Living in the USA

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Trump’s support continues to decline on everything he does, especially the war with Iran. But as he becomes weaker, he becomes more dangerous. Harold Meyerson comments; he’s editor-at-large of The American Prospect.

Also: We need an AI revolution that works for the people, not just the billionaires. That’s Ro Khanna’s “AI Manifesto.” He’s the member of Congress who represents Silicon Valley, and also a leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. His manifesto is the cover story in The Nation magazine’s new issue.

Plus: The one bit of good news coming out of Trump’s disastrous Iran War – the global energy crisis, the oil shortages caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has made the case for alternative energy much stronger and more urgent – and solar power has now become much cheaper, for its own reasons. Bill McKibben will explain – his new book is “Here Comes the Sun: A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for Civilization” (originally broadcast in September, 2025).  4-24-2026

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Trump’s terrible week started Sunday when he attacked the Pope and then presented himself in an AI image as Jesus Christ; he then took control of the Strait of Hormuz, making sure that oil and gas prices continue to rise; and then Victor Orbán, Trump’s MAGA ally in Hungary, lost his election to Peter Magyar – Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: It’s been only a couple of weeks since the No Kings 3 protests, but we can see now how protest and resistance are changing in America: that one it wasn’t just bigger than the previous No Kings. It was different: Deeper and more connected. Rebecca Solnit argues that to understand resistance and change today, we need a much longer perspective than a couple of years. Her new book is The Beginning Comes After the End.

Plus: Minneapolis made history with its mobilization against ICE. But what about the rest of the state, where the immigrant population has been growing for a couple of decades? What kind of resistance has developed there? Emma Janssen went to small town Minnesota to find out. She’s a writing fellow at The American Prospect.  4-17-2026

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The War in Iran: A lot of people on both sides are saying Iran won – that the Iranian regime has emerged stronger than it was before the war; while the US has emerged weaker, unable to force the surrender of a 4th-rate military, demonstrating our strategic ineptitude, and then there is the TACO factor, Trump Always Chickens Out – Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: Minnesota changed everything: how Minnesota’s resistance to ICE provides a model and inspiration for a national pro-democracy movement. Deepak Bhargava will explains; he’s president of the Freedom Together Foundation.

Plus: July 4 will mark the 250th anniversary of the United States, which Trump is celebrating with a campaign to “eliminate” what he calls “divisive anti-American ideology” from American’s historic sites, national parks, and the National Zoo. Historian Beverly Gage has another idea – a road trip to visit some of those places where history happened. Her new book is This Land is Your Land: A Road Trip Through US History.  4-10-2026

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Trump’s failed Iran war speech, and his firing of Pam Bondi: a big week in Washington. Harold Meyerson comments.

Plus: We’re still thinking about No Kings 3 day on Saturday: 8 million people. 3,300 events. ‘No Kings’ protests in almost every city and town in the country. 100 towns in Texas alone had No Kings protests! It was the largest single-day nonviolent protest in American history. John Nichols analyzes the possibilities for what comes next.

Also: No one expected that revoking the constitutional right to abortion would wind up expanding access to it. But ever since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision in 2022 allowed more than a dozen states to ban abortion outright, the number of abortions in this country has actually risen every year. How did that happen? Amy Littlefield explains; her new book is Killers of Roe: My investigation into the mysterious death of abortion rights.  4-3-2026

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Trump’s approval rating has hit an all-time low for a modern president. Jimmy Carter had the same rating on the economy – 29% – back in 1979. And what was happening in 1979? An oil embargo and revolution in Iran. Next: Trump is trying to limit voting by mail and SCOTUS will make a ruling soon. Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: The No Kings 3 protests this Saturday are going to be big – maybe the biggest day of protest in American history. Leah Greenberg, co-founder and co-director of Indivisible, will explain—starting with the plans for St. Paul, site of the day’s flagship event.

Plus: Trump has renewed his year-long campaign against universities that have been resisting his authoritarian rule – he’s focused his attacks on the most prestigious private university, Harvard, and the most prestigious public university, UCLA, suing each of them in the past week for – “antisemitism.” David Myers, who teaches Jewish history at UCLA, comments.  3-27-2026

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Why is the US at war with Iran? “It’s entirely a war based on Trump’s whim and his apparent desire to do what Bibi Netanyahu has asked him to do”. Next up: Elections in Illinois, where AIPAC, AI and Crypto money did not win. Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: The Working Families Party is organizing voters not just to win a Democratic majority in Congress but for a movement election, a historic expansion of the electorate that includes a demand for significant change. Maurice Mitchell, the party’s National Director, explains.

Plus: Trump’s war in Iran is bringing economic chaos and suffering to much of the world, but for American voters, the biggest effect is the soaring price of gasoline – and the political implications for Republicans in the midterms are clear to everyone. Meanwhile Minneapolis has shown how Americans can resist unjust and illegitimate power. John Nichols comments.  3-20-2026

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Tom Stevenson analyzes the latest news and long-term prospects of Trump’s Iran war, for both Iran and the US. Tom is a contributing editor for the London Review of Books, where he writes about, among other things, politics in the Mideast.

Also: what news are people getting these days, and where are they getting it? Especially the people we call “news avoidant” & “low information” voters – the ones we want to vote for Democrats in November: what are the big stories for them? Tara McGowan explains – she’s founder and CEO of Courier Newsroom, a digital media company that operates a network of local news outlets.

Plus: the hidden politics of the New York Times crossword puzzle: Natan Last explains; his new book is Across the Universe: the Past, Present, and Future of the Crossword Puzzle. (Originally published 12-17-2025)

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59% of Americans disapprove of the war in Iran, according to a CNN poll. Democrats offered a War Powers resolution that would have set some limits on Trump’s war in Iran; it lost in the Senate on Wednesday with one Republican – Rand Paul – voting in favor. Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: After Senate Democrats block the SAVE act, Trump is likely to declare a national security emergency – claiming China could interfere in the midterms – as a basis for restricting voting. David Cole comments; he’s former legal director of the ACLU.

Plus: Congress must challenge Trump’s war on Iran and assert its constitutional duty to take up War Powers resolutions and assert its primacy over matters of war and peace. John Nichols explains.  3-6-2026

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Trump’s State of the Union speech was the expected firehose of lies – and went on at an unprecedented length. Meanwhile, the foremost issue of concern on the minds of most Americans was the Epstein files. And, what did Trump say about the Epstein files during the speech? “Nada.” The other issues of great concern are the actions of ICE. Again, Trump did not say anything about that either. So, what DID Trump talk about? Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: In 1949 when Jackie Robinson appeared before HUAC, the House Un-American Activities Committee, to discredit Paul Robeson. Howard Bryant talks about why that happened, and what happened afterwards – to each of them. His new book is “Kings and Pawns.”

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Trump, facing the wave of popular opposition to pretty much everything he’s doing, is working to block Democrats from voting in the midterms, and “election protection” has become a key part of the preparations underway from blue state attorneys general and from voting rights groups like the Brennan Center and the ACLU. Harold Meyerson explains.

Also: A large proportion of slaves who escaped from slavery in the South escaped not on foot, but by boat. Marcus Rediker tells their story – his new book is ​”Freedom Ship: The Uncharted History of Escaping Slavery by Sea.​”

Plus: The Battle for Black History: On February 1, 1976 President Gerald Ford – a Republican – asked the public to “seize the opportunity to honor the too often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history” – commemorating the first Black History Month. Fifty years later, February 1, 2026, Trump sent workers with crowbars who pried off all 30 interpretive signs about slavery from the walls of the Presidents’ House in Philadelphia. The city sued and a federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to restore the displays about slavery, stating that Trump did not “have the power to erase or alter historical truths.”  2-20-2026