ICE in Congress: Harold Meyerson; Bad Bunny at the Super Bowl: Dave Zirin; Black History: Isabel Wilkerson; Minneapolis: Bruce Springsteen

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Congress is debating restrictions for ICE this week, we’ll go into the funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security; it seems the real negotiations are not between the Democrats and the Republican senators, but between the Democrats and Trump. The “Big Beautiful Bill” provided an additional $75 billion to ICE last July so, if no funding deal is made next week, the Coast Guard and FEMA will be shut down while ICE will continue to operate. Harold Meyerson comments.

Next: The Super Bowl is by far the biggest entertainment event of the year in the US, and this Sunday the halftime show will feature Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny, who has been demanding “ICE Out!” How did the Super Bowl halftime show become the center of resistance to ICE? Dave Zirin​ will explain.

Also: On February 1, 1960 four students sat down on stools at Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina and ordered coffee and donuts, challenging the rules of segregation with non-violent resistance. They were refused service but were joined the next day by a group of people – sparking a movement to desegregate with sit-ins nationwide.

As the Trump administration works to replace multiculturalism with white nationalism – this February – America’s 50th observance – Black History month is especially important. From the archives, we revisit an interview with Isabel Wilkerson on her book about the great migration of Black people out of the South: “The Warmth of Other Suns” (originally recorded in 2010).

Plus: Your Minnesota Moment: A first-hand account of anti-ICE demonstrations in Minnesota​, and attending Bruce Springsteen’s First Avenue performance of “Streets of Minneapolis” – the No. 1 song in America this week.  2-6-2026

The Fight to Stop ICE—in Congress, and at the Super Bowl

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The next two weeks Democrats in Congress will be working to use the budget to set limits on ICE-to require judicial warrants, masks off and body cameras on, and to set use of force standards. John Nichols, The Nation’s executive editor, will comment.

Also: The Super Bowl is by far the biggest entertainment event of the year in the US, and this Sunday the halftime show will feature Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny, who has been demanding “ICE Out!” How did the Super Bowl halftime show become the center of resistance to ICE? Dave Zirin, The Nation’s sports editor, will explain.  Transcript HERE  2-4-2026

Restricting ICE – the Senate Votes: Harold Meyerson; Standing Together in Israel/Palestine: Sally Abed; ICE Politics: Leah Greenberg

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Eyes on Minneapolis: three-quarters of Americans have seen all or some of the video of the murder of Alex Pretti. With this attention, we have the power to challenge ICE; where do we stand on the Democrats’ bill proposing to enforce restrictions? Harold Meyerson comments.

Next: The Nation nominates Minneapolis for the Nobel Peace Prize; the first time a city and its people have been nominated for the prize.

Also: We have the power to rein in ICE and protect our neighbors, Leah Greenberg argues – she’s co-founder and co-executive director of Indivisible, the group that organized No Kings 2 last October, the largest demonstration in American history. The key right now, she says, is for Senate Democrats to refuse to fund Homeland Security in this week’s budget vote, unless Republicans agree to put meaningful restrictions on that lawless agency.

Plus: The group Standing Together says it is still possible for Israelis and Palestinians to live side by side with full equality and justice for everyone. The are the largest Jewish-Arab grassroots movement in Israel, working to create an alternative to the existing reality by building political power. Sally Abed explains — she’s a Palestinian citizen of Israel, a leader of Standing Together, and she was elected to the Haifa city council in February 2024.  1-29-2026

Freezing ICE Funding in the Senate, plus Standing Together in Israel and Palestine

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We have the power to rein in ICE and protect our neighbors, Leah Greenberg argues – she’s co-founder and co-executive director of Indivisible, the group that organized No Kings 2 last October, the largest demonstration in American history. The key right now, she says, is for Senate Democrats to refuse to fund Homeland Security in this week’s budget vote, unless Republicans agree to put meaningful restrictions on that lawless agency.

Also: The group Standing Together says it is still possible for Israelis and Palestinians to live side by side with full equality and justice for everyone. The are the largest Jewish-Arab grassroots movement in Israel, working to create an alternative to the existing reality by building political power. Sally Abed explains — she’s a Palestinian citizen of Israel, a leader of Standing Together, and she was elected to the Haifa city council in February 2024.

Transcript HERE  1-28-2026

Trump Year Two Begins: Harold Meyerson; ICE out of Minnesota: John Nichols; Victims of DOGE: Sasha Abramsky

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Trump’s first year has seen a collapse of support in DC and among voters nationwide, huge losses in the lower courts, and the rise of a massive opposition movement. Meanwhile, as Trump year two begins and the midterms approach, it’s looking very good for the Democrats. Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: The landscape of resistance in Minneapolis, John Nichols reports, includes surprisingly powerful and effective faith groups, plus unions, neighborhood mutual aid and community safety networks, ICE observer teams, and direct action groups, plus the ACLU and its allies, as well as the outspoken mayor and the fighting state attorney general.

Plus: DOGE did NOT reduce spending – at all. But it did reduce federal employment; 271,000 people lost their jobs in the federal government, according to CATO. Sasha Abramsky set out to find out what it was like for some of those people — his new book reports on the experiences of eleven fired federal workers: American Carnage: How Trump, Musk, and DOGE butchered the US Government.  1-23-2026

Minneapolis: the Landscape of Resistance—Plus, the Destruction brought by DOGE

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The landscape of resistance in Minneapolis, John Nichols reports, includes surprisingly powerful and effective faith groups, plus unions, neighborhood mutual aid and community safety networks, ICE observer teams, and direct action groups, plus the ACLU and its allies, as well as the outspoken mayor and the fighting state attorney general.

Also: DOGE did NOT reduce spending – at all. But it did reduce federal employment; 271,000 people lost their jobs in the federal government, according to CATO. Sasha Abramsky set out to find out what it was like for some of those people — his new book reports on the experiences of eleven fired federal workers: American Carnage: How Trump, Musk, and DOGE butchered the US Government.

Transcript HERE  1-21-2026

From Minneapolis to Caracas: Harold Meyerson; Capitalism in China: John Powers; Reaganland: Rick Perlstein

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As Trump’s support collapses, he has lashed out in two directions–sending an unprecedented number of ICE agents to Minneapolis, where one of them murdered Renee Good, and sending the military to Venezuela, where he says he has seized control of the oil industry. Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: Twenty Minutes Without Trump: There’s a new TV series about how capitalism came to Communist China: 30 episodes made for Chinese TV by the great Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai, running now on the Criterion Channel. John Powers, critic-at-large on Fresh Air with Terry Gross, explains.

Plus: Rick Perlstein talks about the rise of Reagan, from what seemed like a career-ending defeat in the 1976 GOP primary, to his narrow victory in the popular vote in 1980–and how the darkness of the culture war has shaped the Republican Party that Trump came to dominate. Rick’s long-awaited book, 1100 pages long, is “Reaganland: America’s Right Turn, 1976-1980.”  1-16-2026

 

 

Trump, from Minneapolis to Caracas—Plus, How Capitalism Came to Communist China

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As Trump’s support collapses, he has lashed out in two directions–sending an unprescendented number of ICE agents to Minneapolis, where one of them murdered Renee Good, and sending the military to Venezuela, where he says he has seized control of the oil industry. Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: Twenty Minutes Without Trump: There’s a new TV series about how capitalism came to Communist China, 30 episodes made for Chinese TV by the great Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai, running now on the Criterion Channel. John Powers, critic-at-large on Fresh Air with Terry Gross, explains.

Transcript HERE  1-14-2026

The ICE Murder in Mpls.: Harold Meyerson; Homeless Vets’ Victory in LA: Mark Rosenbaum; the Underground RR: Eric Foner

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What is to be done about that ICE agent murdering a woman in Minneapolis, Renée Good, who was a peaceful legal observer trying to drive away from him? Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem called the murder “self defense” – the mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey said that was “bullshit” and to ICE he said, “Get the fuck out of Minneapolis” – and Minnesota Senator Tina Smith said to ICE “Leave us the fuck alone” – Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered the VA to provide housing for disabled vets on its land in Los Angeles, something they have refused to do for more than a decade. The ruling should end homelessness among disabled vets everywhere – Mark Rosenbaum of Public Counsel, who won the case, explains.

Plus: How a small group of people challenged an unjust law and changed history:  Eric Foner, historian and author of “Gateway to Freedom: The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad,” talks about the Underground Railroad and its challenge to the Fugitive Slave Act in the years leading up to the Civil War (first broadcast in January, 2015).  1-9-2026

Venezuela in American Politics, plus VA Housing for Homeless Vets

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Trump’s attack on Venezuela is likely to weaken his political support even further, because it does nothing about affordability or health care. And it’s not at all clear the big oil companies want to spend billions restoring Venezuelan production. John Nichols comments.

Also: the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered the VA to provide housing for disabled vets on its land in Los Angeles, something they have refused to do for more than a decade. The ruling should end homelessness among disabled vets everywhere – Mark Rosenbaum of Public Counsel, who won the case, explains.

Transcript HERE  1-7-2026