Jon Wiener

Los Angeles

Contributing Editor at The Nation

Podcast Host at Start Making Sense Podcast

co-author with Mike Davis, "Set the Night on Fire: L.A. in the Sixties"; Host of "Start Making Sense," https://t.co/70UyduRYNd

Articles

Jamie Raskin on “A Rally a Day”-Plus, the Books of 1925

1 month ago | thenation.com | Jon Wiener

Jon Wiener: From The Nation magazine, this is Start Making Sense. I’m Jon Wiener. Later in the hour — 20 minutes without Trump. Today, literature in 1925, a hundred years ago. 1925 is being celebrated this year as the centenary of ‘The Great Gatsby’ by F. Scott Fitzerald — but we’re interested in some of the other books published that year.
Sherrod Brown: Winning Back the Working Class- Plus, “The Tide Is Turning”

1 month ago | thenation.com | Jon Wiener

Jon Wiener: From The Nation magazine, this is Start Making Sense. I’m Jon Wiener. Later in the show, Dahlia Lithwick says “The tide is turning.” She will analyze three key court cases where Trump suffered major defeats, defeats which are likely to have an “exponential effect”on other judges. But first: Sherrod Brown talks about winning back the working class – That’s coming up, in a minute. [BREAK]It’s time to talk politics with Sherrod Brown.
The Tariffs We Want-Plus, Blocking Student Deportations

2 months ago | thenation.com | Jon Wiener

Ad Policy Trump’s tariffs are not really about trade, they’re a form of blackmail—but the alternative is not a return to the free-trade policies introduced by Clinton and Obama. Lori Wallach of the Rethink Trade program at the American Economic Liberties Project explains what kind of tariffs we need, when combined with government support for reindustrialization.
Trump and the Universities: Submission and Resistance

Mar 19, 2025 | thenation.com | Jon Wiener

Support independent journalism that exposes oligarchs and profiteers Donald Trump’s cruel and chaotic second term is just getting started. In his first month back in office, Trump and his lackey Elon Musk (or is it the other way around?) have proven that nothing is safe from sacrifice at the altar of unchecked power and riches. Only robust independent journalism can cut through the noise and offer clear-eyed reporting and analysis based on principle and conscience.
Trump, the Universities, and the Courts-Plus, the Case of Stephen Miller

Mar 12, 2025 | thenation.com | Jon Wiener

Ad Policy The Supreme Court ruled against Trump last week in the first test of his refusal to release money appropriated by Congress, and more than a dozen more similar cases are likely to come before the court—probably including a challenge to his withholding hundreds of millions from research universities on the grounds that they have failed to protect Jewish students from antisemitism. But what if Trump defies court decisions that go against him?
The Supremes’ First Trump Case of 2025, plus This Week’s Protest Roundup

Mar 5, 2025 | thenation.com | Jon Wiener

Jon Wiener: From The Nation magazine, this is Start Making Sense. I’m Jon Wiener. Later in the hour: John Nichols with our protest update for the week. Topics include Tesla dealer showroom picketing; national park protesting; Ukraine support demonstrating; and town hall yelling. But first: the Supreme Court has taken up its first case challenging one of Trump’s executive orders. Rob Weissman of Public Citizen will explain – in a minute.
Ro Khanna Is Doing More Than Voting “No”

Mar 3, 2025 | thenation.com | Jon Wiener

Politics / Q&A / March 3, 2025 Ro Khanna Is Doing More Than Voting “No”The Silicon Valley progressive talks about the short-term and long-term strategies for defeating Trump and Trumpism. Edit Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA) questions witnesses during a roundtable on Supreme Court ethics hosted by House Oversight Committee Democrats, Washington, DC, June 11, 2024.
Ro Khanna and Thomas Geoghegan on What Is To Be Done

Feb 26, 2025 | thenation.com | Jon Wiener

Jon Wiener: From The Nation magazine, this is Start Making Sense. I’m Jon Wiener. Later in the show: we need to make the Democratic party a working–class party — and to do that, we need to promise something big, and keep it simple. That’s what Tom Gheoghegan says. We’ll speak with him later in the show. But first: Ro Khanna, member of Congress from the Silicon Valley, says “economic empowerment” should be the Democrat’s “defining cause.” He’ll explain – in a minute.
Elon Musk’s First Political Contributions of 2025-and the History of Culture Wars

Feb 19, 2025 | thenation.com | Jon Wiener

Jon Wiener: From The Nation magazine, this is Start Making Sense. I’m Jon Wiener. How did we end up with Trump back in the White House? We got here in part because Republicans built a movement over several decades centered on what we call “the culture wars.” But there’s a long history behind the culture wars, going back at least a century. In many ways the most dramatic battle of the culture wars was almost exactly a hundred years ago – in 1925, the Scopes Trial, about teaching evolution.
David Cole on How the Courts Can Stop Trump

Feb 18, 2025 | thenation.com | Jon Wiener

Politics / Q&A / February 18, 2025 How the Courts Can Stop Trump David Cole on How the Courts Can Stop TrumpThe former national legal director of the ACLU analyzes recent efforts to block the president’s executive orders. Ad Policy President Donald Trump throws sharpies to the crowd after signing executive orders during the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena, in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2025.