jwiener

Clinton’s Email, the FBI, and the Voters: The Nation podcast 7/7

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Joan Walsh says FBI Director James Comey’s blunt criticism of Hillary Clinton’s handling of her e-mail provides the presidential hopeful with an opportunity to acknowledge her mistakes and to make amends. Walsh is The Nation’s national affairs correspondent.

Plus, we found something else to worry about: cyber attacks on the US paralyzing our electric grid and our water supply. The award-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney has a new documentary about that, called Zero Days—it opens this Friday.

Also: Ben Ehrenreich and Amy Wilentz talk about about life for Palestinians in the West Bank. Wilentz is a contributing editor at The Nation, and Ehrenreich’s new book is The Way to the Spring: Life and Death in Palestine.

And A Prairie Home Companion is ending its long run on public radio—Garrison Keillor explains that the secret of the show’s success was “no competition.”

The Brexit Vote Highlights Clinton’s Vulnerability: The Nation podcast 6/30

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T
he victorious campaign in Britain to leave the European Union has many striking parallels to Donald Trump’s campaign to win the White House.  D.D. Guttenplan says “that ought to keep Hillary supporters awake at night.”

Also: the Supreme Court issued a sharp rebuke to Texas’s anti-choice laws on Monday in the most sweeping victory for abortion rights in 25 years.  Zoë Carpenter comments.

Plus: A test case of Republican vs. Democratic rule in two states. Minnesota and Wisconsin have taken opposite approaches to voting rights, and some other things too—and the results are now clear.  Ari Berman explains.

Could Donald Trump Ban Muslims? TheNation podcast 6/23

If he were president, could Donald Trump really ban Muslims from entering the country?  Sasha Abramsky says the answer is simple: yes.

Also: the People’s Summit brought organizers and activists to Chicago last weekend for three days of planning about where to go next with the Bernie movement—at the Democratic National Convention, and after. RoseAnn DeMoro, executive director of National Nurses United, weighs in.

Plus: lessons for the left from the NRA in the wake of the Orlando shootings: David Cole, The Nation’s legal affairs correspondent, argues that gun control advocates can win if they focus on state laws rather than Supreme Court challenges. His new book is Engines of Liberty.

 

Life and Death in Gay Orlando: The Nation podcast 6/16

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Orlando has long been one of the most gay-friendly cities in the South—and still is, says Nadine Smith of Equality Florida. If people want to help, there’s a GoFundMe campaign to aid families and survivors.

Also: Bernie Sanders won the war of ideas in the Democratic party—what does that mean for Hillary Clinton now? Harold Meyerson comments.

And historian Adam Hochschild talks about the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, made up of American leftists who fought the fascists in the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s. His new book is Spain in Our Hearts.

New Tasks for the Bernie Movement in California KPFK 6/15

Bernie’s movement in California should challenge the big money behind “moderate Democrats” in the state legislature, HAROLD MEYERSON argues.

Also: TOM LUTZ has been travelling – he talked politics in Jordan, and observed the Chinese army in Tibet – we’ll talk about his new book is Drinking Mare’s Milk on the Roof of the World. (book event Friday 7pm at Chevalier’s on Larchmont Blvd.)

Plus: politics isn’t everything – there’s also movies.  we don’t have to talk about Donald Trump all the time – we can also talk with JOHN POWERS about Wong Kar Wai, the great Hong Kong filmmaker—their new book is WKW: The Cinema of Wong Kar Wai.

What Happened in California? The Nation podcast 6/9

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Everything you need to know about the California primary, where Hillary got 56% and Bernie 43%—John Nichols explains it all to producer Alan Minsky.
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Also: Andrew Cockburn of Harper’s Magazine explains how Obama’s drone “kill list” is approved—and what happens after.
Andrew’s book Kill Chain: Drones and the Rise of High-Tech Assassins is out now in paperback.

And: because politics isn’t everything, we talked about the great Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar Wai with John Powers—the films include “In the Mood for Love” and the cult favorite “Chunking Express.”
John is critic at large on Fresh Air with Terry Gross–his book WKW: The Cinema of Wong Kar Wai is out now.

Does Bernie’s Movement Have a Future? The Nation podcast 6/2

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B
ernie Sanders’s campaign rallies in California have brought out more than 100,000 people—many of whom think he can win the state’s primary next week.  Nicky Woolf of Guardian US has been following the campaign; he thinks they may be right.

Also: Elizabeth Warren seems to be Donald Trump’s most effective critic—and she seems to enjoy the work.  Margaret Talbot of The New Yorker comments.

Plus: Can the millions of Bernie supporters become a long-lasting force in American politics?  D.D. Guttenplan examines four efforts to organize progressives for the years after November 2016.