Left Anchor

In this preview of our latest bonus episode, Skanda Amarnath, executive director of the Employ America think tank, discusses why the Silicon Valley Bank failed. Subscribe now to hear the whole thing!

Today we've got Professor Jon Shelton on to talk about his book The Education Myth: How Human Capital Trumped Social Democracy. We discuss how the justification for public schooling was wildly different in the 19th century, why education doesn't solve poverty, why "human capital" is a nonsense idea, how education reform became a fake substitute for class politics, and more. Enjoy!

In this excerpt of our latest bonus episode, we discuss the implication of Michael Knowles' eliminationist rhetoric about trans people. Subscribe now to hear the whole thing where we discuss the reaction to our previous episode, Jesse Singal twitter drama, President Biden's undermining of DC home rule, and more.

Today we've got historian Dan Berger to talk about his new book Stayed on Freedom: The Long History of Black Power through One Family’s Journey -- and then we've got the two main characters of the book as well, Zoharah Simmons and Michael Simmons. Zoharah and Michael have lived astounding lives, and they tell us stories about working with SNCC during the fight against Jim Crow, campaigning for Julian Bond, traveling the world to join the freedom struggle in other nations, and more. Enjoy!

Today we've got Evan Urquhart and Michael Hobbes on to talk about the ongoing frenzy of bigotry directed at trans people, and why centrist and liberal reporters are feeding it. Evan covers trans issues at Assigned Media, while Michael is a journalist currently working on the Maintenance Phase and If Books Could Kill podcasts. Also check out Evan's coverage of detransitioners, Tom Scocca's critique of the Times coverage, and this open letter to New York Times management from many of its employees and contributors.

Subscribe now to hear the whole thing! 

Today we've got Felicia Kornbluh, professor of history at the University of Vermont, on to talk about her new book A Woman's Life Is a Human Life: My Mother, Our Neighbor, and the Journey From Reproductive Rights to Reproductive Justice. We discuss the fascinating history of pre-Roe abortion rights activists, the movement against coerced sterilization, what full reproductive justice means, and more. Enjoy!

In this excerpt Marianne talks about the bad and good sides of the Biden administration. Subscribe here to listen to the whole thing!

This time we're doing a movie review episode talking about two classics: Casablanca and Inside Llewyn Davis, discussing both their politics and their merits as films. Enjoy! (And pardon Ryan for repeatedly pronouncing it "Llewelyn".) 

This time we've got Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò on to discuss his book Elite Capture: How the Powerful Took Over Identity Politics (And Everything Else). We talk about how this cooption process has happened, how to counter it without falling victim to irritable knee-jerk anti-"wokeness," what identity politics originally meant, and more. Enjoy!