Living in the USA

Senate Republicans blocked taking up the bipartisan infrastructure bill on Wednesday-Democrats are trying one more time to satisfy GOP demands on this one. Harold Meyerson comments. Also: “Utopian” has been a term of abuse in politics for a long time now, synonymous with “irrational” and “impossible.” Instead, we are told, we should focus on realistic plans to improve things. But The Nation is publishing a special issue in defense of utopia. Jeet Heer explains how the dreams of a good society keep hope alive and expose the inadequacy of present structures. Also: our TV critic Ella Taylor talks about the new PBS American Masters documentary on choreographer Alvin Ailey.

Biden’s Big Budget: Harold Meyerson comments on the Democrats’ agreement to spend $3.5 trillion, and on Bernie’s new status as the architect of some of the most progressive elements of the bill. Plus: plutocrats in space. Also: triumphs and disasters of the sixties: there’s a new book about the movements of that decade, about some of heroes, and some of the problems. The authors are the brother and sister team David Talbot and Margaret Talbot--David is the founder of Salon.com, and Margaret writes for the New Yorker. The book is called “By the Light of Burning Dreams.” Plus: our TV critic Ella Taylor talks about 'Roadrunner,' a new documentary about Anthony Bourdain, whose massively popular TV shows about food around the world came to focus on politics more than cooking. Bourdain committed suicide in 2018. The film is made by Morgan Neville, whose previous work includes “20 feet from stardom,” the great film about backup singers, and “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” about Mister Rogers.

The Supremes gave the green light last week to Republican moves to make it harder to vote -- that gives Democrats and voting rights groups more work to do. Harold Meyerson comments. Also: “Critical Race Theory” has been attacked on Fox News nearly 1300 times. It’s being banned from public schools and colleges in something like 15 Republican states. But what IS “critical race theory”? And why is this happening now? Kimberlé Crenshaw explains; she teaches law at Columbia and UCLA, and she’s probably the most prominent figure associated with critical race theory—she coined the term 30 years ago. She’s also creator of the concept “intersectionality.” And the hashtag #SayHerName. Also later in the hour: our TV critic Ella Taylor talks about “Summer of Soul”, a documentary about a music festival in a park in Harlem in 1969 --it’s the most powerful and moving thing I’ve seen about the sixties anywhere – and the story it tells was completely forgotten --the footage sat in a basement for nearly 50 years, and no one cared. Also: "No Sudden Move," a new caper film by Steven Soderbergh starring Don Cheadle and Benecio del Toro. 7-8-2021

First, the divorce last May, and then Warren Buffett resigned as a trustee last week; so, who exactly IS Bill Gates, the second richest man in the world, giving his money to? Tim Schwab, writer of award-winning reports on the Gates Foundation, explains. Next Up: the political transformation of Kyrsten Sinema: Aida Chavez of The Intercept reports. Also: Dr. Seuss Enterprises took six of his books out of print because they contained racist drawings. Katha Pollitt comments. And, Obama's best-selling autobiography, "A Promised Land" reminds us of a time when Donald Trump barely existed on our political landscape and in our consciousness. Historian Eric Foner comments.

Tuesday Republicans blocked the Senate from even beginning to consider voting rights legislation. Chuck Schumer said afterwards, “In the fight for voting rights, this vote was the starting gun, not the finish.” Now what? Harold Meyerson comments. Also: Most of us think of Jimmy Carter as a failure as president, the Democrat who opened the door to Reagan, and the only president whose work AFTER leaving office was better than his work IN office. Kai Bird says we need to reconsider Carter and his presidency: He had more accomplishments, and was more complicated, than people realized. Kai’s new book is called “The Outlier: The Unfinished Presidency of Jimmy Carter.” And Ella Taylor talks about LA’s rebel nuns of the sixties – Sister Corita and her friends at Immaculate Heart College. They’re the subject of a new documentary, called “Rebel Hearts.”

Republican efforts to make it harder to vote, and easier for their judges and state legislatures to reverse elections they have lost, may backfire: Harold Meyerson comments. Also: rethinking the Green New Deal. Also: Katha Pollitt talks about a new book of advice for men – Jordan Peterson’s international best-seller “Rules for Life”. Rule Number One: “stand up straight, with your shoulders back.” And our TV critic Ella Taylor will review “In the Heights,” the wonderful new Lin Manuel Miranda musical on HBO Max about Dominicans singing and dancing in Washington Heights at the north end of Manhattan.

What does Joe Manchin want? Doesn’t he want Democrats to have equal voting rights? Without filibuster reform, Republican attacks on voting will broaden. Alan Minsky explains: he’s Executive Director of Progressive Democrats of America. Plus the earthquake in Israeli politics: Amy Wilentz comments on the end of Bibi Netanyahu, after 12 years as Prime Minister, and on the new governing coalition that includes for the first time in Israeli history an Israeli Palestinian Islamist party as part of the government. Amy, who was Jerusalem bureau chief for The New Yorker, will talk about what this might mean for Palestinians inside Israel, and on the West Bank and in Gaza. Also: TV talk with Ella Taylor, who reviews “Lupin,” the French comic heist series about a sort of Robin Hood who’s a Black immigrant, reckoning with racism in France and the country’s legacy of plunder. Season two opens Friday on Netflix.

Progressives and Biden: the infrastructure plan and the threat of a bipartisan “compromise”; Biden’s ‘American Families Plan,” $1.8 Trillion for workers, students and families, financed through higher taxes on the wealthiest Americans—and healthcare reform, which will pass only with filibuster reform in the senate. Plus: Enbridge Line 3, the tar sands pipeline through northern Minnesota, will face nonviolent direct action protests this Monday, organized by the Treaty People Gathering. also: White politics and Black history in Tulsa: historian David Perry talks about the Tulsa race massacre, 100 years ago this week, and how it was covered up, as a “riot,” for most of the century. And more on Tulsa: our critic Ella Taylor talks about documentaries about the events there—on PBS and the Nat Geo channel, as well as on the History channel. Plus: highlights of Pride month on TV.

A group of moderate Republicans led by Mitt Romney are offering Joe Biden a bipartisan compromise on infrastructure-one trillion that would fund traditional roads and bridges, leaving out all of his proposals for a Green New Deal. Will he go for it? Harold Meyerson comments. Also: As many Democrats urge Biden to take steps toward self-determination for Palestinians, Adam Shatz recalls the life and work of Edward Said, the most prominent voice of Palestinians in America until his death in 2003. Plus: we celebrate Bob Dylan’s 80th birthday with Ella Taylor by watching “Don’t Look Back,” the wonderful 1967 documentary by D.A. Pennebaker, about Dylan’s 1965 tour of England.

Harold Meyerson talks about breakthroughs in the House and the Senate on Palestinian human rights. Also: remember Jared Kushner's mideast peace plan? Plus: The Palestinians’ ‘Second Front,” inside Israel: Saree Makdisi explains the roles of Palestinian citizens of Israel in the current crisis. Also: our TV Critic Ella Taylor talks about “Crime of the Century,” the new Alex Gibney documentary on HBO about how Big Pharma pushed Oxycontin, which has killed half a million Americans.

Rachel Kushner reports on Palestinian life inside the refugee camp that's inside Jerusalem, and on the current crisis--her new book of essays is "The Hard Crowd." also: Harold Meyerson comments on Gavin Newsom's plan to give money to almost all Californians, and to provide massive funding for homeless housing and universal preschool. and our critic Ella Tayor talks about “The Underground Railroad,”premiering Friday on Prime video--10 one-hour episodes of a historical drama about American slavery, and escaping from slaverypeople are saying it’s “the most ambitious take on American slavery since ‘Roots’” --that was on TV in 1977, more than 40 years ago.

Mazie Hirono, Senator from Hawaii: She’s the only immigrant currently serving in the Senate, and she was the first Asian American woman elected to that office, starting in 2013. She talks about the need for filibuster reform and Supreme Court reform, about the storming of the capitol on January 6. Her new autobiography is Heart of Fire: An Immigrant Daughter’s Story. Plus: Harold Meyerson talks about the politics of the billionaires in LA, starting with Eli Broad, who died last week – he co-chaired Democrats for Nixon in 1972. His other big cause: charter schools. And our TV critic Ella Taylor talks about “Exterminate All the Brutes,” a 4-part documentary now streaming on HBO Max – a sweeping historical argument about four centuries of white supremacy, colonization, and genocide. It’s amazing that such a radical documentary would be streaming on the prestige channel in America – which suggests the world is changing after Donald Trump on the one hand and black lives matter on the other.

Joe Biden's American Families Plan, his Covid Relief bill, his infrastructure proposal, and his vaccine rollout mark him as the boldest and most successful president since FDR--Harold Meyerson explains. Also: Republicans keep complaining about Hunter Biden--Amy Wilentz comments on his memoir of suffering and addiction. Plus: The Oscar for Best Documentary went to "My Octopus Teacher" -- Ella Taylor has a critique.

The guilty verdicts in the Derek Chauvin trial in Minneapolis made history—and came only after millions of people took to the streets, for months, in hundreds of cities across America; and only after a decade of sustained organizing by Black Lives Matter. Jody Armour comments—he’s the Roy Crocker Professor of Law at the University of Southern California, and author of "N*gga Theory: Race, Language, Unequal Justice, and the Law." Plus: Harold Meyerson argues that compelling video of police abuse of power has NOT led to convictions of cops in the past - in the Rodney King case, for example; what's different here is the BLM Movement. Also: Earth Day 2021 is the world’s largest civic event—three days of climate action by millions of people around the world, including Joe Biden hosting a global climate summit on April 22 and pledging to take bold action to slash greenhouse gas emissions in the United States in the next 10 years. Mark Hertsgaard, The Nation’s environmental correspondent, says that for starters we need to start using the term “climate emergency” rather than “climate issue” or “climate crisis.”

At the Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, the union lost the vote by more than 2 to 1. What happened? Harold Meyerson has our analysis—also comment on hazard pay for grocery store workers, and corporations for voting rights. Plus: Should Supreme Court justice Stephen Breyer retire? That would give Biden a chance to nominate a younger replacement – he’s promised a Black woman. Also, our TV critic Ella Taylor comments on “Our Towns,” a documentary about good things in smaller cities across America; plus “Another Round,” the Danish film by Thomas Vinterberg about four high school teachers bored with their work who come up with an unusual solution. And “Shiva Baby.”

For nearly half a century, America’s leading corporations have offshored work -- to lands where labor is cheap, and they’ve also offshored profits -- to lands where taxes are low. Now Joe Biden and the Democrats are trying to do something about that. Harold Meyerson explains. Also: Protest continues to grow over the recent displacement by the LAPD of the homeless encampment at Echo Park Lake, which the mayor declared a success. Ananya Roy comments--she’s a professor of Urban Planning, Social Welfare, and Geography at UCLA, and is director of the UCLA Luskin Institute on Inequality and Democracy. Plus: Critic Ella Taylor reviews “The Man Who Sold His Skin,” the Tunisian film about a refugee that’s been nominated for an Oscar, and the British film “Moffie.”

Joe Biden has redefined "infrastructure" to include workers - Harold Meyerson explains what's in the biggest 'public works' bill in 50 years. Also: Big Pharma profits while the Global South waits for covid vaccines: Gregg Gonsalves comments. And Ella Taylor talks about "Bloodlands," a BBC thriller set in Northern Ireland 20 years after the end of "The Troubles" -- when a murder investigation threatens to bring them back. Also: "Keeping Faith," a BBC thriller set in Wales - both on Acorn TV.

Biden’s next big thing: after the success of his $1.9 trillion covid relief bill, Biden’s economic recovery bill is ready for prime time. Harold Meyerson explains. Also, the Democrats’ voting rights bill – and the unlikely union organizing Amazon workers in Bessemer, Alabama. Also: Michelle Obama’s memoir is out now in paperback - It’s called “Becoming,” and it has sold more than 14 million copies worldwide in hardcover. The book avoids politics—which seems strange for the person the New York Times called "the most outspoken first lady in modern history." Amy Wilentz comments. (originally broadcast in November 2018). Plus: Ella Taylor talks about the new HBO documentary on Q-Anon, the right-wing conspiracy theory about cannibalistic pedophiles that helped mobilize people to attack the capitol on Jan.6. Also: “Tina” – and “The Father.”

Bernie Sanders and Biden’s $1.9 trillion covid relief bill: it’s the most important piece of social legislation at least since Medicare in 1966, 55 years ago. The bill that became law is nothing like Joe Biden’s politics over the last 30 years--nothing like the Democrats under Obama, or Clinton--and very much the culmination of Bernie’s politics over the same period. Plus: Black Lives Matter versus the LAPD: a new official report in Los Angeles says the police in LA violated the law by attacking and arresting BLM marchers in last summer’s protests. Civil rights attorney Carol Sobel will explain. And our TV critic Ella Taylor will talk about “Rosa Luxemburg,” the movie, directed by Margarethe von Trotta starring Barbara Sukowa, won Best Actress for the role at Cannes in 1986.

Joe Biden’s 1.9 trillion dollar covid relief bill is about to become law, seven weeks into Biden’s presidency. It’s a huge achievement. Harold Meyerson comments. Also, Chesa Boudin, the recently elected progressive district attorney of San Francisco, talks about prisoners as parents—he grew up with parents in prison (David Gilbert and Kathy Boudin). And our TV critic Ella Taylor talks about “Night of the Kings,” a drama set inside a men's prison in Ivory Coast –-- it’s been shortlisted for the Oscar for best Foreign Feature.

Joe Biden is becoming a working class hero, after the strongest statement in support of unions since FDR: Harold Meyerson talks about support for Amazon workers in Alabama. Also: Katha Pollitt takes up the question, what can we do about the 74 million people who voted for Trump? Plus: Eric Foner will talk about Will Smith’s new 6-part series on Netflix--it’s about the 14th Amendment, which established birthright citizenship, and guarantees equal protection to “all persons” in the United States – the show is called “Amend.” And we have a new feature: “What Does Science Say?” today: the effect of Black Lives Matter protests on police killings.

Biden’s Pandemic Relief Bill should pass the House Friday–-it includes child benefit payments for every family with children. But in order for Biden’s plan to be included in the bill, it can only be for a year. Mitt Romney has proposed a permanent program – that’s what we really need. Also: Rick Perlstein talks about the future of the Republicans with Trump defeated – how divided are leaders over Trump’s continued domination of the party? Rick’s new book is “Reaganland.” And Ella Taylor critiques the tabloid documentary Allen v. Farrow – and recommends “It’s a Sin,” a British series on HBO Max about a group of gay men who share a London apartment as the AIDS epidemic hits.

Biden’s economic recovery plan: Harold Meyerson comments, starting with the latest obstacles to keeping the $15 minimum wage in the Senate bill that goes to reconciliation – also, is aid to state governments a “blue-state bailout”? Also: UCLA has gotten a multi-million dollar grant to establish an archive of the age of mass incarceration, starting with 177 boxes of LAPD records from the seventies through the 2000s –Kelly Lytle Hernandez and Shannon Speed explain the project and how they will be partnering with community groups. Plus: our TV critic Ella Taylor reviews “Judas and the Black Messiah,” now on HBO Max, about the Chicago police assassinating Black Panther Fred Hampton in 1969, and also talks about “Nomadland,” the wonderful film starring Francis McDormand as a working class woman who has lost her husband, her job and her house and is living and working out of her van—it opens Friday on Hulu.

Harold Meyerson says the devastating new footage of the rioters shown on Day Two of the impeachment trial underlines Trump's failure to try to stop them, the most undeniable grounds for a guilty verdict on his impeachment trial. Also, Alan Minsky of Progressive Democrats of America makes the case for the $15 minimum wage, and looks ahead at Biden's plans for reviving American manufacturing. And Ella Taylor reviews "The Mauritanian," the new film about a Guantanamo detainee and his attorney, played by Jodie Foster.

Biden's $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill: Harold Meyerson says he won't reduce it. Also: the Republicans, and the impeachment. Plus: Biden and Black America: Barbara Ransby comments. And Ella Taylor reviews "Dear Comrades!", the Russian film about a massacre of striking workers in Russia in 1962. Finally, we remember Rennie Davis -- he died on Feb. 2.

Biden's first week was filled with bold and necessary executive orders, and a plan to pass pandemic economic relief without Republican support--Harold Meyerson of The American Prospect explains. also: Gary Younge talks about the coming fight with Trump and Trumpsim, starting with the insurrection of January 6. plus: Ella Taylor reviews "White Tiger," the Indian rags-to-riches film that combines satire, melodrama and action film.

The inauguration of Joe Biden was delightfully normal--Harold Meyerson comments on what happened -- and what didn't. Plus: Alan Minsky, Executive Director of Progressive Democrats of America, discusses the challenges facing the Congressional Progressive Caucus--and the opportunities. And our film and TV critic Ella Taylor reviews "Assassins," an amazing documentary about the assassination of the brother of Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, in Kuala Lampur airport, by two teenage girls.

The impeachment vote barely papered over the growing crisis in the Republican party, says Harold Meyerson of The American Prospect. Harold comments also on security at the Biden inauguration. Also: Eric Foner provides some historical perspective on the attack last week on the capitol. Plus: Ella Taylor talks about the new documentary “MLK/FBI”, on J. Edgar Hoover’s attempt to “destroy” Martin Luther King--“destroy” is the FBI’s own term. And finally, the PGA is cancelling their longstanding plans to hold the US Open at Trump’s Bedminster golf course in New Jersey. Trump, we are told, is more devastated by this than by impeachment. The legendary sportswriter Robert Lipsyte comments on Trump and golf. (broadcast originally in August 2017)

The Trump mob attack on the capitol should have been expected, says Harold Meyerson--Trump himself had been calling for it for weeks. But it signals an irreparable split in the Republican Party. Also: Priorities for vaccination against covid-19 need to be based both on science and on ethics - Gregg Gonsalves explains. And Ella Taylor talks about the documentary "Dissident," on the murder of Jamal Kashoggi, and the Tom Hanks western, "News of the World."

A year, and a decade, of political challenges: Joan Walsh reviews the fall and rise of Kamala Harris, the return of Joe Biden, and the deepening problem posed over the last decade by white voters who now support Trump. Also, Amy Wilentz looks back on how things went in 2020 for Ivanka, Jared, Don Junior and Little Eric. And Ella Taylor talks about her favorite films of 2020 – starting with Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, starring Viola Davis and the late Chadwick Boseman—his last film.

2020 began with Kamala Harris dropping out of the first primary, and is ending with Trump blowing up the Republican Party - it was also the year of the biggest protests in American history, organized by Black Lives Matter. Harold Meyerson comments. And we're still thinking about John le Carré, who died last week—he was 89, and one of the greats, author of two dozen books people called “spy novels,” although they were much more than that. John Powers comments -- he’s critic-at-large on Fresh Air with Terry Gross.

This week the US began vaccinating people against covid-19, and we consider proposals to establish a coronavirus commission, empowered to investigate the many failures in the fight against covid-19: is that something progressives should fight for? Mike Davis says “Yes” – and explains what’s at stake. Also: Will Donald Trump pardon Ivanka and Jared—and Don Junior and Eric? What exactly are their crimes? It sounds like it's time for another episode of The Children’s Hour—with Amy Wilentz. Plus: John le Carré died on Saturday—he was 89 and one of the greats, author of two dozen books about the cold war and after; people called them “spy novels,” although they were much more than that. Ella Taylor reviews the best of the movies and TV mini-series based on the books, especially Alec Guiness as George Smiley.

L.A. elected a new progressive district attorney last month – George Gascon – and he just announced the sweeping changes he will make, starting with an end to cash bail and to sentencing “enhancements.” Jody Armour explains: he’s the Roy Crocker Professor of Law at USC, and his new book is “N*gga Theory: Race, language, unequal justice, and the law.” Also: last week the Supreme Court heard arguments on Trump’s effort to change the way seats in the House of Representatives are apportioned. It has been based on a state’s total population, as the Constitution requires; he wants to exclude the undocumented, which would mean California would lose 2 or 3 seats. David Cole reviews the arguments—he’s national legal director of the ACLU. Plus: Our TV critic Ella Taylor talks about the documentary “Coded Bias,” and the women of color, scientists, who organized the Algorithmic Justice League; plus the Kate Winslet film “Ammonite,” and “Driveways,” Brian Dennehy’s last movie.

Joe Biden got six million more votes than Donald Trump—so how come the Democrats did so poorly in the Senate and House elections? Harold Meyerson has an analysis – and some comments on how the Dems could win the Georgia Senate runoff. Also: how are the Trump kids dealing with the refusal of their father to admit he lost the election? Amy Wilentz will comment—on another episode of The Children’s Hour, stories about Ivanka, Don Junior, Little Eric—and Lara. But who IS Lara Trump? Answers, later in this hour. Plus our TV critic Ella Taylor talks about the series of five films about West Indians living in London in the sixties and seventies, made by Steve McQueen, a British artist and filmmaker—it’s playing now on Amazon Prime. It’s called “Small Axe.”

All eyes are on Georgia now, as the campaigns for both senate seats are underway to determine which party will control the US Senate. For Democrats, the starting point for winning in Georgia is the historic work of Stacey Abrams. When she ran for governor of Georgia in 2018 as the first African American and the first woman candidate, she got more votes than any Democrat in Georgia history, including Obama and Hillary Clinton. But because of Republican vote suppression she was not elected. Nevertheless she paved the way for Biden to win the state—a historic victory. We spoke with her in April 2019, about how she built the coalition that now hopes to win two senate seats in January.

Mike Davis on Trump voters: Latinos in south Texas and white workers in the rust belt—and Biden’s big mistake: allowing Trump to claim "the economy" as his issue, instead of connecting jobs to controlling the pandemic. Also: Monday we had good news on a covid vaccine from Moderna, created with a billion dollars of taxpayer funding. Gregg Gonsalves takes up the question, Why does Moderna get to keep all the profits? And Ella Taylor talks about this season’s guilty pleasure on TV: “The Crown” – in season four, Margaret Thatcher fights the queen, and Prince Charles marries a woman he doesn’t love: Princess Diana.

Harold Meyerson argues that none of Trump’s tactics to hold on to the White House will succeed—the lawsuits are ridiculous, the proposals for Republican state legislatures to send their own Trump electors to Washington won’t work. But the fact that Trump got more votes than any Republican in history gives him a lot of power over the party. Also: the huge victories Black Lives Matter won at the polls in L.A. County: Jody Armour explains, starting with electing a progressive District Attorney, George Gascon. Jody’s new book is N*gga Theory: Race, Language, Unequal Justice, and the Law. And our TV critic Ella Taylor recommends “Collective,” a terrific documentary about corruption in Romania.

Harold Meyerson considers the consequences of failing to win control of the Senate--and points to dozens of far-reaching executive actions Biden could take without Senate approval. Plus: Joan Walsh of The Nation says, 'It shouldn't have been so close." and TV critic Ella Taylor reviews "The Queen's Gambit," the proto-feminist story about the first female chess champion in Cold War America.

Harold Meyerson reviews Biden’s excellent recent poll results in swing states, and looks at the Democrats’ long standing problem with white male voters, and what can be done to bring them back into the party. Also: The one union that’s doing door-to-door precinct work during the pandemic. Also: ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ – the new Aaron Sorkin film - is the most-widely reviewed movie in America right now; 250 critics have written about it. Of course it’s about the trial of leaders of the antiwar protests at the Democratic National Convention in 1968 in Chicago --the indicted included Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Tom Hayden, Rennie Davis, Bobby Seale, Davie Dellinger, John Froines and Lee Weiner – and we have a conversation with Lee Weiner – about the movie, and what really happened. Plus: This week more than ever we need a bit of relief from the election --maybe the new Borat movie? Sasha Baron Cohen’s return with his memorable character from ‘Khazakstan’--but of course it’s all about “President MacDonald Trump.” Ella Taylor will talk about “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.”

Maybe the November election will have a big enough vote for Biden so that it can’t be challenged in court; maybe the Republicans won’t dispute the outcome. But maybe they will – we’ve had other disputed elections in our history -- of course we had the Supreme Court stopping the count in Florida in 2000--and there was another one, much less well known–the election of 1876. For some comparisons we turn to Eric Foner -- he’s won the Pulitzer prize, the Bancroft Prize and the Lincoln prize for his work, most of which has been about Reconstruction. Also: making music together in a dark time: that’s David Byrne’s utopia. there’s a movie about it, and it’s playing now on HBO Max: “American Utopia.” Ella Taylor comments.

When Attorney General Bill Barr told the House Judiciary Committee recently that voting by mail on a large scale presented a “high risk” for “massive voter fraud,” Pramila Jayapal challenged him—with evidence. She’s co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, she represents Seattle, and she talks about the fight against Trump for voting by mail. Her new book is Her new book is "Use the Power You Have: A Brown Woman’s Guide to Politics and Political Change." Plus: The new Aaron Sorkin film, "Trial of the Chicago 7," opens on Netlfix Friday--Ella Taylor comments on the film, and on other political films of the week.

Pence faced an impossible task in the VP debate Wednesday night - defending Trump's inaction on the pandemic; but Kamala Harris also faced challenges: she couldn't be an angry black woman. Harold Meyerson comments. also: Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown talks politics and history, and the lessons Biden should learn from his recent reelection in Ohio, where he won by 8 points in a state Hillary lost by 6. plus: "Totally Under Control" is Alex Gibney's powerful new documentary on Trump's Covid-19 failures - Ella Taylor comments. Finally, we remember John Lennon - tomorrow, Oct. 9, would have been his 80th birthday.

Trump made no attempt in the first debate to win over undecideds- so what WAS his plan? And what is to be done to make future debates more bearable? Harold Meyerson comments. Plus: Ella Taylor on women in politics on TV this week: "Mrs. America" with Cate Blanchett as Phyllis Schlafly; "The Glorias," with Julianne Moore as Gloria Steinem, and "All In," a voting rights documentary featuring Stacey Abrams.

Trump’s rush to fill the Supreme Court vacancy will help Biden in several ways, Harold Meyerson says--first of all, by making the Republican threat to Obamacare an urgent issue. Harold is editor-at-large of The American Prospect. Also: Refugees—after World War II in Europe, and today. Historian David Nasaw explains—his new book is The Last Million: Europe’s Displaced Persons, from World War to Cold War. Plus: Hacking your mind: We make many of our decisions, including political ones, NOT on the basis of what we “think,” but rather on feelings, intuition, and habits. New work by social scientists helps explain how this works for Donald Trump -- that’s the argument of a new series on PBS called “hacking your mind.” Ella Taylor has our review.

We are in “one of the most perilous and fraught moments for American democracy since the mid-nineteenth century,” says Chris Hayes; what’s hopeful is that “the movement we’ve seen in the streets is the largest protest movement in American history.” Chris of course hosts “All In” weeknights on MSNBC; he’s also editor-at-large of The Nation, and he spoke recently with Katrina vanden Heuvel at a Nation magazine online event. Plus: Covid-19 is the disease that reflects all our social and economic illnesses: that’s what Manuel Pastor says, he’s director of the Equity Research Institute at USC. He reports on who’s got the dangerous jobs and who’s unemployed, which kids have computers and internet connections for at-home classes, and which don’t, and whether Trump’s effort to recruit Latino voters in key states might work. Also: Russian efforts to interfere with our elections – that’s the subject of a new HBO documentary by one of our favorite documentary makers, Alex Gibney. He’s got footage from inside Russian “troll farms” and videos unearthed from the Russian deep web to reveal the “agents of chaos” who were key players in our elections. Ella Taylor has a review – she’s our resident TV critic.

Rick Perlstein talks about the rise of Reagan, from what seemed like a career-ending defeat in the 1976 GOP primary, to his narrow victory in the popular vote in 1980--and how the darkness of the culture war has shaped the Republican Party that Trump came to dominate. Rick's long-awaited book, 1100 pages long, is "Reaganland: America's Right Turn, 1976-1980." Also: Katie Porter, the new member of Congress who flipped a longtime Republican district in Orange County, talks about defending the postal service and about ending student loan debt. Plus: we’ll talk about politics on TV in 1968 with Ella Taylor -- and about a new documentary, called “The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte Hosts the Tonight Show,” when his guests included Bobby Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and also Aretha Franklin. And it’s streaming now on Peacock.

After Kenosha: will Trump’s efforts to mobilize white backlash voters succeed, the way Nixon did in 1968? “No,” says Harold Meyerson. Also: Radically changing our broken criminal justice system—Jody Armour's visionary radicalism. He teaches law at USC and he’s a prominent defender of Black Lives Matter—and his new book has just been published—it’s called “N*gger Theory: Race, Language, Unequal Justice, and the Law.” Plus: Ella Taylor recommends “Epicentro,” sort of a documentary about Cuba—it’s streaming now on KinoMarquee.com.

The Republican National Convention is hard to watch, but Harold Meyerson is doing it for us. He reports on the highlights (Melania), and the low moments (Kimberly Gilfoyle). Also: The Children's Hour, stories about Don Jr., Ivanka, Little Eric, and Tiffany, told by Amy Wilentz. Today: the kids go to the convention! Plus: Our TV critic Ella Taylor recommends the six-part documentary "Immigration Nation" on Netflix, and the 72-episode drama "A French Village," about collaboration and resistance in WWII - on Prime.

The Democratic National Convention featured several Republicans but almost no Bernie supporters: Harold Meyerson comments. Plus: A Black Lives Matter leader in LA confronts the LAPD—outside her house. Melina Abdullah is a co-founder of Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles; she’s also professor of Pan-African studies at Cal State Los Angeles—and last week she was on the front page of the paper in LA. We asked her what happened. Also: Virus-time TV with Ella Taylor – today Ella recommends “the 24th” - a new feature film about an all-black army regiment sent to Texas in 1917, and the violent confrontation with local racists that followed --it’s a true story about the only racial insurrection in American history where more whites were killed than blacks--16 whites died, including 5 policemen, and 4 of the Black soldiers. over a hundred Black soldiers were courmartialed - for mutiny. Thirteen were hanged immediately, and six more later.

The pandemic has slowed the speed of life under capitalism, Naomi Klein suggests in her recent conversation with Katrina vanden Heuvel—and that has created greater empathy and solidarity, expressed in the unprecedented support for the Movement for Black Lives. But the “Screen New Deal”—the virtual classroom and workplace—are bringing greater isolation and increasing corporate power. Also: Trump’s rushing to develop a vaccine and declare victory over Covid-19 just before the November election – whether or not the current research, “Operation Warp Speed,” has succeeded. Gregg Gonsalves explains the challenges to the researchers, and the dangers posed by Trump: an ineffective vaccine that will create more resistance and skepticism about future vaccines. Gregg teaches epidemiology at Yale School of Public Health. He’s also the winner of a MacArthur genius fellowship. Plus Ella Taylor talks about the new film “Boy’s State” – it’s about 1100 teenage boys in Texas brought together by the American Legion to organize a state government. And no, it’s not a horror movie – it’s a documentary. Finally, Your Minnesota Moment: Ilhan Omar defeats a well-funded opponent.