Current Affairs

A short reminder that the "Current Affairs: Live!" is this Saturday, January 26th at the Rock & Roll Hotel in Washington, DC. Show info here + tickets here. For the past three years, the Current Affairs crew has brought you a monthly magazine of culture, politics, and the unusual. For the past year, from the Current Affairs World Headquarters to your ear, they have brought everything you love about the magazine into audio form, cutting through the nonsense, bursting open ideological piñatas, and presenting a friendly, relaxed, and upbeat guide to the world of politics and culture. And now, for the first time ever, the Current Affairs crew is live in the nation’s capital, to bring you two hours of the pure, unadulterated Current Affairs experience: serious and not-so-serious talk about the important issues of the day, the strange and jovial personalities of the magazine’s editors, and, of course, whimsical gags. Get your tickets, before they run out, HERE.

We are busy preparing for our first-ever live show on January 26th at the Rock & Roll Hotel in DC (tickets here), so we are taking a brief hiatus from making new main episodes. However, to ensure your Current Affairs fix is satisfied, we are unlocking one bonus episode each week. This week, unlocked from the patreon bird feed, to the main feed: Current Affairs editor-in-chief Nathan J. Robinson and host Pete Davis talk with The Reactionary Mind author Corey Robin about how Donald Trump and the Republican Party is actually weak, what unifies the Right, and how Clarence Thomas is one the least understood political figures today. Read Corey's piece on why Trump, like Carter, is a disjunctive President. Read about the young Reaganites here. Pre-order Robin's new Clarence Thomas book here. Watch Pete host Corey Robin at the Harvard Law Forum here. This episode was edited by Dan Thorn of Pink Noise studios in Somerville, Massachusetts.

We are busy preparing for our first-ever live show on January 26th at the Rock & Roll Hotel in DC (tickets here), so we are taking a brief hiatus from making new main episodes. However, to ensure your Current Affairs fix is satisfied, we are unlocking one bonus episode each week. This week, unlocked from the patreon bird feed, to the main feed: BBC radio used to have a show, Room 101, in which celebrities came on and discussed their pet gripes, trying to convince the host to consign the object of their gripes to the titular Room 101... the punishment room from George Orwell’s 1984. In this episode, legal editor Oren Nimni and editor in chief Nathan J. Robinson recreate the show, sharing their loathing for a famous lawyer, a classic book, a gummy bear brand, a social media platform, a famous Leftist, a genre of movies, a major city, a mode of transportation and... garnishes. To listen to interviews when they first come out — and gain access to our patrons' "Bird Feed" — consider becoming a monthly patron at our Patreon page. Call into Current Affairs anytime at (504) 867-8851.

UNLOCKED FROM THE PATREON BIRD FEED: Maryland Delegate Vaughn Stewart was once a normal "very online" progressive poster like the rest of us. But after a health scare, he decided to move from ideas into action, running for — and, with the help of the Metro DC DSA, winning! — a seat in the Maryland House of Delegates. Current Affairs host Pete Davis sits down with him to talk about running for office with DSA's endorsement, finding policy ideas through twitter, how corporate lobbyists woo delegates, and pushing innovative housing policy. Read the Governing magazine article on Vaughn's affordable housing push here. Read Ryan Cooper and Peter Gowan's social housing report from the People's Policy Project here. Read about Phillip Burton here. To listen to interviews when they first come out — and gain access to our patrons' "Bird Feed" — consider becoming a monthly patron at our Patreon page. Call into Current Affairs anytime at (504) 867-8851.

Current Affairs editor-in-chief Nathan J. Robinson is joined for the whole episode by The Intercept's Glenn Greenwald to talk animal welfare, public censorship, Charles Krauthammer and how to keep track of 26 dogs. Here's the New Yorker profile discussed early in the episode. And here's the New York Magazine profile also discussed. Here's Nathan defending Noam Chomsky from hit pieces. Here's Nathan waxing poetic on Chomsky. Here's Glenn's fundraiser for his anti-homelessness and animal welfare project. Tickets to the live show on January 26th at the Rock & Roll Hotel in Washington, DC are here. Support Current Affairs by becoming a patron on our Patreon page. For the written form of Current Affairs — and to subscribe to the beautiful print magazine — visit: CurrentAffairs.org. To join the conversation, leave us a voicemail at 504-867-8851.

The Current Affairs panel learns about the Green New Deal, discusses the American loneliness epidemic, and share what we think is the worst example of American political amnesia. The Panel: Brianna Rennix, senior editor Briahna Joy Gray, contributing editor Vanessa A. Bee, social media editor Nathan J. Robinson, editor-in-chief Pete Davis, host Tickets for the live show on January 26th at the Rock & Roll Hotel in Washington, D.C. are HERE. Further reading on the Green New Deal: Here is Kate Aranoff with a great GND explainer. Here's Eric Levitz on what type of political action will be needed to make a GND happen. Here's Robinson Meyer on why a GND is exciting. Here's Vice on why a Green New Deal could destroy the GOP once and for all. Further reading on American loneliness: Here's a New York Times piece on why social isolation is killing us. Here's a Wall Street Journal piece on aging alone. And here's a loneliness epidemic story in the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Brianna's essay about working at a suicide hotline is here. The national suicide hotline number is: 1-800-273-8255. Miscellany: Here's Vanessa's essay on why every American deserves a nanny state. Tickets for the live show on January 26th at the Rock & Roll Hotel in Washington, D.C. are HERE. Support Current Affairs by becoming a patron on our Patreon page. For the written form of Current Affairs — and to subscribe to the beautiful print magazine — visit: CurrentAffairs.org. To join the conversation, leave us a voicemail at 504-867-8851. Did we mention that tickets for the live show on January 26th at the Rock & Roll Hotel in Washington, D.C. are HERE.

UNLOCKED FROM THE PATREON BIRD FEED: Lawyer and prison reform advocate Sam Weiss joins legal editor Oren Nimni and social media editor Vanessa A. Bee to talk about the state of prison reform and death penalty abolition. To listen to interviews when they first come out — and gain access to our patrons' "Bird Feed" — consider becoming a monthly patron at our Patreon page. Call into Current Affairs anytime at (504) 867-8851.

The Current Affairs panel discusses how they are approaching the 2020 Presidential campaign, we decide whether money is speech, and we all share what we think is the most important lesson that the left can learn from the right. Tickets for the live show on January 26th at the Rock & Roll Hotel in Washington, D.C. are HERE. The Panel Lyta Gold, amusements editor Oren Nimni, legal editor Sparky Abraham, finance editor Nathan J. Robinson, editor in chief Pete Davis, host Tickets for the live show on January 26th at the Rock & Roll Hotel in Washington, D.C. are HERE. Miscellany Nicholas Carnes' White Collar Government book is here. Nathan's Jacobin article on money and speech is here. Corey Robin's facebook post on money and speech is here. Information on the Seattle Democracy Voucher program is here. Tickets for the live show on January 26th at the Rock & Roll Hotel in Washington, D.C. are HERE. Support Current Affairs by becoming a patron on our Patreon page. For the written form of Current Affairs — and to subscribe to the beautiful print magazine — visit: CurrentAffairs.org. To join the conversation, leave us a voicemail at 504-867-8851. Did we mention that tickets for the live show on January 26th at the Rock & Roll Hotel in Washington, D.C. are HERE.

The Current Affairs panel opens up the phone lines, answering listener questions on postmodernism, growth, effective altruism, New Orleans and jokes. The Panel Brianna Rennix, senior editor Oren Nimni, legal editor Lyta Gold, amusements editor Nathan J. Robinson, editor-in-chief Pete Davis, host Miscellany Here's Nathan's original article on the problem of academic language. Here is the 80,000 hours blog referenced in the Effective Altruism segment. Here is Nathan and Brianna's podcast on the morality of wealth. Here is a great book by John Cort on Christian socialism and here is a piece on Martin Luther King's economic radicalism. Here's more on activist Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and here's more on Islamic socialism. Labor's Joke Book, mentioned in the footnotes, is here. Support Current Affairs by becoming a patron on our Patreon page. For the written form of Current Affairs — and to subscribe to the beautiful print magazine — visit: CurrentAffairs.org. To join the conversation, leave us a voicemail at 504-867-8851.

The Current Affairs panel discusses the politics of tragedy, we attempt to define fascism, and we all share something that gives us hope in the 2018 elections. The Panel: Briahna Joy Gray, contributing editor Vanessa A. Bee, social media editor Sparky Abraham, finance editor Nathan J. Robinson, editor-in-chief Pete Davis, host Further reading on the politics of tragedy Nathan's piece on politicizing tragedies is here. The Outline had an essay on politicizing tragedies here and The Guardian had one on the conservative theory of tragedies here. Plus, here's Nathan's inciteful/insightful architecture article. Further reading on fascism Brendan O’Neill makes the case we should stop calling everything fascist here. Vox explains fascism here, Jason Stanley explains fascism here, and Peter Beinart grapples with whether Trump is a fascist here. Further reading on Election 2018 hope More on Lancaster Stands Up is here and here. More on unanimous juries is here. More on Florida's voter restoration is here. Briahna's piece on hope in Red America is here. More on the youth voter surge is here. Support Current Affairs by becoming a patron on our Patreon page. For the written form of Current Affairs — and to subscribe to the beautiful print magazine — visit: CurrentAffairs.org. To join the conversation, leave us a voicemail at 504-867-8851.