Current Affairs

Oren Nimni sits down for a friendly chat with Erika Uyterhoeven, an organizer in his hometown of Somerville who is running for State Representative. Find out more at https://www.electerika.com/ This episode was edited by Dan Thorn of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA.

Yesterday, Current Affairs published an article on the recent failure of two Michigan dams. In conjunction with this article, we thought we would release this bonus episode, originally aired in August 2019, in which Sparky and Vanessa interview the author, Varsha Venkatasubramanian (a.k.a. @varsha_venkat_).   This episode was edited by Dan Thorn of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA. 

The panel answers your questions on democracy in education, progressive prosecutors, protest votes, righteous jobs and monuments. (This episode was recorded before the recent spate of statue topplings.) Danny Bradley:  https://dannybradleymusic.com/We Might Not Die (Maybe):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAF-YUc2_WIWhat Is Education For? by Sparky Abraham and Nathan J. Robinson:  https://www.currentaffairs.org/2018/08/what-is-education-forBetter Call Saul inflatable tube man:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzs3nDCLJaISabastian 2020:  https://twitter.com/SignsFun/status/1272456435369160704Platformism:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platformism This episode was edited by Dan Thorn of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA.

The panel discusses the protests, alternatives to policing, and political art. (If you want to know further thoughts on Dave Eggers' "The Captain and The Glory", don't worry—Current Affairs will reveal all soon.) The panel this week was editor-in-chief Nathan J. Robinson, associate editor Vanessa A. Bee, finance editor Sparky Abraham and host Lyta Gold. Transform Harm: https://transformharm.org/abolition/ Criticism of 8 Can't Wait: https://www.8toabolition.com/ Resource Guide: Prisons, Policing and Punishment: https://medium.com/@micahherskind/resource-guide-prisons-policing-and-punishment-effb5e0f6620 Nathan's article about Christopher Dorner: https://newpol.org/last-american-idealist/ This episode was edited by Dan Thorn of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA.

Lyta Gold speaks to Samelys López, a housing justice activist who is running in the June 23rd Democratic primary in New York's 15th congressional district. (Please note that this episode was recorded before the start of the ongoing nationwide protests against racism and police brutality.) Campaign website: lopezforthepeople.com Twitter: @SamelysLopez This episode was edited by Dan Thorn of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA.

Current Affairs interviewer-in-chief Eli Massey speaks to Ilhan Omar, Congresswoman for Minnesota's 5th district. Together, they discuss her new book, This Is What America Looks Like, as well as foreign policy, Israel, drone strikes, Margaret Thatcher, Prince, and more. The book: https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062954213/this-is-what-america-looks-like/ Ilhan Omar's Twitter: https://twitter.com/IlhanMN Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RepIlhan/ Show notes: AIPAC-backed letter calling for an arms embargo on Iran, which Ilhan Omar signed onto https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/05/ilhan-omar-aipac-letter-trump-iran-israel-lobbying.html Amnesty International calling for an arms embargo on Israel https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/04/israel-arms-embargo-needed-as-military-unlawfully-kills-and-maims-gaza-protesters/ Ilhan Omar's Pathway to Peace bills https://omar.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-omar-introduces-pathway-peace-bold-foreign-policy-vision-united-states AOC interviewed by Glenn Greenwald in 2018, saying “I think we need new leadership.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuoKLLLpiuE&feature=youtu.be&t=1589 Ilhan Omar's favorite Prince songs: "When Doves Cry" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUc0R8bbWQE "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFtfrd8_K9k Ilhan Omar calls for more transparency around drone strikes https://www.thedailybeast.com/ilhan-omar-demands-answers-on-civilian-deaths-in-somalia?ref=author&fbclid=IwAR0-2XTSM7IxKbRtaH-YgsxMDgaaGO831ht8NR-aIvMN3rFCWF-r9Y55czU The Ilhan Omar/Obama Politico controversy recounted https://www.mediaite.com/online/politico-reporter-fires-back-after-rep-ilhan-omar-claims-obama-comments-distorted/ Obama has deported more people than Trump https://thehill.com/latino/470900-deportations-lower-under-trump-than-obama-report Immigrant children were forcibly injected with drugs at concentration camps under the Obama administration (see dates mentioned in the lawsuit) https://www.revealnews.org/blog/immigrant-children-forcibly-injected-with-drugs-lawsuit-claims/ Chip Gibbons' article which found that that the FBI opened terrorism investigations into a non-violent solidarity organization because they sympathize with Palestinians and are anti-capitalist. https://theintercept.com/2020/04/05/israel-palestine-fbi-terrorism-investigation/?fbclid=IwAR37_c828nANlo5uFg4-jAK8FY7V5shpbcx7vvPQUDh2EozduDBPVPdB_Y0 The FBI has labeled people involved with the Black Lives Matter movement as "Black Identity Extremists" https://theintercept.com/2019/10/29/fbi-surveillance-black-activists/ The FBI and Chicago Police Department murdered Black Panthers Fred Hampton and Mark Clark https://www.currentaffairs.org/2019/05/the-chicago-police-department-tortured-people Nancy Pelosi's record https://www.currentaffairs.org/2019/11/pelosi-must-go-2/

As you may or may not have noticed, a *lot* of the Current Affairs editors work as lawyers for their day jobs. Current Affairs interviewer-in-chief Eli Massey has brought a panel together to ask: can you make a difference as a lawyer? Are there any good reasons to become a lawyer? Can the law ever be a force for good? And what is the point of Ivy League law schools? 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 the viability of forming a breakaway third party, things that are secretly political, and our society's contempt for the elderly. **NEXT WEEK, WE ARE RECORDING A VOICEMAILBAG EPISODE! If you have any questions for the team, or suggestions for topics, please leave us a voicemail at 504-867-8851 and your voicemail may be played on the show! ** The panel this week consisted of a group of sentient jellies imitating the shapes of amusements & managing editor Lyta Gold, newsletter editor Nick Slater, finance editor Sparky Abraham, and editor-in-chief Nathan J. Robinson. Your temporary host is Aisling McCrea (who was just out of hospital at time of recording, and struggling a little to form sentences). This episode was edited by Dan Thorn of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA.

"Immigration cases are death penalty cases in a traffic court setting." Current Affairs editors and immigration law superheroes Oren Nimni and Brianna Rennix return to the podcast, to give us an update on how immigration courts and detention facilities have changed—and the ways in which they haven't changed—in the age of the COVID pandemic.   Trump Administration Plans to Extend Virus Border Restrictions Indefinitely: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/13/us/politics/trump-coronavirus-border-restrictions.html This episode was edited by Dan Thorn of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA.  This episode is not paywalled because this shit is important.

Sparky Abraham speaks to Eric Levitz, writer for New York Magazine's Intelligencer, about the life and times of Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin, from his youth as a student living in a former luxury hotel to his part in the 2008 financial crisis. 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 supporters at www.patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!