Episode 45 Audio: Jordan Chariton

This week, the story at the front of our minds is the recent unwelcome development on the budget bill: because establishment Democrats like Manchin and Sinema are determined to deliver for their corporate donors, Americans won’t be getting the broad Medicare expansion, paid family leave, and free community college provisions that they were promised, among other things. As KK&F alum David Sirota points out in a Jacobin piece co-authored with Andrew Perez, there won’t be any building back better until the Democratic Party breaks its ties with big money. In the meantime, we’re getting scraps in the middle of the COVID crisis — and from climate change to infrastructure and basic welfare measures, our government can’t be trusted to deliver as long as it answers to corporate lucre.

Meagan Day @meaganmday

I think so far we've said goodbye to paid family leave, tuition-free community college, meaningful climate provisions, expanded Medicare eligibility + vision/hearing/dental, prescription drug price controls, universal non-means-tested child care + tax credit, a billionaire tax...

We’re welcoming Jordan Chariton to the show this week, getting his expert’s insight into building an independent media platform, tracking the stories he’s following on the ground and documenting with everyday Americans’ perspectives, and delving into the week’s political developments. You can also hear this podcast on major streaming platforms like Pandora, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and more.