The Nation Podcasts

On one side of the world, a major corporate landlord is evicting tenants by jacking up rents by hundreds of dollars.On the other, its parent company is linked to Israeli bombs, genocide, and illegal settlements.This is the multibillion-dollar story of American Landmark — one of the country’s most eviction-happy landlords — and Elco, a corporate powerhouse whose subsidiaries are tied to the Israeli military and far-right settler movements. It’s even been cited by the UN for facilitating human rights violations.Thomas Birmingham spent months meeting the families at the mercy of American Landmark, interrogating the corporate landlords profiting off them, and examining the connection between one kind of displacement here in America and another thousands of miles away, in the West Bank and Gaza.His feature, "The Eviction Kings," is in the December issue of The Nation. Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Only a few years ago, European elites were patting themselves on the back for fending off thetide of right-wing anti-system parties (often styled as populists). But recent polls in France,Germany and the United Kingdom show that that the far right is once again gaining traction,thanks in no small part centrist governments that have demoralized the population andlegitimized xenophobia. David Broder, author of Mussolini’s Grandchildren and European editorof Jacobin, wrote a wide-ranging essay on this for The New York Times. I spoke to David aboutboth the dismal decisions of mainstream parties and also possible alternatives.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Charlotte delves into Ecclesiastes through the work of liberation theologist Elsa Támez (When the Horizons Close) before Jo shares some of Pierre Guyotat’s horny, rapturous literary memoir, Idiocy. Icon of many RW conversations past, the thoughtful Jackie Ess then joins to discuss Tolstoy’s crank-inflected final novel, Resurrection.Jackie Ess is the author of a novel called Darryl, and more recently of a long short-story length chapbook called Eugene. Please consider supporting our work on Patreon, where you can access additional materials and send us your guest and book coverage requests! Questions and comments can be directed to readingwriterspod at gmail dot com. Outro music by Marty Sulkow and Joe Valle.Charlotte Shane’s most recent book is An Honest Woman. Her essay newsletter, Meant For You, can be subscribed to or read online for free, and her social media handle is @charoshane.  Jo Livingstone is a writer who teaches at Pratt Institute. To support the show, navigate to https://www.patreon.com/ReadingWritersOur Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Subscribe now to skip the ads and get more content.Don’t forget to download our Chinese Prestige miniseries, currently on sale for $5. Annual subscribers get the series free! Despite sitting on a large surplus of Labubus, Danny and Derek work hard to bring you the news. This week: in Russia-Ukraine, new US diplomacy goes nowhere (1:08), Ukraine is now attacking Russian commercial ships (5:55), and the EU moves to phase out Russian natural gas (8:35); in the DRC-Rwanda conflict, Trump hosts a peace deal signing as fighting resumes with M23 in the eastern DRC (11:17); new fighting erupts in southern Yemen (14:19); Lebanon and Israel hold ceasefire talks as the IDF resumes strikes (17:08); in Gaza, new clashes leave a gang leader dead (19:45), the ceasefire implementation sees minimal progress (23:48), and Israel reopens the the Rafah checkpoint (26:24); Sudan’s RSF claims a new advance in the Kordofan region (28:40); a bizarre coup unfolds in Guinea-Bissau (30:40); Trump moves closer to military action against Venezuela (36:55); Honduras heads toward a contentious election (40:17); the US pauses entry from 19 countries after the DC National Guard shooting (43:46); and a double-tap strike on a boat in the Caribbean raises new legal questions (45:43).Join the Discord (subscribers get access to all channels).Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Paris Marx is joined by Aline Blankertz to discuss how right-wing governments and international corporations in the European Union are pushing to gut tech regulations with the goal of boosting AI development in hope of improving economic growth and geopolitical standing.Aline Blankertz is a cofounder of Structural Integrity.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Zorhan Mamdani takes office in four weeks as the first socialist mayor of New York City. How should we understand the constraints he faces, without accepting those constraints? Bhaskar Sunkara has our analysis; he’s president of The Nation and author of ‘The Socialist Manifesto.’Plus: Sports Talk on The Nation podcast! Of course Thanksgiving was a big weekend for football on TV - a weekend where millions of viewers got to see a festival of brain injuries -- concussions after receiving blows to the head. Dave Zirin will comment - he's the long-time sports editor of The Nation and host of the Edge of Sports podcast.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Danny and Derek welcome to the show Molly Lambert, creator of the JENNAWORLD podcast, to talk about the rise of the modern porn industry and its roots in L.A.’s San Fernando Valley. They discuss the medium’s origins in underground stag films and the porno chic era; the shift to home video and the corporate studio model; breakout stars like Ginger Lynn Allen and Jenna Jameson; porn as an outsider industry mirroring Hollywood; gender, labor, and power in late-20th-century media; the relationship between pornography and evolving feminist politics; porn’s role in the VHS–Betamax war; and how the internet, OnlyFans, and content platforms have affected a formerly professionalized industry.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

It’s no surprise that liberal philanthropy — a longtime pillar of the Democratic establishment — has become one of the Trump administration’s latest targets. As David Callahan writes in our December issue, liberal foundations “have often been depicted as the great puppet masters of the left, bankrolling and directing a who’s who of progressive groups intent on destroying the American way of life.” In other words, catnip for MAGA madness.But as Callahan points out, the reality of how these institutions operate is far from radical. As powerbrokers of the elite, liberal philanthropists are averse to challenging “the systems that spawned them.”How have liberal foundations failed to mobilize working-class Americans? And how can they ramp up the fight to defend the democracy they claim to care so much about saving?Joining us to discuss this is David Callahan, founder and editor of Inside Philanthropy, and author of The Givers: Wealth, Power and Philanthropy in a New Gilded Age.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

For this special season finale, recorded live during NYC Climate Week, host Shilpi Chhotray convenes a powerful storytelling event with three frontline media makers: Chantel Comardelle, Alexandra Norris, and B. Preston Lyles.This is more than a conversation about films or campaigns — it’s an intimate window into the lived realities of climate and environmental injustice. From Indigenous land loss in Louisiana, to the ongoing fight against the petrochemical buildout in Cancer Alley, to exposing the violence of toxic prisons, this discussion centers the human stories too often sidelined in mainstream climate narratives.Our guests speak candidly about their experiences, what sustains them in the face of systemic harm, why frontline voices must lead solutions, and how storytelling itself becomes a vital tool of resistance, survival, and collective power.This live storytelling event was made possible in partnership with Dr. Margot Brown, Senior Vice President of Justice and Equity at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and the Frontline Resource Institute. Special thanks to Chess Jakobs, Counterstream Media’s Impact Producer, who produced this event.Key TopicsFrontline climate and environmental justice: Stories from communities directly impacted by the climate crisis and extractive industries.Indigenous displacement: The Isle de Jean Charles Choctaw Nation and climate-driven migration.Sharon Lavigne’s fight against petrochemical expansion in Cancer AlleyToxic prisons: The intersection of mass incarceration, environmental harm, and systemic injustice.How spiritual grounding and faith sustains organizing. Using film and media to reclaim narratives and highlight underrepresented stories.Narrative power: How media shapes perception, policy, and the climate movement’s priorities.ResourcesLet No One Lose HeartToxic Prisons CampaignRise St. JamesPreserving Our PlaceIsle de Jean Charles Choctaw NationFrontline Resources InstituteEnvironmental Defense FundOur Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Jo and Charlotte discuss secret gardens, indoor kids, and Peter Pan’s baby teeth before they’re joined by culture-shaping Annelise Ogaard, who introduces listeners to the lavish, creepy world of Gabrielle Wittkop’s fiction.Annelise Ogaard is a writer, translator, filmmaker, vibesmith, area woman, and friend of the pod. She has translated a variety of Japanese manga, including Hauntress, (one of the NYPL's top ten graphic novels of the year💅), and is currently at work on the classic boxing series Fighting for Tomorrow.Please consider supporting our work on Patreon, where you can access additional materials and send us your guest and book coverage requests! Questions and comments can be directed to readingwriterspod at gmail dot com. Outro music by Marty Sulkow and Joe Valle.Charlotte Shane’s most recent book is An Honest Woman. Her essay newsletter, Meant For You, can be subscribed to or read online for free, and her social media handle is @charoshane.  Jo Livingstone is a writer who teaches at Pratt Institute.  To support the show, navigate to https://www.patreon.com/ReadingWritersOur Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy