Episodes
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Less than a week to go before the election, so we've got Daniel Nichanian on from the great publication Bolts. We talk about Trump's Nuremburg Rally in New York and what effects it might have, how the Republican ground game is shaping up, and the most important races for state supreme court, prosecutors, and sheriffs.
Check out the rest of Bolts' excellent 2024 coverage here.
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The second-largest reservoir in the United States is called Lake Powell on the Colorado River. It has not been filled since 1999, and in 2022 reached a record low of about 23 percent full--nearly the point of "dead pool," where the lake would be below the outlet pipes. The reason is that with climate change and reservoir overcapacity (the largest reservoir of all, Lake Mead, is downstream of Powell), there is too much storage on the river relative to demand for agriculture, cities, and water lost from reservoir evaporation.
What to do? Science writer Zak Podmore examines the question in his book Life After Dead Pool: Lake Powell's Last Days and the Rebirth of the Colorado River, where he argues it's time to drain the lake, save a lot of water, and restore the wondrous beauty of flooded Glen Canyon.
Zak and University of Utah economist Marshall Steinbaum join us to talk about the political economy behind the construction of Glen Canyon Dam, how environmentalists went wrong attacking it with conservative arguments, and how the Colorado can be better managed as a resource for both people and nature. Subscribe now to hear the whole thing!
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Missing episodes?
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Today we are talking the killing of Yahya Sinwar, Kamala Harris's outreach to Black male voters, and most importantly, Trump's unbelievably crappy line of merch. Enjoy!
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Israel's occupation is much worse than South African apartheid. Subscribe here to listen to the whole episode.
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Today we are talking about philosopher Harry Frankfurt's famous essay "On Bullshit," and how it applies to Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and J.D. Vance. We also discuss the damage caused by Hurricane Helene in North Carolina, aid links here.
Check out the new book by Ryan Mac and Kate Conger as well. Character Limit: How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter.
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This time we are talking Mark Robinson and the Olivia Nuzzi-RFK Jr affair. Subscribe now to hear the whole thing!
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Hey folks, Ryan has been sick with Covid, so this week we're unlocking a bonus episode.
Donald Trump visited Wilkes-Barre, much to Ryan's surprise, but his appearance fell flat. What's going on with his campaign? We discuss that, plus Kamala Harris's policy rollout, and the outbreak of riots in the UK. Enjoy!
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Today economics professor Rob Larson comes on to discuss his new book Mastering the Universe: The Obscene Wealth of the Ruling Class, What They Do with Their Money, and Why You Should Hate Them Even More. Subscribe now to hear the whole thing!
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We've got historian Harvey Kaye back on to talk about the major DNC speeches and what they reveal about the state of the Democratic Party. Enjoy!
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Today we're talking Trump, Harris's policy rollout, and UK riots. Subscribe now to hear the whole thing!
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Today we've got Prospect columnist and historian Rick Perlstein on to talk about the last month of political history—the Harris switcheroo, Tim Walz as running mate, JD Vance’s online brain poisoning, and more. Enjoy!
Check out Rick’s books here.
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Today we are discussing two readings: “The Perils of Presidentialism,” by political scientist Juan Linz, and a selection from On Violence by Hannah Arendt, and what they tell us about the crumbling American constitutional order. Next time we'll be back with historian Rick Perlstein, stay tuned!
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Subscribe now to hear the whole thing!
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Today we are bringing back John Ganz to talk about his book When the Clock Broke: Con Men, Conspiracists, and How America Cracked Up in the Early 1990s, as well as the recent French elections. Enjoy!
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Subscribe now to listen to the whole episode!
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This time we are talking to returning guest Astra Taylor with her co-author Leah Hunt-Hendrix about their book Solidarity: The Past, Present, and Future of a World-Changing Idea.
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We’re continuing our discussion with David Austin Walsh regarding his book Taking America Back: The Conservative Movement and the Far Right. Check out the previous episode to hear about his attempted recruitment from the far right. Subscribe now to hear the whole thing!
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Historian David Austin Walsh, who just published a book called Taking America Back: The Conservative Movement and the Far Right, did some bad tweets. But this led to something interesting: a concerted recruitment attempt from the conservative movement, including personal outreach from Chris Rufo, Richard Hanania, James Taranto, and others. We discuss why the tweets were bad and the surrounding context in academia, the pitch from Rufo et al, and the book.
The conversation went long, so tune in next week for part II.
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This episode is a recording of Ryan talking with The New York Times's Jamelle Bouie about the recent spate of deranged Supreme Court decisions on The American Prospect's weekly livestream. Enjoy!
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Today we have Michael from the 5-4 podcast to talk about the big New York Times report on how Garland dithered on the Trump prosecution, plus the Texas immigration controversy, and the upcoming Chevron doctrine case. Enjoy!
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