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Danny and Derek are joined by sociologist Paul Starr to talk about the transformation of American politics from the postwar period to the present. They discuss the idea of a foundational American contradiction, how the civil rights movement helped break the midcentury political consensus, why economic inequality and labor decline reshaped party coalitions, immigration, the expansion of presidential power, the erosion of institutional legitimacy, and how these changes contributed to the rise of both Obama and Trump. Read Paul’s book American Contradiction: Revolution and Revenge from the 1950s to Now. Recorded in December 2025 Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Derek speaks with Jack Mirkinson, senior editor at⁠ ⁠The Nation⁠⁠, about “A Day for Gaza,” a one-day project where the magazine is devoting its entire website to coverage of Gaza. They discuss the decision to turn over all coverage to this single issue, the decline in mainstream media attention since the October “ceasefire” announcement, and why events in Gaza remain central to media responsibility. You can find all the stories in "A Day For Gaza" here. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Donald Trump is sending over what he calls “a massive Armada” to Iran with the promises to do a reprise of his quick attack on Venezuela that ended with the kidnapping of president Nicolás Maduro. Trump claims that “like with Venezuela, it is, ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfill its mission.” But will a war with Iran really be so simple? To look at the prospects for war and the larger politics driving the conflict, I spoke with Amir Handjani of The Quincy Institute. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The hosts discuss Stephanie Wambugu’s justly-hyped novel Lonely Crowds before they’re joined by Noah Kulwin, an avowed Macdonaldhead who details the pleasures of private eye fiction through 1966’s Black Money.  Noah Kulwin is a writer based in New York City. He is also the co-host of the podcast Blowback, a history program about American empire. He has written for a wide variety of publications, but more recently can be found in The Baffler, The Intercept, Screen Slate and Protean.  Please consider supporting our work on Patreon, where you can access additional materials and send us your guest (and book!) coverage requests. Questions and kind comments can be directed to readingwriterspod at gmail dot com.  Charlotte Shane’s most recent book is An Honest Woman. Her essay newsletter, Meant For You, can be subscribed to or read online for free. Her social media handle is @charoshane.   Jo Livingstone is a writer who teaches at Pratt Institute. To support the show, navigate to https://www.patreon.com/ReadingWriters Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

While Danny looks after his gold assets, Always at War’s Alex Jordan once again helps Derek bring you headlines from around the globe. This week: the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moves the Doomsday Clock to 85 seconds to midnight (0:54); the Trump administration renews threats against Iran while demanding a new deal that would eliminate uranium enrichment, missile programs, and regional proxies (3:47); Syria’s government and the SDF agree to a ceasefire extension following more violence in the northeast (12:58); in Gaza, Israel recovers the remains of the final Israeli captive tied to Phase One of the ceasefire, partially reopens the Rafah crossing, and advances plans for large camps in Rafah (16:28); Myanmar’s military completes a staged election delivering the expected victory for the junta-backed party (27:24); China faces fresh turbulence in its military leadership as a senior PLA figure is investigated (30:07); Sudan sees reported new fighting in Blue Nile and claimed gains in Kordofan (34:28); the government of South Sudan launches a campaign against rebels (38:04); there are reports of clashes between government and Tigrayan forces in Ethiopia (40:53); talks involving the U.S., Russia, and Ukraine fail to produce progress (44:02); the EU and India announce a major free trade agreement (47:00); Trump threatens sweeping tariffs against Canada over trade and China policy, amid diplomatic friction and reports of contacts with Alberta separatists (49:32); the U.S. moves toward reopening its embassy in Venezuela as reporting points to CIA interest in establishing a permanent presence (54:07); and a new U.S. National Defense Strategy emphasizes dominance in the Western Hemisphere while maintaining preparations for potential conflict with China (58:20). Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Paris Marx is joined by Kat Tenbarge to discuss the explosion of abusive deepfakes on X, including how Elon Musk is profiting from the sexual exploitation of women and children while his followers use Grok to engage in gender-based violence. Kat Tenbarge is an independent journalist who writes Spitfire News. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

We have the power to rein in ICE and protect our neighbors, Leah Greenberg argues – she’s co-founder and co-executive director of Indivisible, the group that organized No Kings 2 last October, the largest demonstration in American history. The key right now, she says, is for Senate Democrats to refuse to fund Homeland Security in this week’s budget vote, unless Republicans agree to put meaningful restrictions on that lawless agency. Also: The group Standing Together says it is still possible for Israelis and Palestinians to live side by side with full equality and justice for everyone. The are the largest Jewish-Arab grassroots movement in Israel, working to create an alternative to the existing reality by building political power. Sally Abed explains -- she’s a Palestinian citizen of Israel, a leader of Standing Together, and she was elected to the Haifa city council in February 2024, Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Danny and Derek speak with historian Sean Delehanty about the invention of shareholder value and the transformation of the American corporation in the late twentieth century. They discuss postwar conglomerates and corporate social responsibility, the crisis of Fordism, the rise of financial economics, and the theory of the firm. They also look at hostile takeovers, leveraged buyouts, private equity, the collapse of the public corporation, and the bipartisan consolidation of shareholder primacy in the 1990s. Buy Sean’s book Company Men: The Invention of Shareholder Value and the Splintering of the American Economy. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney made headlines at Davos with a much-noticed speech where he candidly acknowledged that the US led alliance system created in World War II was coming to an end. Carney called for middle powers such as Canada and its European allies to give up the illusion that a US led world is still viable and instead try to create new institutions to preserve their values and their sovereignty. I talked to Canadian journalist Stephen Maher, who has written a biography of Carney’s predecessor Justin Trudeau, about the far-reaching implications of this speech. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Charlotte and Jo spring into the new year with a conversation about ancient poetry: Beowulf, The Iliad, and Dante’s Inferno as translated by Mark Musa, Mary Jo Bang, and Danny Lavery. They’re then joined by the wise and wonderful Hanif Abdurraqib who—after sharing a scoop about what series of book he reads every year (!)—reflects on the formative impacts of his encounter with Gloria Naylor’s The Women of Brewster Place. Other titles discussed: Toni Morrison’s Jazz, Bebe Moore Campbells’ Your Blues Ain’t Like Mine, Lloyd Alexander’s The Chronicles of Prydain.  Hanif Abdurraqib is a writer from the east side of Columbus, Ohio. Danny Lavery’s translations of The Inferno can be found here. Please consider supporting our work on Patreon, where you can access additional materials and send us your guest (and book!) coverage requests. Questions and kind comments can be directed to readingwriterspod at gmail dot com. Charlotte Shane’s most recent book is An Honest Woman. Her essay newsletter, Meant For You, can be subscribed to or read online for free. Her social media handle is @charoshane.   Jo Livingstone is a writer who teaches at Pratt Institute. To support the show, navigate to https://www.patreon.com/ReadingWriters Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

While much of America endures an Arctic freeze, Danny and Derek bring to you scorching hot headlines. This week: renewed fighting breaks out between the Syrian government and the SDF as Damascus pushes across the Euphrates and ceasefires collapse (1:39); Israel plans to raze Rafah and construct controlled “humanitarian cities” as a template for postwar Gaza (10:32); Trump hints at striking Iran amid U.S. force movements (14:26); a Cambodian NGO accuses the Thai military of demolishing homes in disputed border villages with Cambodia (17:31); Japan’s prime minister is dissolving parliament and calling a snap election to capitalize on high approval ratings (19:45); heavy fighting breaks out in Sudan’s North Kordofan as the RSF seeks to block a government offensive toward Darfur (22:17); Somalia reaches a new defense cooperation agreement with Qatar (24:18); the EU is reportedly offering Ukraine a rapid partial membership as part of postwar security guarantees (26:27); attendees at Davos discuss a Ukraine reconstruction plan (28:44); Portugal’s far-right Chega candidate reaches the presidential runoff (31:10); the Trump administration is exploring a Maduro-style operation in Cuba (32:47); Trump threatens and then backs off tariffs over Greenland after talks with NATO (35:22); Mark Carney’s Davos speech on the collapse of the rules-based order gains attention (41:01); there is renewed speculation about Havana syndrome following reports the U.S. acquired a suspected energy weapon (43:00); and Trump formally launches his “Board of Peace,” with an unclear mandate and membership (45:00). Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Paris Marx is joined by Chris Person to discuss the state of hardware and manufacturing in the tech industry, ways to hack your stuff, options to undermine Microsoft’s software dominance, and how the AI boom is making consumer electronics more expensive. Chris Person is a co-founder of Aftermath and makes Highlight Reel. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The landscape of resistance in Minneapolis, John Nichols reports, includes surprisingly powerful and effective faith groups, plus unions, neighborhood mutual aid and community safety networks, ICE observer teams, and direct action groups, plus the ACLU and its allies, as well as the outspoken mayor and the fighting state attorney general.  Also: DOGE did NOT reduce spending – at all. But it did reduce federal employment; 271,000 people lost their jobs in the federal government, according to CATO. Sasha Abramsky set out to find out what it was like for some of those people -- his new book reports on the experiences of eleven fired federal workers: American Carnage: How Trump, Musk, and DOGE butchered the US Government. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In this host-only bonus episode, Charlotte and Jo discuss some of their most memorable reads of 2025. Authors discussed include Shon Faye, Sarah Schulman, Ai Yazawa, Marjane Satrapi, Ariana Reines, Kyung-Ran Jo, and more. Please consider supporting us on Patreon, where you can access additional materials and send us your guest (and book!) coverage requests. Questions and kind comments can be directed to readingwriterspod at gmail dot com.  Charlotte Shane’s most recent book is An Honest Woman. Her essay newsletter, Meant For You, can be subscribed to or read online for free. Her social media handle is @charoshane.   Jo Livingstone is a writer who teaches at Pratt Institute.  Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Iran is facing upheavals at home and abroad. For more than two decades, the Islamic Republic has faced waves of protests from citizens demanding a more democratic society. Over the past two weeks, these protests have erupted with a new ferocity and are being met with violent repression. Meanwhile, the Israeli government is pushing the United States to renew bombing Iran, a military objective now being given the guise of a humanitarian mission. To discuss the turmoil in Iran and place it in the larger context of regional instability and competing visions of the future of the Middle East, I spoke with Annelle Sheline, a research fellow at The Quincy Institute who studies the region, in this special Friday edition of the podcast.  Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy