The Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer

The Nation Company LLC
  • 4.3 (41)
  • POLITICS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

The Time of Monsters podcast features Nation national-affairs correspondent Jeet Heer’s signature blend of political culture and cultural politics. Each week, he’ll host in-depth conversations with urgent voices on the most pressing issues of our time.

  1. What Bari Weiss Is Really Up To

    4D AGO

    What Bari Weiss Is Really Up To

    Bari Weiss, founder and editor of The Free Press, has often been profiled in the media, but usually in a superficial way that focuses on her personality and disputes with fellow journalists. She is currently on the cusp of great power, reportedly working on a deal to sell The Free Press and take a senior position at CBS. David Klion, Nation columnist and frequent guest on the podcast, has written an exceptionally trenchant analysis for The Guardian of Weiss’s politics and the way they align with the Trump administration’s war on critical voices. I was pleased to talk to David about Weiss’s career and how she has used her influence as an ideological enforcer, one that has the support of many wealthy patrons and powerful political allies. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    42 min
  2. The Failures of the Foreign Policy Elite

    SEP 14

    The Failures of the Foreign Policy Elite

    Matt Duss, vice-president of the Center for International Policy, wrote an excellent review for The Nation of Bob Woodward’s book War, which is a celebration of Joe Biden as a foreign policy sage. Duss is rightly skeptical of the book. We discuss Biden’s actual record on Ukraine and especially Gaza. Matt’s essay on this topic for Foreign Policy is also worth reading. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    40 min
  3. Dark Money Invades Social Media

    SEP 7

    Dark Money Invades Social Media

    On August 27, journalist Taylor Lorenz reported for Wired on a dark-money project funded by anonymous Democratic Party donors to shape social media. Her article documented that, "In a private group chat in June, dozens of Democratic political influencers discussed whether to take advantage of an enticing opportunity. They were being offered $8,000 per month to take part in a secretive program aimed at bolstering Democratic messaging on the internet. But the contract sent to them from Chorus, the nonprofit arm of a liberal influencer marketing platform, came with some strings. Among other issues, it mandated extensive secrecy about disclosing their payments and had restrictions on what sort of political content the creators could produce." I talked to Taylor about her article and the considerable backlash it provoked from the people she wrote about. We also discussed why Republicans have done so well on social media and why this latest effort is both morally dubious and ineffective. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    41 min
  4. Preparing for the Next War on Iran

    AUG 31

    Preparing for the Next War on Iran

    The Iran-Israel conflict in June was terrifying but brief: it lasted 12 days. But that war is not over. Trita Parsi, vice president and cofounder of the Quincy Institute, has been warning that both the United States and Israel are planning for another round, with their European allies providing the groundwork. I spoke to Parsi about the likelihood of war, the rationale behind the current sabre-rattling, and ways to stop the impending catastrophe. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    39 min
  5. The Great Canadian Betrayal

    AUG 17

    The Great Canadian Betrayal

    In April, the Liberal Party of Canada, under the leadership of Mark Carney, won an election that heartened opponents of the right-wing. Carney had run on the promise of fighting Donald Trump’s threats to annex Canada and also to bolster the Canadian state to deal with issues like affordable housing. But in office, Carney has been delivering something different than his rhetoric suggested: he has been servile to Trump and is promoting austerity. The journalist Luke Savage has written about Carney’s turn-around for both The Baffler and the Toronto Star. I talked to Luke not only about Carney’s policies but also why centrist technocratic liberals are so inept in fighting the far right.  Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    43 min
  6. Working in the New Scam Economy

    AUG 10

    Working in the New Scam Economy

    Almost everyone who is on line or even has a cell phone has encountered a familiar and perplexing nuisance: an email or text with a job offer to make lots of money while working from home. These messages seem like obvious scams but how do they work? Alexander Sammon, a feature writer for Slate, conducted a personal experiment to find out by taking one of the jobs he was offered. The result is a hilarious article detailing not just what it’s like to be ripped off but also illuminating the new grift economy that flourishes in the internet age as Donald Trump pursues his agenda of deregulation and the promotion of crypto currency. I had enormous fun both reading Alex’s article (which I can’t recommend highly enough) and talking to him about his strange experiences. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    42 min
  7. Zohran Mamdani’s Social Media Triumph

    AUG 3

    Zohran Mamdani’s Social Media Triumph

    Writing in The New Republic, Greg Sargent called attention to Zohran Mamdani’s highly effective media strategy which has allowed him to reach many voters that have been drifting away from the Democratic Party, especially young people and immigrants. In punchy, short videos, Mamdani has offered an optimistic message that celebrates big city life and diversity while showing how government policies can help make life better. I talked to Greg about the lessons of the Mamdani campaign. We also talk about strategies for investigating the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, a subject he wrote about here. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    37 min
  8. Donald Trump’s Foreign Policy Betrayal

    JUL 27

    Donald Trump’s Foreign Policy Betrayal

    Since 2015, Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized the American foreign policy establishment for being too belligerent and unwilling to negotiate with adversaries. But in office, Trump has carried out a foreign policy that has all the vices he has criticized and been even more inclined to risk war or get into new wars. In a recent essay in The New York Times, Stephen Wertheim, a senior fellow in the American Statecraft Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, has written an incisive critique of Donald Trump’s foreign policy incoherence emphasizing how the president’s ad hoc response to problems and his excessive faith in his own deal making ability prevents any systematic change from the status quo. Stephen and I have a wide-ranging discussion on the over-stretched American empire and why Trump is just making things worse. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    43 min
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4.3
out of 5
41 Ratings

About

The Time of Monsters podcast features Nation national-affairs correspondent Jeet Heer’s signature blend of political culture and cultural politics. Each week, he’ll host in-depth conversations with urgent voices on the most pressing issues of our time.

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