PODCAST

Left Anchor

Ryan Cooper & Alexi the Greek

Philosophy, politics, and the left.

news politics

All Episodes

62:34

Gangster Imperialism in Venezuela - 378

Left Anchor ·

2026/01/10

Today we've got NYU historian Alejandro Velasco on to discuss Trump's kidnapping of Venezuela's now-former president Nicolas Maduro. We talk about the historical context, details about the oil sector there, what Trump's goals might be and whether they make any sense, and what it all might mean. Enjoy!Check out Alejandro's recent article in the Guardian here.

7:27

Holiday Special: Wake Up Dead Man - 377 PREVIEW

Left Anchor ·

2025/12/27

This time we are discussing Wake Up Dead Man, the latest Knives Out picture, and its themes of faith, humility, forgiveness, and right-wing assholes in the pulpit. We hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday break!Subscribe here to hear the whole thing!

54:00

The Case for Deliberation - 376

Left Anchor ·

2025/12/21

The dumbest people in politics are always going on about how we need more "debate" between various factions. But Stanford political scientist James Fishkin has a much more sophisticated argument that actual deliberation--not cable news morons shouting at each other--has a vital role to play in democratic functioning, and has actually carried out several experiments to that effect. He joins us to talk about his book Can Deliberation Cure the Ills of Democracy?

34:44

What Zohran Can Learn from the Sewer Socialists - 375...

Left Anchor ·

2025/12/09

Today we've got Rutgers labor historian Eric Blanc back on to discuss his recent article on the sewer socialists of Milwaukee. Back in the early 20th century, Wisconsin was the epicenter of the most successful socialist movement in American history, with socialists running Milwaukee for nearly 50 years starting in 1910. How did they win, how did they build power, and what did they do with it? With Zohran Mamdani poised to take charge of New York, this is some highly relevant history.Check out the

71:10

Why the Thirty Years’ War Matters - 374

Left Anchor ·

2025/11/26

Today we have Dr. Lucian Staiano-Daniels on to talk about his book The War People: A Social History of Common Soldiers during the Era of the Thirty Years War. It is something of an obscure conflict these days, but he explains why understanding it matters today, and in particular how the era is quite similar to 2025 in many ways—we also are experiencing a severely destabilizing revolution in information technology (social media now, the printing press then), political problems in a federalized empire

4:41

Summers, Epstein, and Economics

Left Anchor ·

2025/11/22

Today we have economics professor Marshall Steinbaum on to talk about the potential fall of Larry Summers due to his association with Jeffrey Epstein, and what it reveals about the culture of the economics profession and policymaking in the Democratic Party.Subscribe now to hear the whole episode! Here are the articles mentioned in the discussion: 1. Claudia Sahm’s initial post: “Economics is a Disgrace.” 2. Claudia’s account of the retaliation she faced for that post: “Economics Truly is a

66:02

The 2025 Blue Wave - 372

Left Anchor ·

2025/11/07

Zohran Mamdani won in New York City, and so did Democrats in New Jersey, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and even Mississippi. What happened and why? We dig in.Check out Ryan's articles on Zohran and Chuck Schumer, as well as our previous episode on Zohran.

11:05

The Bigoted Anti-Zohran Frenzy - 371 PREVIEW

Left Anchor ·

2025/10/31

Today we are discussing the home stretch of the New York City mayoral race, Andrew Cuomo's decent into outright gutter racism and Islamophobia, the ongoing ICE raids across the country, Trump's escalating war on Venezuela, and the surprising story of how rent control in Hong Kong led to a building boom in the 1920s.

62:11

Life After Cars - 370

Left Anchor ·

2025/10/21

Is it possible to reform America's blighted hellscape of car-dependent suburban sprawl, big box stores, strip malls, and stroads into something more healthy and human? Sarah Goodyear and Doug Gordon (of the podcast The War on Cars) argue yes, in their new book Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves from the Tyranny of the Automobile. They outline the gruesome history of automobiles, what they've done to American lives and cities, and how we might RETVRN.Check out the famous Andre Gorz essay "The Social

33:53

The American Farm Crisis - 369 EXCERPT

Left Anchor ·

2025/10/17

Today Ryan has Sarah Taber, a small farmer and proprietor of the Farm to Taber YouTube channel, on to talk about just what is going on with American farming--the collapse in soybean exports, what farmers thought they would by voting for Trump, how he has made the H-2A visa program even more exploitative, why so many farmers are addicted to producing corn and soybeans, and more.Subscribe now to listen to the whole thing!

52:34

Better Than Ezra - 368

Left Anchor ·

2025/10/09

Now that the dust has started to settled around the whole Charlie Kirk thing, we've brought on Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò, associate professor of philosophy at Georgetown, to discuss his Boston Review piece about Ezra Klein's hagiography of Kirk, the discussion Klein had with Ta-Nehisi Coates, and why moderate liberals seem so at sea politically.Other readings mentioned in the discussion: Waging a Good War: A Military History of the Civil Rights Movement, 1954-1968, by Thomas Ricks, and "Democrats Must

19:30

Nordic Socialism - 367 EXCERPT

Left Anchor ·

2025/10/02

Today we have Danish MP Pelle Dragsted on to talk about his book Nordic Socialism: The Path Toward a Democratic Economy. We discuss what is distinctive about the Nordic socialist tradition, how much of it is left after many decades of neoliberal attacks, what people can learn from it today, and more. Subscribe here to listen to the whole thing!

5:13

Why Christians Should Be Leftists - 366 PREVIEW

Left Anchor ·

2025/09/16

Today we have Phil Christman on to talk about his book Why Christians Should Be Leftists. Is there a model of Christianity aside from right-wing fundamentalism--something more in like with the teachings of this fellow Jesus Christ?The David Bentley Hart essay mentioned can be found here.

85:07

The Covid Doctors of Doubt - 365

Left Anchor ·

2025/09/05

Today we have Dr. Jonathan Howard, who writes at Science Based Medicine, on to discuss his new book Everyone Else Is Lying to You: How the medical establishment weaponized doubt to spread COVID, normalize quackery, and undermine public health. It's all about a cohort of highly credentialed and elite doctors who spread grotesque disinformation about Covid from the very start of the pandemic, and kept doing so even as their predictions were repeatedly proven wrong. And now many of those people are in

01:02:16

The Case for Democracy - 364

Left Anchor ·

2025/08/26

Today we have writer and friend of the pod Osita Nwanevu on to talk about his new book The Right of the People: Democracy and the Case for a New American Founding. He goes back to political brass tacks--what democracy actually is, why it's important, why we don't have it, and why we should work to achieve the goals set forth in the Declaration of Independence for the first time.

16:53

Greenland Report - 363 EXCERPT

Left Anchor ·

2025/08/16

Ryan recently visited Greenland to report on their public sector, which turns out to be extremely large and critical to the local economy. How and why did this develop? Then we discuss some recent gerrymandering news.Stay tuned for the full article in the next issue of the Prospect! And subscribe here to hear the rest of the episode.

34:35

Katie Brennan Beat the New Jersey Machine - 362 EXCERPT

Left Anchor ·

2025/08/07

Today we're interviewing Katie Brennan, who just won the primary for the New Jersey state Assembly in Hudson County. She explains how the state Democratic machine de facto abolished democracy with a rigged ballot design, how it changed, and how she overcame a tidal wave of money to win.Subscribe now to hear the rest of the episode!

01:00:20

A Turning Point for Gaza? - 361

Left Anchor ·

2025/08/01

Today we've got Layla Al-Sheik on to discuss recent events in Gaza, where an onrushing famine has suddenly become widely acknowledged, even among parts of the Israeli far right. Is it because reality finally broke through, or Europe getting fed up--or perhaps an Ezra Klein column? And is there a chance to save Gazans and get a permanent peace settlement?Check out our previous episode with Layla here and the Isaac Chotiner interview of Amit Segal here.

01:00:22

Transphobia Is Based on Lies - 360

Left Anchor ·

2025/07/19

Alexi is still on vacation, so this time we are replaying a recent American Prospect Weekly Roundup show, in which Evan Urquhart of Assigned Media helps Ryan dig into the Supreme Court's latest transphobic decision and how The New York Times played a vital role in it.

12:59

The Worst Law in 175 Years - 359 PREVIEW

Left Anchor ·

2025/07/11

Today we've got David Dayen on to discuss the One Big Beautiful Bill Act: massive tax cuts for the rich, massive cuts to Medicaid, food stamps, evisceration of Joe Biden's climate program, and huge subsidies for oil and coal companies, plus a number of bizarre smaller items. Republicans seemingly also forgot to waive another budget law, meaning there will also be $500 billion in cuts to Medicare over the next decade. Not great!Subscribe here to listen to the whole thing!

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