Deconstructed

If you were reading the news back in 2008, then you probably remember how residential mortgage backed securities fuelled by subprime mortgages tanked the global economy. Well now John Flynn, a veteran of the mortgage securities market, says it’s happening all over again — this time in the commercial real estate market. Flynn joins Ryan Grim and The Intercept’s Jon Schwarz to discuss. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Michelle Lujan Grisham defeated Eric Griego in the race for New Mexico’s 1st congressional district in 2012, it put the left wing of the state’s Democratic Party on the backfoot. 9 years later, the state’s legislature is routinely passing some of the most progressive legislation in the country. What happened? Griego joins Ryan Grim to discuss. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Earlier this week Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware led a congressional delegation to a Texas immigration detention facility housing children who arrived unaccompanied at the border. Also on the trip was Rep. Veronica Escobar of Texas, who joins Ryan Grim to talk about the present and future of U.S. immigration policy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If Joe Biden is looking for inspiration on immigration policy, he might look to a speech he gave in 2013 when he was inducted into the Irish America Hall of Fame. The then-Vice President talked of how his own ancestors found refuge in the US and how the immigration policies of the time made it possible for their entire family to join them and escape the ongoing famine in Ireland. Today, many Central American immigrants are getting a different sort of welcome at the southern border. John Washington and José Luis Sanz join Ryan Grim to discuss. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In his first press conference as president, Joe Biden decided not to address his decision to continue to seek the extradition of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange from the United Kingdom. The outcome of the Assange case could set a major new precedent on press freedom, yet the press largely seems uninterested in it. Ryan Grim talks to Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the Pentagon Papers in 1971, and to Billie Winner Davis, mother of Reality Winner, who was prosecuted and imprisoned for leaking confidential documents in 2017. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week New Jersey congressman Frank Pallone, the chairman of the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee, gave the legislative push for single-payer healthcare a major boost by announcing that he would be co-sponsoring the proposed Medicare for All bill and holding a hearing on it sometime in the current term. Pramila Jayapal, Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and physician Abdul El-Sayed join Ryan Grim to discuss the prospects for universal healthcare in the United States. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Saturday, a year after Bernie Sanders won the Nevada caucuses, a slate of progressive candidates swept elections for leadership positions in the state Party. Ryan Grim talks to activist Keenan Korth and to Judith Whitmer, Nevada State Democratic Party Chair, about how they out organized establishment Democrats. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week the House of Representatives passed a $1.9 trillion Covid relief package by a 220-210 vote. It now moves to the Senate, where it will have to make it past a Republican filibuster. Huffpost reporter Arthur Delaney and Elizabeth Pancotti, Policy Director at Employ America, join Ryan Grim to discuss what’s actually in the bill. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After a series of high-profile terrorist attacks by Islamic extremists in France, the country finds itself in a heated debate over some of its most cherished values: laïcité, or secularism, and the principle of race-neutrality, or color-blindness, in public policy. A controversial new bill proposed by President Emmanuel Macron targeting "Islamic separatism" is meeting with fierce opposition. French author, journalist, and filmmaker Rokhaya Diallo joins guest host Vanessa A. Bee to discuss. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the early 2000s, after gaining control of the Texas House of Representatives for the first time in modern history, Republicans undertook a gerrymandering scheme that solidified their control of the state even further. What followed was a multi-decade experiment in deregulation that has now left millions of Texas residents freezing and without power. Ryan Grim talks to former congressional candidate Mike Siegel and University of Austin professor Varun Rai about how it happened—and how it could have been prevented. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.