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A key source of opposition to authoritarian regimes in recent history has come from universities and colleges. Trump has been attacking the independence of American universities, demanding they submit to his requirements and using massive funding cuts as his weapon. David Cole, formerly National Legal Director of the ACLU, has our analysis.

Also: Mahmoud Khalil is the Palestinian student activist at Columbia arrested and jailed by ICE. The Trump administration intends to revoke his status as a permanent resident—a green-card holder – and deport him – they say, to protect Jewish students on campus. That’s clearly a violation of freedom of speech. But is deporting Palestinian student activists a good way to protect Jewish students? David Myers comments – he teaches Jewish history at UCLA.

Plus: Katha Pollitt comments on The Right to Sex, a provocative title by the feminist philosopher Amia Srinivasan. Does anyone have a right to sex? Who does? Who doesn’t? (First recorded 2-3-2022)  3-21-2025

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As the Senate prepares to vote on the Republican budget, Harold Meyerson talks about what’s at stake for Democrats who join Chuck Schumer in voting with Republicans, and the great majority in the opposition. Plus: unions take Trump to court over firings.

Also: The Supreme Court ruled against Trump last week in the first test of his refusal to release money appropriated by Congress, and more than a dozen more similar cases are likely to come before the court –– probably including a challenge to his withholding hundreds of millions from research universities on the grounds that they have failed to protect Jewish students from antisemitism. Erwin Chemerinsky comments –– he’s dean of the Law School at UC Berkeley.

Plus: from the archives: Oliver Sacks recalls Tripping in Topanga (recorded in 2012, he died three years later).

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Trump’s forgettable State of the Union speech shows he remains in campaign mode, rather than governing: Harold Meyerson comments.

Plus: Trump suffered a big loss at The Supreme Court in the first challenge to his unconstitutional seizure of power: an order to release USAID funding appropriated by Congress. The suit was brought by Public Citizen; their co-president, Robert Weissman, will explain.

Also: John Nichols with our protest update for the week. Topics include: includes Tesla dealer showroom picketing; Ukraine support demonstrating; national park protesting, and Town Hall yelling.  3-7-2025

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“The Coup Has Failed” writes David Dayen in The American Prospect; no president has been less popular than Trump after his first month in office, and “the thing about populism is you have to be popular” – Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: House Progressive leader Ro Khanna says “economic empowerment” for the working class should become the Democrats’ “defining cause.” And he comments on this week’s battle in the House over the Republican budget.

Plus: Thomas Geoghegan argues that, to win back the working class, Democrats need to “promise something big – and keep it simple.” His suggestions: a bigger and better Social Security program, and an end to employers’ freedom to fire workers for any reason.  2-28-2025

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The House budget plan could see deep cuts to Medicaid but, “the political basis for cutting Medicaid because ‘this can only hurt the Democrats’ is really no longer the case;” also, on Kash Patel’s confirmation as the new director of the FBI: “there’s nothing like reconfiguring the FBI so it carries out whatever Donald Trump wants, which is what Kash Patel would do” – Harold Meyerson has our political update.

Plus: The first big election of 2025 will be in Wisconsin, which elects a new Supreme Court Justice on April 1. Elon Musk is spending hundreds of millions in that race. That’s both a threat, and an opportunity for Democrats. John Nichols will comment.  2-21-2025