Start Making Sense

Listen HERE

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.

Also: 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.

Transcript HERE  4-22-2026

Listen HERE

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.

Also: 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.  Transcript HERE  4-15-2026

Listen HERE

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.

Also: 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.

Transcript HERE  4-8-2026

Listen HERE

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.

Transcript HERE  3-31-2026

Listen HERE

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.

Also: 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.

Transcript HERE  3-26-2026

Listen HERE

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.

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.

Transcript HERE  3-18-2026

Listen HERE

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.  Transcript HERE  3-12-2026

Listen HERE

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.

Also: 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.

Transcript HERE  3-4-2026

Listen HERE

Trump’s State of the Union speech was predictable, but nevertheless revealing of his state of mind. John Nichols has our analysis.

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.”

Transcript HERE  2-25-2026

Listen HERE

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.

Transcript HERE  2-18-2026