Bad Faith

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This week, Brie speaks to Christian Picciolini, a former white supremacist leader who went on to renounce hate and found the counter-extremism organizations Life After Hate and Free Radicals Project. They get into the pathways radicalized people take into the hate movement, the efficacy of disengagement work, how we should judge redemption, and more, in the context of Christian's latest book Breaking Hate: Confronting the New Culture of Extremism.

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Produced by Ben Dalton (@wbend).

Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).

Earlier this month, the online left had a spirited debate about whether it should embrace "patriotism." Is pride in country inextricable from a noxious nationalism? Or can patriotism be redefined as something less jingoistic but equally appealing to the working classes? Should the Right have the exclusive ability to weaponize the stars and stripes to advance their faux populist agenda? Or should the left learn to love America, too? Is political scientist and cultural critic Micheal Parenti correct when he says there is no true patriotism without a love a justice? Or is that just wishful thinking? This week, Brie invited African American History Professor & prolific author Gerald Horne on to discuss whether the white supremacist roots of American History foreclose the possibility that patriotism can work for the left.

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock our full premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast

Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube for video of this episode. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod).

Produced by Ben Dalton (@wbend).

Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock this episode and our full premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast

This week, Brie is joined by an all star climate panel: Historian, journalist, and host of Red Nation Podcast Nick Estes recently returned from Minnesota where he brings updates on the Line 3 oil pipeline protests; Walker Bragman, a reporter for the Daily Poster, who just broke a story revealing that while Biden was on his climate tour, his administration argued that scientific proof of catastrophic climate change “does not present sufficient evidence” to halt the government’s plan to vastly expand offshore drilling; and senior climate reporter from Huffington Post Alex Kaufman weigh in on efforts to raise the criminal penalties for climate action. They discuss how indigenous identity and liberal lingo have been weaponized to provide cover for the Biden administration's climate inaction, and what we all can do about it.

Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube to access our full video library. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod)and Instagram (@badfaithpod).

Produced by Ben Dalton (@wbend).

Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).

Last spring, COVID struck, and by the end of 2020, 11 million Americans were significantly overdue on rent. The following March, the CDC imposed a federal eviction moratorium that offered temporary protection to some renters, but after Cori Bush and others progressives fought to extend it, the Supreme Court overturned the moratorium in August. This week, I spoke to the left's most visible housing activist, Cea Weaver, and local organizer & Fred Hampton Leftist Podcast contributor Afeni, about what to do next. Cea unpacks important root causes for the housing crisis -- like limited housing stock -- and ruminates on the structural/philosophical barriers at play -- like America's commitment to homeownership as a path to financial security. Afeni offers essential insights gleaned from working as an activist on the ground in DC, and proposes radical solutions that might work better than a polite letter to your congressperson. Afeni explains what she learned from conversations with squad-members on the capital steps, Cea helps us focus on what we should be fighting for, and yes, toward the end, yes -- we discuss The Dress.

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock our full premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast

Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube for video of this episode. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod).

Produced by Ben Dalton (@wbend).

Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).

This week, Brie spoke to political scientist, activist, former professor and writer Norm Finkelstein about his new book on identity politics and cancel culture. Specifically, he asked Brie to critique his chapter on Barack Obama, and how his identity was weaponized to sell his 2008 candidacy as having revolutionary potential that could meet the scale of the Great Recession. History has shown that Obama's no leftist, but Finkelstein's critique goes beyond Obama's policy commitments (or lack thereof) to interrogate the extent to which the  narrative of Obama as an exceptional intellect and politician is, itself, a fiction.  Did Obama really earn his spot on the Harvard Law Review, or was he a beneficiary of White liberal guilt? Is Finkelstein overly strident in his critique, or is Brie overly sensitive about critiques that center Obama's intellect and ability rather than his policy commitments? What can we learn from the people Obama surrounded himself with -- from speech writers to senior advisors -- and is Brie right that how we critique Obama matters nearly as much as the critique itself? This was a hot one, but a good one. We cut this interview down by over an hour, and end with Ben and Brie summarizing takeaways from this interview and last week's chat with Talia Lavin, and reflecting on Brie's approach to interviews and how she can continue to improve.

A week after they defeated Roe v. Wade, two sides of the evil triad (sans Susan Sarandon) convene to discuss their plot to ruin America. Or at least that's how some liberals might view this chat between Brie & physician, activist, and 2016 Green Party presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein. Brie asks Dr. Stein how she feels about being blamed for Trump, whether progressives will hold firm on their threat to tank the bi-partisan infrastructure bill if the reconciliation bill fails, and about her beef with the Movement for a People's Party. They also discuss the poison pill against 3rd parties embedded in HR-1, the failure of progressive media to cover Rank Choice Voting and third party efforts, how to get through to anti-vaxxers, and motherhood. It's a conversation Brie's been wanting to have for a while, and it's a good one.

Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube to access our full video library. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod)and Instagram (@badfaithpod).

Produced by Ben Dalton (@wbend).

Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock this episode and our full premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast

As the Trump era brought spiking hate crimes, white supremacist rallies, and a renewed interest in racist online communities, journalist Talia Lavin began a fascinating social experiment aimed at understanding and exposing the white nationalist movement: She went undercover as an idealized Aryan date on white's-only dating sites. To disguise her own Jewish roots, Talia used images of an anonymous European huntress to set a trap for lonely white supremacists. The result of her investigation into the alt-right was 2020's acclaimed book, Culture Warlords. Nearly a year after its publication, Brie asked Talia about what drove her to want to enter the belly of the beast, what she learned, and whether her direct experiences with white supremacy have made her doubt the possibility of a broad, multiracial coalition. To what extent, if at all, is deprograming Nazis a useful goal? Is Nazi punching as scalable as addressing the social and economic marginalization endemic to some of her targets? Why not both? It was an unexpectedly spirited conversation that ended abruptly when Talia ended the interview. Did Brie push things too far?

Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube for video of our episodes. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod)and Instagram (@badfaithpod).

Produced by Ben Dalton (@wbend).

Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).

Democratic Party leadership is telling Californians to vote "no" on the question of whether to Governor Gavin Newsom. But there's a second question on the ballot: If a majority of Californians vote "yes," who should replace him? Democratic leaders have advised voters to leave the second question blank. But hasn't the New York mayoral race taught the left that it should consolidate early around progressive alternative? As we discussed last week, the leading contender to replace Newsom is conservative talk show host Larry Elder -- not a guy you want in charge of the environment, COVID management, or, well, anything. But because the Democratic Party is hedging all bets on Newsom, there hasn't been much guidance about who the best left candidates in the race really are. The liberal media, unsurprisingly, has been silent about the progressive candidates in the race. Unfortunately, left media hasn't been any better. That's why this week, Brie spoke to a panel of three leading left candidates: Green Party candidate & criminal defense attorney Dan Kapelovitz, Socialist Equality Party candidate David Moore, and California National Party candidate and political science lecturer at San Francisco State, Michael Loebs. This conversation is as much about their individual candidacies as is is about their respective parties' theories of change. Everyone here may agree on the need for Medicare for All, but a non-Marxist professor of Marxism cum successionist, a Trotskyite, and a Green Party member each have very different theories of how to get there. It's an edifying conversation that interrogates the likelihood that a President Gavin Newsom will bring us Medicare for All, questions the value of "pushing" Democratic politicians who will always serve capital, and asks: should California just go it alone? I also ask the panelists why they haven't managed to consolidate around one left candidate with two weeks left until election day. If you support this type of substantive podcasting, consider subscribing at http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock this episode and our full premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast

The personal is political, so this week an all female panel weighs in on what it's like to date as a leftist. Is political alignment a necessity? Where would you draw the line? A Kamala Harris supporter? A Buttigeig stan? Do heteronormative gender dynamics make it more difficult for leftists women to constructively negotiate disagreements with less progressive men? Do leftist ladies who date women have it easier? Are certain professions "off limits" or can a leftist and a hedge fund manager find true love together? What happens when your dating aspirations are out of synch with your political values? We probe these questions and more in this sure-to-be-controversial episode.

Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube to access our full video library. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod)and Instagram (@badfaithpod).

Produced by Ben Dalton (@wbend).

Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).