Georgetown Professor Thomas Zimmer joins us to talk about polarization and extremism, and what insights American and world history provide as to whether (and how) the US can survive Trumpism and its anti-democratic impulses. Thomas is great, this is a really interesting interview, IMHO. You can watch the Zoom version of the interview below, or listen to an audio excerpt below that. Audio-only version: The post Whether (and how) America can survive Trumpism appeared first on AMERICAblog News ..read more

Former Ohio Democratic party chair David Pepper joins us to talk about his new book, “Laboratories of Autocracy: A Wake-Up Call from Behind the Lines,” about how we’re losing our democracy at the state level while nobody is watching. This is one of our premium episodes. You can listen to a free excerpt here, and then, if the spirit moves you, head on over to Patreon and become a patron. Thanks so much. The post Losing our democracy while nobody is watching appeared first on AMERICAblog News ..read more

Today’s show is all about Colin Powell’s death from complications associated with Covid, and his mixed legacy as an African-American trailblazer, who was the first Black US Secretary of State, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and National Security Adviser, who also had a few blots on his record, including his support for banning gays from the military (Powell successfully sabotaged President Clinton’s effort to repeal the gay ban), and his now-infamous speech to the United Nations justifying the second Iraq War by claiming that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, when he did not. This ..read more

In today’s UnPresidented podcast, we talk about Hillary Clinton’s latest warnings about losing our democracy, and more Covid nonsense. Don’t let the short description fool you, we went on for 90 minutes! This is one of our premium episodes. You can listen to a free excerpt here, and then, if the spirit moves you, head on over to Patreon and become a patron. Thanks so much. The post Hillary Clinton was right appeared first on AMERICAblog News ..read more

Lincoln’s Bible (aka LB), host of the podcast “The World Beneath,” joins us to talk about how Facebook can take the most trivial information you give them, and use it to introduce you to conspiracies and worse; how Russia is the first modern mob state; and how more Americans—and specifically, Republicans—are compromised than you think. It was a fascinating, and somewhat scary, discussion. Cliff and I close the show with a chat about the breaking news that AT&T helped inspire, and is the major funder of, far-right pro-Trump propaganda network, One American News (OAN). This is one of our pre ..read more

Donald Trump’s niece, Mary, returns to talk about her new book, “The Reckoning: our nation’s trauma and finding a way to heal.” Among the topics Mary discusses with us: Don Jr’s intelligence; Ivanka ego; her recent slapdown of Meghan McCain; why Dems should be more outspoken about gun control, voting rights, and abortion; expanding the Supreme Court; standing up to Joe Manchin, and the relative lack of Democratic messaging and backbone. It was a fun chat, as always, with Mary — she’s a very interesting and fun person. You can watch a Zoom video version of the podcast below, and/or just an audi ..read more

Today’s podcast is an interview with Dixon Osburn, an old friend and colleague who was one of the key players in the repeal of the US military’s ban on gay service members, the infamous “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. Dixon has a new book out about the history of DADT, “Mission Possible: The Story of Repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Dixon and I talk about the history of the gay ban, going back to the early 1900s, the adoption and implementation of DADT under President Clinton, and its ultimate repeal under President Obama. And finally, we close with a discussion of lessons learned that other ..read more

In his captivating memoir, famed sex columnist Alexander Cheves details his childhood as the football-playing son of evangelical Christians, growing up on a farm and doing missionary work. There are the universal queer experiences of adolescent sexual experimentation, unrequited crushes, and the fear of being exposed. But those are the calm parts of the roller coaster just before your wig hits those behind you, soars out of the park and gets flattened by a Mack truck.  Cheves takes us on an unforgettable, hedonistic journey through Savannah, Atlanta, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New Yo ..read more

On today’s show, our guest is longtime telecom executive Jonathan Pelson, talking to us about his new book, “Wireless Wars: China’s dangerous domination of 5G, and how we’re fighting back.” Pelson talks to us about Chinese dominance of 5G wireless technology, and why it poses a threat to America and the world. Pelson also gives us a really interesting primer on what 5G is, and why it’s so much better than 4G. This is one of our premium episodes. You can listen to a free excerpt here, and then, if the spirit moves you, head on over to Patreon and become a patron. Thanks so much. The post ..read more

An important message from Occupy Democrats about the California Recall Election: You may have heard a little something about the California recall election against Governor Gavin Newsom, but did you know that there’s a very real possibility that the state might flip to a Republican governor? That’s right. If Republicans win this recall, here’s what the GOP will roll back progress on:  – Climate change – Covid-19/Vaccinatio – Gun safety – Healthcare – Education – Reproductive rights. If we let Republicans take the highest office in the most powerful state in the country, who knows what els ..read more