Jacobin Radio

This two-hour episode is a look at inequality in Houston from slavery to the present. First, Dan talks to Tyina Steptoe, historian at the University of Arizona and author of "Houston Bound: Culture and Color in a Jim Crow City." Then Robert D. Bullard, professor of urban planning and environmental policy at Texas Southern University in Houston and the “father of environmental justice.” Finally, John Henneberger, an expert in equitable disaster recovery and co-director of Texas Housers. Show your love for the show and support us at patreon.com/thedig.

Immigration law scholar César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández breaks down the lies, misdirections, and bigoted absurdities conveyed by Attorney General Jeff Sessions when announced that the Trump Administration would cruelly make some 800,000 young people who came to this country as children deportable. Check out César's blog at crimmigration.com Support us at Patreon.com/TheDig APOLOGIES FOR THE PRIOR TECH PROBLEM

The devastation wreaked by Hurricane Harvey has made the denial of climate change all the more dangerous. But writer Kate Aronoff says that mainstream liberals and environmental groups, touting cap-and-trade and business-friendly reforms, have put forward an agenda that can’t address the crisis and won’t mobilize the masses. We need a radical and transformative climate agenda. Thanks to our supporters at UNC Press and check out Knocking on Labor’s Door https://www.uncpress.org/book/9781469632070/knocking-on-labors-door/ Also, support us at http://Patreon.com/TheDig and help Houston out at http://homelesshouston.org/take-action/donate

New Republic reporter Emily Atkin talks about why Harvey is already and inherently political thanks to climate change and the potential for petrochemical disaster in Houston. Calls to not “politicize” the disaster are political too: they’re efforts to defend the destructive status quo of fossil-fueled neoliberal capitalism. Support us at patreon.com/thedig and please donate to homelesshouston.org/take-action/donate

Is the internet good or bad? The debate is more often than not a proxy for one about politics more generally and populism in particular. But the real issue with the internet is this: unaccountable businesses wield oligopoly power over the digital public sphere. Support us with some cash https://www.patreon.com/thedig And check out Adrian’s article http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/09/04/the-fake-news-fallacy

Jodi Dean, a professor of political science at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, discusses how to rethink the class vs. identity debate, as well as the tensions between online life and practice. Then, journalist Jason Wilson on Charlottesville and the far right.

First, Robert Kuttner, the co-editor of The American Prospect, recorded the day after Kuttner published his conversation with White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon, just as Bannon was being ousted, likely for his call to Kuttner. Then, Bruce Cumings, University of Chicago historian and a leading expert on Korea, brings us historical perspective to help understand North Korea’s development of a nuclear deterrent.

Dan talks to Splinter Politics Editor Alex Pareene about his recent piece “Charlottesville Was a Preview of the Future of the Republican Party” and about why Phoenix is Trump’s happy place. This second weekly episode costs time and money. We can only keep it up if you contribute at patreon.com/thedig Check out Pareene’s article and podcast http://splinternews.com/charlottesville-was-a-preview-of-the-future-of-the-repu-1797988745 http://tarfureport.libsyn.com/

The War on Terror’s permanence should be remarkable, an outrage. But it is precisely because the war has become permanent that it has long since been rendered unremarkable. Dan’s guest is historian Andrew Bacevich, author or coauthor of over a dozen books, including most recently, America's War for the Greater Middle East: A Military History (Random House, 2016). Note that we spoke before Trump’s recent announcement that the US would double down on the Afghanistan War. And please support the show at Patreon.com/thedig. We can't do it without you!

Kristen Ghodsee, author of Red Hangover: Legacies of Twentieth-Century Communism (Duke University Press, 2017), joins Doug to discuss sex and gender in the former socialist world, and her recent essay in the New York Times, available here: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/12/opinion/why-women-had-better-sex-under-socialism.html. Plus, Roger Lancaster, who has a new article in Jacobin on the subject, on prison reform and the problems with the abolition movement.

In the wake of the fascist terror attack, RL attended DSA Charlottesville's monthly meeting. Time and again, the issues of safety and violence were discussed along with how the terror attack would change their organizing work going forward. RL asked a few members to stay after the meeting for a chat.

New Republic writer Sarah Jones on Trump's invocation of the "alt-left," the term's unseemly centrist history, and more. We're gonna try doing two episodes each week now: the regular long Dig on Tuesdays and a shorter, hotter-take Diglet on Fridays. This will take more time and more money! If you listen to and love the show please support us at https://www.patreon.com/thedig

RL talks with Kevin, an organizer at The Haven, a nonprofit serving Charlottesville's homeless population. Kevin knew Heather Heyer because she had helped him escape homelessness himself. He was on the scene the day of the fascist attack that killed her.

The FARC peace accord is a historic victory for Colombian society. But the struggle to build an urban left strong enough to take on the country's powerful right remains a daunting one. Today's guest is Forrest Hylton, the author of Evil Hour in Colombia. Check out a great article from Forrest here https://www.academia.edu/26907051/The_Experience_of_Defeat_The_Colombian_Left_and_the_Cold_War_that_Never_Ended And also Forgotten Peace: Reform, Violence, and the Making of Contemporary Colombia from our supporters at University of California Press http://www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520293939

Paula Mielke lives in Falcon Heights, Minnesota--where Philando Castile was murdered by a police officer. She had never before considered herself an activist, but after Philando's death, she got to work. She and her team organized protests, petition drives, and vigils. They've also met weekly and attended every city council meeting in the year since Philando's murder. Now, Paula's running for city council herself. You can find out more about Paula's campaign here: https://votepaulamielke.com/Micah and RL recorded the introduction to the interview with Paula from a new studio. Special thanks to Wan for providing the technical support.

On Jacobin Radio, Dan La Botz. co-editor of New Politics discusses the Democrat Party's "bullshit deal;" Professor Jeremy Bendik-Keymer talks about Trump and fascism; and Dr. Adam Gaffney analyzes the demise of Trumpcare and why we need truly universal health care.

With Trump, Mexico is the symbol and source of so many things that are wrong with the United States. Oftentimes, these stories told about Mexico in the United States aren’t just wrong but serve to obscure the true source of our shared problems—which, more often than not, are both countries’ ruling classes. Today's guest is Christy Thornton, a professor of history and international studies at Rowan University, and soon to be fellow at the Weatherhead Research Cluster on Global Transformations at Harvard. Thanks to our sponsors at University of California Press.

We’re taking a quick break halfway into our four-part series of interviews on Latin America because this week is a big week for the American Left: Democratic Socialists of America, or DSA, is holding its first national convention since the organization has undergone a massive explosion in size. R.L. Stephens and Ella Mahony, running on competing slates for leadership in the organization, explain what's at stake. This episode is long and we apologize that some of the audio quality is a little worse than usual. But the debate and discussion is great.

On Jacobin Radio, UCLA historian and coeditor of Catalyst Robert Brenner joins Suzi to discuss the state of the US economy, mainstream politics, and neoliberalism. How are today's political earthquakes connected to the economy, and what can we expect from changes in US economic policy? What do the proclaimed health of the unemployment rate and stock market mean for working people?

A decline in oil prices gutted the revenue stream that Venezuela depended on to bankroll its social spending. The government led by Chavez’s successor Nicolás Maduro is increasingly turning to repression in response to constant, and often violent, protests from the opposition. NYU historian and NACLA Executive Editor Alejandro Velasco explains what's happening in Venezuela and why, as well as how the promise of the Bolivarian Revolution might still be salvaged. Thanks to supporters at nacla.org, an unrivaled source for left-wing news on Latin America.

Doug interviews two guests. First, James Forman, Jr., author of Locking Up Our Own, analyzes the relationship between race and mass incarceration. Then, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, author of From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation, in a reprise of her interview with Doug in June 2016, talks about a political response to incarceration and racist police violence.

Doug interviews two guests. First, Robert Pollin, a professor at U Mass-Amherst, addresses the economics of how single payer can work in CA. Then, Michael McCarthy, author of Dismantling Solidarity, tells us the story of how we got our current private pension system, with workers' savings appropriated by Wall Street

Doug interviews two guests. First, Kate Gordon, a Senior Adviser at the Paulsen Institute, talks about China, Climate, and the Paris climate accord. Then, Nancy Maclean, author of the recent book Democracy in Chains, talks about the Right's stealth war and democracy, paying special attention to the role of James Buchanan.

Dan’s guest today is Thea Riofrancos, a political scientist at Providence College. They discuss Ecuador’s 2017 elections, in which the left won a narrow victory despite the crisis hitting the Pink Tide of left governments throughout the region.Former President Rafael Correa accomplished much for the country’s poor majority. Unfortunately, he did so thanks to a commodity boom that has since gone bust, a strategy that has put the government in conflict with indigenous and environmental movements.

Doug interviews two guests. First, Tim Shorrock on the two Koreas: while South Korea has a recently-elected leader, the North continues testing missiles while the US continues threatening engagement. Then, Margaret Corvid updates us on British politics in the week following the recent surprise election.

Doug interviews two guests. First, investigative journalist Alex Kotch talks about the Koch academic network. Then, Alfredo Saad Filho, a professor of political economy at the SOAS, University of London, updates us the political and economic situation in Brazil. This episode was recorded the day before Lula was found guilty on corruption and money-laundering charges, and Filho sent an update for the show's listeners, which Doug reads on the show.

Dan talks with Dara Lind, the immigration reporter at Vox. They discuss how Trump has made Obama's massive deportation machine into a terrifying spectacle in a bid to to scare undocumented immigrants from the country.

In the latest episode Suzi will cover election results across the globe. First, Tom Ferguson, Professor Emeritus at U Mass Boston, will discuss the Democratic Party’s recent election defeats, the party's ties to finance, and their rejection of the Sanders political line within their own base. Then, Sebastian Budgen will join from Paris for an analysis of the recent Parliamentary elections that gave Emmanuel Macron's new Party "En Marche" a majority.

Workers have for years faced a neoliberal onslaught administered by a bipartisan establishment of technocratic elites who have ensured the redistribution of wealth into the hands of the rich. This is an elite that has abetted the decimation of labor unions and whose primary disagreement are over how severely those expelled from the labor market should be allowed to suffer. Dan's guest today is journalist Sarah Jaffe. Jaffe talks about the state of work, particularly the manufacturing and retail workers she writes about in recent pieces at The Nation and racked.com. Thanks to supporters at Verso and University of North Carolina Press.

Naomi Klein takes on President Donald Trump’s brand, and offers some thoughts as to how to tarnish it, in her new book “No Is Not Enough: Resisting Trump's Shock Politics and Winning the World We Need.”

Mass incarceration controls poor people and populations that have been excluded from the labor market. Politically, tough-on-crime rhetoric has for decades been a tool for politicians to appeal to white voters’ racism. But what’s less discussed is the complicated history of criminal justice politics within black communities and amongst black politicians. Yale Law professor James Forman talks about his new book Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America.

Joining Suzi are Maria Svart, National Director of the Democratic Socialists of America, and Becky Bond, co-founder of the Knock on Every Door campaign and former advisor on the 2016 Bernie Sanders campaign. They will review the recent People's Summit conference as well as take a deep look at the Democratic Party. Specifically, they'll explore how the party can and should be engaged as well as the party leadership and its hostility to the pro-Sander's contingent.

Bernie would have won. And in the UK, he sort of did last week. The Labour Party, under left-wing leader Jeremy Corbyn (full name: Jeremy Bernard Corbyn) came far from behind and stripped Prime Minister Theresa May of her majority in parliament — after the punditocracy had confidently predicted that radicals had doomed Labour to electoral oblivion. Dan speaks to Richard Seymour, the author most recently of Corbyn: The Strange Rebirth of Radical politics, and a founding editor of Salvage.

In These Times editor Miles Kampf-Lassin cracks open a cold one with the boys in the Stockton to Malone studio/supply closet. Micah, Miles, and RL discuss their experiences walking with striking workers at the AT&T picket lines on Chicago's south side last month. RL closes out the episode by making fun of Slavoj Žižek. He was then struck by a car in a mysterious hit and run ten minutes after they finished recording. He's okay now, but be warned, Slavoj's got shooters!Follow us on Twitter at @RLisDead, @MilesKLassin, and @MicahUetricht.

Doug interviews two guests. First, Yasha Levine, author of the forthcoming Surveillance Valley, discusses Russia, the NSA, and the Intercept election hacking leak. Then, Angela Nagle, author of Kill All Normies, chronicles the alt-right's rise.

Dan interviews journalist David Dayen on President Trump's financial policy. Despite espousing white populist rhetoric on the campaign trail, Donald Trump has stacked his administration with Big Finance elites. Dodd-Frank is on the chopping block and Wall Street is set to deepen its predatory financial practices. Thanks to our advertisers at The Nation! Get a deal on magazine subscription at thenation.com/dig and find their podcast at https://www.thenation.com/authors/start-making-sense/

Suzi interviews two guests about the surging Jeremy Corbyn and the fate of leftwing class politics in the coming UK elections. Journalist and author Paul Mason joins the conversation from London. Blogger and analyst Kevin Ovenden is based in Athens.

Doug interviews two guests. First, James Whitman on the U.S. origins of Nazi race law. Second, Alex Gourevitch discusses strikes and their challenge to bourgeois law.

Donald Trump pledged to build a big, beautiful wall on the border with Mexico. For liberals, the wall now shares a toxic association with Trump. But until recently, militarizing the border with Mexico was accepted as a core piece of the commonsense, bipartisan establishment immigration and drug policy agenda. Dan talks about border policy with Peter Andreas, a professor at Brown University and the author of Border Games: Policing the US-Mexico Divide.

The drug war is winding down around the country and heating up under Trump at the same time. Rick Lines of Harm Reduction International lays out the humane and evidence-based alternative to the war on drugs.

Hope is more than a mood or feeling — it's the basis for all political action, argues Ronald Aronson in an interview with Suzi Weissman. Bernie Sanders's campaign inspired collective action to make the world more equal; the Trump campaign and presidency are its mirror opposite. Aronson's book We: Reviving Social Hope is out now.

Jacobin's latest issue, "By Taking Power," asks: What has the Pink Tide accomplished? What is its future? When the Pink Tide emerged in Latin America, the U.S. Left was done with governing. The Pink Tide was a confident call back to the old-time religion, a return to not ceding state power to the Right, but wielding it to improve lives in the here and now.Jacobin editor and publisher Bhaskar Sunkara spoke with Rene Rojas, a PhD student in sociology at NYU, to discuss the ebb and flow of the Pink Tide at the Verso Books offices on May 16.

Micah and RL finally release their take on Jordan Peele's film "Get Out." Micah sees the story as standard brocialist propaganda, an ode to unionized public sector workers and the social democratic investments that produce them. RL can't get past the protagonist picking cotton and turning into the "Terminegro" at the film's climax. But like Saul on the road to Damascus, RL sees the light and Micah converts him mid-take. This episode is in honor of Yale maintenance worker Corey Menafee, MTA employee Darryl Goodwin, and all the other unionized workers who have stood up to racism on the job. Follow us on Twitter at @RLisDead and @micahuetricht.

What’s the matter with Appalachia? Many liberal elites think they know the answer. Since Trump’s campaign began, the region has become a symbol of all that is wrong with Red State America: guns, bigotry, a willingness to get swindled by right-wing snake-oil salesmen. There is, indeed, a lot wrong with Appalachia. But what’s most wrong is that a region where people waged militant labor struggles has now been devastated by coal company greed, automation, shifts in global commodity markets, and, of course, by Republican reaction and neoliberal neglect. Sarah Jones, social media editor at the New Republic, explores the possibilities for left-wing revival in Appalachia and discusses her own life in the region.

Micah welcomes RL to the Jacobin staff family. RL immediately pitches "Marxistpiece Theater," making Micah instantly regret their new work situation. Later, Micah interviews Erik Forman, a labor organizer and former salt. They all discuss their experiences organizing as low wage workers, as well as the history of salting in both radicalism and the labor movement. Listen closely for Micah's horrible lefty dad humor and RL's ridiculous Easter egg. Follow us on Twitter at @RLisDead and @micahuetricht.

The Women’s March on Washington showed the power of women's leadership in the battle against Trump and the Right. But significant divides that pervaded the 2016 primary campaign remain. Those debates continue to divide the feminist movement and the Left.Dan’s guest today is Liza Featherstone, a member of The Nation’s editorial board and the editor of False Choices: The Faux Feminism of Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Doug interviews two guests. First, Margaret Corvid on the British election, the Labour Party—and sex work. Second, Emre Öngün on Turkey’s deeper slide into authoritarianism.

Why do Republicans only seem to care about deficits and debt when they’re trying to cut social welfare programs? Dan's guest for this special episode is Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR). He discusses Trump’s regressive tax proposal and the GOP's never ending efforts to redistribute wealth the super-rich.

Under President Trump, the media has become a part of the story like never before. Journalistic probing has irritated our touchy president. But media outlets have also played a role in Trump’s rise. During the campaign, cable news outlets provided him with wall-to-wall free advertising and, more recently, lauded Trump as “presidential” because he decided to bomb Syria. Adam Johnson, a writer at Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, breaks it down.

Sebastian Budgen on the second round of the French elections, pitting a centrist against a fascist. And Sofia Japaridze on how foreign NGOs turned Georgia (the country) into a broke libertarian paradise.