Living in the USA

Historian Linda Gordon talks about the KKK of the 1920s, and the arrest of Fred Trump, father of the president, at a Klan march in New York City in 1927. her new book is “The Second Coming of the KKK.”
Also, historian Nancy MacLean talks about the roots of the right’s stealth plan for America, a bringing together of libertarian economic theory and segregationist opposition to civil rights. Her new book is “Democracy in Chains” – it was named the “most valuable political book of 2017” on The Nation’s progressive honor roll.
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Our year-in-review show opens with Katha Pollitt on #MeToo in 2017. The year began with the resignation of Bill O’Reilly and ended with the resignation of Al Franken. Along the way we had Harvey Weinstein and Roy Moore. But what about sexual harassment by men who aren’t in high profile media or politics positions?
Plus: the state with the most remarkable political year was Alabama: starting with the appointment of Senator Jeff Sessions as Attorney General and ending with Doug Jones winning the election for Sessions’s seat, the first Democrat to win an Alabama senate seat in 27 years. Legendary Alabama journalist Howell Raines reviews the many surprises along the way and assesses their significance.

For our year-in-review show, we turn to John Nichols, The Nation magazine’s National Affairs Correspondent, who highlights the Resistance in 2017. His Progressive Honor Roll for the year appears at TheNation.com.
At the top of the list: Senator Elizabeth Warren.
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Two ways to interview a Nazi: on the one hand, The New York Times recently did a profile of “the Nazi next door,” portraying him as an ordinary guy; on the other, Gary Younge confronted Richard Spencer, America’s leading white supremacist, on video. With Gary’s help, we compare and contrast the two approaches.
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Jane Mayer of The New Yorker reports on Mike Pence’s family (she interviewed his mother), his youth, his politics, and his lifelong ambition to be president.
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“Raising Trump” is Ivana’s new book about Don Jr., Ivanka, Jared and little Eric—Amy Wilentz says it’s not your typical child-raising advice book.
Plus: The GOP tax bill in the Senate: Harold Meyerson brings us the bad news.
And historian Linda Gordon on the arrest of Fred Trump (Donald Trump’s Father) at a KKK rally in 1927, and, her new book: “The Second Coming of the KKK: The Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s and the American Political Tradition.”
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The legendary journalist Howell Raines reports from Alabama on the continuing Republican support for Roy Moore, the Senate candidate accused of molesting a 14-year-old and sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl. Meanwhile, his Democratic opponent, the heroic civil-rights attorney Doug Jones, is running “the most vigorous Democratic campaign that’s been waged in Alabama in at least 30 years.”
Also, the president and the bomb: We’re hoping the generals keep Trump from doing anything crazy, like starting a nuclear war with North Korea—but the system is set up to give the president control over nuclear weapons, rather than the military. Adam Shatz explains–he wrote about Trump and the bomb for the London Review of Books.
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Trump Year One: The Resistance and the ACLU.  David Cole reports–he’s the ACLU’s National Legal Director, and he discusses voting rights, the travel ban, and the essential role played by citizen activism.
Also: Our Washington Report with Harold Meyerson, executive editor of The American Prospect: the House passes the GOP tax bill, and Al Franken apologizes for unwanted sexual acts.
Plus: historian Steve Ross talks about his new book, ‘Hitler in L.A.: How Jews Foiled Nazi Plots against Hollywood and America.’
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The Democratic triumph in Tuesday’s Virginia election and its implications for 2018–Harold Meyerson comments, also: what the Democrats should do on tax policy.
Plus: Katha Pollitt on anger management, one year after Trump was elected;
And: New York City–it’s Trump’s home, and it’s also the antithesis of Trump. Comment from Mike Wallace–he won the Pulitzer Prize in History in 1999 for “Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898” and has authored a follow up, it’s called “Greater Gotham: A History of NYC 1898-1919”.
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11/9/2017

Amy Wilentz joins us live in-studio to talk about the Trump family troubles around the indictments: will Paul Manafort flip and testify not only against Donald Trump, but also against Don Jr. and Jared?
Plus, John Nichols talks about what’s in the House tax bill:  It’s not good.
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