Start Making Sense

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Start Making Sense is The Nation’s flagship weekly podcast, hosted by contributing editor Jon Wiener, featuring the magazine’s writers and editors as well as activists who shape the week in news. Subscribe at Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts, for new episodes each Wednesday.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Sunrise Movement

2018: The Year of the Progressive 2018: The Year of the Progressive

John Nichols on politics, Erwin Chemerinsky on Obamacare, and Atossa Araxia Abrahamian on left internationalism.

Dec 20, 2018 / Podcast / Start Making Sense and Jon Wiener

william barr headshot

Is Trump’s New Attorney General Nominee Just Another Jeff Sessions? Is Trump’s New Attorney General Nominee Just Another Jeff Sessions?

David Cole on William Barr, Dave Lindorff on Pentagon accounting fraud, and Marc Cooper on the revolution in Armenia.

Dec 13, 2018 / Podcast / Start Making Sense and Jon Wiener

George H.W. Bush Gave Us Today’s Republican Party

George H.W. Bush Gave Us Today’s Republican Party George H.W. Bush Gave Us Today’s Republican Party

Harold Meyerson on Bush 41, Katha Pollitt on white women and Trump, and Eric Foner on Frederick Douglass.

Dec 6, 2018 / Podcast / Start Making Sense and Jon Wiener

Michelle Obama 2016 DNC speech

Where Are the Politics in Michelle Obama’s New Memoir? Where Are the Politics in Michelle Obama’s New Memoir?

Amy Wilentz on Becoming, Kai Wright on midterm victories, and Tom Athanasiou on climate change.

Nov 29, 2018 / Podcast / Start Making Sense and Jon Wiener

How Democrats Won in the White-Hot Heart of the Republican Right

How Democrats Won in the White-Hot Heart of the Republican Right How Democrats Won in the White-Hot Heart of the Republican Right

Gustavo Arellano on Orange County, L.A. Kauffman on protest, and Andrew Delbanco on the history of fugitive slaves.

Nov 21, 2018 / Podcast / Start Making Sense and Jon Wiener

‘Chasing an Elusive Centrism Is Ridiculous’

‘Chasing an Elusive Centrism Is Ridiculous’ ‘Chasing an Elusive Centrism Is Ridiculous’

Frank Rich on politics, Erwin Chemerinsky on Matt Whitaker, and Laura Carlsen on the migrant caravan.

Nov 15, 2018 / Podcast / Start Making Sense and Jon Wiener

democrats celebrate in Minnesota

A Blue Wave for Progressives and Women—With Some Heartbreakers A Blue Wave for Progressives and Women—With Some Heartbreakers

John Nichols and Joan Walsh on the Midterms, plus Andy Robinson on Brazil.

Nov 8, 2018 / Podcast / Start Making Sense and Jon Wiener

Vote sign in Wisconsin

Can Women Voters Turn America Blue? Can Women Voters Turn America Blue?

Katrina vanden Heuvel, Joan Walsh, and Cecile Richards on women voters, Ari Berman on vote suppression, and Gary Younge on the Midwest.

Nov 1, 2018 / Podcast / Start Making Sense and Jon Wiener

Trump National Space Council

We Have a Problem With White Men: They Support Trump We Have a Problem With White Men: They Support Trump

Kai Wright on misogyny and racism, Jill Lepore on Trump’s place in history, and Michael Kazin on Hubert Humphrey.

Oct 25, 2018 / Podcast / Start Making Sense and Jon Wiener

Can Progressive Momentum Transform the Democratic Party?

Can Progressive Momentum Transform the Democratic Party? Can Progressive Momentum Transform the Democratic Party?

Jeff Cohen, plus Sasha Abramsky on Arizona and Joan Walsh on Georgia.

Oct 18, 2018 / Podcast / Jon Wiener and Start Making Sense

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