Left Anchor

Apr 03 2025 357 ep. 46 mins 2.4k
Left Anchor Podcast artwork

Philosophy, politics, and the left.

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Late Star Trek - 347 PREVIEW

Apr 03 2025 21 mins  
Today we are speaking with professor Adam Kotsko about his new book Late Star Trek: The Final Frontier in the Franchise Era. Why Trek so successful and beloved through the 1990s, why have the recent shows struggled to recapture the magic, and how does that relate to changing dynamics in the entertainment industry? Subscribe now to hear the whole thing!

Abundance Incoherence - 346

Mar 27 2025 58 mins  
Today we have Matt Bruenig of the People's Policy Project, NLRB Edge, and The Bruenigs podcast on to talk about Ezra Klein's and Derek Thompson's book Abundance. We discuss the strengths and accuracies of the book, but also where it turns squirrelly, why it's gotten so much attention, and the suspicious cast of characters behind it. Check out Matt's review of the book here.

How the Union Movement Can Rebuild - 345 EXCERPT

Mar 22 2025 30 mins  
Today we are talking with Professor Eric Blanc about his book We Are the Union: How Worker-to-Worker Organizing Is Revitalizing Labor and Winning Big. It's all about how innovative organizers have managed to unionize some highly dispersed workplaces like Starbucks, but also how institutional labor unions have failed to take advantage of that knowledge. We also discuss what labor sh

Trump's Assault on Universities - 344

Mar 17 2025 62 mins  
Today we are bringing back David Austin Walsh to talk about the Trump/Musk attack on American higher education--not just DEI programs, but advanced science and research of any kind. Why are they doing this and what damage will it cause? Check out David's book Taking America Back: The Conservative Movement and the Far Right here, our previous interview with him here, and Chuck Schum

The Power of Propaganda with Hannah Arendt - 220 UNLOCKED

Mar 08 2025 71 mins  
Ryan is on vacation this week, so here's an episode from the archives. Today we're discussing the article "Truth and Politics" by Hannah Arendt. We talk about her idea that truth has both a weakness and a power to it, what the Herman Cain Award subreddit tells us about the power of propaganda, Joe Rogan getting owned on his own show, why Bernie Sanders is better at science communic

The Failure of Constitutional Theory - 343

Feb 28 2025 54 mins  
Today we are talking to Harvard Law Professor Mark Tushnet about his book Who Am I to Judge: Judicial Craft versus Constitution Theory. It’s common today for Supreme Court justices to outline a theory of constitutional interpretation, but it turns out that not only is this dishonest, but also something that only developed in the late 20th century. Enjoy! The Ian Toll book series

The Biggest Asshole in History PREVIEW

Feb 20 2025 10 mins  
Today we are discussing the book Assholes: A Theory, by Aaron James. It turns out there are important distinctions between the asshole, the douchebag, the jerk, and the psychopath, and they are highly relevant to the men (they are usually men) running the American government. Subscribe now to hear the whole thing!

The Tech Oligarch Consent Machine - 341

Feb 13 2025 59 mins  
This time we've got Eoin Higgins on to talk about his book Owned: How Tech Billionaires on the Right Bought the Loudest Voices on the Left. He uses Glenn Greenwald and Matt Taibbi as case studies in how shifting monetary incentives created by tech oligarchs like Peter Thiel and Marc Andreessen combined with certain personal pathologies turned formerly respected progressive journali

The Elon Musk Coup - 340 PREVIEW

Feb 03 2025 31 mins  
This time we are taking a step back to consider just what is going on with shadow president Musk and his gang of thugs seizing control of core government functions. It's important, we feel, to foreground the grave political implications of what is happening. Subscribe now to hear the rest of the episode!

Trump's First Days - 339

Jan 25 2025 64 mins  
Today we're bringing back Professor Harvey Kaye to talk about Trump's inaugural address and some of his first executive orders. Check out the Prospect's coverage of Trump's actions: day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4.