Current Affairs

The panel ponder the demise of anti-consumerist politics, debate a future with no cars, and reveal their weirdest hobby-horses. The panel this week was associate editor Vanessa A. Bee, legal editor Oren Nimni, finance editor Sparky Abraham, and podmaster-general Aisling McCrea. Your host is Pete Davis. This episode was edited by Dan Thorn of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA. Music for 'Find the Cat' by Bensound.

Nathan and Sparky speak to Stephanie Kelton, professor of public policy and economics at Stony Brook University and one of the world's foremost experts on modern monetary theory. Stephanie elaborates on the theory behind her book, The Deficit Myth, and why the way we think of federal spending and budgeting is so wrongheaded. This is a preview of an episode available in full to our $5 Patreon subscribers. To listen to the whole episode, as well as lots of other brilliant bonus episodes, please consider becoming one of our subscribers at www.patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!

Nathan pays tribute to Michael Brooks, who passed away unexpectedly on Monday.

Briahna returns to the Current Affairs Arena to discuss her latest article, "In Defense of Litmus Tests". This is a preview of an episode available in full to our $5 Patreon subscribers. To listen to the whole episode, as well as lots of other brilliant bonus episodes, please consider becoming one of our subscribers at www.patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!

Aisling McCrea and Oren Nimni discuss that time the American police firebombed Philadelphia, in order to destroy an imperfect yet interesting offshoot of the black liberation movement. Along the way they discuss the stigma against communal living, death row, the military-to-police pipeline, and the way the left deals with the more problematic aspects of its past. This is a preview of an episode available in full to our $5 Patreon subscribers. To listen to the whole episode, as well as lots of other brilliant bonus episodes, please consider becoming one of our subscribers at www.patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!

Nathan speaks to finance editor and infrastructure evangelist Sparky Abraham about the physical infrastructure behind the internet, and the complex relationship of owners and renters who control it. This episode is available in full to our subscribers on Patreon. To gain full access to this episode, as well as lots of other brilliant bonus content, please consider becoming one of our subscribers at www.patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!

The panel discusses gender, "yikes" moments, and redemption. The panel this week was lieutenant editor Brianna Rennix, finance editor Sparky Abraham, amusements and managing editor Lyta Gold, business manager Allegra Silcox, and administrative maven Cate Root. Your host is Pete Davis. Rennix's gender article is here: https://www.currentaffairs.org/2020/06/the-peculiarity-of-gender "Where in the World is Peter Daniel Davis?" jingle is by semi-official Current Affairs musician Danny Bradley. Music for LegumeAnon by Alexander Blu. This episode was edited by Dan Thorn of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA.

Nathan and Aisling meet up once more with Will Sloan and Luke Savage of the Michael and Us podcast to discuss Irresistible (2020), Jon Stewart's new movie about small-town politics and big-city snobs. This is a preview of an episode available in full to our Patreon subscribers. To gain full access to this episode, as well as lots of other brilliant bonus content, please consider becoming one of our subscribers at www.patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!

The panel discusses how to advocate for unpopular policies, Pete enters Lefty Shark Tank to defend the concept of a wrongful incarceration tort, and everyone debates which lefties could defeat Trump in a "vibe-off". At one point Aisling says William Blake has been "dead for four hundred years" even though she knows full well it's actually more like two hundred. Zero points to Aisling. The panel this week was legal editor Oren Nimni, lieutenant editor Brianna Rennix, podmaster-general Aisling McCrea, and editor-in-chief Nathan J. Robinson. Your host is Pete Davis. Music at the end by the always-wonderful Danny Bradley. This episode was edited by Dan Thorn of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA.

We're unlocking this bonus episode because we love Jason and we love his book and you should get his beautiful book. Today we're talking to Jason Katzenstein, cartoonist for Current Affairs and The New Yorker, about his new book Everything is an Emergency: An OCD Story in Words and Pictures. Pre-order Jason's book (at your local bookstore if possible!): https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062950079/everything-is-an-emergency/ Jason's livedrawings and other works for Current Affairs: https://www.currentaffairs.org/author/jason-adam-katzenstein This episode was edited by Dan Thorn of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA.

Nathan speaks to Adam F. Naughton (@adamfnaughton), a disabled activist in South Carolina and founder of www.notyourinspiration.org, about the differences between the medical and social models of disability, "inspiration porn", the barriers that keep disabled people marginalized, and more. This episode is available in full to our Patreon subscribers. To gain full access to this episode today, please consider becoming one of our subscribers at www.patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!

Oren Nimni sits down for a friendly chat with Erika Uyterhoeven, an organizer in his hometown of Somerville who is running for State Representative. Find out more at https://www.electerika.com/ This episode was edited by Dan Thorn of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA.

Yesterday, Current Affairs published an article on the recent failure of two Michigan dams. In conjunction with this article, we thought we would release this bonus episode, originally aired in August 2019, in which Sparky and Vanessa interview the author, Varsha Venkatasubramanian (a.k.a. @varsha_venkat_).   This episode was edited by Dan Thorn of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA. 

The panel answers your questions on democracy in education, progressive prosecutors, protest votes, righteous jobs and monuments. (This episode was recorded before the recent spate of statue topplings.) Danny Bradley:  https://dannybradleymusic.com/We Might Not Die (Maybe):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAF-YUc2_WIWhat Is Education For? by Sparky Abraham and Nathan J. Robinson:  https://www.currentaffairs.org/2018/08/what-is-education-forBetter Call Saul inflatable tube man:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzs3nDCLJaISabastian 2020:  https://twitter.com/SignsFun/status/1272456435369160704Platformism:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platformism This episode was edited by Dan Thorn of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA.

The panel discusses the protests, alternatives to policing, and political art. (If you want to know further thoughts on Dave Eggers' "The Captain and The Glory", don't worry—Current Affairs will reveal all soon.) The panel this week was editor-in-chief Nathan J. Robinson, associate editor Vanessa A. Bee, finance editor Sparky Abraham and host Lyta Gold. Transform Harm: https://transformharm.org/abolition/ Criticism of 8 Can't Wait: https://www.8toabolition.com/ Resource Guide: Prisons, Policing and Punishment: https://medium.com/@micahherskind/resource-guide-prisons-policing-and-punishment-effb5e0f6620 Nathan's article about Christopher Dorner: https://newpol.org/last-american-idealist/ This episode was edited by Dan Thorn of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA.

Lyta Gold speaks to Samelys López, a housing justice activist who is running in the June 23rd Democratic primary in New York's 15th congressional district. (Please note that this episode was recorded before the start of the ongoing nationwide protests against racism and police brutality.) Campaign website: lopezforthepeople.com Twitter: @SamelysLopez This episode was edited by Dan Thorn of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA.

Current Affairs interviewer-in-chief Eli Massey speaks to Ilhan Omar, Congresswoman for Minnesota's 5th district. Together, they discuss her new book, This Is What America Looks Like, as well as foreign policy, Israel, drone strikes, Margaret Thatcher, Prince, and more. The book: https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062954213/this-is-what-america-looks-like/ Ilhan Omar's Twitter: https://twitter.com/IlhanMN Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RepIlhan/ Show notes: AIPAC-backed letter calling for an arms embargo on Iran, which Ilhan Omar signed onto https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/05/ilhan-omar-aipac-letter-trump-iran-israel-lobbying.html Amnesty International calling for an arms embargo on Israel https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/04/israel-arms-embargo-needed-as-military-unlawfully-kills-and-maims-gaza-protesters/ Ilhan Omar's Pathway to Peace bills https://omar.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-omar-introduces-pathway-peace-bold-foreign-policy-vision-united-states AOC in

As you may or may not have noticed, a *lot* of the Current Affairs editors work as lawyers for their day jobs. Current Affairs interviewer-in-chief Eli Massey has brought a panel together to ask: can you make a difference as a lawyer? Are there any good reasons to become a lawyer? Can the law ever be a force for good? And what is the point of Ivy League law schools? This is a preview of an episode available in full to our Patreon subscribers. To gain full access to this episode, as well as lots of other brilliant bonus content, please consider becoming one of our subscribers at www.patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!

The panel discusses the viability of forming a breakaway third party, things that are secretly political, and our society's contempt for the elderly. **NEXT WEEK, WE ARE RECORDING A VOICEMAILBAG EPISODE! If you have any questions for the team, or suggestions for topics, please leave us a voicemail at 504-867-8851 and your voicemail may be played on the show! ** The panel this week consisted of a group of sentient jellies imitating the shapes of amusements & managing editor Lyta Gold, newsletter editor Nick Slater, finance editor Sparky Abraham, and editor-in-chief Nathan J. Robinson. Your temporary host is Aisling McCrea (who was just out of hospital at time of recording, and struggling a little to form sentences). This episode was edited by Dan Thorn of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA.

"Immigration cases are death penalty cases in a traffic court setting." Current Affairs editors and immigration law superheroes Oren Nimni and Brianna Rennix return to the podcast, to give us an update on how immigration courts and detention facilities have changed—and the ways in which they haven't changed—in the age of the COVID pandemic.   Trump Administration Plans to Extend Virus Border Restrictions Indefinitely: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/13/us/politics/trump-coronavirus-border-restrictions.html This episode was edited by Dan Thorn of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA.  This episode is not paywalled because this shit is important.