Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes Podcast

MS NOW, Chris Hayes

Every week Chris Hayes asks the big questions that keep him up at night. How do we make sense of this unprecedented moment in world history? Why is this (all) happening? This podcast starts to answer these questions. Writers, experts, and thinkers who are also trying to get to the bottom of them join Chris to break it all down and help him get a better night’s rest.

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465 episodes
Updated Tuesday

Episodes465

Newest first

Feb 5, 2019 · 55 min
Thick Descriptions with Tressie McMillan Cottom
Why do we summarize things into ‘tweet length versions’? It requires the flattening of nuance and personality and information that we need to talk about complicated things. Whether it’s the 280 characters of a tweet or a clickbait headline, we’re trafficking in hollowed out means of communicating that lack space for depth and complexity. While society is in a crucial moment of trying to figure out how to communicate with folks from different backgrounds about their own identities, we aren’t goin
Jan 30, 2019 · 1 min
Live #WITHpod with Stacey Abrams! TICKET LINK IN DESCRIPTION
Presale tickets available TODAY starting at 10a ET >>> Buy tickets here<<<< To access presale tickets, use special code -- WITHPOD
Jan 29, 2019 · 59 min
Back to the Future of Transportation with Aaron Gordon
*We have a new live show on the calendar! Listen for details.* If you care about battling climate change, then you might want to pay attention to the New York City subway system. We know there’s an urgent need to cut our carbon emissions and a big part of that is going to be transportation. We need to radically reimagine the way we get around in the coming years because we cannot continue to have an economy and a commute system that revolves around cars, particularly cars that are dependent on
Jan 25, 2019 · 24 min
BONUS: The Census Decision with Dale Ho
We have a Census update! When last we left you, Dale Ho was headed to court to argue against the Trump administration’s plan to add a citizenship question on the 2020 census. Now, Dale Ho is back to tell us what the court decided and what happens next. If you haven’t listened to the original episode, make sure to check that out first! The Trump Scheme to Rig the Census with Dale Ho (released November 6)
Jan 22, 2019 · 54 min
Amazon's Wish List with Stacy Mitchell
What does Amazon want from us? For consumers, Amazon can be a frictionless gateway to find everything from bed frames to dog food, baby clothes to award winning original tv series. There’s nothing quite like it – a position they’re in not by accident but by design. Amazon became the behemoth we know it to be by targeting and absorbing any competition, leveraging favorable government treatment, and picking winners and losers in the marketplace. But there’s much more they’re doing behind the scene
Jan 15, 2019 · 55 min
Trade Wars with Lori Wallach
What was so bad about NAFTA? If you ask the President, it was one of the worst deals ever made. A common 2016 campaign riff was him promising to bring jobs back, get companies to return production to the U.S., and scrap NAFTA. This anti-trade campaigning caught the attention of many voters struggling to find work. Interestingly, it also got the attention of progressive trade critics on the left who had also been calling to renegotiate NAFTA for decades. Lori Wallach, Director at Public Citizen’s
Jan 8, 2019 · 57 min
Organizing in Trump Country with George Goehl
How can Democrats win in deep red America? During the midterms, momentum behind progressive candidates in red states garnered national attention – Beto O’Rourke in Texas, Andrew Gillum in Florida, and Stacey Abrams in Georgia. These were no overnight successes. They were the culmination of, among many things, the tireless efforts of grass roots organizers. Organizers like George Goehl, Director of People’s Action, who is focusing his efforts on white rural America. Hear how his own story of pove
Jan 1, 2019 · 27 min
The #WITHpod Mailbag (2018)
You asked, Chris answered! In our inaugural mailbag episode, we talk about the organizing power of county fairs, why members of Congress contradict each other on Yemen, whether there’s any hope for the Internet, and more. Can you guess which WITHpod revelation Chris thinks is the most shocking yet? Also, the first ever appearance of WITHpod producer Tiffany Champion. EPISODES WE TALKED ABOUTWho Broke the Internet? with Tim Wu (released May 29)America's Role in the World's Worst Crisis with Shir
Dec 25, 2018 · 45 min
Revisiting The Rule of Law in the Era of Trump with Kate Shaw
Listen for a couple of WITHpod announcements! Since his first day in office, Donald Trump has been testing the boundaries of the law on multiple fronts. From his open hostility towards the investigation into his campaign’s involvement with a foreign adversary, to his policy prescriptions by way of executive order, to the way Donald Trump runs his own White House, this President has challenged the rule of law like no other recent President. So, in the case of Donald Trump v. the Law – who’s winn
Dec 18, 2018 · 57 min
America’s (Bad) Reputation with Fmr. Secretary of State John Kerry
Will America’s reputation survive President Trump? A common trend underlying President Trump’s policy decisions is to undo whatever President Obama accomplished. For former Secretary of State John Kerry, that means watching years of his hard-earned achievements in the international community come apart. Hear Kerry explain what it’s like to watch President Trump on the world stage, why he refuses to let the current administration anger him, and what he believes threatens the basic fabric of Ameri
Dec 11, 2018 · 1 hr 7 min
Politics and Violence with Joanne B. Freeman
Imagine what would happen if your Senator was beaten bloody on the Senate floor. Or if your Congressperson pulled a gun on a member of the opposition party. Our current political climate is ugly but that kind of violence would be unfathomable today. In the early and mid-1800s however, it was a whole different story. Joanne Freeman spent 17 years wrenching out the hidden history of just how endemic violence was within the political class in the decades leading up to the Civil War. Freeman shares
Dec 4, 2018 · 53 min
The Information Crisis with David Roberts
How can you be sure that the things you know are true… are actually true? We have access to more information than any humans in history but we can't process it on our own. In fact, almost all of what we know comes from others. We come to rely on people and institutions to tell us what to believe and not to believe. And it turns out there are huge consequential differences in how Americans form those relationships, relationships which serve as the building blocks for how we shape our own views of
Nov 27, 2018 · 1 hr 3 min
Live: A New Hope with Ta-Nehisi Coates
In our first ever live edition of WITHpod, Chris interviews one of the most important non-fiction writers in America - Ta-Nehisi Coates. His books and essays drive national conversations about issues like systemic racism, blackness, white privilege, and the legacy of President Obama. Chris and Ta-Nehisi sit down to talk about how the current political moment tells us where we stand in the American project. Listen for a conversation on the future of the Democratic Party, what it’s like to be a wr
Nov 20, 2018 · 50 min
History and Scandal with Rachel Maddow
Listen to Rachel Maddow talk about her new podcast, what it’s like to be covering the news in this political moment, how we can use history to make sense of current events, and why are you even still reading this description – it’s Rachel and Chris! What more do you need to know! Email us at WITHpod@gmail.com Tweet using #WITHpod Read more at nbcnews.com/whyisthishappening
Nov 13, 2018 · 58 min
Slavery’s Enduring Political Legacy with Maya Sen and Matthew Blackwell
What can soil tell us about election results? After every election, analysts pore over piles of data in order to better understand political trends. But what if a better place to search for answers is the ground beneath our feet? More specifically, whether that soil was conducive to crops worked by slaves over 200 years ago? Listen to Maya Sen and Matthew Blackwell trace southern racial conservatism all the way back to glacial deposits. Their new book, "Deep Roots", studies the swath of America
Nov 6, 2018 · 58 min
The Trump Scheme to Rig the Census with Dale Ho
In many cases the Trump Administration isn’t shy when it comes to undermining the Constitution of the United States. But while fights over things like the Muslim ban or ending birthright citizenship play out in public, there are other massive Constitutional erosions happening under the radar. This is the story of how Wilbur Ross and the Trump Administration went about trying to change the way people in America are counted and how they got caught lying about it. Dale Ho is the director of the Vo
Nov 1, 2018 · 17 min
BONUS: Midterm Watch with Daniel Nichanian
It’s a bonus mini-episode of #WITHpod! Daniel Nichanian joins Chris to talk about what he has his eyes on ahead of election day. Read his much more extensive list at Whatsontheballot.com and find out what’s happening in your state.
Oct 30, 2018 · 52 min
White Identity Politics with Michael Tesler
Just one week left until the midterms and race and identity politics are playing a major role in the messaging of both parties. For Republicans, it comes in the shape of fear-mongering about the threat imposed by anyone ‘other’, a play ripped directly from the campaign that won Donald Trump the presidency. While these candidates are following in the steps of President Trump, they are tapping in to a divide that was exacerbated not just in the 2016 election, but starting back in 2008. Something p
Oct 23, 2018 · 52 min
Medicare for All with Abdul El-Sayed
What would it mean to have Medicare for All? The issue of healthcare emerged as a key campaign fight in the coming midterm elections, with ads and debate questions centered on coverage of pre-existing conditions. While Republicans dig deeper into a fear mongering campaign that Medicare for All means Medicare for none, a growing number of Democrats are throwing their support behind single payer healthcare. Although Medicare for All is proving popular in polling, the left has a lot of work to do i
Oct 16, 2018 · 52 min
Voter Suppression Past and Present with Carol Anderson
Why are Republicans so obsessed with voter fraud? Study after study finds no evidence of any large-scale voter fraud in the country, yet we keep hearing about necessary changes to voting systems in order to combat this major threat to democracy. Here’s the thing - it’s a sleight of hand trick, just the latest in a long history of racist voter suppression laws. By crying ‘voter fraud’, the government has been able to tap into policies based in white supremacy with the intent of curbing voter turn

Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes Podcast

Thick Descriptions with Tressie McMillan Cottom

Live #WITHpod with Stacey Abrams! TICKET LINK IN DESCRIPTION

Back to the Future of Transportation with Aaron Gordon

BONUS: The Census Decision with Dale Ho

Amazon's Wish List with Stacy Mitchell

Trade Wars with Lori Wallach

Organizing in Trump Country with George Goehl

The #WITHpod Mailbag (2018)

Revisiting The Rule of Law in the Era of Trump with Kate Shaw

America’s (Bad) Reputation with Fmr. Secretary of State John Kerry

Politics and Violence with Joanne B. Freeman

The Information Crisis with David Roberts

Live: A New Hope with Ta-Nehisi Coates

History and Scandal with Rachel Maddow

Slavery’s Enduring Political Legacy with Maya Sen and Matthew Blackwell

The Trump Scheme to Rig the Census with Dale Ho

BONUS: Midterm Watch with Daniel Nichanian

White Identity Politics with Michael Tesler

Medicare for All with Abdul El-Sayed

Voter Suppression Past and Present with Carol Anderson