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Right-Wing Attacks on Small-Town Libraries—Plus, The Snow Leopard

On this episode of Start Making Sense, Sasha Abramsky on the culture war, and Pico Iyer on Peter Matthieson’s spiritual journey through the Himalayas.

Jon Wiener

August 17, 2023

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Right-Wing Attacks on Small-Town Libraries; plus “The Snow Leopard” | Start Making Sense
byThe Nation Magazine

Public Libraries are often wonderful places, but they have become targets of right-wing attack in the culture war. On this episode of the Start Making Sense podcast, Sasha Abramsky talks about his reporting on the battle in one small town in Washington state. 

Also on this episode: Peter Matthiessen’s exploration of suffering, impermanence, and beauty in his book “The Snow Leopard,” an account of his trek in the Himalayas. Pico Iyer, who wrote the introduction to the Penguin Classics paperback edition, is on the show to talk about the book. The conversation with Iyer was recorded in 2008.

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Public libraries are often wonderful places, but they have become targets of right-wing attack in the culture war. On this episode of the Start Making Sense podcast, Sasha Abramsky talks about his reporting on the battle in one small town in Washington state. 

Also on this episode: Peter Mattheson’s exploration of suffering, impermanence, and beauty in his book The Snow Leopard, an account of his trek in the Himalayas. Pico Iyer, who wrote the introduction to the Penguin Classics paperback edition, is on the show to talk about the book. The conversation with Iyer was recorded in 2008.

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.

GOP Election Deniers running for Governor; plus John Berger’s Ways of Seeing / Start Making Sense
byThe Nation Magazine

Most political reporting has been about Democrats’ chances of taking control of Congress, but the Governors’ races hold the key to election protection in the 2028 presidential vote. Harold Meyerson explains, and examines the contest now underway in Nevada. Harold is Editor-at-Large of The American Prospect.

Also: John Berger, author of the classic “Ways of Seeing,” was more than a Marxist art critic. On the 100th anniversary of his birth, John Powers comments on his life and work—both of which were extraordinary. John is critic-at-large on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross.

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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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