Jon Wiener: From The Nation magazine, this is Start Making Sense. I’m Jon Wiener. Later in the show:Bob Dylan’s earliest recordings have just been released; the first is from 1956 when he was 15 years old. It opens the 8-CD set ‘Through the Open Window: The Bootleg Series volume 18” –which ends in 1963, with […]
December 9, 2025 But local MAHA laws may be an even bigger threat. Ad Policy US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) summit in Washington, DC, on November 12, 2025. (Alex Wroblewski / Getty Images) Even within the freakshow that is Donald Trump’s […]
Politics / December 5, 2025 Speaker Mike Johnson’s sexism is fueling an unexpected uprising within the GOP caucus. Ad Policy Marjorie Taylor Greene at a Capitol Hill press conference on November 18, 2025. (Sarah L. Voisin / The Washington Post via Getty Images) House Speaker Mike Johnson has strong opinions on the differences between men […]
Ad Policy Co-leaders of the far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD) Alice Weidel (L) and Tino Chrupalla (R) in Berlin on December 5, 2025. (Tobias Schwarz / AFP via Getty Images) Only a few years ago, European elites were patting themselves on the back for fending off the tide of right-wing anti-system parties (often styled […]
It has been another week of unfettered moral depravity in the United States. Donald Trump held a Klan rally lightly disguised as a cabinet meeting where he railed against Somali immigrants. Pete Hegseth defended the cruel and illegal boat strikes that have murdered at least 83 civilians. Marco Rubio put forward a “peace plan” for […]
Activism / StudentNation / December 5, 2025 While the University of California has often followed the Trump’s demands, union organizers have made protecting immigrants a top priority during contract negotiations. Ad Policy University of California workers rallying at UC Berkeley in November 2025. (UAW 4811) This story was produced for StudentNation, a program of the […]
Politics / December 4, 2025 A barrage of bad economic news has spurred Trump to unleash his hate-infested id on any nonwhite target that flits through his overtaxed brainpan. Ad Policy Donald Trump during a cabinet meeting at the White House, on December 2, 2025. (Yuri Gripas / CNP / Bloomberg via Getty Images( Remember […]
Jon Wiener: From The Nation magazine, this is Start Making Sense. I’m Jon Wiener. Later in the show: Sports Talk on The Nation podcast! Of course Thanksgiving was a big weekend for football on TV – a weekend where millions of viewers got to see a festival of brain injuries — concussions after receiving blows […]
Politics / December 2, 2025 With his approval number plummeting, Trump turns to a familiar strategy: launch a culture war against journalists. Ad Policy A screenshot of the White House media bias tracker. As President Donald Trump’s approval numbers continue to plummet—he’s now clocked his first-ever majority of male poll respondents giving a thumbs-down—he’s reached […]
Economy / Books & the Arts / December 1, 2025 The economic force is often seen as a barometer for a nation’s mood and health. But have we misunderstood it all along? Ad Policy Donald Trump holds a big and a small box of Tic Tac to illustrate inflation outcome during a town hall event […]
