The Mother Jones Podcast on Steno.fm

The Mother Jones Podcast

Each episode will go deep on a big story you’ll definitely want to hear more about. We’ll share with you our best investigations (think private prisons, electoral skullduggery, Dark Money, and Trump's Russia connections), and informative interviews with our reporters and newsmakers. We're hoping to make your week more informed with the stories that really matter, told by us, the folks you trust for smart, fearless reporting.

Fri, December 03, 2021
A Special Announcement
Things have been a bit quiet around these parts lately, huh? After a few months bringing you some of our best feature investigations read aloud, in partnership with Audm, we’re going through some behind-the-scenes newsroom changes that will impact how we best serve you, our listener. We’re going to be taking some more time, off-air, to re-tool and recalibrate. Goodbyes are hard! But it’s not really a goodbye. It a “goodbye for now”. And Mother Jones journalism isn’t going anywhere. You can continue to listen to our incisive stories on Audm through their app and on our website. And, of course, there is a ton of beautiful multimedia journalism from our newsroom on Instagram, YouTube, and even on our new TikTok profile. We’ll pop up again here in the future, no doubt, but for now, from everyone on the team with love and appreciation: See ya, and thanks. —James West, Mother Jones Deputy Editor
Fri, October 29, 2021
Today It’s Critical Race Theory. 200 Years Ago It Was Abolitionist Literature.
We bet you’ve heard one phrase more and more this year than ever before: Critical Race Theory. It’s an obsession on Fox News, and it’s the topic, along with anti-mask protests, raging at school board hearings across the country—a new frontier in a roiling culture war. But what is Critical Race Theory? And how did it come to be used to whip up a new hysteria on the right? States are now racing to ban the teaching of CRT, many successfully, even while many of its fiercest critics can barely explain what it is. For this week’s episode of the Mother Jones Podcast , some much-needed history. Journalist Anthony Conwright argues that this current anti-CRT movement is part of a long standing war in America against Black liberation dating back hundreds of years . This compelling essay originally appeared in the September/October edition of Mother Jones Magazine. It is read aloud here by our partners at Audm.
Thu, October 21, 2021
Are These Black Leaders on the Cusp of a New National Movement?
With everything going on these days—we’ll spare you the list of existential crises we’re currently living through—now seems like the perfect time to hear from two leaders who have a revolutionary vision of what this country could be. Last week, in a special livestream event, Mother Jones reporter and columnist Nathalie Baptiste spoke to two fascinating politicians that may be on the cusp of a national movement. Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba is the youngest-ever mayor of Jackson, Mississippi. India Walton won a historic upset primary against a four-term incumbent and is the Democratic nominee for the mayor of Buffalo, New York. They are from two different cities—over 1,000 miles apart—but both of these young Black leaders have put forward progressive agendas that have been called “radical.” And right now, words like “radical” or “socialist” or “progessive” seem to have shifting definitions. For some, those words are interchangeable. So we hear from Mayor Lumumba and Walton directly: how do they define themselves? What do they consider the biggest obstacle to a robust socialist party in the United States? And this wouldn’t be a conversation during the years of the pandemic without finding out what, if any, guilty-pleasure TV shows are on their watch list. (Any Madam Secretary fans in the house?)
Sat, October 09, 2021
The Nightmare of Getting an Abortion in the South
A week ago, thousands of people turned out for Women's March rallies across the country, galvanized by Texas' recent six-week abortion ban and the very real fear that Roe v. Wade could soon be overturned, as challenges to the Texas law and another law in Mississippi wend their way to the Supreme Court and its 6-3 conservative majority. But while the battle over the Texas law rages, and people rightfully worry about a world in which abortion access is no longer protected, women in Mississippi are already living it. In 2019, reporter Becca Andrews went to Mississippi to explore where Roe doesn't reach, meeting a young woman on a 221-mile journey to get an abortion beyond state lines. The Mother Jones Podcast team thought revisiting Becca’s piece provided compelling context for just how high the stakes are for people needing abortions in Texas right now, and more broadly, for the consequential decision in the hands of the Supreme Court. Listen to Becca's 2019 story, currently being expanded into a book , on this week's episode of the Mother Jones Podcast , produced in partnership with Audm. Note: Some facts on the ground have evolved since this story was first published in 2019.
Thu, September 16, 2021
Ammon Bundy Is Running to Be Idaho’s Next Governor
Mother Jones reporter Stephanie Mencimer has been following Ammon Bundy for years. He's the guy you'll remember who became a kind of folk hero on the far-right after he joined his father, rancher Cliven Bundy, in leading an armed standoff against the Bureau of Land Management in Nevada in 2014. Two years later, Ammon led the armed takeover of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in Oregon, which left one occupier dead. Bundy went to trial twice on criminal charges related to the standoffs but federal prosecutors failed to win a conviction. Now he’s a big-time celebrity activist and running for governor of Idaho. Shortly before the pandemic started, he created what has been dubbed “Uber for militias”—a kind of network that can summon armed protesters for all sorts of far-right gatherings, including anti-mask and anti-vaccine protests during the pandemic. He’s a messianic figure, and Mencimer wanted to understand what the appeal was. She found a complicated and very-American story about violence, religion, and public lands battles in the West. This in-depth profile was published in Mother Jones earlier this year, and reproduced in read-aloud form here by our partners at Audm.
Wed, September 01, 2021
How Flint Closed the Gap Between Black and White Suffering Under COVID
As the Delta variant upended hope of returning to normal this summer, Mother Jones reporter Edwin Rios published a deeply reported story on Flint, Michigan, recounting how residents of this predominantly Black city have battled COVID-19 in spite of government distrust, neglect, and environmental catastrophe. But the pandemic isn’t Flint’s first crisis: In 2014, public officials implemented cost-cutting measures that led to dangerous concentrations of lead in the city’s water supply. Up to 12,000 children were exposed to contaminated water. Then-President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency. And in 2021, nine people—including ex-Gov. Rick Snyder—were indicted on criminal charges in the matter. A few years later, when COVID-19 barreled across the globe and vaccinations became a political flashpoint, Flint already had an infrastructure of outreach and support in place. Their water crisis wound up being a crash course in how residents learned to band together in a catastrophe—and shows how one community used a dose of social medicine to close the gap between Black and white suffering during a pandemic.
Wed, August 18, 2021
The Afghan Refugee Crisis Has Only Just Begun
Towards the end of 2020, Mother Jones’s editorial director Ian Gordon wrote a deeply reported story about how then-President Donald Trump took a broken asylum system and turned it into a machine of unchecked cruelty. America’s system for processing refugees and asylum seekers was effectively dead, he discovered, and the myth of national decency died with it. That the United States had long-standing commitments to asylum seekers under federal law and international agreements was of little consequence to Trump and his coterie of immigration hardliners. Even less compelling to them was the role asylum plays in the aspirational story of America that we have been telling the world for decades: that, in a country of immigrants, ensuring the safety of those fleeing repression and violence is our duty, and by welcoming them—by doing the right thing—the United States both fulfills its promise and distinguishes itself from all other nations. Since Mother Jones published that story in the November/December issue of our magazine, there’s been an election and the problem is now Joe Biden’s to fix. But the clean-up job just got so much harder. The government in Afghanistan has fallen after 20-plus years of US-led war, and its collapse and subsequent chaos has only underscored the United States’ deep moral obligation to allow refugees to settle here. But when, or if, they are finally allowed to begin this journey, they will encounter a system that has been politicized to the point of collapse. Ian’s story is especially relevant now, as the US meets one moral failing with another. So we’re presenting it in full as part of our Summer investigation series, co-produced by our partners at Audm. Make sure you stay to the end for a recent update to Ian’s reporting.
Wed, August 04, 2021
The Metamorphosis of Kyrsten Sinema
Every time you read the news lately, there she is: in conversations about bipartisanship, the infrastructure deal, the filibuster, even the fate of Joe Biden's presidency itself. But who is Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona? And what does she want to accomplish with her outsized influence on the passage of basically any law through the Senate, with its razor thin margins? For this week’s installation of our Summer investigation series, Mother Jones senior reporter Tim Murphy takes a look at Sinema’s political evolution. As a progressive in one of the nation’s most conservative state legislatures, Sinema abandoned her early radicalism for a new theory of change. She learned to play nice, seeking incremental progress through careful messaging and across-the-aisle relationships, and reinventing herself as a post-partisan deal-maker. Now, for the first time in her career, she holds real power. With a giant infrastructure deal on the line, not to mention the future of her party and the Senate, the world is trying to understand what Kyrsten Sinema wants to do with it. This episode is produced by Audm.
Wed, July 28, 2021
CNN’s Jake Tapper Says the Media Must Confront Republicans’ Big Lie
Jake Tapper has drawn a line: no “Big Lie” proponents on-air. The CNN anchor and chief Washington correspondent won’t book Republican politicians touting the conspiracy theory that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from former President Donald Trump. But when he’s not in front of the camera, Tapper enjoys blurring the lines between fact and fiction by crafting novels about real-life figures like John F. Kennedy and Frank Sinatra. His latest book, The Devil May Dance , is a sequel to his bestseller, The Hellfire Club , which has been adapted into a TV series by HBO Max. During a live event hosted by Mother Jones ’ Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco in early June , Tapper discusses the biggest threats to our democracy—and how his experience covering those threats as a journalist informed his work as a historical fiction writer. This recording has been edited for length.
Wed, July 21, 2021
Escape From the Billionaire Meme Mogul
Sergey Grishin is a well-connected, billionaire mogul. Last August, he made headlines when he sold his lavish estate to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Grishin’s multiple US-based businesses include a social media company in California with more than 300 million Instagram followers, called 421 Media. But what those followers probably don’t know is that they’ve been helping to enrich a man who has been accused in court documents of harassing and abusing women. In fact, women in multiple countries have been living in fear of Grishin, and have documented years of evidence. Now, they’re going public. This episode is the latest installment of our read-aloud Summer investigation series. It was reported by MoJo’s Samantha Michaels and produced by our partners at Audm.
Wed, July 07, 2021
Everything You're Getting Wrong About the Culture Wars
Everywhere you turned in the aftermath of the 2020 election, someone was arguing a hard line on cultural issues as an explanation for the outcome. The point was made by different commentators of at least outwardly different political persuasions, with different code words and different bogeys—feminists, socialists, wokeness. However they might have varied, these arguments all circled the same thesis: The members of the working class—by which is always meant the white working class and very often, incoherently but significantly, the white middle class, too—have fled the Democratic Party because of its abandonment of the firm materiality of class politics for the soft superfluities of culture and identity. On this week’s episode of the Mother Jones Podcast , we revisit our essay by MoJo enterprise editor, Tommy Craggs, who argues that political analysts are now in the fifth decade of making some version of this claim—despite its two contradictory premises. The first is that these cultural issues are so powerful as to dislodge certain workers from their “natural” class affinities: One glimpse of the specter of wokeness and they go running into the arms of the party of the bosses and plutocrats who hate them. The second is that these cultural issues are so flimsy and evanescent as to vanish at the mention of “meat-and-potatoes issues.” But which is it? Are cultural issues a set of powerful currents that buffet people around the political spectrum? Or are they a collection of irrelevancies and distractions with no real substance or meaning, lightly worn and easily dismissed? These questions never seem to get answered. This stasis is what Tommy describes as the politics of stalemate, something his essay wants you to shake off. You can read Tommy’s original story here . This episode is part of our Summer series, produced in collaboration with Audm.
Fri, July 02, 2021
Garry Trudeau on Lampooning Trump and Other Lessons from 5 Decades of Doonesbury
For five decades, Garry Trudeau has been writing what is one of the most important—and entertaining—comic strips in American history: Doonesbury . He started the strip in October, 1970 as a student at Yale. With its sharp-witted look at American politics and American life, it quickly became a phenomenon, eventually appearing in over 1,000 newspapers. He’s lampooned every president of the last half-century and has introduced us to scores of original and engaging characters. After the first Gulf War in 1991, he became a fierce advocate for wounded vets. In 2014, he ceased the daily strip. But his Sunday cartoons keeps on coming. With Doonesbury , Trudeau has been an American Dostoyevsky, producing a never-ending novel now stretching over 50 years. Trudeau became the first comic-strip artist to win a Pulitzer Prize. On this bonus Summer episode, Mother Jones Washington D.C. bureau chief David Corn talks to Trudeau about how the pain and pride of veterans, his new commemorative collective of strips, and the art of drawing former President Donald Trump, “a right out-of-the-box cartoon character.”
Wed, June 23, 2021
Can America’s Problems Be Fixed By a President Who Loves Jon Meacham?
Jon Meacham is a Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer who has spent the last two decades pounding out bestselling accounts of American presidents such as Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, and George H.W. Bush. In June 2019, Joe Biden invited Meacham to Newark, Delaware, for a conversation about the biographer’s recent volume, The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels , a 416-page meditation on how enlightened political leaders, propelled by a civic-minded citizenry, have rescued America at its darkest hours. Meacham explained that the country’s soul “is not all good or all bad” but rather an abiding conflict between “our better angels” and “our worst instincts.” Two months before Biden announced his third run for the presidency, the intellectual underpinnings of the campaign were already in place. His ensuing candidacy was an exercise in moving Meacham’s thesis from the page to the stump: Biden cribbed Meacham’s book title for his campaign framing , a “battle for the soul of the nation,” and Meacham occasionally weighed in on the narrative and thematic elements of Biden’s major speeches. On today’s episode, listen to an exploration of how Meacham has lingered on as a sort of historical and spiritual adviser to a White House beset by crisis, written by Mother Jones reporter Kara Voght. This is our first in a biweekly Summer series of read-aloud investigations, produced by our partners at Audm. You can read Kara’s piece from April on MotherJones.com .
Wed, June 09, 2021
A Special Summer Announcement from the Podcast Team
After three years of weekly episodes—that’s 181 shows, if you’re counting—the Mother Jones Podcast team has decided to switch things up for the next couple of months, as we, like you, emerge from a year that has thrown up enormous challenges, journalistically, politically, and personally. It’s time for Summer! We’ve always strived to bring you the very best of our newsroom, and that includes the deeply reported stories and characters that our journalists to life. So, starting soon, we’re giving you more of the standout stories that aim to make sense of the world. We’re talking about the heroic families struggling to make it across the border, the champions of democracy who are fighting the GOP’s efforts to suppress voting rights, and the Washington, D.C. insiders who’d rather you not know much about them at all. Some of it will be fun, some of it will be serious, but we hope that all of it is clarifying: our best investigations, in an easy to access read-aloud form, produced by our storytelling partners at Audm. Think “audio book” for our long-form classics. It’s all work that we’re immensely proud of and excited to share with you in full. And the best part: you don’t have to do a thing. We’ll space them out, so instead of a weekly show, expect a biweekly update in your podcast feed. In the meantime, we’re hard at work thinking of big ideas to make the show even better. We’ll be back to our regularly scheduled programming as Summer moves into fall. Until then, just sit back, relax, and enjoy some of the best of what our reporters have to offer.
Wed, June 02, 2021
The Insurrection Was a Giant Recruitment Exercise for Extremists
The deadly insurrection at the US Capitol wasn’t the start of something, nor was it the end. What happened on January 6 had been planned for weeks, and the ideology behind it, brewing for years. That day’s chaos was the moment in which a dangerous mix of far-right factions came together in a way that won’t be disentangled anytime soon. Even now, nearly five months later, there’s still so much to process and still so many questions to answer (especially as Republicans work to forget the deadly attack ever happened). So at Mother Jones , we’re continuing to unpack what led to that day and what has followed . In last week’s episode of the Mother Jones Podcast , we brought you the story of an unlikely insurrectionist: Dr. Simone Gold, a Stanford-educated lawyer and emergency room physician who ended up on an FBI most wanted poster. And this week, with the help of Mother Jones disinformation reporter Ali Breland, we explore the historical foundations of modern political fringe movements, like QAnon, and consider how they are the outgrowth of paranoid conspiracy-mongering politics that have taken root across the US over the last century. We hear from a former Oath Keeper about why he joined and later left the extremist militia. We meet one of the overlooked characters who poured gasoline onto the fire leading up to the insurrection, someone whose online popularity with Gen Z extremists reveals why it is not necessarily the generation that will save us. Plus, we talk to experts about what’s ahead and how we may not know how widespread extremist groups actually are.
Wed, May 26, 2021
Doctor, Lawyer, Insurrectionist: The Radicalization of Simone Gold
As we approach the five-month anniversary of the January 6 insurrection, the Republican Party has made one thing clear: They want to forget all about it—holding Trump and his big lie closer than ever. In the House, the party just kicked out a top leader, Rep. Liz Cheney, for calling out Trump’s lies and authoritarianism. Over in the Senate, Republicans are likely to stymie efforts to formalize a January 6 commission to investigate the attack. The GOP might be desperate to move on, but the Department of Justice—and the nation—isn’t. There are more than 400 cases working their way through the courts, in what has become the biggest counterintelligence operation since 9/11. Over the next two episodes, the Mother Jones Podcast team gives you a snapshot of where we stand, what history has taught us, and what's next in the hunt for the insurrectionists. On today’s show: the story of someone who might not fit your picture of an insurrectionist—and how she was radicalized so quickly. Dr. Simone Gold is a Stanford-educated lawyer and board-certified emergency room physician who ended up on an FBI most wanted poster. Guest host Fernanda Echavarri is joined by Mother Jones senior reporter Stephanie Mencimer, who charts Gold’s stereotype-busting rise from far-right media stardom to the steps of the Capitol on January 6. Her eventual arrest highlights not only the role of conservative media in fomenting an insurrection, but also illustrates what experts on extremism have long known: Education is no defense against radicalization.
Wed, May 19, 2021
Leaked Video: How a Dark Money Group Is Trying to Rig Our Elections
The right-wing dark money group Heritage Action for America claims to be the mastermind behind the recent fire hose of state-level voter suppression laws, a new Mother Jones scoop reveals. Mother Jones voting rights reporter Ari Berman joins Jamilah King to walk through the explosive video he obtained of Jessica Anderson, the head of Heritage Action and a former Trump administration official, bragging about having drafted and funded voter suppression legislation in eight battleground states: Arizona, Michigan, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Nevada, Texas, and Wisconsin. “In some cases, we actually draft them for them,” Anderson says in the video. “Or we have a sentinel on our behalf give them the model legislation so it has that grassroots, from-the-bottom-up type of vibe.” Over the next two years, Heritage Action, the sister organization of the Heritage Foundation, is planning to spend $24 million on efforts to pass and defend legislation that restricts voting. The video reveals the extent to which voter suppression laws are part of a coordinated campaign, funded by conservative special interest groups and dark money, to preserve GOP power by limiting voting. As of April 1, 361 voter suppression laws had been passed in this year alone. “The Heritage Foundation raised about $122 million in their most recent tax filing, and they don't have to disclose who most of those donors are,” says Ari. “The fact that you have dark money writing and organizing campaigns to pass voter suppression laws, that's really a double whammy when it comes to how our democracy is being undermined.”
Wed, May 12, 2021
“We’re Torn Apart”: Inside India’s Worsening COVID Nightmare
A Mother Jones investigation has found that hundreds of visa workers are stuck in India with no way to get back to their families in the United States. India is the in the midst of a shocking COVID-19 crisis. Health officials are reporting approximately 400,000 new cases a day. Hospitals are experiencing shortages of beds, oxygen, and medical supplies. Deaths are projected to reach 1 million by August. Sinduja Rangarajan, Mother Jones ’ Data and Interactives Editor, has reported that hundreds of Indian-Americans are stuck in India, caught up in the United States’s May 4 travel ban. Some are unable to get their legal visas stamped at US consulates in India because they are closed due to the pandemic. “A lot of people who went to help their families and their parents who are dying of COVID, or who went to grieve for their parents, are effectively stranded in India,” Sinduja says on the podcast. Meanwhile, the Biden administration announced on May 5 that they are supporting a World Trade Organization resolution to waive vaccine patents in an effort to make vaccines more accessible and speed up inoculation efforts around the world. Dean Baker, a senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, joined host Jamilah King on the podcast to talk about the impact this decision could have on bringing the pandemic to an end. “The idea that we’re somehow hostage to these drug companies, that’s really not true,” says Baker. “If we can get vaccine production up and running in some of these countries in three, four or five months, that will still be an enormous help.” Make sure to check out more of Sinduja’s reporting on the unfolding crisis in India at motherjones.com.
Wed, May 05, 2021
“Queen Sugar” Author Natalie Baszile: Black Farmers Can Help Save the Planet
Natalie Baszile knew she was onto something when she got the call from Oprah’s people. A novelist and food justice activist, Baszile had been working for years on a semi-autobiographical novel about a Los Angeles-based Black woman who is unexpectedly faced with reviving an inherited family farm in Louisiana. The book became “Queen Sugar,” was published in 2014 and, with Oprah’s backing, it debuted as a television series on OWN in 2016. It was executive produced by Oprah Winfrey herself and directed by Ava DuVernay. American audiences were getting an intimate glimpse into how reverse migration was reshaping Black life in America. Now, in a new anthology, Baszile is broadening her scope. In We Are Each Other’s Harvest , Baszile offers up a carefully curated collection of essays and interviews that get to the heart of why Black people’s connection to the land matters. Mother Jones food and agriculture correspondent Tom Philpott recently published an investigation called “ Black Land Matters ,” which explores how access to land has exacerbated the racial wealth gap in America. The story also takes a look at a younger generation of Black people who have begun to reclaim farming and the land on which their ancestors once toiled. In this discussion, host Jamilah King talks with Baszile about how this new generation of Black farmers is actually tapping into wisdom that’s much older than they might have imagined. This is a follow-up conversation to last week's episode , which took a deep look at how Black farmers are beginning a movement to wrestle with history and reclaim their agricultural heritage. Check it out in our feed.
Wed, April 28, 2021
The Black Farmer Movement Battling History to Return to the Land
Agriculture was once a major source of wealth among the Black middle class in America. But over the course of a century, Black-owned farmland, and the corresponding wealth, has diminished almost to the point of near extinction; only 1.7 percent of farms were owned by Black farmers in 2017. The story of how that happened–from sharecropping, to anti-Black terrorism, to exclusionary USDA loans–is the focus of this episode on the Mother Jones Podcast . Tom Philpott, Mother Jones ’ food and agriculture correspondent, joins Jamilah King on the show to talk about the racist history of farming and a new movement to reclaim Black farmland. You’ll hear from Tahz Walker, who helps run Tierra Negra farm, which sits on land that was once part of a huge and notorious plantation in North Carolina called Stagville. Today, descendants of people who were enslaved at Stagville own shares in Tierra Negra and harvest food from that land. Leah Penniman is another farmer in the movement. She is the author of Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land , and the co-founder and managing director of a Soul Fire Farm, a cooperative farm she established in upstate New York that doubles as a training ground for farmers of color. The campaign to reclaim Black farmland has received some political backing. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced the Justice for Black Farmers Act in 2020, a bill that would attempt to reverse the discriminatory practices of the USDA by buying up farmland on the open market and giving it to Black farmers. The bill has received backing from high-profile on the left, including Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA), though it is unlikely to get the votes it would need to override the filibuster and pass. On the episode, you’ll also hear from Dania Francis, an economist at the University of Massachusetts Boston and a researcher with the Land Loss and Reparations Project. When asked how about economic tactics for redressing the lost land and the current wealth gap, Francis suggests: “A direct way to address a wealth gap is to provide Black families with wealth.”
Sat, April 24, 2021
The Oscar-Nominated Writers of Judas and the Black Messiah Make History
Judas and the Black Messiah , a ground-breaking film about the life of Black Panther leader Fred Hampton, has been hailed as one of the best films of the year. The film is up for five Oscars, including Best Picture. It’s a historic haul for a movie made by an all-Black team of producers. It’s also a notable and somewhat unexpected achievement for Keith and Kenny Lucas, who, along with director Shaka King and co-writer Will Berson, wrote the semi-biopic’s screenplay. The Hollywood honor for the 35-year-old identical twins known as the Lucas Brothers arrives after they built careers in comedy, including standup; appearances in 22 Jump Street and Arrested Development ; and starring roles in the series Friends of the People and Lucas Bros. Moving Co . On today’s bonus episode, Mother Jones reporter Ali Breland caught up with the brothers to chat about comedy, philosophy, and what it was like to make a movie about a revolutionary socialist who was committed to Black freedom. An edited transcript of the interview can be found on motherjones.com
Wed, April 21, 2021
Derek Chauvin Is Guilty. The Fight for Real Justice Is Far From Over.
Late Tuesday afternoon, the jury in the trial of Derek Chauvin delivered its verdict: guilty on all three counts in the killing of George Floyd. The 12 jurors—six of whom are white, four Black, and two multiracial—heard three weeks of testimony and deliberated for about 10 hours. Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, was charged with second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. The verdict comes just less than a year since Chauvin forcibly kneeled on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds, ultimately suffocating and killing him. Floyd was 46 years old. The video was shared widely and sparked massive waves of protests last summer under the banner “Black Lives Matter”—first in Minneapolis and then across the United States, people took to the streets to demonstrate against police violence and demand racial justice. Chauvin was fired and arrested after killing Floyd. He had worked for the Minneapolis Police Department since 2001, during which time he received at least 17 complaints and had a record of fatal use-of-force. Nathalie, who closely followed the trial over the past few weeks, joined Mother Jones Podcast host Jamilah King just after the verdict came in. "I was really surprised by how quickly the verdict came back," said Nathalie. "It feels like a huge moment." In her analysis of this important moment, Nathalie touched on the barely latent racism in the prosecutor’s argument, the issues with a televised trial, and how this verdict fits into the long fight for racial justice in America.”A lot of people are eager to hold this guilty verdict up as this big symbol of change,” says Nathalie on the podcast. “But after so many viral police shootings, one guilty verdict doesn’t satisfy that appetite for actual change.”
Wed, April 14, 2021
How America's Super-Rich Tax Evaders Are Hurting Everyone
Money. You’re probably thinking a lot about it these days. From a global pandemic that’s tanked the global economy, to President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure bill, to workers once again trying (and failing) to unionize at Amazon, who gets what and how is the recurring theme of so many important social and political debates right now. Michael Mechanic is a long-time Senior Editor at Mother Jones . His compelling new book is called Jackpot: How the Super-Rich Really Live—and How Their Wealth Harms Us All. From Capitol Hill to family office suites to wine cellar bunkers, this is an eye-opening romp through the lives of the richest people in America–the so-called One Percenter and a.comprehensive look at the structures behind wealth inequality. Not to mention the psychological effects of wealth on the very people who have the most of it. "Higher wealth is associated with more entitlement and narcissism, less compassion," explains Mechanic on the podcast. "People who are wealthier tend to be less socially attuned to those around them." In this conversation with Jamilah King, Mechanic discusses the tax code, the ways that race and gender have played into the accumulation of generational wealth, the tension between the promise of the American dream and the stark reality of the present-day wealth gap. And that specifically American landscape does not have much allure for others. "When people visualize how bad the wealth gap is in America,” Mechanic notes, “they say, I don't want to live there."
Wed, April 07, 2021
The Hidden Influence of Lady Bird Johnson
Lady Bird Johnson always fit the mold of a certain old-fashioned, stereotypical presidential wife: self-effacing, devoted to her generally unfaithful domineering husband, not particularly chic, and, being a traditional first lady one who needed a public cause, and found hers it in planting lots of flowers near highways. They called it at the time, with just a hint of disparagement, "beautification." Nowhere in the hundreds of thousands of pages written by presidential historians on the 36th president, Lyndon Baines Johnson, has there been presented much evidence to the contrary. But in her new book, Lady Bird Johnson: Hiding in Plain Sight , Julia Sweig has radically changed the narrative. “She doesn’t just have a front seat at history,” says Sweig on the podcast. “She was shaping it.” Mother Jones's DC Editorial Operations Director Marianne Szegedy-Maszak sat down with Sweig to talk to her about Lady Bird Johnson, writing history, and how the dominance of a certain narrative about male power informed the way we have understood the Johnson presidency. Especially striking is how many of the same issues that are current today—income inequality, the fight for racial justice, police shootings, environmental despoliation, and environmental justice—were priorities for the Johnson administration. Nearly all of them eclipsed by the Vietnam War. This episode includes clips from In Plain Sight: Lady Bird Johnson, a podcast hosted by Sweig and produced by ABC News/Best Case Studios.
Wed, March 31, 2021
Hope and Fear: The Dangerous New COVID Phase, Explained
Earlier this week, CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky went off-script during a news conference to issue an emotional warning : a fourth coronavirus surge could be on its way. She described a “recurring feeling I have of impending doom,” saying that while there was “so much to look forward to,” the country was entering a dangerous new phase. “I’m scared,” she said. Meanwhile, the country has seen week-on-week vaccination records tumble, and officials predict that half of Americans will be fully protected within the next two months. Nearly 150 million doses have been administered so far. So Americans find themselves confronting yet another front in the war on COVID-19, in which hope and fear are colliding. Can we vaccinate fast enough to combat the threat of dangerous new variants? What’s the deal with the AstraZeneca vaccine drama? Why is the United States populations getting vaccinated at a much faster rate than the rest of the world? When—if ever—can we ditch the masks? We try to answer some of those questions on this week’s episode of the Mother Jones Podcast , with Dr. Peter Hotez, a vaccine scientist and the founding dean of the national school of tropical medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas. He’s been leading a team at the Baylor College of Medicine that uses older vaccine technology to create a COVID-19 vaccine that would be cheaper to make and distribute. “By the summer I think we could potentially vaccinate ourselves out of the epidemic,” Hotez tells Kiera Butler, our senior editor and public health reporter, during a taped livestream event last week. But that doesn’t mean we are out of the woods yet. Though coronavirus cases have dropped 80 percent from the latest surge, case numbers are at the same level that they were last summer and variants are spreading quickly. “We’re at a dangerous time right now.” This interview was originally recorded for a Mother Jones livestream event on March 24, 2021. The full video can be found on www.motherjones.com or on Mother Jones ’ Youtube and Facebook channels.
Fri, March 26, 2021
Stop the COVID Shaming!
For many people who contract the coronavirus, shame is an underreported side-effect. Its symptoms are intense bewilderment about the cause of infection, reluctance to engage with healthcare systems, and discomfort disclosing the diagnosis to friends and family. The internal dynamic is likely reinforced by the public shaming that follows news stories about crowds of spring breakers not following social distancing rules. Or the Instagram account dedicated to calling out parties and gatherings . Or the tweets about how people who dine indoors are selfish morons . Shaming others “can function as a way to distance yourself from the fear, the terror, or any uncomfortable feeling you have by placing the badness on someone else,” says Dr. Deeba Ashraf, a psychoanalyst at the Menninger Clinic in Houston. “We can feel this illusion of safety, which is born out of shaming another group.” In this bonus episode of the Mother Jones Podcast, Associate Producer Molly Schwartz interviews Ashraf about the psychological effects of COVID shaming, the impacts on public health, and some tips for dealing with feelings of shame and stigma. This interview is part of Molly’s big feature about COVID shaming and its historical parallels in the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Read the full story at www.motherjones.com .
Thu, March 25, 2021
A Post-Trump Guide to Stopping the Lies and Healing Our Politics
Cass Sunstein is a public intellectual and provocateur—and he has been pondering a timely issue: public lying. A longtime Harvard law professor and an expert on behavioral economics, Sunstein has written a slew of books, including volumes on cost-benefit analysis, conspiracy theories, animal rights, authoritarianism in the United States, decision-making, and Star Wars. He was recently named senior counselor at the Department of Homeland Security, where he will oversee the Biden administration’s rollback of Donald Trump’s policies. But right before he rejoined the federal government, he released his latest work: Liars: Falsehoods and Free Speech in an Age of Deception . The book is certainly a product of the Trump era, a stretch in which the “former guy” made 30,583 false or misleading claims while serving as president, according to the Washington Post . All his lying kind of worked. Donald Trump was elected despite—or because—of his serial falsehood-flinging. He nearly won reelection after his tsunami of truth-trashing. And after the election, Trump promoted the Big Lie that victory had been stolen from him, and his crusade triggered an insurrectionist raid on the Capitol that threatened the certification of the electoral vote count. After all that—and after Trump’s misleading statements about the COVID-19 pandemic led to the preventable of deaths hundreds of thousands of Americans—Trump remains the leader of the Republican Party and a hero for tens of millions of Americans. So what, if anything, can be done to thwart such lies? Especially in an age of expanding disinformation, wild-and-wooly social media, QAnon, deepfakes, and widespread acceptance of conspiracy theories? In his book, Sunstein discusses why lying can succeed and how tough it is—especially given First Amendment freedoms—to counter them. He notes that certain forms of lying can be punished: perjury, defamation, and false advertising. And he argues for extending the category of lies that ought to be officially punished, noting, “Governments should have the power to regulate certain lies and falsehoods, at least if they can be shown to be genuinely harmful by any objective measure.” Though that is much harder done than said. Our Washington DC Bureau Chief David Corn spoke with Sunstein about all this. And they addressed the big topic: given that a debate over lying and what to do about it is, in a way, a debate over rea
Wed, March 24, 2021
What Happened in Jackson, Mississippi, Was a Catastrophe—and a Warning Sign
Boiling water to drink and bathe. Collecting rainwater to flush toilets. Using bottled water distributed by the National Guard to take care of basic hygiene. For four weeks, tens of thousands of people in Jackson, Mississippi, did not have access to clean water. Freezing winter storms wreaked havoc on Jackson’s old and crumbling water infrastructure. In mid-February the city experienced 80 water main breaks, leaving tens of thousands of residents were left without running water. But while the Texas blackouts dominated the news cycle, Jackson’s water crises received far less attention, even as it extended into its fourth week. Jackson’s residents, 80 percent of whom are Black and nearly 30 percent of whom live below the poverty line, were forced to boil water to drink, bathe, and use the bathroom. In the middle of a pandemic, residents of Jackson didn’t have reliable access to clean water to wash their hands. This water crisis was years in the making. For the past 50 years the Republican-led state government has been cutting taxes and neglecting to invest in infrastructure repairs. Jackson’s shrinking tax base has been exacerbated by white flight and the fact that, unlike other capital cities, Jackson does not receive payments in lieu of taxes for its state-owned properties. “It isn't a matter of if these systems will fail, it's a matter of when these systems will fail,” Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba tells Mother Jones reporter Nathalie Baptiste on this week’s show. “We have a $2 billion infrastructure problem.” Last week, Jackson finally lifted its boil water notice. But Jackson’s water crisis laid bare the budget, infrastructure, and equity issues that leave cities like Jackson vulnerable to future extreme weather events. “Climate change is significantly impacting the pressure on our infrastructure. We have hotter summers, colder winters, and more rain in the rainy season,” says Mayor Lumumba. “They’re becoming our new normal.”
Wed, March 17, 2021
All Hail Pop Queen Selena, Who Showed Us How to Belong
Anything for Selena is more than a podcast about the iconic 1990s superstar Selena Quintanilla. It’s a nine-part series about belonging itself. Journalist Maria Garcia documents her own journey as she discovers what it means to love and mourn Selena, and what her legacy can teach us about pop culture and Latinx identity today. As a fearsomely talented singer and dancer, Selena dazzled on stage with bold red lips and large hoop earrings, wearing sparkly bustiers and tight, high-waisted pants. She mesmerized audiences in Texas and along the US-Mexico border first, then took Mexico by storm. She built a loyal fanbase across the United States and sold millions of albums worldwide. But the devotion she sparked wasn’t a simple case of celebrity. Before she was tragically killed in 1995, she had become the queen of Tejano music and culture, adored by both United States and Mexico for being unapologetically herself, as she navigated both cultures with pride—something that left a huge impression on a young Garcia. Selena’s mere existence sparked mainstream conversations about race, language, and identity. “The podcast is truly a lifelong culmination of my quest to understand why this woman has meant so much to me and has been a profound flashpoint,” Garcia says on this episode of the Mother Jones Podcast . “I had to go back to little Maria who was new to this country, trying to figure out where she belonged.” Today, more than 25 years later, we’re still grappling with the loss and meaning of Selena, the cross-cultural phenomenon. Just last Sunday, Selena was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2021 Grammys; she only received one Grammy in 1994 before her death. For older fans, This recognition brought back memories of Selena at the peak of her career, and joy to a new wave of young Selena Stans, who weren’t even born until after her death. Anything for Selena is a collaboration between WBUR in Boston and Futuro Studios . Each episode is available in English and in Spanish. This week’s show features MoJo reporter Fernanda Echavarri in conversation with Garcia, and Futuro senior producer Antonia Cereijido.
Wed, March 10, 2021
Stacey Abrams Is Hellbent on Stopping the GOP's "Jim Crow 2.0"
Stacey Abrams has a name for the series of bills that just passed the Georgia state legislature: “Jim Crow in a suit and tie.” Abrams joins the Mother Jones Podcast to explain why your right to vote is once again under attack—perhaps more so now than it has been in generations. Donald Trump’s big election fraud lie sparked a deluge of voter suppression efforts across the country. Over the past two months, GOP legislatures have pushed 253 new voting restrictions in 43 states. Under the guise of “election integrity,” these restrictions run the gamut: enacting voter ID laws, limiting early voting, repealing no-excuse early voting, and purging voter rolls. The Roberts Supreme Court has gutted the section of the Voting Rights Act that would protect against voter suppression in states with long histories of voter discrimination. HR 1, the so-called “For the People” bill, could put crucial voting rights protections back in place. It’s the most ambitious democracy reform bill since the Voting Rights Act of 1965. But right now, it remains unlikely that it will ever pass the Senate. Why? Because of the filibuster. Mother Jones voting rights reporter Ari Berman joins Jamilah King to talk through the contents of HR 1, the issues with the filibuster, and how Republicans are benefitting from minority rule to further curtail democracy. The 2020 election might be over, but voting rights are still very much at risk.
Fri, March 05, 2021
Roxane Gay Says Cancel Culture Does Not Exist
Roxane Gay is one of the most prolific and versatile writers of our generation. She’s written a best-selling collection of essays ( Bad Feminist ), a blockbuster memoir ( Hunger ), Black Panther comics, and countless essays of cultural criticism. That’s not to mention her New York Times advice column, her book of writing advice coming out in November called How to Be Heard , a YA novel, and a screenplay for Hunger. Oh, and don’t forget her podcast. Or the TV show that she runs. How does she do it? How has she cultivated her voice over the years? How does she write things that make a difference? Gay has distilled these lessons into a new MasterClass series called Writing for Social Change , and she joined host Jamilah King for a conversation about the project in late February. You can read a lightly edited and condensed transcript at MotherJones.com .
Wed, March 03, 2021
The Vaccine Rollout Is Racist. We Can Do Something About That.
A new coronavirus vaccine from Johnson & Johnson has been approved. A new coronavirus variant in New York City has been identified—and is spreading. New data shows structural and racial disparities in who is receiving the vaccine, and who is still waiting in line. As the one year anniversary of the coronavirus pandemic in the US approaches, we’re seeing a flurry of both hopeful and concerning developments. Kiera Butler and Edwin Rios, two Mother Jones reporters who have been on the pandemic beat for the past year, join host Jamilah King to provide much-needed context about what it all means. Butler, a senior editor and public health reporter, explains that while the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has lower efficacy rates than the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, it is still highly effective at preventing the worst outcomes of coronavirus infections. “It prevents hospitalization and death 100 percent of the time,” she says. While millions of vaccine dosages have been shipped out this week, and vaccination rates are on the rise, there are concerning reports of low vaccination rates among communities of color—the very the same communities disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus pandemic itself. Black, Latino and Native Americans have been dying of COVID-19 at twice the rate of white Americans. Those disparities widen in younger age groups. But despite the fact that Black Americans account for 16 percent of COVID deaths, they have received just six percent of the first dose roll-out. “The pandemic exacerbates preexisting inequities,” Rios says. “It's not as if those barriers kind of the barriers to access go away when the vaccine rollout starts.” In this episode, we attempt to tackle solutions to vaccine hesitancy by putting trust at the heart of the rollout.
Wed, February 24, 2021
Biden Can't Make Trump's Immigration Cruelty Vanish Overnight
Overflowing ICE detention centers. Families separated at the border. A multi-billion-dollar border wall. Over the course of his four-year presidency, Donald Trump used executive power to wage war on the United States’ immigration system–leaving millions of immigrants and asylum seekers in impossibly tough situations. Now, President Biden is making immigration reform a top priority. Mother Jones immigration reporters Fernanda Echavarri and Noah Lanard join Jamilah King on this week’s show to walk through the actions that Biden has undertaken during his first month in office to try to reconstruct a broken system. Biden’s slew of executive actions include: an end to the travel ban for majority-Muslim countries; halting construction of the border wall ; ending new enrollments in the “Remain in Mexico” policy (officially named Migrant Protection Protocols) and starting a new system to slowly allow some asylum seekers on MPP to enter the US; an unsuccessful attempt to pause deportations for 100 days ; and directing the Department of Homeland Security to form a task force to undo some of the damage caused by Trump’s family separation policy. Plus, a huge new immigration reform bill has been introduced to Congress. Trump left Biden with a Gordian knot of immigration policy to untangle. Doing so will likely take years. Lives hang in the balance.
Wed, February 17, 2021
What the Hell Is “Truth and Reconciliation”, Anyway?
House impeachment manager Jamie Raskin delivered a speech during Trump’s impeachment trial last week in which he made a direct appeal to reality: “Democracy needs a ground to stand upon,” he said. “And that ground is the truth." There’s a lot of demand for reckoning in America right now. Cities around the country are debating and in some cases instituting some forms of reparations for Black residents. Last June, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) introduced a bill to establish a “United States Commission on Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation,” which has gained 169 co-sponsors. In December, even anchor Chuck Todd asked his guests on “Meet the Press” about the political prospects for a national Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). The calls for a rigorous public accounting of Trump-era misdeeds reached a crescendo in the aftermath of the violent attack on the Capitol in January: the impeachment proceedings against the former president became, all of a sudden, the de facto court for establishing the reality of the 2020 election results, even as Republican lawmakers voted to acquit. It raised the fundamental question: How do we establish the truth, amid a war on truth itself? On today's episode of the Mother Jones Podcast, journalists Shaun Assael and Peter Keating share their deep reporting into the history of the "truth and reconciliation" movement, here and abroad, and what we can learn from its promises and pitfalls—presenting a realistic view of their effectiveness as building blocks for reality, rather than magic bullets. “There can be no reconciliation before justice,” Keating says. Keep an eye out for their written investigation, appearing later this week at motherjones.com.
Wed, February 10, 2021
Impeachment Trial Day One: The Damning Case Against Donald Trump
Tears on the Senate floor. Shocking footage of the insurrection. A bumbling and widely panned performance by Donald Trump’s legal team. The former president’s second impeachment has now moved to trial, and House Democrats came prepared. A little over one month after a riotous mob laid siege to the very chamber in which the trial was now taking place, Democrats presented such a damning trail of evidence that that it caused one GOP senator, Bill Cassidy, to change his vote on the trial’s constitutionality. Mother Jones national political reporter Pema Levy joins Jamilah King from DC to recap and explain what went down on Day One. Pema explains how the House impeachment managers, led by Rep. Jamie Raskin, a constitutional scholar, will set out to prove Trump responsible for the deadly attack. Meanwhile, Republican Senators are expected to try to wiggle out of the toxic political shadow of their former president by sticking to an argument that the proceedings are unconstitutional, letting Trump get off scot-free. Trump’s acquittal is all but a foregone conclusion, and the trial is expected to be an unusually swift one. But as Pema explains , what happens over the next week or so will still be incredibly consequential and perhaps even more damaging for Republicans than Trump’s first impeachment. For up-to-the-minute coverage of every twist and turn, head to motherjones.com, and for special bonus coverage, make sure you subscribe to the podcast, wherever you listen.
Wed, February 03, 2021
Biden Confronts Our Climate Crisis Head On
Stopping climate change is back on the White House agenda. President Biden came into with the most ambitious climate change plans of any administration to date. He not only promised to reverse the Trump administration's regressive climate policies, including regulatory rollbacks and a withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, but also to push the United States farther on climate change action than it has ever gone before. He named climate change action as a top priority, right alongside the coronavirus pandemic, the economy, and racial justice. Rebecca Leber, Mother Jones’ environmental politics and policy reporter, joined Jamilah King on the podcast this week to talk about Biden’s executive orders and what they mean. "That was the first time we had a president enter office saying climate was that high of an ambition," says Rebecca Leber. ""Any one of these items on their own would be huge. But the fact that we're seeing them all together is even bigger." In his first few days in office, President Biden signed a series of executive orders to get the Untied States back into the Paris agreement, to pause the lease of fossil fuel on public lands, and to establish environmental justice in multiple federal agencies, including the Departments of State, Energy, and Treasury. He issued an executive order to set up a Civilian Climate Corps. He promised to get the United States on track to conserve 30 percent of lands and oceans by 2030. He directed federal agencies to eliminate subsidies to Big Oil and invest in clean energy solutions. His actions already seem to be prompting change in US industry. General Motors (GM) announced last week that it aims to move entirely into electric vehicle manufacturing by 2035.
Wed, January 27, 2021
Dr. Seema Yasmin Grew Up Believing Conspiracies. Now She Fights Them.
Trump is gone. But assessing the wreckage wrought by his lies has only just begun. Emerging, battered, from a year advising the former president, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, and Dr. Deborah Birx, the former coronavirus taskforce coordinator, both agree: Trump’s embrace of disinformation and chaos made the pandemic worse. “I think if we had had the public health messages from the top right through down to the people down in the trenches be consistent, that things might have been different,” Fauci told CBS on Sunday. On Face the Nation , Birx described working around Trump, and competing with “parallel data streams coming into the White House.” In his first press conference as President Biden’s top medical adviser, Fauci described the “liberating feeling” of letting “the science speak.” The damage done by anti-science messaging— along with self-delusion, denial, and happy talk —can’t be underestimated, says Dr. Seema Yasmin, an Emmy Award-winning journalist, epidemiologist, and author of the new book, Viral BS. It amounts to a pandemic within a pandemic. “It’s not just a pathogen that threatens our public health,” she tells MoJo’s Kiera Butler, on this week’s episode. “It’s the misinformation and disinformation about the disease, about the vaccine, about the pandemic, that can undo everything you’re trying to do in public health.” Effective communication is the “make or break”, she says. But it’s been in short supply. “Public health agencies and other establishments have not taken the information aspects seriously for many years,” she says. And so the challenge is even tougher when it comes to encouraging Americans to get the coronavirus vaccine, especially in marginalized or underserved communities. “If you interviewed six of them, you would have six different reasons—historical, cultural, religious, all of that—for being vaccine-hesitant, so we have to meet people where they are.” Yasmin lays out her playbook for tailoring messages across a wide range of groups during this live-streamed Mother Jones event, recorded earlier this month. You can also replay the full video on our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VnX
Wed, January 20, 2021
The Post-Trump Era Is Here: Inside Joe Biden's Historic Inauguration
Today, Joe Biden was inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States. Two weeks after an armed mob stormed the Capitol, the new president painted a picture of hope and collective effort in his inaugural address. His message sharply contrasted with former president Donald Trump’s dystopian “American carnage” speech from four years ago. “This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge,” Biden said in his address. “And unity is the path forward.” DC Bureau Chief David Corn and Senior Reporter Tim Murphy joined Jamilah King for live coverage and analysis of the event. David Corn was at the Capitol, where he witnessed a very different inauguration from ones he had attended in the past. There were no large crowds, but ubiquitous face masks, heavy security, members of Congress wearing body armor, even in the midst of the traditional pomp and circumstance. The US Marine Band played their trumpets and drums, the Capitol was bedecked in huge American flags, and the Clintons, the Bushes, and the Obamas were all in attendance. President Biden said he spoke with former president Jimmy Carter, who was unable to attend. The inauguration is usually a passing of the torch, but since Trump boycotted the inauguration in a final venal, norm- busting gesture, the event had the quality of the nation turning the page and ushering in a new era. "We were literally standing where blood had been spilled, where violence had occurred just two weeks ago," says Corn on the show. "Yet democracy prevailed, she persisted as Elizabeth Warren might say, and we were here carrying out this grand tradition which has gone on for over 200 years." Jamilah asked Tim Murphy about the historical context, including Trump’s early escape from the city and non-attendance. “He’s a deeply petty person,” says Murphy, but still there is some precedent. “There’s nothing in the Constitution that says the president has to attend the inauguration, and historically that hasn’t always been the case. John Adams didn’t attend Thomas Jefferson’s inauguration. And that’s the election that brought us the peaceful transfer of power that Trump brought to an end by inciting a riot on the Capitol.”
Thu, January 14, 2021
Twice Impeached: Trump’s Name Will Live Forever in Shame and Infamy
Today, President Donald Trump became the first president in US history to be impeached twice. A majority of the US House of Representatives—including 10 Republican members—voted to impeach Trump following last week’s violent attack by right-wing extremists on the US Capitol. “Donald Trump will go down in history as the most impeached president, ever,” says Washington DC bureau chief David Corn, on this breaking news edition of the show. By the time House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s gavel formalized the historic rebuke of Trump, 232 members had voted for the measure, 197 against. Corn suggests that in the final weeks of his presidency, Trump’s incendiary rhetoric and persistent attacks on the election results will leave an everlasting stain on his legacy. “It was inevitable that the Trump presidency would end ugly.” The impeachment moves next to the Senate. It is unclear whether Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will support it. But fractures have already appeared in the traditionally watertight Republican caucus, which has previously acted as a loyal force for Trump over the past four years. The future of the Republican party hangs in the balance.
Wed, January 13, 2021
Trump's Terror Tactics and America's History of Racist Violence
The January 6 attack on the US Capitol by a mob of extremist Trump supporters was shocking and scary—but not surprising. Incendiary rhetoric and racist dog whistles have been centerpieces of President Trump’s politics since he first ran for office. Trump has encouraged his supporters to bully immigrants, journalists, and Democratic politicians. He tapped into a thick vein of right-wing extremism that has led to violence countless times in American history: from the Ku Klux Klan, to the Oklahoma City bombing, the Tree of Life Synagogue massacre, Charlottesville, El Paso, and Kenosha, just to name a few. Right-wing extremism has time and again been the ideological driver of domestic terrorism. Mother Jones National Affairs Editor has been tracking President Trump’s terror tactics for years. He joined Jamilah King on the podcast to explain how he saw the Capitol attack coming. “Anyone who was paying attention to the rhetoric Trump was using was able to see that bad things were coming,” Follman says. “It was logical that once he turned the full fury of his extremist rhetoric on the 2020 election that would lead to violence in the wake of the election, and that’s exactly what we saw with the assault on Congress.” Why weren’t the Capitol police prepared? Is there evidence of right-wing extremism among American law enforcement and military personnel? Does de-platforming actually work? Will there be violence between now and the inauguration? Follman explains how the attack on Congress was a coordinated, logical, and predictable outgrowth of Trumpism and an American brand of extremism—and the end of the president’s plausible deniability.
Fri, January 08, 2021
I Watched the Capitol Siege Begin. I Was Threatened For Being a Reporter.
On Wednesday, a mob of Trump supporters surged towards the US Capitol as the Senate was debating certification of Joe Biden’s election win. “No one gets out alive, not today!” a man brandishing a Trump flag shouted, according to MoJo reporter Matt Cohen, who was there when the barricades fell and the insurgency began. The rioters then scaled the walls, smashed windows, and ran through the Capitol building, ransacking and looting as they went, forcing unprepared police officers to issue tear gas and lockdown orders. Five people were killed. The Capitol rotunda was littered with broken glass and damaged furniture. Having covered many protests over the years, Cohen says this one was different: “This really felt like the first time that if I had been wearing my press badge, especially when things go hairy, I would have been a target.” Cohen joins Jamilah King on the Mother Jones Podcast to share his firsthand account with our listeners.
Wed, January 06, 2021
BREAKING: Goodbye, Mitch. Democrats Win the Senate.
NOTE: This episode was recorded just before violence erupted on Capitol Hill when pro-Trump extremists, inflamed by the president, rampaged inside Congress. Goodbye, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Hello, razor-thin Democratic control of the US Senate, and the chance for President-Elect Joe Biden to actually get stuff done. After a pair of neck-and-neck runoff contests in Georgia on Tuesday, Rev. Raphael Warnock will be the first Black senator in that state's history and the first Black Democrat to be elected to the Senate in the South—beating the incumbent appointee, Republican Senator Kelly Leoffler. And 33-year-old Jon Ossoff clinched his race against incumbent Republican Senator David Purdue. It has been decades since the state sent any Democrat to the Senate, and the clean sweep will mean that, come January 20, Democrats will control the Senate with a tie-breaker vote from newly elected Vice President Kamala Harris. That's obviously huge news for President Biden's agenda: It will be the first time Democrats have controlled both houses of Congress and the presidency since President Obama's first term. Joining host Jamilah King to discuss the political legacy of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and what Democrats can do first with this new found power, is MoJo senior reporter, Ari Berman, who says Congress's first act should be obvious: expand voting rights across the country. But first, he gives something of an obituary for soon-to-be-former Senate leader, Mitch McConnell.
Wed, January 06, 2021
Trump Won't Stop Lying, Extorting, and Cheating, Even If It Kills the GOP
Wow. What a start to the year. For those of you hoping high-stakes political drama might be confined to the 2020 presidential election, think again. In the year's opening week alone, we've heard a raging president, caught on tape, bullying state officials to fake the election result; witnessed a band of would-be coup-plotters launch an unheard-of attack on democracy; and watched a runoff election in Georgia that will decide the fate of the US Senate—and Biden's agenda. To explain the meaning of these dizzying, concurrent developments, host Jamilah King is joined by Washington DC Bureau Chief, David Corn, who provides much-needed historical background to the civil war brewing inside the Republican Party, and more. "The guy who goes on about election fraud has been caught red-handed, trying to induce election fraud!" Corn explains during the show. "What Trump is doing is he’s trying to create a loyalty test.” What does this Trump loyalty test mean for the future of the Republican party? Are there parallels between the Whig party’s implosion in the 1800s and the rift within today’s GOP? Could Trump face criminal charges for trying to coerce the Georgia Secretary of State to find him more votes? "What we see here is the coddling of a coup," Corn concludes. "I mean: that’s what they’re trying to do."
Wed, December 30, 2020
2020 Needs Its Own History Book. Here’s Our First Draft.
A disease, global in reach but intimate in its cruelty. A nation plunged into economic ruin. A president raging and incompetent. Society's unforgiving disparities revealed like never before. What a year to be putting out a weekly news podcast. On this week's episode of the Mother Jones Podcast , our last for 2020, the entire production team joins host Jamilah King to reflect on the year and replay what we thought were the most meaningful moments from our coverage. It seemed the best way—both personal and journalistic—to chart these extraordinary events. We start as the coronavirus catches fire. In March, producer Molly Schwartz followed reporter Noah Lanard to document how restaurants in Flushing, Queens, faced imminent collapse. As our producer James West recovered from his own bout of COVID, he turned to Peter Staley , a prominent AIDS activist who worked (and sparred) with Dr. Anthony Fauci in the early days of that epidemic. Staley's scathing indictment of Trump's inaction is haunting still. "The deaths are all on his head," he said. "The blood is all on his hands. The people dying now are Trump deaths." Soon, the unequal impact of coping with quarantine became painfully apparent. Learning from home was hard enough, but Molly found that remote education in a place known as the "valley of the telescopes"—in Pocahontas County, West Virginia, where WiFi is outlawed to preserve the integrity of a massive radio telescope—was a complete disaster. But other historic fissures were soon to crack open anew. The death of George Floyd in May at the hands of the Minneapolis police was broadcast to the world and "pushed nearly anyone with a political conscience into physical action," Jamilah wrote soon after, in a painful but galvanizing personal essay we turned into radio. Anger indeed was a 2020 touchstone. Trump's chief enabler Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, upon the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in September , began ramming through a new conservative justice. "His entire vision for the Trump presidency has been to pack the courts," reporter Ari Berman explained during a podcast about this unfolding democratic emerge
Wed, December 23, 2020
“He Won’t Get Played:” Biden’s Biographer on Lessons from the Obama White House
Joe Biden’s biographer joins the Mother Jones Podcast to tell us about the man behind the public figure. Over his decades in public life, we’ve heard about the tragedies our president elect has experienced: the trauma of the car accident that killed his first wife and small daughter, his own health challenges, his unsuccessful runs for president, and the death of his golden son Beau while his other son Hunter struggled with drug addiction. But what are the deeper stories beneath this well-known narrative? What makes him tick? What is he like off-camera? And perhaps most important of all, what kind of president is he likely to be? That's what Evan Osnos set out to explore in his new biography Joe Biden: The Life, The Run, and What Matters Now . We know that Biden faced enormous personal tragedies and devoted himself to public service for most of his adult life. Yet for many, the private person remains something of an enigma. In his biography, Osnos portrays a canny political operator known for his bipartisanship who has always maintained a certain political looseness, partly because his stutter made him averse to teleprompters. Jamilah King talks with Osnos about Biden’s relationship with Mitch McConnell, his political evolution, and how his diverse cabinet picks square with his legislative record on racial justice. In just a few more weeks, Joe Biden will achieve the position he has been striving for since he was a kid. Here’s a chance to understand what that means for him–and for the country.
Wed, December 16, 2020
Prayer and Politics: On the Campaign Trail in Georgia with Raphael Warnock
On this week's Mother Jones Podcast , we take you along for the ride as Democrats barnstorm Georgia in the last few weeks before the pivotal runoff elections. Our reporter Becca Andrews is pulling up to drive-in church services and political rallies at the heart of the Reverend Raphael Warnock’s race against incumbent Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler. It’s something of an old narrative meeting a new age: Republicans are unleashing dated stereotypes and prejudices about the Black church to smear Warnock, but his faith and his deep ties to the civil rights movement are rallying points for his supporters—and they’ll be crucial in Democrats’ pursuit of Senate control. The party will need to rely, at least in part, on the deep legacy of the Black church in political activism and in expanding voting rights, while a younger generation of organizers brings new-school methods to an old-school race.
Wed, December 09, 2020
Georgia’s Runoff Races Are Usually Disasters for Dems. This Time Is Different.
You might be breathing a deep sigh of relief that the 2020 elections are finally over. But spare a thought for our friends in Georgia. Voters there are still being bombarded with political ads, national attention, and oodles of fresh campaign cash because they are about to decide, in two contests on January 5, who controls the US Senate. Runoff elections like these in Georgia are typically disasters for Democrats, explains our voting rights reporter Ari Berman. But organizing against voter suppression and high turnout in November are giving Democrats hope that these Senate races could be different this time around. Democrats have believed for some time that a rapidly diversifying electorate would allow them to be competitive in Georgia, but repeated voter suppression efforts had kept that electorate from fully forming. Now, two years of activism have created the conditions for Joe Biden to carry the state by just under 12,000 votes, making him the first Democratic presidential candidate in 28 years to win Georgia, amid record turnout. That electorate is now giving Democrats hope that Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff can win runoff elections that would have seemed almost unwinnable in past years. While Republicans are melting down over Trump’s false allegations of voter fraud, Democrats and Black organizers are now focused on electing a majority in the US Senate that can pass Biden’s legislative agenda. They might just make history.
Wed, December 02, 2020
Will Biden Finally Fix America's Crippling Student Debt Crisis?
Young people turned out in record numbers for the 2020 presidential election, and they overwhelmingly backed Joe Biden . Now, the hashtag #CancelStudentDebt has been trending on Twitter, as intense pressure mounts on the President-elect to finally tackle the $1.7 trillion student debt crisis holding millions of Americans, especially young Americans, hostage to often crippling monthly payments for years to come. “This feels like the closest we’ve ever been,” one education advocate recently told Time, referring to the chance for real policy changes. According to Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) who has established herself as the loudest voice on the matter , large-scale debt forgiveness would provide “the single most effective economic stimulus that is available through executive action.” But how likely is that? Can this finally be fixed? On this week’s episode of the Mother Jones Podcast , we’re revisiting our big investigation by journalist Ryann Liebenthal into America’s broken student debt machine. We first brought you this story in August 2018 , detailing the flailing government program known as Public Service Loan Forgiveness , a system that, when Biden was a candidate, he pledged to streamline and reform. “It should be done immediately,” he said, referring to the passage of new legislation. But that depends on who controls the Senate come January, and Biden’s professed urgency must inevitably be tempered with a tough political reality. To bring us up to speed on what’s changed since the campaign and what Biden’s picks for his economic team can tell us about his ambitions, we also chatted to our very own transition tracker, Washington, DC, political reporter Kara Vogt. “The demands for canceling student debt have not ceased sin
Wed, November 25, 2020
The Safest Ways to Celebrate Thanksgiving, According to Science
How are your Thanksgiving plans different this year? You may have heeded the urgent advice to put travel plans on ice, but you’re still trying your best to feel the holiday spirit, somehow ? As the latest coronavirus surge continues unabated, and as various kinds of restrictions swing into effect across the country, the Mother Jones Podcast team is bringing you two chats with top infectious-disease experts on how to stop the spread and keep you and your family safe during a holiday season unlike any other. Science communication expert Jessica Malaty Rivera , a microbiologist, has a few tips for you, and a couple for the incoming president, too. Rivera spoke to our senior editor Kiera Butler about Thanksgiving strategies—"a negative COVID-19 test is not an immunity passport," she warns—as well as her work to document up-to-the-minute coronavirus data and trends at the COVID Tracking Project . "Nobody here is saying we should cancel Thanksgiving," Rivera says. "What we’re saying is it needs to look very different from years past." Some top-line tips: Stay at home, and if you are hosting a gatherings, keep it small, outdoors, and masked. Read more from Mother Jones ' interview with Rivera, and how the Biden administration must beat viral misinformation influencers at their own game to combat the coronavirus, here . Also on the show, host Jamilah King spoke to Dr. Peter Hotez, a vaccine scientist, pediatrician, and dean for the National School of Tropical Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, about the state of vaccine development right now, including which segments of the population are expected to get it first, and when. He gives his Thanksgiving tips, too: "We are in a public health crisis," he says. "Don’t do reckless, irresponsible things. Let’s just hang on a few more months and everyone can get vaccinated and live."
Wed, November 18, 2020
Surge Shock: Top Coronavirus Experts Share Fixes for Our Broken System
The United States is confronting its worst surge in coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic. Governors are rushing new lockdowns into place as hospitals nationwide burst at the seams . The death toll is, yet again, setting daily records . Maybe by the time you listen to this episode of the Mother Jones Podcast , the US will have passed another dire milestone ( of so many ): a quarter of a million coronavirus deaths . Inside our newsroom, reporters and editors are determined to put science—and the voices of scientists—at the heart of our ongoing coronavirus coverage. That's why, earlier in the outbreak, we launched a series called "Pandemic Proofing America" , an evolving oral history collection featuring incisive interviews with the nation's top scientists and public health experts. The central question we posed was this: With a scandalously enfeebled government hampering the country's response, what are the most important steps we can take to make sure we’re better prepared next time around? Their responses were wide-ranging, often damning in their criticism of the current administration's failures, and sometimes hopeful that we might find common purpose in listening to science. For this episode of the podcast, the brains behind this series, Mother Jones 's Atlanta-based Senior Editor Kiera Butler, has assembled a selection of these big thinkers to weigh in on how to survive America's coming dark winter, and how the country can begin to imagine a pandemic-free future by combating disinformation and collaborating across disciplines, and beyond our borders. You'll hear from top experts like Timothy Caulfield , from the University of Alberta’s School of Public Health; Laurel Bristow ,
Wed, November 11, 2020
Biden Won. Now He Needs to Save the Planet.
After a drawn-out vote count, Joe Biden has clinched the presidency. Now he needs to save the planet. As Biden’s supporters celebrate, many are hoping beyond hope for a quick reversal of President Trump’s most harmful policies come January 20, 2021. And perhaps no part of Trump’s agenda posed a bigger existential threat than his denial of climate change. From crippling the EPA and rolling back environmental regulations, to pulling out of the landmark Paris Agreement, Trump did everything he could to roll back the progress of President Obama’s ambitious second-term climate agenda. This year, carbon dioxide levels reached the highest recorded levels in human history. On today’s show, Jamilah King is joined by Mother Jones ’ climate and environment reporter Rebecca Leber to discuss what we can expect from an incoming Biden administration that has claimed climate action as central to its governing mandate. How much of Trump’s damage can Biden reverse? What could a Republican-controlled Senate mean for the Green New Deal? How will Kamala Harris’ barrier-breaking role in the White House influence Biden’s commitment to environmental justice? Biden made big promises for climate action on the campaign trail. His first 100 Days as president are expected to unleash a flurry of executive orders on climate change. Now the questions are when, and how, he’ll deliver. If the number of times Biden said “science” in his victory speech is any indication, this administration will reverse Trump’s denialism. But will it be enough to stop runaway global warming? On today's show: Biden's last-chance climate fixes.
Sat, November 07, 2020
Live Podcast Special: How Biden Banished Trump
It’s over! After a nail-biting count that dragged for days in key swing states, Joe Biden will become the 46th president of the United States, with a record-breaking vote count of at least 75 million votes, so far. The Mother Jones Podcast team has a bonus live podcast to tell you our instant analysis about how Biden clinched the deal. We discuss the historic moment of having Vice President–elect Kamala Harris become the first Black woman, the first woman of South Asian descent, and the first daughter of immigrants to hold that position, and the threat that Trump will not allow a peaceful transition of power at the White House. Our host Jamilah King (and in-house expert on all-things Kamala) speaks with Mother Jones DC Bureau Chief David Corn—who called in from the Biden Welcome Center on the Delaware Turnpike—about what’s next for a deeply divided country in the middle of multiple national crises, and what happens next.
Wed, November 04, 2020
No Clear Outcome. No Clear Rejection of Trump. Now We Wait.
Exhausted from staying up much too late, we are all trying to figure out what happened now that the final day of voting is over in one of the most important elections of our lives. The presidential results are still too close to call. There was no landslide victory. There was no clear repudiation of Trump and the GOP, either. Now we may have to wait for days, possibly weeks—depending on how vote counting and court battles play out—to find out if Trump or Biden won. Election results from Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada, North Carolina, and Georgia are still trickling in. The Mother Jones Podcast is here to help you make sense of a crazy election night with a live “day after” election special. What exactly happened not just last night but with this whole election? Where do Trump and Biden stand in the drag-out fight to 270 electoral votes? In this episode, some of your favorite Mother Jones Podcast regulars join Jamilah King to analyze the initial results and talk about the big picture. You'll hear from Washington DC Bureau Chief David Corn, who joined us to discuss the big trends from the night, and where to look for results next. You'll get to the bottom of the Miami-Dade count that cost Biden Florida, with reporter Noah Lanard; and you'll hear about the likely flipping of Arizona—yes, another confusing story—with our reporter Fernanda Echavarri. As the president fumes and threatens to steal the vote, all there really is to do is wait. And remember, the team here at Mother Jones is staying focused on the facts, the context, and the story behind the headlines. This race is not over yet.
Fri, October 30, 2020
Staying Sane During America's Coming Constitutional Firestorm
We are days out from what could be the most high-stakes election of our lifetimes. If Trump loses, will he go quietly? Which parts of the constitution will he trample on the way out? If Trump wins, how much more can American institutions take—and what recourse will Congress have to hold him to account? Our Deputy Washington D.C. Bureau Chief Dan Schulman got the chance this week to pose all these questions and more to a real expert on this stuff, Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, during a special Mother Jones livestreamed event this week. Early in his career, he was an assistant attorney general in Massachusetts and he served as general counsel of Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition. (One piece of trivia: Congressman Raskin once represented Ross Perot when he was frozen out of the 1996 presidential debates.) He’s a member of the judiciary and oversight committees, where he has investigated the Trump administration’s politicization of the census, white supremacist infiltration of law enforcement, the mistreatment of immigrants in for-profit detention centers, and other issues. Raskin didn't hold back during Dan’s conversation about his fixes to democracy, describing the Republican Party as "a mass religious cult surrounding an organized crime family." He noted: “A failed state, that’s where we are right now. A failed state is one that doesn’t protect the population against disease, against random gun violence, against people getting into office and using it as an instrument of money-making and private corruption. We’ve become a banana republic under this guy.” We're bringing you this conversation, lightly edited, for today's bonus episode of the Mother Jones Podcast.
Wed, October 28, 2020
Live Special: How to Survive Election Night (and Beyond)
On today’s show: Everything you need to know about this infuriating, scary, hopeful, dumb, and exciting final sprint to the polls. Simply surviving this next week is going to be a feat of endurance—and then there’s election night itself. But don’t worry. We’re here. October surprises are a staple of every election cycle, and this time the Mother Jones Podcast is bringing you one of our own: our first-ever live show! Eight Mother Jones reporters from across the country joined host Jamilah King this week for a free-wheeling and informative Zoom discussion of the most important issues facing voters as the country staggers into the final week before Election Day on November 3. This all-star cast dissects Trump’s familiar smear tactics (he still thinks this is 2016) and what those latest polling and early voting numbers really tell us about the results. We tackle the question, “Could Trump still win?” and get into voter suppression, immigration, disinformation, and the weaponization of white supremacy—and how to stay calm as a patchwork of results roll in next week. Join Nathalie Baptiste, Ari Berman, Ali Breland, David Corn, Fernanda Echavarri, Pema Levy, Tim Murphy, and Kara Voght for an election episode unlike anything we’ve ever done before. We’re almost there. Now, it’s all come down to this. Rewatch the full livestream on YouTube or Facebook , or at motherjones.com .
Wed, October 21, 2020
How Biden Can Pull Off the Once-Unthinkable: Win Arizona
With less than two weeks to go before the election, the Mother Jones Podcast takes you to the major 2020 battleground state of Arizona. Turning it blue would be a real game changer for former Vice President Joe Biden's attempt to clinch the presidency and Democratic dreams for retaking the Senate. Once the cradle of Goldwater-style Republicanism, Arizona politics are shifting, due in no small part to its growing Latinx electorate, which increasingly tilts Democratic. The party cannot flip the state in November without strong turnout from Latinos, who make up nearly a quarter of the state’s eligible voters. Hanging in the balance are 11 Electoral College votes and a key race between Republican Sen. Martha McSally and Mark Kelly, the retired astronaut who’s married to former Democratic Rep. Gabby Giffords. As Mother Jones immigration reporter Fernanda Echavarri explains in this episode, if Joe Biden carries the state, he will owe his win to the Latinx organizers and activists who have spent the past decade building networks, not to support the Democratic Party but to protect their own community. Many of the young Latinx organizers trying to get out the vote were galvanized in April 2010, when Republican Gov. Jan Brewer signed one of the nation’s most extreme anti-immigrant bills. SB 1070 required police officers to ask about the citizenship status of anyone they stopped and suspected might be in the country illegally. Thousands of people took to the streets to protest, including young people who walked out of school in huge numbers for weeks. It wasn’t just young adults who were energized and enraged. The children who saw their parents live in fear or lost family members to deportation are now old enough to vote: An estimated 100,000 Latinx potential voters have turned 18 since the 2018 midterms. Now, the forecast models have Biden slightly favored to win, and the former Vice President is ahead four points in the RealClearPolitics average of state polls. Latinx activists might be closer than ever to doing the unthinkable and flipping Arizona—if Democrats don’t take them for granted.
Wed, October 14, 2020
Trump, Guns, and 2020: One Hunting Family Tackles America's Biggest Debates
This week’s presidential debate may be canceled, but debates are still roiling around kitchen tables, on social media, and in family iMessage groups. It’s 2020 and opportunities for a fight are everywhere: Maybe you’re having a hard time convincing your parents to take masks seriously; or you and that cousin who is deep into conspiracy theories spread on YouTube are battling on Facebook about the election; or your partner or spouse is being a bit nutty about quarantine restrictions—too rigid or too relaxed. On today’s show, Mother Jones Podcast host Jamilah King talks to a father and two of his adult sons about one of America’s most fraught cultural battles: gun control. John Neal, 66, and his two sons Fisher, 36, and Tyler, 33, are all gun owners and avid hunters. But over the years, their views about gun control have evolved and, in some cases, diverged. The complexities of their views around guns are captured in One Shot One Kill , a new documentary film directed by Nancy Schwartzman that follows the three men as they embark on a deer hunting trip in rural Tennessee, a deeply held family tradition that connects the Neal family to the beauty of the land and the tradition of hunting. The Neals joined the Mother Jones Podcast team to talk about the film, and how some of the biggest issues of 2020 are playing out in just one conservative-leaning family. They get into the 2020 presidential election, the personal costs of partisanship if you break away from the tribe, the fight for the Supreme Court, the future of the National Rifle Association, and how to fight the scourge of vigilantism—all packed into a lively, civil, and quite personal discussion about gun control. We didn’t want you to miss this chance to eavesdrop on a conversation that’s taking place inside a gun-loving family. By capturing this intimate, cross-generational conversation, One Shot One Kill , produced by Chicken & Egg Pictures and co-presented by Mother Jones , portrays some of the nuance that can get lost in the national debate, as the men discuss which restrictions they support, and which bring them into conflict with their identities as sportsmen, environmental stewards, and, ultimately, with each other. Catch it at motherjones.com.
Wed, October 07, 2020
Trump’s Biggest Florida Influencer: A Cuban YouTuber with a Pet Monkey
Could one Cuban American Youtuber swing the presidential election? Four years ago, social media and the stars who populate its platforms already exerted an outsized influence on the election. In 2020, influencers are wielding even greater power. With a handful of swing states set to make all the difference in this election, today's show takes you to Florida, where intense scrutiny is swirling about the direction of the Cuban American vote, again: A recent poll found that 56 percent of recent Cuban immigrants were planning to vote for Trump this summer, up from 22 percent four years before. If Trump squeezes out a win in Florida, 41-year-old YouTube star Alex Otaola and his generation of Cubans will likely be among the people he has to thank. Older Cubans, who fled after Fidel Castro took power in 1959, are generally considered the reliable Republican voting bloc. But the younger generation, including Otaola, has moved sharply to the right in the Trump years. A cohort of Cuban immigrants that was supposed to be the friendliest to Democrats now appears to be the most Republican one—a dramatic recent shift that has stunned Florida-watchers. Noah Lanard, an immigration reporter at Mother Jones, went to Miami to explore Otaola's massive online appeal, an act that smashes together elements of Jerry Springer, Judge Judy, Entertainment Tonight, and Breitbart. If Florida comes down to the wire again, this YouTube influencer with a pet monkey might have a big influence on the outcome of the 2020 election.
Wed, September 30, 2020
Trump's Trashy Debate Performance Proved Biden's Point: This Choice Is Stark
The first presidential debate of the 2020 election was a night of sound and fury, signifying Trumpian nihilism. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden was visibly trying to stay calm and focus on the camera and speak as directly as possible to the American people—while President Donald Trump attacked, interrupted, and talked over everyone, moderator Chris Wallace included, whose 11th hour recommitment to the rules of the debate came far too late to somehow contain the wreckage. The experience of watching the debate was unlike any other in American history, debasing democracy thanks to Trump's careening performance. Typically we ask: who won and who lost? But today, that question seems less relevant: This was about a stark choice, laid bare. On today’s show, we’re bringing you some next-day analysis from Mother Jones ’ DC Bureau Chief David Corn and DC-based reporter Nathalie Baptiste. They get into the mind-boggling contrast between Donald Trump and Joe Biden on the debate stage, the racism embedded in the debate topics, and whether you might have any reason at all to feel hopeful as November 3 approaches.
Wed, September 23, 2020
After RBG: Our Fight for Democracy Just Got More Desperate
Trailblazing Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died last week at 87. President Trump now has the opportunity to remake the court for a generation by replacing R.B.G. with a staunch conservative. On today's show: What happens next? Mother Jones's voting rights reporter Ari Berman discusses what the scorched-earth Republican strategy reveals about the fairness of American democracy, and the battle for free, fair elections come November 3. Ginsburg’s death comes as President Donald Trump is already trashing the Constitution to stay in power: His attacks on the postal service and the census are laying the groundwork to steal the election. Ari tells host Jamilah King that by eroding Americans’ confidence in the census, the administration may already be accomplishing its goal of rigging the count in its favor. And if voters are afraid to vote in-person believe that postal delays will cause their mail-in ballots not to be counted, they may decide not to vote at all. The extraordinary efforts to undermine the mail and census should prepare us for the possibility of an even more egregious abuse of power to keep Trump in office. Now, with another Supreme Court pick during his presidency, a contested election could be decided by a court with yet another conservative Justice ready to side with Trump. How much damage can he do now, and can it be reversed?
Wed, September 16, 2020
CNN's Brian Stelter: Inside the Toxic Trump-Fox Feedback Loop
It is impossible to tell the story of President Trump's rise to power without understanding his relationship with Fox News. Together they form one of modern America's most defining duos, argues CNN's chief media correspondent Brian Stelter, who documents their symbiotic dance his new book, Hoax: Donald Trump, Fox News and the Dangerous Distortion of Truth . Through countless interviews with sources at various of levels of power inside Fox, Stelter reveals how the wildly popular cable channel has subordinated its journalistic integrity to Trump's political interests, while setting the daily agenda for his administration. "Every day's a new episode," Stelter told Mother Jones Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery, during a recent livestream event hosted by the Commonwealth Club of San Francisco. "Certainly Fox programs his presidency that way." The title of Stelter's book was inspired back-to-back use of the word "hoax" by Trump and Hannity, to describe the emerging coronavirus crisis in the U.S. Both Trump and Fox downplayed the threat at the outset, a deadly error for which they face dual culpability (but zero accountability from Fox brass)—a travesty made all the more apparent following the recent release of Bob Woodward's tapes . This conversation between Brian Stelter and Clara Jeffery is the centerpiece of an episode that explores the toxic feedback loop deepening the crisis in American journalism and democracy.
Wed, September 09, 2020
Young. Black. Gay. Heading to Congress. Meet the Ascendant Mondaire Jones.
Mondaire Jones is on the brink of making history. He is in line to become one of the first Black gay men to serve in the US Congress after winning the Democratic primary for New York’s 17th congressional district in June—part of a new class of diverse candidates upending expectations and tapping into a fervour for outspoken progressivism championed by the likes of Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. His policy positions mark him out as part of an influential insurgent Left—making the New York Congressional candidate a darling among grassroots activists—but along with the Working Families Party, he also scored endorsements from liberal mainstays like former President Barack Obama to the New York Times . He’s pro-Green New Deal. He opposes all new fossil fuel infrastructure. He supports Medicare for All and a $15 minimum wage. On today’s episode of the Mother Jones Podcast, Jones tells host Jamilah King what it was like to campaign during the coronavirus crisis, how growing up poor and Black influenced his progressive policy positions, and why running a historic race can feel surprisingly lonely. Alongside Ritchie Torres, an Afro-Latino gay man who won his primary race in New York’s 15th congressional district, Jones stands ready to join the increasingly diverse members of Congress that represent an insurgent left-wing of the Democratic party on Capitol Hill.
Wed, September 02, 2020
QAnon Is Infecting Congress. How the Wild Conspiracy Theory Went Mainstream.
As recently as March, "QAnon" was still a mostly fringe phenomenon. The conspiracy theory, which posits that a vast Democrat-led pedophile racket operates at the heart of the U.S. government, was well known among President Donald Trump's hardcore MAGA base, but too hot for anyone in the mainstream to touch. But this summer, the world's darkest and most outlandish political conspiracy is gaining new adherents and influence among conservatives. That's what Mother Jones's Ali Breland reported this month, after a recent press briefing in which President Donald Trump gave an approving answer that the QAnon community has been eagerly awaiting: "I don’t know much about the movement other than I understand they like me very much," he said. "I’ve heard these are people who love our country." Trump's not alone. The movement has demonstrated real and growing power. Michael Flynn, the former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency and Trump’s first national security adviser, boldly aligned himself with the conspiracy theory on July 4th, when he posted a video reciting a common QAnon motto; QAnon enthusiast Marjorie Taylor Greene just won the primary election for Georgia’s 14th Congressional District; several other Republicans running for Congress have shared QAnon hashtags and used its catchphrases. Followers have been able to launch harassment campaigns so big and vitriolic that several high-profile targets—Wayfair, Oprah Winfrey, and Chrissy Teigen—felt the need to publicly respond. Q’s followers have also mobilized to antagonize and harass a state senator in California in a vicious attempt to get him to drop legislation aimed at addressing LGBTQ inequality. QAnon’s damage is too big to ignore, and so we’re replaying a refreshed and updated version of our February 2020 episode featuring reporter Ali Breland, who takes you inside the conspiracy, traces its roots, and assesses its future.
Wed, August 26, 2020
Progressive Prosecutors Are Frontline Fighters in the New Culture War
One reason that the nomination of Kamala Harris is so fascinating is that it comes at a time when we’re completely rethinking criminal justice in the United States. And Kamala Harris was a prosecutor . From her time as San Francisco district attorney and as California’s attorney general, critics argue that she locked up parents of truant children , left a potentially innocent man on death row , and didn’t support a measure mandating statewide standards for police body cameras. She caught a lot of flack over her criminal justice record during the Democratic primary, especially from the progressive wing of the party. Even so, Kamala Harris labels herself a “progressive prosecutor.” She’s far from alone. But what does that label even really mean? On today’s show, you’ll meet two women who call themselves progressive prosecutors, and hear what it means to reform the system from the inside, while becoming the face of a different kind of culture war. First: St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, who was reelected in a landslide victory during this month’s primary, championing police accountability and diversion programs to incarceration. But her progressive approach has made her a target for the Republican establishment. Missouri’s Republican governor Mike Parson is trying to decrease her power. And now she has been rendered a TV villain by pro-Trump pundits for prosecuting RNC stars Mark and Patricia McCloskey , who went viral after brandishing weapons at Black Lives Matter protesters in June. Next up, you’ll meet Satana Deberry. When she took the oath of office as district attorney of Durham County, North Carolina, in January 2019, it was a momentous occasion—for the city of Durham and for her, as a Black woman elected to an office historically held by white men, whose “tough on crime” policies have devastated communities of color for decades. She ran her campaign being vocal about the over-policing of Black and Brown folks, promising sweeping reform. Now, more than a year into office, sh
Wed, August 19, 2020
The Biggest Night of Kamala Harris's Life
Wednesday night will mark the biggest accomplishment in the already-dazzling career of Senator Kamala Harris, when she takes to the (virtual) stage at the 2020 Democratic National Convention to accept her party’s nomination for vice president. The culmination of many “firsts” accumulated across decades by the 55-year-old Californian, this week, Harris will become the first Black woman and the first woman of Indian decent to run on a major party ticket. But she has always been a barrier-breaker. On this episode of the Mother Jones Podcast , our in-house Harris expert , Jamilah King, traces the senator’s political awakening back to her progressive-minded Indian mother, and charts her formative years as San Francisco District Attorney, her elections first as Attorney General of California and then as Senator, to this historic moment—on the precipice of a historic run for the White House. This time Jamilah will occupy the interviewee hot seat, while Mother Jones reporter Fernanda Echavarri takes over hosting duties, guiding listeners through a detailed assessment of Harris’s time as a prosecutor (and its potential political baggage), her forceful Senate appearances as inquisitor (and antagonist) of Trump appointees, and what her presence on the ticket means for presidential hopeful Joe Biden—and the country.
Fri, August 14, 2020
"We Know How to Lead." Rep. Barbara Lee on Kamala Harris and the Unifying Power of Black Women
Representative Barbara Lee is a big fan of fellow Californian Senator Kamala Harris. Last year, she was the first high-profile politician to endorse Kamala Harris' bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. After Joe Biden clinched the top spot in the Democratic primaries, the former vice president's eventual choice of running mate was obvious, at least for Lee. "Kamala should be president," she said last week in a livestream conversation with Mother Jones Podcast host Jamilah King, just days before Harris got the nod. But Veep is the next best thing. “We know how to lead," Lee said of the power of Black women in the Democratic party, and beyond. "We know how to help regain the soul of America. And we have our unique history in this country to be able to lead out of the White House as president and vice president.” This wide-ranging interview also touches on Rep. Lee's deep history of fighting for justice. She has insisted on a seat at the table at the highest echelons of political power for years. She's served as one of the few Black women in Congress for nearly three decades. She worked on Shirley Chisholm's campaign during Chisholm's historic bid for the White House in 1972—a campaign after which Kamala Harris modeled her own. Now Lee is at work on Capitol Hill trying to get Republicans to deliver much-needed economic relief in a wrecked economy. Listen to this special Friday bonus edition of the Mother Jones Podcast to hear the full conversation, recorded as part of a livestream event on August 6, 2020. The full video is available on Mother Jones ’ Youtube, Facebook, or Twitter accounts.
Wed, August 12, 2020
I'm a New Dad Freaking Out About Pandemic Day Care. So I Called the Expert.
With schools and parents around the country facing tough decisions about safety and education, one author and academic has become something of a hero to parents everywhere for her sane, data-driven approach to surviving parenting during a pandemic. Emily Oster, a Brown University economist, is the pregnancy and early childhood guru for millennial parents. Expecting Better and her 2019 followup, Cribsheet , rethink the pregnancy-and-baby-literature cannon by adding something that’s been lacking: empiricism. Oster separates the good studies from the bad and lays out the best evidence to answer such critical questions as whether it’s safe to eat sushi while pregnant. Now, as the country finds itself in a fraught and deeply partisan fog of confusion about child care and education, Oster decided to apply the same type of analysis to COVID-19 research as she did to pregnancy and parenthood, through her newsletter and a website she co-authors with Harvard medicine professor Galit Alter and a team of researchers, called COVID-Explained . Aaron Wiener, a senior editor in MoJo’s DC bureau, spoke to Oster to see if she could bring together her research on young children and on COVID-19 to answer key questions about returning to school and day care facilities. And as a new dad himself (Cole is now 10-months-old), Aaron asks her for her guidance on what his young family—and all the other parents out there—should be considering as they decide whether it’s advisable to send their kids back to school.
Wed, August 05, 2020
An Unhinged President Declares War on Protesters. (No, Not Trump.)
An embattled president. A mass movement. A military used against citizens. We’ve been here before. In Mayday 1971, thousands of anti-Vietnam War protesters descended on Washington DC to try to shut down the federal government. By 10:30am, more than 5000 protesters had been arrested, stuffed into overflowing jail cells—eventually police had to commandeer RFK Stadium to accommodate all the arrests. It was America’s largest act of mass civil disobedience and ended in America’s biggest mass arrest: over 12,000 people. The Pulitzer-prize winning editor Larry Roberts joins the podcast this week as we bring to life this incredible moment in history. From President Nixon’s unconstitutional tactics, to dragnet mass arrests, to streets filled with teargas, to some unexpected support for these illegal actions from the future Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court, Roberts gets into the untold story of Mayday 1971. It is impossible to ignore one more important fact: This historical event carries eerie echoes of the moment we’re living through today. Roberts’ full investigation is detailed in his book, Mayday 1971: A White House at War, a Revolt in the Streets, and the Untold History of America’s Biggest Mass Arrest , which is out now.
Wed, July 29, 2020
Samantha Bee: What Using the C-Word Taught Me About Trump-Era Comedy
Samantha Bee doesn’t think comedy will take Trump down. She calls her craft “impotent beyond belief” in the face of the daily presidential wrecking ball. But then, the creator and star of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee thinks preaching to the choir is absolutely fine—moral, even.“Talking to the people that you agree with is very good,” she tells Washington D.C. bureau chief David Corn, in this wide-ranging conversation recorded onstage at the Comedy Cellar in New York City. “I think it’s important to have as many voices as possible just go, ‘This is wrong. I disagree with this. This is how it should be. We’re not all crazy!” When she started, Bee felt sure that airing just six episodes would result in the whole show being canceled for being too sharply opinionated. Now she thinks of her weekly, Emmy Award-winning ( and just re-nominated ) program—in its fifth season despite the pandemic—as “my own little historical record of this age.” It’s become a platform from which to educate, commiserate, and shock, with a panoply of facts, jokes, and mini-seminars about how the hell we got here and how to fix it. And she couldn’t care less if her critics call her an activist.“Look, when you have a show, you’ve got to do something with it,” she tells Corn. “To not use it to do something with it in a time of great distress feels like a huge waste to me. Why wouldn’t you?” This interview, taped in February, is part of a limited series co-produced by Mother Jones and the Comedy Cellar, the venerable stand-up venue. Don’t miss Corn’s recent interviews with Debbie Harry and John Leguizamo by subscribing to the podcast.
Wed, July 22, 2020
Debbie Harry on Blondie, Bowie, and Bees
Debbie Harry is an icon, punk rock star, and self-proclaimed spokesperson for bees. As the frontwoman of Blondie, she came up through the avant-garde art scene in 1970s New York, trading artistic inspiration with Andy Warhol, Basquiat, and Patti Smith. After breaking into the mainstream with its 1979 album Parallel Lines , Harry and the rest of the band have been bending musical genres ever since. In this raw and in-depth interview with Mother Jones DC Bureau Chief David Corn, Debbie Harry opens up about her past and her compulsive creative drive. She shares stories about what it was like breaking into the male-dominated music industry, why she loves David Bowie, and how she came up with her alter-ego Blondie. Plus, she shares how she is using her fame to protect the honeybees. Corn’s interview with Harry is one in a series of several notable guests featured over three episodes of the Mother Jones Podcast . It’s a special summer interview series with a very “2020” origin story: Earlier this year, the coronavirus pandemic stalled work on a new podcast, co-produced by Mother Jones and the Comedy Cellar, but not before three fascinating guests joined Corn for in-depth interviews about art, politics, comedy, and the philosophies that infuse their work. These chats were too good to simply shelve; last week we heard from actor and comedian John Leguizamo, and next week we’ll hear from talk show host Samantha Bee.
Wed, July 15, 2020
John Leguizamo on Trump, Dirty Jokes, and Whitewashing Latinx History
Actor, activist, author and educator John Leguizamo loves that his comedy makes people feel angry. In his 2018 one-man Broadway show, Latin History for Morons , the 55-year-old star splices jokes with history about the genocide of Native American people, his experience being racially profiled in the United States, and a welter of statistics about the underrepresentation of Latinx people in American media. Born in Colombia and raised in Queens, New York, Leguizamo grew up seeing negative portrayals of Latinx people in Hollywood and in the pages of the New York Times. This feeling of being an outsider, of not belonging, was a power that he eventually came to value—and harness as fuel for his comedy and acting career. In January, Leguizamo sat down with Mother Jones’s DC Bureau Chief David Corn onstage at the Comedy Cellar, the historic New York City stand-up venue, to talk about his work, ego, process, and his favorite subject⁠: Latinx history. Corn’s interview with Leguizamo is one in a series of several notable guests featured over the next three episodes. It’s a special summer interview series with a very “2020” origin story: Earlier this year, the coronavirus pandemic stalled work on a new podcast, co-produced by Mother Jones and the Comedy Cellar, but not before three fascinating guests joined Corn for in-depth interviews about art, politics, comedy, and the philosophies that infuse their work. These chats were too good to simply shelve; in the coming week’s you’ll also hear from music icon Debbie Harry, and talkshow host Samantha Bee.
Wed, July 08, 2020
Screaming and Christmas Trees: A Beloved Rehab's Dark Side
Over nearly five decades, Delancey Street Foundation in San Francisco has built a reputation as one of the nation's highest-profile rehab centers and prison diversion programs. It's earned a cult-like following among judges, politicians, and celebrities, including Nancy Pelosi, Dianne Feinstein, Gavin Newsom, Jane Fonda, and Clint Eastwood. But Delancey it has been subject to little oversight or scrutiny. On this episode of the Mother Jones Podcast, senior reporter Julia Lurie investigates an eccentric program with a number of long-standing practices that are rarely discussed in public. Participants work long hours with no pay, get not mental health services, are forbid from using psychiatric medications, and undergo rituals that some describe as psychological torture. Many Delancey alums credit the program's tough-love approach with saving their lives. But for others, it led to their unraveling.
Wed, July 01, 2020
"Our Job Is to Unlearn All That Shit": Actor Diane Guerrero Reckons With Whiteness in Hollywood and Beyond
You might recognize Diane Guerrero for her roles in big TV shows like Orange is the New Black , Jane the Virgin , and Doom Patrol. Off-screen, Guerrero has used her very public platforms to engage in activism and political causes. On Instagram, on Twitter, and in two books, Guerrero brings her deep knowledge and adept campaigning skills to the fight for immigration, voting rights, and racial justice reform. Mother Jones immigration reporter Fernanda Echavarri recently interviewed Guerrero for a live conversation that was streamed across Mother Jones ’ social media platforms. Today’s podcast is an edited version of that conversation. Echavarri and Guerrero dig into their personal experience with racism in the Latinx community, the horrors of ICE detention, the current Black Lives Matter movement, and why the whiteness of the entertainment industry, on-screen and off, is such an urgent problem.
Wed, June 24, 2020
Lies. Lies. Lies. Lies. How Much More Can America Take, Mr. President?
Donald Trump loves to lie. We know that. But as the editor and chief writer of the Washington Post’s “Fact Checker,” it’s Glenn Kessler’s job to keep count. Donald Trump has earned over 18,000 Pinocchios from the “Fact Checker” team for his many, many falsehoods, exaggerations, and outright lies. On this week’s episode of the Mother Jones Podcast, Washington DC Bureau Chief David Corn interviews Kessler about his new book, Donald Trump and His Assault on Truth , which he co-wrote with his “Fact Checker” colleagues Salvador Rizzo and Meg Kelly. Kessler gets into all of it—lies about the coronavirus, about rallies, about climate change—and assesses what might happen if Trump's lies are allowed to thrive for another four years.
Wed, June 17, 2020
Defunding the Police Is Only the Beginning
After spending the last decade covering America’s criminal justice system, one thing is clear to activist, journalist and scholar Josie Duffy Rice: a grab-bag approach to policy reform isn’t going to fix all the problems with policing in America. Josie is the president of The Appeal, a non-profit news publication focused on criminal justice, and the co-host of the podcast, "Justice in America". She has been working in the weeds on issues that many Americans are now paying attention to in the wake of George Floyd’s killing—issues like police brutality, bloated police budgets, surveillance, pre-trial detention, cash bail, and the disproportionate police presence in communities of color. On this week’s show, Josie joins Jamilah King for a discussion about the recent police killing of Rayshard Brookes in Atlanta, the deep racist and classist structural issues with policing in America, and why defunding the police is only step one.
Wed, June 10, 2020
"Bigotry Is a Lethal Weapon": Ibram X. Kendi's Guide to Fighting Racism
As national protests extend into a second week, associate producer Molly Swartz surveys the intersection of America’s twin crises, by profiling a group of out-of-work chefs hit by coronavirus closures who have banded together to provide protest-sustaining food in New York City. Also on the show, you’ll hear a repeat of our 2019 interview with Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, whose book, “How To Be An Antiracist”, has climbed to third place on the New York Times bestseller list in the wake of the renewed protest movement, as Americans everywhere engage with his ideas about how to combat racism and the systems that abet it. Kendi combines searing autobiography with pointed analysis to show just how deeply racism is woven into our national—and global—fabric. He argues that the opposite of a racist isn’t someone who’s not racist , but instead an antiracist— someone who acknowledges how race has been constructed, and works actively against it.
Wed, June 03, 2020
This Summer Will Be Long, Violent, and Necessary
George Floyd was confronted by police in Minneapolis and effectively choked to death as an officer knelt down on his neck before a crowd of onlookers. In a swelling of outrage, protesters have taken to the streets in dozens of American cities, calling for justice and reform. Floyd’s death follows on the heels of Ahmaud Arbery’s, Breonna Taylor’s, Tony McDade’s—all black American killed at the hands of police and white vigilantes over the past few months. Militarized police forces have responded to the protests with a level of violence not seen in the United States since 1968. On today’s show, Mother Jones reporters take you to the scene across the United States—from Minneapolis, where the protests began, to New York City and Los Angeles. We hear from two activists on the ground in Minneapolis, fighting fires and evacuating residents from white supremacists. We visit a rum bar turned food supply center in a Minneapolis food desert. We also go to the scene of protests across New York City. And we hear from activist Lex Steppling, who has a plan to defund the police.
Wed, May 27, 2020
The Unprecedented Challenge of Grieving 100,000 Americans
By the time you listen to this episode, COVID-19 will have likely killed more than 100,000 people in the United States—more Americans than the Revolutionary, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan Wars combined. Experts say the real tally is much higher. It's a devastating moment in a crisis that has already destroyed families, pushed nearly 40 million Americans out of work, revealed a government crippled by feeble leadership, and thrown daily life into chaos. How do we recognize that behind each death was a unique human life? How do we honor individual victims amid the tsunami of grief? It's hard. We don't have easy answers for you. But we do have some ideas. Rebecca Makkai, best-selling author of “The Great Believers", an epic about the AIDS crisis, discusses how she depicts the long tail of grief, and outlines lessons from one pandemic for another. Also on the show, scholar Elizabeth Outka, whose book "Viral Modernism: The Influenza Pandemic and Interwar Literature" traces the impact of the 1918 flu on 20th century literature, describes how American culture was utterly altered by that tragedy, and provides cues for how art can help memorialize the dead during this one.
Wed, May 20, 2020
Celebrate Pandemic Workers. Then Fight Like Hell for Their Rights.
Every night, Americans across the country clap and make noise for the essential workers keeping our country afloat. But when the clapping ends, the deadly work continues, sometimes under deadly conditions. The pandemic has exacerbated the absence of essential workplace protections for these workers—in meat processing plants, supermarkets, and packing warehouses. On this episode of the podcast, two Mother Jones reporters talk to two top economists who are trying to change the way labor works in the United States: former Labor Secretary Robert Reich and President Obama’s former top economic adviser, Gene Sperling. From the inaction of the labor department, to the role of unions, to economic dignity for low-wage workers, these two insiders have a lot to say about the state of labor in the United States. The pandemic has exposed the lack of worker protections in times of prosperity, much less in times of crisis. The question is: how quickly can change really come?
Wed, May 13, 2020
Exclusive: Stacey Abrams on Trump's Existential Threat to Voting
On today’s show, an exclusive, wide-ranging interview with former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, the Democratic powerhouse who launched voting rights initiative Fair Fight after her 2018 loss to now-Gov. Brian Kemp. Mother Jones’s voting rights reporter Ari Berman asks Abrams if the coronavirus crisis will add even more obstacles to voting in America. Abrams holds fast to her belief that there’s no reason for elections in November to be disrupted by the pandemic. “We were able to vote during the Civil War, we were able to vote during the Spanish flu of 1918, there is no excuse for not holding our elections in 2020,” Abrams says. Berman also asks about the challenges to the 2020 census, Kemp’s response to COVID-19, and the dangerous attempt to suppress voters during the Wisconsin primary in April. Abrams is also crystal clear about how she sees the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed 25-year-old Black man in her state in February: It’s “murder,” she says. Watch the full interview on our Mother Jones Youtube channel, Facebook or Twitter pages, or at motherjones.com.
Wed, May 06, 2020
Fight Trump with Science. Fight Trump with Data. Fight Trump with Facts.
From flattening the curve to pharmaceutical trials, the story of the coronavirus pandemic is a story told using science and statistics. Every day brings a torrent new information about the number of deaths, the number of hospital beds, the number of unemployed workers, or the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine or ibuprofen. But as President Trump tries to spin the numbers in his favor, using whatever spin and disinformation he can, sorting through the garbage science takes knowledge and fortitude—and a few handy journalistic tools everyone can use. On today’s episode of the podcast, you'll hear from two Mother Jones journalists who can help. Sinduja Rangarajan and Jackie Flynn Mogensen have been sifting through scientific studies and data sets since the start of the pandemic. They’re sharing tips and tricks for separating the useful information from the disinformation. With a global pandemic at stake, getting accurate information has never been more important.
Wed, April 29, 2020
Trump's 100 Days of Deadly Coronavirus Denial
It’s been 100 days since the first case of the coronavirus was diagnosed in the United States. And it's been 100 days of the Trump administration denying, deflecting, and shifting blame. What can the first 100 days tell us about the upcoming presidential election? How will Trump’s leadership (or lack thereof) during the pandemic affect him politically? How is Joe Biden adjusting to a remote campaign? On this week’s episode, Jamilah King talks to Mother Jones’ DC bureau chief David Corn and senior reporter Tim Murphy. They get into Trump’s “blame China” strategy, Joe Biden’s podcast, and how a Tiger King cast member helped spice up a congressional candidate’s live stream event.
Wed, April 22, 2020
ICE Detainees Got Pepper-Sprayed After Demanding Coronavirus Help
The new coronavirus has brought tensions in detention centers to new extremes, but what happened on March 25 at Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s LaSalle privately run detention center was months of neglect in the making, and ghoulish in its ironies. This is the story—in the women’s own words—of how a presentation about a virus that attacks people’s lungs culminated in guards in gas masks pepper-spraying inmates and slamming the door shut. To reconstruct the horror for this podcast, Mother Jones immigration reporter Noah Lanard talked to detainee Jennifer Avalos Barrios, five dormmates, a woman who watched things unfold from a neighboring dorm, and many of their loved ones. Most are using their real names, a courageous decision at a time when GEO Group, which runs the facility, is retaliating against people who speak to the media. Even in a pandemic, getting out of the LaSalle “ICE Processing Center” isn’t easy. Nearly 1,100 of the 1,335 beds there were full earlier this month. While ICE has released some people with medical conditions that make them vulnerable to COVID-19, it continues to hold many more in tight quarters that make social distancing impossible. (ICE and GEO Group did not respond to requests for comment for this show.)
Wed, April 15, 2020
Elizabeth Warren and Adam Schiffs' Urgent Plans to Investigate Trump’s Coronavirus Disaster
On today’s show, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Adam Schiff provide an urgent roadmap for how to check presidential power in a pandemic. Mother Jones Washington DC bureau chief David Corn interviews the top Democrats about investigating what Trump knew about the potential pandemic, when he knew it, and how to track the taxpayer dollars being dished out from Trump’s $500 billion coronavirus "slush fund". Few people know more about financial oversight during a crisis than Warren. She led the congressional panel that monitored how billions in federal bailout funds were spent—and misspent—following the 2008 crash. And Rep. Adam Schiff has been a relentless chaser of Trump corruption. He ran the House impeachment hearings, and led the House impeachment managers during the Senate trial. Schiff says he is now on the coronavirus case.
Wed, April 08, 2020
Online Learning During the Pandemic Is Extra Tough Where Wifi Is Illegal
Schools across the country have closed to slow the spread of COVID-19, and classes have moved online. For most students, disruptions to regular learning have been challenging enough. But for those without high-speed internet, even filing homework has become next-to impossible, resulting in plunging grades and widespread uncertainty. In today’s episode, the Mother Jones Podcast team takes you to a place where wifi is illegal: Green Bank, West Virginia. This small town is home to a super-sensitive radio telescope built in 1958 that scientists use to explore black holes and deep space. But closer to Earth, wifi interferes with the giant instrument, so it’s banned within a 10-square-mile radius. Meanwhile, hard-wired internet is mind-numbingly slow. Fifteen percent of students here don’t have internet access at home, while 30 percent don’t have access to a device that even connects to the internet, no matter where they are. Producer Molly Schwartz talks to students, teachers, and librarians in Pocahontas County about what it’s like to do distance learning in a place where the internet infrastructure just can't deal, revealing the nation's entrenched digital divides as the pandemic shakes the education system to its core.
Wed, April 01, 2020
I Beat COVID-19. But I Can’t Donate My Blood for Research Because I’m Gay.
What happens inside your body after you recover from COVID-19? What are the chances that survivors will develop immunity? And how should the legions of soon-to-be recovered think about their usefulness—to scientists and society—in this altered world? These questions got very personal for the Mother Jones Podcast team after our executive producer, James West, tested positive for COVID-19. James is recovering and feeling better. Now, as a survivor, he wants answers to questions that are of great importance—to himself, to doctors, to researchers, and to a planet fighting a pandemic. Is he immune to the disease? If so, for how long? Can he donate his plasma to exciting new trials? How close are doctors to finding a vaccine? In this episode, you’ll hear James’s conversation with Kamal Khanna, an immunity specialist at NYU School of Medicine. You’ll also learn about the FDA’s antiquated restriction on plasma donations, and how the stigma from a past pandemic are hurting our chances of fighting this one. You’ll also here from Peter Staley, the veteran AIDS activist whose groundbreaking work helped erode medical and regulatory barriers to fight HIV. He talks about how to channel the rage you might be feeling about political inaction into lasting change, while dishing on private dinners with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert.
Wed, March 25, 2020
Doctors on the Pandemic Frontlines Speak Out
On the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic, there’s a dire shortage of supplies and a deadly surplus of bad information. Dr. Michael Brumage, the medical director of Cabin Creek Health Systems in West Virginia joins host Jamilah King to sound the alarm about the critical shortfalls of resources needed to fight the outbreak across the nation. Later in the show, Dr. Rob Gore, an emergency room physician, shares his experiences working and living in New York City, which has become the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic.
Wed, March 18, 2020
Many Restaurants May Never Re-Open After Coronavirus
The coronavirus pandemic is devastating the hospitality industry. Millions of Americans are in lockdown. Events are being cancelled. The day before the release of this podcast episode, New York City's restaurants and bars have been forced to stop sit-down service. In the midst of a crisis, the worst thing that could happen to the restaurant industry has happened. This week, we talked to restaurant owners in the Chinatown in Flushing, Queens. This is a thriving immigrant community, and food-lover’s paradise, that has been turned upside down by COVID-19. For restauranteurs already operating on slim profit margins, staying open during the shutdown was already near-impossible. The question is whether they’ll be able to reopen at all. Also on the show: you share with us your stories about stepping up to help others through the crisis, and they are seriously inspirational. Tune in for all sorts of strategies, big and small, for giving your community a helping hand.
Fri, March 13, 2020
Surviving Trump’s Border Crossing is Just the Beginning. Here’s What Happens Next.
The Trump administration has slammed the door on asylum seekers in the last year, forcing more than 60,000 migrants to wait upwards of a year in Mexican border cities as their cases moved through US immigration court. But on this latest episode, we take you to New Mexico to meet some of the select few asylum seekers who have defied odds to be admitted to the United States—and who now must face a new set of challenges as they settle into life here. Mother Jones' Fernanda Echavarri and Julia Lurie spend the day with a so-called family navigator from a local direct-services organization called Las Cumbres whose main job is to do "whatever the families need": from driving them around to a clinic to helping them enroll in school. Las Cumbres is a nonprofit that helps families with resources—including mental health services—in a city without the type of support systems that immigrants can find in bigger cities such as Los Angeles, New York City, or Chicago. Many newly arrived immigrants are often preoccupied with trying to find employment and a safe place to live first, before addressing any mental health issues. They've fled dangerous situations and traumatic experiences in their home countries before experiencing the infamous harsh conditions inside US immigration detention facilities. Mental health experts have said it can be difficult to recognize signs of trauma in these communities, not only because trauma shows up differently when they're still in the middle of processing it, but also because they are still in the middle of it with so much stress to handle.
Wed, March 11, 2020
I’m Self-Quarantined for Coronavirus After Attending Trump's Big GOP Love-in
Schools are closing. Workplaces are sending people home. The stock market is going berserk. Conferences and festivals are being cancelled. The coronavirus is already a major disruptive force as the disease spreads. But it didn't stop the Conservative Political Action Convention (CPAC) from hosting more than 19,000 attendees in late February. On March 7th day, organizers announced that one of those attendees had tested positive for the coronavirus. Many CPAC attendees have gone into self-quarantine, including five members of congress. Also under self-imposed distancing is Stephanie Mencimer, a Mother Jones reporter who was covering CPAC. Mencimer joined Jamilah King on the Mother Jones Podcast to talk about her experience, not only of the conference's aftermath, but of the swirl of coronavirus disinformation coming out of the White House. Also on the show: Mother Jones readers and listeners called into the Mother Jones Podcast to tell their coronavirus stories: total lockdown in Milan; cancelled college classes; struggling small businesses; and worries about the most vulnerable people in their communities. Touching stories from you, our listeners: thank you for sharing them.
Bonus · Fri, March 06, 2020
Sci-Fi Genius William Gibson's Trump-Free Alternate Reality
There are many alternate futures. But what if there were also ... alternate pasts? That's the premise of William Gibson's latest novel, Agency . Gibson is the pioneering science fiction writer who coined the word "cyberspace" and whose 1984 debut novel, The Neuromancer , is the book that inspired The Matrix. In, Agency, the second novel in Gibson's Peripheral trilogy, we've arrived back in 2017, at a fork of the past, called a "stub," in which Trump was never elected and Brexit never happened. In this universe, an app-whisperer named Verity Jane is testing a beta super-AI named Eunice, and crisis communication expert named Wilf Netherton has teamed up with a cop named Ainsley Lowbeer to try to avert nuclear war. In other words, it's a novel that looks unflinchingly at the importance of choice and the complex decision trees that could precipitate, or prevent, the end of the world as we know it. Mother Jones Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery sat down for a conversation with William Gibson at Public Works in San Francisco last January to talk about his new book. They discuss how politics has influenced his writing, how he uses his imagination to predict future realities, and how the real-life climate crisis intersects with his fictional imaginings of the end times.
Wed, March 04, 2020
Super Tuesday Special: Biden's Big Night. Bernie's Long Fight.
Our Super Tuesday Mother Jones Podcast special is all about the knock 'em down, drag 'em out battle for the Democratic party! If you're a math nerd, you might be in heaven. But if you thought tonight was going to provide some simple answers, no such luck. Because just as we're releasing this, it's all about the numbers—a bare knuckle-fight for delegates in a race for who will be the Democratic nominee. After a broad field and innumerable debates the race has basically boiled down to two men: former Vice President Joe Biden, and Vermont senator Bernie Sanders So on this week's Mother Jones Podcast, we're counting votes and analyzing the results with our Senior Reporter Tim Murphy, who joins the show from where Bernie's political career began in Burlington, Vermont. Also in the show: Inside Bernie Sander's California ground operation that he hopes will turn out a historic turnout of nonvoters and new voters determined to kick Trump out. Fernanda Echavarri reports from the Coachella Valley, California, where a band of young Latinx activists are knocking on doors, phone-banking, nagging their relatives, and trying to unleash the kind of wave of enthusiasm Bernie touts as his biggest strength. Did these efforts make a difference in the Golden State on Super Tuesday?
Bonus · Fri, February 28, 2020
Pramila Jayapal on Bernie's Historic Candidacy and Trump's Toxic Presidency
Pramila Jayapal, the freshman Democratic congresswoman from Washington, dubbed a" rising star in the Democratic caucus” by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, has been fighting for immigrants’ rights since waves of xenophobia swept the nation after 9/11, and is now one of Congress’s leading critics of President Donald Trump’s draconian immigration policies. Following a hectic few months serving on the House Judiciary Committee, championing Bernie Sanders as one of his campaign’s leading surrogates, and pushing Medicare for All legislation in Congress, Jayapal sat down with Mother Jones’ Editor-in Chief Clara Jeffery to discuss the 2020 race, whether or not “Bernie Bros” really exist, Trump’s immigration policy horror show, and so much more. Listen to this special Friday bonus edition of the Mother Jones Podcast to hear the conversation, recorded on stage in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco earlier this month.
Wed, February 26, 2020
How the QAnon Conspiracy is Adapting to Help Trump in 2020
Remember "Pizzagate"? That far-right fever dream about Hillary Clinton's allies running a pizza parlor child-sex ring turned out to be a precursor to QAnon, a bizarre and sprawling trove of pro-Trump conspiracy theories. Its strains have been mutating and adapting ever since 2017, finding new ways to infect our politics. Mother Jones' disinformation reporter Ali Breland and digital producer Mark Helenowski will take you inside the Trump rallies that served as offline nerve centers for the movement to ask supporters clad in Q-paraphernalia if the conspiracy is still alive and thriving, or has it peaked? They found that this once unmissable presence has faded to a crew of Q-diehards as a decline in the volume of related social media content took hold. But in an election year, QAnon is still shaping Trump's base and could be just one presidential tweet away from roaring back to life stronger than ever. Listen to hear how this far-right mega-conspiracy lives on, and about the danger it poses to an election already steeped in disinformation.
Wed, February 19, 2020
She Killed Her 3 Kids. Does She Belong in Prison?
In March 2014, Carol Coronado was a new mother who committed an unthinkable act of violence: She stabbed and killed her three daughters, who were all under the age of three. Coronado's lawyer unsuccessfully argued that she was in the grip of an acute mental illness when she attacked her children. The judge said he thought Coronado was suffering from a mental condition and then sentenced her to three consecutive life terms without parole. In this week’s episode of the Mother Jones Podcast, host Jamilah King is joined by KQED health reporter April Dembosky to talk about her yearlong investigation into a devastating but under-reported condition called postpartum psychosis. The condition afflicts one to two moms out of 1,000 births, but psychiatrists believe that could underestimate the frequency because the symptoms are so easy to miss. Dembosky constructs and analyzes the data behind postpartum psychosis and looks into how the health care and legal systems could better serve women affected by this frightening condition. This radio documentary was first aired on KQED's California Sunday Magazine show earlier this month.
Wed, February 12, 2020
How Bernie Sanders Won New Hampshire
Mother Jones is on the ground in New Hampshire, reporting from the candidates’ after-parties following Sen. Bernie Sanders’ second win in the state’s Democratic primary. Calling in from Sanders’ victory party is senior reporter Tim Murphy, who weighs in on the tight race between the Vermont senator and former South Bend, Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg. Reporter Russ Choma fills us in on the latest from Buttigieg's celebration, who came in second in New Hampshire following a narrow delegate win over Sanders in last week’s Iowa caucuses. And for the word on Amy Klobuchar’s surprising third-place finish, we’ll hear from politics reporter Kara Voght. Following a chaotic first week of the primary season, Mother Jones’ reporters iron out all the details you need to know as the race for the nomination moves forward.
Tue, February 04, 2020
What the Iowa Caucus Data Debacle Means
We're putting the Mother Jones Podcast out early this week to bring you the very latest from the Iowa caucuses. Democratic officials are scrambling to tabulate final results, blaming “inconsistencies” in the reporting data. But precinct-based volunteers running the contest slammed the party’s reporting app and said even calling in on the phones was causing problems. Tim Murphy has been criss-crossing Iowa reporting for Mother Jones, and in this show we'll take you right there, to his car, for his immediate reaction, and to hear what voters are saying. You'll also hear from our voting rights reporter (and Iowa native) Ari Berman, who analyzes what the debacle foretells for voting in America in 2020. And while we wait to assess the actual votes, Micah Cohen, the managing editor of FiveThirtyEight, examines the trends, as election season gets underway.
Wed, January 29, 2020
Trump Is Going to Get Off Scot-free. Or Is He?
President Donald Trump’s lawyers have now concluded his impeachment defense on the floor of the Senate. A verdict—probably acquittal—is nigh. Or is it? In these final days and hours of the Trump impeachment saga, new bombshells keep exploding. A leak this week of a draft book manuscript by former National Security Adviser John Bolton's book heightened pressure on the handful of Republican senators able to green-light new evidence, or allow the trial to come to a speedy conclusion. On today’s show, you’ll hear from Mother Jones DC bureau chief David Corn who attempts to answer questions at the center of this week's drama: What does John Bolton know? Will any Republican Senators defect from the party line? What's the deal with Kenneth Starr and Alan Dershowitz? The Trump presidency has been marked by scandal, corruption, and dirty deals. These next few days will determine whether it can survive impeachment intact.
Wed, January 22, 2020
Van Jones: Liberals Can Work With Trump to Make America Better
America is hopelessly divided. That's what we're told. Look no further than the Senate impeachment trial for evidence: If Republicans work with Democrats, Fox News and tribal partisans will expose them to Trumpian fury, or so the narrative goes. But how true is this dim view of America's future, really? On this week's episode, we feature a guest who has received backlash and back-slaps for trying to knit together disparate interests in a deeply partisan world: Van Jones. The CNN star worked in the Obama White House as the “Green Jobs Czar” and currently heads the Reform Alliance, which advocates for criminal justice reform. While Jones has repeatedly called out Trump for being a bigot and a bully, he caught major heat from fellow progressives when he publicly praised Trump and the Republican party for their work on the First Step Act, an important reform that ultimately led to around 7,000 people leaving prison. Late last year, our Washington DC bureau chief David Corn joined Van Jones onstage for a live event at George Washington University and asked him: When do you compromise? When do you cooperate? And what to do when you find yourself caught in brutal partisan crossfire?
Wed, January 15, 2020
Trump Is an "Existential" Threat: Ilana Glazer, Eric Holder, and 2020
As the 2020 presidential election approaches, efforts to suppress the vote are endemic. In this week’s episode, Mother Jones reporter Ari Berman talks to President Barack Obama’s attorney general, Eric Holder, about some of the most insidious voter suppression tactics, from draconian voter ID laws to partisan and racial gerrymandering, in a wide-ranging conversation moderated by "Broad City" star Ilana Glazer. The shindig, co-presented by Mother Jones, is part of a live event program run by Glazer called "The Generator Series", during which she attempts to break down complex ideas about democracy, policy, and being a good American citizen. Glazer invited Holder to discuss his recently launched campaign, the National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC), which fights to create fair voting districts, and Berman, whose work illuminates the history behind why we vote the way we do in the US. Together, they identify flash points in the ongoing battle for this foundational American right.
Wed, January 08, 2020
My Brother Fled Australia's Climate-Fueled Inferno: "It Was a War Zone"
Australia's wildfire emergency has no end in sight. This is what scientists warned would happen, and now it is: runaway wildfires of unprecedented scale and destruction are raging around Australia. At least 25 people have been killed, and about 3,000 military personnel have mobilized to assist in the evacuation of about 100,000 residents across the country's South East. The toll on the ecosystem remains less clear, but a widely reported estimate puts the number of wildlife killed at 480 million (not including frogs, bats, or insects.) Today, you'll hear from Marc West, the brother of our executive producer James, who managed to evacuate with his family from one of the hardest hit regions just as the crisis mounted. You'll also hear from one of the world's most prominent scientists studying the intersection of climate change and extreme weather, Michael Mann, who happens to be in Australia witnessing this disaster unfold firsthand. Note: since recording parts of this episode, the reported death toll from the bushfire crisis has risen to at least 25. The estimated numbers of homes destroyed and acres burned have also continued to increase.
Wed, January 01, 2020
The Political Fight that Will Shape 2020—and Beyond
Happy 2020. Today, we’re bumping an episode from May 2019 back to the top of your feed because it’s about a fight that will come to define so much of what happens this year in American political life: Voting rights. One Supreme Court case discussed in this episode is about adding a question to the U.S. Census that would have asked everyone if they were a citizen. The other case is about partisan gerrymandering. Since we first recorded this episode, both major cases have been decided. Census ballots have been sent to the printer without the citizenship question. And the Supremes rejected efforts to rein in partisan gerrymandering. But the underlying issues are still very much at play. The first votes in the Democratic primary get cast just next month, so we wanted to remind you of some of the biggest hurdles facing voters this year. We get into it with the director of ACLU’s voting rights project, Dale Ho, and our very own Ari Berman.
Wed, December 25, 2019
How to Burst Your Reality Bubble and Embrace Lasting Solutions
On this Christmas Day edition of the Mother Jones Podcast , we replay our August conversation between veteran science journalist Ziya Tong and Mother Jones’ D.C. bureau chief, David Corn. Tong explains exactly how—despite the many wonders of the human brain—our minds can be hardwired to melt in the face of vast global problems by only allowing us to see what’s right in front of us. When considering tectonic movements of the global financial system, or the complex dynamics of climate change, humanity suffers from “scale blindness,” Tong writes in her book, "The Reality Bubble: Blind Spots, Hidden Truths, and the Dangerous Illusions that Shape Our World." She calls it a “warped perspective,” preventing us from seeing the enormity of what’s coming “until it’s a little bit too late.” But there is hope for busting out of the powerful systems we take for granted. A way to do this is to design a new “mental blueprint” for how we view the world, she says.
Thu, December 19, 2019
Trump's Name Will Be Stained By Impeachment Forever
For the third time in American history, the House of Representatives has voted to impeach the president. In this breaking news edition of the Mother Jones Podcast, our Washington DC Bureau Chief David Corn joins host Jamilah King to break down the political prospects for President Donald Trump as the Republican-controlled Senate prepares for its impeachment trial. Will it be fair? Will impeachment ultimately alter Trump’s 2020 prospects? And what about all his other misdeeds? Tune in to learn what happens next in Washington, and what we can expect from Trump as he aims to preserve a presidency hanging in the balance.
Wed, December 18, 2019
They Made a Killing on the Mortgage Crisis. Now They Run Trump's America.
Some of the people who screwed over American families during the Great Recession of 2008 are still around, and they're lurking in the shadows: they're in President Donald Trump's orbit, and in his cabinet. Steve Mnuchin. Wilbur Ross. These are just two swamp-dwellers who foreclosed on the sick and elderly during a time when millions of jobs were lost in the biggest layoffs since 1945. Now, some of these modern-day robber barons are helping write national housing policies. What does that mean for the American dream? Soon after the crash, Aaron Glantz, a senior reporter for Reveal, started going around San Francisco knocking on doors, meeting people who were falling back on their skyrocketing mortgages and about to give into the banks. He noticed something strange. These homes were being foreclosed on, bought, and sold by the same few people, and they were making a killing. Glantz wrote about it in his recent book "Homewreckers", which was released in October. On this show, he tells host Jamilah King how the swamp creatures from the mortgage crisis are being resuscitated by Trump.
Wed, December 11, 2019
We've Never Seen a Primary Season Quite Like This
In just under two months, the first votes will be cast in the Democratic presidential primary. While the epic national drama of impeachment plays out in Washington, candidates are charging through town halls, living rooms, diners, stadiums, and community centers. There are spats and drop-outs and surprises and, yes, even new entrants, as dividing lines, new and old, are litigated and dirty laundry is aired. In other words: a campaign. And Mother Jones reporters are there. For today's show, host Jamilah King is joined by Mother Jones politics reporters Tim Murphy and Kara Voght to talk about Kamala Harris's shock drop-out and what it says about diversity amongst the Democratic field frontrunners; the entrance of billionaire Michael Bloomberg; the surge of Pete Buttigieg in Iowa, and the Great Transparency Wars of 2020; and so much more. Get on the campaign train with Mother Jones.
Wed, December 04, 2019
Trump's Stealth Attack on Skilled Migration
President Donald Trump has said he welcomes "brilliant" skilled immigrants to the United States. In this week's episode, Mother Jones senior data reporter Sinduja Rangarajan investigates the Trump administration's efforts to build a bureaucratic wall to keep out these very immigrants. As part of a 8-month collaboration with Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, she reports on how the administration has been rejecting record numbers of applications for coveted H-1B "tech visas," spreading confusion and panic among visa holders, some of whom have lived in the country for years. She also built a database that documents an unprecedented flurry of lawsuits alleging that the administration is applying the H-1B rules arbitrarily and in violation of the spirit of the law. Listen as Sinduja profiles an Indian immigrant who saw his life suddenly upended and as she talks about her own connection to the story.
Wed, November 27, 2019
Trump Is Winning the Border Wars. For Now.
The Trump administration touts its “Remain in Mexico” policy as resounding success. Critics call it cruel and illegal. What’s unquestionable is that Trump has made it virtually impossible for migrants to seek asylum in the United States, leaving tens of thousands of migrant families stuck in limbo in crowded shelters and tent camps in Mexico’s border cities. Reporters Fernanda Echavarri and Julia Lurie travel to Ciudad Juárez to examine the colossal impact of a policy that has become the new normal at the border.
Wed, November 20, 2019
The Republican Conspiracy Frenzy Can Only Protect Trump for So Long
On our first big impeachment podcast show, Mother Jones Washington D.C. Bureau Chief David Corn gives you the latest news direct from the hallway outside the House Intelligence Committee room on Capitol Hill, reacting to the partisan theatrics as they unfold on live television, while detailing the mounting case against Trump. Then you’ll hear from editor and reporter Hayes Brown, the host of the new daily podcast from BuzzFeed and iHeartRadio, Impeachment Today. Brown will help you get to the bottom of one of the biggest emerging themes: the weaponization of conspiracy theories and misinformation to intimidate and incriminate witnesses. It can be mind-boggling to understand all the moving pieces and multitudinous cast members on this impeachment stage, but Hayes breaks it down with a big shot of energy, and lots of laughs. And finally: you know how everyone compares Trump to Richard Nixon? In fact, MoJo podcast favorite Tim Murphy returns to the studio to explain why the closest historical precedent to this Trump scandal is not Watergate, but the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson. Keep up-to-date with all things impeachment on our daily Impeachapalooza blog at MotherJones.com/impeachment. And here are some of the stories you heard during this episode: “Republicans Spent the First Day of Impeachment Hearings in an Alternate Reality” , by David Corn. “ Impeachment Day 3: Republicans Continue Their Attack on Reason and Reality ," by David Corn. Buzzfeed + iHeartRadio’s Impeachment Today Podcast “Trump’s Not Richard Nixon. He’s Andrew Johnson ," by Tim Murphy. Follow us on Twitter @MoJoPodcast .
Wed, November 13, 2019
A Fearless Pop Superstar Navigates Hong Kong’s Violent Stand-Off
Hong Kong resembles a war zone. Twenty-four weeks after millions demonstrated against a Chinese extradition bill, violent clashes between protesters and police are worse than ever. For this episode of the Mother Jones Podcast, host Jamilah King talks with Denise Ho, one of the most prominent leaders of the pro-democracy movement. Ho is an award-winning singer and songwriter who has been putting out hit albums since the late 1990s. But now, since becoming a political activist, her music has been banned in mainland China. Listen for a detailed analysis of what it’s like in Hong Kong today, Ho's opinions about the NBA Twitter dust up, and thoughts on the role of celebrity in this moment of political crisis. (And stay for a special performance, right at the end.)
Wed, November 06, 2019
We Got 8 Presidential Candidates to Confront the World's Biggest Threat
Climate change is quickly becoming the defining issue of the 2020 presidential election. How the next American president confronts that threat will define where we live, what we eat, and how nations will survive. Despite the urgency, there hasn’t been a true forum for presidential candidates of both parties to thoughtfully discuss their plans to halt current climate. That changes Thursday night.⁠ The Weather Channel has teamed up with Climate Desk, a partnership of 18 media organizations working together on covering climate change (started by Mother Jones), to deliver an hour of climate conversations with nine candidates—five Democrats and three Republicans. It's called “2020: Race to Save the Planet,” and the special airs with limited commercial interruption Thursday, November 7 at 8 p.m. ET.⁠ On today's episode of the podcast, you'll get an exclusive preview from ⁠hurricane expert Dr. Rick Knabb from the Weather Channel, alongside Mother Jones's climate reporter Rebccea Leber, and you'll hear from candidates who visited communities on the frontlines of the current climate crisis: in the floodplains of Charleston, South Carolina; in South Bend, Indiana, and Dubuque, Iowa; as well as in Paradise, California, which was devastated by the Camp Fire almost exactly a year ago. We asked the top frontrunners to participate, and six Democrats and three Republicans said yes. We met with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) The Weather Channel interviewed Republican presidential hopefuls, too, including ex-Massachusetts governor William Weld, former Illinois Congressman Joe Walsh, and former South Carolina governor Mark Sanford.
Wed, October 30, 2019
Ronan Farrow on How NBC Almost Derailed #MeToo Before It Began
Ronan Farrow’s reporting on Harvey Weinstein’s serial predatory behavior has earned a Pulitzer Prize. But in the months leading up to publication, a major news behemoth tried to kill the story. In Farrow’s latest book, "Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators", he tells the story of how NBC executives worked for months to try to kill the Weinstein story. Farrow unspools the remarkable tale with Mother Jones Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery at a live event in San Francisco earlier this month.
Wed, October 23, 2019
Inside the US Marshals' Secretive, Deadly Detention Empire
The US Marshals Service detains tens of thousands of people every day in jails across the United States, and thanks to President Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration policies, that number is approaching historic highs. The Marshals are supposed to safeguard pre-trial detainees, but journalist Seth Freed Wessler's reporting reveals that America’s oldest law enforcement agency is suffering from a massive dereliction of duty—telling the story of widespread neglect, and deaths inside a system plagued by a lack of accountability. Seth teamed up with the award-winning radio producers behind NPR's Latino USA to produce this radio documentary based on his explosive reporting. For the full story for Mother Jones, reported in partnership with Type Investigations, visit http://www.motherjones.com/marshals .
Wed, October 16, 2019
Trump's Reckless Gift to ISIS
President Donald Trump's sudden withdrawal of United States forces from Syria last week has pitted US allies against each other, liberated ISIS prisoners and terrorist detainees, strengthened the positions of Syria and Russia, and left the region in turmoil. Without US troops preventing Turkish forces from attacking the Kurds—who had been longtime US allies in the fight against ISIS in northern Syria—Turkey has swept into the region, with 160,000 civilians on the run, according to the United Nations. Now Turkey is bombing Kurdish territory and attacking Kurdish fighters and civilians. In 2018, Mother Jones reporter Shane Bauer traveled to Syria to document merica's involvement in one of the 21st century's bloodiest conflicts. He met the Kurds who Trump effectively gave Turkey permission to kill. On this week's episode of the Mother Jones podcast, Bauer talks to host Jamilah King about what it's like on the ground—and what's next. Also on the show, our sister podcast Bite has a new series about how climate change is affecting your food. Hosts Maddie Oatman and Kiera Butler give you the highlights from "Eating in Climate Chaos."
Wed, October 09, 2019
Naomi Klein’s Blistering Warning: Fight for Your Lives.
Naomi Klein is a veteran activist and environmentalist, and author of the new book, “On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal,” which argues that the dire urgency of the climate crisis is now a global five-alarm fire. Klein details the entrenched systems, social prejudices, and political patterns that have now fused into a singularly existential threat—and shows how those in power, on every level, have refused to act against impending peril. Klein joins Mother Jones editor-in-chief Clara Jeffery on stage for this special live (and lively) recording in Oakland, California.
Wed, October 02, 2019
Trump's Unexplained $50 Million Loan. Is It Tax Fraud?
Donald Trump’s massive debts—he owes hundreds of millions of dollars—are the subject of continuous congressional and journalistic scrutiny. But for years, one Trump loan has been particularly mystifying: a debt of more than $50 million that Trump claims he owes to one of his own companies. According to tax and financial experts, the loan, which Trump has never fully explained, might be part of a controversial tax avoidance scheme known as debt parking. Yet a Mother Jones investigation has uncovered information that raises questions about the very existence of this loan, presenting the possibility that this debt was concocted as a ploy to evade income taxes—a move that could constitute tax fraud. On today's show, host Jamilah King interviews Mother Jones investigative reporter Russ Choma about his dogged Trumpworld financial reporting, and the fresh questions it raises about Trump's debt.
Wed, September 25, 2019
History Comes Knocking for Donald Trump
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday afternoon announced plans to launch formal impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump. In recent days, a growing number of Democrats have argued that Trump’s efforts to pressure Ukrainian leaders to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son could be grounds for removing the president from office. “This is a violation of his constitutional responsibility,” Pelosi said in televised remarks on Tuesday evening, accusing Trump of betraying his oath of office. “This is a violation of law." Washington DC bureau chief David Corn, and foreign influence and national security reporter Dan Friedman join host Jamilah King to discuss how a secret whistleblower complaint against Donald Trump rapidly transformed from a trickle of news into a full blown torrent that finally broke the dam.
Wed, September 18, 2019
I'm Racist. You're Racist. The System Is Racist. Now What?
For most of his life, Ibram X. Kendi admits he was a racist. He’s a black man, raised predominantly in black neighborhoods, and received an undergraduate degree from Florida A&M University, a historically black college. His upbringing was solidly middle class and Christian. He was not particularly focused on showing the world that black people could be twice as good as their white counterparts. Even so, he calls himself a racist. In his new book, "How to Be An Antiracist," author and professor Kendi combines searing autobiography with pointed analysis to show just how deeply racism is woven into our national—and global—fabric. He argues that the opposite of a racist isn’t someone who’s not racist , but instead an antiracist— someone who acknowledges how race has been constructed, and works actively against it. This week’s episode of the Mother Jones podcast features Kendi’s thoughts on antiracism, his writing process, and why this conversation is especially important in Trump’s America. Later in the show, we talk to Elizabeth Warren supporters at a big New York City rally about how they would convince Trump fans to switch their votes and back the Senator from Massachusetts in 2020.
Wed, September 11, 2019
Searing 9/11 Stories from the Day that Changed Everything
On the 18th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, a new book recasts one of America's darkest days in strikingly personal terms by weaving together survival stories in minute-by-minute detail. National security and politics reporter Garrett Graff joins Mother Jones D.C. Bureau Chief David Corn to talk about his new work of oral history, “The Only Plane in the Sky: The Oral History of 9/11”, which unearths untold stories of those who experienced the attack first-hand, and paints the events of that world-shifting day in new and vibrant ways. "9/11 was the hinge upon which our modern world turned," Graff tells Corn. "It's unfathomable to me how you understand America in 2019 without understanding that Tuesday morning in September, 18 years ago."
Wed, September 04, 2019
“Our President Is Unstable”: A Senator Tears into Trump's Reckless Racism
Late last year, Senator Jeff Merkley was one of the first national politicians to blow the whistle on the Trump administration's detention of unaccompanied migrant children on the southern border. The Democratic senator sat down with Mother Jones editor-in-chief Clara Jeffery at the Commonwealth Club last week, where he spoke in no uncertain terms about the administration's pattern of targeting of immigrants, the trauma caused by incarceration, and why the future of the United States hinges on kicking Trump out of office.
Wed, August 28, 2019
Rapsody’s Newest Album Is a Rapturous Celebration of Black Womanhood
Grammy-nominated rapper Rapsody joins host Jamilah King to discuss art, politics, and what keeps her going in these turbulent political times. Her new album, Eve, pays homage to a diverse number of black women and the mark they’ve made across generations of music and culture—from Sojourner Truth, to Oprah Winfrey, and Michelle Obama.
Wed, August 21, 2019
A Radical Idea for Reclaiming Our Toxic Reality
Science journalist Ziya Tong joins Mother Jones D.C. Bureau Chief David Corn to explain how, despite the many wonders of the human brain, we suffer from "scale blindness", a dangerous state that hardwires us to melt in the face of vast global problems. Her new book, "The Reality Bubble: Blind Spots, Hidden Truths, and the Dangerous Illusions that Shape Our World," is about our many in-built inabilities to combat complex issues like climate change—and what we can do to bust out of the powerful systems we take for granted. “I want to start from scratch," Tong tells Corn. "I want to start thinking about things in a way that is a little bit more focused and clear-headed—once you're able to see through the reality bubble, that is.”
Wed, August 14, 2019
Epstein, QAnon, and the Conspiracist in Chief
Just hours after financier Jeffrey Epstein’s apparent death by suicide, President Donald Trump retweeted a conspiracy theory alleging the Clinton family’s involvement in killing the accused sex trafficker. So what better time to bring you this in-depth conversation with writer Anna Merlan, whose book "Republic of Lies: American Conspiracy Theorists and Their Surprising Rise to Power" has only become more and more relevant as the conspiracist in chief amplifies yet another sinister lie. Merlan has spent years diving deep into the world of conspiracy theories. The result is a meticulously researched firecracker of a book, documenting incidents as early as the burning of ancient Rome, and as recently as the many conspiracy theories that bedeviled the 2016 election. Our assistant news editor Becca Andrews talked to Merlan to understand the roots of this increasingly powerful phenomenon, and discuss how inequality and racism beget conspiracy—and why empathy is important when writing about true believers.
Wed, August 07, 2019
El Paso’s Nightmare Is America’s New Normal
In the wake of twin shooting tragedies that killed 31 people last weekend, Mother Jones takes you to El Paso, Texas. Host Jamilah King speaks to MoJo immigration reporter Fernanda Echavarri, who spent time at a makeshift memorial outside the Walmart where chaos erupted on Saturday at the hands of an anti-immigrant killer, to hear from a community reeling from its worst nightmare come true. Also in this episode, Jamilah speaks to MoJo disinformation reporter Ali Breland about the inspiration mass shooters derive from uncensored message boards in the darkest corners of the web, and what can be done to stem the flow of white nationalist hate.
Wed, July 31, 2019
Trump Killed the Era of Great American Diplomacy
Longtime US diplomat Richard Holbrooke was many things: Ambassador to Germany, Assistant Secretary of State, the man who resolved the intractable war in Yugoslavia, and, to many… a womanizing, social-climbing jerk. While the storied career statesman saw “power the way an artist sees color,” as one former military leader put it in 2009—the year before Holbrooke died at 69—another former colleague described him as the “diplomatic equivalent of a hydrogen bomb,” leaving few survivors after being deployed. On this week’s episode of the Mother Jones Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery sits down with award-winning journalist George Packer from the Atlantic, whose new book, "Our Man: Richard Holbrooke and the End of the American Century," chronicles the life of this American foreign policy giant, whose career and trajectory extended from Vietnam to Afghanistan. His story is particularly timely, just as Trump’s GOP pulls the country ever-further into isolationism and nativism, alienating allies and praising dictators. In a narrative that manages to toggle between being deeply learned and a beach-book page-turner Holbrooke is revealed as an undeniable icon of America’s global influence, but also as a flawed operator who often let his ego get in the way amid bouts of “dick-swinging diplomacy.” This conversation was recorded in front of a live audience at City Arts and Lectures in San Francisco in May, and is featured here as part of the Mother Jones Podcast’s summer series of fascinating conversations with journalists, artists, and activists about how their work interacts with some of the biggest debates of the day.
Wed, July 24, 2019
Gun-Safety Activist Shannon Watts on How to Fight Like a Mom and Beat the NRA
On today's show, Shannon Watts discusses her meteoric rise from stay-at-home mom to the NRA's worst nightmare, with Mother Jones’ editor-in-chief Clara Jeffery, during a taped live event at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco in June. After the Sandy Hook massacre, Watts created a Facebook page and was soon inundated by others from all over the country who wanted to get involved. In the six years since, the grassroots organization, Moms Demand Action, has grown into one of the most effective gun reform groups in the country. Legions of dedicated mothers show up in red shirts to lobby members of Congress, state legislatures, and companies into supporting gun reform. So far, they’ve pushed 20 states into passing gun-safety legislation and have successfully persuaded Starbucks, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and other businesses into banning to ban firearms from their stores. Now, with her new book, "Fight Like a Mother"—part-memoir, part-guide for activists—Watts hopes to continue to empower more people ahead of the all-important 2020 election season.
Wed, July 17, 2019
Critic Emily Nussbaum Says You Should Never Feel Shame for Loving that TV Show
On today’s show, we interview one of our favorite writers and thinkers, Emily Nussbaum, the Pulitzer prize-winning TV critic for the New Yorker. Nussbaum is the author of a new collection of essays called “I Like to Watch: Arguing My Way Through the TV Revolution”, released last month. The book is full of language she thinks we’re lacking in this so-called Quality Television era: language about unabashedly loving the TV shows you love, without being shamed into calling them “guilty pleasures” by snooty cultural gatekeepers. Nussbaum talks to Mother Jones assistant news editor, Becca Andrews, about being Jane the Virgin mega-fans, and the messy task of critics who need to wrestle with certain male artists as the MeToo era forces painful new assessments of their work.
Wed, July 10, 2019
An Unaccompanied Minor's Online Detective Work Is Giving Hope to Others
Coming of age inside America's immigration nightmare: As a 17-year-old, Carlos fled Honduras with hopes of seeking asylum in the United States. He did so on his own, as an unaccompanied minor, without a parent or guardian looking out for him—and that’s how it’s been for most of his life. When Carlos was four, his father was killed and, soon after, his mother left him by a dumpster, abandoning him to a life on the streets. Carlos grew up homeless in a city where a teenage boy is expected to work with gangs or be killed by them. So last fall, he joined the migrant caravan and made the trek north. But once he reached the US border he was forced to wait for months, and with his 18th birthday fast approaching, he grew anxious at the possibility of not being able to ask for asylum as a minor. Carlos is one of more than 56,000 unaccompanied children and teens US Customs and Border Protection encountered along the border with Mexico since October. We bring you his story of survival and how he turned to Facebook to make a family of his own.
Wed, July 03, 2019
"Intentional Cruelty": AOC Tells Us What She Saw Inside a Migrant Detention Center
Exclusive interview: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has used social media and a cunning instinct for politics and publicity to build a megaphone that rivals Donald Trump’s—especially regarding the US detention of migrants who enter the country at its southern border. On Monday, Ocasio-Cortez was part of a 16-member congressional delegation that got a rare glimpse inside three highly fortified migrant detention facilities, which she has referred to as “concentration camps.” Congressional staffers had privately worried that officials would sanitize and curtail their tour inside, but the visit turned out to be more revealing than anyone had expected. A Mother Jones contributor, Jonathan Katz, accompanied the delegation to the sites, though reporters were not permitted inside. Later, he sat down with Ocasio-Cortez to get her perspective on what had happened during the day, how we got here, and where things might go next. Listen to our Q&A with the congresswoman who has catapulted the issue to national attention
Wed, July 03, 2019
Tennessee Is Accelerating Executions. I Went to See Why.
On this week’s episode, we take you deep inside the system that sustains the world’s harshest punishment. Mother Jones reporter Nathalie Baptiste travels to Tennessee where a death row inmate was recently put to death, a community leader speaks about forgiveness in the face of heinous crimes, and the daughter of an executed man pleads with the state to test DNA evidence that could clear her father’s name.
Wed, June 26, 2019
Betrayal. Torture. Escape. An American ISIS Wife’s Exclusive Tell-All.
The finale of "Behind the Lines": An American woman says she was tortured by ISIS, survived the US-led assault on Raqqa, escaped the Islamic State, and now wants to go home. Senior reporter Shane Bauer meets Samantha Elhassani at a sprawling refugee camp in northeastern Syria. But two months later, she is sent to the United States on a military cargo plane and brought before a federal judge, becoming the first American woman to be charged with terrorism-related crimes after living inside ISIS territory. Bauer traces her story back to Indiana and looks at the events leading to her husband’s decision to take her and their young family to Syria’s front lines. Bauer investigates Elhassani’s role in her husband’s enslavement of three Yazidi children, and looks at how her and the government’s competing claims may play out in her upcoming trial.
Wed, June 19, 2019
Inside an ISIS Prison
Beneath a crumbling soccer stadium in Raqqa, in northeast Syria, is a maze of narrow corridors and underground cells where ISIS once held its prisoners. In this installment of our “Behind the Lines” podcast series, Mother Jones senior reporter Shane Bauer tours these abandoned tunnels with a former prisoner who recounts the atrocities that happened beneath the stands where he’d watched soccer matches as a boy. Pro-ISIS graffiti still covers the walls of the cramped rooms were prisoners were kept in darkness, released only to be interrogated, tortured, and fed ISIS propaganda. While some prisoners made false confessions and were beheaded, others tried to save their lives by accepting their captors’ religious message; some escaped by joining ISIS. In this episode, Bauer provides an inside look at the place where ISIS held its captives and created new recruits.
Wed, June 12, 2019
My Secret Journey to the War America Can't Escape
Introducing "Behind the Lines", a Mother Jones Podcast series featuring senior reporter Shane Bauer’s exclusive, on-the-ground reporting in Syria. A year in the making, this series contains never-before-heard audio from one of the 21st century’s bloodiest conflicts, including an interview with the first American woman charged with terrorism-related crimes for joining her husband in ISIS territory. Bauer takes listeners inside an abandoned ISIS prison; hunts for clues about a devastating US-led air strikes; and travels to a battlefront where a proxy battle between superpowers is fueled by oil and gas fields. Episode One goes to the bombed-out city of Raqqa, the former ISIS stronghold, where forensics teams conduct the harrowing work of uncovering thousands of bodies from the rubble. The city was liberated in 2017 following an intensive four-month siege and bombardment by US-led forces as part of President Donald Trump’s aggressive escalation of the war against ISIS in Syria. By early 2018, when Bauer visited, as much as 80 percent of the city’s buildings had been destroyed or damaged; Amnesty International called it “the most destroyed city in modern times.” Bauer follows the heartbreaking daily routine of 16 rescuers with no more lives to save; now their grim task is retrieving bodies throughout the city. In this episode, Bauer talks about why he embarked on this risky trip into Syria and discusses the shifting web of combatants that makes the war so difficult to comprehend. Our podcast series is being released at the same time as an in-depth package on MotherJones.com presenting Bauer’s in-depth report and riveting videos from behind the lines. For more, visit: motherjones.com/syria .
Wed, June 05, 2019
Happy Pride. Here’s What We’re Fighting For.
Happy Pride Month! This week marks the start of annual celebrations for the LGBTQ community in what has been a turbulent year in the fight for equality. On the one hand, queer communities are more visible than ever. Pete Buttigieg, the openly gay mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is running for president, and the 2018 midterms ushered in an unprecedented number of LGBTQ elected officials at all levels of government. On the other hand, President Donald Trump has become more aggressive in pushing forward with banning transgender people from joining the military. It’s also a historic pride year, marking half a century since the revolution at a small New York City bar that started it all. On this show, you’ll hear from two Stonewall veterans who were there, and a filmmaker who chronicled the making of the LGBTQ movement before the uprising. You’ll also take a trip to Jacob Riis Beach, a historic summer haven for queer New Yorkers, where sun-lovers answer a simple yet surprisingly provocative question: What makes a queer space in 2019? Finally, a quick correction: In the podcast, we say the Stonewall uprising was half a decade ago. It was clearly half a century ago. Our excuse? Gays don’t age.
Wed, May 29, 2019
The Only State Lawmaker Who Lives on the Border
There are 7,383 state legislators in the United States, and many of them, it seems, want to do something about the border. But there’s only one state lawmaker who actually lives there. Poncho Nevarez can’t just see Mexico from his house; when the breeze is right, he can hit a golf ball there. That makes the 46-year-old trial lawyer and four-term Democratic state representative from Eagle Pass, Texas, a unique voice in the debate over border security. Getting the border right, in Poncho’s opinion, starts with listening to the people who live there. And Poncho has a lot to say. Buckle up: you’re going to Texas as our host, Jamilah King, interviews senior reporter Tim Murphy about his recent visit to Eagle Pass, Texas. You can read (and watch) more about Tim’s travels with Mother Jones’ digital producer Mark Helenowski at MotherJones.com.
Wed, May 22, 2019
Women Are Under Attack and Fighting Back
The key to covering the 2020 election? More women. From the #MeToo movement to the fight for workplace equality to the dystopian abortion bills popping up around the country, male supremacy is plainly on the agenda in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election. How should the media, particularly women in media, cover such a fraught moment? To help guide us toward an answer, MoJo's Jamilah King recently hosted two live events in New York City that brought together five women journalists of various ages and backgrounds. First, Jamilah spoke with Jessica Yellin, CNN’s former White House chief correspondent, at The Wing DUMBO, a women-only space in New York City, to discuss Yellin’s new novel, Savage News; the 2020 presidential election; the not-so-secret bro culture of cable news; and life after TV news. This week’s episode of the Mother Jones Podcast also contains highlights from another live event Jamilah hosted at Manhattan’s New School. The conversation features some of today’s leading women in media discussing the challenges and the hope of achieving equality in the industry: Imara Jones, a black transgender woman and host of The Last Sip on Free Speech TV; Antonia Hylton, correspondent and producer for Vice News Tonight on HBO; Kat Aaron, an organizer and producer at Pineapple Media; and Allie Maloney, senior politics editor at Teen Vogue.
Wed, May 15, 2019
Julián Castro's Anti-Trump Border Battle
Democratic presidential hopeful Julián Castro spoke with Mother Jones for this exclusive interview at one of his favorite restaurants in San Antonio. He told our immigration reporter Fernanda Echavarri that he’s still preaching patience—even though he’s recently been polling at around one percent in a very crowded field. This week, we hear from Castro, who remains upbeat and on message, on his top policy priorities: pushing universal health care with Medicare-for-All, addressing climate change while investing in sustainability, and putting forward “bold immigration legislation” that would give millions of undocumented immigrants a legal path to citizenship.
Wed, May 08, 2019
Trump Is Rigging the Census
The US census is conducted every 10 years and determines how hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funding is allocated, how much representation states receive, and how political districts are drawn. But next year’s could be different: The Trump administration wants to add a question asking for the respondent’s citizenship. Voting rights experts say such a move has the potential to derail the entire census—and shift power to the Republican Party for the next decade—because it will greatly reduce the number of people willing to participate. If large numbers of immigrants, for example, don’t respond to the census, which has not asked about citizenship since 1950, the areas where they live could lose federal funding and representatives in Congress, and economic and political power could shift to whiter and more Republicans areas. Three federal courts have struck down the citizenship question so far, and it was recently in front of the Supreme Court. On this week’s show, host Jamilah King talks about what’s at stake now with Dale Ho, the director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s voting rights project who recently went up against the government in oral arguments at the high court, and Mother Jones’s voting rights guru Ari Berman.
Wed, May 01, 2019
Want Access? Pay Your Way to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago.
This week, we take a hard look at the strange, swampy saga of President Donald Trump and a Florida spa entrepreneur. Li “Cindy” Yang is the former owner of the Jupiter, Florida, massage parlor where New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft was busted in February for allegedly soliciting prostitution. (She sold this location around 2012, and Kraft has denied the allegations.) Yang landed in the news after the Miami Herald published photos of Yang posing with President Trump and other Republican notables. But there was more to the story. In 2017, Yang and her husband had formed a business, GY US Investments LLC, that offered clients opportunities to “interact with the president…and other political figures” at Mar-a-Lago. Host Jamilah King chats with Dan Schulman, our deputy bureau chief in Washington D.C., and Dan Friedman, our foreign influence and national security reporter, about what know so far.
Wed, April 24, 2019
Doug Jones Explains How to Win in the South
In a nail-biting Alabama special election in 2017 to fill the Senate seat formerly held by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Doug Jones made history when he narrowly won against former state Supreme Court justice Roy Moore, who was accused of sexual misconduct, to become the state's first Democrat elected to the US Senate in 25 years. Jones’ improbable victory was celebrated nationally by Democrats because it represented a powerful, rare opportunity—the potential for Democrats to regain a foothold in the Deep South. The freshman senator has been in Congress for a little over a year, during which time he has served on committees that shape policy affecting senior citizens, health care, banking, and defense. He's kept a relatively low profile, particularly in comparison to more vocal freshmen like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her cohort, but he tells Mother Jones that's just not his nature. Jones, who plans to run for reelection next year, spoke with the Mother Jones Podcast earlier this month about what he’s learned since taking office and how the Dems can turn the tide in the South.
Bonus · Thu, April 18, 2019
The Mueller Report Is the Opposite of an Exoneration
The long-awaited report by special counsel Robert Mueller confirms what we already knew: that Donald Trump and his campaign privately interacted with Russia while Putin’s regime was preparing—and then carrying out—an attack on the 2016 US presidential election. On today's special edition of the show, host Jamilah King talks to Washington D.C. bureau chief David Corn about the ways in which Mueller has demonstrated the Trump-Russia scandal is neither a hoax nor a conspiracy theory, and how, even if Trump has not committed crimes, the president is guilty of many serious misdeeds and transgressions.
Wed, April 17, 2019
Columbine Changed Everything
The blitz of media coverage for this week’s 20th anniversary of the Columbine attack has once again put the perpetrators center stage. But school shooters and other would-be attackers have continued to be inspired by the pair who committed suicidal mass murder at their Colorado high school on April 20, 1999— a dynamic known as the “Columbine effect.“ Some have even taken pilgrimage-style trips from as far away as North Carolina and Washington state, to visit Columbine in suburban Denver before returning home to carry out their own shootings. On today’s show, we ask: What has changed in the last two decades in the way the media covers mass shootings? And what has changed in our resolve to finally do something about this crisis? Host Jamilah King talks with Columbine survivor Craig Scott, and Dave Cullen, a reporter who rushed to the scene that day, about their recollections and ongoing struggles. We also talk to Mother Jones’s own national affairs editor, Mark Follman, about investigating the growing problem of copycat shooters. Finally, Igor Volsky, founder and executive director of Guns Down America, shares reporting from his new book, “Guns Down: How To Defeat The NRA And Build A Safer Future With Fewer Guns,” which proposes a plan for defeating the ever-resolute National Rifle Association. Four interviews, reflecting four unique perspectives at this moment of remembrance and commemoration.
Wed, April 10, 2019
How One Border Town Beat Extremist Vigilantes
When gun-toting militants set up shop, this Arizona community got fed up and came together. Arivaca is a town of just 700 residents and sits 11 miles north of the Mexico border in a remote area of the Sonoran Desert. For about two decades, anti-immigrant vigilante groups have patrolled the region to try to remedy what they perceive as the federal government’s failure to secure the border. On this week's show, host Jamilah King sits down with journalist Eric Reidy and the town's "unofficial mayor" Ken Buchanan, to discuss how locals finally banded together to fight back, and what other cities and towns in America can learn from their success. Also in the show: Mother Jones Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery chats with actor Emilio Estevez about his new film, The Public.
Wed, April 03, 2019
Mayor Pete’s Plan to Beat Trump
Can an openly gay war-veteran millennial become president in 2020? This week’s guest is presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg, the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana, vying for a shot in a crowded Democratic field. In front of a sold-out crowd at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco last week, Mayor Pete, as he’s known to his constituents, had a candid conversation with Mother Jones Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery, in which he shared his plans to bring the rigor of running a small Rust Belt town to the White House. But first, he needs to beat President Donald Trump—and Mayor Pete says he knows how.
Wed, March 27, 2019
Donald Trump Should Probably Stop Dancing in the Street
We all craved a clear resolution after special counsel Robert Mueller submitted his report to Attorney General William Barr over the weekend. No such luck: We are left untangling what the combination of "no collusion" and "no obstruction" actually means, and the jury's out on obstruction of justice. Nonetheless, Trump has turned the result into an inevitable victory lap, with characteristic Trumpian vengeance. Speaking in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump said he had been victimized by Mueller’s investigation, and, ominously, he'd be taking "a look" at those he deemed responsible. So, where are we right now? Put simply, we are in a kind of political wilderness, without a roadmap, or an actual report to read, and lots of unanswered questions. In the podcast studio with host Jamilah King this week, David Corn, Washington, DC, Bureau Chief, and national security and foreign influence reporter, Dan Friedman help sort things out in the post-Mueller investigation world.
Bonus · Fri, March 22, 2019
Mueller Is Done. Trump Is About To Go Nuclear.
A special breaking news edition of the Mother Jones Podcast: Special counsel Robert Mueller has completed his investigation of the Trump-Russia scandal and submitted a confidential report to Attorney General William Barr. It is not yet clear if Barr will release a summary or any of Mueller’s findings to Congress. Barr said he notified congressional leaders in a letter on Friday evening that he “may be in a position to advise you of the special counsel’s principal conclusions as soon as this weekend,” according to the New York Times. So. Now what? The story is far from over—and Trump's war on the truth is set to ramp up. Joining host Jamilah King is Mother Jones's Washington Bureau Chief David Corn, who argues that instead of putting the controversy to rest, Mueller's report is about to release some serious partisan rancor.
Wed, March 20, 2019
How Tech Giants Gave the NZ Shooter More Firepower
Last Friday, at least 50 people were killed at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. While the perpetrator’s exact path to radicalization is still unknown, one thing has become increasingly clear: This was an attack crafted by the internet and for the internet, representing a new level of super-viral violence. The Christchurch shooter exploited an unwitting ally in the form of giant tech companies, who have proven themselves unable or unwilling to stop the spread of hate speech on their platforms. In doing so, he immediately turned some of America’s most profitable and influential companies into distributors of a lurid white nationalist recruitment video. Joining host Jamilah King are two experts on social media platforms and how they operate, Mother Jones reporters Ali Breland and Pema Levy. Also on the show, our National Affairs Editor, Mark Follman, describes how the rise of a global white supremacist movement combined with the rise of Trumpism, to create a highly combustible fuel for this kind of extreme violence.
Wed, March 13, 2019
Now Is the Time to Freak Out
Our guest today is David Wallace Wells, a deputy editor at New York Magazine, and author of a vividly distressing new book about the all-encompassing perils of climate change, called The Uninhabitable Earth . With every full-throated warning, on page after page, Wallace Wells fully embraces the notion that eloquently targeted fear can shake the public into action. He also presents a gripping argument that scientists, and others charged with sounding the alarm, have historically been far too timid, for fear of being branded "alarmist" or dismissed as leftist. Now is the time to panic, Wallace Wells argues. In fact, that moment passed long ago. So now what? Host Jamilah King helps listeners locate some moments of hope and optimism amid the fear.
Wed, March 06, 2019
The Real Border Crisis Trump’s Not Talking About
This week, we take a deeper look at what’s happening at the border. You'll go inside a Tijuana shelter where teenaged migrants—young boys and girls—are being held. They’re stuck, caught in legal limbo due to President Trump's deterrent policies. Host Jamilah King talks to Mother Jones immigration reporter Fernanda Echavarri about her recent reporting trip south of the border.
Wed, February 27, 2019
Rehabs Are Targeting and Trapping Opioid Users
On today's show, we hear the results of a nine-month investigation into how rehab recruiters are luring recovering opioid users into a deadly cycle. Mother Jones reporter Julia Lurie tells host Jamilah King about how some users are being wooed aggressively by rehabs and freelance “patient brokers” in an effort to fill beds and collect insurance money. These brokers scour social media and Narcotics Anonymous meetings for new customers. We get a glimpse into a broken system that’s harming, and sometimes killing, the very people it’s supposed to help, while lining the pockets of facility owners and their corporate bosses. It’s a growing business—and business is booming.
Wed, February 20, 2019
How to Finally Reboot the Oscars
Oscar buzz isn’t what it used to be. In recent years, the Academy Awards have been criticized—and rightfully so—for its lack of diversity and inclusion across members, nominees, and winners. Fraught with a host of issues this year, the spotlight on the night is brighter than ever. Joining host Jamilah King for a hilarious, blistering conversation about what the Oscars are getting right and wrong are April Reign, the founder of the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag, and Tre'vell Anderson, the Entertainment and Culture Director at Out Magazine.
Wed, February 13, 2019
So Many Candidates. Who Can Beat Trump?
As each new Democratic party candidate declares a bid for the presidency—and there have been a lot—there's a new surge of hand-wringing, speculation, and noisy fights over political baggage. Whether you like it or not: the 2020 race has already begun in earnest. But with so many new candidates, is it becoming easier, or harder, to tell who might pose the most serious threat to President Trump’s chance at a second term? Do Democrats want a street brawler, or a unifier? Joining host Jamilah King in the studio for this lively political panel is Josh Barro, business columnist for New York Magazine, and the host of "Left, Right & Center" and "All the President's Lawyers" for KCRW, and Andrea González-Ramírez, who covers news and politics for Refinery29.
Wed, February 06, 2019
The Maddening Fight for 6-Year-Old Moira Ermentrout
Moira Ermentrout was diagnosed with a rare disease when she was born. The six-year-old's list of medical problems is long and complex: she can't breathe on her own, walk, or talk, and she requires at-home assistance 24 hours a day. Factor in doctors appointments, occasional emergency visits, and equipment, the cost of Moira’s care can be crippling on her parents. Moira’s family now faces serious cutbacks to the critical medical care she needs to stay alive—as do thousands of children like Moira around the country, caught in the midst of state-by-state rollbacks. This week, we take a look at one family's fight against a healthcare system that is failing some of the most vulnerable among us.
Wed, January 30, 2019
Everyone Hates the State of the Union Address
The State of the Union address: What exactly is the point? On the one hand, Pelosi's Shutdown Smackdown put Trump in a corner by threatening to deny all that attention and adulation in a stately chamber during a primetime slot. On the other hand, maybe it's time to scrap this extravagant, over-baked format altogether? Host Jamilah King explores this time-honored presidential moment with two guests: James Fallows, staff writer at The Atlantic and former chief speech writer for President Jimmy Carter, and Jeffrey Engel, founding director of the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University. Rather than arguing the pros and cons, Fallows and Engel discuss what history can teach us about how to salvage the most important annual address of the presidency and turn it back into something both more traditional and more effective. But it wouldn't be possible to talk about any of this, of course, without assessing the lasting impact of Trump's extreme, norm-defying approach to presidential power.
Bonus · Fri, January 25, 2019
Breaking News Edition: Why Roger Stone's Arrest Should Scare Don Jr.
A special breaking news edition of the Mother Jones Podcast: On Friday morning, the FBI arrested Roger Stone, the longtime adviser to President Donald Trump, as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Stone was charged with seven counts that include witness tampering, false statements, and obstruction. So, who is Roger Stone? What was his connection to Wikileaks and the hacking of the DNC during the 2016 campaign? And, most importantly, how close do these new charges get to the President of the United States? Joining us is Washington DC bureau chief, David Corn, and Dan Friedman, who covers foreign influence and national security for Mother Jones.
Wed, January 23, 2019
The Painful Reality of Surviving Trump’s Shutdown
Surviving the shutdown: Today, Mother Jones listeners who are employed by the federal government share their wrenching stories of trying to make ends meet as the longest government shutdown in US history grinds on into its fifth week. Scared he’ll miss his daughter’s health insurance payments, Jason Muzzey, a USDA contractor in Kansas City, Missouri, has been forced to apply for shifts at a local McDonalds and start a GoFundMe page. Cara Dodge normally works on educational exhibits for NASA in the Bay Area, a job she adores, but is now counting the days until she must find other work to supplement her family’s slashed income. Also on the show, you’ll visit a Washington DC food kitchen that is dishing out free hot meals to federal workers who suddenly need to watch every penny they spend. Host Jamilah King is joined by Angie Drobnic Holan, the editor of Politifact, to help you separate fact from fiction as the shutdown continues. Is there even a glimmer of bipartisan hope to solve the crisis on the horizon?
Wed, January 16, 2019
Mr. President, Have You Ever Worked for Russia?
This is how far things have come. Try to imagine this scene taking place in normal times: The president of the United States speaking to reporters gathered on the South Lawn of the White House and, just to clarify things, saying, “I’ve never worked for Russia." But here we are. News about special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation has been coming at us thick and fast these days. First, there was the New York Times blockbuster report that the FBI, concerned about Trump's possible work with the Russians, began a counterintelligence investigation into the president. Then, a stunning revelation from the Washington Post about the president confiscating his own interpreter’s notes after a private meeting with Vladimir Putin. And finally, Trump’s new pick for Attorney General being grilled by lawmakers about whether or not he’ll protect the Mueller investigation, and reassuring them it will not become another victim of Washington’s partisan warfare—as Trump so ardently desires. On today’s episode of the Mother Jones podcast, host Jamilah King is joined by our DC bureau chief David Corn, and Terrell Jermaine Starr, senior reporter at The Root, to help you find your way through the confusing, potentially terrifying news about the President and his loyalties.
Wed, January 09, 2019
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Biggest Fight
WTF is the Green New Deal? Washington D.C. is awash with talk of a polarizing plan to fight climate change, as freshman Democrats like U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez turn up the pressure on party leaders to take urgent action. Today, we take a historical look at the Green New Deal, beginning with Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s depression-era economic jumpstart, and trace how ideas of environmental justice and the green economy have evolved across subsequent presidencies. To help us assess the challenges ahead, we’re joined by Vien Truong, CEO of Green for All, an advocacy group that’s championed the Green New Deal for more than a decade, and Mother Jones climate reporter Rebecca Leber, who’s been following the deal’s newfound momentum.
Wed, January 02, 2019
He Was Dying. Then Doctors Tried Some Forgotten Viruses.
Happy New Year! This week, as the podcast team gears up for a brand new 2019 season, we’re revisiting two of our most talked-about segments from 2018. First up is the rage-inducing inside story of America’s student debt machine: How the nation’s flagship loan forgiveness program is failing the very people it’s meant to help. Next: Viruses that could save us all. Tom Patterson, a psychologist, was dying from a seemingly unstoppable superbug infection when his wife, Steffanie Strathdee, an epidemiologist, began considering an unconventional treatment: phage therapy. We retrace Tom's incredible journey to the brink of death and back, and this fascinating field of medical science we're only just beginning to understand.
Wed, December 26, 2018
Be a Better You: How to Break Political Tribalism
It’s our final episode for 2018. As we take stock of this seemingly never-ending year, big questions abound: How can we rise above the worst impulses of our political tribalism to find common cause? At a time when our very identities are under attack, how do we resist the temptation to retreat to clusters of likemindedness, and instead open up to the greater good? These concerns about the nature of our democracy and the definitions of belonging in an atomized world form the basis of this illuminating conversation between moral philosopher and author, Kwame Anthony Appiah, and Mother Jones Editor-in-Chief, Clara Jeffery, recorded in October before a live audience at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco. This episode contains edited highlights from that event.
Wed, December 19, 2018
DeRay Mckesson on How to Turn Outrage into Hope
DeRay Mckesson is a leading voice in the Black Lives Matter movement. He’s been an educator, a mayoral candidate, and now, he’s also an author. As 2018 ends and progressive communities continue to resist the Trump administration, McKesson tells engaging stories from the frontlines of activism—experiences that have led him to look beyond headlines to identify the power structures that foster inequality. He wants us to do the same.
Wed, December 12, 2018
"Broad City" Star Ilana Glazer Takes Over the Podcast
On this week's show, host Jamilah King hands over interviewing duties to a surprise guest: Co-creator and star of the Comedy Central hit Broad City, Ilana Glazer. This podcast was recorded live in Brooklyn in October by Generator Collective, a group Glazer co-founded that, among other civic engagement gigs, gets interesting people in front of crowds to talk about policy and politics. Just a few days after this recording, Glazer closed down another event in the series when the venue, a synagogue in Brooklyn, was vandalized with anti-Semitic slurs in the wake of Pittsburg's Tree of Life massacre. In this episode, Glazer interviews our very own voting rights reporter, Ari Berman, about the dark history and current absurdities of voter suppression in America—and President Lyndon B. Johnson's toilet habits.
Wed, December 05, 2018
David Byrne Rode His Bike to Our Office and Talked About Everything
On this week's show, host Jamilah King interviews the prolific artist, David Byrne about police shootings, Janelle Monáe, stage fright, “True Stories,” and fake news. Since the late-1970s, when Byrne formed Talking Heads, his career has been an endless stream of fascinating side projects, starting with his super-weird, super-cool Brian Eno collab, "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts." He founded his own World Music label, and his obsession with the National Color Guard Championships led to a documentary, "Contemporary Color." In November, as his American Utopia tour wrapped up, Byrne re-released his 1986 film, True Stories, which explores the inner lives and outer quirks of residents of a fictional Texas town. “It’s like 60 Minutes on acid,” Byrne once said. The timing was brilliant—but coincidental, he admits: “I hadn’t looked at it in a while. And a lot of it does seem prescient and newly relevant. There’s a lot of stuff that seems oddly like, ‘Oh. I recognize this! It seemed like fiction in the movie, and now it’s fact.’” Our interview with Byrne kicks off a month-long special holiday series, featuring some of our very most interesting studio interviews.
Wed, November 28, 2018
Trump Put a Target on Our Backs: Trans Americans Fight Back
This week, trans listeners share candid stories about life under Trump. Sarah McBride, national press secretary for Human Rights Campaign, reveals the whiplash of working for Barack Obama, the most trans-inclusive president in history, only to be targeted aggressively by Trump in the years since. Ashley Scott, a transgender veteran of the Iraq War, tells us what's at stake as the administration escalates efforts to ban transgender people from the military. And while it's been a trying time, transgender listeners also share stories about solidarity, hope, and what it takes to win at this critical time in the history of LGBTQ rights.
Wed, November 21, 2018
How the Trump-Addicted Media Blew Another Election
Two of the biggest, brightest minds in the media business join us in the studio this week: Washington Post media columnist Margaret Sullivan and Vox media critic Carlos Maza. Host Jamilah King leads a lively discussion about Facebook's scandals, its ongoing battle against disinformation, and what the media learned—if anything—from the 2016 presidential campaign.
Wed, November 14, 2018
Lie, Block, Betray: Trump After the Blue Wave
The midterms aren't over: votes are being counted and recounted in key battleground states. This week, we take you directly to Broward County, Florida, where reporter Pema Levy is staking out the local elections offices, awaiting results from a dramatic statewide recount, as streets heat up with protesters. We also go to Atlanta, where senior editor Kiera Butler brings you the latest from the nail-biting Georgia Governor's race, between Democrat Stacey Abrams and Republican Brian Kemp. Whatever happens, Kiera says the changing face of the state's electorate will get harder and harder for Republicans to ignore. And throughout the show, you'll hear from our voting rights reporter Ari Berman, who's always on-hand to help us make sense of the voting shenanigans afoot.
Bonus · Wed, November 07, 2018
Breaking News Edition: Trump Goes Full Mob Boss
It happened: The Attorney General of the United States has been fired. This news came with a giant Trumpian thump Wednesday morning—while votes are still being counted in an election that handed the House back to Democrats for the first time in eight years. The implications of Jeff Sessions' ouster could be enormous. President Donald Trump is now installing a loyalist, Matthew Whitaker, and serious questions now hang over the future of the Russia Investigation. D.C. bureau chief David Corn joins Dan Friedman, MoJo's foreign influence and national security reporter, to tackle these questions and give us the very latest on Russia, Robert Mueller, and more.
Wed, November 07, 2018
Trump Wakes Up Shaking
On this late-breaking episode: How to understand this historic night as the political makeup of the country is being written in real-time—like, as we record. Despite some big losses and reports of long lines at the polls, the Democrats had a huge night. D.C. Bureau chief David Corn and reporter Pema Levy join us from Washington to discuss some of the midterm's highest highs and lowest lows. Ari Berman, our resident voting rights expert, and senior reporter Tim Murphy discuss voter suppression, which politicians to watch, and what's next for America. Settle in as host Jamilah King guides you through one of the most exciting political events since that fated night in 2016.
Wed, October 31, 2018
Trump Ate the GOP. Now He’s Digesting It.
On today's show, our Washington D.C. bureau chief David Corn offers his assessment of how the president and his party are mining the worst of America's ancient grievances—on race, religion, and nationalism—for new electoral advantages. Also on the show: A few weeks ago, Mother Jones asked you if you’re voting for the first time in the midterm elections. Dozens of readers shared their stories with our team, about your frustration and inspiration at this crazy-important time, and what casting your vote in 2018 means. On today's show, a sampling of those stories, including from a new candidate, a new activist, and a new citizen.
Wed, October 24, 2018
It’s Finally Time to Talk About the Polls
On this week’s show: After 2016, can we really trust the polls? With just two weeks until the midterm elections on November 6, we gather some of the biggest brains in the business to round up everything you need to know about numbers, numbers, numbers. Our all-star cast includes MSNBC's National Political Correspondent, Steve Kornacki; FiveThirtyEight's managing editor, Micah Cohen, and HuffPost's polling editor, Ariel Edwards-Levy. We fill you in on what you need to watch for during the minute-by-minute coverage on election night—and the biggest issues driving voters to the ballot box.
Wed, October 17, 2018
Road Trip Through the Battleground States
On this week's show: Buckle up for a Mother Jones road trip to three of the most contentious battleground states in the upcoming November elections—and they’re all in the Southwest. First, Senior Reporter Tim Murphy travels to Arizona to meet activists fighting to mobilize one tribal nation, the Tohono OíOdham, at a time when Native American voting rights are under relentless assault across the country. Next, we head to Nevada where casino workers, cooks, and housekeepers are reinventing the Democratic Party, one sweaty voter registration drive at a time. If successful, can what happens in Vegas be replicated nationwide? And finally, we land in Texas to see if Beto O'Rourke really has what it takes to win. For Democrats, these are all make-or-break races if they want any chance at taking back America on election day.
Wed, October 10, 2018
The Argument for Rage
This week: We’re in the home stretch—only 27 days to go until the midterms. As Brett Kavanaugh gets to work, rockstar feminist writer Rebecca Traister joins MoJo’s Becca Andrews to discuss the political power of women’s rage and how it is reshaping America. And we hear from you, our listeners, about how you reacted to the historic Supreme Court appointment. We also take a look inside Florida’s long-awaited movement to restore voting rights to 1.4 million people, featuring senior reporter Ari Berman.
Wed, October 03, 2018
The Conservative Case for Destroying the GOP
On this week's episode, Mother Jones DC Bureau Chief David Corn chats with Max Boot, the lauded conservative stalwart who now believes the GOP must be destroyed—for good. Boot says that the Trumpian poison cannot be leeched. And with the stakes so high in November, Boot is making a case for Republicans to vote for every Democrat, in every race, for every position. This epiphany is a message for the politically marooned, in the time of Trump.
Bonus · Fri, September 28, 2018
Breaking News Edition: Ford’s Bravery, Kavanaugh's Fury
A special episode of the Mother Jones Podcast: All the breaking news from the Kavanaugh hearings, explained. First, the gut-wrenching testimony from Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, a California professor who accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were teens—told in gripping and personal detail. Then: Tears and outrage from Kavanaugh, who unequivocally denied the allegations in a fiery performance. Jamilah King hosts a breaking news panel with Supreme Court reporter Stephanie Mencimer and Washington DC Bureau Chief David Corn to tell you everything you need to know about this historic day on the Hill—and what comes next.
Wed, September 26, 2018
A Constitutional Crisis Is Just a Tweet Away
On this week's episode, inside the fight for Medicaid expansion at the polls in November. The fate of Obamacare is on the ballot—and now up to voters in Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, and Utah. Meet one campaigner in this Red State Resistance trying to expand coverage to those who need it the most. We give you the state-by-state nitty gritty. Also on the show: chaos reigns in Washington D.C. Everything you need to know about the dueling news stories of Kavanaugh and Rosenstein, and more importantly, how to understand them, with our Supreme Court expert Stephanie Mencimer, and Russia guru, David Corn. And finally: we asked, and you told us. Stories about a year in limbo awaiting a final decision about DACA—the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
Wed, September 19, 2018
Voting Has Never Been Harder—or More Important
On this week’s show: Everything you need to know about the fierce, multi-pronged attack on your vote in November—and how to fight back. Spoiler alert: it’s urgent, with glimmers of hope. Mother Jones voting rights reporter Ari Berman tells you which races to keep an eye on. Also on the show: An interview with Washington Governor, Jay Inslee, perpetual thorn in Trump’s side. We ask him to describe his playbook for forcefully taking on the President of the United States—in court and in person. (And what former president Barack Obama’s basketball game is really like.) All that, and a bunch of brainy environmental experts join us on stage for a live event about how to turn climate despair into hope.
Wed, September 12, 2018
The Viruses That Could Save Us All
On this week's show, a love story wrapped in a medical mystery—with a Cold War twist. Tom Patterson, a psychologist, was dying from a seemingly unstoppable superbug infection. For months, world-class doctors threw everything at him but nothing worked. That's when his wife, Steffanie Strathdee, an epidemiologist, began considering an unconventional treatment: phage therapy. Science journalist Maryn McKenna joins host Jamilah King, along with Tom and Steffanie, to recount Tom's incredible journey to the brink of death and back, and this fascinating field of medical science we're only just beginning to understand. Also on the show, Mother Jones DC bureau chief David Corn follows Trump's money: what's the deal with that failed Russian hotel bid during the 2016 election?
Wed, September 05, 2018
The Mind-Boggling Private Prison Comeback
On this week's episode, Mother Jones senior reporter Shane Bauer reports on the surging profits of the private prison industry thanks to Trump. More than two-thirds of all immigration detainees are held by private prison companies, and nine of the 10 largest immigrant detention centers in the United States are privately operated. Bauer traces the history of the second-largest for-profit prison company in the country, CoreCivic, to its surprising roots. Also on the show, MoJo staff writer Stephanie Mencimer brings you the latest from Day One of the raucous Senate confirmation hearings for conservative Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Wed, August 29, 2018
America's Rage-Inducing Student Debt Machine
On this week’s show: How the nation’s flagship loan forgiveness program is failing the very people it’s supposed to help. You'll hear the disturbing firsthand account of how the mismanaged Public Service Loan Forgiveness has left one participant swimming in debt (even though she’s kept up with payments) and what you can do to protect yourself. Plus, DC Bureau Chief David Corn tries to make sense of that bizarre Roger Stone video on Instagram.
Wed, August 22, 2018
Cohen, Guilty. Manafort, Guilty. Now What?
Two top Trump-world figures in disgrace. This week, twin legal developments rocked the presidency: Trump's former campaign boss Paul Manafort was found guilty of tax and bank fraud, and his longtime lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations while implicating the president in a crime. MoJo’s DC bureau chief David Corn tells you what happens next. Also on the show: Kansas City mayoral candidate Jason Kander talks to Mother Jones Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery about his new memoir, "Outside the Wire"—and one of the best Twitter comebacks we’ve ever seen. And finally, MoJo’s Ben Dreyfuss chats with the author of another new book, “Obama: An Oral History,” Brian Abrams, about how to judge the Obama years, now that we know what comes next. Three fascinating conversations about where America has been, and where it's going.
Wed, August 15, 2018
Parkland Teens Are Throwing Everything at the Midterms
Six months ago, a group of students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, changed the way America talks about guns. Before Parkland, it was relatively safe for many Democrats to oppose gun reform, but now they—and even some Republicans—are coming under intense scrutiny ahead of the midterm elections. To mark the anniversary, Mother Jones was given rare access to top student leaders, including David Hogg and Jaclyn Corin, at a critical moment in their movement—to discuss what they've learned, and what's next. In this episode, we travel to Newtown, Connecticut, as activists stage their final rally in a nationwide voter-recruitment drive. And we host an exclusive, intimate roundtable about the pressures of being held up as "superheroes" or "saviors."
Wed, August 08, 2018
Putin Is Hacking America on Trump's Watch
The midterm elections are in serious danger of being hacked. Why has the White House and its GOP allies in Congress done so little to combat the threat? On this week's episode, reporters Pema Levy and AJ Vicens discuss their new investigation into the escalating danger Russia poses to the 2018 elections. Also on the show, MoJo DC bureau chief David Corn breaks down the biggest misconception about Robert Mueller's endgame.
Wed, August 01, 2018
Ben Carson’s War on Fair Housing
During the 2016 campaign, Donald Trump asked black voters, "What do you have to lose?" This Illinois town found out. Mother Jones reporter Tim Murphy shares the tragic story of how one neglected community got caught up in Ben Carson's crusade against fair housing—a confrontation generations in the making. Also on the show: DC bureau boss David Corn gives you the lowdown on the first day of the Manafort fraud trial, and assesses the odds that Trump's former campaign chief will cut a deal to save his skin.
Wed, July 25, 2018
#MeToo Heads to Church
As a teen, Emily Joy was abused by a church youth leader. Now, she’s leading a movement to change Evangelical America. MoJo's Becca Andrews tells host Jamilah King how #ChurchToo has opened the floodgates and forced a long-awaited reckoning. Also on the show: How Trump is making sure solar's bright future is being written in Mandarin. As Trump ransacks America's clean energy policy, the Chinese are gaining on the West in the most important arena of all: innovation. Jeffrey Ball, an energy expert and lecturer at Stanford Law School, talks about his new investigation for Mother Jones. Finally, our Washington Bureau Chief David Corn gives you the latest on the Russia Investigation—including a preview of the upcoming trial of Paul Manafort, Trump's former campaign boss.
Wed, July 18, 2018
Rev. William Barber Is Fighting Like Hell for Democracy
Tune in for a special, fiery conversation between Mother Jones senior reporter Ari Berman and The Reverend William Barber. Recorded at a live event in Berkeley, California, they discuss how Barber’s movement has built a progressive coalition in the South, how to stand up against inequality and voter suppression, and why the fight isn’t just about President Donald Trump. We also hear from folks in the audience about the messages they’re taking home with them—and what they’re inspired to do next. Follow us on Twitter: @MoJoPodcast.
Wed, July 11, 2018
Can Violent Racists Kick Their Addiction to Hate?
Shane Johnson was born into the Ku Klux Klan—now he works to convince others not to join hate groups. How did he get out? And what can we learn from his story? Mother Jones senior editor Wes Enzinna shares exclusive audio from his interviews with the former KKK leader. It's a fascinating conversation that explores the difficulties of leaving hate groups and how violent extremism can be similar to addiction. Later in this episode, DC Bureau Chief David Corn explains why President Donald Trump's behavior makes him feel like we're in the "upside down world in Stranger Things ." Plus he gives us a big update in the Russia investigation — and it doesn't bode well for Trump. Follow us on Twitter: @MoJoPodcast.
Wed, July 04, 2018
Who Gets to Make America
A show about immigration, art, and the hidden history of the national anthem. Rapper-turned-director Boots Riley joins host Jamilah King to talk about his debut film, the dystopian comedy, "Sorry to Bother You." At the southern border, Mother Jones reporter Noah Lanard exposes the government's new tactic to prolong family separation. And on this special Fourth of July episode, the Star-Spangled Banner as you've never heard it played before—and its story of racial injustice. Follow us on Twitter: @MoJoPodcast.
Wed, June 27, 2018
Nightmare at the Border
As the nation reels from the sounds of crying migrant children separated from parents at the border, the Mother Jones Podcast turns to those who are desperately waiting for answers. Texas Tribune investigative reporter Neena Satija takes you to the international bridge between the US and Mexico where asylum seekers are forced to mark time, sometimes for days, struggling to find loved ones missing in the system. Meanwhile, one of Trump’s most contentious policies is here to stay: Mother Jones reporter Pema Levy breaks down this week's Travel Ban decision from the Supreme Court. We reconnect with Anthony, featured in Episode 3, to find out what the ruling means for him and his boyfriend, Reza, an Iranian refugee who had to flee the country when the police found out he was gay. Also in this week’s show, we hear from our LGBTQ listeners about which TV and movie characters they thought were queer (even when the writers didn't intend them to be.) Follow us on Twitter: @MoJoPodcast.
Wed, June 20, 2018
Dan Pfeiffer Tries to Save America
Dan Pfeiffer, one of the most influential political voices from the Obama White House, has a plan to fight back. In this week's episode, the former White House communications chief talks about his new book, "Yes We (Still) Can," which elaborates on the lessons he learned about the far right during the Obama years, and how progressives can get their message out in today’s fractured media environment. He should know: As one of the hosts of the popular podcast, "Pod Save America," Pfeiffer offers insights, humor, and some measure of solace during these dark political times. Here, he talks with MoJo's DC Bureau Chief David Corn about how Obama can’t save us, what we can do now to fight disinformation, and how mainstream Republicans aided Trump’s rise.
Wed, June 13, 2018
Strippers, Guns, and Cash: Selling Painkillers in America
The historic nuclear summit. Mother Jones DC bureau chief David Corn explains why President Trump's Singapore appearance was one of the worst days of his presidency. Also on the show: MoJo's Julia Lurie talks with host Jamilah King about her exclusive reporting on recently unsealed whistleblower lawsuits alleging scandalous tactics by a pharmaceutical company to push doctors to prescribe opioids—including strip clubs and kickbacks. David Beard shares a story about a valedictorian silenced no longer. And finally, if you love Jonathan Taylor Thomas, you're not going to want to miss the end of this episode. Follow us on Twitter: @MoJoPodcast.
Wed, June 06, 2018
Torn Apart by Trump's Travel Ban
Extraordinary stories of living in limbo: On this week’s episode, you’ll hear from real Mother Jones readers who have had their lives upended by President Trump’s travel ban and are now awaiting a fateful Supreme Court decision on the policy. Host Jamilah King speaks to Anthony about being separated from his boyfriend, Reza, an Iranian refugee who fled his home because the police found out he was gay. MoJo’s Aaron Wiener sits down with David Corn to bring you the latest in the Russia saga, including the seriously bone-headed recent move by Trump's former campaign chief, Paul Manafort. And of course, your weekly dose of uplifting news from reporter David Beard. Follow us on Twitter: @MoJoPodcast
Wed, May 30, 2018
Make America Toxic Again
It's been a year since President Trump announced the US would pull out of the Paris climate accord. Join host Jamilah King as she speaks with Mother Jones environmental reporter Rebecca Leber about what's going on inside the Environmental Protection Agency, from its aggressive deregulation to the ethics scandals threatening to engulf Scott Pruitt, the agency's head. Reporter Pema Levy gives us a look inside the life and times of one of Trump's staunchest supporters, Fox News's Jeanine Pirro, and what her fiery television performances mean for the frightening future of right-wing punditry. Washington Bureau Chief David Corn brings us the latest in the Russia investigation; and finally, reporter David Beard has a jolt of good news from primary season in America. Follow us on Twitter: @MoJoPodcast.
Wed, May 23, 2018
Primary Season in America
Welcome to our first-ever show! Here's what we have in store this week. We start with Senior Reporter Tim Murphy who profiles the candidates ripping up West Virginia’s political blueprint, and asks: what do their successes and failures mean for national politics come November? Then, moving south, Democrat Stacey Abrams pulls off an historic victory in Georgia, but her toughest battle is ahead: Can this national political darling beat a well-funded Republican in a deep-red state to become the first female black governor in America? And MoJo’s resident Russia guru David Corn boils down all the latest in the Mueller investigation. Join host Jamilah King and the Mother Jones team.
Trailer · Thu, May 17, 2018
Coming Soon: The Mother Jones Podcast
Follow the thread. Untangle the news. The Mother Jones Podcast is coming soon, featuring original and independent journalism from our award-winning newsroom.

The Mother Jones Podcast

A Special Announcement

Today It’s Critical Race Theory. 200 Years Ago It Was Abolitionist Literature.

Are These Black Leaders on the Cusp of a New National Movement?

The Nightmare of Getting an Abortion in the South

Ammon Bundy Is Running to Be Idaho’s Next Governor

How Flint Closed the Gap Between Black and White Suffering Under COVID

The Afghan Refugee Crisis Has Only Just Begun

The Metamorphosis of Kyrsten Sinema

CNN’s Jake Tapper Says the Media Must Confront Republicans’ Big Lie

Escape From the Billionaire Meme Mogul

Everything You're Getting Wrong About the Culture Wars

Garry Trudeau on Lampooning Trump and Other Lessons from 5 Decades of Doonesbury

Can America’s Problems Be Fixed By a President Who Loves Jon Meacham?

A Special Summer Announcement from the Podcast Team

The Insurrection Was a Giant Recruitment Exercise for Extremists

Doctor, Lawyer, Insurrectionist: The Radicalization of Simone Gold

Leaked Video: How a Dark Money Group Is Trying to Rig Our Elections

“We’re Torn Apart”: Inside India’s Worsening COVID Nightmare

“Queen Sugar” Author Natalie Baszile: Black Farmers Can Help Save the Planet

The Black Farmer Movement Battling History to Return to the Land

The Oscar-Nominated Writers of Judas and the Black Messiah Make History

Derek Chauvin Is Guilty. The Fight for Real Justice Is Far From Over.

How America's Super-Rich Tax Evaders Are Hurting Everyone

The Hidden Influence of Lady Bird Johnson

Hope and Fear: The Dangerous New COVID Phase, Explained

Stop the COVID Shaming!

A Post-Trump Guide to Stopping the Lies and Healing Our Politics

What Happened in Jackson, Mississippi, Was a Catastrophe—and a Warning Sign

All Hail Pop Queen Selena, Who Showed Us How to Belong

Stacey Abrams Is Hellbent on Stopping the GOP's "Jim Crow 2.0"

Roxane Gay Says Cancel Culture Does Not Exist

The Vaccine Rollout Is Racist. We Can Do Something About That.

Biden Can't Make Trump's Immigration Cruelty Vanish Overnight

What the Hell Is “Truth and Reconciliation”, Anyway?

Impeachment Trial Day One: The Damning Case Against Donald Trump

Biden Confronts Our Climate Crisis Head On

Dr. Seema Yasmin Grew Up Believing Conspiracies. Now She Fights Them.

The Post-Trump Era Is Here: Inside Joe Biden's Historic Inauguration

Twice Impeached: Trump’s Name Will Live Forever in Shame and Infamy

Trump's Terror Tactics and America's History of Racist Violence

I Watched the Capitol Siege Begin. I Was Threatened For Being a Reporter.

BREAKING: Goodbye, Mitch. Democrats Win the Senate.

Trump Won't Stop Lying, Extorting, and Cheating, Even If It Kills the GOP

2020 Needs Its Own History Book. Here’s Our First Draft.

“He Won’t Get Played:” Biden’s Biographer on Lessons from the Obama White House

Prayer and Politics: On the Campaign Trail in Georgia with Raphael Warnock

Georgia’s Runoff Races Are Usually Disasters for Dems. This Time Is Different.

Will Biden Finally Fix America's Crippling Student Debt Crisis?

The Safest Ways to Celebrate Thanksgiving, According to Science

Surge Shock: Top Coronavirus Experts Share Fixes for Our Broken System

Biden Won. Now He Needs to Save the Planet.

Live Podcast Special: How Biden Banished Trump

No Clear Outcome. No Clear Rejection of Trump. Now We Wait.

Staying Sane During America's Coming Constitutional Firestorm

Live Special: How to Survive Election Night (and Beyond)

How Biden Can Pull Off the Once-Unthinkable: Win Arizona

Trump, Guns, and 2020: One Hunting Family Tackles America's Biggest Debates

Trump’s Biggest Florida Influencer: A Cuban YouTuber with a Pet Monkey

Trump's Trashy Debate Performance Proved Biden's Point: This Choice Is Stark

After RBG: Our Fight for Democracy Just Got More Desperate

CNN's Brian Stelter: Inside the Toxic Trump-Fox Feedback Loop

Young. Black. Gay. Heading to Congress. Meet the Ascendant Mondaire Jones.

QAnon Is Infecting Congress. How the Wild Conspiracy Theory Went Mainstream.

Progressive Prosecutors Are Frontline Fighters in the New Culture War

The Biggest Night of Kamala Harris's Life

"We Know How to Lead." Rep. Barbara Lee on Kamala Harris and the Unifying Power of Black Women

I'm a New Dad Freaking Out About Pandemic Day Care. So I Called the Expert.

An Unhinged President Declares War on Protesters. (No, Not Trump.)

Samantha Bee: What Using the C-Word Taught Me About Trump-Era Comedy

Debbie Harry on Blondie, Bowie, and Bees

John Leguizamo on Trump, Dirty Jokes, and Whitewashing Latinx History

Screaming and Christmas Trees: A Beloved Rehab's Dark Side

"Our Job Is to Unlearn All That Shit": Actor Diane Guerrero Reckons With Whiteness in Hollywood and Beyond

Lies. Lies. Lies. Lies. How Much More Can America Take, Mr. President?

Defunding the Police Is Only the Beginning

"Bigotry Is a Lethal Weapon": Ibram X. Kendi's Guide to Fighting Racism

This Summer Will Be Long, Violent, and Necessary

The Unprecedented Challenge of Grieving 100,000 Americans

Celebrate Pandemic Workers. Then Fight Like Hell for Their Rights.