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‘LA in the Sixties’: California Historical Society 

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854 people registered for a Zoom book talk on “LA in the Sixties,” hosted by the California Historical Society. The talk opened with a brief review of Mike Davis’s work, and then focused on politics in 1967 (the anti-war protest in Century City, where the police attacked 10,000 middle class white people), the 1968 election, and the rise–and fall–of the Peace and Freedom Party (presidential candidate Eldridge Cleaver was not allowed on the ballot – because he was too young to be president), and the 1969 Tom Bradley campaign for mayor.  9-29-2023

Dahlia Lithwick on Voting Rights, plus Katha Pollitt on ‘The Forgotten Girls”

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The right-wing super-majority on the Supreme Court has returned to a case about racial gerrymandering in Alabama, where Republicans have defied the Court’s order. Dahlia Lithwick will comment about that, and about her book “Lady Justice: Women, the Law, and the Battle to Save America”—it’s out now in paperback.

Also: Two girls grew up in the 1980s and ’90s in a small town in Arkansas. One made it out and became a successful journalist and writer; her best friend, who had been super smart as a kid, fell into drugs, getting pregnant too young, and petty crime. How did their lives turn out so different? Katha Pollitt talks about the new memoir by Monica Potts, “The Forgotten Girls.”

Transcript HERE  9-28-2023

Biden on the picket line: Harold Meyerson; plus Dahlia Lithwick on voting rights, and Adam Hochschild on guns

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Joe Biden joined a UAW picket line on Tuesday – the first president ever to do so. Harold Meyerson comments.

Plus: the right-wing supermajority on the Supreme Court has returned to a case about racial gerrymandering in Alabama, where Republicans have defied the Court’s order.  Dahlia Lithwick will comment about that, and about her book Lady Justice: Women, the Law, and the Battle to Save America—it’s out now in paperback.

Also: Adam Hochschild reports on visiting a gun show,  and explains why the Koch Brothers are major funders of the NRA—even though they are not especially enthusiastic about guns. (Broadcast originally in April, 2018).  9-28-2023

Trump and the Auto Strike, plus the Politics of Insecurity: Nelson Lichtenstein plus Astra Taylor

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Trump and the UAW strike, plus ‘manufactured insecurity’: Nelson Lichenstein plus Astra Taylor

The UAW strike against Detroit’s Big Three is rapidly becoming a major political battle as Donald Trump speaks to auto workers in Detroit, challenging Biden’s massive initiatives for America’s transition to electric vehicles. Nelson Lichtenstein provides historical perspective on what’s at stake.

Also: there are two kinds of insecurity in our lives today, Astra Taylor argues: existential insecurity, the unavoidable issues of life and death, and manufactured insecurity—intended to make workers more submissive to authority. Communal action can do a lot to reduce that. Her new book is “The Age of Insecurity: Coming Together As Things Fall Apart.”

Transcript HERE  9-21-2023

Is the UAW Asking for Too Much? Harold Meyerson; plus Astra Taylor on Insecurity and Amy Wilentz on Melania and Ivanka

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The UAW is being criticized by the corporate-Wall Street wing of the Democratic Party for seeking ‘too much’ in their current strike.  Harold Meyerson responds.

Plus: We face two kinds of insecurity in our lives today, Astra Taylor argues: existential insecurity, the unavoidable issues of life and death, and manufactured insecurity—intended to make workers more submissive to authority. Communal action can do a lot to reduce the second kind. Astra’s new book is “The Age of Insecurity: Coming Together As Things Fall Apart.”

Also: Melania and Ivanka Trump have been mostly absent from the former president’s side as he rages against the 91 felony charges brought against him in four different trials. Amy Wilentz comments on the news, the rumors, and the photos.  9-21-2023

Gary Younge: from Mandela to Black Lives Matter; plus Amy Wilentz on Haiti in September

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Gary Younge, the award-winning former columnist for The Guardian, talks about Black writing and Black writers—and his own writing about Mandela, Obama, Trayvon Martin, and Claudette Colvin.

Also on this episode of Start Making Sense, the news from Haiti, where the UN, with US support, is authorizing a new security force. Made up of mostly Kenyan troops, it’s supposed to restore “law and order” in Port-au-Prince. The Nation’s Amy Wilentz is on the podcast to report.

Transcript HERE  9-15-2023

Fast Food Workers Victory: Harold Meyerson; Haiti update: Amy Wilentz; Black Writing: Gary Younge

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Harold Meyerson reports on a major victory in the California state legislature that will raise pay for fast food workers from $15.50 to $20. Also: those Trump polls.

Plus: the news from Haiti, where the UN, with US support, is authorizing a new security force. Made up of mostly Kenyan troops, it’s supposed to restore “law and order” in Port-au-Prince. The Nation’s Amy Wilentz reports.

Also: Gary Younge, the award-winning former columnist for The Guardian, talks about Black writing and Black writers—and his own writing about Mandela, Obama, Trayvon Martin, and Claudette Colvin.

And Your Minnesota Moment: today, child labor violations in Mankato.  9-14-2023

Heather Cox Richardson on ‘Our Authoritarian Experiment,’ Plus Chile Since Allende

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Every night, more than a million people read Heather Cox Richardson’s newsletter about the day’s political events. Now she has a new book out, “Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America.” It’s about the history of Americans’ fight for equality—about which she remains optimistic, despite Trump’s current polling.

Also on this episode of Start Making Sense: September 11th is the 50th anniversary of the coup that overthrew Salvador Allende in Chile, ending 150 years of democracy there and putting the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet in Power. Marc Cooper wrote about Chile since the coup for Truthdig.com. He joins the show to discuss the legacy of that coup and the deep divisions in Chile today, both economic and political.

Transcript HERE  9-7-2023

Biden’s Bad Poll Numbers: Harold Meyerson, plus Marc Cooper on Chile and Heather Cox Richardson on Democracy

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Harold Meyerson analyzes Biden’s weak poll numbers, and our historic upsurge in labor activism.

Plus: September 11th is the 50th anniversary of the coup that overthrew Salvador Allende in Chile, ending 150 years of democracy there and putting the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet in Power. Marc Cooper will comment.

Also: Every night, more than a million people read Heather Cox Richardson’s newsletter about the day’s political events.  We’ll talk with her about her new book, “Democracy Awakening,” and about the history of Americans’ fight for equality—she remains optimistic, despite Trump’s current polling.  9-7-2023

Our Hot Labor Summer, Plus Melania, Ivanka, and Those 91 Felony Charges

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Our hot labor summer continues. Harold Meyerson, editor at large of The American Prospect, comes on the Start Making Sense podcast to discuss the coming auto strike, the continuing Hollywood strikes, the Teamsters’ big victory, and a historic action by the NLRB which will make union organizing possible again.

Also on this episode: Melania and Ivanka Trump have been mostly absent from the former president’s side as he rages against the 91 felony charges brought against him in four different trials. Amy Wilentz comments on the news, the rumors, and the photos.

Transcript HERE  8-31-2023