America's Democrats

The erosion of democracy under Donald Trump, and how to reclaim America with a progressive populist agenda.  Plus Bill Press on the Trump kleptocracy.

An extended conversation with Robert Kutner about his new book “The Stakes: 2020 and the Survival of American Democracy”. And Bill Press talks with David Fahrenthold of The Washington Post about President Trump's history of profiting off his presidency. 

In his latest book, Robert Kuttner makes the case that Donald Trump has brought American democracy perilously close to the brink, and that it will only get worse if he wins a second term.  He argues for a revival of New Deal-era populism to bring us back from the edge and begin to repair the damage.

We continue our conversation with Robert Kuttner, author of “The Stakes: 2020 and the Survival of American Democracy” about Democrats pursuit of an all-out progressive economic agenda.  

What we need to know about Trump's money.  Bill Press talks with Pulitzer Prize winning journalist David Farenthold of The Washington Post.

Who’s behind the increasing suppression of your right to protest?

Wake Up Calls. How right wing policies are killing the voters who support them.  Plus, the truth about the Koch Brothers and their powerful reach. And Bill Press talks with Congressman Mark Pocan.

“Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment Is Killing America's Heartland.” Plus, “Kochland: The Secret History of Koch Industries and Corporate Power in America”. And Bill Press talks Congressman Mark Pocan (D-WI),  Co- Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Why are so many working-class white Americans  willing to support policies that are making them sick and may even lead to their death? That’s the question that led Johnathan Metzl to spend six years talking to Trump supporters. And what he found out tells an alarming story about the politics of race and its impact on public health.

The phrase “Koch brothers” has become synonymous with the outsized influence of wealth and conservative ideology on American politics.  And for good reason. In his newest book, journalist Christopher Leonard tells the story of how the Koch brothers amassed their vast wealth and explores their enormous clout.

The progresive agenda on health care, climate change, trade and 2020.  Bill Press talks with Congressman Mark Pocan (D-WI), Co- Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

To make democracy work, we have to work it.

The Future of Politics. Republicans in a battle with a new America, and what that means for progressive Democrats. Plus, is President Trump fit to serve? Bill Press takes it on.

An extended conversation with Stanley Greenberg on his new book RIP GOP: How the New America Is Dooming the Republicans. Plus, Bill Press talks with mental health experts about why they fear the President is a danger to the nation.

Progressive democrats are not only fighting to get Donald Trump out of the White House,  but for a new alignment of politics in America that will realize a progressive agenda on everything from jobs and immigration to health care and the climate. Pollster and author Stanley Greenberg says the nation is ready to respond, and Republicans are set up for a shattering defeat.

Bill Press on Donald Trump’s  state of mind and why mental health experts are taking an unusual public stand to warn the public.

Look who’s joining the struggle against corporate plutocracy

Reframing white identity. Reforming elections. Plus Bill Press on the politics of how we talk about Israel.

Richard D. Kahlenberg on the limits of white identity politics. Joshua A. Douglas on the growing movement for voting rights reform.  Plus Bill Press with a progressive perspective on US-Israeli relations. 

Richard Kahlenberg is a scholar who has written extensively on the interplay of race and class in education.  He has been called “the intellectual father of the economic integration movement” in schooling. In a recent book review, he takes on the  issue of “white identity”, its influence on American politics, and the need for a national identity and politics that bridge racial divides.

Amid dire news about our broken electoral system and efforts to suppress American voters, a new book from Joshua A. Douglas offers an optimistic view drawn from the stories of people across the nation fighting for free and fair elections.

Bill Press on why criticism of Israel is not anti-semitism, and voting for Democrats is not disloyal. 

How to arm nature against corporate profiteers.

Taking a stand for workers. How workers around the world are fighting for a living wage.  The labor campaign for health care justice. Plus Bill Press with former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci.

Author Annelise Orleck takes us inside the global uprising against poverty wages. The grassroots labor movement for Medicare-for-All.  Plus, Bill Press with former Trump aide turned critic Anthony Scaramucci.

Annelise Orleck is a longtime historian of labor movements. In this encore interview, she talks about her newest book and tracking the growing fight across the globe for workers rights and a living wage.

The Labor Campaign for Single Payer Health Care believes that health care is a fundamental human right for everyone. In this encore interview, Mark Dudzic says it’s up to unions to take the lead and fix our broken health care system.

Bill Press asks former Trump aide Anthony Scaramucci about why he is fighting to make sure the President doesn’t win a second term.

Should our natural resources have legal rights?

The populism we need now. Revisiting the fight against gerrymandering . Plus Bill Press on Donald Trump’s broken vision of immigration.

David Daley on how to restore fairness and democracy to elections. John Judis and a progressive vision of populism and nationalism. Plus Bill Press on how to solve America’s immigration crisis.

The Supreme Court’s decision on partisan gerrymandering dealt a huge blow to the future of democratc elections in America.  David Daley is one of the nation's leading experts on partisan gerrymandering. He says it’s not too late to fight back.

Across the globe, nationalism and populism  are being co-opted by the right, and democracy is paying the price. Veteren journalist John Judis says it doesn’t have to be that way.  He says the left needs to embrace both ideas for the promise they hold for a progressive and inclusive politics.

Bill Press gets to the truth about immigration with Tom Jawetz, Vice President for Immigration Policy at the Center for American Progress

Trump puts opponent of public lands in charge of public lands.

Standing up for Truth. The evolution of Trump’s attack on the press.  A new commitment to covering climate change. Plus calling out the GOP effort to sabotage health care. 

Donald Trump’s assault on truth and how we repair the damage. Why journalists are signing up to give the climate story the coverage it demands. Plus Bill Press on what’s at stake if the Affordable Care Act is struck down.

Kyle Pope says the science is clear, but too often journalists are not. For too long, the U.S. media have downplayed and distorted  the climate change story, with devastating consequences. That’s why he has co-founded a new initiative involving over 60 news organizations to get the story right.

Well before his inauguration, Donald Trump launched a virile assault on the press and the very notion of truth itself. Since then, the attacks have only escalated. Brian Ott is a communications scholar who examines the intersection of rhetoric, media and democratic discourse.  He says the President has spearheaded a credibility crisis, and it relies on all of us to repair the damage.

Donald Trump’s effort to destroy American health care and what it will take to save the Affordable Care Act.  Bill Press talks with Brad Woodhouse, president of Protect Our Care.

Government for the rich, the poor be damned.

The Politics of Race: Past and Present, plus a defining moment in the history of AIDS in the United States

The GOP’s Southern Strategy from Richard Nixon to Donald Trump.

 Plus former Virginia governor Terry McAulife on the growing threat of white nationalism in America today.   And Bill Press on the story behind the first ever AIDS ward in the United States. 

Terry McAulife served as the 72nd Governor of Virginia from 2014 to 2018. He was chair of the Democratic National Committee from 2001 to 2005, was co-chair of President Bill Clinton's 1996 re-election campaign and chair of Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign.  It was during his recent term as Governor that the infamous Unite the Right Rally took place in Charlottesville and led to the deaths of three people. Dozens more were injured. In his new book Beyond Charlottesville: Taking a Stand Against White Nationalism, the former governor offers a behind the scenes account of that day, and his thoughts on what the nation should still be learning.

The Southern Strategy is often understood as a fixed point in American political history when Richard Nixon and the GOP used racism to build a base among white voters in the South. A new book is changing that perspective and deepens our understanding of how the Southern Strategy transformed American politics, and how its impact persists even today,

The transformation of how doctors treated AIDS patients.  From fear and ignorance to compassion and dignity. Bill Press talks with Cliff Morrison about the new documentary 5B.

Will Democrats be Democrats, or fraidy cats?

Building a Movement for Deep Change.  Confronting the power of concentrated wealth. Overcoming the new Jim Crow. Plus, how to defeat the NRA.

The entrenchment of American wealth and political power. A faithful movement to end mass incarceration. Plus  Bill Press with Igor Volsky founder and the Director of Guns Down America.

In a new book, Paul Starr argues that much of our politics today is a struggle over the historic entrenchment of great wealth through political power. And if Donald Trump gets re-elected, this entrenchment will only deepen.

With nearly 2.3 million prisoners behind bars, the United States is the incarceration capital of the world. Our next guest is part of a new interfaith movement that is calling for an end to what they describe as a moral injustice and one of the dominant expressions of systemic racism in our country today.

Can America end its love affair with guns?  There’s more progress than you may think. Bill Press talks with Igor Volsky author of Guns Down: How to Defeat the NRA and Build a Safer Future with Fewer Guns

What is the “AI agenda,” who’s pushing it, and why?

Delivering on the promise of economic security. Why social security works, and NAFTA 2.0 doesn’t. Plus Bill Press with DNC Chair Tom Perez on why the party of Lincoln is dead.

Why social security isn’t going broke and how expanding it will help all of us. Who wins and who loses under Trump’s renegotiated NAFTA.  Plus, DNC Chair Tom Perez tells Bill Press how history will judge Donald Trump and the Republicans who support him.

President Trump’s hoping to fast track his renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement with a promise that he has the best plan for American workers. Arthur Stamoulis says the plan falls far short of that promise,  and a lot more work is needed for a NAFTA replacement to benefit working people and the planet.

On August 14, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law the Social Security Act. It remains one of the most important pieces of legislation in American history. Few can  speak better to that than Nancy Altman. Countering the many myths used to discredit Social Security, she says it’s time to fight to increase, not cut, the program.

Bill Press talks with DNC Chair Tom Perez about why he says Donald Trump is the most dangerous President in history.

How ridiculous is Trump’s border stand?