Start Making Sense with Jon Wiener

Jan 29 2025 97 ep. 37 mins 61
Start Making Sense with Jon Wiener Podcast artwork

Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the week in news. Hosted by Jon Wiener and presented by The Nation Magazine.

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Chris Hayes: How Trump Wins the Battle for Attention

Jan 29 2025 31 mins  
Our attention is limited. That makes it valuable, Chis Hayes says– not just to us, but to those who’d like to exploit it. Chris’s new book is The Sirens’ Call: How Attention Became the World's Most Endangered Resource; before he became host of “All in with Chris Hayes” on MSNBC, he was The Nation’s Washington Correspondent.Also: Your Minnesota Moment: officials in

How We Got Here, plus Thanking the Undocumented

Jan 22 2025 31 mins  
How Trump ‘won’: In 2024, 244 million Americans were eligible to vote. 31.5% voted for Trump, 30.6 % voted for Harris, 38% did not vote. Trump won the same share of the eligible voters as he did four years ago (32%), But Harris’s share of eligible voters fell by 3.5 points compared to Biden. Why did 7 million Democratic voters stay home? Harold Meyerson has our analysis—he�

DNC v. Trump, plus Solidarity v. Trump

Jan 15 2025 37 mins  
As we prepare for Trump to take office next week, we're getting ready to challenge him and his people in the upcoming elections later this year. But before that, we have an important election in the next few weeks: the Democratic National Committee will elect a new chair on February 1 to prepare for the battles and the campaigns to come. For our analysis we turn to John Nichols

Defending the Undocumented, plus Uncovering Hidden Wealth

Jan 08 2025 46 mins  
On this episode of Start Making Sense: Trump’s ‘dictatorship on day one’ will feature executive orders to deport undocumented residents. Ahilan Arulanantham, co-director of the Center for Immigration Law & Policy at UCLA Law School, will explain the legal strategy to be deployed by the sanctuary states and cities,Also: Not everything is about Donald Trump. The Geneva Free

The Dylan Movie, and the Trump Books

Dec 31 2024 30 mins  
The endlessly elusive Bob Dylan seems an unlikely candidate for a Hollywood biopic. John Powers, Critic-at-Large on NPR’s “Fresh Air,” talks about how the new movie “A Complete Unknown” captures a defining moment in his career -- and in American culture .Also: Our holiday reading guide: Dozens of books about Trump were published at the end of his first term, some selling

Working Class Wins, plus Hot Rod Racing

Dec 18 2024 43 mins  
Hotel and restaurant workers in Los Angeles won a $30 minimum wage last week, Disneyland workers are getting $233 million in back pay, and Wisconsin public employees regained collective bargaining rights. Harold Meyerson reports on some victories in the class struggle in America.Also: a special feature: novelist Rachel Kushner reports on the world of Nostalgia Drag Racing, where pe

Why Kamala Lost, plus Trump Family Activities

Dec 11 2024 37 mins  
Kamala Harris lost not because Democratic voters switched to Trump, Steve Phillips shows, but because of a massive failure of the Democrats to turn out their base. Also: In a new episode of “The Children’s Hour,” Amy Wilentz reports on “Lives of the In-Laws” – Ivanka’s and Tiffany’s – and comments also on the rise of Eric’s wife Lara, and about the latest scheme

What Can Stop Trump, plus Project 2025--the Dumb Parts

Dec 04 2024 39 mins  
“Our worst enemy right now is not Trump himself, but fatalism about our ability to stop him.” That’s what David Cole says – he recently stepped down as National Legal Director of the ACLU, after 8 years and hundreds of lawsuits against the first Trump administration.Also: Project 2025,the Heritage Foundation’s famous 900 page book, is partly “"too dumb to accomplish

Exploiting Trump’s Weaknesses; plus Mass Deportation in US History

Nov 27 2024 37 mins  
Matt Gaetz dropping out as Attorney General nominee was a major setback for Trump, which exposes his vulnerabilities and weaknesses. Harold Meyerson reports on the divide in the Senate, and then between the MAGA movement and Republicans on Wall Street and in the corporations.Also on this episode of Start Making Sense: Trump’s plan to deport millions of undocumented immigrants is

Trump Voters for Abortion; and Learning from John Lewis

Nov 20 2024 47 mins  
A lot of people who voted for abortion rights referenda this year also voted for Trump. What were they thinking? How do they understand politics? Amy Littlefield spent election day in Amarillo, Texas, trying to find out.Also: John Lewis, who died in 2020, challenged injustice from the sit-ins of 1960 to the Age of Trump. Historian David Greenberg talks about what we can learn from