The Deep Politics of the Government Shutdown
On this episode of The Time of Monsters: Chris Lehmann on racism, austerity and the Democrats finding courage.
The Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer
The Time of Monsters podcast features Nation national-affairs correspondent Jeet Heer’s signature blend of political culture and cultural politics. Each week, he’ll host in-depth conversations with urgent voices on the most pressing issues of our time.
The Deep Politics of the Government Shutdown w/ Chris Lehmann
Donald Trump has plunged the nation into another government shutdown. I spoke with my
Nation colleague Chris Lehmann about the larger political stakes. We take up Trump’s shifting
rhetoric, which has started with false and racist claims about undocumented immigrants
receiving benefits and now seems to be about gloating over austerity. We also take up the
Democratic party response, and the way the base of the party has forced the leadership to take
a stronger stance. Chris’ article on the shutdown can be found here.
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Republicans John Thune and Mike Johnson during a news conference at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on October 3, 2025.
(Graeme Sloan / Bloomberg via Getty Images)Donald Trump has plunged the nation into another government shutdown. I spoke with my Nation colleague Chris Lehmann about the larger political stakes. We take up Trump’s shifting rhetoric, which has started with false and racist claims about undocumented immigrants receiving benefits and now seems to be about gloating over austerity. We also discuss the Democratic Party’s response, and the way the base of the party has forced the leadership to take a stronger stance. Chris’s article on the shutdown can be found here.
Subscribe to The Nation to support all of our podcasts: thenation.com/subscribe.
The Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer
The Time of Monsters podcast features Nation national-affairs correspondent Jeet Heer’s signature blend of political culture and cultural politics. Each week, he’ll host in-depth conversations with urgent voices on the most pressing issues of our time.
The Iran War Stalemate w/ Trita Parsi
The Trump administration has announced a new set of harsh sanctions against Iran. This is a strange development since originally Trump launched a war on Iran on the pretext that sanctions weren’t working. Trita Parsi of the Qunicy Institute argues the current tactic won’t work and is a holding action as both the US and Iran bide their time in a long conflict. Parsi’s writings can be found on his Substack. In the interview, we discuss his column on the surprising way many governments are rooting for Iran to check US imperialism.
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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Between the reemergence of right-wing red-baiting and Donald Trump’s use of the chilling National Security Presidential Memorandum–7 to criminalize left political organizing, we’re seeing McCarthyism reborn before our eyes.
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Onward,
Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editor and Publisher, The Nation
