Britain’s parliament will vote today on its last-gasp agreement with the European Union. But that will only mark the start of more negotiations for years to come. And we examine the shortlist from The Economist’s annual “country of the year” debate—New Zealand, Malawi and Taiwan—and unveil the winner. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer
On Friday, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away at the age of 87. Her work as a lawyer and a judge forever changed how women are viewed under United States law. As the nation mourns, her absence sparks a fight in the senate about who is going to choose the next Supreme Court Justice.
Andy counts down his top 10 moments of the year, including a look inside an emergency room COVID-19 unit, our “Safe or Not Safe?” toolkit, and Andy’s all-time favorite clip of Zach. We’ll revisit some of our favorite In the Bubble guests like Kumail Nanjiani, Kara Swisher, and Ed Yong. You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You may even break out in song. Either way, it’s an episode you won’t want to miss.
Keep up with Andy on Twitter @ASlavitt and Instagram @andyslavitt.
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Check out these resources from today’s episode:
Pre-order Andy’s book, Preventable: The Inside Story of How Leadership Failures, Politics, and Selfishness Doomed the U.S. Coronavirus Response, here: www.preventablebook.com
Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia. For additional resources, information, and a transcript of the episode, visit lemonadamedia.com.
Comedian Rivers Langley is back in his hometown in Alabama for the rest of 2020. Also, there's a global pandemic still happening. This podcast is him catching up with his funny friends; sometimes on the phone, sometimes socially-distanced outside. These are "The Corona Diaries" and this is Episode #113. Our first guest today is our co-host emeritus, Dr. Pat Reilly, callin' in from Vancouver, BC to chat about bad fast food, mink basketball jerseys, and some remembrances of a handful of recently departed figures who loom large in the Goods from the Woods Universe! Our second guest is the host of the This is Rad! Podcast and the grand poobah of Radland Records, comedy's Kyle Clark. Follow him on Twitter and all other forms of social media @KyleClarkIsRad! Listen to Carter Glascock's new album 'The Crystal Pistol' now streaming on all platforms!
Top 5 of 2020 Day 3: During this Christmas season, we're sharing some of our favorite interviews of the year to allow our team to take time off for the holidays.
Ilonka Deaton was trafficked into sex slavery at the age of 12. She suffered for six years before finally getting free. Now, her brother, Jaco Booyens, runs a film company that brings the darkness of sex trafficking into the light. He’s out with a film called “8 Days.”
Paris Marx is joined by Mathew Lawrence and Thomas Hanna to discuss the problems with platforms, why antitrust alone is not enough to fix them, and how we can encourage the creation of democratic platforms that serve the public good.
Mathew Lawrence is the founder and director of Common Wealth. He’s also the co-author of “Planet on Fire: A Manifesto for the Age of Environmental Breakdown.” Preorder it now from Verso Books and follow him on Twitter as @DantonsHead.
Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.
Welcome to the Bobnet, your one stop shop for all things bobiverse related. Here you'll find access to the latest in bobiverse content at faster than light speed. We've got the origin story of Bob-1 and the salvation of Earth from getting a wicked Brazilian. We've got a deep dive into the ethics of raising a replicant and next week we'll be discussing releasing it out into the universe. Enjoy the VR buffet! Editing by Luisa Lyons, check out her amazing podcast Filmed Live Musicals: http://www.filmedlivemusicals.com/ Support us at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/0G Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/0gPhilosophy Join our Facebook discussion group (make sure to answer the questions to join): https://www.facebook.com/groups/985828008244018/ Email us at: philosophersinspace@gmail.com If you have time, please write us a review on iTunes. It really really helps. Please and thank you! Sibling shows: Serious Inquiries Only: https://seriouspod.com/ Opening Arguments: https://openargs.com/ Embrace the Void: https://voidpod.com/ Recent appearances: Aaron was recently on Cog Dis to talk Monster Island. Show some cult love! https://dissonancepod.libsyn.com/episode-547-aaron-rabinowitz-v4c-2019-part-9?tdest_id=124104 CONTENT PREVIEW: We Are Legion We Are Bob and the Ethics of Von Neumann probes Part 2
It is often assumed that American politics is dominated by financial elites and the 1%, who use their massive wealth to gain power and influence, pushing for legislation that benefits them at the expense of everyone else. The actual mechanics of how this works, however, are often difficult to see and understand, obscured by distortion via the media, politicians, and the stories we often tell ourselves about how political change happens. These narratives often tell us about noble figures who come forward with powerful speeches and pieces of legislation that pushes us forward, as well as figures who sell out and cave to the powers that be. What these narratives often leave out is the broader context that those leaders were in the middle of, not only shaping but being shaped by the organizing that was happening around them.
Filling in this gap are my guests today, Kevin Young and Michael Schwartz (cowriter Tarun Banerjee was unable to join us), here to discuss their book Levers of Power: How the 1% Rules and What the 99% Can Do About It (Verso, 2020). A work of political theory, sociology and history, this book covers a lot of different areas, but underlying it all is a belief in the importance of mass organizing to resist the power of capital. The first half of the book delivers an insightful and critical look at the Obama presidency, looking at his failures and limitations when it came to healthcare reform, Wall Street regulation and environmental protection, looking to understand the underlying mechanics of his political orientation and how they were insufficient for the tasks at hand. The later chapters of the book then look at various political successes, such as the labor movements during the depression of the 1930's and the struggles for civil rights in the 1960's, analyzing the ways massive organizing efforts were made to apply political and financial pressure and force capital to the bargaining table.
Written with a brilliant combination of academic rigor and accessibility, this is a how-to guide for how to organize movements and challenge power, and will be of interest not just to people who want to understand the world, but who want to change it as well.
Kevin Young is an assistant professor of history at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and is also the author of Blood of the Earth: Resource Nationalism, Revolution, and Empire in Bolivia (2017). Michael Schwartz is a distinguished professor emeritus of sociology at Stony Brook University, and is also the author of The War Without End: The Iraq War in Context (2008). Tarun Banerjee is an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Pittsburgh.
