Working Life Podcast

Episode 10: Jonathan has coined the term The Four Horsemen of the Climate Change Apocalypse. He speaks with a national climate change expert about climate-change deniers Trump, Rex Tillerson, Rick Perry and Scott Pruitt. Keeping up with the race to be chair of the Democratic National Committee, Jonathan speaks with the only woman candidate (so far) Sally Boynton Brown, Executive Director of the Idaho Democratic Party. The podcast wraps up with the Robber Barons of the week: Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse.

Episode 9: In the long list of fraudulent claims by "Tiny Hands" Trump is the notion that he would "drain the swamp" in Washington—Jonathan turns to Elizabeth Warren for a brilliant obliteration of that fantasy. Jonathan checks back in on the race for chair of the Democratic National Committee—you'll get to hear from progressive Keith Ellison, the leading candidate for the post. Jonathan also jumps across the pond to chat with Steve Turner, a union leader from the UK and Ireland (okay, our travel budget is still at zero so Steve and Jonathan met up in Washington, D.C.). Wrapping it all up is "Tiny Hands" Trump's choice to head up the Education Department, failed charter school promoter billionaire Betsy Devos who gets crowned as our Robber Baron for the week.

Episode 8: The individual who will occupy the Oval Office is putting in place people in the government who will do unimaginable damage to the country and the planet. Jonathan talks with CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin about the outlook for the U.S. Supreme Court. Jonathan also chats with leading workers' advocate Christine Owens about the danger facing workers and unions from the choice of a business executive who is openly hostile to the minimum wage to be Labor Secretary. We wrap up with our Robber Barons segment, taking a peek at Rex Tillerson, the unhinged future president's choice to be Secretary of State, and Tillerson's role in hiding billions of dollars in Exxon profits overseas out of the reach of the U.S. Treasury.

It's ugly. Is it terminal? Nothing ever is in politics. But, it's bad, bad, bad for the Democrats. This week, Jonathan looks into the fight over who should be the next chair of the Democratic National Committee—and what that choice will say about the vision of the party. We will hear from Donna Brazile, the interim chair of the party who took over just before the convention after Debbie Wasserman Schultz was forced out. Jonathan, then, takes up the conversation with Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers and a major player in DNC politics, who, despite being an early, avid supporter of Hillary Clinton is supporting Bernicrat Keith Ellison for chair—she'll spill the beans, exclusively with Working Life, on why. We wrap up with our Robber Barons segment with a focus on the CEO of United Technologies who, in exchange for keeping jobs at the Carrier plant in Indiana, extorted tax cut promises from the deranged man who will soon occupy the Oval Office.

Celebrate! Celebrate! Progressive victories are possible even in these dark days. Meet Heidi Harmon, a Berniecrat, who won her challenge to an incumbent to capture the mayoralty of San Luis Obispo—by 47 votes! Jonathan chats with Heidi about her journey and plans. Dean Baker, progressive economist, joins Jonathan to demystify some ideas—including why we have a trade deficit and how to deal with it. And, with the holiday season upon us, our Robber Baron of the week is the CEO of a garment and apparel corporation who makes millions while exploiting workers.

Jonathan goes digging into the world of the global sweatshop, talking with global workers rights advocate Shawna Bader-Blau on the eve of the fourth anniversary of the Bangladesh factory fire that killed 110 garment workers and injured thousands more. We also talk Just Transition--how workers and communities will be looked after as we transition from a carbon based energy system--with Jonathan's good mate from Australia, union leader Tony Maher, a global advocate for climate change action who represents miners and energy workers. And our Robber Baron of the week is the CEO of a greedy drug company that hiked prices by hundreds of dollars on a life-saving device.

Because we need to celebrate in these dark political days, give a listen to how YOU, and thousands of people like you, helped kill (hopefully, forever), the dastardly Trans Pacific Partnership. After a short primer on so-called "free trade", Jonathan speaks with two key people who organized the opposition, Lori Wallach, the director of Global Trade Watch, and Larry Cohen, the new board chair of Our Revolution, the organization carrying forward the Bernie Sanders movement. To wrap up the podcast, this week's Robber Baron segment focuses on Apple.

Bedwetters, this is for you. A day before the election, Jonathan speaks to Celinda Lake, long-time national Democratic pollster, and together they sift through the polling data and the real trends. Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield—yup, Ben & Jerry, with Ben having ice cream in hand—talk about their experience supporting Bernie Sanders. We wrap up with our Robber Barons segment with a look at the corruption at Wells Fargo.

Nina Turner had a lot to say to the throngs of people who she spoke to over the past year as a main surrogate for Bernie Sanders. And when she said it, she said it with passion and inspiration. In her chat with the podcast, she brought that same energy to a wide range of topics, from Bernie's campaign, the Democratic Party, the political revolution and what the future holds for her as a leader of the progressive movement. We also hear from a leading anti-Trump conservative, Tara Setmayer. And we end with our regular segment, the Robber Barons, featuring the Waltons of Wal-Mart.

Bernie Sanders rocked the nation and triggered a political revolution. He talks exclusively to Jonathan Tasini about his journey, Trump, the Democratic Party, fighting the corrupt system, and the next wave of the revolution.