The Majority Report with Sam Seder Sam Seder

It’s an EmMajority Report Thursday! She speaks with Daniel J. Galvin, professor of political science at Northwestern University, to discuss his recent book Alt-Labor and the New Politics of Workers’ Rights. Then, she's joined by Richard Beck, senior writer at n+1 Magazine, to discuss his recent piece in the New Left Review entitled "Bidenism Abroad." First, Emma runs through updates on Nikki Haley’s endorsement of Donald Trump, Israel’s continued victimization in the face of committing genocide, US support for Israel, Senate politics, Justice Alito, Anti-trust action, UK elections, and more, before parsing through Fox News’ coverage of the FBI’s capacity to USE DEADLY FORCE AGAINST DONALD TRUMP, per typical procedure. Professor Daniel Galvin then joins, first contextualizing what these “alternative labor” organizations are, with networks like worker centers, community organizations, and regional alliances providing particularly vulnerable workers in the vast, unionized sectors of the US economy an avenue for workplace and labor justice, be it wage theft, discrimination, sexual harassment, or labor conditions, though generally focusing on rectifying wrongs that have already occurred. Expanding on this, Professor Galvin explores how these organizations have begun shifting to a more proactive approach, advocating for state and local employment and labor policy to chip away at the severe power imbalance in the US economy, finding success in bluer districts and states, while meeting much more institutional (and financial) opposition elsewhere. After walking through the slow and steady undermining of FDR’s New Deal system of labor protections after the Second World War, and the shift away from collective bargaining to minimal employment protections, Galvin wraps up by assessing the devastating impact employer exploitation like wage theft actually has on the US economy, resulting in billions taken from the lowest-wage workers. Richard Beck and Emma then reflect on Biden’s Foreign Policy platform on the campaign trail, centering a “foreign policy for the middle class” and a narrative of “Democracies versus Autocracies,” which particularly worked with his early policies of support for Ukraine and withdrawal from Afghanistan, respectively, and look to the main individuals – Anthony Blinken and Jake Sullivan – responsible for shaping this platform. After expanding on the evolution of Biden’s foreign policy during his first few years in office, Richard and Emma begin to explore how October 7th (and Israel’s following ethnic cleansing of Gaza) completely upended these commitments, laying bare the failures of the autocracy-democracy binary, and reinserting the US into an expensive quagmire in the Middle East, all while relying on the policies bequeathed unto him by Donald Trump’s far-right administration. Next, Beck looks to the parallels in Biden’s approach to China, continuing the economic warfare established under Trump with major EV tariffs and an ongoing attempt at a TikTok Ban, before exploring the increasingly precarious status of US hegemony over the last few decades, and wrapping up by assessing the future of Biden’s inactive and defensive leadership as the 2024 election draws near.
And in the Fun Half: Emma is joined by Brandon Sutton and Matt Binder as they highlight a new EmMajority Report intro song, Sam’s evolution into a cruiser (as in… the ships), and talk with Sky from Florida about the ideologies behind hating student debt-forgiveness. A Syrian Student from Germany dives into the response to the ICC’s arrest warrant for Netanyahu, Mehdi Hasan and Ilan Pappé have an enlightening conversation on the future of Palestine and Israel, and Tulsi Gabbard doubles down on both her anti- and pro-war stances. Will from Portland discusses his father’s relationship to the Daily Wire, and Nikki Haley falls in line with Donald Trump, plus, your calls and IMs!
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It's Hump Day! Sam speaks with Sarah Jaffe, fellow at the Type Media Center  based in New Orleans, to discuss her recent piece for In These Times entitled “In Tough Loss, the High-Profile UAW Campaign at Mercedes-Benz in Alabama Falls Short.” Then, Sam checks in on some news stories he’s been interested in! First, he runs through updates on the trickling of recognition for a Palestinian state from European nations, Biden’s all-out assault on the International Rules-Based Order as he and the GOP begin work on sanctioning The Hague, yesterday’s major primaries, the US economy, abortion politics, student loans, the occupation of Haiti, and unionization, before parsing through Trump’s continuing double-talk about abortion regulation, and Biden’s horrid choice to go after the ICC. Sarah Jaffe then walks Sam through the numbers coming out of the failed unionization vote at Mercedes’ Alabama plant, before painting a picture of Mercedes’ standard union-busting effort, and the role of the South’s anti-union culture in keeping the organizers just a few hundred votes short. Expanding on this, Jaffe touches on the ongoing national union renaissance, and how it has (however minimally) impacted the South, before stepping back to assess where the organizing effort failed – namely in failing to inoculate the workforce to the myths union-busters rely on – and the plant-specific factors that prohibited a greater organizing effort. After they wrap up the interview by looking at the major lessons to take from this loss, Sam dives deep into the sentencing of Charles Littlejohn, and how the state’s protection of the wealth of the Uber-elite has defined the US’ economic failure coming out of the Great Compression.
And in the Fun half: John from San Antonio about progressives’ tough losses in California and Oregon, the central role AIPAC and other Israel-affiliated PACs played in bolstering conservative challengers, and how to move forward in the push for progressive victories. Brandon from the Ozark discusses White Rural Rage, Jesse Watters and Janine Pirro discuss the horrors of undercover police raids (when they’re on Donald Trump), and Sam parses through the Chief Actuary of Social Security’s recent report on the myths about Social Security (it’s riveting). Kyle from Brooklyn explores Germany’s new supply chain law, Joe from Connecticut tackles the role of religion in Israel’s apartheid state, and Charlie Kirk predicts plan–demic II, plus, your calls and IMs!
Follow Sarah on Twitter here: https://x.com/sarahljaffe
Check out Sarah's piece in In These Times here: https://inthesetimes.com/article/uaw-mercedes-benz-alabama-volkswagen-uaw-union
Check out the Social Security Actuarial Status report (and specifically slide #15 on for the myth debunking section!): https://www.ssa.gov/oact/presentations/scgoss_20240515.pdf
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It's News Day Tuesday! Sam and Emma break down the biggest headlines of the day. But first, they speak with Mark Joseph Stern, senior writer at Slate, to discuss some of the recent developments at the Supreme Court. First, they run through updates on Biden’s criticism of the ICC’s Israeli arrest warrants (as well as the important ICC support coming out of Europe), the aid that still hasn’t gotten to Gaza, Israel’s regime of repression, today’s US primaries, California’s special election, Nevada’s abortion referendum, Truth Social, and the FBI’s Eric Adams investigation, before parsing through the initial reporting on the ICC’s arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas officials. Mark Joseph Stern then joins, diving right into the impending milestone of the Biden Administration’s 200th successful federal judicial nomination, and the importance of moving away from the corporate judges of the Obama Administration, towards candidates that will have greater longevity in the system. Next, Mark, Sam, and Emma shift to the ongoing legal attack on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, as the US Right followed the initial Supreme Court undercutting of it in 2020 with an audacious plan to make the entire Bureau (and many other major federal agencies) unconstitutional due to their funding coming from the Federal Reserve, walking through why the Right can funnel even the most absurd legal cases through the court of appeals due to the insane biases of the 5th Circuit and single-judge divisions killing random assignment, even if (as in this case) it has no chance at the Supreme Court. Expanding on this, Stern parses through how the 5th Circuit serves as an “audition” spot for future conservative Supreme Court justices, before looking to Louisiana’s conservative judges’ active attempt to undercut the restructuring of Louisiana’s congressional districts, and why the Supreme Court is holding firm on not allowing major changes (like this reversion) in the months before an election. Wrapping up, Mark, Sam, and Emma tackle the continuing revelations around the Court’s major corruption – from judicial support of January 6th to shady financial ties – and what Congress can do to push back
And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma discuss the few Israelis standing up to the IDF and Israeli thugs attacking aid due for Gaza, Byron Donalds calls for drug testing Biden, and Holland from Phoenix dives into border fear-mongering. Tim from Connecticut asks about Israel’s plan for Gaza, Elise Stefanik calls out Fox for using propaganda that came straight from her own mouth, and Rudy Giuliani starts slinging mud. Brittany from Montreal helps round out the show with an incredible (and incredibly disturbing) discovery from the depths of Seinfeld’s career, plus, your calls and IMs!
Check out Mark's work at Slate here: https://slate.com/author/mark-joseph-stern
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Check out the "Repair Gaza" campaign courtesy of the Glia Project here: https://www.launchgood.com/campaign/rebuild_gaza_help_repair_and_rebuild_the_lives_and_work_of_our_glia_team#!/
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Happy Monday! Sam and Emma speak with Tracie McMillan, editor at Capitol & Main covering worker organizing, to discuss her recent book The White Bonus: Five Families and the Cash Value of Racism in America.  First, Sam and Emma run through updates on Benny Gantz’s split with Netanyahu over Israel’s war strategy, the death of multiple Iranian officials, Julian Assange’s right to appeal extradition, Michael Cohen’s testimony, Justice Alito’s partisanship, gun control in the US, Giuliani’s legal woes, and Disneyland unionization, before parsing through the ICC’s recent issuing of warrants for various Israeli and Hamas leaders and officials, such as Bibi Netanyahu and Yahya Sinwar. Tracie McMillan then joins, as she dives right into this idea of a “White bonus,” and how centuries of institutionalized White Supremacy in the US – even if largely reformed today – created lasting biases that privilege White folks without explicit (or socially-recognized) benefits based on race. After stepping back to explore how her personal experience exposed her to these concepts, seeing the benefit of the doubt she, as a White woman, was consistently given in an employment context, McMillan, Sam, and Emma explore where these “submerged” benefits lie, such as the tax breaks and employment opportunities offered to middle and upper-class families that have privileged from generations of White Supremacy, and how they shone through even in McMillan’s non-elite upbringing. Next, McMillan walks us through the examples she uses in her work, tackling how the ingrained “white bonus” of society helped bolster the upbringing of various middle-class Mississippi white kids, providing them pathways to social mobility and rescuing them from the trappings of the carceral state in ways Black kids would not be privy to, before wrapping up by reflecting on the need to emphasize widespread solidarity in the battle for material rectification, particularly in the US where racism continues to be a central inhibitor to social programs.
And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma watch a dissociative and pained Biden applaud a call for a permanent ceasefire at Morehouse’s graduation, discuss the facade of the 2-state solution that Biden (and many others) use to defend Israel’s apartheid regime, and unpack Israel’s ongoing attacks on aid trucks by citizens and settlers. Rudy Giuliani gets a surprise 80th birthday gift, AIPAC is NOT sending their best, and Donald Trump continues his 8-year tradition of crowd-size compensation. Anchorage’s right-wing candidate for Mayor tackles the problem of “woke,” as his opponent explores pointless policies around infrastructure and corruption, and Mike Lindell and Steve Bannon take on Minnesota’s new Sharia state flag.
Check out Tracie's book here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250619426/thewhitebonus
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It's Casual Friday! Sam speaks with Heather Digby Parton, contributing writer at Salon.com and proprietor of the blog Hullabaloo, to round up the week in news. Then, he's joined by Matthew Film Guy! First, Sam runs through updates on South Africa’s emergency ICJ injunction to stop Israel’s assault on Rafah, aid to Israel and Gaza, Trump’s legal woes, North Carolina’s bipartisan mask ban, Gov Abbott’s pardoning the murderer of a BLM protester, DOJ’s plan for weed, DeSantis’ institutionalized climate denial, and continuing student activism on college campuses (this from Bard), before watching MTG get repeatedly put in her place on the House floor. Digby then joins, as she and Sam dive into the GOP’s heartwarming display of unity (down to the suit), as they leave their responsibilities behind to show up in support of the ever-marginalized Donald Trump, before unpacking the (un)likelihood of any real criminal accountability for Trump in this (or any) legal case. Next, they look to Biden’s ongoing “popularity” struggles, parsing through his upcoming appearance at Morehouse’s commencement, and unpacking why he refuses to more actively target the overwhelmingly unproductive and unpopular House GOP, wrapping up with an assessment of his campaign as his poll numbers continue to dwindle. Matthew Film Guy then joins, as he beefs with Sam over aesthetics, soft launches his upcoming project (and continuing film class), and recommends Terence Davies’ “The Long Day Closes.”

And in the Fun Half: Sam parses through Jimmy Carter’s unflinching criticism of Israel’s apartheid state, Lauren Boebert calls for more “cognitive dissonance” tests on Joe Biden, and Paul Bet David and Tim Pool beef over – get this – interview travel plans, plus, your IMs!
Check out Digby's work at Salon: https://www.salon.com/writer/heather_digby_parton
Check out Hullabaloo here: https://digbysblog.net/
Check out Matthew's Letterboxd here: https://letterboxd.com/langdonboom/
Check out Matthew's film discussion group here: https://www.commonpointqueens.org/program/cultural-arts-and-jewish-heritage-classes/
Check out Matthew's eBay auction here! https://www.ebay.com/itm/115464749223
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Check out the "Repair Gaza" campaign courtesy of the Glia Project here: https://www.launchgood.com/campaign/rebuild_gaza_help_repair_and_rebuild_the_lives_and_work_of_our_glia_team#!/
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It’s an EmMajority Report Thursday! She speaks with Regina Kunzel, professor of history and women's, gender, and sexuality studies at Yale University, to discuss her recent book In the Shadow of Diagnosis: Psychiatric Power and Queer Life. Then, she speaks with Beshara Doumani, professor of Palestinian studies at Brown University, to discuss the 76th anniversary of the Nakba. First, Emma runs through updates on South Africa’s ICJ appeal to stop Israel’s Rafah invasion, growing public dissent from Biden allies to his support of Israel’s genocide, the US’ detainment of an anti-zionist Israeli academic, Bob Menendez’s genius legal tactic, the assassination attempt on Slovakia’s Prime Minister, Trump’s legal woes, Argentinian homophobic hate crimes, and Louisiana gerrymandering, before watching CNN try to save face on their coverage of the violence against student protesters. Professor Regina Kunzel then dives right into the history of the psychiatric industry, from its roots as a custodial care industry (asylums, etc) in the 19th Century, through its slow battle for professional legitimacy over the first half of the 1900s, exploring how this push for legitimacy saw the industry lay claim to a wide range of “problems in living” such as anxiety, depression, and (importantly) homosexuality and gender nonconformity. Expanding on this, Professor Kunzel tackles the presentation of queerness as a “treatable” mental disorder, one that would eventually be codified as a personality disorder (alongside pedophilia and sadism) with the introduction of the DSM in 1952, before stepping back to look at the role World War II, and more specifically the emphasis on mental health screenings, had in giving state-backed legitimacy to the psychiatric industry writ large, and in its particular pathologization of queer identity. After looking at the central role de-pathologizing homosexuality played in the gay rights movement of the 1970s, and the side-effect of gender “deviance” taking a back seat to homosexuality, Professor Kunzel wraps up with the re-emergence of the medical and psychiatric attack on queer identity with the mainstreaming of transphobic politics over the last decade. Professor Beshara Doumani then joins, walking through the 76 years of Palestinian oppression and ethnic cleansing since the 1948 Nakba, with the original event seeing the expulsion of over 80% of Palestinians from their homes, the end of the Palestinian state (and Palestinian society), and the creation of the State of Israel in the vacuum left by British colonial rule. Continuing the conversation, Professor Doumani contextualizes the central role the Nakba plays in Palestinian trauma and oppression to this day, exacerbated and brought to the fore with the following “earthquakes” of the 1967 Six-Day War, which saw hundreds of thousands more Palestinians ethnically cleansed, and the Oslo Accords complete isolation of Palestinians between the river and the sea. After diving deeper into the particular failure of the 2-state “solution,” Professor Doumani walks Emma through the specific repression he’s faced as a Palestinian academic, and the tremendous increase it has seen in the wake of October 7th.
And in the Fun Half: Emma is joined by Brandon Sutton and Matt Binder as they watch British bigot Mike Graham boot Arab-Israeli Jew Avi Shlaim from his program for being honest about Israeli apartheid. Alec from Western New York explores the evolution of his perspective on anti-zionism, Mike in Denver on the second coming of meme-stock, and Bumble creator discusses the alienating future of AI-infused dating. Plus, your calls and IMs!
Check out Regina's book here: https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/I/bo212129044.html
Hear Beshara speak more about the Nakba here: https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2024/05/15/al-nakba-palestinians
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