What's Left?

Aimee and Benjamin offer their thoughts on the first two 2020 Democratic primary debates. They talk post-debate polling, "staying on message," and the weird role of children in US politics.

Oliver and Katherine Dee talk about incels, truecels, volcels, sex, dating, and much more in this wide-ranging episode. To listen to the full 2-hour episode, become a patron at patreon.com/whatsleft

Oliver talks to retired United States Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM, served 1983-2013) about how the legislative process evolved during his 30 years in Washington, D.C. They discuss the debt ceiling, successful instances of past bipartisan cooperation, the war in Iraq, industrial policy, energy policy, and much more. Senator Bingaman's new book Breakdown: Lessons for a Congress in Crisis offers an insightful, first-hand analysis of the causes and consequences of the dysfunction in Congress. Some of the sections, like the one concerning Bingaman's critical role in the passage of the Affordable Care Act, are extremely detailed and should prove useful to political scientists, historians, and others looking for primary sources related to these topics. One topic not discussed during this interview was Bingaman's exceptional 1982 campaign. While running against incumbent Harrison Schmitt, who was and still is the most recent person to have walked on the moon, Bingaman utilized the campaign slogan "What on Earth has he done for you lately?" in the course of drawing attention to Schmitt's seeming neglect of local matters. Patreon: patreon.com/whatsleft

Oliver discusses the future of the marketplace of ideas. To listen to the full episode, become a patron at patreon.com/whatsleft.

Aimee talked with U.S. Tech Workers founder Kevin Lynn (this link goes to the Tech Workers website) about the state of organized labor, "organization" more broadly, and the future of labor advocacy. To listen to the full episode, become a patron and patreon.com/whatsleft