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Trump and the Auto Strike—Plus, the Politics of Insecurity

On this episode of Start Making Sense, Nelson Lichtenstein analyzes the politics of the UAW strike, and Astra Taylor talks about “manufactured insecurity.”

Jon Wiener

September 21, 2023

Supporters and workers cheer as United Auto Workers members go on strike at the Ford Michigan Assembly Plant on September 15, 2023, in Wayne, Mich.(Bill Pugliano / Getty Images)

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Trump and the Auto Strike, plus ‘Manufactured Insecurity’ | Start Making Sense
byThe Nation Magazine

The UAW strike against Detroit’s Big Three is rapidly becoming a major political battle as Donald Trump speaks to auto workers in Detroit, challenging Biden’s massive initiatives for America’s transition to electric vehicles. Nelson Lichtenstein provides historical perspective on what’s at stake.

Also: We face two kinds of insecurity in our lives today, Astra Taylor argues: existential insecurity, the unavoidable issues of life and death, and manufactured insecurity—intended to make workers more submissive to authority. Communal action can do a lot to reduce the second kind. Astra's new book is “The Age of Insecurity: Coming Together As Things Fall Apart.”

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The UAW strike against Detroit’s Big Three is rapidly becoming a major political battle as Donald Trump speaks to autoworkers in Detroit, challenging Biden’s massive initiatives for America’s transition to electric vehicles. On this episode of the podcast, Nelson Lichtenstein provides historical perspective on what’s at stake.

Also on this episode, Astra Taylor argues that we face two kinds of insecurity in our lives today: existential insecurity, the unavoidable issues of life and death; and manufactured insecurity, intended to make workers more submissive to authority. Communal action can do a lot to reduce that. Taylor’s new book is The Age of Insecurity: Coming Together As Things Fall Apart. She’s on the show to discuss.

The Nation Podcasts

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.

Mamdani’s Socialism—and Us; plus Football and Concussions | Start Making Sense
byThe Nation Magazine

Zorhan Mamdani takes office in four weeks as the first socialist mayor of New York City. How should we understand the constraints he faces, without accepting those constraints? Bhaskar Sunkara has our analysis; he’s president of The Nation and author of ‘The Socialist Manifesto.’

Plus: Sports Talk on The Nation podcast! Of course Thanksgiving was a big weekend for football on TV – a weekend where millions of viewers got to see a festival of brain injuries — concussions after receiving blows to the head. Dave Zirin will comment – he's the long-time sports editor of The Nation and host of the Edge of Sports podcast.

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Jon WienerTwitterJon Wiener is a contributing editor of The Nation and co-author (with Mike Davis) of Set the Night on Fire: L.A. in the Sixties.


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