Radio War Nerd EP161—Populism & "populism"

What this episode covers

Recorded: December 11, 2018 Guest: Dr. Christopher Phelps , associate professor U. Nottingham & author The word "populism" gets thrown around a lot today in the mainstream press, usually meant as a pejorative to describe far-right reactionary, anti-democratic politics that threaten the so-called "liberal order." But "populism" is just a synonym for "democracy" — "of the people" — and it has a concrete historical meaning that's completely at odds with the current abused meaning of the word. The War Nerd talks to intellectual historian Christopher Phelps about the original meaning of "Populism" in the United States at the end of the 19th C., and we try to sort out myths from facts, and what the word means today in Europe and in the official US media. Throughout the discussion, we reference Lawrence Goodwyn's great book: "The Populist Moment" . At 1:43:00 — Ames & the War Nerd discuss a few of the larger-than-life Populists, France's "yellow vests" movement . . . And then briefly look at current war news: ISIS battling US-backed SDF in its last stronghold in Syria, along Iraq border . . . Al Qaeda jihadis take main Syria road in Idlib, against Turkey-Russia peace agreement . . . Qatari emir wisely avoids GCC summit . . . Qatar has played soft-power propaganda game brilliantly, gotten away with murder . . . Read Christopher Phelps' books Radicals In America: The U.S. Left since the Second World War and Young Sidney Hook: Marxist and Pragmatist . Check out his articles in The Nation and Jacobin .

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