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The Nation Podcasts
Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.
Episodes
The Nation PodcastsDoes it Have to Be Biden? Joan Walsh on the Candidates, plus Joshua Holland on Impeachment and Peter Richardson on Carey McWilliams
When Joe Biden finally declared his candidacy, he immediately pulled way out in front in the polls of Democratic candidates. The polls also show him the one…
The Nation Podcasts‘We’re capable of doing remarkable things to combat climate change’: Bill McKibben plus Richard J. Evans on Eric Hobsbawm
What can we do to reduce the speed of climate change? Bill McKibben argues that we're at a bleak moment in human history -- and we'll either confront that…
The Nation PodcastsTrump’s Tax Returns: Why We Will See Them, and What We Will Find: David Cay Johnston, plus Zoe Carpenter on plastics and Laurie Winer on Stephen Miller
The chair of the House Ways and Means Committee formally requested six years of Trump’s personal & business tax returns earlier this month. Trump has said he…
The Nation PodcastsKirsten Gillibrand’s Journey to the Left: Joan Walsh, plus Eric Foner on Reconstruction and Amy Wilentz on Jared Kushner
Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, and Elizabeth Warren are the women in the Senate who have announced campaigns for the Democratic…
The Nation PodcastsStacey Abrams: How We Fight for the Right to Vote; plus Harold Meyerson on the Trouble with Beto
* When Stacey Abrams ran for governor of Georgia last November as the first African-American and the first woman candidate, she got more votes than any…
The Nation PodcastsDon’t Trust Barr on the Mueller Report: John Nichols; Plus Greg Grandin on Trump’s Wall and Adam Hochschild on Woodrow Wilson
Nobody should be satisfied with Attorney General William Barr’s account of the Mueller report, says John Nichols. We had assumed that the independent counsel’s…
The Nation PodcastsCollege Admissions Scams, from Jared Kushner to the Present: Amy Wilentz, plus Medicaid in Arkansas and Abortion in Mississippi
50 people in six states were accused by the Justice Department last week of taking part in a major college admission scandal. They include Hollywood stars and…
The Nation PodcastsHow to Beat Trump in 2020: John Nichols on Strategy, Michael Kazin on Southern Democrats, and Katha Pollitt on Women
The Democrats’ picking Milwaukee for their convention in 2020 indicates how that Wisconsin is a key battleground the party must win in order to recapture the…
The Nation PodcastsBill McKibben: From Coal and Gas to Wind and Sun; plus Maia Szalavitz on the Opioid Epidemic and Sean Wilentz on Impeachment
To replace coal and oil, do we need nuclear power? Is switching from coal powered electric plants to natural gas a step in the right direction? And what…
The Nation PodcastsMichelle Goldberg: The Time is Right for a Green New Deal; plus George Zornick on Elizabeth Warren and Michael Walzer on Movement Politics
Trump’s presidency is not the end of Democracy, as some of our friends have suggested. Instead we are seeing the end of a political cycle, the one that began…
The Nation PodcastsNaomi Klein: To Fight Climate Change, We Have to Radically Rethink What Is Possible; plus Dahlia Lithwick on Trump’s ‘Emergency’ and Manuel Pastor on Calif. vs. Trump
Naomi Klein says the Green New Deal needs to follow the example of the New Deal of the 1930s, when nothing would have happened without “massive pressure from…
The Nation PodcastsChild Care for All belongs on the Progressive Agenda Katha Pollitt, plus David Klion on Bernie’s foreign policy and Antony Loewenstein on Afghanistan
Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, free college tuition, a $15 minimum wage – and how about adding Child care for all to the Progressive agenda? That’s Katha…
The Nation PodcastsThe State of the Union is Not Good: John Nichols on Trump, plus Sasha Abramsky on TPS and Elizabeth Kolbert on climate change
John Nichols says Trump’s State of the Union speech Tuesday night was "cynical and crude." Also: Temporary Protected Status – “TPS” - has allowed…
The Nation PodcastsTrump’s Wall—and the Walls of the Future: Atossa Araxia Abrahamian on Borders, Joan Walsh on Pramila Jayapal, and Harold Meyerson on Politics after the Shutdown
The battle between Democrats and Trump over a border wall was a disagreement about symbolism, not policy, Atossa Araxia Abrahamian argues; the borders of the…
The Nation Podcasts2019 Will Be the Worst Year of Trump’s Life: John Nichols on politics, Sarah Jaffe on the LA teachers strike, and Sean Wilentz on slavery and the constitution
What will 2019 be like for Trump? Will it be like Nixon in 1974—the Watergate year, which ended with his resignation? Or more like Clinton in 1998—the Monica…
The Nation PodcastsThe anti-immigrant temptation on the left: David Adler on politics, Pedro Noguera on the LA teachers strike, and Kate Aronoff on the battle of ideas
A political movement combining a left-wing economic program with anti-immigrant initiatives: it’s developing right now in Germany and France – could it happen…
The Nation PodcastsThe Issues Republicans Are Afraid to Touch: Harold Meyerson on Politics, plus Aaron Maté on Russiagate and Alex Press on Amazon workers
Now that the Democrats are in charge in the House of Representatives, Harold Meyerson says, we can learn a lot about progressive political opportunities by…
The Nation PodcastsThe Best of 2018: Seymour Hersh on Trump, Barbara Ehrenreich on ‘Wellness,’ and Amos Oz Remembered
Our most popular interviews of the year, starting with Seymour Hersh, one of our heroes; he says “don’t underestimate Trump.” He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1970…
The Nation PodcastsThe Facts of Russiagate have been Obvious for a Long Time: David Klion on Putin and Trump, plus Amy Wilentz on Trump’s Mental Status and Bill McKibben on Climate Change
For our year-in-review show, we open with a Russiagate update with David Klion – he says it’s basically a corruption scandal whose basic facts have been…
The Nation Podcasts2018: A Big Year for Progressives—John Nichols on Politics, plus Erwin Chemerinsky on Obamacare and Atossa Araxia Abrahamian on Left Internationalism
John Nichols presents the highlights of The Nation’s annual Progressive Honor Roll—our heroes in Congress, in state politics, and in leading protests at the…
The Nation PodcastsWilliam Barr: Another Jeff Sessions? David Cole, plus Dave Lindorff on Pentagon Accounting Fraud and Marc Cooper on the Revolution in Armenia
Trump’s nominee for Attorney General, William Barr, is more qualified to do the job than Matt Whitaker--but so are thousands of others. His record, however…
The Nation PodcastsGeorge H.W. Bush Gave Us Today's Republican Party: Harold Meyerson, plus Katha Pollitt on White Women and Trump and Eric Foner on Frederick Douglass
George H. W. Bush paved the way for today’s Republican party with his racist Willy Horton campaign, nominated Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court, and…
The Nation PodcastsMichelle Obama’s ‘Becoming’: Where Are the Politics? Amy Wilentz, plus Kai Wright on Midterm Victories and Tom Athanasiou on Climate
Michelle Obama declares in her new memoir, "I am not a political person, so I'm not going to attempt to offer an analysis" of Trump’s victory. That’s…
The Nation PodcastsHow Democrats Won in the White-Hot Heart of the Republican Right: Gustavo Arellano on Orange County, plus L.A. Kauffman on Protest and Andrew Delbanco on Fugivitive Slaves
Orange County, California, was the political starting point for Nixon, for the Barry Goldwater presidential campaign, and for Reagan—as Republican as any place…
The Nation Podcasts“Chasing an Elusive Centrism is Ridiculous”: Frank Rich on politics, plus Erwin Chemerinsky on Matt Whitaker and Laura Carlsen on the Caravan
Frank Rich finds lessons for Democrats in the midterms: seeking “the political center,” as recommended by New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristoff, running…
The Nation PodcastsA Blue Wave for Progressives and Women—With Some Heartbreakers: John Nichols and Joan Walsh on the Midterms, plus Andy Robinson on Brazil
Tuesday night was a good night for progressive Democrats, John Nichols argues—and Democratic control of the House will bring an epic change to Washington…
The Nation PodcastsWomen Voters and the Midterms: Katrina vanden Heuvel, Joan Walsh, and Cecile Richards; plus Ari Berman on vote suppression and Gary Younge on the Midwest
Women voters—and candidates—are mobilized as never before for next week’s midterms: Joan Walsh and Cecile Richards report from across the country at a Nation…
The Nation PodcastsWe Have a Problem With White Men: They Support Trump—Kai Wright, plus Jill Lepore on Trump and History and Michael Kazin on Hubert Humphrey
62 per cent of white men voted for Trump, 31 per cent for Clinton. Kai Wright has our analysis--he’s host of WNYC’s podcast The United States of Anxiety, and…
The Nation PodcastsCan Progressive Momentum Transform The Democratic Party? Jeff Cohen, plus Sasha Abramsky on Arizona and Joan Walsh on Georgia
What lessons have the Democrats learned from the disaster of 2016? Jeff Cohen talks about the progressives’ fight to win the party away from dependence on…
The Nation PodcastsWomen’s Anger—and Kavanaugh’s Rage: Rebecca Traister, plus David Cay Johnston on Trump’s tax crimes and John Nichols on impeaching Kavanaugh
Rebecca Traister sees in the Kavanaugh hearings a typical case where women’s anger was marginalized or made to sound hysterical or infantile or threatening—but…
The Nation PodcastsYes We Have an Activist Community Fighting Kavanaugh: Joan Walsh, plus D.D. Guttenplan on a new radical majority and Michelle Chen on the Fight for $15
Joan Walsh explains why we lack confidence in the re-opened FBI background check into Kavanaugh’s past, and talks about the activists who are fighting the…
The Nation PodcastsThe Kavanaugh Hearings Have Been an Outrage From the Beginning: John Nichols on the hearings, plus Sasha Abramsky on Voting Rights in Florida and Bryce Covert on Universal Basic Income
The Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh have been an outrage, even before the recent “allegations of sexual misconduct.” John Nichols…
The Nation PodcastsMichael Moore: From Obama to Trump: "Fahrenheit 11/9"
Michael Moore talks about his new documentary, "Fahrenheit 11/9," opens Friday May 21 across America--It's a passionate argument about how the…
The Nation PodcastsThe Case Against Kavanaugh: Katha Pollitt; plus Harold Meyerson on the Financial Crisis and Mouin Rabbani on Oslo
Katha Pollitt considers the arguments made by Brett Kavanaugh’s defenders in response to the charges that he sexually assaulted a 15-year-old when he was 17…
The Nation PodcastsFighting Climate Change—and Donald Trump: Bill McKibben plus Steve Phillips on moderate Republicans and Atossa Araxia Abrahamian on the inequality industry
As world leaders (except for Trump) gather in San Francisco this week for the Global Climate Action Summit, Bill McKibben comments on California’s new law…
The Nation PodcastsWe’re at a “Which Side Are You On” Moment: Randi Weingarten, plus Mark Hertsgaard on climate politics and David Cole on Kavanaugh
In Oklahoma and West Virgina and Missouri, teachers have led amazingly successful battles against Republican budget-cutting and tax breaks for the wealthy…
The Nation PodcastsMelania Trump: Hero of the People? Amy Wilentz, plus Katha Pollitt on the Politics of Motherhood and Lee Saunders on Unions after Janus
Amy Wilentz takes up the vital question, is Melania Trump a hero of the resistance—or an accomplice of evil? Is she edging “ever closer to open contempt for…
The Nation PodcastsCentrism Is Not the Answer! Gary Younge; plus Todd Gitlin on 1968 and Farah Griffin on Aretha
Centrism lost for the Democrats in 2016, and it will lose again in 2018, Gary Younge argues: the party needs not just to oppose Trump, but also to put forward…
The Nation PodcastsRefugees, Immigrants, and Donald Trump: Viet Thanh Nguyen; plus Anna Deavere Smith on the school-to-prison pipeline and Rachel Kushner on women in prison
One of the defining features of Trump’s politics has been the way he’s appealed to hatred and fear of refugees and immigrants. Viet Thanh Nguyen talks about…
The Nation PodcastsA Golden Age for News Media under Trump? John Nichols; plus Harold Meyerson on Politics around Kavanaugh and Nomi Prins on Trump and Economic Entropy
The Age of Trump, despite the opportunities it brings to investigative journalism, is hardly a “golden age”, John Nichols argues: cutbacks and layoffs have…
The Nation PodcastsIs Trumpism Fascism? Katha Pollitt; plus Mike Lux on Political Strategy and Harold Meyerson on Jonathan Gold
Katha Pollitt is not happy with leftists calling Trump a “fascist” – maybe there’s a better term for his attacks on democracy, which have a lot in common with…
The Nation PodcastsAfter Trump’s Worst Week: Joan Walsh; plus David Cole on Brett Cavanaugh and Michael Kazin on Jimmy Carter
A week ago Trump returned from his disastrous press conference with Putin in Helsinki to face a firestorm of criticism. Joan Walsh reviews the political…
The Nation PodcastsTrump and Putin: Separating the Surreal From the Sensible—Katrina vanden Heuvel; plus John Nichols on Kavanaugh and Adam Winkler on Corporate ‘Rights’
Katrina vanden Heuvel argues that Trump’s meeting with Putin in Helsinki on Monday might have brought progress on nuclear arms control and conflict reduction…
The Nation PodcastsIs Trump Crazy? Would Pence Be Worse? Amy Wilentz on Trump, Jane Mayer on Pence, and E.J. Dionne on America After Trump
Amy Wilentz comments on the mental and emotional status of the president, as analyzed by 27 psychiatrists in The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump, a book edited…
The Nation PodcastsHow We Can Block Trump’s Supreme Court Pick: John Nichols; plus Thomas Frank on Trump’s Supporters and David Graeber on Bullshit Jobs
The most important political task of the year is blocking Trump’s supreme court pick. It can be done, John Nichols argues—with the right political strategy…
The Nation PodcastsCruelty and Confusion in Trump’s Treatment of Migrant Children: Zoë Carpenter; plus Eyal Press on Drone Warriors and Amy Wilentz on Haiti
What’s happening to migrant children separated from their parents by the Border Patrol? Zoë Carpenter reports on the confusion and uncertainty around Trump’s…
The Nation PodcastsCatastrophic Climate Change is Not an “Environmental” Issue: Bill McKibben; plus Andrew Bacevich on Endless War and Robert Edelman on the World Cup
It’s the most crucial security question that humans have ever faced: catastrophic climate change. Bill McKibben says it’s too late to halt global warming, but…
The Nation PodcastsIn Trump’s ‘Madness,’ A Chance for Peace in Korea: Bruce Cumings; plus Ahilan Arulanantham on Trump’s family separation policy, and Harold Meyerson on the Democrats
“In Trump’s madness, he brings innocent eyes” to the Korean conflict, says University of Chicago historian Bruce Cumings—which frees Trump from Washington…
The Nation PodcastsTrump Is ‘Crazy Like a Fox’: Seymour Hersh—Plus Bryce Covert on homelessness and Viet Thanh Nguyen on refugees
Seymour Hersh has won dozens of awards for his reporting on My Lai, Abu Ghraib, CIA surveillance of the anti-war movement in the Nixon years, and the crimes of…
The Nation PodcastsHow Abortion Rights Triumphed in Ireland: Katha Pollitt; plus Wendy Pearlman on Syrian Refugees and Tom Engelhardt on ‘America’s Empire of Nothing’
Everyone said the Irish vote on abortion would be close – but 66 per cent voted “yes” last Friday, including a majority of men, and a majority of every age…
The Nation PodcastsProgressive Dems Win Big in Primaries: John Nichols; plus Yanis Varoufakis on Trump and Europe, and Arthur Goldhammer on Paris in May '68
Progressive and populist Democrats had some impressive victories in primaries last week in Pennsylvania, and also in Nebraska and Idaho—defeating centrist…
The Nation PodcastsFrom Gaza to Jerusalem: Amy Wilentz; Plus Rachel Kushner on 'The Mars Room' and Patricia Williams on lynching
Every day Trump makes the world less safe; Monday was a big one. Amy Wilentz comments on Ivanka and Jared—and Sheldon Adelson—dedicating the new American…
The Nation PodcastsTrump has No Plan B on Iran—Except War: Michael Klare, plus D.D. Guttenplan on Texas and Eric Foner on Columbia ‘68
Trump’s plan on pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal is to pressure Iran to restart negotiations on terms more favorable to the US—but that’s never going to…
The Nation PodcastsTrump’s Financial Crimes Are More Likely to Bring Him Down than Russiagate: David Cay Johnston on Trump, plus Bruce Cumings on Korea and Elizabeth Drew on Comey
Trump’s greatest vulnerability may not be Russiagate, but rather his financial and tax crimes. David Cay Johnston has been investigating and reporting on…
The Nation PodcastsJames Comey’s Self-Justification Is Just ‘Not Good Enough’—Jonathan Freedland, plus Lawrence Wright on Trump and Texas and Margaret Atwood on ‘The Handmaid’s Tale'
James Comey’s monster best-seller, A Higher Loyalty, is “a plea for exculpation,” says Jonathan Friedland, but its self-justifications are “not good enough.”…
The Nation PodcastsThe Trump Reelection Scenario: Thomas Frank; plus Adam Hochschild on Guns and Gary Younge’s Return to Muncie
Trump is the most unpopular president in history—but could he be reelected in 2020? Thomas Frank says it wouldn’t be hard—if the economy continues to boom and…
The Nation PodcastsBarbara Ehrenreich: What’s Wrong with ‘Wellness’; plus David Cole on Trump and Mueller, and Katha Pollitt on Stormy and Melania
Barbara Ehrenreich talks about the pressure to remain fit, slim, and in control of one's body, even as the end of life approaches—and about the epidemic of…
The Nation PodcastsA Russia Strategy for Progressives: Katrina vanden Heuvel; plus Mark Hertsgaard on cellphone safety, and Stephanie Schriock on Emily’s List
How progressives should think about Russia: Katrina vanden Heuvel talks about Putin and his history, the democratic opposition inside Russia, and assuring…
The Nation PodcastsHow Trump Radicalized the Parkland Kids in Their Fight Against Guns: George Zornick, plus Micah Sifrey on Facebook and Sue Halpern on Trump vs. Libraries
Last Sunday’s Rally for Our Lives shows that having Trump in the White House has made the demands of those wonderful Parkland kids more radical. **George…
The Nation PodcastsHey, Democrats Are Actually Running to Win! Joan Walsh on the Democrats’ new strategy, Amy Wilentz on Ivanka, and Anna Deavere Smith on the school-to-prison pipeline.
After years of getting beaten in state legislative races, the Democrats have a new energy and a new wave of candidates—especially after last year’s stunning…