Embracing Change and Optimism in Political Discourse

This week we go all the way back to the beginning to ruminate about what motivated us to start the podcast in the dark days of the pandemic. We open with a passage from Nancy MacLean’s Democracy in Chains that struck a chord with Max. In it MacLean talks about the early days of the nihilistic libertarian society built by Charles Koch who was himself building upon the work of his father in the John Birch Society. Turns out, Koch and the founders of the neoliberal movement were inspired by the organizing principles of Vladimir Lenin. Let that sink in.

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:00

Sketch: 00:01:29

Max’s Moment: 00:06:39

A Discussion: 00:41:19

Outro: 01:27:49

Resources

Nancy MacLean: Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America

The Family on Netflix

Jeff Sharlet: The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power

Max on Bluesky

UNFTR on YouTube

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