Month: April 2023

Hello from a 90-degree day in New York!

This week, we’re joined by Alex Han, executive director of In These Times and a longtime organizer based in Chicago. Alex previously worked for Bernie’s 2020 campaign and SEIU Healthcare Illinois and Indiana. We get into the context behind the surprise mayoral win by former teacher and organizer Brandon Johnson, over “corporate reformer” Paul Vallas. We discuss [15:45] the values (neoliberal versus progressive) at stake in this race, [25:08] which strategies can, and can’t, be reproduced by other candidates, and [1:01:30] the role of left-labor publications like In These Times in counteracting corporate media.

In this episode, we ask: 

What made the Chicago Teachers Union become such a central player in city politics? 

How has “defund the police” evolved, rhetorically, on the left? 

How do you build a coalition that’s led by progressives but populated by centrists? 

What should left media do to engage young people and other big yet hard-to-reach groups? 

For more, read: 

* Alex’s post-election editorial for In These Times

* This reflection on bargaining for the common good and the influence of the CTU 

* More on the deep, grassroots organizing behind Johnson’s victory: 'It Was 100-Percent People Power' (Block Club Chicago) and Chicago’s Rich Organizing Tradition Paid Off (The Nation) 

* An interview with Alex on the past and present of In These Times: What Do Movements Need from Progressive Media?

* The book Jay mentions, After Black Lives Matter: Policing and Anti-Capitalist Struggle, by Cedric G. Johnson

* Horrifying news of the shooting of 16-year-old Ralph Yarl in Kansas City

Thanks for listening! Subscribe on Patreon or Substack, and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. Email us at timetosaygoodbyepod@gmail.com. 

Jonathan Rosen has spent the last few years trying to understand the story of his closest childhood friend, Michael Laudor. 

Michael Laudor was, by all accounts, a genius. Maybe even a prodigy. Academically, he excelled beyond belief. Things that are hard for most young students, like reading and comprehending large volumes of material, came easily for him. His charm was infectious, and seemed to immediately attract the attention of any room he entered. As he navigated young adulthood and college, and eventually law school at Yale, one thing was clear: everyone was drawn to Michael.

Then Michael did something unimaginable: he killed his fiancée.  

The tragedy of Michael’s story is captured in Jonathan’s new book, The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions. It’s a breathtaking account of friendship, the harrowing and insidious nature of mental illness as it takes over someone’s life, and most of all, it investigates the invisible forces—cultural, political, and ideological—that shaped Michael’s terrible fortune, and America’s ongoing failure to get people like Michael the help that they so desperately need. 

On today’s episode, Jonathan shares this personal story of extreme tragedy. Which is also, as we discuss, an American tragedy.

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