Current Affairs

From BetterHelp to bourbon, A-list celebrities are cashing in on our trust. Why is there no longer any stigma for sellouts? 💰 Read the article: https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/how-we-stopped-caring-about-selling-out 🦩SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT AFFAIRS MAGAZINE: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership 🦩 PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/CurrentAffairs 🦩THE MYTH OF AMERICAN IDEALISM: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738224/the-myth-of-american-idealism-by-noam-chomsky-and-nathan-j-robinson/

Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, physician, former Detroit health commissioner, and candidate for U.S. Senate in Michigan, joins Current Affairs editors Nathan J. Robinson and Alex Skopic to discuss the Democratic Party’s deep unpopularity, why Medicare for All remains a moral and economic imperative, the bipartisan silence surrounding the genocide in Gaza, and why all U.S. military aid—offensive and defensive—should end.🌹Abdul's Website: https://abdulforsenate.com/🌹Abdul's Book: https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/2021/02/the-definitive-case-for-medicare-for-all🌹Abdul's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abdulelsayed/?hl=en🌹 Abdul's Twitter: https://x.com/AbdulElSayed0:00-5:42 Unpopularity of the Democratic Party5:42-14:01 Medicare for All14:01-17:19 Labor17:19-27:23 Gaza27:23-31:31 Islamophobia31:31-40:28 Abdul's Senate Race🦩SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT AFFAIRS MAGAZINE: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership🦩 PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/CurrentAffairs🦩THE MYTH OF AMERICAN IDEALISM: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738224/the-myth-of-american-idealism-by-noam-chomsky-and-nathan-j-robinson/

Nathan J. Robinson delivers remarks during the Current Affairs 10th anniversary party on the evening of August 8th, 2025 in New Orleans. 🦩SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT AFFAIRS MAGAZINE: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership 🦩 PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/CurrentAffairs 🦩THE MYTH OF AMERICAN IDEALISM: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738224/the-myth-of-american-idealism-by-noam-chomsky-and-nathan-j-robinson/

Saikat Chakrabarti, co-founder of Justice Democrats and former chief of staff to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, joins Nathan J. Robinson to discuss his 2026 congressional campaign to unseat Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Party’s failure to respond to genocide in Gaza, and how decades of complacent leadership have left the party morally bankrupt and politically adrift.🔥 Saikat's Website: https://www.saikat.us/en 🔥 Saikat's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saikatforcongress/ 🔥 Saikat's Twitter: https://x.com/saikatc 0:00–5:30 Gaza 5:30–19:27 The Democratic Party 19:27–21:41 Nancy Pelosi 24:00–29:00 Zohran Mamdani 29:00–36:14 Saikat's Policy Agenda 36:14–42:27 Campaigning in a Hopeless Moment 🦩SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT AFFAIRS MAGAZINE: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership 🦩 PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/CurrentAffairs 🦩THE MYTH OF AMERICAN IDEALISM: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738224/the-myth-of-american-idealism-by-noam-chomsky-and-nathan-j-robinson/

Dr. Elisabeth Potter, a reconstructive surgeon and healthcare advocate, joins Nathan J. Robinson and Emily Topping to discuss her viral criticism of UnitedHealth, the systemic cruelty of the insurance industry, and how corporations are quietly reshaping American medicine through coercion, denial, and intimidation.🩺 Dr. Potter's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DrElisabethPotterMD🩺 Dr. Potter's TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drelisabethpotter?lang=en🩺 Dr. Potter's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drelisabethpotter/🩺 Dr. Potter's Website: https://www.drpotter.com/🩺 New York Times article on Dr. Potter: https://archive.ph/vrnN60:00-10:00 Insurance Is Out of Control10:00-14:05 "Peer-to-Peer" Calls14:05-20:07 The Cruelty of Insurance Companies20:07-24:14 The Waiver System24:14-30:42 UnitedHealth's Intimidation Tactics30:42-37:28 Luigi Mangione + The Need for Reform🦩SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT AFFAIRS MAGAZINE: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership🦩 PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/CurrentAffairs🦩THE MYTH OF AMERICAN IDEALISM: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738224/the-myth-of-american-idealism-by-noam-chomsky-and-nathan-j-robinson/

Podcast bros are interviewing presidents and power players without doing basic research beforehand. The result is a propagandistic catastrophe.💀 Read the article: https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/rise-of-the-idiot-interviewer 🦩SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT AFFAIRS MAGAZINE: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership 🦩 PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/CurrentAffairs 🦩THE MYTH OF AMERICAN IDEALISM: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738224/the-myth-of-american-idealism-by-noam-chomsky-and-nathan-j-robinson/

Max from UNFTR joins Nathan J. Robinson to discuss Zohran Mamdani's victory, the limits of third-party politics, and how the Democratic Party can be taken over with five bold, non-negotiable demands for progressive transformation. ⚙️ Subscribe to UNFTR: https://www.youtube.com/@UNFTR ⚙️ Read the 5 Non-Negotiables: https://www.unftr.com/5nn 0:00-8:10 Zohran Mamdani 8:10-36:57 Can Third Parties Succeed? 36:57-59:50 The Five “Non-Negotiables" 🦩SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT AFFAIRS MAGAZINE: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership 🦩 PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/CurrentAffairs 🦩THE MYTH OF AMERICAN IDEALISM: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738224/the-myth-of-american-idealism-by-noam-chomsky-and-nathan-j-robinson/

🦩 This episode originally aired on July 15, 2025. Get new episodes early at patreon.com/CurrentAffairsBarry Eisler, a former CIA agent and bestselling novelist, joins Nathan J. Robinson to discuss his new book, The System. They talk about how power actually works in Washington, how politicians get absorbed into the duopoly, why partisan conflict is mostly theater, and how language, fiction, and euphemism shape our understanding of violence, war, and the state. 🕸️ Purchase The System: https://barryeisler.com/books/the-system/ 🕸️ Barry's Other Writing: https://barryeisler.com/books/ 🕸️ Follow Barry on Twitter: https://x.com/barryeisler 🕸️ Follow Barry on Substack: https://barryeisler.substack.com/ 0:00–5:33 Introducing *The System* 5:33–10:41 The Illusion of Partisanship 10:41–15:14 Understanding the Duopoly 15:14–27:06 The Co-optation of AOC 27:06–34:09 Chomky's Martian 34:09–39:28 How Language Masks Violence 39:28–45:24 Rationalizing Atrocity 45:24–56:03 “Are We the Baddies?” 56:03–1:06:15 The Politics of Thrillers 🦩SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT AFFAIRS MAGAZINE: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership 🦩 PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/CurrentAffairs 🦩THE MYTH OF AMERICAN IDEALISM: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738224/the-myth-of-american-idealism-by-noam-chomsky-and-nathan-j-robinson/

Middle East analyst Mouin Rabbani joins Nathan J. Robinson to discuss the ongoing genocide in Gaza. They examine the illusion of ceasefire negotiations, the weaponization of humanitarian aid through the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, and the eugenic logic underpinning Israel’s military campaign. They also explore how death tolls are systematically undercounted, how Palestinian voices are censored in Western media, why Israeli hasbara no longer works, and how genocidal logic is rationalized through propaganda. 🇵🇸 Follow Mouin on Substack: https://substack.com/@mouinrabbani 🇵🇸 Follow Mouin on Twitter: https://x.com/MouinRabbani 0:00-9:55 The Illusion of Negotiations 9:55-21:54 Weaponization of Aid and the "Gaza Humanitarian Foundation" 21:54-25:24 Genocide as Eugenics 25:24-30:15 Undercounting Deaths 30:15-37:49 Media Censorship of Palestinian Voices 37:49-41:21 The Collapse of Israeli Hasbara 41:21-50:33 Genocidal Rhetoric and International Law 🦩SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT AFFAIRS MAGAZINE: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership 🦩 PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/CurrentAffairs 🦩THE MYTH OF AMERICAN IDEALISM: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738224/the-myth-of-american-idealism-by-noam-chomsky-and-nathan-j-robinson/

MAGA followers say they want to expose powerful, predatory billionaire elites. But Donald Trump is the exact person who should be their enemy.🏝️ Read the article: https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/the-epstein-case-reveals-the-fraud-of-trumpism 🦩SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT AFFAIRS MAGAZINE: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership 🦩 PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/CurrentAffairs 🦩THE MYTH OF AMERICAN IDEALISM: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738224/the-myth-of-american-idealism-by-noam-chomsky-and-nathan-j-robinson/

Honor Cargill-Martin, a historian of the ancient world, discusses how myths about the Roman empire originated and continue to warp our political discourse.🏛️ Honor's Substack: https://allancienthistory.substack.com/🏛️ Honor's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqRIbS3NQ4ksTUrMiaMVQ-Q🏛️ Interview Transcript: https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/what-the-right-doesnt-know-about-rome0:00-4:28 The Roman Empire TikTok Trend4:28-12:27 The Roman Empire Loved by MAGA Never Existed12:27-15:17 What JD Vance Doesn't Understand About Rome15:17-20:53 Do All Democracies Have to Die?20:53-32:30 Myth vs. Reality in Roman History32:30-42:46 Messalina42:46-49:01 How to Understand Our Own Time🦩SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT AFFAIRS MAGAZINE: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership🦩 PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/CurrentAffairs🦩THE MYTH OF AMERICAN IDEALISM: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738224/the-myth-of-american-idealism-by-noam-chomsky-and-nathan-j-robinson/

Kishore Mahbubani is a renowned diplomat, scholar, and one of the most insightful analysts of global power dynamics. He served as Singapore’s Ambassador to the United Nations and as President of the UN Security Council, and is the author of books including "Has China Won?" and "Has the West Lost It?"Mahbubani joins Current Affairs to explain why the United States is losing ground to China--not because of Chinese aggression, but because of internal dysfunction, elite failure, and strategic incoherence. He critiques the emotional, zero-sum mindset dominating U.S. foreign policy and calls for a more rational, cooperative approach to global affairs.🌏 Follow Kishore on Twitter: https://x.com/mahbubani_k🌏 Buy Kishore's Books: https://mahbubani.net/books/0:00-3:57 The Good News3:57- 6:54 Why Americans Fear China6:54-9:51 The Failure of American Elites9:51-15:31 Why Trump Should Work With China15:31-21:38 Is China Communist?21:38-23:37 Is America The Best Model?23:37-27:14 Does America Think Strategically?27:14-30:08 America's Wasteful Defense Spending30:08-35:15 America's Strategic Errors35:15-41:17 America's Disdain for the UN41:17-46:17 The Potential For Cooperation🦩SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT AFFAIRS MAGAZINE: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership🦩 PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/CurrentAffairs🦩THE MYTH OF AMERICAN IDEALISM: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738224/the-myth-of-american-idealism-by-noam-chomsky-and-nathan-j-robinson/

He has shown that a socialist message can win people over. His campaign is a model that should be emulated everywhere.🗽 Read the article: https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/zohran-mamdanis-victory-is-just-what-the-left-needed🦩SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT AFFAIRS MAGAZINE: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership🦩 PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/CurrentAffairs🦩THE MYTH OF AMERICAN IDEALISM: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738224/the-myth-of-american-idealism-by-noam-chomsky-and-nathan-j-robinson/

The latest Democratic fad sidelines equality and justice in favor of a focus on cutting red tape. This is not the path forward.🌎 Read the article: https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/abandon-abundance🦩SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT AFFAIRS MAGAZINE: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership🦩 PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/CurrentAffairs🦩THE MYTH OF AMERICAN IDEALISM: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738224/the-myth-of-american-idealism-by-noam-chomsky-and-nathan-j-robinson/

Ralph Nader is one of the most important and successful activists in American political history. He played a key role in creating the consumer rights movement in the 1960s and ’70s, and his push for auto safety regulation led to measures that saved countless lives. He has also run multiple insurgent campaigns for president, challenging the two-party system and offering powerful criticisms of corporate power.Nader joins Current Affairs to analyze Donald Trump’s authoritarianism, the Democratic Party’s failure to offer a compelling alternative, and the media’s role in narrowing public imagination. He also responds to Ezra Klein’s recent critique in Abundance, arguing that it shifts blame away from institutional failures and undermines genuine political accountability.📣 Ralph's latest book, Civic Self Respect: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/718731/civic-self-respect-by-ralph-nader/📣 Ralph's website: https://nader.org/📣 Interview transcript: https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/ralph-nader-on0:00–5:36 Trump’s Authoritarian Rule5:36–10:39 What Deserves Our Focus Now10:39–15:43 Democratic Party Malpractice15:43–21:19 Ezra Klein’s Attack on Nader21:19–29:45 How Ordinary People Build Power29:45–38:39 Proven Victories by Citizen Action38:39–45:58 Pessimism as a Tool of Control45:58–52:28 Nader Reflects on His Life's Work🦩SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT AFFAIRS MAGAZINE: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership🦩 PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/CurrentAffairs🦩THE MYTH OF AMERICAN IDEALISM: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738224/the-myth-of-american-idealism-by-noam-chomsky-and-nathan-j-robinson/

Katrina vanden Heuvel is the publisher and editorial director of The Nation, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and an advocate for diplomacy, disarmament, and international cooperation. She returns to Current Affairs to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine, the erosion of U.S. diplomacy, and the bipartisan consensus around militarism.She outlines the details of the Quincy Institute’s U.S. peace plan, explains why diplomacy is often smeared as appeasement, and explores what a negotiated end to the war might actually look like. We also explore whether Trump, despite his transactional and erratic instincts, might paradoxically be the only figure capable of restarting peace talks. Nathan concludes with an analysis of the "security dilemma" and how the logic of militarism is driving a global arms race under the guise of self-defense.🕊️ Read Katrina in The Nation: https://www.thenation.com/authors/katrina-vanden-heuvel/ 🕊️ Subscribe to The Nation: https://subscriptions.thenation.com/TNA/?f=Site01&s=F5X001 🕊️ The Quincy Institute's Peace Plan: https://quincyinst.org/research/a-u-s-peace-plan-for-ukraine/#executive-summary0:00-5:15 Is Trump Interested In Peace?5:15-17:05 The U.S. Peace Plan for Ukraine17:21-26:53 Diplomacy vs. Appeasement26:53-31:21 How Does The War End?31:21-38:58 The Security Dilemma

Even by the standards of right-wing rhetoric, Miller’s public statements are uncommonly shameless. He treats his audience as stupid and gullible. 🦎 Read the article: https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/the-brainless-propaganda-of-stephen-miller 🦩SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT AFFAIRS MAGAZINE: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership 🦩 PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/CurrentAffairs 🦩THE MYTH OF AMERICAN IDEALISM: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738224/the-myth-of-american-idealism-by-noam-chomsky-and-nathan-j-robinson/

Andrew Cuomo is not just unfit for office—he’s dangerous. In this interview, Lindsey Boylan, the first woman to publicly speak out about Cuomo’s abusive behavior, explains how his pattern of harassment, retaliation, and intimidation mirrors the authoritarian tactics of Donald Trump. Boylan describes how Cuomo weaponized state resources, silenced critics, and surrounded himself with enablers, all while cultivating a media image of competence and compassion. This interview complements a larger piece by Nathan J. Robinson, editor of Current Affairs, on Cuomo’s deadly mishandling of COVID, corruption scandals, abuse of elderly prisoners, and his pro-corporate, pro-Israel, anti-worker agenda. Despite resigning in disgrace, Cuomo is now the frontrunner in the race for New York City mayor. Boylan’s warning is urgent: his abuses will continue unless we stop him now. 🗽 Watch Our Other Video on Cuomo: https://youtu.be/gYg-Ihd74pU 🗽 Read the AG's Investigation of Cuomo: https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/2021.08.03_nyag_-_investigative_report.pdf 🗽 Read Nathan's Article on Cuomo: https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/andrew-cuomo-is-worse-than-you-even-know 🦩SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT AFFAIRS MAGAZINE: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership 🦩 PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/CurrentAffairs 🦩THE MYTH OF AMERICAN IDEALISM: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738224/the-myth-of-american-idealism-by-noam-chomsky-and-nathan-j-robinson/

The former governor is a corrupt abuser of power with a pro-corporate agenda and a proven track record of deadly negligence. He will do nothing to improve New Yorkers’ lives. Why on Earth is he a contender for mayor? Nathan J. Robinson, editor of Current Affairs Magazine, reads his article "Andrew Cuomo Is Worse Than You Even Know" 🗽 Read the article: https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/andrew-cuomo-is-worse-than-you-even-know 0:00–4:37 The Story of Mr. Smalls 4:37–13:23 Abuse of Power & Workplace Misconduct 13:23–21:09 Deadly COVID Mismanagement 21:09–25:18 Corruption & Cover-Ups 25:18–39:35 Cuomo’s Political Record & Ideology 🦩SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT AFFAIRS MAGAZINE: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership 🦩 PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/CurrentAffairs 🦩THE MYTH OF AMERICAN IDEALISM: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738224/the-myth-of-american-idealism-by-noam-chomsky-and-nathan-j-robinson/

🦩 This episode originally aired on May 30, 2025. Get new episodes early at patreon.com/CurrentAffairsProfessor Richard Wolff is the host of the weekly program Economic Update, co-founder of Democracy at Work, and the author of numerous books including Understanding Marxism, Understanding Socialism, Capitalism Hits the Fan, and The Sickness Is the System.He joins Current Affairs to explain how economics is deliberately taught in a way that confuses people and obscures the realities of power and exploitation. He dismantles the myth that capitalism delivers prosperity, showing instead how it generates instability, inequality, and crisis. Wolff also offers a sober analysis of America’s imperial decline, critiques Trump’s economic agenda, and exposes the economic lies behind anti-immigrant rhetoric.📚 Subscribe to Richard's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@democracyatwrk/videos📚 Buy Richard's Books: https://www.rdwolff.com/books0:00–11:53 Why Economics Is Designed to Confuse You11:53–22:26 What Marxism Actually Reveals About Capitalism22:26–30:55 Capitalism Isn’t What You Think It Is30:55–36:48 Capitalism’s “Success” Story Is a Lie36:48–44:35 The End of American Empire44:35–47:45 Will Trump Cause A Recession?47:45–57:23 The Economics of Immigration

This panel was recorded on October 16th, 2024A special event hosted by Current Affairs Magazine at The New School in New York City to celebrate the release of The Myth of American Idealism, the new book co-authored by Noam Chomsky and Nathan J. Robinson. The panel explores Chomsky’s lifelong critique of U.S. foreign policy—from Vietnam and Iraq to Ukraine and Gaza—and examines why his radical analysis of American power remains essential.Joining Nathan are leading journalists, scholars, and close collaborators of Chomsky who reflect on his influence, his moral clarity, and the urgent relevance of his work today.Nathan Robinson - Co-author of The Myth of American Idealism, Editor-in-Chief of Current Affairs MagazineAmy Goodman - Host of the independent global news program Democracy Now! since 1996, author of six books, winner of the I.F. Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence and the Gandhi Peace AwardBev Stohl - Ran Prof. Chomsky's office at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for over 20 years and is the author of Chomsky and Me: A MemoirGreg Grandin - Professor of history at Yale University, author of Kissinger's Shadow, Empire's Workshop, and Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for History and the National Book AwardVictor Pickard - Media studies professor, Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, author of America’s Battle for Media Democracy: The Triumph of Corporate Libertarianism and the Future of Media Reform and Democracy Without Journalism?📖 The Myth of American Idealism: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738224/the-myth-of-american-idealism-by-noam-chomsky-and-nathan-j-robinson/📖 Chomsky and Me: https://orbooks.com/catalog/chomsky-and-me/

🦩 This episode originally aired on May 20, 2025. Get new episodes early at patreon.com/CurrentAffairsJohn Cassidy, staff writer at The New Yorker and author of Capitalism and Its Critics, joins Nathan J. Robinson to explore the history of capitalism. Cassidy examines why capitalism has been criticized from its inception, the diverse range of critiques it has faced, and how these criticisms have evolved over time.Through profiles of both iconic figures and overlooked thinkers, Cassidy unpacks the multifaceted critiques of capitalism, from its inherent exploitation and inequality to its destructive environmental impact. He also highlights the often-dismissed contributions of female critics and explores right-wing condemnations of capitalism, providing a thorough and nuanced exploration of the ideological battle over capitalism's role in the modern world.0:00-7:15 Why Criticize Capitalism?7:15-9:58 The Different Flavors of Capitalism9:58-12:51 A Narrative-Driven History of Capitalism12:51-16:44 Profiles of Capitalism's Critics16:44-21:43 Female Critics of Capitalism21:43-25:01 Most Ignored Critics of Capitalism25:01-29:13 Right-Wing Critics of Capitalism29:13-33:30 The Future of Capitalism💰 Buy John Cassidy's Book: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374601096/capitalismanditscritics/

The Democratic Party is sclerotic. It’s easy to heap blame on Joe Biden now that he is weak and powerless. But that’s a convenient way of avoiding a major reckoning. Nathan J. Robinson, editor of Current Affairs, reads his article "The Problem Goes Well Beyond Biden" 🦚 Read the article: https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/the-problem-goes-well-beyond-biden 🦩SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT AFFAIRS MAGAZINE: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership 🦩 PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/CurrentAffairs 🦩THE MYTH OF AMERICAN IDEALISM: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738224/the-myth-of-american-idealism-by-noam-chomsky-and-nathan-j-robinson/

🦩 This episode originally aired on May 16, 2025. Get new episodes early at patreon.com/CurrentAffairsChas Freeman is one of the most insightful voices in U.S. foreign policy, with a distinguished career as a diplomat and a deep expertise in U.S.-China relations. In this conversation with Nathan J. Robinson, Freeman offers a searing critique of America's current approach to diplomacy, the global balance of power, and its role in key international conflicts.Freeman challenges the pervasive "China threat" narrative, arguing that the U.S. has misunderstood China's rise and wrongly positioned it as an existential threat. He compares the foreign policy approaches of Presidents Biden and Trump, highlighting the surprising continuities in their handling of China. Freeman also deconstructs the oversimplified and inflammatory discourse surrounding Taiwan, calling for a more nuanced understanding. Shifting to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Freeman explains how U.S. diplomatic failures helped fuel the war and why America’s actions have deepened the crisis. Finally, Freeman offers a sharp critique of U.S. policy towards Israel, urging the U.S. to stop enabling Israel’s expansionist policies and to push for a real peace agreement with the Palestinians.0:00-6:03 The Decline of American Diplomacy6:03-15:26: China15:26-18:30: Biden v. Trump Approach to China18:30-23:58: Taiwan23:58-35:07: Russia/Ukraine35:07-49:09: Israel/Palestine🤝 Buy Chas Freeman's Books: https://chasfreeman.net/books-and-publications/

🦩 This episode originally aired on May 14, 2025. Get new episodes early at patreon.com/CurrentAffairsTed Rall is one of the most influential political cartoonists on the left today. In his new book “What’s Left: Radical Solutions for Radical Problems," he presents a manifesto for left-wing politics in 2025, blending incisive analysis with his political cartoons.Rall outlines what it means to be a leftist in an era where the Democratic Party has abandoned progressive ideals. He argues that the left must focus on real, substantive demands — from healthcare and the defense budget to a livable wage, offering both a critique of the past and a vision for what the future could hold if we organize around principles that actually improve people's lives.0:00-7:04 A Manifesto for the Left7:04-11:49 Defining Core Leftist Values11:49-19:20 The Power of Simplifying Complex Ideas19:20-27:48 Liberals vs. Leftists27:48-41:17 Key Priorities for the Left41:17-46:58 The Broad Appeal of Left-Wing Ideas🎨 Buy Ted's Book: https://rall.com/2025/05/01/book-ted-rall-whats-left🦩SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT AFFAIRS MAGAZINE: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership🦩 PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/CurrentAffairs🦩THE MYTH OF AMERICAN IDEALISM: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738224/the-myth-of-american-idealism-by-noam-chomsky-and-nathan-j-robinson/

🦩 This episode originally aired on April 18, 2025. Get new episodes early at patreon.com/CurrentAffairsAmerica is in crisis, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Around the world, other countries have already solved many of the problems we’re told are unsolvable here: from unaffordable healthcare to lack of parental leave, crumbling infrastructure, climate disaster, and more. So why can’t the U.S. do what other nations have already done?We’re joined by journalist and lecturer Natasha Hakimi Zapata, author of Another World Is Possible: Lessons for America from Around the Globe, a new book that explores how other countries have tackled problems the U.S. treats as unsolvable. From universal healthcare in the U.K. to paid family leave in Norway, public housing in Singapore, and green energy in Uruguay, Zapata shows what’s possible and how it was achieved. She traces the political fights, the movements, and the leadership that made these victories real, offering lessons for Americans ready to demand more. The solutions exist. The question is whether we’re willing to fight for them. 0:00–15:17 The Fight to Create the NHS 15:17–21:44 Parental Leave & Childcare That Actually Works 21:44–27:00 Why These Aren’t “Handouts” 27:00–29:32 How Singapore Made Public Housing Work 29:32–33:52 Estonia’s Model of Digital Democracy 33:52–36:47 Uruguay’s Green Energy Revolution 36:47–45:23 How to Win These Fights in the U.S. 🌎 Get the book: https://www.amazon.com/Another-World-Possible-Lessons-America/dp/162097844X 🦩SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT AFFAIRS MAGAZINE: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership 🦩 PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/CurrentAffairs 🦩THE MYTH OF AMERICAN IDEALISM: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738224/the-myth-of-american-idealism-by-noam-chomsky-and-nathan-j-robinson/

In “On Democracies and Death Cults,” Murray offers a straightforward “good versus evil” account of the Israel-Palestine conflict. He does this by excluding every piece of information that undercuts his thesis and even spreading outright falsehoods.🦚 Read the article: https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/douglas-murrays-expertise-is-a-sham 🦩SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT AFFAIRS MAGAZINE: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership 🦩 PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/CurrentAffairs 🦩THE MYTH OF AMERICAN IDEALISM: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738224/the-myth-of-american-idealism-by-noam-chomsky-and-nathan-j-robinson/

🦩 This episode originally aired on May 6, 2025. Get new episodes early at patreon.com/CurrentAffairsLorne Michaels might be the most powerful figure in American comedy — and yet, most people barely know who he is. In this episode, New Yorker editor Susan Morrison joins us to discuss her new book Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live, a deeply reported, wildly entertaining biography of the man behind SNL. We explore how Michaels built a cultural institution from scratch, reinvented the variety show format, and launched the careers of generations of comedy legends — all while staying deliberately out of the spotlight. Morrison explains how Michaels has shaped American humor and politics, maintained control over a live show for nearly 50 years, and earned a reputation as one of the most inscrutable and effective bosses in showbiz.0:00–1:55 Spy Magazine vs. Trump1:55–14:54 Why Lorne Michaels?14:54–28:50 Reinventing the Variety Show28:50–31:28 How SNL Shaped Comedy31:28–34:21 SNL and Politics34:21–38:01 Lorne’s Management Style38:01–43:20 Favorite Sketches🎭 Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/532520/lorne-by-susan-morrison/🦩SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT AFFAIRS MAGAZINE: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership🦩 PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/CurrentAffairs🦩THE MYTH OF AMERICAN IDEALISM: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738224/the-myth-of-american-idealism-by-noam-chomsky-and-nathan-j-robinson/

🦩 This episode originally aired on April 29, 2025. Get new episodes early at patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!Liberalism and socialism are often treated as opposites — but what if they’re actually part of the same fight for freedom, equality, and democracy? We’re joined by political theorist Matt McManus, author of The Political Theory of Liberal Socialism, a new book that challenges conventional narratives about liberalism, socialism, and the history of political philosophy.McManus explains how thinkers from John Stuart Mill to John Rawls argued that true freedom requires not just political rights, but freedom from domination in the workplace and economy. He also addresses the deep confusion around the word "liberal" today — why many leftists recoil at liberalism after decades of association with hollow technocrats like Matt Yglesias — and why the older liberal tradition, rooted in egalitarian principles, is worth retrieving.0:00–6:45 Why Political Philosophy Matters6:45–23:34 Recovering the Radical Roots of Liberalism23:34–27:20 John Rawls Was More Radical Than You Think27:20–32:30 Can Liberalism Be Saved From Its Hypocrisy?32:30–38:42 What Separates Liberal Socialists From Other Socialists38:42–46:06 Why Understanding Liberalism and Socialism Still Matters Today🌹 The Political Theory of Liberal Socialism: https://www.routledge.com/The-Political-Theory-of-Liberal-Socialism/McManus/p/book/9781032647234🦩SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT AFFAIRS MAGAZINE: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership🦩 PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/CurrentAffairs🦩THE MYTH OF AMERICAN IDEALISM: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738224/the-myth-of-american-idealism-by-noam-chomsky-and-nathan-j-robinson/

🦩 This episode originally aired on April 22, 2025. Get new episodes early at patreon.com/CurrentAffairsMost people never think twice about shrimp. But as it turns out, these creatures make up the majority of animals alive on farms at any given time—hundreds of billions every year. And the conditions they endure are often horrifying: overcrowding, eye mutilation, and inhumane slaughter methods are all standard practice. So why don’t we care?We’re joined by Andrés Jiménez Zorrilla, chairman of the Shrimp Welfare Project. He walks us through the shocking scale of global shrimp farming, the mounting scientific evidence for shrimp sentience, and the practical reforms that can drastically reduce animal suffering.0:00–5:20 Why We Care About Pandas But Not Shrimp5:20–10:54 The Most Abused Animals on Earth10:54–17:18 Can Shrimp Feel Pain?17:18–22:36 Inside the Brutal World of Shrimp Farming22:36–31:32 How We Can Make Shrimp Suffer Less🦐 Yes, Shrimp Matter: https://asteriskmag.com/issues/09/yes-shrimp-matter🦐 Shrimp Welfare Project: https://www.shrimpwelfareproject.org/

A bit of a change of pace for the CA podcast today: We're going to be doing SCIENCE instead of politics. We're joined by one of the world's leading popular science writers, physics professor Sean Carroll, whose bestselling books include The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself and Something Deeply Hidden: Quantum Worlds and the Emergence of Spacetime. His latest book is The Biggest Ideas in the Universe: Quanta and Fields.Sean is here today to discuss how our understanding of the world around us has developed over time, how much stranger the world is than our "common sense" perceptions of it would indicate, and how laypeople with no background in the physical sciences can begin to grasp and appreciate the deepest hidden truths about the Universe. Sean is an eloquent spokesperson for the view that a godless universe can still be a poetic and beautiful one, and there may be more connections between the political and the physical than it first appears...

🦩 This episode originally aired on April 4, 2025. Get new episodes early at patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!Sophia Rosenfeld is a distinguished historian and the author of Common Sense: A Political History. She joins Nathan to discuss how the idea of “common sense” has been used as a political weapon—from Thomas Paine to Donald Trump. Rosenfeld explains how appeals to common sense can both empower ordinary people and shut down dissent, why the term has become central to right-wing populism, and how it helps mask deeply ideological claims as obvious truths. She also reflects on her new book, The Age of Choice, and the hidden politics behind the freedoms we take for granted.0:00-6:04 How Trump uses "common sense" as a political weapon6:04-16:15 How "common sense" is used to make radical ideas normalized16:15-21:03 How "common sense" undermines expertise21:03-27:57 What are the origins of "common sense?"27:57-32:33 How "common sense" can be manipulated for good32:33-39:25 The politics of “choice” and why freedom of choice isn’t always liberating39:25-44:34 Is “common sense” real, or just a rhetorical tool?🧠 Common Sense: A Political History https://www.amazon.com/Common-Sense-Political-Sophia-Rosenfeld/dp/0674057813🧠 The Age of Choice: A History of Freedom in Modern Life https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691164717/the-age-of-choice?srsltid=AfmBOoqca43cL20XoW5ImlNs1_bkxT9eIkiK_I08g7sKYOv9yWo0yvE0

🦩 This episode originally aired on April 8, 2025. Get new episodes early at patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!Zohran Mamdani represents the 36th District in the New York State Assembly. A member of the Democratic Socialists of America, he is currently running for mayor of New York City, hoping to unseat the controversial Eric Adams, who recently escaped federal corruption charges after signaling a willingness to help the Trump administration crackdown on immigrants. Mamdani is running on a platform of lowering the cost of living for New Yorkers. He joined Current Affairs editor-in-chief Nathan J. Robinson to discuss his city and his campaign.0:00-6:12 What's the Deal With Eric Adams?6:12-11:55 The Real Challenges Facing New Yorkers11:55-14:43 The Rent is Too Damn High14:43-19:48 How Zohran Plans to Win19:48-21:59 Confronting Genocide from Local Office21:59-26:51 Responding to Right-Wing Talking Points26:51-29:56 Zohran's Vision for New York City🗽 Zohran Mamdani's Website: https://www.zohranfornyc.com/

🦩 This episode originally aired on February 21, 2025. Get new episodes early at patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!Joe Biden is gone, but we are now living with the consequences of Biden's presidency, and it's important in this moment to look back over the last four years and try to understand what exactly happened to get us to this point. Was Biden's presidency doomed from the start? Which of the many competing narratives about it is true? Was it an America-wrecking catastrophe, as Trump says, or an underrated golden age, as Biden's defenders would have it?We are joined for this assessment by the world's leading Bidenologist, Branko Marcetic, who is the author of the 2020 book Yesterday's Man: The Case Against Joe Biden, and has written a two-part assessment of the Biden presidency for Jacobin, Part I being on domestic policy and Part II being on foreign policy. Branko recounts the political history of the last four years, explaining how it all went wrong and we ended up back at another Trump presidency.

🦩 This episode originally aired on February 26, 2025. Get new episodes early at patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!Sam Seder and Emma Vigeland of The Majority Report have spent years tracking the rise of the far right, the decay of liberal institutions, and the Democratic Party's refusal to meet the moment. They join Current Affairs editor-in-chief Nathan J. Robinson to talk about what Trump and the conservative movement are really planning, why most Democrats still don’t understand the threat, and how the left can actually fight back.“If you're looking for fraud and waste, everyone knows you start where the most fraud and waste is already on record—and that’s the Defense Department, which has failed seven, maybe eight audits over the past few decades. It has the biggest budget by far. If this were a genuine attempt to root out fraud and waste, you’d start there." —Sam Seder

🦩 This episode originally aired on March 18, 2025. Get new episodes early at patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!Peter Beinart is one of the most important Jewish intellectuals writing about Israel today. A professor, journalist, and former liberal Zionist, Beinart has undergone a profound personal and political transformation over the course of his career. In this episode, he joins Current Affairs editor-in-chief Nathan J. Robinson to discuss his new book Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning. Together, they explore the religious, political, and moral narratives that have shaped Jewish identity in relation to Zionism, and why Beinart now believes that Jewish safety cannot be built on Palestinian dispossession.“There’s a fundamental flaw in thinking that you can make yourself safe by making the people who live next door to you radically unsafe.” —Peter Beinart

🦩 This episode originally aired on March 5, 2025. Get new episodes early at patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!Dr. Cornel West is one of the most electric and morally serious voices in American public life. A philosopher, theologian, activist, and jazzman of the intellect, West fuses the prophetic traditions of Black Christianity with a ferocious critique of capitalism, empire, and nihilism. His books—from Race Matters to Democracy Matters to The Ethical Dimensions of Marxist Thought—confront the spiritual decay of our age with love, courage, and uncompromising honesty. Dr. West joins Current Affairs to reflect on the collapse of civic virtue in the American empire, the nihilistic impulse at the core of Trumpism, and the moral cowardice of our ruling elites. He challenges us to resist both neofascism and neoliberalism not with smugness or cynicism, but with a blues-soaked spirituality rooted in historical memory and genuine care for the most vulnerable.“The blues is about wrestling with catastrophe but never allowing catastrophe to have the last word, because we have a love and a courage and a joy inside of us that can never be taken away.” —Dr. Cornel West

🦩 This episode originally aired on March 14, 2025. Get new episodes early at patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!Francesca Fiorentini is a comedian, journalist, and host of The Bitchuation Room. She joins Nathan to discuss her viral showdowns on Piers Morgan Uncensored, why compromising with the right is a losing strategy, and why the left-wing resistance should be bold and aggressive—but also fun.0:00–12:32 Piers Morgan12:32-22:27 Why we can't meet the right halfway22:27-25:57 James Carville and the liberal resistance25:57-29:19 Luigi Mangione29:19-35:31 The class war is on35:31-38:22 Does the Democratic Party have what it takes?38:22-41:16 We have to get money out of politics41:16-44:24 The resistance should be fun

🦩 This episode originally aired on March 11th. Get new episodes early at patreon.com/Current Affairs! Dr. Omar Suleiman is a distinguished Islamic scholar, civil rights activist, and President of the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research. He joins Nathan to discuss the deep roots of Islamophobia in American politics and the moral consequences of U.S. foreign policy—particularly the genocide in Gaza. Dr. Suleiman explains how systemic dehumanization shapes American policy and what can be done to fight back.

This episode originally aired on February 10, 2025. Get new episodes early at patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!Eric Blanc is the author of We Are the Union: How Worker-to-Worker Organizing Is Revitalizing Labor and Winning Big, which covers the recent wave of unionization drives in America and summarizes the lessons we can learn from them. Eric shows that today's new unions have succeeded against incredible odds through bottom-up organizing: the workers themselves decide to organize a union, rather than existing large unions launching campaigns. Eric argues that we can learn from what baristas and Amazon workers and media workers have been doing, and that there is a substantial possibility of reversing the ongoing decline in unionization rates. His book is a vital toolkit for those seeking to transform their workplaces and the world, and he joins to day to give us clear, concrete lessons that he gleaned from hundreds of interviews with union members around America."Courageous shop-floor organizers have dared to take on corporate behemoths, from Amazon to Starbucks to Volkswagen. Waves of unionization have begun to spread across multiple industries, including higher education, journalism, food service, auto, social services, retail, tech, and museums, as well as nonprofits. And not only are workers fighting back—they’re winning. Despite widespread assumptions among labor leaders and pundits that lightly-staffed organizing can’t compel employers to collectively bargain, workers have won first contracts in a wide range of industries and companies, including at deep-pocketed chains like Apple. Grassroots workplace fightbacks have also wrested major concessions for millions more workers. No less importantly, these struggles have empowered and transformed their protagonists. In a society where people are conditioned to quietly obey bosses—and at a moment in history marked by pervasive hopelessness—joining together with your coworkers to fight back can be an ecstatic, liberating experience." — Eric Blanc, We Are The Union

This episode originally aired on February 6, 2025. Get new episodes early at patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!Dr. Genevieve Guenther, the founding director of End Climate Silence, thinks a lot about one of the most important questions of our time: How we can combat climate change denial and actually bring about the transformations to our energy systems that will halt runaway climate catastrophe. She has written a book, The Language of Climate Politics: Fossil Fuel Propaganda and How to Fight It, that looks at how climate change is discussed in the media and how we can talk about it more effectively in ways that actually show people what the problem is and give them actionable solutions to fight for. She stresses the importance of avoiding "doomerism" and maintaining hope through action. She joins us today for a NON-doomerist conversation on the present state of the climate movement and what we should be doing right now."It's so hard to think about the future in America right now, and that's in part because the future is going to be a future with climate change in it. And either the future is going to involve resolving the climate crisis and creating a new system and a new form of human flourishing, or it's going to be death by a thousand cuts. [So] when you start thinking about this stuff, if you start to have feelings of grief or terror or depression or hopelessness, just know that that comes with the territory. It's normal. You're not the only one. But it doesn't mean that it's hopeless. You're taking on these feelings because you have courage. It's a sign of your bravery. But don't think about the stuff you can't control. Don't think about the scientific impacts that feel overwhelming or somehow too scary and depressing to deal with. Take your attention and focus it on the people who are preventing us from halting the climate crisis." — Genevieve Guenther

This episode originally aired on February 3, 2025. Get new episodes early at patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!Rob Larson is Current Affairs' In-House Economist. He is also the author of Mastering the Universe: The Obscene Wealth of the Ruling Class, What They Do with Their Money, and Why You Should Hate Them Even More. Rob covers the grotesque contrast between the lives of the rich and poor in this country, and the outsized power that the super-rich have over our lives. He shows how our country's wealth is squandered and outlines strategies for ending the plutocracy.Rob and Nathan's article on the Wall Street Journal's Mansion section is here. This interview pairs well with Michael Mechanic's episode about his book Jackpot.This book is not just for ogling the velvet lives of the ruling class, although there’s plenty of room for that. It’s about taking the rich out of the cockpit of society and putting a democratic system in their place. Because beyond their multiple gigantic homes and private jet miles, the control of the ruling class over the rest of us is pretty stunning, not to mention utterly grossly undeserved... To achieve anything, important labor and environmental movements require a good understanding of what’s going on—including the shifting strategies of the owning class and their corporate property. The point of this book is not just to study the rich, but to learn their vulnerabilities, and to help build the growing movements that could put some limits back on the power of the ruling class that owns our economy and runs the government. — Rob Larson, Mastering the Universe

This episode originally aired on February 1, 2025. Get new episodes early at patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!Today we are joined by Flint Dibble, who last year attempted the ambitious task of explaining science and critical thinking to Joe Rogan. Rogan has been a promoter of the pseudo-archaeology of a man named Graham Hancock, who argues that mainstream archaeologists are covering up the evidence of a lost advanced civilization in the Ice Age that could have been the real-life Atlantis. Dibble went on The Joe Rogan Experience to debate Hancock and show why Atlantis isn't real. He may not have succeeded in convincing either Rogan or Hancock to accept the findings of mainstream archaeology, but he did very effectively present the case for real science over crankery.Today, Flint Dibble joins to explain how ordinary people can avoid being taken in by pseudo-experts and why real science is so much more interesting and powerful than pseudoscience. He situates the war over Atlantis within the greater context of the doubt that people like Rogan have that mainstream expertise on a subject can ever be trusted, which leads to the embracing of many beliefs that are dangerous and faulty. But in a world filled with charlatans, how do you know who is telling the truth? Flint tells us what archaeologists really do so that we can think critically when confronted with wild claims by people who insist that all of the experts are covering up the truth.Nathan's article on Joe Rogan and Atlantis is here.

This episode originally aired on January 15, 2025. Get new episodes early at patreon.com/currentaffairs!We are joined today by Dr. Adam Gaffney, the former head of Physicians For a National Health Program, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, and the author of the book To Heal Humankind: The Right to Health in History. Adam is one of the most articulate and effective champions of Medicare For All, having once fought five Fox Business Channel commentators at once. Today he joins to discuss why Medicare For All is still the #1 best way we can improve people's healthcare. He responds to common objections, and Nathan challenges him with quotes from the author of the book The False Promise of Single-Payer Healthcare. Adam shows why the objections are silly and we need to build a consensus around the necessity of a single-payer plan.

This episode originally aired on January 7, 2025. Get new episodes early at patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!Today, Nathan is joined by Malaika Jabali as co-host along with Astra Taylor and Leah Hunt-Hendrix, authors of the book Solidarity: The Past, Present, and Future of a Dangerous Idea. They join us in the wake of the killing of UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson. The alleged killer's manifesto said that he was motivated over the hideously unfair practices of the insurance industry, and polling shows Americans blame the healthcare system (as well as the killer himself) for Thompson's death. But assassinations are not social movements. They don't fix the system, as Nathan argues in a piece on the killing. What kind of movement do we need on health justice, then? Leah and Astra help us think through how we can organize for meaningful improvements in the healthcare system.

This episode originally aired on December 30, 2024. Get new episodes early at patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!Adam McKay is a writer and film director who has made some of the most successful comedy films of our century, including Anchorman (No. 6 on Time Out's top 100 comedy films of all time), Talladega Nights, Step Brothers, and The Other Guys. In the last decade, his more dramatic and political films like Vice and The Big Short have attracted critical acclaim and been nominated for multiple Academy Awards. He joins us today to discuss the film he released in 2021, Don't Look Up, a satirical look at the climate catastrophe that uses the analogy of an approaching deadly comet to expose how the media, corporations, and the political system are incapable of addressing a major crisis. When Don't Look Up came out, it quickly became one of the most popular movies in Netflix's history, but many critics assailed it as "heavy-handed." In Current Affairs, Nathan wrote an article arguing that these critics were missing much of the penetrating leftist analysis that makes the film a remarkably astute piece of satirical fiction.Today Adam joins to talk about Don't Look Up: what the film was saying about our world, what Adam hopes the audience gets out of it, what critics didn't get, and why the film should get us talking about the climate crisis itself rather than just analyzing the film.

This episode originally aired on December 12, 2024. Get new episodes early at patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!Musa al-Gharbi is a sociologist with a unique, albeit controversial, take on the idea of "wokeness," laid out in his new book We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite. Essentially al-Gharbi argues that among elites, a kind of social justice language has come to be important for maintaining and enhancing their status, but has little to do with meaningfully advancing justice in the real world. He points out the contradiction between the embrace of "woke" language among many elites and their behavior. They are not, he says, and have never been, woke in any real sense, and conservatives are missing what is actually going on when they treat these people as dangerous radicals. Instead, al-Gharbi argues, there is nothing radical at all about the strands of "wokeness" found in the Ivy League.Al-Gharbi's argument doesn't entirely persuade Nathan, and al-Gharbi joins today to answer some probing questions, like: how do we know that the use of this language is an effort at self-advancement rather than a good-faith presentation of a set of ideas that should be judged on their merits? But while al-Gharbi is a critic of much contemporary social justice discourse, he is a constructive one, who shares the goal of achieving a society free of racial and economic injustice. This makes his criticism all the more interesting and worth engaging with.it would be mortifying for people on all sides of this argument to recognize that what they are actually fighting over is how future generations of elites understand, describe, and legitimize their social position. One side instead pretends as though CRT-associated ideas represent the "authentic" will and interests of most "people of color." The other side pretends as though an embrace of these ideas will somehow harm their children. In reality, mastering these frameworks will enhance students' social status and professional flourishing. And this is why elite schools are pushing it. - Musa al-Gharbi, We Have Never Been Woke

This episode originally aired on December 10, 2024. Get new episodes early at patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!Thomas Frank, historian, journalist, and author of What’s the Matter with Kansas? and Listen, Liberal, joins us to dissect how Democrats abandoned populism, the rise of Trump’s faux-populism, and why the party refuses to embrace the working class. He also explores the path forward for authentic left-wing populism in the face of neoliberal failures.Video version of this podcast is here.“The Democrats posture as the “party of the people” even as they dedicate themselves ever more resolutely to serving and glorifying the professional class. Worse: they combine self-righteousness and class privilege in a way that Americans find stomach-turning. And every two years, they simply assume that being non-Republican is sufficient to rally the voters of the nation to their standard. This cannot go on.Yet it will go on, because the most direct solutions to the problem are off the table for the moment. The Democrats have no interest in reforming themselves in a more egalitarian way. There is little the rest of us can do, given the current legal arrangements of this country, to build a vital third-party movement or to revive organized labor, the one social movement that is committed by its nature to pushing back against the inequality trend.” — Thomas Frank, Listen, Liberal

This episode originally aired on December 4, 2024. Get new episodes early at patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!Zohran Mamdani represents the 36th District in the New York State Assembly. A member of the Democratic Socialists of America, he is currently running for mayor of New York City, hoping to unseat the controversial Eric Adams, who is facing federal corruption charges. Mamdani is running on a platform of lowering the cost of living for New Yorkers. He joins today to discuss his city and his campaign."This is also a moment of political uncertainty as well as political possibility. People feel failed by the answers they have been told for many decades. And while there is not a majority of socialist or progressive thinking across New York City, I would say there is a majority who feel left behind by this economic system and the policies of this current administration, and that is an ingredient that could give rise to an entirely new coalition of people who feel left behind and are ready to get behind a leftist in order to turn the page." — Zohran Mamdani

This episode originally aired on November 26, 2024. Get new episodes early at patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!Brian Kateman is the head of the Reduceitarian Foundation and the author of the book Meat Me Halfway: How Changing the Way We Eat Can Improve Our Lives and Save Our Planet, which has an accompanying documentary. Brian has thought a lot about how to persuade people to help improve animal welfare in ways that actually get them on board and don't alienate them. Today he joins to discuss what's wrong with the food system, why animal rights matter, and how to get people to take steps in their lives that help animals.