Toggle Menu

Trump vs. LA—Plus, Rachel Kushner’s Creation Lake

On this episode of Start Making Sense, Harold Meyerson on the fight against ICE in Southern California, and Rachel Kushner on her latest novel.

Jon Wiener

July 9, 2025

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 v. L.A.—Plus, Rachel Kushner’s ‘Creation Lake’ | Start Making Sense
byThe Nation Magazine

Trump’s ICE is attacking undocumented people in LA County because there are a lot of them — maybe a million, out of a total of 3.3 million Latinos, and also because LA is one of the most Democratic counties in the country. And LA has a big and militant alliance of immigrants rights groups that are fighting Trump. Harold Meyerson will explain the deportation battle in Southern California at this point. 

Also: Rachel Kushner will talk about the informant and provacateur who infiltrates an anarchist eco-commune in rural France – the central character in her award-winning novel, “Creation Lake” – it’s out now, in paperback.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

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

Trump’s ICE is attacking undocumented people in LA County because there are a lot of them—maybe a million, out of a total of 3.3 million Latinos, and also because LA is one of the most Democratic counties in the country. And LA has a big and militant alliance of immigrant rights groups that are fighting Trump. Harold Meyerson will explain the deportation battle in Southern California at this point. 

Also: Rachel Kushner will talk about the informant and provocateur who infiltrates an anarchist eco-commune in rural France—the central character in her award-winning novel, Creation Lake—it’s out now, in paperback.

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.

Election Protection in the Midterms, plus Racists and Neo-Nazis in the 1940s and 50s / Start Making Sense
byThe Nation Magazine

Trump’s efforts to block Democratic voting in the midterms, or overturn the results, is not going to work—Ian Bassin explains the widespread preparations underway for defending the election in November. Ian is co-founder of the organization Protect Democracy and winner of a MacArthur genius grant.

Also: In the aftermath of WWII, racists and antisemites organized to reverse the changes brought by the New Deal and the war, but their organizations were infiltrated and undermined by activists from the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee, and the Non-­Sectarian Anti­-Nazi League. Steven J. Ross has that history – his new book is The Secret War Against Hate. 

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

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.


Latest from the nation