The Editors Chat #6
This month we discuss whether the Epstein story has blown over, the Charlie Kirk killing, the future AOC administration, and more.
Trent R. Nelson
Trent R. Nelson is a poet, historian, and philosopher, as well as a political and socioeconomic analyst. He is the managing editor for MWF Springfield and a contributing editor with Liberal Currents.
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Half the Answer #32: The Language of Democrats and Republicans
Trent and Caitlin speak with political science professor Lindsey Cormack about her analysis of the DCInbox database of political communications, focusing especially on the memo from Third Way advising Democrats to avoid certain words that make them sound out of touch, elitist, or insincere. Where did these words come from?
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Half the Answer #31: The Health of American Democracy
Caitlin and Trent speak with Jacob T. Levy, Tomlinson Professor of Political Theory at McGill University, about the state of democracy in the U.S. How did we get here? What are the tools and motivations of the people working to dismantle the institutions that make us a democratic nation?
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Half the Answer #30: A Second American Midnight?
Trent and Caitlin talk with author, journalist and historian Adam Hochschild about the historical periods that most inform his view of today's disturbing American politics. What tactics and goals does Trump 2.0 have in common with Woodrow Wilson's post-WWI administration? What is different? What inspiration
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Half the Answer #29: The American Anti-Vaxx Movement: Past, Present, and Future
Trent and Caitlin ask Steven Monacelli about his recent work documenting the history and present of the American anti-vaccination movement. Who is drawn into it? How did we get here? What happens now that representatives of anti-vaccine beliefs now have the power to cut off the funds and regulatory processes
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Half the Answer #28: Are We Liberated Yet?
Trent and Caitlin chat with James Palmer about China, the current state of America's relationship with China, and what it means for the U.S. to be constantly proposing wild tariff hikes, changing and pausing those hikes, and effectively withdrawing from international trade. Half the Answer can be
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Half the Answer #27: AI as a Political Project
Caitlin and Trent check in with Hagen Blix about the ways we talk about AI, the most prominent angle its critics take, and the angle that’s often missing. When AI is advertised as a tool for generating journalism or research, what is the social and political order that use
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The Editors' Chat #5
This month we discuss whether Trump administration actions are "distractions," the idea of a "reactionary centrist," the effect of bad government statistics, and more.
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Half the Answer #26: Chasing Opinion Polls or Shaping Opinions?
Trent and Caitlin talk with communications strategist Lexi Koren about the Democratic Party obsession with blaming wokeness and “the groups.” Should they be listened to? Why not? What should Democrats do instead? Half the Answer can be heard on Spotify, on Apple, on YouTube, on Amazon, and elsewhere via its
The Liberal Currents Canon, or Some Good Books
From time to time we get asked for recommended reading. The topics vary, but given the nature of Liberal Currents there are certainly recurring themes. By the same token, there are a few books that a number of us have read and talked about together, and are relatively well known
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Half the Answer #25: Still Talking About Epstein
Trent and Caitlin talk to Greg Sargent, journalist and podcaster with The New Republic, about recent stories including the striking failure of the president to be cool about the newest round of Jeffrey Epstein news, the bizarre time dilation of being a conservative, and the childish insistence that every bad
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Half the Answer #24: Civil Rights Under Trump
Caitlin and Trent chat with civil rights lawyer Joshua Erlich about the state of civil rights under Trump. What civil rights has this administration targeted? How are they achieving their goals? Is there anything that can be done to get in their way? Half the Answer can be heard on