It’s Casual Friday! Sam and Emma host Alex Pareene, Contributing Editor at the New Republic and proprietor of the AP newsletter on Substack, to round up the week in news. Then, Sam and Emma are joined by comedian Andy Kindler, host of the Thought Spiral podcast! Alex, Sam, and Emma dive right into the Democrats being faced with their biggest fear (doing literally anything […]

Sam hosts James W. Russell, public policy affiliate scholar at Portland State University, to discuss his recent book The Labor Guide to Retirement Plans: For Union Organizers and Employees, on the importance of fighting for good end-of-life security and how employers and banks have capitalized off of the switch from pensions to 401ks. Russell and Sam begin by […]

Sam and Emma host Claudia Goldin, Professor of Economics at Harvard University, to discuss her recent book Career and Family: Women’s Century-Long Journey Toward Equity, on the history of women’s entry into the workforce and how they transitioned from a choice between career or family, to an opportunity to have both – even with many lingering effects of […]

Sam and Emma host journalist Ross Barkan, writer of the Political Currents by Ross Barkan newsletter on Substack, to discuss his recent book The Prince: Andrew Cuomo, Coronavirus, and the Fall of New York, which covers the rollercoaster of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s legacy since the start of the pandemic. They start with a mention of the […]

Sam chats with the Daily Poster’s David Sirota about Joe Manchin’s filibuster turn around, the Democrats’ blame game with the Senate Parliamentarian, and progressive intra-party dealmaking troubles. Sam also touches on the progressive shift in New York State politics as Cuomo continues to be embroiled in scandal. Then, Casual Friday sees Matthew Film Guy return […]

Sam and Emma host Heather “Digby” Parton (@digby56) of Salon.con and Hullabaloo to discuss the Senate’s efforts to pass Biden’s $1.9T Covid relief bill, Cuomo’s fall from grace, and other top stories of the week. And Andy Kindler (@AndyKindler) joins us in the fun half. On today’s show: Sen. Ron Johnson delays Covid relief bill […]

President Obama tells Democrats not to rescue Republicans on healthcare. Brooklyn College Professor and author Corey Robin explains the problem with the politics of fear and why the Left needs not to engage in fear based politics. The right position to fight Trump from. The Democrats confused response to Trump. How Trump and the Republicans […]

Bernie Sanders fights back against the false narrative of “the era of big government being over.” Sanders sharpens the differences with Hillary Clinton. Sanders talk movingly about his parents. (10:00) Hillary Clinton’s powerful anti Islamophobia statement. Who is most ready to be President? The problems with Clinton’s foreign policy and Martin O’Malley cannot get it […]

Economist Jeff Madrick, author of the recent book, Seven Bad Ideas: How Mainstream Economists Have Damaged America and the World,explains why mainstream economists failed to anticipate the 2008 economic crisis. The “invisible hand” utopia myth and why it is dangerous for the economy. The myth of rational decision making. All the things that markets don’t work […]

Journalist Eric Alterman, author of the new book,  Inequality and One City: Bill de Blasio and the New York Experiment, explains how the inequality crisis finally came into public consciousness since Occupy Wall Street. Why BilldDe Blasio’s message on inequality is distinct, progressive and important. How de Blasio is trying to help the poor in New York […]