219 - Dealing With Oligarchs, the China Way ft. Alex Skopic

➡️ Support independent left media: patreon.com/leftreckoning📺 Subscribe and like for weekly interviews, analysis, and socialist commentary.In this episode of Left Reckoning, Matt and David are joined by Ashik Siddique, co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America, to break down the latest in American politics — and why the Democratic establishment is still failing to meet the moment.We dig into Colin Allred’s announcement that he’s running for Senate in Texas and what it reveals about the party’s refusal to back bold, working-class candidates. Then we examine the Democrats’ newly unveiled “2029 Project”, their soft response to the GOP’s Project 2025, and ask whether they’ve actually learned anything from their repeated losses and near-disasters.Ashik joins us to analyze what a real alternative looks like — one rooted in DSA’s growing electoral strategy and grassroots organizing that just helped deliver a major victory for Zohran Mamdani in NYC.Later, we break down the so-called Big Beautiful Bill that recently passed in the Senate — a dangerous right-wing wish list that would slash Medicaid, ramp up immigration enforcement, and undermine protections for working people across the board. It’s a clear preview of Donald Trump’s 2025 agenda and a direct attack on the multiracial working class. We explain what’s in the bill, why it matters, and how the left must respond.------------------------------------------00:00 Start 01:33 Intro 00:05:12 Democrats Keep Blowing It 2029 Edition00:27:40 Colin Allred Wants Your Money To Lose Another Election 00:44:03 DSA Co-Chair On Why Zohran Won 01:15:02 Responding to Attacks On Zohran 01:31:17 Zohran Responds to Trump Threat 01:42:00 Big Beautiful Bill (Betrayal) 2:00:43 OPEN POSTGAME 2:01:22 Responding To The Nonsense Attacks On Zohran By "Socialists" 2:07:55 Matt Taibbi Comes Out As Total Hack

Hey friends, thank you for joining us in this difficult time. We have two conversations coming up on Israel, Iran, and Trump's decision to use US military power. First up we are joined by Dr. Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi to talk about the fallout from Trump's decision to attack Iran, what that means for Iran's nuclear program, and the Reza Pahlavi's opportunism in trying to claim rulership of Iran. Read Culmination: https://newleftreview.org/sidecar/posts/culminationThe Failson & The Flag: https://jacobin.com/2025/06/reza-pahlavi-iran-israel-interventionThen we are joined by Derek Davison (@dwdavison) one half of the beloved American Prestige Pod. Derek will help us break down the recent events, what the political scene will mean in the US following Trump and Israel's attacks, and more. Subscribe to American Prestige: https://americanprestige.supportingcast.fm/Subscribe to Derek's FX Newsletter:https://www.foreignexchanges.news/Check out the Crusades series:https://americanprestige.supportingcast.fm/welcome-to-the-crusades-the-first-crusadeLastly, David and Matt take a look at Texas Lt. Gov Dan Patrick, who has officially joined the Panican Party after Greg Abbott vetoed his THC ban. Keep up with Left Reckoning, support the show and get our Sunday bonus episodes by signing up at patreon.com/leftreckoning

Hey folks! Two great interviews for y'all this week. First, doctor and researcher Adam Gaffney on a study that shows how devastating Trump's bill will be for health in this country. Then, Hannah Habtu on genocide in Tigray where up to 800 thousand people have been killed, and an overview of Ethiopian and Eritrean history surrounding the conflict."Genocide in Tigray: Serious breaches of international law in the Tigray conflict, Ethiopia, and paths to accountability":https://newlinesinstitute.org/rules-based-international-order/genocide-in-tigray-serious-breaches-of-international-law-in-the-tigray-conflict-ethiopia-and-paths-to-accountability-2/Support:https://omnatigray.org/

👉 Join us on Patreon for full access to bonus episodes and behind-the-scenes debriefs: https://www.patreon.com/leftreckoningOur good friend Stephen Semler (@stephensemler) is back on the program to talk about Trump's war on the working class, and Stephen Miller's Assault on Los Angeles. Keep up with Stephen's work over at Polygraph: https://www.stephensemler.com/Then, David is joined by the editor of The Nation, D.D. Guttenplan (@ddguttenplan) & contributing writer and guest editor Richard Kreitner to talk about "These Dis-United States Of America," The Nation's 160th anniversary issue. Subscribe to The Nation - https://www.thenation.com/issue/july-august-2025-issue/Richard Kreitner's book - https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374608453/fearnopharaoh/And his U.S. history podcast - https://www.thinkbackpod.com/D.D. Guttenplan's book The Next Republic -https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/579718/the-next-republic-by-dd-guttenplan/

support us and get the Sunday Shows and Postgames at patreon.com/leftreckoningWe are just getting started. David is back with Matt this week talking about why Zohran's plan in NYC for city-run grocery stores makes plenty of sense. Then we are joined by Courtney Rawlings (@ckayerawlings) & Alex Jordan (@alexjordanATL) to talk about their new show for the Quincy Institute "Always At War"- sign up to watch now - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLP3oFXQU9footIdJdsRRRBawqoexE4qW

Rep. Ro Khanna (CA-17) joins Matt to talk political economy and Gaza.Then, Erin aka Straighterade joins to talk about confronting Dave Rubin about Sam Seder and more Follow Straighterade on twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/straighterade_

become a member and get the sunday shows at https://patreon.com/leftreckoninghey folks, Chip Gibbons of Rightsanddissent.org joins us to talk about his new piece, 'Trump’s War on Palestine and Free Speech Hits a New Setback'read here: https://jacobin.com/2025/05/suri-detention-free-speech-palestineand check the gaza/free speech newsletter here: https://www.rightsanddissent.org/gaza-first-amendment-watch/

Hey folks! two great interviews for you tonight, first Andrew Hartman (@HartmanAndrew) on his excellent new book, Karl Marx in AmericaBuy Andrew's Karl Marx in America here: https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/K/bo245100866.htmlThen, Michael O'Neill Burns (@michaeloburns) joins Matt to talk about philosophy over the past few decades and if things are looking worse for contemplation.Subscribe to Michael's channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@MichaelOBurns

Alex Skopic of Current Affairs joins us to talk about three of his excellent pieces:https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/china-knows-how-to-deal-with-its-billionaireshttps://www.currentaffairs.org/news/trump-is-what-happens-when-you-give-a-landlord-powerhttps://www.currentaffairs.org/news/nazis-on-aisle-nine

We are very pleased to be joined by Vincent Bevin's to discuss his reporting on the MST in Brazil, both on his substack: https://substack.com/@northsouthnotesand his piece in the Nation.https://www.thenation.com/article/world/brazil-mst-landless-workers-movement/Join us at patreon.com/leftreckoning