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Today we've got political science Professor Neil Kraus on to talk about his book The Fantasy Economy: Neoliberalism, Inequality, and the Education Reform Movement. We discuss how all the promises that increasing educational attainment would cut poverty and inequality failed, how that can actually be accomplished with unions and the welfare state, and how a proper higher education system should work. Enjoy!

Today we are speaking with Astra Taylor about her book The Age of Insecurity: Coming Together as Things Fall Apart. Subscribe now to hear the whole thing! 

Today after a brief update on the Gaza situation, we are talking about the new dark horse House speaker, and the end of democratic government in North Carolina. Enjoy!

We are continuing our Gaza discussion with writer and organizer Layla Al-Sheikh. Subscribe to listen to the whole thing! Check out Layla's article in Dissent and Jacobin, and you can find the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund here.

Today we've got David Klion on to talk about Gaza--what has happened on the ground, the immediate and historical contexts, whether this marks the end of Benjamin Netanyahu's career, and if Israel can learn that the occupation is at the root of its most intractable security problems. Check out David's article in n+1 here.

The WGA won their strike against the Hollywood studios, President Biden is on the UAW picket line, Trump is talking with scab parts workers, and New York City was flooded briefly. We talk about it. Note: we discuss the possibility of replacing Dianne Feinstein at the beginning, before it was known that California Governor Newsom would nominate former labor organizer and Uber lobbyist Laphonza Butler to serve out the remainder of her term. 

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Apologies for the radio silence over the last couple weeks, Alexi has been in Greece, Denmark, and Germany, and Ryan has been on a reporting trip in Finland. We just haven't had time to record. But we're back to discuss what Ryan learned about Finland's S Group cooperative retailer and how the broader Finnish society compares with America. Enjoy!

Ryan is traveling in Finland, so for this week we're unlocking a recent theory episode. How is socialism related to liberalism? This time we read two works on this question: "The Relationship Between Liberalism and Socialism," by Ed Rooksby, and "Why I Am Not A Liberal," by Liam Kofi Bright. We discuss how liberalism evolved, if socialism contradicts it or evolves out of it, and why billionaires are ontologically unhappy. Enjoy!