Current Affairs

Taylor Lorenz, technology journalist and author of Extremely Online, joins Current Affairs Editor-in-Chief Nathan J. Robinson and Digital Editor John Ross (who was formerly a producer for The David Pakman Show) to discuss her bombshell Wired investigation into Chorus, Good Influence, and the 1630 Fund, the dark money network secretly funding Democratic influencers.0:00-10:04 Taylor's Reporting10:04-13:50 Why is Matters13:50-18:04 How Good Influence Works18:04-24:57 Suppression of Gaza24:57-29:12 The Decline of Journalism29:12-32:31 How Good Influence Provides Value32:31-35:11 The Democratic Party's "Messaging Problem"35:11-40:56 The Response to Taylor's Article40:56- 44:37 What We Can Learn From This

The Democrats’ latest alternative to an agenda is being really sassy on social media. But without substance to back it up, they will never replicate the magic of a Bernie or Mamdani. 

When pompous pundits and politicos begin to rationalize crimes against humanity, it’s no longer possible to laugh at them. The correct reaction is horror, disgust, and a determination to end their influence.

Yasmine Taeb, Legislative and Political Director of MPower Change Action Fund—the largest Muslim digital activist organization in the U.S.—joins Current Affairs editor Alex Skopic to discuss the bipartisan complicity in the Gaza genocide, the rise of progressive challengers like Omar Fateh and Zohran Mamdani, and the Islamophobic attacks Muslim candidates continue to face.✊ MPower Change Website: https://www.mpowerchange.org/✊ MPower Action Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mpoweraction/?hl=en✊ MPower Action Twitter: https://x.com/MPowerAction0:00–4:32 Origins of MPower Action and the No Muslim Ban Ever Campaign4:32–7:37 Gaza Genocide and U.S. Complicity7:37–10:49 Democratic Party Silence and Support for Israel10:49–16:47 Progressive Challengers Taking on Pro-War Democrats16:47–20:45 Islamophobia and Attacks on Muslim Candidates20:45–24:24 Kamala Harris, the DNC, and Palestinian Exclusion24:24–29:57 Iran, the JCPOA, and the Push for Diplomacy

Jason Woods, national spokesperson for Starbucks Workers United, joins Current Affairs associate editor Alex Skopic and contributor Stephen Prager to discuss the Starbucks union drive and the fight for fair wages.☕ Mutual Aid for Jason Woods: https://www.instagram.com/p/DM3UFBvxNq8/☕ SBWU's Website: https://sbworkersunited.org/☕ SBWU's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sbworkersunited/☕ SBWU's Twitter: https://x.com/SBWorkersUnited0:00-5:24 Why Starbucks Workers Unionized5:24-11:20 The Reality of Barista Pay11:20-16:11 Dress Codes as Union-Busting16:11-20:45 Sip-Ins20:45-23:50 Organizing in the South vs. North23:50-28:00 Every Job Requires Skill28:00-32:01 Steps to Unionize

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers and one of America’s foremost labor leaders, joins Current Affairs editor in chief Nathan J. Robinson to discuss her new book Why Fascists Fear Teachers. Weingarten explains why Mike Pompeo once called her “the most dangerous person in the world,” how right-wing figures like Chris Rufo are manufacturing distrust in public schools, and why education remains a radical force for pluralism, empathy, and democracy. She also addresses the weaponization of anti-Semitism in the context of academic freedom, the destruction of Gaza’s schools (scholasticide), and the role of teachers’ unions as both defenders of democracy and pillars of the labor movement. 

From BetterHelp to bourbon, A-list celebrities are cashing in on our trust. Why is there no longer any stigma for sellouts? 

Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, physician, former Detroit health commissioner, and candidate for U.S. Senate in Michigan, joins Current Affairs editors Nathan J. Robinson and Alex Skopic to discuss the Democratic Party’s deep unpopularity, why Medicare for All remains a moral and economic imperative, the bipartisan silence surrounding the genocide in Gaza, and why all U.S. military aid—offensive and defensive—should end.

Nathan J. Robinson delivers remarks during the Current Affairs 10th anniversary party on the evening of August 8th, 2025 in New Orleans. 

Saikat Chakrabarti, co-founder of Justice Democrats and former chief of staff to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, joins Nathan J. Robinson to discuss his 2026 congressional campaign to unseat Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Party’s failure to respond to genocide in Gaza, and how decades of complacent leadership have left the party morally bankrupt and politically adrift.

Dr. Elisabeth Potter, a reconstructive surgeon and healthcare advocate, joins Nathan J. Robinson and Emily Topping to discuss her viral criticism of UnitedHealth, the systemic cruelty of the insurance industry, and how corporations are quietly reshaping American medicine through coercion, denial, and intimidation.

Podcast bros are interviewing presidents and power players without doing basic research beforehand. The result is a propagandistic catastrophe.

Max from UNFTR joins Nathan J. Robinson to discuss Zohran Mamdani's victory, the limits of third-party politics, and how the Democratic Party can be taken over with five bold, non-negotiable demands for progressive transformation. ⚙️ Subscribe to UNFTR: https://www.youtube.com/@UNFTR ⚙️ Read the 5 Non-Negotiables: https://www.unftr.com/5nn 0:00-8:10 Zohran Mamdani 8:10-36:57 Can Third Parties Succeed? 36:57-59:50 The Five “Non-Negotiables" 

Middle East analyst Mouin Rabbani joins Nathan J. Robinson to discuss the ongoing genocide in Gaza. They examine the illusion of ceasefire negotiations, the weaponization of humanitarian aid through the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, and the eugenic logic underpinning Israel’s military campaign. They also explore how death tolls are systematically undercounted, how Palestinian voices are censored in Western media, why Israeli hasbara no longer works, and how genocidal logic is rationalized through propaganda. 

MAGA followers say they want to expose powerful, predatory billionaire elites. But Donald Trump is the exact person who should be their enemy.

Honor Cargill-Martin, a historian of the ancient world, discusses how myths about the Roman empire originated and continue to warp our political discourse.

Kishore Mahbubani is a renowned diplomat, scholar, and one of the most insightful analysts of global power dynamics. He served as Singapore’s Ambassador to the United Nations and as President of the UN Security Council, and is the author of books including "Has China Won?" and "Has the West Lost It?"Mahbubani joins Current Affairs to explain why the United States is losing ground to China--not because of Chinese aggression, but because of internal dysfunction, elite failure, and strategic incoherence. He critiques the emotional, zero-sum mindset dominating U.S. foreign policy and calls for a more rational, cooperative approach to global affairs.

He has shown that a socialist message can win people over. His campaign is a model that should be emulated everywhere.

The latest Democratic fad sidelines equality and justice in favor of a focus on cutting red tape. This is not the path forward.