The Nation Podcasts

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Muskism Is the New Fordism w/ Ben Tarnoff & Quinn Slobodian / Tech Won't Say Us May 07, 2026

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Paris Marx is joined by Ben Tarnoff and Quinn Slobodian to discuss their new book Muskism which explores how Elon Musk exemplifies a new economic system shaping our lives, similar to Fordism in the twentieth century.

Ben Tarnoff and Quinn Slobodian are the authors of Muskism. Ben is a writer and technologist based in Massachusetts and the author of Internet for the People. Quinn is professor of international history at Boston University, and the author of books like Crack-Up Capitalism.

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Election Protection in the Midterms, plus Racists and Neo-Nazis in the 1940s and 50s / Start Making Sense May 06, 2026

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Trump’s efforts to block Democratic voting in the midterms, or overturn the results, is not going to work—Ian Bassin explains the widespread preparations underway for defending the election in November. Ian is co-founder of the organization Protect Democracy and winner of a MacArthur genius grant.

Also: In the aftermath of WWII, racists and antisemites organized to reverse the changes brought by the New Deal and the war, but their organizations were infiltrated and undermined by activists from the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee, and the Non-Sectarian Anti-Nazi League. Steven J. Ross has that history – his new book is The Secret War Against Hate.

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Radical Liberalism w/ Alex Zakaras I American Prestige May 05, 2026

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Danny and Derek welcome to the show Alex Zakaras, professor of political science at the University of Vermont, to talk about the history and future of radical liberalism. They discuss liberalism’s relationship to republicanism, the American liberal tradition, equal freedom, defensive liberalism after 2016, neoliberalism, Cold War liberalism, socialism, racial hierarchy, labor power, democratic crisis, and whether liberalism can still offer a politics of freedom and equality.

Be sure to grab a copy of Alex’s book ⁠Freedom for All: What a Liberal Society Could Be⁠.

Don't miss our livestream this Wednesday, May 6, at 8 pm ET on ⁠our YouTube channel⁠.

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"If we have a chance, it lives in the tenant union" w/ Tara Raghuveer | Fighting Fascism May 05, 2026

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Tara Raghuveer joins us to talk about her work building tenant unions, her belief that tenant unions can be to working-class people in the 21st century what labor unions were in the 20th century, and her faith that, if we have a chance to beat fascism, the chance lives in the tenant union. Tara rocks. Listen to this conversation with her right now.

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Iran Talks Collapse, UAE Leaves OPEC, Mali Rebels Seize Kidal / American Prestige May 01, 2026

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King Charles paid his respects at AP HQ, but was put off by Danny’s pet ferrets. In this week’s news: Iran talks collapse as Trump weighs a blockade and strikes (1:56); the UAE leaves OPEC (7:45); Mali rebels and jihadists seize Kidal (16:49); Derek interviews Alex Thurston about Mali’s escalating rebel offensive and the implications for the junta government (18:08); Israel kills civilians and expands evacuation zones in Lebanon (33:43) as the US and Israel demand a Hezbollah disarmament plan from Lebanon (35:25); Israel adds an orange line to its Gaza map (37:08); Afghanistan and Pakistan exchange border fire (38:59); China blocks the sale of AI startup Manus to Meta (40:46); Sudan’s Blue Nile faces a humanitarian crisis (44:23); King Charles visits the United States and addresses Congress (46:27); Trump and Putin discuss a Ukraine ceasefire (48:53), plus Ukraine accuses Israel of procuring stolen grain (48:53); and the United States charges Sinaloa Governor Ruben Rocha (52:18).

Don’t forget to download our latest miniseries Marx Prestige. All episodes out now!

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Tim Cook’s Real Legacy at Apple w/ Brian Merchant / Tech Won't Save Us Apr 30, 2026

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Paris Marx is joined by Brian Merchant to discuss Apple’s announcement that Tim Cook is stepping down as CEO, including his history and legacy, and what may be next for the company.

Brian Merchant is the author of The One Device and Blood in the Machine and writes a newsletter of the same name.

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May Day Action—Plus a Confederate Monuments Takedown I Start Making Sense Apr 29, 2026

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In this week’s political rundown, John Nichols explains why Trump may never succeed at building any of his ICE prison camps, and how this Friday’s May Day strike is a test of our power to resist.

Also: MOCA’s “Monuments” show in LA critiques Confederate monuments that have been taken down in response to protests. Critic Christopher Knight has our evaluation. The show closes Sunday. (Originally broadcast Oct. 31, 2024.)

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Cold War Liberal Empire w/ Daniel Bessner and Michael Brenes I American Prestige Apr 28, 2026

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Derek speaks with Danny and Mike Brenes about Cold War liberalism, its shaping of the American empire, and more from their new co-edited volume. They discuss the meaning of “Cold War liberalism,” the book’s essays, the relationship between liberalism and mass democracy, emergency politics, the continuity between New Deal liberalism and Cold War liberalism, military Keynesianism, US empire, neoconservatism, Joe Biden, and the persistence of Cold War liberal ideas in long after the end of the Cold War itself.

Buy the volume Cold War Liberalism: Power in a Time of Emergency and use discount code BESSNER26

Don’t forget to download our Marx Prestige miniseries. Final episode out today!

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FDR, the OG Antifascist w/ Eric Rauchway | Fighting Fascism Apr 27, 2026

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Aaron and Matt are joined by Eric Rauchway, author of Why the New Deal Matters, to discuss America’s OG antifascist, FDR. What lessons can we learn from his successes in battling back the threat of American fascism in the 1930s?

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The End of American Global Power? W/ Anusar Farooqui | The Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer Apr 26, 2026

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The conflict in the Middle East is currently in an intermittent holding action with an extended ceasefire but no diplomatic breakthrough. To assess where things are going, I sat down with the foreign policy analyst Anusar Farooqui, who runs an excellent substack called Policy Tensor and posts on Twitter here. We discussed the resiliency and growing stature of Iran, as well as the signs that unipolar US hegemony is coming to an end, to be replaced by a multipolar world.

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