Welcome to Is This Democracy, the podcast where we discuss the ongoing conflict over how much democracy, and for whom, there should be in America. Hosted by Lilliana Mason and Thomas Zimmer
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Connecting the Classics is a weekly competitive radio hour, in which hosts Lee Robinson and Will Hagle connect two classic albums using tangential music references, Kevin Bacon style. Each week, Lee picks an album and Will picks an album. They play songs from their chosen albums and discuss them, then weave webs using other songs and artists, resulting in six songs of separation (Kevin Bacon style). Points are awarded for good connections but the points don’t matter (Whose Line Is It Anyway ...
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Beer and Loathing with Steve Kornacki at a New York City bar
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36. From Reagan to Trump: A Conversation about “Landslide” and the Transformation of American Politics since the 1970s – with Ben Bradford and Seth Cotlar (Part II)
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We continue our conversation about “Landslide,” the fantastic new NPR podcast series – and about the transformation of politics in the 1970s, the emergence of a new kind of populist politics, how the Republican Party was taken over by rightwing radicalism that ultimately rose to power with Ronald Reagan in 1980, and how all that relates to what we …
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35. “Landslide”: How the Radical Right Took Over the Republican Party and Transformed American Politics in the 1970s – with Ben Bradford and Seth Cotlar (Part I)
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“Landslide” is a new NPR podcast series that tells the story of American politics in the 1970s, specifically of the 1976 and 1980 presidential elections, of Jimmy Carter’s unlikely path to the White House and, most importantly, of how Ronald Reagan and the New Right rose to power. And as you will hear in our conversation with our guest Ben Bradford…
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34. What Today’s Republican Party Is Made Of – A GOP Primary Post-Mortem
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Have we learned anything new about the Republican Party, its base, and MAGA America from the GOP primaries? We talk about why Trump was always going to win, why he is the dominant force in Republican politics – but also, even though too many people pretend he is electoral magic, a relatively weak general election candidate. We also discuss what is …
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33. The Many Blind Spots and Pitfalls of the “Biden Too Old” Discourse
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Joe Biden is “too old” and should step aside – at least that is what many of the nation’s most prominent commentators are telling us. But do their arguments actually hold up to scrutiny? Is Joe Biden too old and unfit to be president? Is he incapable of campaigning and defeating Donald Trump in the 2024 election? And if he were to step aside, what …
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TOURS (Wings to The Tragically Hip)
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Lee Robinson and Will Hagle connect two tours-related albums: Wings' 'Band on the Run' to The Tragically Hip's 'Man Machine Poem' with six songs of separation, Kevin Bacon style. They listen to and talk about a lot of music. Weaving webs through musical history. Don't forget to subscribe, bonnie raitt and review! email us: connectingtheclassics@gma…
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32. “Project 2025”: What the Right Plans to Do Once Trumpism Returns to Power
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What would a second Trump presidency look like? We dive deep into the detailed plans that have emerged on the Right for what they want to do immediately upon getting back to power. Almost two years ago, “Project 2025” was launched under the leadership of the Heritage Foundation. Different factions on the Right are preparing separate plans, but “Pro…
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31. Why the Reactionary Campaign Against Claudine Gay Is a Matter of Great Concern
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Claudine Gay, Harvard’s first Black president, resigned on January 2 – the endpoint of a brutally dishonest rightwing campaign that could not have succeeded without the mainstream media eagerly joining the crusade to get her fired. We discuss why this disastrous affair matters: It was the latest iteration of the eternal reactionary grievance agains…
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THE JERRY EPISODE: Jerry Jeff Walker to Alice in Chains
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Lee Robinson and Will Hagle connect two Jerry albums: Jerry Jeff Walker's live s/t album to Alice in Chains' 'Facelift' with six songs of separation, Kevin Bacon style. They listen to and talk about a lot of music. Weaving webs through musical history. Don't forget to subscribe, bonnie raitt and review! email us: connectingtheclassics@gmail.com twe…
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30. Mad Poll Disease and the Folly of “Popularism” – with Michael Podhorzer
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In early November the New York Times released a poll that had Donald Trump clearly ahead in 5 of the 6 battleground states that will decide the 2024 election. It caused an earthquake and outright panic among (small-d) democrats. But just two days later, Democrats emerged victorious from an actual election. What on earth is going on in American poli…
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Lee Robinson and Will Hagle connect two bicycle albums: Pink Floyd's 'Piper at the Gates of Dawn' to the Cool Kids 'When Fish Ride Bicycles' with six songs of separation, Kevin Bacon style. They listen to and talk about a lot of music. Weaving webs through musical history. Don't forget to subscribe, bonnie raitt and review! email us: connectingthec…
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29. What Do Americans Value in 2023?
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We start with a reflection on the results in Tuesday’s elections, and how they relate to polls that indicate Joe Biden is not just unpopular, but actually trailing Donald Trump in key swing states. What can and can’t we take away from such polling, one year out from the presidential election? We then dive deep into a very different kind of polling …
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Lee Robinson and Will Hagle connect two albums: Taylor Swift's '1989 (Taylor's Version)' to Bob Dylan's 'Blood on the Tracks' with six songs of separation, Kevin Bacon style. They listen to and talk about a lot of music. Weaving webs through musical history. Don't forget to subscribe, bonnie raitt and review! email us: connectingtheclassics@gmail.c…
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28. The New Speaker vs. Democracy, Threats of MAGA Violence as the New Normal, and the State of the 2024 Presidential Race
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The Speaker drama is over (for now) – but who is Mike Johnson? His ascension is not only further evidence that the January 6 insurrectionists are now fully in charge of the House, but also a manifestation of how much the Republican Party is dominated by the interests and sensibilities of religious reactionaries. Johnson rejects the separation of ch…
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NOODLING: Django Reinhardt to Emerson, Lake & Palmer
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Lee Robinson and Will Hagle connect two albums: Django Reinhardt's 'The Great Artistry of Django Reindhart' to Emerson, Lake & Palmer's 'Brain Salad Surgery' with six songs of separation, Kevin Bacon style. They listen to and talk about a lot of music. Weaving webs through musical history. Don't forget to subscribe, bonnie raitt and review! email u…
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Lee Robinson and Will Hagle connect two albums: Shakira's Dónde Están los Ladrones?' to Deltron 3030 with six songs of separation, Kevin Bacon style. They listen to and talk about a lot of music. Weaving webs through musical history. Don't forget to subscribe, bonnie raitt and review! email us: connectingtheclassics@gmail.com tweet at us: @ctcpod…
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27. Reflections on the Israel-Hamas war – and what the latest Speaker drama can tell us about the dangerous state of Republican politics
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After a very long summer break, “Is This Democracy” is back! We start with a reflection on the terrorist attack on Israel and the ensuing Israel-Hamas war, how it’s being discussed in the U.S., and the moral, political, and intellectual obligations that shape our own perspective. We then tackle the latest round of Speaker drama: It took Kevin McCar…
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Lee Robinson and Will Hagle connect two albums: John Prine's 'Bruised Orange' to Jay-Z's 'The Blueprint' with six songs of separation, Kevin Bacon style. They listen to and talk about a lot of music. Weaving webs through musical history. Don't forget to subscribe, bonnie raitt and review! email us: connectingtheclassics@gmail.com tweet at us: @ctcp…
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HORNS: Morphine to King Tubby & Lee "Scratch" Perry
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Lee Robinson and Will Hagle connect two horny albums: Morphine's 'Cure for Pain' to King Tubby & Lee Perry 'Meet At The Grassroots of Dub' with six songs of separation, Kevin Bacon style. They listen to and talk about a lot of music. Weaving webs through musical history. Sorry for Will's poor audio quality this episode. Don't forget to subscribe, b…
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Music You Can Smell: Grover Washington Jr. to King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard
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Lee Robinson and Will Hagle collab to connect two albums you can smell: Grover Washington Jr.'s 'Mr. Magic' to King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard's 'Flying Microtonal Banana' with six songs of separation, Kevin Bacon style. They listen to and talk about a lot of music. Weaving webs through musical history. Sorry for Will's poor audio quality this e…
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Lee Robinson and Will Hagle collab to connect two BELLS albums: Yeat's 'Up 2 Më' to AC/DC's 'Back in Black,' with six songs of separation, Kevin Bacon style. They listen to and talk about a lot of music. Weaving webs through musical history. Sorry for Will's poor audio quality this episode. Don't forget to subscribe, bonnie raitt and review! email …
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Lee Robinson and Will Hagle collab to connect two proto-genre albums: Black Sabbath's 'Black Sabbath' to New York Dolls' 'New York Dolls' with six songs of separation, Kevin Bacon style. They listen to and talk about a lot of music. Weaving webs through musical history. Don't forget to subscribe, bonnie raitt and review! email us: connectingtheclas…
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Most Improved: Four Tet to The Beatles
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Lee Robinson and Will Hagle collab to connect two most improved albums: Four Tet 'Morning/Evening' to The Beatles 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' with six songs of separation, Kevin Bacon style. They listen to and talk about a lot of music. Weaving webs through musical history. Don't forget to subscribe, bonnie raitt and review! email us: c…
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Ride Along: Dylan Brady — Peace & Love (ft. special guest Tombot)
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Our first ride along episode. We listen to an album that a guest likes and talk about it. Featuring guest Tombot.By Lee Robinson and Will Hagle
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John Cale/Terry Riley to Lil Wayne/Birdman (COLLABS)
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Lee Robinson and Will Hagle collab to connect two collaboration albums: John Cale/Terry Riley 'Church of Anthrax' to Lil Wayne/Birdman 'Like Father, Like Son' with six songs of separation, Kevin Bacon style. They listen to and talk about a lot of music. Weaving webs through musical history. Don't forget to subscribe, bonnie raitt and review! email …
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Lee Robinson and Will Hagle connect Fishbone's 'In Your Face' to Cleaners from Venus 'Under Wartime Conditions' with six songs of separation, Kevin Bacon style. They listen to and talk about a lot of music. Weaving webs through musical history. Don't forget to subscribe, bonnie raitt and review! email us: connectingtheclassics@gmail.com tweet at us…
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26. Taking Stock: The State of American Democracy Heading into Summer
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Let’s survey the political landscape and take stock of where things stand almost halfway through 2023. We started this podcast a little over half a year ago, just a few days before the midterms. The election ended in a better result for Democrats than most people expected. That led to a lot of commentary about how the guardrails were supposedly hol…
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My Bloody Valentine to American Football
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Lee Robinson and Will Hagle connect My Bloody Valentine's album 'Loveless' to American Football's 1999 self-titled debut LP with six songs of separation, Kevin Bacon style. They listen to and talk about a lot of music. Weaving webs through musical history. Don't forget to subscribe, bonnie raitt and review! email us: connectingtheclassics@gmail.com…
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Lee Robinson and Will Hagle connect Sublime to Grateful Dead with six songs of separation, Kevin Bacon style. They listen to and talk about a lot of music. Weaving webs through musical history. I forget what the Grateful Dead album was called or I would put it in the episode title. Don't forget to subscribe, bonnie raitt and review! email us: conne…
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25. The Ideology of Silicon Valley vs the Idea of Democracy – with Adrian Daub
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Let’s tackle the philosophy and culture of Silicon Valley, and how they help us explain the politics of reactionary-to-far-right tech titans like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel. In 2020, Adrian Daub published “What Tech Calls Thinking: An Inquiry into the Intellectual Bedrock of Silicon Valley.” In the book, he applied his skills as a literary and cultu…
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24. “Cancel Culture”: How a Moral Panic Is Capturing America and the World – with Adrian Daub
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Let’s dive deep into the “cancel culture” moral panic, what it can tell us about U.S. society, culture, and politics, and how it has spread across the “West.” There is no one better equipped to help us do that than Adrian Daub. He is a Professor of Comparative Literature and German Studies at Stanford University, where he specializes in culture and…
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23. “Polarization” Is Not the Problem. It Obscures the Problem – with Shannon McGregor
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We need to be a lot more critical towards the pervasive polarization narrative, towards “polarization” as the central diagnosis of our time. “Polarization” obscures not only what the key challenge is – the anti-democratic radicalization of the Right – but also transports a misleading idea of America’s recent past and how we got to where we are now.…
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Lee Robinson and Will Hagle connect two albums—Ramones 'Ramones' to Run-D.M.C. 'Run-D.M.C.'—with six songs of separation, Kevin Bacon style. They listen to and talk about a lot of music. Weaving webs through musical history. Hot topic t-shirt episode. Don't forget to subscribe, bonnie raitt and review! email us: connectingtheclassics@gmail.com twee…
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Gun violence is a political problem, a democracy problem, an exceptionally American problem. We decided to do this episode after the shooting at Covenant School in Nashville. But that was over three weeks ago, and so there have been so many more mass shootings since, so much more death and destruction. In the U.S., it’s always right after and right…
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Dolly Parton 'Coat of Many Colors' to Townes Van Zandt s/t
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Lee Robinson and Will Hagle connect two albums—Dolly Parton 'Coat of Many Colors' to Townes Van Zandt 'Townes Van Zandt'—with six songs of separation, Kevin Bacon style. They listen to and talk about a lot of music. Weaving webs through musical history. Don't forget to subscribe, bonnie raitt and review! email us: connectingtheclassics@gmail.com tw…
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Daft Punk 'Discovery' to Daft Punk 'Random Access Memories'
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Lee Robinson and Will Hagle connect two albums—Daft Punk 'Discovery' to Daft Punk 'Random Access Memories'—with six songs of separation, Kevin Bacon style. They listen to and talk about a lot of music. Weaving webs through musical history. Don't forget to subscribe, bonnie raitt and review! email us: connectingtheclassics@gmail.com tweet at us: @ct…
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21. Trump Arraignment in Manhattan, Wisconsin Supreme Court, Tennessee Assembly: Many Different Battles – One Conflict
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It’s hard to keep track of everything that’s happening in the struggle against the reactionary assault on democracy, on so many levels, all at the same time. We go through some of the big stories of the week and reflect on how to relate them to each other, where to direct our attention, how to process it all. We start in Manhattan, where, finally, …
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slowthai 'UGLY' to Galcher Lustwerk '100% Galcher'
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Lee Robinson and Will Hagle connect two albums—slowthai's 'UGLY' to Galcher Lustwerk's '100% Galcher'—with six songs of separation, Kevin Bacon style. They listen to and talk about a lot of music. Weaving webs through musical history. Don't forget to subscribe, bonnie raitt and review! email us: connectingtheclassics@gmail.com tweet at us: @ctcpod…
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20. Walter Huss and the History of Republican Radicalization, From the 1950s to Today – with Seth Cotlar
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Let’s talk about the history of American conservatism, the past and present of the Far-Right, and the paths that led to Trumpism’s rise. If there is one underlying assumption that defines this podcast, it is that the central threat to democracy is the anti-democratic radicalization of the Right. In this episode, we talk about when, how, and why tha…
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DANCES: Chubby Checker 'Chequered' to Soulja Boy 'Souljaboytellem.com'
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Lee Robinson and Will Hagle connect two albums—Chubby Checker's 'Chequered' to Soulja Boy's 'souljaboytellem.com'—with six songs of separation, Kevin Bacon style. They listen to and talk about a lot of music. Weaving webs through musical history. Don't forget to subscribe, bonnie raitt and review! email us: connectingtheclassics@gmail.com tweet at …
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19. The Legal Fate of Donald Trump – and What Republicans Really Mean When They Say “Law and Order”
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On Saturday, Donald Trump used his social media propaganda platform to urge his followers “TO TAKE OUR NATION BACK” – by which he really meant: Protect him from being arrested, which he announced was going to happen on Tuesday. We dive into the ex-president’s legal trouble (that’s a euphemism) and use it as a springboard for a discussion of some bi…
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18. The War on Public Education Is Escalating – with Jennifer Berkshire
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We are in the midst of an escalating rightwing assault on public education in America. It comes in the form of an attempted authoritarian takeover of schools and universities, in hundreds of bills establishing state censorship, banning books, purging anything that dares to dissent from a white nationalist understanding of the nation’s past or prese…
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James Brown 'Live at the Apollo' to Love 'Four Sail'
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Lee Robinson and Will Hagle connect two albums—James Brown 'Live at the Apollo' to Love 'Four Sail'—with six songs of separation, Kevin Bacon style. They listen to and talk about a lot of music. Weaving webs through musical history. Don't forget to subscribe, bonnie raitt and review! email us: connectingtheclassics@gmail.com tweet at us: @ctcpod…
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17. There Is No “Free Speech Crisis” On Campus – and the Latest in Fox News vs Democracy
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Lily and Thomas dissect the “free speech crisis on campus” discourse. The pervasive “free speech crisis” narrative wants us to believe that liberty and freedom in this country are being threatened by “woke” radicals imposing an ever-more authoritarian “cancel culture,” a culture of censoriousness on college life and on the nation in general. Accord…
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Sade 'Love Deluxe' to Nirvana 'Nevermind'
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Lee Robinson and Will Hagle connect two albums—Sade 'Love Deluxe' to Nirvana 'Nevermind'—with six songs of separation, Kevin Bacon style. They listen to and talk about a lot of music. Weaving webs through musical history. Don't forget to subscribe, bonnie raitt and review! email us: connectingtheclassics@gmail.com tweet at us: @ctcpod…
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16. A Conversation on Critical Race Theory and Democracy - with Victor Ray (Part II)
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We are in the midst of an escalating moral panic around “Critical Race Theory” that is serving, across Republican-led states, as justification to censor and purge anything that dares to dissent from a white nationalist understanding of America’s past or present. That is the context in which Victor Ray published his book “On Critical Race Theory: Wh…
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15. A Conversation on Critical Race Theory and Democracy - with Victor Ray (Part I)
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We are in the midst of a reactionary moral panic over “Critical Race Theory” that is being used by Republicans across the country to justify an escalating assault on academic freedom and attempts to stifle, censor, and ban any dissent from the white nationalist patriarchal worldview, anything that dares to upset reactionary sensibilities. This manu…
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14. The Reactionary Crusade Against Trans Rights Is an Assault on Democracy – and Some Thoughts on the Idea of a “National Divorce”
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After an unexpected hiatus, we are back! And we focus on what is undoubtedly one of the most pressing democracy and civil rights issues in America today: The escalating assault on trans rights, the reactionary crusade against one of the country’s most vulnerable communities. We talk about the situation of trans people in the U.S. and do our best to…
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CULT MUSIC: Heavens 'Patent Pending' to Blue Oyster Cult
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Lee Robinson and Will Hagle connect two albums—Heavens 'Patent Pending' to Blue Oyster Cult 'Blue Oyster Cult'—with six songs of separation, Kevin Bacon style. They listen to and talk about a lot of music. Weaving webs through musical history. Don't forget to subscribe, bonnie raitt and review! email us: connectingtheclassics@gmail.com tweet at us:…
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Liz Phair 'Exile in Guyville' to 50 Cent 'Get Rich or Die Trying'
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Lee Robinson and Will Hagle connect two albums—Liz Phair's 'Exile in Guyville' and 50 Cent's 'Get Rich or Die Trying'—with six songs of separation, Kevin Bacon style. They listen to and talk about a lot of music. Weaving webs through musical history. Don't forget to subscribe, bonnie raitt and review! email us: connectingtheclassics@gmail.com tweet…
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13. The Murder of Tyre Nichols, the Authoritarian Takeover of Florida Education, and the Case *for* Teaching “CRT”
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We share our thoughts on the murder of Tyre Nichols, on why we need to grapple with structural, systemic racism and how it produces discriminatory outcomes, and why the lack of accountability for police departments is a democratic crisis – We then focus on Ron DeSantis’ authoritarian takeover of the education system in Florida: We discuss why the r…
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