

Living in the USA
Living in the USA
Talking about politics, thinking about the Left. Hosted by Jon Wiener, co-author of "Set the Night on Fire: L.A. in the Sixties," contributing editor at The Nation, and broadcast live at KPFK 90.7FM in LA Thursdays at 4.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 19, 2017 • 33min
Ai Weiwei talks about the global refugee crisis: 'Human Flow'--Plus Amy Wilentz on Ivanka
Ai WeiWei, the most famous political artist in the world, talks about his new documentary on global refugee crisis. It's called “Human Flow” --it opens in LA Friday Oct 20.
Plus: Amy Wilentz on 'The Children's Hour': Ivanka, Jared, and Don Jr.

Oct 13, 2017 • 30min
Is Trump Crazy? The Psychiatrists speak & Amy Wilentz Reports; George Zornick on the NRA & Las Vegas
Is Trump Crazy? The Psychiatrists speak in "The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump" by Bandy Lee, MD -- Amy Wilentz comments: do psychiatrists have a "duty to warn"?
Plus: Trump and the NRA after the Las Vegas shootings, George Zornick comments.

Oct 6, 2017 • 47min
Trump and the Triumph of Fear: Sasha Abramsky--plus John Nichols on Trump's Generals
Sasha Abramsky talks about Trump and the triumph of fear -- his new book is “Jumping at Shadows: The Triumph of Fear and the End of the American Dream.”
Also: Pundits say the three former generals on Trump's staff are "the adults in the room" who will block him from doing his worst. John Nichols isn't so sure about that -- the generals are featured in his book "Horsemen of the Trumpocalypse."
And, for something completely different: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy. One of the darkest days at the end of what we call “the sixties” came on Sept. 9, 1971, after 1,300 prisoners at the Attica Correctional Facility in upstate New York rebelled -- to protest years of mistreatment. The true story of what happened at Attica was covered up by officials for decades. but now, 47 years later, we finally know the true story, thanks Heather Ann Thompson.

Sep 29, 2017 • 44min
Hillary's 'What Happened', plus Paul Manafort's Indictment and Ken Burns's Vietnam
Sarah Leonard of The Nation says Hillary's campaign memoir "What Happened" has its enjoyable parts, but fails to recognize the populist forces that explain what happened.
plus Bob Dreyfuss on the Robert Mueller's coming indictment of Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort --
and Todd Gitlin replies to critics of Ken Burns's Vietnam series on PBS -- it's a powerful portrayal of the reasons the war was a disaster, he argues.

Sep 22, 2017 • 59min
Hillary's 'What Happened' DD Guttenplan Reports; David Dayen on DeVos & Harold Meyerson on Obamacare
Hillary’s book about what happened in her loss to Donald Trump – it’s called ‘What Happened,” and D.D. Guttenplan of The Nation says she really doesn’t understand what happened.
Plus: the horrible Betsy DeVos – billionaire opponent of public schools, and now Trump’s Secretary of Education: David Dayen will explain.
Plus, the Republicans’ final attempt to repeal Obamacare is underway; Harold Meyerson will report.

Sep 15, 2017 • 58min
Tom Frank on Hillary's "What Happened" plus Joan Walsh on Pence & Harold Meyerson on Bernie
Hillary's book about 'What Happened' has a clear message, Tom Frank says: "don't blame me."
Also: Is Pence Worse? Do we really want Trump out? Joan Walsh says 'yes' to both.
And Harold Meyerson comments on the Medicare-for-all bill introduced in Congress yesterday by our man Bernie. He says it’s not only necessary, it’s “strategically savvy.”

Sep 8, 2017 • 58min
Trump's 180 on Dreamers and DACA: Harold Meyerson; Nichols on Trump's EPA & Dreyfuss on Facebook
Harold Meyerson of The American Prospect talks about Trump's 180 on DACA and the Dreamers.
Also: Hurricanes, Texas Toxics and Trump's EPA: John Nichols comments.
And Bob Dreyfuss explains what we now know about Facebook taking money from Russians for political ads, and answers the question, 'Who is Felix Sater -- and why is Trump so afraid of him?"

Sep 1, 2017 • 53min
Robert Mueller's Brilliant Tactics Against Trump: Watergate Veteran Elizabeth Holtzman Explains
Plus: What Trump's people have been doing (or not) about the disaster in Texas.
Elizabeth Holtzman, who served on the House Judiciary Committee that brought articles of impeachment against Nixon, reviews the case against Trump at this point -- and what special counsel Robert Mueller is doing to protect his investigation.
Also: Trump vs. Trans soldiers and sailors: the ACLU is taking him to court. Chase Satrangio explains.
And John Nichols of The Nation talks about his new book "Horsemen of the Trumpocalypse," and what they've been doing about the floods in Texas.

Aug 25, 2017 • 46min
The Great Frank Rich on Trump's Watergate
Plus: Trump & Golf, & an Abbie Hoffman anniversary
Frank Rich has been “wallowing in Watergate,” as he put it, and found some fascinating stuff about Trump’s situation today and Nixon’s a year before his fall. Also: the ways Nixon was significantly stronger than Trump in resisting impeachment and resignation.
Also: if you understand golf, you understand Trump. Golf is a game for “successful greedheads and their wannabes,” says legendary sportswriter Robert Lipsyte. It’s a waste of space and water, and it poisons local aquifers with chemicals. And it represents all that is retrograde and exclusionary in American life. Lipsyte asks, Doesn’t that remind you of our president?
Plus: It was 50 years ago today: Abbie Hoffman and friends invaded the heart of capitalism, the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street, and threw money from the gallery onto the trading floor. Bruce Dancis explains what happened --he was there.

Aug 18, 2017 • 59min
The Real Story of Steve Bannon & Donald Trump: Joshua Green; Harold Meyerson: Bannon's exit
Joshua Green talks about Steve Bannon's relationship with Donald Trump —Green's best-selling book is "Devi's Bargain: Steve Bannon, Donald Trump, and the Storming of the Presidency."
Plus: Bannon was fired because of his interview with The American Prospect --
Harold Meyerson, The Prospect's executive editor, talks about the interview, who said what, and how it happened.
And the story of the big fight against big oil and big money in one city: Richmond, California. Steve Early will tell that story—his new book, with a foreword by Bernie Sanders, is "Refinery Town: Big Oil, Big Money, and the Remaking of an American City."