An excerpt from today's bonus episode, available in full to our Patreon patrons, in which Current Affairs amusements editor Lyta Gold and senior editor Brianna Rennix discuss myths with Classics scholar Daniel Walden, who recently wrote in the magazine about how the whole concept of “Western civilization" is a myth. Tune in to learn about why the myth of dragons may be a lefty one, why Jordan Peterson is confused about myths, what an anti-pope is, what myths can teach us about national origin stories, the purpose of trickster gods, and more.

Many thanks to Harrison Montgomery (@AugmentFourth) for help with edits and audio gags.

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The Current Affairs panel discusses what the end of racism and sexism might look like, legal star Ian Samuel enters the Lefty Shark Tank to pitch Supreme Court packing, and we all share our favorite historical what-ifs. (Plus, the segment breaks are haunted by disturbing 20th century ghosts!)

Further reading on racial and gender utopias:

Matt Bruenig and Economic Policy Institute have good data on the racial wealth gap here and here. The New York Times Magazine had a report this past spring on the crisis in black maternal health. Data on the gender gap in government is here and gender and racial pay gap information is here. We also read two conservatives in preparation for this episode: Michael Lind on the melting pot and John McWhorter on identity politics. The question that inspired this segment was asked by Harvard Law professor Randall Kennedy, who wrote about it here.

Further reading on Supreme Court packing:

Ian's original tweet is here. His Tucker clip is here. National Review responds to his proposal here. Dylan Matthews has a court packing Voxplainer here. Oren and Brianna's Current Affairs take on the whole idea of judges is here.

Further reading on our historical what-ifs:

Read Ho Chi Minh's Declaration of Independence here. History of Science is a really interesting discipline — read its wiki page here. Read more about free labor in Michael Sandel's Democracy's Discontent and Eric Foner's Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men. Read about one type of hierarchy organization here. Inside Job is here and Too Big to Fail is here. Joseph Singer's law review article on the Youngstown factory closing case is here.

Support Current Affairs by becoming a patron on our Patreon page. For the written form of Current Affairs — and to subscribe to the beautiful print magazine — visit: CurrentAffairs.org. To join the conversation, leave us a voicemail at 504-867-8851.

An excerpt from today's bonus episode, available in full to our Patreon patrons, in which editor-in-chief Nathan J. Robinson discusses all things Michigan with amusements editor (and Michigan native) Lyta Gold. Topics covered in under an hour: white flight, urban planning, the world’s largest porch, elk, college rivalries, pastries, the decline of local journalism, the Northern KKK, Henry Ford, and more.

To listen to this episode — and gain access to our patrons' "Bird Feed" — consider becoming a monthly patron at our Patreon page. Call into Current Affairs anytime at (504) 867-8851.

An excerpt from today's bonus episode, available in full to our Patreon patrons, in which editor-in-chief Nathan Robinson and legal editor Oren Nimni discuss Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, which they argue is, at least partially, a left-wing television show...or, at the very least, a useful spotlight on the petty tyranny of bad bosses.

To listen to this episode — and gain access to our patrons' "Bird Feed" — consider becoming a monthly patron at our Patreon page. Call into Current Affairs anytime at (504) 867-8851.

The Current Affairs panel discuss whether demanding that opponents be fired is good strategy, hear a dispatch from Nathan about the Abdul for Governor campaign, and each share their most conservative opinions.

The Panel:

Read Nathan's original essay on Abdul here and his essay on Abdul's single payer plan here. Learn more about Shri Thanedar's insincere campaign here.

Support Current Affairs by becoming a patron on our Patreon page. For the written form of Current Affairs — and to subscribe to the beautiful print magazine — visit: Current Affairs.org. To join the conversation, leave us a voicemail at 504-867-8851.

A Current Affairs megapanel opens up the Current Affairs voicemailbag to answer listener questions on topics ranging from lefty groupthink to ethical consumption to Lyta's theory of comedy to the origin of Nathan's Chomsky love.

The Megapanel:

Miscellany:

Here is Nathan and Brianna's essay on sortition. Here is Lyta's essay that outlines her feelings on the use of "normies" and here is her take on Star Trek. Here is the Salon essay we mentioned: "When Chomsky Wept." Here is an article on the Hewlett Packard internal report on the gender gap in confidence when applying for a job. Here is the bizarre New York Times article Brianna referenced about Rohingya refugees allegedly lying. Here is the wikipedia page for the 1950s show, Public Defender.

Support Current Affairs by becoming a patron on our Patreon page. For the written form of Current Affairs — and to subscribe to the beautiful print magazine — visit: Current Affairs.org. To join the conversation, leave us a voicemail at 504-867-8851.

An excerpt from today's bonus episode, available in full to our Patreon patrons, in which Current Affairs legal editor Oren Nimni and social media editor Vanessa A. Bee break down the latest cases from the Supreme Court's 2018 term: why they're disappointing, why everything can't be "speech," and why Anthony Kennedy is overrated.

To listen to this episode — and gain access to our patrons' "Bird Feed" — consider becoming a monthly patron at our Patreon page. Call into Current Affairs anytime at (504) 867-8851.

The Current Affairs panel discusses the latest flare-ups in the left-liberal divide (civility, Ocasio-Cortez, and more), hears Pete's Lefty Shark Tank pitch for a universal government login, and share their favorite silver bullets for solving many problems in one fell swoop.

The Panel:

Further reading on the left-liberal divide

Both Nathan and Pete have pieces on the left-liberal divide here and here. You can read Nathan's post-Ocasio take here and Brie's recent take on identity politics and the Democrats here.

Further reading on a universal government login

Read about Estonia's online voting here and the U.K.'s verification system here. To join up with tech-minded lefties, check out the Progressive Coders Network.

Further reading on our silver bullets

For one of the heroes of the caring economy, check out National Domestic Workers Alliance director Ai-Jen Poo. The Bruenigs have also written widely on pro-family economic policies. Democracy Journal had a roundup on national service in 2014. The People's Policy Project put out a recent report on incarcerated voter enfranchisement.

Miscellany

Here's some more information on what it means to be bi-dialectical.**

Support Current Affairs by becoming a patron on our Patreon page. For the written form of Current Affairs — and to subscribe to the beautiful print magazine — visit: Current Affairs.org. To join the conversation, leave us a voicemail at 504-867-8851.

An excerpt from today's bonus episode, available in full to our Patreon patrons, in which Current Affairs finance editor Sparky Abraham and editor-in-chief Nathan J. Robinson discuss all things education: student loans, free college, and the lefty case for education (in response to libertarian Bryan Caplan's recent book, The Case Against Education).

To listen to this episode — and gain access to our patrons' "Bird Feed" — consider becoming a monthly patron at our Patreon page. Call into Current Affairs anytime at (504) 867-8851.

An excerpt from today's bonus episode, available in full to our Patreon patrons, in which Current Affairs amusements editor Lyta Gold and senior editor Brianna Rennix wax (and wane) poetic about Irish poet William Butler Yeats, taking listeners on a rollicking ride from his strange diagrams to the failure of socialism in Ireland to... the mysterious appeal of Jordan Peterson.

To listen to this episode — and gain access to our patrons' "Bird Feed" — consider becoming a monthly patron at our Patreon page. Call into Current Affairs anytime at (504) 867-8851.