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Abortion rights voters are reshaping politics in the coming political season—starting with a special election to the Virginia State Senate. Also: the most important election of 2023 is for the open seat on the Wisconsin State Supreme Court. John Nichols explains.

Also: Walmart is the biggest employer in America, and the Walton family, the children of Walmart founder Sam Walton, is the richest family in the world. The company has raised wages and become more socially conscious-but it provides a case study of the limits of socially conscious capitalism. Rick Wartzman will explain – his new book on Walmart and its workers is titled “Still Broke.”  1-19-2023

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Senator Bernie Sanders gave a major speech on Tuesday about the lives of working Americans – Harold Meyerson comments. Also: the coming primary for Diane Feinstein’s senate seat.

Plus: the UC TA strike: just when you thought you were out, they pull you back in – with “attestation” forms to dock back pay. Nelson Lichtenstein explains.

Also: Abortion remains a potent force mobilizing liberal and progressive voters in the upcoming 2023 state legislative races – John Nichols has our analysis.

And Joshua Holland explains why people in Denmark are so much happier than people in the USA.  1-19-2023

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If you were planning a future coup, what could you learn from the failure of Trump’s efforts on January 6? Fintan O’Toole says it would need a better story – not attacking Congress, but “defending democracy.” He teaches at Princeton, and is the author most recently of We Don’t Know Ourselves: A Personal History of Modern Ireland.

Also: Who’d want to see a movie about Harvey Weinstein? But the film “She Said,” about the two New York Times reporters who broke the Harvey Weinstein story, is not about Harvey; it’s about the system that protected him. And it’s really good. Katha Pollitt comments.  1-12-2023

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After a 30-year campaign, Yale finally recognized UNITE-HERE as the union representing TAs. Harold Meyerson reports – and also on the Teamsters as they prepare to strike against UPS in August.

Plus: f you were planning a future coup, what could you learn from the failure of Trump’s efforts on January 6? Fintan O’Toole says it would need a better story—not attacking Congress, but “defending democracy.” He teaches at Princeton, and is the author most recently of We Don’t Know Ourselves: A Personal History of Modern Ireland.

Also: who’d want to see a movie about Harvey Weinstein? Well, the film She Said, about the two New York Times reporters who broke the Harvey Weinstein story, is not about Harvey; it’s about the system that protected him. And it’s really good. Katha Pollitt comments.  1-12-2023

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Teaching Assistants and other grad student employees at the University of California won a historic victory in their strike last month. What does that mean for other universities and other union organizing campaigns? Nelson Lichtenstein joins the show to comment.

Also this week, Andrew Bacevich talks about our “very long war” going back to the sixties, and the relative insignificance of Donald Trump. Bacevich’s new book is On Shedding an Obsolete Past: Bidding Farewell to the American Century.  1-5-2023

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Harold Meyerson analyzes the Republican failure to elect a Speaker of the House – and what it tells us about the future of the new Congress.

Teaching Assistants and other grad student employees at the University of California won a historic victory in their strike last month. What does that mean for other universities and other union organizing campaigns? Nelson Lichtenstein joins the show to comment.

Also this week, Andrew Bacevich talks about our “very long war” going back to the sixties, and the relative insignificance of Donald Trump. Bacevich’s new book is On Shedding an Obsolete Past: Bidding Farewell to the American Century.  1-5-2023

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For our end-of year show, we are featuring a couple of our favorite book segments from 2022.  First, a Black guy’s guide to the Constitution: Elie Mystal explains why “our constitution is not good.” He’s The Nation’s justice correspondent and author of “Allow Me to Retort”.

Also: “Bad Mexicans”—that’s what the revolutionaries of 1910 were called as they fought on both sides of the US-Mexico border against the robber barons and their political allies. UCLA historian Kelly Lytle Hernandez tells that story and talks about her book on race, empire, and revolution in the borderlands.  12-29-2022

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For our end-of year show we are featuring some of our favorite book segments from 2022, starting with Elie Mystal, The Nation’s Justice Correspondent, who says our constitution is not good.  His new book is “Allow Me to Retort: A Black Guy’s Guide to the Constitution.”

Plus: “Bad Mexicans” – that’s what the revolutionaries of 1910 were called as they fought on both sides of the US-Mexico border against the robber barons and their political allies. UCLA historian Kelly Lytle Hernandez tells that story, and talks about her book on race, empire, and revolution in the borderlands.

Also: We know a lot about the bad things J. Edgar Hoover did, but it turns out there’s a lot we didn’t know. Historian Beverly Gage explains; Her book is “G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover & the Making of the American Century.”  12-29-2022

Listen HERE
For our end-of year show we are featuring some of our favorite book segments from 2022, starting with Elie Mystal, The Nation’s Justice Correspondent, who says our constitution is not good.  His new book is “Allow Me to Retort: A Black Guy’s Guide to the Constitution.”

Plus: “Bad Mexicans” – that’s what the revolutionaries of 1910 were called as they fought on both sides of the US-Mexico border against the robber barons and their political allies. UCLA historian Kelly Lytle Hernandez tells that story, and talks about her book on race, empire, and revolution in the borderlands.

Also: We know a lot about the bad things J. Edgar Hoover did, but it turns out there’s a lot we didn’t know. Historian Beverly Gage explains; Her book is “G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover & the Making of the American Century.”  12-29-2022

Listen HERE
The biggest strike in the country this year, and the biggest in the history of American universities, may be over. After five weeks of picketing and protests, the union representing 48,000 graduate student employees at the University of California announced a settlement. The university made an offer, and union members are voting this week. Nelson Lichtenstein has the analysis. He teaches History at UC Santa Barbara, where he directs the Center for the Study of Work, Labor, and Democracy.

We also have a Christmas music special this week. Bob Dylan fans have been puzzled and troubled by his Christmas album, “Christmas in the Heart,” ever since he released it in 2009. To help figure out what Dylan was doing, we brought on Sean Wilentz. He’s the official historian at BobDylan.com, and also teaches American history at Princeton University.  12-22-2022