The Nation Podcasts

Both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal have reported that Elon Musk, currently trying to mend a feud with his quondam political ally Donald Trump, is a heavy user of mind alternating substances ranging from Ketamine to LSD to mushrooms to cocaine. While this story has been treated as one about the foibles of one increasingly erratic powerful man, it has wider implications. The financial journalist Jacob Silverman, author of an upcoming book about Musk, notes that there is a wider drug culture in Silicon Valley, rooted in the supposed performative enhancing power of drugs as well as an ideological commitment to elitism, accelerationism and technological transcendence. I took up these matters in a recent column and Jacob helps flesh out this story.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

NOTE: This episode was recorded before Israel's attack on Iran.Danny and Derek are everyday people who still believe in you. This week: the AUKUS security partnership is under review at the Pentagon (1:47); the IAEA rebukes Iran, nuclear negotiations are going nowhere, and Trump is evacuating nonessential personnel from the Middle East (5:14); in Israel-Palestine, Israeli soldiers continue to gun down people at Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites as Hamas kills several GHF workers (10:24), the IDF appears to be shielding at least one ISIS-linked gang in the Strip (13:21), the IDF intercepts the “Freedom Flotilla” (15:39), and US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee declares the “two-state solution” dead (17:43); the UK and several states sanction far-right Israeli politicians Ben-Gvir and Smotrich (19:00); South Korea ceases propaganda broadcasts across the DMZ with North Korea (21:06); Sudan’s military loses border outposts after an alleged attack by Libyan forces (22:55); the Russian military advances into another Ukrainian province (25:15); the Polish government survives a no-confidence vote (26:40); member states of NATO strive to hit Trump’s 5% defense spending demand (27:28); the Trump administration is creating an “Office of Remigration” at the State Department (29:08); and in a New Cold War update, the US and China appear to have reached a trade deal (31:30).Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Karen Hao, an award-winning journalist and author of 'Empire of AI,' uncovers the troubling realities of OpenAI's scaling ambitions. She highlights how this push has led to exploitation, worsening data privacy, and surveillance capitalism. The discussion delves into AI's colonial legacy, the environmental costs of data centers, and the ethical dilemmas emerging from corporate interests in technology. Hao urges for more accountability and a shift towards responsible AI development to mitigate these societal impacts.

With tanks rolling down the street in DC on Saturday and troops being deployed to LA, it’s never been more important to come together in nonviolent action to exercise our First Amendment right to peaceful protest. That’s what the organization Indivisible says about Saturday’s National Day of Defiance – the nationwide “No Kings” protests. Ezra Levin will explain; he’s co-founder and co-executive director of Indivisible. Also: Who, exactly, is being arrested by ICE agents in Los Angeles? Why is the National Guard downtown LA? And What are the 700 marines Trump sent to LA supposed to do? Harold Meyerson will comment - he’s editor at large of The American Prospect.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In this week’s episode, Danny speaks with journalist Ross Benes about his book 1999: The Year Low Culture Conquered America and Kickstarted Our Bizarre Times. They discuss the connection between the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and “trash culture”, what makes the instantiation of reality TV in 1999 unique and how early reality shows foreshadowed modern politics, how Beanie Babies were akin to “stock investments” for working class and lower middle class people, Pokémon as a pure distillation of unrestrained capitalism, and the other features of that moment that predicted American life as we now know it. Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Across the country, Democratic leaders and voters are beginning to push back against Trump’s cruelty and chaos. Some are cautiously optimistic that a few key state races could serve as a crucial odd-year referendum—with major implications for voters, donors, and even Republican politicians who may reconsider their allegiances after significant MAGA defeats.Joining us today is our own national affairs correspondent, John Nichols, who, in our July issue, turned his focus to two potential bellwethers: Virginia and New Jersey. He spoke with politicians, strategists, and activists to understand what’s at stake this fall, and who might be best positioned to deliver a winning message. Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

We’re sorry to say that we’re professionals, and Danny and Derek’s falling out will be behind closed doors. In this week’s news: in Russia-Ukraine, Ukraine launches a massive drone strike and bombs several bridges (0:41), peace talks in Istanbul make little progress (5:43), and Donald Trump speaks to Vladimir Putin (7:51); in Israel-Palestine, more massacres are carried out at aid centers as the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation suspends operations (13:04), the US vetoes another UN ceasefire resolution (16:49), and ceasefire talks remain frozen (18:31); a new IAEA report suggests Iran pursued undisclosed nuclear experimentation (21:11), and Khamenei trashes the United States’ proposed response (24:30); Trump lashes out at China and has a phone call with Xi (27:37); left-leaning Lee Jae-myung wins South Korea’s presidential election (30:01); meanwhile, right-wing historian Karol Nawrocki is Poland’s new president (31:44); the Dutch government collapses (33:36); the UN discovers bodies at militia sites in Tripoli, Libya (36:16); the UK recognizes Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara (38:02); and Donald Trump announces a new travel ban (40:46).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 Sam Biddle to discuss how Silicon Valley is shamelessly courting government military contracts, using tactics to silence employee dissent and normalize the situation to the public, and what it all means for the future of military geopolitics.Sam Biddle is a senior technology reporter at The Intercept.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Forget the midterms next year, at least for now. The fight against Trump runs through the elections this November—starting with Virginia and New Jersey. The Nation's national affairs correspondent John Nichols explains.Also: J. Hoberman, the long-time film critic for The Village Voice, talks about the happenings, the underground movies, and the radical art and music— from Bob Dylan to Andy Warhol to Yoko Ono. His new book is Everything is Now: The 1960s New York Avant-Garde.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 program author Eva Payne to talk about her book Empire of Purity: The History of Americans’ Global War on Prostitution. They discuss American sexual exceptionalism, the legal definition of “prostitution” vs modern conceptions of sex work, the late 19th century new abolition movement and racial hierarchies therein, how Americans interfaced with state-regulated prostitution systems in places like India and the Philippines, the sexual imagery used in justifying US aims in the Spanish-American War, the notion of “white slavery” in sex work, prostitution control in World War I and how it affected things domestically after that conflict, eugenic thinking around prostitution reform, and much more.Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy