MAGA vs. DOGE: Harold Meyerson; Project 2025: Rick Perlstein; The Bob Dylan Movie: John Powers

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A fight has broken out between Elon Musk and the MAGA activists and base about immigration – specifically, over H-1B visas. But what exactly IS an H-1B visa; and why is there so much heat around the issue? Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s famous 900 page book, is partly “too dumb to accomplish anything at all”– the rest, can be read as a useful catalog of how we should focus our resistance – Rick Perlstein explains.

Plus: The ever-elusive Bob Dylan seems an unlikely candidate for a Hollywood biopic. John Powers, a critic-at-large on NPR’s Fresh Air, talks about how the new movie “A Complete Unknown” captures a defining moment in his career and in American culture.  1-3-2025

The Dylan Movie, and the Trump Books

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The endlessly elusive Bob Dylan seems an unlikely candidate for a Hollywood biopic. John Powers, Critic-at-Large on NPR’s “Fresh Air,” talks about how the new movie “A Complete Unknown” captures a defining moment in his career — and in American culture .

Also: Our holiday reading guide: Dozens of books about Trump were published at the end of his first term, some selling millions of copies. Now that he’s coming back, it’s time to look at what some of those books had to say about him. Host Jon Wiener presents his list, including the one with the best title: “A Very Stable Genius.”

Transcript HERE  1-1-2025

Best Books about Trump; Why Kamala Lost; Why Danes are Happier than Americans

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Donald Trump has been bad for America but good for American book publishers. Now that Trump is coming back we look at what the best of those books had to say about him, also, the worst: Also, Melania has published a memoir: “Melania,” where she revisits plagiarizing Michelle Obama for her 2016 RNC convention speech, and wearing that jacket that said “I don’t care, do U?” when she visited INS detention camps for children separated from their parents at the border. Amy Wilentz comments on her explanations—and on the rest of the book. (Originally recorded 10-26-2024.)

Next: Kamala Harris lost not because Democratic voters switched to Trump, Steve Phillips shows, but because of a massive failure of the Democrats to turn out their base. (Originally recorded 12-11-2024.)

Plus: Joshua Holland explains why people in Denmark are so much happier than people in the USA. (Originally recorded 1-19-2023.)  12-27-2024

Working-Class Wins—Plus, Hot Rod Racing

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Hotel and restaurant workers in Los Angeles won a $30 minimum wage last week; Disneyland workers are going to get $233 million in back pay; and Wisconsin public employees regained collective bargaining rights. Harold Meyerson reports on some victories in the class struggle in America.

Also: a special feature: Novelist Rachel Kushner reports on the world of Nostalgia Drag Racing, where people make machines—with their hands. One of them is her teenage son.  12-20-2024

Disney Workers Win Big: Harold Meyerson; Bob Dylan’s Xmas: Sean Wilentz

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Disney unions won the biggest ever back pay settlement, and Amazon drivers in the Southland are going on strike this week – Harold Meyerson reports on the class struggle in Southern California.

Also: Bob Dylan fans have been puzzled and troubled by his Christmas album ever since he released it in 2009. To help figure out what Dylan was doing, we turn to Sean Wilentz. He’s the official historian at BobDylan.com, and he also teaches history at Princeton. (Originally recorded in January, 2005.)​  12-20-2024

Why Kamala Lost, plus Trump Family Activities

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Kamala Harris lost not because Democratic voters switched to Trump, Steve Phillips shows, but because of a massive failure of the Democrats to turn out their base.

Also: In a new episode of “The Children’s Hour,” Amy Wilentz reports on “Lives of the In-Laws” – Ivanka’s and Tiffany’s – and comments also on the rise of Eric’s wife Lara, and about the latest schemes of Ivanka’s husband Jared Kushner.

Transcript HERE  12-11-2024

Good news and bad news for workers: Harold Meyerson; The Trump In-Laws: Amy Wilentz

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Workers in Los Angeles and Wisconsin made major gains this week, while the NLRB is falling into Trump’s hands, thanks to Joe Manchin & Kyrsten Sinema — Harold Meyerson reports.

Also: a new episode of “The Children’s Hour,” Amy Wilentz reports on “Lives of the In-Laws”—Ivanka’s father-in-law, and Tiffany’s — and comments also on the rise of Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara, the wife of Eric.  12-13-2024

The Courts, Trump, and Us: A Q&A With David Cole

Last time, the courts were an essential checking force on the Trump administration. This time around, they may again provide a check—if we push.

We shouldn’t underestimate the threats that Trump poses, but we shouldn’t underestimate the headwinds he’s likely to face if people oppose his initiatives. Remember, autocracy takes time. It’s hard work. Trump is not good at that. Let’s be realistic about our goal: We can probably limit the damage; we can prepare the ground for future victories. But how much can we limit the damage? Really, nobody knows, and the only way to find out is to try. We do know the writers of the Constitution did a lot to try to prevent one-man rule—by creating the famous checks and balances, including the courts as a check on the president.

But most of our friends think this Supreme Court will not stop Trump. To discuss, we are joined by David Cole, legal affairs correspondent for The Nation. Cole recently stepped down as national legal director of the ACLU to return to teaching law at Georgetown. He writes for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The New York Review of Books.

… continued at The Nation, HERE 12-10-2024

What Can Stop Trump, plus Project 2025 – the Dumb Parts

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“Our worst enemy right now is not Trump himself, but fatalism about our ability to stop him.” That’s what David Cole says – he recently stepped down as National Legal Director of the ACLU, after 8 years and hundreds of lawsuits against the first Trump administration.

Also: Project 2025,the Heritage Foundation’s famous 900 page book, is partly “”too dumb to accomplish anything at all”–that’s what Rick Perlstein says. The rest, he says, can be read as a useful catalog of how we should focus our resistance.

Transcript HERE  12-6-2024

The GOP’s Tiny House Majority: Harold Meyerson; How to Stop Trump; David Cole

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The GOP majority in the House will be 217-to 215 Dems – for months, until special elections in April bring it up to 220. What are the odds odds that House Republicans will be 100% united when Trump sends them his key legislation? Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: “Our worst enemy right now is not Trump himself, but fatalism about our ability to stop him.” That’s what David Cole says – he recently stepped down as National Legal Director of the ACLU, after 8 years and hundreds of lawsuits against the first Trump administration.  12-6-2024