Living in the USA

Plus: What Trump's people have been doing (or not) about the disaster in Texas. Elizabeth Holtzman, who served on the House Judiciary Committee that brought articles of impeachment against Nixon, reviews the case against Trump at this point -- and what special counsel Robert Mueller is doing to protect his investigation. Also: Trump vs. Trans soldiers and sailors: the ACLU is taking him to court. Chase Satrangio explains. And John Nichols of The Nation talks about his new book "Horsemen of the Trumpocalypse," and what they've been doing about the floods in Texas.

Plus: Trump & Golf, & an Abbie Hoffman anniversary Frank Rich has been “wallowing in Watergate,” as he put it, and found some fascinating stuff about Trump’s situation today and Nixon’s a year before his fall. Also: the ways Nixon was significantly stronger than Trump in resisting impeachment and resignation. Also: if you understand golf, you understand Trump. Golf is a game for “successful greedheads and their wannabes,” says legendary sportswriter Robert Lipsyte. It’s a waste of space and water, and it poisons local aquifers with chemicals. And it represents all that is retrograde and exclusionary in American life. Lipsyte asks, Doesn’t that remind you of our president? Plus: It was 50 years ago today: Abbie Hoffman and friends invaded the heart of capitalism, the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street, and threw money from the gallery onto the trading floor. Bruce Dancis explains what happened --he was there.

Joshua Green talks about Steve Bannon's relationship with Donald Trump —Green's best-selling book is "Devi's Bargain: Steve Bannon, Donald Trump, and the Storming of the Presidency." Plus: Bannon was fired because of his interview with The American Prospect -- Harold Meyerson, The Prospect's executive editor, talks about the interview, who said what, and how it happened. And the story of the big fight against big oil and big money in one city: Richmond, California. Steve Early will tell that story—his new book, with a foreword by Bernie Sanders, is "Refinery Town: Big Oil, Big Money, and the Remaking of an American City."

Trump has stopped hinting about firing Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating him and his campaign – - maybe because Mueller has a growing number of supporters among Republicans. Robert Dreyfuss reports -- plus the news about the FBI raiding Paul Manafort's house. Also: Bernie has been busy: Ben Wallace-Wells has been travelling with Bernie Sanders, who has done rallies in more than a dozen states over the last few weeks. And Katha Pollitt has some advice for the anxious and the depressed among us on how to survive the coming months of the the Age of Trump.

David Cole, legal director of the ACLU, talks about different ways Trump could end the work of the special counsel -- and what that would mean politically. plus Nancy MacLean, author of "Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America" and Bob Dreyfuss of The Nation on the Russia investigations and the Trump family businesses.

Amy Wilentz comments on Jared Kushner's congressional testimony about that meeting with the Russian promising dirt on Hillary, and 6-year-old Arabella "interrupting" the NY Times interview with Trump in the Oval Office. Also: Rick Wartzman on the rise and fall of good jobs in America--his new book is "The End of Loyalty." And Harold Meyerson analyzes the latest efforts of Senate Republicans to repeal and replace Obamacare.

John Nichols of The Nation opens the show with comment on Jeff Sessions's past, present, and possible future--Sessions is featured in John's forthcoming book, "Horsemen of the Trumpocalypse." And Al Franken talks about the dangers of humor in politics, about the voters who supported Trump, and the need for a public option in health care in America. He also answers the question, "Is Jeff Sessions a lying little weasel"? His new book, a numer one bestseller, is "Al Franken: Master of the Senate."

It’s not enough to say “no” to Trump, Naomi Klein argues; we need to transform ourselves and our movement to bring about the change we need. And we revisit our 2003 interview with Al Franken about his number one bestseller, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them. Now he has a new number=one bestseller: Al Franken, Giant of the Senate.

45 out of 50 of the state governments are resisting Trump’s voting commission – even the red states. And the five others are not complying; they simply haven't decided yet. It’s pretty amazing -- John Nichols comments. Also: The LA Times series of editorials about Trump, titled “Our Dishonest President,” was published as a book on July 4. When they first appeared online they got more than seven million page views. Nick Goldberg, editor of the paper’s editorial pages, explains what the series argued, and why it was such a success. Plus: young people are voting – for old socialists – in many countries. Why is that? Sarah Leonard has some answers; she wrote about it for the New York Times op-ed page.

Harold Meyerson of The American Prospect proposes concrete programs to win back white working class voters who switched from Obama in 2012 to Trump in 2016. plus George Zornick of The Nation talks about the Senate healthcare fiasco-- and legendary LA Activist attorney Carol Sobel makes the case for the rights of homeless people.