Podcast / The Nation Podcast / May 26, 2025

John Semley on the Gamblification of America

On this episode of The Nation Podcast, John Semley on the dangers of accessible sports betting.

The Nation Podcasts
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.

John Semley on The Gamblification of America | The Nation Podcast
byThe Nation Magazine

For sports fans in the US, betting has never been more common, or more accessible. But beneath the surface of this booming pastime, a darker story is unfolding. Writer John Semley joins the podcast to examine the implications of all this access, not just in American sports, but across global betting markets, and how our era of gambling reflects a new world order some economists are calling "casino capitalism." Semley’s feature, “Casino Capitalism 2.0,” appears in the June issue of The Nation.

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For sports fans in the US, betting has never been more common, or more accessible. But beneath the surface of this booming pastime, a darker story is unfolding. Writer John Semley joins the podcast to examine the implications of all this access, not just in American sports but across global betting markets, and how our era of gambling reflects a new world order some economists are calling “casino capitalism.” Semley’s feature, “Casino Capitalism 2.0,” appears in the June issue of The Nation.

Subscribe to The Nation to support all of our podcasts: thenation.com/podcastsubscribe.

The Nation Podcasts
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.

Why the Supreme Court Will Never Stand Up to Trump with Elie Mystal | The Nation Podcast
byThe Nation Magazine

It can be tempting to look away from the Supreme Court. The cases are complicated, the traditions archaic, and these days the decisions are almost always devastating and the reasoning often perverse. But alas, the Court is too important to ignore, particularly as John Roberts and his five ultra- conservative colleagues have turned it into a rubber stamp for Donald Trump.

Luckily, we at The Nation are blessed to have perhaps the only person in America who can make following the Supreme Court not only bearable but entertaining — our inimitable justice correspondent, Elie Mystal. Elie's annual roundup of the court's biggest upcoming cases is the cover story in our November issue.

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Subscribe to The Nation to Support all of our podcasts

D.D. Guttenplan

D.D. Guttenplan is a special correspondent for The Nation and the host of The Nation Podcast. He served as editor of the magazine from 2019 to 2025 and, prior to that, as an editor at large and London correspondent. His books include American Radical: The Life and Times of I.F. Stone, The Nation: A Biography, and The Next Republic: The Rise of a New Radical Majority.

John Semley

John Semley is a writer based in Philadelphia. His writing has also appeared in The Baffler, The New Republic, and The Guardian. He is the co-host of Slow Learners, a podcast about books.

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