Half the Answer

Liberal Currents
  • 4.2 (17)
  • News Commentary
  • Updated Semiweekly

Caitlin M. Green and Trent R. Nelson interview experts who weigh in on current debates. In the process they seek not only to uncover answers to the questions of the day, but to explore why they are being asked in the first place. To understand the questions we ask, they believe, is half the answer.

  1. 3h ago

    Lindsey Graham: "Corporal," Senator, Hypocrite (with Maya Rupert)

    South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham has somehow jumped the queue, passing Mitch McConnell on the way to the place where Republican senators go at the end of a life full of compromises, betrayals, and cruelty. With the help of author, election strategist, and social justice advocate Maya Rupert, we explore the life and works of the man who occupied the most racist seat in American history. Resources: https://mayarupert.com/ The Real Ones: How to Disrupt the Hidden Ways Racism Makes Us Less Authentic https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9780593475973 https://www.instagram.com/maya.rupert/?hl=en https://lemonadamedia.com/show/whenwewin/ https://magazine.ucsb.edu/spring-summer-2024/accidental-and-optimistic-political-strategist https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/mitch-mcconnell-staff-questions-health-b3018929.html https://www.wired.com/story/sfpd-drone-video-leak-surveillance/ https://theemancipator.org/2026/07/19/investigations/lindsey-graham-occupied-the-most-racist-senate-seat-in-u-s-history/ https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-state-scs-rep-lindsey-graham-enj/201550004/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/graham100798.htm https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/for-lindsey-graham-years-of-light-duty-as-a-lawmaker-in-the-air-reserve/2015/08/02/c9beb9fc-3545-11e5-adf6-7227f3b7b338_story.html https://www.npr.org/2011/12/08/143333594/revisiting-newt-gingrichs-1997-ethics-investigation https://media.npr.org/assets/multimedia/2011/12/gingrich/Feb_26_1994.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20201117025418/https://apnews.com/article/a1fcceda5e00bfa840afe5a82260c2ef https://www.wcpinst.org/source/unborn-victims-of-violence-act-heads-to-white-house/ https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/02/us/senate-declines-to-resolve-issue-of-american-qaeda-suspects-arrested-in-us.html https://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2013/04/18/177780665/bipartisan-senate-gang-prepares-to-sell-immigration-plan https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/06/how-lindsey-graham-stomped-the-tea-party/372521/?single_page=true https://www.cnn.com/2015/07/20/politics/jeb-bush-john-mccain-donald-trump https://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/21/politics/donald-trump-lindsey-graham-cell-phone/index.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-media-attack-lindsey-graham-kook-unfit-office-video-backfires-a8087796.html https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation-politics/senator-on-gop-backing-trump-party-has-gone-batshit-crazy/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2016/live-updates/general-election/real-time-updates-on-the-2016-election-voting-and-race-results/sen-lindsey-graham-i-voted-evan-mcmullin-for-president/ https://www.npr.org/sections/death-of-ruth-bader-ginsburg/2020/09/19/914774433/use-my-words-against-me-lindsey-graham-s-shifting-position-on-court-vacancies https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/498133-graham-on-potential-supreme-court-vacancy-this-would-be-a-different/ https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-media-attack-lindsey-graham-kook-unfit-office-video-backfires-a8087796.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/what-did-they-do-with-lindsey-graham/2019/01/15/c9909e62-1914-11e9-88fe-f9f77a3bcb6c_story.html https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/27/lindsey-graham-defends-brett-kavanaugh-amid-christine-blase-ford-accusation.html https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/27/lindsey-graham-slams-democrats-after-blasey-ford-testimony.html https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/10/politics/lindsey-graham-wall-emergency-powers/index.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/25/magazine/lindsey-graham-what-happened-trump.html https://www.newsweek.com/lindsay-graham-says-people-angry-over-trumps-mccain-attacks-dont-really-care-1377523 https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/3664179002 "Lindsey Graham" by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

  2. Jul 20

    Ken Paxton and the Potential Boogaloo Congressman (with Steven Monacelli)

    Ken Paxton isn't the only Looney Toon running for a position in the United States Congress this November. An extremist gun YouTuber is the Republican nominee for a House seat in the district that contains Uvalde, Texas. How did this happen? How is Katy Stout, his Democratic opponent, feeling about suddenly facing a boneheaded boogaloo bro instead of the moderate who was supposed to be there? Journalist Steven Monacelli tells us all about it. Resources https://www.stevenmonacelli.com https://bsky.app/profile/stevanzetti.bsky.social https://www.texasobserver.org/brandon-herrera-gun-youtube-uvalde-congress/ https://sanantonioreport.org/profile/katy-padilla-stout-2026-candidate-for-texas-23rd-congressional-district/ https://www.texastribune.org/2026/04/13/texas-tony-gonzales-resigning-congress-sexual-misconduct-affair-staffer-eric-swalwell/ https://www.texastribune.org/2026/02/12/trump-cease-and-desist-brandon-herrera-tony-gonzales-23rd-congressional-district/ https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/22/brandon-herrera-antisemitism-aipac-republicans-texas-00838410 https://brandonherreraforcongress.com/news/ https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/election/2024/article/brandon-herrera-congress-ak-guy-19371667.php https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/15/us/politics/brandon-hererra-guns-youtube.html https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/07/gonzales-is-out-in-texas-and-dems-see-a-chance-to-beat-the-akguy-00817739 https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/gop-candidate-brandon-herrera-mein-kampf-tony-gonzales-1235526685/

  3. Jul 15

    The Mancunian Candidate and the End of Keir Starmer (with Hunter CG)

    Exactly what is going on in England? Why is the Labour Party trying to behave like the Tories—or worse? Is Andy Burnham any better than Keir Starmer? We ask our European expert Hunter CG (RoteRote Media) to lay it out for us. Resources: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/06/world/europe/buses-andy-burnham-greater-manchester-bee.html https://www.npr.org/2026/06/22/nx-s1-5866429/with-starmers-resignation-the-u-k-is-set-for-its-7th-pm-in-10-years https://www.npr.org/2026/06/25/nx-s1-5869499/starmers-successor-reset-on-uk-us-relationship-strait-latest https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crm0r94mv7jo https://www.nbcnews.com/world/united-kingdom/nominations-open-contest-uk-leader-andy-burnham-likely-only-candidate-rcna353629 https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-pm-in-waiting-vows-rebuild-hard-power-more-dangerous-world-2026-07-09/ https://www.cambridge.org/highereducation/books/politeness/89113EE2FB4A1D254D4A8D2011E542E4#overview

  4. Jul 11

    Graham Platner: Walking Red Flag (with Marisa Kabas)

    Graham Platner is a parade of red flags stuffed into a pair of yellow rubber waders, and yet so many let those things slide with a tsk tsk at best. For others, he was a bad man with bad views who unfortunately represented the only possible way to reverse the GOP majority in the senate. Improperly vetted, he relied on his "everyman" image to skate through the primaries despite several rounds of damning information reveals. But mere weeks from the deadline to finalize the candidacy of contenders, a story finally emerged that nobody could ignore. We ask Marisa Kabas of the Handbasket how it feels to have people suddenly come all the way around, and why it's so frustrating that they didn't figure it out sooner. Resources thehandbasket.co https://bsky.app/profile/marisakabas.bsky.social https://www.thehandbasket.co/p/graham-platner-rape-accusation-maine-senate https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/06/graham-platner-sexual-assault-allegation-00987737 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDAWPE5PaWE https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2026/jul/09/donald-trump-graham-platner-mitch-mcconnell-iran-midterms-latest-news-updates https://www.unpopularfront.news/p/graham-platner-is-a-type-of-guy https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/07/08/graham-platner-isolated-defies-maine-democrats-they-try-hatch-plan/ https://www.newsweek.com/i-dated-graham-platner-i-believe-jenny-racicot-and-lyndsey-fifield-12172864 https://www.garbageday.email/p/the-curdling-of-the-american-man https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/graham-platner-maine-senate-exit-democrats-b3010473.html https://losingmyperspicacity.beehiiv.com/p/we-have-an-even-bigger-problem-than-graham-platner?utm_source=losingmyperspicacity.beehiiv.com&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=we-have-an-even-bigger-problem-than-graham-platner&_bhlid=725fa1d50927278b100637f3437277b0325dbb16 klippenstein being an ass https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/my-graham-platner-apology "Graham Platner 10-2-25" by m Spiess is licensed under CC BY 3.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/?ref=openverse.

  5. Jul 7

    ICE Flights: Cattle Cars in the Sky (with Gillian Brockell)

    ICE flights are still happening and they are still horrifying. Gillian Brockell brings us updates on some of the major players in the game of torturing innocent people in the sky, their victims, and the regular people who do not want this abusive pack of monsters to continue using their resources. Resources https://gillianbrockell.com/ Send tips to: gbrockell.44 on signal https://bsky.app/profile/gillianbrockell.com https://www.patreon.com/cw/worstairlineever https://gillianbrockell.com/interviews-podcast-and-some-r/ https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/vietnamese-man-deported-from-u-s-to-south-sudan-repatriated-after-year-in-detention https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/fact-sheet/what-are-third-country-removals-factsheet/ https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9781324092407 https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/deep-swamps-archaeologists-fugitive-slaves-kept-freedom-180960122/ https://www.baloproject.org/ https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/08/world/africa/trump-deportation-us-judge-congo-colombia.html https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/01/omni-ice-deportations-charter-flight-stonepeak-private-equity/ https://theintercept.com/2022/02/17/amazon-ice-deportation-flights-omni/ https://www.ch-aviation.com/news/152641-stonepeak-completes-acquisition-of-uss-atsg https://www.npr.org/2026/01/08/nx-s1-5629234/the-cautionary-tale-of-how-chicago-privatized-its-parking-meters https://abc7chicago.com/post/chicago-parking-meter-deal-city-council-members-seek-block-morgan-stanley-sale-meters-stone-peak/19265309/

  6. Jul 1

    America's 250th Birthday Party and The Green Reflecting Pool (with Amanda Moore)

    Why won't Gregory Bovino stay gone? Why can't Trump keep his pool clean? And how many fireworks is too many fireworks? We asked our friend and yours Amanda Moore to help us get to the bottom of these questions and more. Resources: https://www.instagram.com/noturtlesoup17/?hl=en  https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/an-ice-chaser-bovino/ https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/02/gregory-bovino-border-patrol-ice-minneapolis-chicago-new-orleans-video/ https://bsky.app/profile/noturtlesoup17.bsky.socialhttps://authory.com/AmandaMoore https://www.turtlediaries.net/p/update-from-the-great-american-state https://www.turtlediaries.net/p/semiquincentennial-and-ice

  7. Jun 27

    Jared Kushner and Albania's Flamingo Revolution (with Hunter CG)

    Why is Albania having anti-Jared Kushner protests? What did he do to them? And what on Earth is going on in the UK? We asked our resident Europe expert to explain it all to us. Resources https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/how-uks-keir-starmer-went-from-election-landslide-to-downfall https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/06/jared-kushner-ivanka-trump-albania-luxury-resort-protest-movement-overthrow-albanian-socialist-prime-minister-corrupt-government/ https://www.wired.com/story/ivanka-and-jareds-island-resort-could-bring-down-albanias-prime-minister/

  8. Jun 20

    The Legalization of Sports Gambling in America (with Danny Funt)

    How did sports betting burst onto the scene so violently in the last half-decade? Danny Funt, author of Everybody Loses: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling explains the legal, regulatory and business changes that have led us here. For immediate help with problem gambling, please call 1-800-MY-RESET (800-522-4700) or visit https://www.ncpgambling.org/help-treatment/ Resources https://bookshop.org/p/books/everybody-loses-the-tumultuous-rise-of-american-sports-gambling-danny-funt/f7b6cf17f7e3e9b9?ean=9781668062029&next=t https://newrepublic.com/article/210094/sports-gambling-national-council-big-tobacco https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2026/02/20/everybody-loses-sports-gambling-danny-funt-review/ https://bsky.app/profile/dannyfunt.bsky.social https://x.com/dannyfunt?lang=en https://dannyfunt.substack.com/ https://www.congress.gov/bill/102nd-congress/senate-bill/474 https://sabr.org/journal/article/the-black-sox-scandal/ https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/584/16-476/ https://sri.siena.edu/2026/04/13/more-than-a-quarter-of-americans-27-have-an-active-online-sports-betting-account-a-third-have-opened-an-account-at-least-once/ https://www.masslive.com/politics/2023/03/really-annoying-sports-betting-ads-are-protected-by-1st-amendment-lawmakers-say.html

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4.2
out of 5
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About

Caitlin M. Green and Trent R. Nelson interview experts who weigh in on current debates. In the process they seek not only to uncover answers to the questions of the day, but to explore why they are being asked in the first place. To understand the questions we ask, they believe, is half the answer.

Information

  • Creator
    Liberal Currents
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    97
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Liberal Currents
  • Show Website
    Half the Answer