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Here Comes the Sun—Plus, Our Fragile Freedoms

On this episode of Start Making Sense, Bill McKibben explains why solar power makes him optimistic, and Eric Foner talks about Trump and history.

Jon Wiener

September 3, 2025

Bill McKibben addressing a rally outside Governor Kathy Hochul’s office in Manhattan on September 24, 2024. (Erik McGregor / LightRocket via Getty Images)

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Here Comes the Sun, plus Our Fragile Freedoms | Start Making Sense
byThe Nation Magazine

At a time when almost everything seems to be going wrong, Bill McKibben sees one thing that is suddenly going right – a really big thing: solar power, and wind, which now provide cheaper electricity than fossil fuels. Bill’s new book has the wonderful title “Here Comes the Sun” – he says solar is “A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for civilization.”

Also: historian Eric Foner provides some historical perspective on what seems like the unique threat Trump poses to our freedoms. His new book, a collection of almost 60 essays, is titled “Our Fragile Freedoms.”

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At a time when almost everything seems to be going wrong, Bill McKibben sees one thing that is suddenly going right—a really big thing: solar power, and wind, which now provide cheaper electricity than fossil fuels.  Bill’s new book has the wonderful title Here Comes the Sun—he says solar is “a last chance for the climate and a fresh chance for civilization.”

Also: Historian Eric Foner provides some historical perspective on what seems like the unique threat Trump poses to our freedoms.  His new book, a collection of almost 60 essays, is titled Our Fragile Freedoms.

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.

Trump, from Minneapolis to Caracas—Plus, How Capitalism Came to Communist China | Start Making Sense
byThe Nation Magazine

As Trump’s support collapses, he has lashed out in two directions–sending an unprecendented number of ICE agents to Minneapolis, where one of them murdered Renee Good, and sending the military to Venezuela, where he says he has seized control of the oil industry. Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: Twenty Minutes Without Trump: There’s a new TV series about how capitalism came to Communist China, 30 episodes made for Chinese TV by the great Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai, running now on the Criterion Channel. John Powers, critic-at-large on Fresh Air with Terry Gross, explains.

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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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