The legacy of Jimmy Carter

02/21/22 • 49 min

James Fallows

Jimmy Carter was an “outsider” who won the Democratic presidential nomination 40 years ago. His former speechwriter, James Fallows, says that an outsider can win the White House if the public feels there is a crisis – but then it becomes very hard to actually govern. He also says that he should be remembered for many things, not the least of which is deregulation, which paved the way for, among other things, microbreweries!

Jim Hightower

Who was Smedley Darlington Butler, and why is he important?

Many Americans can’t believe that political coups are part of our country’s history – but consider the Wall Street Putsch of 1933.

Ever heard of it? It was a corporate conspiracy to oust Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had just been elected president. With the Great Depression raging and millions of families financially devastated, FDR had launched several economic recovery programs to help people get back on their feet.

Jack Jenkins

Christian Nationalism Linked to The Insurrection.

According to a new and comprehensive investigation, Christian Nationalism was used to "bolster, justify and intensify the January 6 attack on the Capitol." Bill talks to Jack Jenkins, one of the top reporters covering the religion and politics beat. They explain just what Christian Nationalism is, how it was an integral part of the January 6th events and how it is driving GOP politicians.

If you'd like to hear the entire episode, visit BillPressPods.com.

The legacy of Jimmy Carter

James Fallows

Jim Hightower

Who was Smedley Darlington Butler, and why is he important?

Many Americans can’t believe that political coups are part of our country’s history – but consider the Wall Street Putsch of 1933.

Jack Jenkins

Christian Nationalism Linked to The Insurrection.

If you'd like to hear the entire episode, visit BillPressPods.com.

Previous Episode

Congress took a step forward on healthcare costs, but there is much more left to do.

Steve Knievel on his 3 pillars to improve our healthcare system.

Steve Knievel

Steve Knievel is an advocate for Public Citizen’s Access to Medicines program, focusing on expanding affordable access to medicines. They say that to help stop Big Pharma’s price gouging in the U.S., Congress must listen to the American public, ignore the pharmaceutical industry’s high-paid lobbyists and finally pass legislation granting Medicare the authority to negotiate drug prices.

Jim Hightower

How to get Congress to reform our broken healthcare system

For $3.5 Trillion a year, shouldn’t we Americans have a world-class healthcare system? Yet, while we spend the most of any advanced nation in the world to get care (more than $10,000 a year per person), we get the worst results.

No surprise then, that the “Medicare-for-All” idea is now backed by 85 percent of Democrats, 66 percent of Independents, and (get this) 52 percent of Republicans! So... why isn’t Congress responding to this overwhelming public demand for universal coverage?

Elizabeth Wydra

The Dangerous Supreme Court

Lot's of well-deserved focus on Justice Breyer's retirement and the certainty of a Black female nominee from Biden. But it will not change the hard-right Court. The upcoming decisions on Roe v Wade, Affirmative Action, and the power of the Federal Government to regulate health and safety are all under attack and likely to change America for the worse.

Elizabeth Wydra is the President of the Constitutional Accountability Center, a non-partisan progressive organization. It seeks to get the public and judges to understand the Constitution, in its most vital respects, is a progressive document.

If you'd like to hear the entire episode, visit BillPressPods.com.

Next Episode

The threat of Republican gerrymandering on the 2022 Midterms.

David Daley

With Texas starting their vote process for the 2022 Midterms this week, with one of the most devastatingly gerrymandered maps in the country, we take a look back to how we got here. David Daley is one of the nation's leading authorities on partisan gerrymandering. And he says if Democrats don’t do more to stop it, Republicans will have the power to shape elections for years to come.

Jim Hightower

A Phoenix is Rising

Our local newspapers are being merged, purged, shrunk, shut down, and looted by Wall Street profiteers – yet there’s good news. In the towns those media vultures are torching, a phoenix is rising!

Hundreds of determined locals, often led by people of color, are finding new ways to pay for and revive top-quality, local journalism. For example, the Ferndale (CA) Enterprise moved to an old Victorian home, renting upstairs rooms to vacationers to subsidize the paper.

Jamie Raskin

"This Was a Coup."

Congressman Jamie Raskin was inside the Capitol, with family, on January 6th. On January 5th he had buried his 25-year-old beloved son who had killed himself to escape a crippling depression. On January 12th, Raskin was named Lead Impeachment Manager for the second Impeachment Trial of Donald Trump. That eventful January is the subject of his New York Times Bestseller, Unthinkable: Trauma, Truth, and the Trials of American Democracy. In his interview with Bill, he shares his thoughts and emotions about the death of his son, the coup and the inside story of the Impeachment Trial. Plus he hints at just what the January 6th Committee knows about the Trump-organized coup attempt.

If you'd like to hear the entire episode, visit BillPressPods.com.