America’s Weimar Moment, Redux

A preface to our symposium on the left

It seems like an eternity. But it was only a few months ago, before the pandemic and subsequent lockdown, that it seemed possible that the Democratic Party might have as its Presidential candidate an avowed socialist – Bernie Sanders.  On February 6, 2020, Public Seminar ran a comment entitled “America’s Weimar ...
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America’s Weimar Moment, Redux

Khizr & Ghazala Khan, Roger Ailes, and Juicing

Past Present Episode 46

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: Khizr and Ghazala Khan’s appearance at the Democratic National Convention was only one among many speeches at both political conventions by parents who had lost their children. Neil argued that these speeches were effective because people felt sympathetic towards ...
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Khizr & Ghazala Khan, Roger Ailes, and Juicing

Jo Freeman Captures the Republican National Convention

Noted feminist, political scientist, and photographer Jo Freeman went to the Republican National Convention. Amongst the madness, Freeman managed to capture a humanity rarely seen on the political stage. It's a reminder to us all that, at the end of the day, the foundation of our nation's political economy lies with ...

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Jo Freeman Captures the Republican National Convention

The Left, the 2016 Election and the Cunning of History

Bernie Sanders’ campaign for the 2016 Democratic nomination for president has fallen short, edged out by Hillary Clinton’s formidable organization and her deep ties to the Party’s establishment. The Sanders campaign offered a genuine alternative, funded by record-breaking amounts of small donations from ordinary people, promising to implement an agenda ...

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The Left, the 2016 Election and the Cunning of History