Half the Answer

Liberal Currents
  • 4.2 (17)
  • NEWS COMMENTARY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

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. 2D AGO

    Making America Sick Again: How MAGA is Hurting Healthcare & Science (with Walker Bragman)

    Trent and Caitlin reconnect with journalist Walker Bragman to hash out the current state of the NIH and HHS, the ideologies that drive people to promote eugenics and science denial, and the childish nature of fascism. Resources: https://www.importantcontext.news/ https://www.accountabilityjournalism.org/ https://bsky.app/profile/walkerbragman.bsky.social https://publichealth.jhu.edu/ivac/resources/us-measles-tracker https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/live-blog/trump-means-surgeon-general-congress-state-of-the-union-live-updates-rcna260120 https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/measles/bhattacharya-urges-measles-vaccination-us-activity-increases https://www.brookings.edu/articles/audible-reckoning-how-top-political-podcasters-spread-unsubstantiated-and-false-claims/

    1h 16m

  2. 6D AGO

    America and Iran: Another Forever War? (with The Logical Leftist)

    Happy days are not here again, but at least Trent and Caitlin have Jeff Waldorf, the Logical Leftist, to hang out with while they process it all. The United States has dropped bombs on Iran, killing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several of his top-ranking officials, civilians, and the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls' school, in which more than 160 little girls were killed. They talk through the conflicting, nonsensical, and sometimes straight-up Orwellian justifications provided by US politicians for initiating a war of aggression against another country in the Middle East. Resources https://www.youtube.com/@LogicallyLeftist https://www.facebook.com/JeffWaldorfShow/ https://www.instagram.com/logicalleftist/ https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:hv7pcnm6u7s544ycmf7xjatc https://www.reuters.com/world/us/pentagon-tells-congress-no-sign-that-iran-was-going-attack-us-first-sources-say-2026-03-02/ https://www.npr.org/2026/02/28/nx-s1-5730203/iran-israel-trump-congress-strikes-reaction https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/nuclear-program-missiles-regime-change-trump-struggles-define-iran-war-rcna261309 https://edition.cnn.com/world/live-news/iran-war-us-israel-trump-03-03-26 https://www.npr.org/2026/03/02/g-s1-112151/iran-war-widens-threatens-to-engulf-lebanon https://www.npr.org/2026/02/28/nx-s1-5730203/iran-israel-trump-congress-strikes-reaction https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/un-experts-deeply-disturbed-by-child-deaths-escalating-middle-east-conflict-2026-03-04/ https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/02/nyregion/merchant-iran-plot-assassination-trump.html

    1h 10m

  3. MAR 3

    The WaPo Defenestration and ICE Flight Brutality (with Gillian Brockell)

    Trent and Caitlin check in with journalist Gillian Brockell after the release of her article on ICE air. They discuss the recent mass layoffs at the Washington Post, the abhorrent treatment of deportees, the justifications used to mistreat humans, and the importance of empathy and being a human. Resources: https://gillianbrockell.ghost.io/ https://bsky.app/profile/gbrockell.bsky.social https://www.businessinsider.com/billionaires-richer-and-stingier-than-ever-forbes-400-list-2021-10 https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2024/08/26/emmett-till-william-bradford-huie-carolyn-bryant-civil-rights/ https://www.npr.org/2026/02/07/nx-s1-5705413/washington-post-ceo-resigns-will-lewis https://51st.news/ https://www.mprnews.org/story/2026/02/17/court-hearings-lawsuit-alleging-ice-agents-racially-profiled-us-citizens-minnesota Ginsburg on Firing Line: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBpoZBhvBa4 https://discourses.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Teun-A.-van-Dijk-2008-News-discourse-and-ideology.pdf http://brianb.freeshell.org/a/kddd.pdf https://bookshop.org/p/books/wild-faith-how-the-christian-right-is-taking-over-america-talia-lavin/1cf72a0d0396cdce?ean=9780306829192&next=t https://www.liberalcurrents.com/the-lovejoy-trap-fascism-masquerading-as-care/ https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/01/omni-ice-deportations-charter-flight-stonepeak-private-equity/ https://newrepublic.com/article/206058/transcript-trump-ice-threats-take-darker-turn-maga-calls-blood https://www.baloproject.org/

    1h 30m

  4. FEB 27

    What’s the deal with Concentration Camps? (with Andrea Pitzer)

    Trent and Caitlin talk with author and journalist Andrea Pitzer about the modern concentration camp model, its history and public perception, and the concentration camps the United States government is operating and hopes to open in the near future. Resources https://andreapitzer.com/ Andrea's newsletter: https://degenerateart.beehiiv.com/ Andrea's book on camps: https://bookshop.org/p/books/one-long-night-a-global-history-of-concentration-camps-andrea-pitzer/ea53c06c993f6ad0?ean=9780316303569&next=t Andrea's book on Nabokov: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-secret-history-of-vladimir-nabokov-andrea-pitzer/fe47f57e9a2b2a73?ean=9781639361182&next=t https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/blog/ice-buys-warehouses-immigration-detention/ https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/18/us/politics/ice-warehouses-trump-voters.html https://bookshop.org/p/books/friendly-fascism-the-new-face-of-power-in-america-bertram-gross/414671ea6a34dd2c?ean=9781497689404&next=t https://www.asc.upenn.edu/news-events/news/black-lives-matter-movement-not-covid-19-encouraged-voters-toward-biden-2020-election

    1h 12m

  5. FEB 25

    The SAVE America Act’s Assault on Voting Rights (with Hunter CG)

    Trent and Caitlin chatted with Hunter CG of RoteRote Media and Democrats Abroad, looking at the GOP's latest assault on voting rights, the SAVE America Act. This act has passed the House of Representatives and will be addressed by the Senate in the next couple of days. They talk about all the different ways this piece of legislation disenfranchises voters in the US and abroad, and they exhort everyone to reach out to their senators and make it clear that its passing would be unacceptable. Resources: https://www.ncsl.org/state-legislatures-news/details/9-things-to-know-about-the-proposed-save-america-act https://www.tiktok.com/@roterotemedia https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/save-act-lgbtq-voters https://foxbaltimore.com/news/nation-world/senate-to-vote-on-save-america-act-as-voter-id-debate-intensifies-susan-collins-chuck-schumer-photo-id

    1h 12m

  6. FEB 19

    CBP and ICE Report: New Orleans, Minneapolis, Greg Bovino & Apple Pie (with Amanda Moore)

    Caitlin and Trent talk with journalist Amanda Moore about her work tracking the DHS "surges" all over the United States, her efforts to get close to former commander at large Gregory Bovino, and her experience trying to form conclusions about the broader patterns of immigration forces' violence over time. Resources:https://substack.com/@noturtlesoup17https://www.instagram.com/noturtlesoup17/?hl=enhttps://bsky.app/profile/noturtlesoup17.bsky.social Bovino's legacy of violence https://www.instagram.com/reel/DUbhHF7jCI8/ Trump's War on History https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/02/america-freedom-task-force-250-trump-anniversary-history-smithsonian-kennedy-center/ The Horns and Whistles Work https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/12/the-horns-and-whistles-work/

    57 min

  7. FEB 17

    Bad Bunny's Super Bowl Halftime Show, Warehouse Prisons & the El Paso Laser Fiasco (with Jonathan Katz)

    Trent and Caitlin boogie with friend-of-the-program, journalist Jonathan M. Katz of The Racket. They talk Super Bowl, Bad Bunny, the TPUSA halftime safe space show, and immigration detention. Resources: theracket.newshttps://bsky.app/profile/katz.theracket.news https://www.tiktok.com/@katzonearth?lang=enSchools Closed in Puerto Rico: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/09/12/magazine/puerto-rico-schools-hurricane-maria.html Infrastructure in Puerto Rico: https://katz.substack.com/p/the-cluster-in-puerto-rico?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Gangsters of Capitalism: https://bookshop.org/p/books/gangsters-of-capitalism-smedley-butler-the-marines-and-the-making-and-breaking-of-america-s-empire-jonathan-m-katz/c1ca55fd36f1b6d4?ean=9781250135599&next=t The Big Truck That Went By: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-big-truck-that-went-by-how-the-world-came-to-save-haiti-and-left-behind-a-disaster-jonathan-m-katz/b3ca7a131069f3ac?ean=9781137278975&next=t

    1h 11m

  8. FEB 11

    Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself? (with Matt McManus)

    Trent and Caitlin catch up with political science assistant professor Matt McManus. They discuss the narratives surrounding resistance in the twin cities, the loud and ugly voices on the right describing an ideology of cruelty and dehumanization, and the power of regular people to puncture false claims from the government.Resources: https://www.factcheck.org/2026/01/as-ice-arrests-increased-a-higher-portion-had-no-u-s-criminal-record/https://im1776.com/2022/07/01/christopher-rufo-interview/https://bookshop.org/p/books/what-is-post-modern-conservatism-essays-on-our-hugely-tremendous-times-matthew-mcmanus/270db00d6106d9a7?ean=9781789042450&next=thttps://bookshop.org/p/books/the-political-theory-of-liberal-socialism-matthew-mcmanus/f7f9b79be796b7ec?ean=9781032647234&next=t

    1h 7m
See All (71)

4.2
out of 5
17 Ratings

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
    71
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Liberal Currents
  • Show Website
    Half the Answer

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