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White Workers, Trump, and Clinton: The Nation podcast 9/8

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It’s the year of the white working class, and Joan Walsh reports on the Democrats’ efforts to win back the voters they have been losing since the sixties.

Plus, the fight over the Clinton Foundation: Amy Wilentz says it’s time for Hillary, Bill, and Chelsea to step aside—immediately, and forever.

Also: What is it like to be an abortion provider in an anti-choice state? Dr. Leah Torres describes her work as one of the only doctors providing abortions in Utah.

Katha Pollitt: Remembering Phyllis Schlafly–KPFK 9/7

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Phyllis Schlafly died Monday—they called her “the first lady of the right.”  Katha Pollitt considers what Phyllis Schafly might have been, if it weren’t for women like Phyllis Schlafly.

Also: Rosa Brooks explains How Everything Became War, and the Military Became Everything (the title of her new book).  She’s a law professor at Georgetown University and a former op-ed columnist for the LA Times (and she’s also the daughter of Barbara Ehrenreich).

And we’ll talk about politics with John Nichols—the new CNN poll shows Trump AHEAD BY TWO, while the new Washington Post poll shows it’s almost impossible for him to win.

Minnesota’s Mini-Trump–and the Lesbian Mother of 4 Challenging Him: The Nation 9/2

They call him “Minnesota’s mini-Trump”: Jason Lewis, the right-wing talk-show host who’s running for Congress for an open Republican seat in the suburbs south of the Twin Cities, the 2nd Congressional District. It’s the same seat Bill Maher targeted two years ago in his “Flip-a-district” campaign—only then it was held by a six-term Republican incumbent named John Kline. Maher’s effort didn’t work; Kline was reelected.. . .
continued at TheNation.com HERE

Jill Stein Wants a Green New Deal: The Nation Podcast 9/1

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In this exclusive interview with Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate for president responds to the most common criticisms she hears: Won’t a Green vote make Trump’s victory more likely? Didn’t Bernie show it was better for progressives to work inside the Democratic Party? She also lays out her plan for a “Green New Deal.”

Plus: French officials banned the burkini from beaches on the grounds that it was “a symbol of the enslavement of women.” Katha Pollitt has a different view.

And as Labor Day weekend approaches, Harold Meyerson analyzes some political victories for the working class, especially in California, where Democrats have complete control of state politics.

Why Obama Should Pardon Snowden: The Nation podcast 8/25

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Amnesty for Edward Snowden: ACLU attorney Ben Wizner argues that President Obama should do the right thing in view of the NSA whistle-blower’s contributions to freedom and democracy.

The power of independent journalism was demonstrated last week when the Justice Department announced the end of privately run prisons in the federal prison system. Seth Freed Wessler explains what it took to uncover dozens of questionable deaths in these corporate, for-profit facilities in his yearlong investigation for The Nation.

Also: Who is Jared Kushner, and why does Donald Trump listen to his advice? Amy Wilentz tells the story of Trump’s influential son-in-law: how his father, Charles Kushner, was sent to prison by then–US Attorney Chris Christie; how the 2007 crash nearly destroyed the family’s real-estate fortune; and how he’s advising the Republican candidate.

The Woman Behind Trump: The Nation podcast 8/18

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The most powerful person in Donald Trump’s campaign is not a political professional but rather his own daughter, Ivanka. Amy Wilentz explains how Ivanka got there, and comments on her personal, and political, history.

Also: Rosa Brooks talks about “how everything became war and the military became everything”—the title of her new book.  She worked at the Pentagon; now she’s a law professor at Georgetown University.

Plus: We’re still thinking about the ’60s—and so is Calvin Trillin. He went to Mississippi in 1964 as a young journalist, and in the decades since, he’s written a lot about race in America. His new book is Jackson 1964.

What Trump Got Wrong About Sexual Harassment: The Nation podcast 8/11

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Katha Pollitt explains how women employees’ complaints of sexual harrassment forced out Roger Ailes—and examnes Donald Trump’s comments about it.  Katha’s new book is Pro: Reclaiming Abortion Rights.

Plus Ari Berman analyses the effect of voting rights victories in court on Trump’s chances in North Carolina and other swing states.  Ari’s book Give Us the Ballot is out now in paperback.

And Dave Zirin reports from the Olympics in Rio – the protests, the displaced people, and the real problem: not the Brazilian government, but the International Olympic Committee.  Dave is the author of Brazil’s Dance with the Devil.

 

Trump Talk: Amy Wilentz on KPFK 8/10

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Trump’s “Second Amendment People”: AMY WILENTZ comments on the candidate and the commentary.

Also: SUSAN FALUDI, author of the feminist classic “Backlash,” has a new book about her father – he got male-to-female sex reassignment surgery when he was 76 – and told her about it afterwards.  The book is “In the Darkroom.”

Plus:  a criminal trial for the sheriff – former LA County Sheriff Lee Baca will go to trial on federal charges of obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice.  It’s one of the most amazing developments in the history of Los Angeles.  CELESTE FREMON of WitnessLA.com will explain.

 

Are Hillary’s Poll Numbers Misleading? TheNation.com 8/7

Political science tells us Hillary Clinton will win the election—the poll numbers are so clearly in her favor. As of this moment, the authoritative FiveThirtyEight “polls only” forecast says Clinton’s chance of beating Trump is 86.6 percent. But polling is an inexact science, and a lot of pundits are asking: Could the polls be wrong this time?
. . . continued HERE

An Hour Without Trump: The Nation podcast 8/4

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T
rump is everywhere in the news this week, so we decided to do something different: 60 minutes of political talk that is Trump-free. Guaranteed. Instead:

The fight to limit government surveillance tactics: Ben Wizner talks about what we have won—and what we need to do next. He’s director of the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project and the lawyer for Edward Snowden.

Plus: Susan Faludi tells the story of a transgender woman—her father, who transitioned when she was 76. Susan, of course, is the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women. Now she has a new book out; it’s called In the Darkroom.

And Tom Lutz has been traveling a lot; he went to Lhasa to talk about Tibetan resistance to China; he went to Jordan to talk about Iran and America; and he went to Tehran to talk about the Kurds.
His new book is Drinking Mare’s Milk on the Roof of the World.