In 1998, Bill Clinton hosted a town hall on race and sports. 'If you've got a special gift,' the president said of athletes, 'you owe more back.' Gift and Grit shows how the sports industry has incubated racial ideas about advantage and social debt since the civil rights era by sorting athletes into two broad categories. The gifted athlete received something ... Show More
Jul 4
Didi Kuo, "The Great Retreat: How Political Parties Should Behave and Why They Don't" (Oxford UP, 2025)
As the crisis of democratic capitalism sweeps the globe, The Great Retreat: How Political Parties Should Behave and Why They Don't (Oxford University Press, 2025) makes the controversial argument that what democracies require most are stronger political parties that serve as inte ... Show More
55m 10s
Jul 3
The attack on democracy in the United States, and the new resistance
The attack in democracy under President Donald Trump in the United States is both broader and deeper than you think. In this timely conversation with Carl LeVan, Professor and Chair of Politics, Governance, and Economics at American University – but speaking only in his personal ... Show More
39m 1s
Jun 26
Nubar Hovsepian, "Edward Said: The Politics of an Oppositional Intellectual" (AUC Press, 2025)
Edward Said was one of the most influential intellectuals of the twentieth century. A literary scholar with an aesthete’s temperament, he did not experience his political awakening until the 1967 Arab–Israeli war, which transformed his thinking and led him to forge ties with poli ... Show More
34m 47s
Apr 15
Harvard, deportations, American gas and basketball in Europe
Harvard is hit with a $2.3 billion funding freeze after rejecting demands from the Trump administration. El Salvador President Nayib Bukele says he has no plans to return a man mistakenly deported from the United States. Plus, Europe faces an energy security dilemma and an eager ... Show More
12m 28s
Apr 2023
Trump Has Never Been MORE SCARED and GOP Collapse Continues
Welcome to the MeidasTouch Podcast, where we bring you the latest news and analysis on politics and current events. In this episode, we cover the latest developments on several fronts. We discuss the latest Republican embarrassment as their hearings backfire. Once again, they dem ... Show More
1h 53m
May 1
CBS Evening News, 05/01/25
President Trump says he's nominating Mike Waltz to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Eye on America - Americans are having fewer babies, with CDC data showing the annual birth rate standing near a record low. High costs, the fear of climate change and putting careers ... Show More
26m 28s