Content by Matthew Sheffield
Ex-Republican activist discusses how he went from Nader voter to Trump backer
Rich Logis on waking up from MAGA
September 25, 2023, 15:07 PDT
Young Republicans can’t get a date — or a clue as to why
Reactionary ideas are increasingly abhorrent to Generation Z, but young right-wingers are refusing to look inward
September 19, 2023, 3:59 PDT
Progressives have forgotten that fitness has always been political
Health culture historian Natalia Mehlman Petrzela discusses fitness and fascism
September 18, 2023, 9:59 PDT
Right-wing media has become too big for the center-left to ignore
You're in no danger of ‘platforming’ someone who has millions of followers, and they only get more if not debunked
September 15, 2023, 14:44 PDT
A former porn star is helping straight men understand intimacy and themselves
After a successful career in adult media, Nyomi Banks is helping fans focus on self-care
September 11, 2023, 11:44 PDT
Adult media has gone mainstream and changed itself for the better, star Tasha Reign says
How OnlyFans revolutionized porn by giving performers and viewers more autonomy
September 4, 2023, 10:48 PDT
The ‘world’s oldest profession’ is attaining new relevance in the internet age
Old Pros founder Kaytlin Bailey on sex worker rights and changing norms
August 28, 2023, 10:44 PDT
Democrats should resist the temptation to write off Idaho and other ‘red states’
Wonkette senior editor Marty Kelley on why the national left shouldn't leave red state progressives behind
August 21, 2023, 14:17 PDT
Rather than persuade new potential voters, reactionary elites are inventing a new Satanic panic
Julie Millican and Olivia Little of Media Matters discuss Republicans' disturbing new publicity trick
August 7, 2023, 14:10 PDT
Covid contrarianism was an epic failure that should never be forgotten
Doctor Jonathan Howard on why covid skeptics are trying to rewrite the history of their errors
July 25, 2023, 14:09 PDT
Fundamentalist Christianity is a totalitarian mental experience, but how many people realize this?
Author Lance Aksamit talks about living and leaving the world of missionizing evangelicalism
July 22, 2023, 21:10 PDT
How personal trauma helped push podcaster Ty Ross into and out of being a Black Republican
Podcaster Ty Ross discusses the experiences that caused her to enter and exit the world of Black Republicanism
July 15, 2023, 21:19 PDT
Tucker Carlson needs Fox much more than it needs him
Mediaite editor Colby Hall discusses how the ratings of cable news are in decline, even as its influence is unparalleled
July 8, 2023, 22:01 PDT
An ancient Greek philosophical tradition is surprisingly relevant in today’s world of instant information
Philosopher Richard Bett discusses how many internet ‘skeptics’ are doing the exact opposite of what they think
July 1, 2023, 10:05 PDT
One year later, the Dobbs decision has put Republican radicalism into the national spotlight
The mainstream press rarely talks about elite Republicans’ extremism, but now Americans are experiencing it firsthand
June 26, 2023, 2:44 PDT
Can evangelical Christianity be saved from right-wing extremism?
Activist and podcaster Tim Whitaker describes how and why he and others are trying to build an inclusive faith
June 24, 2023, 1:31 PDT
You can’t really understand the Christian right without knowing the history of the religious left
Historian Gene Zubovich tells about the mostly forgotten history of the liberal Protestants who helped build today’s world order
June 17, 2023, 9:46 PDT
Donald Trump never learned the first rule of Republican politics: Don’t believe right-wing media
Republican elites aren’t supposed to believe their own propagandists
June 15, 2023, 13:35 PDT
Social media moderation standards are more about epistemology than technology
Internet researcher Renée DiResta discusses the challenges and controversies of content moderation
June 10, 2023, 13:47 PDT
Donald Trump isn’t the first: Many major countries have prosecuted former chief executives
The facts are clear that only 'banana republics' refuse to uphold the rule of law against corrupt leaders
June 9, 2023, 3:01 PDT
Chris Christie is pursuing a novel Republican strategy: Telling the truth about Trump
Launching presidential bid, ex-New Jersey governor chides intra-party rivals for their cowardice
June 7, 2023, 0:31 PDT
How social media gave birth to ‘fanfiction leftism’
Author David Masciotra on why a new class of supposedly leftist pundits seems to never attack Republicans
June 3, 2023, 15:48 PDT
Why the self-help politics of Marianne Williamson leads nowhere
Conspirituality podcaster Matthew Remski discusses how the New Age industry birthed a politics of delusion
May 20, 2023, 11:57 PDT
Right-wing media’s lies about Covid shots are making Republicans more skeptical of other vaccines
New survey finds Republican adults have become significantly less likely to support MMR vaccine requirements for school children
May 17, 2023, 13:32 PDT
Rod Dreher’s obsessive blogging has made him a window to the soul of the American right
Phil Christman talks about how a Christian blogger inadvertently documented his own radicalization
May 13, 2023, 2:28 PDT
Mastodon, the Fediverse, and the revolt of the internet masses
Dan Gillmor and Darius Kazemi on why open protocol social media needs to be the future
May 6, 2023, 3:24 PDT
Why podcasts have become a key part of many Americans’ news and entertainment
Pew Research Center researcher Elisa Shearer breaks down a new report on how and why people listen to podcasts
April 29, 2023, 10:05 PDT
Most movements to make political change fail, what do the ones that succeed have in common?
Historian Timothy Shenk discusses his book Realigners: Partisan Hacks, Political Visionaries, and the Struggle to Rule American Democracy
April 15, 2023, 9:45 PDT
AI is going to change politics, and Americans are skeptical about what could happen
Change Research pollster Stephen Clermont talks about public opinion on AI and its possible impacts on campaigns
April 8, 2023, 6:53 PDT
Big business and government are adopting artificial intelligence, what can it do for the rest of us?
Technologist and researcher Simon Willison on technical and practical applications of ChatGPT and AI
April 1, 2023, 14:21 PDT
Artificial intelligence is going to change the world, but how much of it is hype?
Gary N. Smith and Jeff Schatten debate and discuss how chatbots will change education, employment, and a lot more
March 25, 2023, 2:03 PDT
Baby Boomers fundamentally changed America, when will other generations get their chance?
Washington Post columnist Philip Bump talks about his new book ‘The Aftermath: The Last Days of the Baby Boom and the Future of Power in America’
March 18, 2023, 1:12 PDT
Dominion’s Fox lawsuit has incontrovertibly exposed that Fox isn’t news
The Daily Beast’s Diana Falzone and Justin Baragona report from inside the troubled right-wing network
March 11, 2023, 9:50 PST
Stacey Plaskett isn’t letting Jim Jordan weaponize stupidity
House Democrats keep shooting down Republican conspiracy theories
March 10, 2023, 16:53 PST
Republican elites and their Fox counterparts hate Trump, but they can’t get rid of him
Seven years after being defeated by Trump, the professional right still hasn’t realized why it lost
March 8, 2023, 19:08 PST
The Christian Right was a theological rebellion against modernity before it became a force for Republicans
Religion scholar David Hollinger on the soteriology of reaction and his book ‘Christianity’s American Fate’
March 4, 2023, 20:01 PST
Christianity, Islam, and equal rights are often in conflict, but do they have to be?
Author Wajahat Ali discusses his book ‘Go Back to Where You Came From’ and how non-believers and the faithful need to come together
February 25, 2023, 21:12 PST
The sexuality of reaction is complicated and contradictory
Writers Seyward Darby and Katherine Abughazaleh discuss how far-right influencers have created a form of religious prudery
February 18, 2023, 21:19 PST
The world’s richest people are starting to realize the system they’ve created is unstable, but they can’t stop
Author and filmmaker Douglas Rushkoff talks about why oligarchs are planning for disaster and his book, ‘Survival of the Richest’
February 11, 2023, 15:25 PST
Are Republicans are losing the ability to communicate to people outside the Fox bubble?
Right-wing media has so consumed the Republican party that its politicians are having trouble speaking words regular people can understand
February 8, 2023, 19:23 PST
Republicans are angry that Biden told the public about their policy agenda
Cutting Social Security and Medicare has been a Republican fantasy for decades, but now it’s the agenda that dare not say its name
February 8, 2023, 19:17 PST
The old neoliberal consensus is dead, will a ‘designer economy’ replace it?
Historian Nils Gilman on why leaders on the left and right are realizing the state must play a bigger role in the economy
February 4, 2023, 18:04 PST
The strange political history of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency
David Golumbia, author of ‘The Politics of Bitcoin: Software as Right-Wing Extremism’ talks about the rigid ideologies behind crypto
January 28, 2023, 8:44 PST
To make a better future, we must first realize why we didn’t get the one we were promised
Author Richard Barbrook talks about the failed promises of tech liberation, neoliberalism, and the ‘Californian Ideology’
January 22, 2023, 1:19 PST
Many older comedians would rather attack the audience than update their material
Comedian Lisa Curry discusses why some standup comics are crying ‘cancel culture’ instead of coming up with new jokes
January 13, 2023, 22:02 PST
Male popular culture is obsolete, and men are suffering because of it
Men’s support group leader Brandon Bradford says many men are feeling lonely because society never taught them sustainable mental health
January 8, 2023, 9:10 PST
Trump’s NFT collection appears to be heavily based on unlicensed images
While critics pointed and laughed, the ex-president raked in money from his supporters
December 16, 2022, 19:45 PST
What makes Trump supporters change their minds about him?
Filmmaker Melissa Jo Peltier discusses her documentary about disillusioned Trump voters, “The Game Is Up”
December 11, 2022, 22:40 PST
Republicans are finally realizing that Donald Trump is bad at politics
The disgraced ex-president understands the Republican base intimately, but he's much less capable at speaking to people outside it
December 8, 2022, 9:10 PST
America’s public libraries are facing an epidemic of censorship
Jonathan Friedman of PEN America tells how far-right activists are trying to silence LGBT and progressive authors
December 4, 2022, 21:03 PST