Jeff Sharlet has been studying and reporting on far-right movements in the US for decades, but something feels different now. From Waco and Ruby Ridge in the ‘90s to the 2014 Bundy family standoff with the federal government in Nevada, from the rise of Donald Trump to the “martyrdom” of Ashli Babbitt, who was shot and killed raiding the Capitol on Jan. 6, from the overturning of Roe v. Wade to COVID-19, from the Q-Anon conspiracy to the veneration of vigilantes like Kyle Rittenhouse, new and long-brewing currents of rightwing rage and resentment are converging to change the American political ..read more

The debate on a just future to end the Israeli occupation of Palestine has often pivoted around the question of a two-state or one-state solution. In a recent article for Foreign Affairs, four longtime proponents of the two-state solution make the case for why such an approach is no longer viable. Despite whatever high-minded ideals may have once motivated the search for a two-state solution, such dreams have become glaringly disconnected from the day-to-day reality of Palestinians living under occupation. Co-authors Nathan J. Brown and Shibley Telhami join The Marc Steiner Show to discuss why ..read more

The debt ceiling debate is back. On May 1, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned that the US government could default on its debts as soon as June 1. The debt ceiling debate has been a perennial feature of American politics over the last two decades—ever since the national deficit began to balloon as an effect of the Bush Jr. administration's War on Terror and tax cuts for the wealthy. During the Obama years, Congressional sparring over the debt ceiling was a favored Republican tactic to obstruct their opposition's agenda. Under the Trump administration, the debt ceiling was suspended, allowi ..read more

Click here to read the transcript Attacks on LGBTQ rights, abortion access, and movements for racial justice aren't exclusive to any one state in the union. But Texas is certainly a place where state officials and vigilantes are working hand-in-hand to bring about a dangerous new future. Texas-based journalists Andrea Grimes and Steven Monacelli join The Marc Steiner Show to explain where Texas is headed and how the left is fighting back. Andrea Grimes is a writer, editor, and activist living in Austin, Texas. She frequently writes about Texas, politics, and reproductive justice. Her work ha ..read more

Click here to read the transcript: https://therealnews.com/the-ron-desantis-counter-revolution-is-about-stopping-floridas-progressives Under Gov. Ron DeSantis, "Florida" has become synonymous with attacks on LGBTQ rights, public schools, and unions. Yet this offensive isn't only driven by hatred and ideology. It's also about curbing the power of Florida's progressives—power that was building steadily before DeSantis came along. State House Rep. Anna Eskamani and Nailah Summers-Polite join The Marc Steiner Show to talk about Florida's recent trajectory and the prospects for a future progressiv ..read more

Read the transcript of this podcast: As Israelis march en masse against Benjamin Netanyahu's judicial coup, many around the world are questioning why these protests did not materialize in defense of Palestinian land and life. For a special Passover installment of the "Not in Our Name" series, Rabbi Arik Ascherman joins The Marc Steiner Show to talk about the current protest movement in Israel and why democracy there cannot be attained without Palestinian liberation. Rabbi Arik Ascherman is a Reform rabbi and executive director of the Israeli human rights organization Torat Tzedek-Torah of Ju ..read more

A decade ago, the so-called "Pink Tide" of leftist governments in Latin America seemed to be heading towards a tragic end. However, events in the past few years have raised questions about whether a new Pink Tide has emerged. The defeat of the coup government in Bolivia, the election of Xiomara Castro in Honduras, the rise of Andrés Manuel López Obrador in Mexico, the historic election of Gustavo Petro in Colombia, and now the return of Lula in Brazil suggests a new age may be dawning in the region. Yet for all the successes, there have also been setbacks—the coup against Pedro Castillo in Per ..read more

Early in 1966, the people of Lowndes County, Alabama formed an all-Black, independent political organization called the Lowndes County Freedom Organization (LCFO). Organized with the support of activists from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the LCFO fought the disenfranchisement of Black voters against the palpable threat of white violence. The LCFO was a crucial chapter in the early history of Black Power, providing not only the blueprint for Kwame Ture's theory of Black Power but also the black panther imagery that would inspire Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale to form th ..read more

Dan Berger's book, Stayed on Freedom: the Long History of Black Power Through One Family's Journey, tells the story about the fight against racism in all its blatant and hideous forms. It's about spiritual quests, and the work of real organizing and what can be created through it. It's a story of love, of political struggle in some of the darkest, most terrifying corners of the civil rights movement. Marc Steiner interviews the book's author, Dan Berger, along with Dr. Zoharah Simmons and Michael Simmons, whose stories are featured in Stayed on Freedom. Dr. Zoharah Simmons, a veteran of SNCC ..read more

The censorship and purging of critics of Zionism is a longstanding phenomenon in US academia. And a recent incident with Ken Roth shows even the mildest criticism of Israel can have professional repercussions. The former executive director of Human Rights Watch was recently denied a fellowship at the Harvard Kennedy School in a widely publicized scandal. After hundreds of phone calls from supporters and an article in The Nation exposing Harvard's pro-Israel donors, Roth was accepted into the fellowship, and the university released a conciliatory statement. Ken Roth joins The Marc Steiner Show ..read more