Headwaters: September 21

The weekly roundup of what we’ve done at Liberal Currents includes the results from our national poll of Democratic voters as the midterms approach.

Articles:

“‘Network’ at 50: Now We’re All Mad as Hell,” Katherine Alejandra Cross: Paddy Chayefsky’s take on television captured the Long 1970s—and anticipated the rise of social media.
“Richard Hanania Doesn't Even Try to Hide His Male Supremacism,” Alan Elrod: Hanania is a reminder of the dangers of rehabilitating extremist intellectuals.
“Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, and Smith: The College Board Adds a New Founding Father,” Michael Christopher Sardo: On the politics of canonization in academia.
“On the Practical Case for a Book of Grudges,” JP Kergosien: If we're going to set this right, a comprehensive list is needed.
“What Are Democrats Thinking?,” Chance Phillips: Democratic voters want to end the filibuster, nationalize artificial intelligence, and prosecute every Trump toady.
“Talarico (D) Is Just a Letter to Me Now,” Silvaria Lysandra Zemaitis: After folding on trans rights, James Talarico does not have my respect. Honestly, fuck him. And yet, Ken Paxton (R) must lose.

Podcasts:

“The War with Iran Has No End” (Neon Liberalism #92): Structural factors are driving us towards a more chaotic and lawless world.
“Don't Abandon Ukraine” (Out of the Jaws #12, with Dylan Burns): Tactical and technological innovations on the battlefield, and the brutal realities of war.
“Orange Man Deteriorating: What It Means for 2026 and 2028” (Half the Answer #105, with Ryan Cooper): Word salads, IVs, and naps are great again.
“Talarico, El-Sayed, and How to Handle the GOP's Trans Hate” (Liberal Currents Live #8): How should Democratic candidates for office react to open bigotry from their opponents?

Editor’s Notes:

“A Labor of Love”: To the community that kept me going through it all.
“Democratic Transitions in Next Year's Issue of The Reconstruction Papers”: The most important question facing our country.

Videos and shorts:

“The Historically Unpopular Donald Trump”: Greg Sargent tells us just how little the President is liked.
“The War in Ukraine Is the Most Transparent in Human History”: Dylan Burns gives firsthand accounts of how ground forces at the front are extremely visible to the enemy.
“Trump PANICS as 2028 Plan to DESTROY HIM is REVEALED” is the title of a Legal AF interview with Adam Gurri about The Reconstruction Papers.

A selection from The Reconstruction Papers:

Chapter 11: “Seeing Like a Gardener: A New Framework for the Public Funding of Science,” by Aishwarya Khanduja and Stuart Buck.

Less than 350 copies of The Reconstruction Papers remain: get yours today and reserve next year's issue.

Some of what we’re reading elsewhere:

Toby Buckle, on liberal politicians who try to appease conservatives: “In today’s environment, where fascism has largely captured the right, once you show a willingness to back down, the pressure on you will increase, not decrease.”
Laura Curtis and Chris Kennedy, on MAGA’s mindless trade policy: “US manufacturers like Lauf are hoping Trump will…reassess his tariff regime, in which foreign parts and materials can sometimes face higher duties than finished goods made overseas.”
Molly Jong-Fast, on the adolescent clique in the White House: “This president, for much of his two terms in office, seemed to have a preternatural understanding of how to twist the press and the public to believe his narratives about the world; now he’s living in such a fantasy world that his greatest power has been effectively neutralized.”