Technology giants like Facebook, Google and Amazon are often praised for the jobs they create and high salaries they offer. But that praise may be misplaced because my guests this week say the tech sector is also responsible for many Americans losing their jobs.

On this episode, I talk with Ariana Tobin of ProPublica about the investigation she and colleague Peter Gosselin published looking into IBM's age discrimination against thousands of employees. And in the book chat, I speak with Andrew Yang—founder of Venture of America and U.S. Presidential candidate. He's also the author of the new book, The War on Normal People: The Truth About America's Disappearing Jobs and Why Universal Basic Income Is Our Future.

Listen and subscribe to the governmentality podcast in iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, Blubrry, Stitcher, or anywhere else podcasts are found.

Guests:

Ariana Tobin is an engagement reporter at ProPublica, where she works to cultivate communities for their coverage. She was previously at The Guardian, where she was an engagement editor and, before that, she worked at WNYC, producing the technology-focused Note to Self podcast. Follow her on Twitter: @Ariana_Tobin

Andrew Yang is an entrepreneur, author and presidential candidate. In 2011 he founded Venture for America, a national entrepreneurship fellowship program that pairs recent graduates with startups. He's the author of The War on Normal People in which he makes the case for implementing a universal basic income: $1,000 a month for every American adult, no strings attached. Follow him on Twitter: @AndrewYangVFA

Discussed on the show:

• Peter Gosselin and Ariana Tobin's "Cutting 'Old Heads' at IBM" at ProPublica
• Andrew Yang's The War on Normal People

Follow governmentality:

• On Twitter: @governmentality
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• And say hi! [email protected]

Please take a moment to rate and review the show wherever you listen to podcasts—it really does help others discover our show.

The governmentality podcast was produced and edited by Michele Zipkin. The show's music was composed and performed by Jeremy Carlstedt.

In George Orwell's dystopian novel 1984, O'Brien, a leader in the Inner Party concludes that "Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship." In the 20th century, that may have been true. But in the 21st century, we're seeing new power rules take shape before our very eyes.

On this episode, I talk with Mark Joseph Stern of Slate about the March For Our Lives Rally. And in the book chat, I speak with Jeremy Heimans, co-author with Henry Timms of the new book, New Power: How Power Works In Our Hyperconnected World—And How To Make It Work For You.

Listen and subscribe to the governmentality podcast in iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, Blubrry, Stitcher, or anywhere else podcasts are found.

Guests:

Mark Joseph Stern covers courts and the law at Slate. Stern received his JD from the Georgetown University Law Center. Follow him on Twitter: @mjs_DC

Jeremy Heimans is co-founder and CEO of Purpose, a home for building 21st century movements and ventures that use the power of participation to change the world. In 2011, Jeremy received the Ford Foundation's 75th Anniversary Visionary Award for his work as a movement pioneer and the World Economic Forum named him a Young Global Leader. With Henry Timms, Jeremy is co-author of the book New Power: How Power Works in Our Hyperconnected World—and How to Make It Work for You. Follow him on Twitter: @jeremyheimans

Discussed on the show:

• Stern's "Tomorrow Is the Beginning of Democracy" at Slate
• New Power: How Power Works in Our Hyperconnected World—and How to Make It Work for You by Heimans and Timms

Follow governmentality:

• On Twitter: @governmentality
• Join the discussion on Facebook.
• Subscribe to the governmentality newsletter.
• And say hi! [email protected]

Please take a moment to rate and review the show wherever you listen to podcasts—it really does help others discover our show.

The governmentality podcast was produced and edited by Michele Zipkin. The show's music was composed and performed by Jeremy Carlstedt.

In less than a year, California politician Jerry Brown will close out his political career. But Brown isn't a member of the Republican Trump retirement club. He's the Democratic governor of California who will bump up against his term limits after entering California politics more than 40 years ago. With a 28-year gap between the first time he served as the state executive and now, Brown is simultaneously one of youngest governors and currently the oldest.

On this governmentality short, I talk with Andy Kroll, who wrote a profile of Jerry Brown for The California Sunday Magazine. We discussed how pessimism guided Brown's politics, his role as a senior statesman in the Trump era and his uncomfortable relationship with his legacy.

Listen and subscribe to the governmentality podcast in iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, Blubrry, Stitcher, or anywhere else podcasts are found.

Guest:

Andy Kroll is an investigative reporter for Mother Jones based in Washington, D.C., and a contributing writer for The California Sunday Magazine. His work has also appeared at Rolling Stone, The New Republic, Huffington Post Highline, and Men's Journal. Follow him on Twitter: @AndyKroll

Discussed on the show:

• Kroll's "The Last Days of Jerry Brown" in The California Sunday Magazine

Follow governmentality:

• On Twitter: @governmentality
• Join the discussion on Facebook.
• Subscribe to the governmentality newsletter.
• And say hi! [email protected]

Please take a moment to rate and review the show wherever you listen to podcasts—it really does help others discover our show.

The governmentality podcast was produced and edited by Michele Zipkin. The show's music was composed and performed by Jeremy Carlstedt.

During the 2016 election cycle, the ultra conservative white nationalist movement peddling anti-semitism and other forms of bigotry known as the alt-right emerged as a growing group with influence in the Trump camp. And once Steve Bannon became President Donald Trump's chief strategist, the alt-right had a direct line to the Oval Office. But with the ouster of Bannon in August and some financial and organizational setbacks, does the alt-right have the same power they had just one year ago?

On this episode, I talk with Allegra Kirkland of Talking Points Memo about her ongoing reporting on the alt-right. And in the book chat, I speak with Jonathan Weisman of The New York Times about his new book, Semitism: Being Jewish In America In The Age of Trump.

Listen and subscribe to the governmentality podcast in iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, Blubrry, Stitcher, or anywhere else podcasts are found.

Guests:

Allegra Kirkland is a New York-based reporter for Talking Points Memo. She previously worked on The Nation's web team and as the associate managing editor for AlterNet. Follow her on Twitter @allegrakirkland

Jonathan Weisman is an editor in the Washington bureau of The New York Times and the author of (((Semitism))): Being Jewish in America in the Age of Trump. Follow him on Twitter: @jonathanweisman

Discussed on the show:

• Kirkland's "Richard Spencer's Ideological Allies Jump Ship As College Tour Flails"
• Weisman's (((Semitism))): Being Jewish in the Age of Trump

Follow governmentality:

• On Twitter: @governmentality
• Join the discussion on Facebook.
• Subscribe to the governmentality newsletter.
• And say hi! [email protected]

Please take a moment to rate and review the show wherever you listen to podcasts—it really does help others discover our show.

The governmentality podcast was produced and edited by Michele Zipkin. The show's music was composed and performed by Jeremy Carlstedt.

Political polarization has only been increasing over the last decade. From fights on Capitol Hill to discourse on social media, our union is divided and it goes beyond our two party system. On this episode, S. Mo Jang of the University of South Carolina discusses his new study on the relationship between mass shootings and political polarization, as well as the media's impact on that dynamic. And in the book chat, Amy Chua, Yale Law professor, discusses her new book: Political Tribes: Group Instinct and The Fate of Nations.

Listen and subscribe to the governmentality podcast in iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, Blubrry, Stitcher, or anywhere else podcasts are found.

Guests:

S. Mo Jang is an assistant professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of South Carolina and previously worked as a network television journalist for the Seoul Broadcasting System in South Korea.

Amy Chua is the John M. Duff, Jr. Professor of Law at Yale Law School. Her expertise is in international business transactions, law and development, ethnic conflict, and globalization and the law. Her first book, World on Fire: How Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred and Global Instability was a New York Times bestseller and selected by both The Economist and the U.K.'s Guardian as a Best Book of 2003 and her 2011 memoir Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother was an international bestseller translated into 30 languages. Follow her on Twitter: @amychua

Discussed on the show:

• Jang's "Mass Shooting's Backfire: The Boomerang Effects of Death Concerns on Policy Attitudes"
• Chua's Political Tribes

Follow governmentality:

• On Twitter: @governmentality
• Join the discussion on Facebook.
• Subscribe to the governmentality newsletter.
• And say hi! [email protected]

Please take a moment to rate and review the show wherever you listen to podcasts—it really does help others discover our show.

The governmentality podcast was produced and edited by Michele Zipkin. The show's music was composed and performed by Jeremy Carlstedt.

Concerns about corporate civil rights and power over individual citizens isn't exactly a new phenomenon. With the Supreme Court decisions on Citizens United and Hobby Lobby, Americans are increasingly aware of the special citizenship corporations possess. And that's something that key members of the Trump administration are seeking to strengthen through deregulation and policy implementation.

On this episode, Michael Grunwald of Politico Magazine talks about his reporting on Mick Mulvaney, the director of the Office of Management and Budget and the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. And in the book chat, Adam Winkler discusses his new book, We The Corporations: How American Businesses Won Their Civil Rights.

Listen and subscribe to the governmentality podcast in iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, Blubrry, Stitcher, or anywhere else podcasts are found.

Guests:

Michael Grunwald is senior writer at Politico Magazine and the author of The New New Deal: The Hidden Story of Change in the Obama Era. Follow him on Twitter: @MikeGrunwald

Adam Winkler is a specialist in American constitutional law and history and is the author of We the Corporations: How American Businesses Won Their Civil Rights, as well as Gunfight: The Battle over the Right to Bear Arms in America. His scholarship has been cited in landmark Supreme Court cases, including opinions on the Second Amendment and on corporate free speech rights. Follow him on Twitter: @adamwinkler

Discussed on the show:

• Winkler's We The Corporations: How American Businesses Won Their Civil Rights
• Grunwald's "Mick The Knife"

Follow governmentality:

• On Twitter: @governmentality
• Join the discussion on Facebook.
• Subscribe to the governmentality newsletter.
• And say hi! [email protected]

Please take a moment to rate and review the show wherever you listen to podcasts—it really does help others discover our show.

The governmentality podcast was produced and edited by Michele Zipkin. The show's music was composed and performed by Jeremy Carlstedt.

Since President Donald Trump stepped foot in the Oval Office a little more than a year ago, it seems a week can't go by without scandal-soaked headlines. From Russian ties to Trump World to White House personnel catastrophes to financial conflicts of interest, this administration has no shortage of White House scandals.

On this episode, I talk with David Graham, staff writer for The Atlantic, about the scandals that are plaguing the White House. And in the book chat, Joseph Rodota and I discuss his new book on the history and power of The Watergate complex, The Watergate: Inside America's Most Infamous Address.

Listen and subscribe to the governmentality podcast in iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, Blubrry, Stitcher, or anywhere else podcasts are found.

Guests:

David Graham is a staff writer at The Atlantic covering politics. He previously edited The Atlantic's politics section and has reported for Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, and The National.Follow him on Twitter: @GrahamDavidA

Joseph Rodota is a writer and consultant who divides his time between California and Washington, DC. and has worked at the highest levels of federal, state, and local politics for more than 30 years. He served as a writer and communications manager in the Reagan White House and as a top campaign and government aide to California Governors Pete Wilson and Arnold Schwarzenegger. He has written columns for the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Huffington Post and other publications. Follow him on Twitter: @josephrodota

Discussed on the show:

• Graham's "A Scandal That Reveals The White House's 'Adults'"
• Rodota's The Watergate: Inside America's Most Infamous Address

Follow governmentality:

• On Twitter: @governmentality
• Join the discussion on Facebook.
• Subscribe to the governmentality newsletter.
• And say hi! [email protected]

Please take a moment to rate and review the show wherever you listen to podcasts—it really does help others discover our show.

The governmentality podcast was produced and edited by Michele Zipkin. The show's music was composed and performed by Jeremy Carlstedt.

Facebook news feed changes are coming after the Silicon Valley giant has increasingly come under fire for having a negative impact on politics and for making the proliferation of fake (and divisive) news that much easier. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the changes are meant to make everybody "feel more connected and less lonely, and that correlates with long term measures of happiness and health." Publishers are among those bemoaning the changes, but so are Facebook users who say they want control over the network connections and choices they've made.

On this episode, I talk to Ethan Zuckerman, the director for the Center for Civic Media at MIT, about Facebook and how their changing your feed. And in the book chat, I speak with Niall Ferguson of the Hoover Institution about his new book on the (very long) history and power of networks, The Square and The Tower.

Listen and subscribe to the governmentality podcast in iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, Blubrry, Stitcher, or anywhere else podcasts are found.

Guests:

Ethan Zuckerman is director of the Center for Civic Media at MIT, and an Associate Professor of the Practice at the MIT Media Lab. His research focuses on the use of media as a tool for social change, the role of technology in international development, and the use of new media technologies by activists. He is the author of Rewire: Digital Cosmopolitans in the Age of Connection. Follow him on Twitter: @EthanZ

Niall Ferguson, MA, D.Phil., is the Milbank Family Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and a senior fellow of the Center for European Studies, Harvard, where he served for twelve years as the Laurence A. Tisch Professor of History. His newest book is The Square and The Tower. Follow him on Twitter: @nfergus

Discussed on the show:

• Zuckerman's "Facebook Only Cares About Facebook"
• MIT's Gobo project
• Ferguson's The Square and The Tower

Follow governmentality:

• On Twitter: @governmentality
• Join the discussion on Facebook.
• Subscribe to the governmentality newsletter.
• And say hi! [email protected]

Please take a moment to rate and review the show wherever you listen to podcasts—it really does help others discover our show.

The governmentality podcast was produced and edited by Michele Zipkin. The show's music was composed and performed by Jeremy Carlstedt.

President Donald Trump is preparing to deliver his first State of the Union address. But what exactly goes into the making of this annual address? On this governmentality short, I spoke with Jennifer Grossman, CEO of the Atlas Society and former speechwriter for President George H.W. Bush. We discussed the importance of the State of the Union address, the power struggles that make the speech what it is and what the address means from a president who keeps the public updated via Twitter.

Listen and subscribe to the governmentality podcast in iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, Blubrry, Stitcher, or anywhere else podcasts are found.

Guest:

Jennifer Anju Grossman is the CEO of the Atlas Society and a former White House speechwriter under the George H.W. Bush administration. Grossman is a former senior vice president at Dole Food Company and served as director of education at the Cato Institute. Follow her on Twitter: @JenAnjuGrossman

Discussed on the show:

• Bill Clinton's 1995 State of the Union speech
• John F. Kennedy's 1963 speech

Follow governmentality:

• On Twitter: @governmentality
• Join the discussion on Facebook.
• Subscribe to the governmentality newsletter.
• And say hi! [email protected]

Please take a moment to rate and review the show wherever you listen to podcasts—it really does help others discover our show.

The governmentality podcast was produced and edited by Michele Zipkin. The show's music was composed and performed by Jeremy Carlstedt.

Liberalism may conjure up certain political leanings in American society, but its roots are in philosophy that predates the United States and while encompassing the norms, practices and principles of both major political parties and the overwhelming majority of American citizens. Despite this commonality,  liberalism—and its updated version, neoliberalism—may precisely be what's ailing America in terms of persistent racism, rising inequality, and rampant ideological polarization. 

On this episode, I talk to Ryan Cooper, national correspondent at The Week, about neoliberalism and how it's hurting the Democratic Party. And in the book chat, I speak with Patrick Deneen, a political theorist at the University of Notre Dame about his new book, Why Liberalism Failed.

Listen and subscribe to the governmentality podcast in iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, Blubrry, Stitcher, or anywhere else podcasts are found.

Guests:

Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at The Week and his work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic and The Washington Post. Follow him on Twitter: @ryanlcooper.

Patrick Deneen is the David A. Potenziani Memorial Chair in Constitutional Studies and associate professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame. His new book is Why Liberalism Failed. Follow him on Twitter: @PatrickDeneen.

Discussed on the show:

• Cooper's "The decline and fall of neoliberalism in the Democratic Party"
• Deneen's Why Liberalism Failed

Follow governmentality:

• On Twitter: @governmentality
• Join the discussion on Facebook.
• Subscribe to the governmentality newsletter.
• And say hi! [email protected]

Please take a moment to rate and review the show wherever you listen to podcasts—it really does help others discover our show.

The governmentality podcast was produced and edited by Michele Zipkin. The show's music was composed and performed by Jeremy Carlstedt.