Aziz Rana, author of The Constitutional Bind, describes how the system crafted by the US Constitution led to Donald Trump and has constricted our ability fight him.Behind the News, hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of economics and pol
Featuring Aziz Rana on the making of the American project and its legitimation through popular worship of the US Constitution. This episode, the third in what is now a four-part series, looks at how black movements responded as the Vietnam War
April 30th marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. But although the conflict still looms large in American memory, the reasons why the US went to war have been distorted in the mainstream account.In this episode of Confrontin
Suzi talks to Alan Wald, Professor Emeritus at the University of Michigan and a member of the academic council of Jewish Voice for Peace, to unpack the Trump offensive against higher education — a campaign that escalated after last spring’s cla
Quinn Slobodian, author of Hayek’s Bastards, talks about the IQ- and race-obsessed goldbugs of second generation neoliberalism.Behind the News, hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions,
Featuring Aziz Rana on the making of the American project and its legitimation through popular worship of the US Constitution. This episode, the second in a three-part series, takes the story from World War I’s hyper-nationalist, xenophobic Fir
For many years, Palestine had one of the strongest left-wing movements in the Arab world, represented by prominent figures such as Leila Khaled and Ghassan Kanafani. At the beginning of the First Intifada in the 1980s, Palestinian left groups w
Charlie Eaton and Alina Gibadullina, coauthors of a recent paper, discuss the increasing prominence of hedge fund and private equity titans on elite university boards. Malcolm Harris, author of What’s Left, lays out a trio of political approach
Featuring Aziz Rana on the making of the American capitalist, imperialist project and its legitimation through popular worship of the US Constitution. This episode, the first in a three-part series, traces the foundation of the American settler
President Trump has threatened to upend the US’s role in NATO unless the Europeans increase their military spending. But far from just a budget reshuffling, European remilitarization massively increases the prospects for war and austerity.On t
Jason Wade of the UAW explains the union’s endorsement of Trump’s auto tariffs. Sam Gindin, former long-time adviser to what used to be known as the Canadian Autoworkers Union and the author of a recent article for nonsite.org, takes a look at
For many years, Palestine had one of the strongest left-wing movements in the Arab world, represented by prominent figures such as Leila Khaled and Ghassan Kanafani. At the beginning of the First Intifada in the 1980s, Palestinian left groups w
Jeff Schuhrke on his book Blue Collar Empire: The Untold Story of US Labor’s Global Anticommunist Crusade. During the Cold War, organized labor’s top leadership acted as an agent of the US national security state abroad: undermining left-wing u
Journalist and historian Joy Neumeyer joins Suzi from Warsaw to discuss her March 13 piece in the New York Review of Books, “Russia: Letters from the Opposition.” Last summer, Neumeyer wrote to 14 of Vladimir Putin’s political prisoners — diss
Samuel Moyn talks about Trump and the courts. Chris Maisano, author of a recent Jacobin article about class “dealignment,” discusses class and politics. Finally, Evgenia Kovda reflects on hipster nihilism, which she wrote about for the Nefariou
The Republican Party has become a hegemonic force in US politics today. But how much of their dominance is predicated on Donald Trump’s personal rule?On this episode of Confronting Capitalism, Vivek Chibber discusses the historic evolution of
Featuring more analysis from Ilias Alami and Tim Sahay on the shape of global geopolitics and geoeconomics. We discuss: the fault lines of the green energy transition; the US and China battle for dominance while the rest of the world seeks adva
Brent Cebul and Lily Geismer, editors of the new collection Mastery and Drift, discuss professional-class liberalism. Plus: a brief reprise of a 2019 interview with Gabriel Winant about the PMC.Behind the News, hosted by Doug Henwood, covers t
Last year, Narendra Modi celebrated a decade in office as India’s prime minister. Modi was aiming for a third consecutive election victory and a parliamentary landslide that would give him a free hand to advance his right-wing, Hindu nationalis
Featuring Ilias Alami and Tim Sahay on a global conjuncture defined by Washington’s shredding of the liberal international order’s legitimacy amid a panic over decline: the escalating Cold War with China; Gaza genocide; Trump’s tariff wars and
Vanessa Wills, author of the book Marx’s Ethical Vision, speaks about the morality behind Marxian science. Mathis Ebbinghaus discusses the recent paper he co-wrote about the effects of the summer 2020 anti-cop protests on police budgets.Behind
There are plenty of reasons to be discouraged about the world today, but the labor movement is giving us real cause for hope. Across industries and regions, workers are organizing on a scale we haven’t seen in decades — and they’re winning. Wha
Featuring Eric Blanc on We Are the Union: How Worker-to-Worker Organizing Is Revitalizing Labor and Winning Big. Interview conducted by guest host Gabriel Winant.Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDigDefend federal workers and federal services
Donald Trump has made restoring American industry a priority across his administrations. But rather than continue Biden’s efforts to bolster domestic manufacturing through subsidies, Trump has instituted a series of tariffs intended to reshore
Ben Tarnoff talks tech worker militancy and the bosses’ reaction: a crackdown and hard turn to the right. Jodi Dean, author of Capital’s Grave, discusses the concept of “neofeudalism.”Behind the News, hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds