Living in the End Times

After beginning with a discussion of Aaron Hernandez, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, Traumatic Brain Injury, and the military, A&E shift to Mark Ruffalo's Dark Waters, which details how teflon is literally in EVERYTHING. Then Tom Steyer interrupts just to say "hi."

So, like, is this the 1990s? Scrolling through social media you might get that impression: histrionic doves, shrugging neoliberals, Clintons still in the news, and calls to sign anti-war petitions every 30 minutes. Oh, and Rage Against the Machine is on tour again or something. Lord have mercy.

In this first episode of 2020, A&E discuss the end of the decade and the legacy of eight years of Obama, which is Trump. From rising income inequality and climate crisis to medical and college debt and a crumbling political structure, the neoliberal democratic order is coming to an end. Just in time. Plus Taylor Swift.

Beginning with a discussion of the defunct Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) as a model for organizing, A&E discuss both the fragility of capital. Spoiler alert: It's cracking. Plus: how organizing itself has been undermined by policy since at least 9/11. Plus, plus: Sleater-Kinney.

Admit it: You’re Yang-curious. You should be--he’s one of the few candidates actually campaigning for president by bringing new and compelling ideas to the stage. Amos and Ex chat today about the prospect of a ticket that includes Andrew Yang, and go into more detail about why Buttigieg is not the candidate for you.

The Internet sucks. What could’ve been a platform to truly connect people and spread productive ideas has devolved into a paywall and fake news. And porn. Or as Dark Helmet put it in Spaceballs, “Even in the future nothing works.” So do A&E spend the hour chatting not only sci-fi but the Labour Party Manifesto as a new 95 Theses, the U.K. as a barometer for American politics, and having the courage of your convictions.

As the impeachment hearings drag on, A&E discuss the ways in which the democrats seems determined to hurt their own case and bolster, perhaps unintentionally, if not Trump then likely Bernie. Also: is Buttigieg a spook, Kamala drops out, and the situation in Bolivia.

OK Boomer, we'll give you Bob Dylan. But that's it. And we'll even forgive you for trying to sabotage the various Occupy events across the nation and world in 2011, but only because we won anyway--as evidenced in the popularity of Bernie and AOC and Medicare For All. Before allowing this tired meme to fade away, though, A&E give it one last analysis, talking Dylan, racism, and elections along the way.

Are you feeling exhausted, hopeless? Worried about the raging fires in California and flooding in the Midwest? Have you found that you don’t enjoy the things you once loved--like Radiohead--due to the ongoing sociopolitical unrest in Chile, Hong Kong, Iraq, Bolivia, and Haiti? These may be symptoms of corporate capitalism, a serious condition affecting more than 7 billion people worldwide. But there is hope. Ask your doctor about socialism. Socialism is a therapy for the feeling of anomie and isolation you acquire under capitalism. Socialism’s side-effects include greater social cohesion, less income inequality, less depression and anxiety, a healthier populace, and unexpected feelings of purpose and agency in your democracy. Socialism may be habit-forming. Get back to your old self; after all, the world can change very quickly.

A&E debrief on the October 2019 Democratic debate and chat up the significance of the Squad’s endorsement of Bernie. Also, as Biden fails a panicked mainstream news media goes out of its way to advance, in sequence, EVERY OTHER CANDIDATE except Bernie. Oh, and Hillary might run? Did we travel backwards in time? Maybe so: Turkey is attacking the Kurds and the Minnesota Twins were again swept out of the playoffs by the New York Yankees. Typical.