Living in the USA

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John Nichols talks about some of our favorite progressive candidates—for the Senate (Deborah Ross in NC), the House (Angie Craig in MN), and state legislatures—who show what good politics look like these days—and who have been endorsed by “Our Revolution,” the Bernie Sanders political group.

Also: Tom Hayden, who died on Sunday at 74, meant a lot to a lot of us, including Katrina vanden Heuvel—she comments on his amazing life as an activist and writer. Tom was a long-time member of the Editorial Board of The Nation and a frequent contributor to the magazine’s pages.

Plus: The documentary filmmaker, Deia Schlosberg, who was arrested while reporting on a climate-change protest in North Dakota. She is now charged with three counts of felony conspiracy and faces a possible sentence of up to 45 years.

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HAROLD MEYERSON looks at what’s next for the millions of young people who voted for Bernie–at the prospects for sustained political commitment and action in other races this fall, and in two yearsl for example, the Bernie campaign successor organization, “Our Revolution.”  Harold wrote about it for The American Prospect.

Plus TODD GITLIN remembers Tom Hayden – he succeeded Tom as president of SDS in the early sixties, and wrote about his life for Dissent and The Baffler.

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Maybe you heard the news: in the third debate, Donald Trump wouldn’t say he would accept the results of the election if he lost.  Clinton called that “horrifying.”  Joan Walsh comments—she’s The Nation’s National Affairs Correspondent.

Plus: Kai Wright examines the media that have shaped the world-view of Trump supporters—it explains a lot about their thinking.  Kai is host and producer of the podcast “The United States of Anxiety.”

And we’re still feeling good about Bob Dylan being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature last week—we’ll talk about it, and listen to some Bob Dylan songs, with Greil Marcus—he’s the author of the book “Bob Dylan by Greil Marcus, Writings 1968-2010”

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In this special edition of our podcast, Greil Marcus talks about “Highway 61 Revisited,” “Masters of War,” and “Like a Rolling Stone”—and the way Dylan has changed those songs in live performances over the decades.

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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.