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    • ROB JOHNSON & I RESPOND TO ELECTION-Every election now a vote for change. Seeds sown for last 40 years.

      As we have for the last few elections, ROB JOHNSON – Executive Director of the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET) and host of podcast ECONOMICS & BEYOND – and I offer our post-mortems. Biden’s late withdrawal meant the Dems skipped primaries, debates, and a convention that would have tested candidates and messages. 2024 was another “change” election and they didn’t get the memo. Bad time to be an incumbent. Trump’s message: If you’re angry, vote for me. Turns out a lot of voters were angry. 

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    • She got Alito to confess his politics-LAUREN WINDSOR-new doc-GONZO FOR DEMOCRACY

      LAUREN WINDSOR calls herself an “advocacy journalist”. Her biggest scoops usually come when she goes undercover among right-wing pols and donors to secretly record things they don’t want us to hear. Her accidental truth-tellers include Sam Alito, Rudy Giuliani, Roger Stone, John Eastman, and Ted Cruz. Executive producer of The Undercurrent and executive director of American Family Voices, we talk about her new documentary, GONZO FOR DEMOCRACY. You can learn more at laurenwindsor.com

      Windsor Lauren-10-23-2024-transcript

       

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    • STEVE UJLAKI-Must See Doc-BAD FAITH: Christian Nationalism’s Unholy War on Democracy

      STEPHEN UJLAKI’s documentary BAD FAITH opens with the following text: “Christian Nationalism is a political movement that believes America was founded as a Christian nation privileging Christianity over all other faiths. Masquerading as religion, this ideology exploits scripture and sacred symbols to achieve extremist objectives.” The film lays out the timeline, connects the dots, and makes clear that 1) Christian Nationalism is a political movement first, not a religious one. 2) Since the 1970s, it has been relentless, well funded, absolutely cynical, and frighteningly successful. 3) Christian Nationalists have achieved much of what they set out to do, and, if Trump wins again, have dark plans for more.

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    • GREG PALAST-VIGILANTES INC-GOP takes voter suppression & election theft to next level

      I’ve been talking about voter suppression with GREG PALAST since 2002. Known for his investigative reports for BBC, The Guardian, and Rolling Stone, his new documentary, VIGILANTES INC: America’s New Vote Suppression Hitmen, narrated by Rosario Dawson and produced by Martin Sheen, reveals that in 43 states individual citizens are able to challenge and remove fellow citizens from voter rolls. You can donate to watch it at gregpalast.com where you can also find Greg’s other documentaries, and his articles and books, including The Best Democracy Money Can Buy – or stream it for free at saveyourvote.org.

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    • WENDELL POTTER-Health Insurance Whistle-Blower-Profits over patients and only getting worse

      I get the dirt from WENDELL POTTER about our broken healthcare system, especially the role of insurance companies, who consistently put profit above the health and lives of patients. Potter walked away from his job at one of the country’s largest health insurers to emerge as a critic of the industry and an advocate of reform. He’s a best-selling author (DEADLY SPIN  and NATION ON THE TAKE), leads the Center for Health and Democracyand publishes HealthCareUncovered on Substack. You can learn more at wendellpotter.com

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    • KEVIN BOYLE, THE SHATTERING: America in the 60s-Are the Silent Majority today’s undecided MidWest voters?

      Here’s my 2022 conversation with National Book Award winner, KEVIN BOYLE, about his book, THE SHATTERING: AMERICA IN THE 1960s. He reminds us that, after the Depression and two World Wars, the Silent Majority craved security not change. I suspect this history lesson offers us a window into the minds and the worldviews of many of the crucial undecided MidWest and Sunbelt voters upon whom this election and our future depends. You can learn more at kevinboylehistory.com
       

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    • ARLIE HOCHSCHILD-STOLEN PRIDE: Loss, Shame, and the Rise of the Right

      ARLIE HOCHSCHILD is the author of best-seller, STRANGERS IN THEIR OWN LAND: Anger & Mourning on the American Right. Five years talking with folks in Southern Louisiana revealed a “deep story” that holds their political contradictions together – they’re waiting in line for the American Dream and Democrats help others – Blacks, Latinos, LGBTQ – cut in front of them. In her new book, STOLEN PRIDE: Loss, Shame, and the Rise of the Right, she takes readers to Pike County, Kentucky. In the nation’s whitest and second poorest congressional district , she looks again at the intersection of jobs, culture, emotion, and politics. 

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    • How progressives win in rural America-CHLOE MAXMIN & CANYON WOODWARD, DIRT ROAD REVIVAL

      The Democrats have for too long ceded rural voters to the GOP. When the solution to minority rule is voting, connecting with and winning over rural voters is essential. Here’s my 2022 conversation with Maine state senator CHLOE MAXMIN and CANYON WOODWARD about the the book they’ve co-authored, DIRT ROAD REVIVAL. It tells the story of their winning elections in rural Maine with CHLOE as candidate and CANYON as campaign manager and offers lessons they’ve learned to guide other rural progressives. You can learn more at dirtroadrevival.com 

       

       

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    • The Walls We Don’t See-RICHARD KAHLENBERG, EXCLUDED: Snob Zoning, NIMBYism, Class Bias

      Blind spots. In his book, EXCLUDED: How Snob Zoning, NIMBYism, and Class Bias Build the Walls We Don’t See, RICHARD KAHLENBERG points out not only how restrictive zoning laws negatively influence all sorts of things in this country, but also that such laws are more likely or more restrictive in communities that are otherwise more liberal and progressive. KAHLENBERG also testified on the side of doing away with race-based affirmative action in higher education. It’s a provocative conversation. You can learn more at richardkahlenberg.org 

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    • 1) PHIL DONAHUE (2007), 2) MUHAMMAD YUNUS (2008) – Wise elders in the news

      This episode, archived conversations with two wise elders recently in the news. First, my 2007 conversation with PHIL DONAHUE who died August 18th at the age of 88. Donahue always seemed to be as focused on the common good as he was on ratings – while delivering well on both. We talked about his decades of work as well as Body of War, the documentary he co-directed about Tomas Young, a severely disabled Iraq War veteran. Second, my 2008 conversation with Nobel Peace Prize-winner Muhammad Yunus, pioneer of micro-credit, about his work and his book, CREATING A WORLD WITHOUT POVERTY. Since August 8th, Yunus has been serving as Chief Adviser of the interim government of Bangladesh following the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Learn more at grameenfoundation.org and muhammadyunus.org

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