The Chatterbox

Podcast: Nostalgia Trap (LS 45 · TOP 1% what is this?)
Episode: Ep 424 - How Does It Feel? w/ Charles L. Ponce de Leon
Pub date: 2026-02-04

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When I was growing up in the 1980s and 1990s, Rolling Stone magazine was an indispensable resource for discovering the hip edge of American pop culture. Of course, I didn't realize at the time that the magazine had its roots in the 1960s counterculture, crafted by entrepreneur Jann Wenner as a subversive Trojan horse within the staid landscape of Cold War America. On this episode, historian Charles L. Ponce de Leon joins me for a conversation about his new book Rolling Stone and the Rise of Hip Capitalism: How a Magazine Born in the 1960s Changed America (UNC Press 2026), as we explore the magazine's complex evolution and the ironies of "counterculture" becoming "mainstream."

Check out my '90s music podcast/video series with John Lombardo, 120 MONTHS:

https://substack.com/@120months

Subscribe to Nostalgia Trap to listen to our News Trap freakouts and other bonus content:

https://patreon.com/nostalgiatrap

The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from David Parsons, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.

Podcast: Beyond the Ballot Box
Episode: Do Business Schools Play a Role in Normalising Labour Exploitation?
Pub date: 2026-02-03

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We often discuss the exploitation of labour, especially at the very bottom of the chain, namely the migrant workers who are frequently trapped in conditions that resemble modern-day slavery. 

But one thing we haven’t really interrogated is the role of business schools: what they teach, what they leave out, and whether the lessons and curriculum deal primarily with managing a boardroom and ensuring profitability, or if they reflect realities on the ground, where wealth and corporate success are often also built on the backs of exploited labour.

In this episode, we speak to Dr Priya Sharma about exactly that. She is the Head of the Commercial Law & Justice Centre at the Sunway Business School. She’s also the co-editor of a book called Combating Modern Slavery: A Global Perspective.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

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Podcast: This Machine Kills (LS 49 · TOP 0.5% what is this?)
Episode: 443. Behold the Big Beautiful AI State (ft. Brian Chen)
Pub date: 2026-02-04

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We’re joined by Brian Chen — policy director at Data & Society — to discuss his new report on the Trump administration’s industrial policy for building The Big AI State. We lay out how Trump’s is bringing together various forms of intervention to ensure America achieves “global technological dominance.” This includes de-risking the construction of data centers and energy infrastructure, ensuring the American AI tech stack takes over global markets, and even acquiring equity stakes in major private industries in the AI supply chain. We discuss the means and ends of Trump’s industrial policy — and how these policy tools should be wielded differently by future administrations.

••• Great Power Antinomies https://www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/great-power-antinomies/

••• The Big AI State https://datasociety.net/library/the-big-ai-state/

Standing Plugs:

••• Order Jathan’s book: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520398078/the-mechanic-and-the-luddite

••• Subscribe to Ed’s substack: https://substack.com/@thetechbubble

••• Subscribe to TMK on patreon for premium episodes: https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills

Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (bsky.app/profile/jathansadowski.com) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.x.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (bsky.app/profile/jebr.bsky.social)

The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from This Machine Kills, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.

Podcast: Macro N Cheese (LS 47 · TOP 1% what is this?)
Episode: Ep 365 - Funding White Supremacy with Robert B. Williams
Pub date: 2026-01-31

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Funding white supremacy is a core, not incidental, function of the modern capitalist state in the U.S. It is also the title of economist Robert B. Williams’ 2025 book, Funding White Supremacy: Federal Wealth Policies and the Modern Racial Wealth Gap.

Bob and Steve share the fundamental position that capitalism doesn’t just produce inequality by accident, it builds durable ladders for some and trapdoors for others. Wealth, not income, is the key instrument because it is power that reproduces itself across generations.

Bob lays out the major policy mechanism of stealth wealth-building: how the federal government subsidizes asset accumulation through the tax code, especially via “tax expenditures” (deductions, exclusions, preferential treatment) that provide vast benefits to the wealthy.

From an MMT perspective, the conversation underlines a crucial point: the state’s problem is not “finding the money,” it’s choosing who gets the public subsidy. A system that claims scarcity around public goods reliably mobilizes massive policy support for private asset appreciation and wealth compounding. In other words, benefits reward ownership and existing assets, not the people struggling to acquire them.

Bob situates this historically, tracing the origins of the modern income and estate tax era to the early 20th century and argues that any progressive policy history coexisted with, and was intertwined with, overt white supremacist politics.

Robert B. Williams is the Stedman Professor of Economics, Guilford College. Bob has taught economics and political economy for over 40 years. He has written three books, including Funding White Supremacy: Federal Wealth Policies and the Modern Racial Wealth Gap (Cambridge University Press, 2025).

The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Steven D Grumbine, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.

Podcast: Laura Flanders and Friends: Solutions-Focused Progressive Perspectives on Politics, News, and Culture (LS 44 · TOP 1% what is this?)
Episode: The Data Center Revolt: John Cassidy & Faiz Shakir on People vs. AI Oligarchs [Episode Cut]
Pub date: 2026-02-04

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Synopsis:  An AI revolution is underway, but so is the resistance.

This show is made possible by you! To become a sustaining member go to LauraFlanders.org/donate

Description:  An AI revolution is underway, but so is the resistance. People across the country are feeling the strain of the huge energy-sucking data processing centers that AI requires, and telling their elected officials to slow down or stop new big tech projects for firms like OpenAI, Amazon, Google, Facebook and Microsoft. Data from a 2025 Pew study shows that only 17 percent of Americans think AI will have a positive impact over the next 20 years. But it’s a David vs. Goliath battle. Today’s guests say AI expansion is not a red or blue issue; it’s about who gets to decide how human and natural resources are distributed, who controls the technology, and who stands to benefit. Faiz Shakir is the Founder and Executive Director of the labor-focused news platform More Perfect Union, and serves as a political advisor for Senator Bernie Sanders. John Cassidy, staff writer at the New Yorker, is the author of the recent book, “Capitalism and Its Critics: A History: From the Industrial Revolution to AI”, in which he draws our attention back to the Luddites, the 18th century workers whose revolt deserves our closer attention. Plus, our correspondent’s coverage of a shocking scene at a public comment meeting in Wisconsin when a local woman was arrested and dragged away. If AI is the new face of capitalism, what is the new alternative?

“Luddites, when I was growing up, was a term of abuse. It was people who were sort of antediluvians and didn't understand the modern world. . . . They understood the modern world as it was in their times perfectly, and they saw it was moving against them, and they saw that the political system wasn't coming to their defense.” - John Cassidy

“. . . There's more and more pushback, which hopefully portends the possibility that a lot of these communities can strike better deals if they are going to have data centers. There's no reason why we can't be asking that the teachers are well paid, that the electricity rates don't go up, that we have decent affordable housing in those communities. That is all possible because we're playing with incredible amounts of dollars and deep-pocketed people . . . ” - Faiz Shakir

Guests:

•  John Cassidy: Staff Writer, The New Yorker; Author, Capitalism and Its Critics: A History: From the Industrial Revolution to AI

•  Faiz Shakir: Founder & Executive Director, More Perfect Union; Political Advisor & Former Campaign Manager, Senator Bernie Sanders

 

Watch the episode released on YouTube; PBS World Channel 11:30am ET Sundays and on over 300 public stations across the country (check your listings, or search here via zipcode). Listen: Episode airing on community radio (check here to see if your station airs the show) & available as a podcast.

Full Episode Notes are located HERE.

Full Conversation Release: While our weekly shows are edited to time for broadcast on Public TV and community radio, we offer to our members and podcast subscribers the full uncut conversation. 

Music Credits: “Living The Greatest Lie” by TQX and vocals by Shayna Stelle from the album Global Intimacy released on Extra Celestial Arts;  'Steppin' by Podington Bear, and original sound design by Jeannie Hopper'

Support Laura Flanders and Friends by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/c/lauraflandersandfriends

 

RESOURCES:

*Recommended book:

“Capitalism and Its Critics: A History: From the Industrial Revolution to AI” by John Cassidy: *Get the Book

(*Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. The LF Show is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.)

 

Featured Clip Credit: America’s Dataland?  1st Amendment Under Attack:  There women arrested, produced by Johnathan Klett - Watch the full video

 

Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes:

• Naomi Klein & Astra Taylor: Are We Entering “End Times Fascism”?: Watch / Listen:  Episode Cut and Full Uncut Conversation

• Donna Haraway on Cyborgs, “Oddkin” & Resisting the Monoculture of the Mind: Watch / Listen:  Episode Cut and Full Uncut Conversation

• The Lucas Plan at 50: A Radical Investment in Society, Not the War Machine:  Watch / Listen:  Episode Cut and Full Uncut Conversations- Brian Salisbury and Hilary Wainwright  

Related Articles and Resources:

• Small Towns Are Rising Up Against AI Data Centers, “We don’t want to be the next Data Center Alley,” by Joe Wilkins, May 4, 2025, Futurism

• The AI Backlash Keeps Growing Stronger, by Reece Rogers, June 28, 2025, WIRED

•  The Dangers of AI and Extreme Wealth Inequality, by David Atkins, January 5, 2026, Washington Monthly

• At least four Wisconsin communities signed secrecy deals for billion-dollar data centers, by Tom Kertscher, January 26, 2026, Wisconsin Watch

• Anti-data center protesters arrested during Port Washington meeting, by Claudia Levens, Jessie Opoien and Francesca Pica, December 3, 2025, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

•  How Sam Altman Outfoxed Elon Musk to Become Trump’s AI Buddy, by Keach Hagey, Dana Mattionili and Josh Dawsey, July 17, 2025, The Wall Street Journal

•  Curtis Yarvin’s brave new world: we need a corporate dictatorship to replace a dying democracy’ by Boris Munoz, August 19, 2005, El Pais

Laura Flanders and Friends Crew: Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer; Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O’Conner-Senior Consulting Producer.

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ACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Laura Flanders, Curious Communications, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.

Podcast: Rethinking Palestine (LS 43 · TOP 1% what is this?)
Episode: De-Healthification of Palestine with Layth Malhis
Pub date: 2026-01-29

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Layth Malhis discusses the concept of "de-healthification" as the governing logic of health under settler colonialism: the systematic degradation, obstruction, and weaponization of the very conditions that make health of the Indigenous population possible.

The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Al-Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.

Podcast: It Could Happen Here (LS 67 · TOP 0.05% what is this?)
Episode: Gaza and the Board of Peace feat. Dana El Kurd
Pub date: 2026-01-26

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Dana breaks down what’s being planned for Gaza, the so-called Board of Peace, and how this is a model for global conflict in the future.

Sources:

UNOCHA on ceasefire violations - https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/humanitarian-situation-update-353-gaza-strip 

BBC on the Yellow Line - https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgxl6zkenqo

Aljazeera on the 20 point plan - https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/16/us-declares-phase-two-of-gaza-ceasefire-but-what-did-phase-one-deliver 

The Huffington Post on Putin’s invite - https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/donald-trump-has-invited-vladimir-putin-to-join-his-gaza-board-of-peace-kremlin-says_uk_696e0478e4b0fb912e9948f8?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1768820090 

Aljazeera on Board of Peace - https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/18/trumps-board-of-peace-appears-to-seek-wider-mandate-beyond-gaza 

Who is Nikolay Mladenov - https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2026/1/15/who-is-nickolay-mladenov-the-diplomat-tasked-with-disarming-gaza 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Podcast: The Nation Podcasts (LS 50 · TOP 0.5% what is this?)
Episode: The Rise of Shareholder Primacy w/ Sean Delehanty | American Prestige
Pub date: 2026-01-27

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Danny and Derek speak with historian Sean Delehanty about the invention of shareholder value and the transformation of the American corporation in the late twentieth century. They discuss postwar conglomerates and corporate social responsibility, the crisis of Fordism, the rise of financial economics, and the theory of the firm. They also look at hostile takeovers, leveraged buyouts, private equity, the collapse of the public corporation, and the bipartisan consolidation of shareholder primacy in the 1990s.

Buy Sean’s book Company Men: The Invention of Shareholder Value and the Splintering of the American Economy.

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The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Nation Magazine, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.

Podcast: Macrodose (LS 45 · TOP 1% what is this?)
Episode: How Wall St. Gambles on Your Future w/ Ann Pettifor
Pub date: 2026-01-29

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In the latest episode of The Break–Down, host Adrienne Buller is joined by renowned economist Ann Pettifor to discuss her new book, The Global Casino: How Wall Street Gambles with People and Planet.

We’ve all heard the refrain. Whenever a politician proposes a policy that might genuinely improve people’s lives — free and fast buses, affordable housing, large-scale renewable energy — the response is immediate: we can’t afford it. Media pundits and technocrats fixate on national debt, balanced budgets and the need not to “spook” the ever-mysterious bond vigilantes.

This obsession doesn’t just dominate public debate — it paralyses action on the very challenges we urgently need to confront, from transforming our energy system to properly funding care for the most vulnerable.

As this episode makes clear, it’s also profoundly misleading.

The Global Casino traces the extraordinary power of Wall Street, revisits Keynes’s legacy, and asks a fundamental question: what is money, really? For Ann Pettifor, money is an extraordinary human invention — one that could be used to reshape our world for the better, rather than to enrich a powerful few.

In today’s episode, she explains how — and why it matters now more than ever.

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Podcast: Chasing Leviathan (LS 28 · TOP 10% what is this?)
Episode: Foundations of Black Epistemology: Knowledge Discourse in Africana Philosophy with Dr. Adebayo Oluwayomi
Pub date: 2026-01-27

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In this episode of Chasing Leviathan, PJ Wehry is joined by philosopher Dr. Adebayo Oluwayomi, assistant professor of philosophy at West Chester University of Pennsylvania, to discuss his book Foundations of Black Epistemology: Knowledge, Discourse, and Africana Philosophy.

The conversation examines how philosophical canons are formed, who is recognized as a knower, and how Black thinkers have often been treated as secondary or optional within Western philosophy. Dr. Oluwayomi argues that philosophy is never neutral and that canon formation reflects deeper questions of power, exclusion, and epistemic harm.

They discuss major figures such as Immanuel Kant and G. W. F. Hegel, focusing not only on their influence but also on the racial assumptions that are frequently ignored in philosophical education. The episode then turns to Black intellectuals including Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells, and Huey P. Newton, showing how their work contributes substantively to epistemology, moral reasoning, political theory, and liberation movements.

Dr. Oluwayomi's work challenges inherited assumptions about philosophy, knowledge, and authority, and asks what is lost when entire traditions are treated as peripheral rather than foundational.

Make sure to check out Dr. Oluwayomi's book: Foundations of Black Epistemology: Knowledge Discourse in Africana Philosophy 👉 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1439925488

Check out our blog on www.candidgoatproductions.com 

Who thinks that they can subdue Leviathan? Strength resides in its neck; dismay goes before it. When it rises up, the mighty are terrified. Nothing on earth is its equal. It is without fear. It looks down on all who are haughty; it is king over all who are proud. 

These words inspired PJ Wehry to create Chasing Leviathan. Chasing Leviathan was born out of two ideals: that truth is worth pursuing but will never be subjugated, and the discipline of listening is one of the most important habits anyone can develop. 

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