Cops in LA Politics: Harold Meyerson; Abortion rights: Katha Pollitt; "La Nijinska": Lynn Garafola

06/02/22 • 57 min

Harold Meyerson comments on the LA Mayoral race, where the police union is spending millions to defeat Karen Bass. Also: the coming end of constitutional protection for abortion gives us a lot of work to do–Katha Pollitt explains. And Lynn Garafola talks about "an Amazon of the Avant-Garde," the ballet dancer who went from revolutionary Russia to Kiev to Hollywood in the 1930s – "La Nijinska," sister of the legendary Nijinsky.

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Abortion in the midterms: Harold Meyerson; Haiti in the NYTimes: Amy Wilentz; plus Hunter S Thompson

Reproductive rights initiatives and referendums on the ballot in November will boost Democratic turnout in swing states including Arizona and Michigan--Harold Meyerson reports. Also: Haiti is back on the front page–at least in the New York Times--and it’s not because of what’s happening there right now. The Times has published the results of a deep investigation into the history of Haiti’s forced payments to France, starting more than 200 years ago–an immense amount of money, Amy Wilentz comments. Plus: Peter Richardson discusses Hunter S. Thompson, the writer credited for inventing “Gonzo Journalism.” Thompson wrote a classic book about Richard Nixon,' Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail, ‘72.' Richardson, author of Savage Journey: Hunter S. Thompson, explains how he did it.

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LA Primaries: Harold Meyerson; Abortion: Katha Pollitt; 'Bad Mexicans': Kelly Lytle Hernandez

The results of Tuesday’s primaries in L.A. and San Francisco, according to the New York Times, were “a stark warning to the Democratic Party about the potency of law and order as a political message in 2022.” Harold Meyerson disagrees. Also: our preview of the live TV hearings of the House committee on the January 6 insurrection. Plus: Also: Abortion and its opponents. Do opponents of abortion really believe abortion providers are “baby-killers”? There’s some new research about that that found opponents help family members and friends get abortions. Katha Pollitt explains. Also:“Bad Mexicans” – that's what the revolutionaries of 1910 were called as they fought on both sides of the US-Mexico border against the robber barons and their political allies. UCLA historian Kelly Lytle Hernandez tells that story, which is the subject of her new book.