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Fighting Monopoly Power

Zephyr Teachout on how to combat the corporate consolidation.

Jeet Heer

July 19, 2026

Free-press advocates project messages opposing the Paramount–Warner Bros. merger during the News & Documentary Emmy Awards held at Jazz at Lincoln Center on May 27, 2026, in New York City. Awards held at on Jazz at Lincoln Center on May 27, 2026, in New York City. (Eugene Gologursky / Getty Images for Emmys Rapid Response Project)

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Fighting Monopoly Power w/ Zephyr Teachout / The Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer
byThe Nation Magazine

Donald Trump is practicing crony capitalism on an unprecedented scale, with the government greenlighting major mergers that benefit the president’s friends (most notably the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger). I spoke to Zephyr Teachout, who teaches constitutional law at Fordham, about this worrying development. We take up the long history of anti-monopoly politics going back to the American revolution and the trust battles of the late 19th century as well as the possibility state governments can fight the new wave of consolidation. Zephyr has often written on his subject for The Nation, notably in two recent articles. 

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Donald Trump is practicing crony capitalism on an unprecedented scale, with the government green-lighting major mergers that benefit the president’s friends (most notably the Paramount–Warner Bros. merger). I spoke with Zephyr Teachout, who teaches constitutional law at Fordham, about this worrying development. We take up the long history of anti-monopoly politics, going back to the American Revolution and the antitrust battles of the late 19th century, as well as the possibility that state governments can fight the new wave of consolidation. Zephyr has often written on this subject for The Nation, notably in two recent articles. 

Subscribe to The Nation to support all of our podcasts: thenation.com/subscribe.

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.

Gaza and Elite Accountability w/ Connor Echols / The Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer
byThe Nation Magazine

Many of Joe Biden’s closest advisors are now well-ensconced in the sinecures reserved for the elite, working at think tanks, academia, and major media outlets. Normally, they could expect to have future jobs when the Democrats retake the White House. But this cozy situation is being disrupted by ongoing reporting showing the extent of their complicity in the Gaza genocide and other US crimes in the Middle East. I spoke about this with Connor Echols, managing editor of Responsible Statecraft, who wrote an excellent article on the efforts to hold these officials accountable.

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Jeet HeerTwitterJeet Heer is a national affairs correspondent for The Nation and host of the weekly Nation podcast, The Time of Monsters. He also pens the monthly column “Morbid Symptoms.” The author of In Love with Art: Francoise Mouly’s Adventures in Comics with Art Spiegelman (2013) and Sweet Lechery: Reviews, Essays and Profiles (2014), Heer has written for numerous publications, including The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, The American Prospect, The Guardian, The New Republic, and The Boston Globe.


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