The Backchannel artwork

The Backchannel

58 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 3 years ago - ★★★★ - 85 ratings

For our regular listeners of Extremely Offline: It’s been a while! Since we effectively closed down XO, the world has gone to shit. We’re not necessarily saying the one caused the other, but just in case, we’re bringing the pod back, but under a new name. Zaid and I, along with our friend Shant Mesrobian, have launched a new show on YouTube called “The Backchannel,” and we’re going to stream it here as an audio podcast, as well. The format is a little different, and a little looser, than XO, but with the same spirit of free discourse, and with some of our past guests popping in from time to time. Hope you’ll stay a subscriber.—Leighton

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Episodes

Why Democrats Can't Stop Amy Coney Barrett

October 13, 2020 21:00 - 19 minutes - 13.7 MB

Amy Coney Barrett appears to be on a glide path to confirmation to the land's highest court. Why haven't Democrats been able to find a cohesive narrative to stop her? Zaid and Shant discuss.

Is Trump Trolling Princeton?

September 23, 2020 20:00 - 18 minutes - 12.5 MB

The U.S. Department of Education takes Princeton literally, but maybe not seriously. Education Secretary Betsy Devos is opening an investigation into Princeton University following the president's claim that racism persists at his university. Is Devos's civil rights investigation just trolling or is there a more serious point to be made about how careless statements can make civil rights enforcement difficult?

In Defense of Looting: The Game Show

September 09, 2020 17:00 - 32 minutes - 22.4 MB

*Please support us on Patreon to help keep this channel going* https://www.patreon.com/TheBackchannel National Public Radio recently featured a provocative new book called "In Defense of Looting," which is exactly what it sounds like. It wasn't long before every corner of the Internet was picking it apart, sharing absurd material from the text of the book. At the Backchannel, we decided it would make for a hilarious game show. We took five real passages from the book and created five of ou...

A Kenosha Native Explains What Happened in Kenosha

September 01, 2020 18:00 - 42 minutes - 29.1 MB

Kenosha isn't just a place where riots broke out after a controversial police shooting. With the media and the President of the United States converging on the Midwestern town, we invited journalist Steve Horn, who grew up there, to tell us about the Kenosha we don't know. We explore the town's history, economy, culture, and political climate in an in-depth interview. *Please support us on Patreon to help keep this channel going* https://www.patreon.com/TheBackchannel

WTF is happening in Portland? With Nancy Rommelman

August 24, 2020 20:00 - 37 minutes - 26.1 MB

WTF is happening in Portland? A lot of Americans are asking themselves that as protests and riots have now rocked the city for over 80 days following the death of George Floyd. Reason contributor Nancy Rommelman, a former Portland native who has reported on the demonstrations from the ground, joins us to lay out what's happening. Read her latest dispatch from Portland here: https://reason.com/2020/08/24/when-you-say-yes-to-hate-dispatch-from-portland/

Study Reveals the Psychological Traits That Unite the Extreme Left and Extreme Right

August 13, 2020 21:00 - 13 minutes - 9.59 MB

It increasingly feels like parts of the left and right agree that they should be able to dictate your personal morality, forcing you to adopt certain norms and values. One new study suggests that this is because parts of the far-right and woke left share the same "Dark Triad" personality traits -- including narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. Another finds that these same traits are associated with strategically deploying victimhood to manipulate people. Shant and Zaid discuss ...

Does the Democratic Party Still Care About Inequality?

August 13, 2020 21:00 - 14 minutes - 10 MB

Is the Democratic Party serious about addressing wealth inequality? During negotiations with Republicans about upcoming coronavirus stimulus packages, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer wants to repeal the cap on the federal deduction for state and local taxes, which would primarily benefit the wealthiest Americans. Shant and Zaid discuss the wider Democratic Party's approach to inequality, or lack thereof, by talking about the party platform for 2020.

Why Immigrants Are Happier, More Patriotic, Less Woke, and More Optimistic

August 01, 2020 21:00 - 29 minutes - 20.3 MB

The right has spent years arguing that immigrants don't assimilate well into American culture, while the left has played up America's flaws, arguing that the country simply isn't as desirable as we're told. What if they're both wrong? On this episode, Zaid and Shant talk about a recent piece Zaid wrote for the online magazine Persuasion, in which he argues that immigrants are among the most patriotic and hard-working Americans, and that if we want to strengthen America's civic culture, we ...

How the Left Became the Right. With Matt Taibbi and Glenn Greenwald

July 29, 2020 17:00 - 1 hour - 50.2 MB

Why is the left starting to act more like the right? To answer that question, The Backchannel is joined by two of the country's most prominent left-of-center writers: Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi and The Intercept's Glenn Greenwald. The five of us discuss how puritanical attitudes have become so prominent on the progressive left. If you enjoy our show, please help us to keep making it! Contribute via our Patreon: http://patreon.com/thebackchannel Further reading: • Matt Taibbi on the left ...

Will the Surge in Panic Gun Buying Have a Long-Term Effect?

July 28, 2020 19:00 - 13 minutes - 9.46 MB

The U.S. is experiencing an unprecedented surge in gun purchases by first-time gun buyers amid the pandemic and a period of civil unrest. We talk about why it's happening and what studies show the long-term consequences could be. Studies: Pandemics, Protests and Firearms: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3593956 Ecological and Cultural Factors Underlying the Global Distribution of Prejudice: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0221953

Chill Out, Ilhan Omar's Mailer Is Not a Scandal. With Daniel Marans

July 24, 2020 23:00 - 28 minutes - 19.5 MB

Facing a well-funded challenger from within her own party, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) dispatched a mailer pointing out that he is backed by a number of out-of-state big donors who made their fortunes on Wall Street. An article in Vice News quickly pointed out that every donor listed is Jewish, leading to complaints by some that these mailers are antisemitic. Omar's defenders argue that their religion is irrelevant. Who's right? Daniel Marans, reporter at HuffPost, joins The Backchannel to discus...

The Left Is Freaking Out Over…John Kasich?

July 23, 2020 15:00 - 12 minutes - 8.88 MB

Former Ohio Republican governor John Kasich will get a starring role at the Democratic Party's national convention this year. Meanwhile, a group of former Republican consultants are making big bucks with the Lincoln Project, a Super PAC blanketing the airwaves attacking Trump. The left, understandably, feels like it's lost control over the election's narrative. But is it is a self-inflicted wound? The Backchannel discusses.

It's Now Easier to Fire People for Saying Racist or Sexist Things. Yay?

July 22, 2020 21:00 - 19 minutes - 13.2 MB

Has the National Labor Relations Board gone woke? A ruling by an all-male, all-Republican three-member panel says that employees who use offensive language during a labor dispute can now be fired for that language. Zaid Jilani, Leighton Woodhouse and Shant Mesrobian discuss whether this move towards political correctness is actually cover to make it easier to fire workers during what are usually tense labor organizing campaigns. • Bloomberg story on the ruling: https://news.bloomberglaw.com...

Fordham University Gets Triggered [SHORT]

July 19, 2020 20:00 - 4 minutes - 3.13 MB

The Backchannel's Zaid Jilani and Shant Mesrobian talk about the latest speech crime moral panic on a university campus, this time at Fordham University.

The Defund Police Protests Are Working. Is That a Good Thing?

July 16, 2020 16:00 - 32 minutes - 22.2 MB

Faced with large scale protests and a dire economy, cities around America are defunding their police services. Everywhere from Baltimore to Seattle to Portland are considering large cuts or have passed large cuts in the recent weeks and months since the protests started after the death of George Floyd. Many would argue these cuts would improve policing by forcing cities to rely on non-police alternatives. But in this episode, we call into question that premise. • Read Leighton's 2015 piece ...

Why the Racial Wealth Gap Isn't What You Think It Is, with Matt Bruenig

July 09, 2020 15:00 - 18 minutes - 12.9 MB

People's Policy Project founder Matt Bruenig tells us what the racial wealth gap in America really is and what to do about it.

Why Are the Victims of the Riots Being Ignored? With Michael Tracey

July 07, 2020 19:00 - 10 minutes - 6.97 MB

Journalist Michael Tracey joins The Backchannel to talk about his trip interviewing people whose businesses were destroyed by rioting. Tracey's interviews highlight the human impact of the riots, demonstrating how many working class people and immigrants suffered from the consequences.

Introducing The Backchannel

July 02, 2020 18:00 - 56 minutes - 38.9 MB

For our regular listeners of Extremely Offline: It’s been a while! Since we effectively closed down XO, the world has gone to shit. We’re not necessarily saying the one caused the other, but just in case, we’re bringing the pod back, but under a new name. Zaid and I, along with our friend Shant Mesrobian, have launched a new show on YouTube called “The Backchannel,” and we’re going to stream it here as an audio podcast, as well. The format is a little different, and a little looser, than XO...

Wesley Yang and Lee Fang on Being Asian-American in the Age of Identity

December 11, 2019 19:00 - 1 hour - 50.5 MB

With Andrew Yang's insurgent bid for the presidency in the headlines, many are asking what it means to be Asian-American in today's America. To start with, what do we mean when we say "Asian-American"? Does it mean being descended from the world's most diverse continent? Is there a distinct Asian-American culture or politics? I'm Zaid Jilani and my co-host is Leighton Woodhouse. We're the hosts and producers of Extremely Offline, a podcast that brings people from different political tribes ...

Extremely Offline: Wesley Yang and Lee Fang on Being Asian-American in the Age of Identity

December 11, 2019 19:00 - 1 hour - 50.5 MB

With Andrew Yang's insurgent bid for the presidency in the headlines, many are asking what it means to be Asian-American in today's America. To start with, what do we mean when we say "Asian-American"? Does it mean being descended from the world's most diverse continent? Is there a distinct Asian-American culture or politics? I'm Zaid Jilani and my co-host is Leighton Woodhouse. We're the hosts and producers of Extremely Offline, a podcast that brings people from different political tribes ...

Extremely Offline: Osita Nwanevu and Jesse Singal on "Cancel Culture"

October 07, 2019 10:00 - 59 minutes - 40.7 MB

“Cancel culture” is the less-than-perfect name for the tendency of extremely online people to form mobs and publicly shame others in response to perceived cultural and political transgressions, from sending racist tweets to selling food of a culture that’s not your own. Sometimes it’s celebrities who are cancelled for choosing a “problematic” role in a movie or making an offensive joke on stage. Sometimes it’s regular people who posted something dumb or misconstrued on Twitter, or who got ca...

Osita Nwanevu and Jesse Singal on "Cancel Culture"

October 07, 2019 10:00 - 59 minutes - 40.7 MB

“Cancel culture” is the less-than-perfect name for the tendency of extremely online people to form mobs and publicly shame others in response to perceived cultural and political transgressions, from sending racist tweets to selling food of a culture that’s not your own. Sometimes it’s celebrities who are cancelled for choosing a “problematic” role in a movie or making an offensive joke on stage. Sometimes it’s regular people who posted something dumb or misconstrued on Twitter, or who got ca...

Extremely Offline: Neil Fligstein and Dylan Riley on Marx v. Weber in Explaining the Current Historical Moment

September 25, 2019 20:00 - 1 hour - 48 MB

We’re living through an era of enormous transition, most significantly from a world governed by free market fundamentalism to something new — something we can’t yet quite discern and which could take radically different forms depending on the political decisions we make as a society. Two of the founding scholars of sociology, Karl Marx and Max Weber, tackled broad questions and themes about how economic and political history unfolds, which are helpful to interpreting events today. Marx and ...

Neil Fligstein and Dylan Riley on Marx v. Weber in Explaining the Current Historical Moment

September 25, 2019 20:00 - 1 hour - 48 MB

We’re living through an era of enormous transition, most significantly from a world governed by free market fundamentalism to something new — something we can’t yet quite discern and which could take radically different forms depending on the political decisions we make as a society. Two of the founding scholars of sociology, Karl Marx and Max Weber, tackled broad questions and themes about how economic and political history unfolds, which are helpful to interpreting events today. Marx and ...

Adam Gaffney and Chris Pope on Health Care Reform

August 31, 2019 19:00 - 1 hour - 64 MB

Health care in America remains one of the most important issues for partisans on every side, as costs continue to rise with no end in sight. Adam Gaffney, President of Physicians for a National Health Program, believes that the best way to tackle this problem is through a single-payer health care system, in which everybody receives health insurance from the U.S. federal government, free at the point of service.  Chris Pope, who researches health care at the Manhattan Institute, disagrees. ...

Extremely Offline: Adam Gaffney and Chris Pope on Health Care Reform

August 31, 2019 19:00 - 1 hour - 64 MB

Health care in America remains one of the most important issues for partisans on every side, as costs continue to rise with no end in sight. Adam Gaffney, President of Physicians for a National Health Program, believes that the best way to tackle this problem is through a single-payer health care system, in which everybody receives health insurance from the U.S. federal government, free at the point of service.  Chris Pope, who researches health care at the Manhattan Institute, disagrees. ...

Bill Scher and Richard Eskow on Round 2 of the Democratic Debates

August 03, 2019 11:00 - 16 minutes - 11.2 MB

July's Democratic primary debates were an opportunity for the progressive and more establishment factions of the party to hash out their differences and present voters with different visions going into the 2020 presidential elections. Bill Scher is a veteran of liberal politics who has been involved in left-of-center organizing since the early 2000s. Today, he's a regular columnist at Politico Magazine, where he often writes in defense of the Democratic Party establishment's approach to ach...

Extremely Offline: Bill Scher and Richard Eskow on Round 2 of the Democratic Debates

August 03, 2019 11:00 - 16 minutes - 11.2 MB

July's Democratic primary debates were an opportunity for the progressive and more establishment factions of the party to hash out their differences and present voters with different visions going into the 2020 presidential elections. Bill Scher is a veteran of liberal politics who has been involved in left-of-center organizing since the early 2000s. Today, he's a regular columnist at Politico Magazine, where he often writes in defense of the Democratic Party establishment's approach to ach...

Extremely Offline: Daniel Marans and Joe Simonson on the 2020 Democratic Presidential Campaign Trail

July 27, 2019 20:00 - 1 hour - 53.7 MB

There's no one who knows the mood of voters who attend presidential campaign events more than the political reporters who are on the trail. While pundits in DC and New York opine on what voters are supposed to care about, these reporters are actually on the ground taking the temperature of the electorate in realtime. Daniel Marans, a reporter at the left-of-center Huffington Post, has attended events with nearly all of the Democratic presidential candidates, and his reporting offers unique ...

Daniel Marans and Joe Simonson on the 2020 Democratic Presidential Campaign Trail

July 27, 2019 20:00 - 1 hour - 53.7 MB

There's no one who knows the mood of voters who attend presidential campaign events more than the political reporters who are on the trail. While pundits in DC and New York opine on what voters are supposed to care about, these reporters are actually on the ground taking the temperature of the electorate in realtime. Daniel Marans, a reporter at the left-of-center Huffington Post, has attended events with nearly all of the Democratic presidential candidates, and his reporting offers unique ...

Onkar Ghate and Austin Hayden Smidt on Ayn Rand, Objectivism, Capitalism, Selfishness and Altruism

June 18, 2019 10:00 - 1 hour - 65.3 MB

One of the most influential novelists in the United States is the late Ayn Rand. The Russian-born author's works inspired generations of right-leaning intellectuals, from former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan to former Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. Rand's popularity stems from her simple creed that selfishness is a virtue. In her philosophy, called Objectivism, the highest moral calling is to pursue your rational self-interest. This puts Objectivism in a unique corner,...

Extremely Offline: Onkar Ghate and Austin Hayden Smidt on Ayn Rand, Objectivism, Capitalism, Selfishness and Altruism

June 18, 2019 10:00 - 1 hour - 65.3 MB

One of the most influential novelists in the United States is the late Ayn Rand. The Russian-born author's works inspired generations of right-leaning intellectuals, from former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan to former Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. Rand's popularity stems from her simple creed that selfishness is a virtue. In her philosophy, called Objectivism, the highest moral calling is to pursue your rational self-interest. This puts Objectivism in a unique corner,...

Charlie Eaton and Daniel Friedman on the Higher Education Racket

May 23, 2019 23:00 - 1 hour - 28.2 MB

With more and more Americans going to college every year, there are increasing demands that the federal government step in and make higher education more affordable and tackle burgeoning student debt. But some on the conservative side argue that increasing federal aid will only make the problem worse by contributing to runaway inflation of tuition and other costs related to going to college.  Daniel Friedman, a novelist based in New York City, takes that point of view. He has argued in his...

Extremely Offline: Charlie Eaton and Daniel Friedman on the Higher Education Racket

May 23, 2019 23:00 - 1 hour - 28.2 MB

With more and more Americans going to college every year, there are increasing demands that the federal government step in and make higher education more affordable and tackle burgeoning student debt. But some on the conservative side argue that increasing federal aid will only make the problem worse by contributing to runaway inflation of tuition and other costs related to going to college.  Daniel Friedman, a novelist based in New York City, takes that point of view. He has argued in his...

Extremely Offline: Jesse Singal and Andy Ngo on Multiculturalism, Diversity and Assimilation in the West

May 13, 2019 09:00 - 1 hour - 36.3 MB

We live in an increasingly diverse country, and history shows that diversity often introduces challenges that are difficult to overcome, ranging from increased social tensions all the way up to violence.  But it has long been argued that diversity is our strength and that with meaningful contact between heterogeneous groups we can break down barriers and learn from each other.  One of the responses to increased racial and cultural diversification is to embrace multiculturalism, where we ca...

Jesse Singal and Andy Ngo on Multiculturalism, Diversity and Assimilation in the West

May 13, 2019 09:00 - 1 hour - 36.4 MB

We live in an increasingly diverse country, and history shows that diversity often introduces challenges that are difficult to overcome, ranging from increased social tensions all the way up to violence.  But it has long been argued that diversity is our strength and that with meaningful contact between heterogeneous groups we can break down barriers and learn from each other.  One of the responses to increased racial and cultural diversification is to embrace multiculturalism, where we ca...

Extremely Offline: Peter Daou and Nomiki Konst on the Divided Democratic Party

May 06, 2019 09:00 - 1 hour - 28.8 MB

During the 2016 Democratic primaries, political strategist Peter Daou was one of Hillary Clinton’s most vocal and prominent boosters, especially on social media. In addition to his relentless advocacy on Twitter, Peter was the co-founder of “Hillary Men,” a website that purported to serve as a “safe space” for male feminists who supported Hillary Clinton — and, by implication, to fend off her sexist rivals in the Bernie camp. To Clinton supporters, Daou was a diehard on the front lines of th...

Peter Daou and Nomiki Konst on the Divided Democratic Party

May 06, 2019 09:00 - 1 hour - 28.8 MB

During the 2016 Democratic primaries, political strategist Peter Daou was one of Hillary Clinton’s most vocal and prominent boosters, especially on social media. In addition to his relentless advocacy on Twitter, Peter was the co-founder of “Hillary Men,” a website that purported to serve as a “safe space” for male feminists who supported Hillary Clinton — and, by implication, to fend off her sexist rivals in the Bernie camp. To Clinton supporters, Daou was a diehard on the front lines of th...

Extremely Offline: Sarah Haider and Shadi Hamid on Islam in the Modern World

May 01, 2019 10:00 - 1 hour - 46 MB

Contrary to popular belief, Islam has been present in the United States since its founding days. Thomas Jefferson even owned a copy of the Quran, Islam's holy text, which Congressman Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, used during his swearing-in ceremony. The reality is, we live on an increasingly Muslim planet, as the pace of the growth of the religion means that it may very well be the most common religion on Earth by the end of the century.  To many Muslims, this growt...

Sarah Haider and Shadi Hamid on Islam in the Modern World

May 01, 2019 10:00 - 1 hour - 46 MB

Contrary to popular belief, Islam has been present in the United States since its founding days. Thomas Jefferson even owned a copy of the Quran, Islam's holy text, which Congressman Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, used during his swearing-in ceremony. The reality is, we live on an increasingly Muslim planet, as the pace of the growth of the religion means that it may very well be the most common religion on Earth by the end of the century.  To many Muslims, this growt...

Glenn Greenwald and David Klion on the Mueller Report: Russiagate Part 2

April 19, 2019 23:00 - 55 minutes - 25.2 MB

This episode began with a spat on Twitter. Glenn Greenwald, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and co-founder of The Intercept, is famous for his deep, long-standing skepticism of Russiagate. After Attorney General Barr’s summary of the Mueller Report came out, announcing to the world that the special prosecutor had found no basis for bringing charges against the President for collusion in Russia’s 2016 election interference, Glenn was not shy in pointing out that for two years, the media...

Extremely Offline: Glenn Greenwald and David Klion on the Mueller Report — Russiagate Part 2

April 19, 2019 23:00 - 55 minutes - 25.2 MB

This episode began with a spat on Twitter. Glenn Greenwald, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and co-founder of The Intercept, is famous for his deep, long-standing skepticism of Russiagate. After Attorney General Barr’s summary of the Mueller Report came out, announcing to the world that the special prosecutor had found no basis for bringing charges against the President for collusion in Russia’s 2016 election interference, Glenn was not shy in pointing out that for two years, the media...

Mike Cernovich and Katie Herzog on Trolls, Social Media Mobs, and the Fever Swamp Outrage Machine We Call the Internet

April 12, 2019 21:00 - 57 minutes - 26.4 MB

Mike Cernovich is notorious on the left because of his past behavior as a social media troll, beginning with Gamergate, and continuing on through Pizzagate and countless other Twitter flare-ups. He's often lumped in with the alt-right, even though his actual politics are a mixed bag of economic populism, anti-interventionism, border restrictionism, animal welfarism, and mild support for Trump, putting him somewhere slightly to the left of David Frum. In the era of Trump, however, it's not yo...

Extremely Offline: Mike Cernovich and Katie Herzog on Trolls, Social Media Mobs, and the Fever Swamp Outrage Machine We Call the Internet

April 12, 2019 21:00 - 57 minutes - 26.5 MB

Mike Cernovich is notorious on the left because of his past behavior as a social media troll, beginning with Gamergate, and continuing on through Pizzagate and countless other Twitter flare-ups. He's often lumped in with the alt-right, even though his actual politics are a mixed bag of economic populism, anti-interventionism, border restrictionism, animal welfarism, and mild support for Trump, putting him somewhere slightly to the left of David Frum. In the era of Trump, however, it's not yo...

Extremely Offline: Cenk Uygur and Michael Tracey on the Mueller Report and Media Accountability — Russiagate Part 1

April 08, 2019 04:00 - 1 hour - 38 MB

With the Mueller Report completed, many are still left wondering what exactly occurred in the 2016 election. Did the Russian government work with the Trump campaign to hack Clinton campaign emails? Did the Trump administration engage in collusion with the Russian government to impact the election?  While we don't have the full text of the report, the answer appears to be no. But many political watchers are still skeptical. Cenk Uygur, the co-founder of The Young Turks, is one of those skep...

Cenk Uygur and Michael Tracey on the Mueller Report and Media Accountability: Russiagate Part 1

April 08, 2019 04:00 - 1 hour - 37.9 MB

With the Mueller Report completed, many are still left wondering what exactly occurred in the 2016 election. Did the Russian government work with the Trump campaign to hack Clinton campaign emails? Did the Trump administration engage in collusion with the Russian government to impact the election?  While we don't have the full text of the report, the answer appears to be no. But many political watchers are still skeptical. Cenk Uygur, the co-founder of The Young Turks, is one of those skep...

Extremely Offline: Batya Ungar-Sargon and Omar Baddar on Palestine, Israel, Anti-Semitism, Zionism, and Ilhan Omar

April 05, 2019 09:00 - 1 hour - 32 MB

It's unusual for a freshman member of Congress to draw as much attention as Minnesota Democrat Ilhan Omar. In just a few short months in Congress, she has been the center of numerous media firestorms after making repeatedly making remarks her supporters believe are exposing the influence of a powerful lobbying group and what her detractors would say is anti-Semitic. On Capitol Hill, her own party's leadership has condemned her remarks on the influence of the pro-Israel lobby. Omar Baddar, ...

Batya Ungar-Sargon and Omar Baddar on Palestine, Israel, Anti-Semitism, Zionism, and Ilhan Omar

April 05, 2019 09:00 - 1 hour - 32 MB

It's unusual for a freshman member of Congress to draw as much attention as Minnesota Democrat Ilhan Omar. In just a few short months in Congress, she has been the center of numerous media firestorms after making repeatedly making remarks her supporters believe are exposing the influence of a powerful lobbying group and what her detractors would say is anti-Semitic. On Capitol Hill, her own party's leadership has condemned her remarks on the influence of the pro-Israel lobby. Omar Baddar, ...

Extremely Offline: Jonathan Blanks and Rafael Mangual on Criminal Justice Reform

April 01, 2019 04:00 - 1 hour - 33.7 MB

When President Trump signed into law the First STEP Act, a wide-ranging federal prison reform bill passed this past December, he marveled at the wide bipartisan vote that got it across the finish line. Indeed, everybody from the Koch Brothers to former Obama adviser Van Jones helped build the wide bipartisan coalition that passed the legislation. But while most of America now agrees on some form of criminal justice reform, there are still major divisions. On issues like how we tackle violen...

Jonathan Blanks and Rafael Mangual on Criminal Justice Reform

April 01, 2019 04:00 - 1 hour - 33.7 MB

When President Trump signed into law the First STEP Act, a wide-ranging federal prison reform bill passed this past December, he marveled at the wide bipartisan vote that got it across the finish line. Indeed, everybody from the Koch Brothers to former Obama adviser Van Jones helped build the wide bipartisan coalition that passed the legislation. But while most of America now agrees on some form of criminal justice reform, there are still major divisions. On issues like how we tackle violen...