The Backchannel
58 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 3 years ago - ★★★★ - 85 ratingsFor 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
Bhaskar Sunkara and Adam Green on the Left's choice for 2020: Warren or Sanders?
March 20, 2019 04:00 - 1 hour - 37.2 MBWith Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren both offering their own form of challenge to the Democratic establishment, which candidate would have a better shot at succeeding? Which candidate would ultimately make a better president? To answer that question, on this episode we'll ask two of their strongest supporters. Adam Green is the co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, an organization that helped elect Warren to the Senate in 2012 and that quickly endorsed her presidentia...
Extremely Offline: Bhaskar Sunkara and Adam Green on the Left's choice for 2020 — Warren or Sanders?
March 20, 2019 04:00 - 1 hour - 37.2 MBWith Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren both offering their own form of challenge to the Democratic establishment, which candidate would have a better shot at succeeding? Which candidate would ultimately make a better president? To answer that question, on this episode we'll ask two of their strongest supporters. Adam Green is the co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, an organization that helped elect Warren to the Senate in 2012 and that quickly endorsed her presidentia...
Lee Fang and Kmele Foster on the Market vs. the State, and Race/Wokeness
March 04, 2019 05:00 - 1 hour - 28.8 MBThis week, we have two guests on opposite sides of our debates about what should be done with the economy. Lee Fang is a reporter for The Intercept and a long-time journalist who has been critical of the structure and function of American capitalism. He looks around the world and sees democratic socialist policies as those which best promote human prosperity and freedom. With rising health care costs and student debt, many Americans are coming around to his point of view. Kmele Foster, on t...
Extremely Offline: Lee Fang and Kmele Foster on the Market vs. the State, and Race/Wokeness
March 04, 2019 05:00 - 1 hour - 28.8 MBThis week, we have two guests on opposite sides of our debates about what should be done with the economy. Lee Fang is a reporter for The Intercept and a long-time journalist who has been critical of the structure and function of American capitalism. He looks around the world and sees democratic socialist policies as those which best promote human prosperity and freedom. With rising health care costs and student debt, many Americans are coming around to his point of view. Kmele Foster, on t...
Elizabeth Bruenig and Jonathan Chait on the Pinko Left and the Mushy Middle
February 19, 2019 02:00 - 1 hour - 39.7 MBThis episode features two guests from opposite sides of the debate over the state of the Democratic Party and the left. First, we have Jonathan Chait, a long time left-of-center writer who argues that the Obama years were a stunning success and form the trajectory the party should pursue in the future. Opposite Chait we have the Washington Post’s Elizabeth Bruenig, who argues that the Obama presidency’s shortcomings are part of why democratic socialism is the path forward. On Twitter and Fac...
Extremely Offline: Elizabeth Bruenig and Jonathan Chait on the Pinko Left and the Mushy Middle
February 19, 2019 02:00 - 1 hour - 39.8 MBThis episode features two guests from opposite sides of the debate over the state of the Democratic Party and the left. First, we have Jonathan Chait, a long time left-of-center writer who argues that the Obama years were a stunning success and form the trajectory the party should pursue in the future. Opposite Chait we have the Washington Post’s Elizabeth Bruenig, who argues that the Obama presidency’s shortcomings are part of why democratic socialism is the path forward. On Twitter and Fac...
Briahna Joy Gray and Coleman Hughes on What We Get Wrong About Race In America
February 11, 2019 05:00 - 1 hour - 28.4 MBIt's time to admit it: when we argue online, we’re not actually trying to persuade anyone. We’re not even trying to ‘win’ a debate. We’re trying to “dunk” on our rivals, “own” our political enemies. We’re just performing for our followers, who are usually people who share our politics, our attitudes, and our biases. That kind of discourse might be entertaining, but it doesn’t get us anywhere. We don’t learn from each other or about each other. We don’t sharpen the arguments we make for our ...
Extremely Offline: Briahna Joy Gray and Coleman Hughes on What We Get Wrong About Race In America
February 11, 2019 05:00 - 1 hour - 28.4 MBIt's time to admit it: when we argue online, we’re not actually trying to persuade anyone. We’re not even trying to ‘win’ a debate. We’re trying to “dunk” on our rivals, “own” our political enemies. We’re just performing for our followers, who are usually people who share our politics, our attitudes, and our biases. That kind of discourse might be entertaining, but it doesn’t get us anywhere. We don’t learn from each other or about each other. We don’t sharpen the arguments we make for our ...