Current Affairs

Nathan and Sparky speak to Stephanie Kelton, professor of public policy and economics at Stony Brook University and one of the world's foremost experts on modern monetary theory. Stephanie elaborates on the theory behind her book, The Deficit Myth, and why the way we think of federal spending and budgeting is so wrongheaded. This is a preview of an episode available in full to our $5 Patreon subscribers. To listen to the whole episode, as well as lots of other brilliant bonus episodes, please consider becoming one of our subscribers at www.patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!

Nathan pays tribute to Michael Brooks, who passed away unexpectedly on Monday.

Briahna returns to the Current Affairs Arena to discuss her latest article, "In Defense of Litmus Tests". This is a preview of an episode available in full to our $5 Patreon subscribers. To listen to the whole episode, as well as lots of other brilliant bonus episodes, please consider becoming one of our subscribers at www.patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!

Aisling McCrea and Oren Nimni discuss that time the American police firebombed Philadelphia, in order to destroy an imperfect yet interesting offshoot of the black liberation movement. Along the way they discuss the stigma against communal living, death row, the military-to-police pipeline, and the way the left deals with the more problematic aspects of its past. This is a preview of an episode available in full to our $5 Patreon subscribers. To listen to the whole episode, as well as lots of other brilliant bonus episodes, please consider becoming one of our subscribers at www.patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!

Nathan speaks to finance editor and infrastructure evangelist Sparky Abraham about the physical infrastructure behind the internet, and the complex relationship of owners and renters who control it. This episode is available in full to our subscribers on Patreon. To gain full access to this episode, as well as lots of other brilliant bonus content, please consider becoming one of our subscribers at www.patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!

The panel discusses gender, "yikes" moments, and redemption. The panel this week was lieutenant editor Brianna Rennix, finance editor Sparky Abraham, amusements and managing editor Lyta Gold, business manager Allegra Silcox, and administrative maven Cate Root. Your host is Pete Davis. Rennix's gender article is here: https://www.currentaffairs.org/2020/06/the-peculiarity-of-gender "Where in the World is Peter Daniel Davis?" jingle is by semi-official Current Affairs musician Danny Bradley. Music for LegumeAnon by Alexander Blu. This episode was edited by Dan Thorn of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA.

Nathan and Aisling meet up once more with Will Sloan and Luke Savage of the Michael and Us podcast to discuss Irresistible (2020), Jon Stewart's new movie about small-town politics and big-city snobs. This is a preview of an episode available in full to our Patreon subscribers. To gain full access to this episode, as well as lots of other brilliant bonus content, please consider becoming one of our subscribers at www.patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!

The panel discusses how to advocate for unpopular policies, Pete enters Lefty Shark Tank to defend the concept of a wrongful incarceration tort, and everyone debates which lefties could defeat Trump in a "vibe-off". At one point Aisling says William Blake has been "dead for four hundred years" even though she knows full well it's actually more like two hundred. Zero points to Aisling. The panel this week was legal editor Oren Nimni, lieutenant editor Brianna Rennix, podmaster-general Aisling McCrea, and editor-in-chief Nathan J. Robinson. Your host is Pete Davis. Music at the end by the always-wonderful Danny Bradley. This episode was edited by Dan Thorn of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA.

We're unlocking this bonus episode because we love Jason and we love his book and you should get his beautiful book. Today we're talking to Jason Katzenstein, cartoonist for Current Affairs and The New Yorker, about his new book Everything is an Emergency: An OCD Story in Words and Pictures. Pre-order Jason's book (at your local bookstore if possible!): https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062950079/everything-is-an-emergency/ Jason's livedrawings and other works for Current Affairs: https://www.currentaffairs.org/author/jason-adam-katzenstein This episode was edited by Dan Thorn of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA.

Nathan speaks to Adam F. Naughton (@adamfnaughton), a disabled activist in South Carolina and founder of www.notyourinspiration.org, about the differences between the medical and social models of disability, "inspiration porn", the barriers that keep disabled people marginalized, and more. This episode is available in full to our Patreon subscribers. To gain full access to this episode today, please consider becoming one of our subscribers at www.patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!