In this Always Already After Dark 2020 Democratic Presidential Primary Debate Special, Emily, John, Sid, and James give their wide-ranging and free-wheeling take on the current terrain of American electoral politics. This fantastic four discusses the debates held June 26-27th in both their form and content: as the spectacle of a two-night battle royale between twenty candidates, as a critical theorist’s diagnostic tool for evaluating the empty signifiers of political rhetoric, and as a potential vehicle of social change through expanding the horizons of the American political imaginary. In no particular order, we spin through the rolodex of candidates and issues presented on the debate stage as we consider some prompts for thought: Why pay attention to electoral politics in the first place? Does it make a difference to name climate change versus climate chaos or climate crisis? Have “end-of-history” reconfigurations in American race, gender, sex, and class over the 20th century run their course? Are we allowed to like Uncle Bernie AND Prof Liz? What do the #YangGang-Swalwell techbro constituencies reveal about millennial politics? Can Chuck Todd please just NOT? Is Baby Kavi the key to the revolution? Listen in to get these urgent answers and more!

Requests for texts for us to discuss? Dreams for us to interpret? Advice questions for us to answer? Email us at alwaysalreadypodcast AT gmail DOT com. Subscribe on iTunes. Follow us on Twitter. Like our Facebook page. RSS feed here. Thanks to Bad Infinity for the intro music, “Desiring Machines,” from their album FutureCommons; always already thanks to B for the outro music. News bulletin sound effect is from Fesliyan Studios royalty-free background music. For the mp3 of the episode click here.

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Al Diaz of the Miami Herald, via Tampa Bay Times: https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2019/06/27/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-two-democratic-debates-plus-a-live-stream/