Living in the USA

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Amy Goodman talks about 20 years of Democracy Now—including how she got arrested in my home town of St. Paul.  She’s coming to town tomorrow/ Thursday, to Immanuel Presbyterian Church, 3300 Wilshire Blvd. at 7pm.

Also: Viet Nguyen talks about “The Sympathizer,” the best political novel I’ve read in a long time.  It opens in Saigon on the last day of the Vietnam war and follows a nameless spy who has infiltrated the South Vietnamese army and then flees with its remnants to America.  It’s out now in paperback.

Plus The Spanish Civil War: it was huge event in the rise of fascism and in the history of the American left. We’ll talk about it with Adam Hochschild – his new book is Spain in Our Hearts: Americans and the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939.  Adam and I will be in conversation at the LA Public Library ALOUD series tomorrow/Thurs night, 7pm; the library is at 5th & Flower Streets.

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John Nichols says that, after his big win in the Wisconsin primary, Bernie has momentum on his side.  And the Republicans problems deepen after Cruz’s victory there.

Also: David Cole argues that citizen activists are the real force behind changes in constitutional law – look at how the NRA changed the meaning of the Second Amendment; look at how the gay rights movement changed the meaning of “marriage.”  His new book is Engines of Liberty.
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Plus: Obama’s legacy: Gary Younge contrasts the symbolic victory with the real defeats for the left., especially in the use of US military power in the Mideast.

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HAROLD MEYERSON analyzes Bernie’s big win in Wisconsin, and considers the conundrum facing Republicans with the defeat there of Donald Trump.  Harold is executive editor of The American Prospect and writes for the LA Times, the Guardian, and other publications.

Plus:  – politics in 1944!  DAVID REID  talks about the last hurrah of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the glory days of the CIO Political Action Committee – his new book is The Brazen Age: New York City and the  American Empire, Politics, Art and Bohemia.
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Also: ARI BERMAN reports on the effects of Wisconsin’s new Voter ID law, the Republicans’ effort to reduce Democratic turnout.  Ari was in Wisconsin for the primary; his book is Give Us the Ballot.

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If Donald Trump were president, would he be a familiar kind of New York deal-maker—or a deluded demagogue? Sasha Abramsky considers the possibilities.

Also: Campaign contributions go mostly to TV ads that don’t work, and consultants who are even more useless, Andrew Cockburn reports —what counts is face-to-face canvassing to build voter turnout.

Plus: Obama is a “folk hero” in black America, says Erin Aubrey Kaplan—her new book is “I Heart Obama.”

And, for opening day of major league baseball, our Dave Zirin talks about the game with Noam Chomsky—who recalls growing up with the hapless Philadelphia Athletics, and going to Little League games with his grandson today.

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John Nichols reports on the latest political battleground: Wisconsin, where the Republican Establishment says they will stop Donald Trump, and where Bernie badly needs to win. John’s new book is People Get Ready: The Fight Against a Jobless Economy and a Citizenless Democracy.

Plus: Obama’s legacy for black America is mostly symbolic, Gary Younge argues—the wealth gap between black & white has grown over the last 8 years, along with black poverty. Gary writes for The Guardian & The Nation.

Also: We return to the Rosenberg case: now we know that Julius was a spy, but didn’t give the Soviets the secret of the A-bomb; and we know that Ethel was framed.  So it’s time to exonerate Ethel.  Robbie Meeropol will talk about the progress of that campaign, starting with members of the New York City Council issuing a proclamation declaring that the US government “wrongfully executed Ethel Rosenberg.”  Robbie is one of the Rosenbergs’ sons and founder of the Rosenberg Fund for Children.

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Today’s political update: HAROLD MEYERSON of The American Prospect comments on how Bernie’s forces are transforming American politics this year and–perhaps–into the future.

Also: An update on the L.A. River: Is it possible to beautify a city, without making it a playground for the elite?  RICHARD KREITNER reports on the threat of gentrification of the riverbanks.  He wrote about it this week for The Nation.

And TOM FRANK looks at the Democrats from the 1990s to the present and asks, whatever happened to the party of the people? His new book is Listen, Liberal.

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What’s left for Bernie Sanders after Tuesday’s primaries? Plenty of opportunities, says John Nichols—he’s The Nation’s National Affairs correspondent.

Plus: North Carolina’s new voter ID requirements, the most restrictive in the country, went into effect on Tuesday—Ari Berman explains the problem. He is the author of Give Us the Ballot.

And Thomas Frank asks the question: Whatever happened to the party of the people? His new book is Listen, Liberal.

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Today we’ll be broadcasting from the Center for Obama Studies, where our guest will be ERIN AUBREY KAPLAN, talking about her new book I Heart Obama.  She was a staff writer for the LA Weekly in its glory days and more recently a weekly op-ed columnist for the LA Times.

Also: HAROLD MEYERSON with our political update on yesterday’s primaries, where–maybe you heard–Hillary triumphed, and so did Trump; Little Marco is out, but Bernie isn’t finished yet.

And everything isn’t politics; there’s also movies.  We’ll speak with A. O. SCOTT, film critic for the NY Times–his new book is Better Living through Criticism: How to Think about Art, Pleasure, Beauty, and Truth.

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Donald Trump: fascist, or clown?  JOHN POWERS considers the possibilities — John is critic at large on Fresh Air with Terry Gross, where he has an audience of four million.

Also: one of the great political upsets in recent history: Bernie in Michigan.  HAROLD MEYERSON analyzes what happened.  Harold is executive editor of The American Prospect and writes for the LA Times and The Guardian.

Plus: a different kind of politics: the gay revolution. LILLIAN FADERMAN talks about the 50-year fight—the years of outrageous injustice, the early battles, the heartbreaking defeats, and the victories beyond the dreams of the gay-rights pioneers. Her new book is The Gay Revolution.