PODCAST · news
Left Anchor
by Ryan Cooper & Alexi the Greek
Philosophy, politics, and the left.
Episodes
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Trump Is Going for It - 402 PREVIEW
With Democrats looking likely to win a blowout victory in the upcoming midterms, the Trump regime has decided to start fake prosecutions of their political opponents. The first target is Ilhan Omar, because she is a Black Muslim woman, but if they succeed, she won't be the last. Subscribe now to...
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Occupy Wall Street Revisited - 401
This time we've got the organizer and activist Yotam Marom on to talk about his new book For Louder Days: Reaching Beyond a Politics of Powerlessness. It's all about his experience in Occupy Wall Street and his experience organizing on the left over the subsequent 15 years. What did OWS get…
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End Times Fascism - 400 UNLOCKED
Today we've got our old pal Astra Taylor on to talk about the new book she co-wrote with Naomi Klein: End Times Fascism and the Fight for the Living World. What distinguishes today's neofascists--from MAGA to the AfD in Germany--from their predecessors in the 1930s, what is their plan for the...
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End Times Fascism - 400 PREVIEW
Today we've got our old pal Astra Taylor on to talk about the new book she co-wrote with Naomi Klein: End Times Fascism and the Fight for the Living World. What distinguishes today's neofascists--from MAGA to the AfD in Germany--from their predecessors in the 1930s, what is their plan for the...
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The Odyssey Review - 399
Today we've got the classicist Jase Short back on to discuss Christopher Nolan's new film. Is it any good, does it illuminate our present issues or those of humanity in general, and most importantly, is it loyal enough to the source material to please the die-hard Homer fanbase? Enjoy!
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Trump's Collapsing Foreign Policy - 398 PREVIEW
Trump is back to escalating his shooting war against Iran, and his trade war against Canada, and he's quite obviously losing both of them. Subscribe now to hear the whole episode!
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A Biden Climate Retrospective - 397
Joe Biden was the best American president on climate change by maybe three orders of magnitude. Yet it didn't cement a Kamala Harris victory in 2024, and Trump has since rolled back most of Biden's signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act. Today we've got UC Santa Barbara Professor Leah...
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Is Ukraine Winning? - 396 PREVIEW
In this excerpt we discuss why so many American leftists struggled to get to the correct understanding in Ukraine, and why so many liberals have struggled to get to the correct understanding in Israel-Palestine. Subscribe now to hear the whole episode!
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Welcome to Franchise Hell - 395
Today we've got David Dayen back on to talk about his reporting on how awful it is to attempt to make it as a franchisee for the Kitchen and Bath Tune-Up company. We also discuss the flailing incompetence of various Trump lawyers in their efforts to persecute critics of the regime, the return of...
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The State of American Socialism in 2026 - 384 UNLOCKED
We are still recovering from vacation and travel, so enjoy this premium episode from awhile back. Zohran Mamdani is now arguably the most politically successful socialist in American history, having won the mayoralty of New York City. So we've got longtime socialist organizer and DSA member David...
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'Christian' Nationalism Is Anti-American - 394 PREVIEW
Today we have Professor Harvey Kaye back on to talk about so-called Christian nationalism, and not only why all the Founding Fathers would have regarded such an idea with horror, but also so would have Jesus Christ. People like Elon Musk and Pete Hegseth loudly proclaim their religiosity while...
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The Age of Greenspan, with Rick Perlstein - 393
Today we've got noted author and historian Rick Perlstein on to discuss the late Alan Greenspan's 20-year reign as the chair of the Federal Reserve, the damage he did to the American working class and New Deal financial regulations, and what that says about the history of the 1990s and 2000s.…
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The Downfall of Keir Starmer - 392 PREVIEW
In this latest bonus episode, we are talking about how former Labour Prime Minister Kier Starmer frittered away one of the biggest parliamentary majorities in British history, and what lessons that holds in general. Then we talk about the on-again-off-again Iran deal, and Trump's epic debacle…
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Iran Crisis Update
Alexi is off today, so this time we are cross-posting a conversation Ryan had with Shawn Howard, who runs the newsletter American Vets in Defense of Democracy. They discussed why the economy hasn't collapsed, how the green energy transition has accelerated, why so much of the world is struggling…
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Can a Progressive Win in Mid-Michigan? - 389 UNLOCKED
Today we are unlocking our episode with William Lawrence, who is running to represent Michigan's 7th congressional district in and around Lansing, and has the geographical hand tattoo to prove it. Unlike the previous Democrat to represent the seat, current junior Senator Elissa Slotkin, William…
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AOC for President? - 391 PREVIEW
Today we're are talking Trump's latest on-again, off-again deal with Iran, Zohran Mamdani's record after a few months as mayor of New York City, and whether AOC is worth considering as a presidential candidate in 2028. Subscribe now to listen to the whole thing!
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Donald Trump, Climate Warrior
The dumbest president in American history, with his world-historically stupid war on Iran choking off trade through the Strait of Hormuz, with no end in sight, has de facto imposed a gigantic carbon tax on the entire planet. As a result, the green energy transition is leaping ahead at the fastest...
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Can a Progressive Win in Mid-Michigan? - 389 EXCERPT
Today we have William Lawrence, who is running to represent Michigan's 7th congressional district in and around Lansing, and has the geographical hand tattoo to prove it. Unlike the previous Democrat to represent the seat, current junior Senator Elissa Slotkin, William is a strong progressive.…
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North Shore Socialism - 388
Today we've got Bethany Andres-Beck, a DSA member who is running for Congress in the 6th District of Massachusetts, on to discuss why that state and the House of Representatives could use a nonbinary trans socialist with a lot of coding experience. Enjoy!
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Dire Strait of Hormuz - 387 PREVIEW
Trump's war on Iran has led to Iran closing the Strait of Homuz, and hence probably the worst single energy shock since oil became a bulk commodity. There is no end in sight. We discuss why it was such a catastrophically stupid decision, what it reveals about Trump's decaying brain, how Iran has...
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How to Sell a Genocide - 386
Today we have Adam Johnson on to discuss his forthcoming book How to Sell a Genocide: The Media’s Complicity in the Destruction of Gaza. He brings elaborate receipts about how centrist and liberal media downplayed, excused, and denied the Gaza genocide, and in general treated Palestinians as...
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Five Years in the Pennsylvania Legislature, with Rick Krajewski - 185
Today we have Rep. Rick Krajewski, who represents the 188th District--entirely contained within West Philadelphia--in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. A DSA member and longtime organizer, Rick primaried the longtime incumbent in 2020, and has spent the last several years learning the...
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The State of American Socialism in 2026 - 384 PREVIEW
Zohran Mamdani is now arguably the most politically successful socialist in American history, having won the mayoralty of New York City. So we've got longtime socialist organizer and DSA member David Duhalde back on the podcast to discuss his recent review of Organize or Burn: How New York...
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Trump's Iran War - 383 UNLOCKED
Today we have the philosopher Jase Short on to discuss what is going on in Iran: What is happening, why did Trump and Israel do such a crazy thing, and what can be done about it? Check out Jase's newsletter here.
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Trump's Iran War - 383 EXCERPT
Today we have the philosopher Jase Short on to discuss what is going on in Iran: What is happening, why did Trump and Israel do such a crazy thing, and what can be done about it? Check out Jase's newsletter here. For the second half of the episode, subscribe here!
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The Epstein Class - 382
Today we're zooming out and taking a broader look at the Jeffrey Epstein phenomenon. How did an evidently barely-literate freak end up as one of the linchpins of the global oligarchic elite? It's a highly telling indication of the rot in post-Cold War democracies, above all the United States.…
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The Minneapolis Resistance - 380 UNLOCKED
Today we are unlocking our episode on the update on the situation in Minneapolis. Note that most of the episode was recorded before Alex Pretti was martyred by CBP thugs, but Ryan provides a brief update on that at the start. This might just be seen as the turn of the tide. Then we move on to...
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One Battle After Another - 381 PREVIEW
Subscribe now to hear the whole thing!
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The Minneapolis Resistance - 380 EXCERPT
Today we've got an update on the situation in Minneapolis. Note that most of the episode was recorded before Alex Pretti was martyred by CBP thugs, but Ryan provides a brief update on that at the start. This might just be seen as the turn of the tide. Subscribe here for the full episode! Also,...
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Facing Down ICE in Minneapolis
Today Will Stancil joins Ryan to discuss the organized community efforts to stymie ICE ethnic cleansing in Minneapolis. What are these goons doing there, how are people fighting back, and what can others learn from their experience?
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Gangster Imperialism in Venezuela - 378
Today we've got NYU historian Alejandro Velasco on to discuss Trump's kidnapping of Venezuela's now-former president Nicolas Maduro. We talk about the historical context, details about the oil sector there, what Trump's goals might be and whether they make any sense, and what it all might mean....
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Holiday Special: Wake Up Dead Man - 377 PREVIEW
This time we are discussing Wake Up Dead Man, the latest Knives Out picture, and its themes of faith, humility, forgiveness, and right-wing assholes in the pulpit. We hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday break! Subscribe here to hear the whole thing!
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The Case for Deliberation - 376
The dumbest people in politics are always going on about how we need more "debate" between various factions. But Stanford political scientist James Fishkin has a much more sophisticated argument that actual deliberation--not cable news morons shouting at each other--has a vital role to play in...
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What Zohran Can Learn from the Sewer Socialists - 375 EXCERPT
Today we've got Rutgers labor historian Eric Blanc back on to discuss his recent article on the sewer socialists of Milwaukee. Back in the early 20th century, Wisconsin was the epicenter of the most successful socialist movement in American history, with socialists running Milwaukee for nearly 50...
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Why the Thirty Years’ War Matters - 374
Today we have Dr. Lucian Staiano-Daniels on to talk about his book The War People: A Social History of Common Soldiers during the Era of the Thirty Years War. It is something of an obscure conflict these days, but he explains why understanding it matters today, and in particular how the era is...
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Summers, Epstein, and Economics
Today we have economics professor Marshall Steinbaum on to talk about the potential fall of Larry Summers due to his association with Jeffrey Epstein, and what it reveals about the culture of the economics profession and policymaking in the Democratic Party. Subscribe now to hear the whole…
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The 2025 Blue Wave - 372
Zohran Mamdani won in New York City, and so did Democrats in New Jersey, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and even Mississippi. What happened and why? We dig in. Check out Ryan's articles on Zohran and Chuck Schumer, as well as our previous episode on Zohran.
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The Bigoted Anti-Zohran Frenzy - 371 PREVIEW
Today we are discussing the home stretch of the New York City mayoral race, Andrew Cuomo's decent into outright gutter racism and Islamophobia, the ongoing ICE raids across the country, Trump's escalating war on Venezuela, and the surprising story of how rent control in Hong Kong led to a…
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Life After Cars - 370
Is it possible to reform America's blighted hellscape of car-dependent suburban sprawl, big box stores, strip malls, and stroads into something more healthy and human? Sarah Goodyear and Doug Gordon (of the podcast The War on Cars) argue yes, in their new book Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves...
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The American Farm Crisis - 369 EXCERPT
Today Ryan has Sarah Taber, a small farmer and proprietor of the Farm to Taber YouTube channel, on to talk about just what is going on with American farming--the collapse in soybean exports, what farmers thought they would by voting for Trump, how he has made the H-2A visa program even more...
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Better Than Ezra - 368
Now that the dust has started to settled around the whole Charlie Kirk thing, we've brought on Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò, associate professor of philosophy at Georgetown, to discuss his Boston Review piece about Ezra Klein's hagiography of Kirk, the discussion Klein had with Ta-Nehisi Coates, and why...
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Nordic Socialism - 367 EXCERPT
Today we have Danish MP Pelle Dragsted on to talk about his book Nordic Socialism: The Path Toward a Democratic Economy. We discuss what is distinctive about the Nordic socialist tradition, how much of it is left after many decades of neoliberal attacks, what people can learn from it today, and...
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Why Christians Should Be Leftists - 366 PREVIEW
Today we have Phil Christman on to talk about his book Why Christians Should Be Leftists. Is there a model of Christianity aside from right-wing fundamentalism--something more in like with the teachings of this fellow Jesus Christ? The David Bentley Hart essay mentioned can be found here.
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The Covid Doctors of Doubt - 365
Today we have Dr. Jonathan Howard, who writes at Science Based Medicine, on to discuss his new book Everyone Else Is Lying to You: How the medical establishment weaponized doubt to spread COVID, normalize quackery, and undermine public health. It's all about a cohort of highly credentialed and...
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The Case for Democracy - 364
Today we have writer and friend of the pod Osita Nwanevu on to talk about his new book The Right of the People: Democracy and the Case for a New American Founding. He goes back to political brass tacks--what democracy actually is, why it's important, why we don't have it, and why we should work…
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Greenland Report - 363 EXCERPT
Ryan recently visited Greenland to report on their public sector, which turns out to be extremely large and critical to the local economy. How and why did this develop? Then we discuss some recent gerrymandering news. Stay tuned for the full article in the next issue of the Prospect! And…
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Katie Brennan Beat the New Jersey Machine - 362 EXCERPT
Today we're interviewing Katie Brennan, who just won the primary for the New Jersey state Assembly in Hudson County. She explains how the state Democratic machine de facto abolished democracy with a rigged ballot design, how it changed, and how she overcame a tidal wave of money to win. Subscribe...
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A Turning Point for Gaza? - 361
Today we've got Layla Al-Sheik on to discuss recent events in Gaza, where an onrushing famine has suddenly become widely acknowledged, even among parts of the Israeli far right. Is it because reality finally broke through, or Europe getting fed up--or perhaps an Ezra Klein column? And is there a...
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Transphobia Is Based on Lies - 360
Alexi is still on vacation, so this time we are replaying a recent American Prospect Weekly Roundup show, in which Evan Urquhart of Assigned Media helps Ryan dig into the Supreme Court's latest transphobic decision and how The New York Times played a vital role in it.
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The Worst Law in 175 Years - 359 PREVIEW
Today we've got David Dayen on to discuss the One Big Beautiful Bill Act: massive tax cuts for the rich, massive cuts to Medicaid, food stamps, evisceration of Joe Biden's climate program, and huge subsidies for oil and coal companies, plus a number of bizarre smaller items. Republicans seemingly...
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Left Anchor have?
Left Anchor currently has 417 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Left Anchor about?
Philosophy, politics, and the left.
How often does Left Anchor release new episodes?
Left Anchor publishes regularly with 417 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Left Anchor?
You can listen to Left Anchor on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Left Anchor?
Left Anchor is created and hosted by Ryan Cooper & Alexi the Greek.
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