7/5 How Reconstruction Was Thwarted And Its Lessons For Progressives w/ Dale Kretz
7/5 How Reconstruction Was Thwarted And Its Lessons For Progressives w/ Dale Kretz

The MR Crew are still off after July 4th so we're coming to you with another mid-year Best Of!

This one, from late November 2022, is with Dale Kretz, visiting assistant professor of history at the University of California, Santa Barbara, to discuss his recent book Administering Freedom: The State of Emancipation after the Freedmen's Bureau.

First, Emma runs through the day’s jam-packed headlines, including the Supreme Court overturning Biden’s Student Loan cancellation, taking a step back on homophobic discrimination, AND revealing more corruption with Alito, as well as George Santos’ fraud and money laundering charges, France’s ongoing protests, and the detainment of a Russian general aware of the Wagner Group’s impending mutiny this weekend.

Then, Emma is joined by David Griscom as they parse through today’s SCOTUS News, and the need to abolish, not reform, these undemocratic institutions, reflecting on the aggressive approaches taken by myriad iconic presidents from Lincoln and FDR to LBJ to address the Court’s reactionary and anti-democratic tendencies.

They also dive into the state of Texas politics, as Greg Abbott advances his “Death Star” Bill that seeks to put under threat essentially every labor, healthcare, and environmental protection in the state, before David wraps up with a rallying cry for Texan solidarity.

Chill Goblin and Emma then dive into the meticulous art of video essays, exploring Mr. Goblin’s combination of dynamic animation with well-researched, unique topics, and discussing Chill’s videos on the JFK assassination and the role of psychedelics in (not) making people more progressive.