Current Affairs

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.

An excerpt from today's bonus episode, available in full to our Patreon patrons, in which Current Affairs social media editor Vanessa A. Bee, contributing editor Briahna Joy Gray and amusements editor Lyta Gold give the Current Affairs take on reality television. Spoiler alert: they are very in favor!

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 humanitarian crisis at the border, debate Lyta's general theory of political comedy, and responds to some listener voicemails.

The Panel:

Further reading on the humanitarian crisis at the border:

Brianna's piece from last summer on her work at the border is here, Brianna's vision for what a humane immigration policy would look like is here, and Brianna's explanation of the recent monstrous policies are here. A painful story on one family's experience of family separation is here.

Further reading on political comedy:

Michelle Wolf's White House Correspondents' Dinner set is here. A simple punching up and punching down explainer is here. A longer history of punching up and punching down is here.

Miscellaneous further reading:

Here and here are two interviews with Bill Waterson sent in by a listener. Here's Florence Kelley's wikipedia page — a great forgotten hero!

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 explain and comment on the recent Masterpiece Cakeshop decision that came down from the Supreme Court last week.

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 why right-wing commentators feel so aggrieved, figures out what we mean by prison abolition, and make the complicated simple and the simple complicated.

The Panel:

Further reading on the 'Intellectual Dark Web':

Here is the original New York Times op-ed on the Intellectual Dark Web and here is Nathan's rebuttal.

Further reading on prison abolition:

A Voxplainer on prison abolition is here and a Jacobinsplainer on prison abolition is here. Nathan's grappling with prison abolition is here and a hopeful piece from Mother Jones on North Dakota's experiment with Scandinavian-style prisons is here.

Further reading on simple things that are actually complicated and complicated things that are actually simple:

David Graeber's book on debt is called: Debt: The First 5,000 years. The study Brie referenced about election strategy is here. The Greenwald piece on animal abuse that Brianna referenced is here. You can learn more about social housing as a solution to homelessness here and Pete wrote up a short piece on participatory care, which 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: Current Affairs.org

An excerpt from our first bonus episode, available in full to our Patreon patrons, in which Current Affairs legal editor Oren Nimni and editor-in-chief Nathan J. Robinson discuss their recent Current Affairs articles on mandatory arbitration and freedom of contract. (Plus, Nathan shares his love of pie and trials with learning to play the washboard).

To listen to this episode — and gain access to our patron feed — consider becoming a monthly patron at our Patreon page.

The Current Affairs panel unpacks the accusation of liberal bias, asks whether landlords are necessary, and shares their favorite lost historical hero.

The Panel:

Further reading on institutional bias:

Further reading on landlords:

Further reading on alternatives to landlord domination:

Further reading on our historical heroes:

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

The panel dives into the Jobs Guarantee vs. Universal Basic Income debate, Nathan pitches randomized college admissions, and everyone shares their worst past belief.

The Panel:

Further reading on the UBI:

Further reading on the Jobs Guarantee: Jeff Spross' case for a federal jobs guarantee; Jacobin's case; Jefferson Cowie on the history of the jobs guarantee; Atossa Araxia Abrahamian on Modern Monetary Theory; Zach Carter's profile of Modern Monetary Theorist Stephanie Kelton.

Further reading contrasting UBI and Job's Guarantee: Jeff Spross on why not both?; Jonathan Malesic case against the dignity of work; Shannon Ikebe's case against the wrong kind of UBI; Alyssa Battistoni on the false promise of basic income.

Further reading on the case for randomized college admissions: Nathan's article; Freddie DeBoer's defense of the SAT; Barry Schwartz on admissions lotteries.

Here's a Voxsplainer on the Joy Reid controversy.

A small correction from the episode: Paul Goodman did not say the youth of Kansas should build a mountain; David Riesman said that and Paul Goodman said it was ridiculous. The correct quote is: "When in our country David Riesman urges the youth of Kansas to build a mountain so that they can have manly work and enjoy skiing, one does not know whether to cry or laugh or cheer." Learn more about Paul Goodman by watching the interesting documentary Paul Goodman Changed My Life.

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.

A trailer for Current Affairs: The Podcast.