Headwaters: August 2

The weekly roundup of what we’ve done at Liberal Currents includes an examination of a new book outlining the plans of democratic socialists to bring about economic transformation; an interview with Brad Lander, who has ousted an incumbent in a New York City Congressional primary; and the first broadcast of our new Thursday afternoon live show, “Liberal Currents Live.”

Articles:

“The Audience Gets a Vote,” Adam Gurri: A media strategy is just that: a strategy, with both strengths and limits.
“Setting the Stage” (The Opposition Report #16), Chance Phillips: The corruption, death by ICE, one war after another, and more.
“The Parasocial Style in American Politics, Part 2: Witch Hunts and Comfort Blankets,” Alan Elrod: Social media enables a process of rendering people into totemic figures in a war between Good and Evil.
“The Master Key of Modern Politics?,” Guillaume A. W. Attia: Ibram X. Kendi's new book Chain of Ideas promises an alluringly straightforward model of modern politics.
“Democratic Socialism Gets Serious,” Matthew McManus: The Blueprint demonstrates how the new generation of democratic socialists are providing real, practical proposals for economic transformation.
“The Third Red Scare,” Luke Baumgartner: “Antifa” serves much the same function today that “Bolshevik” did a century ago.

Podcasts:

“Red in Tooth and Claw” (Neon Liberalism #85): The pressure of international competition has driven both mindless militarism and genuine modernization.
“Free Trade and Free People” (Out of the Jaws #9, with Joshua Eakle): Grounding liberalism in openness and dynamism.
Liberal Currents Live #1: The editors tackle parasociality, proportional representation, and the media environment.
“Mr. Rogers With a Steel Spine” (Out of the Jaws #8, with Brad Lander): Being a better neighbor can lay the foundations for resisting authoritarianism.

Editors’ Notes:

“Making the Personality Cult Salient”: The public is largely unaware of just how deranged and Maoist it has gotten in the second Trump term.
“Our Headless Opposition Party System”: The opposition to Trump is diverse, diffuse, decentralized, and lacking in leadership.

Videos and shorts:

“We Can Make Corporate Spending on Elections Illegal”: Seth Morgan explains how legislation in Hawaii and Montana shows how pro-democracy advocates can fight back against Citizens United.
“Expose the Personality Cult”: Adam Gurri demands that the public be told the truth about Republican politicians in the Trump era.