Toggle Menu

House Progressives vs. AIPAC, and State Constitutions Protecting Rights

On this episode of Start Making Sense, Alan Minsky on the campaign to defeat Jamaal Bowman, and Eyal Press on state Constitutions expanding rights missing from the US constitution.

Jon Wiener

June 12, 2024

Representative Jamaal Bowman, who supports a cease-fire in Gaza, attends an event on Saturday against AIPAC, which endorses Bowman’s challenger.(Selcuk Acar / Anadolu via Getty Images)

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.

AIPAC vs The Squad, Plus State Constitutions Protecting Rights | Start Making Sense
byThe Nation Magazine

The Israel lobby AIPAC is spending millions to defeat Representative Jamaal Bowman in the New York state Democratic primary. That’s because he called for a permanent ceasefire back in October, and describes what’s happening in Gaza now as “an ongoing genocide.” Alan Minsky has our analysis fo the campaign–he’s Executive Director of Progressive Democrats of America.

Also: at a time when Republicans have a lock on the Supreme Court, state constitutions can provide a basis not only for protecting abortion rights, but for criminal justice reform,voting rights protection, the right to public education and even, in some states, the right to breathe clean air. Eyal Press reports.

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

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

The Israel lobby AIPAC is spending millions to defeat Representative Jamaal Bowman in the New York State Democratic primary. That’s because he called for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza back in October, and describes what’s happening there now as “an ongoing genocide.” Alan Minsky has our analysis for the campaign. He’s the executive director of Progressive Democrats of America.

Also on this episode: At a time when Republicans have a lock on the Supreme Court, state Constitutions can provide a basis not only for protecting abortion rights but also for criminal justice reform, voting rights protection, the right to public education, and even, in some states, the right to breathe clean air. Eyal Press is on the podcast to report.

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.

Elon Musk’s First Political Contributions of 2025; plus The History of Culture Wars | Start Making Sense
byThe Nation Magazine

The first big election of 2025 will be in Wisconsin, which elects a new Supreme Court Justice on April 1. Elon Musk is spending hundreds of millions in that race. That’s both a threat, and an opportunity for Democrats. On this episode of Start Making Sense, John Nichols will comment.

Also: How did we end up with Trump back in the White House? We got here in part because Republicans built a movement over several decades centered on what are called “the culture wars.” But there’s a long history behind the culture wars, going back at least a century to the Scopes Trial, in 1925, about teaching evolution. It’s still an issue today. Adam Hochschild is on the show to explain.

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