Emma hosts Timothy Shenk, Co-Editor of Dissent and Assistant Professor of Modern U.S. History at George Washington University, to discuss his recent book Realigners: Partisan Hacks, Political Visionaries, and the Struggle to Rule American Democracy. First, Emma runs through updates on Sinema jumping right back into working with the Right, Kari Lake’s lawsuit against Arizona, and polls revealing […]

It’s Casual Friday! Sam and Emma host Heather Digby Parton, contributing writer at Salon.com and proprietor of the blog Hullabaloo, to round up the week in news. Then, they’re joined by author and documentary filmmaker Greg Mitchell to discuss his newest work “The First Attack Ads: Hollywood vs. Upton Sinclair,” out on PBS and streaming now! Sam and Emma first run through updates on Biden’s Cannabis pardons, […]

Sam hosts William Forbath, Associate Dean for Research at the University of Texas at Austin Law School, and Joseph Fishkin,  Professor at the UCLA School of Law, to discuss their recent book The Anti-Oligarchy Constitution: Reconstructing the Economic Foundations of Democracy. Sam first runs through recent updates, from AOC and progressives pushing the White House to take action on […]

Emma hosts John Nichols, national affairs correspondent for The Nation, to discuss his recent book Coronavirus Criminals and Pandemic Profiteers: Accountability For Those Who Caused The Crisis, on how the pandemic has forced a moment where we see if we are a country that will continue to refuse to hold its elites accountable, or if we are willing […]

Sam hosts Adam Hilton, assistant professor of politics at Mount Holyoke College, to discuss his recent book True Blues: The Contentious Transformation of the Democratic Party, on how the party apparatus of the Democratic Party went from a three-majority monster in the midst of the 20th Century to a hollow shell of an organization. Professor Hilton begins by […]

Emma hosts Ted H. Miller, associate teaching professor at Northeastern University, to discuss his recent book A Conspiratorial Life: Robert Welch, the John Birch Society, and the Revolution of American Conservatism, on the anti-communist paranoia that helped found the educational and political beliefs that define modern conservatism. Professor Miller begins with the birth of Robert Welch, eventual founder […]

Sam sits down with historian Christopher W. Shaw, to discuss his recent book First Class: The U.S. Postal Service, Democracy, and the Corporate Threat, on the rise of one of the most popular public services, and its precarious state in an era of privatization. They begin in the 18th century, with the beginnings of the postal […]

Sam and Emma host Will Stronge, co-director of research at the think tank Autonomy, to discuss his recent book Overtime: Why We Need A Shorter Working Week that he co-authored with Kyle Lewis. They start off by reflecting on the late night infrastructure bill passage from last Friday night, as well as Josh Gottheimer’s mealy-mouth pledge to support the reconciliation […]

Emma hosts Eric Rauchway, Professor of History at the University of California, Davis, to discuss his recent book Why The New Deal Matters, on the lessons we can take looking back on that period in US legislative history. Professor Rauchway and Emma first reflect on the laughable comparisons Biden go as the “new FDR” towards the start of […]

Sam hosts Paul Sabin, professor of history at Yale University and director of the Yale Environmental Humanities Program, to discuss his recent book Public Citizens: The Attack On Big Government and the Remaking of American Liberalism, on how the US went from eras defined by government action under FDR through LBJ, to Reagan and Clinton coming together across the […]