Living in the USA

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Katha Pollitt has some words for Trump and his defenders after the groping tape and the second debate, where he argued that ISIS “chopping off heads” was worse than his statements about women who will “let you do it” if you are “a star.”

Plus D.D. Guttenplan reports on the campaigns in Ohio—he found a distinct lack of enthusiasm for Clinton among Democrats there.

And Nation columnist Gary Younge talks about children killed by gun violence in America—in his new book, Another Day in the Death of America: A Chronicle of Ten Short Lives, he profiles 10 kids killed by guns on one typical day.

John Nichols of The Nation reviews the week’s exhausting political events — revelations about Trump’s sexual assaults, and the political response from Republicans.

Also, Bernie Sanders speaks! –about why he supports Hillary, and the tasks facing us the day after she’s elected.  We have clips from The Nation interview with Bernie, introduced by John Nichols, who did the interview along with Katrina vanden Heuvel.

And, for our fund drive thank-you gift, we are featuring the new book by Bernie Sanders, Our Revolution.

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For her new book, sociologist Arlie Hochschild listened to Trump supporters explain their world in their own words. She spent five years in southwestern Louisiana searching for their “deep story,” which she recounts in Strangers in Their Own Land—it’s been shortlisted for the National Book Award.

Plus: The battle inside Trump’s campaign about whether to take the low road, or the high one. Amy Wilentz analyzes the roles of Ivanka, Eric, and Don Jr.—who, we are told, are trying to get their father to campaign on actual political issues.

And we’ll also hear about a chilling disaster at a Titan II missile complex in Arkansas in September, 1980, where the most powerful nuclear warhead in our arsenal was almost detonated. That’s the subject of the new documentary Command and Control—director Robert Kenner and writer Eric Schlosser explain. The film rolls out this week across the nation.

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Feeling unenthusiastic about Hillary Clinton? Katha Pollitt says, “If she loses, it’s your fault”—so it’s time to go to work on phone banks and canvassing.

Also: Why does Trump appeal to so many voters?  Kai Wright went deep into to Trump territory on Long Island to find out—he’s host and producer of The Nation’s new podcast, “The United States of Anxiety.”

Plus: The Labour left won a big victory in Britain with the election of Jeremy Corbyn as party leader. D.D. Guttenplan explains.

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For our political update today, we’ll talk with John Nichols about the world after the great debate on Monday night: the exuberance and feeling of triumph among Clinton supporters.

Also: a new documentary about a chilling disaster at a Titan II missile complex in Arkansas in September, 1980, where the most powerful nuclear warhead in our arsenal nearly was detonated.  We’ll speak with award-winning director Robbie Kenner and the writer Eric Schlosser about “Command and Control”–the film opens Friday at the Nuart in LA and is rolling out across America.

Plus: the death penalty in California.  Voters here will face TWO death penalty initiatives on the November ballot – Prop 62 would abolish the death penalty, while Prop. 66 attempts to quote “fix” it make it work faster.  Stephen Rohde says “Yes on 62, Nix on 66!”

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The Nation interview with Bernie: John Nichols, who with Katrina vanden Heuvel sat down with the senator, sets the scene and introduces our excerpts.  Bernie talks about Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, and the future of the Democratic Party.

Plus: Edward Snowden explains his motivation for revealing the extent of NSA surveillance, and says he’d be willing to go to jail if he could come home. Amy Wilentz explains Snowden’s appearance via live video from Moscow at a UC Irvine conference and introduces our excerpts.

Also: Henry Kissinger, war criminal and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, has announced he will not endorse either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. Greg Grandin talks about Kissinger’s life and crimes—his book Kissinger’s Shadow is out now in paperback.

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The political impact of Latino immigrants on state politics: HAROLD MEYERSON explains the difference between Texas, which has an identical proportion of Latinos and is a terrible Republican state, and California, which is Democratic, and pretty darn good.

Also: What’s it like to be an abortion provider in Utah—where state laws have made it almost impossible for women to get abortions?  we’ll ask Dr. Leah Torres – she’s one of about ten remaining abortion providers in the entire state.

Plus: our dirty elections: ANDREW GUMBEL has that unfortunate story.  He’s an award-winning investigative reporter who worked for 20 years as a foreign correspondent for The Guardian and the Independent, and his new book is Down for the Count: Dirty Elections and the Rotten History of Democracy in America.

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The film Snowden, which opens this weekend, was turned down by all of the big Hollywood studios. Director Oliver Stone explains what it took to make his film about the NSA whistle-blower—and why Edward Snowden deserves a presidential pardon.

Plus: Nation Sports Editor Dave Zirin says Colin Kaepernick’s protest against police violence is changing the NFL, which has been a bastion of support for our permanent state of war.

And Margo Jefferson talks about what she calls “Negroland”—the world of the black elite in the 1950s, the world in which she grew up. She won the Pulitzer Prize in Criticism; her book Negroland: A Memoir won the National Book Critics Circle award—it’s out now in paperback.

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Stanley Sheinbaum died on Monday – he was one of the greats in progressive politics.   Perhaps his most important achievement, at least for LA, came when he was head of the Police Commission during the Rodney King riots, and he worked to get rid of the horrible police chief Darryl Gates.   We’ll speak with BOB SCHEER about Stanley.

Also: Donald Trump announced his plan that will “solve the problem” of child care — HAROLD MEYERSON of The American Prospect comments.  Also: Hillary’s pneumonia–not that important; and rising middle class incomes–very important.

Plus: OLIVER STONE talks about his new film “Snowden” – it opens on Friday.