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Winning Rural Voters—Plus, J. Edgar Hoover

On this episode of Start Making Sense, Anthony Flaccavento and Erica Etelson explain the Rural New Deal, and Beverly Gage says the FBI’s first Director actually did some good things.

Jon Wiener

May 28, 2025

Deserted pickup truck display and US flag at Garrett Farms, outside of Midland, Texas.(Joe Sohm / Visions of America / Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

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Winning Rural Voters, plus J. Edgar Hoover | Start Making Sense
byThe Nation Magazine

Rural America is Trump country. Last November Trump carried 93 percent of rural counties.. How can Democrats change that? Anthony Flaccavento and Erica Etelson, co-founders of the Rural Urban Bridge Initiative, have a strategy to accomplish that.

 Also: 20 minutes without Trump: We know a lot about the bad things J. Edgar Hoover did, but it turns out there’s a lot we didn’t know. In this episode from the archives, Historian Beverly Gage will explain. Her award-winning book is “G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover & the Making of the American Century.” (originally aired in December, 2022)

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Rural America is Trump country. Last November Trump carried 93 percent of rural counties. How can Democrats change that?  Anthony Flaccavento and Erica Etelson, cofounders of the Rural Urban Bridge Initiative, have a strategy.

Also, 20 minutes without Trump: We know a lot about the bad things J. Edgar Hoover did, but it turns out there’s a lot we didn’t know. In this episode from the archives, Historian Beverly Gage will explain. Her award-winning book is G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover & the Making of the American Century  (originally aired in December 2023).

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

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.

Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com

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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Subscribe to The Nation to Support all of our podcasts

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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