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Katha Pollitt’s End-of-Year Giving List—Plus Bob Dylan’s Christmas Album

On this episode of the Start Making Sense podcast, Gaza aid is number one on our list; plus Sean Wilentz explains Dylan’s holiday song selection.

Jon Wiener

December 28, 2023

A boy searches through buildings, destroyed during Israeli air raids in the southern Gaza Strip on November 10, 2023 in Khan Yunis, Gaza.(Ahmad Hasaballah / Getty)

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Katha Pollitt’s End-of-Year Giving List, plus Bob Dylan’s Xmas Album | Start Making Sense with Jon Wiener
byThe Nation Magazine

Our holiday giving list: Katha Pollitt presents her list of groups that need—and deserve—our support: Gaza aid, abortion assistance, and organizing against Trump.

Also: Bob Dylan fans have been puzzled and troubled by his Christmas album ever since he released it in 2009. To help figure out what Dylan was doing, we turned to Sean Wilentz. He’s the official historian at BobDylan.com, and he also teaches history at Princeton.

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On this episode of the Start Making Sense podcast, we bring you our holiday giving list. From humanitarian aid in Gaza, to abortion assistance, and organizing against Trump. Katha Pollitt explains her list of groups that need and deserve our support.

Also on this episode: Bob Dylan fans have been puzzled and troubled by his Christmas album ever since he released it in 2009. To help figure out what Dylan was doing, we turned to Sean Wilentz. He’s the official historian at BobDylan.com, and he also teaches history at Princeton.

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.

How LA Defeated Trump, Plus Bob Dylan’s Xmas | Start Making Sense
byThe Nation Magazine

In June, Trump sent more than 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to occupy Los Angeles and terrorize the immigrant population. But by the end of July, almost all the Guard and the Marines were gone. Bill Gallegos explains how that happened and what other cities can learn from it. 

Also: Bob Dylan fans have been puzzled and troubled by his Christmas album ever since he released it in 2009. To help figure out what Dylan was doing, we turn to Sean Wilentz. He’s author of Bob Dylan in America, and he also teaches history at Princeton. (Originally recorded in January, 2005.)​ 

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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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