On today’s show, labor historian Jefferson Cowie joins us to talk about his book “The Great Exception: The New Deal and the Limits of American Politics.” While the New Deal is often held up as the model for progressives to shoot for, it came out of an exceptional period from the 1930s to the 1970s when politics were focused on collective, economic well being. It was also the result of a compromise that excluded African Americans from most of its benefits. In this interview, Cowie describes the 20th century trajectory from collectivism to individualism and posits new tactics for the future.
On the fun half: Jon from San Antonio discusses the effect the Republican tax plan will have on rents, Senator Lamar Alexander defends trickle down economics against all evidence, Ronald Raygun conveys critiques received via Twitter, homophobic lawmaker Wes Goodman is a huge hypocrite, Bill Kristol pretends to be offended by Trump’s racism, people celebrate Mugabe’s ousting, and the crew ponders whether or not we’re headed for revolution. Also: the crew discusses Al Franken and rape culture, and a caller tells us about the first woman mayor of New Orleans.
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