My Nation colleague Kate Wagner has written a brilliant critical essay on the Obama Center, which just opened in Chicago. I talk to her about how the history of presidential libraries, a now anachronistic form as well as the controversies surrounding the Obama Center’s displacement of public space and the dissatisfying way it memorializes the Obama presidency.

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A People’s Climate is back for Season 2. Host Shilpi Chhotray takes you inside the fight for climate and environmental justice with organizers, legal experts, filmmakers, and movement leaders challenging the corporate and political forces blocking real change — from Big Oil and militarism to over-policing and the Supreme Court. This is essential listening for anyone serious about building a mass climate movement.

New episodes every Saturday starting Oct 3, 2026.

Guests this season include:

• LaTricea Adams - Founder and CEO of Young, Gifted & Green
• Brea Baker - Writer, Activist and Author of ROOTED: The American Legacy of Land Theft & The Modern Movement for Black Land Ownership
• Dr. Hatem Bazien - Decolonial scholar, professor at UC Berkeley, author, and activist
• John Beard Jr. - Founder and CEO of the Port Arthur Community Action Network
• Nalleli Cobo - Environmental Activist and Co-Founder of South Central Youth Leadership Coalition
• Kamau Franklin - Founder of Community Movement Builders
• U.S. Representative Maxwell Alejandro Frost - Florida’s 10th Congressional District
• Abby Martin - Investigative journalist, Director of Earth’s Greatest Enemy, and founder of The Empire Files
• Elie Mystal - Justice Correspondent for The Nation
• Sean Sherman - Chef and Founder of Indígena by Owamni and North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems
• And more to be announced.

Credits

Presented by Counterstream Media and The Nation

Powered by Wildseeds Fund

Host: Shilpi Chhotray

Executive Producer: Mindy Ramaker 

Engineer: Dennis Maxwell

Project Manager: Asia Simms

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Danny and Derek talk with Noam Scheiber, New York Times reporter and author, about the radicalization of American college graduates. They discuss a Starbucks union campaign, underemployment among recent grads, the Taylorization of white-collar jobs, AI, corporate fixation on labor costs, the “con” of college for millennials, and the collapse of meritocracy.

Buy your copy of Noam’s book on the subject, Mutiny: The Rise and Revolt of the College-Educated Working Class.

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The primary force behind the settlement that will allow Trump’s allies at Paramount to take over Warners-Discovery and CNN was Gavin Newsom, who pressured California Attorney General Rob Bonta to end the anti-trust fight defending media independence. Norm Eisen explains – he’s co-founder and executive chair of the Democracy Defenders Fund and Democracy Defenders Action, and, the New York Times reported, “the leader of a coalition of entertainment and news industry professionals who opposed the deal.”

Also: After Trump banned CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House newsroom, the TV networks united in refusing coverage of his events – including Fox News. John Nichols has our analysis.

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Two weeks ago, 28-year-old democratic socialist David Morales defeated Providence's incumbent mayor Brett Smiley in the latest electrifying win for the Democratic Party's populist wing. But how did it happen? And how can it be repeated? In the first episode of this two-parter, Aaron and Matt talk to David's campaign manager Ben Shanahan about the message, strategy, and tactics that powered this insurgent victory. Next week, we expand this conversation with David's field director, Jenn Steinfeld, who gives a window into what it looks like to combine electoral campaigns with movement building.

For more analysis on David's win, see Aaron's piece in The Nation: https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/david-morales-mayor-race-providence-rhode-island/

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My Nation colleague Joan Walsh recently profiled Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff for the magazine. Georgia is very much a purple state. The fact that Ossoff won there and stands a good chance at re-election is evidence of his political talent, turning him into an increasingly prominent national figure. Joan and I talked about Ossoff’s background and the long struggle to transform Georgia, a formerly red state where Democrats are making headway.

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Derek has journeyed to Bolivia seeking contact with the newly discovered cat species, so Alex Jordan of Always at War steps in to bring you the headlines. This week: in New Delhi, BRICS member states issue a fractured joint statement on restraint in the Middle East (1:12); Iran strikes a U.S.-contracted vessel near the Strait of Hormuz (5:42); a cyberattack disables Texas-bound tankers (8:30); a new Pentagon report puts the Iran war’s cost at $33.4 billion (9:59); the Houthis/Ansar Allah advance in Taiz and hit Saudi Arabia (14:46); Yemeni government forces strike back while the U.S. rules out direct involvement (19:00); China pushes Iran to restrain the Houthis (22:37); an Israeli strike collapses a building in Gaza City, killing at least 21 people (25:12); the U.S. approves a $2.8 billion weapons sale to Israel (27:34); Russia and Ukraine strike each other’s energy infrastructure (30:57); the House passes a Russia sanctions bill named in honor of Lindsey Graham (33:37); a banking scandal roils Brazil’s presidential race (37:53); and in Sweden, a left-wing bloc narrowly wins an election (41:12).  

Don’t forget to grab your copy of Danny’s new book Imperialist Realism.

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Danny and Derek welcome back Akbar Shahid Ahmed, Diplomatic correspondent for The Washington Sun and author of Crossing the Red Line: Biden, His Advisors, and Israel’s War on Gaza, to talk about the Biden administration’s role in enabling the genocide in Gaza. They discuss the conditions in the Strip as of the current day; Biden’s small inner circle of Antony Blinken, Jake Sullivan, and Brett McGurk; Jack Lew’s role of ambassador and the dubious war crime review process he implemented; the Rafah red line and its immediate collapse after Israel invaded; and the Democratic Party’s domestic political miscalculations heading into 2024 and 2028.  

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Only two Justices backed Trump in the Court’s ruling blocking his efforts to enlist the postal service in restricting voting by mail in the midterms. David Cole explains why this is a huge victory, but far from the end of Trump’s effforts to undermine Democratic voting.

Also: The blue state attorneys general have succeeded in blocking the efforts of Trump’s allies at Paramount-Skydance from taking over Warners-Discovery, at least for now, but their lawsuit followed months of protests organized by, among others, Jane Fonda’s Committee for the First Amendment. Rashad Robinson has our analysis – his new book is From Presence to Power: How to take on the Fights that Matter – and Win.

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Yotam Marom has been helping build movements—and many of the most important movement organizations—for the last 20 years. His new book, For Louder Days: Reaching Beyond a Politics of Powerlessness, is an essential read for everyone on the left who wants to win a better world.

Yotam, who became an organizing leader in Occupy Wall Street alongside Jonathan approximately a million years ago, joined us to talk about the left's conflicted relationship to power, leadership, identity, and strategy. We discuss how and why movements too often get in our own way, turn on each other, and play small, and talk through the big shifts we need to make if we hope to win the big battles ahead.

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