NewsGovernmentComedy

Current Affairs

A podcast of politics and culture, from the editors of Current Affairs magazine.

Play

Open in

36 episodes
Avg 30 min
English

Episodes 36

Newest Oldest Longest

All16 Unplayed16 In progress0 Played0

Counted on this page — what you have heard stays on this device, so it is not something the list can be paged by.

#506
August 3 · 15 min
Centrists Are Not More "Electable"
Whether a candidate can inspire people, organize them, and deliver for them matters more than where they stand on an imaginary ideological continuum.
#505
July 27 · 13 min
America Is Just Guns and Diarrhea Now
Our politicians won't keep parasites out of our food, but they'll make it easier to buy guns through the mail.
#504
July 23 · 8 min
Socialists Humiliate Clueless NewsNation Host
We don’t think NewsNation’s Katie Pavlich knew what she was getting into when she invited Current Affairs Editor-in-Chief Nathan J. Robinson and Monte Mader on to debate socialism.
#503
July 22 · 40 min
Daniel Ellsberg's Final Warning to America
Daniel Ellsberg was the Pentagon Papers whistleblower whose decision to expose government lies about the Vietnam War changed American history. In this conversation with Current Affairs editor in chief Nathan J. Robinson, Michael Ellsberg, Jan R. Thomas, and Robert Ellsberg discuss Truth and Consequence, a new collection of Ellsberg's previously unpublished writings. They reflect on his thinking about nuclear war, conscience, patriotism, civil resistance, and why his ideas remain as relevant toda
#502
July 21 · 29 min
America Is Headed for Another Endless War (w/ Trita Parsi)
Trita Parsi is the co-founder of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and one of the leading analysts of U.S.–Iran relations. He joins Current Affairs editor in chief Nathan J. Robinson to explain how the ceasefire between the United States and Iran unraveled, why he believes both Washington and Tehran miscalculated, and what the renewed fighting means for the prospects of diplomacy.
#501
July 19 · 17 min
Keir Starmer’s Downfall is a Warning for the Democrats
When you stand for nothing, nobody wants to stand with you.
#500
July 16 · 44 min
Neoliberal Economics Has Always Been Bogus
Eric Beinhocker is a professor at the University of Oxford and executive director of the Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School. Nick Hanauer is an entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and founder of Civic Ventures. Together, they are the authors of the booklet Markets Built for Humans. Beinhocker and Hanauer joined Current Affairs editor-in-chief Nathan J. Robinson to discuss why they believe neoliberal economics has failed, what the evidence really shows about the minimu
#499
July 14 · 17 min
How an AIPAC Smear Campaign Works
The Israel lobby’s attempt to destroy Abdul El-Sayed’s campaign is a disturbing example of how money warps democracy.
#498
July 9 · 32 min
Kshama Sawant Is Taking On a Pro-War Democrat
Kshama Sawant is a socialist organizer, former Seattle City Council member, and candidate for Congress in Washington’s 9th congressional district. Sawant joined Current Affairs editor-in-chief Nathan J. Robinson to discuss Adam Smith’s record on war, why she believes Democrats cannot be relied on to fight for working people, and why revolutionary socialists should fight for immediate reforms while building power outside the two-party system.
#497
July 6 · 13 min
Trump Might Really Invade Cuba
There’s barely any pretense that Trump cares about Cuban democracy. This is about privatizing Cuba’s public assets and getting them into the hands of Trump’s cronies.
#496
July 3 · 15 min
Of Course The Founding Fathers Would Have Hated Trump
They rejected kings and were sincerely concerned about the possibility of a dictatorship. But we need to move past founder-worship and focus on justice.
#495
July 2 · 41 min
Charles Booker Has a Plan to Win Kentucky
Charles Booker is a former Kentucky state representative and the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Kentucky. His campaign centers on Medicare for All, ending endless war, strengthening labor rights, raising wages, and building a multiracial working-class coalition from “the hood to the holler.” Booker joined Current Affairs associate editor Alex Skopic to discuss why Kentucky should not be written off as a “red state,” how progressive policies can win in places ignored by the national Democr
#494
June 30 · 49 min
The Internet Is Being Erased
Mark Graham is the director of the Wayback Machine at the Internet Archive, and Chris Freeland is the Internet Archive’s director of library services and one of the co-authors of the new report Vanishing Culture: A Report on Our Fragile Cultural Record. Their work focuses on preserving digital materials that might otherwise disappear. Graham and Freeland joined Current Affairs editor-in-chief Nathan J. Robinson to discuss why the internet is not forever, how digital culture vanishes through del
#493
June 27 · 45 min
A Trillion Dollars Isn’t Worth It If You Have to Be Elon Musk
Elon Musk is a miserable deadbeat whom no amount of money can make loved, cool, or happy.
#492
June 26 · 10 min
The Left Is Rising
Electoral victories by socialists around the country show that the Democratic establishment is weak and can be overthrown.
#491
June 24 · 1 hr 1 min
The Hidden Surveillance Network Spreading Across America
Jessica Burbank is an investigative journalist, content creator, and host of The Jessica Burbank Show. Her reporting for Drop Site News and The Counterprogramming Club has exposed the rapid spread of Flock Safety, a multi-billion-dollar surveillance company whose license plate readers and camera networks are being adopted by police departments and municipalities across the country.

Showing 21–36 of 36 episodes