Current Affairs

This episode was originally released on our Patreon feed last year, but we've decided to release it to everyone.

Aisling McCrea and Oren Nimni discuss that time the American police firebombed Philadelphia. Along the way they discuss the stigma against communal living, death row, black liberation, the military-to-police pipeline, and the way the left deals with the more problematic aspects of its past. Please note that even though it happened in 1985, the story of the MOVE Bombing is still ongoing; in April it was revealed that the Penn Museum had kept the remains of some of the victims, and used them for research and teaching rather than return them to the grieving family.

https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/penn-museum-city-of-philadelphia-to-investigate-move-bombing-remains/2792675/

This episode was edited by Dan Thorn of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA.

Once again, we dig into your voicemails. (We hear you, and we see you.) Topics include personality tests, cryptids, political arguments with relatives, and rebooting the left after the pandemic.

The bird's nest this week was made up of five eggs: amusements and managing editor Lyta Gold, finance editor Sparky Abraham, senior editor Brianna Rennix, editor-in-chief Nathan J. Robinson, and business manager Allegra Silcox.

"An Oral History of Cryptid Currency": https://www.currentaffairs.org/2019/08/an-oral-history-of-cryptid-currency

This episode was edited by Dan Thorn of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA.

The Current Affairs flock discuss the right to live wherever you want, the dubious value of patriotism, and the things we love to do even though we're terrible at them. (Please note this episode was recorded before the recent escalation of violence against Palestinians, hence why it doesn't come up despite being relevant to some parts of this episode.)

The flock this week are senior editor Brianna Rennix, editor-in-chief Nathan Robinson, finance editor Sparky Abraham, and baby bird Charlie Abraham. Today's head bird in charge is Allegra Silcox.

"Libertarian Lullaby", like pretty much all our original music, is by Danny Bradley and available here: https://dannybradleymusic.com/songsforcurrentaffairs/libertarianlullaby

This episode was edited by Dan Thorn of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA.

Pete returns to talk about his new book Dedicated: The Case for Commitment in an Age of Infinite Browsing.

Book is here: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Dedicated/Pete-Davis/9781982140908

How a Surprisingly Anti-Capitalist Self-Help Book Could Help Deepen Our Democracy - Progressive.org

This episode was edited by Dan Thorn of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA.

This episode was originally posted to our Patreon feed a month ago, but we've decided to make it free for everyone. If you enjoy this kind of content, please consider subscribing to our bonus feed at www.patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!

Contributing editor Eli Massey begins a series of in-depth interviews with local activists. To begin with, he speaks to his friend Lesley Williams (@lesleywilliams), a librarian and activist with Jewish Voice for Peace, and based in Evanston, IL. Amongst other things, they discuss the influences of Black and Jewish culture in her life, her travails arranging pro-Palestinian programmes for the local community, and her critique of Evanston's "reparations" policy.

This episode was edited by Dan Thorn of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA.

The panel discuss the recent slate of anti-trans bills, theorize on politics as fandom, and announce their vows for post-pandemic life.

Today's flock consists of legal editor Oren Nimni, senior editor Brianna Rennix, amusements and managing editor Lyta Gold, and editor-in-chief Nathan J. Robinson.

This episode was edited by Dan Thorn of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA.

The team talk through the question of "vaccine passports", reimagine taxes, and judge whether it is obligatory to stay informed.

For the vaccine passport discussion, they are joined by Magnus Jamieson, who has previously guested on the podcast to talk about risk and resilience, and who has been following the COVID situation closely in his capacity as a stats geek (not, he would like us to stress, as an epidemiologist). In some brief patches, Magnus's audio features interference due to extraterrestrial whales careening through the universe, for which we can only apologize.

"Is MMT Real?" is an ongoing in-depth series that follows Sparky and Pete as they interview a series of economists and try to puzzle out the truth of MMT. You can listen to it now (along with all our other bonus episodes) for just $5 a month at www.patreon.com/CurrentAffairs.

The panel this week was associate editor Vanessa A. Bee, finance editor Sparky Abraham, poet-at-large Cate Root, contributing editor Eli Massey, editor-in-chief Nathan Robinson, guest science guy Magnus Jamieson, and host Aisling McCrea.

This episode was edited by Dan Thorn of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA.

Continuing our series of semi-regular immigration updates, Current Affairs' resident immigration lawyers Brianna Rennix and Oren Nimni explain the Biden administration's supposed changes in immigration policy, and what they've seen on the ground so far. This episode, like all our immigration updates, is not paywalled.

This episode was edited by Dan Thorn of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA.

The Current Affairs panel welcomes a guest - Ryan Kekeris (@punished_ryan), director of communications of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades. In this episode, Ryan explains the ins and outs of the PRO Act, Sparky gives us a potted history of trade routes, and the team explore what it means to turn powerlessness into power.

The panel this week was Ryan Kekeris, finance editor Sparky Abraham, senior editor Brianna Rennix, and host Nick Slater.

Sign up for PRO Act phonebanking: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/proactphonebank

William F. Buckley/Ronald Reagan Canal Debate: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1978/01/24/the-canal-debate/43b772f5-beab-48ba-bb43-25aa5782302a/

Otters helping each other over a wall: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXRsjYIuP6Y

This episode was edited by Dan Thorn of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA.

Once again we peruse, examine and eat your voicemails. Subjects include office animals, accusations of "childishness", the nature of the self and imaginary metros.

The panel this week was made up of senior editor Brianna Rennix, administrative Zoomer Kate Gauthreaux, amusements & managing editor Lyta Gold, editor-in-chief Nathan J. Robinson, and host Sparky Abraham.

This episode was edited by Dan Thorn of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA.