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In the decade since Donald Trump began to define American politics, critics have struggled to understand his massive appeal. They have perhaps sensed by now that Trump’s support comes from someplace underneath conscious and rational political analyses.
For Giovanni
The year my nephew becomes a man,
so do I, I guess.
He calls from boot camp after days of
hand-to-hand combat, voice husky. A few months
ago, at 17, playing Xbox, he could only imagine
what the inside of a gas chamber looked like.
I do not cry. It’s the testosterone: it
draws tears down to a reservoir
so deep in my body,
they turn to sheet ice.
Aunt Uncle has a beard now. Aunt
Uncle has a jaw that makes it harder to sleep. Aunt
Uncle still wears earrings and makeup.
Their support could make or break whether Senate confirms Kennedy for Trump’s Cabinet.
A close friend—someone whom I’ve always thought of as an optimist—recently shared his theory that, no matter what time you’re living in, it’s generally a bad one. In each era, he posited, quality of life improves in some ways and depreciates in others; the overall quotient of suffering in the world stays the same.
Whether this is nihilistic or comforting depends on your worldview.
President-elect Donald Trump has tapped several TV personalities for key posts in his incoming administration, including Dr. Mehmet Oz to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, an agency that oversees health coverage for 150 million people. Oz, who ran an unsuccessful campaign for Senate in Pennsylvania in 2022, supports privatizing Medicare. “His background really has nothing to do with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,” says Dr.
President-elect Trump has announced his nomination of billionaire Linda McMahon to head the Department of Education, which Trump has pledged to shut down. McMahon is the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment and also headed the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term. “President-elect Trump has a habit of choosing people who have either a desire to destroy the department or who have no experience.
We continue to look at the attacks on civil society in Azerbaijan leading up to the COP29 U.N. climate summit. The government’s crackdown has included the arrests of local journalists, including several with the independent outlet Abzas Media. Since November of last year, at least six of their reporters have been arrested on trumped-up charges of smuggling foreign currency into the country.
As we broadcast all week from COP29 in Baku, climate justice activists and civil society groups have raised concern over Azerbaijan’s role as host of the U.N. climate talks. The authoritarian country has cracked down on journalists, activists and government critics leading up to COP29 and has been accused of using the climate summit to drum up business for its oil and gas industry.
As Democracy Now! continues to broadcast from the U.N. climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, we speak with Colombia’s Environment Minister Susana Muhamad, who chairs Colombia’s delegation here at COP29.
Americans should be alarmed and outraged at the role money is playing in their democracy.
This can’t be explained by just demographics and disorder.
The authors of ‘Selling Sexy’ discuss the iconic store’s heyday and dwindling legacy.
Abortion-rights activists say it’s imperative they figure out what went wrong in the wake of their worst setback since the fall of Roe two years ago.
“What I’m hoping is he brings his transparency for all Americans and we really start to tackle these issues one-by-one-by-one,” she said.
“To continue to lift that up is a cruel thing to do,” Richard Besser said.
The president of the anti-abortion group SBA Pro-Life America, said “there’s no question that we need a pro-life HHS secretary, and of course, we have concerns about” Kennedy.
The Waves also discusses the Riverside Church controversy and the case of Sarah Milov.
What we say matters, especially depending on whom we say it to.
The Waves also discusses the case against Jeffrey Epstein and Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s Fleishman Is in Trouble.
The final paid messages: Economy, culture wars and character.
Harris has ratcheted up her warnings about the dangers of a second Trump term in recent weeks.
The Democratic nominee isn’t campaigning much on the Biden administration’s bigger, slower-moving policies.
The Treasury secretary is defending her legacy — and warning that the stability of the U.S. economy is at stake.
It was her first solo interview with a national network as the Democratic presidential nominee.
As we broadcast all week from the COP29 talks in Azerbaijan, we look at what Donald Trump’s reelection as U.S. president means for the climate. Clean energy and environmental advocates are raising alarm over Trump’s picks for key roles in his administration, including fracking magnate Chris Wright to serve as energy secretary and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum to lead the Interior Department, where he could greatly expand drilling on federal lands.
For a brief moment earlier this month, I thought an old acquaintance had passed away. I was still groggy one morning when I checked my phone to find a notification delivering the news. “Obituary shared,” the message bluntly said, followed by his name. But when I opened my phone, I learned that he was very much still alive. Apple’s latest software update was to blame: A new feature that uses AI to summarize iPhone notifications had distorted the original text message.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the bear-fondling, gravel-voiced Camelot scion, is President-Elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, where presumably he will “go wild on health,” to quote Trump. His nomination has raised concerns among public-health experts because many of Kennedy’s views on health are, well, wild.
