Do you feel uneasy? Do you feel a level of ambient anxiety? Do you feel despair, despite the fact that we live in the most luxurious time and place in human history?
The point is, you are not crazy. If you feel these things, you are simply attuned to reality—and it’s not a problem that’s solvable with less screen time or with meditation, red light, or sea moss.
My brilliant guest, Paul Kingsnorth, argues that the reason you feel this way is not this or that social media app or algorithm or culture war issue. That these are all superficial expressions of a thousand-year battle with what he calls “the Machine.” What exactly that means, he’ll explain tonight.
To personally fight the Machine, Paul has moved his family out of urban England to live off the land in rural Ireland, where his family grows their own food, draws water from a well, and homeschools their children. To learn more about his life, you’ll have to go back and listen to the Honestly episode we did with him in 2024.
In his new book, Against the Machine, Paul makes the argument that what this moment requires is something of a rebellion. He says the West is not dying, but already dead. And this book is an attempt to understand how we got to this profound feeling of disquiet—and how we might return to true peace. It’s being billed as a “spiritual manual for dissidents in the technological age.”
Click below to listen to our conversation, or scroll down for our favorite moments.
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Part 1. This is big, folks. Think Watergate combined with Deflate-gate combined with Christina Applegate combined with the Bowling Green Massacre. THAT's how big of a scandal this is.
You thought Zohran Mamdani was just an innocent 34 year old assemblyman who rose to stardom by being an incredibly good candidate and relentless campaigning an economic message in a positive way. But you were an idiot. Dummy.
Asra Nomani broke it here, but let Jenessa and I explain it to you because clearly your feeble, gullible brain can't process. information properly.
While decolonization liberated territories, it left the root causes of historical injustice unaddressed. Governance change did not address past wrongs and transferred injustice through political and financial architectures.
In Calibrating Colonial Crime: Reparations and The Crime of Unjust Enrichment (Bristol University Press/Policy Press, 2024) Dr. Joshua Castellino presents a five-point plan aimed at system redress through reparations that addresses the colonially induced climate crisis through equitable and sustainable means.
In highlighting the structural legacy of colonial crimes, Dr. Castellino provides insights into the complexities of contemporary societies, showing how legal frameworks could foster a fairer, more just world.
This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda’s interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts.
The prosecution believes the case is airtight, but when the defendant takes the stand, the case takes a turn. With alternate suspects introduced, the jury must decide what they believe really happened to Samantha Woll.
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What to know about today's elections — expected to test the momentum and divisions in both parties.
Also, the latest ways the government shutdown is impacting food assistance, preschool, air travel, and more.
And how one of the biggest business takeovers so far this year could create a health-and-wellness giant.
Plus: how a Halloween terror attack may have been avoided, why a Hollywood lawsuit pitting two movie stars against each other has ended, and what's historic about the newest "Sexiest Man Alive" of 2025.
Those stories and even more news to know in about 10 minutes!
Join us every Mon-Fri for more daily news roundups!
A federal judge once again blocked the Trump Administration from sending the National Guard to Portland over the weekend — but if Trump is successful in the courts, Portlanders can look to the great city of Chicago for a preview of what may be in store. Since ICE began operations in September, there have been violent raids on apartment buildings and near-constant activity from aggressive federal agents rounding up immigrants who are being kept in facilities reportedly full of cockroaches and with horrifying examples of overcrowding. And, in some cases, US citizens are getting detained, too. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has faced the brunt of Trump’s attacks on the city, while also reckoning with Chicago’s crime rate and affordability crises that many big cities also face. We sat down with the Mayor to talk about what it’s been like to face down the President while trying to manage the nation’s third-largest city.
And in headlines, President Trump’s tariffs are at the Supreme Court this week, a rundown of the high-profile Election Day races, and 20 Democratic-led states sue the Trump administration over a rule that could block certain public servants from getting their student loans forgiven.
Barack Obama hits the campaign trail—and discusses Trump's sh*tposting—as voters head to the polls. Donald Trump sits down for a lengthy interview with 60 Minutes—the same program he sued in 2024—to discuss immigration raids, his new fascination with nuclear weapons, and his surprising pardon of a Chinese crypto tycoon. Jon, Lovett, and Tommy discuss the interview's most shocking moments, share their final thoughts on the 2025 elections, and react to the garish Gatsby-themed party the President threw at Mar-a-Largo as SNAP benefits expired for more than 40 million Americans on Halloween night. Then, George Retes, the combat veteran and American citizen who was detained by immigration agents with no explanation while driving to work, stops by the studio and shares his harrowing story.
For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.
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Rural parts of the country are getting an economic boost thanks to the construction of giant data centers. WSJ reporter David Uberti visits Umatilla, Oregon to look into whether the boom will last. Plus, the Journal’s auto columnist, Dan Neil, goes for a ride in a flying car. Katie Deighton hosts.
