jared Kushner discusses his billionaire fantasies of immortality and Martha MacCallum asks if it’s hard to be part of a family that gets arrested so much. Tim Pool brings it back to the mediocre rock of the ‘90s, and – much to Jesse Watters’ titillation – Missouri brings back spanking as an academic punishment.  The crew also responds to the “why do you deserve student debt relief if you went to a private college” talking point, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out the AP newsletter here: https://theap.substack.com/

Check out Alex's "Politics of Everything" podcast here: https://newrepublic.com/podcasts

Check out the Debt Collective here: https://debtcollective.org/

Emma hosts Noah Kulwin, co-host of the Blowback podcast, to discuss his recent piece in The Baffler entitled "Tales from the Thrifts." First, Emma dives into Biden’s recent executive moves, from codifying DACA to the 10-20k student debt cancellation, and explores the absolutely wild takes from the right on the minimal debt relief. Then, Noah Kulwin joins to discuss the parallel his article painted between the Savings and Loans (SnL) crisis of the 80s and the Crypto crashes of today, jumping back to the 1970s when the deregulation of the SnL industry began amidst inflation, continuing to open it up its investment opportunities and bail it out repeatedly (under both Carter and Reagan), with 1982’s Garn Saint-Germain Act opening the industry up to federally guaranteed money laundering schemes, and the government legislation climaxing with the passage of FIRREA in 1989. Unsurprisingly, Kulwin then walks through the massive influence the SnL sector had in Washington, as the biggest Congressional donors, acting as real estate developers and mortgage lenders at the same time, before they shift to the similarly unregulated market of Crypto, acting effectively as bonds for surplus capital in much the same was, despite their advertisement as a currency, diving into the similar tactics we see between the two sectors, particularly when it comes to broadcasting themself onto the mainstream and bolstering certain illegal and profitable industries. Wrapping up, Emma and Noah walk through the recent collapse of the tied crypto coins Luna and Terra and why Ponzi schemes will never succeed, and the future of the Blowback podcast.

And in the Fun Half: Emma is joined by Brandon Sutton as they explore student debt bondage as a funnel into the worlds of privatized industry, meaning our smartest students have spent the ‘90s and ‘00s working on derivatives and crashing the stock market, and the 2010s on electronic surveillance and crypto. Sophia from Atlanta discusses her mom’s attraction to Andrew Yang’s “Forwards Party,” Dr. Oz responds to claims that everyone hates him, and the crew dives into an openly racist Juneteenth parody party that took place in Rochester NY, and the lawsuit that has since followed. Adam from Rhode Island discusses Biden’s 10k student debt relief and why being better than the Right isn’t enough, Ron DeSantis lacks the Orange Man juice, and Marjorie Taylor Greene discusses being swatted, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Noah's piece here: https://thebaffler.com/salvos/tales-from-the-thrifts-kulwin

Check out Noah's podcast Blowback here: https://blowback.show/

Emma hosts Dr. Heather Berg, Assistant Professor of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Washington University St. Louis, to discuss her recent book Porn Work: Sex, Labor, and Late Capitalism. Emma hosts Dr. Heather Berg, Assistant Professor of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Washington University St. Louis, to discuss her recent book Porn Work: Sex, Labor, and Late Capitalism. Emma first dives into yesterday’s primary results in NY and Florida, walking through the crushing victories of socialists Krysten Gonzalez, Gustavo Rivera, and Jabari Brisport in New York City and Maxwell Frost in Orlando, before looking at real-estate and NYT-backed Dan Goldman’s victory despite three progressive candidates passing 10k votes. Then, she’s joined by Doctor Heather Berg as they dive right into her class-based analysis of porn and sex work, and how she came to this field of study, walking through the field’s historical focus on consumption and representation in the industry despite the intrigue Dr. Berg found in the grey market nature of the work, occasionally being criminalized and always a precarious element of the gig economy, leading her to look to the void of worker commentary on working conditions in the industry. After a brief conversation on the (unsurprisingly) laborious and mundane nature of this labor, and how it departs from other gig industries (much easier to work for oneself), Dr. Heather Berg and Emma walk through the history of porn and sex work in the US, beginning in the 1970s’ supposed “golden age” of porn, and why, despite the heralding of pieces like “Deep Throat” and “The Devil in Miss Jones,” the majority of pornographic productions in this era saw lower-budget films with lower-quality working conditions, before the switch to video in the 1980s saw profits soar, with better pay being met with longer work weeks and more hardcore productions meaning greater physical labor (and more anti-porn backlash from Christian fundamentalists). Alongside the video boom, the HIV/AIDS epidemic saw the beginnings of organizing in the industry, as sex workers and porn stars saw themselves at the forefront of the public health efforts, creating their own standards of testing across the industry, leading up to the digital boom of the 1990s, where a mass increase in piracy (largely supported by the production elements of the industry) saw workers’ claims to the fruits of their labor start to vanish, with companies like Pornhub springing up to centralize the production with limited redistribution of profits and offering a blueprint for the more clearly “gig” work of Onlyfans that would come about a couple of decades later. Wrapping up, Dr. Berg and Emma tackle the state of the industry today, exploring how the discriminatory policies and pay around certain identities come from the ingrained standards of the late 20th Century, the efforts of organizations such as BIPOC Adult Industry Collective not only to make demands of management but to provide the infrastructure for workers to become completely independent from management, and why the issues around working conditions in sex work and porn are not due to their nature as “sex” but their nature as work.

And in the Fun Half: Emma discusses Biden finally being pushed to do the bare minimum to address the student debt crisis (hitting both means-testing and grant-specific qualifiers), before Kowalski from Nebraska shares his take on the 10-20k in relief. Emma and the crew also tackle the brief fall of Andrew Tate, walking through Hasan’s debate with him, and James from Fort Worth explores book banning and Christian fundamentalism in schools. Jamaal Bowman has an expert response to the NY Democratic Party pitting progressives against each other, and Denis Prager endorses a Naz-so-bad slogan called the three Ks. Plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Heather's book here: https://uncpress.org/book/9781469661926/porn-work/

Emma hosts Dr. John Abramson, lecturer of health care policy at Harvard University, to discuss his recent book Sickening: How Big Pharma Broke American Healthcare and How We Can Repair It.  First, Emma walks through Donald Trump’s opening up of a lawsuit against the US Government, ICE officials’ requirement to wipe phones upon leaving, and updates for today’s primaries in Oklahoma, New York, and Florida. Then, Dr. John Abramson joins as he gets right into contextualizing his recent book within his greater work over these last few decades, walking back to his research in the late 1990s – while a family doctor and visiting lecturer at Harvard – that lead him to discover the overwhelming sway that Big Pharma held over determining what the medical community consensus was, particularly around the implementation of more expensive prescriptions. Next, he gets right into the role of pharmaceutical company Merck’s drug “Vioxx,” in his research; advertised as an arthritis drug without adverse GI bleeds, Vioxx was approved in 1999 with a particularly influential spread in the New England Journal of Medicine, only for Abramson to dive into the proper FDA data (incredibly difficult to actually get one’s hands on) and find that Merck had seen (consciously) a doubled risk of Cardiovascular complications. This brings Dr. Abramson to the climax that lead to his first book, Overdosed America, which was his lectures to Harvard Medical students on how and WHY there was this disconnect between Merck and NEJM, with the journal only provided with the peer-reviewed SUMMARY of data (8/13 peers were Merck employees), only to be confronted by lead editors of the Journal attempting to pressure him OUT of revealing this research – not because he hoped to correct it, but because it upset him that Harvard students were questioning his work. Wrapping up, Dr. John Abramson first dives into other forms of Big Pharma control over the US medical industry, looking at how cost-effectiveness studies and price-control are considered illegal allowing for Big Pharma to promote more-expensive less-effective pharmaceuticals, even with high-profile drugs such as insulin, all providing incredible price-gouging abilities for the industry, and the sway over medical journals that helps them back it up.

And in the Fun Half: Emma and the crew take on Donald Trump Jr.’s coked-up defense of his father, Brennan from Kentucky dives into the massive ecological disasters caused by the bourbon industry in the region, and watch DeSantis’ “Top Gun” parody.  They take on the legacy of Stanley Kubrick before Benny Boy from Iowa provides background on today’s interview, Tucker Carlson and Newsmax reflect on the life and legacy of Anthony Fauci, and then watch a haunting school-board meeting on CRT and the livelihoods of queer students. Ron Johnson talks about how safe gay marriage is (soo safe, nothing like abortion), and Tony from Fort Worth dives deep into the legendary depth of the Mean Girls cast, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out John's book here: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/sickening-john-abramson?variant=39935390089250

Emma makes her triumphant return to MR! She is joined by Matthew Soules,  associate professor of architecture at the University of British Columbia, to discuss his recent book Icebergs, Zombies, and the Ultra-Thin: Architecture and Capitalism in the Twenty-First Century.

First, Emma walks updates us on her week in quarantine, before diving into the GOP’s ongoing fight to release the affidavit for the raid on Mar-a-Lago as Dan Crenshaw pleads with Jake Tapper that Donald Trump was actually super nice and cooperative with the DOJ. Then Emma is joined by Matthew Soules as he gets right into what makes the 21st Century brand of capitalism different from that of the 1900s, that difference being neoliberalism’s mode of finance capitalism becoming hegemonic in the world of wealth accumulation. Expanding on this, Matthew walks through the social role of architecture and how that changed with neoliberalism’s hyper-financialization, going from primarily practical structures of shelter with some cultural and wealth signifiers to becoming largely a unit of investment capital and speculation thus practically a financial asset, not a shelter. Next, Soule and Vigeland take on the role of the financialization of architecture in the 2008 financial crisis, central in the creation of Irish ghost estates, Spanish housing vacancies, and the housing crises in the South West United States. This brings Matthew to the integral and identifiable features of finance capitalism’s architecture, first looking at how it creates spaces of crisis, with housing – acting as assets – more tied to the rise and fall of the economy as representations of wealth speculation, and therefore not focused on actually housing people, but rather creating MORE investments for MORE speculation, resulting in spaces across the globe becoming grounds for huge construction projects with simultaneous mass vacancies – and their antithesis of mass-populated slums across urban spaces. After a brief discussion on the more practical effects of this shift in architecture – from the crippling of public spaces to the mass construction of condominiums that actively seek to distance themselves from the locales they look down upon, Matthew and Emma parse through the specifics of how these elites employ housing as a form of speculative wealth storage, with the “great wall of money” (aka elite wealth) building up in the wake of the 1980s, infecting the sector of real estate and physically mutating how it manifests itself over the next four decades, seeing the construction of “iceberg,” ultra-thin, and other standardized but architecturally “unique” (aka utilizing iconography) to create a facade of liquidity, detached from the ground below them, able to change with the economy. To wrap up, Emma and Matthew look at the development of Property Technology (such as Zillow and AirBnB) in bolstering these systems, providing direct evaluations of liquid assets AND a way to ensure passive income from these investments, bolstering the constant housing crises prevalent in today’s capitalism.

And in the Fun Half: Emma talks with Kory from Indianapolis on fundamentalist Christianity infiltrating the US courts, Matt dives into the conservative exterminationist perspective versus the liberal “cultural genocide” one, Ron Johnson proclaims that he HARDLY had anything to do with 1/6, and Andy Barr complains to Chuck Todd about the “politicization of the finance of oil,” – you know, that one massive profiteering scheme that’s driving inflation. Kenny from Berkeley touches on the PMC and academic exploitation, Bolsonairo loses his temper, and Ben Shaprio salivates at the thought of licking billionaire boots. Plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Matthew's book here: https://papress.com/products/icebergs-zombies-and-the-ultra-thin

It's Casual Friday! Sam hosts Heather Digby Parton, contributing writer at Salon.com and proprietor of the blog Hullabaloo, to round up the week in news. Then, Sam is joined by Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou, candidate for Congress in New York's 10th Congressional District, to give an update from the campaign trail ahead of next Tuesday's primary.

First, Sam walks through a South Carolina legislator’s revelation that actually his 6-week fetal heartbeat bill actually CAN put literal teenagers through bodily horror and incredible danger, forcing his hand on the legislature’s upcoming totalistic abortion ban… to recuse his vote. Then, Digby joins as she and Sam dive right into the passing of Manchin’s Inflation Reduction Act as a scaled-back form of Biden’s Build Back Better, walking through the frustrating and INSTITUTIONALLY dysfunctional process that lead to this quarter-sandwich of a bill, and situating whether this counts as getting something done for the Democrats heading into the midterms. They also run through the positives of the bill, including opening up medicare negotiations for prescription drug prices, why it importantly opens up the ability to create price benchmarks even if there’s no immediate impact for non-medicare patients, before exploring why, despite this, Democrats still need to take on culture war issues like abortion, fascism, and trans rights if they want to keep their steam heading into the midterms. Next, they shift to the topic of Liz Cheney, exploring her unsurprising loss in the Wyoming primaries, her recent history of citing Democrats’ abortion policy as baby “killing fields,” and how, despite all of this, she’s still achieved the status of “Deified republican,” before wrapping up with a conversation on the Mar-a-Lago raids, and how the FBI knew exactly where to look for Trump’s classified documents. Then, Sam is joined by congressional candidate for NY-10 Yuh-Line Niou, exploring how she made a name for herself in a race with three mainstream progressives, the importance of running in a district that represents the entirety of her assembly district, and what sets her apart from her corporate rival Dan Goldman (there’s a lot). They wrap up their interview by taking on the topics of abortion rights (Dan’s biggest weak point), getting NY real estate money out of politics (also a weak point for Dan), and the roles of housing and climate policy in her campaign (okay, this one is another of Dan’s many weak points).

Check out Digby's work at Salon here: https://www.salon.com/writer/heather_digby_parton

Check out Yuh-Line's campaign here: https://www.nioufornewyork.com/

Sam hosts Brian Callaci, Chief Economist at the Open Markets Institute, to discuss his recent piece in Dissent Magazine "Inflation Is No Excuse For Squeezing Workers." Then, Sam is joined by Ilana Marcucci-Morris, a Kaiser Permanente mental health therapist, to discuss recent efforts by her and her colleagues to strike and organize for better working conditions. First, Sam walks through updates from yesterday’s primaries in Alaska and Wyoming (with Liz Cheney losing in the latter), and the continued suppression of reproductive rights in Florida and Louisiana, before diving deep into the official signing of the IRA into law, and the lingering peril around Manchin’s side deal – especially as progressives (see: Rashida Tlaib) reflect on how Manchin hustled them out of their side deal with the Bipartisan Infrastructure package. Then, Brian Callaci joins as he gets right into situating us within the current inflation discourse, walking through the conventional wisdom that is backing the mainstream media’s rhetoric (blaming wages, low unemployment, etc), and how that is juxtaposed with the actual nature of our current moment, with inflation hitting globally despite each county’s unique levels of wage stagnation and domestic monetary policy. Parsing through these contrasts, Callaci and Sam walk to discuss how US media has been attempting to pin responsibility for inflation on progressive domestic policies like the American Rescue Plan and booming wages, despite the numbers showing wages lagging BEHIND inflation and the obvious international issues of a rampant, three-year-long (so far) pandemic, a shattered supply chain infrastructure, a war in Europe’s bread basket (Ukraine), and violent-levels of monopolistic price gouging in the fossil fuel sector. Next, Sam opens the debate of whether this belief in Fed monetary policy is a genuine misdiagnosis, or if it’s an active undermining of a workforce that has been growing in strength and solidarity, wrapping up the interview by looking at the differences between a solution based on the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy, and on based on its fiscal policy, exploring why the former is likely a clouded attempt to stifle wages. Then, Ilana Marcucci-Morris joins from the Kaiser Permanente picket line as she dives into how she and 2,067 other mental health therapists in California have spent the last 13 months pushing against Kaiser’s actively destructive policies around patient mental healthcare, using their bargaining power to bolster their patients’ right to care and ensuring they are able to provide the necessary work that they are there to provide.

And in the Fun Half: Sam talks with Brennan of KY from the Bo Hines campaign, Ben from VA on his former employer’s “no spoofing at work” policy, and explores Liz Cheney’s subtle soft-launch of a presidential campaign. Stephen Crowder hosts Don Jr. to boast about his stance as the most on-the-ground conservative, maybe ever? and preview Donald’s DeSantis talking points in a presidential race. Dominique from Baton Rouge discusses the Louisiana Democratic Party’s endorsement corruption, Joe from Minneapolis brings up the effect of a redistricting a week before the Democratic primary in the most progressive regions of Minneapolis, and Christina Bobb continues to frustrate conservative media by refusing to answer anything for DT. Prager continues to make Sam famous, Matt Walsh continues his stochastic terrorism against a literal Children’s Hospital, and Greg Gutfeld continues to be a very weird little racist homophobe, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Brian's piece here: https://www.dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/inflation-is-no-excuse-for-squeezing-workers

Check out the Kaiser Permanente mental health workers story here: https://nuhw.org/kaiser-dont-deny/kaiser-strike/

Sam breaks down the biggest headlines of the day, as “Build Back… a bit” finally reaches Biden’s desk and more primaries approach. First, Sam discusses today’s primaries in Alaska and Wyoming, updates from New York’s primaries next week, and the ongoing Georgia election interference case bringing Rudy Giuliani and Lindsay Graham to the forefront, before also touching on Louisiana’s official abortion void. Next, they dive deep into the varying conservative responses to the raid on Mar-a-Lago, from Stuart Varney and Rachel Campos-Duffy walking through Trump’s mild-mannered threats in awe of his zen to Doocy and Kilmeade beefing over treatment of the FBI, also admiring Senator Tim Scott’s misunderstanding of the DOJ’s secrecy. Sam also walks through some bonus elements of Manchin’s Inflation Reduction Act, including why pretending taxing stock buybacks will do anything is a complete fool’s errand, walking through the corrupt history of stock buybacks that brought us here, and why a tax on repatriated profits is so necessary with US corporate wealth piling up overseas. After a discussion on Scotland's new policy providing free menstrual care supplies (all the infrastructure for which already exists in the US), they wrap up the first half with the story of the recent 160+ person walkout at Amazon’s San Bernardino, CA logistics hub, highlighting the importance of leveraging a company where it hurts especially when it’s as massive as Bezos’ child is.

And in the Fun Half: Doocy and Kilmeade beef, NC GOP Congressional candidate asks Brandon-haters to stop disparaging Banana Republics nationwide, Kate from the University of Iowa discusses how to cover far-right news, and Jeff from Columbus explores Tulsi Gabbard’s horrible past and Andrew Yang’s directionless future. The crew gets into the relationship between immigration and the cheap labor lobby, Kari Lake tiptoes to line up behind DeSantis, and Ronald Raygun dives into the Farm Work Modernization act. John from Kentucky discusses SCOTUS as an active political institution, plus, your calls and IMs!

Sam and Emma host Olufemi O. Taiwo, professor of philosophy at Georgetown University, to discuss his recent book Elite Capture: How the Powerful Took Over Identity Politics (And Everything Else). First, Sam touches on the successful passage of “Build Back– a bit” in the House, effective abortion bans in Idaho and Louisiana, Arizona’s attempts to finish Trump’s wall, and Brittany Griner’s appeal in Russia, before discussing Donald Trump’s magical declassification fingers and why that actually doesn’t matter when it comes to the espionage act. Then, he is joined by Professor Olufemi Taiwo as they first define what identity politics is, birthed from the work of the Combahee River Collective as a way to do politics starting from an understanding of one’s own place in the social world, before walking through the various critiques of IdPol across the spectrum, from the far right’s investment in the status quo and the center’s focus on [difference]-blind perspectives to a class reductionist’s particularism when it comes to social hierarchies. After parsing through how these critiques have developed across the spectrum, Professor Taiwo dives into his concept of “Deference Politics,” the understanding of how identity politics discourse in a capitalist society is then appropriated by and filtered through the ideologies of the elites at the top of various social hierarchies (be they production, military, or media) and thus slowly become a defining stance of the industry through deference to capital power. Next, Professor Taiwo walks through his critique of identity politics, exploring why a class reductionist understanding of how capitalism operates can still be aligned with understanding the systems (racism, transphobia, etc.) that capitalism props up, and why the latter element can often be necessary to inspire solidarity around the former’s movement. After a discussion on “targeted universalism” as a way to unify these two elements, Sam and Professor Taiwo wrap up the interview with a conversation on the breathtaking achievement of the US elites in shaping the “cancel culture” debate.

And in the Fun Half: Sam dives into the Right Wing’s excuses constantly collapsing in on themselves, as Kash Patel cries about Donald Trump’s declassification magic, Tulsi Gabbard asks why the FBI and IRS, now that they’ve gone after the elite (Donald Trump) who says they won’t punish those who don’t have any power… which of course never has happened before, and Rudi Giuliani ponders the dangers of criticizing bad people. Dr. Oz complains about the price of crudités under Joe Biden, Marjorie Taylor Greene rants about appliances and the Green New Deal, and Richard from California suggests some conversations on demographic changes. Kowalski expresses his disappointment with the USDA, Bro Flamingo discusses the state of the GOP as defined by voters, and Stephen from North Carolina discusses teaching at a Charter School. Plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Olufemi's book here: https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/1867-elite-capture

It's Casual Friday! Sam hosts David Dayen, executive editor at the American Prospect, to break down the week in news. Then, Sam is joined by Jordan Holmes and Dan Friesen, co-hosts of the Knowledge Fight podcast, to discuss the recent Alex Jones-Sandy Hook trial. First, Sam walks through Merrick Garland’s first impactful moment as Donald Trump put him front and center in the raid on Mar-a-Lago, also touching on today’s IRA vote in the House, the banning of gender-affirming care for ADULTS in Florida, and Europe seeing its worst drought in five centuries. David Dayen then joins as he and Sam discuss how Manchin’s Inflation Reduction Act impacts the US’ healthcare infrastructure, looking first at its changes to ACA and ARP exchange rates, before diving deep into its empowerment of Medicare to negotiate drug prices, and why it’s so important despite its limitation to 10 drugs per year, and not kicking until the next presidential election is over, meaning a Ron DeSantis or Donald J. Trump might be able to take credit for capped Medicare prices. Next, they move on to the Climate provisions of the IRA, with David walking through the positives we can take, including significant investment in domestic production in next-gen tech, particularly when it comes to EVs and batteries, before parsing through the myriad carrots that drive the bill’s policy, how it employs the tax code throughout all of this, and why this essentially deputizes the US Treasury to interpret out climate provisions. After expanding on the tax credits that come from EVs that don’t yet exist, they wrap up by taking on Manchin’s disastrous fossil fuel provisions, from wider-scale requirements to lease fossil fuel extraction before leasing any permits for building renewable energy sites, to literally just “let me build my pipeline.” Then, Dan Friesen and Jordan Holmes join as they reflect on the evolution of the Alex Jones Conspiratorial Multiverse, his slow shift to Televangelism, and how the roots of his income (beyond largely being fear-driven) are still obscured from even the most learned Info Warrior.

And in the Fun Half, Sam and the MR Crew dive into the the interesting push by Republicans in Congress to now all of a sudden hate the FBI. Steve Doocy has had just about enough of that, as he spars with Elise Stefanik and Steve Scalise over their inability to "back the blue" anymore now that they've raided Trump's home. Then they look at whether Brian Kilmeade's producers hate him or if they were really that dumb to accidentally put on screen a photoshopped image of a Florida judge on Jeffrey Epstein's body onboard the Lolita Express. Then, the MR universe gets a look behind the curtain as to what went down when Sam was able to mole his way onto the Dennis Prager Show (for approximately 5 seconds), and how, despite Prager's aching for it, he won't engage in spirited intellectual debate. Plus, your IM's!

Check out David's work at the Prospect here: https://prospect.org/topics/david-dayen/

Check out Knowledge Fight here: https://knowledgefight.com/

Emma hosts Dan Canon, civil rights lawyer and professor at the University of Louisville, to discuss his recent book Pleading Out: How Plea Bargaining Creates a Permanent Criminal Class. Emma begins by running through the arrest of an Iranian citizen for planning an extrajudicial assassination attempt against John Bolton, extrajudicial assassination expert, and Rudy Giuliani assures the public that Donald Trump is actually happier and more secure than ever. Then she’s joined by Professor Dan Canon as he walks Emma through the history of the plea bargain – today the most common conclusion to a criminal case (97% end in guilty pleas) – and how we came to put so much discretion in the hands of judicial cops (prosecutors) to center our judicial system around efficiency. First, Professor Canon brings us back to the inception of the plea bargain in 1830s Massachusetts, with the industrial revolution seeing a massive influx of white male suffrage in the working class, resulting in the political elite immediately launching a concerted attack on the labor movement via massive and incredibly vague criminal statutes like vagrancy and drunk and disorderly, thus needing to prosecute these individuals with efficiency the Massachusetts legislature legitimized the plea bargain. This saw a rapid shift in the US judicial system, with plea bargains going from illegal and frowned upon, to making up well over 80% of cases in Massachusetts by 1880, and continuing to effectively null the concept of a “jury of one’s peers” well before those “peers” could include women or people of color. Next, Dan and Emma walk through how the US criminal system developed around the plea bargain over the next century, with federal involvement in criminal justice expanding massively during the prohibition era, and continuing in the wake of the 21st Amendment as the US government turned to the beginnings of the war on drugs, only for Nixon and Reagan to massively accelerate it a half-century later, all requiring US prosecutors to charge such mass numbers of people at an incredibly rapid speed, regardless of the context and content of their arrests. Wrapping up, they reflect on the role of union busting in creating the plea bargain, looking at how the US’ carceral state works to create this permanent criminal underclass, separated from society and isolated as individuals, before concluding with a discussion on the necessity of rebuilding our system as a whole, rather than reforming it bit by bit.

And in the Fun Half: Emma is joined by Brandon Sutton as they take a tour of Mar-a-Lago’s lovely facilities, Crowder asks Kari Lake whether she, as governor of Arizona, would disband the FBI and IRS, and the crew debates DeSantis’ role in the FBI raid of Mar-a-Lago. Matt from CT talks jury processes, and Brandon and Emma reflect on Howard Schulz, once Hillary’s potential NLRB nom, and his violent union busting coming back to bite him. Kilmeade calls out Biden for lowering inflation and also trying to continue to lower inflation, Matthais from New Jersey explores the privatization of public space in the wake of integration, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Dan's book here: https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/dan-canon/pleading-out/9781541674684/

Sam and Emma host Rachel Cohen, senior policy reporter at Vox, to discuss her recent piece "How state governments are reimagining American public housing". Then, they are joined by Jessica Preheim, Vice President of Strategic Planning and Public Affairs at the Houston Coalition for the Homeless to discuss housing policy in the city.  First, Emma runs through yesterday’s primaries before diving right into updates from the FBI’s January 6th investigations, from the seizing of Scott Perry’s phone to the GOP’s responses to the Mar-a-Lago raid that vary from “they planted it!” to “they’re making it up!” but all seem to recognize an “it” that will be exposed. Then, she’s joined by Rachel Cohen as they dive into the state of public housing in the US, with rents reaching record highs and not coming down anytime soon, despite dropping inflation levels. Next, they step back and walk through the history of public housing in the US, with the Federal Government first becoming involved in the lead-up to the New Deal, even with private interests’ successful lobbying for limitations and, all continuing through the fifties and up to the creation of HUD, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, in the ‘60s, helping to regulate the federal policies around the matter – seeing a complete cutoff of investment in public housing alongside a subsidizing of white middle-class families moving to the suburbs. Wrapping up the history of US housing policy, they walk through the post-HUD neoliberal era, with the crime panic starting in the 1980s seeing a complete decimation of HUD’s budget, and leading into an era void of housing infrastructure. Next, Rachel looks to states like Massachusetts to explore how it seems to be local politics that is actually looking to intervene in this crisis, putting forwards policy that isn’t just subsidies for privatized housing, and actually seeks to reinvest in community care and infrastructure, before they wrap up by exploring the future of a reimagined housing system that stems from the states and local communities themselves. Then, Jessica Preheim from the Houston Coalition for the Homeless walks Emma through the incredibly remarkable work that the organization has done over the last decade in Houston, with homelessness decreasing by over 60% despite having the sixth largest homeless population as of 2011 and a crackdown from HUD. They explore how much the most marginalized in society can be helped by just having a roof over their head, the Houston Coalition’s tactics to strengthen communities’ ability to shelter their citizens (and the importance of supporting encampments’ existence when there is no other option) and their emphasis on chronic homelessness.

And in the Fun Half: Emma takes a call from St. Paul on a public reserve, based on grain? Tulsi Gabbard teams up with Jesse Watters as she continues her streak of fascist apologia, this time in defense of Donald Trump and tax evaders everywhere, Stephanie from Minneapolis dives into the “manosphere” as a meeting point of the Jordan Peterson “intellectual” misogyny and the more traditional masculine aesthetics, looking at how race plays a particularly central role in the community’s pathologizing. They also cover Ilhan Omar’s incredibly narrow victory in the Democratic primary, AIPAC’s massive influence in pushing conservative Democrats into Congress, Fox and Friends ponders the FBI’s ethics for the very first time, and Nathaniel from Fresno dives deep into the re-emergence of book banning. Charlie Kirk calls for retributive raids, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Rachel's piece here: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/23278643/affordable-public-housing-inflation-renters-home

Check out the Houston Coalition for the Homeless here: https://www.homelesshouston.org/

Sam and Emma host Dr. Leah Stokes, professor of climate and energy policy at the University of California, Santa Barbara, to discuss the climate provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act. Emma and Sam walk through updates on the House’s schedule and Alex Jones’ texts arriving in the hands of the 1/6 Committee, before diving deep into Donald J. Trump’s response to the FBI’s raid on his Mar-a-Lago base, calling the warrant-backed infiltration “unprecedented”… just like Watergate! Then Dr. Leah Stokes joins as they jump right into the IRA, first tackling how the original Build Back Better bill sought to address climate change, exploring the carrot-tactic to lead us towards clean energy, from consumer-facing support or getting EVs, heat pumps, and other electricity-driven infrastructure to bolstering attempts to clean up our energy grids nationwide, all allowing everyday Americans to burn less fossil fuel and spend less money (in a manner that would specifically help tackle fossil-fuel-driven inflation). Next, they explore how the IRA takes that blueprint, and just dials it back a little, making it about 80% (rather than 90%) of the way to experts’ emission reduction goals, and cutting certain provisions on a civilian climate corp and e-bike infrastructure, before they walk through how the bill encourages healthy labor practices, and – while falling short of actually encouraging unionization – is a bill largely backed by unions nation-wide. They wrap up the interview by tackling Manchin’s personal provisions, particularly around leasing, and what to expect from his side-car bill coming soon.

And in the Fun Half, the MR Crew dives into the (politely) manic reactions from the conservative media wasteland to the Mar-A-Lago raid, from Eric Trump bypassing the Kennedy family entirely via the use of "arrows" to describe how betrayed his family is, Jesse Watters and Buck Sexton evoking Julius Caesar, Florida's Attorney general's "They weren't flushing DRUGS down the toilet!" defense, Marjorie Taylor Greene going full-Defund, Bernie Kerik worrying for Trump's life, and, of course, it wouldn't be a meltdown if Rudy Giuliani wasn't beaming in from an undisclosed, terribly lit location, to yell about the unfair treatment of his favorite guy (of course he's speaking with Steven Crowder about this). Brandon Straka Walks Away...straight into a fake jail cell at CPAC, and JD Vance is paid a visit by the Good Liars. Plus, your calls and IM's!

Follow Leah on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/leahstokes

Sam and Emma host Jake Grumbach, professor at the University of Washington, to discuss his recent book Laboratories Against Democracy: How National Parties Transformed State Politics. First, Emma and Sam tackle the successful passing of Biden’s Build-Back-a-Bit, filled to the brim with goodies for the fossil fuel industry as a ransom tradeoff for even thinking about a green transition, and run through the punitive damages ordered against Alex Jones in the wake of his libel trial. Then, they’re joined by Professor Jacob Grumbach as he dives right into his book the inspiration he took from Louis Brandeis’ concept of federalism as “Laboratories of Democracy,” bringing it into a modern assessment of the relationship between US Federalism and Democracy. Next, he walks Sam and Emma back to the formation of US Federalism in the wake of the US Revolution as a compromise between a political structure that emphasizes national unity for strength and one centered around preventing tyranny through state autonomy (aka allowing for the continuation of the industry of slavery), leading up to Brandeis’ arrival on the Supreme Court in 1916 and his assessment of the ideal of federalism. They then work through what changed over the fifty years since 1970, with the nationalization (and centralization) of everything from corporate and social media (including the disappearance of local news) to political fundraising and interest groups, all while the national parties coalesced around their corporate leaders, unifying internally while polarization grew. This gave birth to a radicalism pipeline for the Right, starting with mass messaging on the level of national media and the party apparatus and trickling down to the footsoldiers of state implementation (as seen, particularly, with the recent fights over CRT). Next, Professor Grumbach walks through the various crises of 2020 that brought to the forefront the failures of our federalist system, including the COVID pandemic, the backlash (and backlash to the backlash) to the murder of George Floyd, and the wider crisis of democracy, discussing how it shined a light on the inefficiency of a decentralized public health system, the paradox of Governor and Mayoral power being trumped by their police departments, and more. They wrap up the interview by tackling the anomalies of Brandeis’ post-war era, in terms of economic compression and political de-polarization, and diving into the necessary importance of large-scale organizations in helping us situate ourselves within these massive political systems, and how the right already capitalizes on it.

And in the Fun Half: Emma and Sam dive into Brett Kavanaugh’s expertise in avoiding accountability, from his severe debt that just happened to disappear in the run-up to his nomination to the recent revelation that Trump’s White House covered up over 4,000 tips on Kavanaugh’s sexual assault allegations. JR from Philly helps us parse through where the hell Alex Jones’ money came flowing in from, Rick Scott is pressed on support for Masters and Walker, and Kim Crockett asks if we can just eliminate voting for disabled folks as a treat. Aaron Rodgers can’t take a jab – physical or comedic – Kowalski from Nebraska talks climate change and labor, Spencer from Minnesota gives some primary previews, and Robert from Rochester discusses the Right giving up the game with their “wage-driven inflation” rhetoric. Mike from Rhode Island talks midterms, plus, your calls, and IMs!

Check out Jake's book here: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691218458/laboratories-against-democracy

It's Casual Friday! Emma hosts Ryan Cooper, managing editor at The American Prospect, to round up the week in news. Emma first discusses Sinema’s role at the front and center of Biden’s agenda, finally agreeing to the Manchin-Schumer “Inflation Reduction Act” provided they eliminate their carried interest tweaks, before also covering the booming employment rate, charges being brought against the officers involved in the coverup of Breonna Taylor’s murder, and China’s initiation of sanctions against Pelosi. Then, Ryan Cooper joins as he and Emma dive deep into an extended conversation on Sinema’s role in the IRA-2022, covering the beautiful bate and switch by Chuck Schumer (almost like he’s been a senator as long as I’ve been alive!) and Joe Manchin, getting the CHIPS act passed along the way, and forcing the GOP into digging their own grave by trying to put a stop to veteran victims of burn pits getting healthcare. Expanding on this, Cooper explores McConnell’s behind-the-scenes freak-out regarding the legislative rug that was once under his feet but is no longer, before turning to the role of figures like John Stewart in putting the burn pit story front and center, and getting even organizations like Newsmax to put the GOP on the spot, particularly as the fight for abortion already had their feet held up to the fire. This brings them to the topic of the midterms, as they cover the importance of candidates like Fetterman especially as the GOP, even in the most purple of states, continues to advance their fascistic agenda of minoritarian and theocratic rule, before they wrap up the interview by tackling the tensions behind Pelosi’s visit to China, and the future of American liberals’ imperialist war hawkery.

And in the Fun Half: Emma and the crew cover Crowder’s coping with conservative cognitive dissonance (the only solution being, of course, to retreat to your prior convictions), Tucker’s embarrassing attempt at taking on Jon Stewart, and Stewart’s lovely response that reflects the intimacy of their relationship. They also discuss Dick Cheney passing the baton of “greatest threat to the American republic” to Donald Trump, Fox’s continued infatuation with AOC, and Victor Orbán, notorious covid authoritarian, appears at CPAC to call for fewer drag queens and more Chuck Norrises.

Check out Ryan's work here: https://prospect.org/topics/ryan-cooper/

Sam and Emma host Moustafa Bayoumi, columnist at the Guardian, to discuss his recent piece in The Nation, "Journey to Guantánamo: A Week in America's Notorious Penal Colony". Then, Sam and Emma are joined by writer Jacob Silverman to discuss his recent piece in the New Republic "The CEO Trying to Build a White, Christian, Secessionist Tech Industry". Then, Larry Sharpe, the Libertarian Party candidate for Governor in New York, joins Sam and Emma for a spirited debate! First, Emma and Sam dive into the results from yesterday’s primaries, including ERIC and Trudy Busch Valentine coming out on top in Missouri, AIPAC’s victory over progressive jew Andy Levin, and they dive deep into the absolutely beautiful and historic victory for reproductive rights in Kansas and the US writ large. Moustafa Bayoumi then gets right into the people imprisoned in the penal colony of Guantanamo Bay, walking through who is there, how long they’ve been there, who has yet to face trial, and who remains imprisoned despite serving the length of the sentence, before he gets into the topic of why he wrote this piece, from the rarity of being allowed visitation to the simple importance of keeping these human rights abuses and the war on terror in our social consciousness. Next, he walks Sam and Emma through a quick history of Guantanamo, beginning with the US’ takeover of Cuba in 1898, establishing the Gitmo naval base in 1903, and employing it as the first of countless overseas military islands of the US Imperial archipelago, a role it continued for almost a century until the Presidency of George W. Bush. From here, they walk through the last decade and a half of Gitmo, its role as a shield against CIA accountability, and why Obama’s pledge to shut it down failed, before they wrap up by disclosing the clear role the CIA still plays in the facilities, walking through the future for its detainees, and why the prisoners still prefer Gitmo to US Supermax Prisons. Then, Jacob Silverman jumps right into Andrew Torba’s fight to build a white Christian secessionist sector of the tech industry, from his creation of the free-speech twitter-ripoff that is Gab (to be followed by Parlor and Truth Social) to his role as a political consultant for the right, as they walk through the role these sites want to play in the world of social media, where they go wrong, and what the future of their role in political discourse might be.

And in the Fun Half: Sam hosts a debate with Libertarian candidate for Governor of New York Larry Sharpe, covering a massive range of topics, starting with the New York state laws that make it effectively impossible for third parties to make it on the ballot, and what Sharpe’s big tent libertarianism entails. They also work their way through the topics of abortion (and creating an environment for women to make easier choices), education reform (putting lots of trust in private enterprise), and wrap up with a conversation on healthcare and Sharpe’s issues with Medicare for All. Plus, your IMs!

Check out Moustafa's piece here: https://www.thenation.com/article/world/guantanamo-bay-detention-visit/

Check out Jacob's piece here: https://newrepublic.com/article/163285/andrew-torba-gab-white-christian-internet

Sam and Emma host David Gelles, climate reporter for the New York Times, to discuss his recent book The Man Who Broke Capitalism: How Jack Welch Gutted the Heartland and Crushed the Soul of Corporate America-and How to Undo His Legacy. First, Sam and Emma dive into the role of the Dobbs decision in getting out the vote for Democrats, Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, DeSantis’ attacks on restaurants hosting queer events, and Bill Cassidy says he’ll vote for the Veteran healthcare bill when it’s going to pass (which, of course, would be helped by his vote). Then, they’re joined by David Gelles as he dives right into why he took an interest in Jack Welch after interviewing hundreds of CEOs that all tied back to his influence, with the straw that broke the back being his discovery of Welch’s proteges in the financialization of Boeing in the lead up to their multi-crash fiasco in the 2010s. Next, he dives into a history of Welch and GE, the latter which served as the pinnacle of welfare capitalism up until the former’s takeover at the start of the ‘80s, beginning with how his arrival as CEO brought in a framework of economics built on the back of Milton Friedman and incentivized by one Ronald Reagan. Sam, Emma, and David then dive into the capitalist revolution that Jack Welch oversaw, moving the industrial emphasis from holistic production to efficient production, emphasizing outsourcing for cheaper labor and financialization that put a focus on filling the pockets of shareholders and executives, before expanding on the greater cultural changes, including a shift away from the industrial production GE was known for to a constantly churning and diversified portfolio – from media to crediting and subprime mortgages – that effectively turned the company into a deregulated bank, and the move towards efficiency in the workplace that began to kill the innovation that had defined their role in US production. After a quick discussion on how Welch went out of his way to engage with unionized labor, Gelles dives into Welch’s influence on Boeing (and the rest of the neoliberal world), the role of media and media control in this economic revolution, and the failure of neoliberal governments to actually reign in capitalism via regulations. They wrap up the interview by diving into what needs to change to move away from Welch’s vision for American profits, and the role of Capitalism as inherently contributing to this issue.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma discuss the disaster in Kentucky and the stupidity of red state/blue state culture, discuss Roger Stone and Matt Gaetz’s ever subtle discussion about “the boss” making sure they didn’t “do time” (who knows what that could be about), and discuss Lucas Kunce’s opponent’s local fundraising tactic: take from your own bank account! Joe Manchin gets on Meet the Press and does a pretty little dance around actually supporting his party, the Good Liars crash the burial sight of Ivanna Trump (horrifying!), and Bro Flamingo dives into employment and the economy. Sam from Oregon discusses disagreement and denouncement on the left, Justin from Chicago thanks twerking for his politics, and Sophia from Atlanta dives into the impact of Georgia’s “Guns Everywhere” law on the presence of non-murder-affiliated activity in the region. They also touch on DeSantis relying on a 1947 ruling to punish a restaurant throwing community drag events, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out David's book here: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Man-Who-Broke-Capitalism/David-Gelles/9781982176440

It's Casual Friday! Sam and Emma host Alex Pareene, Contributing Editor at the New Republic and proprietor of the AP newsletter on Substack, to round up the week in news. Then they are joined by Lucas Kunce, candidate for U.S. Senate in Missouri, to give us an update from the campaign trail. Afterwards, they're joined by comedian Andy Kindler, host of the Thought Spiral podcast! First, Sam and Emma dive into legislative updates from the Senate, from the Manchin-Schumer IRA deal and its backlash, to the GOP putting a stop to healthcare for veteran victims of agent orange, with the latter largely coming from the GOP’s desire to punish democrats for the former (with Same-Sex Marriage reform also a potential right-wing punching bag). Alex Pareene then dives into why he won’t hold his breath until the IRA bill is signed, as he explores the behind-the-scenes surprise at Manchin’s maneuver, the op-ed pieces from the establishment placing the blame on him that pushed him over the edge, and the insanity of that being the final factor. Next, he, Sam, and Emma dive into the climate provisions as a reasonable first step in the right direction, the CHIPS bill as an important turn against globalization and towards a locally resilient supply chain, and the threat of Schedule F as we move into the midterms. They wrap up the interview by tackling the evergreen question of the neoliberal philosopher, “recession or nah?” Sam and Emma are then joined by Lucas Kunce as he walks through his experience running for Senate in Missouri just four days ahead of his primary, what sets him apart from the billionaire heiress running against him, and dives deep into the role of LGBTQ rights, reproductive care, and single-payer healthcare in his platform, before wrapping up with a conversation on his position as a veteran, and what lense that gave him into the oligarchy of defense contractors in the US.

And in the Fun Half: Andy Kindler joins as he, Sam, and Emma parse through Jim Breuer’s hour-long audition tape of him defecating with funny noises and calling it political comedy, before Sam and Emma dive into Jimmy Dore moving from generic reactionary anti-vax rhetoric to full on Scientological dianetics (fully researched, as seen in how well he reads the title of the study). Doocy and Kilmeade get real Fox and Frenemies on the question of trusting a poll that shows both Biden and Trump’s numbers tanking, Justice Alito goes to Rome to complain about foreigners, and John Feal eviscerates the GOP’s blockage of a bill for Veteran healthcare, plus, your IMs!

Check out the AP newsletter here: https://theap.substack.com/

Check out Alex's "Politics of Everything" podcast here: https://newrepublic.com/podcasts

Check out Lucas's campaign here: https://lucaskunce.com/

Emma hosts Nick Marx, associate professor of film and media studies at Colorado State University, to discuss his recent book That's Not Funny: How the Right Makes Comedy Work for Them that he co-authored with Matt Sienkiewicz. Then, Emma is joined by Odessa Kelly, candidate for Congress in Tennessee's 7th District, to give us an update from the campaign trail. First, Emma dives into the impotent Inflation Reduction Act, the GOP’s block of healthcare for vets exposed to agent orange, and the Right in Congress complaining about the Democrats trying to do two things at once! Nick Marx then joins as he dives right into what inspired his studies of the world of conservative comedy, from the belief that it was an oxymoron with the success of the Daily Show without a right-wing counterpart, to the emergency of Trump and the “is he funny (yes)” arguments. Then, he and Emma walk through the various levels of comedy discussed in the book, from the more basic reactionary comedy of Dave Chapelle that isn’t inherently right-wing to the more obvious institutional conservatism of Fox’s Jesse Watters and Greg Gutfeld, the latter of which has his own (surprisingly successful) late night show, and discuss how the hatred of ambivalence that can be found in their reactionary backlash plays in pushing this humor further and further to the extreme. Taking a step back, Professor Marx then paints a picture of the institutional similarities between the late-night comedy of the right and left, from the actual formats of the show to the tactics of creating an “in-group” unified around laughing at the “out-group,” before wrapping up with a conversation on the endpoint of this wormhole to the right and the genuine fascists and neonazis that largely act as sources for this reactionary commentary. Then, Odessa Kelly and Emma get right into Kelly’s fight for TN-7, the failure of the right’s attempt to engage in racist gerrymandering, and the beauty of fighting for a base of Black folks and progressives. Next, she walks through her experiences working in unions and fighting gentrification, how they built her knowledge of the role of solidarity in achieving progress, and what we need from positions of power to get stuff done.

And in the Fun Half: Emma is joined by Matt and Brandon, with Binder previewing a massive Web3 story he’ll be breaking this evening on Scam Economy, Emma takes on the absurdity of Jim Harbaugh’s “give me your children” policy and the messiah complex of College Football coaches. Noah from Tampa dives into the psychology of conservatives, Andrew Yang finally brews the first truly third party, and Q takes on Right Wingers dominating the discourse around comedy. Matt Gaetz gets absolutely “mothered” by a Pence advisor, the Newsmax goes back to the 2010s backlash to twerking, and the crew explores the US’ response to the monkeypox epidemic, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Nick's book here: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520382138/thats-not-funny

Check out Odessa's campaign here: http://odessaforcongress.com/

Sam and Emma host Dannel Jurado of Kickstarter United to discuss their unionizing effort from the ground. Then, they are joined by Vincent Vertuccio, a student climate organizer with Now Or Never, who is planning to protest the Congressional Baseball Game this Thursday. Before that, Sam and Emma dive into Donald Trump getting back into the campaign trail, Schedule F and the melding of the state and corporation. Then, Dannel Jurado joins as he, Emma, and Sam dive right into where the Kickstarter Union is at in their fight (the answer being wherever they’d like to be thanks to a right to remote work), and how their work changed (for the better) as Biden’s Administration took over the NLRB – walking through the horrors of Trump’s board as well. Next, Jurado explores how the union has been able to completely change the levels of transparency and representation when it comes to employee/management relations, the role management has played in the fight, and the importance of solidarity. Then Vincent Vertuccio walks Sam and Emma through the preparations for the upcoming Congressional Baseball Game, and – more importantly – the Climate protest being planned by Now or Never, why they chose to target the game specifically, and what the group’s non-violent aims are. They touch on other recent congress-adjacent actions, the climate anxiety of Gen-Z and Millenials, and the refusal of Democrats to play hardball.

And in the Fun Half: Jordan Peterson asks our corporate overlords to stop succumbing to the alphabet brigade, Charlie Kirk and Lauren Boebert call out the 47 Republicans that didn’t vote against the codification of same-sex marriage, and Sam and Emma tackle the idea of Schumer and Biden actually putting legislation on the table. Robert from CT dives into the problems with the US’ Semiconductor chip bill, from supply lines to infrastructure, Merrick Garland discusses not being able to try Trump during an election, and Class-Conscious Jordan Peterson tries to get Emma to turn on Sam. Owen from LA explores the West’s coverage of the remilitarization of Japan, Gwendolyn from Washington discusses the culture war around culture wars, and Mike from Arizona explores a potential connection between lagging student-debt relief and low recruitment numbers for the US military, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Kickstarter United here: https://kickstarterunited.org/

Check out Now Or Never here: https://nowornever.earth/#plan

Find Vincent on Twitter here: https://mobile.twitter.com/VVertuccio

Sam and Emma break down the biggest headlines of the day, first previewing the behind-the-scenes discussion in the Biden Administration surrounding student debt relief, LGBTQ+ protections for government workers, and the tricklings of a potential freighters rail strike in the US, and Sam hints at some upcoming conversation on Glenn Greenwald dipping his toes into the world of PR for Alex Jones. Emma and Sam then dive deep into the appearance of one Joan Biskupic, with sources close to (maybe even literally inside of) Chief Justice John Roberts’ head, and her discussion of Roberts’ “fight” to save (exclusively the first fifteen weeks of) Roe v. Wade, the impact of the leak in locking justices Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh into Alito’s side, before the crew expands on the precedence of conservative judicial activism in opening up the question a case addresses. They then dive into what the Biden Administration could, should, and definitely won’t do to help the overwhelming student debt faced by the US population, explore how the focus on the 1/6 hearings and the backlash to Dobbs makes Biden completely meaningless heading up to the midterms, and how taking literally any unilateral action on student debt could change that. Next, they cover the possible emergence of a rail strike among freighters, and parse through the details of the Trump Administration’s Schedule F and the blueprint for the dissolution of the administrative state.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma tackle JD Vance’s discussion of his grandparents’ marriage (based on ownership) as essential to a healthy society and why even if a marriage is violent, that is better than peaceful divorce, explore the abhorrent conditions of UPS drivers, and ponder how Log Cabin Republicans can’t seem to fit in. Then Sam dives deep into Glenn Greenwald’s recent appearance at an early screening of Alex Jones’ upcoming documentary, his incredible ability to perfectly tailor a question to an answer that serves Alex’s upcoming court appearance, and his general efficiency in taking massive journalistic credibility and flushing it down the toilet. They also cover Dave Rubin conceding that his homosexuality makes his family suffer, plus, your calls and IMs!

Sam and Emma host Kathryn Judge, Professor at Columbia Law School, to discuss her recent book Direct: The Rise of the Middleman Economy and the Power of Going to the Source. Emma and Sam first tackle Trader Joe’s union-busting, GOP-backed AIPAC money dumps, Russia’s bombing of Odessa, and discuss Ted Cruz’s and Matt Gaetz’s Turning Point appearances. Then, Professor Kathryn Judge joins as she dives right into walking Sam and Emma through the appearance of the “middleman economy,” beginning with what it is today – seen in retail giants like Walmart and Amazon and banks like JP Morgan and Citi – before jumping back to the beginnings of the neoliberal era’s deregulation. Starting with the banking sector, Professor Judge explores how this deregulation was preceded by an era of local banking, grounded in community investment and growth, before the mass dismantling of the regulatory state, coming to a climax with the joining of investment and commercial banking, saw a consolidation of the world of finance into 4-6 banks, and a shift from concrete interpersonal investing to data-driven and obscure and hyper-complex chains of investment. Sam then moves the conversation into the realm of anti-trust, as the Professor centers anti-trust’s failure to address the need for resilient systems that can genuinely hold up production and supply in the face of shocks, and the importance of small businesses and direct supply lines in bolstering these industries, before shifting beyond the realms of retail and banking, diving into how the middleman economy played a central role in 2008’s housing crisis (and the one we find ourselves in today) and how it extracts massive amounts of wealth from our healthcare infrastructure. Wrapping up the interview, Kathryne Judge, Emma, and Sam expand on the state of the middleman economy today, assess the role it has in our inflation “crisis” and how the FED fails to deal with it.

And in the Fun Half, Sam and Emma break down Ben Shapiro's preposterous argument on Twitter that gay marriage is "unconstitutional," Glenn Greenwald tells the Vanguard why he is, in no uncertain terms, NOT Dave Rubin, and Arizona troll and general moron Ethan Schmidt answers the question: "What's the most humiliating way to get kicked out of a PetSmart?" Plus, your calls and IM's!

Check out Kathryn's book here: https://www.harperbusiness.com/book/9780063041974/Direct-Kathryn-Judge/

It's Casual Friday! Sam and Emma host Jamelle Bouie, opinion columnist at the New York Times and co-host of the Unclear and Present Danger podcast, to discuss his recent piece "Joe Manchin Is a Symptom, but It’s the Senate That’s Sick". Sam and Emma begin by diving into the advancing legislation to codify contraceptive rights alongside same-sex marriage, Miami’s crackdown on sex ed and Oklahoma’s “don’t say abortion” ruling, and Fox and Friends’ meltdown on the Jan 6 hearings. Then Jamelle Bouie joins as he dives right into the classic Senate mechanistic dysfunction as the US faces a heatwave (overheating creates a greater desire for vacation time), with Manchin killing his own proposals as he takes on the Senate’s role of minoritarian veto. Next, they shift into a discussion more focused on the Democratic Party, meeting their opponents’ incredibly unpopular crusade with a commitment to institutional chumminess and a fear of appearing anything by bipartisan (when the “bi” means working with homophobes and misogynists), and the role this impotency plays in Biden’s falling approval. Moving into yesterday’s 1/6 hearings, the three of them discuss the disconnect between the committee’s impact on the parties’ approval ratings (massive) and Biden’s (nothing), how this very clearly disproves Democratic leadership’s obsession with bipartisanship, before they wrap up the interview by looking at the upcoming bill on the allocations of electoral votes, and the role it can play with the Supreme Courts’ future cases on the matter.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma tackle the success of the 1/6 hearings, the updates on the role of Trump’s Secret Service in the coverup and Pence’s Secret Service in fearing for their lives, and walk through Trump’s “truths” from last night. Dr. Oz appears on Fox News to tell his supporters to stop mowing their lawns and give him money, Jethro from Louisville reflects on Bolton’s denouncement of the way kids these days don’t plan out their coups as he did, and Valerie from AZ explores wordplay against the right. David Rubin assures Jordan Peterson that his husband will serve as a somewhat maternal presence, and Moira from NY explores transphobia and the lack of a Democratic response. Sam previews some Nick Fuentes leaks, Malcolm from TX discusses gun control and hunting, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Jamelle's work here: https://www.nytimes.com/column/jamelle-bouie

FULL SHOW HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdfV77dQtKA&ab_channel=TheMajorityReportw%2FSamSeder

The MR Crew join together to commemorate the 2nd anniversary of dear friend and colleague Michael Brooks's passing. They'll be joined to reminisce and remember Michael and his legacy by his sister Lisha, Joshua Kahn Russell, Wosny Lambre, Bhaskar Sunkara, Ben Burgis and David Griscom. Emma and Sam dive right into reflecting on Michael’s entrance into their lives and the beauty and humility he brought to them. Lisha then joins as they reflect on the legacy of the Michael Brooks Show, and the power of his words and outlook reaching all the way back to his childhood, and Joshua Kahn Russell calls in from Peru on Michael’s organic interest and ability to connect with people on myriad topics, even if that means mapping Simpson’s characters’ political relationships to the Springfield power plant. After exploring Michael’s rapid and meaningful entrance into his life, Wosny walks through Michael’s incredible grace (even in disagreement) and how that allowed him to open up so many people to his empathy and thoughts. Bhaskar and Sam dive deep into Michael’s ability to create bits that intrinsically hit at his satirical critiques while building entire worlds around them, before expanding on Wosny’s discussion about Michael’s ability to unite critique and care. Ben Burgis walks through his relationship with Michael up until the final TMBS show, and his ability to engage people in topics that had no reason to be engaged with, and David Griscom joins as he and the crew reflect on some of Michael’s most beautiful critiques and the ideas that sympathy is not solidarity and of being ruthless with systems, and kind to individuals. Sam and Emma wrap up the show with kind words from IMers across the MRU.

ALL LINKS TO CLIPS PLAYED ON TODAY'S SHOW IN THE YOUTUBE LINK DESCRIPTION!

Sam and Emma break down the biggest headlines of the day, from the excess heat on the climate to the lack of heat on Manchin, first diving into Biden’s internal decision on whether or not to declare a climate emergency as Manchin revokes his OWN proposal in the wake of monied interests’ behind-the-scenes discussion, and Chad Meredith, anti-choice judge, being officially dropped from his federal nomination,  and the wave of local news reports (despite how decrepit local news infrastructure has become) on the hindering of reproductive care by medical professionals, requiring a delay of any medical intervention until the life of the child bearer is clearly under threat, resulting in countless stories of gallons of blood loss, serious complications, and more – even in the case of nonviable births. Expanding on this, they address the failure of the Democratic party’s messaging on protecting medical professionals that can provide reproductive care and the institutional barriers to these professionals doing their job without legal repercussions. Emma and Sam also explore the greater theocratic aims of the Republican party, and the quality of the divine judgments of “not being able to carry a viable child,” “being gay or trans,” or “simply having a womb” as standards of criminal justice, and the absurdity of republicans pretending that certain abortions aren’t abortions because they’re good. They wrap up the first half with an expanded conversation on Biden’s efforts to combat climate change, what he can (and largely isn’t going to) do, and the role of reigning back the Supreme Court in actually tackling these issues.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma discuss the beauty of the 1/6 commission likely pushing Trump to announce his presidential run earlier, Biden’s continuously dropping polling as 64% of Democrats want another 2024 candidate, and John Fetterman once again squashing the “centrist Dems win and lefties lose” argument. The crew tackles the upcoming midterm polling, the likelihood of Democrats keeping the Senate and losing the House, and the races to pay attention to. The Secret Service happened to have an institution-wide messaging wipe days after 1/6, a caller asks for Manchin’s stance on inflation and mass military spending, and the UK Rail Strike’s messaging continues to absolutely smack its competition. Dave Rubin bolsters Blaze’s race against the Daily Wire on whose more transphobic, an Oklahoma mayor resigns after months-long homophobic harassment, Jeff from Minneapolis discusses Destiny’s absurd arguments against Sam, and Chris from the Bay Area tosses up some guest suggestions. Jeff from Western Mass talks Democratic strategies of self-immolation, and Jason Rantz excuses AOC’s stature as a leftist woman of color live on Fox, plus, your calls and IMs!

Emma hosts Oliver Bullough, author of the Coda Story newsletter, to discuss his recent book Butler to the World: How Britain Became The Servant of Tycoons, Tax Dodgers, Kleptocrats, and Criminals. Emma dives into the official tally of 400 police officers present at Uvalde’s Robb Elementary for the shooting, Rand Paul putting a stop to Biden’s anti-choice judicial nomination, and Ken Klippenstein’s fantastic journalism in discovering the Secret Service’s coverup of texts sent in the wake of 1/6, before getting to the bigger story of this weekend: Manchin (once again) standing directly between Joe Biden’s agenda and the public. Oliver Bullough then joins as he first situates his relationship to Russia, having studied its politics closely since the start of Putin’s reign, and how this provided an intimate perspective on the development of Russia’s extractive regime, bringing him to his realization that behind every oligarch (even beyond Russia) were British-supported offshore locations where their wealth could be protected from the people they took it from. After a discussion on how Russia’s extraction economy came to be after the fall of the Berlin Wall, with the west pushing shock doctrine capitalism and an immediate turn to privatization, Emma and Oliver explore how London’s “democracy” offered Russian oligarchs a way to short circuit the system of needing Russian democracy to protect their wealth, with a similar dynamic also appearing in post-colonial regimes where elites sought to maintain London as their economic center, from India to Nigeria and more. Diving deeper into the lingering tentacles of the British empire, Emma and Oliver explore how former British colonies served each other (and regimes from Russia to China) as offshore tax havens for wealth extraction, tackling the US’ role in it as well, before taking on globalization as a way to circumvent the sovereignty of the “third world.” They wrap up the interview by diving into the state of Britain’s global kleptocracy today, and how it supports oligarchy across the globe.

And in the Fun Half: Emma talks with Sandy from Ontario on Canada’s own attacks on abortion accessibility and acceptability, Jordan Peterson goes all in on nazi-horseshoe theory, claiming trans-affirming surgery to be the same as the non-consensual experimentation by Hitler’s notoriously trans- and homophobic regime, and Emma dives deeper into the state of Murdoch’s TERF-wars. Rob from Jersey explores how Jordan Peterson retained his stature as a legitimate academic, and why that is slowly changing, Elise Stefanic (part of the majority of Republicans that refuse to serve on the 1/6 committee) complains about not being a part of the 1/6 committee, and Miguel from Texas explores liberal republicanism. Chris Coons defends Joe Biden’s visit to MBS, and Brennan from KY gives Emma the official “Leftist Bona Fides” test, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Oliver's book here: https://profilebooks.com/work/butler-to-the-world/

Sam and Emma host Ryan Grim, DC Bureau Chief at The Intercept, to round up the week in news. Then, they're joined by Matthew Film Guy! First, however, Sam and Emma dive into the Indiana AG’s investigation into the 10 y/o rape victim’s doctor, the Secret Service deleting texts from 1/6, Starbucks Workers United’s new series of complaints to the NLRB, and Joe Biden’s arrival in Saudi Arabia, before diving deeper into the response from GOP Leadership in Ohio and Indiana (and nationally) to immediately question the story of a 10 y/o’s rape, despite its common occurrence in Ohio, before shifting to a “well it's not really an abortion if it’s a child” talking point in the wake of the story’s confirmation. Then, they’re joined by Ryan Grim as they dive into Eric Swalwell’s questioning of Catherine Glenn Foster, CEO and President of Americans United for Life, comparing the right’s rhetoric to that of the Salem Witch trials (whose legal authors happened to have been cited by Justice Alito) in how they define concepts in a way that determines their outcome (if it’s legal it's not abortion, if it’s illegal it is), looking back to Todd Akin’s statements on “legitimate rape” and the immediate backlash he faced in comparison to today’s embrace of fundamentalism. Expanding on this, they take on the tactic of fear-mongering with medical professionals, as seen in the attacks on the 10 y/o’s abortion provider, and how they seek to pretend some reproductive care is legitimate while clearly attempting to eradicate any access to such care, then shifting the conversation to the role of the US media and how ill-fitted it is to respond to this moment, from the Washington Post's Glenn Kessler’s legitimization of the right’s attempts to undermine this story (even though children under 15 receive abortions about once per week in Ohio) to the greater issue of media having no actual access to emerging stories – especially when potential sources are under intense legal pressure to stay silent. Next, they dive into state-level fights to preserve abortion, including Kansas’ attempt to latch on to the “medical freedom” talking point, despite its role in undermining trust in medical care, and look at how this evangelical fundamentalism will continue to target social groups they want to police. Wrapping up the interview they tackle the Democrats’ inability to take responsibility for Manchin and Sinema, both in terms of getting them on board with the party and disciplining them for their departures, and set up what to expect for the upcoming midterm election. The great Matthew Film Guy then joins as he discusses his discovery of the niche early 2000s indie production “Mean Girls,” discusses his ever-burgeoning film projects, and dives into the work of Hou Hsiao-hsien.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma discuss the Biden Administration’s response to Roe being overturned, the importance of Janeane Garofalo, and the threats against Pramila Jayapal that seem to fly under the media’s radar. Tim Pool doesn’t believe the pregnant 10-year-old was raped, Sam and Emma tackle the lie of the “last liberal,” Ben Shapiro’s pretend ignorance of his stochastic terrorism having a genuine impact on the well-being of trans people, and Snooki becomes a central endorsement in the PA Gov race. Plus, your IMs!

Check out Ryan's work at the Intercept here: https://theintercept.com/staff/ryangrim/

Check out Matthew's Letterboxd here: https://letterboxd.com/langdonboom/

Check out Matthew's film discussion group here: https://www.commonpointqueens.org/program/cultural-arts-and-jewish-heritage-classes/

Check out Matthew's eBay auction here! https://www.ebay.com/itm/115464749223

Emma hosts Daniel Laurison, visiting scholar in Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, to discuss his recent book Producing Politics: Inside The Exclusive Campaign World Where the Privileged Few Shape Politics For All of Us. First, Emma dives into Biden’s upcoming trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia and the GOP’s recent offensive against a 10-year-old rape victim’s abortion, from denying the validity of the trauma to coming after the provider – with the AG of both states involved contributing themselves (alongside some help from the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post). Then, Daniel Laurison joins as he and Emma first dive into the topic of political campaigns, reflecting on their first intimate experiences in these spaces and its dissociative nature, before exploring the clear research into on-the-ground fieldwork and its role in campaign success, despite its unglamorous nature. Daniel then discusses what the campaign world holds against this form of organizing, from the neoliberal language of efficiency to the role of the exclusive culture of campaign professionals, and how this builds a stagnancy in strategy on both sides of the establishment aisle. Next, he expands on the bipartisan nature of this campaign institutionalism, looking at the only slight differences in demographics among the two parties’ campaign wings, and the funneling of POC into diversity-specific roles, before they shift to a brief conversation on the roles of the legend of the disaffected suburban voter and party polarization in bolstering this obsession with decades-old messaging tactics. They wrap up the interview by tackling the Democrats’ infatuation with winning voters from the right rather than bringing in the disillusioned and marginalized, and advancing a critique of the party’s fear of stepping away from monied interests. Emma also discusses her take on the NY SD-59 race.

And in the Fun Half: Emma is joined by Brandon and Binder as they cover the assassination of Shinzo Abe, the 1/6 Committee’s piece on Trump-supporting commentators such as Alex Jones and Tim Pool, and Drew from Portland dives into the emergence of militia use in Portland nightlife. Ken from Charleston critiques Matt Huber’s discussion on degrowth, Kowalski from Nebraska covers Sri Lanka’s recent agro-disaster (and the lessons it could teach degrowthers), and Lauren Boebert’s appearance with Steve Bannon to discuss why Ilhan Omar’s clothes oppress her. Greg Gutfeld defends Uvalde Police officers, to the rest of his colleagues’ discomfort, Tucker Carlson comes back around to defending Putin, and H from Boston gets some stuff off his chest, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Daniel's book here: http://www.beacon.org/Producing-Politics-P1821.aspx

Sam and Emma host Daniel Nichanian, editor-in-chief of Bolts Magazine, to discuss big upcoming races at the state and local levels in the run-up to the midterms. Then they are joined by Lupe Rodriguez, executive director for the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice (NLRJ), to discuss the Institute's ongoing efforts to protect abortion care post-Roe. Sam and Emma begin by checking in on day 7 of the Jan. 6th hearings, then move to John Bolton telling Jake Tapper to take it from him: he knows a thing or two about coups d'etat, Jan. 6th wasn't his first go-around. Then Sam and Emma are joined by Daniel, who breaks down some of the biggest inflection points in the state and local races in November when it comes to ballot measures, state supreme court races, statehouse fights, as well as local races in district attorney's offices, county sheriff's offices, county prosecutors and attorneys general's offices around the country, that could affect vulnerable people after the Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade.

Sam and Emma are then joined by Lupe to discuss the on-the-ground efforts before AND after Roe was overturned, who will be most adversely affected by this, how the NLRJ is assisting vulnerable people seeking abortion care, what they think about the Biden Administration's response so far to the ruling, and how they will prepare (read: brace) for a potential federal abortion ban in the future if the Congressional chambers and the White House change hands in 2022 and 2024.

And in the Fun Half, the MR Crew discuss another LEFT IS BEST situation arising in Minnesota, Khiara Bridges trouncing another idiot Senator yesterday (shockingly, not Josh Hawley AGAIN), and Sam's second solemn correction of the broadcast: that Hawley didn't appear on Tucker to whine about how Professor Bridges treated him, but that he actually ended up on HANNITY instead. (We regret the error.) Then, they dive into Episode 7 of the Jan. 6th hearings: The One Where All The Crazy Idiots Try And Kill Each Other. Finally, they look at recently leaked video of the disgraceful response by the Uvalde police to the shooting at Robb Elementary. Plus your calls and IM's!

Check out BoltsMag here: https://boltsmag.org/

Check out the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice: https://www.latinainstitute.org/

Emma hosts Matt Huber, professor of Geography at Syracuse University, to discuss his recent book Climate Change As Class War: Building Socialism On A Warming Planet.

Fun Half Link: https://youtu.be/7VBSIZSyn7o

First, Emma walks through updates on Boris Johnson’s official resignation, the police’s response to their role in the Highland Park shooter acquiring his gun, Biden’s anti-abortion judicial nom having been delayed due to… the overturn of Roe v. Wade, and another Robb Elementary teachers speaking out on the Texas police response (or lack thereof). Then, Matt Huber joins as he and Emma dive right into this conflict between systemic critiques and critiques on individual consumption, looking at the former as a straightforward critique that looks to those in control of production, rather than one that dances around capitalism’s inherent issues by deputizing the professional-managerial class to police the carbon footprints of themselves and others. After expanding on the role of free-market ideology in promoting the idea that we, the consumers, shape production – rather than the people that control production – Emma and Matt dive deeper into the climate activism found in the PMC and how this hyper-educated class attempts to marshall their credentials for advantages in the labor market, calling out the right’s roles in the “lies” and “denial” in popular discourse, rather than how they (and the Democrats) sanction fossil fuel extraction for profit (and thus avoiding the easy solution of nationalizing the energy industries). Next, Huber walks through the different archetypes of PMC climate activists, and their individualist, self-centered tactics, before they wrap up the interview by tackling the importance of deindustrialization that is led by industrial workers, and discussing the pros and cons of a degrowth mindset.

And in the Fun Half: Emma is joined by Matt and Brandon as Chris from the Bay Area inquires about the lack of a left version of the Federalist Society, Boris Johnson resigns, and Ryan from Tennessee gives a rather disturbing update on the state of his local police department. The crew also dives into updates on Brittney Griner’s detainment in Russia, Majorie Taylor Greene can’t believe July 4th parades were shot up when Pride JUST happened. The Dark Horse podcast gives their pair (note: NOT peer) review about an article on vaccines, and Margaret from PA uplifts Emma’s talents before getting into her state’s governor race. Plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Matt's book here: https://www.versobooks.com/books/3973-climate-change-as-class-war

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. First, Sam and Emma dive into SCOTUS officially taking out a chunk from the administrative state, Biden’s decision to nominate an anti-abortion judge to a federal bench, and the Republican desire to tell us that Dobbs changed nothing. Then, Digby joins as they get right into this week as a culmination of, at a MINIMUM, the last six years, assessing the decisions on Roe, gun control, and the EPA, and to hear a case next session on states’ rights to send alternate electors despite vote tallies. Diving deeper into the state of the conservative court’s commitment to the Independent State Legislature doctrine they explore Kavanaugh first citing this theory in 2020 via shadow docket as the culmination of minoritarian control, before getting into the reactions from the right and the surprise at their clear fear of electoral backlash. Next, they expand on the repercussions we’re already seeing from the overturn of Roe, largely centered on the unreliability of exceptions, and whether doctors can take a risk that will jeopardize their career and freedom, and look to the Democrats’, once again, stone-cold inaction, doing less in the wake of the biggest rollback of rights in US history than they did for anti-abortion Democrat Henry Cuellar. They wrap up the interview by assessing the obvious extremism in the Republican party, from Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ recent statements that aborted babies can be found in the COVID-19 vaccine to everything we’ve seen at the 1/6 hearings, and the refusal of Biden to even consider his opposition anything but respectable as very representative of Democrats’ messaging impotence.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma discuss Biden putting the feelers out for a second presidential campaign as Harris’ replacement lane gets narrower and narrower, Liz Cheney has a congressional debate with a bunch of conspiracy theorists, and Jeff from Atlanta expands the discussion on Biden’s anti-abortion judicial nomination. Dave Rubin proclaims himself as the “should-be conservative hero,” and Mike Cernovich confronts his demons and says, respectfully, no! Johnny from Houston talks calling racists racist, Pat the Hippie explores the future of Minnesotan politics, and Donald Trump takes responsibility for DeSantis’ success (sowing the seeds of his own replacement!), plus, your calls and IMs!

Emma hosts Natasha Lennard, columnist at The Intercept, to discuss her recent reporting before, during, and after Roe V. Wade's overturning by the Supreme Court. Then, Emma is joined by Greg Casar, candidate for Congress in Texas's 35th District, to give us an update from the campaign trail. First, Emma dives into Biden’s role as the passive PR president, finally coming along to back other people doing something about Roe, and she covers what a politician that actually has initiative looks like (AOC being the perfect example). Then she’s joined by Natasha Lennard as she dives into us finally meeting the known horror of an overturned Roe, looking at how this decision will be enforced by exploring the genre of enforcement that has defined the US’ police state throughout its history: an alliance between far-right vigilantism and a reactionary state – seen perfectly in Texas’ civil bounty laws. Expanding on this, Lennard walks through the history of the vigilante groups, from lynchers in the Jim Crow south to slave patrols in the north, as a clear expression of the US elites’ desire to maintain control of the bodily autonomy of Black people, women, and particularly Black women. Next, with help of the Daily Wire crew, they walk through the importance of antiracism and queer liberation in the fight for reproductive rights, before preparing for the Democratic tactic of calling the right “hypocritical” when they codify abortion prohibition on a national level, and wrapping up the interview by looking to the organizers and activists that have already set up the networks by which we must fight for the right to bodily autonomy. Greg Casar then joins as he dives into the response to Roe trigger laws as someone running for TX-35, and the importance of using your power to bend the arch towards justice, next looking to the importance of empathetic and open policy towards immigrants and solutions to the massive rent issues in the US today.

And in the Fun Half: Emma is joined by Matt and Brandon as they dive into the difference between conspiracies used as a distraction, and conspiracies that need distracting from, Ben Shapiro says Trump cannot be held responsible for 1/6, because he can’t be responsible for ANYTHING! Rob from NJ dives into the Daily Wire’s step into cinema, Joe Rogan, with his finger ever on the prostate pulse of US reactionaries, comes out as pro-DeSantis. The crew dives into Roe’s overturn, and the pointlessness (and points) of constantly questioning republicans about exceptions, and James from Ft. Worth starts a “Who’s More Democratic” competition, plus, your calls and IMs!

Sam and Emma host Mark Joseph Stern, senior writer at Slate, to discuss the recent bombshell SCOTUS opinions, and what other decisions remain to be issued. Then, they are joined by Matt Stoller, Director of Research at the American Economic Liberties Project and author of the BIG newsletter on SubStack, to discuss what's been going on at the Federal Trade Commission. First, Sam and Emma dive into Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony on Trump’s request to let more armed protesters into the Capitol since “they’re not here to hurt me,” and the Supreme Court allows Louisiana to redistrict around the disenfranchisement of African Americans. Then, they’re joined by Mark Joseph Stern as he dives right into Carson v. Makin and the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down a Maine requirement for private schools that received PUBLIC funding (largely due to lack of resources for public education in the area) to maintain a secular education, even though these schools are known to reject Muslim and Jewish students and ostracize children of same-sex couples. He, Emma, and Sam discuss how far Kavanaugh and Roberts could go in dismantling secularism and bolstering the funding for hyper-religious PUBLIC institutions. Next, they look to the Kennedy case in Washington, as the Supreme Court struck down the lemon doctrine in the case of a high school football coach coercing his players into Christian prayer. They first boil it down to the legal dispute, looking at the conservative justices’ rejection of the “endorsement” of religion as a violation of the establishment clause, before they look to the factual dispute, covering the blatant lies that the conservative majority based their decision on, including ignoring student statements that they were ostracized for refusing to join the prayer, the fact that the coach spent over 50 games leading these prayers, despite only being penalized for the last three, and the fact that the coach voluntarily left the job in the wake of being placed on PAID administrative leave. They wrap up their interview by diving into the rapid manner by which the conservative justices’ agenda is being passed, and look at the future of their agenda and the doctrines they’ll look to overturn next. Then, Matt Stoller joins as he walks through the Financial Trade Commission’s declaration to enforce the Robinson-Patman act requiring corporate middlemen to be paid exclusively for services rendered, looking at the role of Pharmaceutical Benefits Managers, how they extort the industry, and what role this might play in hindering future monopsonies, which leads them to a brief discussion on the monopsony of Minor League Baseball, the role MLB’s anti-trust exemption plays in this, and what is being done to push the Majors to provide living wages to the futures of their sport.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma walk through Cassidy Hutchinson’s extended testimony in front of the 1/6 committee, from Trump’s desire to let more armed folks into the Capitol to Mark Meadows taking phone calls in secret on the day of. Tim from Rochester discusses being a High School football player, how coaches sell you a “divine dream,” and the absurdity of the recent SCOTUS ruling around that topic. Next, they look at some early horror stories around trigger laws in Dayton Ohio, and reflect on the Terri Schiavo case some decade and a half later. Emma discusses the anemic Democratic response to Roe, the Dem Leadership’s game of pretend around what the Republicans' goals for reproductive rights actually are, and the crew covers some of the stupidest arguments about the hope inspired by Dobbs. A log cabin republican is offended as his allies call him abnormal, plus, your calls and IMs!

Sam hosts William Forbath, Associate Dean for Research at the University of Texas at Austin Law School, and Joseph Fishkin,  Professor at the UCLA School of Law, to discuss their recent book The Anti-Oligarchy Constitution: Reconstructing the Economic Foundations of Democracy. Sam first runs through recent updates, from AOC and progressives pushing the White House to take action on Roe and the discovery of 46 dead migrants in an abandoned San Antonio trailer, to the GOP’s insistence that, no, fundamentally undermining reproductive rights in the country ISN’T important, and everything is basically the same. Then, he’s joined by William Forbath and Professor Joseph Fishkin as they dive right into the state of the public’s relationship to the US Constitution, with the left lacking a vision of how it functions within the political society and the right having successfully ingrained it as central to how the constitution shapes policy, before situating our political era as a second Gilded Age defined by economic and political inequality, and why the left’s lack of a constitutional vision means that these are not seen as constitutional issues. Next, they trace the recent history of how the two US parties relate to the court, with the institutionalist liberals basking in the afterglow of the Warren court while the GOP, since at least Nixon, has seen opposition to the Court’s “progressive” nature as central to their victories. Forbath and Fishkin then jump back to the founders, assessing how they weighed their beliefs of a judicial system as central to a functioning democracy while understanding that it had no right to overrule the will of the people via the legislature, seeing the constitution as a check on the concentration of power to be used against governmental institutions, and thus puts forward a duty to legislate against economic and political concentration. They then shift to the rise of the anti-slavery Republican Party in the mid 19th Century and their vacation of the South as any semblance of a base until they had begun to dismantle the concentration of economic and political power in the region with the prevalence of slave owners and the electoral role of the 3/5ths clause, moving into an era of egalitarian constitutionalism emphasizing checks on concentrations of economic and political powers and a distribution of opportunity that extends across race gender, that saw the Reconstruction amendments (despite clear loopholes) attempt to reshape the role of the constitution. Next comes the 20th Century, as they walk through the rise of federal courts in the wake of the industrial revolution and the simultaneous populist political movement that came out against the rising concentration of wealth, with Taft attempting to build up the Court’s stature as it became clear they were on the side of the corporation, only for his (physical and meta) attempts to culminate during the reign of FDR after he forced the anti-democratic court into lockstep with him. They wrap up the interview by looking at the lasting effects of the post-FDR Warren Court, and the current shattering of the view of the courts as apolitical, before looking forwards to the upcoming judicial attacks against legislative capacities and how we can move forwards in a way that bolsters the will of the people rather than the deification of the Courts.

And in the Fun Half: Sam interviews special guest Saul Seder on the state of the 3rd grade, parental rights in the state of Disney, the superiority of Jim Carrey over his father, and summarizes highlights from the 2022 little league season. Then Sam and the crew dive into Cassidy Hutchinson’s surprise hearing for the 1/6 committee, Kamala Harris’ only solution to the Dobbs decision being still holding midterm elections (rather than…?), and a GOP candidates’ commitment to cop brotherhood by refusing to acknowledge the existence of rape. Rudy describes the reverberations of his assault, Hutchinson covers Trump’s violent outbursts on and leading up to 1/6, and Russia goes after Ukrainian civilians, plus, your calls and IMs!

It's Casual Friday! Sam hosts Jamelle Bouie, opinion columnist at the New York Times and co-host of the Unclear and Present Danger podcast, to discuss his recent piece "The Gerontocracy of the Democratic Party Doesn’t Understand That We’re at the Brink." First, Sam dives right into the Supreme Court’s overturning of the half-century precedent of Roe v. Wade as the first major rollback of any established right in US history, the thirteen trigger laws it enacts, and the future of reproductive health when healthcare professionals are forced to weigh they own well being and security in making decisions. Jamelle Bouie then joins as he and Sam dive right into the growing divide between establishment Democrats and younger progressives in just acknowledging the horrendous state of our politics, as seen in Whip Clyburn’s official response to the Roe decision stating that it was “anti-climactic,” and take on the role of the Gerontocratic leadership of the Democratic party and their ossified perspective on how politics can and does function in the 21st Century, from Pelosi’s requests for a “strong Republican party” to Biden’s praising of McConnell’s integrity. Next, Bouie dives into his recent research into the Republican party that preceded today’s neoconservatism and their shift to hard-edged partisanship, contrasting this with the Democrats’ desire to triangulate in politics, as we saw with Hillary’s comments on sacrificing trans people for the integrity of anti-democratic institutionalism, and refusal to acknowledge that, yes, the GOP does mean what they say. After a conversation on the future of this fight, and the other big fights coming down the SCOTUS pipeline, Sam and Jamelle wrap up the interview by assessing the 1/6 hearings, Mike Pence, and the Democratic leadership’s attempted creation of right-wing heroes. Sam further dives into the other precedents (Griswald, Casey, Loving, etc) that are put in question by this decision and the absurdity of Thomas’ argument that this won’t set a precedent… while encouraging an extension of this decision to future cases.

And in the Fun Half: Sam explores the meaning behind the Majority Report name, James Carville asks for our help, and House Democrats sing God Bless America for some unknowable reason. Katie from Providence dives deeper into the subjectivity around the abortion “exemptions,” and how the objective nature of the punishment for abortions will easily overshadow them. Shannon from the USVIs discusses supporting Black women in the US, Alan and Brendan from North Carolina reflect on the shaping of their perspectives on reproductive rights, Valerie from AZ talks constitutionality and the Supreme Court teeing up myriad elements of queer rights to be overturned, and Mindy reads a statement from the Archdiocese of New York. The crew listens to Mick Lynch’s inspirational responses to the UK media’s insulting coverage of their rail strike, and Ron Johnson throws Mike Kelly under the bus, to which Kelly says, “who?” Jeff Clark can’t believe that Federal Agents wouldn’t let him wear the pants in their relationship, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Jamelle's piece here: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/14/opinion/beware-the-ruinous-optimism-of-democratic-leaders.html

Check out the Unclear and Present Danger podcast here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unclear-and-present-danger/id1592411580

Sam hosts Jaz Brisack of Starbucks Workers United to give us some updates from the unionization efforts on the ground. Then, Sam is joined by Michael Bronski, professor of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Harvard University, to discuss his recent piece in the Boston Review "Grooming and the Christian Politics of Innocence". First, Sam dives into the continuing defamation suit by Dominion against Fox, SCOTUS’ decision to publically fund private religious schools, and the blistering updates from the 1/6 hearing, including testimony from Shea Moss, the election official accused by name by Trump, on the life-shattering matter that this was for her, from death threats at her home to racist threats in public, and Trump asks Arizona House officials to give him a break, I mean it’s what? 11,000 votes?? Next, Jaz Brisack joins as she and Sam get right into her incredible history in labor organizing having only recently graduated, discussing growing up in Texas and Mississippi and knowing she wanted to work in the field of labor, with her first dip into organizing during the fight with the United Auto Workers to organize a massive Nissan factory and what she learned from those original interactions with dirty anti-union corporate tactics. Although that vote fell short in 2017, Jaz discusses the massive influence it had on her and her hopes for organizing, as she carried her interest in labor organizing and labor history into her years as a Rhodes Scholar, before finally getting into her work organizing fast-food franchises in upstate New York. Here, she dives into her work, both labor and organizing, at Panera and Spot Coffee, and how her work with the International Workers of the World finally brought her to the Starbucks in Buffalo where the inklings of SWU began. After diving deep into the challenges and unique qualities of being the first (of so many) unionized Starbucks in the world and the nature of supposedly “progressive” organizations creating a divide in the workplace when it comes to labor rights and violations, they wrap up the interview by covering the importance of labor fights making it onto the mainstream stage and where SWU is going next. Professor Bronski then drops by to walk through the history of the translation of a Christian politics of innocence into homophobic and transphobic legislation, first looking at the sexual psychopath laws of the 1920s to ’30s and the shift in the ‘40s and ‘50s to focusing on the threat to children, before diving deeper into this concept of “innocence” and how it plays into a Christian fundamentalist’s political ideology. Next, they discuss the role of figureheads like Anita Bryant in pushing back against any social progress for the LGBTQ+ community and bringing about the ’90s version of “don’t say gay” legislation, before they wrap up the interview with a larger conversation on the waves of homophobia as reactions to threats on the patriarchy, the role of the Women’s lib movement in this, particularly in opening up children to be corrupted, and situate this moment of homophobic political backlash.

And in the Fun Half: Sam dives into the 1/6 hearings and why Democrats are obsessed with the few Republicans that determine speaking out against Trump to be their best career path, and listen into Adam Schiff’s discussion with AZ Speaker of the House on Trump’s official requests to overturn the election, Shea Moss’ mother on how Trump’s public accusations have had wildly distressing effects on their day-to-day lives, and Ron Johnson’s defense of his chief of staff attempting to deliver false elector lists to Mike Pence in the WAKE of the 1/6 violence. Chris from Berkeley and Valerie from AZ dive into the pain and frustration they feel about how Democrats are handling these hearings, Gregory from Oklahoma dives into his race for State House District 26, and Jesse Watters pitches COINTELPRO-ing the reproductive rights advocates protesting outside of the Supreme Court. Plus, your calls!

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It's Casual Friday! Sam hosts Heather Digby Parton, contributing writer at Salon.com and proprietor of the blog Hullabaloo to round up the week in news. Then Sam is joined by Jason Myles, co-host of the This Is Revolution podcast. First, Sam covers the confirmation that Ginni Thomas was conspiring with John Eastman, Trump’s Coup Lawyer, and Assange’s extradition being approved. Digby and Sam then get right into the updates from Yesterday’s 1/6 hearing, from Donald Trump calling his Vice President the “P-word” (hint: it’s not “Pence” or “President”), and debate who Trump’s next right-hand man will be, especially as the god squad votes are among the most important in his control of the Republican party. Next, Sam and Digby have some discourse on the discourse around 1/6, exploring the contrast between US coverage of the hearings (or really, the lack thereof) and the coverage abroad, getting deep into the US political establishment’s obsession with legitimizing the right as a party with integrity, and contrasting them with “magas” and “ultra-magas,” despite the central involvement of active Senators, Congresspeople, and spouses of Supreme Court Justices, with everyone participating, from Grassley to Graham, completely aware of the illegality of what they were planning. Diving deeper into yesterday’s focus on Mike Pence, Digby and Sam analyze why someone who supposedly was against this, kept asking people for advice and debating strategy with the MAIN strategizers of the insurrection, before walking through the role of Michael Ludwig in legitimizing the “bipartisan” nature of the committee, and exploring the future of Republican insurrection attempts as they shift to more localized corruption and grassroots bigotry. Then, Sam is joined by Jason Myles as they dive into his recent video essay exploring the progression of Black cinema and the role it played both in Hollywood as a whole and the greater American and African American cultures, starting in the 1960s, with the new left of Maverick filmmakers making independent films and a push for more Black power contrasted with the actual rise of Blaxploitation movies, with movies like Sweet Sweetback and others practically saving Hollywoods bottom line, despite going completely against the general Black intelligentsia. Jason then dives into the next stages, as the ‘90s came back around to independent films (once again due to falling profits) making these “hood films” on the defective young black man, diving into the infection of neoliberalisms’ focus on “cultural” shortcomings and ignoring the classism and racism that were the actual issues of the time, and how these stereotypical and exploitative films pushed Black power away from the political realm and into, exclusively, the cultural realm. They wrap up their interview by looking at the modern era of Black cinema, the contrasts between films like Black Panther and Moonlight, and the need to return Black power to a political concept.

And in the Fun Half: Tulsi dances around Sean Hannity’s stupidity, Jesse Watterboard has an idea to get to the bottom of the SCOTUS leak, and DeSantis celebrates the ancestry of Apartheid heir Elon Musk. Ted Cruz takes shots at Disney’s queer agenda, as he points to the integrity of regimes that are rejecting the upcoming “Lightyear” film, such as China and the UAE. Meghan Kelly returns to the media as she calls out her former employers for discussing the fact that trans kids who are rejected by their families frequently resort to suicide, plus, your IMs!

Check out Digby's blog Hullaballoo here: https://digbysblog.net/

Check out This Is Revolution here: https://www.thisisrevolutionpodcast.com/

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Emma hosts Devon Carbado, professor at the UCLA School of Law, to discuss his recent book Unreasonable: Black Lives, Police Power, and the Fourth Amendment. First, Emma runs through recent news from Ginni Thomas’ communications with John Eastman about overturning the election, to the Fed raising interest and likely triggering a recession just to undermine worker power and the effect of gas price gouging on inflation. Then she’s joined by Professor Devon Carbado as they dive right into the relationship between the Fourth Amendment and the police state, as this constitutional statute from 1791 has provided access to and control over Black people and their bodies, first looking at the qualification of “search and seizure” as the only police actions that are protected, to the insanely low standards of what it means for police accostings to be “reasonable,” such as confronting someone in a high crime area. They then dive into the 1968 decision in Terry v. Ohio that affirmed the police’s right to stop and frisk without probable cause, provided that they meet the even lower standard of “reasonable suspicion,” setting the stage for one of the least effective and most violating “investigatory” tools, which still maintains its legality even after the NYPD failed to claim reasonable suspicion in Floyd, et al. v City of New York. Next, Professor Carbado walks through the stages of Black oppression in the US and the refusal by the right the understand and acknowledge the history throughout these developments, before he takes on the various levels of policing in this country that put Black people and people of color in more direct confrontation with the police, including the fact that repeated exposure increases the probability of being harmed, the culture of police and their unions, qualified immunity, and the impossibility of holding them to account. Emma and the Professor then look to Whren v United States and the Supreme Court’s (including RBG) affirmation of racial profiling, discussing how this decision as well aided the beaurocratization of racism and classism that we saw so clearly in Ferguson, with police fines making up over a quarter of the city’s budget. They wrap up the interview by diving deeper into the judicial system’s role, how the right’s specificity in targeting precedent and setting up legal apparatus like the Federalist Society allows them to stack the courts for their agenda, and what the Left can learn from that.

And in the Fun Half: Emma is joined by Matt and Brandon as they take on the complex anti-hero that is Anna Sorokin, as she begins to dip her feet into NFTs, Noah from Tampa debates Emma on why her college athletic takes are exactly right, Bro Flamingo calls in to discuss the downplaying of the 1/6 coup attempt on both the right and left, and they all dive into the idea of Republicans actually being held accountable. Candace Owens comes after parental rights, Eric Adams “reallocates” funding from education to the NYPD, and AOC responds to the fact that she was called out by name by 1/6 rioters. Real estate brokers flaunt their place inside the housing bubble, Kowalski dives into fertilizer and food shortage issues, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Devon's book here: https://thenewpress.com/books/unreasonable

Sam and Emma host Jamie Edwards, organizer with the Trader Joe's Union effort in Hadley, Massachusetts, to discuss the union organizing efforts from the ground. First, however, they touch on the GOP’s flipping of a century-long Democratic seat in Texas, discuss a Florida Synagogue’s suit against the Florida abortion ban, and discuss how odd it was that Rep Loudermilk was giving tours to people who just happened to show up on 1/6. Steve Bannon reveals that the 1/6 committee completely ignored Mike Lindell’s information, the couple that armed themselves as a BLM rally marched past their house gives tips on gun safety, and Sam and Emma walk through a recent California survey showing that living with a gun owner doubles your chances to die by homicide and does nothing to decrease your chances of a home invasion. Next, they dive into the most Hershel Walker of Hershel Walker news, as it’s revealed that the man who rants against fatherless households in Black communities, happens to have left a household fatherless. Finally, Emma and Sam are joined by Jamie Edwards as they dive into their experience organizing Trader Joe’s Unite’s first chapter in Hadley, MA, first looking at the beginnings of the campaign at the start of the pandemic, when, after years of falling benefits, they and their colleagues were directly faced with the corporation’s active refusal to take their safety seriously, from fully banning masks and gloves at the outset, to pressure from management to ignore capacity limits. Next, they get into the more typical forms of union-busting that the organizers have faced, from Jamie being sent home for wearing a union pin to threats against workers’ future wages and general disciplinary action, before they get into the success of TJU, and the roles the pandemic, a strong NLRB, and the unionizations of Starbucks and Amazon departments nationwide have all played in keeping the energy up. Jamie then wraps up the interview by covering the importance of Trader Joe’s United being an independent union, especially with corporations’ “third party” talking points, and discusses the future of the fight.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma take a call from Georgian native Q on comedy, Dave Chapelle, and why some people’s politics don’t develop, Jason from Texas dives into the special election in the Rio Grande Valley and discusses the grassroots development of the radical right in Texas, Jason from Columbus discusses Ohio’s housing crisis, Ben from Worcester talks… Worcester, and Charlie Kirk gives young women tips and tricks on finding a husband. Blake from Arkansas discusses why the solution to every social ill is him not paying child support, plus, your calls and IMs!

Follow Trader Joe's United here: https://twitter.com/TraderJoesUnite

Sam and Emma host Mark Joseph Stern, staff writer at Slate, to preview the incoming SCOTUS opinions of the week. First, Sam and Emma preview primary Tuesday, the ever-mounting success of Starbucks unions, and remind us that much like Liz Cheney, Bill Barr is NOT our friend. Then, they’re joined by Mark as they dive into this “storm before the even bigger storm” moment in the Supreme Court, first covering why the Supreme Court’s summer decision dumps all come down to the end of June so they can get out on vacation, and speculating on the order of the drops when there are so many massive decisions currently pending. Next, they get into the actual issues at hand, looking to the many layers of Dobbs v Jackson, including the continued obscurity around the leak and leaker’s identity, what small “cleanups” we’ll see in comparison to Alito’s leaked draft, and the futures of Griswald and Sodomy laws. They also dive into Andrus v Texas, looking at how the Supreme Court allowed lower-level courts to overturn the Sixth Amendment guarantee to effective assistance of counsel, practically removing habeas review and other judicial practices while still keeping their institutional image intact, and explore this deferral of the Court as an affirmation to the lower courts’ that they will allow the overturning of their own precedent if it aligns with their conservative ideology. Sam then gets right into the administrative state as he, Emma, and Mark Joseph Stern look to West Virginia v EPA, discussing the role of Brett Kavanaugh’s baby, the major questions doctrine, in bolstering the Court’s ability to undermine the delegatory capacities of Congress and the executive branch by requiring explicit and specific congressional guidelines. After a conversation on the “activist” nature of this conservative court, they wrap up the interview by discussing the future of concealed carry with New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen, and the use of coercive religious practices in public schools with Kennedy v. Bremerton.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma cover the updates on yesterday’s 1/6 hearing, exploring the accusation of Trump’s campaign lawyer as “an agent of the deep state” for rejecting the validity of the Dominion fraud, McClain from Iowa, Bradley’s Dad from LA, AND Peter from St. Paul all dive deep into handling conversations with conservative parents and the importance of finding commonalities, as the right becomes more and more the Republican Party of (some of our) fathers. Brock from Wichita talks gun control, and Fox News displays their militant support for trans people by… telling the story of a conservative family’s acceptance of their son, which of course makes Matt Walsh angry when there’s an excellent documentary talking about women’s bodies right there! Plus, your calls and IMs!

Sam and Emma host Jefferson Morley, editor of the JFKFacts blog, to discuss his recent book Scorpions' Dance: The President, the Spymaster, and Watergate. Sam and Emma begin by assessing the fundamentally bipartisan-and-nothing-else gun control bill, and cover the arrest of Idaho White Supremacists planning a riot at a pride event, Sarah Palin’s advancement in the Alaskan senate race, and walk through the 10 republicans in the Gun Control gang of 20, and the unsurprising fact that almost half are retiring. Then, Jefferson Morley joins as they dive right into what the Watergate conspiracy was, and how it was covered at the time, including the classic representation of the incident as an example of a crusading free press taking on a lawless president, and how this discourse completely obscures the hidden hand of the CIA and how their role in the conspiracy has crystalized over the last half-century. They then dive into what Nixon’s plan for this group of “Plumbers” was, originating from his paranoia around government leaks and the anti-war movement, and coming to fruition via recommendations from Richard Helms, director of the CIA, who helped provide 4 of the 7 members of the team. Next, they jump back to the actual developments of the Watergate investigation, with the slow release of tapes in the weeks following, despite Nixon’s constant pressuring of Helms to stop the FBI investigation, and how this led the public to focus not on the CIA’s role in Watergate, but their other abuses, from foreign assassinations to spying on Americans, as the Church Committee in charge of the senate investigation of the CIA wanted to keep it Bipartisan and away from the Nixon investigation. Morley then dives deep into Nixon’s relationship with his intelligence agencies, working as a lawless president alongside a lawless CIA, as he couldn’t convince Hoover to dig into domestic surveillance, making his relationship with Helms’ CIA central to his power, working closely in Nixon’s assassination attempts on Salvador Allende’s cabinet, and providing Nixon with a relationship that he could leverage – not with the knowledge of their foreign interventions but with a threat over hidden information with the Bay of Pigs. After an extensive conversation on what this “hidden information” likely entailed, that being the CIA’s role in the assassination of JFK, and the internal spy games being played against each other by the White House, CIA, FBI, and Joint Chiefs of Staff, Morley, Sam, and Emma wrap up the conversation by exploring the lasting lessons we can learn about the dangers of a lawless president that is supported by a lawless CIA.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma watch Dennis Prager signal out the true evil of our society: evil. Calvin from Montana calls in about Democrats’ chance in the upcoming midterm cycle as Biden explains, totally unrelatedly, why republicans are good, actually. Sam and Emma dive into the 1/6 hearings, from the attacks on Capitol Police to Giuliani’s drunken proclamation that Trump, with no evidence, should claim victory in the wake of the 2020 election. As Starbucks’ unionization trends continue, Schultz goes on a rampage against this “secondary party” (workers) invading the Starbucks family, and Patriot Front is detained in Idaho. JB from Cleveland gives updates on surveys helping trans visibility, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Jeff's book here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250275837/scorpionsdance

It's Casual Friday! Emma hosts David Griscom, co-host of Left Reckoning, to round up the week in news. Then, Emma is joined by the DSA's Stylianos Karolidis and Sumathy Kumar to discuss their For the Many candidate slate in New York City. First, Emma dives deep into yesterday’s debut of the primetime 1/6 hearings, appreciating the committee’s breadth of day-one topics, from Trump’s 7-point plan to overturn the election, the complete disconnect between him and any federal defense agencies, and the impact of his “stand back and stand by” tweet, to the role of Bill Barr and the barebones, yet horrifying, unseen footage of the coup attempt. Next, she’s joined by Left Reckoning’s David Griscom as they dive into the Texas-centric news of the week, starting off with the more hopeful news of an Austin Starbucks’ successful unionization vote, before diving into a conversation on policing that begins with a contrast between Capitol Police’s treatment of BLM protesters and 1/6 Coup attempters, and shifting to the continued lies and cowardice of the Uvalde police as an example of the extreme disinvestment from public good that the neoliberal era has created. Next, David and Emma tackle the crisis of Texas’ power grid, as Ted Cruz blames rising prices on the (nonexistent) Texas Green New Deal, rather than their hyper-privatized power grid which serves profit overall, including a recent approval of price-fixing for Bitcoin mining while the rest of the state is encouraged to minimize electricity consumption in +100ºF Weather. Griscom wraps up the interview by diving into HIS story of Texas, as he dissects and rejects this recent move by the far-right to paint a picture of a Straight, White, conservative, Christian Texas that’s being invaded by Trans folks and immigrants, and walks through the challenges to Abbott’s recent bill to investigate the parents of gender-affirmed trans kids. Then, Emma is joined by Stylianos Karolidis and Sumathy Kumar as they walk through the broader and more specific strategic goals of NYC-DSA’s “For the Many” slate of 13 candidates across the City and up into the Hudson Valley, from pushing climate-centric discourse and working to reinvent NY housing policy to changing the culture of NY State Politics as a whole.

And in the Fun Half: Anthony from NY calls in to reminisce on the beauty of Michael Brooks, Emma covers Ivanka coming out against her father’s Big Lie, and parses through the myriad paths of culpability around 1/6, with a particular focus on the GOP enablers of the “Big Lie” conspiracy and the belief in insurrectionists that Donald Trump had asked this, and nothing else, of them. Dave Rubin dives into his friendship with Ben Shapiro, who thinks he is a sinner and mentally ill due to his marriage, and Crowder continues his transphobic bent, plus, your calls and IMs!

Help out the DSA For The Many slate here! https://fortheturnout.nyc/