In the two months since the Trump regime took power, it has worked feverishly to dismantle the higher educational apparatus in the United States. Grant money funding research in the billions of dollars has been stopped or held to use as leverage against researchers and institutions. At the same time, Trump and his cronies are working to suppress free speech on campuses, deporting faculty and graduate students who do not share the administration’s views on the Israel-Gaza conflict. The effects of these actions are terrifying. To discuss, we’ve invited Todd Wolfson, President of the American Association of University Professors and an Associate Professor of Journalism and Media Studies at Rutgers University.

Right now, our government is making dramatic slashes to the federal workforce. Tens of thousands have already lost their jobs, and healthcare benefits are definitely on the chopping block. At the same time, the Trump regime is perhaps the most anti-union administration in our history, working to lessen the power of workers. In her recent article for Capital and Main, Jesse Baum tells the story of The Southern Women Handling 1-800-MEDICARE Calls and their demands for a Union. She’s with us to discuss.

Donald Trump won a second term in part because of a disingenuous populist message that was intended to harness the anger of poor Americans at a system that does not serve them. Their anger is righteous–and while Trump is certainly not doing anything that will change this, his presidency is at least in part a symptom of our national contempt for the poor. Sarah Jones’ new book “Disposable: America’s Contempt for the Underclass” digs into this problem, and we’ve invited her here to discuss it further.

Back in 2018, Ben and I started NoRA as we watched the Parkland school shooting unfold. In the work to reduce gun violence and the deadly influence of the gun lobby on our nation we discovered so many amazing people doing so much important work in this field. Kris Brown, president of Brady, is one of those people, and we’re happy to have her here with us today.

We’ve been talking a lot this year about effective resistance and the need for each of us to do something. That’s all well and good, but it can be hard to figure out exactly how to start. Jamia Wilson’s new book Make Good Trouble: Discover Movements that Sparked Change can help! Jamia is an award-winning feminist activist, writer, speaker, and podcaster and author of Young Gifted and Black, Step Into Your Power, Big Ideas for Young Thinkers, and more.

Can you believe it’s barely been one month? Trump’s regime has only been in power a few weeks, and it has already done so much damage to the basic tenets of our democracy that it’s hard to get our heads around it.

And while Trump is moving quickly, this is not the product of quick and fast action. Rather, it's the result of a decades-long effort that is only now coming to full fruition. To talk about it, we’ve invited Katherine Stuart to join us. Katharine is the author of the new book “Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy

In the first of our new live format, Alyssa and Ben dig into the evils and incompetence of the early Trump regime, and the need for focused, strategic, and effective activism.

Tune in LIVE every Thursday at 5PM ET/2PM PT for new episodes!

Yes, the world is a hot mess--but we're not ALWAYS about political or social issues.

Ok, we're always about political or social issues. And sometimes, those issues include love and sex. This week, we've got both for you!

Like a bad penny, Trump is back in office–in part because of the xenophobic hate he spewed during the campaign and, sadly, the millions of Americans who embraced that hate. Much of it was aimed directly at immigrants, and now the felon-President is turning that hate into policy. Our guest today is one of those standing in Trump’s way. Hassan Ahmad is an immigration attorney in Virginia and a former candidate for Congress.

Los Angeles is experiencing an unprecedented tragedy. Thousands and thousands of homes and businesses have been destroyed by wildfires, and its not even fire season. Millions of people have been impacted, losing not just their homes and what they represent, but the contents of those homes and the communities they love. Kasey Lansdale has been in the middle of it all working to make a difference. Kasey is a writer, musician, and publisher who has been collecting, organizing, and distributing critically needed donations throughout the affected areas.