Deconstructed

On Saturday, a year after Bernie Sanders won the Nevada caucuses, a slate of progressive candidates swept elections for leadership positions in the state Party. Ryan Grim talks to activist Keenan Korth and to Judith Whitmer, Nevada State Democratic Party Chair, about how they out organized establishment Democrats. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week the House of Representatives passed a $1.9 trillion Covid relief package by a 220-210 vote. It now moves to the Senate, where it will have to make it past a Republican filibuster. Huffpost reporter Arthur Delaney and Elizabeth Pancotti, Policy Director at Employ America, join Ryan Grim to discuss what’s actually in the bill. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

After a series of high-profile terrorist attacks by Islamic extremists in France, the country finds itself in a heated debate over some of its most cherished values: laïcité, or secularism, and the principle of race-neutrality, or color-blindness, in public policy. A controversial new bill proposed by President Emmanuel Macron targeting "Islamic separatism" is meeting with fierce opposition. French author, journalist, and filmmaker Rokhaya Diallo joins guest host Vanessa A. Bee to...

In the early 2000s, after gaining control of the Texas House of Representatives for the first time in modern history, Republicans undertook a gerrymandering scheme that solidified their control of the state even further. What followed was a multi-decade experiment in deregulation that has now left millions of Texas residents freezing and without power. Ryan Grim talks to former congressional candidate Mike Siegel and University of Austin professor Varun Rai about how it happened—and how it...

In his first significant foreign policy announcement since taking office, President Biden broke with both former presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama and declared an end to U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen. But it will take more than U.S. withdrawal to end the violence there. Rep. Ro Khanna, activist Shireen Al-Adeimi, and reporter Akbar Ahmed join Ryan Grim to discuss. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

If President Joe Biden is going to be able to pass any part of his agenda, he'll need to get it past the Senate filibuster. That's likely impossible given the chamber's 50-50 split. Is it time to finally change the Senate rules and allow the body to operate on a simple majority basis? Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley and author Adam Jentleson join Ryan Grim to discuss. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

H.R.1, also known as the For The People Act, is a sweeping reform bill that aims to make voting easier, gerrymandering harder, and to generally rein in the out-of-control minoritarianism that has come to characterize American democracy. Does it have a chance of becoming law? Congressman John Sarbanes, political scientist Jacob Hacker, and the Intercept’s Jon Schwarz join Ryan Grim to discuss. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In February, House Democrats will be re-introducing legislation to create a universal, single-payer healthcare system in the United States. Leading the effort will be Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington. Ryan Grim talks to Jayapal about her strategy and, to Jasmine Ruddy of National Nurses United about the organizing taking place outside of congress. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On January 13th, the Cambridge Democratic City Committee met to discuss a resolution calling for the resignation of Massachusetts state party chair Gus Bickford. The resolution was an attempt to reckon with the party’s complicity last summer in the release of allegations against Holyoke mayor and congressional candidate Alex Morse pertaining to his time as an adjunct professor at UMass Amherst. The allegations were vague and did not include any behavior that violated the law or UMass policy,...

When a mob attacked the Capitol building on January 6th in an attempt to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s election victory, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, the Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, found herself like many other lawmakers forced to flee the chamber and take cover. While congress was locked down, several Republicans refused to wear masks. Three Democratic lawmakers, Jayapal among them, later tested positive for Covid-19. Ryan Grim talks to the Congresswoman about her...

On Wednesday afternoon supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol building, overwhelming police and forcing the representatives inside into hiding just as they prepared to certify Joe Biden's election victory. Matt Fuller of Huffpost and Jon Farina of Status Coup, who were at the capitol as events unfolded, join Ryan Grim to discuss. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

One year ago, the U.S. government assassinated Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani by drone strike near the Baghdad International Airport. Is it possible that Donald Trump, now entering the final weeks of his presidency, might have further plans for Iran before he leaves office? Trita Parsi, Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft joins Ryan Grim to discuss. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On election day last month, 52% of Puerto Rican voters answered “yes” to the following question: Should Puerto Rico be admitted immediately into the Union as a State? But the result of the non-binding referendum has gotten little attention in Washington since then. After all, it’s hardly the first time a statehood vote on the island has been answered in the affirmative. Is this time any different? On this week’s show, guest host Vanessa A. Bee talks to Julio Ricardo Varela, the founder of...

On Tuesday Joe Biden held a zoom call with civil rights leaders from across the country to discuss matters of policy and his cabinet selections. The call was private, but Deconstructed obtained the audio. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

With runoff elections in Georgia next month poised to determine control of the US Senate, national media have turned their eyes south. To help you digest the coming avalanche of Georgia coverage, Ryan Grim sits down with Intercept contributor George Chidi to discuss his state’s raucous political history. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Come 2021 the Democrats are likely to find themselves in control of the Presidency and the House but not the Senate — meaning Mitch McConnell will be in a position to block any ambitious legislation from the new administration. But as Trump has shown us, there’s a lot a president can do without congress. Robert Hockett and Demond Drummer from New Consensus and Dave Dayen from the American Prospect join Ryan Grim to discuss just how much Biden can do on his own. See acast.com/privacy for...

The circular firing squad over the Democrats’ underperformance in congressional races has already begun. Party leaders are blaming “the squad” and other left-wing figures for their talk of “defunding the police.” Meanwhile, progressives blame the establishment for refusing to adopt a more ambitious platform. Chuck Rocha, the head of Solidarity Strategies, and Jonathan Smucker, founder of Pennsylvania Stands Up, join Ryan Grim to discuss the debate. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and...

November 3rd, 2020 was supposed to be the Democrats’ moment of glory: polls predicted a comfortable victory for former Vice President Joe Biden, as well as gains in both the House and Senate. Instead, Biden seems set to eke out a narrow win while his party loses House seats and fails to gain control of the upper chamber. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and Texas Democratic House candidate Mike Siegel discuss what happened. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Women across the U.S. found themselves suddenly drawn to politics after the shock election of Donald Trump four years ago. On this week’s podcast, Ryan Grim speaks to three such women: Candace Valenzuela and Julie Oliver in Texas, and Annie Weaver in Pennsylvania, about how that day changed their lives and the course it set them on over the last four years. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Donald Trump and Joe Biden met for their final debate before the 2020 election on Thursday night. Trump continued his recent attacks on Biden’s son Hunter and his foreign business dealings, while Biden went after Trump’s mismanagement of the Covid-19 pandemic. Who got the best of the encounter? Rising host Krystal Ball and former Deconstructed host Mehdi Hasan join the show to break down the debate. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.