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Minnesota Takes the Lead: Harold Meyerson; plus Eyal Press on Planned Parenthood and Christopher Leonard on the Koch Brothers

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The Minnesota legislature has passed a sweeping pro-worker labor bill that will require paid sick days, ban captive audience meetings during union drives, and more – Harold Meyerson reports.

Also: Has Planned Parenthood gotten too cautious and too corporate? Are the risk managers running the organization? Eyal Press reports on the courage of independent abortion services, and the failures of Planned Parenthood.

Plus: The secret history of the Koch Brothers: how the key to their empire, and their fortune, is a refinery south of St. Paul. “Kochland” author Christopher Leonard has that story.  5-25-2023

Jeffrey Toobin on the Roots of Jan. 6; Adam Hochschild on Anti-Woke History

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The ideological roots of the January 6 insurrection go back decades before Trump entered politics — back to the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995. Jeffrey Toobin joins the podcast to explain. His new book is Homegrown: Timothy McVeigh and the Rise of Right-Wing Extremism.

Also on this episode of Start Making Sense: Ron DeSantis is campaigning for president promising to “stop woke history.” That is, to stop teaching about slavery and its legacy of institutional racism. Adam Hochschild found the history guide DeSantis wants: the Hillsdale College “1776 Curriculum.” He reports on what’s in it —and what’s not.  5-18-2023

A Good Week for Workers: Harold Meyerson; plus Bhaskar Sunkara on Biden and Adam Hochschild on Woke History

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Workers won union recognition is some significant places in the past week.  Harold Meyerson reports on interns and residents in Philadelphia joining the SEIU, a bus factory—in Georgia!—joining the Steelworkers, and dancers at a strip club in LA joining Actors Equity.

Plus: Progressives and Biden: what is to be done—about the 2024 election? Bhaskar Sunkara, president of The Nation, comments.

Also: Ron DeSantis is campaigning for president promising to “stop woke history.” That is, to stop teaching about slavery and its legacy of institutional racism. Adam Hochschild found the history guide DeSantis wants: the Hillsdale College “1776 Curriculum.” He reports on what’s in it —and what’s not.  5-18-2023

Bhaskar Sunkara on Biden in 2024, plus Josh Gondelman on the Writers Strike

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Progressives and Biden: what is to be done—about the 2024 election? Bhaskar Sunkara, president of The Nation, comments.

Also: 11,500 members of the Writers Union are on strike against the film, TV and streaming companies, with picket lines up in L.A. and New York. Both sides of the fight have prepared for a months-long conflict. Award-winning TV writer Josh Gondelman is on the show to explain the issues.  5-11-2023

Worrying about Biden: Harold Meyerson; Writers’ Strike: Josh Gondelman; Working Class Voters: Senator Sherrod Brown

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The latest polls indicate voters think Biden is too old. Should the Democrats nominate someone else? Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: an update on the Writers’ Guild strike against the hollywood studios, with Josh Gondelman – he’s an Emmy-award winning writer for his work on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, on HBO. He’s also a regular on NPR’s news quiz show, Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me.

Also: one of the Senate Democrats up for reelection in 2024 is Sherrod Brown of Ohio, one of our heroes –we spoke with him in 2020 about politics and history, and how he has won reelection in a state that is increasingly Republican.  5-11-2023

Start Making Sense: Impeach Clarence Thomas; plus Joe Biden, the GOP, and ‘Freedom’

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D.D. Guttenplan, editor of The Nation, argues that it’s time to impeach Clarence Thomas. He also says it’s time to remove and replace Diane Feinstein, whose inability to serve is denying the Democrats a majority on the Judiciary Committee..

Also on this episode: Joe Biden announced that the theme of his reelection campaign will be that the Democrats are the party of “freedom.” But the Republicans claim they are the defenders of freedom. Who’s right? Eric Foner, author of “The Story of American Freedom,” joins the show to discuss.  5-4-2023

The Writers’ Strike: Harold Meyerson; plus D.D. Guttenplan on Clarence Thomas and Anatol Lieven on Ukraine

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At midnight on Monday, 11,500 Writers’ Guild of America writers went on strike seeking a new film and TV contract. The writers voted for the strike by a historic margin: 98% in favor; 2% opposed. Harold Meyerson of The American Prospect comments.

Also: Anatol Lieven is back after three weeks in Ukraine, where he found soldiers determined to win, and Russian bombardment doing surprisingly little damage.

Plus: D.D. Guttenplan argues that it’s time to impeach Clarence Thomas, on the grounds of misconduct; also, it’s time to remove and replace Diane Feinstein, on the grounds of her inability to perform her duties, especially on the Judiciary Committee, where her absence has denied the Democrats a majority.  5-4-2023

Tucker Carlson & History: Harold Meyerson; Amy Wilentz on Haiti; Anatol Lieven on Ukraine

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Tucker Carlson’s audience, 3.5 million, is a lot smaller than his pioneering predecessors in right-wing media; Harold Meyerson comments. Also: recent labor victories in LA.

Plus: A neighborhood in Port-au-Prince fights back against the gangs. Amy Wilentz comments on the news from Haiti.

Also: Anatol Lieven is back after three weeks in Ukraine, where he found soldiers determined to win, and Russian bombardment doing surprisingly little damage.  4-27-2023

Rebecca Solnit on Climate Action, plus John Nichols on Abortion Politics

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It’s getting late to take action about the climate emergency, but it’s not too late: that’s what Rebecca Solnit and Thelma Young Lutunatabua say in their new book, “Not Too Late: Changing the Climate Story from Despair to Possibility.”

Also: abortion rights will be a key issue for Democrats in the 2024 election, especially after Republican judges have tried to ban medication abortions. John Nichols comments.  4-20-2023