Best Terrence McNally Podcasts (2025)

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Episode 705: MICHAEL ANSARA-THE HARD WORK OF HOPE-a memoir of a lifetime of activism 1:00:00

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8d ago1:00:00

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In 1969, my senior year at Harvard, anti-war activists took over University Hall and their brutal removal by state troopers led to a month-long strike. Today’s guest, longtime activist and organizer, MICHAEL ANSARA, was chair of the strike committee. We’ll talk about his new memoir, THE HARD WORK OF HOPE, the parallels between the late ‘60s and the…

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Episode 704: ROBERT JAY LIFTON (2020)-LOSING REALITY-Lifton died last week at 99 1:00:46

13d ago1:00:46

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Here’s my 2020 conversation with psychiatrist & author ROBERT JAY LIFTON whose work led him into some of history’s darkest corners - Hiroshima survivors, Nazi doctors, torture at Abu Ghraib. I turned to him as the pandemic raged and the BLM protests were in full bloom. We talk about his book LOSING REALITY: On Cults, Cultism, and the Mindset of Pol…

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Episode 703: HERE COMES THE SUN-BILL McKIBBEN-co-founder 350.org, ThirdAct.org 59:46

20d ago59:46

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I talk with BILL McKIBBEN (The New Yorker), co-founder of both the global climate campaign, 350.org, and, in 2021, ThirdAct for folks 60 & above. In these dark times, his new book, HERE COMES THE SUN offers hope – not with happy talk but with a clear declaration of facts: Solar and wind are no longer alternative fuels. They are the cheapest as well…

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Episode 702: 1) DOUGLAS BRINKLEY(2006)-20th anni of Katrina, The Great Deluge 2) RAFE ESQUITH(2005)-Hobart Elementary’s young Shakespearians 56:44

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First half: This weekend marks the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Here’s my 2006 conversation with Douglas Brinkley about his book The Great Deluge, in which he investigates the failures of government at every level, and traces the character flaws, inexperience, and ulterior motives that allowed the disaster to devastate the Gulf Coast. Sec…

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Episode 701: Trump v Rule of Law-Legal scholar ROBERT POST re Supreme Court, 1st Amendment, Free Speech, Academic Freedom, 58:38

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What happens when the President plays mob boss - “How much can I get away with? Who’s going to stop me?” I talk with American legal scholar ROBERT POST of Yale Law School about the rule of law, the American legal system, free speech, academic freedom, public morality, and the Supreme Court’s weakness in the age of Trump. You can learn more at law.y…

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Episode 700: ROBERT FULLER (2003)-Fought “Rankism”-the abuse of rank-died July 15th at 88 1:02:16

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A bittersweet truth about having recorded these conversations for 25 years is how many of my guests are no longer with us. I went back through my files and found at least 60 - Sixty human beings worthy, willing, and able to share an hour with me. Here’s my 2003 conversation with ROBERT FULLER, who crusaded for the dignity of all and against what he…

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Episode 699: LIZZIE WADE-How APOCALYPSE Has Transformed Our World-Is there an upside to down? 1:03:54

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In just the last two decades, we’ve experienced a global financial crash, a pandemic, multiple wars, and a climate crisis with repeated natural disasters. I talk with LIZZIE WADE about the ideas in APOCALYPSE: How Catastrophe Transformed Our World and Can Forge New Futures. If a society enters a cataclysm - climate crisis, war, plague, etc. - behav…

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Episode 698: My 1989 speech to my 20th Harvard reunion - prescient & tragically hopeful 15:28

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A couple of weeks ago I recorded myself reading a speech I originally gave June 9, 1989 - 36 years ago - at my 20th college reunion, Harvard class of 1969. Ours was the year of the University Hall takeover and the campus strike. In ’89, I was fully involved in the entertainment industry. In the speech, I asked how we were living up to our youthful …

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Episode 697: (1) Can government save capitalism from itself? CHRIS HUGHES, Facebook co-founder, (2) my prescient & tragic 1989 speech to my 20th Harvard reunion 59:45

3M ago59:45

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As we reel and resist Trump’s careless breakdown of government, society and the economy, I speak with CHRIS HUGHES, a co-founder of Facebook, who left the company in 2007 and called for META’s breakup in 2019. In the first 45 minutes, we talk about the current state of tech and then dive into his new book, MARKETCRAFTERS: The 100-Year Struggle to S…

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Episode 696: 30 years of research: Inequality hurts everybody-even the rich-Wilkinson & Pickett-THE SPIRIT LEVEL 59:25

3M ago59:25

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In Trump’s tax bill, 60% of cuts go to the top 20% (income: $217K+). More than a third to top 5% ($460K+) Households earning less than $51K will see income drop next year. Top 0.1% will get an average boost of $390K. Time for one of my favorite episodes: my January 2010 conversation with Richard Wilkinson & Kate Pickett about their groundbreaking b…

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Episode 695: TIM JACKSON, THE CARE ECONOMY - What if we kept score by valuing what actually matters? 58:30

3M ago58:30

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When I decided to speak with TIM JACKSON about his new book, THE CARE ECONOMY, I had second thoughts. What could be further from our current reality in the US than a care economy? Would talking about it seem naïve? But as Robert Reich makes clear, “We need to demonstrate not just against Trump but also for the America we want,” and this episode is …

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Episode 694: DON INGBER (2012)-Biotech Breakthroughs at Harvard’s Wyss Institute reveal costs of Trump’s research cuts 1:00:00

3M ago1:00:00

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The chaos Trump is creating in Southern California is a distraction from the other cruel, careless, and destructive actions of his administration. The assault on higher education and Harvard University in particular will cost us enormously, especially in terms of medicine and science. Here’s my 2012 conversation with Don Ingber, founding director o…

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Episode 693: Why do humans thrive? What about AI?-LESLIE VALIANT-THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EDUCABLE 55:46

4M ago55:46

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Today’s conversation with Turing Award-winning computer scientist LESLIE VALIANT explores a question I find myself returning to over and over again – What makes us human? What unique abilities have allowed homo sapiens to succeed, flourish, and dominate – knowing it’s not our size, strength, or speed. His new book, THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EDUCABLE:…

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Episode 692: Who was Jesus? ELAINE PAGELS - MIRACLES AND WONDER: The Historical Mystery of Jesus 1:00:00

4M ago1:00:00

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With the recent death of Pope Francis and the election of Leo XIV, feels like a good time to talk with best-selling author ELAINE PAGELS about her new book, MIRACLES AND WONDER: The Historical Mystery of Jesus. In it, she asks: Why is Jesus said to have had a virgin birth? Why do we say he rose from the dead? Did his miracles really happen and, if …

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Episode 691: CHUCK COLLINS, Inequality.org, THE WEALTH HOARDERS: How Billionaires Pay Millions to Hide Trillions 1:00:48

4M ago1:00:48

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While Trump is in the Middle East making family business deals, House Republicans today proposed their tax cut bill, with a price tag of nearly $5T, paid for with cuts to Medicaid, food stamps, green energy programs, and everything else DOGE took a chainsaw to. But who actually pays taxes these days? The US is now the world’s second largest tax hav…

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Episode 690: PAUL HAWKEN-Step back, reframe, connect-CARBON: The Tree of Life 58:16

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I don’t say I'm concerned about “the environment.” Rather I see our goal as a healthy relationship with the rest of nature. PAUL HAWKEN’s new book CARBON: The Tree of Life takes a step back from the problem-solving approach of most of his work. He calls us to a deeper understanding of our place in the scheme of things as absolutely essential not ju…

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Episode 689: THE SQUARE (2013)-Director & Producer of Oscar-nominated doc on Egyptian protests that overthrew Mubarak 58:56

5M ago58:56

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When we the people are called to show up in the streets over and over in growing numbers till the powers that enable Trump withdraw support and authoritarian dominoes fall, here’s my 2013 conversation about Egypt’s Arab spring. The documentary THE SQUARE puts you in Tahrir Square as revolution swirls around you. The film follows a handful of activi…

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Episode 688: JAMES THORNTON-ClientEarth-Crushing polluters in court around the globe 1:02:35

5M ago1:02:35

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Wrapping up Earth Month, I speak with JAMES THORNTON, founder of ClientEarth, the preeminent environmental law group, with 300 lawyers holding governments and companies accountable across the globe. He steps down as the group’s president this month after 18 years. Their work training the Chinese - including their Supreme Court - in environmental la…

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Episode 687: PAUL HAWKEN (2021)-REGENERATION: Placing Life at the Center of All We Do 59:49

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Trump sows cruel, careless, criminal, incompetent chaos - even in Earth Month. Here’s my 2021 conversation with PAUL HAWKEN about his book, REGENERATION: ENDING THE CLIMATE CRISIS IN ONE GENERATION, and the organization dedicated to making that a reality. Here’s a chance to step back or sink deeper into the promise and the challenge of making a reg…

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Episode 686: Fox’s Lone Liberal-JUAN WILLIAMS-The Rise of America's Second Civil Rights Movement 1:08:30

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In 1987, 33-year-old JUAN WILLIAMS wrote the bestselling history Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years 1954–1965, which accompanied the PBS series of the same name. Now 71, after 10 years at NPR and 28 at Fox News, he’s written New Prize for These Eyes: The Rise of America's Second Civil Rights Movement. He sees this movement rooted in Ob…

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Episode 685: WHY CIVIL RESISTANCE WORKS-ERICA CHENOWETH (2019) - When nonviolent mass protests involve 3.5%, regimes fall. 52:09

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HANDS OFF - national mobilization opposing Trump & Musk SATURDAY APRIL 5. Sponsors include Indivisible, MoveOn, Third Act, Our Revolution, Common Cause, People for American Way, Planned Parenthood, UAW, SEIU, many more. Need motivation? Here’s my 2019 conversation with ERICA CHENOWETH, Professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School and author of WHY CIVIL R…

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Episode 684: What About Climate? ALEXANDER KAUFMAN - natural & political disasters - supply & demand 1:11:20

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The destructive pace and scale of Trump2.0 makes it hard to know what deserves and demands our attention. This week we step back from daily news to focus on climate with award-winning journalist ALEXANDER KAUFMAN. We look at the toll of climate related disasters and migration; the latest on the science, what have we learned over the last year or so…

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Episode 683: How Poor Immigrant Children Succeed in Inner City Philly-SISTERS CONSTANCE TOUEY & JEANNETTE LUCEY 1:00:00

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The headlines are full of the cruel, unjust, illegal, unconstitutional, and costly treatment of immigrants by the Trump administration. Here’s my 2019 conversation with SISTERS CONSTANCE TOUEY and JEANNETTE LUCEY. They met in 1984 when both were assigned to a parish K-8 school in inner city Philadelphia. Their book, DO IT BETTER: How the Kids of St…

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Episode 682: Can we the people join forces? DIANA McLAIN SMITH-REMAKING THE SPACE BETWEEN US 59:52

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It’s up to us. Political parties, political players, and the media promote and profit from our division. We the people have ultimate responsibility for healing our politics and our society. In her book, REMAKING THE SPACE BETWEEN US: How Citizens Can Work Together to Build a Better Future for All, DIANA McLAIN SMITH has good news. The media doesn’t…

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Episode 681: JULIE BATTILANA-POWER FOR ALL-How do we get it and use it to change the world? 1:00:00

7M ago1:00:00

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Feeling pissed, panicked, powerless? That’s what they want. How do we turn things around? Here’s my refreshing 2021 conversation with JULIE BATTILANA, Harvard professor and founder of its Social Innovation and Change Initiative about her book POWER FOR ALL. It's a call not only to understand and assert power in our own lives, but also to collective…

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Episode 680: Rich walk. Poor go to jail. AMY BACH (2009)-ORDINARY INJUSTICE 55:14

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When Trump sits in the White House dispensing pardons to other convicted felons - and an ambassadorship or two, when he was able to run out the clock on justice with his political donors paying most of his legal bills, when so many actions this administration has taken in the first month serve to eliminate or disable accountability or oversight… He…

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Episode 679: JAMES STEELE-of investigative reporting team, Barlett & Steele-AMERICA: What Went Wrong? The Crisis Deepens 1:00:00

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I’m honored to talk with JAMES STEELE, of the investigative reporting team, Barlett & Steele. He and DON BARLETT worked together for over 50 years, won journalism’s highest awards, wrote nine books. Don Barlett died this past fall. Their 1991 Philadelphia Inquirer series America: What Went Wrong? showed how Wall Street and Washington were squeezing…

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Episode 678: JEAN GUERRERO(2020)-HATEMONGER: Stephen Miller, Donald Trump, & the White Nationalist Agenda 59:51

8M ago59:51

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Ever the real estate guy, Trump unleashes a demo crew on the government, says US should develop Gaza’s beachfront. Elon Musk invades federal agencies, accesses all our data, brags about throwing our global humanitarian aid in a wood chipper. Criminal, cruel, and unconstitutional. Here’s my 2020 conversation with JEAN GUERRERO, about her book, HATEM…

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Episode 677: STEVE SCHMIDT-Straight talk from former GOP strategist, co-founder, Lincoln Project 1:20:03

8M ago1:20:03

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A week into Trump 2.0, the cruelty and overreach are on full display, and the media and the Democrats are not up to the challenge. I turn to longtime Republican strategist, STEVE SCHMIDT, who abandoned the GOP in 2018 and co-founded the Lincoln Project. He’s now perhaps the most articulate, full-throated and damning critic of his former party and t…

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Episode 676: The time I was the guest. TERRENCE McNALLY(2014)-interviewed by SARA DAVIDSON 56:11

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TERRENCE McNALLY is my guest this week. In February 2014, I took a hiatus from this show after 17 years. I thought it might be the end of the line, and before signing off, turned to journalist and best-selling author, SARA DAVIDSON, to interview me. I returned to these conversations In 2017 after Trump’s election. So here we are - 11 years after th…

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Episode 675: A life in books & newspapers-editor & publisher-STEVE WASSERMAN, TELL ME SOMETHING. TELL ME ANYTHING. EVEN IF IT’S A LIE. 1:00:00

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STEVE WASSERMAN has spent half a century in the world of books, newspapers, and ideas, as an opinion editor at the LA Times, editor of the LA Times Book Review; and as an editor at several major publishers. We’ll talk about that lifetime of work, how publishing and the press have changed, and about his first book, a memoir, TELL ME SOMETHING. TELL …

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Episode 674: What were we thinking last time? NAOMI KLEIN (2017) NO IS NOT ENOUGH: Resisting Trump's Shock Politics and Winning the World We Need 54:48

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With Trump acting as if he were already president - and madly so - a number of the wealthy and powerful are stepping over each other to obey in advance. A clear step on the path toward authoritarianism cited by both Tim Snyder in On Tyranny and Daniel Ziblatt & Stephen Levitsky in How Democracies Die - here’s my conversation with Naomi Klein, recor…

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Episode 673: SAM DALEY HARRIS-RECLAIMING OUR DEMOCRACY-Transformational Advocacy Between Elections 1:00:10

9M ago1:00:10

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Happy New Year! Let’s work together locally & personally in 2025 as citizens and neighbors to overcome the political and media failures that brought us to this place. Here’s my conversation with SAM DALEY-HARRIS, founder of the anti-poverty lobby Results, about RECLAIMING OUR DEMOCRACY: Every Citizen’s Guide to Transformational Advocacy (2024 editi…

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Episode 672: DREW GILPIN FAUST-1st female Harvard president-NECESSARY TROUBLE: Growing Up Southern in Midcentury 1:02:05

9M ago1:02:05

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What was it like for a girl to grow up in Virginia in the days of legal segregation and civil rights battles? What was it like to go to college in the days of the women’s and anti-war movements? The first female president of Harvard (2007-18), DREW GILPIN FAUST, and I are contemporaries, and we look back together at our young years in the South and…

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Episode 671: We were warned-DON BARLETT (RIP) & JIM STEELE-The BETRAYAL of the AMERICAN DREAM (2012) 58:04

10M ago58:04

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I was saddened to learn of the recent passing of Donald Barlett. Here's my 2012 conversation with him & Jim Steele, about their book, Betrayal of the American Dream - one of my favorites. Had the Democratic party heeded their warnings about rising inequality & the destruction of the Middle Class, Trump would never have been President. To say nothin…

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Episode 670: MARSHALL GANZ-PEOPLE, POWER, CHANGE: Organizing for Democratic Renewal-lessons of MLK, UFW, Obama ’08 1:02:10

10M ago1:02:10

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MARSHALL GANZ worked on organizing campaigns with Mississippi Freedom Summer in 1964 and Cesar Chavez and UFW for 16 years, helped devise the grass-roots organizing model for Obama’s 2008 campaign, and teaches organizing and public narrative at Harvard. We talk about his life’s work and his new book PEOPLE, POWER, CHANGE:Organizing for Democratic R…

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Episode 669: Good News on the Menu-PAULA DANIELS (2019)-Transforming our food system one county, one school district at a time 1:00:00

10M ago1:00:00

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I talk with PAULA DANIELS, Co-Founder, Chair of the Board of the Center for Good Food Purchasing, and recently announced initial director of the Los Angeles County Office of Food Equity, which aims to address the root causes of food-system problems in the region. We talk about what it takes to pull together elements of business, entrepreneurism, po…

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Episode 668: THOM HARTMANN-HIDDEN HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN DREAM: The Demise of the Middle Class & the Roots of MAGA 29:57

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In 2024, Republicans won the popular vote for only the second time since 1980. After the worst four years of his life, Trump, running against the best administration for labor in years, won bigger numbers than 2020 among working class voters - including Blacks & Latinos. Hartmann’s new book, THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN DREAM: The Demise of t…

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Episode 667: ROB JOHNSON & I RESPOND TO ELECTION-Every election now a vote for change. Seeds sown for last 40 years. 1:00:00

11M ago1:00:00

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As we have for the last few elections, ROB JOHNSON - Executive Director of the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET) and host of podcast ECONOMICS & BEYOND - and I offer our post-mortems. Biden’s late withdrawal meant the Dems skipped primaries, debates, and a convention that would have tested candidates and messages. 2024 was another “change”…

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Episode 666: She got Alito to confess his politics-LAUREN WINDSOR-new doc-GONZO FOR DEMOCRACY 42:10

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LAUREN WINDSOR calls herself an “advocacy journalist”. Her biggest scoops usually come when she goes undercover among right-wing pols and donors to secretly record things they don’t want us to hear. Her accidental truth-tellers include Sam Alito, Rudy Giuliani, Roger Stone, John Eastman, and Ted Cruz. Executive producer of The Undercurrent and exec…

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Episode 665: STEVE UJLAKI-Must See Doc-BAD FAITH: Christian Nationalism’s Unholy War on Democracy 1:00:00

11M ago1:00:00

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STEPHEN UJLAKI’s documentary BAD FAITH opens with the following text: “Christian Nationalism is a political movement that believes America was founded as a Christian nation privileging Christianity over all other faiths. Masquerading as religion, this ideology exploits scripture and sacred symbols to achieve extremist objectives.” The film lays out…

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Episode 664: GREG PALAST-VIGILANTES INC-GOP takes voter suppression & election theft to next level 34:42

12M ago34:42

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I’ve been talking about voter suppression with GREG PALAST since 2002. Known for his investigative reports for BBC, The Guardian, and Rolling Stone, his new documentary, VIGILANTES INC: America’s New Vote Suppression Hitmen, narrated by Rosario Dawson and produced by Martin Sheen, reveals that in 43 states individual citizens are able to challenge …

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Episode 663: WENDELL POTTER-Health Insurance Whistle-Blower-Profits over patients and only getting worse 1:03:07

12M ago1:03:07

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I get the dirt from WENDELL POTTER about our broken healthcare system, especially the role of insurance companies, who consistently put profit above the health and lives of patients. Potter walked away from his job at one of the country's largest health insurers to emerge as a critic of the industry and an advocate of reform. He’s a best-selling au…

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Episode 662: KEVIN BOYLE, THE SHATTERING: America in the 60s-Are the Silent Majority today’s undecided MidWest voters? 58:01

12M ago58:01

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Here’s my 2022 conversation with National Book Award winner, KEVIN BOYLE, about his book, THE SHATTERING: AMERICA IN THE 1960s. He reminds us that, after the Depression and two World Wars, the Silent Majority craved security not change. I suspect this history lesson offers us a window into the minds and the worldviews of many of the crucial undecid…

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Episode 661: ARLIE HOCHSCHILD-STOLEN PRIDE: Loss, Shame, and the Rise of the Right 1:00:27

1y ago1:00:27

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ARLIE HOCHSCHILD is the author of best-seller, STRANGERS IN THEIR OWN LAND: Anger & Mourning on the American Right. Five years talking with folks in Southern Louisiana revealed a “deep story” that holds their political contradictions together - they’re waiting in line for the American Dream and Democrats help others - Blacks, Latinos, LGBTQ - cut i…

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Episode 660: How progressives win in rural America-CHLOE MAXMIN & CANYON WOODWARD, DIRT ROAD REVIVAL 56:06

1y ago56:06

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The Democrats have for too long ceded rural voters to the GOP. When the solution to minority rule is voting, connecting with and winning over rural voters is essential. Here’s my 2022 conversation with Maine state senator CHLOE MAXMIN and CANYON WOODWARD about the the book they’ve co-authored, DIRT ROAD REVIVAL. It tells the story of their winning …

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Episode 659: The Walls We Don’t See-RICHARD KAHLENBERG, EXCLUDED: Snob Zoning, NIMBYism, Class Bias 1:11:35

1y ago1:11:35

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Blind spots. In his book, EXCLUDED: How Snob Zoning, NIMBYism, and Class Bias Build the Walls We Don't See, RICHARD KAHLENBERG points out not only how restrictive zoning laws negatively influence all sorts of things in this country, but also that such laws are more likely or more restrictive in communities that are otherwise more liberal and progre…

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Episode 658: 1) PHIL DONAHUE (2007), 2) MUHAMMAD YUNUS (2008) - Wise elders in the news 59:36

1y ago59:36

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This episode, archived conversations with two wise elders recently in the news. First, my 2007 conversation with PHIL DONAHUE who died August 18th at the age of 88. Donahue always seemed to be as focused on the common good as he was on ratings - while delivering well on both. We talked about his decades of work as well as Body of War, the documenta…

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Episode 657: RANDY OLSON - HOUSTON, WE HAVE A NARRATIVE - a simple method to create compelling stories 1:05:32

1y ago1:05:32

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RANDY OLSON earned a Harvard Ph.D. in Biology and was a tenured professor when he quit and moved to LA to attend USC film school. His goal: help scientists learn to communicate better. We receive so much input that we can no longer deal with separate bits of information, so we look for narratives. He’s the author of DON’T BE SUCH A SCIENTIST and HO…

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Episode 656: JOSHUA DOUGLAS (2019) VOTE FOR US: How to Take Back Our Elections & Change the Future of Voting 59:03

1y ago59:03

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80-some days till the polls close. The Harris-Walz campaign is riding a wave of momentum in the country to move past Trump that feels sustainable to me. I assume Trump/the Right/the GOP will get very dirty. That’s a reality, but so is my 2019 conversation with JOSHUA DOUGLAS, about his book - VOTE FOR US: How to Take Back Our Elections and Change t…