Start Making Sense

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Start Making Sense is The Nation’s flagship weekly podcast, hosted by contributing editor Jon Wiener, featuring the magazine’s writers and editors as well as activists who shape the week in news. Subscribe at Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts, for new episodes each Wednesday.

Gerrymandering

Dahlia Lithwick on Voting Rights—Plus Katha Pollitt on “The Forgotten Girls” Dahlia Lithwick on Voting Rights—Plus Katha Pollitt on “The Forgotten Girls”

On this episode of Start Making Sense, conversations about the Supreme Court, and about girls growing up in a small Southern town.

Sep 28, 2023 / Podcast / Jon Wiener

Supporters and workers cheer as United Auto Workers members go on strike at the Ford Michigan Assembly Plant on September 15, 2023, in Wayne, Mich.

Trump and the Auto Strike—Plus, the Politics of Insecurity Trump and the Auto Strike—Plus, the Politics of Insecurity

On this episode of Start Making Sense, Nelson Lichtenstein analyzes the politics of the UAW strike, and Astra Taylor talks about “manufactured insecurity.”

Sep 21, 2023 / Podcast / Jon Wiener

Port-au-Prince residents evacuate the city in a truck

From Mandela to Black Lives Matter—Plus, Haiti in September From Mandela to Black Lives Matter—Plus, Haiti in September

On this episode of Start Making Sense, Gary Younge discusses Black writing and Black writers, and Amy Wilentz reports on the news from Port-au-Prince.

Sep 14, 2023 / Podcast / Jon Wiener

President Trump Departs White House For Campaign Stops In Minnesota

Heather Cox Richardson on “Our Authoritarian Experiment” Heather Cox Richardson on “Our Authoritarian Experiment”

On this episode of the Start Making Sense podcast, conversations about Trump, Chile, and “the other 9-11.”

Sep 7, 2023 / Podcast / Jon Wiener

Members of the Writers Guild of America East on the picket line outside of the Peacock NewFront on May 2, 2023, in New York City.

Our Hot Labor Summer, Plus Melania, Ivanka, and Those 91 Felony Charges Our Hot Labor Summer, Plus Melania, Ivanka, and Those 91 Felony Charges

On this episode of Start Making Sense, Harold Meyerson discusses historic labor action, and Amy Wilentz comments on the Trump family’s response to the indictments.

Aug 31, 2023 / Podcast / Jon Wiener

Fani Willis at center, at a podium, flanked by her colleagues.

Drew Faust Remembers the Sixties—Plus Erwin Chemerinsky on Trump and Georgia Drew Faust Remembers the Sixties—Plus Erwin Chemerinsky on Trump and Georgia

On this episode of Start Making Sense, Harvard’s first woman president describes growing up in the Virginia elite, and the dean of UC Berkeley's law school analyzes the Georgia in...

Aug 24, 2023 / Podcast / Jon Wiener

Right-Wing Attacks on Small-Town Libraries—Plus, “The Snow Leopard”

Right-Wing Attacks on Small-Town Libraries—Plus, “The Snow Leopard” Right-Wing Attacks on Small-Town Libraries—Plus, “The Snow Leopard”

On this episode of Start Making Sense, Sasha Abramsky on the culture war, and Pico Iyer on Peter Matthieson’s spiritual journey through the Himalayas.

Aug 17, 2023 / Podcast / Jon Wiener

A demonstrator stands outside the Barrett Prettyman Courthouse in Washington, D.C., on August 1, 2023, the day of former president Donald Trump’s indictment related to his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Erwin Chemerinsky on the Trump Indictment, Plus Katha Pollitt on “Barbie” Erwin Chemerinsky on the Trump Indictment, Plus Katha Pollitt on “Barbie”

On this episode of Start Making Sense, the prosecution strategy against Trump, and the reasons for the success of this year's biggest blockbuster.

Aug 10, 2023 / Podcast / Jon Wiener

A bag of popcorn, Barbie website displayed on a phone screen and Oppenheimer poster displayed on a screen in the background are seen in this illustration photo taken on August 1, 2023.

Trump’s Trials, Plus Barbie and Oppie Trump’s Trials, Plus Barbie and Oppie

On this episode of Start Making Sense, Joan Walsh talks about prosecuting the ex-president, and John Powers discuses this summer’s two biggest movies.

Aug 3, 2023 / Podcast / Jon Wiener

United Parcel Services (UPS) workers walk a “practice picket line” on July 7, 2023, in the Queens borough of New York City, ahead of the UPS strike.

The Teamsters Win, but Hollywood Continues to Strike The Teamsters Win, but Hollywood Continues to Strike

Podcast / Start Making Sense / Jul 27, 2023 The Teamsters Win, but Hollywood Continues to Strike On this episode of the Start Making Sense podcast, John Nichols reports on th…

Jul 27, 2023 / Podcast

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