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#1676 The Incompetence of Authoritarians: Trump's cabinet picks are all loyalty, no ability

Episode 1676

vendredi 13 décembre 2024 • Duration 02:31:12

Air Date 12/13/2024

The most important thing to understand about authoritarian and dictatorial governance is that it is neither efficient nor competent, contrary to the myth. The problem lies with the need to hire people based on their unquestioning loyalty rather than any kind of demonstrated ability to do the jobs they're tasked with. The results are, unsurprisingly, chaos.

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KP 1: Fight Trump With Everything You Have! Shocking Warning From Hungarian Democracy Movement - Thom Hartmann Program - Air Date 11-25-24

KEY POINTS

KP 2: MAGA 2.0 w Quinn Slobodian & Wendy Brown - The Dig - Air Date 11-29-24

KP 3: A Slew Of A$$hole Nominations...- The Muckrake Political Podcast - Air Date 11-15-24

KP 4: What Pete Hegseth Has Said About Civil War and Whiteness - Brian Lehrer: A Daily Politics Podcast - Air Date 11-27-24

KP 5: Trump goes off the deep end with Cabinet pick - No Lie w Brian Tyler Cohen - Air Date 12-1-24

KP 6: The Trump Trials... Cases Closed - Americast - Air Date 11-29-24

KP 7: MAGA 2.0 w Quinn Slobodian & Wendy Brown - The Dig - Air Date 11-29-24

(54:37) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

On why it's important to stay engaged

Don’t Let Donald Trump Drive You Into Internal Exile - NYTimes

DEEPER DIVES

(58:44) SECTION A: THE LINEUP

(1:27:56) SECTION B: THE PLAYBOOK

(1:52:28) SECTION C: GLOBAL REFERENCE

(2:12:50) SECTION D: CRACKS IN AUTHORITY

SHOW IMAGE

Description: Composite graphic of Trump giving the double thumbs up over black silhouettes of people in suits with the clown face emoji on their heads and “MAGA” on their chests.

Credit: Composite design by A. Hoffman. Various images via Pixabay.

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Bonus Sample #302 Satire requires a clarity of purpose and target lest it be mistaken for and contribute to that which it intends to criticize.

Episode 302

dimanche 5 mai 2024 • Duration 17:34

Air Date: 5-5-24
Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss:
- Jerry Seinfeld blaming the "extreme left" and "PC culture" for the death of sitcoms
- how Poe's Law (and the Amanda Principle) makes creating and identifying satire difficult
- how TV shows trying to satirize the left for the left struggle to land the jokes

REFERENCES:
Jerry Seinfeld Says TV Comedy Is Being Killed By the ‘Extreme Left and P.C. Crap and People Worrying So Much About Offending Other People’

Jerry Seinfeld Is a Lazy Hack Out of Touch with the Real World—And Who Can Blame Him?

Poe’s Law and Internet Satire

In the Know (Peacock)

‘In the Know’ Showrunners Unpack Its Loving Evisceration of Public Radio, Progressive Politics

Zach Woods, NPR Fan, Reads NPR Fans for Filth

Exclusive: In the Know's Zach Woods and Brandon Gardner on Satirizing Liberals with Mike Judge

The Cleaner - S2 E5 The Statue (Acorn)

Malthusian Conception

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#1626 Remix - Protest Crackdown: Power Concedes Nothing Without a Demand and the Response is Predictable

Episode 1626

vendredi 3 mai 2024 • Duration 01:14:57

Air Date 5/3/2024

A look back at previous coverage of criminalizing protests, weaponizing civility, and violent responses to peaceful dissent.

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Ch. 4: Protests Sweep Across America and Beyond Part 2 - The Daily Show - Air Date 6-9-20

SHOW NOTES

Ch. 1: The Problem with Civility - On the Media - Air Date 6-30-18

Ch. 2: Criminalizing Protest - @USNewsBeat - Air Date 6-14-18

Ch. 3: Civility as a cudgel - Trumpcast - Air Date 6-30-18

Ch. 5: The coming anti-protest laws w/ Alleen Brown and Akela Lacy Part 1 - This is Hell! - Air Date 2-12-21

Ch. 6: Anti-Protest Bills Popping Up Everywhere - David Pakman Show - Air Date 8-19-20

Ch. 7: Elly Page on Anti-Protest Bills - CounterSpin - Air Date 4-23-21

Ch. 8: Not Ready For That Conversation - On The Media - Air Date 4-23-21

Ch. 9: GOP States Are Pushing for Stricter Penalties for Protesters - The Takeaway - Air Date 4-27-21

Ch. 10: How Corporate Media Protects Violent Cops - Carlos Maza - Air Date 6-4-20

MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions)

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

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#1625 Society of Extreme Wealth and its Discontents: Tax avoidance, wealth inequality and the detrimental effects felt by us all

Episode 1625

mercredi 1 mai 2024 • Duration 58:08

Air Date 5/1/2024

The past, present, and future of tackling the uselessness of extreme wealth by exposing and closing tax avoidance loopholes and pushing for a culture change to embrace the need for a more equal society.

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Ch. 1: What Happens When You Tax Billionaires at 90 Percent? - The Hartmann Report - Air Date 6-3-23

SHOW NOTES

We did it before, and the result was the creation of the world’s first and largest middle class and a level of peace and prosperity that held its own until Ronald Reagan took a meat-axe to it…

Ch. 2: #TaxBillionaires w/ Robert Reich, Sen. Ron Wyden, Rep. Jamaal Bowman, and more - Americans for Tax Fairness - Air Date 4 -18-22

If you think school teachers shouldn't pay a higher tax rate than billionaires, join us to learn how you can join in on the fight to #TaxBillionaires!

Ch. 3: Wealth Tax Part 1 - Pullback - Air Date 4-11-23

Should we be taxing Scrooge-McDuck wealth? Can we? We talk with friend of the pod Fariya Mohiuddin, a Senior Program Officer with the International Budget Partnership's Tax Equity Program, and our favourite tax justice researcher and activist.

Ch. 4: No One Should Have More Than 10 Million Pounds | Ash Sarkar meets Ingrid Robeyns - Novara Media - Air Date 2-4-24

If you're serious about alleviating poverty, as most liberals claim to be, should there be a cap on how wealthy one person can be?

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FINAL COMMENTS

Ch. 12: Final comments on anger and irrationality in war and politics

MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions)

SHOW IMAGE:

Description: A protester holds a sign that says “Tax the Rich”

Credit: “We have a right to the city. Tax the rich.” by dignidadrebelde, Flickr | License: CC BY 2.0 | Changes: Cropped

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

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Bonus Sample #301 War Is the Continuation of Policy with Other Means

Episode 301

lundi 29 avril 2024 • Duration 14:17

Air Date: 4-29-24
Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss:
- how the film 'Civil War' intentionally avoids any specifics about the "why", and in doing so becomes a perfect encapsulation of the Amanda Principle™

- how "the view from nowhere" journalism is supposed to be straight down the middle and fact-based, but is actually rife with bias and ends up representing the dominant culture
- that America and its culture has been steeped in war and violence since it's inception
- the similarities between modern America and Germany in 1933

REFERENCES:
Americans Have Enjoyed Imagining Civil War for a Long, Long Time

How to Both-Sides a “Civil War”

Alex Garland's Civil War Plays Both Sides

Opinion: Is the US on the brink of another civil war?

‘Civil War’ and the Dangerous Myth of ‘Unbiased’ Journalism

America Isn’t Nazi Germany, but It Looks a Little Like 1933

Modern Mathematics Confronts Its White, Patriarchal Past

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#1513 The Morality of Debt and Forgiveness (Throwback)

Episode 1513

vendredi 26 avril 2024 • Duration 01:13:16

Original Air Date 9/14/2022

Today, we take a look at the history and hysteria behind debt and debt forgiveness while Biden is canceling student debt and opponents of the idea are reacting in the most predictable way possible because they misunderstand the relationship between debt and morality.

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Ch. 1: Cancel It All: Debt Collective's Astra Taylor on Biden Plan & Need for Full Student Debt Relief - Democracy Now! - Air Date 8-25-22

SHOW NOTES

We speak to Astra Taylor, writer, filmmaker, and co-director of the Debt Collective, a union for debtors and one of the original advocates for a debt jubilee that would cancel all student debt.

Ch. 2: Freedom Dreams: Black Women and the Student Debt Crisis - The Intercept - Air Date 8-22-22

The Intercept’s new documentary, “Freedom Dreams: Black Women and the Student Debt Crisis,” profiles Black women educators and activists struggling under the weight of tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, in student loan debt.

Ch. 3: Hidden History of Student Debt - Thom Hartmann Program - Air Date 8-25-22

Many woke up to find news that $10k of their student debt would be forgiven, Thom Hartmann and Jefferson Smith break down what this means and what happens next.

Ch. 4: Bidens Big Student Debt Announcement: PITOTWIU for the Indebted Masses - Unf*cking The Republic - Air Date 8-28-22

Max breaks down the politics, the details, and biggest misses of the Biden student debt relief plan and why it’s in danger of being PITOTWIU

FINAL COMMENTS

Ch. 11: Final comments on morality and money

MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions)

SHOW IMAGE:

Description: A dark gray, 3D image of the word "DEBT" sits in a white void, a connected chain and open shackle with an open padlock lie in front of it.

Credit: "3D Shackled Debt" by Chris Potter, Flickr | License: CC by 2.0 | Changes: Enlarged with more white background

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

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Contact me directly at [email protected]

#1624 Island Fervor: Cuba and Haiti Struggle for Economic and Political Self-Determination in the Face of Respective Histories of Exploitation and Embargo

Episode 1624

mercredi 24 avril 2024 • Duration 59:33

Air Date 4/24/2024

Only by understanding the past can we understand the present and the histories of Cuba and Haiti have very stark lessons to impart about the cruelty of the Cuba embargo, the repercussions of imperial exploitation, and the dangers that arise amid dysfunctional democracy.

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Ch. 1: On Cuba and Haiti The Fight for Liberation & Self-Determination in the Caribbean - Revolutionary Left Radio - Air Date 4-4-24

SHOW NOTES

Musa Springer, Erica Caines, & Onyesonwu Chatoyer from Hood Communist discuss their participation in The Second International Meeting of Theoretical Publications of Left Parties and Movements and discuss history and present events playing out in Haiti.

Ch. 2: Havana Syndrome How the Biden Administration Is Driving Cubans Into Misery - Deconstructed - Air Date 3-22-24

Ryan Grim delves into the complexities of Cuba’s current economic crisis with Andrés Pertierra, a historian of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Ch. 3: Havana Syndrome How the Biden Administration Is Driving Cubans Into Misery Part 2 - Deconstructed - Air Date 3-22-24

Ch. 4: Empire's Laboratory— How 2004 U.S.-Backed Coup Destabilized Haiti & Led to Current Crisis - Democracy Now! - Air Date 3-11-24

"The root of this crisis is not last week, it's not this week, it's not even Ariel Henry. But we have to go back to 2004 with the coup-d'état," says Pierre.

The grandmother who wants to lead Israelis back to a Gaza without Palestinians

FINAL COMMENTS

Ch. 11: Final comments on the dangers of unrepresentative, unresponsive government

MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions)

SHOW IMAGE:

Description: Photo of a protester in 2007 holding a large cloth sign that says “Solidarity…Haiti YES! Occupation NO. Canada-US-U.N. OUT of Haiti”

Credit: “Solidarity - Haiti Yes - Occupation No” by Robert Thivierge, Flickr | License: CC BY-SA 2.0 | Changes: Cropped

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

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Bonus Sample #300 My People are Humans

Episode 300

mardi 23 avril 2024 • Duration 14:10

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Air Date: 4-22-24
Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss:
- How Israeli citizens and government officials use of the US's settler-colonialist past, westward expansion, and religious fundamentalism to justify their own settler expansion
- How the members of the extreme right are put in positions of power within the Israeli government, which is then used to validate the settler's actions
- The role racist propaganda and intergenerational trauma play in convincing Israelis of the righteousness of their settler-colonialist actions
- The societal dangers of living in an ethnostate combined with feeling of specialness that comes from generations of victimhood

REFERENCES:
The Israeli Settlers Attacking Their Palestinian Neighbors

A debate over Israel-Palestine curriculum flares at Berkeley schools

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#1623 Burning American Credibility on Support for Israel's Genocidal War in Gaza - Biden, Netanyahu, and the double standards of the rules-based order

Episode 1623

samedi 20 avril 2024 • Duration 57:39

Air Date 4/20/2024

Old habits die hard and the American establishment's unquestioning support for Israel is a very old habit indeed. Israel's government drifts farther and farther to the right, culminating in a genocidal push into Gaza. Meanwhile, President Biden, standard-bearer of the old establishment, seems destined to be the very last Democrat to see the need for a change.

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Ch. 1: Jon Stewart Interrogates America's Support of Israel - The Daily Show - Air Date 4-8-24

SHOW NOTES

Jon Stewart checks in on the war in Gaza and interrogates how America's purported values stack up against its support of Israel. Plus, Ronny Chieng and Grace Kuhlenschmidt report from the eclipse's path of totality with startling different reports.

Ch. 2: Biden’s 'double talk' on Gaza: Cynical election politics? | The Bottom Line - Al Jazeera English - Air Date 3-31-24

Roth tells host Steve Clemons that US President Joe Biden is engaging in “cynical” election politics by refusing to enforce the UN resolution calling for a ceasefire, or the World Court ruling ordering Israel to allow more food into Gaza

Ch. 3: Jon Stewart & Bassem Youssef Call Out “Performative” Outrage Over Israel’s War Crimes - The Humanist Report - Air Date 4-12-24

In this video, we’ll look at comments from both Youssef and Stewart, examples of “performative” outrage from politicians, and demands from voters that the Democratic Party and Joe Biden are refusing to meet.