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Rebuilding our nation’s manufacturing muscle.   The supply chain is in the news lately, with most stories about it focusing on the end results for consumers. But how can government look out for the interests of American manufacturing workers in a way that protects their rights while strengthening domestic manufacturing? This week, we talk to two experts about how to achieve those goals.  John Pouland John Pouland explains a study that details how the conventional political wisdom has completely missed the biggest electoral earthquake of the last decade, specifically highlighting how both Democratic and Republican parties have discounted and misjudged their appeals to voters in manufacturing-heavy working-class towns.  Tom Conway As head of North America’s largest industrial union, Tom Conway speaks for over 800,000 workers. He says now more than ever, we need to protect working people and fight to rebuild our nation’s manufacturing muscle.  Jim Hightower   Enthroning Corporate Power Over America   “Equal Justice Under Law.” That’s the noble principle carved into the marble façade of the temple-like Supreme Court building.   Today, though, six right-wing, corporate-dominated activist judges control the present Court, and they’re implementing an elitist creed mocking that ideal. By putting the interests and power of the wealthy over the rest of us. Bill Press The Second Amendment is About Slavery   Elie Mystal returns to the Bill Press Pod with a withering takedown of the Second Amendment, Justice Alito and Supreme Court Ethics. He is The Nation Magazine’s Justice Correspondent. He's a frequent guest on MSNBC commenting on the intersection between the legal and the political. A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, he gave up Big Law to fight for justice.   If you'd like to hear the entire episode, visit BillPressPods.com.  

The legacy of Woody Guthrie   Ten years later, we revisit a show celebrating the Centennial of the birth of Woody Guthrie with interviews from Pete Seeger and former Senator Fred Harris. Pete Seeger Our first guest today was a truly great American, perhaps the leading progressive icon of our times. In honor of the centennial of the birth of Woody Guthrie, Pete had some fun telling stories on Woody, and revealing the history of the anthem “This Land is Your Land.”  http://www.peteseegermusic.com/  http://www.woodyguthrie.org/   Fred Harris Fred Harris was a populist when he was the U.S. senator from Oklahoma. He talked with us about the legacy of Woody Guthrie and the lessons we learned from the Dust Bowl Era of American history. Jim Hightower   An Angry Public Will Overcome Arrogant Officials   Donald Trump’s criminal attempt to steal the 2020 election failed, but it’s not the only recent coup attack on our democracy. In the last few years, a cabal of right-wing zealots have plotted to seize control of the US Supreme Court. By hook and crook, they’ve installed a six-judge majority, and now they’re using them as a political cudgel to try stealing not just a constitutional right, but an inherent human right from American women – the right to make their own reproductive decisions. By judicial fiat, the right-wing judges have decreed that the state will make birth decisions, regardless of what mothers want. This is the Republican Party’s current concept of “small government.” Bill Press The Man Who Could Primary Sen. Sinema   Congressman Ruben Gallego of Arizona. This is his fourth term in Congress where he focuses on national security issues and the health and welfare of veterans. He's a veteran himself having served in Iraq as an infantryman in the Marines. He is the son of Hispanic immigrants and the first in his family to attend college, in this case Harvard University. If you'd like to hear the entire episode, visit BillPressPods.com.  

Building infrastructure that is just and sustainable. Bill Press on flight attendants facing airline violence.   Kevin DeGood on the impact infrastructure projects can have on the goals of opportunity, equity, and sustainability. Plus Bill Press with Sara Nelson, President of the Association of Flight Attendants. Kevin DeGood  Kevin DeGood says the recently passed infrastructure bill is a powerful investment in jobs for American workers.  But the work is not over. It’s now up to us to make sure those investments advance inclusive economic growth and national climate goals.   Sara Nelson Bill Press talks with Sara Nelson, President of the Association of Flight Attendants. If you'd like to hear the entire episode, visit BillPressPods.com.  Jim Hightower Making Work Work for Workers As a writer, I get stuck every so often straining for the right words to tell my story. Over the years, though, I’ve learned when to quit tying myself into mental knots over sentence construction, instead of stepping back and rethinking where my story is going.   This process is essentially what millions of American working families are going through this year as record numbers of them are shocking bosses, politicians, and economists by stepping back and declaring: “We quit!”

Why do we need a billionaire’s tax?   Frank Clemente is Executive Director at Americans For Tax Fairness. Frank Clemente A Billionaire’s Tax could fund many policy objectives, including universal preschool, paid family leave, expanded Medicare services, making increased child tax credits permanent, and new policies to address climate change.  Jim Hightower   Alert: Kartoonus Americanus Is Going Extinct!   Right before our eyes, an invaluable American species is fast disappearing from view. Kar-toon-us A-mer-i-kan-as.   These are the newspaper cartoonists who’ve long delighted readers and infuriated power elites. And there’s nothing natural about their sudden decline – it’s not the result of a declining talent pool, and certainly not due to a lack of political targets. Rather, what’s happening is that their media habitat is being intentionally destroyed. Michael Steele A Deep Rot Inside the GOP Leadership.   Michael Steele was the Republican Lt. Governor of Maryland and the Chairman of The Republican National Committee from 2009 to 2011. He is an MSNBC commentator and an advisor to the never-Trump Lincoln Project. He's not even sure "saving" the Republican Party is a good idea.   If you'd like to hear the entire episode, visit BillPressPods.com.  

Why it matters to have a Native American cabinet secretary. The recurring crises of American democracy and why this time it’s different.    Julian Brave NoiseCat on the significance of Representative Deb Haaland's nomination as Secretary of the Interior. Suzanne Mettler on the unprecedented danger threatening our democracy.    Julian Brave NoiseCat President Biden has nominated Congresswoman Deb Haaland to lead the Department of the Interior. If confirmed, she will become the first Native American cabinet secretary. Julian Brave NoiseCat says it’s a rare opportunity for the Biden Administration to restore trust with Native people and prioritize their concerns.   Suzanne Mettler In her newest book, co written with Robert C. Lieberman, Suzanne Mettler explores four threats that weaken democracy. And what is alarming about this American moment is that never before have they come together at the same time.   Bill Press Bill Press with two Politico reporters who have been covering the Biden transition.  If you'd like to hear the entire episode, visit BillPressPods.com.   Jim Hightower The Plasticization of Planet Earth

A powerful history of workers’ strikes in America. How unions will shape the future of democracy.  Eric Loomis Historian Eric Loomis says if we truly want to understand the history of labor movements in the United States, look to the moments when workers went on strike. Loomis reminds us of the powerful change that can happen when workers are willing to fight. Jim Hightower   Corporate Sponsors Win Olympic Gold in “Downhill Ethical Backflip”   In this year’s Beijing Olympics, the top team performance has been Corporate America’s breathtaking “Double-twist Ethical Backflip.”   This group of corporate giants loudly tout their code of ethics, pledging to stand against repressive regimes that abuse human rights. But here came the Olympics, posing a direct test… and they flopped! Sarah Longwell   Defending Democracy with Republican Sarah Longwell   Sarah Longwell is a veteran Republican Political Strategist who is at the center of key never-Trump organizations. She heads Defending Democracy Together, The Republican Accountability Project, and is Publisher of The Bulwark. And is very outspoken about the GOP today.   If you'd like to hear the entire episode, visit BillPressPods.com.  

Confronting the threat of right-wing extremism.   Alexandra Minna Stern on the changing face of America’s far right. Michael Koncewicz on why Trump’s impeachment was a different kind of challenge for Republicans than Nixon’s. Plus Metropolitan Police officer Michael Fanone tells Bill Press why He is speaking out against political violence and those who foment it. Alexandra Minna Stern Alexandra Minna Stern’s research takes her deep into the dark matter of America’s far right. She says it’s a movement in transition, and an ever growing threat to our democracy. Michael Koncewicz Michael Koncewicz’s most recent book on Republicans who defied Richard Nixon carries new relevance to the present day with Trump’s impeachment. Koncewicz says what makes today different is a greater fear among Republicans that challenging this President will be at their political expense. Jim Hightower How Money is Suffocating American Democracy   America exists today as a bizarre anomaly – we profess to be an electoral democracy, yet we are ruled by a governmental plutocracy.   One especially gross example of this incongruity is the overwhelming power of big money over the people’s will. By a wide margin, Americans of all political stripes want to ban the distorting force of huge, electoral campaign donations by favor-seeking corporations and ultra-rich elites. Bill Press One Cop's Battle for America's Soul with Michael Fanone.   Before January 6th 2021, Metropolitan Police officer Michael Fanone was a self-described redneck who had voted for Donald Trump. On January 6th, he was dragged down the Capitol steps, beaten with a Blue Lives Matter flag, tased and tear-gassed. Rioters had threatened to shoot him, but he pleaded for his life telling them he had children. That day changed his life forever. Now retired from the DC Police, , Fanone has written Hold the Line: The Insurrection and One Cop's Battle for America's Soul with John Shiffman. He is also speaking out against political violence and those who foment it.   If you'd like to hear the entire episode, visit BillPressPods.com.  

The origins and legacy of the New Deal   Terry Golway tells us how the Irish political machine known as Tammany Hall became the forerunner of the New Deal. Historian Harvey Kaye reminds us of FDR’s Four Freedoms speech and the legacy that remains unfulfilled.  Terry Golway Tammany Hall no longer exists, but when it did, the New York political machine created a social safety net at the neighborhood level long before government programs came along. Author Terry Golway thinks we still need strong political organizations like that. Harvey Kaye New Deal historian Harvey Kaye says President Reagan turned FDR upside down and inside out and progressives have to reclaim his legacy. Jim Hightower Shhh, The Governor Is Listening   Although we haven’t even gotten through this year’s midterm congressional elections, it’s still not too early to start examining some of the characters who hope you’ll make them president in 2024.   I know, you don’t want to… but we must. That’s because corporate elites have already chosen their favorites, and they intend to use massive sums of money, lies, more money, PR slickum, and even more money to slide their toady into the Oval Office. Bill Press The Big Truth vs. The Big Lie with Major Garrett   The Big Truth: Upholding Democracy in the Age of “The Big Lie,”is the new book by Major Garret, chief Washington correspondent for CBS News.  His co-author is David Becker,  the Executive Director and Founder of the nonpartisan, non-profit Center for Election Innovation & Research, working with election officials of both parties, all around the country, to ensure accessible, secure elections for all eligible voters.    If you'd like to hear the entire episode, visit BillPressPods.com.  

Former Cleveland mayor Dennis Kucinich on his battle to save the city’s public electric utility. Julie Kohn on lessons learned from the Texas power grid failure. Dennis Kucinich In his new memoir, Dennis Kucinich writes about how he took on powerful interests to save a public utility. That happened over forty years ago, but the story still carries critical relevance today. Julie Kohn After a historic winter storm left millions of Texans in the dark and without heat, energy experts are looking for ways to stop it from happening again.  Julie Kohn says that means rethinking the state’s isolation from the nation’s power grid. Jim Hightower Beware: The GOP Has Chosen to Embrace The Crazy   Perhaps you remember Sen. Barry Goldwater, the GOP’s fringy, far-right-wing 1964 presidential nominee who famously said, “Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice.” Today, however, the core of the Republicans Party has gone so far beyond the fringe that they would boo Goldwater’s right-wingism as insufficiently rabid. Instead, their new rallying cry is: “Nuttiness in the defense of extremism is no vice.”   The GOP’s mainline officialdom now proclaim themselves The Party of Extremism. Bill Press "Confidence Man" by Trump Biographer Maggie Haberman   Confidence Man. The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America by the foremost interpreter of Donald Trump, the New York Times' Maggie Haberman. Haberman, a Pulitzer Prize winner, takes a different approach to the “Trump Book.” She goes all the way back to his days in New York to understand the man who became president. Who, she says, is not much different than the man who raged through New York in the ‘70’s, ‘80’s and ‘90’s. If you want to understand Donald Trump, you have to understand Donald Trump in that uniquely New York milieu.   If you'd like to hear the entire episode, visit BillPressPods.com.  

Can unions save democracy?     Author and organizer Jane McAlevey on her new book,  A Collective Bargain: Unions, Organizing, and the Fight for Democracy.  Plus, the millionaires who want to pay more taxes, not less.    Jane McAlevey Pt. 1 At a time when workers are under attack at historic levels, strikes are making a comeback. In that, Jane McAlevey sees an opportunity to reset power and politics in America, and clear a path to progressive change.    Jane McAlevey Pt. 2 Jane McAlevey about her powerful new book, A Collective Bargain: Unions, Organizing, and the Fight for Democracy. She makes the case that unions are central to challenging the corporate class and restoring democracy in America. But what about the millions of workers who don’t have a union?  For Jane McAlevey, that translates into even more opportunities to build the power of organized labor.   Jim Hightower My Newspaper Died   My newspaper died.   Well, technically it still appears, but it has no life, no news, and barely a pulse. It’s a mere semblance of a real paper, one of the hundreds of local journalism zombies staggering along in cities and towns that had long relied on them. Each one has a bare number of subscribers keeping it going, mostly longtime readers like me clinging to a memory of what used to be and a flickering hope that, surely, the thing won’t get worse. Then it does. Bill Press "A Presidency Totally Out of Control."   Peter Baker, The New York Times Chief White House Correspondent and Susan Glasser, a Staff Writer for The New Yorker have created a masterpiece of journalism in their new book, The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021. It paints a presidency that was totally out of control, far worse than any we've ever experienced.    If you'd like to hear the entire episode, visit BillPressPods.com.  

The complicated relationship between Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and LBJ   Two historians of the civil rights movement assess the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Julian Zelizer Julian Zelizer is a Princeton scholar of Lyndon Johnson as well as the civil rights movement. He says civil rights activism is no longer as organized or coherent as it was when it sought, and won, passage of the Voting Rights Act. David Chappell Historian David Chappell explains the post-Martin Luther King Jr. trajectory of the civil rights movement, which he says may have been only a historical artifact with King as the central figure. Jim Hightower The Inflation Blame Game   Today, CEOs of big corporations are playing the tricky “Inflation Blame Game!” Publicly, they moan that the pandemic is slamming their poor corporations with factory shutdowns, supply chain delays, wage hikes, and other increased costs. But wait – inside their board rooms, executives are high-fiving each other and pocketing bonuses. What’s going on?   The trick is that these giants are in non-competitive markets operating as monopolies, so they can set prices, mug you and me, and scamper away with record profits. Bill Press "A Presidency Totally Out of Control."   Peter Baker, The New York Times Chief White House Correspondent and Susan Glasser, a Staff Writer for The New Yorker have created a masterpiece of journalism in their new book, The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021. It paints a presidency that was totally out of control, far worse than any we've ever experienced.    If you'd like to hear the entire episode, visit BillPressPods.com.  

How Democrats forgot about state politics   Professor Theda Skocpol explains how the Democrats ceded control of state government to Republicans. Theda Skocpol Government professor Theda Skocpol says Democrats think the presidency is the biggest political prize and, unfortunately, ignore politics at the state level. Jim Hightower The Virginia Model   Last year’s gubernatorial race in Virginia was narrowly won by Republican Glenn Youngkin. An elite Wall Street multimillionaire, he was going to lose – until he discovered a right-wing racist bugaboo called Critical Race Theory. Glenn suddenly turned into an anti-CRT attack dog, fomenting parental fear and promising to sweep all teaching of the theory out of Virginia classrooms.   But, golly, CRT was not actually taught in any of the state’s public schools. Bill Press The GOP's Long-time Descent into Crazy.    It did not start with Donald Trump. In Mother Jones’ Washington Bureau Chief David Corn's new book, he details the long history of Republican Party condoning and encouraging crazy conspiracies to gain and hold on to power. It’s called American Psychosis, a Historical Investigation of How the Republican Party Went Crazy.   If you'd like to hear the entire episode, visit BillPressPods.com.  

The powerful influence of Lady Bird Johnson.   Julia Sweig on her book Lady Bird Johnson: Hiding in Plain Sight. Her political acumen was key in guiding the Johnson administration through the turbulent times after John F Kennedy’s assasination. Julia Sweig In her biography of Lady Bird Johnson, Julia Sweig reveals the unappreciated impact of a remarkable first lady during a historic turning point in American politics.  Jim Hightower ASSORTED NUTS   Let me say one word to you: Nuts. Now, let me say one name to you: Ted Cruz.   They’ve become synonymous, with the Texas lawmaker perennially topping national lists of goofy, right-wing political goobers. Only, Ted can’t rightly be called a lawmaker, for he’s not a serious participant in that process, instead devoting his senatorship to political stunts and picking silly PR fights with a growing list of enemies. Bill Press `The Imperfect Union of Joe Biden and Barack Obama."   How did Barack Obama and Joe Biden meet? What did they think of each other? Was there really a bromance? And how did these two very different men form a very successful partnership for eight years in the White House. What did Barack Obama think of Biden’s chances in 2020? What is their relationship today? All those questions and more are answered in the new book, "The Long Alliance. The Imperfect Union of Joe Biden and Barack Obama" by New York Magazine National Correspondent Gabriel Debenedetti.   If you'd like to hear the entire episode, visit BillPressPods.com.  

Jim Tankersley on the untold story of America’s middle class and why it matters now.  Jim Tankersley Jim Tankersley’s newest book reveals the crucial role women and minorities played in building the post-war middle class. He says it’s an untold story that offers an essential roadmap to reviving the Golden Era of America’s middle class by making it possible again for all workers to reach their full potential. Jim Hightower Welcome To Our Future of “Digital Productivity Monitoring”   For generations, workers have been punished by corporate bosses for watching the clock. But now, the corporate clock is watching workers!   Called “digital productivity monitoring,” this surveillance is done by an integrated computer system including a real-time clock, camera, keyboard tracker, and algorithms to provide a second-by-second record of what each employee is doing.   Bill Press Midterms: Red Wave or Blue Save?   Two months to the midterms. Bill talks to Steven Shepard, the Senior campaigns and elections editor and chief polling analyst for Politico. The often predicted Red Wave for the GOP has disappeared. But has this made a Blue Save possible?   If you'd like to hear the entire episode, visit BillPressPods.com.

Keeping up the fight against voter suppression.    Jorge Vasquez, Jr. on why he will continue to fight against voter suppression.  Jorge L. Vasquez, Jr. Jorge L. Vasquez, Jr. is a long-time advocate for voting rights. He says that even with record turnout in the November election, there is still a long way to go before voter suppression is a thing of the past.  Jim Hightower The Embarrassment of Modern Corporate Managers   What makes a newspaper great? Many say it’s having street-savvy reporters and editors with the integrity to shine the light of investigative journalism on the power structure’s abuses.   But, no, says Fred Ryan, top executive of the Washington Post – the secret is attendance.   Bill Press Laboratories of Autocracy   We say it all the time. Down ballot races are very important. Lauren Baer is someone doing something about it. She is the Managing Partner at Arena, an organization convening training and supporting the next generation of candidates and campaign staff. With an emphasis on diversifying young people going into Democratic politics. But she is no newcomer to policy and politics. She spent six years in the State Department working for Hillary Clinton and John Kerry and Samantha power at the United Nations. She ran for Congress in Florida in a Purple to Red district and got more votes than any Democrat ever had.   If you'd like to hear the entire episode, visit BillPressPods.com.  

Professor Gordon Lafer says issues like the minimum wage, a living wage and paid sick days are winning issues politically and progressive candidates should call out big business – and win. Service Employees International Union leader David Rolf takes us through the increasingly successful fight for a 15-dollar an hour minimum wage. Gordon Lafer As we commemorate another Labor Day, professor Gordon Lafer reminds us that unions gave us the minimum wage, the 8-hour day, and child labor laws – all of which were opposed by the Chamber of Commerce, which continues to oppose what most working Americans demand.   David Rolf The “Fight for 15,” organized labor’s move to raise the minimum wage, is having success, state by state, reports Service Employees union leader David Rolf.   Jim Hightower Clueless CEOs Confused By Workers Quitting   For more than a year, America’s corporate chieftains have been moaning about “The Great Resignation” – the recent phenomena of workers just up and quitting their jobs. And now comes “Quiet Quitting,” workers who don’t leave their jobs, but only do what they were hired to do, quietly rejecting the endless extra (unpaid) tasks and weekend assignments that bosses try to pile on. What’s at work in the heads of all these workers?   Bill Press Rep. Jackie Speier is Retiring, But She Leaves a Legacy for Women   Congresswoman Jackie Speier represents California's 14th congressional district just south of San Francisco. Jackie has been a strong leader on the important issue of sexual assault in the military. She's been relentless going after the Generals in the Pentagon pressuring them to take cases of sexual assault out of the military chain of command. Where they were too often just swept under the rug. Rep. Speier is retiring this year and reflects on the current fragile state of American Democracy.    If you'd like to hear the entire episode, visit BillPressPods.com.

Sam Berger of the Center for American Progress draws the parallels between Richard Nixon and Donald Trump, and asks us to take a lesson from how the nation recovered from Watergate. Karen Hobert Flynn, the President of Common Cause, explains why a national popular vote is a better way to pick the next president.  Sam Berger In the wake of Watergate, a wave of reforms were ushered in to repair a dysfunctional government and regain the public’s  trust in its leaders. Sam Berger is a policy analyst who says that moment in history has much to offer in the modern day.   Karen Hobert Flynn Karen Hobert Flynn leads one of the nation’s leading organizations dedicated to strengthening democracy. That’s why she says it’s time for the nation to change the way we elect our President.    Jim Hightower Where’s the “Dignity of Work” When Work Kills Workers?   Corporate acolytes and right-wing moralists constantly preach to laboring stiffs about the uplifting dignity of work.   Of course, that’s “dignity” as defined and controlled by corporate elites, not by workers, and the reward for it frequently includes on-the-job injuries… and death. Not that CEOs and well-heeled investors intend to sicken, maim, and kill thousands of laborers every year – but they certainly do put them in positions that assure such unhappy results.   Bill Press WH Documents: How it’s Supposed to Work.   With all the talk over the last two weeks about the documents in the basement of Mar-a-Lago, Bill decided to talk to a man who oversaw presidential documents in the Obama White House. Greg Craig was Obama's White House Counsel. He knows the rules and he saw them followed completely. It's a tale of two presidencies. And it's not a pretty picture. For the country, or Donald Trump.   If you'd like to hear the entire episode, visit BillPressPods.com.

The destructive influence of “dark money” in campaign finance.   The truth on how American elections are bought and sold. Plus, Fred Wertheimer and the movement to restore ethics and integrity to government. Kimberly Reed Kimberly Reed’s film, “Dark Money”, is a powerful expose of the influence of anonymous donors in political campaigns.  She says growing up in Montana gave her a front-row seat to the corrupting influence of money in politics and the perfect setting to tell that story. Fred Wertheimer Fred Wertheimer has played a key role in every major campaign finance reform and ethics battle in Congress since the post-Watergate reforms in the 1970s. He continues that career as President of Democracy 21, where he calls on Congress to restore integrity to governing. Jim Hightower A Tear-Jerker About the Housing Saga of Some Rich Jerks   The “old homeplace” is a classic theme of Americana, expressed in everything from Norman Rockwell paintings to Woody Guthrie’s powerful folk lament, “I Ain’t Got No Home In This World Anymore.”   But for a heart-rending, modern-day version of the emotional pull of home, you can’t beat the poignant wail of a new song entitled: “The Low-down Down-home Atherton Rich Man Blues.” Warning: You might need a box of tissues to get through this sad saga. Bill Press The 25 Year Crack-up of the GOP   The Destructionists: The Twenty-Five Year Crack-Up of the Republican Party is the new book by Washington Post Opinion Columnist, Dana Milbank. In this interview with Bill, he takes us from Newt Gingrich in 1990’s all the way to the GOP response to the Mar-a-Lago Search Warrant. And now we have one party that is not committed to our democracy.    If you'd like to hear the entire episode, visit BillPressPods.com.  

It’s a new day in the climate battle that can only be fought by believing we can still make a difference. Michael Mann Climate scientist Michael Mann has achieved fame for his work in proving climate change is happening. He says that even as we move past climate denialism, the battle over how to take action against global warming is as urgent as ever. Dan Glickman There’s a growing acknowledgment that even as agriculture feels some of the worst impacts of climate change, it also contributes to the crisis. Former Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman says farmers can be part of the solution and public policy can help them do that. Jim Hightower Good News: Small Groups Can Defeat Corporate Giants   From corporate polluters to political bosses, power elites try to create a myth of inevitability, trying to make workaday people feel helpless, too small to change the injustices of the system. Don’t bother is their message.   But the feisty residents of Boxtown, Tennessee, definitely did bother when they learned that a couple of profiteering fossil fuel giants were targeting them. Bill Press The Danger of "Christian Nationalism."   The First Amendment of the Constitution is pretty clear: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”   But the GOP and MAGA World are increasingly promoting something called “Christian Nationalism.” What is it? Is it dangerous? Bill talked to his old friend the Reverend Barry Lynn who has spent his entire life fighting to keep the wall up between Church and State as well as many progressive causes. For 25 years he was Executive Director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.    If you'd like to hear the entire episode, visit BillPressPods.com.  

Lessons we learned from the Kennedys, and what they can teach us about today’s political climate. Richard Kahlenberg Robert Kennedy ran an economically populist campaign that reached across America’s deep racial divide. Richard Kahlenberg says his legacy matters now more than ever. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend In one of our first interviews recorded for this show, we interviewed Kathleen Kennedy Townsend about an article she wrote for the Washington Post about how her uncle, John F Kennedy, reconciled his public service and his Catholic faith without compromising either. Jim Hightower Should Making a Living Mean Selling Your Life?   “Work your fingers to the bone – whadda ya get? Boney Fingers.”   This 1960s song mocking the vaunted virtue of working hard is being sung today with new meaning by all kinds of employees – from factory workers to teachers… and even a few upper-floor executives. Bill Press "Rage" Against the "Pro-life" Machine   When Bill talked to Jacqueline Ayers, the Senior Vice president at Planned Parenthood for Policy, Campaigns and Advocacy, the word “rage” came up six times. Rage against this latest Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe V Wade. Rage against the state legislatures and governors who are instituting draconian abortion bans. Rage against the burdens put on health care providers who have to consult with lawyers, or look over their shoulder at prosecutors, when trying merely to save a woman's life.   If you'd like to hear the entire episode, visit BillPressPods.com.