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Reasons for Hope From Iowa Republicans, Plus American Fiction

On this episode of Start Making Sense, John Nichols analyzes Monday’s GOP caucus results, and John Powers reviews the new film starring Jeffrey Wright.

Jon Wiener

January 17, 2024

Jeffrey Wright in American Fiction. (Photo by Claire Folger)

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Reasons for Hope from the Iowa GOP, plus “American Fiction” | Start Making Sense
byThe Nation Magazine

John Nichols reports on Monday’s Republican caucuses in Iowa, and explains why Iowa is the state with the biggest shift from blue to red between Obama in 2008 and Trump in 2020.

Also: The new film "American Fiction," starring Jeffrey Wright, takes up the question, do Black writers have to "write Black"? The film is based on the novel "Erasure" by Percival Everett, which is considerably wilder and more uncompromising than the film. John Powers comments—he’s critic at Large on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross.

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On this episode of Start Making Sense, John Nichols reports on Monday’s Republican caucuses in Iowa, where 31 percent of Republicans said they’d consider Trump unfit for the presidency if he were to be if he were to be convicted of a crime

Also on this episode: The new film American Fiction, starring Jeffrey Wright, takes up the question, do Black writers have to “write Black”? The film is based on the novel Erasur by Percival Everett, which is considerably wilder and more uncompromising than the film. John Powers comments—he’s critic at Large on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross.

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 Harvard Won’t Settle; plus Struggles of Supermarket Workers / Start Making Sense
byThe Nation Magazine

In his campaign against elite universities as centers of resistance, Trump hasn’t been able to force Harvard to submit. And it seems less likely now that they will settle. Harvard law professor Randall Kennedy has our analysis.

Also: the essential workers at our supermarkets: Ann Larson talks about poverty wages and worker solidarity. Her new book is Cleanup on Aisle Five: Essential Work, Poverty Wages, and the View From Behind the Supermarket Register.

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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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