Podcast
Current Affairs
Hosted by Current Affairs · EN
A podcast of politics and culture, from the editors of Current Affairs magazine.
46episodes
Episodes
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The Fight to Unionize Amazon Isn’t Over (w/ Chris Smalls)
1w ago00:31:56Tap to summarize🌹 Use the code "15OFF" for a discount on Current Affairs: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership Chris Smalls is the co-founder and former president of the Amazon Labor Union and author of the new book When the Revolution Comes. He joins Current Affairs associate editor Alex Skopic in Havana, Cuba, during the Nuestra América aid mission to discuss the U.S. blockade, labor organizing, his fight against Amazon, and why struggles from Cuba to Gaza to Staten Island are connected. Recorded March, 2026 ✊ Buy When the Revolution Comes: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/724036/when-the-revolution-comes-by-chris-smalls/ 0:00-5:21 Why Chris Smalls Came to Cuba 5:21-8:18 Hip-Hop, “Union Drip,” and Labor Organizing 8:18-11:09 Joe Biden’s Empty Pro-Union Promises 11:09-17:32 What Workers Should Know About Unionizing 17:32-24:02 The State of the Amazon Labor Union 24:02-26:36 Lessons From the Amazon Fight 26:36-28:15 Gaza, the Freedom Flotilla, and Israeli Apartheid 28:15-28:50 Medea Benjamin Cameo 28:50-31:56 What Comes Next for Chris Smalls 🦩Subscribe to Current Affairs: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership 🦩 Merch: https://shop.currentaffairs.org/
Transcribe →Norman Finkelstein on the Insane Racism of Israeli Society and the Plan to Erase Gaza
1w ago01:55:09Tap to summarize🌹 Use the code "15OFF" for a discount on Current Affairs: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership Norman Finkelstein is one of the leading scholars of the Israel-Palestine conflict and author of the new book Gaza’s Gravediggers: An Inquiry into Corruption in High Places. He joins Current Affairs editor-in-chief Nathan J. Robinson to discuss Israel’s plan to make Gaza unlivable, the racism of Israeli society, Tony Blair and Trump’s colonial “Board of Peace,” why he refuses to condemn Hamas, and why he argues that governments, human rights organizations, and international legal authorities have helped enable the Gaza genocide. 🇵🇸 Gaza's Gravediggers: https://orbooks.com/catalog/gazas-gravediggers/ 0:00-9:20 Netanyahu’s plan for Gaza 9:20-20:12 Israel’s objectives in Gaza 20:12-41:41 The racism of Israeli society 41:41-45:55 Why oppressors see themselves as victims 45:55-50:18 The Cherokee removal and Palestine 50:18-1:04:21 Why this has always been Israel’s plan 1:04:21-1:25:08 Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, and the right 1:25:08-1:32:34 Trump and Tony Blair’s “Board of Peace” 1:32:34-1:47:18 Who are Gaza’s gravediggers? 1:47:18-1:55:18 Refusing to judge anti-imperial atrocities in isolation 🦩Subscribe to Current Affairs: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership 🦩 Merch: https://shop.currentaffairs.org/
Transcribe →Secret Cable Exposes U.S. Role in Imran Khan’s Ouster
2w ago00:38:13Tap to summarize🌹 Use the code "15OFF" for a discount on Current Affairs: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership Waqas Ahmed is a Pakistani journalist whose work has appeared in The Intercept and Drop Site News. He joins Current Affairs to discuss his recent reporting with Murtaza Hussain and Ryan Grim on the U.S.-Pakistan relationship, the ouster and imprisonment of Imran Khan, and how Washington went from suspicion of Pakistan to embracing its military-backed government. 🇵🇰 Read Waqas Ahmed's article in Drop Site News: https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/pakistan-mediator-united-states-iran-trump-imran-khan 0:00-10:32 How Biden Soured on Pakistan 10:32-13:27 Ukraine and Imran Khan’s Break With Washington 13:27-19:35 How the U.S. Helped Push Imran Khan Out 19:35-23:37 Imran Khan’s Imprisonment Today 23:37-26:17 Pakistan’s Crackdown After Khan’s Ouster 26:17-31:32 How Washington Learned to Love Pakistan’s Military Regime 31:32-33:09 America Supports Dictatorship When It Serves U.S. Interests 33:09-38:22 Pakistan’s Role in the Iran Negotiations 🦩Subscribe to Current Affairs: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership 🦩 Merch: https://shop.currentaffairs.org/
Transcribe →The Heinous Evil of Cutting USAID
3w ago00:34:11Tap to summarize🌹 Use the code "15OFF" for a discount on Current Affairs: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership Nicholas Enrich worked at USAID for more than 12 years, including in its Bureau for Global Health and Bureau for Management. He joins Current Affairs to discuss his new book, Into the Wood Chipper, a whistleblower account of how the Trump administration and Elon Musk’s DOGE allies shredded one of the most important humanitarian agencies in the U.S. government. 🏥 Buy Nicholas's Book: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Into-the-Wood-Chipper/Nicholas-Enrich/9781668226957 0:00-3:02 Inside USAID’s “Wood Chipper” 3:02-7:02 What USAID Actually Did 7:02-12:23 How the Right Turned USAID Into a Conspiracy Theory 12:23-14:37 The Trump Administration’s Lies About “Life-Saving” Aid 14:37-20:33 The Human Cost of Destroying USAID 20:33-34:20 How This Catastrophe Could Have Been Avoided 🦩Subscribe to Current Affairs: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership 🦩 Merch: https://shop.currentaffairs.org/
Transcribe →The Democratic Establishment Can Be Defeated
4w ago00:11:05Tap to summarize🌹 Use the code "15OFF" for a discount on Current Affairs: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership It’s not 2016 anymore. We can throw out the party’s sclerotic leadership. 🌹 Read the article: https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/the-democratic-establishment-can-be-defeated 🦩SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT AFFAIRS MAGAZINE: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership 🦩 PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/CurrentAffairs 🦩THE MYTH OF AMERICAN IDEALISM: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738224/the-myth-of-american-idealism-by-noam-chomsky-and-nathan-j-robinson/
Transcribe →Israel OCCUPIES Lebanon During Fake "Ceasefire" (w/ Rania Khalek)
May 900:42:36Tap to summarize🌹 Use the code "15OFF" for a discount on Current Affairs: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership Rania Khalek is a Lebanese-American journalist based in Beirut and the host of Dispatches on BreakThrough News. She returns to Current Affairs to give an update on Lebanon, where Israel has continued bombing, occupying territory, issuing displacement orders, and demolishing villages during what is being called a “ceasefire.” 🇱🇧 Subscribe to BreakThrough News: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakThroughNews/featured 🇱🇧 Rania's SubStack: https://substack.com/@raniakhalek?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=58m7xg 🇱🇧 Rania's Twitter: https://x.com/RaniaKhalek 🇱🇧 Rania's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/raniakhalek/?hl=en 0:00-5:16 There Is No Ceasefire in Lebanon 5:16-11:52 What Israel Is Destroying in Southern Lebanon 11:52-19:13 Hezbollah and the Fault Lines Inside Lebanon 19:13-25:32 Negotiations Under Fire: Peace or Submission? 25:32-27:57 Hezbollah’s Resilience 27:57-34:02 How U.S. Media Sanitizes Israel’s War 34:02-39:16 America’s Role in Destroying Lebanon 39:16-42:37 How Americans Can Show Solidarity 🦩Subscribe to Current Affairs: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership 🦩 Merch: https://shop.currentaffairs.org/
Transcribe →Abdul El-Sayed GOES AFTER Trump, AIPAC, and Corporate Dems
May 700:22:56Tap to summarize🌹 Use the code "15OFF" for a discount on Current Affairs: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership Abdul El-Sayed is a physician, public health official, Current Affairs contributor, and Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Michigan. He joined Nathan Robinson to discuss his campaign, the fight over Gaza and AIPAC inside the Democratic Party, Chuck Schumer’s leadership, Medicare for All, corporate money in politics, and why he believes Democrats can win by rejecting the old theory of “electability.” 〽️ Abdul's Website: https://abdulforsenate.com/ 0:00-3:41 Why This Campaign Feels Different 3:41-7:05 Gaza, AIPAC, and U.S. Tax Dollars 7:05-11:45 Abdul’s Theory of Electability 11:45-15:45 Persuading Trump Voters 15:45-17:22 Schumer and Democratic Leadership 17:22-19:30 Money Out of Politics, Medicare for All, and Senate Priorities 19:30-23:05 Presidential Power and Foreign Policy 🦩Subscribe to Current Affairs: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership 🦩 Merch: https://shop.currentaffairs.org/
Transcribe →“Progress” Is Making Things Worse (w/ Sam Miller McDonald)
May 500:41:37Tap to summarize🌹 Use the code "15OFF" for a discount on Current Affairs: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership Sam Miller McDonald is a writer and longtime Current Affairs contributor. He joins Nathan Robinson to discuss his new book Progress: How One Idea Built Civilization—and Now Threatens to Destroy It, a sweeping critique of the belief that history is a story of constant improvement. 🌀 Buy Sam's book: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250278319/progress/ 🌀 Read Sam's articles: https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/author/samuel-miller-mcdonald 0:00-8:30 critiquing the Pinker-style narrative of progress 8:30-19:43 “progress” as destruction: industrialization and ecological collapse 19:43-23:34 what actually constitutes wellbeing 23:34-30:15 why the idea of “progress” is misleading 30:15-36:42 how “progress” justifies violence (Nazism, colonialism) 36:42-41:37 imagining values beyond “progress” 🦩Subscribe to Current Affairs: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership 🦩 Merch: https://shop.currentaffairs.org/
Transcribe →Meanwhile, Zohran Is Just Getting Things Done
Apr 3000:11:25Tap to summarize🌹 Use the code "15OFF" for a discount on Current Affairs: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership As Trump creates economic havoc and commits war crimes, the socialist mayor of New York City demonstrates what serious, responsible government looks like. 🗽 Read the article: https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/meanwhile-zohran-is-just-getting-things-done 🦩SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT AFFAIRS MAGAZINE: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership 🦩 PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/CurrentAffairs 🦩THE MYTH OF AMERICAN IDEALISM: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738224/the-myth-of-american-idealism-by-noam-chomsky-and-nathan-j-robinson/
Transcribe →The Phony Virtue of Cory Booker
Apr 2500:31:37Tap to summarize🌹 Use the code "15OFF" for a discount on Current Affairs: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership After being a leading Democratic enabler of the genocide of Palestinians, Cory Booker now has the audacity to publish a book about moral virtue. 🦩Subscribe to Current Affairs: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership 🦩 Merch: https://shop.currentaffairs.org/
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