Don’t Build Housing, Just Deport People: The Nativist Right Recoils at Trump’s 50-Year Mortgage Proposal
The backlash against Trump's proposal reveals the characteristics of his base's reactionary housing politics.
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Liberalism's Positive Vision Must Be the Open Society
Liberalism is not just the mitigation of dangers. It is also an active striving towards a world that is truly free.
Half the Answer #48: Prison Reform, Mass Incarceration, and the History of ICE
Trent and Caitlin speak with Professor John Pfaff, author of "Locked In: The True Causes of Mass Incarceration—and How to Achieve Real Reform." They talk about prisons, militarized police, and ICE in today's political climate. Half the Answer can be heard on Spotify, on Apple,
The American Conscience
Charles Sumner’s fight for equality.
Propaganda, Rather than Pandemic Policies, Caused the War on Public Health
The backlash narrative ignores basic facts of the case.
Half the Answer #47: The Tucker Carlson–Nick Fuentes Interview Episode
Caitlin and Trent check in with Daniel Harper of the "I Don't Speak German" podcast, taking another moment to peek under the rock and discover that the creepy crawlies are making friends with each other. They discuss the controversial interview between Tucker Carlson and Nick Fuentes,
Neon Liberalism #51: The Meme Politics of "Hearts of Iron"
Join host Samantha Hancox-Li as she explores the concept of "meme politics," which pervades the current Trump II administration, through the historical grand strategy game Hearts of Iron IV. In reality, society is an obscure, complicated, recalcitrant system. Meme politics asks: what if it wasn't? What
Fight On Everything
"This dictatorship has been asserted but not yet consolidated. We must therefore 'fight on everything,'" according to Rob Tracinski's "Dictator From Day One."
Half the Answer #46: SCOTUS, the Originalism Trap, and the Civil Rights Act
Caitlin and Trent check in with attorney and legal scholar Madiba K. Dennie about the Supreme Court and the originalist reading of the US Constitution—and why the originalist reading is a trap. Half the Answer can be heard on Spotify, on Apple, on YouTube, on Amazon, and elsewhere via
Women Should Make Babies, Not Vote: Why Some on the Far Right Want to Repeal the 19th Amendment
The far right takes losses at the ballot box as evidence that women do not deserve their rights.
Neon Liberalism #50: Radical Liberalism?
Join Samantha Hancox-Li and guest Alex Zakaras, author of Freedom for All, as they discuss the idea of liberalism as a radical political project, the differences (if any) between liberalism and (market) socialism, and the "playbook" for radical liberals in the age of Trump II. Neon Liberalism can
The American Presidency Can Never Be Trusted Again
It’s time for multiparty democracy and a limited executive.
editorschat
The Editors Chat #7
This month Samantha, Caitlin, and Trent met to chat about No Kings and more.
Trump L’œil: The White House Ballroom, MAGA Aesthetics, and the Meanings of Trump’s Newest Building Project
Trump, the tacky and chronically bankrupt real estate developer, and Hitler, the failed artist who was too bad at math to try his hand at architecture school, are alike in at least these ways. A love of grand projects papers over fundamental inadequacies.
halftheanswer
Half the Answer #45: What Does History Tell Us About the Second Trump Term?
Trent and Caitlin talk with Emily Glankler of Anti-Social Studies about moments in American history that could inform us about the events of Trump’s second term as president. Who are some characters who resemble the individuals we are dealing with today? Who are the scapegoats? Half the Answer can
The Utopianism of the Meritocrats
The psychological and historical appeal of meritocracy is inversely proportional to its tenability.
neonliberalism
Neon Liberalism #49: Liberalism 101: Liberalism Today
Join host Samantha Hancox-Li and guest Adam Gurri, founder and editor-in-chief of Liberal Currents, as they discuss the crisis—the malaise—that has befallen the Western world, the historical roots of the problem, and perhaps most importantly: what we can do to revitalize liberalism for the 21st century. Neon Liberalism
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Half the Answer #44: What's It Really Like at the Portland ICE Facility?
Caitlin plays field reporter at the Portland ICE facility, interviewing the famous Portland chicken suit guy, Jack Dickinson himself, who gives his observations and thoughts after eight months on the scene. Half the Answer can be heard on Spotify, on Apple, on YouTube, on Amazon, and elsewhere via its RSS
Nobody Knows What UK Law on Toilet Access Is
The lawlessness of the government's response to For Women Scotland v. the Scottish Ministers.
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Half the Answer #43: MAHA and the Climate Deniers: Who Are These People?!
Trent and Caitlin talk with journalist Walker Bragman about the various crises in public health and climate change, the people who helped bring us here, and the dark money that funded it. They discuss the ways disinformation is packaged and spread to discourage the public from being able to access
Wars on Science, Real and Otherwise
"The War on Science," ed. Lawrence Krauss, documents an imaginary war on science from the left in order to justify an entirely real war on science from the right.
neonliberalism
Neon Liberalism #48: Liberalism 101: Liberalism and Enlightenment
Are you sad? Lonely? Can't get a girlfriend? The reactionary right promises a total philosophy of life—not just a politics, but a comprehensive way of living (and explaining why it's all the libs' fault). Can liberalism speak to the same anxieties? Host Samantha Hancox-Li
Sex Is Gay, Rape Is Epic, No Fatties: Young Right-Wing Men Are Obsessed With Male Power and Male Bodies
The group chat leak reveals what over a decade of incel messaging and Bronze Age Pervert have done to Young Republicans.
The Pro-Massacre, Pro-Segregation, Pro-Eugenics Administration
The Trump administration is seeking to rewind the clock on an entire century of legal—and moral—progress.