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The film Snowden, which opens this weekend, was turned down by all of the big Hollywood studios. Director Oliver Stone explains what it took to make his film about the NSA whistle-blower—and why Edward Snowden deserves a presidential pardon.

Plus: Nation Sports Editor Dave Zirin says Colin Kaepernick’s protest against police violence is changing the NFL, which has been a bastion of support for our permanent state of war.

And Margo Jefferson talks about what she calls “Negroland”—the world of the black elite in the 1950s, the world in which she grew up. She won the Pulitzer Prize in Criticism; her book Negroland: A Memoir won the National Book Critics Circle award—it’s out now in paperback.

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Stanley Sheinbaum died on Monday – he was one of the greats in progressive politics.   Perhaps his most important achievement, at least for LA, came when he was head of the Police Commission during the Rodney King riots, and he worked to get rid of the horrible police chief Darryl Gates.   We’ll speak with BOB SCHEER about Stanley.

Also: Donald Trump announced his plan that will “solve the problem” of child care — HAROLD MEYERSON of The American Prospect comments.  Also: Hillary’s pneumonia–not that important; and rising middle class incomes–very important.

Plus: OLIVER STONE talks about his new film “Snowden” – it opens on Friday.

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Phyllis Schlafly died Monday—they called her “the first lady of the right.”  Katha Pollitt considers what Phyllis Schafly might have been, if it weren’t for women like Phyllis Schlafly.

Also: Rosa Brooks explains How Everything Became War, and the Military Became Everything (the title of her new book).  She’s a law professor at Georgetown University and a former op-ed columnist for the LA Times (and she’s also the daughter of Barbara Ehrenreich).

And we’ll talk about politics with John Nichols—the new CNN poll shows Trump AHEAD BY TWO, while the new Washington Post poll shows it’s almost impossible for him to win.

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In this exclusive interview with Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate for president responds to the most common criticisms she hears: Won’t a Green vote make Trump’s victory more likely? Didn’t Bernie show it was better for progressives to work inside the Democratic Party? She also lays out her plan for a “Green New Deal.”

Plus: French officials banned the burkini from beaches on the grounds that it was “a symbol of the enslavement of women.” Katha Pollitt has a different view.

And as Labor Day weekend approaches, Harold Meyerson analyzes some political victories for the working class, especially in California, where Democrats have complete control of state politics.

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Amnesty for Edward Snowden: ACLU attorney Ben Wizner argues that President Obama should do the right thing in view of the NSA whistle-blower’s contributions to freedom and democracy.

The power of independent journalism was demonstrated last week when the Justice Department announced the end of privately run prisons in the federal prison system. Seth Freed Wessler explains what it took to uncover dozens of questionable deaths in these corporate, for-profit facilities in his yearlong investigation for The Nation.

Also: Who is Jared Kushner, and why does Donald Trump listen to his advice? Amy Wilentz tells the story of Trump’s influential son-in-law: how his father, Charles Kushner, was sent to prison by then–US Attorney Chris Christie; how the 2007 crash nearly destroyed the family’s real-estate fortune; and how he’s advising the Republican candidate.

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The most powerful person in Donald Trump’s campaign is not a political professional but rather his own daughter, Ivanka. Amy Wilentz explains how Ivanka got there, and comments on her personal, and political, history.

Also: Rosa Brooks talks about “how everything became war and the military became everything”—the title of her new book.  She worked at the Pentagon; now she’s a law professor at Georgetown University.

Plus: We’re still thinking about the ’60s—and so is Calvin Trillin. He went to Mississippi in 1964 as a young journalist, and in the decades since, he’s written a lot about race in America. His new book is Jackson 1964.

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Katha Pollitt explains how women employees’ complaints of sexual harrassment forced out Roger Ailes—and examnes Donald Trump’s comments about it.  Katha’s new book is Pro: Reclaiming Abortion Rights.

Plus Ari Berman analyses the effect of voting rights victories in court on Trump’s chances in North Carolina and other swing states.  Ari’s book Give Us the Ballot is out now in paperback.

And Dave Zirin reports from the Olympics in Rio – the protests, the displaced people, and the real problem: not the Brazilian government, but the International Olympic Committee.  Dave is the author of Brazil’s Dance with the Devil.