Current Affairs

Max from UNFTR joins Nathan J. Robinson to discuss Zohran Mamdani's victory, the limits of third-party politics, and how the Democratic Party can be taken over with five bold, non-negotiable demands for progressive transformation. 

⚙️ Subscribe to UNFTR: https://www.youtube.com/@UNFTR 

⚙️ Read the 5 Non-Negotiables: https://www.unftr.com/5nn 

0:00-8:10 Zohran Mamdani 

8:10-36:57 Can Third Parties Succeed? 

36:57-59:50 The Five “Non-Nego...

🦩 This episode originally aired on July 15, 2025. Get new episodes early at patreon.com/CurrentAffairs

Barry Eisler, a former CIA agent and bestselling novelist, joins Nathan J. Robinson to discuss his new book, The System. They talk about how power actually works in Washington, how politicians get absorbed into the duopoly, why partisan conflict is mostly theater, and how language, fiction, and euphemism shape our understanding of...

Middle East analyst Mouin Rabbani joins Nathan J. Robinson to discuss the ongoing genocide in Gaza. They examine the illusion of ceasefire negotiations, the weaponization of humanitarian aid through the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, and the eugenic logic underpinning Israel’s military campaign. They also explore how death tolls are systematically undercounted, how Palestinian voices are censored in Western media, why Isra...

MAGA followers say they want to expose powerful, predatory billionaire elites. But Donald Trump is the exact person who should be their enemy.

🏝️ Read the article: https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/the-epstein-case-reveals-the-fraud-of-trumpism 

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🦩 PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/CurrentAffairs 

🦩THE MYTH OF AMERICAN IDEALISM: https://www.penguin...

Honor Cargill-Martin, a historian of the ancient world, discusses how myths about the Roman empire originated and continue to warp our political discourse.

🏛️ Honor's Substack: https://allancienthistory.substack.com/

🏛️ Honor's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqRIbS3NQ4ksTUrMiaMVQ-Q

🏛️ Interview Transcript: https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/what-the-right-doesnt-know-about-rome

0:00-4:28 The Roman Empire TikTok Trend

4:28...

Kishore Mahbubani is a renowned diplomat, scholar, and one of the most insightful analysts of global power dynamics. He served as Singapore’s Ambassador to the United Nations and as President of the UN Security Council, and is the author of books including "Has China Won?" and "Has the West Lost It?"

Mahbubani joins Current Affairs to explain why the United States is losing ground to China--not because of Chinese aggression, but bec...

He has shown that a socialist message can win people over. His campaign is a model that should be emulated everywhere.

🗽 Read the article: https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/zohran-mamdanis-victory-is-just-what-the-left-needed

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🦩 PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/CurrentAffairs

🦩THE MYTH OF AMERICAN IDEALISM: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/...

The latest Democratic fad sidelines equality and justice in favor of a focus on cutting red tape. This is not the path forward.

🌎 Read the article: https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/abandon-abundance

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🦩 PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/CurrentAffairs

🦩THE MYTH OF AMERICAN IDEALISM: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738224/the-myth-of-america...

Ralph Nader is one of the most important and successful activists in American political history. He played a key role in creating the consumer rights movement in the 1960s and ’70s, and his push for auto safety regulation led to measures that saved countless lives. He has also run multiple insurgent campaigns for president, challenging the two-party system and offering powerful criticisms of corporate power.

Nader joins Current Affa...

Katrina vanden Heuvel is the publisher and editorial director of The Nation, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and an advocate for diplomacy, disarmament, and international cooperation. She returns to Current Affairs to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine, the erosion of U.S. diplomacy, and the bipartisan consensus around militarism.

She outlines the details of the Quincy Institute’s U.S. peace plan, explains why diplomac...

Even by the standards of right-wing rhetoric, Miller’s public statements are uncommonly shameless. He treats his audience as stupid and gullible. 

🦎 Read the article: https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/the-brainless-propaganda-of-stephen-miller 

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🦩 PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/CurrentAffairs 

🦩THE MYTH OF AMERICAN IDEALISM: https://www.penguinr...

Andrew Cuomo is not just unfit for office—he’s dangerous. In this interview, Lindsey Boylan, the first woman to publicly speak out about Cuomo’s abusive behavior, explains how his pattern of harassment, retaliation, and intimidation mirrors the authoritarian tactics of Donald Trump. Boylan describes how Cuomo weaponized state resources, silenced critics, and surrounded himself with enablers, all while cultivating a media image of c...

The former governor is a corrupt abuser of power with a pro-corporate agenda and a proven track record of deadly negligence. He will do nothing to improve New Yorkers’ lives. Why on Earth is he a contender for mayor? 

Nathan J. Robinson, editor of Current Affairs Magazine, reads his article "Andrew Cuomo Is Worse Than You Even Know" 

🗽 Read the article: https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/andrew-cuomo-is-worse-than-you-even-know 

0:0...

🦩 This episode originally aired on May 30, 2025. Get new episodes early at patreon.com/CurrentAffairs

Professor Richard Wolff is the host of the weekly program Economic Update, co-founder of Democracy at Work, and the author of numerous books including Understanding Marxism, Understanding Socialism, Capitalism Hits the Fan, and The Sickness Is the System.

He joins Current Affairs to explain how economics is deliberately taught in a ...

This panel was recorded on October 16th, 2024

A special event hosted by Current Affairs Magazine at The New School in New York City to celebrate the release of The Myth of American Idealism, the new book co-authored by Noam Chomsky and Nathan J. Robinson. The panel explores Chomsky’s lifelong critique of U.S. foreign policy—from Vietnam and Iraq to Ukraine and Gaza—and examines why his radical analysis of American power remains esse...

🦩 This episode originally aired on May 20, 2025. Get new episodes early at patreon.com/CurrentAffairs

John Cassidy, staff writer at The New Yorker and author of Capitalism and Its Critics, joins Nathan J. Robinson to explore the history of capitalism. Cassidy examines why capitalism has been criticized from its inception, the diverse range of critiques it has faced, and how these criticisms have evolved over time.

Through profiles o...

The Democratic Party is sclerotic. It’s easy to heap blame on Joe Biden now that he is weak and powerless. But that’s a convenient way of avoiding a major reckoning. 

Nathan J. Robinson, editor of Current Affairs, reads his article "The Problem Goes Well Beyond Biden" 

🦚 Read the article: https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/the-problem-goes-well-beyond-biden 

🦩SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT AFFAIRS MAGAZINE: https://www.currentaffairs.org/mem...

🦩 This episode originally aired on May 16, 2025. Get new episodes early at patreon.com/CurrentAffairs

Chas Freeman is one of the most insightful voices in U.S. foreign policy, with a distinguished career as a diplomat and a deep expertise in U.S.-China relations. In this conversation with Nathan J. Robinson, Freeman offers a searing critique of America's current approach to diplomacy, the global balance of power, and its role in ke...

🦩 This episode originally aired on May 14, 2025. Get new episodes early at patreon.com/CurrentAffairs

Ted Rall is one of the most influential political cartoonists on the left today. In his new book “What’s Left: Radical Solutions for Radical Problems," he presents a manifesto for left-wing politics in 2025, blending incisive analysis with his political cartoons.

Rall outlines what it means to be a leftist in an era where the Democr...