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Populism

Populism

Golden statue of a crowned figure holding scales against a cloudy sky.
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It’s not just the rapacious, perhaps truly pathological greed of the super rich. The Supreme Court has actively participated in the devastation of the formerly-large middle class. According to law professor Michel Gilman, the US Supreme Court has taken a

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Group of people holding lit torches at night.
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Throughout American history there have been times, rare moments in which the political establishment’s movers and shakers quiver as their best laid plans have gone awry. Their too-often successful efforts to keep citizens believing that we are powerless are on

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Snow-covered Bernie Sanders campaign sign in New Hampshire.
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The 2016 New Hampshire Presidential Primary is history. No one predicted a 22 point blowout for Bernie Sanders. The establishment of both parties was flattened by the results. What the heck happened? Media talent trainer and consultant John Kosinski puts

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Bernie Sanders warmly greeting supporters at a crowded rally.
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He’s a leading contender, surging in the polls but the Democratic Party is wielding a real war on Bernie Sanders. According to Princeton history professor Matt Karp, it’s without precedent. Bernie Sanders is clearly carrying on FDR and LBJ Democratic

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Black and white campaign button with FDR's portrait and New Deal slogan.
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No question, FDR was our greatest Democratic president. Though we have, at least for the moment, gone beyond the recession of 2008, perhaps we’ve merely swept the problem under the rug, along with opportunities for real economic security. On this

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Historic black and white photo of soldiers playing soccer in uniform.
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In the Christmas Truce at the beginning of what was then The Great War, and other lesser know fraternizing between “enemies,” it took courage to question the madness. Still today, Christmas is the one day of peace, while we feel

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Map of Spain showing major cities including Madrid and Barcelona.
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When the combined power of the Troika–European Central Bank, European Commission, and the International Monetary Fund–puts the squeeze of austerity on places like Spain and Portugal, a lot of people feel severe economic pain. But in the Iberian countries, they

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A close-up of a man shouting with an intense expression.
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Talk about threats to democracy and to America itself: The Trump phenomenon is blatantly racist, xenophobic, and fascist, more and more from both parties are recognizing this. Does Trump give voice to what many Americans secretly feel? In this discussion,

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Man lighting a cigar with a burning dollar bill.
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Chuck Collins, founder of Wealth for the Common Good and senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies talks about the new report on the top .01 percent and the impact on our democracy. They are not job creators as

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Man in sunglasses and leather jacket at a film set with black-and-white photos.
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For decades police have gotten away with murder. Thanks to cell phones, today they’re getting caught. And they are fighting back, actually threatening such people as Quentin Tarantino. On the first half, guest Travis Morales of Rise Up October and

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Book cover of 'American Dreamers' by Michael Kazin.
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While the left has had very few actual electoral victories, author Michael Kazin argues it has very effectively changed the nation. The author of “A Godly Hero: William Jennings Bryan,” talks about his new book “American Dreamers.” What’s gone right

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A man speaking into a microphone, pointing forward.
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There are a lot of similarities and differences: They are both men over 65 but England’s Jeremy Corbyn is a traditional Labourite leftist while Bernie Sanders is an all-American left-leaning Democratic populist. But both campaigns earned their descriptions as political

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Book cover of 'Railroaded' by Richard White on transcontinental railroads.
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The Tea Party these days looks with fondness to the 19th century as a time of rugged individualism and unemcumbered free markets. As with so many mythic images, reality is exceedingly different. Like corporate personhood? Thank the railroads. Ever notice

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Chart showing American exceptionalism in income inequality and social issues.
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American Exceptionalism: it’s beyond mere national pride, it is an insistence that we are above the normal rules and that we are God’s gift to the world. Of course if we know someone who feels this way about him or

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A stencil graffiti with the message about societal manipulation and division.
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Started under Reagan in 1983, the drive to put public education in the hands of for-profit interests has greatly weakened education, done real harm to thousands of kids, and weakened our real national security. Today’s guest is John Kuhn who

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A historical political cartoon titled 'Join, or Die' with segmented snake parts representing colonies.
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We’re all familiar with 1776. But before the actual separation from England, there was revolution across the land. The spirit of 1774 was focused on class-blind democracy and a lot of what happened then, with powerful actions from the grassroots

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Portraits of four prominent American founding fathers.
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What was the actual intent of America’s founders? The far right has too often gotten away with claiming the mantle of the values of America’s founders. Even Glenn Beck has stolen the title of Thomas Paine’s 1776 pamphlet Common Sense

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Black and white sign promoting worker-owned cooperatives.
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We’ve all seen the results of economics imposed from the top down. Sometimes it works well, other times we’ve seen communities devastated as a result of this process. But in Cincinnati, there’s an idea taken largely from success in the

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