Best May Wu Podcasts (2025)

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How LA Defeated Trump, Plus Bob Dylan’s Xmas | Start Making Sense 37:37

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1d ago37:37

37:37

In June, Trump sent more than 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to occupy Los Angeles and terrorize the immigrant population. But by the end of July, almost all the Guard and the Marines were gone. Bill Gallegos explains how that happened and what other cities can learn from it. Also: Bob Dylan fans have been puzzled and troubled by his C…

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The Living Legacy of Norman Podhoretz w/ David Klion and Ronnie Grinberg | The Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer 52:12

3d ago52:12

52:12

Norman Podhoretz, one of the founding fathers of neoconservatism, died on December 16 at age 95. His legacy is a complex one, since in recent decades neoconservatism has been supplanted in many ways by American First conservatism. But many aspects of Podhoretz’s influence still play a shaping role on right. I take up Podhoretz’s career with David K…

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Thailand–Cambodia Fighting, Venezuela Escalation, Yemen Separatists | American Prestige 47:44

6d ago47:44

47:44

Subscribe now to skip the ads and get all of our episodes. Use the holiday discount code XMAS2025 for a $45 annual subscription (offer valid through 1/1/26)! Jolly Saint Nick is giving the U.S. government lots of coal this year, a boon to fossil fuel companies. In this week’s news: Thailand–Cambodia fighting resumes despite Trump’s ceasefire claim …

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How Effective is Australia’s Social Media Age Limit? w/ Cam Wilson | Tech Won't Save Us 59:23

10d ago59:23

59:23

Paris Marx is joined by Cam Wilson to discuss the new social media age limit in Australia, including how successful the rollout has been so far and the missed opportunities of taking a more nuanced regulatory approach. Cam Wilson is an associate editor at ⁠Crikey⁠ and writes ⁠The Sizzle⁠ newsletter. He’s a co-author of ⁠Conspiracy Nation⁠: Exposing…

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What Explains Epstein’s Friends? Plus, Crossword Politics | Start Making Sense 33:00

8d ago33:00

33:00

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

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Trump’s National Security Strategy w/ Julia Gledhill and Van Jackson | American Prestige 1:09:49

9d ago1:09:49

1:09:49

Danny and Derek welcome to the show Julia Gledhill and Van Jackson, co-hosts of the Un-Diplomatic podcast, to talk about the Trump administration’s newly released National Security Strategy. They discuss how the document leans on civilizational framing, portrays competition as existential conflict, omits diplomacy and institutions in favor of coerc…

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The Transformation of the New York Waterfront w/ Karrie Jacobs | The Nation Podcast 30:07

10d ago30:07

30:07

In its heyday, the Bush Terminal industrial complex spanned several city blocks along Brooklyn’s waterfront and employed more than 35,000 people. Built by Irving Bush in the late nineteenth century, it was an "early intermodal shipping hub." Goods arrived by water and left by rail. Bananas, coffee, and cotton came in through doors on one side of th…

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Trump’s Global Culture War w/ Stephen Wertheim | The Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer 38:39

11d ago38:39

38:39

The Trump administration has released a new National Security Strategy that is a marked shift not only from earlier administrations but also Trump’s first term in office. While the new policy statement eschews the goal of global hegemony, it promotes culture war in Europe by promising support of anti-immigration political parties, economic rivalry …

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Gaza Aid Blocked Amid Winter Storm, Thailand–Cambodia Conflict Resumes, M23 Advances in DRC | American Prestige 42:45

16d ago42:45

42:45

Subscribe now to skip the ads and get all of our episodes. Listen to our Chinese Prestige miniseries! Danny and Derek will sadly not be doing a CBS News town hall event. This week in the news: the Thailand–Cambodia conflict resumes (1:47); the DRC–M23 conflict also resumes as M23 makes new advances (7:05); in Gaza, questions remain over the “second…

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Europe’s Subservience to the United States w/ Ben Wray | Tech Won’t Save Us 59:11

14d ago59:11

59:11

Paris Marx is joined by Ben Wray to discuss Europe’s capitulation to pressure from the United States on Nexperia, as well as on digital protections and labor rights that could have big implications for the future of work. Ben Wray is a researcher specializing in the platform economy. He writes the Gig Economy Project newsletter and his most recent …

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Republicans and Obamacare, Again; plus Early, Early Bob Dylan / Start Making Sense 43:00

15d ago43:00

43:00

Republicans are about to end Obamcare subsidies, driving up premiums for 20 million people during the year of the midterm elections. How have they managed to end up after all these years with no health insurance plan of their own? John Nichols comments. Also: Bob Dylan’s earliest recordings have just been released—the first is from 1956 when he was…

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Fireside Chat with Fiverr Founder and CEO Micah Kaufman 38:59

16d ago38:59

38:59

This fireside chat with Micha Kaufman, founder and CEO of Fiverr, hosted by Sean Emory and the Avory team. The discussion covers Fiverr's origin story, its evolution into a leading global freelance marketplace, and the dynamics of its two-sided platform connecting buyers and sellers across nearly 800 service categories. Micha explains how Fiverr ha…

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Sudan’s Endless War in Darfur and Beyond w/ Mat Nashed | American Prestige 1:20:17

16d ago1:20:17

1:20:17

Derek and journalist Mat Nashed assess the state of Sudan’s ongoing civil war, particularly the fall of Al-Fasher and the Rapid Support Forces’ consolidation of control across much of Darfur. They discuss the throughline from the 2003 genocide to today; the wider humanitarian catastrophe; the shifting battlefield in Kordofan; the growing role of dr…

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The Corporate Landlord Tied to Israeli Bombs and US Evictions w/ Thomas Birmingham | The Nation Podcast 33:53

17d ago33:53

33:53

On one side of the world, a major corporate landlord is evicting tenants by jacking up rents by hundreds of dollars. On the other, its parent company is linked to Israeli bombs, genocide, and illegal settlements. This is the multibillion-dollar story of American Landmark — one of the country’s most eviction-happy landlords — and Elco, a corporate p…

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The Rise of the Far Right in Europe w/ David Broder | The Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer 44:48

18d ago44:48

44:48

Only a few years ago, European elites were patting themselves on the back for fending off the tide of right-wing anti-system parties (often styled as populists). But recent polls in France, Germany and the United Kingdom show that that the far right is once again gaining traction, thanks in no small part centrist governments that have demoralized t…

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A Certain Mistake: Jackie Ess on Tolstoy’s Resurrection | Reading Writers 48:55

19d ago48:55

48:55

Charlotte delves into Ecclesiastes through the work of liberation theologist Elsa Támez (When the Horizons Close) before Jo shares some of Pierre Guyotat’s horny, rapturous literary memoir, Idiocy. Icon of many RW conversations past, the thoughtful Jackie Ess then joins to discuss Tolstoy’s crank-inflected final novel, Resurrection. Jackie Ess is t…

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U.S. Moves Toward Venezuela Attack, Double-Tap Strike in Caribbean, DRC–Rwanda Peace Deal Collapses | American Prestige 50:21

23d ago50:21

50:21

Subscribe now to skip the ads and get more content. Don’t forget to download our Chinese Prestige miniseries, currently on sale for $5. Annual subscribers get the series free! Despite sitting on a large surplus of Labubus, Danny and Derek work hard to bring you the news. This week: in Russia-Ukraine, new US diplomacy goes nowhere (1:08), Ukraine is…

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Europe is Gutting Its Tech Regulations w/ Aline Blankertz | Tech Won't Save Us 57:20

21d ago57:20

57:20

Paris Marx is joined by Aline Blankertz to discuss how right-wing governments and international corporations in the European Union are pushing to gut tech regulations with the goal of boosting AI development in hope of improving economic growth and geopolitical standing. Aline Blankertz is a cofounder of Structural Integrity. Our Sponsors: * Check …

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Mamdani's Socialism—and Us; plus Football and Concussions | Start Making Sense 38:46

22d ago38:46

38:46

Zorhan Mamdani takes office in four weeks as the first socialist mayor of New York City. How should we understand the constraints he faces, without accepting those constraints? Bhaskar Sunkara has our analysis; he’s president of The Nation and author of ‘The Socialist Manifesto.’ Plus: Sports Talk on The Nation podcast! Of course Thanksgiving was a…

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The Political Economy of Porn w/ Molly Lambert | American Prestige 54:51

23d ago54:51

54:51

Danny and Derek welcome to the show Molly Lambert, creator of the JENNAWORLD podcast, to talk about the rise of the modern porn industry and its roots in L.A.’s San Fernando Valley. They discuss the medium’s origins in underground stag films and the porno chic era; the shift to home video and the corporate studio model; breakout stars like Ginger L…

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Liberal Philanthropy and the Fight for Democracy w/ David Callahan | The Nation Podcast 38:51

24d ago38:51

38:51

It’s no surprise that liberal philanthropy — a longtime pillar of the Democratic establishment — has become one of the Trump administration’s latest targets. As David Callahan writes in our December issue, liberal foundations “have often been depicted as the great puppet masters of the left, bankrolling and directing a who’s who of progressive grou…

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Reframing Resistance (Live from NYC Climate Week) | A People's Climate 29:46

24d ago29:46

29:46

For this special season finale, recorded live during NYC Climate Week, host Shilpi Chhotray convenes a powerful storytelling event with three frontline media makers: Chantel Comardelle, Alexandra Norris, and B. Preston Lyles. This is more than a conversation about films or campaigns — it’s an intimate window into the lived realities of climate and …

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French Sicko: Annelise Ogaard on Gabrielle Wittkop’s Murder Most Serene | Reading Writers 56:36

25d ago56:36

56:36

Jo and Charlotte discuss secret gardens, indoor kids, and Peter Pan’s baby teeth before they’re joined by culture-shaping Annelise Ogaard, who introduces listeners to the lavish, creepy world of Gabrielle Wittkop’s fiction. Annelise Ogaard is a writer, translator, filmmaker, vibesmith, area woman, and friend of the pod. She has translated a variety…

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Data Centers Are a Climate Enemy w/ Ketan Joshi | Tech Won't Save Us 58:30

28d ago58:30

58:30

Paris Marx is joined by Ketan Joshi to discuss how hyperscale data centers are fueling the consumption of more oil and gas, what that means for climate targets, and the insidious relationship between the tech and fossil fuel industries. Ketan Joshi is a climate writer and data analyst based in Oslo working with climate and environmental groups. Our…

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Trump condemns Marjorie Taylor Greene, praises Mamdani; plus Alice Waters on ‘A School Lunch Revolution’ / Start Making Sense 41:08

1M ago41:08

41:08

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

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Chinese Prestige: From May Fourth to Mao w/ Yidi Wu | American Prestige 52:20

30d ago52:20

52:20

In lieu of a typical Tuesday episode this week, we are releasing the first episode of our new miniseries Chinese Prestige. Annual subscribers already have access, while everyone else can get the 8 episodes for a whopping $5 for two weeks only. Enjoy! In this first episode of Chinese Prestige, Yidi, Danny, and Derek trace the origins of the Chinese …

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Angelo Herndon and the Radical Politics of Free Speech w/ Randall Kennedy | The Nation Podcast 36:19

1M ago36:19

36:19

Angelo Herndon was a Black coal miner turned Communist activist who was repeatedly “arrested, convicted of vagrancy, and incarcerated” for his efforts to educate and mobilize workers. In 1932, he helped organize an interracial protest against a county decision to cut off relief for the poor. But it wasn’t simply the protest that led to his chain-ga…

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The Age of Larry Summers and Jeffrey Epstein w/ Doug Henwood | The Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer 42:48

1M ago42:48

42:48

The famed economist Larry Summers, not for the first time, finds himself the center of a scandal. He’s had to take a leave from Harvard, where he teaches, because of embarrassing emails he had with his late friend Jeffrey Epstein. I talked to economic journalist and Nation contributor Doug Henwood, a long-time Summers watcher, about the career of t…

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Metaphysically Blown Away: Torrey Peters on Zoë Schlanger’s The Light Eaters | Reading Writers 1:08:45

1M ago1:08:45

1:08:45

Charlotte overcomes her resistance to novels about sexual abuse in order to read Kate Elizabeth Russell’s excellent My Dark Vanessa, after which Jo introduces listeners to the freewheeling criminality of Diane DiMassa’s Hothead Paisan: Homicidal Lesbian. The ferociously intelligent Torrey Peters then joins for a conversation about plant consciousne…

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MBS White House Visit, US Pushes New Ukraine Deal, UN Votes on Gaza | American Prestige 41:33

1M ago41:33

41:33

Danny and Derek are praying for Kim Kardashian to pass the bar. In this week’s news: Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia visits the White House (1:56); the U.S. pushes a new Ukraine peace deal (8:58); Israel continues killing people in Gaza (12:30), Palestinians’ shelters are failing in heavy rain (13:57), the UN votes on Trump’s Gaza plan (15:22),…

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Peter Thiel is the Real Antichrist w/ Gil Duran | Tech Won't Save Us 1:01:04

1M ago1:01:04

1:01:04

Paris Marx is joined by Gil Duran to discuss how Peter Thiel’s bizarre obsession with the antichrist is really a desperate and embarrassing attempt to divert attention from his own misdeeds. Gil Duran writes The Nerd Reich and is working on his first book, The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Global Democracy. Our Sponsors: * Check…

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House Republicans Defy Trump; plus, when WWII Vets Came Home | Start Making Sense 34:00

1M ago34:00

34:00

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

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Dignity, Memory, and Surveillance w/ Lea Ypi | American Prestige 57:43

1M ago57:43

57:43

Danny and Derek speak with political theorist and author Lea Ypi about her new book Indignity: A Life Reimagined, which explores how personal memory intersects with imperial collapse, nationalism, and the surveillance state. They discuss her grandmother’s journey from Ottoman Salonika to Albania amid the rise of competing political projects; archiv…

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Jeffrey Epstein and the American Empire w/ Van Jackson | The Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer 41:05

1M ago41:05

41:05

The scandal around Jeffrey Epstein, who trafficked and abused children and died in a prison cell in 2019, has never gone away. It continues to explode now that House Democrats have released thousands of emails from Epstein and his cronies. But while the political class and mainstream media are understandably focused on the sex scandal, another dime…

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Setting the House on Fire: Lauren Michele Jackson on Nettie Jones’ Fish Tales | Reading Writers 56:27

1M ago56:27

56:27

This week, Jo discovers the seminal elegance of Sylvia Wynter’s Black Metamorphosis: New Natives in a New World, while Charlotte considers how well she would fare if she traveled back in time to the era of Alexander the Great, as depicted in Mary Renault’s The Persian Boy. Then, the dazzling Lauren Michele Jackson joins to discuss the chaotic, thri…

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(Solar) Power to the People with Elizabeth Yeampierre | A People's Climate 25:09

1M ago25:09

25:09

In this episode of A People’s Climate, host Shilpi Chhotray sits down with Elizabeth Yeampierre, veteran organizer and executive director of UPROSE, Brooklyn’s oldest Latino community-based organization, to explore how frontline communities are taking climate action into their own hands. In a capitalist world that prioritizes bigger, faster, and mo…

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Thailand–Cambodia Ceasefire Breaks Down, U.S. Escalates Military Presence Around Venezuela, Gaza Ceasefire Framework Stalls w/ Nathaniel Powell | American Prestige 54:59

1M ago54:59

54:59

Subscribe now to skip the ads and get all of our content! Danny and Derek are vigorously programmed to bring you the news headlines. This week: the Thai-Cambodia ceasefire breaks down as border fire and incidents escalate (0:30); in Gaza, Trump’s framework stalls while governments debate the shape and purpose of an international security force (4:2…

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Saudi Arabia is Using Games to Improve Its Image w/ Nathan Grayson | Tech Won't Save Us 56:02

1M ago56:02

56:02

Paris Marx is joined by Nathan Grayson to discuss how Saudi Arabia is buying its way into the sports, comedy, and video game industries in order to broaden its investment portfolio and launder its international reputation. Nathan Grayson is a cofounder of Aftermath and the author of Stream Big: The Triumphs and Turmoils of Twitch and the Stars Behi…

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Mamdani’s Momentum, plus ‘The Radical Fund’ | Start Making Sense 41:47

1M ago41:47

41:47

As mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani will be the first socialist in American history to hold significant power. It’s a huge opportunity, and a huge responsibility. Bhaskar Sunkara, president of The Nation and author of “The Socialist Manifesto,” will comment. Also: How a band of visionaries and a million dollars upended America – in the 1920s,…

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Silicon Valley and the Israeli Occupation w/ Omar Zahzah | American Prestige 49:04

1M ago49:04

49:04

Derek is joined by Omar Zahzah, Assistant Professor of Arab Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas Studies at San Francisco State University, to talk about his book Terms of Servitude: Zionism, Silicon Valley, and Digital Settler Colonialism. They discuss the Sheikh Jarrah uprising and the digital front of the Palestinian struggle, the difference between…

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The Cult of the Cybertruck with Maya Vinokour | The Nation Podcast 32:24

2M ago32:24

32:24

Perhaps no single object embodies our dystopian, oligarchical, ugly present more than the Cybertruck—the hulking spacecraft-cum-tank that Elon Musk has foisted on the world. The Cybertruck is unpleasant to look at, unsafe to drive, and, judging from its anemic sales, unwanted by most of the public. It has been described as an even bigger flop than …

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The American Right’s Civil War Over Israel w/ David Austin Walsh | The Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer 51:32

2M ago51:32

51:32

Much has been written about how the Israel/Palestine conflict is dividing the left, but the same is true of the right. Tucker Carlson’s interview with the antisemitic critic of Israel Nick Fuentes has created an intense debate on the right about anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism, currently playing itself out in turmoil at the Heritage Foundation. I sp…

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Reading Writers Is BACK, with Rumaan Alam | Reading Writers 1:02:54

2M ago1:02:54

1:02:54

Reading Writers is BACK, and in partnership with Bookforum Magazine! In this first episode of Season 3, hosts Jo and Charlotte delve into the (separate) letter collections of Vincent Van Gogh and D.H. Lawrence before they’re joined by superstar novelist Rumaan Alam to reflect on magazine eras of yore via Tina Brown’s The Vanity Fair Diaries. Also m…

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Seeds of Resistance with Vivien Sansour | A People's Climate 31:07

2M ago31:07

31:07

In this episode of A People’s Climate, host Shilpi Chhotray sits down with Vivien Sansour, founder of the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library, for a powerful conversation about resistance in the face of Israeli militarism, occupation, and ecological devastation. For two years, the world watched Israel’s genocide in Gaza and ethnic cleansing campaign ac…

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Block Q3 Postmortem: Foot on Gas No Breaks. 13:30

2M ago13:30

13:30

Block Q3 2025 Post-Mortem: Acceleration With An AI Engine Post Mortem In this episode of Around the Desk, Sean Emory, Founder & CIO of Avory & Co., breaks down why Block is re-accelerating across Cash App and Square, how Borrow economics compound inside the ecosystem, and why Goose AI is the quiet operating layer powering efficiency and product vel…

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Why We Need a War on Cars w/ Doug Gordon and Sarah Goodyear | Tech Won't Save Us 1:02:46

2M ago1:02:46

1:02:46

Paris Marx is joined by Doug Gordon and Sarah Goodyear to discuss the many ways cars have negatively affected society, how tech companies seek to entrench those problems, and what can really be done to improve mobility in our communities. Doug Gordon is a TV producer and writer. Sarah Goodyear is a journalist and author. They are the co-hosts of Th…

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Dem Voters Triumph; plus That Springsteen Movie 39:05

2M ago39:05

39:05

Democratic candidates won everywhere they ran on Tuesday – Abagail Spanberger and a Democratic state legislature in Virginia, Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey, Gavin Newsom’s redistricting proposition in California, and of course Zohran Mamdani in New York City. Trump didn’t even campaign against any them. John Nichols has our analysis. Also: Greil Mar…

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The Wagner Group and the New Era of Private War w/ John Lechner | American Prestige 1:03:03

2M ago1:03:03

1:03:03

Danny and Derek welcome journalist and author John Lechner to discuss his book, Death is Our Business: Russian Mercenaries in the New Era of Warfare. The conversation cuts through the mainstream narrative of the Wagner Group to explore the true history of Yevgeny Prigozhin, from his start as a product of post-Soviet "gangster capitalism" in 1990s S…

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Why the Supreme Court Will Never Stand Up to Trump with Elie Mystal | The Nation Podcast 51:46

2M ago51:46

51:46

It can be tempting to look away from the Supreme Court. The cases are complicated, the traditions archaic, and these days the decisions are almost always devastating and the reasoning often perverse. But alas, the Court is too important to ignore, particularly as John Roberts and his five ultra- conservative colleagues have turned it into a rubber …

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After the American Empire w/ Trita Parsi | The Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer 36:18

2M ago36:18

36:18

Donald Trump claims he wants to be the peace president and has even lobbied for a Nobel Peace Prize. But his foreign policy has been wildly contradictory. While the United States is clearly retrenching from many parts of the world, violence against hemispheric neighbors is increasing. I talked to Trita Parsi, co-founder and executive vice president…