Living in the USA

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Trump says his memo of understanding is a big win for him because Iran has pledged NOT to develop nuclear weapons and to open the Strait of Hormuz. But, that only “gets us back to what the status quo was before Trump decided to go to war” and “the Iranian pledge not to develop nuclear weapons, that’s a pledge they made 40 or 50 years ago”. Next: News from Ohio, where Trump’s favorable rating has gone from 58% to 42% – Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: In his campaign against elite universities as centers of resistance, Trump hasn’t been able to force Harvard to submit. And it seems less likely now that they will settle. Harvard law professor Randall Kennedy has our analysis.

Plus: the essential workers at our supermarkets: Ann Larson talks about poverty wages and worker solidarity. Her new book is Cleanup on Aisle Five: Essential Work, Poverty Wages, and the View From Behind the Supermarket Register.  6-19-2026

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Democratic strength, and Democratic divisions, in primaries from L.A. to Maine—Harold Meyerson has our analysis of the week’s political developments.

Also: Can AI write poetry? Good poetry? Katha Pollitt decided to find out. She’s an award-winning poet herself, and a columnist for The Nation​.

Plus: From the archives: We remember George Harrison with Allan Kozinn; he​ was music critic for The New York Times and wrote of the George Harrison obituary, as well as the book “The Beatles” (originally recorded in December 2001, one week after George Harrison died).  5-12-2026

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California’s next Governor will likely be Xavier Becerra – as a former California Attorney General, he has a record of suing Trump; but is also known to be a corporate-friendly Democrat. Still, ​with California’s notoriously slow count, it is too soon to call. Meanwhile, the 35% Karen Bass has in the LA mayoral race, “reflects the lack of enthusiasm” among LA voters – Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: Primaries in Iowa, New Jersey and elsewhere tested the strength of progressives in the party. John Nichols has our analysis.

Plus: From the Archives: Girl Groups of the Sixties: Raw emotion, youthful energy, and teenage angst in a 4-CD Rhino box set: One Kiss Can Lead To Another: Girl Group Sounds Lost & Found. Jon Pareles of the New York Times wrote, “to hear all these long-suffering voices is to realize that feminism didn’t arrive an instant too soon.” Gary Stewart, who died in 2019, produced the 120-track collection along with Cheryl Farber, in 2005. PLAYLIST: “Needle in a Haystack,” The Velvelettes (1964); Nobody Knows What’s Going on in my Mind but Me, The Chiffons (1965); Nothing but a Heartache, The Flirtations (1968); I Never Dreamed, The Cookies (1964); “I’m Blue (The Gong-Gong Song),” The Ikettes (1961). (Originally recorded in 2005.)  7-9-2026

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The big picture of national politics: Trump is not just sinking in the polls, he’s accelerating into the most unpopular and toxic parts of his presidency. People are focused on the economy, they want the war in Iran finished – instead, Trump is pushing his billion-dollar ballroom and his slush fund to pay-off the white-supremacist insurrectionists – Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: Trump’s Billion-Dollar Ballroom is a familiar kind of corruption, but his slush fund to pay the insurrectionists and paramilitary groups that commit violence in his name is an unprecedented attack on democracy. Rob Weissman of Public Citizen explains, and also talks about the immense, and immensely unpopular, proposed Arc d’Trump.

Plus: I met Elmore Leonard, who died on August 20, 2013 at age 87, only a couple of times, but he was a memorable guy, totally unpretentious about his massive accomplishments: 45 novels, including many best-sellers, almost a dozen made into movies and TV shows, and a reputation among the literati as one of the great writers of dialogue in our time. When I spoke with him in 2000, he had just published Pagan Babies, a comic novel on the unlikely subject of genocide in Rwanda. (Originally recorded in October, 2000 and later published in LARB on August 20, 2013.)  5-29-2026

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The primary elections results this week show the success of Trump’s revenge campaign — and the limits of that campaign. Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: History on the March: The American Historical Society has filed a lawsuit and a federal judge has ordered the Trump White House to comply with the Presidential Records Act.

Next: State legislatures have a lot of power in America—the States Project focuses on expanding that. Daniel Squadron explains. His new book is The Fourth Branch: How State Government can Save Our Union.

Plus: Your Minnesota Moment: Today, Minneapolis prosecutors charge an ICE agent with assault and lying.  5-22-2026

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Last week was one of the roughest for Democrats since Trump won the election in 2024: The Supreme Court ended Black congressional representation in most of the South and opened the door to the creation of several more Republican House seats, and then the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that the state’s initiative that created four more Democratic House seats was invalid. Nevertheless, Trump is so unpopular that Democrats remain strong favorites to retake the House in November. Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: During the first part of the 20th century, 100,000 Eastern European Jews joined a socialist organization that opposed Zionism. Their organization we call the Bund, and they believed that Jews should fight for full rights wherever they were, not for a new homeland somewhere else. Their motto was “Here, where we live, is our country”—that’s the title of a new book about them by Molly Crabapple. Adam Hochschild comments.

Plus: Historians on the March: Tennessee’s anti-communist curriculum.  5-19-2026

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Last week was one of the roughest for Democrats since Trump won the election in 2024: The Supreme Court ended Black congressional representation in most of the South and opened the door to the creation of several more Republican House seats, and then the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that the state’s initiative that created four more Democratic House seats was invalid. Nevertheless, Trump is so unpopular that Democrats remain strong favorites to retake the House in November. Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: During the first part of the 20th century, 100,000 Eastern European Jews joined a socialist organization that opposed Zionism. Their organization we call the Bund, and they believed that Jews should fight for full rights wherever they were, not for a new homeland somewhere else. Their motto was “Here, where we live, is our country”—that’s the title of a new book about them by Molly Crabapple. Adam Hochschild comments.

Plus: Historians on the March: Tennessee’s anti-communist curriculum.  5-15-2026

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Fifty-nine percent of Americans believe Trump does not have the mental sharpness necessary to lead the country; 55 percent think Trump does not have the physical health to serve as president; and 67 percent think Trump does not carefully consider important decisions – according to a new Washington Post/ABC News Ipsos poll. And, in a time when energy costs are soaring and many Americans are losing their healthcare, Trump continues to talk about his ballroom — with ​a $1 billion price tag ​of taxpayer​ money. Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: History on the march: The battle over our understanding of our American past. The history profession had a big win in federal court this week when a federal judge ruled that DOGE did not have the authority to cancel grants awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities; which totaled $100 million this year.

Plus: Trump’s efforts to block Democratic voting in the midterms, or overturn the results, is not going to work—Ian Bassin explains the widespread preparations underway for defending the election in November. Ian is co-founder of the organization Protect Democracy and winner of a MacArthur genius grant.  5-8-2026

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What Democrats need to do to counter the Supreme Court abolishing Black congressional districts: Harold Meyerson comments on the continuing reapportionment wars and the upcoming elections.

Also: John Nichols explains why Trump may never succeed at building any of his ICE prison camps, and how this Friday’s May Day strike is a test of our power to resist.

Plus: MOCA’s “Monuments” show in LA critiques Confederate monuments that have been taken down in response to protests. Critic Christopher Knight has our evaluation. The show closes Sunday. (Originally broadcast October 31, 2024.)  5-1-2026

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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