My guest today is Elizabeth Booker Houston – lawyer, comedian, and political commentator based in Washington DC. We discuss white supremacy in US politics, how to integrate class consciousness with anti-racism, the false myth of “rugged individualism,” and how to build a bridge between identity politics and class politics within the progressive movement.

Follow Elizabeth Booker Houston on social media:

Substack: https://bookersquared.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bookersquared

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bookersquared

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.booker.houston

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bookersquared

Support the Better Future podcast by subscribing:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@michaelmezz

Substack: https://substack.com/@michaelmezzatesta

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/16K0dkbk35q0mTslKJJ7z0

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/better-future-with-michael-mezz/id1823942833

Note: This conversation was recorded before the recent Wired article about Chorus – a liberal content creator incubator program, of which Elizabeth is a member – so I didn’t ask about it during this interview.

00:00 Introduction: leftism & whiteness

03:18 White supremacy in MAGA & US politics

07:23 Bridging the gap between race & class politics

13:57 Intersections between race & other leftist issues

17:20 Black leadership in the history of US leftism

20:43 The politics of disability & neurodivergence

23:43 The myth of rugged individualism

30:42 Elizabeth is MAGA-coded?

32:08 Do souls exist?

34:08 Raw milk and micro-aggressions

36:36 Politician lightning round: RFK & Elon Musk

38:49 Politician lightning round: Newsom, Harris, Booker

41:42 AOC, Mamdani, Buttigieg, Crockett

45:26 The progressive movement needs leaders

48:32 What a better future looks like

50:03 Conclusion

Host/Creator: Michael Mezzatesta

Guest: Elizabeth Booker Houston

Video editor: Nuria Salgado

Sound editor: Andre Corea

Designer: Amea Wadsworth

Thanks for watching episode 004. Lots more on the way :)