Left Anchor

Episode 189 PREVIEW - The Legacy of the New Deal, with Eric Rauchway

Franklin D. Roosevelt: America's first social justice warrior?? Subscribe now to hear the full episode!

Episode 188 - Collective Dedication, with Pete Davis

Pete Davis comes on the show to talk about his book Dedicated: The Case for Commitment in an Age of Infinite Browsing. We talk about the value of committing to social institutions, Pink Floyd, whether tradition is really conservative, the devious politics of the self-help industry, and more. Enjoy!

Episode 187 PREVIEW - Thomas Paine with Harvey Kaye

How did an English corset-maker end up writing the most powerful take of all time? Subscribe now to find out!

Episode 186 - The Fight for Homeless Justice in Austin, with Chris Harris

Austin has seen a major campaign away from the criminalization of homelessness over the last two years. But that effort is running into a backlash, and there will be a city referendum on May 1st to determine if the reforms will be overturned. We've got organizer Chris Harris on to talk about the fight for homeless justice, how the reform efforts have played out, and the state of the referendum campaign.
The No on Prop B website can be found here. The story of Philly Mayor Jim Kenney's attempt to outlaw spitting is here. 

Episode 184 - Jersey Shore Marxism, with Gabriel Raeburn

Today we've got historian Gabe Raeburn to discuss his recent article The Rise and Fall of Marxist Perspectives: Eugene Genovese and the Fight for Hegemony in Radical American Historiography. This was an ambitious left-wing historical journal that aimed to unite various warring factions on the left and push Marx-inflected history, but collapsed after just two years thanks to Genovese's compulsive feuding and domineering personality. We talk Eric Foner, Gramsci, Christopher Lasch, the importance of personality in politics, and more. Enjoy!

Episode 182 - The Movements of 2020 with David Kaib

Friend of the pod David Kaib has been conducting multiple reading groups of the classic book Poor People's Movements: Why They Succeed and How They Fail, by Francis Fox Piven and Richard Cloward, over the past year. The book has perhaps never been more relevant given the the historic protests over police brutality, the coronavirus pandemic, and economic inequality of late. We talk about what lessons might be drawn from the successes and failures of these protests, and how we should think about movement strategy going forward. Enjoy!

Episode 181 PREVIEW - The Year from Hell

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Episode 180 - The Felt Blanket of M4A, with Abdul El-Sayed and Micah Johnson

Today we've got Dr. Abdul El-Sayed and Dr. Micah Johnson on to talk about their new book Medicare for All: A Citizen's Guide. We talk about what the pandemic revealed about the broken American health care system, and how universal Medicare could fix both the immediate problem and help us be more prepared for future heath disasters.
Abdul's newsletter The Incision can be found here.

Episode 179 PREVIEW - The Austerity Debate and Gramsci's War of Position

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Episode 178 - Messing with Texas, featuring Kate Aronoff

Why did the Texas electricity system collapse during the recent cold snap? We've got Kate Aronoff, co-author of A Planet to Win and sole author of the forthcoming book Overheated, on to discuss what went wrong. It turns out that carbon power is screwing up human society in basically every imaginable way, who knew? Enjoy!