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PODCAST

The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich

Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich exposes where power lies in our system — and how it"s used and abused. robertreich.substack.com

news politics

All Episodes

10:07

The meaning of Christmas

The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich ·

2022/12/24

Welcome back to my Saturday coffee klatch with Heather Lofthouse, executive director of Inequality Media Civic Action (and my former student), where we look at the highs and lows of the week. But since today is Christmas Eve we thought we’d talk about what Christmas means to us. Please grab a cup and pull up a chair. And also take our poll. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit robertreich.substack.com/subscribe

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3:01

Military bloat versus unnecessary misery

The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich ·

2022/12/19

Friends,Congress is on track in the coming week to give final approval to a national military budget for the fiscal year that is expected to reach about $858 billion — or $45 billion more than President Biden had requested and 8 percent more than last year. This is its highest level of military spending (adjusted for inflation) since the peaks in the costs of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars between 2008 and 2011. It’s the second-highest military spending since World War II. It’s more than the budgets

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4:14

America's growing zero-sum economy

The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich ·

2022/12/16

Friends,That Donald Trump is now hawking digital trading cards featuring images of himself as a superhero for $99 each tells you all you need to know about Trump and about NFTs.The recent implosion of Samuel Bankman-Fried’s FTX crypto market offers another case in point. Months ago, FTX was huge. Now it’s a hole in the pockets of countless people who had put their money into it. (Until a few week ago, Bankman-Fried was one of the world’s richest people.) Crypto as a whole is proving to be little

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5:04

When will the GOP reach the anti-Trump tipping point?

The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich ·

2022/12/15

My friends,As Congress ends its first post-Trump term, the biggest political question hanging over America is this: When will the GOP finally reach its anti-Trump tipping point — when a majority of Republican lawmakers disavow him?Again and again, it looks like the tipping point is near but the GOP remains under Trump’s thumb.What about last month’s dinner at Mar-a-Lago, with Ye, formerly Kanye West, the man whose fame as a rapper has been dwarfed by his antisemitic and racist declarations, along

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18:06

Sinema's flameout (and other events of the week)

The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich ·

2022/12/10

Welcome back to my Saturday coffee klatch with Heather Lofthouse (Executive Director of Inequality Media Civic Action, and my former student) — when we review the week’s highs and lows. Please grab a coffee and pull up a chair. Today, we consider:Kyrsten Sinema’s exit from the Democrats.Raphael Warnock’s embrace by the Democrats.Donald Trump’s latest disgrace.Heather’s and Bob’s views about the holidays. Plus much more. And please take our latest poll: This is a public episode. If you'd like to

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8:16

Texas's wacko lawsuit and my loopy labor department

The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich ·

2022/12/09

Friends,Texas has sued the Biden administration over its order to immigration agents to prioritize undocumented immigrants convicted of felonies rather than deport all undocumented immigrants. Texas argues that federal immigration law requires the government to deport every undocumented immigrant. The Biden administration says it doesn’t have the resources to deport the country’s estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants, so it must develop priorities. The controversy reminds me of something that

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6:26

How can we protect our democracy when the media...

The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich ·

2022/12/08

Hello friends,Sometimes I feel like screaming at the mainstream media for failing to alert people to crucial (although complicated) issues affecting our democracy coming from different parts of government simultaneously.Case in point: Moore vs. Harper, argued yesterday before the Supreme Court, and the Electoral Reform Act, which must be enacted before the end of this Congress because Republicans won’t touch it once they control the House.The two are intimately connected but you wouldn’t know that

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14:19

The great train wreck (and other wrecks this past week)

The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich ·

2022/12/04

Freinds,Welcome back to my Saturday coffee klatch with Heather Lofthouse, Executive Director of Inequality Media Civic Action (and my former student, years ago). Grab a cup and pull cup a chair. Today, we talk about:— Biden and the Democrat’s decision to stop railway workers from striking. — Elon Musk’s decision to allow almost every hateful, deceptive person in the world to spew poison on Twitter (except Kanye West). — House Republican’s upcoming decision over whether they’ll try to do serious

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7:03

ABC asks my help with Bill Clinton's obituary

The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich ·

2022/12/02

A producer at ABC recently asked if I’d be willing to be interviewed for a documentary they’re making about Bill Clinton. I agreed. Then I asked when they’re planning to show it. “After he dies,” they said.“What!? Is he dying?” I asked, shocked. “Oh, no,” they said. “It’s for the archive.”“You mean, it’s for whenever he dies, even if that’s twenty years from now?”“Exactly.”“Even if you and I are long gone by then?”“Yup.”I was relieved, but flummoxed. Was I supposed to talk about Clinton in the past

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4:15

A grotesque distortion of philanthropy

The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich ·

2022/11/29

Friends, Today is Giving Tuesday — a day to focus on personal charitable giving to worthy causes. But what I really want to talk about today is something quite different from charitable giving, although often confused with it: It’s called “effective altruism.” Known as EA to its practitioners, effective altruism urges people to give away a large share of their incomes. Fine as far as it goes. But EA has been going much further. One of EA’s most influential proponents is the Oxford philosopher

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8:45

Thanks for Thanksgiving

The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich ·

2022/11/27

Welcome back to my Saturday coffee klatch with Heather Lofthouse, executive director of Inequality Media (and my former student), where we talk about the highs and lows of the week. Please grab a cup and pull up a chair. Today we’re still recovering from Thanksgiving, so we thought we’d change pace a bit and talk a bit about what we’re doing in our “spare” time — what we’re reading, what we’re watching, how we’re trying to get a break. And, of course, our weekly poll. — Heather is reading: Anything

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4:20

Thanksgiving thoughts: My family leave act

The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich ·

2022/11/24

Friends,Thanksgiving often brings up one of the central dilemmas in my life — trying to find a better balance between work and family, and failing miserably. It’s the word “balance” that’s always thrown me. I used to assume that a better balance meant more of what you really wanted and less of what you didn’t. For me, and perhaps many of you, that metaphor doesn’t help. Sure, I’ve met lots of people who find a better balance by doing less work and having more time for family. But that’s hard to

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5:31

Musk's Humongous Mistake

The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich ·

2022/11/21

When Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion, he clearly didn’t know that the key assets he was buying lay in Twitter’s 7,500 workers’ heads.On corporate balance sheets, the assets of a corporation are its factories, equipment, patents, and brand name.Workers aren’t considered assets. They appear as costs. In fact, payrolls are typically two-thirds of a corporation’s total costs. Which is why companies often cut payrolls to increase profits. The reason for this is simple. Corporations have

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11:31

Ugh, double ugh, and ugh-and-a-half

The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich ·

2022/11/20

Welcome to another of my Saturday coffee klatches with Heather Lofthouse, my colleague at Inequality Media Civic Action (and my former student), where we talk about the highs and lows of the week. Grab a cup and pull up a chair. Today we talked about:— Nancy Pelosi bows out of the Speakership and Kevin McCarthy bows in. Ugh.— Donald Trump declares his candidacy for president. Double ugh. — Elon Musk is on the way to destroying Twitter. Ugh and a half. Plus a few positive developments. And please

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16:43

Election Mop-up

The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich ·

2022/11/13

Welcome to another of my Saturday coffee klatches with Heather Lofthouse, my colleague at Inequality Media Civic Action (and my former student). Grab a cup and pull up a chair. This week we discuss: — Why Democrats exceeded expectations in the midterm elections.— What will happen during the lame duck session?— What can we expect for the 2024 presidential race?— Why is Elon Musk warning that Twitter may go bankrupt? (Thanks to this week’s jingle composers, Corey Kaup, Deirdre Broderick, and Peter

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4:50

To me, the most encouraging thing of all

The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich ·

2022/11/11

Friends, Veterans Day is a time to honor those who have fought to protect American democracy, especially those who gave their lives so that our democracy can endure. We have just emerged from midterm elections that have tested that democracy as it has not been tested since the Civil War. In large part, our democracy passed that test. We are indebted to all candidates who peacefully and responsibly conceded defeat, and to all election workers who worked so diligently (and in several states are still

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4:42

Saved from Neofascism?

The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich ·

2022/11/10

Friends,Apart from specific issues and candidates that motivated voters on Tuesday, two contrasting parties continue to emerge in America – one, pro-democracy; the other, anti-democracy or neofascist.The hallmarks of the neofascist party are its cruel nastiness and unwillingness to abide by election results. In other words: Trumpism. Both were on full display election night as Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake assailed the “cheaters and crooks” whom she claimed were running elections, “BS

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17:17

Why this election is different!

The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich ·

2022/11/05

Hello friends,Welcome back to my Saturday coffee klatch with my colleague Heather Lofthouse (Executive Director of Inequality Media Civic Action — and my former student), where we talk about the highs and lows of the past week over morning coffee. I’m delighted to be back. And many thanks to Michael Lahanas-Calderón for filling in for me. Today we cover:— What gives us the most hope and what worries us most about the upcoming midterm elections. — Elon Musk’s wild takeover of Twitter. — Jerome

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3:30

Trump Redux

The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich ·

2022/10/24

I really don’t want to write about him any more. I’d rather not even think about him. Honestly, I’d rather forget he existed. But he looms over the 2022 elections like a sword of Damocles. Trump continues to dominate all political coverage. In many respects, he is still the center of American politics — if anything, bigger and more dangerous than he was when he left the White House. First, consider all the action in federal and state courts. Just within the last two weeks, Trump has been subpoenaed

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16:48

How do we reach young people?

The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich ·

2022/10/22

Hello friends,Welcome back to my Saturday coffee klatch with my colleague Heather Lofthouse (Executive Director of Inequality Media Civic Action — and my former student), where we talk about the highs and lows of the week over morning coffee. I’m off this week but have invited Heather and Michael Lahanas-Calderón (Director of Digital Strategy at Inequality Media Civic Action) to chat in my absence. Michael, a member of Gen Z, leads our work on TikTok. He and the team at IMCA have been using video

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