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As we reel and resist Trump’s careless breakdown of government, society and the economy, I speak with CHRIS HUGHES, a co-founder of Facebook, who left the company in 2007 and called for META’s breakup in 2019. In the first 45 minutes, we talk about the current state of tech and then dive into his new book, MARKETCRAFTERS: The 100-Year Struggle to Shape the American Economy. How do we prepare to repair what Trump is destroying? For the final 15, I read a speech I gave in 1989 –  36 years ago – at my 20th college reunion, Harvard class of 1969. Ours was the year of the building takeover and the campus strike. In it I asked how we were living up to our youthful ideals. Today I find my words prescient, hopeful, and tragic. 

T. McNally Harvard Speech Transcript

In Trump’s tax bill, 60% of cuts go to the top 20% (income: $217K+). More than a third to top 5% ($460K+) Households earning less than $51K  will see income drop next year. Top 0.1% will get an average boost of $390K. Time for one of my favorite episodes: my January 2010 conversation with Richard Wilkinson & Kate Pickett about their groundbreaking book, The Spirit Level. Based on 30 years of research, it makes clear that the more unequal a society is, the worse it is – in all sorts of dimension – for everybody – rich and poor alike. Worth a listen.

Wilkinson.Pickett – Transcript

When I decided to speak with TIM JACKSON about his new book, THE CARE ECONOMY, I had second thoughts. What could be further from our current reality in the US than a care economy? Would talking about it seem naïve? But as Robert Reich makes clear, “We need to demonstrate not just against Trump but also for the America we want,” and this episode is part of my attempt to imagine and flesh out such a vision. Jackson is Director of the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity in he UK and his earlier books include PROSPERITY WITHOUT GROWTH and POST GROWTH: Life After Capitalism. You can learn more at timjackson.org.uk 

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The chaos Trump is creating in Southern California is a distraction from the other cruel, careless, and destructive actions of his administration. The assault on higher education and Harvard University in particular will cost us enormously, especially in terms of medicine and science. Here’s my 2012 conversation with Don Ingber, founding director of Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, who has emerged as one of the leading voices defending science and attacking White House cuts to research. Following this conversation you’re about to hear, I was hired by the Wyss Institute to host and co-produce Disruptive, a 17 episode podcast series, honored by the Webbies as one of the five top science podcasts of 2017. Search Disruptive, Terrence McNally to find the series at numerous sites.

Today’s conversation with Turing Award-winning computer scientist LESLIE VALIANT explores a question I find myself returning to over and over again – What makes us human? What unique abilities have allowed homo sapiens to succeed, flourish, and dominate – knowing it’s not our size, strength, or speed. His new book, THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EDUCABLE: A NEW THEORY ON HUMAN UNIQUENESS, has added timeliness, as we confront a crisis of social mistrust as well as the threats and promise of AI.

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With the recent death of Pope Francis and the election of Leo XIV, feels like a good time to talk with best-selling author ELAINE PAGELS about her new book, MIRACLES AND WONDER: The Historical Mystery of Jesus. In it, she asks: Why is Jesus said to have had a virgin birth? Why do we say he rose from the dead? Did his miracles really happen and, if so, what did they mean? And finally, how did a poor young Jewish man and failed Messiah inspire a religion that has persisted and grown for 2000 years? Professor Emeritus of Religion at Princeton, Pagels has won Rockefeller, Guggenheim, and MacArthur Fellowships, as well as the National Book Award. You can learn more at elaine-pagels.com.

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While Trump is in the Middle East making family business deals, House Republicans today proposed their tax cut bill, with a price tag of nearly $5T, paid for with cuts to Medicaid, food stamps, green energy programs, and everything else DOGE took a chainsaw to. But who actually pays taxes these days? The US is now the world’s second largest tax haven, moving ahead of Switzerland, and trailing only the Cayman Islands. Here’s my 2021 conversation with CHUCK COLLINS, who directs the Program on Inequality and the Common Good at the Institute for Policy Studies and co-edits their newsletter, Inequality Weekly. We talk about his latest book, THE WEALTH HOARDERS: How Billionaires Pay Millions to Hide Trillions. You can learn more at inequality.org

I don’t say I’m concerned about “the environment.” Rather I see our goal as a healthy relationship with the rest of nature. PAUL HAWKEN’s new book CARBON: The Tree of Life takes a step back from the problem-solving approach of most of his work. He calls us to a deeper understanding of our place in the scheme of things as absolutely essential not just to deal effectively with the climate crisis, but with most of the other ways we fall short of what’s possible in our individual lives as well as the larger world. His two previous books: DRAWDOWN: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming and REGENERATION: Ending the Climate Crisis in One Generation. You can learn more at paulhawken.com

Transcript- PAUL HAWKEN

When we the people are called to show up in the streets over and over in growing numbers till the powers that enable Trump withdraw support and authoritarian dominoes fall, here’s my 2013 conversation about Egypt’s Arab spring. The documentary THE SQUARE puts you in Tahrir Square as revolution swirls around you. The film follows a handful of activists risking their lives to build a new society. Though the Muslim Brotherhood ultimately replaces one authoritarian rule with another, the protests ended Mubarak’s 30 years of dictatorship. I speak with JEHANE NOUJAIM, Director, KARIM AMER, Producer, and KHALID ABDALLA, participant. Watch: youtube.com/watch?v=2a6SLuVtiVU

Wrapping up Earth Month, I speak with JAMES THORNTON, founder of ClientEarth, the preeminent environmental law group, with 300 lawyers holding governments and companies accountable across the globe. He steps down as the group’s president this month after 18 years. Their work training the Chinese – including their Supreme Court – in environmental law is remarkable. What I’ve learned about their successes has given me hope – something that can feel all too endangered these days. Listen in, if you could use a bit of the same. You can learn more at Clientearth.org

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