Le Podcast

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.leefang.com

Welcome to our first podcast of the new year.

Leighton and I kick off the discussion about Mark Zuckerberg’s pivot on free speech and try to make sense of seizing Greenland as an American territory. The Danish government provides $500 million in annual subsidies to Greenland’s tiny population, affording residents generous health care and education. Trump could give a better deal, but does that mean Americans must fly to Greenland for free medical care? The H-1B debate may be infected with some online bigotry, but are accusations of “racism” yet another distraction from a serious issue? We also chat about the continuing dystopia of Oakland and its decline as a new mayoral race gets underway.

For today's podcast, Leighton and I discuss the latest in the Hunter Biden saga, which I began writing about in 2014, and the slippery slope the pardon may create. We also chat about the diminished legacy of Obama, the choices of Trump 2.0, the bizarre targeted killing of the UnitedHealth CEO, and the nature of political populism. Just a heads up. For the next seven days, we are offering a deep discount for an annual subscription to this newsletter. Buy it to save money, as a stocking stuffer gift for a loved one or friend, or let this opportunity serve as a reminder to support independent journalism. Yes, I know there are still issues with major syndication services/apps and this podcast. Still working on resolving them — it’s a little more complicated than I realized. Apologies in advance for the continued delay.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.leefang.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.leefang.com

There’s a lot to discuss this week as we button down for rainy weather in Northern California. We react to the news that Matt Gaetz was forced out as Donald Trump’s pick for Attorney General. President Biden’s decision to authorize Ukraine to launch long-range missiles into Russia. And we explore how the U.S. leads the world in self-driving car technolo…

In a closely divided election between two candidates and an era of rapid political realignment, both campaigns are mining each other’s bases like never before.The Kamala Harris campaign is working to win over moderate Republicans, especially those in suburban communities. And the Donald Trump campaign is making a dash for blue-collar voters, especially members of labor unions and racial minority groups who were once pillars of the Democratic Party bloc. We’re joined by campaign reporter Daniel Marans of HuffPost. He recently returned from the campaign trail after speaking to voters in Wisconsin on these dynamics. He has closely reported on the tactics and outreach efforts of the presidential campaigns.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.leefang.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.leefang.com

Episode 2 of Le Pod features Ana Kasparian, the executive director and co-host of the Young Turks.

We've known Ana for years, and we've all followed a similar trajectory — from the political left to the politically unaligned.

That's the name of Ana's new Substack, by the way: Unaligned. We highly recommend it. In this episode, we talk about cancel cultu…

Yesterday, I recorded a podcast with my friend and colleague Leighton Woodhouse of the Social Studies Substack. The podcast is “Le Podcast.” Lee, Leighton … get it?On this first episode, we discuss the Kamala Harris campaign’s proposal to win over Black Americans with marijuana and crypto, the working class and male disconnect with the Democratic Party, the Chinese Exclusion Act’s connection to the more recent anti-Haitian backlash, and some thoughts on local Bay Area politics. It’s a work in progress. Any thoughts or criticism are more than welcome — we’ll try to address them in the next episode.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.leefang.com/subscribe