Bad Faith

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock this episode and our entire premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast Contributing editor at The New Republic and author of new book The Right of the People: Democracy and the Case for a New American Founding Osita Nwanevu joins Briahna to discuss the state of U.S. democracy, the failures of the Democratic Party as a resistance party, avenues for genuine resistance (e.g. packing the court, nixing the filibuster, D.C. statehood) that the Democrats have so far failed to avail themselves of, and whether Zohran Mamdani's victory changes anything about Briahna's cynicism. Is the goal winning at any cost? Are there things more important than winning elections, like the way Mamdani changed public opinion on the right of Israel to exist as an apartheid state? Is the left making a mistake in over investing in electoral victories? Or are those who criticize the left for not actually wanting power right? Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube for video of this episode. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod). Produced by Armand Aviram. Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock our full premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast Independent journalist Jasper Nathaniel joins Bad Faith to tell the harrowing story of being chased down by Israeli settlers in the West Bank before filming a now-viral scene of a settler brutally attacking a Palestinian woman with a club. Executive director of Bisan Center for Research & Development Ubai Abudi, a Palestinian who has experienced similar attacks and detainment by Israel, along with Dr. Jill Stein explain how Uniting for Peace, a UN general assembly resolution, could bring an end to the occupation and genocide by overriding the US veto and getting troops on the ground to protect Palestinians from Israeli violence. More links: https://husseini.substack.com/ https://en.pngoportal.org/post/3981/Palestinian-NGOs-Network-PNGO-Affirms-Inalienable-Rights-and-Calls-for-Urgent-International-Protection Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube for video of this episode. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod). Produced by Armand Aviram. Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock this episode and our entire premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast Independent journalist Ken Klippenstein joins Bad Faith to discuss Trump's dystopian national security memorandum broadly targeting activists, nonprofits, and critics of capitalism as terrorists, how Charlie Kirk's murder has been used to expand authoritarian overreach, and the Democrats' continuing gerentocracy problem. Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube for video of this episode. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod). Produced by Armand Aviram. Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock our full premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast NY Rep. Ritchie Torres has a new challenger: Bronx-based teacher and member of the Party for Socialism & Liberation Andre Easton, who joins Bad Faith to talk about his decision to run outside of the Democratic Party and how Zohran's latest campaign moves -- such as retaining NYPD commissioner Jessica Tisch -- might illustrate the risks of running within the duopoly. Is it possible to be in solidarity with Palestinian liberation while allying with liberal Zionists? As Andre asks, is the left fighting to get a good guy elected in a bad system? Or are we fighting for a system that doesn't tolerate "bad guys" to exist within it? What does "success" look like to an outsider insurgent campaign, and how can a leftist like Andre compete without the public financing and rank choice voting dynamics that benefited Mamdani? Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube for video of this episode. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod). Produced by Armand Aviram. Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock this episode and our entire premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast The Lever founder David Sirota returns to Bad Faith to detail his deep dive into the corporate-backed master plan to take over the country from its courts to its media. From the Powell Memo to present day, there is only one real story in American politics, and that's the role money has played in it. Could Zohran have won without public financing? How much hope should we read into the fact that Democratic establishment politicians are now publicly rebuking AIPAC donations? Is the pivot to anti-oligarchy messaging real? Or is it akin to 2020 Democratic candidates claiming to support some version of "Medicare for All" just to match Bernie's energy? Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube for video of this episode. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod). Produced by Armand Aviram. Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock our full premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast Marxist economist Richard Wolff returns to Bad Faith along with historian, professor, and Green Party candidate for governor of California Butch Ware to forensically break down Gavin Newsom's recent viral appearance on Higher Learning with Van Lathan & Rachel Lindsay. Wolff & Ware weigh in on Newsom's evasions in response to questions about the inherent contradictions of capitalism, California's failure to implement Medicare for All, & the "interesting" AIPAC moment; while the Higher Learning interview serves as a jumping off point for a broader and deeper conversation about the future of left politics, Zohran Mamdani, and the limits of the Democratic Party. (It's spooky season, and there's something magical happening with this guest pairing.) Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube for video of this episode. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod). Produced by Armand Aviram. Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock this episode and our entire premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast Assistant Professor of Political Science at Spelman College Matt McManus joins Bad Faith to make the case for "liberal socialism." Is liberal socialism an oxymoron, or should leftist seek to reclaim the positive values of the liberal tradition as a way to insulate "socialism" from the stigma of authoritarianism? But first, Briahna & Matt discuss the AOC/Bernie townhall, debates about Zohran Mamdani's perceived shift toward the center, Kamala Harris's book tour meltdowns, & more clips from a packed media week. Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube for video of this episode. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod). Produced by Armand Aviram. Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock our full premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast The highly-anticipated astrology episode is finally here! This week Briahna talks to the incredibly warm and charming Oakland-based writer, astrologer, and host of the popular podcast Stars and Stars with Isa Isa Nakazawa about the roots of her own interest in astrology, why Brie has been attracting Cancer men, why looking at just your sun sign offers an incomplete picture, & what it means that Trump is a Leo rising. Once an astrology skeptic herself, Isa offers an explanation of why celestial events might have bearing on how we move through the world, and why an understanding of the stars and ourselves might be useful for a leftist community struggling to connect to each other and the broader world. (Skeptics should give this one a chance!) Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube for video of this episode. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod). Produced by Armand Aviram. Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock this episode and our entire premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast The battle for control over the Democratic Party continues with liberal gatekeeper Jonathan Chait arguing, yet again, that the party's failures are a consequence of being too beholden to the "left" -- even while corporate Dems got the 2024 campaign of their dreams. Former RI State Rep. Aaron Regunberg wrote a definitive response to these arguments and made the case for why left populism is the only way to beat right populism, and Kate Willett joins to talk about the Abundance faction that informs Chait's thinking and the choices of the Democratic elite. Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube for video of this episode. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod). Produced by Armand Aviram. Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock this episode and our entire premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast Grayzone Editor-In-Chief Max Blumenthal returns to Bad Faith to talk Trump's "peace deal" with Gaza, speculation that Charlie Kirk was killed by Israel, Zionist control of CBS & TikTok (and journalist Matt Taibbi's choice to exclude this issue from his 1st Amendment coverage), last week's Coates-Klein interview, Kamala's new book, and Max's predictions for 2028 -- including how the left should prepare. A ton of ground is covered in this episode, so you'll want to listen in full. Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube for video of this episode. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod). Produced by Armand Aviram. Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock our full premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast Van Lathan Jr., who went viral for confronting Kanye West over his "Black people chose slavery" remarks on TMZ, is a culture savant, podcaster, and political commentator whom you might have recently seen giving Scott Jennings the business on CNN. He joins Bad Faith to discuss Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another, which is being heralded as one of the best films of the year. But while it's being read as positive depiction of left revolutionaries, Brie has never felt a bigger urge to walk out of a theatre than she did in the first 30 minutes of this movie. Is the film a misogynoir-filled anti-left psyop? A fun action caper? Both? But first, Van and Brie discuss the spate of right-leaning podcasters expressing regret about boosting Trump, what it means to have "a politics," and how to contend with the establishment's commitment to "voting blue no matter who" and blaming third parties for the Democrats' failures. Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube for video of this episode. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod). Produced by Armand Aviram. Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock our full premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast Executive editor of The American Prospect David Dayen returns to Bad Faith to explain the government shutdown and how Democrats are doing their darnedest to be the worst resistance party in the world. How is it that Trump seems to have infinite power when Biden, during his trifecta, had none? Did Trump really just do what we were told is impossible: overrule the parliamentarian? Why are Democrats making this a fight about healthcare rather than the fact that the GOP has already effectively shut down the government through their DOGE activities? And why should we be very very scared of OMB director Russell Vought? Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube for video of this episode. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod). Produced by Armand Aviram. Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock this episode and our entire premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast Matt Stoller, Director of the American Economic Liberties Project and king of anti-monopoly discourse, returns to Bad Faith podcast along with former Federal Trade Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya, who was recently fired by President Trump, to explain how Trump is weaponizing ostensibly independent federal agencies to advance his censorship agenda. As Matt argues, oligarchic control over the media is impossible without media consolidation, and the Jimmy Kimmel cancelation fiasco is in some ways secondary to the bigger problem of an undiversified media ecosystem. Bedoya, who is also the founding director of the Center on Privacy and Technology at Georgetown University Law Center, broadens the conversation into one about the founding fathers' original conception of the corporation, and the need to impose limits due to its fundamentally anti-democratic potential. Will Democrats finally trust the anti-trust pros to break up the powers that are buying America? Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube for video of this episode. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod). Produced by Armand Aviram. Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock our full premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast Comedian, actor, & influencer Amanda Seales joins Bad Faith to reflect on the canonization of Charlie Kirk, her viral Jubilee debate video (who says the left is unwilling to debate?), being canceled by Hollywood for speaking out about Palestine and the failures of the Democratic Party, her IRL confrontation with Kamala Harris, staying sane in the public eye, and so much more. It's an intimate, funny, broad conversation with one of the internet's most engaging political personalities. Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube for video of this episode. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod). Produced by Armand Aviram. Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock this episode and our entire premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast UC Irvine Professor and author of Virtue Hoarders: The Case Against the Professional Managerial Class Catherline Liu returns to Bad Faith to talk about Kamala Harris's new, painfully out of touch book 107 Days, FCC Chair Brendan Carr's ouster of late night host Jimmy Kimmel over his banal commentary on Charlie Kirk, and Liu's own controversial tweets accusing those celebrating Kirk's death of having PMC sensibilities. Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube for video of this episode. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod). Produced by Armand Aviram. Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).

To follow up this week's interview with Due Dissidence's Russell and Keaton about possible bias in Matt Taibbi's coverage of censorship, Bad Faith is making free Brie's interview with Taibbi on the heels of his Twitter Files exposé. Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock our full premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast This week, Briahna interviews Matt Taibbi about a narrow concern she's had with the Twitter Files archive: Despite the obvious value that Matt and other twitter files reporters have created by exposing links between the intelligence agencies and online censorship, is it fair to characterize Twitter's bias as against the right and indifferent to the left given how little we know about which documents have been turned over by Elon Musk and why?  Unlike Musk, most whistleblowers are not the heads of the organizations they're informing on. Does Musk's investment in and control over Twitter demand more journalistic scrutiny? Is it possible to characterize the files reviewed so far without making broader claims about about the total archive that, at this point, can't be substantiated? Has there been sufficient inquiry into bias against the left, and has their been sufficient disclosure about the limitations Musk has put on the journalists who've been given access to the archive? It's a difficult and nuanced discussion. Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube for video of this episode. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod). Produced by Armand Aviram. Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock our full premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast Russell and Keaton from Due Dissidence return to Bad Faith to pick up where Zaid left off last week: The curious lacuna in journalist Matt Tabbi's coverage of censorship. As efforts to suppress pro-Palestine speech proliferate -- including the recent recruitment of the censorious Bari Weiss to influence the editorial direction at CBS -- Tabbi has offered a variety of explanations as to why he has declined to cover censorship stories that implicate the political right as perpetrators. The trio also revisit the Charlie Kirk killing and debate whether leftists should tone down jokes about Kirk's murder in order to avoid reputational damage. Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube for video of this episode. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod). Produced by Armand Aviram. Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock this episode and our entire premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast Last week's assassination of right wing personality Charlie Kirk last week was a shock -- and so was the choice of many left and liberal media outlets to publish pieces that lauded the openly supremacist activist for his contribution to American political life. Ezra Klein wrote in The New York Times that Kirk was "practicing politics the right way." Rachel Cohen wrote in Vox that she was "sitting shiva" for a man she described as saying "blatantly antisemitic things," and Ben Burgis offered that at least Kirk "didn't descend into personal attacks." Briahna, who also debated Kirk, felt differently. She discusses the hagiography of Charlie Kirk with journalist Zaid Jilani and whether the left is troublingly indifferent to anti-Black racism if delivered "politely." Note that this episode was supposed to include a lengthy conversation about Matt Taibbi's refusal to cover censorship by right-leaning institutions, but, alas, the conversation didn't get that far. Fortunately, Brie has recorded a separate follow-up interview on that topic to be relased shortly -- stay tuned. Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube for video of this episode. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod). Produced by Armand Aviram. Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock our full premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast Minnesota State Senator Omar Fateh made headlines in July after winning the state Democratic Party's endorsement for mayor of Minneapolis as a DSA-backed, millennial Muslim going up against an establishment-backed incumbent. It was giving big Mandani energy until that incumbent, Jacob Frey, challenged the result and got the endorsement revoked. Now, with less than two months until Election Day, Fateh joins Bad Faith to discuss comparisons to Zohran, why Frey has lost the confidence of the party, how DSA candidates can remain accountable to the organization, and how to handle the corporate media's attacks on the defund movement -- especially as a candidate running in the city where George Floyd was killed. Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube for video of this episode. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod). Produced by Armand Aviram. Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock this episode and our entire premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast New York Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado has been sidelined by Gov. Kathy Hochul ever since he announced that he would not be running for reelection -- raising suspicions that he would instead run for Governor. Now that he's declared his challenge to Hochul, he's ready to explain why he would be a better partner for a Mayor Zohran Mamdani, where he falls on the political spectrum, why he called for both Biden and Eric Adams to step down, and why he declined to identify as a progressive despite endorsing a progressive agenda. There's no candidate interview like a Bad Faith candidate interview. Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube for video of this episode. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod). Produced by Armand Aviram. Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).