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Tuesday’s vote tested the potency of abortion rights as an issue for Democrats, with a referendum in Ohio and the election of a new state legislature in Virginia. John Nichols has our analysis of those elections, and some others.

Also on this episode of Start Making Sense: What is Israel’s endgame in its war with Hamas? Over the past 50 years they’ve tried two radically different strategies in Gaza, and neither succeeded. Fintan O’Toole explains that history. He teaches at Princeton and is an advising editor at the New York Review of Books, where he’s been writing about Israel, Hamas, and Gaza.

Transcript HERE  11-9-2023

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John Nichols has our analysis of Tuesday’s election victories in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Kentucky. But those victories came right after a series of very bad polls for Biden – especially a new NYTimes Poll that shows Trump leading in 5 out of 6 swing states. Could Biden’s poll numbers really be that bad?  Harold Meyerson comments.

Later in the show: What is Israel’s endgame in its war with Hamas? Over the past 50 years, it has tried two radically different strategies in Gaza, and neither succeeded. Fintan O’Toole will explain that history. He teaches at Princeton and he’s an advising editor at The New York Review of Books, where he’s been writing about Israel, Hamas, and Gaza.  11-9-2023

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A cease-fire in Gaza is only the beginning of what Israel and the Palestinians need. D.D. Guttenplan, The Nation’s editor, argues that “both peoples will have to find a way to share the land—in peace, yes, but also with justice.”

Also on this episode of Start Making Sense: victory for the United Auto Workers in their strike against the big three automakers, GM, Ford, and Stellantis. Harold Meyerson, editor-at-large of The American Prospect, explains what’s in the new contract, and what it took to get there.

Transcript HERE  11-2-2023

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Victory for the United Auto Workers in their strike against the big three automakers, GM, Ford, and Stellantis. Harold Meyerson, editor-at-large of The American Prospect, explains what’s in the new contract, and what it took to get there.

Also: A cease-fire in Gaza is only the beginning of what Israel and the Palestinians need. D.D. Guttenplan, The Nation’s editor, argues that “both peoples will have to find a way to share the land—in peace, yes, but also with justice.”

Plus: Adam Hochschild: Woodrow Wilson’s threats to American Democracy. Adam’s book “American Midnight” is out now in paperback.  11-2-2023

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In response to Hamas’s attack on Oct. 7, Adam Shatz says Israel’s disregard for Palestinian life has never been more callous or more flagrant. But Israel can’t extinguish Palestinian resistance by violence any more than the Palestinians can win an Algerian-style liberation war.

The only thing that can save the people of Israel and Palestine is a political solution that recognizes both as equal citizens. Shatz is the former literary editor of The Nation and now US editor of the London Review of Books, where he wrote about Israel and Gaza.

Transcript HERE  10-26-2023

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The Biden administration says Israel’s planned invasion of Gaza “lacks achievable military objectives.” And yet Biden supports it. Harold Meyerson examines this contradiction.

Also: Adam Shatz says Israel’s disregard for Palestinian life after the Oct. 7 terror attacks has never been more callous or more flagrant. But Israel can’t extinguish Palestinian resistance by violence any more than the Palestinians can win an Algerian-style liberation war. The only thing that can save the people of Israel and Palestine is a political solution that recognizes both as equal citizens. Shatz is the former literary editor of The Nation and now US editor of the London Review of Books, where he wrote about Israel and Gaza.  10-26-2023

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Israel and Gaza, Hamas and the Palestinians, war crimes and mideast history: On this episode of the Start Making Sense podcast, we have comment and analysis from Amy Wilentz, Nation contributor and former Jerusalem correspondent of The New Yorker.

Transcript HERE  10-19-2023

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Biden’s trip to Israel, Israel’s attack on Gaza, politics in the US and Israel: Harold Meyerson of The American Prospect comments – and talks about why he left DSA; and Amy Wilentz, former Jerusalem correspondent for The New Yorker, provides analysis.  10-19-2023

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The UAW won a historic victory in their strike against GM—an agreement that EV workers will be covered by the union contract. Harold Meyerson explains, and also comments on Israel’s war against Hamas.

Also: Elon Musk has been a leader in the transition to renewable energy, and has made Twitter into a threat to democracy. He has become the face of 21st-century capitalism. David Nasaw has our analysis.

Transcript HERE  10-12-2023

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The UAW won a historic victory when GM agreed that workers in EV and battery factories would be covered by the union contract.  Harold Meyerson comments on that, and on Israel’s war with Hamas.

Plus: Voters in Maine will decide next month whether to turn the state’s private utilities public. If that happens, it would be a huge step toward dealing with the climate crisis, and a model for other states. Bill McKibben will explain.

Also: Two girls grew up in the 1980s and ’90s in a small town in Arkansas. One made it out and became a successful journalist and writer; her best friend, who had been super smart as a kid, fell into drugs, getting pregnant too young, and petty crime. How did their lives turn out to be so different?  Katha Pollitt talks about the wonderful new memoir by Monica Potts, The Forgotten Girls.  10-12-2023