Trent and Caitlin speak with Jack Schneider and Jennifer Berkshire about their recent book "The Education Wars: A Citizen’s Guide and Defense Manual." They discuss the faulty beliefs and logics that lead us to think about education as a tool for achievement and competition rather than a service provided by communities to their members. They ask what rhetorical strategies have been employed to convince us to allow the public school system to be degraded and dismantled, and the methods that have been working to arrest this degradation today.

Resources:

https://www.educationwarsbook.com/

Jack and Jennifer's podcast: https://www.haveyouheardpodcast.com/

Jack and Jennifer’s previous book: https://thenewpress.org/books/a-wolf-at-the-schoolhouse-door/?v=eb65bcceaa5f

The Death of Public School: How Conservatives Won the War Over Education in America: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/cara-fitzpatrick/the-death-of-public-school/9781541646773/?lens=basic-books

Mahmoud v. Taylor: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/24-297_4f14.pdf

Free-market logic for education: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/0013189X231216953

Trent and Caitlin talk with political science assistant professor Matt McManus about far-right thinkers and their journey through the past two decades. He regales the HTA audience with nuggets of wisdom from Charlie Kirk's books and other pieces of right-wing political theory he has reviewed.

Resources

Matt's book: https://www.routledge.com/The-Political-Theory-of-Liberal-Socialism/McManus/p/book/9781032647234?srsltid=AfmBOorDA_LDtzo9xkaeEYkvNV-ZW95DeZZ_aOw4GF_kRVQM4sozwd5p

Matt's work with Liberal Currents: https://www.liberalcurrents.com/author/mattmcmanus/

Matt's work with Jacobin: https://jacobin.com/author/matt-mcmanus

Matt on Unlearning Economics Live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgefM1AipFs

Trent and Caitlin talk with politics blogger and podcaster Ed Burmila about the centrist arm of the Democratic Party and its zombie-like shuffle through our dark era of authoritarian overreach. We ask what exactly went wrong over the last half-century that led our ostensible protectors to be so ill-equipped for this moment? Who is failing us, who is trying something else, and what tactics seem promising?

Note: This episode was recorded before the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

Resources:

Chaotic Neutral: How Democrats Lost Their Soul In The Center https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/ed-burmila/chaotic-neutral/9781645030041/?lens=bold-type-books

Gin and Tacos blog http://www.ginandtacos.com

Mass for Shut-Ins podcast https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-mass-for-shut-ins-the-gin-29747244/

Trent and Caitlin check in with independent journalist Marisa Kabas about media and public figures’ reactions to the assassination of Charlie Kirk, their impulse to valorize and whitewash his legacy, and the mass harassment and firing campaigns against anyone who is insufficient in their praise of him.

Resources:

https://www.thehandbasket.co

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/opinion/charlie-kirk-assassination-fear-politics.html

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/charlie-kirk-ezra-klein-tanehisi-coates?_sp=b72cfa75-76e2-4289-9bf0-14eb90c6993b.1758044662907

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/13/opinion/charlie-kirk-assassination.html

Caitlin and Trent talk with independent journalist Amanda Moore about the groypers and their peers, the self-serving micro-celebrities who profit from them, and the media’s mad scramble to make the latest assassination fit into the left-right paradigm without consulting experts.

Amanda’s work: https://www.clippings.me/users/noturtlesoup17

Pepe Jack-o-lantern image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=95654958

Trent and Caitlin speak with political science professor Lindsey Cormack about her analysis of the DCInbox database of political communications, focusing especially on the memo from Third Way advising Democrats to avoid certain words that make them sound out of touch, elitist, or insincere. Where did these words come from? And do Democratic politicians actually use words like “heteronormative” and “postmodernism”?

Resources:

DCInbox database: https://www.dcinbox.com/

Lindsey’s analysis: https://dcinboxinsights.substack.com/p/was-it-something-the-democrats-said?r=53lhp&utm_campaign=post&triedRedirect=true

Third Way memo: https://www.thirdway.org/memo/was-it-something-i-said

Politico coverage: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/22/democrats-woke-language-blacklist-00519421

Lindsey’s book: https://howtoraiseacitizen.com/

Caitlin’s introduction resources: https://vpc.org/publications/cease-fire-a-comprehensive-strategy-to-reduce-firearms-violence/a-brief-history-of-firearms-law/

https://www.thirdway.org/memo/how-to-embrace-commonsense-gun-safety-legislation

https://www.thirdway.org/about/staff/jonathan-cowan

Caitlin and Trent speak with Jacob T. Levy, Tomlinson Professor of Political Theory at McGill University, about the state of democracy in the U.S. How did we get here? What are the tools and motivations of the people working to dismantle the institutions that make us a democratic nation? Is there a way out of it?

Resources:

Jacob's website: https://jacobtlevy.com/

Jacob's book: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/rationalism-pluralism-and-freedom-9780198717140

Jacob's work with Niskanen Center: https://www.niskanencenter.org/author/jacob-t-levy/

That GAP ad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwzF26o0AuU

Subsequent Abercrombie ad: https://youtube.com/shorts/14sXRgWTfdk?si=CWT_dEqXzbE77H8C

Trent and Caitlin talk with author, journalist and historian Adam Hochschild about the historical periods that most inform his view of today's disturbing American politics. What tactics and goals does Trump 2.0 have in common with Woodrow Wilson's post-WWI administration? What is different? What inspiration and warnings can we take from that dark period to help us survive this one?

Resources:

https://journalism.berkeley.edu/person/adam_hochschild/

https://www.harpercollins.com/products/american-midnight-adam-hochschild?variant=41003534123042

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/12/grip-there-are-many-programs-trying-to-reduce-recidivism-this-one-works/

https://www.harpercollins.com/products/bury-the-chains-adam-hochschild

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/000271627240300155

"radicals awaiting deportation" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Radicals_awaiting_deportation.jpg