Show Notes

UCF twins become ‘future of Florida’ at 26, Orlando Sentinel, Kate Santich

The Blue Wave is Just Getting Started, The Nation, Amanda Litman

Somber memorials on anniversary of Florida nightclub rampage, AP News, Mike Schneider

Rep. Anna Eskamani calls for probe of NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer, Orlando Sentinel, Steven Lemongello 

Anna Eskamani bringing Persian celebration to Capitol, Florida Politics, Scott Powers

"Dige Nemibine Mano," Tik Taak

Franklin Bynum is a judge. Sometimes, he even wears the black robes associated with the job. But the title and the robes don't begin to tell his story. What distinguishes Bynum, a 37-year-old democratic socialist from Houston, Texas, who was elected last fall to serve on the Harris County Criminal Court bench, is his determination to unravel and replace the "oppressive punishment bureaucracies" that define our criminal justice system.

An able lawyer, who has served as a public defender and a defense attorney, he knows his way around the courts and the jails of Texas. And Bynum has reached the logical conclusion, as his Twitter profile announces, that "people need care not cages."

Bynum ran for a court post last year, mounting a campaign that proposed radical reforms. He framed his advocacy with facts, figures and humanity. It was so impressive that the conservative Houston Chronicle newspaper endorsed Bynum, along with the local chapter of Democratic Socialists of America, and he won along with a group  of progressive jurists who promised to make real the promise of justice.

Bynum's now on the bench and he has already taken the lead in proposing dramatic changes that would end the cash-bail system and other abuses. He's our guest this week for a exciting conversation on Next Left.

SHOW NOTES

A Socialist in Every District Jacobin  Nathan J. Robinson

Democratic Socialist Franklin Bynum is ready to get to work on the Harris County bench Houston Chronicle Erica Greider

For County Criminal Court No. 8: Franklin Bynum Houston Chronicle Editorial Board

At Least 17 Democratic Socialists Seek Office in Texas Texas Observer Gus Bova

What is Prison Abolition? The Nation John Washington

The End of Policing Alex S. Vitale

Group Therapy Above & Beyond

You’re Gonna Miss Me 13th Floor Elevators

California Congressman Ro Khanna took on a Democratic incumbent in a 2016 primary because he said Democrats needed to fight harder for economic and social and racial justice, for peace and a new approach to foreign policy, for bold responses to the climate crisis and for a new economy that harnessed technological progress for human needs. It was a bold agenda, and voters embraced it, sending Khanna to Congress with a mandate to shake things up.

He has done so with a passion. Aligning with veteran members such as California Congresswoman Barbara Lee, he brought fresh energy to the fight to thwart militarism and advance diplomatic solutions to global conflicts. With Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, he led a successful move to get the Congress to signal its opposition to US support for Saudi Arabia’s assault on Yemen. Khanna also joined Sanders in high-profile efforts to get Amazon, Walmart and other corporations to pay living wages.

Khanna has challenged monopolies, urged tech corporations to invest in rural America and authored a groundbreaking Internet Bill of Rights. He frequently takes on President Trump, but vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus also objects when Democrats compromise on principles.

We spoke to him on Next Left about many of these fights, and about the influence that his Indian grandfather’s anti-colonial activism had on his politics.

SHOW NOTES

Progressives Are Starting to Define a New Realism for Our National-Security Strategy,  The Nation, Katrina vanden Heuvel

Ro Khanna’s family narrative rivals that of Mike Honda,  Mercury News, Scott Herhold

From Council Rock to Congress: Philly-born Ro Khanna is saving U.S. foreign policy from itself,  Philadelphia Inquirer,  Will Bunch

Ryan’s Republicans Are Abdicating Their Moral and Constitutional Duty on Yemen: Republicans just blocked Ro Khanna’s proposal to end all US military aid to the Saudi-led coalition that is attacking Yemen, The Nation, John Nichols

In Search of a Green New Foreign Policy, The Nation, Robert L. Borosage

Churchill’s policies contributed to 1943 Bengal famine – study, The Guardian, Michael Safi

Second Inaugural Address of Abraham Lincoln

“Masters of War,” Bob Dylan

This episode of Next Left was produced and edited by Sophia Steinert-Evoy. Our executive producers are Frank Reynolds, Erin O’Mara, and Katrina vanden Heuvel. Our theme song is “Deli Run,” by Ava Luna.

This week on Next Left, the Pennsylvania state legislator “fighting the right fights” for working class people.

What draws people into politics? What makes them willing to take on the entrenched status quo? What leads them to open up about their own stories of struggle and hardship? How does this openness break down barriers and get voters talking about fundamental issues? We’re speaking with Sara Innamorato because she’s got a lot of the answers. Sara’s a newly elected member of the Pennsylvania state legislature, as a representative from the 21st state house district. Last year she took on a senior legislator who was a member of one of the most powerful political dynasties in Pennsylvania. When this 32-year-old Democratic Socialist won, she provided a powerful indication of the dramatic changes that are taking place in the politics of Pennsylvania and the whole of the United States.

SHOW NOTES

These women were elected as democratic socialists. Now they’re trying to figure out what that means. - Washington Post Robert Samuels

The socialists vs. the Costas: Upstart hard-left candidates challenge iconic old-school Pittsburgh political family  - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Chris Potter

Two Socialists in Pennsylvania Just Won Victories the Democrats Can’t Ignore - Mother Jones Clint Hendler 

What the Media Got Wrong About Ocasio-Cortez’s Triumph - The Nation

A Change is Gonna Come - Sam Cooke

Run the World (Girls) - Beyoncé

This week on Next Left, the outspoken representative who is holding Trump accountable.

Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib is a veteran defender of civil rights and civil liberties with big ideas about how to serve her constituents in the Detroit area, usher in a new era of economic and social and racial justice in the United States and promote peace and cooperation on the global stage. Unfortunately, since she arrived in Washington, she’s been targeted by Republican members of Congress, right-wing media and even the president; they’ve crudely and dishonestly attacked Tlaib, seeking to marginalize the first Palestinian-American Muslim women ever to serve in the U.S. House.

We talk with Rashida Tlaib about her political roots, her ideas and her determination to hold the president of the United States to account — using the impeachment powers accorded the House in the United States Constitution.

Show Notes

Rashida Tlaib Calls for Taking Immediate Steps Toward Impeachment on Her First Day in Congress The Nation John Nichols

Johnson & Johnson Hit With $300 Million in Punitive Damages in Talc Case The Wall Street Journal Peter Loftus

No, Rashida Tlaib Is Definitely Not Antisemitic Jacobin Megan Day

Now is the time to begin impeachment proceedings against President Trump Detroit Free Press John Bonifaz and Rashida Tlaib

The Constitution Demands It by John Bonifaz, Ben Clements, and Ron Fein

Sign O' The Times - Prince

This week’s podcast takes us to Virginia, where we talk to Lee Carter, Marine Corps veteran, Democratic Socialist, Lyft driver, and member of the Virginia House of Delegates. When Carter was elected in 2017, as part of a Democratic wave that transformed the legislature and Virginia politics, he celebrated by leading his supporters in a rousing rendition of the labor anthem “Solidarity Forever.” That was just one of many signals that Carter planned to shake things up in Richmond. And so he has! 

We talk with this rabble-rousing legislator about tangling with the Democratic establishment and reactionary Republicans, about his fight to upend Virginia’s anti-union “Right-to-Work” law and power up organized labor in the south, about how he has made himself one of the most transparent political figures in the country, and about the genius of  Billy Bragg’s version of "The Internationale." “So comrades, come rally... for this is the time and place!”

SHOW NOTES

Since Trump’s Victory, Democratic Socialists of America Has Become a Budding Political Force, The Nation, Anna Heyward

The 7,282-Seat Strategy, The Nation, Joan Walsh

Lee Carter’s Campaign for Labor Rights in Virginia Is Important for All Working Americans, The Nation, John Nichols

The Racist Roots of Right to Work, AFSCME Now

A Virginia politician’s novel approach to personal scandal: Tell all before opponents do, Washington Post, Paul Schwartzman

GOP delegate Miller’s mailer compares Democratic opponent to Stalin, communists, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Patrick Wilson

Carter Singing Solidarity Forever on His Election Night, from YouTube

The Internationale, Billy Bragg

This episode of Next Left was produced and edited by Sophia Steinert-Evoy. Our executive producers are Frank Reynolds, Erin O’Mara, and Katrina vanden Heuvel. Big thank you this week to Nation engagement editor Annie Shields. Recording help this week from Angelo Bautista and Tom Bernath. Our theme song is “Deli Run” by Ava Luna. 

This week we're in Chicago, city of big dreams and big politics. Historically, Chicago was a machine town. Democratic bosses prevented reformers and radicals from getting anywhere near power, but that's changing fast. This year, Chicago elected a city council that is ready to push the boundaries of status quo politics, how far? 10% of the new council members are Democratic Socialists. We'll talk today with one of them, Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez, who just beat an incumbent city council member whose family has held the same seat for the better part of 50 years. We talked to her just 45 minutes after the incumbent conceded.

SHOW NOTES:

How a Group of Unapologetic Progressives Won Big in Chicago’s Election The Nation, Will Tanzman, April 5, 2019

Chicago’s Political Revolution In These Times Miles Kampf-Lassin, February 12, 2019

The Battle for Paradise: Puerto Rico Takes on Disaster Capitalists by Naomi Klein, 2018

Rossana's favorite political songs: 

We the People by A Tribe Called Quest

Police State by Dead Prez

This episode of Next Left was produced and edited by Sophia Steinert-Evoy. Our executive producers are Frank Reynolds, Erin O’Mara, and Katrina vanden Heuvel. Recording help this week from Phoebe Petrovic and Jackson Roach. Our theme song is "Deli Run" by Ava Luna.

From the grass roots to the ballot box, we are witnessing an explosion of progressive political energy. New candidates are running for offices high and low—and they’re winning. In Next Left, a new podcast from The Nation hosted by National Affairs correspondent John Nichols, these insurgent politicians let us into their lives, tell us their stories, and explain how they plan to change our country for the better.

We want to understand how the people who are forging the next left got turned on to politics, and what they plan to do now that they have been entrusted by voters to upend the status quo.

Our first guest is Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. We spoke in her Capitol Hill office, where visitors are greeted by an image of Shirley Chisholm, who 50 years ago was the first African-American woman elected to Congress. Omar is, herself, a woman of many firsts—the first Somali-American and the first naturalized citizen to serve in Congress, and one of the first two Muslim women to serve in the House. She is also the first member of Congress to wear a hijab. We are delighted that she is the first guest on Next Left.

SHOW NOTES

[Reps. Omar and Schakowsky: We must confront threat of white nationalism—together](https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/14/opinions/stop-white-nationalism-together-omar-schakowsky/index.html): CNN Opinion, May 14, 2019

[Black History Month Playlist: Ilhan Omar talks Prince, music that inspires her](https://blog.thecurrent.org/2019/01/black-history-month-spotlight-ilhan-omar-talks-prince-and-the-music-that-inspires-her/): Marla Khan-Schwartz, The Current, January 31, 2019

[](https://www.thenation.com/article/liz-cheney-rashida-tlaib-ilhan-omar/)

[Why Liz Cheney Is So Determined to Marginalize Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar: John Nichols, The Nation, May 14, 2019](https://www.thenation.com/article/liz-cheney-rashida-tlaib-ilhan-omar/)

[Time for Ilhan](https://www.timeforilhanfilm.com/) 2018 Documentary by Norah Shapiro

This week’s sponsor: [A Crisis Wasted, by Reed Hunt](https://acrisiswasted.com/)

Theme song: “Deli Run,” by [Ava Luna](https://avalunagroup.com/)

This episode of Next Left was produced and edited by Sophia Steinert-Evoy. Our executive producers are Frank Reynolds, Erin O’Mara, and Katrina vanden Heuvel.

From the grass roots to the ballot box, we are witnessing an explosion of progressive political energy. New candidates are running for offices high and low—and they’re winning.

"Next Left" is your front-row seat to this political upheaval: On this new podcast from The Nation magazine, National Affairs Correspondent John Nichols introduces us to the rising stars of the progressive constellation. These insurgent politicians let us into their lives, tell us their stories, and explain how they plan to change our country for the better. These are the people reshaping our politics by bringing bold, progressive policies to their cities, counties and states, and to DC—let's get to know them.

If you believe politics are personal, this podcast is for you.

Next Left will be launching Tuesday, May 21—subscribe now for new episodes every Tuesday.