The Nation Podcasts

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Understanding MAGA as a Social Movement w/ Bill Fletcher Jr. / Fighting Fascism Sep 09, 2026

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For this Labor Day episode we’re joined by Bill Fletcher, a longtime union organizer who’s spent the last several years working to build out the labor movement’s anti-fascist infrastructure. Bill has an important reminder for those of us who direct most of our anti-fascist energy against Trump and the oligarchy: MAGA isn’t some astroturf trick. It’s a genuine social movement representing some 25-30 percent of Americans, and any strategies that ignore this fact are missing something fundamental about today’s dangerous political reality. You can learn more about Bill's organization, Standing for Democracy, here.

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How Civilizations Fall w/ Patrick Wyman / Fighting Fascism Sep 09, 2026

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What can ancient human prehistory teach us about fighting fascism today? It turns out, quite a bit! So says historian Patrick Wyman, whose recent book, Lost Worlds, covers the 10,000 years between the end of the Ice Age and the Late Bronze Age collapse. Together, we discussed what makes societies fall apart, what is lost when they do, and how history demonstrates that human agency — and our decisions today — really do matter in determining what comes next for our civilization. Check out Patrick’s wonderful book, Lost Worlds: How Humans Tried, Failed, Succeeded, and Built Our World⁠. And his great podcast, Past Lives: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/past-lives/id1852618120

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Texas’s Radical Roots w/ David Griscom / American Prestige Sep 09, 2026

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Danny and Derek speak with David Griscom, co-host of Left Reckoning and author of The Myth of Red Texas: Cowboys, Populism, and Class War in the Radical South, to talk about the all-but-ignored history of leftwing politics in Texas. Topics include: the current state of Texas politics, the Farmers’ Alliance and the People’s Party, the Texas Socialist Party and its newspaper The Rebel, the role of religion in Texas socialism, and the prospects for socialism in modern-day Texas.

Along with the book and podcast, be sure to also check out David’s Substack The Rattler.

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The Amazing Movement Against Data Centers, plus How to be a Dissident / Start Making Sense Sep 09, 2026

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Is the resistance to data centers a new kind of mass politics? David Wallace-Wells explains why the answer is “yes.” He’s a writer for The New York Times Opinion pages and author of the unforgettable book “The Uninhabitable Earth.”

Also: How to be a dissident in an age of fear – Ami Fields-Meyer has thought a lot about that. For starters: don’t start from scratch; don’t try to do it alone. Ami is co-author of the new book “On Courage.”

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The Supremes and the Ballroom, plus the Dems and the Senate / Start Making Sense Sep 02, 2026

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The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that Trump could proceed with construction of his ballroom—they explicitly did not rule on the merits of the case, but on the issue of standing for the plaintiff. Robert Weismann has our analysis – he’s co-president of Public Citizen.

Also: The Democrats are now favored to win not only the House but also the Senate in November – they need to flip four seats, and their candidates are ahead in five. John Nichols explains.

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The Iran War Stalemate w/ Trita Parsi / The Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer Aug 30, 2026

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The Trump administration has announced a new set of harsh sanctions against Iran. This is a strange development since originally Trump launched a war on Iran on the pretext that sanctions weren’t working. Trita Parsi of the Qunicy Institute argues the current tactic won’t work and is a holding action as both the US and Iran bide their time in a long conflict. Parsi’s writings can be found on his Substack. In the interview, we discuss his column on the surprising way many governments are rooting for Iran to check US imperialism.

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News — New US Sanctions on Iran, Syrian Democratic Forces Dissolve, US-Canada Trade Talks Collapse / American Prestige Aug 28, 2026

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American Prestige brand MREs use Argentinian beef, but don't worry, it's the good kind. In this week’s news: the US launches a new sanctions campaign against Iran (1:35); Iran and Oman negotiate the management of the Strait of Hormuz (5:49); a Haitian gang killing (9:20); the Israeli government takes bids for its E1 settlement (11:52); the US removes Syria from the terrorism sponsors list (14:30); the Syrian Democratic Forces announces its dissolution (15:43); Trump submits the Saudi nuclear deal to Congress (18:31); progress is made in negotiations between the DRC and M23 (23:46); the Ebola outbreak in the DRC continues to expand (26:26); the CIA director visits Russia (28:07); US-Canada trade talks collapse (31:10); and the United States prepares a deep sea mining auction around overseas territories (35:35).

Don't forget Derek's Substack, ⁠Foreign Exchanges⁠.

Enjoy Danny's new Substack, I⁠mperialist Realism⁠.

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How Mass Layoffs Changed Working in Tech w/ Clarissa Redwine & JS Tan / Tech Won't Save Us Aug 27, 2026

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Not long ago, tech jobs were sought after for their security, benefits, wages, and the progressive values promoted by Silicon Valley companies. But now workers are barely hanging on. Clarissa Redwine and JS Tan join Paris Marx to discuss the state of worker organizing in the tech industry, including how it’s changed since the mid-2010s and where it needs to go from here.

Clarissa Redwine is a tech worker and labor activist. JS Tan is a PhD candidate at MIT and writes the Value Added newsletter. They are the authors of Against Tech Oligarchy: Worker Resistance in the World's Most Powerful Industry.

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North Korea's Roots in Christianity w/ Jonathan Cheng / American Prestige Aug 26, 2026

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Danny and Derek speak with Jonathan Cheng, China bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal, about the Christian origins of North Korea’s founding ideology and the subsequent personality cult. The discussion explores missionary Samuel Moffat’s work in Pyongyang, the conversion of Kim Il-sung’s family to Christianity, Christian nationalism during Japanese colonial rule, the turn toward socialism, Kim’s postwar personality cult, and how Christianity informs the Kim family’s rule today.

Be sure to grab a copy of Jonathan’s book Korean Messiah: Kim Il Sung and the Christian Roots of North Korea's Personality Cult.

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The Supremes, Trump, and Voting, plus Colson Whitehead’s Harlem / Start Making Sense Aug 26, 2026

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The Supreme Court is not a Trump court – at least not on several issues - but where do they stand on voting rights? And what exactly did the court say on Monday about the postal service cooperating with Trump in his effort to restrict voting by mail? David Cole explains - he’s the former National Legal Director of the ACLU, and The Nation's legal affairs correspondent.

Also: Colson Whitehead won two Pulitzer prizes for his novels, and then wrote three crime stories about Harlem – the latest is Cool Machine. John Powers comments--he’s critic at large for NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross.

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