Living in the USA

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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

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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

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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

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The year in politics: Harold Meyerson of The American Prospect comments on Trump’s collapsing support in 2025, and the rise of the resistance—in both the unprecedented national mobilizations culminating in the second No Kings Day, and the Democratic triumph in virtually all elections in 2025.

Also: the year in court: David Cole, who stepped down this year as national legal director of the ACLU, reviews the 149 rulings against Trump in federal courts this past year, and the 21 times the Supreme Court has supported his attacks on democracy.

Plus: From the archives: Ricky Jay was one of the world’s great sleight-of-hand artists, distinguished by the remarkable variety of his accomplishments as an author, actor, and historian. In Jay’s Journal of Anomalies he described some of his favorite strange entertainments through the ages: throwing cards into watermelons, how to run a flea circus, the art of dental performance and much more – we remember master magician Ricky Jay (first recorded in 2002; he died in 2018).  1-2-2026

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In June, Trump sent more than 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to occupy Los Angeles and terrorize the immigrant population. But by the end of July, almost all the Guard and the Marines were gone. Bill Gallegos explains how that happened and what other cities can learn from it.

Also: From the archives: The Romans captured and killed Jesus because the revolutionary movement he launched challenged the most powerful empire the world had ever known: That’s what Reza Aslan says – his New York Times bestselling book ZEALOT: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth shot to #1 on Amazon when a Fox News interviewer asked him ‘why a Muslim would write a book about Jesus?’ (originally broadcast July 2013)

Plus: It’s time to listen again to BOB DYLAN’s 2009 Christmas album! Is this a joke — or a tragedy? Sean Wilentz explains. PLAYLIST: “Here Comes Santa Claus”; “I’ll Be Home for Xmas”; “Must Be Santa,” “Winter Wonderland”; “O Little Town of Bethlehem” (originally broadcast November 11, 2009).  12-26-2025

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Last week, the Indiana state legislature voted down Trump’s redistricting demands that would’ve created more Republican seats in the House; now, four Republicans have joined the Democrats in forcing a vote on extending Obamacare subsidies, AND, 20 House Republicans are supporting the federal workers union — Trump’s grip on the Republican party is slipping — Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: Today, Friday, is the deadline for the Justice Department to turn over the Epstein files to Congress. But we already know the key fact about Epstein’s famous friends—they didn’t care that he had hired a 14-year-old girl for sex—and gone to jail for it. But why was that? Katha Pollitt comments.  12-19-2025

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In this week’s special elections, a Democrat got elected mayor of Miami for the first time in almost 30 years — by a 19-point margin; and, even Trump country in Georgia is not safe from Democratic wins – Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: How did we end up with Trump back in the White House? We got here in part because Republicans built a movement over several decades centered on what are called “the culture wars.” But there’s a long history behind the culture wars, going back at least a century to the Scopes Trial, in 1925, about teaching evolution. It’s still an issue today. Adam Hochschild is on the show to explain. (First recorded February 18, 2025)  12-12-2025

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Trump on Wednesday declared that Democrats who say we are in an affordability crisis are “pulling a con job” – he said prices are “falling across the country, just about everything is down.” But the statistics show the opposite, prices have NOT been falling; another key factor of affordability is stagnation of wages – Harold Meyerson comments.

On Bob Dylan’s earliest recordings “Through the Open Window: A Bootleg Series vol. 18” – they start in 1956 when he was 15 years old and go up through 1963, his historic performance in Carnegie Hall – “Bob Dylan in America” author Sean Wilentz comments.  12-5-2025

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Last Friday Marjorie Taylor Greene announced she was quitting after Trump excommunicated her from MAGA, while the same day Trump welcomed Zohran Mamdani to the White House with open arms and high praise. What’s going on with Trump? Harold Meyerson comments – he’s editor at large of The American Prospect.

Also: Alice Waters, the legendary founder of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, winner of the National Humanities Medal, awarded by Obama, talks about how to make school lunch delicious, affordable, organic, and beautiful – and locally sourced from regenerative farmers. Her new book is A School Lunch Revolution.

Plus: The Republicans call it ‘illegal immigration’: Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist Sonia Nazario recounts the journey of a 16-year-old Honduran boy who fought immense obstacles and dangers to reach his mother in the US, who he hadn’t seen since he was five. Sonia’s book is Enrique’s Journey.   (Originally broadcast in March, 2006)  11-28-2025

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On Wednesday night, Trump signed the bill requiring release of the Epstein Files; something he devoted all of his political power to preventing. What does this mean for Trump, for MAGA, and for the rest of us? Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: After almost a year of Trump stonewalling about the Epstein files, Republicans in the House finally took a stand against him. More than a hundred Republican members were prepared to vote for releasing the files. Facing a dramatic defeat, on Sunday night Trump caved, and Tuesday the vote in the House was nearly unanimous. John Nichols has our analysis.

Plus: The Americans who fought in World War II have been called “the greatest generation,” but historian David Nasaw argues that it’s more appropriate to regard them as “the wounded generation.” That’s the title of his new book about vets coming home after WWII.  11-21-2025