KCRW's Left, Right & Center

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KCRW's Left, Right & Center

Left, Right & Center is KCRW’s weekly civilized yet provocative confrontation over politics, policy and pop culture.

  1. 4 DAYS AGO

    That awkward moment when your war plans leave the group chat

    Earlier this week, The Atlantic Editor-In-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg revealed that top-level White House officials accidentally added him to a group chat about upcoming war plans. While some administration staffers initially denied the existence of the group chat, Trump and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt pivoted to denouncing Goldberg and his publication instead. Is this blunder big enough to send the administration into crisis? Or will Trump’s high favorability polling shield the controversy?  America’s neighbor to the north also faces political leadership shakeups. It’s election season in Canada, and the race for the next prime minister seems to hinge on how the potential PM would engage with U.S. President Donald Trump. This year’s Canadian election partially mirrors last year’s American election: a conservative populist candidate versus a liberal who came in after the previous leader stepped down. Conservative candidate Pierre Poilevre had initially polled well, but recent Canadian polls show a strong aversion to Trump and Trump-lite policies. Is this enough to change the tides of the Canadian election? The Canadian-American conflict continues with Trump’s intensive tariff plans. Trump previously asserted that strict tariffs against Canada would snuff the fentanyl trade. Is there even enough fentanyl coming from Canada to back that up? While the White House sees tariffs as a method to increase U.S. manufacturing, economists say these moves might hurt American consumers instead. How effective are Trump’s promises to revive the American economy?

    51 min

  2. 21 MAR

    Trump’s White House fights over flights

    The Trump administration caught some judiciary backlash last weekend after sending two deportation flights of Venezuelan immigrants to El Salvador. While the administration defends the flights under the “Alien Enemies Act,” federal Judge James Boasberg ruled them as unconstitutional. The flights took off anyway, leading to major questions about whether the Trump administration defied court orders to deport immigrants. What precedent does that set if true? Since then, President Trump has called for the impeachment of Judge Boasberg. Will the president impeach judges who rule against him? Similar leadership struggles are plaguing Congress, with many Democratic lawmakers questioning the fitness of Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Last week, Schumer sent a GOP-backed spending bill to a vote instead of blocking it like he’d originally promised. The bill slashes billions in non-defense spending, and according to some Democrats, gives Trump major discretionary powers over the budget. Still, Schumer defends the decision as the only choice to avoid a government shutdown. With party infighting and historically low favorability polling, can the Democrats unite to fight effectively against Trump’s agenda? President Trump’s discretionary powers also seem to have spread to the arts. Earlier this week, he made his first visit to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts since their recent changes to the board. Trump had previously named himself chairman of The Kennedy Center after ousting a historically bipartisan board of trustees. During his visit, he likened the state of the Kennedy Center to “open borders and men playing in women’s sports” and promised to change its “radical left” programming. Is Trump spending too much time on the culture wars?

    51 min

  3. 14 MAR

    Thou doth protest too much … so leave?

    Last week, federal ICE officers detained a Columbia University student over last year’s Israel-Palestine campus protests. The Trump administration revoked grad student Mahmoud Khalil’s green card, with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt accusing Khalil of “siding with terrorists.” Is the administration infringing on First Amendment rights?  Federal attention on Columbia University extended beyond the arrest of Khalil. The White House also announced a plan to cancel over $400 million in federal funding for the university over insufficient protections for Jewish students on campus. Education Secretary Linda McMahon claimed that Columbia had abandoned its anti-discriminatory obligation to protect Jewish students on campus. Is the federal government overdoing its oversight on college campuses?  Both Democrats and Republicans have supported expanding the child tax credit, but you’d never know from how they talk about it. Do politicians still value compromise? Or is it all about the glory?

    51 min

  4. 7 MAR

    Can Democrats fight Trump’s political power?

    Earlier this week, Donald Trump took to the U.S. Capitol for this term’s first joint address to Congress. He showed off his executive order accomplishments and chided opponents. The joint address was just short of a victory lap for his and the GOP’s political dominance. Do Democrats have a plan to build a stronger opposition party?  Trump also carved out speech time to acknowledge his tiff with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Zelenskyy recently gathered in the White House to discuss plans for peace in Ukraine. Things soured, and the Trump administration paused military aid and intelligence sharing for Ukraine. E.U. leaders made plans to support Ukraine in the U.S.’ stead. Does pulling back America’s influence in the conflict make the country look weaker on the world stage? Trump may have crafted an all-powerful image, but how accurate is that? In the article “MAGA as Master Morality”, author Jeremiah Johnson posits that Trump’s bravado may resonate with voters more than his actions. KCRW also takes a listener question on whether Trump’s presidential powers include changing the price of eggs.

    51 min

  5. 28 FEB

    Reality or reality TV?

    Donald Trump’s return to office has inspired constant breaking news headlines. This week: The administration faces scrutiny after the Elon Musk-led DOGE team instructed all federal workers to justify their employment via email. Should government workers take the threats seriously?  Differentiating what’s worth worrying about might be difficult when words like “oligarchy” and “autocracy” get thrown around. Trump may be a polarizing figure, but is he definitionally an oligarch? KCRW examines how messaging affects the national conversation about the presidency.  Later, the Left, Right, and Center panel takes a listener question about the merits of American bicameral politics over parliamentary systems. Does our current government enable this kind of disconnect between executives and the electorate? Could a parliamentary shift fix our problems?

    51 min

  6. 21 FEB

    Friend or foe? Trump turns foreign policy norms on their head

    Before his re-election, Donald Trump promised to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. Earlier this week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio initiated talks between Russia and the U.S. without Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump then took to social media to call Zelensky a dictator who “better move fast.” Is U.S. foreign policy shifting to blending the lines between allies and adversaries? On American soil, the Department of Justice is facing a massive shakeup. Last week, the DOJ proposed dismissing the corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Adams appeared to change his tune on Trump’s mass immigration crackdowns not long after. As a result, over eight DOJ prosecutors resigned instead of signing off on the dismissal motion. Manhattan U.S. attorney Danielle Sassoon accused the DOJ of a quid pro quo deal in exchange for Adams’ cooperation with the Trump administration. Is the deal unlawful, unethical, or both? When it comes to getting presidents elected, do political rallies matter anymore? They’re extravagant, in-person information events in a world where most people get their news online.

    51 min

  7. 14 FEB

    Is ‘cancel culture’ cancelled?

    An inquiry from the Wall Street Journal into a social media account linked to a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer led to the employee’s resignation from the Elon Musk-led agency. Following an impromptu Twitter poll from Musk and support from Vice President JD Vance, the employee was welcomed back into DOGE. Is the re-hiring a blow against “cancel culture,” or is an empowered right playing a similar game but with new rules? On the first day of Donald Trump’s second term, he withdrew the United States from the Paris Climate Accord via executive order. He made a similar move in 2017, which drew international backlash, largely on moral grounds. This time around, people worldwide expected the move and gave a more subdued response. Will a revised argument from climate activists break through to conservative leadership in the States? The president also issued executive orders that ended the printing of pennies and federal efforts to embrace paper straws. Though popular, are these actions timely?

    51 min

  8. 7 FEB

    Trump and Musk play disruptor

    This week, Trump lobbied for the United States military to oversee the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip and turn it into the “riviera of the Middle East.” He forced a brief trade standoff with Canada and Mexico, paused foreign aid, and tried to freeze federal funding for public loans, grants, and other financial aid. American voters seemed to want Trump’s particular brand of disrupting the status quo, but could that backfire? KCRW discusses some of the possible motivations behind Trump’s recent actions, including tariffs and the proposed spending freeze. We also explore the arguments surrounding the White House’s economic policy. Is the president still committed to his promise of putting American interests first?

    51 min
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    Left, Right & Center is KCRW’s weekly civilized yet provocative confrontation over politics, policy and pop culture.

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