Living in the USA

Living in the USA
  • 3.8 (28)
  • POLITICS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
Living in the USA

Talking about politics, thinking about the Left. Hosted by Jon Wiener, co-author of "Set the Night on Fire: L.A. in the Sixties," contributing editor at The Nation, and broadcast live at KPFK 90.7FM in LA Thursdays at 4.

  1. Trump and LA: Harold Meyerson; After 'No Kings': Leah Greenberg; the Medicaid Cuts: Ai-jen Poo

    5D AGO

    Trump and LA: Harold Meyerson; After 'No Kings': Leah Greenberg; the Medicaid Cuts: Ai-jen Poo

    Trump's deportation plans have always faced a contradiction: he couldn't deport millions of immigrants without crippling essential industries and Republican business whose owners supported him. So Trump started granting exceptions; but that was before Saturday, the biggest one-day political protest in American history, protesting against him. On that same day, nobody came to his birthday parade, and in the middle of that night, Trump made an announcement on Truth Social, targeting blue cities – Harold Meyerson explains. Also: Saturday’s ‘No Kings’ protests, with 5 million people at 2100 events, was the largest single day of protest in American history. Leah Greenberg of Indivisible will talk about how the event was organized, and what comes next.  Plus: The Medicaid cuts provide a lifetime opportunity for us to reach the 70 million people who did not vote and the 60 per cent of Trump voters who are not MAGA -- that's what Ai-jen Poo says. She's director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance and President of Care in Action, and a key labor organizer and strategist

    57 min
  2. Saturday's 'Day of Defiance': Ezra Levin; National Guard in LA: Harold Meyerson; Trump & Woodrow Wilson: Adam Hochschild

    JUN 12

    Saturday's 'Day of Defiance': Ezra Levin; National Guard in LA: Harold Meyerson; Trump & Woodrow Wilson: Adam Hochschild

    With tanks rolling down the street in DC on Saturday and troops being deployed to LA, it’s never been more important to come together in nonviolent action to exercise our First Amendment right to peaceful protest. That’s what the organization Indivisible says about Saturday’s National Day of Defiance – the nationwide “No Kings” protests – go to nokings.org to find one near you. Ezra Levin will explain; he’s co-founder and co-executive director of Indivisible. Also: Who, exactly, is being arrested by ICE agents in Los Angeles? Why is the National Guard downtown LA? And What are the 700 marines Trump sent to LA supposed to do? Harold Meyerson will comment - he’s editor at large of The American Prospect. Plus: Trump is not the worst president when it comes to constitutional rights and civil liberties; Woodrow Wilson was worse. Adam Hochschild explains why – starting with jailing thousands of people whose only crime was speaking out against the president. Adam’s most recent book is 'American Midnight: The Great War, A Violent Peace, and Democracy's Forgotten Crisis.' (First recorded April 23, 2025.)

    58 min
  3. Congress and the Trump-Musk Feud: Harold Meyerson; Sixties New York: J. Hoberman; 2025 elections: John Nichols

    JUN 6

    Congress and the Trump-Musk Feud: Harold Meyerson; Sixties New York: J. Hoberman; 2025 elections: John Nichols

    The Musk Report: The world's richest man and donor of the largest amount of money in the history of the world ever spent by one person on a US presidency. What will the Trump-Musk feud mean for Congress and the future of the GOP? Harold Meyerson comments. Also: Forget the midterms next year, at least for now. The fight against Trump runs through the elections this November—starting with Virginia and New Jersey. The Nation's national affairs correspondent John Nichols explains. Plus: J. Hoberman, the long-time film critic for The Village Voice, talks about the happenings, the underground movies, and the radical art and music— from Bob Dylan to Andy Warhol to Yoko Ono. His new book is Everything is Now: The 1960s New York Avant-Garde.

    58 min
  4. Tariff Trouble for Trump: Harold Meyerson; Rural voters: Flaccavento and Etelson; Sherrod Brown

    MAY 30

    Tariff Trouble for Trump: Harold Meyerson; Rural voters: Flaccavento and Etelson; Sherrod Brown

    Trump claimed that he could bypass Congress to impose tariffs under IEEPA due to a trade deficit emergency over the last 40 years; but, a federal panel blocked him from imposing those tariffs on China, Mexico, Canada and 50 other countries. Now it's on its way to the Supreme Court – Harold Meyerson comments. Also: Rural America is Trump country. Last November Trump carried 93 percent of rural counties.. How can Democrats change that? Anthony Flaccavento and Erica Etelson, co-founders of the Rural Urban Bridge Initiative, have a strategy to accomplish that. Plus: After serving 18 years in the Senate, and losing last November, Sherrod Brown analyzes what it will take for Democrats to recover from the defeats of 2024, and comments on his own political future – he could run for senator or for governor in 2026. (Originally recorded May 7, 2025)

    58 min
  5. Trump's 'Grotesquely Cruel' budget: Harold Meyerson; Fighting Trump: Jamie Raskin; 1925: Tom Lutz

    MAY 23

    Trump's 'Grotesquely Cruel' budget: Harold Meyerson; Fighting Trump: Jamie Raskin; 1925: Tom Lutz

    Harold Meyerson comments on the GOP's "grotesquely cruel" budget – starting with the impossible work requirements for Medicaid, and then Trump's broken campaign promise NOT to cut Medicare. Also: “A rally a day keeps the fascists away” – that’s what Jamie Raskin says. He’s the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, and he talks about Trump’s “world historical grift,” and why we shouldn’t be pessimistic about defeating his efforts. Plus: 20 minutes without Trump: 1925 is being celebrated this year as the centenary of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald -- but we’re interested in some of the other books published that year. So we turn to Tom Lutz – his new book is titled “1925: A Literary Encyclopedia.” It’s 800 pages long, and only 7 are on “Gatsby."

    58 min
  6. Free speech on campus: David Cole; Adios to Musk: David Nasaw; Alger Hiss: Jeff Kisseloff

    MAY 16

    Free speech on campus: David Cole; Adios to Musk: David Nasaw; Alger Hiss: Jeff Kisseloff

    What obligations do colleges and universities have to protect students from anti-Semitism and Islamophobia? What obligations do they have to let students speak freely about issues they care about? David Cole just testified before Congress about that—he’s the former National Legal Director of the ACLU, and The Nation’s legal affairs correspondent.​  Also: Trump’s partnership in Washington with his biggest donor, Elon Musk, is coming to an end. The richest man in the world, who made the biggest campaign contribution in history, is going home the clear loser in this affair. Historian David Nasaw comments. Next: In 1948, Alger Hiss, a prominent New Deal Democrat, was convicted of perjury for testifying that he had not been a Soviet spy. The conventional wisdom is that he was probably guilty. Now, Jeff Kisseloff says it’s not hard to show that Hiss was innocent; the hard part is figuring out who framed him. Jeff’s new book is “Rewriting Hisstory: A Fifty-Year Journey to Uncover the Truth About Alger Hiss” (originally recorded April 30, 2025). Plus: Your Minnesota Moment: In St. Francis, a small town north of Minneapolis, a high school got hit with a book banning policy. The Minnesota ACLU and the Teachers' Union both filed lawsuits; inspiring author Dave Eggers to host an event there. Students sat outside of the school and read from some of the banned books that included "The Kite Runner" by Afghan-American Khaled Hosseini – small town high school kids stand up to book burners.

    58 min
  7. Good News about Politics: Harold Meyerson; 'The Tide is Turning': Dahlia Lithwick; Political satire: Al Franken

    MAY 9

    Good News about Politics: Harold Meyerson; 'The Tide is Turning': Dahlia Lithwick; Political satire: Al Franken

    So much good news in the last few days – first up: in North Carolina, a Trump-appointed federal judge ruled on the contested state supreme court race that "you don't change voter qualifications AFTER the election" and so, the winner of the state supreme court race, a Democrat, must be certified – Harold Meyerson comments. Also: Dahlia Lithwick explains three key court cases where Trump suffered major defeats, which, she argues, are likely to have an “exponential effect” on other judges. Meanwhile we are seeing a rising tide of activism in the streets. Dahlia writes about the law and the courts for Slate and hosts the ‘Amicus’ podcast. Plus: Your Minnesota Moment – from the archives: Our interview with Al Franken, when Fox News sued him for the title of his book “Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right” (first recorded in 2003).

    51 min
  8. May Day protests: Harold Meyerson: from the Red Scare to Trump: Beverly Gage; the Museum of Jurassic Technology: David Wilson

    MAY 2

    May Day protests: Harold Meyerson: from the Red Scare to Trump: Beverly Gage; the Museum of Jurassic Technology: David Wilson

    This May Day, there were big demonstrations everywhere – more than 900 cities and towns – participants included Bernie Sanders and many notable unions; and the banner for this organized national protest targeted not just Trump: "For the workers, not the billionaires" – Harold Meyerson comments. Also: Donald Trump is "the greatest threat to American universities since the Red Scare of the 1950s"—that’s what Princeton’s president Christopher Eisgruber said. Others say that what Trump is doing is worse. Beverly Gage comments – she wrote “G-Man,” the award-winning biography of J. Edgar Hoover. Plus: Twenty Minutes without Trump: The Museum of Jurassic Technology is one of the treasures of Los Angeles – it’s a weird and wonderful place on Venice Boulevard that attracts art fanatics from around the world. Founder and director David Wilson raises big questions about really small art. (originally broadcast 6-19-2001)

    52 min
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3.8
out of 5
28 Ratings

About

Talking about politics, thinking about the Left. Hosted by Jon Wiener, co-author of "Set the Night on Fire: L.A. in the Sixties," contributing editor at The Nation, and broadcast live at KPFK 90.7FM in LA Thursdays at 4.

Information

  • Creator
    Living in the USA
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2025
  • Episodes
    439
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © All rights reserved
  • Show Website
    Living in the USA

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