Left Anchor

Ryan Cooper & Alexi the Greek

Philosophy, politics, and the left.

  • 54 minutes 9 seconds
    The Failure of Constitutional Theory - 343

    Today we are talking to Harvard Law Professor Mark Tushnet about his book Who Am I to Judge: Judicial Craft versus Constitution Theory. It’s common today for Supreme Court justices to outline a theory of constitutional interpretation, but it turns out that not only is this dishonest, but also something that only developed in the late 20th century. Enjoy!

    The Ian Toll book series Ryan mentions can be found here.

    1 March 2025, 2:58 am
  • 10 minutes 23 seconds
    The Biggest Asshole in History PREVIEW

    Today we are discussing the book Assholes: A Theory, by Aaron James. It turns out there are important distinctions between the asshole, the douchebag, the jerk, and the psychopath, and they are highly relevant to the men (they are usually men) running the American government.

    Subscribe now to hear the whole thing!

    21 February 2025, 2:12 am
  • 59 minutes 41 seconds
    The Tech Oligarch Consent Machine - 341

    This time we've got Eoin Higgins on to talk about his book Owned: How Tech Billionaires on the Right Bought the Loudest Voices on the Left. He uses Glenn Greenwald and Matt Taibbi as case studies in how shifting monetary incentives created by tech oligarchs like Peter Thiel and Marc Andreessen combined with certain personal pathologies turned formerly respected progressive journalists into right-wing blowhards.

    Coincidentally, Ryan also made videos on both Greenwald and Taibbi, which make for a nice pairing.

    13 February 2025, 4:52 pm
  • 31 minutes 54 seconds
    The Elon Musk Coup - 340 PREVIEW

    This time we are taking a step back to consider just what is going on with shadow president Musk and his gang of thugs seizing control of core government functions. It's important, we feel, to foreground the grave political implications of what is happening.

    Subscribe now to hear the rest of the episode!

    4 February 2025, 1:15 am
  • 1 hour 4 minutes
    Trump's First Days - 339

    Today we're bringing back Professor Harvey Kaye to talk about Trump's inaugural address and some of his first executive orders.

    Check out the Prospect's coverage of Trump's actions: day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4.

    25 January 2025, 9:40 pm
  • 6 minutes 16 seconds
    Public vs. Private Virtue - 338 PREVIEW
    18 January 2025, 4:36 pm
  • 1 hour 3 minutes
    The Trump Tsunami Approacheth - 337

    Alexi is off, so David Dayen joins Ryan to discuss the events over the holiday. What are Republicans going to do? Is anyone driving the GOP train--maybe Elon Musk? And what in God's name is Trump going on about with conquering Greenland, Canada, and Panama? We live in hell.

    10 January 2025, 3:09 am
  • 1 hour 5 minutes
    The Oligarch Class - 324 UNLOCKED

    Today economics professor Rob Larson comes on to discuss his new book Mastering the Universe: The Obscene Wealth of the Ruling Class, What They Do with Their Money, and Why You Should Hate Them Even More. We discuss how the ultra-rich got their money, what they do with it, why it's a problem, and what to do about it. Enjoy!

    4 January 2025, 3:21 am
  • 8 minutes 29 seconds
    National Lampoon's Left Anchor Holiday Special - 336 PREVIEW
    24 December 2024, 4:16 pm
  • 1 hour 5 minutes
    Bidenomics Retrospective - 335

    What worked and what didn't about the Biden administration's program, and why didn't it pay off politically? We discuss, and at the end we give a brief update on what's going on in Syria.

    Read President Biden’s defense of his record here.

    20 December 2024, 5:08 pm
  • 7 minutes 55 seconds
    Chaos on the March - 334 PREVIEW

    Today we are talking the United Healthcare CEO assassination, the attempted coup in Korea, and the revolution in Syria. Subscribe now to listen to the whole thing!

    9 December 2024, 3:40 am
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