A Right to Housing? w/ Samuel Stein

There's no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, there is ONLY THE RAINBOW. On this episode Justin and I talk about the endless present of our strange historical moment, and how that vibe infects everything from Halloween spending to work-from-home culture. Plus, is anti-ICE activism just a "white thing"? Is the Anthropic IPO as insane as it sounds? Is Billy Joel and blue jeans enough to sustain us? More importantly, what's your costume this year? Listen to the full episode here!

There is a reckoning for Trump on the horizon, but does it even matter? Justin joins me to survey the global wreckage as the midterms approach. From Ukraine to Saudi Arabia, from Gaza to our own backyards, there is a new logic of brutality creeping over the planet. You can't stop what's coming. This is a preview clip from a subscribers-only episode. Click here to sign up for a FREE 7 day trial and check out our whole archive of conversations on politics, history, and culture.

Do you still have hope? And does a left project even need "hope"? Samuel Stein joins us this week to discuss his latest book A Right to Housing?, a refreshingly honest look at the possibilities for change within the grim landscape of American housing policy.  Subscribe to our Patreon to access a whole universe of conversations on politics, history, and culture...often completely hope-free!!

This week Justin joins me to speculate on the inevitable "October Surprise" of the coming U.S. midterm elections: Terror attack? Alien invasion? Sharknado? The landscape of possibilities seems endless. Our conversation veers into a wider discussion of MAGA's fracture and the psychosexual politics of homoeroticized schadenfreude, the pleasure of punishment, and social media lynch mobs. Click here to listen to the whole episode

Listen to the full episode here Is the widespread hatred of AI just another stupid viral moment that will be forgotten in a week? Or is there something deeper happening? Justin and I game out the historical/psychological parameters of an anti-tech cultural politics, and try to come to terms with our own attitudes about the seemingly unstoppable rise of the machines. Check out Sam Stein's latest book, A Right to Housing?

In taking his internet creepypasta Backrooms from YouTube to the cinema screen, director Kane Parsons has created a piece of popular art that resonates deeply with some of our favorite Nostalgia Trap themes: '90s analog culture, toxic masculinity, psychedelic dream spaces, and the overriding feeling that the historical vibe is growing dark. Justin joins me to explore this puzzle of a movie, and to unpack its uncanny connection to our collective trips into extradimensional worlds. Listen to the whole episode here

In the shadow of the U.S. officially losing the war in Iran, the American political and economic world continues to chase after a high that's perhaps no longer attainable. This week we examine how Trump, MAGA, AI companies, and the American left are grappling with a bubbling existential crisis that's unprecedented in scale and intensity. Click here to listen to the whole episode!

It's time for the old "there's a civil war brewing in the Democratic Party" conversation again, and Justin joins me to poke holes in the orthodoxies embraced by both "sides" of the alleged progressive/left vs centrist debate currently gripping the American public. It's 2016 all over again! Or is it? Click here to hear the whole episode!

This week Justin joins me to explore the tall claims made in a recent New York Times piece, "Gen Z Fell Out of Love With Work. I Don't Blame Them." Are we really experiencing a generational revolt against centuries of American attitudes about education, work, wages, and life itself? Let's see what these Gen Z kids have to say. Listen to the whole episode here.

This is a preview clip from a subscribers-only episode. Click here to listen to the whole thing! Does economic crisis predictably produce extreme political movements? History's lessons are a bit unclear on that point and, as we investigate in this episode, the summer of 2026 is testing our understanding of the relationship between political economy and social reality. Strap in, folks: we just found a new planet hiding behind the sun!