Sirota

The word “centrist” is thrown around a lot in politics -- especially in the Democratic Party. Every Democratic politician, it seems, wants to be a “centrist” -- but one of the wealthiest people on the planet says the term is misused. On this episode, I talk to billionaire Nick Hanauer whose recent article in Politico magazine argued that if Democrats really want to represent the center and start winning elections, they have to move hard to the left.

Epic heatwaves. Raging wildfires. It has been a crazy summer of intense weather. On this episode, I talk to Dr. Michael Mann -- he's one of the world’s leading climate scientists and he says this summer's weather is overwhelming proof that climate change is threatening the planet in a profound way. He argues that the cost of not seriously combatting climate change now vastly outweighs the cost of doing everything we can to reduce carbon emissions. He also addresses the possibility of a "Hothouse Earth" scenario, in which we see runaway climate change that is worse than anyone had previously predicted. And he discusses some of his problems with a recent New York Times report on whether or not we could have stopped climate change 30 years ago.

The big story in Washington remains the story of Donald Trump and the Russian government -- the question that keeps coming up is whether Trump and his campaign actively colluded with Vladimir Putin’s government to throw the 2016 election. On this episode, I talk to Rolling Stone reporter Matt Taibbi about the situation. We discuss Trump’s seeming affinity for Putin -- and Taibbi explains some of the similarities between Trump and Putin’s political careers. We also discuss why polls continue to show most Americans aren’t all that interested in the intensifying scandal.

In 2016, Michigan was supposed to be part of the Democrats so-called Blue Wall -- the nickname for the states that have traditionally voted Democratic in presidential elections. But on election night, it didn’t turn out that way -- Donald Trump won the state, which helped him win the whole election. Now, less than 2 years later, the state faces a major governor’s race -- one that is part of an intensifying debate over the future of the Democratic Party. On this episode, I talk to Abdul El-Sayed, a 33-year-old physician who is running for governor on a promise to create a single-payer healthcare system. He's trying to overcome the Democratic Party establishment and win the Democratic nomination for governor in the primary on August 7th.

California recently expanded the Earned Income Tax Credit -- a program that has been called one of the most effective anti-poverty initiatives in contemporary American history. On this episode, I talk to one of the program's highest profile proponents -- investor and entrepreneur Joe Sanberg. He worked on Wall Street for a time, and was the founding investor in Blue Apron, the home delivery meal service. He also was a co-founder of Aspiration.com, which offers socially-conscious banking and financial services -- and some believe he may at some point run for public office in the Golden State. Sanberg reviews how the EITC works, and whether it can be a model for other states across the country.

The American labor movement appears to be at a crossroads. One path forward seems to be a path of total demise -- today, only about 10 percent of all workers are in a union, those workers who want to join unions often face hostile bosses, and the Supreme Court recently delivered the Janus ruling that some see as a death blow to those who want to form unions. Another path forward seems to be one of possible resurgence -- according to Gallup’s most recent poll, 61 percent of Americans say they support unions, which is a 15 year high. On this episode, I discuss intensifying economic inequality and the future of the labor movement with Ron Ruggiero, who is the president of the Service Employees International Union’s branch here in Colorado.

In recent months, the Denver Post has been making national headlines -- though not for its journalism. Instead, it has been making big news because it has faced waves of layoffs at the hands of the hedge fund that bought the paper a few years ago. The Post has been seen as the most illustrative example of a larger trend whereby local news outlets are being crippled by budget cuts. On this episode, I talk to Denver Post features reporter John Wenzel, who has worked at the Denver Post for 18 years, and who has been an outspoken critic of the paper’s owners.

When Bernie Sanders first announced he was running for president, he was treated as an afterthought by many pundits and party operatives. They portrayed his campaign as a protest candidacy that would never be truly competitive, and never even get close to winning the Democratic nomination. Sanders, of course, was extremely competitive, winning many states and coming close to winning the nomination. That said, he didn’t win the election -- but then again, a new book by Sanders’ campaign manager Jeff Weaver says that while Sanders may not have won the presidential race, he actually did win a larger battle. On this episode, I talk to Weaver about his new book called “How Bernie Won: Inside the Revolution That's Taking Back Our Country--and Where We Go from Here.”

Last month, New York was rocked by yet another political scandal -- this time it was Attorney General Eric Schneiderman resigning amid assault allegations. It was the latest in a long line of scandals that have plagued Albany -- and now anti-corruption crusader Zephyr Teachout has entered the race to replace Schneiderman. Last year, I had the chance to interview Teachout at an event called the People’s Summit that brought together progressives from all over the country. On this episode, you’ll hear that conversation about money in politics, antitrust law, and the simmering battle inside the Democratic Party.

Tom Steyer has been one of the Democratic Party’s biggest financial supporters. He made his fortune in the investment world, and he has spent lots of money to support Democratic candidates, as well as to support the fight against climate change. Lately, he has made headlines with a new project -- a campaign to impeach Donald Trump. On this episode, I talked to Steyer during his stop here in Denver to promote his impeachment campaign.