Rahm Emanuel: America Has Lost Its Nerve (Pt. 1)

Rahm Emanuel has a reputation for two things: a tough demeanor and a policy nerd's command of detail. In Part 1 of our interview, he lives up to both. Ambassador Emanuel argues that America has spent 25 years sleepwalking — through the Iraq war, the Great Recession, and the pandemic — and that the people responsible were never held accountable. His solution starts somewhere you might not expect: a Mississippi classroom. Sarah McCammon spoke with him in Chicago about his diagnosis of the country, the education plan he'd run from elementary school to free community college, how we confront AI anxiety, and why he says it's the crisis neither party takes seriously enough. Part 2 drops next week. 00:00 — Cold open 01:27 — Why New Hampshire, and what a bike trip tells you 05:51 — "America has lost its nerve" 08:23 — The pattern: elites walk off clean 10:43 — How business put the China market over national security 14:33 — The Chicago school record 15:34 — Phonics, Mississippi, and a generation lost 16:06 — A plan for every graduate, and free community college 17:31 — Trades and "build baby build" 19:54 — Ban social media under 16 20:20 — AI anxiety and why the trades are the hedge 23:56 — How a president leads without commanding the states 27:12 — The three doors and the 80 percent Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.