Aimee and Leila discuss COVID-19, the science surrounding the pandemic, and the scientific community's role in the broader crisis.

Closing song, "COVID-19" by Yuri Wong. (Purchase here: https://gumroad.com/l/covid19blow)

Our first stream featured friends of the podcast such as Leila Mechoui, Jeff Van Drew, Monsieur Le Baron, and the Bog Beef, as well as Aimee and Oliver.

Subscribe to our Twitch stream as we make our push toward Partner status over there:

twitch.tv/whatsleftcast

Aimee and Oliver are joined by @htmlmencken to discuss left politics in the 1990s, the early days of Slate and Salon, the congealing of the blob, anti-war blogging during the Bush years, the origins of Ezra Klein, and more.

Aimee and Oliver are joined by Tom Ballard (@TomCBallard), Australian comic and podcaster, to discuss the comedy scene, talking with people you disagree with, and the difference between US and Australian politics.

Aimee and Oliver are joined by Dr. Daniel George to discuss the "deaths of despair" as described in popular media. They talk the politics of the phrase, its relationship to capitalist productivity, the dismissal of and contempt for working-class whites, and why neoliberalism sees them as "deaths of opportunity."

Aimee and Oliver are joined by Oren Cass, author of The Once and Future Worker: A Vision for the Renewal of Work in America (2018), to discuss the future of labor markets, education, and what party Bill Clinton would belong to today.

Oliver is joined by Aubrey Sitterson to talk the comics industry, his own comic Beef Bros, and the politics of the Marvel Universe.

Oliver is joined by veteran publisher Russ Smith to talk about his life in the industry, the work of starting a weekly paper, and why advice from older people is usually worthless.

Aimee and Oliver are joined by @Logo_Daedalus to talk the post-2020 political landscape, the aesthetics of 4chan and Something Awful, and how people have become political products. To listen to the full 2hr 15min conversation, become a patron at patreon.com/whatsleft

Oliver talks with Gregory Butler, carpenter and author of "Disunited Brotherhood: Race, Racketeering, and the Fall of the New York Construction Unions" about the carpentry industry and the ins and outs of union membership.

Buy Gregory's book here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0595391435/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_b9SQFb0JDE9C6