Episodes

Thursday Apr 16, 2020
Thursday Apr 16, 2020
Enjoy this preview of our latest bonus episode, where we talk with Jeff Spross about our previous episode with Rohan Grey. To hear the whole thing, subscribe here!

Sunday Apr 12, 2020
Sunday Apr 12, 2020
Today we are talking with Harvey Kaye about his new book FDR on Democracy: The Greatest Speeches and Writings of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. We discuss how Roosevelt's radical politics can be discerned well before he became president, his extraordinary political agility and boldness, how he used history to paint a new picture of America, and more. Enjoy!

Monday Apr 06, 2020
Monday Apr 06, 2020
We've got author Tara Isabella Burton on to talk about her forthcoming book Strange Rites: New Religions for a Godless World, to talk about spirituality and belief in an age when traditional religious forms are collapsing. We discuss the faith-like activities and beliefs of the religious "nones," the blasphemous theology of the Prosperity Gospel, how people might discover collective moral views during the coronavirus pandemic, and more. Enjoy!

Wednesday Apr 01, 2020

Saturday Mar 28, 2020
Saturday Mar 28, 2020
We're talking with Rohan Grey today about a proposal he worked on with Rep. Rashida Tlaib on funding massive cash aid to Americans funded with two $1 trillion platinum coins. We talk about the balance of power between the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department, what it would mean for the Treasury to reclaim the authority to print money, a UBI versus a job guarantee, and more. Enjoy!
PS: This essay Ryan wrote on a similar idea might be useful background.

Wednesday Mar 25, 2020
Wednesday Mar 25, 2020
This time we've got a bit of an off-beat interview, talking with Anne Orchier about the effort to stop Los Angeles from hosting the Olympic Games in 2028. It's not directly relevant to the coronavirus pandemic, but it does have a lot of the same themes, in that the Olympics have become a locus of disaster capitalism where rich elites wreak terrible social carnage to make a quick buck. Enjoy!

Thursday Mar 19, 2020
Thursday Mar 19, 2020
Once again we're talking coronavirus, with returning guest Manu Saadia. We talk about what is to be learned from the various approaches different countries have taken, how Democrats are bungling the crisis, and how we might seize the moment to change prevailing ideological orthodoxy, and push through vital reforms. Enjoy!
You can find Manu's book Trekonomics here.

Monday Mar 16, 2020
Monday Mar 16, 2020
Today we've got A.C. Grayling on to talk about his book The Good State, which provides his model of how an ideal democratic system should be set up. It's a bit off the news but we thought it would be a nice break for people worried about the coronavirus pandemic. Enjoy!

Sunday Mar 08, 2020
Sunday Mar 08, 2020
Today we do a deep dive into Joe Biden's terrible record in the Senate, and marginally-less terrible record as vice president. Then we turn to electability, and why a Biden nomination would screw up almost all of the strongest arguments against Trump -- on protecting Social Security and Medicare, on trade, on #MeToo, on abuse of immigrants, on corruption, and on mental fitness.
Links to stuff mentioned in the discussion: Corey Robin on Clarence Thomas, Emma Caterine on bankruptcy, Ryan's episode on the bailout disaster, Branko Marcetic on Biden's record, and Jon Walker on Obamacare's technical defects.

Thursday Mar 05, 2020
Thursday Mar 05, 2020
In this excerpt we discuss how to help Democratic voters realize that a Biden nomination is the risk it is. Subscribe here to hear the whole thing!

Welcome aboard!
This podcast is by journalist Ryan Cooper and academic Alexi the Greek. We talk politics, philosophy, history, current events, and whatever else catches our fancy.






