The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich

Friends,

Today I had the pleasure of speaking with New York Assemblyman — and New York City mayoral candidate — Zohran Mamdani.

Zohran Mamdani is the bright future of the Democratic Party — brimming with excellent ideas about what working families need.

My own granddaughter is knocking doors for him in the final stretch of the NYC mayoral race.

I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did.

Please be sure to also read my previous piece about Mamdani here.

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

Friends,

I used to think of presidents as having dignity and stature, and the White House as being the “People’s House” — the essence of simple taste and modest grandeur.

No longer.

In the week after No Kings Day — the largest demonstration in American history — Trump has found new ways to defile and desecrate his office and the nation.

He’s taken a battering ram to the White House, literally as well as figuratively, to create a giant garish gold-leafed ballroom financed by Trump’s favorite billionaires and big corporations.

Meanwhile, he posted an AI-generated video of himself as a bomber pilot defecating on the Americans who demonstrated against him.

He is using the Justice Department to prosecute people who have tried to hold him accountable for his illegal actions. Deploying federal troops in places he calls “Democrat” cities. Illegally shifting taxpayer money out of what he calls “Democrat” programs during the shutdown. And illegally bombing ships off the coast of Latin America.

Trump is degrading his office and himself.

Please pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, and join the conversation.

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

Friends,

Today, millions of Americans are standing up for their values and standing up to Trump. Millions are saying clearly and powerfully — and peacefully — that this is a nation of laws, not of people who put themselves above the law. That we are a nation that values self-government, not a government by an authoritarian dictator. That we are a people whose forebears have sacrificed much — some have sacrificed their lives — so that democracy and freedom shall be preserved. We will not allow that legacy to be destroyed by Trump or anyone else.

Please join Heather and me as we discuss these fundamentals in today’s coffee klatch. Pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, and join the conversation.

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

Friends,

Today Heather and I discuss Trump’s sending Texas National Guard troops into Chicago, Illinois — over the objections of Chicago’s mayor and Illinois’s governor. His indictment of New York Attorney General Letitia James, after having indicted James Comey — both of whom tried to hold him accountable for some of his actions during his first term. And his targeting of so-called “liberal” organizations.

We also examine the government shutdown, his peace plan for Israel and Hamas, his aid to Argentina — and why Trump is helping bring peace and stability to other parts of the world while sowing chaos in America and declaring war on the “enemy within.”

Please grab a cuppa, pull up a chair, and join the conversation.

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

Friends,

Today, Heather and I assess the government shutdown and explore its connection to Trump’s meeting this week with the military’s top brass, his attempt to create a police state in America, declare war on Venezuela, make war on “the enemy within,” occupy big Democratic cities, and lead an anti-democracy movement.

We also find some reasons for hope.

Please pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, and join in the conversation.

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

Friends,

Today we’re trying something of an experiment. I’ve asked several of my young colleagues — all 50 years younger than me! — to join in discussion about a remarkable week in which Trump has fully bared his authoritarian self.

Trump is visibly and unapologetically targeting his political enemies for criminal prosecution. He’s unilaterally and capriciously raising import taxes (tariffs) that will cost Americans dearly. He’s threatening the media with more punishment should it continue to criticize him.

Katie is our Texas correspondent, Vish our Wisconsin correspondent, Michael is here in the Bay Area, and I’m your old host. Please pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, and join in the conversation.

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

Friends,

Today Michael and I take a deep dive into ABC’s decision this week to fire late-night entertainer Jimmy Kimmel — and why ABC caved to Trump and Trump’s FCC. The decision came barely two months after CBS canceled Stephen Colbert’s contract, for similar reasons. What’s the underlying story?

Are we on the verge of an authoritarian clampdown on criticism of the Trump regime? If so, what are our options and responsibilities? We explore the economics and the politics of free speech, what it requires from all of us.

Please pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, and join the conversation.

PS: You can find my new book, Coming Up Short, at your local bookstore, or order through bookshop.org, which supports local bookstores.

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

Friends,

Today Heather and I take a hard look at political violence in America — not just this week’s heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk but other violence I’ve witnessed, and the nation’s history of violence in politics — and we ask whether there’s something unique to American culture that harbors such deep hatred that people feel compelled to murder others for their political beliefs.

Yesterday, Trump doubled down on blaming what he calls the “radical left” for political violence in the United States. During an appearance on “Fox & Friends,” Trump was asked about the presence of radical individuals on both sides of the aisle and how it can be fixed to bring the country together. His response:

“The radicals on the right oftentimes are radical because they don’t want to see crime. They don’t want to see crime. Worried about the border. They’re saying, We don’t want these people coming in. We don’t want you burning our shopping centers. We don’t want you shooting our people in the middle of the street. The radicals on the left are the problem, and they’re vicious and they’re horrible and they’re politically savvy, although they want men and women sports, they want transgender for everyone, they want open borders.”

Instead of helping the country come together, Trump continues to pull us apart.

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

Friends,

Trump’s economy is going down what he describes as a “sh*thole.” Job growth has stalled and prices continue to rise.

The problem is it’s not just Trump’s economy; it’s also our economy.

Today, Heather and I try to give some context to the bad economic news — looking at what it means politically, who is suffering most, and how it can possibly be turned around.

Along the way, we talk about the extraordinary push-back by the federal courts and the hopes for the Democrats, and we venture into larger themes such as the centrality of science and truth in a democracy.

Please pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, and join our conversation.

Oh, and don’t forget to buy my new book, Coming Up Short (you can support local bookstores by ordering it at bookshop.org), and see Heather and Elliot Kirschner’s new movie about my last class, The Last Class (to find a theater near you, click here).

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

Friends,

Today Heather and I come to you from one of our favorite local bookstores to emphasize the importance of free speech, free expression, and freedom to criticize the current regime — even as it seeks ever-greater control over the media, universities, museums, and our cities. Our neofascist emergency worsens.

Please pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, take our poll, and join in the conversation.

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